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Ace Meets... Adèle Bruijn

In the interview series "Pocket Aces" Poker Digest* columnist Rolf "Ace" Slotboom meets famous poker people, some of the best tournament and money players in the world or people who have, in one way or another, been of influence in the way this exciting game is played nowadays. In these interviews, Rolf will try to gain some insight in the way the best players, authors and casino managers feel towards the game, how they do what they do, what they hope to accomplish or have already accomplished, and what's their view on how to make the beautiful game of poker bigger and better than it already is.

In this series, Rolf will confront his guests with a list of questions. These questions deal with issues that, in Rolf's opinion, are very important in today's poker. Today's guest is Adèle Bruijn, the beautiful table manager at Holland Casinos Amsterdam- the place where Rolf's career got started, and still one of his favorite places to play poker.

* This interview took place before Poker Digest magazine was bought by Card Player.

1. Who are you? What are considered to be your major accomplishments in poker and what do you think your major accomplishments are?
My name is Adèle Elizabeth Bruijn. I am table manager at Holland Casinos and tournament manager for the Master Classics of Poker. I consider my major success my involvement in helping the Master Classics grow bigger and bigger. Also, because of the traveling I do, I get to meet a lot of interesting people, and I have succeeded in getting a lot of Americans over to play in our annual tournament, which is not as easy as it may seem.

2. Date of birth, place of birth. Marital status, current and former jobs etc.
I was born in Holland, March 4, 1969, and am still single. I have worked for Holland Casinos for more than ten years now, starting as a dealer- not just in Amsterdam, but also in Eindhoven.

3. Where do you play poker? What games / limits? Do you prefer tournaments or cash games and why?
I love to play, Rolf, even though that I know it isn't always good for me. When I'm abroad, I sometimes play pretty high. For example, I have played $80-160 stud and $50-100 hold'em at the Horseshoe during the WSOP. Actually, I think that I should not play any higher than $15-30.

4. Have you read any poker books, do you use any computer software to improve your game? If so, which books and software do you consider to be best and / or has influenced your poker game the most?
I don't read a lot of books or use any software- after all, I don't get to play that often. I occasionally visit a poker website though, like Poker Pages where I can find some of your articles, and of course I read Card Player and Poker Digest.

5. I've written a lot about the right attitude at the poker table, about the "proper way to behave". What do you think this "right attitude" should be and how do you judge your own behavior at the table in this respect?
Rolf, I know there are people like you who always stay calm, cool and collected, whether they win or lose. I also know that for the average player this is a bit too much to ask for, and I tend to give someone who is reacting emotionally a little room- even though I don't accept throwing cards or cursing at the dealer. In the U.S., where player conduct is a bit worse than over here, I always choose sides for the dealer when some player misbehaves, even though I know that in the long run it won't change anything.

6. What do you think your main strengths in poker are? How do you think most other players view you? Are you well liked by your fellow players and if so, do you think this is because they like you as a person or because they might think you're not much of a player?
I play for enjoyment only. Since I don't get to play very often, I want to have fun when I do and if I win a little, so much the better.

7. Do you still keep accurate records? Have you always done this? Did you always have the strength to write everything down accurately, even when things weren't going well for you (i.e. during a bad run)?
I keep no records.

8. What do you think are the most important characteristics of the professional tournament player?
A few keywords: patience, reading the other players because of your ability, being aggressive at the right time, getting lucky!

9. What do you think are the most important characteristics of the professional money player?
Once again I would say patience, maybe even more so in live play. Also, to be able to maximize your win on a hand once you've hit; sucking the other players in whenever you want them to.

10. Would you rather be a top tournament or a top money player and why?
I would rather be a top cash player, I guess. I simply don't have the patience top play those long tournaments, where one mistake or getting unlucky only once can bust you out.

11. Who do you consider to be the best:

Limit hold'em money player

Pot-limit Omaha money player

All games money player

Limit hold'em tournament player

Pot-limit Omaha tournament player

No-limit hold'em tournament player

All games tournament player

I think Annie Duke is one of the best cash game players I have ever seen, and I'm not saying this just because she's a woman! For tournaments, I would refer to T.J. Cloutier and Phil Hellmuth, whenever he's able to control his behavior and just sticks to playing poker.

12. As you might know, I'm a money player myself, I hardly ever play tournaments. This is partly an ego-thing, because I like to win all the time and in tournament poker that's just not possible. On top of that, it's hard to determine who is the "best" tournament player, simple because there are no objective rankings (the ones that exist favor the people who enter the most tournaments, and the # 1 on these rankings is therefore not necessarily the best player). I am working hard to develop some sort of worldwide tournament competition, where -just like in other sports- you will have to qualify to enter and, if you don't perform well, you bust out. You will receive points (not money) after each event, and at the end of the year you will receive prize money based on your rankings. A competition like this should be interesting for sponsors and the television networks, and the players shouldn't have to come up with their own money anymore. What are your thoughts on the current situation and how do you view this new poker competition?
Well, I don't think the current situation is that bad, even though I have to admit that these new plans of yours sound OK. That said, I don't think poker will move away out of the casino atmosphere that soon, and it will take quite some time before people will call it a sports, rather than gambling.

