Stacking Up Another Title

Carlos Mortensen couldn't care less about being famous. When I pull up to his Summerlin home just outside Las Vegas on an 85-degree sunny morning, he's tuning up a collection of tough-looking four-wheelers and motorcycles that look like they're fresh out of Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome. Just as soon as we complete this annoying interview, something he usually doesn't do, he'll be roaring through Red Rock Canyon. He won nearly $4 million the day before my visit, and after stacking chips the previous week, he'd rather go get dirty than talk poker.

Carlos, affectionately known as "The Matador," became a poker sensation back in 2001. New to the country after brutalizing the backroom games in Spain, he rumbled into Binion's Horseshoe and felted 612 other players on his way to winning the World Series of Poker championship, $1.5 million, and a reputation as a fierce poker pugilist. He picked up his second WSOP bracelet in a 2004 limit hold'em event, and his first World Poker Tour title and second career million-dollar win, also in 2004. In between, he's become one of the game's most intimidating deep-stack players.

Fortunately for Carlos, but unfortunately for his desire to shy away from the limelight, he just pulled off one of poker's biggest publicity stunts. He bagged perhaps the biggest win of his career in late April at the $25,000 2007 World Poker Tour Championship. The 639 players who ponied up the five-figure buy-in pumped up the prize pool to nearly $15.5 million. The top-three players would all be millionaires. After six days, Carlos was king.

By capturing the 2007 World Poker Tour Championship crown, he became the first player to hold the WSOP's and WPT's most prestigious titles.

Mortensen, now 35, has channeled his creative, fierce play into $8.2 million in lifetime winnings. He was kind enough to sit down with Card Player and talk about his recent win, tournament poker, and his aspirations away from the felt.

Justin Marchand: Since you won the World Series of Poker nearly six years ago, the poker world has changed and grown dramatically. What are the biggest changes you've seen to the game?

Carlos Mortensen: To me, the difference is the way players are playing now. There is a lot more aggressive play and a lot more action, by far. This includes a lot more bluffing. I remember when you would raise preflop, bet on the flop, bet on the turn a little bit, and then just take down a pot. Now, it's all about check-raises and guys calling or moving all in on the river with nothing. It's still poker, but it's much different.

JM: You quickly developed a reputation as a fearless player. Back in 2004, you told Card Player, "Winning in no-limit is all about bluffing. I don't think it's the cards and the math." Do you still think this is the case?

CM: I still think it is all about bluffing, but just as important is catching the big bluffs. In a pot, I'm thinking like I'm always playing heads up. It doesn't matter if you have the best hand or I have the best hand. The question is, will your opponent lay down the hand? Every hand is one situation, and every situation is different. You have to act on the moment. You really have to analyze what is going on, how the hand has developed, how many hands the player has played, and if he's playing tight or loose. You have to calculate all of these things and find out what the chances are that he is bluffing. In each situation, you need to find the truth of the hand, the truth of the player … his soul.

JM: Back in your early days, when you were attempting to break into the game, what concepts and techniques did you have to work hard on to master?

CM: My technique is a bit of everything. It comes down to each and every player. I try to read and understand why players do what they do. So, in the future, I already know how they play, that there is a high percentage of probability that they are playing a certain way. Many players play just their cards.

JM: What fundamental parts of the game are you still working on?

CM: I especially work on not losing control, not steaming, if I lose a pot. Nothing is going to change after a hand, and I don't want to make bad decisions or play weakly because of losing a pot

JM: You gained notoriety for your big no-limit hold'em tournament wins. But, you've also made WSOP final tables and tallied big cashes in razz, limit, H.O.R.S.E., and Omaha events. When you are not playing no-limit, what games do you prefer?

CM: I like to play the people, the players. So, it doesn't matter what game it is. It's like, "OK, I think you are bluffing. I think I can make you lay down your hand." I used to play lots of mixed games. Lately, I've just focused on tournaments, because that is where the real money is.

JM: Arguably the three most prestigious poker accomplishments are a World Series championship, the World Poker Tour championship, and the $50,000 H.O.R.S.E. WSOP bracelet. You already own two of those titles. Do you think you have the skills to take the WSOP H.O.R.S.E. championship title down?

CM: Sure, I think I can take that title. Last year, I won a $3,000 buy-in H.O.R.S.E. event in Tunica. And at the Caesars H.O.S.E. event last year, I finished fifth. So, I like my chances at H.O.R.S.E.

JM: Last year at the World Series, you started red-hot. You made two final tables in small buy-in events ($1,500 and $2,000 no-limit hold'em). Combined, those two events had 7,586 players and you finished ninth in both. Then, you finished 10th in a $1,000 no-limit hold'em event that had 2,891 players. When you look at the size of these fields, these are amazing accomplishments. How do you do it?

