Poker News Daily: You’re a World Series of Poker (WSOP) bracelet holder and also made a deep run in the 2008 Main Event. In your mind, what’s your biggest poker accomplishment?
Cantu: It has to be my WSOP bracelet win. It meant so much. At the time, I went through the largest non-Main Event field in history to win it. It wasn’t as long as the World Poker Tour events, though. Those are five, six, or seven day tournaments. The WSOP event was three 13 or 14 hour days in a row.
PND: Talk about your win in the World Poker Tour (WPT) Bay 101 Shooting Star event. How did that compare to the WSOP bracelet win?
Cantu: That one meant a lot because I didn’t want to be a one hit wonder after my bracelet win. I feel like I proved that I wasn’t a fluke.
PND: You’re one of only a handful of players to win both WSOP and WPT titles. Explain how others view you at the tables.
Cantu: I don’t think that I’ve done enough to be put in a special class. There are so many players who have five or more bracelets and also have a WPT title. It takes more than just winning one of each. You have to win a big main event like the WPT Championship in order to separate yourself.
PND: If we were to ask a few of your competitors to describe your game, what adjectives do you think they would use and why?
Cantu: Pretty everyone thinks I’m crazy, but it worked for me in 2008. I think it’s a fair assessment, though. Whenever people tell their hand stories to one another, everyone else’s involve hands like A-K. Mine are like, “I had J-5 and I got coolered.”
PND: How did you get started in poker?
Cantu: I played as a kid growing up with my grandpa. I took a break and picked it back up when I was in high school. We used to have high school games all of the time. That got me started online. Everything kept snowballing from there.
PND: Whose tournament game do you respect the most and why?
Cantu: There are so many top-tier players now. Someone like David Pham has had incredible results. I can’t put him on a hand and I never know where I am against him. Someone like him is tough for me to play against.
PND: What aspect of being a professional poker player do young up and comers not understand?
Cantu: Poker is stressful when you’re not running well. The highs are great, but the lows are lower. Some people might take a break. Some people just need a little bit of a streak to recover. For me, it’s always a matter of time before things turn around.
PND: What are some of your hobbies away from the game?
Cantu: I don’t have very many hobbies. I like to travel. That’s why I like going to the tour events. Around Vegas, I’m not doing much. I have a lot of extra time on my hands.
you rock cantu!