Joe Cada Sits Down With Jenny Woo

Hey ya'll!  As many of you watched earlier this month, the WSOP came to an end with the youngest player ever to win.  Joe Cada had a very good birthday this past month turning 22 after winning 8.5 million dollars.  He sat down with Yours Truly for a quick interview on what's been going on after the WSOP to what's coming up for him in the near future.

JENNY:  You've accomplished something that many don't even get close to accomplishing - and yet you do it at 21.  So where does someone like you go from here?  Can it get any better?

JOE:  It's just one tournament out.  I plan on entering other major tournaments to make a better name for myself.  One tournament won't quite cut it for me.  Hopefully I can have further success in the future.

JENNY:  How does someone your age get their start in poker?  When did your interest begin?

JOE:  It was one of things - I started playing poker, I'm a very competitive person, and was something I enjoyed to do.  It dealt a lot with logic and math and for some reason I always wanted to get better.  It was really fun for me. 

JENNY:  What is your family's response to your win?  And have they always been supportive of your poker career?

JOE:  Yeah they've been very supportive.  My mom was a little skeptical at first but once she saw my success - it helped along the way - she was okay with it.  They were very proud of me when I won.

JENNY:  Some in the media have been critical of your success claiming that it sends a bad message out to children having a poker player as a role model.  What is your reaction to this?

JOE:  Anytime people ask me my advice, I always tell them - when you start off just play for fun - play for free.   I have fun with it.  If it's something that you're good at it and you have a knack for it - maybe move slowly but most of all just try to make it fun.

JENNY:  Has it sunken in yet?  And how are you adapting to all of the attention?  I'm sure you're getting bombarded right now.

JOE:  Yeah, I've been really busy lately.  It hasn't fully hit me - well a little bit.  At the final table, it hit me in different stages and I think this will probably go the same way.   

JENNY:  What are your plans for the money?  Have you even had the chance to think about it yet?

JOE:  No, I haven't really thought about what I'm going to do with the money yet.  I haven't spent any of it.  I'm probably just going to invest a lot of it. 

JENNY:  Have the endorsement deals started rolling in for you yet?

JOE:  Yeah, I'm working on different options and stuff like that.  I'm making my agent handle most of that.

JENNY:  We can tell you that searches for your name coming to the Gambling911.com website were the most for any single poker player in a given time period.  Chris Moneymaker did amazing things for poker with his win a few years back but you have some name recognition and plenty of charisma.  What do you intend to do to represent the world of poker and give it that next boost?

JOE:  Poker has always been my life for some time now and I love poker.  I want to continue to play poker in the future.  So I'm going to do my best to represent poker and take advice from others of what they think is best and do as much media as they ask me to.

JENNY:  Phil Ivey took some flack for not being very accessible leading up to the final table and many believe he could have done so much more in his position to build up momentum for the WSOP. What is your opinion in this regard?  Do you think he should have put himself more out there?

JOE:  No, it all depends on how you feel about it.  Not everyone feels the same way and I'm sure Phil Ivey is constantly getting bombarded because he's Phil Ivey and constantly in the media.  I'm not going to lie, it does get to you and I don't blame him at all.

JENNY:  Obviously the pro poker community had wanted to see one of their own make it all the way through the WSOP.  Was there any intimidation playing against a poker icon like Phil Ivey?

JOE:  I wouldn't say so.  I mean, he's a great player - don't get me wrong.  He's one of the best in the world but you just have to treat him like any other player and adjust to how he's playing.

JENNY:  Are there any pro players out there that you look up to?

JOE:  One big name is Tom Dwan - he's a younger kid like myself and he plays in the biggest cash games.  In my mind, he's one of the best players along with Phil Ivey and Patrik Antonius.

JENNY:  What's next for you?  Will you be taking a long break or is it more poker for you?

JOE:  Yeah, my next tournament will be in the Bahamas for the PCA (PokerStars Caribbean Adventure) http://www.pokerstars.com/caribbean-adventure/.  I'm looking forward to that.  I played in it this year, it was a lot of fun and the Atlantis was very nice.  I'm looking forward to getting back to playing poker again but right now it's media.

JENNY:  What key advice can you give someone who's just getting their start in poker?

JOE:  Like I mentioned before, start playing for free or nickel and dime.  Start out small and you'll have fun with it.  Just enjoy playing it and don't look at too much of the gambling side of it. 

JENNY:  Thanks Joe for taking the time out to sit down with me.

JOE:  No problem.  Thank you for having me.

Jenny Woo, Gambling911.com Senior International Correspondent