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jeffnc
Mason's Favorite
Joined: 13 Jan 2004
Posts: 7267
Location: NC, USA
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 Posted: Wed Apr 16, 2008 7:08 am Post subject: Arnold, your poker experience |
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| You are known as a blackjack expert. At one point did you become interested in poker? Do you play a lot more poker now than blackjack? Are you more of a theorist, and do you play to get experience for formulating ideas and writing your book, or do you play a lot regardless as a way to win money? In other words, what is the motivating force for you - having fun playing poker and then writing about it, or writing about it and playing to mostly gather information? Do you play often enough for it to be a significant part of income, and do you play more live or online? Do you think you'll continue to play for long even after your next book is published? Other than possibly just getting "burned out" on it, do you see any changes coming in the future that would turn you off to playing as much? |
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Arnold_Snyder
Joined: 05 Apr 2008
Posts: 11
Location: Las Vegas
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| Posted: Sun Apr 20, 2008 1:39 pm Post subject: Re: Arnold, your poker experience |
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| jeffnc wrote: | | You are known as a blackjack expert. At one point did you become interested in poker? Do you play a lot more poker now than blackjack? Are you more of a theorist, and do you play to get experience for formulating ideas and writing your book, or do you play a lot regardless as a way to win money? In other words, what is the motivating force for you - having fun playing poker and then writing about it, or writing about it and playing to mostly gather information? Do you play often enough for it to be a significant part of income, and do you play more live or online? Do you think you'll continue to play for long even after your next book is published? Other than possibly just getting "burned out" on it, do you see any changes coming in the future that would turn you off to playing as much? |
Jeffnc,
I became interested in poker in 2003 when I started watching the WPT shows on TV. I had never played poker in my life, but I immediately saw that this was a great opportunity for a pro gambler.
I started playing the small buy-in tournaments in Las Vegas in 2003, and played a couple hundred of them over the next two years. I played a few online tournments, but there are so many live events available in LV--a couple dozen every day with a big range of buy-ins from $20 to $1000--that I found I liked playing live tournaments and always found the online tournaments restrictive insofar as being able to look at opponents. I also played a few hundred hours in cash games in LV, all limit hold'em games, from $2-$4 to $10-$20, but I found them so much less exciting than tournaments that I quit playing those as well and just stuck to tournaments. (At that time in LV--2003-2004--none of the poker rooms were dealing no-limit games. Now, almost all of them do. If no-limit games had been available at that time, I may have found the cash games more interesting, since the only tournaments that interested me were the no-limit tournaments.) I only play NLH tournaments, not limit, not 7-stud, etc. I've played a few pot limit Omaha tournaments, but more for fun to just try something different. I've really concentrated all my study on NLH tournaments.
After PTF was published in 2006, I decided to try and figure out the slow-tournament structures since that's where the big money is. I started playing "pro-level" tournaments in January 2007, with buy-ins from $300 to $5000. I quickly discovered that all pro-level events are not crreated equal, and as with the small buy-in fast tournaments, the structural differences call for different strategies.
I did well in 2007. In Card Player's POY database, I finished in the top 5% for the year with 8 final tables. I was pleased with this result since I didn't play any of the "major" events ($10K+ buy-in) where the big POY points are awarded. (By the way, I don't play poker tournaments under the name "Arnold Snyder.") So, I'm definitely playing for the money, not just fun and not just for analyzing and writing about tournaments. At present, I think there's more money in poker tournaments than in casino blackjack, so I'm pretty much just playing poker tournaments now. |
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taz115
Hzamm9rd, Yo!!!
Joined: 08 Oct 2005
Posts: 8476
Location: Edmonton, Canada
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| Posted: Mon Apr 21, 2008 11:14 am Post subject: |
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| Why do you use a different name? I realize that there may be some benefit so your opponents don't know who you are from your books, but all other authors that I know of use their names... I think it brings them recognition and their performances can validate their books. |
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mash_tun
Joined: 10 May 2006
Posts: 976
Location: CT, USA
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| Posted: Mon Apr 21, 2008 2:25 pm Post subject: |
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| taz115 wrote: | | Why do you use a different name? I realize that there may be some benefit so your opponents don't know who you are from your books, but all other authors that I know of use their names... I think it brings them recognition and their performances can validate their books. |
IIRC, using a pseudonym has more to do with his previous blackjack-playing and blackjack writing (to avoid casino heat) rather than with his current poker playing. But I'll let "Arnold" give the definitive answer! |
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taz115
Hzamm9rd, Yo!!!
Joined: 08 Oct 2005
Posts: 8476
Location: Edmonton, Canada
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| Posted: Mon Apr 21, 2008 2:32 pm Post subject: |
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| Ah yes, that would make sense. |
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loyo1
1K Club
Joined: 22 Aug 2004
Posts: 1959
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| Posted: Mon Apr 21, 2008 9:59 pm Post subject: |
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This is an aspect that has interested me about Arnold's book, and his tournament play, vis a vis his poker writings.
If one is in a tournament, and a poker author (or a well known pro) sits down, you will know it. Even if you don't recognize him/her, someone will, and mention it. And you will probably have some ideas on how the person will play based on that--of course "educated" players know the book (or previously viewed telecasts) are not the entirety of what the person knows and how s/he plays, but recreational players? Not as much.
But the bottom line is: if you are in a tournament and Arnold is at your table, you will not know it. You'll know who all the other pros are---but not him. He has perfect anonymity at the tables. Probably gets pegged as "that LAGgy dude in the 5 seat." I find that interesting (and yes, maybe I'm just weird.  )
My question(s) to Arnold would be: do you avoid tournaments where the final table will be broadcast, in order to protect your anonymity for other gambling ventures? Would the gamblers' code be strong enough to protect your anonymity of you final-tabled a high profile event? Or would it even matter at that point? |
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Arnold_Snyder
Joined: 05 Apr 2008
Posts: 11
Location: Las Vegas
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| Posted: Tue Apr 22, 2008 12:16 am Post subject: |
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| loyo1 wrote: |
My question(s) to Arnold would be: do you avoid tournaments where the final table will be broadcast, in order to protect your anonymity for other gambling ventures? Would the gamblers' code be strong enough to protect your anonymity of you final-tabled a high profile event? Or would it even matter at that point? |
First of all, taz115 is correct. I have played casino blackjack for 30 years and obviously could not have played if I was known to be an author of books on playing blackjack professionally.
There are a number of professional poker players, both well-known and not so well-known, who know who I am when they see me. Most of them were players I met through blackjack connections and some were one-time pro blackjack players. I don't really worry about any of them outing my identity. The code among blackjack players really is that strong. I have not played much blackjack at all the past few years.
I haven't gone out of my way to avoid playing events where the final tables are televised. I played a number of WSOP events in 2006 and 2007 and cashed a few times, but never had to deal with the "problem" of being on a final table. I made one final table in a $5K WSOP Circuit event, but that final table wasn't filmed for TV.
My instincts as a professional gambler have always been to remain as anonymous as posiible, though this is not at all necessary for a poker player. I just see no reason right now to out myself. Who knows, maybe some great blackjack opportunity will suddenly appear. |
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Doc T River
Joined: 21 Jun 2007
Posts: 328
Location: amongst my poker books or somewhere playing poker
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| Posted: Tue Apr 22, 2008 6:23 pm Post subject: |
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| If it won't give away your true identity, how did you decide to use the name Arnold Snyder? |
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