Introducing New Pro: RonFar3

RonFar3 is a 25 year old professional poker player from Calgary. He is a SuperNova Elite on PokerStars and a regular at the 100NL Full-Ring Games. He's played several million hands and is known for his steady game while playing 24-tables simultaneously.  He releases the first of his multi-part series on Full Ring Theory and Practice today.

What games/stakes are you primarily playing? How did you end up playing mainly full ring?

I play anywhere from 100NL to 600NL full ring NLHE on Stars, with the bulk of my volume being at 100NL and 200NL. I suppose I ended up playing full ring simply because when I started to get into online poker, the learning material I found was for full ring and I haven't found a compelling reason to switch. I do occasionally dabble in HU NLHE and 6max PLO.

What games/stakes have you played in the past, or are you currently breaking into?

I started my online poker adventure in February of 2008 at 25NL. At this point, my poker experiences had been entirely live 1/2. Fortunately I had good results at 25NL and moved up to 50NL in April. By June of 2008 I had moved up to 100NL. Since then I slowly started mixing in 200NL, and more recently 400NL and 600NL games. I wouldn't say I'm necessarily trying to "break into" any higher stakes currently, I basically just look for games where I have a solid edge.

How many years have you been SNE?

Last year was my first as a Supernova Elite. I don't intend to repeat this year, but could very possibly go for it again should the game quality at Stars improve.

What drives you to achieve that status?

I think the goal of Supernova Elite was extremely important for me personally, as I turned pro to start 2009 solely to chase the status. More than anything I was driven by the financial benefits and lower risk associated when compared to trying to play less volume of higher stakes. It also gave me a goal that required a huge amount of dedication in terms of time commitment, which I think helped make certain I didn't abuse the newfound freedoms of being a professional poker player

What is the key to being a successful grinder? 

Discipline, a strong understanding of fundamentals, sustaining focus, and tilt control are key. I think it's also important to use the tools available to you in order to help make your play more efficient - thing like TableNinja or similar AHK scripts are most definitely difference makers in addition to knowing how to use your HUD effectively. 

Do you discuss hands? How did you build up your network of poker friends?

I do discuss hands. The majority of my poker friends are actually just existing friends who happen to like poker. A few became interested in the game after they saw the success I enjoyed. My best friend has been playing as long as I have, and I have coached him informally for the past two years or so. He's had some solid success at 50NL and 100NL full ring NLHE on Stars.

Can you talk about an interesting cash hand you played recently? This will give CR members an insight into how you think about poker.

I actually broke down a really interesting hand in my last blog entry. I think the break down might be a bit on the long side, but I'll take my chances and drop it in anyway:
 
PokerStars No-Limit Hold'em, $2.00 BB (8 handed)
Button ($326.60)
SB ($335.65)
BB ($353.20)
Hero (UTG) ($204.60)
UTG+1 ($494.60)
MP1 ($504.75)
MP2 ($247.15)
CO ($500)

Preflop: Hero is UTG with 10♠, 10♦
Hero bets $9, 2 folds, MP2 calls $9, CO calls $9, 3 folds

This is a 100-250bb deep ante table, which explains my 4.5bb open size. MP2 is a loose passive fish, and CO is a very LAG reg who runs around 21/19 with a 8% 3bet in my database. He's a break even player at best and semi spewy, but I'm confident he understands things like showdown value.

Flop: ($33.20) 3♣, 7♦, 2♣ (3 players)
Hero bets $23, 1 fold, CO calls $23

Standard value cbet against the fish, who unfortunately folds but the reg calls. Reg folds to cbets 55% over the sample I have, and given my range is strong here leading into a loose/passive station on a low board, I doubt he's floating here very often. That being said, he loves to 3b and would have very likely squeezed QQ and definitely KK+. He likes to raise flops as well, and would probably be raising sets nearly always and the nut flush draw at least some of the time. So, his range looks a lot like 88-JJ, club draws, and straight draws. He can definitely have hand like 45 in his range here, he's very loose.

Turn: ($79.20) K♦ (2 players)
Hero checks, CO bets $44, Hero calls $44

Given my thoughts regarding his range on the flop, this is the real decision point for the hand. I can't really bet for value and would definitely hate life if I bet and got shoved on, so I check. Because his range has a lot of draws that will bet here, and he's likely to check back 99-JJ, I elect to c/c. If we c/c we really should be committing ourselves to call a blank river. There is also the possibility that he binked a pair with KcXc, so it's not a fistpump call by any means.

River: ($167.20) J♦ (2 players)
Hero checks, CO bets $130, Hero calls $128.20 (All-In)

He shoved the river rather quickly, and I timed all the way down thinking about what made sense, as during the actual hand I hadn't thought through my turn play as well as I should have. I'm 90% sure he's checking back all of his one pair hands here on the river - and that polarizes his range a ton. If he didn't slow play a set on the flop and he's not shoving a KcXc one pair hand, then his range is almost all missed draws we beat, the only two hands that beat us being KcJc and 4d5d. Thus, I decide to be a hero. It's interesting to note that while I would most probably play AA the same way, given the break down and my willingness to make a big call here he probably should be shoving a hand like KcQc for thin value and to add more combos to his "non-air" range at the river. 

Total pot: $423.60 | Rake: $3

Results:
Hero had 10♠, 10♦ (one pair, tens).
CO had 8♣, 6♣ (high card, King).
Outcome: Hero won $420.60 

What's your biggest poker achievement? non poker achievement?

My biggest poker achievement is most definitely reaching SNE status in 2009 - it took serious dedication. Outside of poker this is a tough question. I bought a house last year that I'm very proud of, but I'm not certain that qualifies as an achievement. I did invest 4 years of work into my Software Engineering degree, but I wouldn't say I'm so much proud of it as an accomplishment as that it would have been an extreme failure had I somehow bombed out or not finished it.

Do you play live?
 
I very rarely play live anymore, though due to my SNE status I did end up playing the PCA ME and EPT: MC Grand Final ME this year. I cashed in the latter and got to spend an enjoyable 10 hours on Chris Moneymaker's left chatting about all sorts of things to dull the boredom of live poker. Good guy.

What are some hobbies outside poker?

I play a lot of video games, primarily console RPGs and PC MMORPGs. I guess now that poker is my profession, my former profession of software development would also qualify as a hobby. I enjoy playing hockey and tennis. I'm a devout fan of NHL hockey and NFL football, I live and die by the Calgary Flames and New England Patriots.

Favorite:

book?
 
The entire Wheel of Time series by Robert Jordan.

movie?
 
Serenity.

tv show?
 
Tough to pick just one so I won't! All of Joss Whedon's shows (BtVS, Angel, Firely, Dollhouse), The Simpsons, and American Dad!

food?
 
Sushi. If you'd told me seven years ago that this would be my answer I'd have called you a liar.

city?
 
I love where I live, but that's such a boring answer. I'll go with London, England, because I've been there recently and have family there.

sport?
 
Hockey. I'm Canadian, what did you expect?