At the rail with Jennifear

Jennifear is a fantastic young poker player from Niagra Falls, New York. She is a proud Contributing Writer for Pocketfives.com and a Presto Award Winner for 2006's Most Valuable Poster, as voted by the readers of PocketFives.com Her writing and ideas on playing have won her a legion of fans. Jennifear teaches private poker lessons, and you can find the details at Jennifear's Poker Palace. A discount on these lessons is available if you support pocketfives.com by joining a poker site through one of their links.


Thanks for joining me here at the rail Jennifear

It's a pleasure! Thanks for having me!

Tell me how you got started playing?

I never planned on playing for real money, and the fact that I did was a complete accident. I watched the WPT UltimateBet Classic in 2002 and was hooked. I went to UltimateBet with the intent of playing with playchips, which I did for three months! Then, something unexpected happened. They had a "high hand" jackpot that went off every 90 minutes, and I flopped a royal! I won $4.75 real money for my good fortune, and headed right to the cashier's page to make a withdrawal.

Minimum Withdrawal: $25

I was SO PISSED! I didn't really need the five bucks or anything but the idea of getting something for nothing was really nice!

I started grinding at the cash games (.01/.02 NLH) and realized just how easy that game was. I built my roll up to $100, took out my $25, and then discovered SNGs. I've never looked back.

I got into coaching by accident too! After seeing a few bad beat posts where people complained that they "always got their chips in as a favorite", but never won, I decided to show the world how to win without always "being ahead". I offered a lesson on MSN chat with two intentions. To get as many people to sign up for sites thru pocketfives as possible, and to have some fun. I ended up playing with a full chat room of 50 people, and I was overwhelmed. It worked out great though. Everything I tried that day worked. I couldn't lose, and was able to help a lot of people. I started getting requests for private lessons, and it took of basically through word of mouth. I try to help people on pocketfives whenever I can because it's where I learned a lot of my game, and I am paying the community back.

Did you play other card games growing up?

I've always loved games. Scrabble, Stratego, chess and backgammon were fun for me. As far as card games, I indulged in some gin rummy with the family, but that's about it.

You offer both group and individual tutoring sessions right?

I offer both, but the individual lessons is what I usually do. On occasion, someone brings a friend.

What's the most noticeable improvement your students will notice after a single session with you?

This is player-dependent. I ask a questionaire and do a full stats review of each student. With that information, and a few follow-up questions, I find their leaks. If I fail to find any, I ask for hand histories. I hunt those leaks, then I attack them relentlessly. For a beginner who is raising with A7 under-the-gun, it might be starting hands and the use of position. For the more experienced vet, it may be a deep knowledge of the Nash Equilibrium and ICM. Everyone has leaks. I've yet to turn down a student because I couldn't find anything wrong with their game.

What mistake do you see made the most often that is the easiest for you to address?

The easiest mistake to address is high blind heads-up play. So many people shove too infrequently, and it's an easy fix.

How does a group session unfold? An individual session?

I spend time with the player on Windows Live Messenger. I'll go over the questionaire and directly attack any problems that they are having. I will show them tools that will allow them to continue their education on their own. In effect, I teach people how to teach themselves.

Do you prefer sngs or mtts?

I love poker, period. I am very lucky this way. I have to admit that there's no rush like a final table of a tournament, and winning can keep me high for days better than any drug ever could.

What's your biggest MTT tournament result? Your biggest SNG accomplishment?

I don't play too many MTTs, but my best result came earlier this week, in the FTP Turbo Hundo, a $109 event that attracted 277 players. It's not the best game that I've ever played, but with a tremendous assist from the poker gods, I won the thing! It was worth $7202.

For SNGs, it didn't make me a lot of money, but my biggest accomplishment was winning nine consecutive $5.50 10-man SNGs on UB. The odds against accomplishing this are ridiculously long, even at this level. I was winning 20% of these SNGs at the time, and even at that rate, the chances of winning ten of these in a row was 1 in nearly two million. I don't know of anyone else who has won 9 in a row, and I probably never will.

That is a very impressive feat. Being able to avoid a bad beat for 9 straight tournaments of any kind is incredible.
Any interest on your part in joining on the teaching company sites and not having to do everything yourself?