13. A while ago, I wrote a rather controversial article about tipping. The article dealt with the situation in Vienna, where the dealers' wages are relatively low, but instead they rely on tips from customers. In fact, because people tip so much over there, the dealers even pay the house for every half hour they're in the box. In the article I stated this meant that people are probably tipping too well, and that I therefore could not and would not tip as much as the average player in the house. After all, I already pay table money via rake and / or time collection so the house can provide for (among others) dealers; if we are also expected to tip them extremely well we would be paying twice for the same thing, I argued. What are your thoughts on the subject and how do you put these thoughts into practice; i.e. how much do you tip in the tournaments and in the live games?
If the situation in Vienna is the way you say it is, I would say that from a business point of view they are doing a good job. As you know, I always tip pretty well and I don't think that tipping should be that much of an issue. For instance, at our Master Classics tournament there is no need for us to take a certain percentage out of the prize pool for personnel, as the people over here always tip generously.

14. What are your favorite poker places in the world and why?
I would say the Bellagio: the chairs are very comfortable and the service is perfect. Even though there are often a lot of complaints about the service in Holland Casino, I think we are doing a good job. In fact, I think the casino in Amsterdam is a great place to play poker; the casino looks beautiful, the location is perfect and the games are always good over here.

15. In Europe, the main structure of poker is pot-limit. Poker purists claim that limit poker is no poker, however in the U.S. a lot of professionals don't want to play pot-limit and the casinos are reluctant to offer it, fearing it might break the weaker players too soon. In my opinion, pot-limit and limit poker can very well co-exist. In pot-limit poker (unlike in limit) there are often big winners, and this attracts a lot of new customers (especially the gambler-type of players) who are not interested in a "boring" limit game. I think it is good for poker business if players see it's possible to win big on any given day. What are your views on the subject?
A combination of limit and pot-limit seems ideal, Rolf. We have waited very long before introducing pot-limit, but things are going very well for both the casino AND the customers. We talk a lot with the players about their wishes, how we can improve things etc. I am not a big fan of offering pot-limit only, like is the case in Finland, exactly because of the reasons you mentioned.

16. In the U.S., if people talk about pot-limit, they always mention pot-limit hold'em. In my opinion, pot-limit hold'em is not a good game because the weaker players have virtually no chance of winning and therefore the game will almost certainly die out. In pot-limit Omaha however, even weak players are often able to book mammoth wins (even though it is in fact a highly skillful game), and therefore the games will tend to thrive. This having said, in the U.S. a lot of people seem to think PLO is "all just luck", because they keep thinking in limit hold'em terms like "having the best hand stand up". What are your thoughts on this?
I am no pot-limit player so I cannot comment on what you say. I know pot-limit hold'em is played in the U.S. occasionally, but I have no experience with it.

17. Just like fellow Card Player columnist Mr. Bob Ciaffone, I am known to be a little bit of a rules freak. My main concerns here are the ways most casinos handle the "one player to a hand" and "English only" rules, often doing nothing to enforce them strictly. On the other hand, interpreting and enforcing some of the rules too strictly often harms the new, inexperienced players and benefits angle-shooters. What are your thoughts on the subject?
It should be English only- there are no ifs and buts here. When looking at it from the bigger picture, I think the personnel in every European casino should understand and speak English, to make their foreign guests feel welcome. For instance, people who go to the Aviation Club in Paris (one of the most beautiful poker clubs in Europe), don't always feel welcome if they are not comfortable with the French language. This may cause them to stay at home, which in turn costs the Aviation customers.

18. What are the main things casinos should focus on when running a poker room, in your opinion?
The most important thing is listening to the customers. You shouldn't take it so far that they start running the show, but their input is important, and we want them to feel welcome.

19. In my opinion, a lot of casinos don't do everything they can to reward the regular customers. In the U.S., a few casinos have come to acknowledge the importance of keeping their regular customers in (Hollywood Park in L.A., for example). What are your thoughts on this and what does your casino do to reward its core player base?
It is very important to us to keep our poker guests happy, especially because they don't just play poker: they play other games like Roulette or Punto Banco, or they bring family and friends that play the slot machines- all very important to the house. That said, we haven't always done enough in the past to reward them, but we are planning to change all this very soon. We have started giving our regular guests free meals or free drinks more often than we used to, and we also take them to special events- for example, just this week we took you and a few other players to a big soccer match, and to a "Cirque du Soleil" performance as well.

20. A lot of people claim tournaments aren't good for poker (especially the bigger tournaments), because they tend to get all the money into the pockets of two or three players and the rest loses- some might even be broke because of the tournament. Either way, the tournament has harmed the casino's cash game player base, and it is the income of these cash games (through rake and / or time collection) that poker rooms thrive on. What are your thoughts on this?
Well, I love the big events and I think the players love them too. I think you are right to a certain extent, however I firmly believe that tournaments ARE good for poker, and our own Master Classics tournament is DEFINITELY good for poker.

21. A lot of people claim the future of poker is golden. The big tournaments are always full, there seem to be more new players than ever, Internet poker is booming and it will be just a matter of time before television networks and sponsors discover the game. At the same time, the juice in tournaments and the rake in live games keeps getting higher, a lot of poker rooms are being closed down and even the prestigious and innovative TOC is history. What do you think: is the future of poker golden- or maybe not?
I think the future for European poker in general, and Dutch poker in particular, looks good. We continue to grow, and we have a small, but solid player base. The tournaments become bigger every year, and we are even thinking about starting a second "Master-like" tournament in the future. On the other hand, we don't want to spoil our success- we want to keep the Master Classics as special as it is now. Also, we have big plans regarding you, Marcel Lüske* and the Dutch poker team, and we are fortunate to have so many excellent and capable, but also friendly people playing in our casino regularly. I cannot speak for the U.S.A. or Australia, but for Europe the future of poker looks good.
* also featured in this series

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