CM: What can I say, I think I am playing them the right way. I think I know how to make it to the final table. There are different steps. There are many, many, many different steps, and it's very difficult to explain. To me, it's like surfing. You have to go over the wave and never get knocked down. If you always go over the wave by using just your chips, meaning that you have double or triple the average, you really don't need a hand, and you don't need to play supertight. If you play tight, it all comes down to luck. You can put your chips in with the best hand 100 percent of the time, but you are not going to win every time. You need luck to win in that way. But, with this surfer style, you don't need much luck.

JM: Let's talk about table image. Does Carlos Mortensen still have a reputation among players as an aggressive madman who's willing to bluff at will?

CM: I like people to have any kind of opinions of my game. That lets me have more area to act. One thing I know is that almost everyone has respect for me when I'm at the table. I think this is an advantage for me. Give me any reputation at the table … say I'm the crazy one, the biggest bluffer, anything, and it will work better for me in the future.

JM: You're the type of player who is not afraid to play big pots with just about anyone. Talk a bit about the differences in playing small-pot versus big-pot poker.

CM: Big-pot poker is all about confrontations, sometimes for all of your chips. One interesting hand I played in this tournament (the WPT Championship) is an example. I had about $215,000 in chips and my opponent had about $165,000. The blinds were $1,500-$3,000. I'm in the big blind, and he's on the button. He raises to $10,500. I have A-10 offsuit. We both have lots of chips. The flop is Q-J-3 rainbow. He bets $12,000 quickly, so I called one time, since a king is good for me. The turn was a 9. I checked again. Then he bet $34,000. I think his bet is just trying to take the pot. I call one more time. On the river, a 5 came, and I checked again. He had about $110,000 left. He thought for a long time and bet seven $10,000 chips. I didn't even think for two seconds and moved all in. He had only $38,000 or so left. He laid down the hand in less than two seconds. So, what does that mean? He was trying to take the pot from me. I think he probably had a small pair. If he checks, he wins the pot. Instead, I win a huge pot. That is the point I'm talking about in regard to reading. Sometimes you don't need cards, you just need reads to make a substantial pot.

JM: I wanted to talk about a few hands that propelled you to the final table. First, on the fourth day of the tournament, you won the biggest pot at that point. With the blinds at $10,000-$20,000 and a $3,000 ante, you raised from late position and Raymond Davis reraised to $150,000 from the small blind. You called, and the flop came 10 7 6. Davis led for $200,000, you reraised all in for another $876,000, and Davis called with the A 8. You had the 7 7 (about a 64 percent favorite), Davis did not hit a club, and that built you up to $2.5 million in chips and left Raymond with about $700,000. It was a huge hand. Tell me your thoughts on the hand.

CM: Raymond had a lot of chips. I was short at that point. I think the wrong play here is that Raymond tried to play me from out of position with A-8. I raised with sevens. He was in the small blind and didn't need to play the hand. If he doubles me up, I can play the chips. After he reraised me, right before the flop came, I said, "OK, Raymond, you want to play with me … let's play." On the flop, I really don't even want a call. He should have moved all in on the flop. He just gave me a free rope to make a move with his $200,000 bet. Even if I have a 10 or maybe even a 7, I still make the move. Unfortunately for Raymond, he cannot escape with his hand.

JM: Paul Lee was the chip boss for a large chunk of the tournament. You won a big pot from him late in the tournament that gave you momentum. With the blinds at $30,000-$60,000 with a $5,000 ante, he raised to $200,000 preflop and you called from the big blind. The flop came Q Q 7 and it was checked around. The turn was the Q, you checked, Lee bet $400,000, and you called. The river was the 9. You checked, Lee bet $1 million, and you raised to $2 million. Lee mucked, and a huge pot was shipped your way. What did you have, and why did you play it the way that you did?

CM: I knew he wasn't strong. And he almost made a big move here. I had A-Q. I don't reraise him preflop with A-Q because it is not a good hand when playing big stack against big stack. This hand is very good because I took $1.6 million from him and he had nothing. If I check-raise on the turn, he just lays it down and won't give me action. After I raised the minimum, he took his chips and almost put them all in.

JM: You made an incredible comeback at the final table. (With four players left, Carlos was down to just about $1 million in chips and Kirk Morrison had nearly $17 million after they got involved in a huge hand. With the blinds at $100,000-$200,000 with a $20,000 ante, Morrison raised to $700,000 from the cutoff and Carlos reraised to $2.7 million from the small blind. Morrison called, and the flop came Q J 9. Mortensen moved all in with A-Q for about $6.6 million, and Morrison, with the J J, called for his last $5.4 million and his hand held up.) How did you do it?

