Scott Montgomery was the only member of the November Nine to play on day 1A in the World Poker Tour Legends of Poker championship event at the Bicycle Casino. He might also be the only player from the World Series of Poker main event final table to play at Legends at all, including tomorrow's day 1B, which would come as no surprise, because he plays more $10,000 poker tournaments than any of his November competitors. Montgomery made the final table of the 2008 L.A. Poker Classic, where he finished in fifth place. Montgomery made $296,860 for that finish, which was his largest cash to date until he made the 2008 main event final table. Card Player caught up with Montgomery and talked about how he is preparing for the big test that lies in wait.
Ryan Lucchesi: How many tournaments are you planning on playing out on the tournament trail between now and the WSOP main event final table in November?
Scott Montgomery: I took this last month off, and I'm starting now in L.A., and then on to EPT Barcelona, and then World Series Europe, EPT London, and back to Niagara Falls [World Poker Tour North American Poker Championship], which is like the home tournament, pretty much. And then down to Festa Al Lago, and then I will stay [in Las Vegas] until the main event.
RL: Are you using all of these tournaments as a poker warmup? Do you play better when you’re playing a lot of poker?
SM: If I took the next three months off and went in cold, I’d be playing badly. My instincts would be completely gone, and the other half is just that I love playing poker.
RL: Do you think it’s going to give you an advantage over some of the guys who won’t be going to the tournaments over the next couple of months?
SM: I don’t know. Everyone has their own way to train and their own way to get focused and whatnot. I wouldn’t say it’s an advantage, necessarily, but it’s definitely better for me.
RL: How is the tournament going for you today here in Southern California?
SM: I lost 10,000 right out of the door, and not that long ago I scored a huge pot … It was pretty good, and now I’m up to 70,000.
RL: Do you feel like you’re freerolling for the next couple of months with what lays ahead? Or do you feel more pressure because of increased expectations and attention?
SM: I guess … I haven’t really thought about it. This is just another tournament … I guess the difference is the notoriety now … and now, when I sit down at the table, players are going to recognize me and maybe play differently against me because they recognize me. It’s definitely something I’ll have to get used to.
RL: Do you think that attention will start to increase as the television episodes for the main event start to air?
SM: Not to sound arrogant, but with the ridiculous, crazy hands that I played, my hands are really going to stand out, so people are likely to remember me.
RL: How does it feel to be back in a $10,000 poker tournament for the first time since the summer?
SM: It’s fun. I just love playing poker in the $10,000 tournaments. I’ve played some in smaller tournaments and it’s just not the same. I just love this; you sit down and you have got all of these blinds, and lots of good players are around. I’m just having a ball.
