Interview with Isaac Haxton

​

 

Charles Hawk: Why don't you play husng hypers?

Isaac Haxton: I don't think I'm as good as the best regs and 1ks aren't big enough for me to put in the time to improve. If I'm behind pace for SNE later in the year, that might change.

Charles Hawk: Are you familliar with the idea of divisions in husngs?

Isaac Haxton: yeah

Charles Hawk: What's your personal opinion on that? Is it good for the game? Is it fair/ethical?

Isaac Haxton: I haven't given it a whole lot of thought. It's not something I'm interested in participating in personally and it's not something that has interfered in my ability to play the games I want to play.

Isaac Haxton: It doesn't seem unethical to me.

Isaac Haxton: I'm skeptical that it's a beneficial arrangement for the best players. It seems to me that the second tier guys who get protected by/from the best players are getting the better end of the arrangement.

Isaac Haxton: And of course the second tier guys who are not party to these agreements get screwed. But the base case in a king of the hill environment is that people who can't compete with the kings of the hill get screwed.

Charles Hawk: Who in your opinion are better husng turbo players than you?

Isaac Haxton: I was mainly thinking of gr33n and skaiwalkurr, but there could easily be more.

Charles Hawk: How about VbV1990?

Isaac Haxton: oh, did you mean turbo or hyper?

Isaac Haxton: oh my bad

Isaac Haxton: no one is better than me at turbos ;)

Charles Hawk: Who are the closest rivals in your opinion?

Isaac Haxton: gr33n is the toughest I've played at turbos by a pretty wide margin.

Charles Hawk: I just asked VbV about his opinion on HUSNG TURBO players. He said that Daniel „w00ki3z./jungleman12“ Cates is the toughest opponent for him.

Isaac Haxton: interesting, I haven't played Cates yet actually

Charles Hawk: He is the 2014 Sharkscopes profit leader :)

Isaac Haxton: wow I had no idea. Maybe we should play some games :)

Charles Hawk: Ye, that would be super interesting!

Charles Hawk: Why is your volume so low in husngs?

Isaac Haxton: no one will play me at 5ks and I'm not very interested in playing lower

Isaac Haxton: If I could 3-table 5ks against any of the regs, I'd be very happy to do it.

Charles Hawk: Hah would be awesome if Daniel Cates would agree to play against you some husng games!!

Isaac Haxton: yeah, that would be fun.

Charles Hawk: Do you have any daily routine?

Isaac Haxton: Not much. I try to meditate every day. Aside from that, my daily routine isn't very consistent at all.

Isaac Haxton: I tend to sleep very inconsistent hours.

Charles Hawk: Why meditation? What are you gaining from it? Are you doing it insted of working out or doing some other regular physical activities?

Isaac Haxton: I've always been a sorta nervous, scatter-brained person. I find meditation helps with my anxiety and with my focus.

Isaac Haxton: I've read a few books about it. I'd recommend 8 Minute Meditation to people who just want some practical advice to get started right away or Breath by Breath to people who also have some interest in Buddhist scripture and the history and theory behind meditation practices.

Isaac Haxton: I don't think it exactly substitutes for physical activity, but I'm a professional game player not a professional athlete. I care more about training my mind than my body.

Charles Hawk: Do you ever tilt?

Isaac Haxton: Definitely. I don't ever just go berserk and start openshoving every hand, but I absolutely am capable of getting frustrated and playing less than my best.

Isaac Haxton: I often notice that I'm starting to tilt because I'll begin making decisions faster than I usually do and I'll notice that I'm doing that even before I notice that I'm feeling frustrated or making mistakes.

Charles Hawk: If you were to come up with 3 specific tilt-control pieces of advice to yourself, what would they be?

Isaac Haxton: Don't play too many tables. It's all one long session. It's ok to quit before you're absolutely too exhausted to continue.

Charles Hawk: What are your main strengths and main weaknesses in poker?

Isaac Haxton: My biggest strength is definitely my away from the table work. I think I'm one of the best in the world at studying poker and understanding the theory behind the game and how to apply it.

