Phil Galfond talks about high-stakes online poker and Isildur1.
This month’s Poker Player UK features some interesting interview videos with Phil Galfond, the high-stakes online poker player and WSOP Pot Limit Omaha bracelet winner known as “OMGClayAiken.” The three videos cover a lot of ground, including several minutes of chat about the exploits of nosebleed-stakes maniac Isildur1.
The first video is all about Isildur1’s legendary loss late last year to Brian Hastings. Galfond gives Isildur1 lots of credit despite the loss, saying, “As far as winning $6 million and then losing it all back, I don’t think you can read too much into that because of the stakes he’s playing and the players.”
At one point Galfond is asked whether he thinks he could’ve had the same results as Hastings did in his match with the mystery Swede. His response? “As a poker player you learn to look at things in terms of expected value and not to be so results-oriented, but it’s a little bit disappointing to know that (playing Isildur1) is a situation I could’ve been in but wasn’t.” Galfond, of course, got a chance to play an epic match with Isildur1 last week and beat him for $1.2 million.
As for those who say that Isildur1 should have just cashed out when he was ahead, Galfond says that’s a narrow view. “It depends on what he’s looking to get out of poker. If he really loves the swings and the competition of playing the best in the world on many tables, he was doing exactly what he should have – as long as he accepts that swings of $6 million either way are possible.” The role of variance is something that Galfond himself understands well, as evidenced by his latest blog post.
Check out the video above for Phil Galfond’s thoughts on the Durrrr-Isildur1 matches, and then watch this video and this final video to catch the rest of an interview with one of high-stakes poker’s most grounded players. And check out this story in Bluff Europe for more OMGClayAiken knowledge.
Read this article:
OMG Online Poker! Phil Galfond Talks Isildur1
