You need to be logged in to your Sky Poker account above to post discussions and comments.
You might need to refresh your page afterwards.
You need to be logged in to your Sky Poker account above to post discussions and comments.
You might need to refresh your page afterwards.
Comments
It’s an overwhelming feeling for most of us if we make a deep run in an online tournament. Making sure we’re concentrating, not making accidental giddy misclicks that could cost us our tournament life, running to the loo when the five minute break comes around! But all seems totes the norm to Jordan who had an unbelievable amount of deep runs in the recent UKOPS XII.
He won both the £2000 Bounty Hunter and the £2000 UKOPS Deep tournament for a total just short of £1000 – bearing in mind the buy in for these tournaments was £11 & £22. Talk about a great return on investment! Not to mention coming 3rd in the £3000 mini rebuy, alongside various other final table places!
I catch up with Jordan to see how a positive mental attitude helps steer his game, along with a good chill con carne…
Kirsty: How long have you been playing poker?
Jordan: I first played poker roughly three years ago, although it’s only been the last two years that I have actually taken it seriously.
K: What got you started playing?
J: I visited a friend of mine who had just started university. He and his friends were playing online and they told me they were managing to make a bit of extra beer money by playing poker. I was intrigued and decided to give it a go myself to see if I could do the same.
K: Do you have any pre-game rituals?
J: No, I wouldn’t say any rituals as such; as long as I’ve had a coffee and enough sleep then I’m usually ready to play.
K: What stakes do you usually play?
J: In terms of tournaments the Bounty Hunters ranging from £11 right through to the £110 rollers. I also play a lot of £11, £22 & £55 Sit and Go’s.
K: Favourite food when playing?
J: I rarely ever eat when playing. Before a session I like to have a big meal – a roast dinner, spaghetti bolognese or chill con carne are my favourites. If I do eat while playing it tends to be a snack like biscuits, fruit or a yoghurt.
K: Online or Live?
J: I have only played live a couple of times so I have to say online. I enjoy being relaxed and comfortable, plus I think that allows me to make better decisions.
K: Cash or Tournaments?
J: Definitely tournaments! When I first started out I played a mixture of cash, tournaments and sit and go’s. It was only after a year that I looked at my results and realised the only thing I showed any ability in was MTT’s. One day I definitely want to have a good solid cash game, but I’m happy grinding MTT’s for now.
K: Best poker achievement to date?
J: I wouldn’t say I have had any standout achievements yet, I’m still fairly new to poker compared to most of the players on the site. Winning the UKOPS Player of the Festival will probably be seen as my standout achievement in the community, although winning my first roller was probably my personal proudest moment on the site so far.
K: How do you deal with the bad beats?
J: In my first year I used to tilt really bad and be straight in the chat box to have a moan. But I think with experience comes a better perspective of the game. I soon realised that tilting was only ever going to affect me negatively so I just kind of gave up. Now it’s just a case of good game, good luck all and onto the next one.
K: Favourite hand?
J: Of course the hand I’m always happiest to see is aces, but I also remember big pots that I have won with 99, so that’s definitely one of them. But I’ve always been happy to play any two given the right table and dynamics.
K: Favourite poker player?
J: If I was basing it purely on a poker point of view it would be Ole Schemion, as I admire his game greatly. In terms of my favourite player to watch it would be a closely run thing between Vicky Coren, Neil Channing, Daniel Negreanu & Liv Boeree, all for very different reasons of course!
K: Why do you enjoy Sky Poker?
J: I enjoy the site mainly because it gave me a platform to make a decent amount of money from home. From a social perspective I was able to cross paths with a lot of friendly like-minded people who I have become friends with. In terms of poker itself I like the fact that I know a lot of the big players on the site, and playing against the same players often allows me to make better decisions. It makes it far more competitive as no-one wants to be beaten by the same player day in day out.
K: You’re playing at a 6 max table; with you in seat one – who take the other five seats (living or dead?)
J: I’m a huge West Ham fan so would have to include Bobby Moore and Paolo Di Canio. In terms of table talk it would have to be someone great like Ricky Gervais as I tend to get on with people who are happy to push boundaries. I’d love to have the Dalai Lama there as I’m a huge believer in trying to better yourself as a human being where possible. Finally to add a bit of glamour it would have to be Rachel Riley from Countdown as I’ve always had a bit of a soft spot for her!
K: What’s your top poker tip?
