The stress of life

I am flying back from a business trip. Not an ordinary business trip, mind you, but a high stress one. My company was just acquired by a very large organization and I am giving some of my new peers a tour of some of the facilities. All the time realizing that they are sizing up what has to be sized down. I try not to let negative thoughts about the future creep into my thinking. After all, I am good at what I do, I am marketable, and I would also be an asset to the new overlords. But that does not mean its not incredibly stressful.

So, I am leaving the restroom stall at the airport and I notice... (how do I put this delicately), that my excrement is bright red. As I wash up and exit, dark thoughts swim through my head. Has my career stress finally gotten to me? Did I stress myself into cancer? Should I panic?

Rational thought tells me to dismiss this all, but very recently I had an uncle die a year after being diagnosed with massive colon cancer. The first time he went to go see a doctor (which was long overdue) was due to a similar event.

I try reading on the plane to keep my thoughts elsewhere and additionally rationalizing that tomorrow, when no repeat occurred, that it was all my imagination. A trick of the light in the room. But I finished my book early. Possibly due to an unconscious attempt to read faster than normal. Back to pondering and thinking...

As the plane prepares to land, I had a TV moment. A scene played out as if I was in the closing scenes of a movie. I am sitting on a quiet plane, waiting for the gear to touchdown, and I start to laugh. It must have seemed to anyone watching that I thought of something funny, or I had an epiphany. And I did...

The day before I left, while in an online tournament, I ate an entire bag of RED pistachios.

Donkey Challenge update

I am ALMOST there. On Poker Stars, I have worked my $200 to over $500. If I hit $600, I actually HIT the Donkey Challenge requirements!! On FT, I play too many blogger events and not much else, so my bankroll is -40% instead of +40%. I am way behind there.

Thanks to http://www.mattahfahtu.com for reminding me to update everyone. And further props to him for posted Donkey Challenge #2, the SnG army. Play 10 $5 SnG and cash in at least 7 of them. Keep going until you can do it at the $30 SnG level. (I am going to skip the "restart" rule, as I think it takes long enough as it is)

In addition, I think any game qualifies, not just NLHE. I agree, no turbos.

WPBT Event #2

Is Sunday at 9pm EST and its PLO. I will NOT be able to attend as I will still be on a plane to California. :( (maybe a post and fold for points?)

Although its bloggers only, its a great tournament to be a railbird. Fun chat, lots of hammer dropping and donkey punching. What more could you ask for?

Let's all be friends

Welcome my new sponsor Pokker Cards (http://www.pokkercards.com/)

And if you got here some method other than the Columbo One Minute Mystery, then you are missing the best and longest running poker podcast in the nation, Ante-up!
http://myspace.com/anteuppoker for more information
or listen at http://www.tampabay.com/podcasts/player/anteup/index.shtml

In poker news:
I blew the chip lead in the hoy last night, but I had it coming. I misplayed two big hands, and when you play with the big guns, you had better know how to shoot. BUT, I feel my game has now moved to the next level and I feel like I finally "get it". I no longer have to rely on "playing by the book" or the hipocracy of playing correctly. I have moved past that now and can actually implement better strategy that I have learned in my journey. Pressure Points, image manipulation, forcing your opponent to disclose their strength, etc.

Cash-o-holic

I played in my local 3 table MTT montly game last night and cahsed for the 3rd straight month. (1st, 1st, 4th). I feel my game is progressing very well, as I am cashing in even more difficult weekly games like the Hoy. If I can get good at cashing at a large field, like the 60-90 player WWdN or the Mookie (like the Hoy a VERY tough field), I will have to consider finally moving up levels.

But then again, who can move up levels without building a bankroll as it is still neigh impossible to make a deposit anywhere.

I dont think my aggression has been particularly good, and my stud game is still a work in progress, but my trapping has been very good as of late. Apparently I have a gift for looking weak ;)

I had some great hands from last night, one if which will be a OMM episode! I think you'll find it a real thinker!

But I can tell you this. I REALLY seemed to have pissed someone off last night. I am not sure who, but neither scenario was anything but excellent from me. (IMHO)

1st Scenario: I am card dead for a long time, but we are 7 handed, so I decide to try a "test". If I raise UtG, could I isolate or steal the blinds. THIS IS AN IMPORTANT TEST. You should be running this test once a level (I learned this from Phil Gordon). Always know, at each level, your steal options. So, I raise UtG with 74s knowing darn well I am in trouble if anyone raises or I get alot of action. Folds around to the monster stack and after thinking he calls. Now this is a horrible play by him for 2 reasons, and good for 1 reasons. Its bad because he should be looking to pick on short stacks with 1/3 of the field already eliminated. And 2, he could have just raised. It was good, however, in that he had position. The others fold. So, I know my place for the level and I am satisfied. I expect to lose the hand and move on with my button coming up. But a funny thing happens. The flop is 44Q. Oops. I hit a big one and there is no way he has a 4 here. I weak check, and after looking at me and assuming I cant have a 4 because I raised UtG, he makes a RECKLESS move and pushes all in! WHY? I suspect he thought I had a pair and he was looking to accumulate chips with his AQ TPTK. Most idiots would call with their JJ and send their chips his way. That's, I suspect, how he got that stack. But I HAD the 4 and insta-called. He actually mouthed the word "what", and after the cards dealt out and the chips pushed to me, said "I figured you could not have a 4 pushing from EP". I did not say anything, but who pushes his monster stack into a pot of basically 7 big bets!?!?!?

