 Isaac Haxton is one of the few poker players who had the courage to openly criticize PokerStars policy and leave the ranks of Team Pro. In January this year, he became the ambassador of PartyPoker, which – as he says – is a room that goes in the right direction. In the interview given just recently, the American has answered questions about not only the aforementioned agreement with PartyPoker, but also the poker artificial intelligence and the One Drop tournament.
32-year-old Isaac Haxton has earned over $ 16,000,000 playing live poker, as well as several million dollars at online tables. He is one of the most respected poker players in the world who at the beginning of 2016 left the ranks of PokerStars. Afterwards he signed a deal with PartyPoker last month.
– Why did you sign a contract with PartyPoker?
– We talked about it for the first time last summer at the World Series of Poker. PartyPoker wanted to gather the crew of the best tournament and cash players who regularly participate in the biggest games at the highest limits. Players who will perform in high-buy tournaments shown on television, as well as all super high rollers organized by PartyPoker. I think it was very important for them to gather a team of the best poker players in the world, and not only those who spend most of their time on self-promotion and content creation. It's an honor for me that I can be a part of this venture. I am glad that I can work with such a group of people.
– Do you now have new motivation for traveling and tournament grinding?
– I do not know if I needed any more motivation. I just love to play live tournaments, especially those with high buy-ins. Since these events have become my daily routine, I do not miss almost any tournament with an entry fee of over $50,000. I do not think that it will change in the near future. It's nice to be part of a team, and playing on TV with the logo of a poker room on my shirt is indeed an additional motivation
– Will this deal make you play in more tournaments this summer at the WSOP? Is getting your first bracelet on your poker radar?
– For the last few years in Las Vegas I played rather in cash games, less often in live tournaments. If I have already played in tournaments I chose events with a large buy-in at the Aria Casino instead of WSOP series events with a smaller buy-in and a large number of participants. I do not particularly fancy the bracelet and I doubt that this agreement will change anything in this matter. I want to play the most profitable poker possible. If it means playing in cash games, which few people talk about – I have no problem with that.
That's what I like most in the contract with PartyPoker and the people I work with – they understand that I am primarily a professional poker player. If instead of looking for glory in Rio Casino, I will choose a cash game that will bring me a good hourly rate, PartyPoker will support me in this.
– Something has happened when it comes to online poker in the United States. Pennsylvania legalized it last autumn, and New York wonders about doing the same. What do you think?
– I'm not an expert, but it seems that good things are happening. However, I approach this whole thing with moderate optimism. When seven years ago Black Friday happened, I thought it would last for six months to two years. I was convinced someone will quickly find a way to put a tax on it and make it legal again. But seven years have passed and nothing has happened yet… That's why I will believe it only when I see. But it really seems that there have been several positive changes recently.
– Last year there was a match between the bot from Carnegie Mellon University and a group of poker players. Are you following the development of artificial intelligence related to poker? What are your thoughts on trying to solve heads-up no-limit hold'em?
– “Solution” is a complicated word in this context. You can say that heads-up limit hold'em is already solved – bots are close to perfection. It looks a little different with the no-limit hold'em poker. But if the bot is able to beat the best players, this is an important development stage for poker as such, and above all for heads-up no-limit play. This makes the protection of poker rooms against bots even more important. A few years ago the best bot was able to deal with average limits, now the best bot can beat most people – poker rooms have to make sure that while playing on their platforms, we compete with other people, not bots.
The best artificial intelligence defeats the best chess players, and chess is still a thriving and healthy game. The same happens in backgammon or GO. I think that the future will look like this – computers will soon be better than people in the majority of available games. Grinding your game will increasingly consist in effective learning of artificial intelligence.
– Can you say that what separates players from the top is the time they spend learning to play and analyzing hands?
– It's important factor, but not the only one. I think that making decisions at the poker table is still a real challenge, especially in live tournaments with shot clock, in the game at the highest limits. The players who perform best in such situations are not necessarily the ones who would be the best at poker knowledge test.
– This year, the One Drop tournament with the entry fee of $1,000,000 is back. Are you looking forward to this event? Does One Drop still enjoy the same prestige and significance as in 2012?
– Yes, I will almost certainly play it. It should be great fun. When at the beginning, in 2012, One Drop was announced, people thought it was a joke. Then most of the players I know didn't even try to find backers to play in this tournament. Now it is different. Every two weeks there is an event with a buy-in of $ 100,000, and the share market is gaining strength. One Drop is not something as incredible as it was a few years ago, but it still cannot be matched. This is the tournament with the highest buy-in in the world.
– Will you try to prepare yourself in a special way for this tournament? Will you take a break from poker a week before One Drop to be in the best possible condition?
– I will not do anything too extreme. I will definitely try to get a good sleep though. I will neither take part in all-night cash games two days before the start of One Drop. Poker training looks completely different from the training before the MMA fight or something like that. When training poker, you may get a serious injury (laughs). My goal is to enter the tournament as healthy and rested as possible.
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Isaac Haxton is one of the few poker players who had the courage to openly criticize PokerStars policy and leave the ranks of Team Pro. In January this year, he became the ambassador of PartyPoker, which – as he says – is a room that goes in the right direction. In the interview given just recently, the American has answered questions about not only the aforementioned agreement with PartyPoker, but also the poker artificial intelligence and the One Drop tournament.
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