For many of poker’s top professionals, the coming of the New Year brings new opportunities, new events and the chance to make even more money. For one of the poker world’s top players, however, January hasn’t been the month to get back in the swing of things.
“My wife, Kayce, has been ill, so I’ve been picking up the slack and watching the boys (Kingston and Keegan) while she’s not feeling well,” Gavin Smith said during a recent interview with Poker News Daily. That hasn’t kept him out of the spotlight in poker, though. Smith will be a part of the inaugural broadcast of “Poker Night in America” later this year. He also made the news last week when he and Infiniti Poker, the Bitcoin-driven poker room that has had some fits in their start, decided to part ways.
Ranked in the Top 100 in all-time tournament poker earnings (in his 17-year career, he’s pulled in slightly more than $6.2 million), Smith sat down with Poker News Daily to discuss some of the things in his life now and what his future looks like.
PND: You were a part of the first “Poker Night in America” excursion to New York. What was it like being a part of something that was brand new?
Gavin Smith: It was really cool. They are bringing a new fresh idea to poker on television. Right now, the bottom line is poker is kind of boring and they are trying to build on the lifestyle and characters behind poker along with some poker action. That’s what viewers may find very intriguing.
PND: What do you believe “Poker Night in America” will bring to television that hasn’t been done before?
GS: “Poker Night in America” will be a behind the scenes look at how we all really are. We are playful, colorful gamblers who gamble on everything and that in itself is entertaining.
PND: You just recently announced your departure from Infiniti Poker. Was it just a case of timing between you and Infiniti Poker that it wasn’t working out or are you entertaining a more active role with an online poker site?
GS: I am not currently involved with another site; my dealings with Infiniti came to an end due to a breach in contract and an unwillingness to work towards correcting the situation. I wish them the best, but I didn’t feel I could maintain the level of integrity that I hold myself to and work with Infiniti at the same time.
PND: You got married a few years ago. With a wife and kids now, do you feel the same drive for poker that you did when single?
GS: I haven’t fully enjoyed poker for quite a while. I do enjoy tournaments once we are deep, but I don’t still have the drive to travel as I once did. Being married with kids is completely different for me but is awesome, it is harder than I ever dreamed it would be. I wouldn’t change a thing, though…my family comes first and we can still throw some poker in amongst it all.
PND: How has happiness in your personal life translated to your efforts in poker?
GS: For me, poker is different now because I am not just playing for me, now it’s for my kids. Although I play less frequently, I feel as though now I give a better effort every time I play, so it seems to be a win/win situation.
PND: You’re now into your 17th year as a poker player and, if you’ll forgive me, now one of the “old men” of the game. What does the “old guard” have that the “young guns” don’t?
GS: (Laughs) I AM old! Numbers are great, hand ranges are great, but to me real poker is one man looking another man in the eyes and making a decision, and I feel like the young guys are trying to take the people out of the game. In live tournaments, I don’t think you can ever completely accomplish that.
PND: How has the poker world changed since the mid-2000s, both online and live?
GS: Who knows online…I barely played before and don’t at all anymore. As far as live, it has gotten much tougher, but that’s cool. It just has forced people that want to compete to lift their games to new levels, and I am proud of the fact that I am still competing at a high level, just less frequently.
PND: You’ve achieved almost everything possible a poker player could do in the game, won a WSOP bracelet, won a WPT event…what else is left for you to do in the poker world?
GS: The Main Event, obviously! (Laughs) Really, I just want to provide for my family the best I can. If that vehicle is poker, awesome; if not, I will find another way to do it. I don’t really have specific tournaments other than the main event that I focus on.
PND: There’s been a great deal of controversy over poker’s myriad rules at the tables. What is the rule that you least like? What rule hasn’t been established that you’d like to see?
GS: I am not fond of this first card of the deck rule. I feel as though the people that came up with that rule searched really hard for reasons it could ever be necessary. I guess I am in favor of any rules that stop people from abusing dealers and I would also love to see a shot clock…people take way to long on decisions and to me it is ruining the game.
PND: Where will we see Gavin Smith ten years from now?
GS: (Laughs) Damn, who knows! I sure hope it is with my wife watching our boys compete in sports and grow into adults. Hopefully I will still be playing a few tournaments but, at the end of the day, to me my family is number one.
