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#1
11-17-2005, 06:53 PM
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Hachem\'s chat transcript w/ ESPN today
Chat with Joseph Hachem
Welcome to The Show! On Thursday, main event champion of the 2005 World Series of Poker, Joseph Hachem will log on for a special chat session. Hachem was unknown to most of the poker world prior to his WSOP victory -- except in Australia where he had a track record in tournaments Down Under. Like Chris Moneymaker and Greg Raymer, Hachem acts as a spokesperson for the PokerStars online poker room where he plays often. However, unlike the other two, Joe did not qualify for the WSoP on the Internet, instead paid the full $10,000 buy-in. The investment proved well worth it, for his big win, Joe earned a record breaking $7.5 million. Send in your questions to Joe now using the fields below, then join him right here for all the answers on Thursday at 5 ET. Andrew Feldman: (4:53 PM ET ) Welcome to the ESPN/Bluff Magazine Chat of the Week. Today we will have none other than the World Champ himself, Joseph Hachem. Keep sending in those questions and Joe will be here shortly. Andrew Feldman: (4:59 PM ET ) Ladies and gentleman, the World Champ.... Joseph Hachem: (4:59 PM ET ) Hello to all viewers out there and welcome to the Show! -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Blake (Denver, CO): Hey Joseph, congrats on your win! Was Aaron Kanter as bad of a player as they showed on TV? Seemed like he'd chase everything. Joseph Hachem: (5:00 PM ET ) Aaron Kanter played a very rigid game and I think he at times got wreckless with his play. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Josh, PA: What was your first big purchase? Joseph Hachem: (5:00 PM ET ) Paying off my house. After that, I bought my wife a really nice watch. I'm buying my watch for myself at Christmas time. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Adam Lerner (Boston): When did you think you had a realistic chance to win the whole tournament? Joseph Hachem: (5:01 PM ET ) When we were down to 27 players and I had a good amount of chips that I felt that I could duck and weave out of trouble and still accumulate chips along the way. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Rizzla (Baraboo, WI): Other than the money, what has been the biggest change in your life since winning the WSOP? Joseph Hachem: (5:01 PM ET ) The ability to be able to travel around the world and play in all the great poker tournaments. The number one change in my life is coming to terms is that forever I'll be known as the 2005 World Champion. It's easy to take. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Scott (Grosse Pointe, MI): While spending majority of the time at the final table as the small stack, were you thinking you could win this or were you just trying to hang on as long as possible? Joseph Hachem: (5:02 PM ET ) I was praying every moment that I could pick up a hand to double through. I didn't want to leave yet. It wasn't my time to go. The good thing about it was that I never panicked. I was able to contain myself quite well and I played disciplined quite well. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Mark - Berkeley, California: Hi Joe, nice run at the WSOP. You played amazingly well from the short stack position. I was wondering how being a world champion has changed the way that other players approach you at the poker table, i.e., with more respect? Fear? Awe, etc? Joseph Hachem: (5:04 PM ET ) Thats a real interesting question because there are different types of people. There are people who put a bullseye on your back and go right at you. Then there are other people who are in awe. Most people are really nice and are just happy to be at the same table. Joseph Hachem: (5:06 PM ET ) So I was playing at the Bellagio in a cash game and the second hand that I played I picked up KK. One of the guys was overly friendly, nice, and was joking how he'd love to take me down, all in good spirit. This particular hand, I raised, he re-raised, and we saw a flop that was J high. I pushed him all in and he turned over aces. He doubled up and wanted me to hold up my kings and he'd hold up his aces for a photo. So we took a picture. Later, he raised, I called with the 56 of clubs. The flop came 6-64. I doubled up on his QQ and we took a picture of that hand as well. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Aaron (College Park, MD): I know your runner up, Steve Dannenman has posted solid results in tournaments after the World Series of Poker. How have you been doing at the poker tournament in the time after your victory? Joseph Hachem: (5:07 PM ET ) Terrible. I've played two major tournament since. I was jet lagged in the first tournament and didn't play well. The second one I was unlucky and things didn't go my well. When you are playing tournament poker you can be on top of your game one day and struggling the next. Kind of like golf. Over the next couple months and a couple of more major tournaments I'll be back with my A game. