How Poker Nicknames Reveal Your Personality and Style

Very first episode – Poker Nicknames
U1
0:10
Hi and welcome to the very first episode of Poker Stories Behind the Scenes. I’m Vladimir, also known as insider 19,
U2
0:19
and I’m Herbert Elias. It’s great to finally be here and to start this exciting project.
U1
0:26
It definitely is. In the first episode, we want to introduce ourselves and our projects so that you can get a glimpse of what awaits you in the upcoming episodes
U2
0:37
exactly. First, how did you come up with the idea to start this podcast? Vladimir
U1
0:43
well, Herbert, you and I have so many exciting stories from our time at Poker Strategy, the world’s largest poker school. We thought it could be great to share the stories with other poker enthusiasts at the same time. Give insights to the poker world. That’s
U2
1:00
true. We’ve experienced so much in the poker scene from exciting tournaments to strategic breakthroughs and funny anecdotes, it would have been a shame to keep all of that to ourselves.
U1
1:12
Exactly. And we want to share our passion to poker with our listeners. Whether you’re an experienced poker player or a beginner, you will find stories and insights here that will keep it alive. You
U2
1:26
hear what’s behind your nickname inside a 19.
U1
1:32
So. Back then when I was actually 19, when I turned 19, I was playing Command and Conquer Tiberius online. That’s. That’s so long ago. Yeah, that’s like 22 years ago. And actually, when I started playing that game, I met a guy. His nickname was insider 18, and it was really good. He was playing for for money, I think. Or at least he was winning surprises back then. You could you could win like some maybe some some video card or something from I don’t remember who, 1s who actually sold the game Tiberium Sun. I don’t know who did it. But anyway, he was he was the guy I met and I played a lot with, and he taught me some strategy and then he disappeared. So when I turned 19, I think it was my birthday, actually, I created that screen name. Um, yeah. And then it stayed.
U2
2:38
It stayed all the time. That’s a funny.
U1
2:40
Yeah, yeah, I didn’t know that. I didn’t know that. Yeah, I had some I had some other names. And actually there is a funny thing that when I turned pro as a poker player and was teaching a bunch of people, I, um, some, some people from, from Command Conquer found me on, on, on a forum and was asking if it’s me and said, yes, actually, actually, before going to poker, I played also Wolfenstein Online a little bit with that screen name as well. Um, and yeah, that’s that’s a story. I think even I even met someone from Command Conquer on at the poker tables. Uh, but yeah. And and the funny thing is that a guy who I played with that strategy game got me into poker. He was playing at a time. Think 1020 No-Limit. So pretty high was probably the highest stakes at the time. And, uh, yeah, yeah, it’s really interesting when remember all that stuff and he, he told me that he was playing and yeah, it was, it was a time when, when Chris Moneymaker runs a WSOP. Wow. Wow. Yeah. So, so actually my screen name is, um, has a bigger history than some companies do.
U2
4:07
It’s your friend.
U1
4:09
Yeah, it’s my friend. Yeah, right. 2s Okay, so what about your screen name?
U2
4:17
Um, okay, so let’s start with this. Do you know who who could buy this? Actually,
U1
4:22
I think it must be. 1s With your background. It must be some some character in in a book, in a in a it must be something. Yeah. I think something like that book, maybe a story.
U2
4:39
It actually, it actually is a character. Yeah. It is a character in a, in a story from Wilhelm Bush and it’s basically a cartoon.
U1
4:48
Ah, okay. And like, Cookie Barn is a raven. 1s It’s a raven. And he brings bad luck to everyone. Like, like he does a lot of weird stuff. And in the end, like, everyone pays, like, getting in touch with him, like, there’s the dog and the cat, and and he obviously hunts them and brings them really bad luck and terrible stories happened to them. 2s And while I’m playing, I thought about intimidating. Maybe I don’t know why I chose the name, but in the end, 1s it’s someone who brings bad luck to the others. And well, in poker, that could be nice too. But
U2
5:33
yeah, maybe.
U1
5:35
Yeah, yeah. But you know, there are other people are usually bad luck for us as well and have been, uh. Yeah. Yeah. When? After when? When I’m thinking about the screen names, I, I remember some I really, really disliked a lot. And I think a screen name can, can make people angry just by, by reading it. Especially if you are losing some money to that someone. Yeah. So interesting one.
U2
6:06
Yeah, yeah. Nicknames the history with nicknames I remember like when I was playing PLO in Spain, the high stakes on PokerStars. There was one guy, incredibly aggressive and his nickname was bum Hunter, like the bum Hunter, and he was playing, like, insanely aggressive, like bluffing without sense. And then we always battled like it became something personal. And we met and played and there were all of people watching online. It was always like the crazy, like 500 deep River bluff with with all the time. And then you call like with bottom two pair and win and everyone’s like, what the fuck? What was going on? So nicknames you really can can tilt you.
