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 Adam Schoenfeld placed
in the top fifteen spots in three of the six World Poker Tour events he played in 2004, including a fifth place finish at the
Commerce Casino. Although he is
a successful player, I know him for his humor and charm.
I met Adam during the filming of the Poker for Dummies DVD with
Chris Moneymaker. As Chris did his dialogue
in the front of the set, in the background the rest of us played poker. We had a good time while we played and Adam can take
most of the credit for it. He is the wittiest person I have ever met in my life and he had me in stitches. I am sure the
editor had a field day cutting out scenes with me laughing in them. One time, I had to lay my head on the table because I
was laughing so hard. He did impersonations, including
Phil Hellmuth and
Jeff Shulman, he quoted movie scenes, and he
even rapped a Dr. Dre song. The song said something about nine-deuce and he kept referring to the hand as Deathrow Records.
At that time, he told me he was been a lot of live action lately and was concentrating on his live No Limit game. He lived
in New York and said there were some fantastic games there. He said, "I think there will be a new breed of New York players
that will rival the stars of the golden age of New York poker (Lederer, Seidel, Zolotow, Lester, et al.)." Although he has
been playing a lot of live action, he still had plans on playing a bunch of the World Poker Tour events.
One of the things I was most interested in asking Adam was if he uses his sense of humor and friendliness as tools at the
poker table. His answer was: "I try to encourage a light, gambling atmosphere at the table. Also, because long stretches of
poker can be so boring, I talk a lot, sometimes just to entertain myself. I find that people either love me or hate me. Some
people find me annoying, amazingly. I find that if I maintain a constant monologue, I can keep others from talking about bad
beats, the weather and other unbearable topics."
We discussed the players he respects and he said, "I like and respect players who are skilled and have something to say
about life outside of poker. Of course, Jeff Shulman and Diego Cordovez are at the top of my list. Guys like
Erik Seidel and
Howard Lederer,
Paul Phillips and some others are really
interesting to talk to and play against. In terms of sheer poker talent,
Phil Ivey and
Daniel Negreanu are so gifted and work so hard that
it may be impossible to top them long term. Another guy who really impresses me as a person and as a player is Scotty Fischman."
Adam was a columnist for Cardplayer and co-hosted "The Scoop."
If any of you ever get a chance to talk with Adam, make sure you do. He said that some people find him annoying, but I find
that difficult to believe. I promise if you talk with him, you will walk away with at least a smile. |