J: Treat your body right, with a healthy body comes a healthy mind - and a healthy mind is far easier to train. I also believe in trying to see the positives in everything you do, if you are on a bad run or are struggling with certain aspects of the game just try and learn from it. Try noting any mistakes so you know how to avoid them in future. Most importantly have fun!
Best of luck to Jorz in his future endeavours!
I have grown to love doing these Community Wall of Fame interviews. Listening to stories of how people started out playing poker, their success stories of their greatest achievements… plus picking up a few tips along the way! But I have to say after reading Karen’s I felt like I’d known her for years! Such a brilliant personality and love for the game, it made me want to sit and play with her. Although there may be a slight dispute over the fact I hate Twiglets…
Kirsty: How long have you been playing poker?
Karen: A long time! Somewhere around 25 years.
K: What got you started playing?
K: It was purely to socialise and mix with some new colleagues. I was in the Royal Navy at the time and posted to a new job. It became very apparent, very quickly, that cards were being played a lot during the lunch break, so I joined in pronto! We didn’t just play Poker. Crib was popular, as was Noms (a bit like bridge) but Poker quickly became my favourite. Those lunch time fun games quickly turned into weekend home games. Wonderful times for sure. Good friends, some food, drink and Poker. It doesn’t get much better than that.
K: You’re renowned for hitting the DYM tables, why are these your favourite?
K: Well it’s sort of a combination of reasons really. Most importantly though, my favoured game is PLO8 and here at Sky, PLO8 is played predominately within the DYM format. Simple as that.
K: Do you have any pre-game rituals?
K: You mean sticking pins in a voodoo doll? Praying to the Poker Gods? Only playing if wearing my lucky yellow socks? Afraid not, nothing like that. I sometimes pay so little attention to the tables that I don’t need to be prepared in any way! Actually, thinking about it, I do like to have my iPod close to hand for when that nonsensical, non-sport nonsense, known as football is on the telly. That’s about it.
K: What stakes do you usually play?
K: £3 DYMS, because they run most frequently. If the £11 PLO8 DYM’s ran with the same volume I’d play them all the time. If 10p DYM’s existed and ran more frequently, I’d play those. I don’t play to try and win money you see, it’s all about fun. I gain the most fun in a DYM when it gets to the bubble, so volume is important to me, as then I can get to the fun stage of the game as often as possible.
K: Favourite food when playing?
K: Now we’re talking! I’ll be good enough to correct your question from ‘food’ to ‘foods’ so here goes!
Twiglets! I’ve been asked lots of times at tables if I do actually eat them a lot, and yes I do. I go through anything between 10 and 20 bags a month. Other than that:
Frozen red grapes, dried mixed fruit, wasabi nuts, pretzels, blackjacks, frozen After Eights, celery.
K: Online or Live?
K: I love both. I enjoy the social aspect of playing live though. I love putting on my uber-dippy (rather than my normal everyday dippy state!) act when playing somewhere new. I love pretending to pay no attention, to chat all the time, to pretend to be confused, absolutely love it – I can’t help myself!
Online also has its benefits of course. The fast pace, the ability to play when in the bath, ha! Generally to be able to play dressed how I want, to watch a movie at the same time if I want, to listen to music, that sort of thing. Online or live it’s all fun to me.
K: Cats or dogs?
K: Hmmm. Dogs I guess. Cats are like teenagers aren’t they? You feed them then you don’t see them until they want feeding again.
K: Pizza or pasta?
K: Pizza is okay if it’s a good pizza, but those frozen things are a debacle. I’d rather eat the box! So pasta is the given choice. Especially anything with linguine or spaghetti. The biggest problem I have with pizza is the variety. By the time I've decided if it's going to be be thin crust, deep crust, stuffed crust, then tried to wade through the billion topping options, I've given up! It’s easier to have a sandwich. The last takeaway menu I saw had donner meat as a topping option. That's just demented isn't it? What's next? Fish and chips topping probably.
K: Tea or Coffee?
K: I like fruit juice to be honest, but I do have the odd coffee in the morning and sometimes a cup of tea in the afternoon. The problem with tea is that it’s boring though isn’t it? To liven it up you have half a dozen biscuits or a cake. I’d be about thirty stone if I drank tea all the time.
K: Cash or tournaments?
K: I have zero interest in online Cash games these days. I played it years ago, but for the life of me I don't know why I did. There seems (to me) to be little fun in it, simply a desire to win money and 'move up the levels'. That kind of thing bores me. I do prefer an online Tournament to Cash, although I'm god-awful at them. My attention goes and I'm prone to giving up. In fact, I'm not prone to, it's a certainty! That's why I don't play them very often.
