What Your Screen-name Says About Your Poker Game

For most of us there is really no rhyme or reason to why we pick a certain online poker handle; maybe it’s an important date in our lives lie Steve62309; maybe it’s your college mascot; or perhaps it’s just a funny play on words. So, while I put very little stock in a player’s ability relative to their screen-name there are a few exceptions that are quite often a good indicator of the person’s poker skills.

The Good Players

Typically I’ll respect any player with the following screen-names until they prove that I have overestimated their ability:

• Any player with a non-Holdem poker game, or reference, in their screen-name like Stud8Pro, AA doublesuited, and OmahaLover.

The reason I say is this because most people are introduced to poker through Texas Holdem, so if their screen-name is something poker related it will usually have to do with Holdem. If their screen-name contains a reference to Stud or Omaha games, it’s very likely they are proficient in that form of poker, or at the very least experienced.

• Any player who uses current poker slang, or advanced poker speak, in their screen-name like floattheflop, HU for Rollz, steam raise, seat open, or 3bet_range

If a player is even familiar with the term float or 3-bet, chances are they have some poker knowledge, since these are not common terms you might hear on TV. And if they use slang commonly heard on poker forums then they are definitely boning up on their game.

• Any player who chooses a derogatory screen-name like ActionDonkey, Live One, or ImaFish

The great thing about bad players is that very few of them realize they are bad! So it’s unlikely that a player would choose a derogatory screen-name unless they are trying to fool you. This is doubly true if the term is from the forums or obscure.

The Bad Players

• Any player with the following numbers in their screen-name, 420 or 69

My guess is that most of the players choosing these numbers at the end of their screen-name are under the age of 18. The ones over 18 are likely to be stoned -if they use 420-or are really immature -if they still giggle at when they hear the number 69. Of course, you’ll get a few people who just use these numbers arbitrarily, but for the most part you can classify 420’s and 69’s as fishies.

• Any player who uses a character, or reference, from the movie Rounders in their screen-name

This could be the most reliable of all the screen-names; anyone with a KGB, Worm, or Mike McD in their name learned their poker game from Rounders. So, if you run into a player named “WomenAreTheRake” or some other reference from the movie just go ahead and add them to your friend list.