30 Jul 09

TeamPokerStrategy.com: Interview With RobbieV, Back From Vegas

RobbieV is back from Vegas and is here to give you some insights. He's talking about the Vegas experience and about the next plans for TeamPokerStrategy.com

This interview was conducted by EliasVeritas

PokerStrategy.com: Hello, RobbieV, welcome back from Vegas.

RobbieV: Thank you Elias, it's always nice to be back in sunny Gibraltar.

PokerStrategy.com: You've been back for about 2 weeks now, what's the biggest adaption you had to make when coming back?

RobbieV: The biggest change is probably from being inside the big casino's daily and being around the tournament area to being in a more quiet and laid back Gibraltar.

PokerStrategy.com: Ok let's talk about results, some people are disappointed that TeamPokerStrategy.com didn't bring home a very large ship, how did your team do overall?

RobbieV: I can see where people are coming from with their disappointment. Obviously people hope or even expect a dazzling cash when you are playing tournaments for two months. However, I think the current performance is well within what could be expected beforehand. You'll have to understand that the variance in these tournaments is enormous. Ending up losing over this period of time is perfectly acceptable, as it is possible for a very good player to be down after playing live tournaments over a one year stretch.

However, with Nazgul's very nice run in the end at the most prestigious tournament, I can even say we don't have to be that unhappy. So the conclusion would be that the team didn't make the cash we were all secretly hoping for, but their results are not disappointing for me as a team manager by any means.

PokerStrategy.com: Well, some did lose faith in these players but it seems their manager is still confident about their capabalities?

RobbieV: Definitely. I've observed them during live play for a period of two months and I'm very happy with their level of play. Obviously some mistakes have been made, but they also made great plays. I know it sounded a little bit like crying when we mentioned the hardship the team had to endure, and in reality I'd probably comment on that as well as a member. However, many times good hands weren't rewarded and you just need a little bit of luck in order to make a big cash. Say Phil Ivey for example. He's now on the final table and nobody will remember how many times he made a major suck out to reach it. Even with 50 players left he managed to double up with JJ vs QQ. Without that luck you'll never win a tournament, no matter how good you are.

PokerStrategy.com: On a small sample anyone can get lucky I guess. Can you tell me about your plans of making the sample size bigger? What do you have in store for your team in the near future?

RobbieV: We're going to play a little bit closer to home this fall. We're expecting to play as many EPT tournaments as we can and we're also interested in some other major events across Europe. In the near future you will most likely see the team at work at the Barcelona EPT event, which starts the 2nd of September.

Obviously we will try to ensure a better coverage than we did at the World Series of Poker. Keep in mind that we have to work under the media restrictions of the EPT and that it's going to be a new venue for us again, so bare with us! The very least will be to have a live ticker available for you and provide you with more pictures and so on.

PokerStrategy.com: Great, I have one last question for you. Are there any plans of adding some additional players to your team?

RobbieV: There are plans! Even before we went to the WSOP we had one player in mind, but he wasn't even old enough to play in Las Vegas yet. Can you believe these young poker players nowadays? We won't actually add a lot of players to the team just yet though, but we will always keep our eyes and ears open. I hope to be able to announce great news in the near future.

PokerStrategy.com: Very well. Thank you for this interview Robbie, and good luck with the team!

RobbieV: Thank you, you're welcome.