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Jordan-Northborough Massachusetts: Hey Joe. Great job at the WSOP. The saying the chant all your friends and family in the stands were cheering, what does that mean? Joseph Hachem: (5:08 PM ET ) It's just a cheering chant to encourage the contestant to do his best. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Tyler-Allendale, Michigan: Joe, how big do you think the World Series will get? Do you think that the people who run the tournament will eventually have to create a cut off point for the number of players, or will they allow it to keep expanding? Joseph Hachem: (5:10 PM ET ) Thats a good question because there has been a lot of debate whether to increase numbers, or stop. Me personally, I dont want to see more than 5000 players so that I can hold the record. I dont know, I think that poker is still growing at a really high rate and we may see 8-9K next year. My view is that the world championship entry should be lifted. Maybe not 10K, but 25K, but who knows. It'll work itself out at the time. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Majeed (Sydney): Aussie! Aussie! Aussie! Oy! Oy! Oy! Way to go mate! When will you be stopping by the Star City casino? Joseph Hachem: (5:10 PM ET ) Next time I'm in Sydney, I will definitely stop by and say hello. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Brandon (Champaign, IL): Other than your championship winning hand, what was the most memorable hand you played in the WSOP and what happened that made it so special? Joseph Hachem: (5:12 PM ET ) There were a few hands. One was when I was all-in when I had a gut feeling I had a better hand. I had A-9 vs his A-6. My whole tournament life was on the line and I just felt great. The other one was shown on ESPN when I laid down the A-K of diamonds when he showed me his set of 9s. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Eric (Boston, MA): We all saw how the Sheik reacted to Matusow's act. How do you deal with loudmouths like Matusow. Joseph Hachem: (5:13 PM ET ) Matusow, thats the way he expresses himself. He's generally a nice guy and I've gotten to know him reasonably well since. I've never had an altercation with him. He's always been courteous and polite to me. He plays himself up for TV and he lives up to that bad boy image. As far as the sheik incident, I wasn't at the table so I'm not really sure what happened. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Tony, Portland, OR: Joe, first off congratulations on winning and winning with class. I was curious if you have watched any of the World Series coverage, and if so, were there any moments where you realized that your tournament life would have been over had you made a call? Joseph Hachem: (5:15 PM ET ) Watching the final table on Tuesday night when I bet into Aaron Kanter with a 10 high board and I had 9-10 and he called the flop. The turn came a J and he raised me all-in. I didn't want to risk my tournament life. They rabbit-camed the river and an 8 came up which means he would have made a straight and I would have been out of the tournament with his Q high straight. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- kenny (mayfield ny): hey joe whats ur pokerstars screename Joseph Hachem: (5:16 PM ET ) Joe Hachem. People always ask me what the best way to learn and practice and I spend thousands of hrs playing on pokerstars.com. Thats really where I honed my skills. Some of the best players in the world play on pokerstars and its at your own home and very convenient. I'm usually on there 3-4 times a week and the game I play are NL Hold'em and PL Omaha -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Mark (Morrisville, VT): Joe, I know there are a lot of great players out there, but who is the one player you'd like to play with in a heads up match? Joseph Hachem: (5:17 PM ET ) Thats so hard. I'd like to take them all on just for the experience of playing them. Someone like Johnny Chan, to play him heads up. He's known throughout the industry to be the best player ever, especially heads up. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ryan (New Haven, CT): What would you say was harder, wading through hundreds of players during the first few days, or the stretch from the top 30 down to being champion? Joseph Hachem: (5:18 PM ET ) From the top 30 to being champion was much harder. The narrow field meant a lot of the weaker players were gone. The stronger players were putting up a huge fight all the way to the end. