To all the TV viewers out there, Scott Gray might not be the most easily recognisable faces in poker (unless you watched him come 4th in the World Series Main Event in 2002) but until very recently, being on the Telly wasn’t necessarily the be all and end all.

Having played with him in a few of the bigger side games in Europe, I have to tell you, Scott Gray is one of the last players you’d ever want to see pulling back a chair at your table…unless it’s for a chat…which is another thing entirely…I caught up with Scott this week…this is how it went.

David Lloyd: Hi Scott, how are you and where are you?

Scott Gray: I’m fine and at home in front of my new 20" flat panel monitor

DL: Six tables, or just the five I wonder? ;-)

SG: Its perfect for multi-tabling, you could play up to 8 games at once but I usually play 4

DL: I’m buying, what’s yours?

SG: I'll have an ice cold bottle of Heineken please.

DL: I saw that you won two of the big events in Dublin last year (Irish Open and Irish Winter Tournament). Apart from the WSOP, did you do much travelling to play abroad last year?

SG: Hardly travelled at all last year because I have decided to stay at home and be around the family a little more. My daughter is growing up quickly and I don’t want to miss it. Unfortunately this coincided with the poker boom, with huge tournaments everywhere. However I had to decide what my priorities were. With all these good tournies though, I might have to start turning up here and there for some of the big ones.

DL: I had to make a similar decision a couple of years ago…you only saw me at the Irish Open because I brought the kids with me and told them they were on holiday. I think you made the right choice though…you can’t replace watching them grow up…hey…maybe we could get sponsored by Gap and Mothercare ;-) ….How old is your daughter?

SG: My daughter is 12 now.

DL: Great, next time I’m in Dublin, she can baby-sit my two ;-o  (5 and 7)……….Going back to the tournament circuit we were discussing earlier….When you’ve travelled to the major events in the past, would you say the side action was more important to you than the tournaments themselves.

SG: Definitely, the side action was more important to us (myself and Padraig). We always tried to insure that we had a healthy profit secured in the cash games and then we would allow ourselves a pop at some of the tournaments that we were interested in. I never really considered tournaments as a money making proposition as it seemed that you couldn’t play enough of them in a year to insure a profit. Between entry fees, hotel rooms, flights and all the rest, it really was impossible to make a living out of the tournaments in those days. Nowadays with the greater range of tournaments available It is probably viable but only with a massive bankroll to insure that you would remain solvent. I think that it is probably more viable nowadays because of the greater range of tournaments available unfortunately the volatility makes it necessary to dedicate a huge bankroll to them to insure profitability and that has put me off becoming over involved in the glory hunting and more preoccupied with staying solvent.
 
DL: Scott Gray, Julian Gardener, Padraig Parkinson and Jesse Mae get together and write a book called Win on Poker – The Secrets of Online Power Poker. How did that come about?

SG: winningonline.net contacted us about writing a manual about how to win at internet poker and after discussing it we decided it might be a bit of fun. We knew that they had previous experience in marketing their horse racing products with great success and they offered us a great deal so we decided to have a go. The 4 of us hang around together every year at the WSOP and don’t do a whole lot in the week leading up to the big one so we decided that would be the ideal time to do it. Steve liked the idea that three friends had finished 2nd 3rd and fourth in the WSOP in 3 years and everyone knows that Jesse is a great writer so it kind of played itself.

DL: A few people have balked at the price (£195.00). Do you think the world wants an education for £11.99 and what do you say to the ‘begrudgers?’

SG: Well the people at winningonline paid us to write a manual and the pricing and marketing strategy was left entirely up to them. Having said that there is a money back if not satisfied guarantee on the website (winonpoker.com) and nobody has looked for their money back yet. In fact I have read all of the e-mails that have come back and the reaction has been very good and they are happy with the sales so far As far as the begrudgers are concerned it is probably a good sign. If there were no begrudgers it would mean that nobody had heard of the manual. For anyone who was in a position to judge the book (top class players) it probably isn’t worth that much however we are more concerned about the 60million other poker players out there who are just discovering online poker and to them I think that reading that manual will earn/save them thousands. Padraig has said that if he had followed some of the suggestions in the manual this year it would have saved him about 60k!

