Ask Me Anything (Dusty Schmidt aka Leatherass in the well)

[The Dark Side]

First of All. Congrats! your doing great things.



My question is kind of winded. Well not really. How do you run so good? Taking advice youve given to others and having watched several of your videos have helped my game alot. Im 16 tabling trying to get used to grinding out the hands. I have no problem dealing with the volume But Im on a downswing of epic freakin proportions.

Im layed off from my job and working for a few temp agencies who rarely have work. So Im trying to figure this online poker thing out in the meantime. But Im seeming to lose my biggest pots to bad beats. Any tips on running better? And anything you have on that. I dont think Ive ever ran good for more than a day or two without losing some big pots where my EV was through the roof. Your experience? Ive seen the video you made (which is hilarious) but how do you ride it out? It been going on for 50K+ hands for me.


Thanks for taking the time to do this.

If you have an extra second.

 

[Leatherass]

Guess I'll be "that guy" who gets the ball rolling again.

I just read the "Ace in the House" article. The more I read about you the more I feel motivated to stop being such a jackass an get back on track doing things right, in poker and out. Having 99% of a BA in Psych makes me interested in the psychology angle of things, especially as it pertains to the hero, not just what's the villain up to.

What kinds of things did you learn in your time working with the sport's psychologist? Specifically, what kinds of concepts and exercises did he teach you to apply? What would you say was the most important thing you learned working with him?

Do you need any promotion or other conceptual help with any of your endeavors? I'd be interested in using some of my down time that is not poker work to further the poker related philanthropy, and perhaps gain some interesting experience and connections. Feel free to PM.

#296

I think the most important thing I learned from Jared Tendler was to simply try and be as logical as possible. Once I started striving to do everything logically a million different things fell in place.

 

[Leatherass]

After reading the post above and hearing how you feel about CC as a community, I want to ask this...

Are you going to hang around CC now? Or can you really not do that due to you being with DTB? And also, I would love to see you in a couple of our tournaments. I want to stealz your blindz!

#298

I would love to be around here more. I am pretty sure I will be here from time to time. I really enjoy this site and think the members are great.

 

[Leatherass]

I love that article, Dusty, you are a true gent, AND a top guy.
GL to you and your family.

One small question, do you sleep normally at night, like most people, or are you playing poker thru the night, and sleeping when the games dry up. Are you a degenerate night-player, like I aspire to be, lol????

#301

I try to keep a schedule since I play golf fairly often and if I get to staying up too late then it makes 9AM starting times sound like the worst idea on the planet.

 

[Leatherass]

First of All. Congrats! your doing great things.



My question is kind of winded. Well not really. How do you run so good? Taking advice youve given to others and having watched several of your videos have helped my game alot. Im 16 tabling trying to get used to grinding out the hands. I have no problem dealing with the volume But Im on a downswing of epic freakin proportions.

Im layed off from my job and working for a few temp agencies who rarely have work. So Im trying to figure this online poker thing out in the meantime. But Im seeming to lose my biggest pots to bad beats. Any tips on running better? And anything you have on that. I dont think Ive ever ran good for more than a day or two without losing some big pots where my EV was through the roof. Your experience? Ive seen the video you made (which is hilarious) but how do you ride it out? It been going on for 50K+ hands for me.


Thanks for taking the time to do this.

If you have an extra second.

Did you ask me if I had any tips on how to run better? LOL too funny.

In all seriousness though, you just have to tough it out. I have had a dozen stretches that long. It is part of the game.

 

[thepokerkid123]

How do you play well over large volume?
How often do you lose your edge due to tilt?

Any thoughts on balancing aggression and pot control? I tend to make my range kind of transparent when I have showdown value but not enough to value bet, or I lose my showdown value by turning my hand into a bluff (with outs!). Any opinions?

 

[Leatherass]

How do you play well over large volume?
How often do you lose your edge due to tilt?

Any thoughts on balancing aggression and pot control? I tend to make my range kind of transparent when I have showdown value but not enough to value bet, or I lose my showdown value by turning my hand into a bluff (with outs!). Any opinions?

