Online Poker Player Profile : Andy Mcleod

“ Andy McLeod ”

Real Name : James Obst
Age : 18
Location : Adelaide, Australia
Lifetime Tournament Winnings : $613,391

Screen Names

• PokerStars : Andy McLeod
• FullTiltPoker : TheFatFISH
• Party Poker : McDonk
• Bodog : Mike HUSSEY
• UltimateBet : Brad Johnson
• Absolute Poker : JAMESCLEMENT

Recent Successes

• PokerStars Sunday Million NLH 4th $75,879.00
• PokerStars Nightly Hundred Grand NLH 14th $924.00
• PokerStars Super Tuesday NLH 18th $2,475.00
• PokerStars Daily $100 With Rebuys NLH 18th $1,339.00
• PokerStars Sunday Million NLH 20th $4,643.00

Favorite Hold’em Hole Cards : J♠8♠
Favourite Tournaments : Stud MTTs, $100 and over
Favourite Cash Games : Stud 8b, $7.50/$15 and over
Favorite Poker Site : FullTilt

” Andy McLeod ” (that’s his screen name, not his real one) has managed to keep his true identity secret to most of the poker world. The Adelaide based online player who is still a teenager is one of the online poker ’s most aggressive and successful players.

Known for possessing a deep understanding of the game, he offered a few insights in a Cardplayer interview.

Cardplayer : What are your thoughts on the continuation bet? Is it overused?

“ Andy McLeod ”: I think it’s about knowing how to proceed thereafter if you don’t take the pot down on the flop; Likely the sickest online tournament player, Imper1um (Sorel Mizzi), still continuation bets almost every time. But he gets great reads on his opponents and doesn’t just give up if his bet doesn’t take down the pot, which it won’t a lot of the time, especially since people are becoming increasingly more aggressive and more and more players are learning how to float (call with nothing as a setup to a bluff on a later street), and so on.

At lower stakes I imagine the continuation bet will still be effective, especially if it is a strong one, but at higher stakes you definitely see some people overusing the continuation bet because they seem to give up the pot whenever it doesn’t succeed on the flop.

Cardplayer: Well, I think it’s hard for some people ( i.e., me) to get away from making a continuation continuation bet on the turn a lot of the time. It is especially hard to get a read from someone online compared to live poker, so how do you know when to let it go by the turn?

AM: I find that it’s all about your opponent and his perception of you. If you know you’re playing against a tricky opponent and you have a loose table image, then they’ll be likely to be floating you on a high number of flops, so this could be a good opportunity to double barrel. It also depends a lot on the texture of the board, of course. For example, if you make a continuation bet on an ace-7-3 flop and your opponent doesn’t go away, this would be a horrible spot to double barrel; your opponent is likely to either have an ace (not many people will fold top pair) or a set, or something that will not go away to more pressure on the turn. On the other hand, if the board is something like 10-5-2 and you make the continuation bet and are called, then a double barrel may be more successful here because many players will call with a small pocket pair or such hoping or assuming that you have overcards and will slow down when faced with resistance. Some people will also be able to get off of a 10.

Also, if you have a very aggressive table image, then double barrels will be very unlikely to have a good success rate, since people will realize that you are trying to run them over and will start calling you down light.

Cardplayer: Have you ever folded kings preflop?

AM: I don’t think I ever have, but I see countless posts on the forums [recounting][hands] where I feel like I definitely would - and, conversely, plenty where kings shouldn’t even be considered to be folded - so, I’m sure I will some time soon.

Cardplayer: I’m still waiting for my magic moment, too. What about pocket jacks? What would it take to get you to fold those preflop? Pocket jacks are a dangerous holding for many players both preflop and postflop. They can’t seem to lay jacks down and the hand loses them money when it’s supposed to be an overall winner.

AM: It’s definitely a tricky hand to play. There are some situations where it’s easy to get off the hand preflop. For example, suppose you raise from under the gun with jacks, get reraised, and then another guy comes back over the top. If they all have healthy stacks you can pretty confidently throw it in the muck, but there are some really tough spots that people encounter frequently. Probably the best example is when a player raises from under the gun or early position and you wake up with jacks. For argument’s sake we can take the stacks to be 25 big blinds. An under-the-gun player makes it three big blinds, if you reraise to nine or so, virtually committing yourself to the pot, and when the under-the-gun player comes back over the top, you have to assume his range (likely something like queens or better) is killing your hand. So, flat-calling seems to be the most appropriate choice, but then it gets really tough when the board comes all low. Sometimes you can’t avoid going broke; it’s infuriating, but what can you do? Just try to keep the pot as small as possible.

