Gavin Smith
2006 WPT Player of the Year
Fresh off
the WPT Boot Camp, we got in touch with Gavin on the phone
in Vegas as he went about his daily grind. We talked deserted
islands, prop bets, a rematch challenge to the Live at the
Bike team, and more!
A
slight variation on our Random Questions, this Life’s
A Bluff interview is done with questions from several regular
contributors but then
asked
in a phone interview. The comments, answers and other remarks
are included below with a little bit of editing to make the idiot
interviewer
sound like he knew what he was doing.
The
first question
comes from Daniel
Negreanu,
DN: Daniel
Negreanu has widely been recognized as the sexiest man in poker,
what do you attribute that to?
GAVIN
SMITH: Obviously
the poll was taken in a gay magazine.
(laughs)
LaB: You are well known for your charity work. Can
you tell our readers a little about how you got started on that?
GAVIN
SMITH: Mostly
I got started because I was driving home with a bunch of bloggers,
a
friend of mine told me a story about a little
girl up in Canada that lost her mom and he was doing a charity soccer
marathon for her and that really touched my heart and I thought ‘there
is no need for me to sit on the fence, I can get involved and help’ and
that is why I did it.
LaB: The Paul Hannum charity tournament.... You really
put your heart into that one and it was really well received. Are
there
plans to make it an annual event?
GAVIN
SMITH: I would love to make that an annual event. Paul was my best
friend on the World Poker Tour
and
I didn’t want
his baby to do without.
(LaB: Gavin, as I said in the interview,
you have our help whenever you need it, it was a great event and
we were proud to be associated with it.)
LaB:
I seem to remember you being a tad tipsy at that final table...
How much of it do you remember?
GAVIN
SMITH: Wow, I don’t
remember much I was shit-faced.
LaB:
The over/under on how man hands you could remember was at 5.
GAVIN
SMITH: I don’t remember any hands. Any specific hands.
I don’t even remember who else was at the final table, Jennifer
Tilly, anyone.
(LaB: We’ll get you that segment Gavin! You need
to see it!)
LaB:
There is a famous landscape artist from New Zealand named Gavin
Smith, do you own any of his artwork?
GAVIN
SMITH: No. But I should. There is also a race car driver in
Ireland named Gavin Smith.
LaB:
You were in Ireland last month, what did you think of their play
in
the cash games?
GAVIN
SMITH: It was awful, they were almost clueless.
LaB:
How about the tournament, was it good?
GAVIN
SMITH: It was great, I had a fun time.
LaB:
Did you get to play any in London? One of our writers just got
back from
there and mentioned their preference for Pot Limit.
With your style, (a mix of hands with solid post flop play) we thought
you would fit right into that?
GAVIN
SMITH: No, I didn’t get to London, but I love Pot Limit.
They can’t raise me out of a pot!
LaB: Ok...You now you are at a tournament in Costa Rica and have
a huge field of fellow pro players there with you. You're lucky
enough
to score an incredible private jet back to Vegas and you have room
for 3 additional pros to take the ride back. (La Bamba style) Which
3 would you take?
GAVIN
SMITH: Erick Lindgren, Bill Ebler, Chris Bell
LaB:
The plane crashes on a deserted Island and the pilot is dead,
but you and your friends
survive. You have to eat one of the players…who
goes first?
GAVIN
SMITH: God dammit, I knew I should have brought a woman! I think
I’d have to go first since I can’t
imagine having to eat one of those fucking gross guys.
LaB: You constantly state that people should not come to
you about advice for bankroll management...who should they go to?
GAVIN
SMITH: Oh fuck, who knows! Some Nit! Alan Kessler!
LaB:
Prop betting seems to follow you like lawyers chasing ambulances
-- do you enjoy all the action, or has it become a pet monster of
sorts?
GAVIN
SMITH: No, I enjoy the action, its all about the action.
LaB: Name the strangest result of a prop bet that we don't
know about yet.
GAVIN
SMITH: I can’t talk to that!
LaB:
Not even a little bit?
GAVIN
SMITH: I was forced to have my head between a woman’s
legs once as the result of a prop bet!
LaB: Was it a woman that you would not normally have wanted to have
in that position?
GAVIN
SMITH: Aw no, it was fun.
LaB: If you could design
a perfect "round robin tournament
of sick gambling" what would it have in it, and who would you
invite?
GAVIN
SMITH: I’d invite all the sick fucking gamblers like
E-Dog, Daniel Negreanu and Ivy and all the guys that are fucking
ill. We’d definitely have to have craps there. We’d definitely
have to have golf…cause these guys are fucking retarded. Chinese
poker has to get in there too! All the things that I’m good
at. Ah, finish with roller hockey.
LaB:
Are you a better golfer than a guy like E-Dog or Negreanu or
the old
guys?
GAVIN
SMITH: I’m a
better golfer than Negreanu and Ivy. Reese and the old guys play
good matches though.
LaB: Your playing style is a premium example of post flop
play and pushing your read on the game and your opponents, how
did you
develop that style and why does it suit you more than others?
