Poker News Daily: How did you get started in poker?

Baron: My friends and I started watching poker on television during the broadcast of the 2003 World Series of Poker. It was more of a joke than anything, but then we all got into it and started holding home games. Eventually, we became really competitive. I definitely never thought I would play poker seriously or anything like that. We just watched it because it because it was on, poked fun at it, and then eventually ended up liking it.

PND: What was the most challenging aspect of poker when you first started playing?

Baron: After you’ve come so far, it’s tough to think back to when I literally knew nothing about the game, but I would say realizing that folding wasn’t losing. I came from a sports background and in sports, everything is black and white. You either win or you lose, so at first I looked at it like anytime I folded, I lost.

PND: In your mind, what’s been your biggest poker accomplishment?

Baron: I would have to say just being a winning player for so long. That’s the real accomplishment. Making final tables is cool, but winning is all that matters.

PND: You’re widely considered to be one of the top Texas Hold’em players in the world. What varieties of poker are you still trying to learn?

Baron: I really would like to become a world-class player in Pot Limit Omaha. I would say that’s what I’m most interested in right now. Even though it is my second best game, I would rather get better in it than to make my fourth best game better, for example. I would love to become as good at Pot Limit Omaha as I am at Hold’em.

PND: What makes Pot Limit Omaha so appealing to you?

Baron: The reason it’s such a great game is because there is always going to be action. A person could be terrible at Pot Limit Omaha, but still go on a hot streak for a year against players 10 times as good as he is. In Hold’em, that is never going to happen; the bad players realize that they are bad much more quickly.

PND: What parts of your Pot Limit Omaha game still need improvement?

Baron: I’ve become pretty proficient, so I would say that it’s nothing fundamental. For me, it’s just hand reading. I still need to put in hands and gain experience. I’m not a great hand reader in Pot Limit Omaha like I am in Hold’em.

PND: If you weren’t playing poker, what would you most likely be doing?

Baron: I’d still be in school and probably on the five or six year plan. I was studying journalism, but I’m not sure if I would have stuck with it. Ideally, I wanted to do something in sports journalism or sports broadcasting.

PND: What advice do you have for beginners?

Baron: It feels weird saying this because I’ve only been playing for a relatively short amount of time, but when I came up in poker, there weren’t nearly as many resources as there are now. It’s so easy for people to get good at Hold’em these days. There are a ton of resources out there, so just use one of them and be dedicated. Don’t get discouraged if it doesn’t go right for you immediately.

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