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Belgium9950 Posts
After a few months, I thought it was time for another interview. This time with an old TL legend: Ryan Daut aka BigBalls.
Sup BigBalls! Can you introduce yourself for those who don't know you?
Wassssup, my name is Ryan Daut, I played Starcraft from probably about 1998 to 2005, and i play protoss like all good hearted people. I started posting on TeamLiquid back in around 2003 and nowadays post on TL's little brother Liquidpoker. I made the switch from starcraft to poker about 2005 and every 6 months or so have a tryst with my old flame, usually on iCCup.
Last interview Day[9] said the following when appointing you as the next interviewee:
He and I were both math majors. A huge number of people who play StarCraft just love playing it. But, like me, BigBalls loves analyzing play and thinking methodically.
I mean we both love playing, but I definitely relate to that analytic side. Plus he's fucking hilarious and a monster gentleman.
Do you consider that accurate, eventhough you don't really play that much anymore?
Yes, even when I watch Proleague matches nowadays my analytical side takes over and I try to figure out optimal counters to what each player is doing and the benefits to the build orders they use. Being analytical was really necessary to my development as a Starcraft player, especially since I was probably the slowest competent player in the history of the game, my micro skills and speed were so bad that I needed to make up for it by having a better understanding of the game so I would analyze stuff in great detail. That type of mindset and approach to the game has extended to poker as well.
You're one of the more notable Starcraft turned poker players in the world. A lot of comparisons between SC and poker have been made to explain the big number of successful transitions from SC to poker. How would you explain this with your analytical mindset?
I think that there are a number of reasons there have been many to transition successfully from sc to poker. Besides being generally smart people, good Starcraft players have a strong drive to succeed at games. I think the most important factor to becoming "good" at something is how much work you put into it, way more so than natural intelligence.
Of course other personality traits like patience and levelheadedness which allow people to analyze their own mistakes in a logical manner are very important as well. One last factor i think is having a strong network of friends that help each other improve.
Both games are played against other people, and the best Starcraft players were the ones who had good training partners and practiced for hours on end with them. Poker is no different. We may not be actually playing against our friends for long periods of time, but having someone to talk to about the game really aids understanding concepts and flattens the learning curve of the game.
So basically, once a bunch of Starcraft players took up poker, all had a better chance to succeed by collectively learning different parts of the game together and giving each other advice in spots where one brain isn't necessarily enough to solve difficult problems.
Yeah, I think that's a very realistic explanation. You mentioned you still watch Proleague matches. Do you do this regularly? And do you still keep up with SC and the TL community?
Two seasons back I played fantasy starcraft, and it was fun following my players. Occasionally I will watch a live stream of proleague matches or a starleague with nazgul or some other friends, but I dont actively keep up with what goes on in the SC world from week to week. As for TL, I check the site every couple weeks to see any news on SC2 and just to find out whats going on in the world.
So you're following SC2 development.. Are you excited for SC2, and would you play it competitively if it turned out to be as good as SC?
The only computer games I ever got into for more than a few weeks were Starcraft and Warcraft 3, so a new blizzard rts game is obviously something im very excited for. As for playing it competitively, I would definitely try my hardest to get good at the game and play on the ladders. I love nothing more than finding something that is challenging and I can compete against others in, and what better than a second Starcraft game? I seriously doubt that I would be able to keep up with the people who devoted their lives to it but I would try to become fairly competitive at it and do as well in ladders, tournaments and vs my friends as I could.
I guess your poker life deserves a question too. I think most of the TL veterans remember the rail topic for the PCA finals. How has poker been for you since then?
Poker has gone very well since then. I had some success in other tournaments in 2007, placing 9th and 6th in two other WPT events, but since then I havent played many live tournaments. Online I mostly concentrate on cash games and that has gone well in the past 3 years, but nowadays I dont play all that much. Most of my time in poker is devoted to the staking business that I run with Nazgul and mig.com, who I think played some Starcraft before poker. It's a very swingy way to invest your money, but overall we do make a nice return and have one of the most successful backing stables in all of poker.
Alright, I guess that about wraps it up. Do you have any idea who to choose as next interviewee?
Pretty tough choice, there are a lot of people I can choose from, but i think i have a clear choice: you should interview Giyom next. He was the best sc player in the world for a period of time, is old school, switched to poker, and is best friends with Rekrul/Elky/Spunky so I think he is the perfect person to interview.
If you cant get a hold of him I would say interview spunky as he is Korean, fluent in English, has an insight into the pro world of Starcraft and the game itself that not many people do and he is an awesome awesome person.
Ok, Giyom it is. Thanks for doing this interview, Ryan. Any last words/shoutouts/MSPaint Drawings?
Sadly there are too many people to do shoutouts, I would inevitably leave someone out. As for mspaints, I don't know if TL ever experienced the pictures I used to draw so here is the first one I ever drew, I still consider it one of my best, it's a depiction of the final scene of King Kong.
