Joe Rogan Experience #526 — Isaac Haxton Transcript

Transcript

0:00 The Joe Rogan Experience. I want to be your friend. gambling thing it's more of a game of intelligence and a game of information and a game of strategy Yeah. Well, I've been sort of an obsessed game player my entire life. I started I was going to play this dude, Nick, in the final, and I was going to lose. and you think this is a pretty good bet, you're going to beat a bit more than half the hands that

4:05 Would it be a relevant analogy to say that playing poker is like more of a game where will you then take a big chance will you then gamble or you are are you a conservative So there's a certain amount of courage that's involved in playing the game of poker. relative to how much money you have. front of me on a half a percent edge, because that's how you make money playing poker you identify an edge and you

7:20 That's what you're saying, if it's a small amount of money going in. How does that work? So when I play something like a million-dollar buy-in poker tournament, and I were to play in the finals and it was a major pool tournament, it depends on the agreement, money according to how many chips each of us have and call it a day. Wow. Does that bother people? Is there an ethical quandary involved in that?

10:40 They say, you guys are ruining it. More often, it's the spectators and the media than the people who are actually in there playing on a day-to-day basis. So they want to see one guy win a million bucks and one guy win dog shit yeah and i mean that that's understandable right like i It's not much for poker. It's not like something you guys have to do on a sneak tip.

13:06 the cash right after the tournament. I couldn't, that would be a disastrous thing for that person. Why did he say that? He's a pretty weird guy who I have considerably less exposure to lately Just decided, fuck this game. Really? See, that never happens in pool no you can yeah you're Now, what about gambling in Vegas? and you're going to lose making that bet,

17:14 tournament, and this one guy, Mike LeBron, We're done. Especially a sporting event where the players don't make so much money. and Vegas puts up a line, I could bet on you to win the whole thing yeah but that's basically it i couldn't bet They'll gamble on golf and they don't even play golf. not as crazy as he'd want you to think um like with golf for example he started playing higher

19:37 and came back and played for huge stakes against a couple of guys Did he put, like, a mask on and fucking... Wouldn't it take more than, like, one vacation? the rolls of the hill and all that jazz and trying to get i mean yeah it seems pretty damn complicated i haven't I read this study on hedge fund managers that by far the most predictive variable of the performance of a hedge fund is whether or not the manager is currently going through a divorce.

21:52 Or if your wife's a cunt, you get out of that divorce and you're just fucking free and your thoughts are clear. never seen someone go through it it's it's like you're being attacked by aliens that you can't see, defense attorney or every good divorce attorney in town and consulted with them California has some wacky laws. I wouldn't bet on him playing golf.

24:28 Poor bastard. I don't really follow golf, but I don't think it's many. to catch Jack Nicholson. I would surely get injured playing golf. So you were doing it through college? Second semester of my junior year, poker was going great. Second semester of my junior year, this thing started happening to me where I'd go to the computer lab and sit down to do a project and an hour would go by and I'd just still be staring at a blank screen.

27:04 That it became an option that it became like Well, shit, you're 18, you get to school, and they tell you, pick a major. Some of the classes more than others. I was teaching it in Bostonoston university and i had my own thought for a guy like you so that's why did it you figured it out there's a lot of luck involved. And there's definitely a lot of luck in finding a path, picking a path, and then figuring out that this is something you can actually do.

31:26 I'll give you a little piss test. Yeah, bored. poker full time. Wow. And what did they say? And they said, why? And I explained the UIGEA thing You can't get up to make about 30 grand the first year, this many hours a week. I beat these games for this much. It was like i'm gonna be playing these stakes this many hours a week i beat these the time I was making the decision to take the year off. But the final language of the bill

35:36 called the Wire Act And was this sponsored by the casinos or something like that? Is that how it got weaseled through? Donate a lot of money to both political parties. So, for instance, there are. I'm sure as well. Yeah. I don't actually know what union represents casino workers, The reason why the UFC has an issue with the culinary union Yeah. They also have boxing already there, which is more dangerous.

38:13 The casino lobby in the U.S. has gone through a few stages in what they think about online gambling. And that's where we serve liquor so we can be sure that they're fucked up when they're gambling. And think of the children. If you're playing online, it could be anybody, the information like if you're a 16 year old, you grab your dad's information and just start entering it in.

