Taking place right now on Full Tilt Poker is the 15th Full Tilt Online Poker Series (FTOPS). The quarterly event kicked off on Wednesday and runs through February 21st, when the $535 Main Event will play out and feature a colossal $2.5 million prize pool. Representing the site is 2000 World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event Champion and five-time bracelet winner Chris Ferguson, who joins us this week on the PocketFives.com Podcast sponsored by Carbon Poker.
The hot topic on Full Tilt in recent weeks has been the debut of Rush Poker. Allowing players to log between 200 and 300 hands of online poker per hour, Rush Poker has taken the industry by storm. On Full Tilt’s newest concoction, which is available for Hold’em and Omaha cash games, Ferguson told the PocketFives.com Podcast, “I love it. I’ve really been excited about this game ever since I heard about it… It requires a decent sized pool of players for it to go. There are plans to put it in other games and we already have it in Pot Limit Omaha and Hold’em. I think we’ll implement it in any game – including Stud – that will have enough players so you’ll see some speed in the rate of play.PocketFives.com members have been clamoring for Rush Poker tournaments, which would bring the face-paced concept closer to the hearts of many in the online poker community. On the future of Rush Poker, Fergsuon explained that Full Tilt Poker officials are already working on a tournament version: “That’s definitely in the works. The tournaments might be the right place for Rush Poker to be really successful. One of the things about Rush Poker is that it goes so fast and you can play so many hands.”
In years past, Ferguson amassed $10,000 as part of a bankroll building challenge (graph pictured at right) and explained whether his 2% bankroll guideline still holds true in tournaments today: “I actually think it’s a little bit on the high side. In my opinion, it’s better to be more conservative than the guidelines I’ve put out. You can’t always find tournaments where you can put in 2% of your bankroll, so even if you wanted to put in 2% of your bankroll, most tournaments would be in the 1% level anyway.” Ferguson added that the bankroll challenge was an effective motivational tool, as in order for him to move up in stakes to where he was accustomed to playing, he had to master smaller games.On common mistakes Ferguson has seen at the lower levels, he told the PocketFives.com Podcast, “Players tend to play too many hands. Most of your opponents are there to have fun and they want to be entertained. It’s not that entertaining to fold, so they’re going to overplay their hands and play too many hands. I tend to stick to a tighter strategy.” It took Ferguson nine months to accrue $100 and then another nine months after that to realize his $10,000 goal.
Ferguson’s last bracelet came in 2003, when he took down a Limit Hold’em and Seven Card Stud tournament for $66,000, defeating Diego Cordovez heads-up. He’s had to adapt to the evolving game ever since: “I don’t find [adapting] difficult; I find it quite challenging. It helps keep me going and helps keep me interested in the game because I’m always learning. I learn a lot from playing against the younger kids. They have a different style and I really appreciate the way they play the game. They came up with their own style and it’s very effective.” Ferguson finished as the runner-up to young gun Sebastian miamivce Ruthenberg in the World Championship of Seven Card Stud High-Low Split Eight or Better during the 2008 WSOP.
Check out the rest of this week’s PocketFives.com Podcast with Full Tilt Poker front man Chris Ferguson.
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