» Dusty 'Leatherass' Schmidt Interview

 Dusty 'Leatherass' Schmidt, 28, is a well known high stakes grinder who was one of the early PokerStars Supernova Elites.  He is a well respected instructor at StoxPoker.  He recently issued a million dollar challenge combining his heads up poker and golf skills.  So far there have been no takers. 

Welcome to Poker Curious, Dusty. Thanks for your time.

 

Congratulations are in order as you and your wife are expecting your first child.  You are known to grind a lot of poker, actively blog and teach, dominate on the golf course, and continue to develop multiple non-poker businesses and seem to excel at all of them.  Throughout all of this you have also had many health issues you have also had to battle.  Can you explain how you balance and prioritize all these different aspects of your life?

 

I think the main way I am able to pull of the chaos that is my life is that through my work with Jared Tendler (Stox Mental game coach) he has taught me the ability to transition through everything I am doing.  So if I am hitting golf balls from 8-10 am, on a conference call from 10-11 am and say lunch from 11-12, followed by poker from 12-4 and 10thgreen.com stuff from 4-6, I am able to do all of them successfully.  Going into how we did this would be a long story, but the bottom line is that I feel highly capable of pulling all this off, whereas there was certainly a point where it was pretty overwhelming.

 

Can you share your history of how you got into poker and the arc it has taken so far?

 

 I got into poker when a friend of mine started playing it.  I started by watching him donk off a few hundred dollar deposits, and as I scrolled through the lobby, I noticed some of the tables where the pots were worth thousands of dollars.  This intrigued me greatly.  From that point forward I made a promise to myself that I was going to learn how to do that no matter what.  About 3 years worth of 12 hour poker days later, I finally made my way into those games, and it is probably the smartest thing I ever tried to do looking back.

 

In 2007 you achieved Supernova Elite on Poker Stars.  Last year you played in your first WSOP main event.  Will we see you there again this year and what else do you hope to achieve in poker?

 

I am not planning on going to the WSOP this year, but could possibly change my mind at the last minute.  I don't really have any big ambitions in poker anymore.  In my mind there is nothing else to achieve.  Sure I can luckbox my way into winning a WPT or WSOP, but what does that really prove?

 

We first met at a live charity tournament here in Portland in which you won. It seems, though, that you have never prioritized tournament or live play.  Why is that?

 

I never really got into that because I don't enjoy playing live, quite simply.  I enjoy it with buddies over a bunch of beers, but not as a way to make a living.  I just don't like the smokey casinos and the abundance of people who I can't really relate to.

 

What is your main game these days and how much do you play?

 

I am sticking with my bread and butter, 5/10 and 10/20 with some 25/50 and very occasionally 50/100 when the games are good.

 

What do you feel is the state of the game and its likely future in your life?

 

I think the state of the game is still pretty strong.  Sure it isn't as easy or as lucrative as maybe some other times during online poker's brief career, but the bottom line is you can still earn a million dollars a year from in your boxers if you are good and put your mind to it, so I would assume most people think that's a pretty good deal!

 

Do you still work hard on your game on a daily basis?

I work hard enough, but not like I used to.  After all my summer golf is over, I will probably grind hard on taking my game up a few notches, probably working with Mbolt1 and putting our heads together.  That has always been good for both of us.

 

How much does math vs. psychology/game flow/tells influence your game?

 

It is certainly a big part.  But so is pretty much every aspect of poker.  I pride myself not on being great at one or two things in poker, but being very good at every aspect of poker. I think that I am a very well rounded player, and feel competitive versus any lineup, in the long run.

 

What was your motivation for becoming involved at Stoxpoker.com and how has that experience been for you?

 

 I just thought it was a fun project and at the outset, I wanted to help my good friend Stoxtrader since he helped me so much in the beginning.

 

What do you feel most distinguishes Stox from its training site peers?

 

I think it is unquestionably the friendliest poker community I have been a part of.  The coaches may not have some of the notoriety that some of the other training sites may have, but at the end of the day we bring home the bacon in a big way at the tables, and I kind of always thought that was what poker was all about.

 

 You are known on 2p2 and through your blog for sharing some interesting reflections and perspectives.  Do you ever regret the notoriety?

