Jeff Boski Interviews Poker Legends Phil Collins and Mike Sowers

Jeff Boski and his dry-humoured drawl have become an integral part of many fans’ essential poker vlog viewing, and this month he has two hugely-interesting interviews to add to his more than 100 poker videos including excellent hand analyses and casino visits, with Phil Collins and Mike Sowers sharing their remarkable poker tales on Boski’s live streamed PokerTube podcasts.

Boski with Phil Collins

For those who don’t know of him, Phil ‘USCPhildo’ Collins is, as his nickname suggests, a USC grad who discovered poker in his freshman year and actually lost ‘his entire summer savings’ on his first night playing online poker. Three years later he had already amassed enough winnings that his law school plans were put on hold – Las Vegas and a poker career awaited!

Remember, remember the 9th of November.

Boski opens up by asking Collins about being the last of a dying breed, part of “a really cool club” says Collins about his November Niner inclusion from back in 2011 when he came 5th in a Main Event won by Pius Heinz.

“Everytime I see Martin Staszko, I have such a genuine smile because we know we shared something so fucking terrific!”

Collins, of course, is no one-hit wonder, with over $3million in online winnings and not far off that in live tournament earnings – admittedly the majority of that from his Main Event run, the preparation for the final table of which he goes into some very interesting detail about.

(Photo: WSOP.com)

No nonsense approach

Given his open and easy style in the interview, you’d be surprised looking into his background that he’s a feisty, no-nonsense person – most clearly seen in the poker world with his Twitter war against (who else?) Daniel Negreanu a few years back.

Funnily enough, for those who think Boski is a new boy on the poker scene, Collins dispels that notion by recalling when they first met – back in 2007. “Oh yeah, we got into it I believe,” says Boski, Collins agreeing: “I don’t think you liked me at first, and I didn’t like you!” admitting the bragging about his online exploits as ‘USCPhildo’ might have been taken a bit far.

A decade on and the pair share a super-chill and informative back and forth, well worth spending your lunch hour listening to!

Boski with Mike Sowers

Cut from a similar cloth to Collins, and from just across the border in North Carolina, is Mike Sowers who was one of the earliest online crushers and has amassed over $3million in both online and live tournament careers over the last decade.

Joining Boski from a café terrace in “downtown Los Angeles” due to internet problems at home, Sowers is another likeable and easy-going guy – the epitome of what successful poker pros should be like but somehow aren’t always!

Once the ‘health food fad diets’ chat is out the way, Boski leads us into some of Sowers biggest career highlights – including an almost $½ million scoop just weeks before Black Friday struck.

Downswings, relationship break-ups, moving cities, taking a break from poker, getting back into the game – Sowers story is a rollercoaster ride of emotions, his time away from the game allowing him to discover himself and refocus.

(Photo: Cardplayer.com)

Zen and the Art of Poker Playing

“I remember at the time I was reading a whole load of stuff which put me in a Zen state of mind… I was just overcoming a lot of the stuff in my life which was probably holding me back… from accomplishing even greater things.”

His clear-headed return resulted in a $700K live payday for his 5th spot at the PCA Main Event in the January of 2010, Sowers explaining:

“When I came back to the poker world I just had a lot more energy.”

Crypto-millionaires

His football-coaching led to a part-time love affair with Fantasy Sports betting, and he reveals that the crypto version – “a slightly better business model with less rake” – saw, as he says, “a bunch of my friends become pretty much millionaires or multi-millionaires overnight”, explaining that “a lot of people in the poker community have taken to cryptocurrency.”

Boski, as ever, is a well-rounded and intelligent interviewer, perfectly capable of matching Sowers word-for-word on whatever subject comes to mind – though as a natural listener his style helps to bring out the real person on the other end of his questions.

Collins talks at length and in detail on a great many subjects, almost all of interest to any poker fan, so as with Collins’ interview, a dinner-break or free hour or two in the evening could easily pass enthralled by their take on the game and life in general.