Dusty ‘Leatherass’ Schmidt – now there’s a blast from the past.”
This is what Black Friday has done to poker. While some superstars of the game have sprouted wings and flown the nest, others have been forced to stay behind and feed off the scraps hidden amongst all of the dried up white stuff wedged in between the branches.
In 2007, the name of Leatherass was thrust into pokers spotlight, after achieving Supernova Elite in just eight-months. He didn’t just grind out the hours; he did so by producing one of the most beautiful aligned win rate graphs ever seen in poker.
A star was born. Coaching deals with the top sites followed as did two great books ‘Treat Your Poker Like a Business’ and ‘Don’t Listen to Phil Hellmuth.’ Then to top it all off he was added to the roster of stars as a PokerStars Online Team Pro.
Then Black Friday dumped a heap of brown stuff on everyone’s head, and it started a turn of events that would lead to the blast from the past moniker.
So what has Schmidt been up to circa 2013?
“I started with a goal in mind to try and realize my dream of becoming a professional golfer. I had a heart attack at the age of 23 and that was the first thing that really derailed my potential for playing golf at the highest level. I can’t say that I was ever destined to make it, but it was a dream and I was on the fringe for a while. I thought with the right breakthrough I might have had a chance. But I guess my calling was a little different from that.
“Then around July or August circumstances changed and I wasn’t able to continue with my dream. It was then that I decided to dedicate myself to poker once again. Not to the degree that I did before when it comes to playing volume, but to studying, compiling my playbook so to speak, and also finishing off some book projects.
“In a way, I think it’s a good thing because I can now put that to rest {golf} and it enables me to focus on poker and writing and reinvented myself in that way.”
“I did so well for so long, and was making so much money, that it does have a way of distracting you. You do get a little less hungry and your focus changes towards different challenges, as it did with golf. Part of me wanted to light everything I had on fire and start over just for the challenge of it. That’s how much I crave a challenge. Having my back against the wall and having to perform is something I revel in.”
What did it feel like when the rug was pulled from underneath him at the height of his powers?
“In the beginning it didn’t seem to be that a big of a deal. I was sitting on a huge nest egg, was feeling a tiny bit burned out by having so much going on. But fast-forward to today and it’s a drag. I’m not going to lie. I represent Americas Cardroom, and think it’s a fantastic option, but right now I am sitting in front of the computer and there are five games of $1/2 running. You have to appreciate that it’s the holidays, and usually there are 2-3 times that many games, but to go from thinking I can make $100k per month with my eyes closed on Stars, writing books, playing at the WSOP and building my career; to then go back and be grinding $1/2, $2/4 with some $3/6, $5/10 when it runs. It’s tough. To make matters worse there are other players just like me sitting in these $1/2 games. To be playing some of the top players out there at $1/2 cash feels like, ‘what the hell is going on here?’ But this is all I have right now. It is what it is.”
Schmidt is happily married and the proud father of two young children. Did Black Friday allow him to spend more time with his family?
“It was really good to some degree, so yeah, there are some upsides to it. But at the same time whilst I was making a lot of money I wasn’t going to sit back and live off it forever. As a father of two children I feel a sense of responsibility to work and provide for them. I set myself up for a decent lifestyle that isn’t cheap and you can’t sit back and NOT make money forever.”
How comfortable is he knowing that one day his children will learn that their father is a professional poker player?
“I have a track record of success. Not just in poker, but in life in general. I don’t feel like I’m a poker player who is scrapping it out for a living, staying out all hours in the local casino. I do my thing within reasonably decent hours, and I’m proud of what I accomplish, so there is nothing I would hide. But my biggest fear is to put a lot of effort into raising kids so they can do what they want to do, and they turn around say, ‘screw it I’ll get my Dad to teach me how to play poker and I will earn my money that way.’
“I want them to go out and chase their own dreams.”
With the games so infrequent, and no murmurs of poker returning to Oregon any time soon, has Schmidt ever considered supporting his family through other means of employment?
“I’m not ruling it out someday, but I really don’t want to. If you can play poker, and play it well, and make a living from it. There are very few jobs that are this good. To make your own schedule, not to be confined financially, make your own promotions, not having to depend on anyone else, make your own hours, travel to play in tournaments, and all that stuff – it’s incredible if you think about it. Even if you are in the NFL you have to be politically correct, be at practice at a certain time and do what other people tell you to do quite a lot. Poker is an unbelievable way to make your living and I appreciate all of that. So I don’t want to do anything else, but it depends on the circumstances with poker in the US.”
Given everything that has happened since Black Friday, it’s important that Schmidt practices what he preaches and ’treats his poker like a business.’
“Treating your poker like a business means everything. If you are going to be making a living at anything you have to treat it like a business. If you are playing professional basketball or golf it’s a business. To go out there and wing it everyday, and hope everything goes well every day, is a big mistake. A big mistake that young people, in particular, make routinely. If you are treating poker like a business then you are almost the exception to the rule, and if you are not treating it that way then god help you in the long run.”
