Almost all online poker sites do not allow you to change your screen name – ever. That means you’d better give some serious thought to your choice right now because you’re going to have to live with it throughout your whole poker career.
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For example, many Liverpool F.C. fans in 2010 decided that variations on ‘TorresLFC’ were a good idea. They must be regretting that now almost as much as poor old ‘TorresCFC’ is. If you’re a sports fan choose something that stands the test of time. Similarly, don’t use a currently popular band or video game or other possibly short-lived fad. Don’t use the current year or your current age – because next year they both mean absolutely nothing.
- Ryan Moor Early Years One day after school, in the spring of 1999, Ryan Moor screen printed his first shirt to help promote his band. At the time Ryan didn't imagine that screen printing punk rock t-shirts would lead down a path that would create amazing opportunity, supply knowledge, provide jobs and start businesses.
- Now, what to call YeRsElves? Here are 1120 potential screen or nicknames for you: 1 Up 1/2 Shelly 101 Darwin 11 Scent 20 Story Satan 24 Carrot Seven 24 Hour Jesus 2lil2late 33Ease 3Demon 409 59design 60 Grit 64 Megs of Ryan 69 Scoops 70 Umpa 8Baldwin 8Maha A Baby Maybe A! Abba Dash Sherry Abby Joseph Cohen Abundance Grand Acacian Spring Ace King 47 Aces Fewl Aces UPp Acrobatty.
The best approach is to ask yourself what you want from a screen name. Let’s assess the possibilities one by one, bearing in mind that there can be plenty of overlap between them.
Choose a screen name that relates to you personally
If you have no concerns about being identified you can choose your own name or parts of it, or a nickname. You may need to include numbers in this kind of screen name as there’s a good chance that your first choice will be in use already. You can add numbers to the name or replace letters with similar numbers, e.g. ‘3’ for ‘E’ and ‘5’ for ‘S’. You can also use the names of those close to you, including pets, but bear in mind privacy concerns. You can even use something self-descriptive like ‘fivebellies’ or ‘sweatynutsack’.
Choose a screen name that may tilt your opponents
There are a number of ways to do this. You can choose a name that is offensive, either to almost everybody or just to certain groups. Be careful with these though. If you go too far and use racist/sexist comments etc. you can expect them to be rescinded by the poker room. Mild examples are ‘Religion_LOL’ and ‘lol_poor people’.
Then there are the personal insults like ‘durrrr’, ‘umakemelookpro’, ‘uhaveasmallPP’, ‘MyVPIPisurIQ’, ‘B4IFURU18’, ‘Nh Wp FU’, ‘Om Nom Nom’ and ‘UPay4MyWeed’.
Another way to try to tilt opponents is to issue a challenge to them. Examples include, ‘reload_pls’, ‘YouBetIJam’, ‘NiceTrySucka’, ‘imbad-beatme’, ‘idontchinkso’.
Self-deprecating or condescending names, particularly when combined with aggressive play or chat can also be tilting. Names like, ‘relax_max’, ‘WhyDaddyDrinks’, ‘ifartinmysleep’, ‘2stuk2givafuk’, ‘CheckCallPray’, ‘TrustFundGone’ and ‘LimpinAintEasy’. Although, to be honest, most of these are more likely to elicit a chuckle rather than tilt.
Another effective way to tilt people is to misspell your chosen name. Normally you should take care that you have spelled your chosen name correctly, but if you really want to wind up a grammar nit choose a name like ‘YouLooser’ or ‘PokerProffesional’. 95% of your opponents won’t even notice – but that other 5% will have steam coming out of their ears.
Finally, a clever choice is a name like ‘2donks1flop’ which succeeds in being both critical and self-deprecating – not to mention funny.
Choose a screen name that is misleading
Most poker players are men and many believe that women are no good at poker. Therefore some male players play using a female persona. The same principle holds for certain nationalities. Many players believe that Southern European players play more emotionally and are more fishy than average. You can try to take advantage of that. e.g. ‘repopadopolis’ would be a great name for a Greek player.
Choose a screen name that is unmemorable.
You usually don’t want other players to remember you. Therefore some players will seek out names that are pretty anonymous. Maybe a common name with some numbers like ‘John2589’ or maybe just numbers, or a meaningless jumble of numbers and letters or maybe something unpronounceable using symbols. Just remember not to get carried away and make it so obscure that it becomes memorable. The same goes for avatars. Some players will choose to play without an avatar. However, if nearly all the players in your usual games play with an avatar, playing without one will only make you stand out as “that guy without an avatar.”
Choose a screen name that you find funny or interesting
This category is a kind of catch-all. It includes sports teams and players and characters from books, like ‘Isildur1’. It includes corrupted names of famous people, like ‘Cashisclay’ and ‘Fidel_Cashflow’. Also words and expressions corrupted to apply to poker terms. As you can imagine, the word ‘muck’ features a lot in these. Examples include ‘gomuckurself’, ‘shiphappens’, ‘donkeywhisperer’, ‘MuckingFaster’ and many predictable variations on the hand KJo.
You can simply use words or expressions that sound or look good. ‘ValueTowny’, ‘iclickbuttons’, ‘OMGSPLOSION’, ‘SirMucksalot’, ‘PfOaKcEeR’, ‘toadlystoned’, ‘PeppermintHippo’ and ‘BEEPBEEPIMAJEEP’ are great examples.
