The Scoop

Welcome to The Scoop, the Card Player TV weekly program that features poker's old-school superstars and new-school Internet hotshots. Every episode of The Scoop discusses in-depth strategies and explores important issues within the poker world.

Jeff Madsen introduced himself to the poker world at the 2006 World Series of Poker when he won two bracelets in no-limit hold'em events, broke the record for youngest bracelet winner, and made two other final tables, in Omaha eight-or-better and seven-card stud eight-or-better. Madsen talks about his start, and being a young pro.

Diego Cordovez: So, young guys these days, when they emerge, you ask them, how did you get to this point? They say, "I've played 27 million hands per day, 12 tables." But when you made your big splash at the World Series, I thought I read that you really systematically studied books and prepared. Is that accurate?

Jeff Madsen: Yeah, I think a lot of guys talk about how many hands they've played, and they think it transfers to how good they are. But for me, it was more about learning the game and studying different concepts. And it's not even about how many hands you play; it's about understanding situations and being able to use that knowledge you learn from books and even watching poker on TV. I've played more live, too, and live experience is really important, especially if you're playing live tournaments, too, obviously.

Adam Schoenfeld: When you went to the World Series in '06, did you feel confident that you were ready to do well? Obviously, you couldn't know how well you were going to do, but did you think, "I'm taking a shot. I'm nervous"? What were your thoughts?

JM: I'd been doing really well with my friends in home games or whatever, so you have that confidence that you are one of the best in your little environment. You don't have the perspective of, "Oh, there are so many good pros." I knew there were good players, and I was nervous, but I did so well because I was coming in with confidence. There were no expectations. I had never done anything in the poker world. There's a big advantage there, because if you have no expectations for yourself and you think you can win, you just go out and do your best.

AS: And you have never been beaten down.

JM: Exactly.

DC: And people don't underestimate you now, either. When you show up with a fresh face, they aren't giving you credit for any plays. They don't want to make a bad call to this crazy young kid. So, you can really take advantage and exploit that, but later on, it's the opposite. It's, "I've seen this guy on TV. I'm not going to let him push me around." A lot of things seem to come into it.

JM: It's really about how people perceive you, so when you first come in, people just perceive you for how you look. They don't know who you are. So, you have to use that to your advantage. And now, people kind of know who I am, and I have an image. I can use that to my advantage, too, but it's definitely harder when people know you.

DC: The impressive thing is that in '06 when you really made this big splash, it was in all different games. It was in no-limit, stud high-low, Omaha eight-or-better. In addition to the two bracelets, you almost won two more, really. You had two other final tables. You had a lot of chips in those tournaments. And not to take anything away from guys who specialize in no-limit and win hold'em tournaments, but …

AS: Anyone who can play hold'em can win a tournament.

JM: [Coughing] Phil Hellmuth.

DC: [Laughing] ... but to come in at a young age and dominate in a whole variety of games takes something else. Did you have a lot of experience in those games, or was it just playing tournament strategy and picking the right spots?

JM: I had some experience. I maybe played some online, maybe some Omaha live, but again, with tournaments and poker in general, it's really just general. If you have good poker habits, good techniques, it's really not about the game. You learn the rules of the game, and that's a short process. It's really just learning. Like Omaha [eight-or-better], it's slightly different. You play for scooping the pot. Aggression is still really important in some cases, but it's really just learning the concepts. The fact that a lot of people just focus on hold'em is kind of … you're not a true poker player unless you really understand poker in general, not just a two-card game.

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