Chuck Liddell at PokerStars Burlesque Party
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Interview from Poker Pro Magazine in 2006:
For yourself, what’s the most enjoyable part of playing poker?
I like the numbers, I was always a numbers guy, I was an accounting major in college, I graduated in accounting. I like the numbers and the odds, and I also like watching guys play and the way people get away with setting people up and getting them to bite when you don’t have anything, or bite big when you have something, or fold when you don’t.
Do you see any similarities between the fight game and the game of poker?
That’s goes with what I was saying–of the things that makes fighting fun for me is setting people up, setting them up for things. I’m a really calculating fighter—I’m trying to set people up all the time and I think that’s a lot of what winning on a consistent basis is—guys who can read people and know how to set them up and know what they’re trying to do and counter it.
And you enjoy watching poker on television as well?
Quite a bit actually, it’s something I like to watch if I’m flipping through the channels and there are no movies I want to watch or nothing else I like to watch is on. And I love the fact that they put up the percentages and stuff like that, so you know what the chances are for the right cards to come up for the guy.
Do you have any favorite players you like to watch on TV?
I like some of the guys that pop off to people and rattle them, it’s pretty funny and a little more entertainment. I like Phil Hellmuth, he’s pretty funny, he makes me laugh–he’s always talking shit. Other guys that get so cocky out there it’s fun to watch them play; they’re cocky but they’re good–they’re still winning all the time.
The UFC holds events in major gambling hotspots such as
Every once in a while I do. Sometimes I get the chance, especially if it’s an event I’m at where I’m not fighting, I’ll go gamble a little bit, I’m not real good but I try.
What would you say your style is when you play poker?
I kind of switch up, it just depends. Sometimes I don’t have enough patience when I’m playing, sometimes it gets a little slow, but I think a lot of these guys have a lot of patience in how long they play these games.
You’re a very competitive person inside the UFC Octagon and you’ve mentioned that you’re competitive in everything you do. Does that still apply?
I don’t like losing at anything. I’ve gotten better about it, but once I start getting into something I don’t like losing at it at all. I’ve gotten better about shooting pool here and there or whatever, I use to be a nut about it, I didn’t want to lose at anything. But now it’s kind of like if it’s not something that I think I’m good at I’m okay with it.
Some fighters speak of keeping a poker face in the Octagon. Is maintaining a demeanor that doesn’t allow your opponent to know you’re hurt important?
Definitely that’s a big thing. I yell at all my guys when I’m training them, “Don’t ever let me know you’re hurt, you let me know you’re hurt you might as well as to put a target on wherever you’re letting me know you’re hurt.”
You’ve been a great finisher of fights via knockout, do you feel you’re really good at reading your opponents?
Yes definitely, and that’s a big part of the sport too—being able to read what they’re doing and think, “When I do this, what is he going to do?” A lot of stuff I do at the beginning of a fight is trying to figure out what a guy is going to do if I do a certain action so I can gage that sort of reaction so I can set him up and pull something and make him run into something.
Your nickname, “The Iceman”, what is the origin of it?
It came a lot from the fact that I don’t get nervous before fights. I’m very calm and I’m very calculating when I’m fighting, I’m trying to set people up, I’m thinking the whole time, I’m not a real emotional fighter.
Johnny Chan KOs Forrest Griffin out the World Series of Poker
Photo: bodoglife.com
The next day after winning the UFC light heavyweight title against Quinton “Rampage” Jackson at UFC 86, Forrest Griffin was in search of WSOP gold at the 2008 World Series of Poker. Unfortunately for Griffin, he ran into a former WSOP champ in Johnny Chan, who knocked Griffin out of the tourney. Griffin is fan of poker and plays from time to time. He was featured in Poker Pro magazine a couple years back in with the following interview:
So you live in
No, but a bunch of us go play Wednesday nights
Do you ever play online?
No I like the visceral sense of holding the cards, looking at the cards, and looking at the people, that’s half of thing for me.
Do you have a similar mindset in terms of approaching the game of poker and the fight game?
Yeah, well I mean in both things, excuse the language but you don’t want to give up your shit. You don’t want anybody to ever know what you’re holding. So I try and have the same look all the time–just kind of look mildly amused. If I feel like I’m going to die, I look like I’m having a good time, if I’m having a good time, I look like I’m having a good time. Not a real good time, just a little bit.
Are you good at reading your opponent at a weighin or at a poker table?
It’s funny, I try and figure stuff when I’m playing poker and you know what though? It’s kind of like they saying, “If you can’t find the sucker at the table, it’s probably you.” It’s usually me. As far as reading my opponent, I don’t ever worry about that, I just worry about me and my hand. Unlike poker, fighting you can determine your fate more. So I just worry about me and let them worry about them, I figure I have enough to worry about.
You use to be a police officer, do you use similar skills from that job on the poker table?
I never thought about poker stills as far as law enforcement, but I guess you could draw some parallels. To me, law enforcement is definitely about reading people–“Is this guy nervous?”, “Does this guy have a gun?”, “Why is he nervous? What’s going on”, “Why does he keep looking in his car?”, “Why is he looking at my gun?” It’s a lot more overt than guys that play poker.
