Spotlight on...Julie

Julie had some great answers to my 5 questions. I am not sure I'd want all of her pros at my table at once, but I'd love to play with a couple of them.

I haven't played much cash with Julie but she is certainly an excellent tourney player. We've seen her chalk up win after win in the CPMG, and even a few decent online cashes. She has also begun to host games at her place, and I promise to get to one of them as soon as Dave's game is done for the summer.

She also happens to be a killer baker. Best lemon squares I ever had!

Name: Julie Thomas
Nickname: diverjoules, bootsie, homeslyce, jari.. i have a few..
Occupation: As/400 Programmer Analyst
Age: too old to remember thank God
Hometown: Grew up in Olmsted Falls, have lived in Fairview Park for 25 years
Hobbies other than poker: Scuba Diving, boating, swimming

1. What was your first CPMG experience? (please include when/where, how you came to join the group, etc.)

Well, I played cash at EddieJ's for at least a good 6 months or so before trying my hand the first Tourney I remember. It was Pyxis Labor Day tourney in 2007. What a total thrill it was for me. Meeting all sorts of new people and playing poker. I can remember asking Monsignor if he was a comedian, because he had me laughing so much. I ended up cashing for 3rd place and could not have been more pleased. And of course from then on I was hooked for sure. I had been playing cash games in Vegas/Detroit since 2004. But finding the CPMG was really the best thing that has happened to my game. There are many good players in this group. And many of them have been kind enough to help me improve my game. Okay you can quit laughing while you sit there and think I have not improved. But I know that I have. I really cannot recall though, how I stumbled upon the group in general. I think it must have been thru Eddie, but I cannot recall how I found him either. Side affects of old age.. LOL

2. How do you manage your bankroll?

I would love to say that I have a bankroll strictly for poker but alas I do not. I always have poker money set aside, but I often (way too often) have dipped into those winnings, to pay bills, put gas in our boat, or buy things I clearly don't need like poker tables and chips and chairs. LOL. Since I do have a job (for the time being anyway) I know that I do not have to strictly rely on my Poker Bankroll to play poker. Should it go to zero I would easily use my own money to buy into whatever I was interested in.

3. What pro player do you think you play like?

Hmm man that is a tuff question. Tuff in that I clearly play like NO PRO or I would have a big bankroll to manage. :-) But I will say that I really like Erik Siedel, and Chris Ferguson. Believe it or not, I still watch tv poker and try to learn something new from each viewing. Just as when playing in the CPMG. I am always trying to improve my game. Otherwise it would not be as fun for me. If I get bored, I get antsy and that leads to erratic negative play. So staying focused is really important to me. And Erik and Chris seem to emulate that in their play.

4. Describe the range of hands you like to play

Well that would have to be defined as in the realm of Cash or Tourneys. Cash games, I am much more willing to gamble a bit with, because you can always reload if you so choose. But I would say that I certainly play tighter than many of the action junkies of the CPGM. I understand the value of suited connectors vs pocket pairs and betting patterns of those in the game. I sometimes find it easier to pick up betting patterns in cash games than I do in tourneys. Tourneys to me are a whole nother ball game. Which is why it is fun to do both. In tourneys the hands I play really depend on the position I am. OOP I will fold almost all non 10 starting hands. Unless it is one of the rare times I try to take a stab at a pot. But doing that with minor hands OOP is just not my style. Since we (CPMG) rarely play with antes there is usually not a lot of +EV to be had with doing that very often. Antes of course change the play of a game, in the later stages of tournament. Stealing becomes a necessity for survival. So I can't say I have favorite hands (besides AA of course), but I would always like to have position.


5.What pro player(s) would you most like to have at your table?

Erik Seidel, Chris Ferguson, Howard Lederer, Phil Laak, Clonie Gowan, Doyle Brunson.. I would think I died and gone to poker heaven.. LOL