PocketFives member Clay CaLLMuckShiP Schmeisser is Las Vegas born and raised, and his day job is in the financial world. He is a family man with six children and loves sports, being involved in baseball most of his life. He is passionate in everything he does: family, career, and, of course, poker. He also can be found on Twitter as @clayschmeisser for his personal account and as @ClayLoansVegas for his business account.

PocketFives: What were or are your favorite online poker sites to play?

Clay Schmeisser: I used to love playing the $104 Double or Nothings on PokerStars because all you had to do was outlast half the table. I really like Ultimate Poker’s site, though. I have been running well on a few of those tournaments and in the cash games.

PocketFives: To what do you attribute your current online success?

Clay Schmeisser: I’ve been watching and reading a lot about poker lately. I have some friends who also play and have been having decent success as well and we discuss a lot of different things.

PocketFives: How do you prepare yourself before a tournament?

Clay Schmeisser: I try to make sure I am not in a bad mood and that I am comfortable. It might sound funny, but I am serious. If you’re in a bad mood or if something else is drawing your attention away from the game you’re playing, you seem to try to force hands to happen. When they don’t happen, you tilt even more.

PocketFives: What do you feel like when you realize that you are going to take down a tournament?

Clay Schmeisser: The feeling is basically like a soothing feeling. It feels good to know that you played very well or that you got really lucky when you needed to. It’s definitely a great feeling knowing you outlasted everyone else.

PocketFives: Is there anyone who helped change how you approach the game of poker?

Clay Schmeisser: I briefly worked with Tristan Wade (known online as Cre8ive) a couple of years ago and it really helped my approach to the game. Also, one of my best friends, Maverick, is a math genius. We play live tournaments together often and also go to lunch all the time and talk poker. This guy is amazing at calculating odds instantly and he has started to rub off on me, I guess you could say. When smart people speak, I listen.