World Series of Poker: Jeff Shulman at the Table

Jeff Shulman, finalist in the World Series of Poker tournament, was online Monday, Oct. 5, at 1 p.m. ET to discuss the upcoming tournament in Las Vegas on Nov. 9, where he'll be at the WSOP Main Event final table. Shulman has outlasted 6,485 challengers.

Related Story: Out of Woods, Into Casino (Post, Oct. 4)

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Jeff Shulman: Hello All,

This is Jeff Shulman. I am the president of Card Player Magazine, cardplayer.com, and am lucky enough to be part of the November Nine at the World Series of Poker.

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Philadelphia, Pa.: You do know that every time you have a good hand that the top of your right ear twitches 1/20th of inch, don't you? Just kidding. But, when Hollywood presents poker games as being contests where people figure out someone else's "tell," like a subtle twitch, how much of that is real and how much of that is pure Hollywood fiction?

Jeff Shulman: Tells are very important in poker, but not the most important. You don't want to have a twitch unless you always have a twitch. The top pros try to trick the other players by swallowing, but it doesn't work that often. More important is playing smart and not making mistakes.

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Richmond, Va. : Who are the three toughest poker opponents you have faced?

Jeff Shulman: I have always had problems with Gus Hansen. I can never put him on a hand and he beat me in the last 20 hands we have played.

Daniel Negreanu is tough because he is always talking and he can play while being in a conversation.

David Chui may be the toughest because he never gives action, and he is a poker genius.

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Washington, D.C.: Is there one thing that you fall back on when playing poker? I fall back on 'don't take chances on a small pair.' May I get your advice to this.

Jeff Shulman: I try to not get involved with races (22 vs AK etc). Small pairs are good when you can see flops cheap, but you should not get carried away with them. I try not to ever risk my tournament life unless I have a strong hand.

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Portland, Maine: Which of your opponents at the final table do you fear the most and why?

Jeff Shulman: I don't really fear anyone. After all, it is just a game. Phil and I have played many big hands in the past, and have had mixed results. I am not dying to get heads up with him because he is the best. It really comes down to playing smart and catching cards.

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Portland, Maine: What will be your strategy at the Final table as the play begins?

Jeff Shulman: Hopefully I won't get involved too much until I have to. That typically means short-handed. Also, I want to stay calm and focused.

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Washington, D.C.: How do the amateurs at the Main Event typically get their entry? Do they win it in satellites, or are there actually a lot of folks willing to fork over the $10K?

Jeff Shulman: Most people win their way into the tournament. Some online sites give out 1000 seats. Some qualify for free, some pay as little as a dollar, others play a one-table satellite where everyone puts up $1000. Most pros get their sponsors to play and probably only 15% actually buy in.

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Portland, Maine: As you begin play at the Final Table how aggressive will you start to play?

Jeff Shulman: I won't play aggressively unless everyone is playing passively.

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Alexandria, Va.: Could you expand on your comments to the effect that you believe Harrah's has ruined the World Series? While they've had some missteps, I can't really see anything negative in what they've done.

Jeff Shulman: They have devalued the bracelets by having too many events and adding Europe. Now the good pros only play in the mixed game events with smaller fields while the masses play in the no-limit events. I used to love playing with a chance at playing against Daniel or Ivey, and now it is very rare because I don't play their games. Before they played in all events.

The bracelet ceremonies are a joke as well. They have a poker player stand up while they stop play and play their national anthem. I love the podium in the Olympics with athletes that have been training their entire life, but Harrah's is doing it so they can promote themselves.

Also the tournament staff or WSOP staff should never be more important than the players. Too many egos there.

One thing that they have done extremely well though is organize an event of this size.

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Washington, D.C.: What's the biggest difference between how you play on the first day of the tournament compared to how you play later on?

Jeff Shulman: I usually like to play tight at the beginning of the tournament, but my tables were playing so passively that I played like a madman for three days. I was raising 3 times a round and for the last 6 days I raised once ever two rounds. Luckily I changed gears before I went bust.

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Portland, Maine: I know you want to win the title, but if it came down to taking a sure 2nd place finish over a chance that you might come in 9th or win a lot of chips that might propel you towards first place, what do you do?

Jeff Shulman: I will always try to get heads up because you cant win if you are not heads up. I made the mistake a few years ago and it cost me. Also there is so much play heads up that anything can happen.

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D.C.: Jeff, congrats on making the November 9. Great accomplishment. I read that story on Darvin Moon -- do you really think he's anything but lucky? Even he says he's not that great compared to the field and the other players at the final table.

washingtonpost.com: Out of Woods, Into Casino (Post, Oct. 4)

Jeff Shulman: I feel like I am not that good either. Both of us got big hands throughout, and we both made good laydowns. However he played the final hand knowing that the other guy had to have a big over pair when he flopped the set. It takes a good player to make reads like that.

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Portland, Maine: What attributes must a Superior Hold Em player possess? How much of the game is Skill versus Luck?

Jeff Shulman: Their is a lot of luck and a lot of skill. I think a good player must be able to make good decisions, be patient, and be aggressive.

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Final Dinner Table: Jeff just saw that your pops won the WSOPE. If you pull off the Main Event win, do you think that's a double that will never come close to being matched, with a father-son combo taking down the WSOPE and WSOPME in the same year?

