PocketFives had the opportunity to interview Grant Hollien (Jedimindon PocketFives, pictured), who is mostly known for his screen name NevaTeachTheWuon both poker networks in New Jersey. Like many others, Hollien is part of the Moneymaker boom that rocked the poker world back in 2003 and has been playing ever since. To improve his game, he signed up to the poker training website Tournament Poker Edge, which helped him develop his MTT and sit and go play.

Mostly a low- to mid-stakes player with over $36,000 in tracked online cashes, some of his notable accomplishments include a win in the PartyPoker $5,000 Guarantee, a second place in the GSSS $10,000 Guarantee, and a win in the PartyPoker $1,000 Guarantee Super Bounty for a total of $3,068.

Visit PocketFives’ New Jersey poker community for the latest news and discussion from New Jersey players.

PocketFives: When did you start playing poker and why was it appealing?

Grant Hollien: I started playing in the Moneymaker boom of 2003. I remember watching Chris play heads-up with Sammy Farha and it was an entertaining, with the bright lights and all that money on the table. Who wouldn’t want to learn?

Maybe it was my competitive nature that really made me want learn to play. I liked cards and the meta-game was a really interesting part of poker for me and still is to this day. I just kind of watched and learned a little here and there, some from TV and some on play money sites.

It’s funny thinking about it now because I’m not sure there is a less optimal way of learning the game, but I guess I had to start somewhere. Later on, I would meet a few people who ran a home game and played online. Soon after, I deposited some money online and started playing sit and gos and MTTs, mostly on a few different sites. Back then, I only needed to be slightly less awful than the field to make a few bucks, as no one really knew what they were doing.

PocketFives: Is there a meaning behind your screen names?

Grant Hollien: Hahaha, yeah to me there is meaning for sure. NevaTeachTheWu is just short for “Never Teach the Wu-Tang, it could be dangerous.” A few years back when I was still living in Florida, I was playing on another network and kept finding myself at a table with a guy who was constantly going out of his way to berate some of the less skilled or experienced players while at the same time handing out poker lessons on the side that almost always included SharkScope and HUD stats.

At some point, I remember I was frustrated enough to say something, but I didn’t really want to be as blunt as just saying, “Dude, don’t do that” and the best thing I came up with I typed in chat: “Never Teach the Wu-Tang.” I doubt it had any real effect on this player and I know it would not be the last time I said this to anyone.

My opinion is that there is a ton of information out there about poker and how to improve. As such, there is no reason to be force-feeding info to other players at the table. Anyone who is motivated to improve their game can easily find the tools to do so. I do see a steady flow of random Wu-Tang lyrics typed in chat while I’m at the table and it’s definitely good for a laugh.

PocketFives: How do you prepare yourself before an online session?

Grant Hollien: In a perfect world, I would be very well rested, have a decent meal, start with some light hand history review, and maybe take my dog for a walk before beginning to play. I would add exercise into the mix, but I’d be lying if I said I actually did it.

With that said, I fall short of this more often than not. The number one for me has to be food. If I don’t eat prior to playing and find myself in a long session, things tend to go badly. Maybe I just start clicking the wrong buttons or start making very quick decisions in key spots (likely the wrong ones). In the past, I’ve found I just generally get frustrated for little to no reason because I’m hungry and don’t always catch it in time. I do my best to not have other distractions like talking on Skype and watching sports. I’m still working on the rest.

PocketFives: Do you recall any memorable hands that helped you win or lose a big tournament?

Grant Hollien: I don’t really remember the big winning hands as much as the bad beats and the losses. I believe this to be typical of most poker players. I have done a decent job of forgetting some of the beats and disappointing hands. I like it better that way. I mean, I want to take note of something if I make a mistake, but other than that, I mostly forget about the bad ones after about a day maybe two if it was really bad.

PocketFives: Since the launch of regulated online poker in New Jersey, what has been your most memorable cash or win?

Grant Hollien: I guess you could say I was a little late to the party. I moved back to New Jersey last November from Ft. Lauderdale, so I missed about the first whole year that everything started running in New Jersey. I had been following the progress of New Jersey regulation even before the launch, so I was really excited to get started playing online. After the move, I was running rather thin financially, but before I even finished moving in, I had signed up for WSOP.com and as a new player was given a few dollars in my account . I end up winning the first $5 rebuy I played on just a single bullet.

It was not a big win by any means and I have had a couple four-figure wins since, but I did manage to run that little score up quite a bit from there and now have a much more comfortable bankroll. It would not surprise me to learn that quite a few others have had a similar experience and I’ve had bigger wins, but when I look back I kind of say to myself, “Yeah, that worked out well.”

PocketFives: When playing online poker, do you prefer cash games, sit and gos, or tournaments?

Grant Hollien: For me, it’s tournament poker and it’s not even close. They can be brutal and unforgiving, but in my opinion there is no better feeling in poker than starting a tournament, playing it out, and ending with all of the chips in play and it keeps the game exciting.

Sit and gos are really something I have enjoyed a bit in the last year and have been using them to work on ICM, push fold, and just general short-handed play. I still have a lot to learn in both formats, but this has mostly been my focus. Cash games are great and I enjoy them, but I have not really made much effort to play them very competitively in a while. That could change, but I don’t see it happening very soon.

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

Grant Hollien: About 18 months ago, I found myself struggling in poker. I was not getting the results I wanted and wasn’t exactly motivated to put in volume that I needed to. The time that I did put in was spent going back and forth playing live cash and online at a popular network that is known for its anonymous tables.

In hindsight, I think I had lost my passion for poker and the drive to play and it showed up in my game. So, I stumbled onto a Tournament Poker Edge training video by Marc “aznAllin007” Alioto on YouTube. Besides the strategy, a few of the things he said stuck in my mind and helped me develop different attitude toward poker and learning.

I finally realized that if I was going to get the results that I wanted in poker, I needed to put a lot more work and effort into my game. It was a much-needed wakeup call for me and helped spark a renewed interest in learning the game in a way I had never bothered to before.

Not long after, I became a TPE member. It has proven to be a good investment for me and run by some really great people. I believe it was in the same video that Marc had mentioned Jared Tendler’s book “The Mental Game of Poker” and so I checked it out in the audio format. There was no way I could have expected that a single book could have had such a lasting effect on my life.

Tilt was an issue for me at the time, but really I got the most from the discussion about different ways of learning and the methodical approach taken by Jared throughout the book. I find it interesting that a few people I have never met could have such an impact on my game and leave a lasting impression on my life.

PocketFives: What do you do away from poker? What else interests you?

Grant Hollien: Music has been a passion of mine for as long as I can remember. I spent a number of years as a young man in more serious study learning to play the cello, so I have carried from that some lasting experiences that helped shape me as a person. I wouldn’t trade that for anything.

Other interests include anything science-related, new technology, and space. I won’t run out of things to learn about that are exciting to me. Sports have been an interest of mine for a while now, mostly football and baseball so with that also fantasy sports has been a hobby I have enjoyed.