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the drawing was worse than the interview!
bigballs is such a horrible nick btw :/
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iNcontroL
USA29055 Posts
he is a great guy / nice SC poster boy 
great interview rage.. ty.
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Belgium9950 Posts
On October 10 2009 02:20 nttea wrote:
the drawing was worse than the interview!
bigballs is such a horrible nick btw :/
how can you not like that drawing
you have no heart
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On October 10 2009 02:20 nttea wrote:
bigballs is such a horrible nick btw :/
think of how i must feel about making a silly name when i was 13, basically quit using it when i was 19 and had it follow me around til im 25 still!
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Your stories were always awesome! Im glad everything is going well for you.
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On October 10 2009 02:31 BigBalls wrote:Show nested quote +On October 10 2009 02:20 nttea wrote:
bigballs is such a horrible nick btw :/ think of how i must feel about making a silly name when i was 13, basically quit using it when i was 19 and had it follow me around til im 25 still!
how the heck did you even come up with such a name? lol
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Vatican City State1872 Posts
bigballs is an awesome nickname
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Vatican City State1872 Posts
there is a story somewhere on tl about how he got his name
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Great interview and best of luck to you BigBalls <3
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hahaha :D
Great picture! Im a little sad that i was not part of TL during this time 
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i loved bigballs' stories!
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Nice interview, how good was bigballs in bw when he played a lot. I remember back in the day he used to be the chill of the strategy forums.
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good interview! Albeit quite short
Bigballs, how good were you at SC? And did you play protoss because they were the easiest race? 
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Interesting interview, never knew about him before now, seems like a great guy to me.
Other then that the Day[9] interview was mentioned ? (; anyone mind linking meh it? (pleaaaase!)
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nice interview hope to see you competeing again for sc2!
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he's a great guy, back when he lead the USA national team and i was some random 11 year old newb on battle.net, he took the time to add me on AIM to answer a few questions about certain protoss matchups, ty for that!<3
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is awesome32278 Posts
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Belgium9950 Posts
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I played Daut in SC once! I was so proud for having played a millionaire. I went ensnare, but apparently mass Archons counter queens.
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i wasnt all that great. at my peak i was maybe the 2nd or 3rd best toss player in usa in like 2003-2004, which doesnt say much cause nony wasnt too active at the time, and a few guys had already left like roman/z7 wizard. i have a couple fun reps on TL as echoofthunder or bigballs, but was a diff game back then.
build orders were much less evolved, nowadays the first 10-12 minutes of a game is almost set in stone in some protoss matchups, so when i do play i find if i start falling behind my opponent i just cant catch up. but if i can keep up for that period of time i can usually outplay people about my skill level.
last time i played i got to C on iccup with like a 40-20 record, then i got to the point where i couldnt beat most of the zerg players, and was about equal to the protosses/terrans.
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Great interview, thanks Rage and BigBalls!
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On October 10 2009 02:31 BigBalls wrote:Show nested quote +On October 10 2009 02:20 nttea wrote:
bigballs is such a horrible nick btw :/ think of how i must feel about making a silly name when i was 13, basically quit using it when i was 19 and had it follow me around til im 25 still! Haha, my dad knew you in some capacity as a professor, and I remember feeling really embarrassed at one point when he mentioned Ryan Daut (speaking of your poker tournament win) and I said "Oh yeah, Bigballs!"
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Rage for president! Thanks!
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On October 10 2009 05:18 Tsagacity wrote:Show nested quote +On October 10 2009 02:31 BigBalls wrote:On October 10 2009 02:20 nttea wrote:
bigballs is such a horrible nick btw :/ think of how i must feel about making a silly name when i was 13, basically quit using it when i was 19 and had it follow me around til im 25 still! Haha, my dad knew you in some capacity as a professor, and I remember feeling really embarrassed at one point when he mentioned Ryan Daut (speaking of your poker tournament win) and I said "Oh yeah, Bigballs!"
who is your dad again?
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Oh, yes! Thank you so much, BigBalls, for choosing Grrrr... for the next interview. I am especially interested if he has any (serious) plans as far SC2 is concerned. By the way, you should make an updated PvP guide!
However, I personally generally think that people try to make too many connections between StarCraft and Poker. Personally, I think the two are fundamentally different. Yes, obviously, there are certain skills that will transfer from one to the other. However, I think the way one interacts with and enjoys StarCraft is completely different to how one interacts with and enjoys Poker. It is an overall different experience.
