If you listened to last week’s installment of the PocketFives Podcast, then you know we were joined by Jamie pokerjamersArmstrong (pictured), Jordan Jymaster0011Young, Nick agriffrodMitchell, and Bjorn kleathKleathersson, some of poker’s top minds. In fact, all four sit in the top 35 of the PocketFives Rankings. This week, our in-depth roundtable discussion about poker strategy continues. Let’s see what the quartet had to say this time around.

The thread in Poker Discussion fielding questions was packed with posters eager to pick the brains of these four young bucks. One player inquired about optimal strategy with a hand like Q-J suited and 22 big blinds from the button when you have aggressive opponents in the blinds. The same poster also wanted to know what our panel would do if dealt 3-3 to 6-6 with 25 big blinds.

On the questions at hand, Armstrong weighed in, “I think my normal strategy would be to open. I don’t think people are necessarily shoving enough to not make [opening] profitable and I’m not going to be open-jamming those hands.”

Also giving his two cents was Kleathersson(pictured): “I don’t think I’d open-shove too many hands with 25 big blinds. With 20 [big blinds] and if I thought they were really aggressive, then I’d probably be shoving Q-J suited. I’d rather [shove] with 2-2 to 3-3 than 6-6, which is a hand I could induce with.”

The PocketFives Podcast co-host, Jake 7DeLuX Wilkins (pictured), then asked about limping in that situation. Armstrong contended, “If I had 25 big blinds, I think it might be okay to limp on the button with hands like Q-J suited or J-10 suited, but not with hands like 3-3 to 6-6.”

Players in the upper echelons of the Rankings must put in a considerable amount of volume to stay afloat. When asked how much volume has played a part in his success, Young told PocketFives Podcast listeners, “I think volume has helped me the most in the past year, even more than discussing hands. I feel like the more you play, the more situations you put yourself in and the better you get.” As they say, practice makes perfect.

Young (pictured) is #3 in the PocketFives Rankings and one of a select group of players to win two Monthly PLBtitles. He tasted victory in the Full Tilt Poker $750,000 Guarantee last August for $132,000. On the same day, he blasted through the field of the site’s Sunday Brawl for a six-figure score in one of the most historic evenings our industry has ever seen. Later that month, he won the Full Tilt $200,000 Guarantee for nearly $80,000.

Also discussing whether volume improves his poker skills was Kleathersson, who elucidated, “I usually feel sharpest after I’ve been playing for a few weeks. I think volume is pretty big. As far as the optimal number of tables, I think it’s better to have six to eight open so you can really focus and get reads.”

Eight days after Young’s impressive August day, Kleathersson finished second in a Full Tilt Online Poker Series tournament for $191,000. Last month, he won the Full Tilt Friday Night Fight for $31,000 and has over $3 million in tracked cashes as the 12th ranked player.

Come learn from several of the game’s greats this week on the PocketFives Poker Podcast.