SpadeClub Poker Winner: Bruce 'jaxmaddog' Swindell

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SpadeClub Exclusive member Bruce “jaxmaddog” Swindell sat down at his computer on Sunday to play in the $5,000 weekly and was able to beat out the competition to take home his share of the $5,000 prize pool. Swindell has been playing poker off and on for about 10 years, both online and live, but has been playing $2-$5 no-limit hold'em consistently over the past year at a local poker room.

Swindell became interested in SpadeClub because it is a way for him to play occasionally at home for cash and other prizes for a low monthly fee, and it is 100 percent legal. When asked what advice he can give to other SpadeClub members, he replied, “Tournaments depend, obviously, on survival, and the only way to survive is with extreme patience. Patience equals final tables.”

Swindell hopes to make it to the final table of the $40,000 Mega Monthly coming up or to take home a $2,500 seat in a satellite for the 2009 Bellagio Five-Star World Poker Classic by finishing in first place in the Bellagio Championship Series monthly qualifier.

Card Player recently got the opportunity to talk to Swindell about his latest win and what he plans to do with his cash prize.


Card Player: What’s the most money you’ve ever won in a poker tournament?

Bruce “jaxmaddog” Swindell: Since I mostly play live ring games, the $1,500 from this one is the most I've ever won in a tournament.

CP: Do you have any plans for this money?

BS: Not really. I'll just add it to my poker bankroll.

CP: What was the most important thing that you did to get your game to where it is today?

BS: I really can't pin it down to any one thing. Reading various books and articles in Card Player, understanding the probabilities involved in the game, and playing thousands of hands certainly didn't hurt.

CP: What is the one thing that you wish you knew about earlier in your poker career?

BS: In the beginning, it would have been helpful to know that it is just as important to exploit your opponents’ weaknesses as it is to play your cards.

CP: What is your general strategy going into a tournament?

BS: Try to build a considerable chip stack against the weaker players during the early stages of a tourney, play a tight but profitable mid-game, and in the late stages take control of the table and capitalize on other players’ tight play when nearing the bubble.

CP: What is your method to go about piecing together what kinds of hands your opponents could be holding?

BS: I look at their previous play at the table and the size of the bets preflop, and, once we have cards on the table, I try to reverse-engineer the hand by trying to figure out what hand my opponent could possibly have had to take a certain action.

CP: What do you think is the key to success when a tournament gets down to heads-up poker?

BS: Applying continuous pressure to your opponent throughout the endgame. This strategy worked quite well for me in this tourney and really paid off with the SpadeClub daily tourney win when I started out as a 3-1 chip underdog at the start of heads-up play.

CP: Who was your toughest opponent in the event and why? What aspects of their games made them tough to play against?

BS: The second-place finisher, "the juice," was perhaps the toughest, and only because we were thrown together on the same table for virtually the entire tourney. This gave him a prolonged look at my playing strategy and made him a tough adversary. I also have to mention "TheBulldog" and "MacThetaX," who both gave me fits. I'm convinced if I had not knocked "TheBulldog" out in 10th place, he would have taken control of the final table and would be the one doing this interview.

CP: What factors do you consider when deciding whether or not to continuation bet when you miss the flop?

BS: I really consider what my opponents have shown me at the table. Do they play marginal hands or only premium hands? If I'm in late position, do they have a tendency to slow-play? What's the texture of the flop, and how big of a raise did I make preflop. Those and probably another half dozen factors play into the decision. I will say I think it's easier to determine in ring games because you spend more time with your opponents since you are not changing tables.

CP: What mistake do you see players making most often in poker tournaments?

BS: Calling all-in bets with very marginal hands on the flop early in the tournament. I’m talking about hands that leave you shaking your head and wondering, "What was that person thinking about?"

CP: Which poker skills do you still have to work on?

BS: I definitely have to work on not trying to extract the last dollar I can from every hand in my cash games.  While I don't do it all of the time, it really hurts in a no-limit game when you let you opponent "catch-up" after the flop.

CP: Have you participated in any of the community features of SpadeClub? If so, what do you think?

BS:  I've looked at some of the blogs, but not to a great extent. I think the blogs are good and plan to start writing one myself. I would really like to see a message board associated with SpadeClub, but am well aware of the problems associated with managing one.

CP: Anything else you would like to add?

BS: Not really. Just thanks for making SpadeClub a great place to play.

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