Bluff Magazine, without a doubt the most popular poker magazine in the world, features expert poker articles and interviews with top poker professionals, and also drives the highly esteemed Player of the Year Awards. Following the explosion of interest in poker, this authoritative publication, also launched in South Africa last year. And now, none other than our very own Ryan Dreyer, All Africa Poker Commentator, has been newly appointed as Editor of Bluff Magazine South Africa.
When questioned on how this came about, Ryan mentions that it is probably due to the fact that he has contributed to the growth of the poker industry and his BSC Degree in Journalism. But Ryan’s involvement in poker is far more impressive than what he humbly portrays. In fact, Ryan works on the production of poker tournaments, including directing cameramen at the feature tables, conducting interviews and links during the tournament and finally editing of the footage offline. In addition, he writes poker articles for various websites.
Most importantly, even though he only does it part-time, is that Ryan, AKA “Rhino,” is a respected poker player himself with a list of remarkable achievements behind his name, for the four years that he has been “dabbling” in Texas Hold’em :
6th place Sun City Million Dollar Poker Tournament 2007 Earnings : $33,000
2nd place Poker Ace Tournament November 2007 Earnings : R150,000
4th place Carousel Poker Tournament January 2008 Earnings : R42,000
55th place World Series of Poker & Stud Hi LO event July 2008 Earnings : $2,450
And the one that Ryan is of course proudest of - winning the Sun City Million Dollar Poker Tournament last year in September 2008. This awesome victory did not only elevate Ryan into 290th player position internationally, but also earned him a grande prize of $650,000, equating to more than four and a half million Rand!
One of the reasons for Ryan’s success as a poker player, no doubt, has to be his calm and collected demeanour around the poker tables, which could lead to opponents easily underestimating what they’re up against. He is considered generally a tight aggressive player, but be careful to judge him by that, because he cleverly picks his spots to change gears. And yes, although he appears to be unruffled by any undercurrents around the poker, there are indeed a few things that annoy him. “Obviously I am not immune to bad beats … it is irritating when players play badly and get rewarded with luck. It is also annoying when guys get aggressive at the table over something petty.”
So how will his appointment to Bluff SA Magazine influence Ryan’s poker career from here on forward? “Well, as I have always maintained, I am a part time poker player, I play when I have time and my other commitments with work are fulfilled. So, this will be no different. I might have less time to play, but as the Editor of Bluff SA, I may play one or two more tournaments in the mags interest. I have also recently been reinstated as an amateur golfer and I am intending to play some golf tournaments this year. So, I think I am going to be very busy in the coming year. I therefore don’t see my involvement as a player changing much. I have no desire to play poker professionally, and I’m quite content to keep poker as the great pastime that I am passionate about. I certainly don’t want to turn playing poker into a job.”
But what advice would Ryan give those of us who ARE considering playing poker professionally? “I think if you want to play poker for a living, you need discipline. That’s the biggest key. You have to be disciplined in all aspects of your life. You have to treat it as a job and treat every chip you have as your last. You also need to know if you really have what it takes to be a great, consistent player. If poker is your sole source of income you can’t afford to go on tilt, you can’t gamble in casinos, or do anything which could cause you to drop your guard. Poker will bite you if you get too casual, so you have to maintain focus and be prepared to do that for a lifetime.”
And considering that Ryan has experienced almost all elements of poker, from fan, to player, to winner, to commentator, and now editor – all in record time, his opinion should be well considered. You can also learn to play poker from Ryan himself, by tuning into “Ask the Commentators,” which is screened on the All Africa Poker Channel on DSTV. For more information about the scheduling of this programme, visit allafricapoker.com, or press “OK” on the interactive menu of DSTV.
Note: Ryan is a friend of Tourneyblog. We interviewed him a few months back and we can't congratulate him enough.