Jeff Shulman: I think that if I can pull of the win it will only happen once. You need to have a father and son that do play and one of them has to beat a field of 6000+ players and then the other one has to win. It seems impossible.

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UW: Congrats from one Huskie to another!

How significant will Moon's chip advantage prove to be? Dennis Phillips had the lead last year and he imploded but still went deep at the final table. Can Darvin do the same and afford to mess up because he has so many chips?

Jeff Shulman: I can't really comment on last year's event because I didn't watch it. Messing up shouldn't be an issue as much as getting cooled (KK vs AA). Darvin seems to play smart poker.

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Columbia, Mo.: Two semi-related questions: How much of any single tournament is luck? I ask because the WSP always has famous names that get tapped out early.

Second, it's said that players only remember the bad beats. Is that true of poker experts? For example, bridge players can often recite good or bad hands from memory years after the event.

Jeff Shulman: There is a ton of luck in one tournament.

Every poker player remembers the bad beats, and they should all remember the good ones. In poker AA is supposed to lost to 22 one out of five hands. It seems like it goes fast when you win and you think about the loss as you drive home. I always remember the good bluffs.

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Roseland, N.J.: In the Main Event, what was your best fold, and what was your worst call?

Jeff Shulman: My best fold was when Eric Buchman moved in from under the gun for a ton of chips and I mucked TT. A kid behind me moved in with KK and I wouldn't have been able to see the flop. Eric Buchman flopped a flush.

I made a terrible call against Kevin. I called from the small blind with a 5Q. He raised and I called. I should have folded for sure there. The flop was AQx. I checked, he bet and I called. I am ok with this call even though it could have been folded. We both checked the turn when a blank came out, and I checked the river. He made a 2 million dollar bet on the river and I thought I got a read. I called after 5 minutes and he had AJ. It was a terrible call, and a terrible hand that I should have never got involved with.

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Seattle, Wash.: Congrats to your dad. Do you feel more pressure on you to win now that he picked up the WSOPE Main Event bracelet?

Jeff Shulman: I feel inspired by Dad winning in Europe. I have put a lot of pressure on myself as it is. I told him that if won over there that I would try harder.

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Baltimore, Md.: You've hooked up with Hellmuth to help you prepare for the final table. Do you think Darvin Moon is making a mistake by not getting a coach? I feel everybody but him will be improved when the November Nine meet.

Jeff Shulman: I do not think moon is making a mistake. In fact I may be making one, but we will never know. I got a coach because I want to practice and I haven't yet. If Darvin can find his happy place while hunting for three weeks then that is better than anything a coach can do.

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New York, N.Y.: Hey Jeff -- is it true that you have been waking up in the middle of some nights because of Final Table anxiety? I have to think this whole thing is enormously stressful on you guys with the months-long layoff.

Jeff Shulman: It is killing me. I made a joke last year that I would have a heart attack if I ever made it and I am surprised that I haven't. It is super stressful and I am not one to like being in the public. Imagine playing a basketball championship without shooting or warming up before the game and the next shot can change your life.

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W. Va.: I've played with Darvin over here and I thought he was an solid player who looks above-average when he's running well but doesn't have a great game when he's cold-decked. It's obvious from his comments in the story and in the interviews I've seen that he was on a crazy heater at the WSOP. What's going to happen if/when the deck stops slapping him in the face?

Jeff Shulman: The fact is that everyone at the final table had the deck slapped in their face. That is how it works. Whoever goes cold first will have to make adjustments.

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Re: Final Dinner Table/Barry Shulman at the WSOPE: I hope you didn't have a WSOP/WSOPE last longer bet with your dad! The pressure is on!

Jeff Shulman: ha!

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Boston, Mass.: Why are so many players surprised that their hand which looks so good going into the flop is then beaten later on? I mean there are still five cards to be played after your first two are dealt.

Jeff Shulman: Most people get hung up on their hands from preflop. KK should be easy to laydown when an ace comes but most people can't do it.

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Claverack, N.Y.: Be Honest: How good would you have had to be to risk busting out 10th?

Jeff Shulman: I wasn't going to bust out anywhere in the last few tables unless I had close to the nuts at the time. I had enough chips that I could have gone to bed with about 20 players left. Luckily I picked up some hands and won with them, but I should have probably had more chips with a few good river bets.

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Boca Raton, Fla.: Why are you such a good player?

Jeff Shulman: I don't consider myself a good player. I am friends with a lot of good players.

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Stressville: Jeff, you wrote: "I made a joke last year that I would have a heart attack if I ever made it and I am surprised that I haven't. It is super stressful and I am not one to like being in the public."

It seems like you and Darvin aren't all that different, except that maybe he's dealing with the stress a little bit better than you are!

Jeff Shulman: I wish I could go hunting with him for three weeks. The problem is that I don't hunt, I have a two year old and a newborn, and I run a business. However, I did have a relaxing summer, but that is changing as we are a month away.

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Portland, Maine: Thank-You Jeff for entertaining our questions and the best of Luck at the Final Table.

Jeff Shulman: Thanks y'all. That was fun.

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Jeff Shulman: I really appreciate all of the questions and the support. Good luck at the tables. -Jeff

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