U1
6:52
And I know actually there is a story behind the nicknames that a guy. So. 1s We we played on different poker sites. And so insider 19 was just my name on PokerStars. And when I played on other sites, I actually created sometimes the same name, but oftentimes a different name. Um, and I know a guy who he had a name, 2s let me say it was a fighter. It was a fighter. It wasn’t Mayweather or Tyson. Brooklyn, Brooklyn. Brooklyn, Brooklyn Center or something like that. I didn’t even know him. And people like to play him a lot, especially like you were trying to to get action. And people would want to play him because I don’t I don’t think they saw it’s really him. But, um, when players want to play someone, the name might make a difference. So there was a strategy behind what name to choose and what what avatar to choose actually as well. So when you could see and disable that right away, I didn’t want to see any any pictures of people on PokerStars. You could change your avatar. And people were choosing such annoying ones just for the most part, to annoy other to annoy the opponent. So so a lot of psychology going on behind, behind the tables, behind the scenes.
U2
8:27
Do you remember the guy from? He was a coach at Poker Strategy. I believe in the forums, and he always went to poker sites and started. Who were the biggest fish or the worst players. And then he created an account and just changed their nickname by one or whatever. There was a one in it and he copied the exact name, but instead of the one, he put an eye on an L, and then he played and everyone thought like he was like the whale. And then he won a lot of money. Do you remember that
U1
9:01
guy? Yeah, I remember that guy. Most people will remember that guy. He. The story is, is even more depressing because he. The story is that there were hunting a big whale and there are two guys. So two players were hunting him and they had a deal. I think they had a deal that they would like play like, I don’t know, four hours and then the other guy would play for hours and something like that, and he was just getting greedy. This is the story I was told. He was getting greedy and he would not just create the similar name, but also block other open tables with like with his buddies or was a different account. So so the so the the real player couldn’t even take a seat. It was that crazy. And there are other stories actually of a really good players who would for fun um, start playing like really low stakes and would just go crazy, would bluff, would lose, would just move all in preflop and stuff like that. And people realize, oh, there is a guy who is probably drunk who wants to lose some money. Let’s, let’s, let’s hunt him. And then he would move up in stakes and also just keep on playing crazy. And then you would move up, move up, move out, and people would follow him up to high stakes, and then he would start playing seriously. And he was just destroying everybody. You would you would sit there with like 20, 30 buy and stakes. People just had no idea what was happening to them. Yeah. So there are some basically you want an image and then exploit others. Um, yeah, there are some, some really, uh, really funny stories. I remember one of our, one of our future guests, uh, Jason Rosenkranz Krantz, who made videos for a coaching site. Users cracked. Com and in one of his videos, he had the move of honor. Do you know the move of honor? No, no, but it’s like explain. So it’s no limit. And you are under the gun. So you’re the first player to act and you just move all in. Whatever, whatever you have. That’s the move of honor. And of course he got he got all the folds. You know, nobody called hustle. And nowadays that wouldn’t work anymore. People would realize what range to call. Back. Then people would just call us, I don’t know, really like Queens, I don’t know, ten plus and something, something like that. So yeah, it was funny because he didn’t care too much about the money. Yeah. Yes there is there’s a lot of interesting stuff and funny stuff, especially in the early days of online poker and poker strategy. And then. 2s Um, through, I don’t know. Oh, I need to remember the time frame. But, um, when everybody was playing and it was such a, um. Yeah, it was. Everybody was playing around the world. Yeah.
U2
12:19
Crazy, crazy times. Crazy times.
U1
12:22
Right. So.
U2
12:23
And what can listeners expect from Poker Story’s Vladimir
U1
12:28
so well, in the podcast series will not only share our own stories, but we’ll also give a voice to former employees of poker strategy and poker professionals in general. You’ll hear about legendary poker games, strategic masterpieces, wild parties, and unforgettable moments that shaped our time at the poker
U2
12:48
school. Sounds exciting. And what about the future of poker stories?
U1
12:54
So we have a lot of exciting plans for the future. We’ll be teaming up with well-known poker figures, providing some insight on stories and insights, and of course, continuing to share our own stories and experiences. We also want our listeners to be part of our community and be able to interact with us and share their own stories, if they like to.
U2
13:19
Sounds like an exciting journey ahead.
U1
13:23
Absolutely. And to stay up to date, follow us on social media and visit our website where we will find all the information and episode. Subscribe to our channel so you get notifications when ever the new podcasts are released.
U2
13:39
I’m really looking forward to this journey and to sharing all these stories.
U1
13:44
Yeah. Me too Herbert, and thank you to our listeners for joining us in this first episode. We’ll see you in the next episode of Poker Strategy. Poker stories, behind the scenes. Yeah, but the the the stories will well be about poker strategy quite a bit. And
U2
14:00
others as well. And others as well.
U1
14:03
Yeah for sure.
U2
14:06
Okay. That was is that was it for the first episode? Goodbye, everyone.
U1
14:12
Yeah. See you soon. And good luck at the table. Yeah.
U2
14:17
Bye. 2s Yeah. You be on that side.