 

Not really.  Believe it or not, I take pride in the fact that so many people think I am a little nuts.  I am 100% confident that it is just a case of being ahead of the curve.  I'm not the type of guy who needs to vote for George Bush twice before I realize it is a mistake, if you know what I mean.

 

What is your poker-playing environment like?  Music, monitors, distractions, etc.?? (Would you have any pictures you could share?)

 

Sometimes I play music, but mostly I'm just grinding away on my decisions, 15 tables at a time on a pair of 30 inch monitors.

 

What players do you most respect and why?

 

I respect any player who plays the game well and treats their game like a business.  I don't really respect the type who are flying high one day, and busto the next.  If you notice, you rarely see any of the older (aka people who have had a real job before) players do that type of stuff.  But you see the college kids treat their careers this way, and frankly there is no question it just shows how immature they are.  When (if) they grow up and have a family and real responsibilities, I can assure you that they will look back and think, "My God I was an idiot."  Currently it is those types who are the most vocal in the community and that is usually where the disrespect for my game comes from.  But I am not sure anyone with any sort of maturity has really picked on me before.

 

Are there any players that you fear or avoid and why?

 

 I don't really fear anyone.  It may look that way because I absolutely will not play anyone who is even in my league in poker heads up, but again, that just goes back to me treating it like a business and not playing the ego game that most of the kids want to play.

 

What has been your greatest win and loss at the tables?

 

My worst day was a $30k loss and my best day was a $50k win.

 

What do you do to forget a bad session once you have left the tables? Or will it haunt you until you return and dominate again?

 

It used to, but that is where Jared Tendler came in and helped me with that.  There are times where it still bothers me, don't get me wrong, but I put things behind me much easier now.

 

Have any other players had a significant impact on your poker and life development?

 

My friend Stoxtrader and another friend named Rob who is a somewhat anonymous top notch NL player.  They unquestionably had the greatest impact on my game.  If it weren't for them, it would've taken me a lot longer, if ever, to get to this point.

 

What is the most extravagant purchase you have made (car, home, play thing etc.) with your winnings?

 

I spend most of my money on others and my health.  I have a mental game coach, a physical fitness coach and a naturopath I see once a week.  I did buy a Lexus LS 460 last year, but I would assume most people in my income bracket would buy a car that good or better.  So I guess the car is really the coolest thing I have bought at this point.

 

At this point, do you play for a love of the game, or for the money?

 

I play the game for the money.  I don't really like poker to be honest.  I think it is a silly game with way too much variance to be considered an actual contest unless you are playing a million hands. There are a lot of other things I would rather do with my time than play poker

 

What advice would you give to novice players who want to emulate your success?

 

 Work hard.  Most people in this world want everything handed to them.  I look around and I see underachievers being the norm, and overachievers being somewhat of a special case.  You get out of life what you put into it.  Most people aren't willing to put much into anything.  When they actually do do something, they then tend to be impatient and expect the moon overnight.  Rome wasn't built in a day.  Perseverance is the key to everything.

 

Thank you for taking the time to answer our questions.  Before you go, we have several fun questions inspired by Bravo's Inside the Actors Studio. 

 

What is your favorite fun poker phrase/slang/acronym?

 

I can't really say I have one.  I HATE "ship it."

 

If the poker industry disappeared completely, what other career would you most like to attempt?

 

Hard to say really, and a lot depends on where I am at financially if that were to happen.  In all likelihood assuming money wasn't an immediate concern, I would pursue golf on a full time, year round basis.

 

If you were on death row, what would be your last meal?

 

 I would have small portions of pizza, rib-eye, Japanese Kobe, McDonald's fries, Western Bacon Cheeseburger, Molten Chocolate cake from Morton's, Bacon Egg and Cheese Biscuit from McDonald's and we'll throw in the donuts from Fix restaurant at Bellagio.

 

When your poker career is over, what would you most like to be remembered for?

 

Definitely, it would be having helped out a ton of people with their games.

 

Thanks, Dusty.

 

Check out the StoxPoker training site review HERE and visit Dusty's blog HERE to read more of his thoughts.