Todd Arnold is a online poker professional and owner of realpokertraining.com. He has won over 40 multi-table tournaments in just 9 months. He has also made a name in the real world with cash winnings at the Foxwoods WPF, Shooting Stars and WPT Championship at Bellagio. He is currently ranked #6 (as of 5/7/05) in online poker by pocketfives.com.

First off, introduce yourself (i.e. alias, name, location)
Todd Arnold, aka (NSXT2, Diablo VT online) Live in Lauderdale by the Sea, Florida

What online poker sites do you play at?
Paradise Poker, Pokerstars, Ultimate bet, Party and have accounts with most others as well…. first 3 are the bulk in order.

Do you have a list of all your Poker Achievements?
A list? hmmm. no. Let’s make one.
Over 50 mtt wins online.
- I have won well over 1000 sit ‘n’ go single table tourneys online.
- I have won 5 WPT main event seats online
- Was chip leader at Foxwoods WPT WPF for 3 days and finished 36th of 674, Scotty Nguyen beat my KK with his AQ.
- I have cashed in my last 3 WPT events, Shooting Stars 40th of 438 and busted David Pham for a 5k bounty, WPT Championship at Bellagio which is being regarded as the toughest field of players assembled for one event, and won both smaller events at WPT Atlantis back to back nights. 300 and 500 buy in (131 and 181 players respectively) We made splits at the final table due to Bahamas laws having to stop play at 3:30 am but those are still wins to me.
- I have started my website realpokertraining.com seemingly due to popular demand as there are over 400 members in just the first 3 months. I also am a personal poker coach and have over 160 players now that I have spent anywhere from 1 hr to 30 each training.
- I am named online by a website called ‘pocketfives’ as the 6th ranked online poker player over the 4 major sites and am very active in the forums helping where I can.

Did you have any regular jobs growing up? If so, which ones?
Yes, I have been in sales of some sort all my life. Was a General Sales Manager in the car business before leaving for poker.

What attracted you to playing Poker? How old were you when you started?
I actually only started playing online in Dec. 03. I have always been ‘lucky’ with cards since I was young. Played the occasional home game growing up… Serious play began in March of 04 online. I won the 35k paradise tourney in May marking my first large multi table tournament win. I went on to win that tourney 4 times that month. I was still working in the car business and playing online until August 04 when I quit and began poker full time.

I was attracted to poker for two reasons. Psychology and math. Both of these subjects interest me and I have always excelled at both. When you find something you are good at AND enjoy, it was natural to get ‘hooked’ on poker. I also am a very competitive person… VERY, in everything I do so multi table tournaments became my love. I have won 42 MTT’s on Paradise alone from May of 04 to April 05.

Describe your first big win, and what you did with the winnings.
As mentioned above, my first big win was in May of 04 in the 35 (now called the 50k) tourney on Paradise. I won ~$8,700. I went into work that day and told a few of my employees about the win. I said, ‘It’s probably the worst thing that could happen ‘cos now I am hooked’. 3 days later I won it again. And again and again and again……. lol. I just kept playing while building my account. And, by the end of 2004, I have profited over $200,000 from my online play. I used to make very good money in the car business so it was quite a risk to leave it for a ‘game’ but I did it anyway. I love my new lifestyle.

Have you purchased anything significant with your overall poker winnings?
Paid off my Acura NSX, (55k payoff at time), put 33k down on condo I just moved to, bought 20k 60″ plasma TV with wireless Sony surround and all the toys, etc……..

How much online poker do you play a day?
I play anywhere from 8 -15 hrs per day. With my coaching getting so busy, I play a little less now though. I am on the phone or on the computer poker related though at least 12 hr’s every day now.

Which do you like better, online or b&m?
I enjoy live WPT immensely as well as online convenience. So, I guess, that means both equally for different reasons.

What advice do you have for somebody starting to play?
The only advice I have is to make sure you have made your ‘bankroll’ somewhere else. (job, whatever) and be sure it’s big. Do not take 500 bucks of ’squeezable’ income and try to build it into a million when you don’t have lots of expendable income to back it up. This is a sure fire way to get addicted to the game and go broke at the same time. What will happen is you will begin to think that by playing higher limits, you can earn more and then your BR will not allow you after you take a couple beats. Then, you’ll be picking the bridge of under which you will sleep.

What would you do to help poker grow and become even more mainstream?
Well, it’s doing pretty on its own. But my training, website and passion for the game have certainly brought many players into the game. Passion breeds passion. I am also getting involved with the US collegiate poker league and that will definitely help.

What is your favorite….?
Poker game? NL Hold’em multi table tournaments.
Movie? Tommy Boy, Stripes, With Honors
Music? Classic rock and some of the alternative.
Food? Seafood
Sport to watch? Football
Sport to play? Pool and Racquetball but poker consumes everything now so I never play them.

What are some of your other hobbies?
Skiing and Exotic cars.

Finally, would you like to make any last comments?
No Limit Hold’em is a violent game with many possibilities. It is imperative that anyone who plays the game with any intensity has the correct mindset. Everything in life is in your mind and you can make yourself believe whatever you wish. If you are one who gets upset about bad beats or such things, you need to correct your mind or stop playing the game. Rather than be surprised or upset, be proactive and know that you will take these beats. Be prepared so that you can survive them to accumulate again. Look at it this way; it’s your fault that you didn’t accumulate enough and the bad beat took you out. Find fault in yourself, not others. Anyone who puts their chips in the pot, no matter how silly it seems, deserves to win like anyone else.

Some of my thought processes are:
Patience and brilliance at the same time.
Play your opponents, not your cards.
Tell the table what to think through your actions and capitalize.
Don’t defend based on ego….it’ll kill ya
It’s all about image.
Don’t read a poker book, read a psychology book.

This interview was written and delivered by SuitedCrabs. SuitedCrabs is an online poker player that contributes his knowledge and insights on poke
r to DeuceGrinder. Any Comments on this interview? Contact Brian at sunkentheory@gmail.com or Sunkentheory on AOL Instant Messenger.