FEATURED PLAYER - Alan Engel  "ari"

Where were you born?
Brooklyn, N.Y.

How old are you?
Twenty-four.

Where did you go to school?
New York University. I got a degree in management and organizational behavior and finance.

Where do you currently live?
Brooklyn, N.Y.

Favorite pastimes?
I haven’t been to a movie theater in about four years and I don’t watch much TV but I enjoy Comedy Central and political talk. And I listen to a lot of James Taylor.

How long have you been playing poker, and how long on Bodog?
Since college – during my second year, my roommate used to play online poker all the time. I began to watch him a lot, and for three months I only watched, never played a hand. Over the next six months, I played $5 and $10 tournies, and made a little. After college graduation, I completely stopped for about two months, barring my weekly $40 home game with college friends. During one of those games, two of my friends raved about a new site where they had both made over $1K. I signed up for Bodog and turned my $150 deposit into $10,000 within a weekend playing $2/$4 No Limit. Ten days later I quit my day job.

What was your day job?
I was working for a start-up computer company. My father hated that I gave up the job for poker. He’d have preferred it if I was a stock options player.

What kind of winnings have you earned from the game?
I think it’s over $1 million now in online tournament winnings.

How would you describe your playing style?
It’s generally aggressive and unpredictable. I play to win.

What were your most memorable victories in poker?
In May this year, I finished third in the Borgata $500,000 Guaranteed in Atlantic City and came seventh in the Aussie Millions $1,000 No Limit Holdem Turbo. Last year I placed first in the Bellagio Cup III in Vegas and first at the $300 No Limit Holdem WSOP* Circuit event.

What are your goals in poker?
To win big live, but to concentrate on my online playing. With live poker, I get bored too easily playing only one table, waiting for the shuffling, general slowness, etc.

If you had a choice between winning $500,000 and a WSOP* bracelet or $1,000,000 from an underground game that nobody will ever hear about, which would you choose?
I’d take both, of course! I like the sound of anonymity and cash though.

Which online players impress you the most? Which live players?
Online players: Bengt Sonnert, Illari Sahamies, Patrik Antonius and Phil Ivey. Live players: Patrik Antonius, Phil Ivey and Daniel Negreanu.

How do you deal with long periods where variance treats you badly?
I've gone 48 tournaments in a row without cashing in the past. My goal is to try and embrace the losing nature of tournament poker and use it to my advantage. Namely, people are too scared of busting out. The best players in the world are not going to win very often (where a "win" is a first through third finish). Knowing this helps me both emotionally and strategically. The bottom line is, you have to have self control to do well in this game. Little mind games can work, but being a "man" about it is absolutely necessity. Nobody can always win, so just get used to losing.

McCain vs Obama?
Please spare me. At best I'll vote for a third party, although I'm not really sure it's worth the little effort required to do so.


Articles by Alan Engel:
Bodog Poker Pros Talk Back: Alan Engel
Advanced Poker Advice: The Power of Position