#307

You are actually going to get some great tips on this in Jared Tendler's new book that is coming out in a few months. Jared is my mental game coach and he is fantastic at what he does. If you are eager to find out more of what he has to say you can pick up a copy of my book at http://www.dustyschmidt.net where he wrote 5 chapters in my book on the mental game approach. I wish I had more to offer you in the way of free advice, but unfortunately that really isn't my area of expertise.

I think I would need a more specific question in regards to your last question. I have no idea how to answer that one.

 

[Mortis]

If you have answered this question before, I apologize for asking it again:

Since you are over the 65 newbie posts, do you plan on playing in any of the CardsChat freeroll or buy-in games?

 

[dg1267]

If you have answered this question before, I apologize for asking it again:

Since you are over the 65 newbie posts, do you plan on playing in any of the CardsChat freeroll or buy-in games?

I'm pretty sure he's too scared to because I told him I'd steal his blinds!

 

[Debi]

I'm pretty sure he's too scared to because I told him I'd steal his blinds!

I'm pretty sure it would cost him too much to spend hours in a freeroll lol.

 

[dg1267]

I'm pretty sure it would cost him too much to spend hours in a freeroll lol.

Thunder stealer!!!

 

[TPC]

+1, Booo Dax!! He was going to do it too, I'm sure.

 

[dmorris68]

I'm pretty sure it would cost him too much to spend hours in a freeroll lol.

Hey, he already 24 tables, he could just cut one of 'em and play the CC tourney as #24.

(would not want to think about 23 tabling cash while playing a tourney. Ewww)

 

[bubonicplay]

Just wanted to let you know I've always admired your work ethic/approach to the game ever since I first started and discovered your blog. Few questions:

1. How do you react to people who say you provide nothing to society? And please don't answer taxes/charity because there are plenty of people out there who provide a service and help other people while still donating to charities/paying taxes.

2. You claim that anyone with a lot of hard work can make decent money playing poker and while that may be true now do you think about the implications and the fact that if everyone attempted this it would no longer be true?

3. You seem to get a lot of hate from certain other internet forums that I won't name, mostly I think because there are people that you admit would probably have an edge on you HU but because of your approach/attitude towards the games you are making more money than them. How do you deal with people who go out of their way to embarass you/trash your image? It would be easy if you weren't a coach that made videos and such where your image is important. How do you handle those attacks?

4. Best steak you've ever had?

5. Best restaurant in Vegas?

6. Planning on playing in the wsop ME this year?

7. If there was a 6max table with one giant fish with 2,000bb and 4 other solid regulars you felt you had no edge on with 100bb each, how high of stakes would you play? What about a dream table with 5 other huge reloading/deep fish?

8. All the other tables are packed with regulars and not worth playing but there is one table with all fish. How low would it have to be where you wouldn't play it and would rather either not play at all or just keep looking for a decent table?

9. Do you think it's as silly as I do that some people think 20 buy-ins is enough for proper BRM?

10. You tired of answering my questions yet?

 

[Leatherass]

Just wanted to let you know I've always admired your work ethic/approach to the game ever since I first started and discovered your blog. Few questions:

1. How do you react to people who say you provide nothing to society? And please don't answer taxes/charity because there are plenty of people out there who provide a service and help other people while still donating to charities/paying taxes.

2. You claim that anyone with a lot of hard work can make decent money playing poker and while that may be true now do you think about the implications and the fact that if everyone attempted this it would no longer be true?

3. You seem to get a lot of hate from certain other internet forums that I won't name, mostly I think because there are people that you admit would probably have an edge on you HU but because of your approach/attitude towards the games you are making more money than them. How do you deal with people who go out of their way to embarass you/trash your image? It would be easy if you weren't a coach that made videos and such where your image is important. How do you handle those attacks?

4. Best steak you've ever had?

5. Best restaurant in Vegas?

6. Planning on playing in the wsop ME this year?

7. If there was a 6max table with one giant fish with 2,000bb and 4 other solid regulars you felt you had no edge on with 100bb each, how high of stakes would you play? What about a dream table with 5 other huge reloading/deep fish?