The second one was final table. 5 players left I think (pays 5). I am again making a steal with 36s. I had position with the button, the two players on my right folded, and the SB was short stacked but could get away, so I figured he would. I was wrong. He pushes and its basically a pot size re-raise. But I know:
1. I have two live cards.
2. If he does not have a pair, I think I have to call here and take a stab at knocking someone out.

in his favor: I was 0 for 4 in knock out attempts at the final table thus far.
in my favor: I was even more sure he did not have a pair as he started to play with his cards. It was almost like he wanted me to know he had two big cards like KQ. I sat there for a WHILE thinking through this (out loud as usual) to the amusement of the table. I even said in Ivy fashion, "this would be a sick call dude".

So, I call and he has AK. 4 blank and a 3 on the river and he is out. I dont think he was upset, but I dont think anyone can say it was stupid.

I tried so hard to play aggressive with 4 left, but players kept getting cards and I kept getting a 2 as part of my hand. I mean really alot. And the MONSTER (more than all other players combined) was on my left all this time. I raise, he would push me off. UGH.

We push chips around for a while, but the blinds are killing our ability to play.

Finally, I called a raise with QT and the flop is QJT. Now my money is going in, knowning darn well someone has a K and that K is calling. Fine. I am a favorite. I push, big stack reluctantly folds (despite his having odds to call with anything) and the guy on my right calling with the 9. The turn is a K and IGHN. But I was HAPPY that it took a draw getting there and me getting my money in ahead, to knock me out.

Return to The Vic

A return visit to the VIC resulted in a completely different experience.

This time, I dropped by Monday night at 7:30 and waited an hour for a seat at the low limit table. I had been watching for a while. You pick up a lot of information watching, especially when there is no deal. (At the low limit tables, no dealer is supplied). When I took my seat, I was seated with the following players:

Starting to my left …

Left 1: A regular, who actually stole an empty seat in the commotion of a rebuy tournament starting in another part of the room. He was a tall man, shaved, and wearing a sport type polo top. And he wore sunglasses. But he was not stupid. But he was aggressive and would push the weaker fish off his pots.

2: An older lady from Dubai who had more money than sense. She did not how to play at all, but still played dumb in order to get away with very amateur moves like over betting the pot. She would see a raised pot and there would be like $15 in the pot and she would just push with like $100 and take it down. This worked often and she would sometimes show 2 pair when she did it. Still, I was drooling at the prospect of hitting a strong flop on her.

3 & 4. Asian middle aged gentleman (30s) who seems to at least know each other. Neither played particularly bad, nor did they play awful.

5: This guy was a trip. He wanted to be table captain, had to constantly but nicely encourage seat 2 to take an action and always wanted to initiate friendly conversation. Oh, and he always bet when ahead, and folded when behind. No bluffs.

A guy who played so few hands, I almost forgot who he was. Seemed lost
This guy was a bigger guy who played very vanilla.
eventually the nobody was replaced by a well to do woman who played tight.

I play for like an hour and fold for like an hour. I literally folded by 60 down to 30 and had to take another 40 to get back to 70. Then I folded that down to like 30 and change. Finally, something happened!

I let Mr. Aggression on my left bet every street after I check every street. I am playing A8 on a flop of A9A. When he has my down to 20, I simply push since he already made the pot so big he has to call. I even rivered the boat.

You would think the traps would get more obvious, eh?

But a few hands later I get a big pocket pair and get into a pot with seat 7. When the flop is all under cards, I let him bet and take a decent pot.

A round later, I could be more obvious if I wrote TRAP on my forehead, while playing a game of Mouse Trap and singing “Trapping days are here again”.

I raise a small 3x with ATs and seat two will always play for 3 if she plays. I flop top two and simply check to see if she does her all-in move, trying to look weak by actually just looking like I hit nothing. She goes for the stack and pushes in over 100 putting me all in. I insta-call, the trap so obvious that she did not see it? I taught her a lesson she would never forget. She bet 20 on the flop from then on for the remainder of the night.

I doubled up one more time when I decided to see a flop with 77. The flop was 3 clubs and me with a set of 7s. Little did I know I was the WORST hand against a flopped nut flush (seat 7) AND a straight (seat 8). Both with position on me. I check. But the bet was only 15, and the lady in seat 8 called, so I called to see one more card. And lo the board paired! Straight bets, I call, flush raises, straight calls, I go all in, flush calls, straight finally folds. And the nut flush is bust and goes home. By now I am up over $300.

