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 I
use to play card games with my friends all thru school. In junior high and high school mainly blackjack and draw poker later.
My parents would have friends over
and they played a game called Tripoly. I did very well but
never won any large amounts because they were playing for fun.
When I was 17 I discovered a poker room in san Bruno Calif.
called Artichoke Joes. Friday and Sat night from 3pm
till 2am that was my home.
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The longest session I've had at a poker table is 20 hours. It
started out when I bought into a tournament that started at noon
and we played until 2am. I still wasn't completely worn out so I
bought into a 10-20 no limit game. The most I've won in a
tournament was at the WSOP Senior Event two years ago. That was
a $280,000 dollar payday. I don't play really high limit cash
games except for the 10-20. I won 36000 once. I retired 2 years
ago from my real job as a high level hotel casino exec. Poker is
grueling. It is definitely work.
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Tony Korfman
Born in New York, raised by
seagulls in San Francisco, now living in Nevada, author and gaming
professional Tony
Korfman has been around. In his new book Texas Hold'Em, Tony brings
his experience and sense of humor to the world of Texas Hold'Em
Poker.
Tony is no stranger to writing. "I wrote the Playing to Win series
of gaming books in 1984," he says. "It was a 6 book series, Playing
to Win Craps, Playing to Win Slots, etc... They are still available
in Las Vegas gift shops, and finer swap meets and garage sales"
Fast-forward over 20 years later "I began to see all kinds of Hold'Em programs on television and in casinos," he says.
"It was
really becoming the rage." After playing for about a year and
half, Tony began taking notes. These notes turned into over 400
pages of strategy, winning techniques, poker stories and poker
secrets.
This Hold'em book is unlike any other on the market.
The book is not only about poker, but about life.
According to Tony, 80% of Pro's who have read Texas Hold'Em say it's
a must read. "The other 20% can't read, but enjoyed the pictures,"
he explains. "The book is a fact-filled book, but I made up 80% of
it," he says. Tony not only takes you into the major Las Vegas strip
casinos he's played at, but also provides laugh out loud situations
that have had the poker pros that have read the book "immediately
seek therapy".
Tony still plays a lot of tournament
Hold'em and other cash games.
Featured on the Ultimate Poker Challenge television high stakes
poker program, he recently came in second at the World Series of
Poker senior tournament that had 1830 entries. His humor at the
poker table has made him a legend. He now lives near Las Vegas with
his wife of over 40 years.
Books-and-Authors.net: Where did you grow up and was reading
and writing a part of your life? Who were your earliest
influences and why?
TONY: I partially physically grew up in the Bronx, New York
City. We moved from there when I was 10. Our family got tired
of falling asleep counting the shots fired and the screams for
help. We moved to San Francisco where I was raised by a very
nice family of seagulls. Believe me when I tell you, they're up
to something. I had a paper route and worked throughout my
school years. I went to Sacred Heart High School which was an
all boys Catholic high school in a really bad part of town. I
tried to get them to change the name to
Our Lady of Courageous
Caucasians
to no avail. English composition was always my
favorite subject. I had two goals: Either make the teacher
laugh or make the teacher cry.
My two favorite books were 'I Want to Quit
Winners'
by Harold Smith Jr., who owned Harolds club in downtown
Reno. I knew when I was 16 that the gaming industry would be my
career. The other book was a real estate book by a fellow named
Nickerson called
"How I Turned 1000 Dollars Into A Million
Dollars." I still have both books in my bookcase.
Books-and-Authors.net: How old were you when you played your
first game of cards? When did you become a professional poker
player?
TONY:
I use to play card games with my friends all thru school. In junior high and high school mainly blackjack and draw poker later.
My parents would have friends over
and they played a game called Tripoly. I did very well but
never won any large amounts because they were playing for fun.
When I was 17 I discovered a poker room in San Bruno Calif.,
called Artichoke Joes. Friday and Sat night from 3pm till 2am
that was my home. I saw and learned a lot at Artichoke Joes. I
have never been a pro if the definition of a pro is to make your
living playing. Its very difficult to pay all your bills and
raise your family by just playing. There are so many swings and
up and down weeks and months that even the best have trouble
doing it. Todd Brunson told me the family never knew how things
would be at home. Chicken one month feathers the next. I
always had a steady job and became a craps and 21 dealer when I
was 21. I retired recently as a general manager of one of
Mandalay Bay Resorts properties. When the MGM Grand bought
Mandalay Bay Resorts a few years ago for 7.9 billion the top
execs got big checks so we could live happily ever after. Out of
boredom I began to play tournament poker with more frequency
Books-and-Authors.net: Why did you write TEXAS HOLD'EM? Can you
briefly explain the game of TEXAS HOLD'EM?
