Kevin Song might be one of the most consistent tournament poker players in the world who you don’t know about. He has cashed consistently on the tournament trail since 1994 and accumulated more than $3 million in career winnings. Surprisingly, his largest cash is just $397,120, which he took home along with his World Series of Poker gold bracelet for a win he booked in a $2,000 limit hold’em event in 1997. Song is considered to be one of the best limit hold’em players in the world thanks to his robust results, and he still posts consistent results 15 years into his career. Song cashed four times at the 2009 L.A. Poker Classic, making three final tables in the process.
Card Player caught up with Song at Commerce Casino and he discussed the nuances that between limit and no-limit hold’em, as well as rebuy events.
Ryan Lucchesi: Would you say that you were on a real hot streak at the LAPC booking four cashes and making three final tables?
Kevin Song: No, I don’t think I was on a hot streak; I never won a tournament here. I was running not so good at the final tables. I’m doing well in the cash games, so overall I’m doing OK. I got unlucky at final tables three times in a row. A guy played 10-2 like Doyle Brunson, and I couldn’t beat 10-2, so what can I do?
RL: How are you able to make consistently deep runs in these tournaments?
KS: As you know, I have pretty good experience in tournaments, I have patience; I know when to move the chips, and when to play them. So, when I play tournaments, unless I get unlucky or take a bad beat, I go on cruise control and go.
RL: You made final tables in both no-limit hold’em and no-limit hold’em with rebuys events at this tournament series. How do you approach the differences in these tournaments?
KS: Rebuy tournaments are gambling for the first couple of hours. Sometimes you gamble with people. The $300 rebuys and $1,000 rebuys are not too much, so you gamble the first two hours, but you make sure you don’t get knocked out once the rebuys are finished. That’s the only difference, after that, it is the same tournament. I like the rebuy tournaments, because if you take a bad beat a couple of times, you can still survive. The rebuy tournaments have been good for me, because you can really gamble the first couple of hours, and you find out how people play during those two hours.
RL: You also made the final table of a limit hold’em event at the LAPC, and your WSOP bracelet is in limit hold’em, as well. What is the biggest difference between limit and no-limit hold’em, in your opinion?
KS: It is totally different. I have cashed for more than a million dollars in limit hold’em. Those two games are totally different. Some people don’t understand the difference. In limit, you have to have a hand, there is a very small bluff bar. In no-limit, you don’t have to have a hand to take a big pot. A lot of people play differentl. Especially in no-limit, you can take down a pot with a weak pair or nothing. It’s the same game, but limit and no-limit hold’em are totally different games.
RL: You said there are only a few opportunities to bluff during limit games. What situations or factors are you looking for when you bluff in limit hold’em?
KS: Limit games are very hard to bluff at the beginning of an event, but later in the event, when a lot of chips are involved, then bluffing comes into play.
