Scott Seiver -- $25,000 WPT Champion

Scott Seiver went to the final table of the 2011 World Poker Tour Championship with more than $2.9 million in tournament earnings, and much more from his expertise as a high-stakes cash-game player, but hours later, after taking down the $1.6 million first-place prize, you would have thought that the 26-year-old was making his first career cash.

Twitter exploded with congratulatory messages for Seiver shortly after the final card had been dealt. With messages such as, “It’s about time,” “Finally got the monkey off your back,” and “It couldn’t have happened to a nicer guy,” you’d think Seiver was breaking out of a long-standing slump.

But the kind words and sincere congratulations are just par for the course when it comes to Seiver, a man whom many have pegged as “the nicest guy in poker.” In an industry in which nice guys are few and far between, it’s a pleasure to introduce you to a player who leaves you smiling at the table long after taking your money.

Poker Beginnings

Seiver picked up poker by accident, stumbling into a $50 home game while attending Brown University. During his sophomore year, he met Issac Haxton, and was quickly introduced to online play. After a series of ups and downs, Seiver finally learned the concept of bankroll management and discovered that a poker career could prove to be highly lucrative. After graduating, he was forced to have a difficult conversation with his family, who would discover that he had no plans to utilize his degrees in computer science and economics.

“They’ve always been really supportive of anything I’ve done, but I definitely threw them for a loop when I told them I wanted to play poker professionally,” Seiver said. “I basically graduated from college and then told them my plans to pursue a career in poker. At the time, they didn’t even know that I knew the rules of poker, let alone was pretty good at it. So, it took a lot of faith on their part to let me go down that path.”
Indeed, Seiver’s parents were so out of the loop that they weren’t even in attendance when he won his first World Series of Poker bracelet in 2008. He won nearly $756,000 for taking down a $5,000 no-limit hold’em event with 731 players.

In fact, it wasn’t until 2010, almost three years after he started playing, that his parents finally got the chance to see him play, at the Mohegan Sun Casino in Connecticut, where he finished fourth in the North American Poker Tour main event. This May, Seiver’s father, Jeff, and grandfather, Stan, came to see him play at the final table of the WPT Championship, and not only were treated to a win, but also were able to experience a very pro-Scott crowd that was filled with friends who had nothing but nice things to say about him.

“Parents are always going to worry, but luckily my results have kind of reassured
them that I know what I’m doing and have a bright future in this game,” he said. “It really meant a lot to me that they came away knowing that poker and the success I’ve had haven’t changed me at all. I’m still the same guy I was before, someone they could be proud of.”

A Favorite Among His Peers

Seiver’s reputation as one of the nicest guys in poker has been earned thanks to a great upbringing and an always positive attitude. The brutal swings of variance have most poker players on edge, but Seiver maintains his friendly disposition regardless of how he’s doing on the felt.

“Believe it or not, I work hard on my reputation,” Seiver admitted. “I feel that I aspire to be a fun-loving, likable guy, and I’m happy that it shines through to my peers. Poker is my job, so the last thing that I want to do is make the time I spend at work a miserable experience.”

However, being well-liked isn’t all that Seiver wants from his peers. He’d like their respect, as well. So, whether it’s tournaments or cash games, Seiver has spent the last few years expanding his repertoire to include as many games as possible.

“It doesn’t matter what you do in this game, there will always be something lacking, a hole in your resume that you can fill,” he explained. “There are players out there who have been criticized for their success on one tour and their failures on another. For a long time, I was known as a player who did well only in bigger buy-in, smaller-field tournaments. I’d rather not be known for being a niche player. I’d rather be respected for being a well-rounded pro who excels in all games, whether it’s cash or tournaments.”

The New Big Game

In an effort to excel in mixed games, Seiver has spent the majority of his time taking on the regulars at anywhere from $300-$600 to $1,000-$2,000 in Ivey’s Room at the Aria Casino. The game has seen a rotating lineup of notables, including Daniel Negreanu, Doyle Brunson, Johnny Chan, and Jean-Robert Bellande, among others. Despite the stakes and players at the table, Seiver finds the experience much less stressful than online play.

“I don’t find it stressful. The players are friendly and there is a much slower pace of play. Online, because of the number of hands you are seeing per hour, usually heads up, it has a tendency to increase the emotional highs and lows, which can really wear people down. It’s literally a constant adrenaline rush for the duration of your session.

There’s no chance to sit back and absorb what just happened, which allows things to get away from you. The game in Ivey’s Room has been in a fun and relaxed atmosphere, which has made the transition very enjoyable.”

Although he preferred not to disclose how he has fared so far, Seiver did hint at his results, saying that he’s really been enjoying his time on the felt. The game features a crazy assortment of mixed games that includes badeucey and badacey, two games that combine triple-draw lowball and badugi. Although his cash-game background focused primarily on heads-up no-limit hold’em and pot-limit Omaha, Seiver doesn’t think he’s giving up any sort of edge to his opponents.