8. All the other tables are packed with regulars and not worth playing but there is one table with all fish. How low would it have to be where you wouldn't play it and would rather either not play at all or just keep looking for a decent table?

9. Do you think it's as silly as I do that some people think 20 buy-ins is enough for proper BRM?

10. You tired of answering my questions yet?

1. I really don't react. I just don't really care what people think. I am happy in my life and my family is doing great so there is just no reason for me to bother thinking about what someone else is thinking about me.

2. Well you could say that about anything really. If everyone tried to be a quarterback in the NFL, a guy as talented as Peyton Manning might not even be good enough since the bar for excellence would be super high with the whole world trying.

3. I used to react and defend my positions, but I realized that even if you prove things to people, they will just believe what they want to believe. There are also a lot of people who try to make a name for themselves through me. The logic goes that if they get on their little internet forum and call me out or challenge me to a HU match, then it just draws a bunch of attention to them and they seem to get something out of that.

So all things considering, I really don't bother with these people who are hateful in nature. It just isn't worth it and there is no point in getting worked up over screen names. I have a wife and a daughter and a business that I run, I really don't even have time anymore to spend on some screen name.

4. The times I have had Japanese kobe' there really is no beating that. Ringside steakhouse in Portland, OR (been as high as #3 steakhouse in the country before) has a wagyu filet that is the best traditional steak I have had.

5. I don't know about the best, but my favorite is Fix at the Bellagio.

6. Yes I am. In fact I may go there for the whole series this year and play a ton of events. I will play the ME if nothing else.

7. I am really such a pussy. I wouldn't probably play higher than 50/100nl. I just don't enjoy playing for ridiculous sums of money. If you ask me this in 5 years, I may say 300/600 or something, but right now I just don't feel rich enough to risk $100,000 on a given night. Most any other poker player would feel comfortable if they were in my shoes, but I just am not there yet.

8. I wouldn't play lower than 2/4nl if they were all fish. Maybe 1/2nl if they were deep.

9. In my book, Treat Your Poker Like A Business http://www.dustyschmidt.net I advocate 100 BI. I have never played a game that I didn't have 100 BI for.

10. Keep em coming

 

[The PoolBoy]

Dude...Cash games For real?

Dusty,
First off I totally appreciate you and your skills on cash games. What you have done and achieved is ..well quite frankly is amazing. Your contribution to this forum and continued responses to questions are very welcomed and appreciated by me and I'm very certain all contributing members. And, will look forward to reading all Q & A's in the future.
In the meanwhile... Any insights how a tourney ( STT and MTT) player could transition into a profitable cash game player? Cash games seem to me to be more sick with the bad beats? Or is that the variance ? Do you or would you...recommend that a profitting tourney player transition into a cash game player? Try to add it to arsenal ?
I'm no Phil Ivey, nor experienced in online cash games...So what do you feel the best path might be, to obtain more desirable ROI. Learn cash or stay tourney? Thanks again and I hope you will play sometime in one of our buy in events ( I'll front ya...no worries) or freerolls.
Sincerely,
-Pool

 

[bubonicplay]

10. Keep em coming

ok you asked for it

I feel like you wrote pretty cop-out responses for #1/2 so I'm gonna try to rephrase them:

1. You basically admitted that your job doesn't benefit society in any way. Does it bother you that 90%+ of the working population is doing something that in some way helps society while yours doesn't? Almost every single other job in society provides a service someone else is willing to pay for. Your job preys on people who think they are better than they really are at the game and although there is the occasional rich recreational gambler who knows he's paying to have fun, I would argue that the Guy Laliberte's are not the majority of poker fish and that most are people with gambling problems and/or think they have an edge when they don't. How do you justify to yourself what you've chosen to do in life doesn't help society while most people in the world spend their lives doing something that even if indirectly, somehow does help society? Not trying to be a dick and I have my own answer, I'm just curious as to what yours is.

