Rodney Koodray (Vetstadiumon PocketFives, pictured) out of Waretown, New Jersey mostly plays under the names Chewbroccoli (WSOP.com), twelveparces (Borgata Poker), and Phillybirds (888 Poker). His drive for being competitive in strategy-based games is what drew him to the game of poker. He has wins in the Borgata $5K Guarantee, the WSOP.com $10K Guarantee, and the 888 Poker $1,500 Guarantee Deep Stack for over $4,000 in winnings total.

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PocketFives: When did you start playing poker?

Rodney Koodray: I started playing poker when I first saw “Rounders.” I used to play a lot of home games and tournaments, but never really took it seriously.

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

Rodney Koodray: I try to put in about 25 hours a week (one midweek day, Fridays, and Sundays).

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

Rodney Koodray: My favorite sites are WSOP.com and 888 Poker. I really like the structure and flow of the game. I prefer tournaments that have 100 to 150 players.

PocketFives: Since the launch of regulated online poker in New Jersey, what has been your most memorable cash or win?

Rodney Koodray: My most memorable win was in the WSOP.com $10K, which was the biggest win ever for me on a New Jersey-operated website. I’ve won more money in other places, but winning is what it’s all about.

PocketFives: To what do you attribute your success playing online poker here in New Jersey?

Rodney Koodray: I have always been competitive and used to play a lot of word games that were basically like Scrabble. Once I found poker, I quickly realized there is a tremendous amount of strategy as well. I used to play mainly sit and gos and not that many MTTs.

After poker was banned, I basically stopped playing and spent a lot of time reading about it with the occasional visit to Atlantic City to play some cash games or a random tournament. One thing I learned is that there are always bigger fish in the sea and this game is always evolving. What works for me this week maybe different next week.

I’d definitely like to thank PocketFives, as this is the main site I use to try to improve my game. The support here is tremendous and it’s great to see fellow PocketFivers at my table. I’d like to thank my wife for understanding that I enjoy poker, but treat it as a job. She serves me dinner at the computer desk!

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