39:42 Yes, You hear the bass in my voice, son? But it seems like anybody could just be on the phone, unless you're claiming to be. Right. Okay. That makes sense, I guess. But it seems like anybody could just be on the phone, I remember at one point in time, you used to be able to gamble on sports online. gambling in the u.s is so risky that that they have basically set up their corporate fall guy of Bovada, which is what gets fucked when inevitably continuing to take bets from the U.S. eventually goes poorly.

42:12 That makes sense. And what is it? or whatever it was, or even losses. Were they losing money? I don't play less blackjack at my casino because I could play slots on the internet. Yeah, that's how I would look at it. done it before is a little bit intimidating you don't really know how it works and you're surrounded by people who do and the ability to get a little experience playing online

44:56 Every once in a while It happens, oh yeah. Yeah, same terminology in poker. Yeah. and he was making more money playing in casinos, He could kind of tell and then they rope you in and... The overwhelming majority, if I'm not, a few times the ufc did some uh shows in macau yeah i know and um there's been some boxing out And how long has this been around?

48:40 China says you can gamble here, No, it's owned by the same people. Isn't there like a fake Eiffel Tower I forget what it was, China's fucking weird. And a bunch of, there's like a hard rock. I bet there They were just swarming you Yep. So you're 18 years old, you start playing poker, Whoa! Yeah, they were okay with my plan. Philosophy of Science and Logic

53:05 guy who's back on campus in 10 years when poker's done. I'll be happy I have a degree. I was talking about AlphaBrain, Yeah, absolutely. There are plenty of people who take Adderall or Ritalin. now, and especially now that AlphaBrain has become really popular. It's become super popular to sell these blends. Do you Prastim? Yeah, he's on my website.

56:15 so what is it different between playing heads up and playing like you know a large tournament like 30 40 people well besides the obvious like what's the i can have a pretty clear idea of in this exact spot this guy traps a little bit more than my By the way, I understood maybe 10 things out of 20 that you said. In live poker? You just look at somebody and he just doesn't look that comfortable or he does look comfortable.

59:45 and invested in the situation. In that sense, it'd be good to be a fatso, right? That's so crazy. You can watch the rise and fall of their chest. or more relaxed when they're comfortable. keeping everything above the table still, but their playing, I'm going to be playing against somebody in a couple weeks and he's gonna be bluffing me on the river

1:02:25 where my knuckles are making contact with my face. Fake tells can be real subtle. People are not on top of that one. But, like, none of this is an exact science. Do you believe that you can read something from a person other than just tells? Give me an example. In what sense? that being a psychic doesn't exist where you could make a killing Yeah, I mean...

1:07:31 Do you notice things more in the way people... like being a good poker player like makes you a better social reader as well i think so i think of bullshit i'm more likely to say well he said i think and equivocated on a couple of things Yeah, there's something. I've always wondered what exactly is going on when people are looking at each other and you know something's off.

1:09:58 girl within five seconds like he goes hey this is blah blah blah this is my friend Joe I go how you doing and she goes oh hi I go come here Brian I pulled him aside I go blah. these Johns in her life and, he's, Yeah. I find that so fascinating. Like he's about to throw a left high kick. and you've thrown kicks at people. You know, just like this little blip, little...

1:12:57 And I'm looking at him and thinking about whether or not to call. That guy should teach, like, tells, right? That all those years of accumulating that data. The 60s? Well, the big one on television was when they started showing those cameras you see each guy's hand. In other countries. it's legal to bet online? if you were a poker player I can't just go wherever I want and set up shop

1:16:41 as well. You fucking pimp. I graduated in 2008, moved to Vegas, and lived in Vegas from 2008 to 2011, and then moved to Malta. just full of poker players oh really so it was like uh some friends of mine from college who Empty apartments. I don't know any details of that sort of thing. Mainly online still. You don't have any of the cost or wasted time associated with going somewhere to play.

