FTR AMA: Max "Numbr2intheWorld" Steinberg (Closed)

[jyms]

Max, thanks for repping FTR and still sticking around throughout your success. You and your brother did so much for a lot of us in the past when we were attempting to climb the stakes. Some of us are still trying to play or restarting to play and what we are struggling with is knowing if the games are unbeatable now without the US playing and so many other countries like the french pillaging the player base.

If you just discovered poker in the last year or two and were still playing on a $2K roll, what would you do if quitting wasn't a possibility in your mind yet..

[Numbr2intheWorld]

If you just discovered poker in the last year or two and were still playing on a $2K roll, what would you do if quitting wasn't a possibility in your mind yet..

By you do you mean a theoretical you or actually me? To any random I'd recommend playing 6-max holdem since it's a great way to build a lot of different poker skills. For me I'd play husngs.

Any pros/friends that you talk strategy with who may not be as well known but are killing it?

No not really but a couple years ago Sauce asked me if I wanted to study plo with him and try and try to get really good and I declined... Smart move by me lol.

Please share a Hellmuth blowup story.. I think I remember you talking about him blowing up on you once (or maybe more than once).

There are multiple! I think the first story from my WSOP event in 2010 can be found somewhere on FTR, he basically raged on me for one hand that wasn't even a big pot in which he sort of got unlucky, eventually telling me that "It'd be a miracle if I won" because I was "terrible." He ended up bubbling the final table and I got 2nd.

The better story imo was one after that, where I was playing in the Wynn Classic with him months later and it was day 1. He actually apologized to me about that and I said it was no problem. We end up both making it to day 2 and he's struggling at a table full of good young players that include myself and Tony Dunst. He's steaming after losing a flip against Tony where Hellmuth had TT and Tony has AQ and they got it in pre. Apparently Phil thought it was a terrible play. Then a hand comes up where someone raises, Phil 3bets small and I 4bet with AA on the button. It gets back to Phil and he loses it. "You probably think I have nothing here, but I have something. You're so reckless and terrible!" Everyone at the table starts laughing and I can't hold it in either. This just makes him more frustrated. I really wish I remember what he said, it was mainly just insults to me and Tony. He claimed to have eights and ended up folding and I said "If you think I was bluffing why the hell wouldn't you shove eights there?" He said something to the ffect of "You kids are so stupid for risking your tournament life so early, you'll find out soon when you're broke how bad you are."

Keep in mind there were no cameras around and this wasn't a tv event.