The Scoop -- Erica Schoenberg

Erica Schoenberg began cashing in major tournaments in 2006, and already has accumulated more than $720,000 in lifetime tournament winnings. Although it wasn’t until meeting her fiancé, David Benefield, that she got heavily involved in poker, she had gotten a start in gambling much earlier. She recently sat down with Adam and Diego to talk about it.

Diego Cordovez: I read somewhere that blackjack was kind of your introduction to gambling that evolved into poker. Was blackjack something that you saw as a way to make money pretty quickly? How did that come about?

Erica Schoenberg: You know, it was about the money. I’m not going to lie, it was about the dollar bills [laughing]. Money is good, but I was also trying to find my way. I was in my mid-20s, and had kind of been doing a little bit of this, a little bit of that, and I stumbled upon this show on GSN that they invited me to be on, called the World Series of Blackjack. I met some of the members of the original MIT team, and I said, “Hmm, that’s kind of cool. I’ve heard about you guys.” This was before the book came out, though, so I had heard of them just through various people. I was always kind of into gambling. My folks met at the track.

Adam Schoenfeld: That’s a classic love story.

ES: Oh yeah, totally. The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree. So, I knew of them, and I started talking with them after the show. I said, “You know, I’d really love to get into that. I’m living in L.A.” They were kind of skeptical at first. They were like, “This girl, come on, blonde hair … what’s she going to do?” But they said, “If we can really teach you how to do it, you would be perfect.”

AS: That’s a great cover, also, just being a woman.

ES: Yep. No one ever suspected, and I never got heat like they did. It was mostly just that people thought I was a hooker loitering in the pits [laughing]. That got kind of old.

DC: They were like, “That hooker can’t be a top card counter. She can’t be keeping track of a six-deck shoe.”

AS: So, you could go a long time without getting caught?

ES: Yeah, up until I did another show for the World Series of Blackjack, which probably wasn’t the smartest thing. But it’s tough. It’s grueling. After a couple of late-nighters at the Indian casino, and running to your car, it’s thrilling at first, but the novelty quickly wore off.

DC: I didn’t play blackjack with a team or on that level, but I played blackjack before I ever played poker. In blackjack, you’re always looking over your shoulder, and of course you’re getting the heat, you’re getting kicked out of casinos. Then when I started playing poker, it was the opposite. You would win, and people were applauding, giving you a trophy, saying, “Hey, good job.” Psychologically, it’s so different. In blackjack, you’re always kind of hiding.

ES: Yeah, I got really paranoid. I was always like, “Are they looking at me funny? I think they’re looking at me funny. Dad, tell me if that pit boss is giving me the stink eye. I know he knows.” It was tough, so I quickly got out of that.

AS: And the horrible thing about blackjack is, you could be losing and they’d still kick you out.

DC: Of course. It’s just such a different environment. For poker, with all the craziness, it’s still a very positive environment. We’re all trying to win; we’re playing each other, not the house.

ES: It doesn’t feel as seedy.

AS: We’re on ESPN.

ES: Yeah, we’re legit [laughing].