Longtime online poker grinder Rami “arbianight” Boukai won his first ever World Series of Poker bracelet last week when he took down Event #10, a $2,500 buy-in Pot Limit Hold’em/Omaha event. Saudi born and California raised, the 26-year old is a WSOP veteran with several cashes under his belt, including a run in the 2007 WSOP Main Event. Several of his biggest cashes came in Pot Limit Hold’em or Omaha events, so Boukai kindly took some time to discuss the differences between Pot Limit and No Limit games as well as how he handled the pressure of his first major live final table.
Poker News Daily: First off, congratulations on your new bracelet. Most of your bigger final tables and results have come in Pot Limit events versus Limit or No Limit events. What do you think makes you such an exceptional Pot Limit poker player?
Rami Boukai: Well I think Pot Limit favors post-flop play, which is a slight strength of mine compared to other people. I’m also not quite as aggressive when it comes to stealing blinds and antes so it takes some adjusting when playing No Limit. Plus, it’s just bigger fields [in No Limit events] that are harder to get through.
PND: What would you say is the biggest mistake someone makes when they’re playing a Pot Limit tournament?
Boukai: If it’s Omaha, I mean, there’s a lot of mistakes that people make in Pot Limit Omaha. As for Hold’em I think position is more important in Pot Limit versus No Limit.
PND: It was a half Hold’em and half Omaha tournament you won. Do you feel like either your Omaha game or your Hold’em game is stronger than the other? Or would you say they’re about equal?
Boukai: Oh, relatively speaking I think my Omaha game is a lot stronger than my No Limit game. I mean, everybody has some clue as to how to play Texas Hold’em so whether it’s Pot Limit or No Limit there’s not that much of a difference. A lot of people don’t have much experience playing Omaha.
PND: In the event did you feel like your biggest pots came during the Omaha rounds?
Boukai: They definitely came during the Omaha rounds, not just for me but I think pretty much for everybody. Until the final table, like 95% of the big pots at my table were Omaha hands.
PND: We’ve heard you are a part time mixed martial arts (MMA) fighter? Is that correct?
Boukai: Well, I used to be, but that was before poker came in. My last fight was like four years ago.
PND: Why did you give it up?
Boukai: Because it’s hard to stay in shape and work out a lot when you’re playing poker all the time. It takes a lot of dedication and I don’t have the time for it.
PND: Do you feel like there are lots of similarities between doing the MMA thing and doing the poker thing?
Boukai: I get nervous for both them, like when I get to a final table or when I get far. Other than that, not really.
PND: Was this your first major or televised final table?
Boukai: Yeah. I got on TV two years ago for the Hevad Khan hand [where Khan’s pocket queens flopped quads against Boukai’s pocket aces in the 2007 Main Event]. This is my first live anything beyond like 30 people.
PND: Did the cameras and the crowd make you nervous at all?
Boukai: Not really. I don’t even know if we made it on TV or ESPN360 at all, it was kind of a smaller tournament so I don’t think they filmed much of it.
PND: Well congratulations nonetheless, thanks for taking the time to talk with us.
