Shane shaniac Schleger has been a member of PocketFives.com ever since its early days. One of his first posts was a thread touting the skills of Cliff JohnnyBax Josephy, featuring responses by beanie, Duff McGuire, mhoddi, CoderMan1, and sheets entitled “Not Only Does Bax Own.” Over three years after that post appeared on PocketFives.com in May of 2005, Schleger remains one of the top names in the online poker world. On October 26th, he took down the $200 rebuy, $250,000 Guaranteed on PokerStars, raking in his second win in that tournament in a two month span. An experienced live poker player as well, Schleger sat down with PocketFives.com to discuss his resurgence into the Online Poker Rankings at #87 this week.Schleger won the $200 rebuy on Stars at the end of August, banking $51,250. The following night, he won the $100 rebuy on the same site for $31,625. On October 19th, he took fourth in the Full Tilt Poker $1 Million Guaranteed for $59,000. All told, he’s been amassing impressive cashes online for the past two months. When the Rankings were re-calculated last week, Schleger popped up at #87. He told PocketFives.com, “It feels good to be in the Rankings because I got there organically without putting in any particular volume. Really though, it's all about running well for a given period of time, so I'm happy for that above all.”
His win in August prompted him to hit the felts more often than he had been. He stated, “I felt motivated to play MTTs online because it seemed to mark the end of a long and frustrating dry spell, so I played a lot during the WCOOP, but not as much as a proper MTT grinder really should be playing. For instance, on most Monday or Tuesday nights, I play a total of four tournaments and maybe a couple of satellites.” He cashed in seven WCOOP events to help boost his PLB score, which comprises one-third of the Rankings.
During the 2005 World Series of Poker, Schleger made the final table and finished fifth in a $1,000 rebuy event, launching his venture into the live poker world. That tournament was eventually won by Michael Gracz, who knocked Schleger out, and also featured a final ten that included David “The Dragon” Pham, Phil Gordon, and Eli Elezra. On that tournament, Schleger recalled, “It was my first WSOP. Poker was fresher and more exciting overall, both for me and just as a culture, and making that final table was unexpected. I flew in under the radar and enjoyed putting on a nice shirt and getting interviewed by ESPN.”
Since then, Schleger finished fifth in another $1,000 rebuy tournament in 2007 for $111,000 and made the final table of the World Poker Tour’s Bellagio Cup III for $232,000. He has come dangerously close to winning a WSOP bracelet and cashed twice during the 2008 installment of the tournament series for $11,000. When he does score his first bracelet, he’ll join the ranks of Josephy, Scott BigRiskky Clements, Michael worldsgrtest Banducci, and the Hinkle brothers, among others, who are all former WSOP event winners.
His first year as a full-time poker pro was in 2005. He explains how he became involved in the game of poker: “A friend of mine from New York City who had moved to Albuquerque, where he played low-limit poker at Sandia Casino, introduced me to gambling. I started playing blackjack and then poker. Back in New York, I met someone who played poker in the club scene and got involved further.”
Since he burst into the poker spotlight three years ago, poker has changed tremendously. A throng of new players has entered the game, as evidenced by the 8,773 player field that entered the WSOP Main Event the following year. Poker continues to grow and prosper worldwide. Schleger told PocketFives.com what advice he has for staying near the top of the pack: “Stay abreast of what people are talking about and always keep your poker mind activated. Try to keep an honest accounting of the quality your game, adjust where you are lacking, and always look for ways to improve.”
To check out the full standings this week, visit the PocketFives.com Online Poker Rankings. Welcome back to the Rankings, shaniac!
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