Below is the full transcript of an interview with Ashman 103 Griffin by Dan Skolovi of PokerListings.com. Ashman details the colossal fluctuations that have happened to him as a poker player and what he has gone through throughout his career. This is the complete interview that Dan has outlined in this article about Ashman. We knew that all hardcore players would be interested in every detail, so we gave a full transcript.
Daniel Scolovi: How old are you and what is your poker history? For example, how did you start the game and how did you get to where you are now?
Ashton Griffin: I am 20 years old, I started when a friend of mine in high school suggested playing cards after playing paintball.
I played nickel and dime with my mom and sister from a young age, but playing with my peers made it fun and competitive. Naturally, I won from time to time, and eventually I got to online games.
DS: What bets did you start with online?
EG: I played online for 3 or 4 years while I was in high school. I had $ 60 singles limits and 6max small bets. I never had more than $ 20K and would have lost everything overnight playing to get back to my even point. I told my father in my sophomore year that in 2-3 years I would become a millionaire. He half believed me, and I half believed in myself because I knew I was too wrong about my bankroll.
DS: What stakes did you play then?
EG: Mostly 50nl -400nl depending on my mood. So for months and years I played an hour a day, I graduated from my high school freestyle wrestling and after that I played poker every day. Then in the summer of 07, I met this pretty girl who made me feel stupid about being a chatterbox. At the time, I had about $ 200 in my account and planned to go back to school in the fall, so I went to my friend's house to mow the lawn to make some money.
At the end of August, I turned $ 200 into about $ 10,000 and decided to drop out of school. I started playing No Limit heads-up, mostly 100nl 400nl. My results have been phenomenal since August. Before that, I had never had such success in a game as in HU. I had quick success, but still had money problems. Since then I have started to grow as any player. One thing that made me the player I am today - violent matches with players who were stronger than me at the time. I think it was more because I knew I was going to be one of the best and I played poker to get rich, and if I hadn't learned to beat better players than I did, this would never have happened.
DS: When did you make your first online big bet?
EG: It's hard to remember, but I think it was in May 2008. I played with plo with some success, gained popularity very quickly, but I was broken in early 2008.
I've played a couple hundred thousand hands 25/50 and got stellar results. Then on Aug 08 I won 1.2 million in the first 29 days and lost almost a million the next week.
DS: At 500/1000?
EG: This was the limit of 500/1, 2/4, 3/6, 2k / 4k.
DS: So when you lost money, you just came back, and it was commonplace?
EG: I went back and made $ 600K over the next 4 months. The swing affected me because I was in the middle of the wrestling season, losing weight and going to school. Then in February I lost $ 400K overnight and then gradually lost the next 2 months.
I was forced to get my bet around April 09, where I broke even. I just needed to sort out my money and find out if people were going to pay off my debts.
DS: And then you made a no-bet above 25/50?
EG: This bet was lost in February when I lost 400k. The bet was restarted the next day.
DS: How much did you lose the first time?
EG: $ 20,000 confused me. I felt pathetic. I got a bet in April, lost 2k and got my money back. I still have 8k online, which was money in promotions that I sold for winning the first 3 matches of the $ 1k msnl hu tournament.
I decided to play $ 1 $ 2, it was a good day. By the end of the week, I had 5/10. And by the end of the month I was already 25/50. The next month I won 600,000 playing 25/50 and won 25,000 for 500,000.
It happened pretty quickly. One thing that makes this a little more amazing is that I won the bet a couple of hours before the 25k hu kicked off, otherwise I couldn't play without losing the bet.
DS: How much did you win this time?
EG: I won 23k on the bet.
DS: What was the exact rate? I won't play above X for your hands?
AG: I couldn't play above 25/50 until I made 500 thousand dollars in 1 year.
DS: So you sent your bet and then sent 25k hu? How did this tournament go for you?
EG: I had Ike in the 2nd round and he broke me in the past. I took part in a match and I had this extra gear that made me play against A. Then I beat everyone I had to beat before Benfield, where I was lucky enough to make 2 pair against his top pair for stacks.
DS: My congratulations on this. So what are you doing now? As for the bets you are ready to play?
EG: I would like to play 1/2 or 50/100, but 2/4 games were tough, so I do some calculated throws in games. Everything is going phenomenal and I only play when I feel that the players in the game are getting tired or not playing for the better. It doesn't happen very often, but it's the best it can be.
English 
Russian