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[VIDEO] GACKT OFFICIAL FRESH! Channel: GACKT to ride the London subway!
【For the first time in several years】 GACKT to ride the London subway!
GACKT takes on the challenge of taking subway alone to go meet his London friend.
He doesn't know where he is now...
Will he really be able to arrive safely....?
ABEMATIMES.COM: GACKT, the most vexing is "when I lost in poker" . Sought inspiration by participating in numerous professional tournaments
In an exclusive interview with Abematimes, singer and actor GACKT spoke of the most vexing thing that happened to him recently, saying 「I’ve turned 44 this year but there were many times when I tasted disappointment through poker」. GACKT, who became big fan of 「Texas Hold’em」 poker, which has hundreds of millions of players overseas, around 6 years ago, said 「It’s a blessing to be able to feel such frustration in life」, mentioning that the sought inspiration by participating in numerous tournaments that professionals play in too.
GACKT has captured the hearts of many fans with his powerful presence and personality, but he was not entirely satisfied with his daily life. It was because the number of things that makes him feel inspired or frustrated has gradually decreased with age.
GACKT: Poker is not completely based on luck, it is something that you compete against opponents in with strategy. It’s not a game where the result is decided after one or two rounds, but instead it only gets decided after a few hundred times. The older you grow, the less stimulus there is. That’s because you get used to all kinds of things. There are also a lot less things that make you feel frustrated as compared to when you’re young but it’s a blessing that I’m able to feel taste frustration time and again through poker.
In Texas Hold’em, a player tries to create the strongest possible combination with 7 cards, 2 cards in their hand and the 5 community cards, then using their combination, they compete against their opponents. Step by step, a player will decide on their strategy and how much chips they’ll use by looking at the community cards that have been revealed, their own hand, their opponents’ appearance and gestures. Even if you’re in a weak state, there’s a possibility that you can get your opponent to back down from the challenge by coming out strongly, yet at the same time, you might flinch from an opponent’s aggressive attitude even if you’re in a strong position and thus lose the chance to win. It is such a tactical game, which pushes the mind, that moves GACKT’s heart.
GACKT: Among businessmen, a lot of them are successful in life in many ways. And these businessmen take part in poker competitions a lot. The reason why they do that is because they will get to feel frustration again, and the other feelings that a person has to feel. Poker has nothing to do with age or gender, it’s a world where the strong are respected.
As a poker player, GACKT is good at pressuring his opponents by making them think that his hand is stronger than it really is with the way he bets his chips, his gestures, and keeping a straight face. Even so, he says that when he doesn’t push or pull when he should, he often thinks that 「I’m terrible at this」.
GACKT: If you get your own reading wrong, then everything will go bad and huge mistakes will be made. When I’m able to make it look like my cards are strong while reading your opponent’s cards correctly, I’m extremely happy. But if I show my joy then I’ll give it away, right? (smile). Another good thing about poker is that I can’t gradually show my delight.
This psychological battle is one where you bet your chips with limited information in the midst of being unable to see each other’s cards. Like how you’d form the shape of a gun with your hand under clothes, if you can make your opponent think that it’s a real gun, then you’d have won. If they think it’s just a hand, then you’ve lost. That’s the kind of battle it is. And that is why, the widely known description of an expressionless face,「the poker face」, can make the difference between winning and losing.
GACKT: Often, there are people who say this isn’t suitable for people whose feelings often show on their faces, but that’s not the case. If your expressions show then show them, there are also ways to make use of them. I basically don’t have any expression but when I back down on purpose, there are times when I create habits to show the opponent. By repeating it a few times, the opponent will come to believe it and then I can make use of this. This is similar to acting. When I have actor friends play it, they’re overflowing with expressive ability so it’s enjoyable. With Yamada Takayuki, he has an amazing air of intimidation so if he practices, he’ll definitely go far.
With such an air, GACKT seems like he has no relationship with frustration but instead, with a desire for frustration, he goes overseas to pit himself in serious competition against the strong at the table. The taste of a superb victory that comes after that frustration is what delights GACKT who loves the “first-class”.
Source: abematimes.com
Translation: GACKT ITALIA Team
Translation © GACKT ITALIA
[PHOTOS] WILLIAM KASSOUF TWITTER - SEP 21 2017
William Kassouf Twitter update. New photos with GACKT
Japan's No.1 Rockstar @GACKT paid me a visit @ThePokerRoomUK in London! @GrosvenorPoker Reminiscing fun times @WPT & @LIVEattheBike in LA! pic.twitter.com/f3oRdg9D3F
— William Kassouf (@WilliamKassouf) September 21, 2017
ABEMATIMES.COM: “First-class celebrity” GACKT passionately calls poker「strategic」, speaks of the charm of「Texas Hold'em」
GACKT, known as the “first-class celebrity” who dabbles in a wide range of activities from singing to acting, has been absorbed with a type of poker,「Texas Hold’em」in these few years. It’s a card game that is played in a casino but it has the perfect balance between a player’s luck and their strategy, and it can be said that more than 100 million people play it all around the world. GACKT first encountered Texas Hold’em 6 years ago, and in an exclusive interview, he said enthusiastically,「There are people who call me a first-class celebrity, and there has to be a good reason why I, as someone who doesn’t gamble at all, am playing poker」.
Texas Hold’em is different fromt the the 5-Card「Draw Poker」which is widely known in Japan, where out of 7 cards, which consists of 2 in the players own hand and 5 community cards, a player has to make a combination of their strongest possible hand of 5 cards while battling with the other players. If strong cards enter a player’s hand and they’re blessed with great combinations in the community cards, even an amateur can beat top professionals and win billions of yen in year. However, playing it tens or hundreds of times, this becomes a game where professionals with excellent strategies will steadily achieve results.
