LA Mike took some time to chase down Jordan “iMsolucky0” Morgan and ask him a conglomerate of random questions. Morgan, along with playing the biggest events on the Internet, has also accumulated nearly $1.1 million in live tourney winnings. He’s a soft-spoken and an all-around nice guy, and recently signed on as a “Red” Full Tilt pro. Let’s get to the interview.
LAMike: If you were named WSOP commissioner tomorrow, what changes would you put in place effective immediately?
JordanMorgan: I would immediately hire Matt Savage to design new structures and add some skill to the end of the events. Also, I’d secure a second conference room to handle the crowds, so that people don’t have to play poker in a 110-degree tent. (LA: Ahh, 110-degree tents, now that’s poker heaven!)
LA: A very nice honor being named a “Red” FTP pro. Do you think people now play differently against you in tourneys just to try to bust you?
JM: People really only try to bust me when I’m short-stacked and in “push/fold” mode. If I’ve got chips at all, people still seem to respect me and play normally.
LA: Where do you think you have a bigger edge currently: live play or online?
JM: I’d actually say I have a larger edge in live play.
LA: Any particular reason why?
JM: Online, especially in tournaments, it really seems like so many people know what they are doing now. I don’t have the little things I pick up on in live games to help give me a larger edge. (LA: Makes a huge difference when you can look at a guy who is shaking so bad he can’t pick up a poker chip to bet!)
LA: Any changes in your game selection since becoming “Red”? It seems you’re playing a lot more cash games.
JM: Learning six-max NL cash games has been a goal of mine for a while and I’ve finally been getting around to it. Online tournaments have gotten a little stale for me too, so a lot of the time I end up going on autopilot and not playing that well.
LA: Still planning on playing a lot of online tourneys, or scaling back?
JM: I still plan on playing a few tournaments a week to stay sharp for live events, but expect to really see me start working my way up the six-max levels in cash games.
LA: Thoughts on the Jonathan Little controversy?
JM: Jon Little has always seemed like a decent enough guy, and I’ve gotten along with him pretty well, so I hate to see him make a mistake like this. When I first turned “Red”, I had a few different people come to me and offer me up to 9k/month to “rent” my account. I obviously declined because what it comes down to is that stealing from the company that employs you is a really awful offense. There is no question why he was fired and banned when they found out. (LA: Greed, it’s an ugly, ugly word.)
LA: Online poker in general: do you have any faith in security outside of Tilt and Stars? Are those sites susceptible in your mind too?
JM: I don’t really [have faith in other sites]. I recently cashed out the rest of my UB money and have decided to boycott them due to security issues. The Absolute scandal really was an eye opener. The fact that they were cheating at such a high level and that it was coming from inside Absolute is very worrying. What is even more troubling is that there has been very little to no backlash or punishment for the cheating. I guess it is just industry standard to sweep stuff under the rug, which really is sad and makes me appreciate when a site has a security department that knows what the hell they are doing. (LA: Did I mention how much I hate the word greed?)
LA: Every poker player has a music collection to prevent boredom during events. What’s on your iPod during a tournament, or do you prefer to try to pick up on the conversation at the table?
JM: It really depends on how my table sets up and who is on it. I try to have the iPod with me as a backup at all times though because I do love music. I have quite a varied selection of music in my collection. Bob Marley probably has the most songs, but I also have a bunch of Dispatch, OAR, Jack Johnson, Bob Dylan, Johnny Cash, and recently I’ve been getting into some old school hip-hop like De La Soul, WuTang Clan and The Game. (LA: Quite the variance from Cash to WuTang, good stuff!)
LA: Completely random question, if you could select any super power, what would you select?
JM: Mindreading, obviously! (LA: Shocker.)
LA: Quite often on the tourney circuit I hear West Coast pros poking fun at the way the East Coast guys play no-limit hold’em. Is there really that big of a difference in playing styles?
JM: Yes, there really is that big of a difference. Playing at AC/Foxwoods is a lot like going back to 2002 and playing anywhere when the “poker boom” was first growing. Nobody really knows what they’re doing and a “thinking” player can just dominate. (LA: Funny, pretty much everyone seems to agree with the exception of a few East Coast guys.)
LA: Winding things down, how’s your schedule looking, Foxwoods or not?
JM: I’m still trying to decide if I’ll make it out to Foxwoods.
LA: I presume Bellagio for the majority of April?
JM: I’ll definitely be at Bellagio for a good part of the month.
LA: Good luck Jordan, we’ll see you at another final table soon!