1:19:42 Oh, I see. You're not doing anything sneaky or bad by playing multiple tables. if you could play it online like that? Not all of them. You can do various things to detect The site has various data to work with difference between a human moving a mouse around the screen like a human and a computer program one screen all the tables stacked on top of each other so that whichever table you you have to act

1:23:37 Oh, yeah. Yeah, same. Oh, yeah. Apparently, it's a very, very, very difficult game, too, the pool thing is huge is very a lot of pool players going to poker because I Originally, it had a lot to do with... So, yeah, Malta's real nearby. Is it a tax thing? Is it a gambling thing? Malti. Not like Roman numerals. a taxi. So I get the address of the post

1:27:49 It's not a big island. A silent Q. Oh, yeah. So did you do like a lot of research before you decided on Malta? a few weeks went by the World Series of Poker is about to start in Vegas about where we're going to move in the middle of nowhere. Where did the other poker players go? Yes, there is online poker in Nevada, but it's Nevada only. Wow. became more complicated. Because remember what I was saying about the UIGEA, it didn't change

1:32:53 So it's essentially the site owners? what's being done to try to change that uh in some ways it's pretty similar to If California becomes an online poker state, Close. let's find out right now. Population of Canada. I want to say it's 37 population. So pretty close. 38 and 35. Right. The actual numbers. like how many fucking bags of rice are being pulled at the supermarket.

1:36:23 Because a lot of folks in the illegal community, they work for cash. I mean, you check all the markets. And any plans on, what about like monaco or any other places a fucking McLaren or something, I don't know shit about cars. If you have enough money for a fucking McLaren... But the regular McLaren that's like i think So much so that a lot of turbo, like some of the new turbocharged cars, what they're actually doing is they're faking the sound.

1:39:20 to make you think that you're making all this engine noise. I'm pretty sure it was a V10. It has more power more torque it's faster Like, there's one big poker tournament a year in Monaco that I have been to several times, But doesn't, like, George Clooney live there or some shit? But the new one's a better car. a lot of it at this point has to do with foreign companies many of them in the online gaming industry a lot also

1:43:16 Only here. But since I'm not a resident, So I don't get a Maltese passport or anything like that. There are all kinds of visas for – every country has their own set of rules and different rules that apply to citizens of different other countries. I was getting ready to move there from Vegas just before the DOJ crackdown. A lot of complaints, though.

1:45:46 And it's fucking preposterous. Or, you know, Nebraska or anywhere else. But it's because all those wacky fucking billionaire leave the country to do what you do for a living because of some fucking goofy laws because you need to get regulatory approval. He loves food. which is just shady as fuck. Christie says Tesla criticism is complete crap he's but they didn't for a little while

1:49:16 I didn't vote for it. Somebody sued or whatever, and they couldn't ignore it? Like, why would you have a law like that in place? and not be accountable for selling people cars that don't work. This is what it's saying in this one article that is in NewJersey.com. manufacturer to consumer. then Governor Christie auto dealer lobby oh okay when it became apparent to the auto dealer lobby that this approach would

1:51:52 So New Jersey's got a bunch of issues. office but i do yeah yeah morbidly obese i just don't think it's right really no okay Yeah, the government studies on that stuff are real shady. whether or not you tell them it's legal. In fact, the World Health Organization just recently called for a decriminalization of all drugs. drink yourself to death. Go to any

1:54:48 Ah. with Malta drug laws of a growing the dirt the soil itself and they count all that as your drug you know like if you found someone that doesn't harm anybody else, And so the criminal justice system just becomes a vehicle for discrimination and oppression. Yeah. Yeah. but you're going to have to deal with what is a downloadable copy of something.

1:58:01 And that's so true. Especially ideas where you're not stealing the idea for a profit. that's fucking them over it is but i think that there's room in this country for uh ethical record where they get kind of pennies on the dollar they would get a much larger chunk you And they might go look through your shit. And who who knows you might have said something completely joking like this uh look

2:01:33 Yes, that's exactly what they do. That's sneaky as fuck. No. Period. If you buy drugs, you're supporting terrorism. there's no terrorism involved there man they might have terrorized some fertilizer It's illegal, yeah, of course. Pull it up? It's a ploy. Drug money funds terror. I mean, why should I believe that? Because it's a fact. A manipulation. Boy. Drug money funds terror.

2:04:41 So the guy on the left, the first guy, is a moron, the handsome guy. Because people are scared of their dad. I got mad and I did extra drugs because it's so fucking stupid. You just can't. You can't say, because it's fact, F-A-C-T. Oh because you can't have those kind of arguments you just can't you can't There's all together under this one big blanket called drugs.

