BlackMetalHead Interview

October 20, 2006

Hey all, here is an interview I did with BlackMetalHead of FTP. He is a very accomplished tourney player, a big cash player on FTP and a real cool guy. So here it is and enjoy!

Name: Tommy Rau
Age:28
Sites you play on: Fulltilt, Stars, Bodog, UB, Pokerroom
Screen Names: BlackMetalhead, OneRoundEye, Breastmilk
Years pro: 2

JZarse:What games do you normally play? (stakes, variation)
BMH:I guess I should start by saying I love to gamble. Poker is the only form of gambling other than the stock market I have ever had any success with. That said, give me some cards and some chips and I’m ready to go; you can teach me the rules as we go. NL Hold’em is my bread and butter though, anywhere from 5/10 to 50/100. Although I usually don’t play the higher unless I think the game is good. I’m always looking for a good game and 5/10nl and 10/20nl is almost always a good game. 25/50 and up just sometimes isn’t worth it for me. I find that if I take a big hit there it can affect my game and I start spewing money everywhere else I’m playing. I’ll play any form of poker though. I really love all of them. I’m just not very good at some.

JZarse:How did you get started playing poker? Who was your biggest inspiration?

BMH:I have been playing cards since I can remember. Pinochle was always the game of choice in my family. I still love that game but rarely get a chance to play anymore. If it was spread at the casino I would play all the time. As far as poker is concerned I learned how to play 5 card draw and 7 card stud when I was a wee lil’ kid. When I was playing music full time I started playing poker online during downtimes (which is a lot). I used to play so many freerolls it was sick. I actually started skipping band practices to play in tournaments, and I was awful. I had no hope, seriously. Finally by some freakish stroke of luck I cashed in a pacific poker 1mil. guaranteed tournament. I’m not sure how I even got into that tournament but it was my first taste of a bankroll. It probably lasted about a week. Eventually I was working a 9-5 and putting half of my paychecks into poker every week in an attempt to learn the game. One day I started playing a 1/2nl game real LAG and something just clicked. I don’t know how else to explain it. I mean I wasn’t good but at that moment I realized I could beat the game. And a few months later I had a 50k bankroll and I quit my job. My inspirations generally fall outside the realm of poker and more into the art/music genre. Anyone who is an innovator or defied odds really inspires me. Charles Mingus, who was a jazz musician/composer was an incredible person and has an incredible story. Malcolm X and Rocky Balboa are also on my top ten list.
JZarse:What is the best and worst thing about playing poker for a living?
BMH:I played music for a living before poker and the lifestyle was something I was really struggling giving up when I had a “real” job; getting that back was something that has been one thing that I haven’t ever regretted for a second. On the flip side of the coin, I never realize how much time I actually spend playing poker unless I’m either reminded of what a degenerate I am or I step back and realize I played 100 hours of poker in a week . For me though when you are getting up at 7am every morning to go to work it’s a fucking grind on your soul and playing poker just doesn’t feel like that. I love my job and when I want to do something else, albeit party or go somewhere I can do that.
As far as swings are concerned yeah they suck a lot and it can be ridiculously frustrating but it comes with the territory and .until you get past it I don’t think you are ready to play for a living.

JZarse:Recently, you had a great run taking 5th place in the 500k guaranteed on FTP,
what were your feelings on the tournament and what did you do to celebrate?
BMH:First of all I love FTP tourneys(free plug-red me), the blind structure is really flat and in the later stages if you manage to get some chips you can actually play some post flop poker occasionally. As far as that tourney is concerned, aside from one or two hands it actually went extremely smooth until the final table. The one hand that sticks out occurred when we were down to about 15ish and I had raised two off the cutoff with a6o. The cutoff, who I have played with a lot and is definitely capable of making some moves with marginal holdings, shoved on me. I was getting 2.3-1 and after some deliberation I made the call. He had QQ and I ended up with a boat and won a big pot. Later I ran his range through pokerstove and depending on what I gave him as his range it was a marginal call. I could have easily been a 3-1 dog, I could have easily been ahead too. In the end I think I wanted to knock someone out and I wanted to send the message that I wasn’t just going to fold anytime someone raised, and I needed to make that known while I still had the chips to do it. Regardless that was the only hand that I played that I think was questionable. Most tournaments I play I can usually find something to beat myself up over, but in that one I was pretty happy except for the fact that I didn’t suck out to stay alive at the final table.
As far as celebrations I really didn’t do shit after that one. September was a pretty bad month for me in cash games so the money just replenished what had previously dissipated. I still owe myself a night of debauchery though, oh and I owe myself a hot tub I’ve just been too lazy to get one. But not because of the tourney win, just cause a man’s gotta have his stuff.

