THM Q+A: PokerStars Team Pro Liv Boeree Answers Your Questions
In a THM exclusive, PokerStars Team Pro Liv Boeree took time to answer questions submitted by you on our forum. You were many to participate and for this, we thank you! Now without any further delay, here is our THM Q+A with Liv:
Liv, Do you think you can continue to make poker pay? (Jack Starr)
Liv Boeree
Hopefully, yes! 2013 has been a bad year in terms of poker for me though, and it’s definitely taken a big chunk of my confidence. It’s always hard to know how much of a downswing is your own bad play and how much is variance – the trouble is recognising and finding a way out of a vicious cycle of bad cards that could lead to sup-optimal play, that leads to missed opportunities and poor results. That cycle erodes your confidence and enjoyment of the game further. I’m probably somewhere in the middle of that right now but fortunately I’ve got a great support group of poker friends who I can talk to about it.
If you were not already a poker pro but were going to start out tomorrow with a modest bankroll, how would you go about it? Which poker games would you concentrate on (Texas Hold’em, Omaha, etc)? Would you play cash games and/or tournaments? Rakeback? Staking? Percentage of online vs live play? Etc, etc.
I don’t know the best strategy in all honesty, it’s been a long time since I’ve grinded it out like that, but I would probably recommend playing a mix of cash and tourneys as it’s impossible to know at that stage which you prefer and/or are best at.
Do you play cash games much and any form of poker other than Texas Hold’em? (Frodge)
Occasionally, but not much recently.
Do you follow any sports teams? You seem to be very active away from the poker table and wondered if you followed many sports?
No, not at all. I love sport and playing it and I enjoy watching big sporting events such as athletics, winter olympics. World Cup etc – the atmosphere is incredible. However I don’t follow or take an interest in any teams. I get why people love it, but it’s not something I care about.
Like me you seem to be big on rock music. Who’s your favorite band(s)? Do you ever get Iron Maiden round the poker table?
Absolutely. The bands I loved the most growing up were Metallica, Pantera, Children of Bodom, Maiden etc. I’ve been fortunate enough over the years to meet almost all of them and have even become friends with a few. Sadly haven’t gotten to play much poker against them although a lot of them do know how to play.
You are sitting at a 6-max table with any 5 people throughout history. Who are they and why would you choose to sit down with them? (pokerwolf)
Liv Boeree
Einstein (to try to understand how he could be so imaginitive with physics) Buddha (to understand what he knew that we don’t), Newton (same reason as Einstein), Russel Brand (i find him fascinating and hilarious) and probably someone from the dawn of the human race, to see what they were like and how they thought. May be some language issues but whatever.
What was your favourite meal (if any) from your student days in H.H? (Be kind now!… and you can’t choose the cheesy bites from Sunday Brunch. – that’s too obvious really.) (Cheesetony)
Oh wow, now I’ve got to think back! I don’t actually remember a favourite meal but I did frequently get into trouble for having food fights at dinner, especially on the days we wore gowns – they made for excellent shields. I got in big trouble one time when my friend James stole a whole sponge cake and slammed it into my face as we were walking out because i threw baked beans at him earlier.
You studied in Manchester (the greatest musical city in the world ), what’s your favourite Mancunian band? (Jackin2dabeat)
One of the reasons I applied to Manchester was because I knew it had a great rock and metal scene. However I don’t have a favorite Manc band.
Having done lads mags photoshoots, what do you think about women campaigning for supermarkets to stop selling them, and the views of stand up comic Bridget Christie? (paddymick)
I’m totally fine with sexualised content inside a men’s magazine (hey, women have similar mags too), however I do think they’re absolutely right to campaign about the front covers. The covers have become increasingly sexual to the point of almost full nudity in full view of children and people who may not want to see it, and it’s disrespectful to them to have it forced into their eyes when they’re just trying to shop. Tone down the covers, or cover them like they do with the porn mags and maybe put them in a similar section and I’m fine with it. As for Bridget Christie, I don’t know anything about her but I’ll do some research after answering these.
Steel Panther, love or hate? (peterH)
Liv Boeree
LOVE LOVE LOVE! I’ve seen them so many times and have been pulled up on stage a few times and made an utter fool of myself, such as the tradition expects.
Whats your views on the latest “poker tools trend” used by many now!? Do you use them – and if so; what do you feel you have to gain out of them?!
I think they’re great and can help people massively with their game. I use Holdem manager with HUD when playing. There’s a ton of post-game analysis you can do but I’m not very well versed in that part of it in all honesty. I feel naked when playing multiple tables online without a HUD though!
What you doing this Christmas!? (in a non stalker-ish way!) (AllinKev)
Going to spend some time with my Dad and StepMum in deepest darkest Dorrrrset.
You once called Annie Duke your mentor. Do you still speak with her? How do you feel about her fall from grace in the poker world? (pokerpro456)
I haven’t spoken to Annie in a while. I can’t comment on the specifics of the Epic poker situation as I don’t know much about it, but I do believe she tried her best to do something good but it sounds like she made some mistakes. Nonetheless, I do know how much she has helped me with her advice, time and generosity, particularly at the start of my career and that is something I will always be grateful for.
How do you feel about professional ethics in the poker industry? Do professional ethics they exist in the same capacity as other industries?
