 |
Full Tilt pro Erick Lindgren had, it’s fair to say, a stormer of a WSOP in 2008, bagging himself a bracelet, a slew of cashes, and the WSOP Player of the Series in the bargain. As the poker world gears up for another Vegas onslaught, we caught up with the genial chap (going through the tail-end of a nasty cold) at the WPT World Championship to gauge his thoughts ahead of the summer’s action.
So, Erick a couple of cashes in the WPT this season…
I did?!!
Yes, apparently, unless they’re making up results now.
Haha, OK, whatever you say.
So, a couple of nice WPT cashes to set you up for the WSOP this summer.
Yeah, last time was December at the Bellagio [at the ??????] when I was really unlucky not to make the final table. The players at the WPTs are a lot tougher nowadays so it’s always going to be tough.
How do you rate the WPT alongside other festivals?
The WPT events now have the best structure by far, and the best players want to play them. It’s the best judge of talent. I’m looking over your shoulder at the players inside [he was, too – Ed] and you can see the world’s best in there for a $25,000 event.
World Series last year, you had such great success with your tournament cashes. Were you disappointed with just the one bracelet out of all those money finishes?
Yeah [sighs]. That’s one of the things. You get down to that final table and you need to win. Luckily I got the one bracelet, a couple of 3rds, a 4th, but I know when I watch someone who’s running hot and DON’T win, well then they’re screwed. You don’t get there often enough and you have to make them pay. But the structures have been altered to make the games more appealing and as long as I make big enough side bets, I’ll look for myself to do well this year [laughs].
As that what you put it down to – the structures?
Yeah. I’ve been playing poker for 13 years now and I need the extra motivation. I need plenty of side bets and good structures. They should help the better players and I think I’m one of those guys.
Do you find that generally with the other guys who’ve been around a while – they all need the juice?
It certainly helps. Anything that takes to re-energize you, get you fired up, that’s a good thing.
But now the kids coming through are immediately getting into that habit of needing the next big fix.
I hope they do! Let’s get them in and see how they do. But I love the internet guys – they have a great passion for the game. I’d like to see them get into playing more games, play the Limit games.
So you’ve got respect for guys like Tom Dwan, who should make quite an impact at the WSOP this year, you’d think?
I met Tom Dwan when he was 20 years old or something, outside of the World Series. He was staking other players in the events and he wasn’t even old enough to set foot in the casino! Tom’s a quality guy all-round, and he’s great for poker.
Will the recession have a major effect on the WSOP?
No, I think the numbers will be fine. The reason the numbers were down for the WPT here is that the EPT San Remo was clashing with it and that attracted a record field. Poker’s on fire in Europe and I think that’s where we’ll get our players this summer, despite what’s happening in the U.S. I don’t think the numbers will be down, even in this economy, and that’s amazing for me to say that.
And one last one - I’m a WSOP virgin making my way over. How do I go about choosing which events to play in?
Well, aim for the lower buy-in No Limit events. They’re usually quite soft. You won’t get a ton of play for your buck but there are some really bad players in them. They’re really crapshooty so if you don’t fancy that, play some live satellites to get into the higher $5,000 and above events. As for strategy, nothing really apart from – get some f**king chips! |
