Screen names
Marcus Bateman
/
Marcus Bateman /
28 November 2008 /
1 Comments
Due to the lack of information available online, it is important to try and scrutinise every little detail of your opponents to try and ascertain as much information as possible about them.
One of the most obvious pieces of information about a player is their screen name. What they have picked can often tell you a great deal about how they will probably play, as well as giving you an insight into why they may be playing.
For the most part, people who pick screen names like 'FishOnTilt', ''GutshotAllin' or other names that allude to being very bad will typically be quite good. This is simply because bad players are not going to be thinking about their image and will also not want to berate themselves in such an obvious manner (if you are actually a losing player, are you really going to be that keen on telling the world about it?). These players are usually quite skilled, as they have enough knowledge of poker to think that a name like this will give them more action, and can just generally understand the poker concepts involved in this type of name.
The names that bad players take are extremely varied, although certain themes certainly start to crop up. Players with names like 'JackpotMillionaire' or other obvious gambling reference are often extremely bad players - obsessed with the luck of the game and not with trying to learn a disciplined and solid game.
Players with just odd names and numbers are also usually quite bad (with the odd exception, such as 'Annette_15', or 'Moorman1' for example), as they seem to be players who have just decided to make a quick deposit, and have not really taken any time to think of a name, usually suggesting some kind of impulsive tendency.
Player names are never going to give you any cast iron knowledge of a player, but they can provide you with hints that sometimes make a big difference. This is especially true of any player that has a name that suggests weakness coupled with an obvious knowledge of poker.
These names are hardly ever picked by losing players, and if you get moved to a table with one of these players on it you can pretty safely assume that they will not be playing horribly. Always remember that every extra piece of information available online matters - and picking up and thinking about it is critical to long term success.
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Nikita | 30 November 2008
Marcus, just reading and enjoying! Fantastic blog, very useful articles - thank you very much.
You should write the book - I think, it'd be great.