SpadeClub.com, the innovative online poker community, offers a risk-free way to win at poker with no deposits and no buy-ins. Click here to find out more.
SpadeClub has a new $5,000 weekly winner, Lance “scrubbydog” Malmberg. Malmberg has been playing poker for a little more than three months and has found SpadeClub to be a great place to learn the game. He spends his days assisting patients who suffer from mental illnesses with nutritional-care plans based on their doctors’ orders, a job he loves, and he is thrilled to have poker as a new hobby. Malmberg recently sat down with Card Player to talk about his win and how he found SpadeClub at just the right time.
Card Player: How did you hear about SpadeClub?
Lance “scrubbydog” Malmberg: I heard about SpadeClub from a friend I was playing with on a different site which offers a bunch of different goofy games. She sent me an invitation to join SpadeClub, and I put it off and put it off until she told me that I really needed to join this site. So, finally I joined, and I did the free trial, and I thought it was a really great site, so I paid my dues to play.
CP: Do you have a story behind you screen name?
LM: I do; I got it in high school. A couple of us got in a little bit of trouble with our basketball coach for mooning the pep-squad bus with all of the girls in it. As a punishment, he made us sit down at the end of the bench with what you call the “scrubs,” who only got to play at the end of the game, and it just stuck from there. My friends still call me “scrubby.”
CP: How long have you been playing poker?
LM: I have only been playing poker for about three months. I have played before, but this is the first time I have ever played [with anyone other than] friends.
CP: How did you get started playing poker?
LM: My best friend died of leukemia this winter. We were pretty tight and spent time with each other four or five times a week. So, to pass the time, I got into playing some games, and I have always been pretty good with spades. And I was playing on that game site [I mentioned], and my friend said “Why don’t you go to a poker site and try that?” I tried other poker sites, and it just takes too long to navigate their menus, so I started playing on SpadeClub, and I have played every night since. It has been a good thing for me to do in the evenings, I have really enjoyed it.
CP: Do you think SpadeClub is a good learning ground for people who are looking to start playing?
LM: I think it has been great. You can play for fun, there are actually legitimate chances of winning, and there is always something going on. It has just been great.
CP: Is this the most money you have ever won in a poker tournament?
LM: Yes, by a long ways!
CP: Do you have any plans for the money you just won?
LM: First thing I am going to do is buy my yearly membership, and then I have a couple of bills I am going to pay off and maybe get some accessories for my motorcycle. You know, split it up between bills and fun; you’ve got to have a little fun with it.
CP: Was there a particularly key hand that you played in the tournament that helped lead you to victory?
LM: There was. It was probably about the two-hour mark, and I was average in chips, and we had a pretty good-size pot going before the flop. After the flop, I knew the person to the right of me had a better hand, but I was holding four hearts, a possible straight, and I had a pair, so I knew there was about a half a deck that could beat him. So, I took a chance and I stayed. So, I sucked out on him, and I pulled a 6
on the river, and he called me a terrible player in the chatbox. And after that, I just got really motivated, and I shut my chat off and just buckled down and went from there.
CP: Have you participated in any of the community features on SpadeClub? What do you think?
LM: I am just now starting a little bit. I think the freeroll tournament you had for completing the player profile was pretty cool, because I probably otherwise wouldn’t have done it. I got my profile to 100 percent, and I am just now getting a few friends and leaving comments. I got a lot of really nice comments from the other members after I won with congratulatory notes, which was really neat. You probably don’t get something like that on the other big sites. It is cool, I see the same players in the tournaments, and it is really neat.
CP: Have you met anyone interesting at the tables that you’ve chatted with a lot during the games?
LM: I am not a big chatter during the games; I probably should be, but I tend to concentrate on what I am doing. I felt bad when I got down to the final table; I should have turned my chat on, but I didn’t. I just was caught up in the moment.
CP: Do you have any general advice to share with our readers about succeeding at SpadeClub?
LM: Beginner’s luck! No, I think you just have to forget your ego and plan on folding a lot. I guess my advice is don’t get caught up in the bluffing and the bounties, they are a lot of fun, but I think they are way overrated when it comes to winning, in the long run. I think you have to pick your spots and set a lot of traps and try and learn your opponents’ tendencies when you’re at the table.
CP: Anything else you would like to add?
LM: It is great site. I couldn’t be happier. I think I am a perfect example of what you can do if you get on something and you try your best to do it. I don’t think you have to go to the casinos to play poker to learn the game, and it just takes a lot a lot of patience. Play what you have and be comfortable with it. I sat down and knew how I was going to play, and I didn’t let myself stray away from that. I also want to mention a good friend I have out in California. His name is Troy, he's a dealer, and he has been very good about helping me and giving me advice on the different pitfalls to avoid in poker.
To learn more about all the features available on SpadeClub to improve your poker play, and to start your free trial of Exclusive membership, please visit SpadeClub.com today.
