I’ve been on a runner that only The G could make and survive. I played poker with Mike Sexton on the streets of Vienna – and loved the hell out of it. But since I’m me and the rest of the world is ‘them’ it’s possible ‘them’ loved seeing me in the poker game more than I loved being in it. You figure it out! [click to continue…]
I am in Vienna dodging bullets from some of the best players in the world and having the time of my life. I love the game! Hellmuth isn’t here but some players just can’t keep up with the competition. I did my best to goad him into coming and talking smack to him and about him, but he’s out, out, out! I even sent him a tweet extolling the virtues of drinking Guinness to give him steel, heart and commitment, and advised him to drink lots of it so he could become Premier League class again. [click to continue…]
I have long considered it my duty to make sure I have fun with whatever I’m doing at the time. Even if it meant the Poker Brat Phil Hellmuth sent me on a long trip around the edge of the world searching for a way to beat him. That’s his fairy tale, not mine! But if it did happen, I would still have fun along the way.
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It’s been awhile. It’s always a crazy busy time for me with work and poker and life and laughter and fun – with very little time left over to just stop and relax. If I do take a break, who will take over the role of tormenting The Poker Brat? It’s my job! Everything else I do is just for fun. [click to continue…]
Listen to my interview with PokerStrategy.com and some quotes below:
On the Poker Brat: “Phil Hellmuth think he’s a superstar player, the best player in the world, and he thinks he’s a great cash game player at the same time. He just thinks he’s unlucky, everyone else plays bad around him, and he’s a genius.”
On his televised altercation with Ralph Perry: “I think I made Ralph famous – Ralph never made himself famous with his game or his performance after. He should have left the table much quicker than he did, hanging around there was terrible. I don’t know what he was hanging around for, he just played the hand horribly and it was in the final. He should have just got on his bike and left. Quickly.”
On his own strengths at the table: “I can read the game pretty well. I think I can lay down some hands that other players couldn’t who are technically better than me. I don’t really study the game technically like everyone else to be perfect – a German robot.”
On the highest cash game he’s ever played: “It’s difficult to say because sometimes the games increase. If they start in Russia, for example, at $1K/$2K PLO, they could slip up to $5K/$10K and maybe even $10K/$20K for a few hands – US Dollars. They can get big; we also had a rule of unlimited straddles. I remember one guy would always do a $100K Straddle, even if we were playing $1K/$2K.”
On the future of the online poker market: “Unless the US opens, I think online poker will struggle from here. If the US opens, it can get massive.”
On if he’ll ever quit: “I would probably only quit for health reasons… or if I owe someone a lot of money and I don’t want to show my face.”
Full interview: Interview with Tony G [Audio]
Some bits and pieces from a recent interview:
Leaning forward as if to shield our conversation from prying ears, his voice drops to whisper. ‘I lost about $10 million because of Black Friday.’ he says, slowly easing back into his chair.
‘I’m still a piece of shit on the tables,’ he tells me. ‘I want to be part of a circus. I can be the clown, if that’s what everyone wants. That’s what I live for. I live for those moments, I live for the TV.’
‘I have a huge mouth and very little ability in the game,’ he adds. ‘I’m probably a bubble player, someone that’s rated much higher than he should be. But I have a lot of passion and a big heart. I love the game when I play. I encourage anyone else to achieve what I’ve achieved.
On top of a controlling interest in PokerNews, he is now head of delegation for Lithuanian Basketball, attaché for the Lithuanian Olympic Committee, involved with life and income protection insurance and has prominent roles in government and charities. There’s even a Tony G holiday resort in his home country, complete with eco-friendly cabins, open-air amphitheatre and assault courses.
Read the full article: Big mouth strikes again
Alderney’s Gambling Control Commission has been criticised by a world-class poker player and industry commentator over the way it dealt with a besieged US-run betting website.
Antanas Guoga, known as Tony G, said regulators failed to protect players.
Full story: Alderney Gambling Commission criticised by poker player Tony G
I was introduced to shisha few years ago in Moscow and now regularly smoke, drink mint tea and eat baklava when relaxing.
Tom Riding asked me on Facebook: Tony, what’s the worst hand you have ever played?
The worst hand I ever played was in WPT Malta. I was in the money. I had 
vs 
with a raise coming from a middle position. I called in the small blind and managed to get all-in on the river with the board 
. Total pot was 900k – a massive chiplead at that stage of the tournament.
It’s important to lay down such hands on the river. I overplayed and managed to be all-in without having any real showdown value.
The correct way to play this hand post-flop would have been to just check-call all the way and lose perhaps 25% of my stack. I just called pre-flop but check-raised on the flop. This made the pot way too big on the river. I ended up having to call 150k more with 750k in the pot.
Maybe I could lay down on the river but ideally more value is had to just check-call all the way, inducing the bluff and creating value. The big issue and problem was that I took on the chipleader Matt Giannetti, who ended up winning the event.
What’s the worst hand you have ever played?