GAVIN
SMITH: You develop it by playing and experience. I don’t
know why it suits me…it suits be because I am good at fucking
reading people I think. I really don’t know, I really sort
of fell into it. But mostly, it comes from experience.
LaB:
Explain the difference in your style of playing lots of pots
versus a reckless player, please.
GAVIN
SMITH: Well, the biggest thing is I put money into the pot
with a lot of different hands, but when I put a lot of money into
the pot, I have a big hand.
LaB: Does your style change depending on the structure of a tournament?
How so?
GAVIN
SMITH: Yeah, it does. If I have less chips, I can’t
play my style. I need a lot of chips.
LaB: So what do you do when there are less chips?
GAVIN
SMITH: Play tighter.
LaB: Any
chance of you and Kenna James cutting a karaoke album together?
We think you guys
ROCK on stage!! (Ref. ‘The Circuit’ broadcast)
GAVIN
SMITH: I don’t know about an album, but I’d love
to do a couple more songs with him, he’s fun as shit!
LaB:
There is one of those rumors on ‘the Internets’ that
Joe Sebok left the Bicycle Casino in tears after the heads-up
match between the Circuit and the Live at the Bike team.. First..
Any
truth to that rumor... and any chance of a rematch soon?
GAVIN
SMITH: I’ll ask him.
(GS
asks a nearby Joe Sebok if there were tears…)
JOE
SEBOK: Definitely not.
GAVIN
SMITH: It’s
not true but I think it could be. There was at least one tear.
LaB:
Any chance of a rematch?
GAVIN
SMITH: Yeah, we’ll
take those cocksuckers on anytime they wanna play.
LaB: I think
that they are looking for a rematch at the Bike.
GAVIN
SMITH: Bart Hanson walked on water!
SEBOK: He was like MOSES!
GAVIN
SMITH: He caught every card. He walked on water. He could
never beat us again.
LaB: I think
I could try to set up a rematch for you in LA…
GAVIN
SMITH: We have a television show. We’ll take those fuckers
on our television show. We are issuing a public challenge. Right
here. A public challenge.
LaB: Can you give us any details on the TV show?
GAVIN
SMITH: No, no details yet except we’ll take those pricks
on any time.
LaB: Are you
going to be in town for the LA Poker Classic?
GAVIN
SMITH: Yeah, we’ll
both be in town for that right after Australia. (Aussie Millions)
LaB:
What is your favorite place to play in LA?
GAVIN
SMITH: Man, I would rather have a cheese grater on my penis
than be in LA. I hate LA.
LaB:
Who has the better players… LA
or Vegas?
GAVIN
SMITH: Vegas! LA sucks! I’d rather be in fucking snow
than live in LA!
LaB: No more Circuit for the Caveman. Lot of people are missing
you…any plans to return there or work on something else?
GAVIN
SMITH: We won’t
be returning to the Circuit. We are working on the TV show.
LaB: Did this
affect your results this year?
GAVIN
SMITH: No, not at all.
LaB: You are one of the few players that has a completely different
breakdown of your tournament results on Carplayer.com. Multiple cashes,
Final Tables and wins in the WSOP, WPT and other championships. Is
that one of your proudest poker accomplishments? If not, what is?
GAVIN
SMITH: I’m proud that I’ve been around for 8 years
and I’m still here.
LaB: You can meet anyone in the world.. past or present... who is
it?
GAVIN
SMITH: I’ve already met ‘em.
If I could see anybody in the world again it would be my Dad. I
miss him.
LaB: If you could play anyone heads up?
GAVIN
SMITH: Same answer. Second choice, Peter Feldman, I’d
like a rematch.
LaB: Is there anything…anything at all…interesting
about Guelph, Ontario?
GAVIN
SMITH: Other than you mispronouncing it? (sic.
Sorry Gav) No, nothing that interesting about it.
LaB: Tell us about the Poker Dome? Your thoughts on its future?
(He won in July 2006)
GAVIN
SMITH: I won. It’s
not going to take off unless they make it all pros.
LaB: The PPL has arrived, what are your thoughts?
GAVIN
SMITH: It’ll work. It should be fun. I got drafted onto
Mike Sexton and Cindy Violette’s team.
LaB: Any idea on the structure
or when we’ll be seeing it
start?
GAVIN
SMITH: Nope, they haven’t released it. No idea when
it’s going to start.
LaB: Bankrolling other players. How do you select that person worthy
of a risky investment?
GAVIN
SMITH: Sometimes, but rarely. They have to be friends, they
have to be able to play and they have to be on the up and up.
LaB: Why do you consider John Hennigan your toughest opponent ever,
why is that?
GAVIN
SMITH: Because he’s fuckin’ great.
Thank you to Gavin for taking the time out and answering some
ridiculous questions. Thanks also to Joe Sebok! It sure was a pleasant
surprise.
To find out
more about Gavin Smith, visit his website @ www.gavinsmithpoker.com
Joe Sebok can
be found @ www.joesebok.com
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