TONY: It
took me about a year to write the book. I wanted it to be a fun
easy read and that's how I think it turned out. I had read other
books and there is no question many are great ones. I didn't
want a great book. I wanted an entertaining and informative
book. The game of Holdem is actually fairly simple. Two cards
are dealt face down to each player. There is a round of
betting. The dealer then burns a card and then turns up 3 cards from the top of the
deck. These are community cards. Everyone uses them for their
hand. The 3 cards are called the flop. There's another round of
betting and the dealer burns the top card and turns up the next
card. This is called the turn card. Another round of betting
ensues and the dealer burns the next card and turns up the final
card called the river card. Another round of betting and then
the showdown. Everyone uses the 5 cards on the board plus the
two in their hand. The best 5 cards are used for your hand.
Books-and-Authors.net: TEXAS HOLD'EM (the book) is about cards
and strategy but it is also a lot about your funny point of view
on life -- Did you start out to write a straight poker book and
it ended up being about poker and a very funny look everything
else? Explain.
TONY:
My friends and I always enjoy laughing. Before I wrote the book
I took notes in tournaments and cash games for over a year. I
had a stack of notes about 2 feet thick and that was the
beginning. I looked at that stack for a long time before I
finally made the commitment to tackle it. Years ago I wrote
a series of playing to win books. There were seven of them.
They are still being sold in gift shops. Each booklet was about
50 pages but once I wrote the first one I just rubber stamped the
rest. Playing to
Win Craps
and Playing to
Win Blackjack sold
about 350000 copies each. Playing To Win Poker, Keno ,Slots,
and Roulette didn't sell as many. They were also humorous fun
reads but had no profanity. I don't know why I used profanity this
time. I just did.
Books-and-Authors.net: As I mentioned above TEXAS HOLD'EM is
very funny -- Have you always been a comedian? Any thoughts of
doing stand up to promote the book or do you make more money at
the poker table? What's your favorite joke?
TONY:
I just think funny sometimes. It may be in church, in a class
room or at 3 in the morning. I always keep a pad and pen on my
nightstand so if I think of something funny I can write it
down. I always tell kids that. Sometimes million dollar ideas
come at 3 in the morning. If you don't write them down you won't
remember them when you wake up. I'm really not a joke teller. I
like my horoscope section. That always produces a chuckle and
many of my stories do the same.
Books-and-Authors.net: What is the longest time you have spent
at a poker table without getting up? What's the most money you
have made at a poker table? Is playing professional poker work?
What was the last real job you had before playing poker?
TONY:
The longest session I've had at a poker table is 20 hours. It
started out when I bought into a tournament that started at noon
and we played until 2am. I still wasn't completely worn out so I
bought into a 10-20 no limit game. The most I've won in a
tournament was at the WSOP Senior Event two years ago. That was
a $280,000 dollar payday. I don't play really high limit cash
games except for the 10-20. I won 36000 once. I retired 2 years
ago from my real job as a high level hotel casino exec. Poker is
grueling. It is definitely work.
Books-and-Authors.net: Why should someone buy a copy of TEXAS
HOLD'EM today?
TONY: They
should buy or steal a copy as soon as they can. 80 percent of
the pros that read it thought it was very humorous. The other
20 percent haven't had sex in over a year and are very tense.
They don't think anything is humorous.
Books-and-Authors.net: What are your poker buddies saying about
your new book? Are they jealous? Has anyone that is mentioned in
the book complained? Have you been sued yet ?
TONY: My
poker buddies love the book because they can borrow more money
from me now. After reading the book Barry Greenstein kicked me
in the balls and Phil Helmuth bitch slapped me twice. So far
that's it.
Books-and-Authors.net: What do you hope to achieve with
TEXAS HOLD'EM?
TONY: I hope to achieve near greatness. Ok. I'm
lying. I hope to achieve greatness.
Books-and-Authors.net: What's next?
TONY: Whats next?? At my age I dont plan too far ahead. I'm just
hoping to get to lunch.
Books-and-Authors.net: Do you have any hobbies? What are
they? How do they enhance your writing? TONY: My hobbies
include light reading, watching Tivo, caring for my rental
properties, and having lunch and dinner with my great wife
of 40 years. None of these enhance my writing but now that
you bring it up, enhancement might not be a bad idea.
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