K: PLO or NLHE? Why?
K: PLO8.
The beautiful thing about PLO8 is that it's difficult to have the perfect poker session. It's impossible to win all the time by doing the right thing at the right time. Hand strength often changes dramatically through every street; I like that aspect of the game.
Also, usually, nothing is clear cut until the river lands. You can flop quads (or your opponent can) and still only win half the pot.
I love the fact that even the best starting hands, aren't really that big a favourite against rubbish. In other words, it’s all a challenge.
Not that NLHE isn't of course, but it's easy to be tied up in knots when playing against people who play adventurous or speculative PLO8 hands. I love that, and I love to watch those hands being played even if I'm not involved.
K: Best poker achievement to date?
K: Probably playing for so long live and online, still being enthusiastic and loving it. That's an ongoing achievement which I wish everyone the best of luck in attaining.
We've been to Vegas a few times too for holidays and we always have Two or Three days Poker. I've never won a tournament there, but did come second in one of them all day things. It started about Lunchtime, finished about Midnight. Can't remember the buy-in, probably $200, but I won a few thousand dollars, which is nice! I've had a couple of other cashes there, but that's the best.
My best result here on Sky was during UKOPS. It's sort of a long story, but I'll try to make it quick. Alongside playing DYMs, I set myself a side challenge of trying to win £100 from Freerolls only. Just a bit of fun you know. So, I was registering for all the Freerolls that were available. I played one of these and when it finished found out it was for a seat into something else, not for cash. So, the next game started, half way through I had a look at the lobby to see where the bubble was and discovered then I was in the High Roller Quarter-Final. 'Oh well' I thought, 'I'd better have a proper go at it' I managed to get through that and won a seat into the Semi-Final. The rest is history I guess. I got through the Semi and won a seat into the High Roller itself. I went into the Final with a plan, stuck to it and managed to finish 6th for over £2000. Not bad for a Freeroll! Actually, I may have done better if not for a mistake. When on the FT, I button raised with JQ obviously wanting to nick the blinds. The BB shoved. I fold. Afterwards I discovered that I'd actually held JJ, I'd misread my hand, as usual not paying attention, ha! I don't know if it's considered a call these days, but FT with JJ, in that situation I would have happily got the lot in. I was there to try and win the thing and would have been happy to play the Jacks. Lesson number 1 kids, pay attention! Nevermind, it was a great experience.
K: How do you deal with the bad beats?
K: Playing PLO8, there isn't really any such thing as a bad beat. Well, of course there is, but they happen so often that they are simply a part of the game. So, there isn't anything for me to deal with to be honest, they just happen. That sort of carries over to NLHE, when (note I didn't say if!) I lose, I lose. Losing with the best hand or worst hand, makes no difference, it's done.
K: Favourite hand?
K: NLHE - 67
PLO8 - AK32 (ds)
PLO8 (against TK) - 8833
K: Lefty or Righty?
K: Righty, the 'Twiglet shovel' as Mr Mac calls it.
K: Favourite poker player?
K: Is it considered bad form to say I could probably name only Five, maybe Six professionals?
My current favourite Sky player is Amarie. She's quite possibly the only person who tells TK to shurrup more often than I do!
I should add though that we both love him to bits. He's kinda like a favourite pair of slippers. Or, you know when you're in a nice bar; the barman brings over an unexpected bowl of crisps? That sort of love.
K: Why do you enjoy Sky Poker?
K: If the entire PLO8 player base were a barrel of apples, the bad 'uns are a tiny little crab apple hidden in the bottom. A great bunch of people, very few get narky and almost all who play the game know that winning with the best hand pre, is far from a given right.
I also have a bit of a wicked sense of humour and when I want a laugh, I have a look at the Forum. Some of the moans make me proper giggle.
K: You’re playing at a 6 max table, with you in seat one – who take the other five seats (living or dead?)
K: The Beatles and Gok Wan
K: What’s your top poker tip?
K: Play so well within your means and BR, that it doesn't matter one ounce if you lose.
I think I speak for everyone in wishing Karen the best of luck for the future, wherever you decide to jet off too! And know that the PLO8 DYM tables will always be here waiting for you should you return!
What I glean from both interviews, success in NLH requires a healthy body and mind, and PLO8 requires shovelling as many twiglets down your neck as you can.
Keep them coming Kirsty.
think that would be an interesting read