2. Your Peyton Manning example is actually perfect. Probably the majority of boys growing up want to be like him. There are far more than 30 kids growing up in this country that work their ass off to try to be the best QB they can be. Yet only 30 end up starting in the NFL at any given time. I would argue that the reason is there are enough people that work their ass off to be the best QB they can and the ones that make it are the ones who work their ass off AND have a natural ability. So I agree with you right now about most people that are reasonably intelligent being able to work hard and be able to beat small stakes no limit hold 'em. But what's happening is more and more people are working hard and eventually I think it will come to a point where you have to work extremely hard AND have some sort of natural ability, whether it's intelligence or something else, to win at any decent stakes at poker in the future sometime. I'm not sure how far ahead that is, but I see it as the natural progression. Ten years ago it didn't even take that much work. Now if you put in the work you can do it. In ten years I can see you not only needing to put in a ton of work but also being gifted in the game to succeed.

So I guess the question is do you agree with me or do you believe because of recreational fish that it will always be possible with hard work for a person of average intelligence to be successful in the game of poker?

11. Thoughts on the Jason Ho scandal? Did that effect how trusting you are of other people in the industry or do you think it's just a rare exception?

12. Do you think people are too quick to trust people in the poker world? High stakes players will trade tens of thousands of dollars between sites without thinking when any transfer that large in the real world would definitely have lawyers and contracts involved.

13. I'm likely going to play the WSOP ME too, although probably gonna be backed unless I win a satty since I don't play quite as high as you and don't want to pay 10k for one tourney. We gonna take 1st/2nd?

14. What are your thoughts on Ultimate Bet? They claim to be under new management and be perfectly straight but recent posts on 2p2 have claimed otherwise and it seems they are still being extremely dishonest with how the cheating scandal happened and what they are doing to ensure it never happens again. On top of that after new management they've had a software bug where the pot shipped the wrong way to Phil Hellmuth. Would you really trust your money on a site like that? Does it bother you that sites like Cardschat will still endorse Ultimate Bet and hold tourneys there after we've seen how they treat their customers?

15. If you were going to die next week, what would you do this week?

16. If I offered you a flip for your net worth, how weighted would the coin have to be in your favor to take it?

17. If I offered you a 55/45 flip in your favor, what percentage of your net worth would you put on the line?

18. Cherry or Apple Pie?

19. Chocolate or Vanilla ice cream?

20. You can decide to either never play golf again in your life or never play poker again in your life. Which do you pick?

21. I know you used to completely idolize Tiger Woods. Has what's come out in the last few months ruined your opinion of him or do you still admire him because of the amazing athlete that he is?

ok that's all I can think of for now

 

[dg1267]

ok you asked for it

I feel like you wrote pretty cop-out responses for #1/2 so I'm gonna try to rephrase them:

1. You basically admitted that your job doesn't benefit society in any way. Does it bother you that 90%+ of the working population is doing something that in some way helps society while yours doesn't? Almost every single other job in society provides a service someone else is willing to pay for. Your job preys on people who think they are better than they really are at the game and although there is the occasional rich recreational gambler who knows he's paying to have fun, I would argue that the Guy Laliberte's are not the majority of poker fish and that most are people with gambling problems and/or think they have an edge when they don't. How do you justify to yourself what you've chosen to do in life doesn't help society while most people in the world spend their lives doing something that even if indirectly, somehow does help society? Not trying to be a dick and I have my own answer, I'm just curious as to what yours is.

2. Your Peyton Manning example is actually perfect. Probably the majority of boys growing up want to be like him. There are far more than 30 kids growing up in this country that work their ass off to try to be the best QB they can be. Yet only 30 end up starting in the NFL at any given time. I would argue that the reason is there are enough people that work their ass off to be the best QB they can and the ones that make it are the ones who work their ass off AND have a natural ability. So I agree with you right now about most people that are reasonably intelligent being able to work hard and be able to beat small stakes no limit hold 'em. But what's happening is more and more people are working hard and eventually I think it will come to a point where you have to work extremely hard AND have some sort of natural ability, whether it's intelligence or something else, to win at any decent stakes at poker in the future sometime. I'm not sure how far ahead that is, but I see it as the natural progression. Ten years ago it didn't even take that much work. Now if you put in the work you can do it. In ten years I can see you not only needing to put in a ton of work but also being gifted in the game to succeed.