Isaac Haxton: Weaknesses: I hate playing games I'm bad at and it's kept me from learning anything other than hold'em until pretty recently when I've finally been putting in some real volume at PLO. I'm bad at multitabling and I misclick a lot. My accounting and record keeping are pretty bad, which is a pretty big leak for a professional poker player.

Charles Hawk: How many hours are you spending on studying poker compared with grinding? Could you tell me a ratio?

Isaac Haxton: It varies a lot how I divide my time. Lifetime it's probably a 3 :1 or 4 : 1 ratio of playing to studying. Studying is much harder work.

Charles Hawk: Do you think about writing a poker theory book some day? Would you feel capable doing that right now if you had enough time and motivation?

Isaac Haxton: I think I could write a pretty good poker book, but I'm not very interested in sharing things that I think I know that other people don't.

Charles Hawk: How about if you would write a short-book (guide) on how to study poker? Do you think it would also be -EV to you as a player?

Isaac Haxton: Yeah, I think that would be very -EV for me, unfortunately.

Charles Hawk: You have had great success in live MTTs. Any plans about transitioning from PS team online to PS PRO team?

Isaac Haxton: nah, i'm first and foremost an online player

Isaac Haxton: I play a few live series a year and i'm SNE online

Charles Hawk: How many hours per day do you play online these days, on average? How much % of it is NL Holdem HU CASH?

Isaac Haxton: It varies a lot

Isaac Haxton: During scoop I played probably 12-14 hours a day

Isaac Haxton: Usually if i'm at home it's more like 6 though

Isaac Haxton: And I often go weeks without playing

Isaac Haxton: If i'm at a live tournament or something

Charles Hawk: Any successes in SCOOP?

Isaac Haxton: Nah, just a couple mincashes in scoop

Charles Hawk: How do you feel about your PLO game? Can you compete on the highest level?

Isaac Haxton: I've been playing mostly 25/50 and it's been going ok

Isaac Haxton: I don't think I'm one of the best in the world

Charles Hawk: I have read that you prefer to play online more than grinding live. However, for such player as yourself, there are probably lots of juicy PLO ar NL Holdem cash games around the world (25/50 and more). Could you tell me why playing online is more interesting to you?

Isaac Haxton: In a fast live cash game, you can get maybe 40 hands an hour. Usually it's a good bit less. Grinding online I play 300-400 hands an hour no problem. So I'd have to be beating a live game for around 10 times as much per hand to be making more money.

Isaac Haxton: Obviously if the stakes are very high and the game is soft, that's doable. And I am willing to pursue that sometimes when it seems like a particularly good opportunity.

Isaac Haxton: But I also just prefer to be at home, playing on my own schedule, eating and sleeping when I want.

Isaac Haxton: In addition to not getting many hands per hour in a live game, you have to do a bunch of additional "work" to even get in the game. Travel, time spent on the waitlist waiting for a seat, etc.

Charles Hawk: Eric "paddygo" Sullivan told me a lot about "happiness ev" as a most importang thing to him. What is more enjoyable for you: grinding online or playing live?

Charles Hawk: And if you would need to describe your own "happinnes ev" formula (related with poker) what it would be?

Isaac Haxton: I think in terms of my "happiness EV," variety is good for me.

Isaac Haxton: I like to mostly play online, but big live tournaments are a lot of fun too. Something like 5 or 6 live tournament series, preferably ones with some really big buy in side events, a year and the rest of my time playing online is pretty perfect for me.

Charles Hawk: Do you play any OFC or OFC Pinapple?:)

Isaac Haxton: I've been meaning to learn, but no, I don't.

Charles Hawk: Tony G launched poker software in which everyone can play it. :) As I know it's only the second software which did that. Are you familliar with why PS is not including it?

Isaac Haxton: I should make it clear that I don't speak for Pokerstars in any official way when I say this, but my understanding is that Pokerstars prefers to offer only traditional poker games to avoid complicating their legal situation in any of the dozens of countries where they operate.

Isaac Haxton: Because of the lack of a normal poker betting structure, OFC is a fundamental different sort of game from anything Stars currently offers. I guess we don't offer OFC for the same reason we don't offer Gin or Backgammon.

Charles Hawk: Have you ever coached for money (someone outside your circuit)?

