In the town of Deptford, NJ on any given day, Patrick “Crusher3000” Mullaney prepares for work by walking down his bedroom hallway followed by his loyal buddy Oscar, and takes a seat in his office. Fires up BODOG POKER on his dual 24” monitors and begins selecting his “prey” (…..errrr…..tables).
I had the pleasure of interviewing Patrick “Crusher3000” Mullaney a few nights ago.
I threw some questions his way. Here is what’s on his mind and what he had to say…..
What educational background do you have? Is poker your only income?
“I graduated from
“No kids yet. I just got married in August of 2008.”
When did you start playing poker seriously? When did you start winning consistently? Did you have a revelation of sorts?
“I have always enjoyed gambling since I was in college and I got into sports betting. I was a losing gambler until my second year of law school when I finally started figuring out how to beat poker
It took me about a year of playing online frequently in law school before I became a consistent winner. No real revelation... I think it is just something that slowly comes to you as you gain experience.”
Did you start out at Bodog? Where did you play before Bodog?
“I started out playing SNG’s on Party Poker. After UIGEA I moved to Full Tilt Poker and Poker Stars before coming to Bodog Poker.”
I started at Party Poker as well.
What is a typical day-in-the-life of Crusher3000 look like?
“I wake up every weekday around noon and watch
Living the DREAM!
We know you play tons of online poker, but do you play live cash games? If so where? What’s your opinion of live games?
“(I am) not a big fan of live games. I get really bored when playing live, and the others at the table tend to either be extremely annoying or extremely unfriendly.”
I tend to disagree, I love live games। I’ve played them for a very long time in NYC. But those games are more of a fraternity. Casino games can be quite annoying given a certain table make-up sometimes. Drunks and "Pit Game" degenerates come to mind.
Do you play MTT’s? Which ones? Successful?
“I try to stay away from tournaments. I once got 4th place in the Full Tilt Poker $1k Monday. That is by far my biggest tourney score ever, and I would be surprised if I ever do better than that in the future. I probably play about two tournaments per month.”
Which Bodog NLHE cash game regular do you respect the most at the tables? Why?
“There are a lot of regulars on Bodog who I think are very good. I have been playing full time on Bodog now for a while now and I've seen a lot of people come and go, but the regulars now are exponentially better than the ones who were here when I first came up.”
Which Bodog NLHE cash game player(s) is (are) over-rated in your opinion? Why?
“I get irritated by the guys who do nothing but bum hunt and then get these phenomenal win rates. I'm not going to name any names, but I was reading through a random msnl thread on twoplustwo and I saw that a Bodog regular had posted a link to his tableratings graph and was fishing for compliments. This guy is one of those guys who doesn't play unless there is a major drooler at the table, but it seemed like he wanted people to think that he was really good at poker rather than really good at datamining and memorizing the screen names of fish"
“I think it is terrible for online cash games. Why is it anyone's business? Who wins or loses how much money? The thing about poker is that losing players honestly think that they are good at poker. If these people can be presented with proof, proof that is available to anyone who wants to take a look,, that they are not actually as good as they think they are; then that is a bad thing. They will either stop playing out of embarrassment or they will take steps to get better.
I also think that it has destroyed a lot of competition among regulars. This competition is essential to the overall health of a site, especially a smaller site like Bodog. Fish want to play in games that are already running.
I remember when I first moved up to 5-10 NL, I was a little nervous, but I also wanted to prove to myself that I could compete with the other players who played that limit. Looking back I think that if I could look players up and see that they were huge winners, it might have changed my attitude toward the whole thing, and I would have been more intimidated.”
These words should be carved in stone!
How do you deal with tilt? Do you tilt? Have a funny story about tilt?
“I get physical symptoms from tilt. My face and head start to feel really hot. I usually try to just play through it, but if it gets to the point where I feel like I'm making poor decisions I will take a break.”
Do you offer coaching services privately? Have you thought of coaching?
“I have never coached anyone before.”
What’s the best poker tip off the top of your head that you can give to up and coming NLHE cash players looking to climb the cash game stakes ladder?
“Pay attention to how your opponents react to 3-bets. Do they frequently call out of position? Do they fold when they don't have a premium hand? Do they 4-bet bluff you if you start 3-betting them a lot? I think that there are a lot of regulars who play pretty poorly in these situations and they are situations where it is important to play well because more money is on the line. I don't want to get too strategy specific, but use logic to figure out how to exploit the tendencies of your opponent in these spots.
Also, PAY YOUR TAXES. I know that it is tempting not to, but payouts from online poker are very traceable and you do not want to mess with the IRS.”
Again thank you Crusher3000 for your time and this interview. I know that all my readers and I wish you nothing but success in the future and health & well-being!
~Wc
PS: I always think of this guy when I see your screen name on bodog.......
