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Scott ‘SCTrojans’ Freeman has exploded on to the online tournament scene this year. Virtually unknown one year ago, Freeman is currently the #2 ranked player on PocketFives.com and one of the top ranked players in virtually every online tournament players ranking system. The respect he gains from his peers is unrivaled, which is illustrated by the fact that many online tournament players use a picture of Scott as their ‘avatar’ on Poker Stars, meaning the picture or icon they use for everyone to see when they play.
Scott really got things going in May of 2007 when Scott started playing the bigger buy-in tournaments and was just crushing the field when he played. He then took his game to the 2007 World Series of Poker where he worked his way through the 6,000 player field in the Main Event to finish 19th for over $333,000.
Bluff had the opportunity to sit down with Scott and learn a little bit more about him…
BLUFF: Tell us a little about yourself. How did you get started playing poker?
Scott “SCTrojans” Freeman: I started in high school playing home games with a bunch of my friends. My friend Justin Moskowitz’s family has been around poker for years, as his family operates a casino here in Southern California. His dad is a successful poker player and he taught us all the game. They have a room dedicated to poker, with a few tables and chips, and we all got hooked and started playing almost every day. We would play low stakes tournaments and sit-n-gos. I think I was almost 17 at the time and have been playing ever since.
BLUFF: Did anyone else from your early casino games make the move with you?
SF: No, but actually I’ve known Peter “#1PEN” Neff since kindergarten, and he was also a member of those same games. He started playing professionally about a year before I did.
BLUFF: When did you make the decision to go professional with poker?
SF: Well, I had seen the success Peter was having, and I knew that with a little effort it was a possibility that I could, too; but I was a full time student at USC. It wasn’t until this year when school broke in May for the summer that I dedicated a lot of hours to the game and made a ton of money. I really didn’t plan on making it a career until I realized the money was just too much to turn down.
BLUFF: Any chances of heading back to USC? Did your parents support your decision to take time off and play poker?
SF: I still don’t really consider poker a lifetime career though. School has always been important to my family and me, and the minute I don’t want to play poker professionally for whatever reason I will go back and finish school. To be quite honest, I don’t see myself playing poker professionally forever.
I’m very fortunate I have a pair of the most supportive parents in the world. They would support any decision I make, which can make life a lot easier. Both of them definitely would have preferred if I finished school prior to playing professionally, but both understand my reasoning for taking time off and trust my judgment. We’ve got a great relationship.
BLUFF: Was there one big win that really changed the way you approached the game? Or was it a series of smaller events that led to the realization you could be so successful?
SF: To be honest and I hope this does not come off too arrogant I always knew I could be very successful. From knowing number1pen’s poker game, to watching some of the most successful top players making a lot of mistakes, to just feeling like I had a very in depth understanding of the game, I just kinda knew I could be extremely successful for a while. I just never dedicated the time, effort, energy into making it a career. I was going to school full time, and never really envisioned myself becoming a professional poker player; it just wasn’t a part of my future. Peter had always been telling me I’m a fool for not playing full time because he too knew I could make a ton of money, but I just never did. I then decided to dedicate the month of May to poker to see just what kind of tournament results I could put up, and that month kind of proved what I had been suspecting.
BLUFF: So you only play tournaments…Do you feel you can play all types of structures and formats? Do you have a favorite online tournament?
SF: No Limit Hold’em is definitely my best game, but I’m fully confident in Limit Hold’em and both Omaha variants. However I’m a terrible Stud player. As far as No Limit tournaments go, I really don’t have a favorite as I feel they are all pretty much the same when you get down to it.
BLUFF: So, you’ve played tons of tournaments this year. You obviously gathered a ton of experience heading in to the World Series of Poker. How did you feel going in to that? What was your approach?
SF: Well, from what I had been told, the WSOP events are some of the weakest fields anywhere in the world, so that was nice to hear and helped my confidence. Unfortunately I didn’t have enough money to support myself in a ton of events. I wasn’t too familiar with the concept of staking / backing so I planned on playing only a few events.
BLUFF: So, going in to the Main Event you approached it like any other tournament? Did you get your hands on chips early? How did you get going?
SF: I actually didn’t plan on playing in the Main Event when I left for Vegas. I’m kind of a bankroll nit and it was definitely out of my bankroll. However, I was talked into it by some of my friends who said it was stupid not to play the single most profitable tournament in the world. Unfortunately I lost about a third of my stack early in Day 1 when I ultimately had to fold an overpair of kings in a very large reraised pre-flop pot.
I’m not going to lie it was discouraging but I managed to focus and end the first day with about the starting stack size of 20k.
However, I did approach it like any other tournament, because it’s a mistake not to.
Your goal should be the same in every tournament. So I composed myself after losing those chips early and got back to playing my best game.
BLUFF: Was there a point when the pressure started to mount at all as you got deeper and deeper into the field?
SF: I don’t remember much of the emotions from that tournament. To be honest, all I remember is being extremely, ridiculously focused unlike anything I’ve ever done before.
My day literally consisted of wake up, play poker, go to sleep.
BLUFF: Coming off the 19th place, you must have been disappointed initially. But did it help your overall game? Do you feel you came back online playing even better? You had an incredible month of August online after the WSOP.
SF: Yeah, I was extremely disappointed. I knew very well “what could have been.” But yes, it definitely helped my game. I hadn’t logged many live big buy-in poker hours, so the experience was very important. The confidence I gained knowing that I can play any poker tournament if I can withstand playing poker twelve hours a day for five straight days also helped.
BLUFF: How do you usually celebrate a big win?
SF: I don’t know; I don’t do much. I enjoy spending time with friends and family. I play video games, love sports. Used to play in high school but now I’m out of shape and suck, so I stick to following it on TV and such. But right now my focus is almost entirely poker. Lots have commented on or questioned how I can play so much without a break.
BLUFF: What have you bought yourself with your poker winnings?
SF: I have bought nothing, absolutely nothing. I bought a car before I really started making money with poker, but I haven’t bought anything at all since I started making a lot.
BLUFF: To whom do you credit your success? Has any one player been instrumental in helping you play? Do you coach any players now that you have had your own success?
SF: Lots of success credited to Dave Moskowitz, the man who taught me the game (my friend Justin’s dad), and lots to Peter Neff, who helped speed up the big buy-in tournament learning curve by teaching me the basics of tournament poker.
BLUFF: Who do you feel are the best online tournament players in the world right now?
SF: I think Isaac “westmenlo” Baron is the best in the world without a doubt. I really don’t see how anyone who has played a lot with him could disagree.
BLUFF: So do you have plans to travel the live tournament circuit now?
SF: Yeah, the main reason I took time off from school was to travel. I’ve been to Aruba, Niagara, Caesars in Vegas, Foxwoods, and now I’m headed to the Bellagio in a few days followed by PCA in the Bahamas. I don’t really know what I’ll do after that, but I plan on traveling the circuit for some time.
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