I first heard the name “Hoodini” a few months ago when I was interviewing JoeytheB after his success at the Borgata Poker Open. Joseph “<SPAN>JoeytheB</SPAN>” Brooks is the proud uncle of Joe “<SPAN>Hoodini10</SPAN>” Udine. I am sure JoeytheB would be proud of his nephew no matter what, but I'm also sure it is extra special for him to see <SPAN>Hoodini10</SPAN> having such success in poker. <READMORE>Joe Udine smashed right out of the gates in his first tourney with a buy-in over $100 at the Bellagio this summer, chopping a $1k event for $70,000. He returned home and promptly won the Full Tilt 400k for an even bigger score. This past weekend, <SPAN>Hoodini10</SPAN> shocked the online community with a feat which is already being nominated for the Best Accomplishment of 2006. He won the Pokerstars $100 R&A three times this weekend, including twice in the same day!
After warming up with a few final tables late last week, including a $50 rebuy and $100 rebuy, <SPAN>Hoodini10</SPAN> was ready for action by the weekend. The $100 rebuy on Pokerstars is arguably the toughest field on the internet. This tournament brings out all the big names and online poker pros, as it offers a chance to play deep stacked poker for big prizepools without having to wade through a gigantic field. To win twice in one week or even one month would be impressive, so when<SPAN> Hoodini10</SPAN> took it down twice in one day, it certainly raised eyebrows. Winning it a third time in two days just kind of boggles the mind.
<SPAN>Lenny: Do you consider yourself a rebuy specialist?</SPAN>
<SPAN>Hoodini10</SPAN>: I would not have said so before this weekend really, but I am definitely becoming accustomed to the structure. Lately I’ve been working on keeping the value in the tournament and not going too crazy in the rebuy period. Depending on the field size and buyin, you don’t always need to have an enormous stack to go deep.
<SPAN>Lenny: Really, what is your average buy-in would you say?</SPAN>
<SPAN>Hoodini10</SPAN>: I usually try to stay around $250 for a 55r and $509 for the 109r. I might go over here and there, but the best part about all 3 of my wins this weekend is that I was in for 309 in 2 of them and 409 in the other. Not that it matters when you get first, but still…
<SPAN>Lenny: I’m sure it’s nice going deep on a minimum investment. The last few months must have been pretty amazing for you. Can you tell me a little about it?</SPAN>
<SPAN>Hoodini10</SPAN>: It’s been absolutely incredible. I graduated from UPenn in May and traveled around Europe with some friends for five weeks. I came home without a job and around 8k to my name. I went to Vegas with a friend who had qualified for the WSOP and I ended up chopping the Bellagio 1k. Then when I got home, my online play just picked up like crazy.
<SPAN>Lenny: Did you satellite into the Bellagio event? </SPAN>
<SPAN>Hoodini10</SPAN>: No, I was actually backed by a friend.
<SPAN>Lenny: Lucky friend! </SPAN>
<SPAN>Hoodini10</SPAN>: Lucky for both of us. That’s where I got my bankroll started, and then when I got home I chopped the very first FTOPS event, and the rest is history.
<SPAN>Lenny: So, how close are you with Uncle Joe?</SPAN>
<SPAN>Hoodini10</SPAN>: Very. I used to call him all the time and whine about bad beats throughout the last two years of college when I was grinding some low stakes online. He has helped me so much to get to this point.
<SPAN>Lenny: He must be such a great resource for you. </SPAN>
<SPAN>Hoodini10</SPAN>: Absolutely, he has kept me in check and given me the right bankroll advice and just filled my head with all the right things.
<SPAN>Lenny: Are there any other poker players in the family?</SPAN>
<SPAN>Hoodini10</SPAN>: Nope, just me and Uncle Joe. I was a little worried at first to explain to the rest of the family about what I was doing. Now that I am doing so well, it makes things a lot easier.
<SPAN>Lenny: Do you plan to pursue poker full time? </SPAN>
<SPAN>Hoodini10</SPAN>: I am definitely going to play for the time being, but I don’t plan on letting an Ivy League degree go to waste. This has all come about pretty fast so I need to just stay focused and not over do anything. I will reevaluate things after January and the Borgata Open.
<SPAN>Lenny: What did you study?</SPAN>
<SPAN>Hoodini10</SPAN>: I majored in Economics. I will keep my options open, but for now I just really enjoy tournament poker. There is always something new to learn. I feel like I need to take advantage of this moment while I’m young.
<SPAN>Lenny: Where did you go in Europe?</SPAN>
<SPAN>Hoodini10</SPAN>: We went to 11 different cities in 35 days: London, Paris, Amsterdam, Prague, Munich, Interlaken (Switzerland), Barcelona, Nice, Venice, Florence and Rome.
<SPAN>Lenny: Very nice! Did you have a favorite?</SPAN>
<SPAN>Hoodini10</SPAN>: Definitely the best thing I’ve ever done. Switzerland was amazing. We went skydiving into the Alps. Everywhere was amazing. The World Cup was going on while we were there, so that made things even better. We were in Italy for three of their wins, people were just going insane.
<SPAN>Joe “</SPAN><SPAN>Hoodini10</SPAN><SPAN>” Udine already has a couple WPT main event seats locked up for the upcoming months, so we definitely look forward to following his continued success both live and online. With a mentor like JoeytheB so close at hand, combined with talent and brains of his own, it’s no surprise that </SPAN><SPAN>Hoodini10</SPAN><SPAN> has skyrocketed to such success. I asked him to tell me how he managed to pull off the three wins this weekend, but of course a magician never reveals his secrets. </SPAN></READMORE>
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