GACKT: 6 years ago, when I was on a European tour, I went into a casino in Barcelona, and that was when I first set foot in poker. Until then, I’ve always thought that poker was no different from other forms of gambling, and I think a lot of Japanese think that way too. But in reality, after I tried playing it, it’s actually exceptionally strategic. It made me think, is there really something that’s this enjoyable?
A gamble is where a participant’s win or loss is decided by luck with a fixed probability. A game is where a player’s win or loss is dependant on the skill or strategy that they use. GACKT’s heart was stolen by this balance between luck and strategy.
GACKT: When you lose in a gamble, your annoyance at your opponent can’t be put into words. However, poker is a strategic game, and instead, even if you lose, when you’ve acknowledged that you’ve lose to your opponent’s tactics, you can still give them your respect. This is one of the interesting things about it. After the game, players do often hit the table numerous times but this is to show their respect to their opponent.
In casinos overseas, many tournaments are held where players can even win top prizes that reach hundreds of millions of yen. Players pay a participation fee and get to win the gathered amount in 1st, 2nd, or 3rd place depending on their results. Far from the image of gambling where a player looks at how much they want to bet in one game, it is more appropriate to call it a competition. In future, if the international poker organisation joins the「International Mind Sports Association」, there is a chance for it to be adopted as an Olympic event.
GACKT: I wouldn’t say that you have to get to the level of being a professional but there’s no loss in knowing it. I’d like people to taste that tournament atmosphere and feel that tension once. Unlike Shogi or chess, poker is where you have to predict an uncertain future in a situation where you can’t see each other’s cards. If your future prediction for your opponent is one where you think that they can’t beat you, then you absolutely have to win. That’s the interesting part.
Despite that gambling is prohibited in Japan, Texas Poker itself can be played in cafes where one can enjoy casino games. At the same time, they also hold tournaments that grant you the participation rights for tournaments held overseas.
GACKT: Althought I used to gamble, once I touched poker, I didn’t want to do that any more. Compared to letting things get dictated by luck, something strategic is far more enjoyable. If it takes the same amount of time, it’s better if I am able to get a lot in return. In the world, there are people who say that I’m like a first-class celebrity but I definitely would like people to come to know about poker, which I’m still playing until now.
The world of Texas Hold’em is where gender, age, and of course, social status, becomes irrelevant at the table. If you join the ranks of players, the day where you engage GACKT in battle may even come.
Source: abematimes.com
Translation: GACKT ITALIA Team
Translation © GACKT ITALIA
ABEMATIMES.COM: GACKT Produces Poker Program 「I'd like boxers and martial artists to try it too」
「I'd like boxers and martial artists to try it too」said singer and actor GACKT, when talking about 「Texas Hold’em」, one of the many types of pokers that he plays as a personal hobby.
AbemaTV’s original program 「Wholly produced by GACKT! Heads Up Poker “One-on-one” Yamada Takayuki VS Tsukamoto Takashi」, which will be broadcast on September 23, is a program that he was involved in producing. GACKT will be observing the poker showdown between actors Yamada Takayuki and Tsukamoto Takashi, but at the next opportunity, he looks forward to having boxers and martial artistes take part.
The best part of Texas Hold’em is trying to read your opponents’ cards by looking at the way they bet their chips, their expressions and behaviours, and then deciding whether you want to challenge them or back down. With this strategically-rich psychological battle, how much one can draw out with expressive ability and tactics makes the difference between winning and losing.「It’s because actors are filled with expressive ability. Using that expressiveness, they can convince their opponent to back down from the challenge. I think they are players who are exciting to play against」 he explained.
Aside from expressive ability, another trait that players can demonstrate their strength in poker with is their aura, or coercive pressure that businessmen and successful individuals wear. 「It’s not the play itself, instead, if people think that this person is scary, they won’t be able to do anything to him anymore. Even though they’re supposed to be winning, they won’t be able to get ahead, and will become unable to make accurate judgements. It’s a person who makes others think that they shouldn’t go up against or get entangled with. On the contrary, if everyone looks at you and thinks 『This guy seems fine』, you’ll end up getting challenged by all kinds of people, and they’ll be ganging up on you like hyenas, leaving nothing left」. Aiming at someone down on their luck is the cardinal rule in competition. If you’re able to overwhelm your opponent with something akin to ambition, it’ll be difficult for you to lose in the long run.
GACKT looks forward to having boxers and martial artists who will be undaunted by strong opponents and furthermore know how to work with tactics in a game.「Although martial artists only have their bodies as their main feature, they also have a lot of strategic areas. Even the smallest movement can become a tactic. It’s just that video can’t catch it, and even in person, you’ll be so far away that you can’t see it」. Diverting the line of sight just a little, putting force into the shoulder muscles for just a moment. Even with those tiny movements, if they can make their opponent think that they’re preparing for the next attack, in terms of applying pressure, it’s a success.「I would definitely like competing athletes to take part too. They might be able to see what they previously couldn’t tell was lacking in them. For example, like how being completely aggressive all the time won’t work, or that they don’t have enough strategy, and such」he said, adding that it would be useful for martial artists as well to improve their skills.
GACKT, who has been drawn in by the charm of poker since around 6 years ago, says that poker shouldn’t be given the image of a gambling activity, that it’s not about how much money is involved, but instead, looking at poker as a game that involves strategy and tactics, it is something that allows a person to feel chagrin that they would rarely feel in daily life, and also experience the joy of overcoming that. Already, the second poker program has been visualised, and would probably materialise as an unconventional confrontation with an actor VS a martial artist.
Source: abematimes.com
Translation: GACKT ITALIA Team
Translation © GACKT ITALIA