So I guess the question is do you agree with me or do you believe because of recreational fish that it will always be possible with hard work for a person of average intelligence to be successful in the game of poker?

11. Thoughts on the Jason Ho scandal? Did that effect how trusting you are of other people in the industry or do you think it's just a rare exception?

12. Do you think people are too quick to trust people in the poker world? High stakes players will trade tens of thousands of dollars between sites without thinking when any transfer that large in the real world would definitely have lawyers and contracts involved.

13. I'm likely going to play the WSOP ME too, although probably gonna be backed unless I win a satty since I don't play quite as high as you and don't want to pay 10k for one tourney. We gonna take 1st/2nd?

14. What are your thoughts on Ultimate Bet? They claim to be under new management and be perfectly straight but recent posts on 2p2 have claimed otherwise and it seems they are still being extremely dishonest with how the cheating scandal happened and what they are doing to ensure it never happens again. On top of that after new management they've had a software bug where the pot shipped the wrong way to Phil Hellmuth. Would you really trust your money on a site like that? Does it bother you that sites like Cardschat will still endorse Ultimate Bet and hold tourneys there after we've seen how they treat their customers?

15. If you were going to die next week, what would you do this week?

16. If I offered you a flip for your net worth, how weighted would the coin have to be in your favor to take it?

17. If I offered you a 55/45 flip in your favor, what percentage of your net worth would you put on the line?

18. Cherry or Apple Pie?

19. Chocolate or Vanilla ice cream?

20. You can decide to either never play golf again in your life or never play poker again in your life. Which do you pick?

21. I know you used to completely idolize Tiger Woods. Has what's come out in the last few months ruined your opinion of him or do you still admire him because of the amazing athlete that he is?

ok that's all I can think of for now

I think you forgot "boxers or briefs".

 

[PattyR]

boxers or briefs? LMAO^^

Dusty its so badass that you have more posts on this site than probably the average CCer has. The fact that you keep coming back to answer more and more questions no matter if its 1 or 22 of them^^^ is truly awesome

thank you again

 

[jaymfc]

wow , happy to see you're still here what a guy just noticed this thread today and read the last two pages and the first two but am hooked and will read it all now . doubt I will be reading the book , it's a little to much for me but does sound well worth it . will also check out DTB and dreaming of getting some coaching .

QUESTION # 1 I have tried reading books to improve but just don't seam to learn very easy that way . can coaching overcome that and be worth the good money to an average player who realizes he will probably never be good enough to play for a living.


#2 do you know or have you ever played with Chris Ferguson .

#3 can a poker player make a living on looks alone ? lol ( kidding )


thanks for helping so many people with your valuable time , much appreciated



p.s..probably missed it and will look but .... handicap in golf ?

 

[PokerJoeAAAA]

I think all of that stuff is terrible for the game of poker and I wish there was more the poker rooms could do to put an end to that stuff. I have a particular beef with tableratings.com Publisizing the losers like they do is pretty pathetic. It is best for poker if those sites aren't known to the public in general.

I tought i read that you were thinking of selling your HH's? how is that all right but data mining is not?

 

[PokerJoeAAAA]

Thanks!

It is my first child. Her name is Lennon and she's smiling at me as I type this.

As someone who came from a family where the childrens' needs were always put behind the needs of themselves, being there for my daughter and any other children I may have will always be one of if not the biggest priorities in my life.

Basically I just try to work as much as possible, but if it isever between work and my something that is important to my family I always choose my family.

are you sure that the smile is not gas?

 

[cAPSLOCK]

Speaking of gas does anyone smell trolls?

 

[Sean Pilgrim]

1. 2. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15. 16. 17. 18. 19. 20. 21.

Where did you learn to count?

 

[eNTy]

Where did you learn to count?

10. You tired of answering my questions yet?

11. Thoughts on the Jason Ho scandal? Did that effect how trusting you are of other people in the industry or do you think it's just a rare exception?

he continued his list and expanded on first 2 questions..