» Reid 'shootaa' Young Interview

Reid ‘shootaa’ Young, 24, known as LOLOLOLOLOL at the table, is one of the established top players at $5-10 NLHE.  He has over $300K in profits from over a 300k hand sample.  He is one of the most popular instructors at LeggoPoker, not for his fame or the high stakes he plays, but the meticulous and detailed forum explanations and well articulated videos he creates that have helped many members.  He has recently embarked on writing a new poker book to share more of his perspective on how, not what, to think about the game.

What was your childhood like?

I grew up in a very small farming town in North Carolina where even my dad spent his childhood working as a tobacco farmer.  He went against his family's wishes and worked very hard to follow his passions and became an airline pilot, which was a huge deal at the time and still is a big deal as far as what he's done for our family.  He has tought me to follow my passions and so after graduating from Wake Forest University with a focus on philosophy, I decided to be a professional poker player and here I am.

What led you to focus on poker as a vocation?

Well, there were a few things for me growing up that would grab my interest and become my life for a two year span or so.  I used to play 5-card draw and checkers with my grandfather when I was 12.  Moving the cards around and talking to him about playing with his WWII buddies made poker seem fun and interesting to me.  Then there were all the Magic: The Gathering tournaments.  That ‘nerdiness’ has since left me, at least a little bit.  I moved on to wrestling and weight lifting, but I always came back to cards in some way.  Finally there was the Chris Moneymaker poker boom.  Everyone was playing $10 sit and goes to get to know one another in college and like I said, I'm the type of guy to buy "The Theory of Poker" and get down to business.  After making the rounds in the micro-sit and goes of Wake Forest, I moved to online and didn't look back.

How would you characterize your poker learning journey?

I think a very important part of my personality is that there's never really been a point where I've thought that I can't play higher without the proper work on my game.  I'd say I have some natural talent, but anyone will tell you that there's a bit more than that at play.  During school I had the opportunity to live with MYNAMEIZGREG and CRAIGTHEDEAC, both great poker players, and speaking with them about hands in between the mayhem of writing papers and partying definitely helped to bring me to another level.  I remember going to Greg's dorm and sweating him while he 8-tabled 5/10 and just watching lines he took, taking notes on them, and asking about them later.  I remember being PMed by a SSNL moderator when I first started that I was clogging up the forums with too many posts.  Basically, I think my biggest strength or a-ha moment is just my insatiable curiosity for the game.

We hear you have a new poker book coming out. Can you tell us a little about it and what readers can expect?

My book is called "The Blue Book," a play off of one of my favorite philosopher's books.  Keeping with that theme, the book is about dissecting poker into a number of decisions and about how to approach thinking about poker; whereas, most other books are about what to think.  The goal of this book is to give people a new and better perspective on poker, to peak the interests of the advanced players with a unique point of view and to help the intermediate players break into high stakes no-limit games.  Most people I coach have some sort of system worked out and don't understand that poker is so far beyond that, especially at higher stakes where the players will constantly adjust and readjust to what's happening at the table.  I also touch on the emotional aspects of the game, like how your ego affects your game and the thoughts surrounding taking shots and moving up in stakes.

I've been working on it for almost a year now and I'm proud to say that I believe it to be the most comprehensive and advanced book on the market for No-Limit available.  I worked very hard to make all the points extremely clear and give clear examples of real hands I've played to further illustrate what the theory discussed means.

There have been a number of high priced poker e-books penned by well known poker players in the last few years.  What motivated you to write another one, and how does it differentiate from the others?

Like I said, too many other books are geared towards telling people how to think: "Here's a good spot for this," "You should check-raise here," and "Always re-raise this hand."  The information in this book gets you prepared for the thought processes you will have to have to beat high stakes games, something you cannot put a price on; although, I did try, so I will address the price tag.