In your view, is the ability to be patient a crucial skill in the worlds of fighting and poker?
I think not stressing yourself out mentally so you can concentrate on the game is an important aspect in just about everything.
Did you guys play poker when you were on the reality series house for The Ultimate Fighter 1?
Yes, they gave us cards and a chess set, so we played chess and we played cards. They had Scrabble too but I can’t spell so I didn’t play.
Mike Swick is a huge poker fan, did you play against him the reality show house?
I know he whooped me every time we’ve played. I beat him maybe once out of ten times.
What would you say are your best qualities as a poker player?
I’m very cavalier. If the odds of me getting that big hand aren’t good, I’m still going to go for it.
Do you have an aggressive streak in you in terms of pushing your way on the table?
Yeah but that fades fast when people realize that you’re going for the big score every time.
Are you good at sensing when to go all in and things of that nature?
Actually no. (laughs) I think I try to be aggressive and then I get stuck in that, “Oh shit, why am I throwing this hand?” type thing a lot.
What are the most annoying players to play against?
I’ll tell you what I don’t like, I don’t like people who talk to you to try and get a read on you. You know what they’re trying to do—they’re trying to talk to you about whatever, asking you, “Do you feel good? Huh? Huh?”
How do you respond to them?
I don’t. Hopefully they quit.
What’s the most you’ve won and lost?
Well, I won 47 bucks one night, that was it. I guess that’s not a lot huh? But you know the most I’ve ever lost is like 30, 35.
Do you ever sense your opponents pretending to be a bit more confident than they are?
Oh yeah, but many that’s just human nature. Most guys put on that air, that supreme confidence, and I do just the opposite, I’m like “Yeah, let’s see what happens.”
Is that just your style and personality?
You know it’s funny, as much as I like fighting and hitting people, I don’t people being mad at me. I don’t like to piss people off. I’ve caught guys illegally in fights in the middle of it and apologized and stuff like that. I’m a nice guy, I just happen to like to fight. I’m looking to fight people that don’t want to fight.
Why do you think mixed martial arts and poker have caught so much over the years?
A little bit can be because of reality television and I think people are always looking for something new. I think people kind of get tired of your basic core sports.
Do you think they are both similar because a lot of people think they can fight and play poker professionally real well but it’s a lot harder than it looks?
That’s actually a really good question. You’d know a lot more about the poker aspect than me, but I suppose that the advent of online poker and all these people winning all this money, it makes every think, “Man, I can go out there and win this money.” Well, the first thing that I thought is, “Whose money are they winning?” They’re probably winning money off other cats like me. (laughs) Where is all this money coming from? It’s coming from suckers like me. And guys see somebody knock somebody out and it looks so easy and they never put themselves in the shoes of the guy who just got knocked out or the guy who just lost everything. You always kind of see yourself as the favorite, I don’t do that—I kind of say, “Hmm, what about that guy on the floor there, shaking around, what’s up with him? That guy that just left the table in tears, what’s his story?”
Do you use your intuition a lot when you fight and play poker?
A lot when I fight, yes because it happens quickly. Poker, I don’t like to make things happen quickly, I like to think about it and play the odds as much as I can.
And doing the calculations quickly is one of the most important aspects of poker in your opinion?
Yes, being able to do them quickly and not be sitting there like you need a map and an abacus like I do.
What is the most enjoyable part of playing poker for you?
Just winning, reaching out and taking the quarters or the chips or whatever’s out there to be taken that’s not mine, that’s the best part.
In terms of similarities between poker and fighting, what jumps out at you when you think about it?
Well, in both sports attitude has a lot to do with it but in the end it really comes down to talent.
Do you enjoy watching poker on television?
You know what, actually I bumped in Gus Hansen once and now I watch to see if he’s playing. It’s funny, you wouldn’t think it’d be fun but you can kind of get stuck watching cards, and you’re like, “Why am I watching people play cards?” But you kind of get sucked in and I really like seeing what they got and know what they don’t’ know, that makes it a lot of more fun, like “Oh this guy doesn’t even know! He’s done, he’s done.”
If you’re on a bad streak playing poker, what do you do to turn things around?
I’m going to draw a good parallel here with fighting—if you’re on a bad streak playing poker, you play with some people who aren’t good. If you’re on a bad streak in fighting, you fight some people that aren’t good.
Would you say you’re a good bluffer?
No, not at all.
What would say your style is when you play?
Bad. (Laughs) No. Relatively reckless and aggressive.
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Mike Swick back at WSOP this year after win at UFC 85
Poker player Lee Watkinson noted the following on his blog at Cardplayer.com
“…Also finally got a chance to watch the Tivo of last weekends UFC, where Fulltilter Mike Swick established himself in the welterweight title picture with a convincing beating of Marcus Davis who was on an 11 fight win streak. Look for Mike to play in the WSOP on June 15th or 16th. Although he is quick to tell people he plays with on Fulltilt he is only a rookie poker player, he cashed in the one event he played last year.”
Swick just came off an impressive decision win over Marcus Davis in London, England Saturday night at UFC 85.