Online Player of the Year Spotlight: Jordan “Jymaster11” Young

Jordan “Jymaster11” Young has had an up-and-down year. He’s been up online and down in live play. Despite his struggles in the brick-and-mortar arena, you can’t ignore the success that he’s had on the virtual felt. The 23-year-old has dominated online tournaments this year to the tune of nearly $600,000.

In August, Young made headlines when he took down two Sunday majors on the same night, earning a combined $240,000 for winning the $750,000 Guaranteed and Sunday Brawl tournaments on Full Tilt Poker. In this interview, Young explains the obstacles that he encountered on his way to tournament success, and why he’s poised to stay at the top for years to come.

Julio Rodriguez: What was poker like for you when you were first picking up the game at Michigan State University?

Jordan Young: I was really horrible with bankroll management. I would play $1-$2 or $2-$5 cash games in various home games and charity rooms, and run up $10,000 bankrolls, only to lose them within a week. I think I did that close to 50 times. The older players in the games knew that I was good, so they’d loan me some money. I’d build it up, pay them back, and lose the rest. It was a continuous cycle throughout my first two years in college. This may sound sick, but I had a lot of fun during those times, building up a roll and then “degening” it away. It was kind of a sick thrill, and ultimately, a good learning experience.

JR: What about online poker?

JY: At the start of my third year, I made the switch to online poker and quit school. I started grinding 90-man sit-and-gos, and that was enough to at least pay the bills and get by. My family wasn’t happy, obviously, but I loved poker so much that I was determined to make it work for me. I was playing mostly $20 tournaments here and there before I finally made my first big score. I finished third in a mini-FTOPS event on Full Tilt for about $30,000. That was an unreal amount of money to me, and it really gave me a lot of breathing room.

I started racking up scores after that, including a bunch of $10,000 wins and cashes. Two months later, I won the $150,000-guaranteed event on PokerStars for close to $58,000. That’s when I knew that I had turned a corner with my game.

JR: How would you describe your playing style?

JY: My complete disregard for money is certainly reflected in my playing style. People have told me that I play like I’m crazy, and I can’t really disagree with them. I’ve completely disconnected myself from the emotional side of poker tournaments, and that enables me to make moves that other players would never even consider.

JR: You mentioned that you turned a corner with your game. Was there any key concept that you picked up along the way that pushed you in the right direction?

JY: The biggest “aha” moment for me came when I discovered the power of the three-bet. I learned very early on that I could get through a tournament by raising like crazy and taking down a bunch of small uncontested pots, but it got hard for me whenever I came across a player who was willing to play back at me. It got to the point where people were refusing to fold third pair to me, and they were right to do so. Finally, I realized that I could three-bet, getting more respect and having a greater chance of success, and that would keep me ahead of the blinds. You can sit there and fold for an entire orbit, then three-bet a preflop raiser in position, and all of a sudden, it’s like you opened three pots. It’s a much quieter way to be aggressive. That was a big deal for me, becoming aware of my own image and learning to counter people’s expectations.

After that, I graduated to four- and five-betting players, because they eventually caught on to what I was doing. If you do it enough, you begin to see spots where you know that your success rate is high. When I play now, I’m always looking for those spots, and they are becoming easier and easier to recognize.

JR: Is there ever a time when you play tight?

JY: I’m a super nit pre-ante. People don’t realize how tight I play when there are no antes on the table. It’s because I know that when they do hit, I’ll be fine, even if I have only 15 big blinds. I’m so aggressive with my steal attempts that it’s almost as if the tournament doesn’t really start until the antes hit. Then, I know that my edge kicks in.

JR: Any bad habits that you had to get rid of?

JY: I was set-mining way too often. Now, if someone makes it three times the big blind in front of me and there are no callers, I have no problem with dumping small or medium pocket pairs if I’m out of position, even if we’re both deep. The old argument was that you should call for the implied odds, but I just don’t think those odds exist like they did four or five years ago. Players are too good, and you won’t be getting paid off when you hit. You are going to flop that set only about 12 percent of the time, so more often than not, you are just throwing money away in that situation. That’s not to say that you shouldn’t be calling or even raising with those hands, but playing them strictly for set value is something that you should be wary of.

JR: You had an amazing Sunday in early August, winning both the Full Tilt $750,000 Guaranteed and Sunday Brawl events, for a combined $240,000. Can you talk about that day?

JY: I’ve always felt that I could win one of those tournaments, but it just wasn’t happening. That Sunday, it all just came together. It’s a great feeling when everything is clicking on all cylinders and working how it should. I felt that I was in the zone that day, and it showed when I won both of those tournaments. It couldn’t have come at a better time, to be honest. I was determined to do well at the World Series of Poker this summer, but I ended up bricking everything. I wound up losing about 75 percent of my roll.

When I got home, I had to get a backer if I wanted to continue to live comfortably and without the immediate pressure to win. My buddy Mike Telker (“CuteIsWhatIAim4”) backed me for 17 days, and during that stretch, I won about $290,000. After that, I started playing for myself again and won the $150 rebuy event for close to $80,000. Just recently, I agreed to a backing deal with Chris Moorman (“moorman1”) that includes both online and live tournaments. I don’t have the bankroll for live tournaments, not many people do, but I think I can do well in them. So, I decided that I’d exchange part of my online action for a shot at these bigger events. We’ll see what happens.

2010 Online Player of the Year Standings
Rank Name OPOY Points 2010 Winnings
1 Chris “Getting Daize” Oliver 9,044 $829,150
2 Casey “bigdogpckt5s” Jarzabek 8,934 $710,226
3 Aditya “Intervention” Agarwal 8,272 $728,238
4 “kirbynator” 8,178 $1,089,769
5 Raj “BadcardsAA” Vohra 7,844 $1,206,474
6 Steve “gboro780” Gross 7,684 $806,794
7 Taylor “ambiguosity” Paur 7,598 $843,150
8 Mark “dipthrong” Herm 7,532 $756,811
9 “mralan2950” 7,486 $755,599
9 Chris “cdbr3799” Dombrowski 7,486 $803,085