CM: I played lots of single tables before. I just do what I do (laughing). After that hand, there were still four players left. I thought to myself that there was no way that I was going to lose this. I still had my chip and a chair. Before that hand, I was just going up, up, up. I felt confident even though I had only $1 million left. After this hand, the blinds were $150,000-$300,000 and I went up to $3.4 million before I showed my cards and before I doubled up.

JM: For you, what is the secret to success when it comes to heads-up play?

CM: I want to get inside their minds and control the match.

JM: Kirk Morrison has been playing some great poker lately (cashing in four WPT events in a row). What did you think of his play?

CM: I didn't play too much with Kirk before. I know him more as a friend than a poker player. He really impressed me. I think he is a very solid player. He made solid decisions. He thinks a lot before his decisions. But, like I said before, unfortunately for him, I was inside his mind when we were heads up.

JM: The blinds got ridiculously high during this event ($800,000-$1,600,000 with a $300,000 ante). There was $3 million in the pot before the flop - out of just about $31 million in chips in play. Do you think this is an appropriate structure (doubling the blinds every half-hour) when playing for millions of dollars?

CM: Every tournament when you get to the end, if you are not fast enough or not lucky enough to get into a big confrontation with a huge hand, is going to end this way. Nearly every tournament is going to end with all of the money in preflop, unless you are good enough to get a large enough chip lead to end the tournament before it becomes a crapshoot. The other day I heard someone say that it's a crapshoot. I said that everything has technique. Even blackjack and craps have a technique.

JM: You've played tournament poker for a long time. In your opinion, what are the best tournaments with the best structures?

CM: The tournament I really was impressed by was the European Poker Tour Championship in Monte Carlo. (In 2007, Carlos finished 11th in this event). Also, Bellagio and the World Series main event impress me. For the $50,000 H.O.R.S.E. event, I don't know if the structure is right. Last year, I think we played just three days, and it should be at least four or five days. This is a very important event. We cannot play 12 to 15 hours one day and 16 hours another day. We are playing for lots of money, so I hope they change this structure.

JM: You mention the EPT, which is growing quickly. What's the poker scene like in Europe these days?

CM: Poker in Europe right now is like it was when the WPT first came to the U.S. It is like that multiple times over. The EPT Championship this year had 706 players. That was a record in Europe. I remember years ago that the biggest tournament of the year had about a $150,000 first-place prize. There was a big event every year at Baden in Austria. In Spain, too, there are many more players. This year, 22 players from Spain played in the EPT Championship. The year before, I was the only one.

JM: Which players out there on the circuit do you have the most respect for, and why?

CM: I respect J.C. Tran. He has proven that he is one of the best tournament poker players. I think that everyone has talent in their own way, and that there are many, many good players around.

JM: Like lots of top players, you picked up a nickname early in your career: "The Matador." ESPN's Tilt plucked your nickname for a shady Don "The Matador" Everest, so you need a new nickname. What should it be?

CM: (Laughing) Really, I am not interested in being famous. I want to live off poker, have a peaceful life, and do the things I like. I don't want to dedicate my time to publicity. This is the exception. I said that I didn't want to do any more interviews, no more magazines, because I don't want to be famous. I want to go on the streets and have nobody recognize me. Many people do this just to win money. I do not get very ambitious about money. I am ambitious about improving my game. If I can do that, the money is there.

JM: Today, as a player, with bigger fields and more and more good players, how hard is it to make a living at the game?

CM: It's tough - especially in tournament poker. Anything you win you are going to invest again, and if you don't play 100 percent all the time, I think you are just throwing your money away. You add and add and you invest a ton each year. It is a very hard job. My focus now is on playing and winning just big, big tournaments and the World Series, which is a different story because of the bracelets.

JM: Lots of players are backed to avoid the huge swings of big buy-in tournament poker. Are you?

CM: Yes, I currently have a backer who is one of my best friends and someone I trust. He has been my only backer, and if I didn't work with him, I would probably be playing for myself. So far, I can't complain, although the ideal thing would be to play for oneself.

JM: You've already had an amazing poker career - more than $8 million in winnings and prestigious championships. What else do you hope to accomplish as a player and in life?

CM: The biggest thing in my mind right now is to create my family. Also, I would like to have a career outside poker. I might go back to school to study architecture. I would like to dedicate more time to my life … the real life - you know, wife, have kids. I am going to have a life outside poker and it is going to be a good life. I want to travel now, while I can still jump on my motorcycle, and when I get old, I'm going to play poker 24 hours a day.

JM: If you weren't doing the poker thing, what would Carlos Mortensen be doing for a living?

CM: Maybe I would be a motorcross superstar (laughing). There would not be much difference with my life. I'm very active, I like to go to the mountains. I'm not the guy who goes to the disco, drinks, and likes to have parties. You need a healthy balance. It is important to have a life and not just play poker. If you do, you'll just go crazy.