I love being my own boss and doing things at my pace, so most likely I'll be on my own for a very long time. The site operators are the ones making the real dough anyway. I've got a good gig, and I most likely won't change this. Never say never though. I've been lucky enough to be approached by several sites that wanted SNG videos and articles. People who I respect greatly and never imagined would want me have offered me a chance to be part of their team. Even though I am on my own, I am forever grateful for their consideration.

Tell us about the best hand you ever played?

This was in a private tourney with a great group of people that was played every week called the Holdem Affair on UB. I had 44 in mid position with very low blinds, and I limped, hoping to set mine. The SB completed and the BB checked. The flop came K 8 4 rainbow. The SB led out a strange amount and I knew that made him, because he was a very tight player who would not lead a king here, or complete with K8 on his worst day. Also when he would hit, he would pause and then make a strange numbered bet. He would raise KK, because he's not a trapper. The only possible holding for him was 88, and I deduced that was exactly what he had from a single bet. I laid down my 44, showing it to him, and he showed me his 88, the only hand he could have that would beat me. On paper, the hand looks like complete dogshit, and a horrible laydown. My experience with this guy made me know right away what he had. I can say that I lost the minimum with set-over-set!

What's your favorite hobby away from the table?

I love professional wrestling, especially the vintage stuff. I was an actor at heart for my teenage years, and this always excited me. I loved watching the NWA with greats such as Harley Race, Roddy Piper, the Von Erichs, Ric Flair, and Dusty Rhodes. I got a videotape collection when I was younger and would watch this stuff nonstop!

Who is your favorite group/singer?

I like Peter Gabriel, Genesis, Phil Collins, and The Police. I absolutely love music.

What's your favorite movie / tv show?

The Family Guy is fucking hilarious. The Simpsons too. And wrestling. Every week, I still watch Monday Night Raw. I'm such a kid.

Which player makes you go "wow" in a good way every time you watch them?

Papoorboy. He is so sick. He isn't extremely well-known yet, but he had a great run about two years ago on UB and Stars. He won the UB major two weeks in a row, and final tabled it four times in a row, then he went on to win the Sunday big event on Stars, before it was a million guaranteed. This, to me, ranks as one of the top ten accomplishments in online tournament poker.

This guy can just flat out read people. He knows what your bets mean, and what every delay in the timing means. He pays attention and gets in your head. In addition, he is hard to read himself. He mixes so well that sometimes you are left hoping to guess what he has. Just when you think you have all the answers, he changes the questions. He is reading you with stone-cold accuracy while you are guessing what he has. He wins that war more often than not.

I've been lucky to have him as a friend, and along the way teach me a few things and recently I've been able to return the favor, and show him some of the deeper mathematical aspects of the game. Although I have good reading skills too, I am primarily a mathematically based player. He has helped to show me when to throw math out the window, and I have helped to show him when it's too expensive to trust your gut. He is even better at picking spots now.
what's the one thing you d like to say but no one has ever asked you before?
I can't think of a question that I haven't been asked!

What's the first thing you do if you win the $50 million lotto tomorrow?

I'd make sure that my family never had to work again. I might take up a few hobbies. I would probably leave poker because the object of the game is to win money, and without caring if I could win, there would be little point.

Thank you very much for your time. Best of luck at the tables.

At the Rail with Devin "TranquilChaos" Porter

Congrats on becoming a member of Cardrunners (CRs) Devin, it's a big honor.

Tell us a little about CRs
Cardrunners really is awesome! Aside from the obvious reasons, (Instructional videos) you can interact through the poker forums and even write your own blog. I think my favorite part of the site is reading Brian Townsends blog. Anything from highstakes cash games to running a marathon

Will this be your first time coaching/mentoring poker players?
It will be the first time in an official manner. I've staked some players in the past that have come to me w/ questions about how they played a hand etc..

What is the one thing you hope to accomplish while working at cardrunners?
Well, along with doing the videos, I'm also the first one to be co-sponsored by them and FullTiltPoker at this years WSOP...So, the greedy side of me would like to make another Final table and maybe win this time.

What card game was the first you payed growing up?
My dad would invite friends over to have a poker night and we played dealers choice..We'd usually play nickel-dime limits and the games would vary from 5card draw to 7card no peakie follow the bitch

How long have you played hold em?
Hmm..I remember sneaking into the casino in Wendover, NV when I was 19..so around then (5 years)

How did you decide to play your first WPT event?
I won a seat to the UltimateBet Aruba classic..So I was forced to go :)

Very fortunate that you couldn't cash out for tournament dollars then. When during that first tourney did you realize that you could really play with those guys?
I doubled up in the 2nd or 3rd hour and went over to Adam from Pocketfives.com and said "These guys are just as clueless as me!"



