The jack of all trades, SubQ has just recently started taking poker seriously as a hobby
Name
Brian Adams
Age
33
Where are you from?
Texas
Are you married? Children?
Yes, happily, with 2 lovely children.
What do you do for a living?
I do a lot of things. I suppose in a loose order:
Entrepreneur / Executive / Production / Network Engineer
How long have you been playing Internet poker?
Close to 3 months.
What limits do you play?
Currently micro-limits. ( >= .05/.10 <= 1/2 )
I want to learn all levels/aspects of the game starting from the ground up. I have found that people play a little differently at each level and I think experience in each level is good for my overall knowledge base (versatility).
What is your favorite site and why?
I have mixed opinions on sites.
Software wise, I think PokerStars is the best, followed by UltimateBet. Play wise, I think PokerStars is one of the more difficult places to play. There are definitely sites with softer games out there than both PokerStars and UltimateBet. I periodically play at other sites to evaluate software and game play. I feel it is extremely important that you are able to get a hand history for post game analysis at whatever site(s) you decide to play.
What has been your biggest poker thrill or achievement up to now?
I can't recall too many huge thrills at this point. I think the game in and of itself is a thrill. A win, regardless of the level, is a thrill for me. I truly enjoy the game.
What area of your game are you currently focusing on?
I am focusing on skill/experience (learning). I believe that "how the cards fall" is 50% of the game, how you play those cards is the other 50%. When you mix those two factors with each player dynamic at the table and how they play you have the equation for an awesome game (as you can see nobody will ever be at 100%). I cannot control how the cards fall so I focus on how I play them. I don't think there is a substitute for experience mixed with study of the game and I want to be as close to 100% as I can.
If you could go back in time and start all over again on the Internet, what would you do differently?
Not much. I probably wouldn't play any of the "play money" games other than to get a feel for the software at different sites. In addition, maybe study the game a little more before I started playing. However, I believe it is important to mix game play with study and I think I mixed them pretty well when I started, a jump start on the study would have been nice though.
What’s your favorite poker saying or phrase?
There are a lot of good ones. I think probably my favorite one is, "For without the river, there would be no fish". I like the terminology used in poker, it reminds me of the terminology used in networking/unix, pretty ingenious.
Who is your favorite poker player (if you have one)? I don't think anyone in particular. I do like TJ Cloutier, his attitude, and his famous saying, "That's poker".
What are your other interests outside of poker?
Christianity, family, surfing, fishing, hunting, diving, digital photography/video, stock trading, internet/networking/computers, technology.
Feel free to add anything else you would like to say.
I think that your book is invaluable for the new poker player. I have played in home games for years and I have been involved in the internet since as far back as I can remember (it is part of my business and has always been a hobby). It wasn't until I merged the two that I figured out I really didn't know much about poker. As I started studying the game (reading different books and forums) I realized just how awesome it really was and how much I liked it. In addition, I feel that "community" on the internet is one of the best forms of global communication/interaction/teaching/learning and the community you are building here with the forum is great. I strongly encourage people to participate. I think poker is a great game and I really enjoy playing it.Look Brian up in the Poker Forum!
Greg, our Canadien neighbor, takes breaks away from the classroom to play some poker
Name
Greg Pietrykiewicz
Age
44
Where are you from?
I was born in Yellowknife in Canada's Northwest Territories, but have mostly lived in Edmonton for the past number of years.
Are you married? Children?
I am divorced and have no children.
What do you do for a living?
High School Math/Science teacher
How long have you been playing Internet poker?
About 6 months
What limits do you play?
$1/2 limit ring games at Party, and $5 and $10 NL SNG's at Stars
What is your favorite site and why?
I have mostly played at Party because of the large selection of games, and generally poor players. Recently I have been playing more at Stars because of the better software and customer service.
What has been your biggest poker thrill or achievement up to now?
I would rate making the final table at the forum tournament as my biggest thrill, and cashing in 9 consecutive SNG's as my biggest achievement.
What area of your game are you currently focusing on?
In limit ring games I'm focusing on maintaining my best game despite any downward swings and bad beats that I might experience. In NL SNG's I'm focusing on being more agressive in the middle part of the tournament, and trying to improve my heads up play to maximize my earnings.
If you could go back in time and start all over again on the Internet, what would you do differently?
I would not have lost the $50 at UB that I did before reading Matthew's book. It was probably a small price to play to realize I really knew nothing about the game.
What’s your favorite poker saying or phrase?
If you haven't determined who the fish are in a game in the first 15 minutes, it is probably you. (I think I'm paraphrasing here)
Who is your favorite poker player (if you have one)?
Howard Lederer, Daniel Negreanu
What are your other interests outside of poker?
Fantasy baseball, travelling, jogging.
Feel free to add anything else you would like to say.
I just want to say that I feel very fortunate to have discovered Matthew's book and his website as early as I did. I think it won't be our little secret for very much longer. Fortunately, most people can't be bothered to improve their game, so there should be plenty of fish out there for us to feed on for many years to come.Look Greg up in the Poker Forum!
RSS
Jeff's poker hobby is about to undergo some major changes in June!
Name
Jeff Connelly
