Poker Articles

A new era has begun in Pocketfives.com rankings, and it is a fun time to be a part of this community. Solid data, combined with the human element of the Pro Poll, makes things very interesting. This is the first rankings system of its kind, and Pocketfives is proud to bring it to the Online Poker community. In this third installment of player spotlights, I’d like to take a quick look at two more Pocketfivers who have recently broken into the rankings: rcrane082985 and NickDaNutz.

In this first Tri-Monthly Leaderboard, rcrane082985 came in with a total Pocketfives Leaderboard (PLB) score of 2749.01, which is just 172 points shy of the great Johnnybax. Where does that land him in the rankings? Well, reputation and name recognition will carry Johnnybax a long way for many months to come and rcrane, who is mostly unknown to this community, will have a hard time climbing as high in the rankings, at first. Some may say this is unfair, but I think Johnnybax has built his reputation not just as a valuable and high profile member of the community but also as an amazingly consistent and talented player, and his position is well-deserved. Pocketfives members who post big wins on a consistent basis will certainly earn the respect of their fellow players and at the end of the day I think this new format will come to reflect an accurate picture of who the best of the best are in online poker. As it turns out, rcrane082985 landed squarely in the middle of the rankings with a PLB score that placed him 51st and a Pro Poll of 58th, giving him an aggregate ranking of 55. Congratulations, sir, it is well deserved!

NickDaNutz is a name that will soon become more familiar to many. Not only does he consistently make final tables and post 5 figure wins, but he also has the same screen name across all the sites he plays. Online poker is often all about anonymity for the top players, but many of the bolder players have found a handle that works for them, and they've stood by it. This may make it easier for opponents to identify you and track your play, but I think it is also a sign of confidence in yourself and your game, which is a hallmark of top players. Online poker has come a long way in the past few years. With the prestige of events like the WCOOP or UB’s Stone Cold Nuts bringing out both live and online pros, and the prizepools growing almost every week in the Sunday Majors, the successful online player has a lot to be proud of. Likewise, NickDaNutz can be proud of his new ranking as 63rd on the Pocketfives Leaderboard!

With so many talented players who are members of the Pocketfives community, it will be difficult to differentiate between them. How do you rank someone who has 2751.4 points compared to another who has 2654.7 points? Will huge wins wow the voters, or will people take time to analyze the data? I think the beauty of this system is that the Pro Poll allows the top players to determine among themselves who they think is deserving of ranking. There are millions of online players, but at the highest levels the fields narrow, and most top players become very familiar with each other. There has been some bad blood between ranked players in the past, but I think the overwhelming majority regard each other with mutual respect at the very least.

The new rankings are out, and now the fun begins! As the debates heat up, please remember to keep things friendly. These rankings are intended to recognize top players and provide railbirds like myself some juicy water cooler talk. They are meant to be fun for all; let's try to keep it that way.