In this weeks confessions series Lee Davy talks about the art of catching poker players for interviews whilst working at the World Series of Poker (WSOP).
I am standing by the rail observing my prey like a lion on the savannah.
They don’t see me.
But I see them.
I have never spoken to Scotty Nguyen. A former World Champion who is better known for his use of the vernacular “Yeah…baby!” and his love of liqueur than anything relating to poker.
He’ll do.
But how do I pronounce his surname? What am I going to talk about? I know nothing about this guy.
I shift my eyes away from Nguyen and instead I eye Gus Hansen. I wonder how approachable a Great Dane would be? So what do I know about Hansen? He likes shagging and loses a lot of money playing poker.
Next.
I spy with my little eye something that begins with Erick Lindgren.
The man who caused me all sorts of bother after I wrote an article praising him for trying to get his shit together. He has a decent amount of chips, he’s smiling, and he owes me, although he doesn’t know he owes me, and that’s my hook.
You always need a hook.
A way in.
Without it you are nothing.
The clock hits zero and Lindgren steps under the rope.
“Hi…my name is Lee Davy…I work for…”
“Walk with me Lee Davy,” says Lindgren.
I take on the roll of a child as I struggle to keep pace. His strides double mine.
“I recently wrote an article praising you for trying to get your life back together and…”
“Why thank you.” Says Lindgren.
“I was wondering…”
“Why did you say that?” Says David Singer from the side.
“Say what?” Asks Lindgren.
I am piggy in the middle. I sense there is spit all over my scalp.
“That you don’t like me?”
“I was only joking.”
“But he didn’t know that.”
“Everyone that knows me knows I love you.”
“And I was wondering…”
“Wondering what Lee Davy.”
“If I could interview you about your gambling addiction.”
“Of course…but not right now as I am playing in the $50k…send me a tweet and I will reply…trust me.”
And just likes that he’s gone.
E-Dog?
More like E-fucking greyhound.
That used to be the part of the job I didn’t like. Begging people for an interview. When I am asking them for their time I feel inferior to them. It just feels like they are the lion and I have become the piece of rotting meat.
But lately I have changed my mind, and instead counting chips is my new pet hate.
I have realized something during this series. If you don’t like chasing people for interviews then they will smell it. They are like bloodhounds and your fear reeks like a skunk’s arse.
If they can find an edge they will take it.
Your fear is their edge.
If you decide to change your opinion, and look at the more positive side of tracking down people to interview, then everything changes. You own the right to choose your feelings in a particular situation, and interviewing people for a living is not exactly cleaning shit out of toilets now is it.
When presenting yourself to these guys you need to glow. That comes with confidence. Swallow that ego. There is no room for it in this game. If you are thinking positively, then you will exude confidence, and in turn that will attract the player you are approaching.
Always introduce yourself and explain that you only want them for five minutes. Ask them if they would like to go to the toilet now, or after the interview. Then ask them if there is anything they would like to talk about, promote or shoot the shit over.
They will need help with this, so help them. Give them ideas, and if they are struggling then think of recent events in the poker world and ask them for their opinion.
In general I prefer to stay away from poker, which sounds counter intuitive considering they are poker players, I work for poker outlets and my material goes to poker readers, but here is my point.
Imagine I am interviewing Daniel Negreanu. How many interviews do you think he is going to give at the WSOP? It’s going to be a lot, and how many times do you think he is going to be asked the same questions about his poker game? Again it’s going to be a lot.
So why is anybody going to listen to your interview?
You have to be a little different from your competition. You need to find a line of inquiry that not only gets them interested, but is also interesting for the reader. This is why emotional line of questioning is so important.
Consider why you enjoy going to the movies?
What is it that makes you laugh?
What is it that makes you cry?
It’s emotion.
Characters without emotion and not characters at all. They are frigid. They are faceless. They are just not worth listening to, and so avoid them like the plague.
This is why the chose of interviewee is so critical, and why you will find that I tend to interview certain players with more frequency than others. I choose people who flow from a verbal perspective, they take the reins and let you sit back and enjoy the ride, they are not afraid of deep meaningful questions, and they are authentic and answer everything honestly and with sincerity.
Let’s be a little controversial here.
Should I interview Phil Ivey?
He should be on the top of my list because he’s Phil Fucking Ivey, but seriously. What chances do I have to draw anything out of him that you haven’t already heard? It will be like drawing money from a Cypriot bank.
He is a private man, and you have to respect that.
Dig out every piece of material you can find on Ivey and see if you can find much emotion. See if you can find an interesting piece of information, or insight into his life that you haven’t heard before.
I do see it as a challenge.
I hope one day to sit down with him and talk about his life, and who knows, perhaps my line of questioning opens him up like a coconut underneath the weight of a skinny Thai guy’s machete.
In the meantime I am going to wait for my Twitter feed to beep.
E-fucking greyhound has promised me an interview about his gambling addiction. Now that’s what I call a proper fucking subject and I’m not resting until I get that old dog barking.
