Poker Tournament Trail -- Roland de Wolfe

Roland de Wolfe was a journalist writing about poker before he decided to take a seat at the felt as a professional player. The decision has proved to be a good one for the Londoner. He has now won $4,512,347 playing tournament poker, and this summer he achieved something that only one other poker player before him (Gavin Griffin) had accomplished. When de Wolfe won his first gold bracelet in the $5,000 pot-limit Omaha eight-or-better event at the 2009 World Series of Poker, he became the second player to win poker’s Triple Crown. His other Tripe Crown victories include a European Poker Tour title (2006 EPT Dublin main event), and a World Poker Tour title (2005 WPT Grand Prix de Paris championship event).

Card Player caught up with de Wolfe in Barcelona, where he talked about his reporting days and, of course, the Triple Crown that he recently captured.

Ryan Lucchesi: How proud were you to become the second Triple Crown winner in poker history this summer?

Roland de Wolfe: I was really proud. It was a really good achievement. Only one other guy has ever done it. Anyone can win one tournament, but to win consistently over a couple of years and win the Grand Slam of Poker is impressive.

RL: You were a reporter before you became a professional poker player, so since you have covered the game and know its history, are you more appreciative of achieving such a prestigious milestone?

RW: Yeah, of course. It really is a like a dream to live like this.

RL: You have a lot of experience watching the tournaments as an observer, and now you have a lot of experience playing in the events. What is the biggest difference between those two points of perception?

RW: Playing is a lot more fun. When you’re a writer, you know you’re going to be there until the end, so you don’t have the lows of busting out, but you don’t have the highs, either. There is a lot more pressure as a player, but the lifestyle is easier.

RL: Did the introduction as a journalist to the long hours that are involved in poker tournaments prepare you specifically for the long grind of tournament poker, especially during the early days of an event?

RW: Being a writer first helped me to become very comfortable in the environment. It’s something that helped me. Being around the players and being around the money didn’t really faze me, so it let me fit in seamlessly. I was trained up for what it was like, so I could really hit the places that I was used to.

RL: At what point of a tournament do you feel the most comfortable? When does your mind really focus in on playing your A-game to make a final-table run?

RW: The top players have a way of floating through the fields and getting down, even through a 2,000-player field. Like Phil Ivey just made it happen when he sat down in the main event, that’s what the great players do, they just find a way to make it happen. There is some luck, as well, but they find a way to do it more consistently than the other players. I feel good at the moment. Once you get midway through day 2, you see the tournament starting to take shape, and then once you hit the money, you’re getting ready to use the experience of going this deep before. I think about how many times I’ve been in this situation. I think back to the first time I played live, and it was so different. The experience is a huge advantage.

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