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Nick (Chicago, IL): I would like to start of by saying that you really did put in a championship calliber performance at this year's Main Event and you definitely earned your bracelet. My question is, what was your overall evaluation of the quality of play at the WSOP? Joseph Hachem: (5:19 PM ET ) The qualify of play ranged from absolute amateur who had never played in a life tournament to the world's greatest players. The amateurs outweighed the pros by far. If you fortunate enough to be on a table with amateurs you could use that to your advantage. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- shane (stl): do you keep in touch with anyone from the final table? Joseph Hachem: (5:20 PM ET ) Yea, whenever we're at tournaments, we always get together and have drinks. I've become very close with Scott Lazar and we're in contact very regularly. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- rastapete (Kingston, Jamaica): When Tex Barch pushed and Dannenman flat-called, did you think about re-raising to try to get heads-up against Barch with your JJ? Joseph Hachem: (5:22 PM ET ) I had 2 options. Push all in and get heads up or flat call. I think 8/10 times I would have pushed all in when Dannenmann flat calls, but for whatever reason I didnt that time. I had just gotten the chip lead and I didn't want to play a huge pot. If Steve does the right thing and check it down and we knock Tex out, then I've got Steve heads up and I can try to win the bracelet. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Noah, Chicago: People say that you gotta get lucky a few times to win the tournament. Did you have any great suck-out during the tourney? Joseph Hachem: (5:24 PM ET ) In 7 days of play, I got lucky once, at the final table. I limped on the button for the first time all day and in my mind, if Kanter raises, I'm moving all in, no matter what he has. He'd come over the top of me so often. I limp on the button, he raises, I move in for 4 million more, this should have made a loud noise in his head, but it didnt. He called with his nines and I hit that queen. I was proud of it, and that was the only time I put all the money in without the best hand. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- jeremy (missouri) : any big endorsements come your way after winning the series? Joseph Hachem: (5:25 PM ET ) Not as yet. Obviously I've signed up with pokerstars.com. But I think endorsements may start to come after the shows aired. Now that they have aired, people know who I am. Previously they would approach me and not know who I was. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Chuck: San Jose, CA: You played with much class Joe.. but what does 'pass the sugar' exactly mean? All my friends are yelling it when they hold the nuts now! Joseph Hachem: (5:25 PM ET ) Thats hilarious because pass the sugar is a term when I know I've got the pot. It means pass the money, pass the sugar, give me the chips! -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Craig (Louisville, KY): What's the next big tournament you are going to play in? Joseph Hachem: (5:26 PM ET ) Bally's WSOP circuit event which starts on Saturday. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Andrew (Flushing, NY): Do you have any rituals when playing poker? Joseph Hachem: (5:27 PM ET ) Not really. I'm not that superstitious. I try to take some time when I'm at the table to focus my thoughts because you really need to be focused when you are playing. ITs hard when the cameras are flashing in your face the entire tournament. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Mike (New Orleans, LA): You seem very at peace when you are playing. How do you stay so calm in the heat of battle? Joseph Hachem: (5:28 PM ET ) Focused. Stay focused on what the goal is. Whether its to survive the day, or stay out of trouble and accumulate chips. Keep your eye on the ultimate goal which is to put yourself in position to win. I was extremely calm during the WSOP, especially the final two days. I cant pinpoint a real reason, I was just in the zone as they say. I was so non-chalant walking around. Everyone around me was biting their nails and stressing. I just had a calm around me. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Philip, Poconos: Before it started. Who did you fear the most on the Final Table? Honestly and Why? Joseph Hachem: (5:29 PM ET ) I didn't fear anybody. If you are going to fear people, you cant play. Stay home and read a book or something. If you are going to play poker you have to have heart. Anyone who sat at the final table, you have to respect them for getting their, regardless. You start fearing players and you might as well give up. If you were to ask me the player that I respected most at that table, it would be Mike Matusow. I played with him for a couple days and he showed me that he was a world class player. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Dan (Seaford, NY): The final table ended at around 7 A.M. local time. How much sleep did you manage over the next couple of days? Joseph Hachem: (5:30 PM ET ) I think I slept 4 hrs that day and 4 hrs the next day...maybe. There was so much adrenaline pumping in my body that I couldn't keep my eyes closed for more than 20 mins at a time. I only started sleeping well again a few weeks ago. