Capture the Flag -- Andrew Lichtenberger

Recent Team Full Tilt addition Andrew “luckychewy” Lichtenberger has done a great job of getting noticed for his live-tournament play since he turned 21. After finishing runner-up in a $5,000 shootout event at the 2009 World Series of Poker, he made a deep run in the main event, busting out in 18th place. In April, he took down the WSOP Circuit event at Caesars Palace for his first live win, taking his career tournament winnings to more than $1.8 million.

Despite this success, the man known simply as “Chewy” considers himself to be much more than a tournament player. Lichtenberger is also one of the most feared online cash-game players around, specializing in heads-up and six-max no-limit hold’em.

Card Player caught up with him at the 2010 WSOP to discuss how he got his start in the game and why taking risks isn’t necessarily a bad thing.

Julio Rodriguez: First of all, how did you get the nickname luckychewy? Is it a Star Wars reference?

Andrew Lichtenberger: No, everyone thinks that. In the third grade, my friend Kevin gave me the nickname. I used to eat chewy granola bars pretty much every day, and I guess the name just stuck. I added the “lucky” part when I started playing poker.

JR: How did you get into poker?

AL: I got into poker through a co-worker. When I was 17, I used to work at a bowling alley, hosting birthday parties for little kids. The guy who ran the pro shop used to play on PartyPoker whenever it was slow, and during my downtime, I used to go over there and sweat him while he played.

After a few days of watching him and picking up on a few things about the game here and there, I was able to convince some friends to come over for a few home games. We never played for any serious money or anything, but I got my dad to deposit some money for me online.

JR: What were you playing in those days?

AL: From the beginning, it was cash games for me. I was pretty up and down for a while, but I was able to get myself up to $1-$2, with the occasional shot at $2-$4. Then, the UIGEA [Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act] came, and I was forced to move my money to the more American-friendly sites.

I spent about a year and a half moving up from $1-$2 to as high as $3-$6 before I hit a downswing. It was at that point that I started to mix in some tournaments.

JR: Do you consider yourself to be more of a cash-game or tournament player?

AL: I’m a poker player, first and foremost. If the action for a week is in tournaments, I’ll play tournaments. If the action is in the cash games, I’ll play those. I don’t want to define myself as any particular type of player. Whatever is running, I’m game for it.

JR: There’s a running joke in the online community: “There’s no money in no-limit hold’em. Everyone’s solid.” Do you think that’s true?

AL: I don’t really believe that, unless you are talking about the super high-stakes nosebleed games, which have been a bit slow recently. The truth is that the games are getting harder to beat for the marginal winners of two years ago. That being said, there are still plenty of soft spots at pretty much every available limit and variation. You just have to use better table selection.

JR: What games do you focus on when you are playing online?

AL: Right now, I play mainly heads-up games if I can find someone to play me, or six-max games if they are running. I’ve actually been grinding at a little bit smaller stakes than I’m used to, just because of my Full Tilt sponsorship. With the rakeback and the hourly wage, it has become super profitable for me.

JR: Does it bother you that you can’t get heads-up action, or is it more of an ego boost that so few people are willing to play you?

AL: I guess it was flattering at first, but I try not to let my ego get too big. Yes, it’s sort of a pat on the back when someone won’t play you, but I’d rather have people play me than pay me a compliment. It’s a very common problem. “Bumhunting” bothers me, in that it’s becoming increasingly more difficult to get action when I play heads up, but at the same time, I can’t say that I wouldn’t do the same thing if I was in a similar position. If I’m sitting across the table from someone I feel I can’t beat, why would I play him? So, I can’t really hate on someone else who is just trying to make a dollar. It goes back to what I said earlier about table selection. Luckily for me, at the stakes that I play, I don’t really have to worry about feeling outclassed.

JR: Was there ever a time in your career when you struggled?

AL: I had a lot of trouble moving from $1-$2 to $2-$4 when I switched sites. When I made the transition, there immediately was a tougher pool of players that I was up against. I spent about three months struggling before I figured out how to win again.

JR: What kind of advice do you have for players who want to come up the same way that you did?

AL: A lot of people advocate or justify taking controlled shots with your bankroll at some higher stakes. I honestly think it’s mandatory if you want to move through the limits. If you are trying to get to the top, you have to make things happen. If you are obeying the 100 buy-in rule, you may move up eventually, but it will take a very long time. Not only that, but it will be bad for your progression as a poker player, because you will be stuck with the same type of opponents over and over again. You won’t be learning anything new, and even worse, you may develop some bad habits that will hurt you at the next level.

When I first started out, my bankroll management was about as bad as it could be. Pretty much whatever I had in my account was going on the table. It didn’t take me too long to realize that that’s a pretty easy way to bust my bankroll. Going broke a few times made me a bit too conservative with my bankroll. It wasn’t until I met my good friend Steven “Zugwat” Silverman in the summer of 2007 that I started to open it up a bit more. He was all about taking shots, and after grinding it out for a bit, it really started to make sense to me. After that, I began to look for opportunities where the lineup was particularly soft or I knew that I was playing well enough to take my shots. I didn’t do anything too crazy; I just set aside 10 percent of my bankroll to see what happened. It didn’t take nearly as long to move up the limits after that.

Of course, it all depends on what your goals are. I know plenty of players who are making a comfortable living by grinding $1-$2. But if you truly want to make a run to the higher stakes, you need to take calculated risks with your bankroll.

JR: What’s next for you?

AL: I’ve just started to learn pot-limit Omaha. I decided to learn that first before getting into the mixed games, simply because it’s a lot more similar to hold’em than the stud or lowball games are, and a lot of the same concepts apply. So, I feel that I’m picking that up pretty well.

I’ll probably start playing more cash games soon. There will most likely be an increase in action after the WSOP wraps up, simply because some big tournament winners will all of a sudden think they can jump into the higher stakes online. Those guys will need to adapt quickly or they will most likely get picked apart by all of the regulars, and hopefully I’ll be there to get some, as well.