I recently switched from PokerRoom.com to Full Tilt Poker for playing online. Originally I had signed up at PokerRoom because they were the only site I could find that offered an interface for Linux and Mac users in the form of a Java applet. And I still think it’s a very good site with numerous stakes, formats, and fish. But I wanted a chance to watch and perhaps even play with some top pros. You know, the guys and gals you see at the World Series of Poker, the WPT, and giving advice on the Fox Sports’ show Learn from the Pros. So I deposited $100 and started grinding it out. The first thing I noticed is that FTP offers $0.05/0.10 NL cash games. That’s unbelievably low-stakes poker and is fantastic for beginners or those with a small bankroll. The second thing I noticed is that there are actually professionals playing on the site, every day. If a known pro is playing on a table, the name of the table will highlight in red. Now, often it’s guys like John D’Agostino playing $25/50 NL where $5,000 pots aren’t uncommon. But fairly regularly I’ll see a pro on a low-stakes or even play-money table. I had the opportunity to play a few hands with Erick Lindgren earlier this week. And tonight I joined a $0.50/1 NL table where Chris “Jesus” Ferguson was playing.
I’m Skeezix on Ferguson’s right. Notice I’m a Gnome
I played for about 30 minutes and then Chris left to go to dinner. I didn’t really get involved in any pots with him. Technically I won $1 off him total: twice I raised on the button and the blinds folded pre-flop. But it was a thrill nonetheless. He’s obviously a brilliant player, but he’s also humble and seems to enjoy playing low stakes and chatting with his fans. I don’t know of any other sport or game where an amateur can easily play next to a world champion. That’s the beauty of poker.
If you’re interested in signing up and the 100% deposit bonus, head over to Full Tilt Poker, and use the bonus code POKERONE
If you don’t have access to a Windows machine, I still recommend PokerRoom where you can play through your java-enabled web browser. And if you have any questions (including strategy or book suggestions), feel free to ask. I’m definitely an amateur, but after playing several hundred thousand hands online, I’ve seen a lot of situations and have learned a thing or two.
Tags: Poker
January 12th, 2006 at 4:20 am
Well, if you’re going to count poker as a sport :), allow me to throw in online gaming - I’ve played a few games of Quake etc with current, past or future (at the time) pro players, and quite a lot with top amateurs. Many of the top-level players also play under different names on public servers to train (a practice known as ‘aliasing’). The poker stuff sounds cool, though I wonder how long you’ll still be able to play with pros given the seeming explosion in popularity it’s going through lately…
January 12th, 2006 at 8:45 am
Adam: I knew someone would come up with another example.
That’s pretty cool. I’m sure there are pros that play on other sites under pseudonyms, but on FTP they actually use real names for the most part and playing regularly is part of the way they promote the site.
I’m sure the popularity increase of poker will make it harder to play with top-level players as time goes on, but I don’t think they’ll be leaving online poker so you’ll always at least be able to sit and watch them play, which is what I do most of the time.
January 12th, 2006 at 12:59 pm
“twice I raised on the button and the blinds folded pre-flop”
That sounds sexy, Jamin. I should play more poker with the guys.
January 12th, 2006 at 1:11 pm
Ben: I better not go into the hand I played later that night where I was up against two ladies and flopped the nuts. (quad sixes against two queens).
January 12th, 2006 at 4:28 pm
Why are you using Poker affiliate tracking codes in your links for Full Tilt Poker - http://www.fulltiltpoker.com/?.....AwMDAwMDE-
on Planet.Gnome.org?
Chriis
January 12th, 2006 at 4:46 pm
Chris: I’m not posting on planet.gnome.org. p.g.o is not a blog about Gnome. It’s a syndication of the personal weblogs of developers and contributors to the Gnome Project. In other words, not everything that people post about is going to be Gnome-related. If you read my archives, you’ll see I write about poetry, literature, cooking, poker, Gnome, Linux, web design, personal things, and a variety of other topics.
As for the link, the code tracks that I referred a user to http://FTP. I’m not trying to profit off p.g.o. I’m not spamming or posting banner adds in my RSS feeds. The purpose of my blog entry was to talk about my experience playing Ferguson, not to surreptitiously profit off p.g.o. But if someone does read my entry and wants to sign up for FTP, why not get a cut for my referral?