High Stakes Pro John "Nicolak" Kim Joins CardRunners

John "Nicolak" Kim has been a winning professional poker for over ten years. The poker community started to take notice of him after he posted about his life as a pro in this Two Plus Two forum thread. About two months ago he joined Jeremiah Smith as the co-host of Cash Plays. He will be making high stakes videos for CR, and his first video is $5-$10 six-max NLHE. He is also answering questions for members in his Well in the forums.

Where are you from? Where do you live now?
I grew up in Oxnard, a city near Los Angeles.  Now my family and I live in Las Vegas.

How did you originally learn poker?

I learned the game back in high school and even got called into the principal's office for playing cards...I guess I had it in my blood early on.  I took the game seriously back in 1998 while living up in Vancouver, Canada.  As an American living in Canada (waiting for my wife's immigration papers) I needed a way to make some money and decided to give poker a shot.

What games/stakes are you playing right now?

Online, mostly $2-$4 to $5-$10 6max nl but I like to dabble in all forms of poker whenever I'm in the mood, from mix games, tournaments, to plo.  Live, $5-$10 to $25-$50 nl w/ the occasional tournament.

What qualities do you possess that contribute most to your success?

I think I have to say humility, awareness, and emotional control.  Humility to understand that I'm never too good for the game and need to constantly keep getting better to keep up w/ the kids nowadays (man I sound old), awareness of the landscape of poker and how it's changing all the time, also being aware of everything going on at the tables, and emotional control to allow me to keep playing my A game constantly even during the bad streaks.

What are some current trends in the cash games you're playing? Dying trends?

Current trends are 4betting light, turning made hands into bluffs, and polarizing on the flop.  Dying trends are hu games, higher stakes games, and players on tilt (we need more of those!).

Describe your game selection process?

Almost none at $2-$4 and $3-$6 NL but I check the lineups at $5-$10 and higher, mostly by my notes and history w/ the players sitting on the tables.

Do you prefer cash or tournaments? Why?

This might surprise some but I prefer tournaments.  I play mostly cash games because it's the greatest and most consistent source of income for me but I enjoy the finish line aspect of tournaments.  Also I remember the elation I felt when I won a tournament for 6 figures (twice!).

What's been your poker highlight?

I'd point out my $250k win in a Party Poker tournament back in 2005 as my single best highlight.  Overall though I'd say the fact that I was able to win more money every year 10 years in a row from 1998 to 2008 as my best poker achievement.  I decided to take it easy in 2009 after the decade of poker.

Tell us more about your two six-figure tournament wins.

The first one was back in 2005 on Party Poker.  It was a $640 buyin and was considered the sunday million before the stars sunday million came along.  I started the final table as chipleader and was fortunate enough to take it all the way for the win and $250k.  The second one was in 2007 and I won the first FTP $750 guaranteed on a sunday for $132k.  I have the final table recorded so maybe I'll make it a video sometime.

Do you play many live tournaments? Tell us about your most recent cash.

I usually stick to the WSOP when it comes to live tournaments because I don't travel much due to family obligations.  As for my recent cash, it was a small main event at the Hard Rock w/ the buyin being $550.  I finished a disappointing 3rd (because I wanted to win it!) for $25k.  I had just come off a decent WSOP where I cashed in 5 out of 17 events including a $23k cash in the main event but no bracelets so I was at least hoping to win the Hard Rock main event.

What online tournaments do you play?

I usually stick to the tournaments on Sundays because that's the day the major tournaments are on.  I play about 10-15 tournaments spread across stars and FTP every Sunday.  Also primarily being a cash game player I stick to the cash games the other days of the week.  I haven't been playing on Sundays lately because of football.

What aspects of your cash game contribute most to your tournament success?

Obviously being able to play well postflop is a big key to my success since most tournament players lack some of the fundamentals in postflop play.  I think a lot of tournament players know how to play preflop so I don't have much of an edge there, if at all.  Also being experienced at shorthanded play has helped a lot.  Besides playing 6max, I play 2-4 handed a lot so that's helped me win tournaments when I make final tables.

What are some changes you make when you're playing tournaments v. cash? Some differences in how you approach?

The main thing is that I try to have fun because I look at tournaments as a break from my daily routine of cash games.   I don't use a HUD as well, mainly because I'm on my laptop when I play tournaments and don't have a HUD set up there.  I also look at tournaments as a bonus if I win anything since cash games pay the bills so I never get stressed out if I run bad in tournaments.  As for actual play, just like in any form of poker I try to make the best decision at the moment and not worry about the actual results.

How did you end up as the host of Cash Plays?

I met the host Jeremiah Smith at a church here in Vegas through a mutual friend and we hit it off.  He was good at talking and I was good at poker so it felt like a good match for a poker podcast.

How did UIGEA impact you as a player, and what are your thoughts on the current legislative landscape for online poker professionals?

I hated the UIGEA.  Not only did it make the games much tougher but it made it a hassle to move money around from poker sites to your bank accounts and vice versa.  Most people may not know this but Neteller was so convenient and easy to use.  As for the current landscape, it's mostly a wait and see approach.  I know that HR2267 was passed in it's initial stages and hopefully that bill goes all the way to legalize online poker.  I'm also an advocate in doing what we can as poker players to legalize online poker, whether that's joining the PPA or writing to your congressmen.
 
What are some concepts you plan to cover in your videos? What else can CR members expect?

I'm going to try to focus on postflop play mostly.  My game is tailored more to postflop play as I like to see a lot of flops.  I'll discuss ways to outthink and stay 1 level ahead of the other regs in the games because that's essentially what's necessary to beat mid to higher stakes games nowadays.  Also I'll relay thoughts and insight on not only how to beat the games today, but for the long run.

Favorite

Food: Sushi and pho...did you know Las Vegas has the most sushi restaurants in America?

Restaurant: Hot N Juicy Crawfish.  I only eat the shrimp and crab though.

TV show: The League (comedy centered around fantasy football).  Also I'm a closet American Idol fan.

Band: Nirvana, Aerosmith and NWA

Book: Golf for Dummies

Poker Player: Brunson for paving the way.  Ivey for being able to get away w/ degeneracy.