DL: From the title, it’s obviously targeting the online poker market. How much of it would apply to live B&M tournaments or is the play and strategy, very particular to the internet?

SG: I would say that it is 90% applicable to online poker tournaments but a lot of the general principles would apply to any tournament

DL: And with that line-up, will the next book be ‘Alex Ferguson – The Early Years’?

SG: I would say that he would probably be way too tight a player to get on our team!

DL: LOL…In live events, the average player is playing very differently to how they would have done say, five years ago. What are biggest differences you’ve noticed and how have you adapted your own game in the process?

SG: 5 years ago it was much easier to be the most aggressive player at the table which would be ideal. Nowadays there are loads of young aggressive players coming along and it is possible to find yourself at a table with 2 or three of these new young tigers. It happened to Padraig yesterday in the world poker open in tunica. It’s difficult to say what should be done in this situation. A lot depends on variables such as chip counts, positions at the table and how soon your table will be breaking.  I don’t think there is any point in creating a big clash with these guys unless it is absolutely necessary. If you have enough chips its probably wise to batten down the hatches and wait for a table change…there will be a more detailed analysis in the next manual :-)

DL: I take it you’ll be off to the WSOP again this year. Do you think they’ll do a good job at the Rio and will you miss the Horseshoe?

SG: I'm sure Harrrahs will do a very good job on the WSOP. When you think about it they did an unbelievable job of actually getting the event off the ground last year considering the events leading up to it and the unbelievable numbers they got in the main event. Most of the big events I have been to in the US have been very well organised. However I fear that with a big company like Harrahs taking over the accountants will start to have their effect on the event and this does not bode well for the players. Expect expensive rooms($250 a night) bigger tournament fees and less comps+ you will find that everything will be more expensive on the strip approximately twice as expensive as downtown. Good tip by the way the Gold Coast is a fine hotel right next door to the Rio and have rooms at $40 per night. I will miss the Horseshoe immensely. I absolutely loved every minute of every year that we have been going there. The atmosphere in the place was fantastic and it was full of characters right out of the old Las Vegas. I’m afraid that for me the WSOP will never be as good as it was then. Not to mention that in 20years of going to the Horseshoe, I never had a losing trip!!! Maybe that has clouded my judgement.

DL: Twenty Years! That has to be a record…I bet you’re in a lonely but happy club on that one ;-) …..  Prediction time, how many runners for this years’ main event?

SG: Too many!! I'm afraid that at $600 a head entry fee, Harrahs will squeeze as many as possible and I can see 10 people sitting around 7stud tables (accountants).

DL: And probably black jack tables too!......Back in Europe, would you say the Merrion Club is your local card room or do you get into the Fitzwilliam too?

SG: I have spent extended periods in both clubs and they both have different things to offer.

DL: If you could pick up any other card room in the world and plonk it back down within a ten minute stroll from your home, which one would it be?

SG: 12 years ago when I decided to become a pro poker player I could have gone anywhere I wanted to play and I plonked myself down in Dublin. No other poker scene that I have come across since can rival the good humour and craic that the Dublin scene provides. Not to mention the fact that the games are always lively and have been very profitable. It would be nice to have somewhere like Holland Casino here though!!

DL: I haven’t played at the Fitzwilliam yet but I’ve always loved Dublin. I’d plonk the Merrion down on my doorstep if I could (you’d be watching though…not playing ;-) ……So if you’ve cut down on the travelling, how often are you playing online these days?

SG: Probably a little too much, it’s so comfortable!! I will be making a conscious effort to get out more in the near future

DL: We’ve played together in the same Omaha games at Poker Stars, where else do you play?

SG: Betfair, Ladbrokes, Pacific

DL: The last time we chatted online, you and Padraig were decimating the field of the Stars Sunday night tournament and I was having a lot of fun just watching your tables for an hour. I haven’t played there for quite a while…are you both still killing them there?

SG: I haven’t been playing there that much lately as the plo games got tougher, although I do play the big tournaments there. It is my favourite site because of their software and support

DL: Back in the real world, cash game, Dealers Choice, your button, what are we playing?

SG: Pot limit Omaha.

DL: I remember us playing in a very lively PLO game one night in Dublin…The thing I noticed was that you were only playing four hands per round…your button, small blind, big blind and a live straddle in seat one….the rest of the time you were up and away checking on the other action…Did I spot something tactical or was it just a medical condition? ;-)

SG: I don’t think it was anything tactical I was probably just keeping an eye on the tournament just to see how Padraig was doing.

