"It Was Good That Black Friday Happened" Interview with Barry Greenstein Part 1

We catch up with Team PokerStars Pro Barry Greenstein while he is visiting Europe for the EPT & WSOPE. In part one of our two part interview, he discusses the impact of Black Friday and the merits of a life spent playing poker.

Barry Greenstein

PokerStrategy.com: As a predominantly live player, what has your experience been of Black Friday?

Barry Greenstein: In the first few weeks the card rooms were full, it was very good for live poker. But since the WSOP I have seen a negative impact, because people have money tied up online, especially in the States. People are also playing smaller stakes than they were recently.

Depending on how things go in the States, Pokerstars may not want me sitting around in the US, so I might have to play more in Latin America and Europe. The impact for me is more traveling to keep up my relevance to PokerStars.

PokerStrategy.com: Have you found yourself having to defend online poker again, like in the days before the boom?

Barry Greenstein: I didn't defend poker that much previously, I have always been totally aware that poker is a non productive activity. I always tell kids to stay in school, when I was in school I played mainly on weekends. In high-school I want kids to be playing sports & not poker. When I signed with Stars, I said if that I talk to young people I am going to tell them what I think and that's probably they are playing too much poker, they should do other things too.

I told PokerStars this, so if they didn't like the message, don't sign me up. The management didn't want me to change a thing, they realise it is better for us if most clients are recreational anyway.

"As much as it hurts, it was good that Black Friday happened"

PokerStrategy.com: Have you found yourself reinforcing this message more since Black Friday?

Barry Greenstein: Since Black Friday I had to talk to several players depressed, they feel like life is over, maybe they were not serious but several said wanted to kill themselves. What I really want to say to the poker community is that if your life is over because of online poker being shut down, maybe its good it happened now before you have a family.

You need your eggs not to be in one basket, maybe this revealed a flaw in the way you arranged your life. I say in my book, you should arrange poker around your life, not the other way around.

These kids who are lost without poker, maybe it is a good wake up call. If that's all your life was, you made a mistake, this was a wake up call, realise you need do other things besides poker. People are gonna be mad at me saying it, but believe me Black Friday has cost me money, I have a lot tied up in the online world.

PokerStrategy.com: What would you suggest poker players do while they cannot play the game?

Barry Greenstein: This is the perfect time to try other things, maybe get an education if you missed out in it, but to do something you care about. Even when I played a lot of poker when I was younger I did other things: I read books, I played golf, I started businesses. As much as it hurts, it was good that Black Friday happened.

Poker is an unreal world, the players need dose of reality. As I approach my 60's, I am not going to say I wish I had played more poker, I wish done other things. I've done a lot, I've written books, started a software company, did a PHD, I raised 6 children - I've had a full life, but most of the players I look at don't.

"Poker accomplishments are very shallow, some of these players will wonder what they did with their lives"

PokerStrategy.com: It must be hard for some of these pros to do other things, when money seemingly came so easy to them previously?

Barry Greenstein: Poker accomplishments are very shallow, some of these players will wonder what they did with their lives, maybe they didn't fall in love enough times because they were too busy playing poker - and that's if they were successful. If they didn't make money, now they really are going to want to kill themselves.  

These are intelligent young people, they have something to offer the world, but success is not too much money these days. In my day success was making the world better. Poker pros do not achieve much by my way of doing things.

Expect more of yourself in more areas than just poker, this is the opportunity to prove yourself. Lots of poker players haven't really tested themselves. I started a software company to prove to myself that I could do this, I pulled all-nighters to make it a success. It is not all intelligence, it is hard work, perspiration, the Thomas Edison school of success.

Join us tomorrow for part 2 of our interview, where Barry discusses prop bets.

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