Isaac Haxton: I have, but not for a while.

Charles Hawk: Any idea what you would evaluate your hour/$ as if someone were to talk you into coaching him?

Isaac Haxton: Haha. If I'm not actually offering the service, quoting a rate would just be bragging :)

Charles Hawk: How often do you travel back home to the US? Do you miss your homeland? Do you feel like you belong in Malta in all existential means?

Isaac Haxton: Not very often, don't miss it much. Mainly just the convenience of living somewhere where I'm an actual citizen.

Isaac Haxton: I like Malta but I'm not sure I'd say I feel a sense of belonging here.

Isaac Haxton: I'm not sure a sense of belonging is very important to me. I don't think I felt a sense of belonging in the US particularly either.

Charles Hawk: What are your hobbies? How do you balance poker?

Isaac Haxton: I wouldn't say balance is something I excel at.

Isaac Haxton: I like spending time with my wife. I like to play Magic. I like food.

Charles Hawk: How about movies or books?

Isaac Haxton: I only really watch movies on planes. Can't remember the last book I read :(

Charles Hawk: Are you watching any sitcoms or TV series?

Isaac Haxton: not since breaking bad ended. That's the only series I've watched all of in a while

Isaac Haxton: i saw the first few episodes of The Americans recently and might watch more of it. It's good

Charles Hawk:  How many kids would you like to have?

Isaac Haxton: 2 or 3 i guess

Isaac Haxton: 1 seems like a mistake and 4+ seems like a lot of work

Charles Hawk: When can the poker world can expect to hear about you being a father?

Isaac Haxton: not in the next year but probably in the next five

Charles Hawk: What would you do for a living if you did not play poker?

Isaac Haxton: Before I got serious about poker, I was on track to get a degree in computer science and go to graduate school.

Isaac Haxton: Academic computer science seems likely.

Charles Hawk: Do you stake anyone? Do you buy any action? How about sport betting?

Isaac Haxton: I do a little staking. No sports betting.

Isaac Haxton: For buying pieces, I just buy anything I see that looks good.

Charles Hawk: How do you select whom to stake?

Isaac Haxton: For longer term stuff, trust is really important so I mainly work with friends.

Charles Hawk: Have you had any scams?

Isaac Haxton: I once backed a guy who stole from me but it wasn't a huge amount.

Isaac Haxton: I bought wsop package and the guy only played about half the tournaments I paid for and then just disappeared with the money

Charles Hawk: If you would need to coach a losing player to play HUNL, what would be the first 3 pieces of advice that you would give him?

Isaac Haxton: Use a tracker/hud is the first one for sure, review your hands at the end of your sessions, quit people who are beating you and try to play people you're beating.

Charles Hawk: Do you autopilot a lot? How do you deal with it?

Isaac Haxton: Yeah, sometimes. Sometimes autopilot is good enough. If you're going to play a tough opponent, you have to commit to playing your best and quit if you're not feeling up to it anymore.

Charles Hawk: What is the most expensive thing you bought for yourself?

Isaac Haxton: I think the most expensive thing I've ever bought is the Prius my wife and I own, which only she drives since I don't have a license.

Isaac Haxton: Well actually no one drives it now, it's in the US.

Charles Hawk: Do you have any rules about what not to do while grinding?

Isaac Haxton: No distractions like TV or podcasts. Just music. Can't think of much else.

Short film about Isaac Haxton: www.youtube.com/watch?v=E1_vyRK7woc">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E1_vyRK7woc" target="_blank">CLICK HERE

---

Isaac Haxton: My dad just published a book about my life

Isaac Haxton: It's called www.amazon.com/Fading-Hearts-River-High-Stakes-Poker/dp/1619023253">http://www.amazon.com/Fading-Hearts-River-High-Stakes-Poker/dp/1619023253" target="_blank">Fading Hearts on the River (by Brooks Haxton)

-----

Charles Hawk: What are your goals for 2014, both poker and non-poker related?

Isaac Haxton: Play a lot of PLO and get very good at it. Win one drop.

Isaac Haxton: Keep up with my accounting. Meditate a lot.

Charles Hawk: Best of luck in One drop!!!:)

Isaac Haxton: ty :)