2:07:14 aspect of the internet made that preposterous you could you imagine the meaty pulp because it's just it's just a waste of money it It's a waste of taxpayer money. Not only that, most of that shit, when you see that, remember that talking dog? Yeah. for a drug-free America. That's really what it's like. Is there something recent? at Columbia University and he is well known for his research in drug use

2:10:24 that it's just like a tool absolutely what is it they have a used to the greater good of mankind. And a drug is just like that. Over half of kids say it would be easy for them to get caught if they wanted some. I want to know who those other three are, those fucking losers. That shit's addictive. tell people like because it's a drug because it's a fact f-h-g-t fact i just want to beat you to

2:12:40 So you're telling me that it's a fact. I have a friend who has a dad like that. Okay, I got to go because I can't have this conversation. you should be able appropriate response. Hit him with rocks. well that's not even good enough i would i was saying that it'd be like a really yeah it's pretty bad you you can end up in jail for a very long time for not very much.

2:15:16 Yeah. Oh, So it's a real job. Yeah, pretty cool, this knee thing. It's like a kneeling chair. uh, uh, all day. That's clever. I am not. could misinterpret what it is like you you know it's you remember that really old nintendo one Brian got a headache from Oculus Rift, but it doesn't give me a headache. It's weird. He goes, this is bigger than the invention of the wheel.

2:18:54 developers conference thingy, And it's completely HD, three-dimensional like a movie. you can go like it's all been filmed like you can change where you're going and the video follows I'm actually enjoying this chair. He had it here. cardboard cutout that uses your phone to create a headset. Does that make any sense? Anyways, use the plans, and you can make it yourself.

2:22:48 You can see that You can scratch it with keys. Most of them have. Probably not often. So you're sitting at a virtual table and looking at virtual cards. And then they just talk like a walker dog or something like that. But your back's fucked up from sitting, huh? Would that be good? Wow, that's pretty cool. I've played poker just on my laptop lying in bed before.

2:26:26 But I wonder if they're getting popular for writers. Hmm. look i'll give you a uh like hello you dirty bitches i'm tired of writing so I just figured The whole thing That's a very good question. The Jurassic. Can it tell us at the end of the sentence if you say, Here we go. That is. it always goes to the dot. No, that then you get the word period and a period.

2:30:05 How long do you think you're going to do this poker thing? But why would that be? There's never been a 70-year-old chess world champion. Yeah, but it's like... still a good opponent so by then you'll be living in malta you'll be in jail for pot lot of what politics is is sort of like manipulating data and that the internet And they're going to steal your money.

2:32:36 The DEA does it, too. another professional poker player, it was the Atlanta airport, and he had $ eighty thousand dollars in cash on him and he had all And what happened? And you don't always win. and you're a professional gambler. is a thing professional gamblers deal with all the time. But you fill out the form. In a briefcase? Handcuffs attached to the fucking...

2:36:20 Right. What's the largest? because a 500 euro note is like 700 us dollars and takes up the same amount of space as a US hundred. God damn. was about $3 million. Oh my god. But you came in second. I came in second500,000 on the tournament. Oh my god. What kind of pressure is there on you once you spend $250,000, Oh, my God. Wow. That's crazy. That's digging into the account there, huh?

2:40:31 is really about you have to put the magnitude of the numbers out of your head and try to make I have only 75 of the Have you ever gone through a couple million dollars in a weekend? Only 6 million US dollars. And personally, son. Only 6 million US dollars. Okay, 600 grand. I mean, it's not that rare. That seems incredibly stressful. it's pretty stressful is it how do you

2:44:02 I like to meditate every day. are almost all about the future or about the past. Or I'm going to win all this money, So in that sense, poker is a lot like life. any treatments around all the time. Sipping them bitches out to Malta. I don't know how to get something shipped to Malta. I can't fucking figure out how to. Why don't you get one? You're making banks, son. Yeah, but I'm traveling around all the time.

2:46:17 I didn't get around to going to one. went to the place and we got there and it was closed well there's a place that's in venice Oh, all right. Pokerstars.net, your sponsor. Go to audible.com forward slash Joe. Go to O-N-N-I-T.