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- shane (stl): what was up with lazar's meltdown? Joseph Hachem: (5:32 PM ET ) When Scott folded the A-4 in the big blind when Black raised and Barch called. The flop came AA, and the turn came an A, so Scott would have made 4 aces. He convinced himself that in his mind, he would have doubled up through Andy Black. The next hand comes up and he's steaming from this missed opportunity and decides to call my all-in with K-9 of spades. He was dominated by my A-Q. The very next hand he decided to gamble with Q-10 offsuit. Scotty's a much better player that that, he just melted down. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Scott, Missoula MT: Do you think of yourself as a Greg Ramer and Chris Moneymaker, or more of a Johnny Chan or Phil Helmuth Joseph Hachem: (5:33 PM ET ) You know that, I think of myself as Joe Hachem. Every guy deserves his own credit for achieving his own achivement. These guys have accomplished great things and I hope that I can go on and accomplish great things in poker. Joseph Hachem: (5:34 PM ET ) Question for all of you. If the audience wanted to read a book by Joe Hachem, would you want a how-to book or a personal experience book? -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Chops (Wicked Chops Poker): You pay your full buy-in to the WSOP or were you staked by anyone? Joseph Hachem: (5:34 PM ET ) I paid ten thooouuuuusand dollars cash of my own money. Joseph Hachem: (5:34 PM ET ) Fortunately I had a really good result. I won 1 tournament before the main event, the 1K rebuy NL Hold'em. I managed to place tenth and it made coughing up 10K a lot easier. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Chris (Newport Beach, CA): If Dannenmann had gone all in after Tex did, what would you have done with your jacks then? Joseph Hachem: (5:36 PM ET ) Wow. Wow. Thats a huge question. Its hard to answer. I probably have to fold the hand. I dont think it would have been correct for me to play it. You've got to say to yourself that your probably running thrid in this 3-horse race. Why would I want to put my $$ in with a 50-50 when so much was on the line. I probably would have folded I think. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ron (Ft Collins, CO): First, congratulations on the win and on Australia qualifying for the World Cup! Other than Dannenman, did you get special satisfaction from eliminating a particular player during the tournament? Joseph Hachem: (5:37 PM ET ) The truth is that I only knocked out 3 or 4 people during the whole tournament. And no, there was nobody in particular. I was only worried about knocking one person out, Steve. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Paul Gilbert Arizona: What made you call with just 7 and 3 off suit for the last hand??? Joseph Hachem: (5:39 PM ET ) The blinds were so small in comparison to the amount of chips that I had. Steve made a very small raise, a little more than double the BB. This is the sort of hand that if I caught something, it would be inconspicuous and maybe I could get all his chips. If I missed I could get away from it very easily. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- JJ, Canadensis PA: Have you started thinking about next year's WSOP yet? Joseph Hachem: (5:39 PM ET ) Hell no! (laughs) I've got way to much to think about in the present that I cant think about the future. Plus I'm going to live up the moment as much as I can. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Will Conn.: I Dannenman as a nice and comedic guy as he was made out to be on TV? Joseph Hachem: (5:40 PM ET ) Absolutely, Steve is probably one of the nicest people that you will ever meet. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Jon, Boston: How much of the 7.5 million did you blow celebrating/partying? Joseph Hachem: (5:40 PM ET ) I'm not much of a party animal, but it wasn't so much spent on partying, but bringing my whole family out and put them up in Vegas for a couple of weeks. Dinners, lunches, etc. It was well worth every cent. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Dave (San Francisco, CA): What was it like when they actually dumped the $7.5MM on the table. I'm assuming it had to raise your heart beat a little. Joseph Hachem: (5:41 PM ET ) Man, seeing that wad of money in front of you, you need to stop and think if it is really mine. You need to pinch yourself a little bit. