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Ace Meets... Keith "Bendigo" Sloan

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, hoe 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 Keith "Bendigo" Sloan, one of the most influential poker personalities in Australia, and one of the driving forces behind the poker explosion in Russia. Poker Digest cruisers might remember him from his involvement in the first Mediterranean cruise, where he was in charge of (the cash game side of) the poker room. Keith is the tournament director for the "Aussie Millions" in Melbourne.

* 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?
I am a person who for many years enjoyed playing live action poker in Australia and America. My major accomplishment in poker would be having made a good living playing poker and maintained a wonderful marriage and family at the same time. My second major achievement is that I believe I have managed to put something back into poker and contributed to the future of the game in Australia and New Zealand.

2. Date of birth, place of birth. Marital status, current and former jobs etc.
I was born May 19, 1951 in Australia. Married (30 years). Current job: Gaming Consultant, former jobs include Business Broker, financial adviser and property investor.

3. Where do you play poker? What games / limits? Do you prefer tournaments or cash games and why?
I don't play poker too often now because in Australia and New Zealand I am licensed and I am not permitted by law to play in casinos. But I occasionally play in Russia; the games are pot limit Hold'em or Omaha and the limits I play are usually the lowest games spread. I prefer cash games, and the reason is that I have never managed to win a tournament so obviously my poker skills are better suited to cash games.

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 have read many poker books - all the normal ones, Brunson, Caro, McEvoy, Sklanksy etc. Mike Caro had a huge influence on my game because it honed by knowledge of tells.

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?
My behavior at the poker table was always impeccable because I wanted to attract customers and also wanted to be treated well by the poker room staff. I also believe in good manners - whether it is at a poker table or a dining table.

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?
My main strengths are patience, money management, game selection and I seem to have a sixth sense and can read players very well. I was never concerned about being well liked by the pros but mutual respect was important.

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)?
Accurate records are the only way to keep score. I had a very simple formula when I was playing for a living over many years. I always kept 100% accurate records, always available for my wife to examine whenever she wished. All wins, losses, (reason for losses), hourly rates, games played, tournament entry fees, tournament cash receipts, travel and accommodation costs etc.

8. What do you think are the most important characteristics of the professional tournament player?
Emotional control, and the ability to change gears.

9. What do you think are the most important characteristics of the professional money player?
Money management and game selection.

10. Would you rather be a top tournament or a top money player and why?
Tournament player, because of the chance for a really big score that is always there.

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 choose not to answer this question, because I don't know enough players and I don't think that it is possible to list a single player.

12. It's a fact that a lot of tournament stars don't perform very well in cash games. Do you know any top tournament players you would welcome in a live game and why?
Yes, I know plenty of tournament players I enjoyed playing live action with. I enjoyed it because I don't believe they play good live poker. However, I don't think it's appropriate to mention names here.

13. It's also a fact that a lot of excellent cash game players don't do well in tournaments. Which top money players would you welcome in the big tournaments "as there will be more dead money now"?
I don't do well in tournaments so I guess I am the one that the tournament players would welcome in big tournaments.

14. 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?
I think the current situation is OK, Rolf. I also believe that you are embarking on a very difficult assignment, but I wish you all the best of luck.

15. 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?
In tournaments I tip up to 5% and in cash games I tip whatever is considered to be the accepted amount in the country I play in. One of the reasons poker is not growing is because it is very difficult for the house to make money and poker players don't understand this. It would be a good exercise for all poker players who complain about tipping to manage a poker room and see just how hard it is and also how difficult poker players are as customers. By not tipping I believe you are further damaging the reputation of poker players and contributing to the worldwide belief that poker players are very tight with money and not valuable customers for casinos. They are always looking for "something for nothing".

16. What are your favorite poker places in the world and why?
Australia, because the atmosphere is generally much friendlier than other places and the security and surveillance is superior to anything I have seen anywhere in the world.

17. 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?
I agree with your comments.

18. 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 believe weaker players have more hope of winning in pot limit hold'em than they do in pot limit Omaha. The reason for this is because good pot limit Omaha players are very tight and are always playing for the nuts, but to win at pot limit Hold'em playing tight is not always the answer as it is not a game where playing for the nuts is correct strategy.

19. 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?
Poker players in general pay far too much attention to the rules of the game. They get hooked up with all the silly little things. You mention English only, one player per hand etc. If you want people to stay and play at your table and if you believe you are good enough and have an edge in the game then why not let your opponents do whatever they want, so long as they are having a good time and losing money to you.

20. Do you regularly visit or even contribute to discussion forums and newsgroups like TwoPlusTwo, RGP, Poker Pages and / or European-poker.com? If so, which do you think is best and why? Also, on RGP you can post anything you like, but on TwoPlusTwo a lot of posts are deleted because they are deemed offending, inappropriate etc. In my opinion, there is a lot less unfriendliness and personal attacking on TwoPlusTwo than on RGP, maybe because of this. On the other hand, quite a few people claim that most posters who are barred from TwoPlusTwo are barred simply because they disagree with the ones who are running the forum (Mason Malmuth, David Sklansky and Ray Zee). Do you have any opinions on this?
I do visit the notice boards and contribute but I believe they should try to focus more on information and assistance to new players than they do now.

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?
If poker is going to grow there are many areas that need to be addressed and one of them is the cost to the operators. Poker players want more and more for free without realizing that the operators must make a profit in order to stay in business. Unless there are many changes the future of poker is limited. I ask that you look at Vegas, the gambling Mecca of the world and tell me that Poker is alive and well, I don't believe it is. I also believe the only reason poker is working in other states in America is because in most of them there is no full licensed casinos in the state.
I hope I have not appeared to be too negative in my responses to your questions. I have been involved in poker for many years in many different capacities and regret that the industry has a long way to go if it is to survive and prosper.

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