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On October 10 2009 05:29 BigBalls wrote:Show nested quote +On October 10 2009 05:18 Tsagacity wrote:On October 10 2009 02:31 BigBalls wrote:On October 10 2009 02:20 nttea wrote:
bigballs is such a horrible nick btw :/ think of how i must feel about making a silly name when i was 13, basically quit using it when i was 19 and had it follow me around til im 25 still! Haha, my dad knew you in some capacity as a professor, and I remember feeling really embarrassed at one point when he mentioned Ryan Daut (speaking of your poker tournament win) and I said "Oh yeah, Bigballs!" who is your dad again?
hey it's bigballs
you gonna play with crazy in sc2 or what? only saw you a few times back in war3
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On October 10 2009 05:29 BigBalls wrote:Show nested quote +On October 10 2009 05:18 Tsagacity wrote:On October 10 2009 02:31 BigBalls wrote:On October 10 2009 02:20 nttea wrote:
bigballs is such a horrible nick btw :/ think of how i must feel about making a silly name when i was 13, basically quit using it when i was 19 and had it follow me around til im 25 still! Haha, my dad knew you in some capacity as a professor, and I remember feeling really embarrassed at one point when he mentioned Ryan Daut (speaking of your poker tournament win) and I said "Oh yeah, Bigballs!" who is your dad again? Ken Smith, was a math prof in Richmond. on sabbatical for a year. I'm not sure if you were his student, or a student of a good friend of my dad (I think his name was Jim Davis? I always forget >.<)
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On October 10 2009 05:54 tedster wrote:Show nested quote +On October 10 2009 05:29 BigBalls wrote:On October 10 2009 05:18 Tsagacity wrote:On October 10 2009 02:31 BigBalls wrote:On October 10 2009 02:20 nttea wrote:
bigballs is such a horrible nick btw :/ think of how i must feel about making a silly name when i was 13, basically quit using it when i was 19 and had it follow me around til im 25 still! Haha, my dad knew you in some capacity as a professor, and I remember feeling really embarrassed at one point when he mentioned Ryan Daut (speaking of your poker tournament win) and I said "Oh yeah, Bigballs!" who is your dad again? hey it's bigballs you gonna play with crazy in sc2 or what? only saw you a few times back in war3
Crazy/Lizard represent! myself (3-legged) ichi jim dre a few others are still hangin around keepin in touch. logon aim sometime!
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Bigballs apm is like sub 100 but he's still pretty good. pretty amazing
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United States43808 Posts
On October 10 2009 02:39 XDawn wrote:Show nested quote +On October 10 2009 02:31 BigBalls wrote:On October 10 2009 02:20 nttea wrote:
bigballs is such a horrible nick btw :/ think of how i must feel about making a silly name when i was 13, basically quit using it when i was 19 and had it follow me around til im 25 still! how the heck did you even come up with such a name? lol
I recall some story about him measuring his balls with his guy friends and finding his were the most magnificent.
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thedeadhaji
39489 Posts
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Korea (South)17174 Posts
giyom has been a tl.net poster for like 6 months now, barely though
he has decided that he doesn't like the tl.net community cuz he loves the lp.net community
'i'm not a tl.net poster anymore' <-- quote from few days ago randomly
i'll get u spunky
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What a sick interview, a Giyom interview would be even sicker, seeing as how TL hearts Elky/Smuft
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nice ive always liked the dude glad to hear hes doing well and also plays a little bit here and then
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United States996 Posts
since this came out it means you have to start playing betgames again
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Baltimore, USA22259 Posts
BigBalls <3 <3 <3
I remember following the Caribbean Poker Adventure finals while at work; I rushed to the break room computer every lunch/break I had to get an update. When they finally announced you won, I just started telling random people "I sort-of know a millionaire!"
Btw - This interview is über ironic since I was just thinking about you the other day (not that way, just SC-turned-poker players) since I've been watching Elky on the '09 WSOP main event series (yeah, I know how the final table turns out T_T).
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On October 10 2009 11:53 Rekrul wrote:
giyom has been a tl.net poster for like 6 months now, barely though
he has decided that he doesn't like the tl.net community cuz he loves the lp.net community
'i'm not a tl.net poster anymore' <-- quote from few days ago randomly
i'll get u spunky
the man, the myth, the legend banana.milk would also make for an amazing interview
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On October 10 2009 12:45 EvilTeletubby wrote:
(yeah, I know how the final table turns out T_T).
umm they haven't done final table yet.
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Nice interview. Loved the MSpaint 
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On October 11 2009 10:02 Disarray wrote:Show nested quote +On October 10 2009 12:45 EvilTeletubby wrote:
(yeah, I know how the final table turns out T_T). umm they haven't done final table yet. I think he's referring to how Elky didn't make the final table?
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FuDDx
United States5015 Posts
I <3 Bigballs and I also want to thank the booth of you for this interview!!!
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You are so awesome that I secretly railed you in previous FTOPS events.
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I remember reading bigball's protoss guides on TL when I was a noob. Really helped me a lot.
Nice interview and funny paint pic haha.
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EPT![[image loading]](http://www.liquidpoker.net/staff/Daut/bestpictureever.JPG)