There have been many times, and I'm sure many other higher stakes players can relate to this, that I've seen a question posted in a high stakes no-limit thread and I've typed out a three paragraph response that would change the way that poster plays poker and answer his question very well, and then I delete it all and close the thread.  This book is like hundreds of those posts, not deleted; although, there have been times I came close to scrapping the entire project.  The price is because this is a very dense book that is full of information that I haven't seen anywhere else.

There are also players or people who are great in their field, but have trouble conveying a thought process to a student.  I've coached around one hundred poker players who have all continued on to be successful and more importantly, learned how to learn the game.  Poker is a game full of lazy people, and if you're willing to go the extra mile, it's pretty amazing how the results will come to you.  This book teaches you how to do that and even tells you what to do to do that, information that shouldn't come cheaply and information that didn't come cheaply.  Each time I've stacked off doing something stupid, it's helped to enforce a concept I've fully explained in this text.  Anyone I've coached will tell you that I always work as hard as I can to get the job done and this book is a hand-held copy of that work ethic.

You are known for very detailed math backed forum posts on LeggoPoker.  Is your book also heavy on poker math and theory?  

I wouldn't say a heavy basis, or really even a basis.  I hate math, but it's a necessary part of getting better at the game.  It's important to be able to quantify your reads and put things into numbers, but you have to learn how to get the reads first to be able to do that!  There are numerous instances of times where I show you how to set up an expected value equation to quantify assumptions that you make about a range, but I would say the focus is on learning how to read hands.  The section that explains Phil Galfond's G Bucks in detail and how to react to different river betting frequencies has a lot of math in it, but I'd argue that the math is kind of a product of or a test about what I'm teaching.  Although there is some math, I'd say this book is heavily based in a general theoretical understanding of the game from all the angles.

Would you have any specific advice to readers who are struggling to understand the difficult mathematical concepts that are needed in order to be successful?

Buy this book.  Seriously though, the math is never actually that complex in poker, it's mostly simple algebra.  Like I said before, it's all about the concepts that the math is meant to quantify.

Do you think at a certain level all the players are pretty much on par in terms of mathematical understanding? If so what do you think it is that then separates the great players from the good players?

Definitely.  Everyone's on pretty much the same mathematical level after about eighth grade.  The great players have a vision of how to exploit a great spot, maybe an insane bluff at times or maybe a thinner value bet because of a read on their opponent's range.  Most of poker isn't going to be cold five bet shoving, it's going to be based in a sound understanding of fundamentals.  That said, some of poker is about cold five bet shoving.  Great players understand everything about the game and take it a step or more further and begin to think about their opponent's understandings of the game, which is what this book teaches you to consider.

Do you give much weight to the changing popularity of certain 'plays' in poker? For instance, poker seems to go through phases where everyone is check raise bluffing the river one month but then the next month everyone adjusts and is only every check raising the river for value?

This is a great question.  I definitely do.  Any time that many players have a range geared one way, there's something in their game that's easily and readily exploitable.  This goes back to learning how to think about the game, not learning the systems somebody is teaching.  While someone is learning how to check-raise bluff a river, we're learning about what hands they're actually representing and that they'd never check back greater than middle pair on a certain river, so we're betting middle pair to induce a check-raise bluff and instantly calling, knowing their river check-raise range is too wide.  We adjust by value betting thinner because we can adjust to our specific opponent, not just the state of the games at the time where people might fold to river check-raises too often or whatever that opponent learned.

What do you do in order to stay on top of the game, to stay one step ahead of the general poker thought process evolution? Is there ever a case where players are getting too far ahead and end up just out-leveling themselves?

I'd say the most important idea in poker is the idea of actively playing.  If you're always thinking about everything that's happening at the table and how people at the table are interpreting those actions, you'll always be able to assess actions independently of any thought process curve.  If someone is on that curve, you can think about that, but we're aiming to be an independent mind away from all that.  If other people are out-leveling themselves, it will more often occur against us.

What do you think are the key traits necessary in order to be a very successful player? Can they all be learned or are some just natural (a case of either having it or not)?

