It’s been a while since anyone on PocketFives.com has taken the plunge into “The Well.” The what, you ask? If you’re not familiar with the well, I’ll leave it to Steve gboro780 Gross to explain it: “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 Tuesday, 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 Tuesday?’ A voice from in the well shouts back, ‘Because on Tuesday, it’s your day in the well.'”

This week, Toronto’s tom44411(pictured above) took his turn in the well, posting, “I believe that the community needs something to involve itself in a positive way since Black Friday. I have seen the ups and downs of poker and have a wide base of knowledge, which I believe a lot of regs who are one hit wonders often take for granted.”

When asked who is least desirable type of opponent was, tom44411 perhaps surprisingly responded, “Fish really – they level me more than regs.” And if poker weren’t an option for his profession, he admitted that he’d probably be in the financial sector: “I’d be in some type of money management. I always knew that money made the world go round.”

His Poker Story

Questions from fellow Canadians and members of the online poker community around the world poured into the well, including one that asked how he got his start in the game. tom44411 responded, “I started out when I was holding down a part-time job after school when I was 16 or 17 years old. A buddy of mine played some poker and I liked the idea of making more money than I was making, so I played freerolls and then eventually played for real money.” At age 21, tom44411 began taking the game more seriously.

Keys to the Game

Tom can be found at #589 worldwide and has nearly $800,000 in tracked online poker scores. What’s his key to success? Taking the game one hand at a time: “If you keep worrying about winning one or two specific MTTs in a day, you’re going to miss out on potential value in other MTTs. Just play one hand at a time, don’t even look at the lobby for payouts, and have fun with it.” His largest tracked score came in February, when he made the final table of a $200 FTOPS event.

Poker Mentality

We’ve heard poker players refer to their payouts as “points” instead of cash, which could help to lessen the pressure of playing for hundreds of thousands of dollars. tom44411 echoed, “I don’t really get too emotional anymore. I enjoy winning more than anything, but I view tournaments as practice, and where you place is like a score on a test.” He was once ranked as high as #331 worldwide and is #89 in the PocketFives.com Sortable Poker Rankings for Canada.

Family Reaction

This author has interviewed plenty of online poker players through the years, and each has given a different answer as to what their family and friends thought about them becoming a poker pro. tom44411 relayed his story: “My mom hated it. Even to this day, she doesn’t really care for it, but I guess what parent wants their kid to be a poker player? We had our arguments, but now I think it is just accepted and it’s never really a topic of conversation.”

Live Poker

tom44411’s counterparts in the United States have been coping with the aftermath of Black Friday, which saw PokerStars, Full Tilt Poker, and Absolute Poker vacate the U.S. market. Only the former has managed to pay back players, while Full Tilt no longer has a valid primary gaming license and Absolute Poker has remained mum. Consequently, many professional PocketFives.com members in the U.S. are using services like Poker Refugees to seek residency in another country or heading to their local casinos.

The latter option requires knowledge of the live game. To that end, tom44411 shared his insight: “I haven’t had much live experience, to be honest, but what I have noticed is that if you play, say, the Sunday $500 and a live $500, the online MTT is a lot tougher. Playing styles live to be more TAG-ish and patient than online.”

PocketFives Influence

Finally, one person who shouted a question down the well asked about advice tom44411 has given in the Poker Discussion forum. Tom responded that he’s learned a lot during his tenure in PD: “I have learned a ton on P5s. Most importantly, I learned that there isn’t a set way to play poker and that all players are different. I basically learned to think outside the box. When I post in PD, I learn a lot as well.”

By the way, tom44411 is still accepting questions, so take part in the well by visiting the thread in Poker Community. Also, check out P0KERPR033’s welland Jymaster0011’s well.