AOL World Series of Poker Profiles: John Holcomb

AOL is sending twelve lucky winners to the World Series of Poker 2007 in Las Vegas this year. We’re excited to have such fine players represent our team. AOL games are running a series of winner interviews of our top players. Our poker studs beat out tens of thousands of other players to get a shot at the World Series of Poker Championship. AOL games loves when people have interesting jobs. Nick Holcomb may have the best one yet!

John is the latest to fall under the AOL games spotlight! We know he can take the heat!



John, what is your occupation?
I am the lead technician for a company that provides thermal pest control service. We eradicate pests using only heat, no chemicals. The main applications are on termites, wood destroying beetles and bedbugs.

Tell us about your family and who will be accompanying you to the WSOP?
I am married and have a son. My wife of 23 years will accompany me to the tournament. My son is under 21 and said if he can't get in to the tournament area with me he would just as soon watch online from the Scout camp where he will be working.

What is it about poker that so engrossing for you?
I enjoy the fact that while there is a certain amount of skill and logical thinking required, the unpredictability of a deck of shuffled cards means that at any given moment the least skilled or logical person at the table can be a winner. Chess is a fun game, but your not going to see a world series of chess tournament drawing large crowds. A spelling bee draws more people.

Is there any advice you would give to the online poker playing public?
Keep it fun. Don't go Hellmuth when you get sucked out on the river. It's just a game and there is another tournament or table coming up.

Do you watch poker on TV or read about it?
Yes to both. More watching than reading. Watching the WSOP tournament footage was how I realized how much fun hold'em could be. It is also a good way to learn about different strategies.

Do you have a "lucky" items?
Not really, but my son says I need one to help counteract Humberto's shark, should I play at the same table. So I will most likely bring something

If you win a huge prize, what will you do with the money?
The usual. Get out of debt, buy a house, travel and or college payments.

What did you do when you won your online tournament and found out you'd be going to play in the live WSOP?
Once it sank in, I got pretty excited. I still can't quite believe it!

Do you play other games on AOL?
No, poker is all I have time for.

Are you making any special preparations for the WSOP?
I will try to play in a few live tournaments before I go, as yelling out loud when I have the nut flush or commenting on the player who stayed in with 2 7 off suit might be fine in front of computer screen but won't work very well live.

What is your strategy for playing at the live WSOP?
Not telling.

Again, congrats on making the tournament Nick. We wish you the best of luck.

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John Holcomb played heroically but was eliminated from the tournament. We caught up with him right after he left the tournament room.

What was it like to play in the Main Event at the World Series of Poker?
It was great fun to play with real people because I usually play against people online.

Did you have a lot of good hands?
Yeah. I had a lot of good hands, but nothing huge. I was playing at a very cautious table.

What was your last hand?
It was a pair of 2’s.

Could you have done anything differently?
No. I do think that the World Series of Poker should have been organized differently. They kept adding people and so no one knew how many people were actually playing. Nobody knew if there was going to be a cut off time or number of players.