|
Gavin Smith at a Glance
|
Residence:
|
|
Las Vegas, NV
|
|
Birthdate: |
|
September 4, 1968
|
|
Career Highlights: |
|
2006 WPT Player of the Year
1st Place 2005 WPT Mirage Poker Showdown ($1,128,278)
3rd Place 2005 WPT Doyle Brunson Championship ($327,610)
1st Place 2006 World Pro-Am Challenge ($500,000)
Known for his fearlessness and aggression
One of the biggest prop betters on anything
|
|
Affiliated Poker Room(s): |
|
Full Tilt Poker
Read our
FullTiltPoker.net review or pick up our exclusive
Full Tilt Poker Bonus Code. |
|
Personal Website: |
|
http://gavinsmithpoker.com/
|
|
Products: |
|
Full Tilt Poker Clothing
|
|
|
|
|
Gavin Smith
Gavin “Birdguts” Smith is definitely a character. He has been playing poker since 1994, and always has used the same clown-like antics at the table.
It all started when he learned to play rummy and cribbage with his father at a young age. He was never really good and didn’t excel until he found another card game, poker. He was working as a taxi driver and golf course manager until he left to become a poker dealer. This is something many professionals have done in their early days to help learn the game.
His study paid off, and he became a professional player in 1998. With help from his other up and coming poker star Erick Lindgren, he made two final tables and other numerous cashes that year. He had known Lindgren for a long time and always talked strategy with him. Lindgren also helped him with his bankroll in the earlier days.
Since turning pro, he had mainly been focusing on cash games. This is one of the reasons he had been unknown for so long. But starting in 2004, he started focusing on his tournament play and began playing most of his time on the circuit. He had many final tables and wins during this time, but none compare to his showing at the Mirage Poker Showdown. During this WPT event, he won a no-limit hold’em $2000 buyin event with over 190 of the best players for $145,000. Just a little over one week later he went on to win the $10,000 Main Event for an astounding $1,128,278 – his biggest achievement yet. He also had another two more final table appearance at WPT events that year, earning him the award of WPT Player of the Year.
Gavin’s nickname is Birdguts, for a variety of reasons. First off, he never turns down a prop bet. He has been quoted many times on tv saying he even loses count of bets he has with people. During the live broadcast of the 2007 WSOP, Phil Gordon commented that Gavin had paid for his brand new game room in his house because of prop betting. He has a plaque that says “this room is brought to you by Gavin Smith.”
At the poker table, Gavin is unpredictable, fearless, and very aggressive. It becomes near impossible for people to put him on a hand. He also is known for his antics and table chat. Although it may seem like he is just being goofy and having a good time, he does it for information as well:
I talk a lot at the table. I like meeting people, and poker tournaments give me the opportunity to chat with a lot of nice folks. The conversations I have between hands are not just pleasant - they can also be informative. What a player shares about himself will often determine how I'll play against him down the line.
For example, say I'm playing in a $10,000 tournament. I ask the young person to my left how he bought into the tournament and he tells me that he won a $30 satellite. Based on that piece of information, I can make some assumptions. He's probably not especially experienced. Most active players don't bother with low buy-in tournaments. He likely doesn't have a huge bankroll, so he'd probably be perfectly happy to cash in the event; he doesn't need to win to feel he had a successful tournament.
Against this player, I'm probably going to run some bluffs when I think he's only got a moderate hand. I'm also going to be willing to make some pretty big lay-downs against this guy. I seriously doubt he's going to put in a lot chips without a very strong hand. [From http://www.gavinsmithpoker.com/]
Gavin Smith has become very successful in the poker world. He even started expanding his game past no-limit hold’em early in his career, and is dangerous in all forms of poker. He has many WSOP final tables, including a second place finish he will remember forever. He was the chip leader heads up and got allin preflop with his KK against his opponents 66. He saw the bracelet around his wrist until his opponent ended up making quads.
Smith has well over $3,000,000 in tournament winnings since going pro and has definitely made his mark. He currently is a member of team Full Tilt with some of the best professionals in the world today.
Common Misspellings: Gaven Smith, Gevin Smith, Gavan Smith
Learn more about Gavin Smith at Full Tilt Poker.
|
Back to top |
|
|
