sthief09

I started playing poker in the summer of 2003, playing exclusively limit hold'em. My game really took off about a year later, and I eventually became a very competent LHE player, regularly playing the biggest PartyPoker 6-max and full ring games. I graduated from Columbia in NYC in May of 2006, and decided that I'd move into an apartment in NYC with my girlfriend of 6 years (now 7 and counting) and temporarily play poker professionally, which I'm still doing.

With the quality of LHE games quickly deteriorating, I threw myself into the No Limit Hold'em fire and stopped playing limit almost entirely. I quickly discovered that 6-max NLHE is a strange game and at times felt my limit experience was about as useful as my experience playing gin against my grandfather when I was 8. However, over time and partially thanks to some excellent coaching, I was able to tame the NLHE beast, and now have a thorough understanding of no limit theory, fundamentals, and hand reading. My strengths include breaking down hands and analyzing them in a clear and understandable way, as well as teaching the essential fundamentals that most players lack.

Josh is a DeucesCracked Executive Producer.

Q. What was the biggest challenge in teaching NL to a limit player in Memoirs of a Limidonk? A. While working with Entity on our series Conversion of a Limidonk, I confronted the issue of explaining concepts and fundamentals in a way that reaches out to a wide range of poker players and not just those already familiar with NL. NL is a very complex game that requires a certain mindset, and at times I had to focus extra hard on breaking ideas down to a level that can be understood by all, while still challenging the more experienced players to re-think their current strategy.