Antanas Guoga, the fearsome poker player also known as Tony G, is undoubtedly a nightmare to play against – his formidable poker skills are one thing, but his infamous histrionics and rub downs have been known to reduce grown men to shivering wrecks. For the abrasive Australian, poker is a game in which anything goes, including outrageous and often controversial rants.

Just ask Ralph Perry, perhaps his most high-profile victim. The Russian squared off against Tony G at the final table of the Intercontinental Poker Championships, only to be pressured into making a call for his tournament life with K-J offsuit, and mercilessly berated after getting knocked out.

“Putting all his money in with King Jack and calling… this is not someone to learn from,” needled Tony G as his A-2 of spades held up against Perry. “Go on Russian, get out, it’s time to go. Look how ugly this is, you’re a professional player and I can do this to you. You’re a terrible player, this is disgraceful! Bring more Russians on, I’m here to get them all. You played that as bad as you possibly could. Your career is finished! You are gone!”

In an exclusive interview with Baller, Tony G candidly admitted that what happened with Perry was “one of the most incredible performances” that he has ever come up with, but expressed no regrets. “I don’t know if I’d do it again, but then I definitely don’t regret anything that’s happened before. There have been incidents all the time. I think it’s good. It’s good for the game that people are passionate – you need passion and you need excitement. I think that’s important.”

“I mean we [Ralph and I] talk, but we’re not very friendly. I don’t think Ralph enjoyed the performance that he received, so he’s not a fan [of mine] yet, but look, he’s got to learn  that calling all-in with King Jack before the flop is not premium strategy. I was trying to help him out, give him a bit of a lesson. He’s not my favourite poker player so I’m happy to mix it up with him. But it’s nothing personal; it’s just a game, just a show.”

In spite of the fact that his antics at the table often lead to criticisms about Tony G’s lack of class and etiquette, he has been known within poker circles to be very committed to philanthropy. After winning the Betfair Asian Poker Tour in 2006 (the first-ever poker tournament on Asian soil), he promptly donated half his winnings to charity.

“I just felt like I wanted to give something back,” says Tony G. “I chose a couple of charities, one of them was a Singapore-based charity which was for cancer and the other one was an Australian charity – Life Goes On, supporting people with cancer. I’ve gotten so much out of poker, and I’ve made a lot of money from the game, so I thought I could afford to give a little bit back.”

“It’s more something that I did for myself to feel good about. But I think I’m no longer going to advertise what I do with charities, I’ll just keep it quiet. I just felt like it then, and I said that if I win this [the Betfair APT] I’ll give half of it away because I can afford to. I don’t expect everyone to do that, of course.”

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