Capture the Flag: Gabe Thaler

Gabe Thaler chose to specialize in no-limit hold'em cash games long before the game became wildly popular. He first learned to play in Northern California, but soon moved to Los Angeles and then Las Vegas. Thaler's reputation preceded him; cash-game players know that when he sits down at the table, he is there to win and is alarmingly consistent. Thaler does not play many tournaments, because he realizes that his skills are more profitable when utilized in cash games.

Lizzy Harrison: What factors make for a good cash game?

Gabe Thaler: A really good cash game has to have an environment that is relatively loose, so that people feel comfortable and want to play. People should always feel like they can play their money however they want, because it is their money and they should have that right. So, the first thing a good cash game needs is an atmosphere of acceptance.

LH: What is your preferred game, and why?

GT: I would say it is a $10,000 to $20,000 buy-in no-limit hold'em game. Depending on the blinds, that seems to be where my comfort level is right now. That is the level where I think I am able to play my best and not worry about the money. At that level, I can also attract a good group of people who will both be tough and bring out my best game. They will gamble and give me a chance to win.

LH: Why is no-limit hold'em your favorite game?

GT: I started playing big-bet poker, preferably pot-limit hold'em, a couple of years before the televised poker explosion with Chris Moneymaker and the World Poker Tour. I had already made my decision to specialize in that form of poker, which at the time was probably a bad business choice for someone who was trying to become a professional poker player. However, I was really blessed when everything that did happen, happened because the player pool just exploded to a huge number of players.

LH: When you first started playing cash games, what games and stakes did you play?

GT: I started playing in Northern California when I was about 22 years old. I played $2-$4 limit hold'em at the Garden City Casino. It took me at least a few years to move up to $6-$12 and then to $20-$40, and I hovered around there for a long time. It was not until I met a few people and really chose to specialize in no-limit hold'em that I was able to move to the next level. Specializing in no-limit hold'em required some travel, because there was not a lot of it in the Bay Area.

LH: How do you select the game to play in?

GT: In general, the player pool for no-limit hold'em has become limited. There are maybe 100 to 150 players who usually play the levels that I feel comfortable playing, which are $50-$100 and $100-$200 no-limit hold'em. I used to play a lot of $10-$20 and $25-$50 no-limit, but my comfort level has risen the last couple of years to a point where I feel very comfortable playing the games that I play. If I am going to go down to Bellagio to play, I have to know before I go that there are enough players there to play the games I want to play.

LH: What are the highest stakes you have played?

GT: The biggest game I ever played started out as a $200-$400 no-limit game with a $100 ante. It elevated to a $400-$800 game with a $100 ante. I think I booked a small win. The game was designed around one person, and that person went broke, so the game ended.

LH: How should a player determine when he is ready to move up in stakes?

GT: That is really an individual thing. It depends on comfort level and bankroll. If you have the right bankroll, you can choose to play the level you want, and if you do not have a big enough bankroll, you should not play. If you cannot incur the standard fluctuations that are going to happen, you should not be playing that level. There are a lot of young Internet players who do not think that will happen, but it will. Also, if you have the bankroll to play at a certain level but you play there and do not succeed, you should play in games where you think you will succeed. That is a hard thing to figure out, because once you gamble at a certain level, there is a human element that makes you want to play a little bigger. Players look for the next high, the exciting moments, and it becomes hard to get that same rush at lower limits. If you have been playing a certain limit for a long time, it is hard to get the blood flowing in a smaller game.

LH: What is the most common mistake that you see inexperienced cash-game players making?

GT: I think the most common mistake people make is not understanding that playing a hand, and winning it, is only about 50 percent of what it takes to be a winning player. In a theoretical sense, that is probably the biggest mistake I see; players who are not able to champion the other attributes that they need to be a winning player. It will frustrate them, because they will learn how to win by beating bad players, but they will not learn how to keep their money, and themselves, out of jeopardy. They won't learn how to keep themselves away from strip bars, in order to have a successful lifestyle. I would think that is the number-one mistake.

LH: Did you ever receive any advice that changed the way you played cash games?

GT: Absolutely. I knew this one gentleman, after playing with him for a little bit in a no-limit hold'em game that was held in Northern California two days a week. I had been taking shots in that game and not succeeding. It really came down to playing outside my bankroll. When I decided that the Bay Area was not going to be able to enable me to continue to improve or reach my goals as a poker player, and that I would have to travel to Los Angeles and Las Vegas, I moved to Los Angeles. I started playing against the gentleman on a daily basis in a $10-$10 pot-limit hold'em game. His name is Bobby Hoff, and he is a longtime professional; he's been playing for more than 40 years professionally. He is an old-school gambler and can explain things in a way that most people cannot, because he has had so many different experiences. I talked to him, and, to make a long story short, a situation came up that resulted in our forming somewhat of a partnership. He was not going to be able to play poker for an extended period of time because he had hurt himself. We formed a partnership; he doubled my bankroll and took half of me. That way, he could still have a chance to make money while he was basically bedridden. We talked every night, usually more than once, for about six months. That was really the steppingstone for me that sped up my process of solidifying myself as a very good player.

LH: What advice would you give a successful tournament player if he wanted to move into the cash-game arena?

GT: I would just tell him to give it time and not to look at his results. He should look at how he plays and how his opponents play. A lot of people have a problem separating that. Results can get in the way of seeing what should be seen. It can happen both ways. People can be winning and not realize that in a couple of months, they are going to get slaughtered because they are doing things wrong. Or, they can be losing and not realize that they are playing against people who turn over hands like J-5 from the two hole and that eventually they are going to beat those people. There is no way around that. Just give it enough time and don't get frustrated, or overly confident, in the beginning.

LH: Which poker players have most influenced your game?

GT: There were a couple of players other than Bobby Hoff; Alex Roberts, a professional from Northern California, and Scott Lundberg, a professional for many years. Lundberg took me under his wing and gave me advice as to how to avoid some pitfalls. He really helped me with a lot of life lessons. Roberts helped me more with the actual play of hands. They were the main guys who really helped me.

LH: Which cash-game players do you most respect, and why?

GT: If I had to give you my top five, they would be Bobby Hoff, Scott Lundberg, Daniel Alaei, Kenny Tran, and Lee Markholt. If you are talking about cash-game success, these guys have it.