As in all industries, there are good eggs, bad eggs and misguided eggs and therefore poker has its share of all of those things. However I’m not well-versed enough in other industries to compare it to them. I do know that as the poker industry has progressed it’s seen a big improvements in regulations that help the players, and will only continue to do so.
What is the status of your television projects? When will we see episodes of ‘I Bet My Life’? I’m also really looking forward to seeing the ‘Queens are Wild’ show. When will that air? Anything else in the works?
There were only two episodes ever filmed of I bet my life – unfortunately they only chose to show the Monaco one (which we didn’t really like!). We filmed a much better one in Aruba that was more “real”, if you get my drift. Sadly the higher ups at the Channel decided poker wasn’t something they wanted to focus on so it was pulled. As for Queens are Wild, I don’t think that’s airing any time soon. It’s surprisingly hard to land a poker reality show as it turns out!
Liv who would you consider your best friend on the circuit? (mr4b)
I am very close friends with a number of players – mostly from Germany, Canada and the USA. A couple are team pros. I really don’t have just one “best friend”. I’m equally close with a few people and it’s impossible to pick one out above the rest.
In 3.1/2yrs since your big win youve never cashed live for more than $51k, do you think that maybe your looks have got you further in poker than your skils? (tenda)
I’ve always been very aware I’m mostly known as well as I am because I’m a girl in a male-dominated industry. It was one of the many reasons I was attracted to poker – because I knew if I did well I’d stand out! Also, please note it’s 80k live, not 51k as you have stated.
Relative to their size, the group of objects with the greatest empty space between them are…
Planets
Stars
Galaxies
Galaxy Clusters
Galaxy Clusters, obv! Then galaxies, then stars then planets (assuming we’re talking about planets in the same solar system)
Secondly, everybody has that one hand that they always play for whatever reason – What is your hand? Mine is Th Jh
I genuinely don’t have a superstitious hand that I always play. Sorry for the boring answer!
Winning the Ladbrokes Ladies event back in 2008 was a bit if a breakthrough for you, but what are your views now in terms of Ladies only events? (indestructible)
Yes it certainly was, it was a real bankroll starter for me as I statted into it via a freeroll. My views on Ladies events haven’t really changed since then – I’ve always believed that in an ideal world, they shouldn’t need to exist. However, this world isn’t ideal, and for numerous reasons caused by behaviors in both genders, women are still underrepresented in poker, and women’s tourneys offer a way into poker for many women and thus they are good for the game.
What job will you do when there’s no money left in poker? (dropthehammer)
I don’t think poker’s going to disappear anytime. Nonetheless, I’m working hard on becoming a science tv presenter. I’m also trying out acting classes. So maybe something in those! If not I’ll be happy to travel the world as cheaply as possible climbing mountains. Maybe I’d be a ski bum too. Or a greenpeace protester. I’d be very happy doing any of those things.
Do you feel like you had one seminal moment in poker where something just clicked and changed the course of your career or was it a more gradual thing? (pizzicato)
I’ve definitely had a few seminal moments, be it winning certain hands, meeting certain people. Not to get all butterfly effect on you but of course there are infinite events in my life and decisions I’ve made that have happened to align to get me to where I am. However I cannot pinpoint just one thing as it wouldn’t be fair to all the other wonderful things that have happened to me in the past 29 years to get me to this point (cue hippy music).
Where is home for you ? (Alex Dreyfus)
London! Or my parents’ home in Kent. Or some mountains. I don’t know
Do you consider poker a sport ? Should it be consider as a sport ?
I think the generally accepted definition these days is a mindsport. I don’t think it can be strictly called a sport as it isn’t predominantly physical. However it has a degree of endurance and self-discipline that is required and also favours those with greater mental agility so comes under the category of mindsport.
You are part of a team of very good players and travelling the world with them, do you think its stimulating ? DO you learn from them ?
Yes, yes and yes. I am so proud to call myself a member of Team pro, and not just for the status symbol. Some of the people on the team are very close friends of mine and I just love any opportunity to spend time with them. I learn a lot from so many people on the team, and not just poker. For example at the recent commercial shoot we were all together on set for a week, and we had conversations on a huge range of fascinating topics. Almost everyone on the team is extremely open minded and are balanced, fun-loving people.
Your image is very important for your sponsor and its a strong asset that you invest in, yourself, what would you like to do to be more famous and more valuable (beside winning more tournaments, which is not actually the key I think)
Make it onto a mainstream TV show! My dream would to do be on a show like Survivor where I think I’d crush it. I love tough physical and mental challenges – it’s a shame they don’t have a UK version of the show anymore. I’m also trying hard to get involved in some science/nature documentaries. Anything like that (and fortunately, I have one coming up that I can’t talk about yet) will all help my profile further.
What are the next events you gonna play ?
Prague, PCA and UKIPT Edinburgh.
What is the best ‘souvenir’/memory of a fan that recognized you or did something for you ?
I have a fan in Russia ( I won’t name him without asking him first) who has really helped push me in Russia – he created a Russian fan twitter that translates my tweets along with a fansite. He has never even met me and yet always goes out his way to help and offer advice. I have been blown away by his generosity and kindness.
We thank Liv for taking time to field your questions and hope to do it again someday!
Be sure to visit Liv’s site at LivBoeree.com. You can follow Liv on Twitter: @Liv_Boeree.