Cardplayer: What’s your strategy early on in big-field tournaments like the Sunday Million, for instance?

AM: For me, being able to chip up at the beginning of tournaments is almost the most crucial aspect. I can’t play my style if I don’t have a healthy stack to work with. So, I do all that I can to get a good stack early, I’ll play my draws fast and be willing to get it in with a flush draw and one overcard for the chance to double up. That being said, I’m selective with the hands I play, and I value position above all else. I’ll still be folding ace-jack offsuit under the gun, and be fundamentally solid, but once I hit a flop in some way I’m going to get aggro.

The Sunday Million, specifically, is obviously a huge tournament that everyone aspires to do well in, so I’ll be slightly more reluctant to go broke at the beginning on a draw as I will in a $100 freezeout or something like that, but I’ll still play similarly aggressive.

Cardplayer: Gary “GB2005″ Bogdanski says that under the gun is the new button [laughing]. Do you agree?

AM: [Laughs] It is for many players. In fact, it’s pretty true for me [laughing]. There’s definitely more and more under the gun stealing going on at high stakes, but to be honest, I think it just sounds appealing. People still and always will raise the button light, much lighter than they will open under the gun.

Cardplayer: One more thing: What was the one thing that you’ve learned over the years that you believe truly took your game to the next level, whether it be a move, a core principle, or whatever.

AM: Probably the biggest thing for me was gaining an appreciation for table image. I’ve always been naturally aggressive, and in the beginning, I would just think I could run over every table that I played on, and pretty much spew chips all over the place. People would call me down so light that I would be so angry, just thinking to myself “How can you call me down with that?,” when, in reality, the only player making a mistake was me. It’s all about adapting to your table image, and once I realized that, I starting playing 10 times better.

Andy McLeod ’s skill has led to a fortune in winnings, including a win in the Full Tilt online poker Series IV event No. 9, a $100 (with rebuys) no-limit hold’em tournament, for $75,482. He also took down the Full Tilt $1K Monday for a $52,260 score. He is one of the top-ranked players across the Internet, and is very highly ranked in Cardplayer and Pocket 5’s Online Player of the Year standings.

Whoever Andy McLeod really is, one thing is for certain, he is one of Australia’s best young poker talents and worth following.

2008 Vic Poker Champs Kick Off At Crown

One of australian poker ’s biggest events of the year has kicked off at Crown Poker, The 2008 Victorian Poker Championships.

With thirteen official Championship events on offer, culminating in the three day $2,700 No Limit Holdem Main Event, plus feature events including Mixed Games, $100,000K Challenge, Camp Quality Poker Cup and Ladies Night, this year’s Championship is not to be missed.

Listed below is the fulls schedule for the 2008 Vic Poker Champs :

