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PTP Q&A with Shane ’shaniac’ Schleger

PTP: You mentioned on your blog at some point that you couldn’t envision keeping a blog that chronicled your “life as a poker pro.” Is that because you feel like it would be boring for you, for readers, a combination of both or a different reason altogether?

SS: For one, I am not the best at analyzing poker situations, so whatever insight I do have is probably best kept to myself. But more to the point, there are people out there who do it already and do it better than I ever could. Obviously a lot of what I write about stems from my experiences and travels throughout the profession, but at the end of the day I strive for something more multi-dimensional and to be able to do the kind of writing I did as a youth, which incorporated music, culture and first person narratives about my misadventures into the mix.

PTP: What’s the dumbest question you’re asked on a regular basis by non-poker players about poker? What about the dumbest question you’re asked on a regular basis by poker players?

SS: As a rule. I don’t find questions from outsiders to be “dumb.” I’m usually happy if they are interested at all. I was with a group of people the other day who work in the entertainment industry, and when they asked what I did, I said, “Eh, it’s not as interesting as what you all do” and told them I was a poker player; they disagreed with my assessment and their ears perked up.

Then one of them asked me, “What is the best hand you ever made and then won a big pot with” or something, and the question basically made no sense and I couldn’t answer it (although I tried and failed to think of a momentous hand I made on the river). So, I just steered the conversation towards aspects of the game I could explain (like the lack of mainstream sponsorship in poker!) and moved on. I’m sure if I were to have posed a question about negotiating satellite radio contracts, I might have sounded equally “dumb.” To me, as long as someone finds the profession interesting, I won’t fixate on their messy understanding of the game’s particulars.

As for poker players, I guess I am annoyed when they ask me why I choose to ride fixed gear bicycles.

But in all seriousness, there is no one “dumb question”–more like a variety of statements and declarations from seasoned pros that reflect a lack of perspective or understanding on the game that just leaves me befuddled. A wide variety.

PTP: What’s your online room of choice right now and why?

SS: Pokerstars because I’ve always liked the interface and customer service.

PTP: What percentage of people who are currently playing tournaments full-time (or as their primary occupation) do you think are just kidding themselves about their ability to thrive (or even survive) in the long-term?

SS: Impossible to say accurately, but if you look at the number who resort to lying and stealing in various ways, as well as the number of people who seem to come and go from the game, plus the bunch who will never have to face the reality of their true talents because they ran good at the beginning of their career, you’d arrive at the conclusion that it’s a high percentage. I certainly might be in that percentage, but I also try not to kid myself on the subject and instead look for other sources of income to supplement my poker career.

Then again, there is a high level of talent out there now, so the reasons people delude themselves might be changing. The sort of player whose talents would have made him a superstar a few years back might just be in the middle of the pack today. In any case, I can think of precious few who built their careers from the ground up in an organic, pure way and continue to learn and progress and not delude themselves along the journey.

PTP: You’ve got a long list of blogs linked to from yours. I’m a lazy man. What are three that I really ought to be reading?

SS: Pauly McGuire’s Tao of Poker is basically in a different league than the rest. I was also recently thinking that Terrence Chan is probably among my favorite. He combines poker and non-poker related tales in the same way that I strive to. Many of the Cardrunners’ blogs are decent but often do not veer far away from the subject of money won and lost or hands played (like, I’d rather beat my head against the wall than read about Brian Townsend’s latest upswing). But I’d say, of the CR blogs, that Ryan Daut’s blog stands out from the rest in that respect. Paul Phillips is the original poker blogging hero, but he’s sort of moved away from the genre.

PTP: How about your thoughts on backing, and whether or not it’s good for the health of tournament poker in the long run?

SS: Hard to imagine tournament poker existing today in its present form without backing, so I can’t even think of an argument off the top of my head for what might make it bad for the “health of tournament poker.” Now, if we want to discuss how it affects the mental health and ability to honestly assess the longterm viability for individual players’ talents (as you were asking about a few questions ago), I think that’s probably a more interesting and complex subject.

Thanks to Shane for his time, and be sure to check out his blog.

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