Meet the legend. - Jerze Joe
March 6th, 2023 Newsletter
Cold Deck Quote:
"One day a chump, the next day a champion. What a difference a day makes in tournament poker!" - Mike Sexton
The News... Jerze Joe Schwenk gives us a piece of his mind.
2023 WSOP points winner "Jerze" Joe Schwenk gives us a piece of his mind.
*Joe winning the WSOP prize pool a year ago.
Nickname: Jerze Joe
Points standing: 2nd
Resides: Michigan
Me: Many people may not know but you have played competitive baseball most of your life. How did you get into baseball?
Joe: My cousin was Don Colpoys who played minor league baseball and was my baseball mentor. I played little league, High School, college, and then a semi pro league at which I made about $75 per game. From there, I played in the Stan Musial league and as I was aging up, another league would open up. First it was a 30+ league, then a 40+, then a 50+. It seemed every time I was getting to be an “older guy” a league would open with guys more my age. So I just followed the progressions. I'm playing in a 50+ and a 40+ league right now. I started playing when I was 7 and I will be 70 later this year.
Me: That's 63 years of hardball. That's amazing Joe. What drives you to continue?
Joe: I just love the sport and being competitive. Playing softball was never really for me. That's for the guys to get together and drink some beers and have some laughs. I like playing baseball and playing all out.
Me: Switching to poker, what got you into the game and what variants did you play?
Joe: My dad was a good player mostly playing stud. So I picked the game up a little from him. I always dreamed of going to the World Series but at that time Vegas was considered a little “back room” and rough for a guy like me. Later, when I moved to Illinois in 2000, I started playing Hold'em in a poker club. We were all pretty good and wanted to start sending someone to the WSOP but couldn't get enough players to make it work.
Me: Last year, you won the Tuesday Freezeout Club points race and we sent you to the WSOP with a prize of a little over $3000. You were to spend $2000 on buyins. Tell us how you approached your win and your trip.
Joe: I had wanted to play the super seniors event (60+) but ended up playing the seniors (50+) as my wife and I were moving to Michigan and the super seniors didn't mesh with our schedule.
It was a long and grueling tournament. You and Adrienne being there really helped me a lot. If you watch a WSOP final table they have people on the rail. I never would have though that that would be important, but it really is. Or at least it really was for me. It's really one of the reasons why I want to go this year. If you are the winner, I want to be there for you, or whomever from our group. I just think it is really important to have someone to discuss hands and it really helps build relationships.
Me: Tell us about the atmosphere of attending your first WSOP.
Joe: I have never been in an atmosphere like that before. The whole thing was so much that I actually bought in for the wrong flight!
I accidentally entered flight B which was the day after flight A which I thought I was signing up for. So the night before, the three of us are walking through the big room and look at the table and seat where I will be and I am mentally preparing for a day in that spot. Well, the next day, I go to sit down and the dealer looks at my ticket and says “this is for tomorrow.” So I get up and have to wait in line and the thing is about to start. After I plop another $1000 for this flight, I go to my new table. The day didn't go my way and I found my original seat the next day!
Me: What was your opinion of the competition that you faced?
Joe: On day 1 of my second flight I played from 10:00am till 1:00 am so it was a long day but I got really fortunate in that I met some good guys on my side of the table. The other end of the table was a revolving door. So we (our side of the table) was able to chip up through these other guys most of the day.
The weaker players were playing too many hands and playing them in a weak way. If you were paying attention, it was easy to see that a person doesn't get that many playable hands. There were good players of course, and day 2 was a lot tougher draw. Which makes sense as you could imagine.
Me: Spoiler alert, you did cash in that tournament and earned yourself a WSOP cash to your Hendon Mob account. Do you think you are the best poker player you have ever been right now?
Joe: I have played in a few poker leagues and I will say that the base of players is very good overall and I think that helps other players within that community get better. Almost everyone from Galveston that went to the WSOP cashed (editor's note: AHHEM.. except me!). That's pretty impressive. So to answer your question, I was the best I have been last year. I don't know that I am as good as that now and I mean that as a testament to the players in Galveston. Playing that VFW game and Playing at the CCC, made me a much better player that I was before I moved to Texas.
Me: I understand your point and have heard this opinion before. So much so and from the type of players such as yourself that add credibility to it, I believe it more than I have in the past. Good luck the rest of this points race and thanks for being a great part of the leadership of this club and a great friend.
This week's Tip of the Cap goes to those who wrote me letting me know how they feel about the direction of our game and gave input on how they feel we can grow and adapt in the future. If you would like to let me know what you think of our club's direction, please drop me a line!
Note: I have edited the running points page to show the payouts for first, second, and the drawing. Check it out here:
Zoom with Joe! Joe hosts a free zoom meetup during our Tuesday Freezeout games. Give it a try if that sounds like fun.
The ZOOM password is 432777
2023-2024 Points Leaders
- Michael Culpepper 30
- Joe Schwenk 26
- Marty Kunz 22
- Rey Martinez 19
- Adrienne Culpepper 19
- Stan Blazyk 17
- Tommy Harken 15
- Moody Freunberg 14
- Brenda Ayala 11
- Carlos Price 10
Recent Results
- February 20th, 2024
- 1st - Carlos P.
- 2nd - Noel
- 3rd - Mikie
- February 27th, 2024
- 1st - Adrienne C.
- 2nd - Marty K.
- 3rd - Joe S.
- March 5th, 2024
- 1st - Joe S.
- 2nd - Steve U.
- 3rd - Marty K.
Coach's Corner
There are a lot of subjects out there that can be explained in an easy way and a hard way. Since we are tournament players rather than cash players, we have already chosen the more decision riddled version of hold'em.
Big blind defense frequency is important because we all have to play from the Big Blind. Some of us fold too much and some of us don't defend enough.
The folks at Upswing have our backs explaining this, more complicated than expected, spot.
This is rated pro as there is a lot of information but also super important as it comes up quite often. Do yourself a favor and try to get a feel for the concepts involved.
Recent Results
2023-2024 Points Leaders
- Michael Culpepper 30
- Joe Schwenk 23
- Marty Kunz 21
- Rey Martinez 19
- Adrienne Culpepper 19
- Stan Blazyk 17
- Tommy Harken 15
- Moody Freunberg 14
- Brenda Ayala 11
- Carlos Price 10
Recent Tuesday Freezeout Results
- February 20th, 2024
- 1st - Carlos P.
- 2nd - Noel
- 3rd - Mikie
- February 27th, 2024
- 1st - Adrienne C.
- 2nd - Marty K.
- 3rd - Joe S.
- March 5th, 2024
- 1st - Joe S.
- 2nd - Steve U.
- 3rd - Marty K.
Coach's Corner
There are a lot of subjects out there that can be explained in an easy way and a hard way. Since we are tournament players rather than cash players, we have already chosen the more decision riddled version of hold'em.
Big blind defense frequency is important because we all have to play from the Big Blind. Some of us fold too much and some of us don't defend enough.
The folks at Upswing have our backs explaining this, more complicated than expected, spot.
This is rated pro as there is a lot of information but also super important as it comes up quite often. Do yourself a favor and try to get a feel for the concepts involved.
Venmo Addresses
Michael Culpepper - @Michael-Culpepper-14
Joe Schwenk - @Joseph-Schwenk
Jonathan Ayala - @Jonathan-Ayala-55
Have any questions or feedback for this newsletter? If so, please email me
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