With seven World Series of Poker (WSOP) bracelets to his name and major tournament winnings of approximately $5 million, Erik Seidel is arguably the best tournament poker player in the world. And he is still regarded as such even with the challenge of Black Friday that affected most players’ money.

“It’s very important to the online sites to keep the games honest. The online sites have tremendous advantages over brick and mortar casinos in their ability to monitor the games. Support can go back and look at a player's history, see how often he plays with the same people. They can also look back at the hands players have played and see if there is a suspicious pattern. I think all the top sites take this stuff very seriously and if anyone has concerns about certain players they can email support and support will look into it.”

Of course, he is saying from the mind of an honest man. We hope that other online poker sites would avoid another black Friday from happening in United States of America because it would definitely affect the game of poker in America.

What characteristics do you believe are important for a person to become a great player?
“I think all the best players have a certain innate intelligence and are just good decision makers. They are also risk takers. Barry Greenstein's book (Ace on the River) covers this beautifully, and I recommend players read it if they are interested in finding out some of the intangible things that go into making a player successful.”

“... I see many young players getting ahead of themselves and these games take time to learn. Poker has a way of deceiving people into believing they are better than they are. Try to be objective about your relative skills as you progress and develop.”

With Seidel still playing poker, young and hungry players can now learn from him to be champions.