Online Poker: Interview With 'Andy McLEOD'

No top-10 list would be complete without the screen name of online poker superstar "Andy McLEOD" on it. The Card Player Online Player of the Year (OPOY) standings are no different, with him currently sitting in the No. 3 spot with 3,932 points. Andy McLEOD (his name on PokerStars), who also plays under the screen names TheFatFISH (Full Tilt), Mike HUSSEY (Bodog), Brad JOHNSON (UltimateBet), and JAMESCLEMENT (Absolute Poker), has taken down six OPOY-qualified tournaments so far this year, and has made six OPOY-qualified final tables, in addition. His total winnings from OPOY events alone come to more than $350,000 for 2007.

Despite all of his success so far in online poker, he's still managed to remain relatively low-profile. His real name is known by very few (we know it, but we're not tellin'), and he'd like to keep it that way. Card Player recently convinced this incredibly good, incredibly mysterious player to do a strategy-only interview.


Shawn Patrick Green: 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.

SPG: 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.

SPG: 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.

SPG: 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.

SPG: 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.

SPG: 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.

SPG: 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.