AMA: News Editor Barry Carter

How much research do you put into an article on average? Just wondering because to me it seems there's plenty of information in each of your columns/opinion pieces and you make it seem like you "just know this all" and didn't research it. Not complaining though, imo that's the way all good writers make it seem like.

And thanks for the columns/opinion pieces, I've enjoyed pretty much every single one I've read.

Originally posted by Shevtshenko
How much research do you put into an article on average? Just wondering because to me it seems there's plenty of information in each of your columns/opinion pieces and you make it seem like you "just know this all" and didn't research it. Not complaining though, imo that's the way all good writers make it seem like.

And thanks for the columns/opinion pieces, I've enjoyed pretty much every single one I've read.

That's a great question.

As a rule, I tend to try to stick to subjects I already know a lot about to begin with. So as you suggest, a lot of it comes from experience. I'd never try and do an article about USA poker regulation and the stuff thats happening in New Jersey for example, because I know nothing about that.

I've also been fortunate that as long as I have been doing this, I have had a lot of varied jobs amd experiences, and met and interviewed a lot of different people in poker. Thats helped me see things from lots of viewpoints and perspectives.

And there is also plenty of research that goes into them too. There are so many greats sites and resources where you can get poker information from these days which help a lot, so I try to be thorough when I get an idea for a column.

Would you rather fight 100 duck-sized horses or 1 horse-sized duck?

Originally posted by MJPerry
Would you rather fight 100 duck-sized horses or 1 horse-sized duck?

Dont you mean 1 horse sized duck?

But 100 duck sized horses. I'd just stamp on them.

I used to play a game with a friend when I worked a 9-5 job about 10 years ago called the Animals-Weapons game. I would pick six animals (An elephant, a bag of ferrets, a ninja with a broken leg etc) and he would pick six weapons (A double bladed battle axe, an RPG, a wooden plank with a nail in it etc) and we would then have to choose which weapon we would use to fight which animal.

It's amazing what you do when you worked for an insurance company.

Good ninja edit

Originally posted by BarryCarter
Good ninja edit

Slow typing.

On average, how skewed do you think people are of poker players net worth?

IE if the average roll for a MTT live player was $100,000 but everybody expected them to have $1,000,000

Best pro to get drunk with at the bar?

Do you still play poker anymore? Any desire/goals/motivation for it?

what's with your stupid face?

Originally posted by pleno1
On average, how skewed do you think people are of poker players net worth?

IE if the average roll for a MTT live player was $100,000 but everybody expected them to have $1,000,000

Tremendously.

Non poker players think everyone is loaded, we all know that. But its almost as distorted within poker. In recent years its become more clear how many professionals sell % and are staked. In terms of the group of people we call 'the pros' ie. the TV pros, I would say 80% of them are nowhere near as rolled as TV/forums/marketing makes them out to be.

I read this today, Jason Merciers losing year.

Best pro to get drunk with at the bar?

Mad Marty Wilson. Myself, Jared Tendler, and Leatherass went for '1 quick drink' with him and Robert Willamson III at 8pm, and we were still there at 9am the next morning (It was a TV poker show).

Jesse May and Padraig Parkinson are also a good night out.

The Devilfish is the worst.

Do you still play poker anymore? Any desire/goals/motivation for it?

It's funny, I love the game more than ever but rarely play. I have developed an appreciation of it from afar, kind of like Jesse May has that real enthusiasm for the game but also doesn't play much.

I used to be quite a big grinder, 12-15-tabling, but I barely play online now.

Still love live poker, I have a weekly home game with my school friends and play about once a month at my local Genting.

My only desire is to keep up and be close to break even. Working in poker you get to play games you might not always get a chance to play (freebies etc) and I want to be good enough to have half a chance of winning a big score if I got really really lucky and ran above expectation.

Originally posted by Spungeh
what's with your stupid face?

I got hit in the face by a swing as a child

Originally posted by Spungeh
what's with your stupid face?

FFS that was going to be my next question.

Hey Barry!

Best interviewee and worst interviewee?

If you could play at a 6 max table with 5 of the poker greats who would they be and why?

Thanks

Originally posted by HollyMichelle
Hey Barry!

Best interviewee and worst interviewee?

Jesse May, I find, is the most captivating person to talk poker with, and always my favourite interview.

Gus Hansen is a real gent.

Hellmuth was actually really nice too.

The most interesting for a very different reason was when I interviewed Chris Moorman's dad, who won GUKPT Manchester. Very interesting insight into the mind of the parent of a pro.

Worst - any 21-25 year old who has just won something but done nothing interesting with their life previously.

And amazingly, Tony G was a really bad interview, I feel I got him on a bad day though.

If you could play at a 6 max table with 5 of the poker greats who would they be and why?