Names can just be funny like ‘DontRaiseImGay2’ or ‘wewaise’ (with an avatar picture of Elmer Fudd.) They can be an internet meme, such as 2plus2’s ‘THE F DO’ and ‘[ ]NameDelivers’. They can be just plain weird like ‘sexualintercoursewithdeadcats’ and ‘mydogisgay’. They can even be as obscure as a clever grammar joke such as ‘fckvwls’. Or maybe just something that sounds good, like ‘gobbledygook’ or ‘jabberwocky’.
Now choose your screen name
Ryan Fee Poker Screen Name Meaning
We hope you find some food for thought here to help you decide upon the perfect screen name for you. Most of the above names are real screen names, and we hope you agree that many are clever and funny too. So don’t just choose the first name that comes into your head. Think about the long term. You can try to be funny but not crude or juvenile, please. We’ve already got plenty of them – yes, I’m talking to you ‘Hugh G Rection’.
Above all be creative and come up with a unique name that you will be proud of for years to come.
The Upswing Poker Lab is a poker training course taught by Doug Polk and Ryan Fee. The Lab is updated regularly with in-depth learning modules, theory videos, and a wealth of information to make you a better poker player.
Live poker tables are full of limpers. As a result, learning to play effectively against limpers is a crucial part of becoming a successful live player.
In this article, I’ll break down how to react to limps from one of the most important positions: the cutoff. We’ll take a look at some general things to consider when constructing your own ranges, and then use some example ranges to serve as a rough guide.
How To Play The Cut-off Without Limpers
Before we consider our strategy against limps, we have to consider what a standard live cut-off opening range looks like. As we face three-bets at a much lower frequency in live poker, we can justify opening a fairly large range of hands. Here’s an estimated 36 percent cut-off opening range as recommended by The Poker Lab:
The way that we adjust this range against limpers depends on a number of factors:
• How loose are our opponents?
Our range should be adjusted according to the limping ranges of our opponents. If we are up against opponents that limp an extremely wide range of hands, we can raise more frequently than if we’re facing tight limpers.
• What are the stack sizes?
If there are any short-stacked players which have limped in front of us, we have to be cautious when selecting our hands to raise with. Suited connectors and weak Broadway hands will play poorly against smaller stacks, while medium to strong pocket pairs and strong Broadway combinations will do well against them. We don’t want to get limp/re-raised and have to fold often in these situations, so your range should be weighted towards stronger holdings that do well in low SPR spots.
• What positions are our opponents limping from?
The earlier the limper’s position, the tighter we should play. If we face an under-the-gun open-limp followed by a number of calls, we should consider tightening our raising range as it will be difficult to isolate players. We need to raise with hands which can play well in multiway pots by retaining their equity in them. The opposite is true for late position limps, which we can attack with a relatively wide range.
• Do our opponents have a limping AND a raising range?
Usually players that mix it up between limping and raising preflop do the same thing: they limp weak to medium-strength hands and raise with strong ones. We can easily exploit this by raising often against their weak limping range.
• What can we get away with post-flop?
Post-flop tendencies matter too. If we are up against players that often fold to continuation bets and multiple barrels, we can exploit them by raising a wide range over their limps. Conversely, if our opponents are calling stations and float with a very broad range of hands, we should consider tailoring our range to being more value-heavy.
• How often will we get preflop folds?
If our opponents will limp/fold frequently, raising from later positions with a wide range will be profitable as we can scoop up dead money.
• Will we get limp/re-raised or three-bet often?
If the limper has shown a tendency to limp/re-raise, we should tighten our raising ranges. Because preflop raises will be larger when there are numerous limpers in the pot, three-bets will usually be bigger as a result. This means that you will not be able to defend call the three-bet as often, so you will need to tighten your raising range to avoid over-folding to three-bets. (This is rare in live poker, but adjust accordingly if you notice that it is happening.)
Playing Our Range Versus ‘Standard’ Limping Ranges
Once we’ve considered these factors, we can begin to decide how we can most appropriately play our range. Against a ‘standard’ limping range, the range outlined below will be a good starting point:
The hands in red will function as profitable raises against a normal limping range. The suited connectors included will realise their equity very well, whilst our Broadway combinations are strong enough to bet for value post-flop. The hands in pink can be either raised with or called with depending upon the dynamic of the table.
Playing Our Range Versus Tight Limping Ranges
The tighter range below can be used when you are up against tighter opponents, shorter stacks or are being aggressively three-betted:
Playing Our Range Versus Loose Limping Ranges
Against a field which is limping a wide range of hands, we can raise a wide range of hands profitably from the cutoff. A number of suited connectors are included in this raising range as they will realise their equity well.
Remember, when developing a strategy versus limpers from late positions, you must consider the following:
• How loose are our opponents?
• What are the stack sizes?
• What positions are our opponents limping from?
• Do our opponents have a limping AND a raising range?
• What can we get away with post-flop?
• How often will we get preflop folds?
• Will we get limp/re-raised or cold three-betted often?
The ranges included here can be used as a guideline when building your own. Remember to be fluid in these ranges and change them accordingly to the dynamic of the table. ♠
Online Poker Screen Name
Philadelphia native Ryan Fee is one of the top poker minds in the game today, with a WSOP bracelet and more than $3 million in live tournament earnings. Fee is also a lead instructor at UpswingPoker.com. The Upswing Poker Lab is a poker training course updated regularly with in-depth learning modules, theory videos and a wealth of information to make you a better poker player.
Sign up for the Upswing Poker Lab today for step-by-step instructions and examples to master both the fundamental theories and situational exploits to greatly increase your skill and earnings.