2008 Victorian Poker Championship

• Sat 2 Aug 12:30pm Victorian Poker Championship Step 2 Satellite (20 Seat Guarantee) $300 (270+30)
  7:10pm High Stakes Holdem Satellite $1,100 (1,000+100)
• Sun 3 Aug 12:10pm 1 No Limit Holdem - (2 Day event) $230 (200+30)
• Mon 4 Aug 10:10am Crazy Pineapple $100 (85+15)
  2:10pm Main Event Satellite $70 (55+15) / $50 (45+5) Rebuys
  4.00pm Final Table - Event 1
  7:10pm 2 Pot Limit Omaha Hi-Lo $340 (300+40)
• Tue 5 Aug 10:10am Pot Limit Omaha $100 (85+15)
  2:10pm Main Event Satellite $70 (55+15) / $50 (45+5) Rebuys
  7:10pm 3 No Limit Holdem Terminator $340 (300+40)
• Wed 6 Aug 10:10am Limit 7 Card Stud $100 (85+15)
  2:10pm Main Event Satellite $70 (55+15) / $50 (45+5) Rebuys
  7:10pm 4 No Limit Holdem - Rebuy Tournament $240 (200+40) / $100 Rebuys
• Thu 7 Aug 10:10am Razz $100 (85+15)
  2:10pm Main Event Satellite $70 (55+15) / $50 (45+5) Rebuys
  7:10pm 5 No Limit Holdem $250,000 Guarantee - Day 1 Flight 1 $550 (500+50)
• Fri 8 Aug 12:30pm No Limit Holdem $250,000 Guarantee - Day 1 Flight 2 $550 (500+50)
  6.10pm State of Origin Feature Event $3,000 per team
• Sat 9 Aug 12:30pm No Limit Holdem $250,000 Guarantee - Day 1 Flight 3 (Repechage) $550 (500+50)
  7:10pm High Stakes Holdem Satellite $1,100 (100+100)
• Sun 10 Aug 12:30pm No Limit Holdem $250,000 Guarantee - Day 2
  4:10pm Main Event Satellite $300 (270+30)
  7:10pm 6 PokerPro Mega Stack No Limit Holdem $220 (200+20)
  8:10pm $100,000 Challenge - 10 Players Winner Take All $10,200 (10,000+200)
• Mon 11 Aug 12:30pm 7 H.O.R.S.E. $1,100 (1,000+100)
  4:10pm Main Event Step 1 Satellite (100 Player Max) $75 (60+15)
  7:10pm 8 Camp Quality Charity Poker Cup $340 (300+40)
• Tue 12 Aug 12:30pm 9 No Limit Holdem 6 Handed $1,100 (1,000+100)
  4:10pm Main Event Step 1 Satellite (100 Player Max) $75 (60+15)
  6.10pm Ladies Night No Limit Holdem $100 (80+20)
  7:10pm Main Event Step 2 Satellite $300 (270+30)
• Wed 13 Aug 12:30pm 10 Pot Limit Omaha $5,200 (5,000+200)
  4.00pm Final Table - Event 9
  4:10pm Main Event Step 1 Satellite (100 Player Max) $75 (60+15)
  7:10pm 11 Teams Event No Limit Holdem $550 (500+50)
• Thu 14 Aug 12:30pm 12 High Stakes Holdem $10,200 (10,000+200)
  2:10pm Main Event Step 1 Satellite (100 Player Max) $75 (60+15)
  7.10pm Main Event Step 2 Satellite $300 (270+30)
• Fri 15 Aug 12:30pm 13 Main Event Day 1 Flight 1 $2,700 (2,500+200)
  4:10pm Last Chance Main Event Satellite $300 (270+30)
• Sat 16 Aug 12:30pm Main Event Day 1 Flight 2 $2,700 (2,500+200)
  4:10pm Aussie Millions Phase 2 Satellite $250 (230+20)
• Sun 17 Aug 12:10pm Main Event Day 2
  12:30pm Aussie Millions Phase 2 Satellite $250 (230+20)
  4:10pm Aussie Millions Phase 3 Satellite $1,150 (1,050+100)

Play Poker This Friday With Joe Hachem And Shane Warne

The 2007 Joe Hachem & Shane Warne Charity Poker Tournament

If you want to play poker with Australian WSOP Poker Champion,Joe Hachem and Aussie Cricket Legend, Shane Warne; then you’d better get yourself down to Melbourne’s Crown Poker this friday night and make sure your bring your bankroll! Read more

WPT Comes To Australia and Crown Poker

World Poker Tour Comes Down Under

In what is an Australian first, Crown Poker will be holding the first ever officially endorsed WPT event down under. The Crown WPT Week is set to run from 15 to 23 September and will feature nine tournaments all giving players the chance to win one of the three guaranteed $16,000 packages to compete in any WPT Season VI event. Read more

Vegas Poker 247 $100 Freeroll July 30th AEST

$100 Freeroll !!!!

It’s been a while since we had a simple all entry freeroll at Vegas Poker 247 so here it is!! Read more

Vegas Poker 247 Midnight Madness July 28th AEST

Midnight Madness Tournament

Stick around after our Lucky Dollar Rebuy at Vegas Poker 247 for an Oz Poker Midnight Mass. Read more

Vegas Poker 247 One Buck Rebuy July 27th AEST

Oz Poker Rebuy Tourney

Come and join us at Vegas Poker 247 for some NL Holdem Rebuy action!! This is the first tourney we’ve had at Vegas Poker 247 for some time and the first of many more to come. Read more

PokerNews Cup Schedule Released

Aussie PNews Cup Events

In October 2007, Melbourne Australia will play host to the inaugural PokerNews Cup and Oz Poker is giving players the chance to be there with over 25 $5000 PokerNews Cup Freerolls. Read more

Wingows MME Satellite April 28th AEST

Oz Poker Monthly Main Event Satellite

Come and join Oz in our satellite game to our own Monthly Main Event at Wingows. This satellite awards 1 seat to the MME for every $11 in the prize pool. Read more

Vegas Poker 247 Rebuy April 30th AEST

Oz Poker Rebuy Tourney

Come and join us at Vegas Poker 247 for some NL Holdem Rebuy action! Read more

PokerHost NL Holdem Rebuy April 27th AEST

Oz Poker No Limit Holdem Rebuy

Come and join Oz for a this NL Rebuy event at Poker Host. Read more

Vegas Poker 247 Rebuy Tournament April 23rd AEST

Oz Poker Lucky 1/2 Dollar Tourney

Come and join us at Vegas Poker 247 for some NL Holdem Rebuy action!

Read more

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