PocketFives had the opportunity to interview longtime member Sean Wawa711 Rice (pictured), who like many other players got bit by the Moneymaker Boom and started playing No Limit Texas Hold’em, which was a form of poker he was not accustom to playing back in high school.
Rice is no stranger to the big stage, as he has impressive results online and live. Just this summer, Rice finished sixth in Event #22 of the World Series of Poker for $53,256. With over $851,000 in tracked online cashes, some of his notable accomplishments on the New Jersey regulated sites include shipping the 888 Poker$35,000 Guarantee, winning the PartyPoker $10,000 Guarantee, and getting second in the 888 $30,000 Guarantee for a total of $19,286.
Visit PocketFives’ New Jersey poker community for the latest news and discussion from New Jersey players.
PocketFives: Give us your thoughts and experiences of regulated online poker in New Jersey.
I love it. I could complain about the small tournament field sizes due to a limited, statewide player pool, but the fact of the matter is we are extremely lucky to live in one of three states that regulates online poker. Depositing and withdrawing funds is more flexible and secure and the online satellites offered for local live events are awesome. I’m definitely looking forward to more states getting their own regulation bills through, but we obviously need to be patient.
PocketFives: What got you started playing online poker and how long have you been playing?
I started playing seriously in high school. My Dad has been playing in casual dealer’s choice games with friends my entire life, so I always knew how to play just from watching them. Once Moneymaker and ESPN introduced me to Texas Hold’em, I immediately started learning it online in play money games. Eventually, I deposited $50 and played $1 MTTs in which the site added money to the prize pool. Finally, I took second in one for $200 and slowly built my bankroll from there.
PocketFives: Do you recall any big hands that helped you win or lose a tournament?
Unfortunately, one I will never forget was the one that knocked me out of the 2012 Main Event. I entered Day 4 second in chips (behind New Jersey’s own Dave doubledave22 D’Alesandro actually), took over the chip lead briefly, and eventually got moved to one of the secondary featured tables where Paul paulgees81 Volpe had a mountain of chips. It’s a long story that would require a lot of background info, but ultimately I lost a 1.5 million chip pot with AK versus 94cc on a K42TKccc board to bust. I believe the hand made it on TV and it is one that still keeps me up at night.
PocketFives: When playing online poker, do you prefer cash games, sit and gos, or tournaments?
I’m mainly a tournament player online. I have played more cash and sit and gos in the past, but I have always preferred tournaments. I find them more exciting than grinding cash games or sit and gos and I think my tight-aggressive playing style is suited better for tournaments.
PocketFives: How do you prepare yourself before a session?
I prefer to get in a light workout before any extended session and eat something reasonably healthy. It gives me the natural energy to stay focused for long periods of time. Back in college, Sunday tournament sessions would sometimes go for 14 hours. I’ve learned as I’ve gotten older that my body doesn’t take kindly to Dominos and Red Bull anymore.
Also, I like to review some hand histories of my own play, read some forum posts, or watch training videos. I tend to notice a rust factor during the early stages of a session if I go in cold.
PocketFives: Is there anyone or anything that helped change how you approach the game?
Overall, I can’t stress enough the importance of bankroll management. Whether you are new to the game or a high-stakes regular, if you don’t respect the funds you have available to use, you’re going to end up going on financial and emotional roller-coaster rides. Not only will it encourage you to play in games in which your EV is lower, it will also cause more stress when a large percentage of your bankroll is at stake. If you want to be a long-term winner in poker, you have to be able to handle the short-term swings. The only way to do that is through proper bankroll management.
I was fortunate enough to meet a number of phenomenally talented poker players and awesome people coming up, including Bryan “TheMiniJew” Kessler, Jake “psutennis11” Toole, Eric “psunyy51” Ladny, and Orson “youngorson” Young. Being able to discuss hands and different strategies with them took my game to a whole new level.
PocketFives: What do you do away from poker? What else interests you?
I work full-time as a wealth management advisor for a statewide trust company. As much as I love poker, I knew it was never something I wanted to pursue as my sole source of income. I’m very interesting in the financial markets and come from a family of estate planners, so I’m where I want to be.
Within the last year, I have started to offer private poker coaching services to a handful of players. While it’s been rewarding to see some of my students show signs of progress, I must admit selfishly that coaching has been a great way to help improve my own game.
Aside from work and poker, I have been getting into daily fantasy sports and very much enjoy music. I took up playing the drums a couple of years ago and have absolutely loved it. Now I want to learn as many instruments as I possibly can.