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PTP Q&A with Shane ’shaniac’ Schleger

Shane Schleger is a professional poker player better known to some as shaniac. In both his live and online incarnations, Shane has had no small amount of success in tournament play, especially in rebuy tournaments. One of the more profitable players in the 100R on PokerStars, Shane also has several hundred thousand in winnings to his name from various live rebuy tournaments, including the 1k rebuy at the WSOP – a tournament that, sadly for him, no longer exists. Shane was nice enough to take some time to discuss that issue, among a few others, in the interview below.

PTP: For our readers who might not be familiar with your background, please provide your no-doubt well-worn answer to the obligatory ’so, how did you get into poker anyway’ question.

SS: I had a fixation with gambling (like pit games) in my early 20s, learned the rules of poker soon after (this all took place in Albuquerque, New Mexico, where my earliest childhood friend had moved). I played losing $1-5 Stud and Stud HiLo for a while. Hold ‘em was still wild and exotic to me. (No limit even more so–like, you can bet any amount at any time?!?!). Sometimes I say, “I took a wrong turn at Albuquerque” but the Looney Tunes reference is often lost on the “younger” crowd.

In 2002, I met someone who was attached to the New York poker scene right around the time 14th St. Playstation was opening. Lot of trial and error and losing and finally by 2005 I was competent and confident enough (at least superficially) to make the move from day job (I was waiting tables) to full time poker. In my fifth year as a full time player, there is still a lot of trial and error.

PTP: You’re well-known for your rebuy success – do you feel like you have to make big adjustments when moving between rebuy and freezeout tournaments, or is it kind of a moot issue after the rebuy period closes?

SS: I feel my aptitude for rebuys is almost like a random occurrence, or at least I can’t properly explain it. Perhaps the rebuy period just puts me at ease and engenders the right relaxed mindframe to carry me through the rest of the event. Strategy-wise, the only significance after the rebuy period closes (that I can think of) has to do with stack depth.

PTP: Speaking of rebuys, what’s your take on the logic behind the WSOP decision to remove rebuys from the bracelet schedule this year? Were you surprised at all by the decision?

SS: Surprised and annoyed yes, even more annoyed by the lack of a proper explanation. Negreanu’s stated reasons were ridiculous, but I’m not going to harp on that anymore since I realize he was probably just trying to put a positive spin on the situation.

My understanding now is that they felt it was necessary to eliminate them based on concerns about “collusion” but I am not satisfied with this explanation either, since I feel the type of collusion they were trying to prevent (like going allin blind) does not really adversely affect random players in the field, and also that they should be able to police collusion without having to eliminate an entire form of poker wholesale.

PTP: Why a fixed gear bike? Why not just a single speed with a freewheel?

SS: For starters, an experienced fixed gear rider has much more control over the momentum of the bike than a freewheel rider. It’s also kind of like “the zen of riding,” you are “one with the bike.” Also, there are fewer movable parts, fewer things to maintain on the bike. No brake cables that might snap at a traffic light (that happened once in my pre-fix days). You just get on and ride. It’s just cooler and more fun overall (once you have the mechanics of the riding down). I didn’t find out until recently, when a NYC messenger friend visited me here in CA, that a whole hipster subculture has built up around fixed-gear bicycles. He says he feels embarrassed to be seen on his track bike when he rides around Willamsburg now and sticks to his road bike. Ha.

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