JZarse:Do you have any superstitions when you play poker? (Certain hands, routine)

BMH:I’m an extremely laid back and potentially lazy son-of-a-bitch so for most of my short poker playing career it has essentially been wake up and start playing until I either pass out or build up an enormous stack at a cash table and then donk it off when I can’t lay down an overpair because the guy with the set, is “on a flush draw.” Recently though after some introspection I decided that I would try to be a bit more disciplined. I actually get up, pretend to throw some weights around, shower, eat breakfast, and try to actually have some semblance of focus when I start my day. I think at a point if you want to become a great player you have to realize it’s not enough to want to just be good enough to beat the people that you are playing with. You really want to be able to dominate them. And I think to do that you have to always try and expand your game to new levels and be focused on the game. It’s so easy to play online poker half-assed. I mean I do it all the time, whether it be talking to people, watching TV, getting high, or whatever. It’s just easy to not be all there and then play like shit because of it. Even more than that though I think the time I spend not being focused as time when I could be improving. As far as superstitions are concerned I do own a “luckbox” that I bought on ebay after running bad and a buddy hit me up on IM and said “you need a new luckbox.” I got on ebay and typed in luckbox and one actually popped up. It was a Tibetan luckbox that was 17 cents, shipping was 27 dollars from China but it was so hilarious I had to get it. We’ve been together ever since. So I got that going for me, and I’ll sell it for fifty grand if anyone is interested.

JZarse:What do you think is the most important bit of information you could give to a
starting player?

BMH:If you are serious about the game, think about the game as much as you can. Learn the math, and then play the game that makes you feel comfortable. Our styles should always be evolving and be a reflection of us as individuals on some level if we want to be playing our best and improving. I guess I’m trying to say that you have to play a game that is true to yourself. And of course you are going to absorb players you watch and admire, but you can’t be successful by pure emulation. You have to find your game. That sounds real cheesy but that’s how I feel, so whatever. Also you have to have a lot of gamble in you to be successful in this business. You can’t be scared to put your chips in the middle. There is a great story in A. Alvarez’s book about him learning the game with his father when he was younger. His dad was a mathematician who had a lot of insight into game theory and they were discussing whether or not to put your chips in the middle in situations where it might be unclear as to whether or not you are ahead or behind. What his dad told him was to put them in. Not for reasons hinging on mathematics but because it’s more fun. It’s like what Slim said, “it feels better in.”
I look at poker as an art form. You should be cognizant of how every move you make is painting a picture in your opponents head and use that to your advantage. And be creative, there are so many ways that you can take down a pot in this game. People are always saying, “never limp with aces,” or “never just call,” or “never do a lot of stuff” but I think that’s complete bullshit. There is nothing you should never do. There is a time for everything in this game and people who say never do this or never do that are never gonna be great.

JZarse:As most players know, poker can be a very frustrating game, was there any
point where you wanted to give it up? How do you deal with terrible nights
and running bad?

BMH:I have never wanted to give it up. Sometimes I have had brief moments of fear where I know I’m running bad and also probably playing bad and am just kind of like “what the fuck is going on?” I think these times are where you have to really man up and show the competitive side of yourself. You gotta get pissed off at yourself, get back up, and get at it harder than before. Running bad is a lot like getting your ass kicked by your big brother when you are a kid, it’s an unwinnable battle but you get up and you hit him again and again and again. Eventually he’ll get tired of pummeling your face, you’ll flop a boat and life will be good.

JZarse:What do you do to continually improve your game, do you read books? If so
which do you feel is the most important to your game?

BMH:HOH v.2 is in my opinion the single most important tournament book that has ever been written. That being said I think that reading every piece of shit that’s ever been written about poker is extremely beneficial to your game. Reading trash and understanding that it’s trash and why it is what it is a huge confidence builder not to mention the fact that it gives you a better perspective as to how other people play the game, which in itself is an extremely important aspect of the game. That said, there are some great books about poker, like the new Sklanksy NL book, which is definitely worth picking up. On the question of improving continually I think that it’s a life long process and that as long as you are thinking about it, talking about it, and playing it, you will continue to improve.

JZarse:What’s the first expensive thing you decided to buy when you became a
successful poker player and why?

BMH:I have a big ass TV, an insane amount of musical equipment, and I spend a fairly healthy amount of money on things of consumption. I also bought a truck, but I think I’m gonna get a caddy soon. And I live in a pretty sweet house. I need a hot tub though. Did I mention that already? Honestly though I’m just trying to build a bigger and bigger roll.

JZarse:What are your plans for the future as far as poker (ex. any WPT events,
traveling) and life in general?

BMH:I’m going to start playing more of the big live tournies pretty soon. I play them occasionally but I want to play more. I’m hoping now that I’ve shifted my focus from cash games to tournaments that I will be able to score some sponsorship. Other than that I’m gonna just keep having fun being a degenerate and try to keep myself away from the blackjack tables.

Popularity: 20% [?]

Posted by JZarse | Filed Under Poker Player Interviews

Comments

3 Responses to “BlackMetalHead Interview”

admin on October 20th, 2006 3:43 pm

Nice job on the interview! I re-categorized this as a “player interview” instead of a report, so its now also in the interviews page.
miss powers on November 4th, 2006 4:50 pm

have watched BMH for afew years now and must say he is a great player and a f***ing crease at the table! (come back to betfred dude!!!!!!!) peace out
L33Tbluff on May 10th, 2007 2:57 am

Sweet review, Been watchin BMH since the Titan poker $5/$10 days and have always had alot of respect for this dude

GL in your journey and I hope I can follow in your footsteps

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