Online Report
Barely Legal!
Two of the hottest players online right now are Ozzy 87 (Aurangzeb Sheikh) and ActionJeff (Jeff Garza), both ranked in the top 20 of PocketFives.com’s tournament player rankings. The significance of these two players is that they are both just 18 years old. Ozzy already has a WPT final table under his belt (Bahamas), and Jeff just made $10k for fifth place in the main event at Turning Stone, and these guys can barely play any live events until they turn 21!
In addition to his initial live success, Ozzy has made hundreds of thousands of dollars online in the past year. He recently won the Grand ($1,000 buy in) Tournament on PokerRoom, which had a first prize of more than $160k! He’s also had a lot of success in the biggest cash games, including the $50/$100 No Limit game.
Jeff has had nearly as much success, including a winning record in $5k heads-up matches and the $50/$100 No Limit. He has twice won tournaments for a first prize of at least $50k, and he makes a five-figure score about once a week.
These guys are the future of poker, so keep an eye on them! We’ve talked about him a lot in recent issues, but it’s worthy of mention that Ari (also known as BodogAri) has made his way up to the top five in the PocketFives.com tournament player rankings. He won the Bodog Tournament Leaderboard in 2005, but his true ability showed when he started playing on all of the sites. Hardly a week goes by in which he doesn’t win at least a couple tournaments.
Some other big movers in the rankings have been Rizen, B_O_K_E, and mattg1983. The first two have been flat out dominant in the Sunday major tournaments, each winning big prizes on a regular basis. Just two weeks ago, Rizen won over $40k on Empire Poker. Meanwhile, mattg1983 has been terrorizing opponents in just about every tournament he can find. He recently had a big score in a major, taking eighth in the PokerStars Million Dollar Guaranteed, out of nearly 6,000 entrants.
And while on the subject of that tournament, I think it’s important to note that PokerStars is now offering this guarantee every week in its $200 Sunday tournament. PokerStars is the first online site to have a weekly tournament this big, and we hope more follow suit!
Good luck, everyone.
Adam Small
ONLINE PLAYERS TO WATCH
AcesFull23 – Bryan Bevis in real life, he has had quite a few impressive results in live tournaments, but he truly excels online. Twice in the past month he has finished in the top two of a “Super” Weekday tournament on PartyPoker, each of which had a prize pool of more than $100k.
G6Dragon – Jon Lane, a dominant online tournament player, who finished in the top 100 of the 2005 WSOP Main Event. He is one of the best at getting through the toughest fields on PokerStars.
Green Plastic – Taylor Caby is a senior at the University of Illinois, who plays the biggest NL cash game online ($50/$100 blinds). He is one of the most feared and successful players in this game, which many consider to be one of the toughest in the world.
Haligon – Josh Ewing, known as a player with the ability to amass a huge stack of chips in a tournament, often jumping way out in front of the field. He’s putting up some impressive live results as well.
HighRoller48 – William Hill won the Ultimate Bet Ultimate Poker Challenge in 2005, taking $200k. He’s also known online as madhattter, and he has won many large tournaments in the past. His primary focus now is cash games.
Hoss_TBF – Matt Hawrilenko has taken down some huge prizes in the Sunday online tournaments, the biggest of the week. Many consider his play to be “crazy,” but he has a style that works and often gets him a very large stack of chips.
KrazyKanuck – Jim Worth is a professional poker player, the player ambassador for Ultimate Bet, and a columnist for Bluff Magazine. He’s one of the most successful long time online players.
Mahatma – Prahlad Friedman’s live reputation is starting to catch up with the one he has online. He’s perhaps the most feared player in the biggest No Limit cash games, and often attracts hundreds of observers when he plays. His other online aliases include Prefontaine and Spirit Rock.
Spencerman – One of the most consistent players on Paradise Poker, and the net in general. He only plays a few tournaments a week, but he makes them count. At one point in 2005, he won the $100k guaranteed and the $50k guaranteed in the same 24-hour period.
YngmanN4Quiki – Mike Postle hails from Tunica Mississippi and has been a winner online for more than five years. These days he can mainly be found in cash games on Bodog and Ultimate Bet, and is one of the most popular players in the online community.
Increase Your Net Worth
By: Taylor Cabby
Over the past few years, we have become fascinated by highly successful poker players. Until recently, this fascination was strictly held for players competing in televised poker events. Last year, however, with the launch of Pocketfives.com, a forum was created to rank and discuss the top multi-table tournament players on the internet. But what about online cash games? As a player who has built my bankroll almost exclusively from cash games, I’m happy to share with you a little about my poker experience playing the biggest no-limit cash games on the internet.
Over the past three years, I have worked hard to become one of the best cash game players online. When I was moving up in stakes, I was always more focused on becoming a better player than I was on winning money. I knew that with a strong focus to detail and smart play, the money would eventually follow. Within a year and a half of my first deposit ($35) to an online poker room, I was playing against some of the toughest players in the world for buy-ins as much as $10,000.
People ask me all the time, “What’s it like playing for tens of thousands of dollars every day?” The answer that comes to mind right away is that it isn’t easy. I know of many players who just could not deal with swings (which can be up or down $100k in a month) and had to quit the game. When I’m playing, I don’t really keep track of how I’m doing, although I usually have a pretty good idea of where I stand. At the end of the day, I will assess my play and record my results. During the good times, things are extremely easy. It’s an indescribable feeling to sit down and play poker for a few hours on my computer and make $30,000. After the bad days, however, I’ll focus on doing non-poker related things to keep my mind off the game. If need be, I will take an extended period of time away from poker.
Today I’d like to give a few pointers to the aspiring cash game player. To some, these may seem like basic tips, but they are necessary for anyone trying to build his or her way up to the top.
Don’t play over your bankroll. This is the number one mistake most online players make. You should have at least twenty buy-ins for No Limit cash games and twenty-five buy-ins for tournaments.
Never underestimate the importance of position at the poker table, especially in a cash game. It is much more advantageous to act last in a hand because you can see what plays your opponents are making. You should play a bit more aggressively on the button and in late position, but should not worry about defending your blinds with hands such as A-6 or K-10.
In cash games, players can play a wider variety of hands because the blinds to stack size ratio is small. You can play small to medium pairs and suited connectors aggressively from late position if there is no one else in the pot. If you flop three of a kind or a very strong draw (a flush and straight draw, for example) you should bet your hand very strongly. Even if you miss your draw, your opponents will take notice, and the next time you have a big pair you are much more likely to get action if you use the same betting pattern.
To close, I’d like to encourage new internet poker players to try their hand at the cash games. Although tournament poker is extremely popular, most experienced poker players know there is much more money to be made in the cash games. So unless you plan on winning the 2006 WSOP (good luck), I recommend you think about practicing your cash game play in order to maximize your poker profit.
Taylor Caby is a 22-year-old student at the University of Illinois. He is co-founder of the instructional poker school CardRunners.com. Visit CardRunners.com for poker videos, articles, and instruction from some of the best young internet poker players in the world.
