Interview With Online Poker Player Cory \"Ozone23\" Albertson

Cory 'Ozone23' Albertson has had a lot of success in the Bodog Poker Room and we got him to talk a little bit about how he's done it and why he loves Bodog's $100K Guaranteed tourneys so darn much. (Bodog Beat Image)"]

With hundreds of online poker players turning out every week, making the final table of Bodog Poker's Sunday $100,000 Guaranteed is no easy feat. So, to make the final table four different times and to place second on three of those occasions takes some doing and some serious poker skills, something that Bodog regular Cory "Ozone23" Albertson seems to have in spades.

We got in touch with Cory to ask him how he's been so successful in this event, why he loves Bodog and his plans for the WSOP this summer.

Bodog Beat (BB): When did you start playing on Bodog?

Cory "Ozone23" Albertson: I started playing on Bodog a little over two years ago and have been playing poker for about six years.

BB: What was your initial deposit and how have you grown it over the years?

Ozone23: I don't recall the exact amount of my initial deposit, probably something like $200, but I remember that I actually deposited with the intent to bet on sports. Since I had money in my account, eventually it seemed only natural to check out some of the poker action as well.

BB: Do you mostly play cash or tourneys? What stakes cash? Preferred tourney buy-in level?

Ozone23: I play almost exclusively tournaments. It takes a lot of hard work and discipline to play cash games for a consistent profit. I have a lot of respect for guys who can do it; I'm not one of them. Regarding tournament buy-ins, I pretty much only play stuff with a buy-in of $100 or more.

BB: Favorite players on Bodog?

Ozone23: Anyone who isn't very good at poker! Haha... I don't really know any of the Bodog players well enough to consider them favorites of mine. I know 'ari' a little bit away from the tables. He is a very nice guy. I'm also acquainted with 'skeptix' and 'zurswierding'.

BB: Why do you like the $100K Guaranteed Tournaments so much?

Ozone23: I like the $100K for a couple reasons. First, and most important, it has a fairly sizable overlay every week. In the recent second place finish I had for $15,000, I actually would have only won about $7,700 for that finish; about $7,200 of it was overlay money. Also, I've found that the competition in the $100K tends to be a little weaker than what you find at other online poker rooms.

BB: Why do you think you have been so successful in the $100K Guaranteed, reaching the final table four times?

Ozone23: I think there are a few answers to that question. First of all, I've played this tournament nearly every week for almost two and a half years now. With that type of volume, some degree of success is almost inevitable. Another big reason is that, like I said, the competition tends to be pretty soft. And finally, it always helps to run hot and I can definitely say that I have historically ran hot in the $100K.

BB: Do you have a strategy specifically for the Guaranteed $100k?

Ozone23: There's no strategy I have for the $100K that differs too much from the strategy I have in any other tournament. The structure in the $100K is actually a little faster than the structure for online tournaments at other sites. So with that in mind, the $100K dictates a little more of a pure shove-or-fold strategy toward the end in my opinion. But otherwise I just try to play patient, smart, aggressive, and then hope to get lucky!

BB: How frustrated are you by finishing second three times? ;-) Result of bad beats/suck outs or genuinely up against a good player and it could have gone either way?

Ozone23: My initial reaction to finishing second each time was frustration. You play poker tournaments to win, and so when you lose heads-up on three seperate occasions with $10K-$12K on the line, it's easy to feel demoralized afterwards. But I just try to remind myself that three 2nds are much better than a win and a couple of 7th place finishes or whatever. And usually by the time you reach heads-up in the $100K, the average stack size is 20 big blinds or less, so there's a pretty large degree of parity in play.

BB: Was there a key hand in this last tournament that you felt propelled you to the final table or the final two?

Ozone23: I usually have about six to ten other tournaments going when I'm in the $100K, so it's hard to recall any specific hands. But it's safe to say that you inevitably have to win a couple of big coin flips en route to the final table of the $100K.

BB: You are heading to the WSOP (saw on your blog), which events are you planning on playing?

Ozone23: I'll almost certainly play the Main Event and the $1,000 buy-in 'Stimulus Special' (in which they're expecting over 5,000 players). Aside from that, I don't have any concrete plans for any tournaments. I'm just going to take it day to day and play whatever is available when I feel like playing. I think a mistake a lot of players make at the WSOP is committing themselves to playing some arbitrary schedule of events, and then getting totally burnt out three weeks into the series. There's so much to be said for keeping some balance in your life at the WSOP and even "getting the hell out of dodge" for a few days if necessary.

BB: Have you tried qualifying for the ME through Bodog?

Ozone23: Yea I definitely helped fund the WSOP dreams of others to the tune of a couple thousand last year in the Bodog satellites. I'm sure I'll play more of them this year. The $270 buy-in qualifier on Sunday is a great tournament (albeit very frustrating since usually only one or two people win).

BB: Have you qualified previously?

Ozone23: I've played in the Main Event in each of the last two years. In both instances, I failed to win a seat and had to buy-in directly.

BB: Who would be playing at your dream table?

Ozone23: For the most part, I would just want a bunch of fishy players. I've been around the game long enough that a lot of the marque pros have lost their luster in my eyes. There are still a few guys though, such as Phil Hellmuth and Daniel Negreanu, that I think would be pretty cool to play against just because of their sheer entertainment value. After all, what's the point of playing poker if you can't have a little fun along the way?

If you want to get in on the action of Bodog Poker's $100k Guaranteed online poker tournament, head over to the Bodog Poker room and qualify for as little as $1 with the $100k Cheap Seats qualifiers, or buy directly into the event every Sunday at 4pm ET for $100 + $9.