133 seconds with… Vicky Coren
Sunday, 3 March 2013
Bluff interviews Vicky Coren
What's your most treasured possession?
My laptop. Every time I leave the house, I hide it somewhere different. That’s how much I treasure it. This amount of hiding takes IMAGINATION.
What’s the proudest moment of your career?
When my poker book was published. I’m so proud of it that if someone told me it was shit, I really wouldn't believe them. I couldn’t say the same about, for example, my dress sense.
What lessons has poker taught you about life?
Always carry cash, don't imagine everyone's as honest as you are, get it quietly, and don’t assume your quads are good if James Dempsey still wants to bet on the river.
Who’s your poker hero?
John Duthie.
Non poker hero?
Dustin Hoffman.
What’s the shittest job you ever had?
I worked in a toy shop once. That's the closest thing I've ever had to a job. But I quite liked it.
What's the strangest thing you've ever seen happen at the poker table?
Phil Hellmuth explaining the concept of his “poker album”. It was such a terrible idea, it was almost brilliant. But it wasn’t. It was terrible. If you want to hear about the idea in detail, you’ll have to buy my book. Or steal it from a library. This was in about 2001; luckily, Phil thought of other ways to make money.
Do you believe in God?
Not when I’ve got quads and they lose to James Dempsey.
Can you tell us a joke?
Yes, but it’ll go on for ages and then I’ll forget the punch line and we'll both feel awkward.
What’s the biggest bluff you've ever made in life?
In life, as in poker, only a fool is ever totally bluffing, and only a mug is not bluffing at all.