Tournament Trail Q and A -- Mark PhilippoussisThe Former Australian Tennis Pro Talks About Becoming More Familiar with High-Stakes Poker Tournaments |
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Mark Philippoussis has won 11 ATP World Tour tennis singles titles. He has also played in the finals of the U.S. Open and Wimbledon, two of the Grand Slam titles in professional tennis. Philippoussis recently retired from the game of pro tennis, but he has turned to another game in professional poker. He played in his first Aussie Millions in 2008, and he was back for more this year.
Card Player caught up with him in the Crown Casino poker room and he talked about the similarities between the two games and his learning process at the felt.
Ryan Lucchesi: What first brought you to poker from professional tennis? Was it a way to wind down from the adrenaline flow of competition?
Mark Philippoussis: You know what, we played a lot if we were at a tournament and it was raining. A bunch of us would throw in $20, and the winner would walk away with the pot, so I’ve been playing for a few years.
RL: As an athlete you have a unique perspective for this next question. Has the average Australian's affinity for sport carried over to the growth of poker?
MP: Definitely; I think Joe [Hachem] is a huge part of that. This room has just grown, this tournament a few years ago was a few hundred people, and every year it has just doubled and blown up. The cash games here are huge, and it’s packed non-stop.
RL: Was it a little strange today to be watching the Australian Open from your seat in the poker tournament as opposed to playing in it?
MP: It is, and I would like to say it’s relaxing, but I’m actually quite stressed at the table.
RL: Would you say it is more stressful on the tennis court or the poker table?
MP: The poker table, for sure. I’m a little more relaxed this year, maybe too relaxed, because I’ve made a couple of loose calls…It’s like when you go on for a match, when you’re a little nervous it keeps you on your toes. It’s the same for a lot of other things, as well.
RL: What’s the best comparison to be made between the games of poker and tennis? Is a heads-up game of poker most similar to a singles tennis match?
MP: You know, one thing that is very similar is, for instance, when you work hard on the court and you can be up, and within a couple of minutes the match has turned and you lose your concentration. I think it’s the same here, you can work up your stack and be so disciplined, and through a loss of concentration you make a bad call and all of a sudden half your stack is gone that you built over the last 2-3 hours, and it’s gone in 5 seconds. I think that’s how it is similar.
RL: Obviously mental composure is important in every sport, but it plays an even larger role at a poker table. How has your tennis experience helped your mental composure at a poker table?
MP: I’d like to try and say that I have patience. It’s not great, but it’s not too bad. One thing [I'm trying to improve upon from last year] is that last year I was so nervous that I wasn’t playing too many hands. This year I’ve been playing a lot of poker, we have Monday night poker with friends and we get a couple of tables going, and I’ve been trying to get more aggressive.
RL: In tennis you’re trying to look for whatever edge you have over your opponent’s weaknesses or through your own strengths. Are you thinking the same way at a poker table when you profile opponents?
MP: I think I would have thought that being aggressive does help in certain situations, because players are taking it easy and playing tight, but I don’t know. I’ve tried that, and it hasn’t worked so far, so I don’t know [laughs].
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