Generation Next -- Jason Somerville

No-limit hold’em is ever evolving, subtly shifting and moving toward becoming a solved game as more and more talented players contribute incisive strategy perspectives to the game. This means that there is less of an edge for a skilled player. So, it’s not hard to understand that if you don’t keep up, you will be left behind. That’s something that Jason Somerville swore would never happen to his game.

“I know that most players don’t review a session’s key hands, watch training videos, or study the game daily,” said Somerville. “By not doing that, they are passing up an edge. I spend a lot of my time each week watching videos, reviewing hand histories, and discussing hands with peers. That keeps my game sharp.”

Somerville’s game was razor sharp during the recent PokerStars Spring Championship of Online Poker. He had a plan: turn down the volume of tables and focus on the big buy-in events. Playing fewer tables enabled Somerville to focus intently on the situation and the players. The dividends of that strategy were apparent when he made the final table of three events and cashed for more than $340,000. The crown jewel of his achievements was a PokerStars bracelet and victory in a $2,000 buy-in event, for $234,000. To date, Somerville has amassed more than $2 million in career tournament winnings.

Card Player caught up with him at this year’s World Series of Poker to discover what makes his online game so unique and how it has made the transition to live play.

Craig Tapscott: Wow. You still watch training videos, even though you’re an instructor at Daniel Negreanu’s Poker VT.

Jason Somerville: Of course I do.

CT: What aspects of your game do you work on?

JS: What I’ve found is that players tend to pay attention to only their specific game type. But how does watching just nine-max tournaments all the time help your shorthanded or heads-up game? I watch heads-up videos and play heads-up cash games to improve. You have to maintain an edge, because there’s a huge jump in dollars from second to first. There’s a big edge for the players who can maintain all aspects of their game.

CT: To what do you attribute your success in major online events?

JS: I think most people would say that my style of play is one of the more unique out here today. Why? Because my game includes a lot more flat-calling preflop, which leads to more post-flop play. I think my game is different because I adjust heavily to each situation. And I think my edge is biggest post-flop. I feel like my ability to adapt to opponents, tables, and situations is the best part of my game.

CT: You’ve yet to make a huge splash on the live scene. How has your game made the transition from online play?

JS: Hey, I did make the final table of the $5,000 buy-in event at the EPT Caribbean Adventure tournament this year (laughing). The skills I’ve developed online by paying attention certainly come into play for me in live events — such things as remembering betting patterns and taking into account all of the important information going on at the table. But in live play, I still see my opponents do things, and I’m not sure what it means. I feel like I should know what it means, but I don’t. That guy moved his chin before he bet. What does that mean (laughing)? I guess that will come with experience, or from someone smarter telling me. But I believe that I have made the transition pretty well. I just need to put in more volume live.

CT: You went through a huge downswing in poker while in college, but still left school. Usually it’s the opposite for players to postpone college; they win and then take a sabbatical. What happened?

JS: I was on a pretty bad downswing and had lost about $100,000. Then, I broke even for the next two months. I thought it was going to be the worst time for me in poker, but I still kept working on my game. I figured that if this was the worst that it could get and I still loved the game, it could only get better when things were good (laughing). I really do love the game. I try to preserve the fun of the game for myself, which makes it so much more enjoyable. I look forward to when I’m going to play. Forcing yourself to play every day can’t be healthy. I will never let poker turn into a grind by playing seven days a week or tons of tables a day. To me, that’s similar to a 9-to-5 job. If you do that, why play poker at all?