Deffo not bothered about playing someone just because they were good, so I would certainly go for the most fun table I could, actually I'd probably just take the Loose Cannon's seat in this line-up (maybe replace Laak with Esfandiari)

Hi Barry! What format/ limit did you play when you would class yourself as a grinder?

Originally posted by gxtwo
Hi Barry! What format/ limit did you play when you would class yourself as a grinder?

The stakes I played the longest were $1/$2 and $100 SNGs, both six max. But that was only four tabling, and it was when poker was quite easy.

But when I used to play a lot of tables, I played $1/$2 shallow games, and $27-$60 SNGs (Formats were 6 max, 18-man, and satellites). Then I would play 12-16 tables at once.

Still have a pretty decent automated/multi-tabling game, probably cos I'm a nit - fold fold fold.

Me again!

Best/Worst Poker event you've been played/been at and why?

How do you see the game of Poker in 5 years time (get that crystal ball out!)

As you are such a twitter nerd - if you could only follow 3 people who would you choose?

Thanks

Originally posted by HollyMichelle
Me again!

Best/Worst Poker event you've been played/been at and why?

Played - I think the Sky Poker Tour grand final and the International Poker Open in Dublin are the two must attend events for low to midstakes players. Great atmosphere and feels like a much bigger event. Also really like the Crown Casino in Melbourne.

Hate to say it but my least enjoyed event was the Genting series in my home town of Sheffield. The event and structure was great, but the casino is quite new and all the local staff were really bad. I'm sure they'll get better.

To work at - The PartyPoker Big Game at both DTD and in London were so much fun to cover. The worst has to be WPT Paris, the Aviation Club is the worst casino from a media perspective, no room to swing a cat.

How do you see the game of Poker in 5 years time (get that crystal ball out!)

I think we have reached critical mass where the 'sport' side of poker has gone with the sponsorships and pro tours. I cant see the EPT/WSOP/WPT getting any bigger, I cant see the super high rollers getting bigger etc.

I do think we will see more midstakes poker events getting big numbers, around the £500/$1000 mark.

I reckon there will be more fun formats to play live, things like shot clock tourneys, accumulators, and non poker side events like at the Prague Mind Sports festivals.

Online, I wrote about this last week, I think we will see poker become more like video games.

As you are such a twitter nerd - if you could only follow 3 people who would you choose?

Thanks

@Kevmath is obv number one, you actually don't need to follow anyone else in poker if you follow him

I genuinely cant think of any two other twitter accounts I would follow beyond that which stick out.

- How did you get into this whole 'writing about poker' gig?
- Like me do you often worry the industry will realise it's silly to pay us to talk about a game and realise we're actually useless hacks? Phrased less trollingly, what are your thoughts on poker journalism in the future (let's just write off print at this point and consider it an online-only question).
- Of your columns/interviews/op-eds for PS and other sites are there any that you're especially happy with and why?
- Same question but reversed - got any you look back on and think "wtf was I on about"?

Originally posted by MJPerry
- How did you get into this whole 'writing about poker' gig?

Played home games with friends, had a friend who was quite good at poker who showed me how to play a winning TAG style, way back in like 2004 or someink, and I was hooked. I wrote a few hints and tips on a forum and the then editor of WPT Magazine asked me if I would like to write something for them.

The job 'poker writer' didnt even exist really so I was really lucky, it was a rare time when there was a shortage of people willing to write about poker. I took it from there really.

- Like me do you often worry the industry will realise it's silly to pay us to talk about a game and realise we're actually useless hacks? Phrased less trollingly, what are your thoughts on poker journalism in the future (let's just write off print at this point and consider it an online-only question).

There will always be content, and there will always be a way to monetize the places that produce content. In the future you will see more people writing for poker rooms, poker trackers, live poker tours etc and possibly less for news sites, but there will always be something.

- Of your columns/interviews/op-eds for PS and other sites are there any that you're especially happy with and why?

I quite like the ones where I am joined by my bumchum Jared Tendler, I love writing about things like psychology and economics and stuff you don't always see in poker articles:

http://www.pokerstrategy.com/news/world-of-poker/How-Damaging-Is-Multitasking-To-Poker-Players-_57611/

http://www.pokerstrategy.com/news/world-of-poker/Why-Do-Good-Players-Go-Broke-_57388/

- Same question but reversed - got any you look back on and think "wtf was I on about"?

The one that always sticks out was when the Absolute Poker scandal broke. I worked for another site (They did Poker News if that is enough of a clue) and thought I was doing the poker world the biggest favour ever by breaking the story on the site really quickly. I was completely oblivious to the fact that at the time, this site had a major endorsement deal with AP.

I almost got fired as a result.

Now many people would say "good for you, you showed integrity" but I see it the other way. I learned a very important lesson, don't bite the hand that feeds. It is all good and well trying to show integrity, but your website also has to exist, and in order to do that you have to walk the tightrope between making money and creating good content.