Passion is a huge key to being a successful poker player.  Everyone loves the money you get from winning at poker, but if you don't love the game for the game's sake, I think your drive to learn and your ability to learn the game is seriously stunted.  Some things seem to be natural, but you can always work harder to improve in spots and even improve your passion for the game.  Sometimes you just need to play a heads-up sit and go for $5 and mess around.  Ya know?  It's fun.

Do you think there is a lot of value in joining a training site like LeggoPoker or do you think private lessons offers more chance of success?

They both offer a different point of view I think, if your coach is worth anything.  I've had some coaches who just repeat what they told me in their videos and I'm thinking well ok, I can just hear this same information for $30/month or whatever it is.  Hearing different points of view about the game helps you get your fundamentals down at first, then it helps you learn how different people think about the game, then it becomes pretty rare you find a video producer who can say something meaningful at any point in a video, like all the videos are reruns of a bad TV show.  That's why LeggoPoker.com is the best, we keep it fresh and interesting :)

In my group lessons, I have theory based presentations that I would NEVER do as a mass produced video series.  The theory is just way too valuable.  You were talking about staying ahead of the curve earlier. Imagine how crazy games would get if everyone had the ability to tweak their barreling ranges to your exact calling range.  That's why I almost stopped writing this book a number of times.

When you were rising through the stakes did you spend a lot of time away from the table analysing your play and that of your opponents? Are you careful about table / opponent selection?

I still don't do that as much as I would like, but I guess there's only so much time in a day.  Now that I'm finished with my book, I'll start back on that again.  When I was playing medium stakes games, the focus would be much more on me and fundamental problem spots I had.  As one plays higher, the player pool is smaller and the edges are smaller so the focus on away from the table study changes to your opponent's ranges and how you plan to adapt to them.

I'd say I'm careful in that I'll try to avoid playing with the AEjones and LuckyChewys out there, but that doesn't mean I don't think that I can do well against them or get better by playing them.  If I'm trying to make money, I can be fairly careful about game selection, but if one is too careful and you start to only play the complete droolers, it's going to be pretty tough to have any success at a higher level of play.  So I'd say as far as game selection goes, you need a good mix.  It's important to test yourself sometimes.  The best didn't get to where they're at by beating rich Russian people all day.

What advice would you give to players who are looking to rise through the stakes but also want to be able to enjoy some of their winnings? Do you have a ratio of what is a good proportion of your winnings / bankroll to withdraw and what should be reinvested for tackling the higher stakes?

The higher the game you're playing, the more buy ins you'll want for that game because the game will be more aggressive and higher variance.  I remember transitioning from thinking about my stack as something I didn't want to lose or something I wanted to get in when I had a good hand to something that I could use as a weapon and as a tool to make my opponents play worse and make mistakes against my ranges.  I'd say for anything over $1K NL that you're playing regularly, having under 40 buy ins is being foolish with your money.  Like I said, you can test yourself and take shots, but it's important to have the discipline to know when you're losing and move down.

As far as cashing out to enjoy your winnings, I'd try to stay rolled for your regular game.  If you think about things in terms of an investment though, cashing out to buy something like a luxury car when it's a ton of your bank roll isn't a good idea because if you use that same money to move up, a bit later you can just buy a better car, or whatever it is, and not worry about using the money because you'll have used that money you were about to spend on a worse car to beat a higher stakes game.  I haven't really bought anything for myself other than clothes and food and now that I'm playing higher and comfortable with my bank roll, I'm planning on rewarding myself with a nice vehicle.

What what was the biggest challenge you faced in your poker career so far?

Downswings can always be tough mentally, but they're important experiences.  Someone told me that experience is what you get when something happens to you that you don't like.  I think there's a lot of that in poker and it's something that you just have to learn how to mentally overcome.  As far as my biggest difficulty, I'd say the social differences between my high school or college friends and me as far as money and work time.  Like if I want to eat a stake at a nice place and go out to a cocktail bar to celebrate a 10k day, they can't because it's a $100 meal and a $50 bar tab and they have work at 9am.  It's definitely a world all on it's own, but I love it, so I can take the good with the bad.