“I feel that I have a really good technical understanding of poker, and that has translated to a proficiency in all of the games, for the most part. I’ve always said that if I were to sit down with someone and invent the rules to a brand-new game, I would be a good candidate to do well, simply because of my strong fundamentals and ability to pick up on the nuances of a game faster than most. Some people call it a natural intuition, and I guess that has helped me succeed across a broad spectrum of poker disciplines.”

A Great Poker Face

Other than his smile, Seiver is known for displaying a wide variety of faces at the table, some of which are odd and somewhat disturbing. When confronted with this information, Seiver simply laughed it off and confirmed that he is well aware of it.

“I started using it as a crutch, really,” he explained. “It was something I did to regulate my breathing and give off as few tells as possible. A lot of players are still giving off physical tells, and at the end of the day, when you are playing for millions of dollars, I find that unacceptable. I don’t mind looking foolish if it gives me the best chance to capitalize on a particular situation. I’m not ever going to be embarrassed by anything that makes me a better player. As a professional, I pride myself in doing what it takes to get the job done.”

Although he’s worried about his own physical tells, Seiver doesn’t like to read too much into the actions of others at the table. “I have a very good overall read. For me, it’s much less about the fact that an opponent’s hand is shaking or that he’s holding his breath. I tend to rely more on my overall read of someone as a person. Who is he, and why is he here? What is he trying to accomplish? That tells me way more about someone than the fact that he likes to stare down the other players.”

When asked about his greatest strength at the table, Seiver turned back to his personality and how it affects others around him. “I feel that one of my biggest strengths as a player is creating an ease of atmosphere,” he said. “Poker is a serious game, and I approach it as such, but when I’m not in a hand, you can bet that I’ll be doing whatever I can to get people to let their guards down. In fact, I’ve been told that I can seem somewhat threatening to other players, especially when I switch from jovial Scott to serious Scott. There’s a definite intimidation factor that can occur when you immediately switch from being the table clown to the sternest player at the table. I think players don’t always know how to handle it, and I’ve been able to use it to my advantage.”

Moving Forward

Black Friday has certainly affected Seiver’s life, moving his high-stakes cash games from online to the live arena, but he is quick to say that the move hasn’t been a negative experience.

“I have no plans post-Black Friday. I’ve been ‘ostriching,’ so to speak, pretty much burying my head in the sand, hoping that when I come up for air, all will be well with the poker world. When the time comes to make a tough decision, I may decide to move, especially if my friends do the same. Then again, I’m really enjoying the present and playing live, so there’s also a good chance that I’ll keep this routine.”
Going into this summer’s World Series of Poker, many are expecting Seiver to post big results and make deep finishes. Seiver, however, understands that past success doesn’t necessarily guarantee future rewards.

“I’m feeling great right now and running hot, but I’m not so brash as to guarantee any bracelets or final tables,” he said. “These events will have massive turnouts, even with Black Friday, so it will definitely take a little luck with the cards falling my way to have a monster summer. As selfish as it sounds, there’s this concept that a lot of other tournament players relate to — that nothing is ever good enough, and what have you done for me lately? It’s true that I’ve had way more than my fair share of tournament success, but I think it’s always important to maintain that hunger and never rest on past accomplishments. There is always something to improve on, and a new goal to achieve.” ♠

Seiver’s Tips for Professional Success

1. Play poker only when you are in the right frame of mind to do so. If you are looking to make this your profession, you absolutely have to detach the idea that poker is a casual game. Never play drunk, and never play lower stakes just to fool around with your friends. The last thing you want to do is create bad habits for yourself and reinforce the negative mindset that poker is just a profitable hobby.

2. If you don’t feel like you are playing your best, quit the game no matter how good it is. If you are tired, sleep. If you are hungry, eat. If you are losing, don’t feel the need to get it all back right away. The concept that a game is too good to leave is fallacious. If poker is your profession, you owe it to yourself to act like a professional. ♠

Seiver’s Tournament Results

Date Series Event Buy-In Finish Winnings
April 2007 PokerStars Sunday Million $500 Second $175,818
June 2008 World Series of Poker No-Limit Hold’em $5,000 First $755,891
January 2009 PokerStars Caribbean Adventure High Roller $25,000 Third $137,000
December 2009 Five-Diamond World Poker Classic No-Limit Hold’em $5,000 First $218,008
February 2009 Venetian Deep-Stack Extravaganza High Roller $25,000 Fourth $215,000
March 2010 L.A. Poker Classic High Roller $25,000 First $425,330
April 2010 North American Poker Tour Mohegan Sun Main Event $5,000 Fourth $190,000
May 2010 PokerStars Spring Championship of Online Poker $25,000 Second $200,000
May 2011 WPT Championship Main Event $25,000 First $1,618,344