George Cicak (Cicakmanon PocketFives, pictured) out of Bloomfield, New Jersey plays under the handle Glytterpysson PartyPoker and grinds online just about every day. Cicak has over $40,000 in tracked online cashes and is currently 13th in PocketFives’ New Jersey online poker rankings.

In the New Jersey Championship of Online poker that ran on Borgata Poker and PartyPoker in April, Cicak finished in second place in the $530 buy-in, $30,000 Guarantee High Roller Event for $23,100. He also had a win in the Party/Borgata $10,000 Guarantee in February for $2,185.

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PocketFives: In April, you finished in second place in the Party/Borgata NJCOP High Roller Event for $23,100. Tell us how you felt after that tournament.

George Cicak: I was very relieved. I felt there was added pressure on me after coming off bubbling two of the $15K WPT seats. I don’t think I could have handled a third five-figure bubble in 10 days. It was a really stressful and fun final table with the massive bubble.

We played short-handed for a few hours and there were a lot of strange spots that developed because of the dynamics and ICM implications. I was hungry, both for the win and for food. I didn’t want to make any mistakes and ignored just about everything else.

The last hand heads-up, I lost an all-in pre-flop with Q-Q to T-7o that would have put me close to even in chips. I was so relieved to get to second place that I wasn’t even slightly tilted losing as such a big favorite pre-flop.

PocketFives: What are your favorite New Jersey online poker sites to play and why?

George Cicak: PartyPoker. I got in touch with one of the higher ups at PartyPoker and we talked a lot about issues and improvements. We worked on fixing the structures and some of the payouts for the $10K and $50K Guaranteed tournaments. They were really bad in the beginning and have greatly improved. I have a lot of faith in PartyPoker and this person going forward. There is still a lot of work that needs to be done, but it’s a long process and PartyPoker is going in the right direction.

The $50,000 Guarantee Sunday Major is the best and biggest regular tournament on the New Jersey sites. Party has also had a few $100K guarantees. I’m looking forward to what Party is going to be in the future. We’re still in the very beginning of all of this. I’m looking forward to defending my NJCOP leaderboard title for NJCOP II whenever that may be.

PocketFives: How many hours do you dedicate to poker each week?

George Cicak: Before I got second, I was playing just about every day for six to 12 hours. Since then, I’ve been on a hiatus and have only played the $10K once or twice a week and a few random tournaments in between. I probably played the most tournaments the first six months and was playing just about everything. There’s really no other way to do it than grind everything, especially with having a big edge in all New Jersey tournaments.

I’ve been lazy, though, and have avoided playing on WSOP.com, Ultimate Poker, and 888 Poker for a while. The schedules and structures on those sites are pretty bad. I have missed a lot of value from not playing on those, but it is working out all right for now.

PocketFives: To what do you attribute your success playing online poker?

George Cicak: Most of my success comes from constantly improving all aspects of my game. I’ve changed so much about my style of play and fixed lots of leaks over the last few months and years of playing. Fortunately for me, I’m friends with a few elite players and we talk about poker a lot.

I’m still learning new strategies and making adjustments every day. If you feel you’ve reached a point where you’re content with your abilities and you become relaxed, then you’re already the fish. If you aren’t adjusting and moving forward, then you’re not adjusting and moving forward. You’ll always be at the point you are at and more people will pass you by.

Poker is such a humbling game sometimes and requires a lot of non-poker strategy qualities to become great. You can’t be afraid to put yourself out there and be embarrassed by your mistakes and leaks. You have to always be broken down and rebuilt and almost mocked about your play to improve. There is always more to think about, always more to adjust and improve on, nothing in poker is concrete, and you’re never as good as you think you are.

PocketFives: Do you plan on playing in the World Series of Poker this summer?

George Cicak: Yes. I’m leaving in May and staying for eight days, coming back for a few weeks, and then heading out again a week before the Main Event. The last few years, I had a full-time job and wasn’t able to get out at all. This year, I’m jobless and have the time. I’m focused and ready to pillage for a bracelet.

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