Our interview is with Tri “SlowHabit” Nguyen from DailyVariance, a website dedicated to poker videos and comprehensive strategy guides. Some of the material at the site is from the best mid- and high-stakes players, including Nguyen himself. We asked him about the current state of poker, what’s the best way to learn in today’s climate, and how his site, which features players like Cole South and Tom Marchese, is better than the rest.
Poker News Daily: There are a lot of poker strategy books out there from a lot of different publishers. DailyVariance Publishing looks like it is taking a different approach than the rest. Can you talk a bit about your strategy in the marketplace?
Tri Nguyen: Our primary goal is to provide customers with information that is relevant to today’s game, especially in the online poker setting. We achieve this by working with some of the best poker players and teachers in the world.
PND: All of the books in your portfolio have gotten great reviews from customers. How are your books more effective than others?
Tri Nguyen: Our books have information that is relevant to today’s games. Our authors and collaborators are also some of the games’ biggest winners and are highly respected in the poker community.
In our teaching approach, we give what variables you should be thinking about in a poker hand. We explain the why behind everything we recommend so you can learn to think for yourself.
PND: You’ve been able to align yourself with some of the top names in poker and in coaching, including Cole South and Tom Marchese. What does it mean to have top thinkers associated with your publications?
Tri Nguyen: Having players like Cole and Tom aligned with the books speaks volumes on the quality of our products. They are online poker legends who have won millions playing cash games. To have their stamp of approval means we’re doing something right.
PND: Your most recent book, “Dynamic Full Ring Poker,” has drawn rave reviews. In your words, what makes this book so special?
Tri Nguyen: “Dynamic Full Ring Poker” gives the reader the overall framework of how to play poker. Bad habits are tough to break, so it’s more profitable to avoid making them from the beginning.
The author, James Sweeney, is also a highly respected poker teacher, so he knows exactly what to say for his students to understand him. Sometimes, poker can get too complicated and it’s helpful to have someone who can convey his thoughts in a simple manner.
PND: Why is reading about today’s poker strategy so important for players trying to maintain an edge?
Tri Nguyen: Our strategy books are always in tune with the current games. Poker has evolved so much in the past few years that it doesn’t make sense to read outdated strategy books that were written years ago. I am a firm believer that no information is better than bad information. And that’s the problem many outdated poker books have.
PND: We understand that you will have a growing library of training videos. Could you talk about what you might have in store for grinders in 2011?
Tri Nguyen: Our training videos focus on specific concepts that we feel are important. For example, the online games have gotten significantly tougher, so it’s harder to make money. Yet, there are still big winners out there. What are they doing differently? We’ll create a video series on answering just this one question so we can cover all bases.
Another example is if you have a problem playing 3-bet pots, you shouldn’t have to browse through videos to learn how to play 3-bet pots. We have a video that will show you exactly how to play 3-bet pots.
PND: If there’s one common problem that a lot of breakeven poker players have, what is it and how would you attack it?
Tri Nguyen: Bad information. The games change every day, so if you’re not in tune with how it is being played, you’re at a huge disadvantage. Also, there are so many strategies out there that were written a while back and it would be a joke to use them at a poker table. It’s vital that you have the right resource that teaches you how to play the game profitably and make sure that your strategies aren’t outdated.
It’s also important to realize that if you are not winning as much as your peers, something is wrong. Luck can be a factor, but how come the same players keep being lucky all the time?
PND: Talk about the reaction from your satisfied customers.
Tri Nguyen: The main reason DailyVariance is at where it is today is through word of mouth and customer retention. Please help spread the word about us so I don’t have to spend much time finding new customers and can focus my time and energy on creating groundbreaking learning resources instead.
