14 days to London - Meet Marc Convey

16 days to London – Meet Jeff Sarwer

March 14, 2016

12 days to London – Six Plus Hold’em will be spread

March 18, 2016

Published by Alexander Nilsson on March 16, 2016

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Cash Game Festival: Hi Marc! Could you start by telling us what you do for a living?
Marc Convey: I’m a poker blogger and commentator.
After graduating with a business degree I travelled a lot and drifted. I spent a while working for a homeless charity and then played poker semi-professionally before poker media became my full-time profession.
CGF: Are you attending the Cash Game Festival in London for work only?
MC: I’ll be there for work but also hoping to play as well. Really looking forward to trying out Six-plus Hold’em!
CGF: Have you done live commentary on cash game tables before? If so, when and where? What are the biggest differences working tournaments vs cash game?
MC: Yes. We covered a high stakes cash game on EPTLive at the Grand Final, Monaco. That was two years ago.
The challenges will be to find fun ways to spice up the action seeing as it’s a cash game. Blind increases, bubble time and a tournament end all help when covering a tournament.
I’m hoping for a more relaxed, fun and inclusive atmosphere for the CGF stream.
CGF: How long have you played poker and what made you start playing? Are you a cash game or tournament player mainly?
MC: I’ve been playing poker for 12 years properly. Introduced to the rules by friends and then fed my addiction watching poker on TV. I’ve been much more successful playing cash games, but like both for different reasons.
CGF: How would you classify yourself as a poker player? Strength/weaknesses? Different approach in cash game/tournaments?
MC: I’d say I’m a good level amateur.
My strengths when playing live are my people reading skills, although I need to play a lot to hone them, something I don’t have time to do these days. I’ve got a good head for figures so can concentrate on other aspects when making a decision.
I have a shocking day 2 to cash conversion rate recently so there must be a weakness there, most probably I’ve leaks in playing a 25-40bb stack. I’m fine deeper and shallower than that.
The mental and tactical approach between tournaments and cash are different. One needs more patience in cash games and one can have no fear in tournaments. Playing your stack size according to the structure is important in tournaments and being about to play post flop very important in cash games.
CGF: Do you have any other game or sport interest as a hobby/profession? And if so, does that interest help your poker skills in any way?
MC: I follow a lot of sports, especially football. I’m not a huge bettor but love to play fantasy football. Having an analytical mind certainly helps when playing FF, so that can only help my poker game. My newest hobby in Footgolf, the fasted growing sport in the UK. Like golf, the mental side is tough, and that’s also a huge part of poker. So practicing dealing with bad luck will help both games.
CGF: Do you have an interesting memory/story/poker hand to tell us about that you have experienced in a live environment?
MC: So many from a reporting/commentating perspective that it’s hard to narrow down….
When Phil Ivey punched me on the arm once en route to his table, I knew I’d made it as a blogger 😉
CGF: Can you tell us your favourite poker destination(s) and what makes it the best stop/place?
MA: Crown Casino, Melbourne for the Aussie Millions. Amazing city for all the above reasons; it’s in the middle of summer so one can escape the Northern hemisphere winter and the Aussie Open tennis is happening at the same time. Also, the Main Event is the best value “major” outside of the WSOP Main Event.
CGF: These people are all involved with Cash Game Festival in London: John Scanlon, Warren Lush, Enri Orav and Martin “Franke” von Zweigbergk. Choose one of them that you have some sort of relationship to and tell us your view on his impact on the poker scene/industry?
MC: Warren Lush. He’s always just got things done. A great networker who can lead as well as being a good right-hand man. He did a great job of helping grow the WPT brand away from in North American roots.
He’s a great man to have a drink and tell stories with. The stories we tell stay in the bar though I’m afraid.
CGF: What do you think about the concept of a cash game only festival compared to the standard tournament festivals where cash games isn’t the focus?
MC: I think it’s great. The tournament scene is saturated right now and most of the innovation around the game is focused towards them. Let’s apply some innovation towards cash game festivals and see where we can take it.
CGF: What did you think about the past event(s) in Tallinn and what do you expect from the upcoming event in London?
MC: Wasn’t there so can’t comment. For London I’m hoping for growing numbers (day-by-day) through the door and on the live stream, and for strong foundations to be laid for future events.
CGF: We thank you Marc for your time and look forward to hearing you comment on our upcoming livestream from London!