Heads-Up with Jaime Kaplan (Xaston)
PocketFives sat down with Jaime Kaplan (pictured), who is known as Xastonon the legal and regulated online poker site Ultimate Poker. He has been playing poker since 2004. Here’s what he had to say! By the way, you can catch him on Twitter under the handle @Xastin.
PocketFives: Do you play on both Nevada online poker sites?
Jaime Kaplan: No, only on Ultimate Poker. I’m unable to deposit on WSOP.com because their payment processor has been giving me trouble and they, for some reason, don’t allow deposits at Caesars properties.
PocketFives: How did you choose your user name Xaston? That’s quite unique.
Jaime Kaplan: An exorbitantly long time ago, I read a “Star Wars” novel for kids and the villain’s name in it was Xanatos. Then, a bit later, I was playing a lot of “Diablo 3” and I played around with the name and named one of my characters Xaston. It has stuck ever since.
PocketFives: What is your biggest cash to date?
Jaime Kaplan: The WCOOP Main Event in 2009. I finished in fifth place for $486,000.
PocketFives: What is your favorite game to play?
Jaime Kaplan: I like 2-7 Triple Draw a lot. I enjoy Omaha/8 and Stud/8 as well. No Limit Hold’em I only find interesting if I’m playing in a tough game, and I try to avoid those.
PocketFives: Do you play any live poker?
Jaime Kaplan: I sure do. I got 47th in the WSOP Main Event this year.
PocketFives: What is your favorite local poker room?
Jaime Kaplan: Probably the Wynn. It’s right next to the parking garage and it’s a bit separated from the casino floor, so there isn’t smoke and slot machine noise. It’s pretty peaceful.
PocketFives: Is there anything else you would like to add?
Jaime Kaplan: I recommend that people read a lot. I personally loved “Shantaram,” “Phantoms in the Brain,” “Thinking: Fast and Slow,” and “Scalped,” just to name a few. I also think there are lots of great movies and podcasts out there that people should be viewing and listening to, but I suppose four books is a presumptuous enough number of unsolicited recommendations.
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