Poker News Daily: How did you get your start in poker?
Fricke: Back in the day, it was basically out of necessity. Some friends of mine told me that they were going to be playing Magic a lot less and were going to be focusing on poker. I didn’t want to lose them, so I started going into poker with them. They taught me and supplied me with a little bit of a bankroll. I went through some bad money management, like playing a $20 multi-table tournament (MTT) on a $200 bankroll. I ended up getting second for $3,500, but lost most of that because of bad bankroll management. Eventually, I started playing MTTs on PokerStars with a $10 bankroll. I started talking about poker with a bunch of people and met more and more people. It basically exploded from there. A few lucky scores later, I was a known person, which was really crazy for me at the time.
PND: You had a weekly show on Poker Road Radio that you co-hosted with PocketFivesLive.com Tournament Reporter Courtney Harrington and Bryan “badbeatninja” Devonshire. Tell us how about the show and how you got started in it.
Fricke: The B Team Show, as we affectionately called it, was every Saturday during the World Series of Poker (WSOP). Devo, Court, and I do the show. We bring on people and talk about anything and everything like prop bets we have going with each other. It’s a lot of fun. It harkens back to the old Poker Road Radio shows, where it was a little bit more strategy-oriented. It’s a really great show and I love talking about poker with them.
It’s great being a part of poker media. I always wanted to be a poker commentator and talk to people about poker across a wide range of media. Back in the day, I used to listen to everything. I watched all of the poker television shows; “Celebrity Poker Showdown” was one of my favorites. I watched every episode of everything. I always wanted to be one of those guys who talked about poker with everyone. Now, I’m meeting a lot of people and networking really well, so I almost feel like my dream is coming true.
I started talking to Joe Sebok and Gavin Smith back in the day and they asked me to be their co-host a couple of times. It basically went from there.
PND: What did you see at the 2009 WSOP? We’ve heard the tournament structure this year was hard on players who had to grind long schedules.
Fricke: The WSOP is getting to the point where people are used to Harrah’s running it. A lot of the Harrah’s staff that has been part of the WSOP for the past four or five years feel like they know what they’re doing, which is great. However, they’re still trying out some newer things that really don’t make sense to me.
The structures are huge. Last year, people had problems with it ever since they doubled the starting stack. This year, they tripled the starting stack according to the buy-in, which I think is great, but they’re not leaving enough time for the tournament to finish. There are always going to be people talking about structures, especially in Limit tournaments because at the WSOP, there are a lot of Limit events. Everyone is confident that their way of designing the structures is right, so it’s going to take a little bit for things to get ironed out.
PND: You’ve had a ton of success in live poker, including a runner-up showing to Gus Hansen in the 2007 Aussie Millions Main Event. What advice would you have for those coming up in live poker and looking to improve their games?
Fricke: Play, play, play. You just have to play. If you’re not playing consistently – more than once, twice, or three times per week – you’re not going to get better at it. You need to get comfortable. I feel like people focus too much on trying not to give away tells, so they’re just not getting comfortable. That’s the most important thing. If you feel like everything that happens at the poker table is within your control, then you’re not going to get nervous and you’re not going to give away tells. Even if you do, they’re probably going to be wrong.
I don’t need sunglasses. I don’t need a hoodie. I don’t need any of that stuff at the poker table. All I need to do is feel confident. The poker table is your office, so treat it like one. You’re not some alien sitting there. I always laugh when I see younger kids with their hoodies, sunglasses, and iPods on. It doesn’t even seem like they’ve played poker before and they’re focusing too much on stereotypes and clichés. If you’re trying to make it like online poker, you’re never going to get used to it.