How do you feel about live poker? Are you able to apply a lot of the concepts and strategy that you employ online equally well to a live setting? What do you think are your biggest edges online and offline?

Live poker is a bit different when you consider the physical tells and appearances of players.  It's cool to be able to learn about someone's game before they've even bet.  Live is kind of boring to me because it's so slow paced.  When I got to play Sam Farha in the heads-up 10k event this summer in the WSOP, that was a ton of fun.  Live and constant action would be a great mix.  It's unfortunate that the two rarely cross paths.

I'd say I'm pretty good at tilting people with hero calls or read based plays and then showing them that I view it as the most standard hand in the world while they're yelling at me about calling their river bet with jack high or whatever.  I never really like to get into someone's face, I just like to let my playing do the talking and they get it.  Still though, I think my biggest edge is my passion for the game and how hard I'm willing to work on the game to get better.  Some people play only to win and some people play only for fun, I think I have a good mix of the two that helps me understand where everyone is coming from and helps me to better my game all the time.

Tell us an interesting story about yourself, perhaps something that most people would never know or guess about you?

I'd been sky diving once before and I was out with some friends the night before who were considering going the next day, so I said, hey guys, let's go!  A few drinks later, everyone was committed to going the next day.  My friend who worked at the place then informed us that we would have to arrive at 10:15am (the place was an hour and a half away and this was around 2am).  Everyone kind of cringed at the thought of getting up that early after being out so late and so we just gave him a gentleman's "we'll see man."

The next day I woke up and went out to my living room where my friend had passed out on my couch.  I checked my phone and I had a cryptic voicemail from my friend after one asking us where we were that morning and laughing about how hungover we probable were.  We later heard that there was an equipment malfunction around 10:15am (literally what the news said) and that two people in that group fell to their deaths because their shoots and backup shoots would not open.  So luckily I was out too late that night!

What is the best thing that poker has afforded you in life? (We see you are considering buy a beautiful new car soon?)

Ha, yeah, I cannot wait to pick up the new ride.  Cars and money are cool, but I think the most important thing that I still take for granted is the freedom of the job.  If I don't want to "work" for three months, I can just do that.  If there's a family emergency, I can always be there.  If a friend needs something or if there's a party I don't want to miss, it's all on the schedule.  I've also been able to help out some friends with money here and there when they really needed it.

What can we expect next from you? Will you be working hard to rise even further through the stakes? Perhaps one day taking on the nosebleeds?

I've played some $5K NL with some success.  In the next year, I'll be grinding $2K NL and working my way up.  We'll see how things go.  I do feel good about it though and like I can do what I put my mind to.  The sky's the limit for now.

If you could leave our readers with just one piece of advice what would it be?

Follow your passion in life full-on, no matter what.  Doing anything else is a waste of what little time you have and you'll regret it later.

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

I'm liking nit-roll a lot lately, especially when I tell someone they nit rolled me with middle pair or something like that.

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

I probably could do fairly well in real estate investing.  I'll probably be getting into that in the next year or two anyways, so we'll see how things go!

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

A giant cake with a machine gun and Kevlar vest in it.

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

Helping other people to get better at poker, going the extra mile to give students what they've paid me to give them, and how I've treated all the people I've worked with in poker.

* For those interested in Reid’s forthcoming The Blue Book you can email him at shootaa@leggopoker.com or PM shootaa on LeggoPoker.

Fellow LeggoPoker instructor Aaron ‘aejones’ Jones’ Poker Curious interview

Fellow LeggoPoker instructor Andrew ‘luckychewy’ Lichtenberger’s Poker Curious interview

Former LeggoPoker instructor Ben ‘boywonder’ Eliass Poker Curious interview

Read the Poker Curious LeggoPoker training site review

Check out LeggoPoker