Pros such as Howard Lederer often refer to David Grey as one of the top cash game players in the world. At the 2005 World Series of Poker (WSOP), David picked up his second WSOP bracelet, proving once again that he is also an elite tournament player.
David took home his second bracelet by winning the No Limit Deuce to Seven Draw tournament. He won his first bracelet in 1999 and has been in the money eight times at the WSOP.
OnlinePokerCenter.com (OPC) caught up with a relaxed and elated David right after his big win. OPC asked David to share his views on legalizing online poker, the element of luck at the WSOP, the lifestyle of a poker pro, and David’s WSOP final table experiences.
OPC: Congratulations on your second WSOP bracelet! Can you tell us about your final table experience?
David Grey: Thank you. I was very lucky to survive, because I had no hands, and that guy (smiles and points to John Hennigan across the room) had a lot of hands.
[Editor's note: John Hennigan took second place in the No Limit Deuce to Seven Draw event, winning $217,110.]
OPC: Do you believe in luck David?
David: It’s not that I believe in luck. But when you look at what happens, there is obviously a ton of luck involved.
In the short term, if a good player plays against a complete novice, the novice may win one out of a hundred times, because the novice doesn’t know the basic strategies.
But when you get down to a bunch of very good players at the end, especially in a tournament setting, where the antes and blinds are way high, then luck is a much bigger factor than being a good player.
OPC: What about these online players you see all over the WSOP? Are they good or lucky?
David: The nice thing about poker is that the guy who has been playing six months online, or a old timer who has been playing twenty, sixty years, both have a legitimate chance of winning against me, Phil Ivey, or Doyle during a tournament.
I don’t think the average player can play against us for a year and win, but for one day, they can sit down at a poker tournament and bust us.
Like Chris Moneymaker, a fairly inexperienced player, had a couple of good instincts about poker, but really didn’t have the experience, never played for big money, never played with good players, and he went all the way through the [2003 WSOP] and won.
He beat me, by the way. I came in eighth, which is annoying. (Laughs) Knocked me out with 54.
Last year, Greg Raymer, a fairly inexperienced player, though more experienced than Chris was, made a lot of right decisions, and every time there was a 50-50 he won it, and he did very well.
This year, someone like Chris Moneymaker or Greg Raymer will win the main event. It’ll be someone who no one has ever heard of.
OPC: Chris and Greg both won their WSOP entries online. Do you think online poker should be legalized in the United States?
David: It is not technically illegal. I don’t think you can legalize something that is not really illegal. I think it would certainly be better if the whole thing is out of the gray zone.
I believe in the rights of the people and the Constitution. Right now, it is unclear whether the American government can tell you what you can do on the internet.
I would like to think that anybody who is running a legitimate website, one that is servicing their customers, should be able to have their customers not feel like they are doing anything wrong.
It would be great if the U.S. government regulates it, instead of it being regulated by some gaming tribe in Canada. It’d be better if it could be regulated by the state of Nevada or the federal government. People seem to have more faith in that jurisdiction, as opposed to Guatemala or some small Caribbean country.
OPC: The ultimate dream of every online novice is to quit their nine-to-five cubicle existence and become a poker pro. Can you tell us a little bit about the day-to-day life of a poker pro? Are you playing poker all the time?
David Grey not smiling
If the weather is good, maybe I’ll play some golf, or do something with my wife. Around six to seven at night, I would call the poker room at the Bellagio and find out if anyone is around.
I never plan my days around poker. Celine Dion’s husband, Rene, plays on Friday nights. He’s a friend of mine, so I like to meet up with him for games on Friday nights.
A few years ago, I used to play a lot of games with Larry Flynt at the Hustler. We played four to five times a week. But in general, I just do what I want to do and play poker when I feel like it.
Sometimes I play a day of golf, I sit down, watch some TV, go to dinner, and I just call it a day. (Laughs)
OPC: What’s your favorite movie?
David: Godfather, definitely the Godfather.
OPC: Favorite book?
David: I enjoy a lot of sports biographies. I like Jerry Kramer’s “Instant Replay,” which chronicles the Green Bay Packers’ 1968 season.
OPC: If you had a chance to play poker against any historical figure, who would it be?
David: Good question. Maybe Abraham Lincoln?
OPC: But he’s “Honest Abe,” it hardly seems fair.
David: (Laughs) True. OK, JFK then. I would’ve liked to sit down with him, one on one.
OPC: For the diehard fans, can you give us more details of how you beat out John for the bracelet?
David: At the final table John was the low man. He had barely any chips. He had $39,000 and I had $79,000, out of about a million for the entire table.
Mark Weitzman had about $355,000. And we were playing really high already, like $2,000-$4,000 blinds. There could easily be $100,000 to $200,000 in one hand.
And John lost the first time he played. He was in the big blind and he had to throw his hand away. So he was down close to $30,000. But he proceeded to win a lot of hands and get a hold of a lot of chips.
I just won a little pot here, a little pot there. Really didn’t have any major confrontations.
When it was down to four people, I only had about $180,000, and John had about $500,000 by then. The blinds were getting really high by then. I just managed to tread water, I was able to avoid all the land mines and stay alive without ever having any good hands or anything.
OPC: So your patience paid off?
David: It wasn’t even necessarily patience. I wasn’t throwing away potential good hands. The ante gets so high you can’t really afford to fold. I wasn’t making any major lay downs. We were four very good players there at the end, so the cards sort of just played themselves. I was fortunate enough to have lousy enough cards that I never got broke.
When it came down to heads up, I started getting some nice hands and John had nothing. So I started winning the blinds and antes. I started nibbling my way up from $240,000 to $330,000.
And all of a sudden I opened a hand, and John raised. I opened for about $50,000. He raised me for $100,000, and I moved in the rest of my chips. I had pat 9. John called and drew one card, a picture card, so I won that hand.
Now all of a sudden I had $660,000 and he had $340,000.
On the very next hand, he had a 9 and I had an 8. I was lucky to hang in there and boom, in two hands the game was over.
OPC: How does it feel to add another bracelet to the collection?
David: Just having one is an honor. I went up against some great players and I was happy with the way I played. It’s a wonderful feeling.
Comments on this entry are closed.