Most of the people reading this have never made the final table in a big live event, tell us what it was like the first time?
It truly was surreal! I was nervous, excited, pumped and everything all at once.. Its hard for me to imagine a player of my skill level back then making the FT..There was so much I didnt know.

Which was more fun, the first WPT final table or the first WSOP final table?
Thats tough! The WPT had my friends all there and was exciting..Whereas the WSOP had my family there and was about business..Making a name for myself by winning a bracelet

How did you pick the name TranquilChaos?
My dad and I were talking about my poker game and he said "Its cool, you play so calm and boring then all of sudden youre raising every pot" So, it developed from there

You are young, have a ton of talent, a beautiful wife and a great family, do you realize how much that annoys the rest of us :)
HaHa thank you!..I think

Which player does things at the table that makes you think "wow I d really like to do that?"
I'd have to say PearlJammers patience..I would love to be able to fold like he does :)

What's the best live event, whether concert, sporting event or other, that you have ever attended?
Probably the Fiesta Bowl 2005..Utah utes stomped Pitt in the first BCS bowl game for a team in a non-major conference

How can people join CRs?
One of the things I love is that you can sign up for a 24 hour period and try it out before you commit to a full membership. Cardrunners signup

Tell us about the best hand you ever played?
It was at the Mirage Poker Showdown the year I made the Final table.. I was on a sick sick table w/ Phil Ivey, Joe Cassidy, Theo Tran, Minh Nguyen, Jason Lester, John Juanda and Michael Mizrachi..We were approaching the money bubble (although I'm sure Ivey didnt give a shit) It folded to me on the button and I make it 9k w/ 88, Ivey reraises from the small blind to 30k and I call looking to use my position against the best player in the world (ha) Flop comes down AJT and Ivey bets out 30k. I raise it up to 115k thinking hes only continuing here w/ a flopped set or KQ..maybe AJ..he thinks for a couple minutes staring me down asking if I can beat QQ...(Not a fun time) then mucks...wahoo!!

Whats the best piece of advice you've ever been given?
Its just poker..So many more important things out there than a silly game.

What's the mistake most improving need to eliminate to improve their game the quickest?
I really think when playing online people dont pay enough attention to the betting patterns of the other players..They are watchign tv, surfing the web etc..You miss out on the guy that limps every hand or the guy that raises utg+ w/ a6 etc

What's the one thing you've always wanted to say that no one has ever given you the chance to say before?
I honestly cant think of anything..I usually speak my mind even when not appropriate

Okay, you win the $50 million in the lotto tomorrow, what's the first thing you buy for your wife? for yourself?
I would finish her moms house as I know thats the thing she wants most.. For me I'd buy an oreo shake from Dennys...superstitious tradition after I winsomething big

What's your favorite singer/band
Local band in utah called The Devil Whale or Lucky Boys Confusion

I know you are a big Utah Jazz fan. Who is your favorite jazz player eva?
hahah John Stockton and his short shorts

Thanks for joining me at the rail Devin

tyvm gl at the tables

At the rail with Wretchy

Dan Martin is an accounting major at Southern Oregon University. Dan “Wretchy”
Martin is a poker fiend tearing up big tournaments across the internet who can be found mostly at PokerStars and FullTilt Poker. Wretchy has been nice enough help a lot of players, including me, with their game. He’s never too busy to discuss a hand history (“HH”) or stop by and rail his friends in a tournament. Recently his younger brother Kurt "Mr.Sp0ck" has started playing and has benefitied from big brother's advice. Wretchy agreed to be the very first interviewee here at the Rail.
Wretchy thanks very much for taking the time to answer some questions. It's very much appreciated.
Wretchy: No problem. LOL

"Who taught you how to play?
Wretchy: My best friends dad really took my game to another level to begin with, then I had a few big time scores. At that time I went to Vegas for spring break and met up with Waco who basically gave me an 8 hour cram lesson on poker. I played all the majors with him and learned a shitload. Now, I have all sorts of people helping me out, MattG, Sketchy, Agriffrod, Anbessa, and a few others look over HH's for me."

