The Scoop -- Jeff Shulman

Jeff Shulman, also known as “Happy,” is the president and chief operating officer of Card Player Media, and a member of the 2009 World Series of Poker “November Nine.” With an incredible track record in big buy-in, deep-stack events and nearly $1.3 million in tournament winnings, it’s clear that Shulman is talented not only in regard to the business side of poker, but on the felt, as well.

Diego Cordovez: You play almost no donkaments all year, and at the World Series, just a handful of events, and you’ve had a lot of success in them. What is your main motivation? Is it just the cash? What drives you at this point?

Jeff Shulman: I don’t know. I think I don’t love playing as much as I used to, now that I’m a family man. I’m kind of just hanging out with my kid. Every single day, there is something new going on. I just can’t wait to hang out with him and with Christy [Jeff’s wife]. We have a new one on the way, so I guess my motivation for playing this year is to try to make it so they never have to work. I think I used to want to win so badly just to prove it to myself, and I think I used to want to impress others with my poker game; now, I just don’t care. And I’m convinced that I’m not as good as I used to be. I was so good 10 years ago compared to how good I am now.

DC: You were ahead of the curve. We see these young Internet guys who really have kind of taken the world by storm. They are very analytical, but part of it is that when they first came on the scene, they ramped up the aggression. Now, they’ve had to evolve, but when they first came on the scene, aggression alone was a huge advantage. In 2000, when you made your run the first time around, people were talking about your aggression. It was a different era. They’d never seen your level of aggression.

JS: Right, and I played the total opposite style this time. I was fairly aggressive the first few days. I guess I should say ultra-aggressive, but then come day 3, I just waited, because I had enough chips. Luckily, I had aces probably five times in the last three days, and I won some races. I never lost when I was the favorite.

DC: Now, the last couple of days, the poker press, what there is of it, has started to quote you and stir up controversy, which you initiated. Is part of your motivation that if you win, and by making the November Nine, you now have a forum for criticisms of Harrah’s?

JS: Believe it or not, it is. I’ve had a lot of people come up to me and say that somebody’s got to do something about it. I’m not sure I’m the right guy, being that I’m in the industry, but it’s not like we have some special relationship here. They hate us, for whatever reason.

DC: Harrah’s hates Card Player, you say?

JS: Yeah. I think they hate anyone who’s not a celebrity, or maybe it’s just that they treat the celebrities so much better than everyone else that they have special rules, they don’t get penalties. I’ve never seen anything like it. If we really want to take poker to the next level, you can’t have different rules for different people.

Adam Schoenfeld: Jeff, I’ve heard people say in the past, and I can understand this, that Card Player hasn’t taken controversial points of view because you have to represent the trade, in a sense. Why did you decide now to make a departure?

JS: Well, we are in the advertising business, and I’m not even sure that we have any deals with Harrah’s, as far as advertising. If we do, it’s so minor that it’s better to do this for all the people.