Online legend Jim P0KERPR033 Campbell (pictured) reached a remarkable milestone this year by surpassing $5 million in online tournament earnings. He's joined in the elite club by fellow PocketFivers Chris moorman1 Moorman, Steve gboro780 Gross, and most recently PocketFives Training instructor Russell rdcrsn Carson, so it's no surprise that Campbell is one of the most respected players in the online realm.Campbell, who sits at #20 in the PocketFives.com Rankings, decided to give back to the community this month by starting a "Well" thread, following the lead of PocketFives members like Gross and #1 ranked player Jordan Jymaster0011 Young.
For those unfamiliar with how a "Well" works, here's the premise: "A stranger is being shown around a village that he has just become part of. He is shown a well and his guide says 'On any day except Saturday, you can shout any question down that well and you'll be told the answer.' The man seems pretty impressed, and so he shouts down, 'Why not on Saturday?' The voice from in the well shouts back, 'Because on Saturday, it’s your day in the well.'"
Campbell began the thread by explaining how he got his start in poker. "I started with a $50 deposit at PokerStars," he wrote. "I went through about 500 bucks over the course of 6 months learning the game and by the summer about 6 months later I started to turn a profit; nothing serious, maybe a few thousand. You have to remember though this was 2004 and everyone was still pretty bad."
Campbell then responded to questions on topics like backing, multi-tabling, and adjusting to the constantly changing game of No Limit Hold'em. One particularly interesting question came from Shrubbery, who inquired, "What are some key differences between great players and the best players?"Answered Campbell, "I think the biggest factor between good players and great players is just those instincts that you really can't describe. The bluffs are well timed and they seem to constantly chip up without showdowns. I also think having that killer instinct and being able to close separates the good players from the great."
Campbell's longtime poker nemesis and friend Moorman (pictured) asked him about fighting through downswings and responding to critics about letting the game pass him by. Campbell replied, "The downswing was definitely tough to go through, but all the haters fueled me. Players would tell me I was washed up or I was a has-been and that just gave me the extra motivation to get back to the top. I've always loved proving people wrong from the time I was younger, so I'd like to thank the haters for making me work harder."Recently, Campbell answered questions regarding recent crackdown of online poker rooms by the U.S. Department of Justice. As a native of Massachusetts, Campbell is no longer able to play on rooms like PokerStars and Full Tilt Poker, so he was asked what he plans to do in the immediate future.
"No idea really," he replied. "I am just going to wait things out and see what happens. I still plan on going to the WSOP and maybe playing more live poker. I wish I had more answers just like everyone else, but I have no idea."
"Online poker is gone, but you can still play live and that's what I will do for the next couple months," Campbell added. "Sundays I will play some golf and try not to worry too much about poker. I think this is only a temporary situation and online poker will be back, hopefully sooner rather than later."
Check out the full thread here.
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