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- vic (ny): with the size of the field can anyone repeat? what greg raymer did was amazing. canyou do it and how many will you have to go thru next year? Joseph Hachem: (5:42 PM ET ) I think there will be 8K or so next year. I would love to be able to repeat, but thats every poker players' dream. To do it back-to-back in today's field would be an incredible feat. You'd be immotalized forever in the poker world. God help the world if I do it again! -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Danny, Boston: Great job this year in the WSOP! How do they give you the payout? Is it one big check or smaller ones? Joseph Hachem: (5:42 PM ET ) They gave it to me in dollar bills Joseph Hachem: (5:43 PM ET ) Basically, you can get a check, or chips, or the money wired. I had the money wired to my bank acct. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Bhanks (Buffalo, NY): is your personal preference a high stakes cash game or major tournament play? Joseph Hachem: (5:44 PM ET ) I've been a cash game specialist for a long time. The lure of big tournaments these days if you are fortunate enough to win a big one. The prize money is big enough. I would sway either way because there are pros for both sides. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Jeff (Auburn): What do you think of the image of poker? Joseph Hachem: (5:47 PM ET ) I would love to see the image of poker become more refined. I feel that part of my law for the next 12 months is to say that ordinary people play poker. Its not just cigar smokers, back room, etc. Poker is become a respectable sport and people from all walks of life are playing it. I'm a married man, family of 4, and people love poker. I would love to spread that message throughout the community. I know people out there love to play, but there are people that are still hesistant due to the stigma. People enjoy watching it on TV, and although they are just playing for peanuts, they are enjoying the experience of the game. Joseph Hachem: (5:47 PM ET ) Thanks for all the questions and I look forward to seeing you at the tables! 
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#2
11-17-2005, 07:17 PM
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Re: Hachem\'s chat transcript w/ ESPN today
[ QUOTE ]
Chat with Joseph Hachem Danny, Boston: Great job this year in the WSOP! How do they give you the payout? Is it one big check or smaller ones? Joseph Hachem: (5:42 PM ET ) They gave it to me in dollar bills Joseph Hachem: (5:43 PM ET ) Basically, you can get a check, or chips, or the money wired. I had the money wired to my bank acct. [/ QUOTE ] Just imagine getting 7.5 mil in chips, and going to a cash game and playing.... Good post, i liked the read
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#5
11-17-2005, 07:37 PM
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Re: Hachem\'s chat transcript w/ ESPN today
[ QUOTE ]
kenny (mayfield ny): hey joe whats ur pokerstars screename Joseph Hachem: (5:16 PM ET ) Joe Hachem. People always ask me what the best way to learn and practice and I spend thousands of hrs playing on pokerstars.com. Thats really where I honed my skills. Some of the best players in the world play on pokerstars and its at your own home and very convenient. I'm usually on there 3-4 times a week and the game I play are NL Hold'em and PL Omaha [/ QUOTE ] The man knows how to toe the company line. EDIT:Beaten several times.
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#6
11-17-2005, 07:40 PM
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Re: Hachem\'s chat transcript w/ ESPN today
[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ] Chat with Joseph Hachem Danny, Boston: Great job this year in the WSOP! How do they give you the payout? Is it one big check or smaller ones? Joseph Hachem: (5:42 PM ET ) They gave it to me in dollar bills Joseph Hachem: (5:43 PM ET ) Basically, you can get a check, or chips, or the money wired. I had the money wired to my bank acct. [/ QUOTE ] Just imagine getting 7.5 mil in chips, and going to a cash game and playing.... Good post, i liked the read [/ QUOTE ] I think I read somewhere that when Daniel Negranu won the Belagio 5 Diamond WPT event he took his first place prize of $1.8 Million in chips, and put them in his saftey deposit box there. Now that's gangster!
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#8
11-17-2005, 11:54 PM
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Re: Hachem\'s chat transcript w/ ESPN today
Raymer posts on here, Greenstein, another guy whom I won't name used to post here. Any idea if Skalnsky has met him and told him about the site? What are the odds we'll see some posts on here from him?
needlessly acerbic parts of post removed. Remember, it's a nice happy forum - Dids
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#9
11-18-2005, 12:47 PM
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Re: Hachem\'s chat transcript w/ ESPN today
Come on, if it wasn't for needlessly acerbic comments, I wouldn't have anything to contribute. Well, thanks for not suspending me at least, Dids. Do you have an answer to my question, though? I think it'd be great to have as many brilliant people on here as possible.
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