Generation Next -- David Sands

Don’t mess with David Sands on Sundays. As an adept master at wielding both big and short stacks, he will derail your train of thought just when a big Sunday payday looms over the cyber horizon. You will squirm, freeze up, and even curse when he three-bets your attempt to isolate a weak short stack. So, fold. You will breathe a sigh of relief as you cash a tad deeper, and Sands will be more than happy to pad his stack.

“I don’t like to make decisions,” says Sands. “I like to put other people to big decisions and make them feel uncomfortable. The more you can make someone ask himself if this is really the spot where he wants to end his tournament, the better you will do in the long run.”

To date, it is believed that he has captured more Sunday major events than anyone in online poker, all while raking in more than $1,100,000. Sands has nine major wins, including a Full Tilt Online Poker Series event for $260,000, a Full Tilt Poker $750,000-guaranteed event for $133,000, and a recent PokerStars Sunday $500 event for $90,000. The list also includes Sunday major-event wins at Bodog, Absolute Poker, UltimateBet, and Cake Poker.

The deceptive online troublemaker graduated in 2007 from Hamilton College with a degree in international politics. Only recently did he vacate a cushy job as an analyst at an Internet marketing firm, even after winning so many Sunday events online. Sands may not like to make tough decisions, but eventually turning full-time poker professional was an easy one.

Craig Tapscott: What are some of the key situations you’re looking for at a final table?

David Sands: I’m looking to play pots in position with other chip leaders, whether that means seeing flops, flatting [flat-calling] them, or three-betting their open-raises. When you see a flop in position against a guy with a lot of chips, you are giving yourself multiple chances to win the pot with the worst hand.

CT: Please explain.

DS: If he doesn’t have a pair, he has to flop one, and he will do that only 33 percent of the time. And he has to make a hand in order to beat me. I try to maximize the number of times that I put a bet on someone that puts him to a decision. I can’t stress enough how much I focus on trying to put the guy who is second in chips at the table to a decision for all of his chips when there are seven or fewer people left.

CT: It seems to work for you, obviously.

DS: I just think a large part of my success has been accumulating chips while other people are waiting for the short stacks to bust out. I feel like the mentality at a final table is that the big stacks will bust the short stacks, and then the final three players will be guaranteed X amount of money and will play it out and see who wins. I don’t think like that. I like to be as disruptive as possible and make people uncomfortable.

CT: You make them queasy and spewy with all of that pressure. You’re not very nice.

DS: (Laughing) For example, I don’t call very often. Calling kind of makes people feel comfortable. They feel they are in control of the pot and get to bet again, and they’re not put to a decision. I received some great advice when I first began playing: The best thing about going all in is that an opponent has to call you and has to beat you. But if you call an all-in bet, all he has to do is beat you.

CT: How about some tips for making final tables?

DS: Well, right before the final table, when there are five to seven players left at each of two tables, switching gears and playing very aggressively is most important. You have fewer people getting dealt hands, so the quality of each hand almost doubles. And on top of that, any scared money is faced with big pay jumps. When I come to a final table, I usually start playing pretty tight, until two or three people have been eliminated. Then, my image is set up, and I really focus on turning up the aggression.

CT: How was your 2009 World Series of Poker?

DS: I had a good summer, but only two World Series cashes. Most people don’t understand. I played for almost two months at the World Series, and played probably as many tournaments total there as I played yesterday online, because with live play, the variance is just so huge. But, I’m looking forward to playing a few more big live events before this year ends.