DL: I did think that at the time, but it was like clockwork…I just thought there might be more to it….Anyway….what’s your preferred tournament game and limit structure?

SG: NLH and I like that Tex’s tears system

DL: Is that the one that’s based on number of players and chips in play?

SG: Don’t know what it is based on but it was by far the best ante structure I have ever played.

(David Lloyd Note: I checked this out later and it’s hard to explain the Tex’s Tears tournament system in a nutshell but it’s all about having slower, more playable blind structures. The criteria for blind and ante increases per level are structured so that they never go up by over 67% per level, the minimum increase is set at 33%. This makes the average increase per level, throughout a tournament is less than 50%....The system was devised by Tex Morgan and the TEARS bit stands for Tournament Evaluation and Rating System)

DL: Ok, one of my favourites…Imagine you found yourself on a slow boat to China, hosting the liveliest poker games known to man. Who would you want with you for company and why?

SG: Padraig for the craic, Alan Betson for the one liners, Kevin O’Connell to buy the drink, John Duthie to provide the tv coverage, Mike Sexton as the American, Alan Vinson for the cockney humour, Devilfish to throw the party (someone has to lose) but he’s not allowed to take the guitar, and Jesse May to write it all down!

DL: Onboard, they’ve organised a charity karaoke night, you have to sing or forfeit $10,000. What’s your big number?

SG: Wont Get Fooled Again

DL: ‘Meet the new boss, Same as the old boss’ One of the best lines in rock’n roll….I had you down as a Who man n’all!…I wish I’d mentioned my suspicions earlier….I’d I have looked like David Blane ;-) and Padraig’s a Stones man then?

SG: He's more of a Van the Man freak!

DL: While we’re on the subject, what was the last album you bought?

SG: Bought 2 actually, Led Zeppelin Re-masters and Red Hot chilli Peppers live at Slane

DL: Did you go to the Chilli Peppers gig?

SG: Bought 4 tickets and ended up going on holidays with the family. Bad Miss!

DL: Your desert island favourites – Tell me three songs you’d have to take with you?

SG: Jessica by the Allman brothers, More than a feeling by Boston and Into the Mystic Van Morrison

DL: Five of your all time favourite movies?

SG: The Sting, The Hustler, One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, The Last Waltz and Goodfellas.

DL: One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest…isn’t that a reality show on the Edgeware Road? ;-) What about a good film you’ve seen recently?

SG: Farhenheit 9/11

DL: Your favourite line / lines of dialogue (any movie or TV)?

SG: Let’s go get them picnic baskets boo boo………….Yogi Bear

DL: Classic! A couple of unmissable TV shows?

SG: The West Wing, Sopranos.

DL: Which sports and teams do you follow?

SG: American football, Gaelic Football and hurling, basketball, baseball, cricket. The only team I really follow is the Irish soccer team.

DL: Keane or the McCarthy then?

SG: I was definitely with McCarthy that time, no matter what issues Keane had the team must come first, no player is bigger than the team. I was into Ireland at 100/1 e/w for a massive touch and really fancied our chances of coming through an easy half of the draw so I’m definitely talking through my pocket on that one!

DL: Do you ever bet on anything outside a card room?

SG: All the above sports

DL: Any luck?

SG: Going well

DL: Who or what makes you laugh out?

SG: Billy Connolly

DL: Top three comedians?

SG: Billy Connolly, Richard Pryor, Tommy Tiernan

DL: Philosophy time! Pre-Army Elvis, the black leather comeback or King of Las Vegas?

SG: Pre-Army

DL: If you were recommending a great night out in Dublin, what would it entail?

SG: For gamblers I suppose Ireland v anyone at Lansdowne followed by a good band at Vicar street and Flannerys till ???  with an option of a late night game in the clubs on the way home.(NOT RECOMMENDED)

DL: In one sentence, or just three words, what’s the best advice you could give to someone just starting out in poker?

SG: BUY OUR MANUAL

DL: Ha ha…I’m funking for a comp mate. ;-) Anyway…thanks Scott, it’s been a pleasure, good luck with everything you do in 2005!