SpadeClub Poker Winner -- Shane 'smgunning' GunningSpadeClub Member Wins $5,000 Weekly Event |
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Shane “smgunning” Gunning of Pennsylvania is SpadeClub’s latest $5,000 weekly event winner. Gunning’s competitive personality shines through in everything he does, from snowmobiling to golfing to poker, in which and he has claimed he can outlast the best SpadeClub has to offer.
Card Player had the chance to ask Gunning about his recent win and how he got the “itch” for poker on SpadeClub.com.
Card Player: First off, tell me a little bit about yourself.
Shane “smgunning” Gunning: I'm originally from upstate New York, but moved to the Lehigh Valley, Pennsylvania more than 25 years ago. My wife, Lynn, and I have been married for 23 years. We have a son, Brent, 21, who attends Penn State University, and a daughter, Megan, 19, who attends University of North Carolina in Wilmington. I’m a marketing director for LSI, where we develop semiconductors for the storage and networking markets.
My hobbies include poker and snowmobiling, but my real love is golf, where I carry a (2) handicap. I thrive on competition and love playing in local tournaments or just with my buddies for a few bucks.
CP: How long have you been playing poker and what got you interested in playing poker on SpadeClub?
SG: I’ve only been playing hold’em for about a year and a half. I started watching it on TV and it became addicting. A friend of mine at work, “itchy” introduced me to SpadeClub, where I’ve been a member for a little over two months. Every Monday morning, “itchy” and I share our poker war stories from the weekend and talk about playing strategies.
CP: Do you consider yourself a recreational, amateur, or professional poker player?
SG: It’s a hobby, but one that I would like to get better at over time. I’m addicted to playing, so I guess I'm an amateur. When I started, I was always on the losing end. So, I went and bought about 10 poker books, and I’ve fully read half of them and skimmed through the others. My skills have improved, but not to the professional level, yet.
CP: What is your general strategy going into a tournament?
SG: You've got to get off to a good start and stay above the average chip stack. It’s so difficult coming from behind, although it can happen. Early in the tournament, you almost always can find a player to call an all-in bet. So, if you have aces, kings, or the nuts, you can bet big and get a caller or two and hopefully build your chip stack.
CP: What was the hardest lesson you had to learn while playing poker?
SG: Patience. It’s tough to sit there and fold hand after hand. It’s even tougher after seeing the flop hit the hand you just folded. But it’s rewarding to remember that the odds just weren't in your favor and you made the right decision. As Harrington has said, you want to make your opponent make the wrong decision. Over time, this will make you a winner.
It’s also tough to watch the hands where you are not involved, that you’ve already folded, but you have to watch them in order to get a feel for the players at the table and build a mental library of their playing habits.
CP: What is your method to go about piecing together what kinds of hands your opponents could be holding?
SG: Tough one. You’ve got to watch a table for quite a few hands to get a feel for the players. Are they tight, aggressive, dangerous, loose, or what? Do they try to trap, bluff, or bet the strength of their hands? Then, when you are in a hand, you try and piece it all together and make a best guess as to what they have. The most difficult part for me is to go back and reconstruct the hand to try to conclude if you are right or not before making that final bet or call. Daniel Negreanu is the best I’ve seen. I’m amazed when he calls the exact cards in the other player’s hand. I’ve got a long way to go to develop my skills in this area.
CP: Was there a particularly key hand that you played in the tournament that helped lead you to victory?
SG: The hand I remember most was one that I lost. I had pocket fours in position, and the flop came A-8-4. With two previous raisers, I thought this could be a big pot, as I’m sure one or both of them had an ace. There was a raise, a substantial re-raise, and I pushed all in. I had plenty of chips to cover them both. The first player folded, and the second player called. He turned over pocket eights. I thought to myself that if it was reversed and he had me covered in chips, I’d be out of the tournament. So, I felt lucky enough to be able to continue.
CP: Who was your toughest opponent in the event and why? What aspects of their games made them tough to play against?
SG: xxRELIKxx. I had him heads up at the end, and we played back and forth for thirty minutes or so. I was on several tables with him and saw him almost down and out several times, and each time he clawed his way back into the tournament. He also had a ton of rail support, which I tried to ignore because I didn’t want any comments to influence my decisions. After I was up in chips 1.5-1, he became disconnected and lost 25 percent of his remaining chips. Once he got back, we played a couple of hands before I beat his K-Q with pocket fives. Instead of complaining about getting disconnected, he congratulated me for the win. He’s a class act.
CP: What’s the most money you’ve ever won in a poker tournament?
SG: The most money was this $1,000 at the $5,000 weekly tournament on SpadeClub. Before that, it was a few hundred at our local tournaments.
CP: Do you have any plans for the money you just won?
SG: Actually, yes. “Itchy” has been asking me to play in some of his cash games. I wanted a bankroll from poker before playing in those games. This is it.
CP: Have you participated in any of the community features of SpadeClub? If so, what do you think?
SG: I’ve just started to participate in reading some blogs and watching a few videos. I always look at a person’s profile if I find their avatar interesting. I also like to look at a player’s rankings when I’m at a final table. It gives me a clue who to watch out for and who could be really dangerous. I’ve posted a few comments to some other players and started to build a list of friends. It’s a nice feature, and it makes it feel more like a family than just a poker site.
CP: What advice can you give to other SpadeClub members who are looking to go deep in these tournaments?
SG: Be patient and wait for your hands, and always take advantage of position. Don’t be afraid to be aggressive when it’s down to being in the money or making the final table. So many players play so tight at that time, and even sit out, that you have a good chance to pick up some extra chips. And remember, if you get busted, its only poker, and there is always another tournament on SpadeClub!
Check out more interviews at SpadeClub.com!
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