"What place do you love to play live?
Wretchy: I had a real good time playing at theVenetian live, but f their bad beats, I enjoy the Peppermill in Reno also"

"What's your favorite Vacation Destination?
Wretchy: Mexico has been the funnest place I've been but I was young and it was because I could go get wasted. I was over the 4 foot mark so every bar served me. Lately, it was Las Vegas where I got to meet a bunch of online guys that I had never met before. I_Blade_U, Ricestud, Str8frush, MattG1983,Apestyles, SCTrojans, Atimos, Amak, StPauli, Grinder444, Chaz, and the list goes on and on. Had a blast and can't wait to do it again"

"What is your favorite Sports Radio show?
Wretchy: I don't list to sports radio unless its on Madden 08 for 360"

"Who is your favorite singer?
Wretchy: Probably the group The Academy Is,
although Tom Petty could really be #1." Yeah Tom Petty has been great for such a long time and he still seems underappreciated.

"Which songs on your I-pod do you listen to the most right now?
Wretchy: All the RHCP(Red Hot Chili Peppers), alt, and Everlast, depends on the ipod though, I have 2, one for rap and one for rock/alt"

"Which place you would like to go that you haven’t been to yet?
Wretchy: Bahamas, somewhere really warm, F the snow, seriously." I've been to both Freeport and Nassau and can say that both are fantastic places to visit.

"Most tournament’s cashed in a row?
Wretchy: Not sure, one day I final tabled 3 tournaments in a row and won 2 of them though, that was a 20k day plus" Wow. That's very impressive and would be a great year for most online players.

"What movie can you watch over and over again?
Wretchy: Office Space or any Will Ferrell movie."

"Steak, Chicken, Seafood or vegetarian?
Wretchy: Meat baby, I will take a steak with a side of seafood any day, <3 Seafood buffets"

"Dogs or cats?
Wretchy: Dogs ftw"

"What’s your Favorite book?
Wretchy: John Grisham's "The Rainmaker"" Grisham does such a good job of writing books that are interesting and hard to put down. I've read The Firm three times.

"Blackjack or Craps?
Wretchy: Wow, craps, I'm amazing its sick"

"Norman Chad or Vince Van Patten
Wretchy: Vince, Normal just sucks" LOL.

"Best poker tip you’ve ever been given/discovered?
Wretchy: Check raise flush draw awwwww in <3 Waco"

"How did you find out about Pocketfives.com?
Wretchy: My best friend showed me, I decided to become the forum whore."

"What is your favorite sport and why?
Wretchy: Playing, would be basketball, I was all state / confrence in high school and just enjoyed it all together. Also track because I owned the shit out of everyone who ran against me."

"James Bond or Jason Bourne?
Wretchy: Bond, obv"

"X-box 360, Wii or PS3?
Wretchy: X-box 360, Wii or PS3? Have a 360 and Wii, 360 pwnz though."

"Most successful sports bet?
Wretchy: I once went 13/14 on sports action during last years football season, other than that I went 12/14 in NCAA games with the spread during March Madness when I was like 14." That is an incredible run.

"Which player do you like to watch who plays a style very different from yours?
Wretchy: Cue all the Annette's... I_BLADE_U I like his style and watched him in Vegas play, he's going to be sick good."

"What poker player plays most like you?
Wretchy: I try to follow in Waco's ownage but if someone plays like me I'd have to go with Slugger, Chaz, CubbieRae, Deadmoney, and a few others I've taught some things to along the way."

"Best hand you ever played?
Wretchy: There is never 1 hand, although when I lost AA vs AKsooted on a Ak4 rainbow board and somehow managed to lose the biggest pot of my life, it sucks"

"Favorite College Team and why?
Wretchy: Uh, a sick toss up. I used to love the Ducks, now I am a Oregon State Beaver fan, but I still root for both of them.... I couldn't pick a team if I had to."

"Barry Bonds: Steroids/HGH or innocent?
Wretchy: Guilty as proven but the guy still hit all those homeruns, nobody can take it away from him, I say go for it."

"Sports memorabilia you would most like to own?
Wretchy: Barry Bonds HR ball? obv."

"Jessica Alba or Jessica Biel?
Wretchy: Jessica Biel sfobv.... sigh"

If I see her, I'll let her know. Thanks for your time Wretchy and good luck at the tables.