4th Street Poker Tour: Mike

Name: Mike Drudzinski
Nickname: Drud Report. I was going to use "Mike D." or "Big D.," as those are actual nicknames I've had, but First Lady suggested "Drud Report," since my last name begins with a sound so similar to "Drudge" from the Drudge Report. I decided to go with it.
Age: 36 (I look a little younger, but yes, I am getting old)
Location: Santa Monica, CA

Favorite hand to play:
It's cliche, but AK (either suited or not). I even like to go with it against big pairs. The A and K just look good together, don't they? There are several hands with which I like to limp in, but I can't reveal what those are.

Favorite Pro Player:
When I started playing the 4SPT, my knowledge of No Limit was, well, limited. I usually play in small-stakes limit games. After getting skinned alive two times in a row on the 4SPT, I decided to do some research. First Lady saw that I had a tight aggressive style, so she suggested I read Dan Harrington's book(s) on No Limit. I read both of his books, and they provided me with a great foundation, so Harrington's the man I call my poker hero.

How did you learn about the 4SPT:
First Lady and I work together at Yahoo! We were talking about Poker one day at work and she mentioned 4SPT. I went to the website and knew at once that I would be playing there as often as possible.

When did you join the 4SPT:
My first game was FS10 -- beginning of November 2005.

Best thing about winning the 4SPT:
Finally doing it! There's nothing like following all the way through on some difficult-to-achieve goal. For once, it's great not having to second guess the way I played or the bad luck of the cards. To win it makes me feel like I can hang with quality players. The stack of moolah, the recognition on the tour and my possession of the Smoke 'Em III apron ain't too shabby either.

Most exciting/best hand you've had on the 4SPT:
I was a medium-low stack at a table with ALternate (sorry to use you as an example, man). He bet $800 and I was staring at a QT of hearts. I decided to push all in against him with about $1,500 in chips. He called, flipping over AA. The flop came KJ9 of hearts. A straight flush for me! Another J showed on fourth street and an A on the river. Al ended up with an aces-over-jacks full house, and I took the pot with my straight flush. Good times.

4SPT player you don't want sitting next to you (why):
It's a tie between Von Sandman and First Lady. If they are to my left (I don't mind them being to my right), I feel like they could call or go over the top of me at any time. They are astute players you have to be willing to go hard against. If you show indecision or false bravado, they will often smell your weakness and eat up as many of your chips as they can get their hands on.

Where/how did you learn to play poker:
I played like a fool until I hooked up with a weekly limit game about 8 years ago. As far as No Limit goes, you read my above answer with respect to the Harrington books and my nearly 7 months of experience on this tour.

Any other interesting stories or whatever else you want people to know:
I don't really know many people on this tour, having First Lady as my sole contact outside of the 4SPT, but there have been a handful of people who've been good to me since I started playing. What I love, aside from the high quality of poker, is the mix of bizarro characters who populate the 4SPT. Because of them, the 4SPT is much more than a kick-ass poker tour, and that's what really keeps me coming back for more.

Comments

Congrats Drud! I know how much you've been training for this win. Glad to have you in the final seat for the TOC. (let's just hope I'm sitting to your left).

Posted by: First Lady | Monday, May 29, 2006 at 22:45