The Scoop -- Daniel Alaei

Daniel Alaei has won three World Series of Poker bracelets in the past five years, and a World Poker Tour title, and has more than $5.2 million in tournament winnings. Yet, with all of this, he has kept a low profile. He stopped by The Scoop studio to discuss the interesting circumstances surrounding his first bracelet.

Diego Cordovez: It seems that you fly under the radar to some extent, even though you are very respected in the poker world. You need more public relations effort.

Daniel Alaei: Maybe (laughing).

DC: Does that matter to you at all?

DA: It has never been a major focus for me. I try to just play; I don’t really put too much effort into the other stuff. But it seems like maybe I should have, that maybe I missed some opportunities, but I don’t really care. I kind of like just chillin’ and doing my own thing.

DC: The big thing is winning.

DA: Yeah, just winning and relaxing, and kind of going at my own pace.

Adam Schoenfeld: As long as you are winning the money, and also have the pride of accomplishment because your game is improving and you’re good at all games, it’s better not to be famous, because you don’t get bothered when you go out.

DA: Yeah, I can see that, for sure. I am low-key in general, so I don’t like to be bothered with that stuff, anyway.

DC: But the respect of your peers is important?

DA: Yeah, that definitely is, and as long as I feel that it’s there, that is good enough for me.

DC: So, let’s go through your accomplishments. Your first bracelet, surprisingly enough, was in deuce-to-seven no-limit lowball. Jennifer Harman had very famously won that event, never having played a hand of it, just getting a five-minute lesson from Howard Lederer. I read that this was the same experience that you had.

DA: Yeah, it is actually a funny story, because I made a bet with Billy Baxter that year; he laid me 10-to-1 on winning a bracelet, and that was the last event remaining before the main event. I went to the Rio to play, and said, “What the hell …”

DC: You wouldn’t have played it if you didn’t have the bracelet bet?

DA: Right. So, I saw Billy in the room, and he is by far the best in the world at that game.

AS: The greatest lowball player of all time.

DA: He has six or seven bracelets in the game, so I told him that I had never played before. I hadn’t even played triple-draw. I had played no deuce. So, I asked Billy to give me some pointers, and he gave me a five- or 10-minute lesson.

DC: Against his own interests.

AS: That shows you that he’s a great guy.

DA: Billy is the best. He’s one of my favorite guys in poker. So, at my first table, I have Doyle and a bunch of tough players. For the first level or so, I was just getting used to the cards, and then I kind of got the hang of it. I almost think that playing games that you are not familiar with can be better, because you are forced to pay attention the entire tournament. There is no autopilot.

AS: In that tournament, where there are a lot of great players, you can actually learn pretty fast if you watch what they’re doing. You can pick up a lot.

DA: And in that game especially, there are a lot of antes and a lot of bluffing; it’s good to always be alert, because you don’t just throw away a bad hand when you see it. You look at the situation; you might reraise a guy with nothing, and a lot of times he just can’t call you. Since you can’t limp in that game, they are opening with all of the hands they are going to play, but can’t always call a reraise. There is a lot of poker involved in that game.