This week, “The Showdown” with Jon Friedberg welcomes six-time World Series of Poker (WSOP) bracelet winner Layne Flack. Nicknamed “Back-to-Back,” Flack is one of the longtime veterans of the poker industry and captured his first bracelet 12 years ago in a $3,000 Pot Limit Hold’em event. UB.com sponsors “The Showdown,” which is released exclusively here on Poker News Daily every Tuesday.
Before getting to his interview with Flack, Friedberg broke down the response he received from last week’s kickoff show, which focused in part on how to improve attendance and prize pools at live U.S. poker tournaments. Friedberg told “The Showdown” viewers, “Almost all of the feedback I received was basically in line with my opinion, which was that the buy-ins should be lowered and the structured should be shortened to improve the outcome and turnouts in the U.S. tournament circuit.”
This week, Friedberg sought feedback from viewers about the online poker bill introduced by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) last month. Friedberg explained that he first learned about the draft bill from Full Tilt Poker front man Howard Lederer: “When that bill came out and said that all of the sites had to wait two years before they could even apply for a license, which was then going to take another 15 months, I just wonder if Howard knew… there was going to be this waiting period. I thought that was a little ironic.” Would you like to have seen the Reid bill passed? Weigh in by posting on Friedberg’s Twitter feed, @JonFriedberg.
Finally, Friedberg spoke about the recent turnover at Team UB.com, which saw the departures of Annie Duke and Phil Hellmuth and the arrival of Prahlad Friedman: “I think it was a brilliant move and I think it does some very important things. It says, ‘We are looking to the future. We are putting new faces to market our brand because we are a newly innovative, forward-looking company.’ More importantly, it says, ‘Prahlad Friedman, who was the #1 person affected by the Russ Hamilton scandal, had personally verified that the company is now legit and is personally willing to endorse the company.’”
Flack joined the set in the two-part episode and recalled where his “Back-to-Back” nickname came from: “The ‘Back-to-Back’ name originated in 1999, when I won back-to-back at the Legends. In 2002, I won the No Limit and turned around and won the No Limit again to win back-to-back. Back then, [the WSOP] was at the Horseshoe and we had guest announcers… and someone said ‘Back-to-Back’ and kind of coined it. I think Hellmuth coined it back in the Legends.” Flack also went back-to-back during the 2003 WSOP.
If you’ve ever watched Flack on a televised poker tournament, then you know he can get a little boisterous. Flack told “The Showdown” viewers where his energetic playing style comes from: “The craziness is just a mirage. The more you get out of the other players, the more you know about them. I’ll pick every person apart at the table just to get information. That’s just how I know their capabilities. If people think you’re crazy, then you’re the live one.”
Finally, Flack admitted that he’s had to tone down his lifestyle since moving to Las Vegas from Montana: “When I came into town, I partied it up… It got out of control for sure. Now, it’s definitely under control and more balanced. I might enjoy a glass of wine at dinner, but no clubbing or anything like that. I’m 41 now.”
Catch the rest of the “The Showdown” with Jon Friedberg. This week’s installment is broken down into two segments, Part 1 and Part 2. New episodes of “The Showdown” can be seen every Tuesday exclusively on Poker News Daily. Also, don’t forget to sign up for UB.com with the bonus code UBPND.