Seat 5, realizing he was no going to win any money now, leaves. I played for another hour, but folded most of the time. Seat 2 continued to play with a seemingly unlimited bankroll in a purse that never left her lap. Seat 4 was replaced by an accountant looking guy who played old school. Raised every pot, aggressive post flop. I figured I could slow him down, but got a run of hands with a 2 in them. For like an hour. By now I am too tired, but was comfortable I could have beaten them all night.

All in all, not a bad return. But that first hour of bleeding? Oh was that painful.

Wot's up Gov? Limpin wiph Aces, eh?

Playing cards at "the Vic" in London. Got the royal treatment, complete with hostess giving me a tour of the place and buying me a drink. Sat down and had a fine cuban cigar before heading to the tables. I HOPED to play low limit Omaha, but the smallest game running was ANTE PLO with pots getting into the humdreds of pounds. NEVER play PLO with scared money. So, I asked them to start the 1-2 Omaha/HE rotation game list and took my seat at the entry level 1/2 -1 pound NLHE tables.

These guys were easy. RARELY applied pressure, raises were reserved for getting more money in the pot. Mostly loose pre-flop with lots of limp attempts, which would normally be silly. But in this case, since guys were paying off better hands, I played each hand like a lotto ticket.

I did fold my KJ on a Jack high flop as there was a pot size re-raise of my aggression and it was too early to have a read. Smart as we played hours and he only did that one other time when he had a set.

Then, the first of 2 interesting hands.

I have just shy of 60 in front of me.
Utg Limper, I call im MP with Qs9s. LP and blinds call.
Flop is 5s7sQc. UtG comes out betting for 5. I raise to 15. Fold around to our utg limper.

He makes it 40. (Pot is now like 68 and my call makes it 100). I am not quite getting 2-1 but I go into the tank. I see it this way. He limped, so he doesn't have a monster pair. If he has a set or a Q, I still have the flush re-draw. If HE has a draw too, then the Top Pair is a big favorite as I have two of his outs. Flopping TP with a flush draw is a huge weakness for me, I find it impossbile to get away from. Especially when this guy could have AK or Q8.

In the end I call, and he shows AA??? Wow. A UTG ACES LIMPER?! turn is a non-spade, but the river is a 9 making me two pair. At first I thought I lost as it was also a non-spade. But two pair beat the overpair. (I expected he would have raked the pot as he waited to see if I noticed).

Played steady, "take their money patiently" poker for two hours. Was up two full buyins plus when I played my last hand (the rake was due and it was late)

Min raise from "UK opie". 2 callers plus me with in the blind with KQs. I decide not to call and just see as I dont want to play a big hand.

Flop is AKQ. Either I am way ahead or way behind. He bets 5 . So, well I call. Weak.

J on turn. I check, He bets 15. I make a HUGE mistake ad call here. Am I just tired? I think maybe he has A-rag?

River is blank and I check. He bets 25 and I trump my earlier mistake by calling EVEN after thinking about it. Duh. Ak for him. I give back 60 pounds of my 180 profit and go home on a low note after playing well for 2 hours.

Got to me Henry and Zog the night before, but it was an off week for their poker night, so its was Curry and politics instead. Maybe next time.

Visited the Mahiki bar. Nice set-up. Too night-clubby for me, and the staff was less than exciting...

attention all bloggers

You should all know the password by now..

Hoy-rific

Well, I cashed for a second time in the Hoy. But it was highly dissapointing. I should have won. And I think I blew it.

It started early when Kat and I tangled. I was very aggressive early, picking up small pots post flop. In the case, I had ratched up to a plus +30% on my stack. There were no players eliminated yet and we were getting close to level 2. I called a raise with I think J9 suited and flopped TP and a golden flush redraw. Then money went it, with Kat tabling QQ. She made a big bet and when I came over the top all the money went it. The flush redraw hit.

So I was an early big stack, which I never relinguisehd (I was only as low as 5th). I love these smaller 3 table MTT as it really plays to my strength. Lots of short handed play mixed with never having to chase a monster chip leader. You are in it until the moment you are out.

With 5 left, I switched styles to "fundemental theory" mode, but could not help playing every AJ suited ("The Hoy") as if it was golden. I ended up putting shadow all in and it turns out he is on a draw and folds to my pair of Jacks. I had to show. The only two hands I showed all night were my hammers and my Hoys. Later I will bust shadow when my JJ out flops his AQ on an QJ board. He must have thought he was lucky until my hand flipped up.

At the end I had Hoy and Soprano out chipped 2-1 and still blew the lead. The worst transgression on the last hand (for me atleast). I was trying to see flops and make decisions afterwards, especially with Aces. In this hnad I defended my blind with J5 (rare for me to defend, I thought this would help). The flop was AQJ and Hoy made a weak lead, which looked like a blocking bet. So I came over the top. Aparently he had the same strategy I did, as he showed down his Ace-rag. In retrospect, the blocking bet doesn't make as much sense here as this was the flop not the turn. I could have just folded here, but I was card dead for that last 5 minutes and had folded away the chip lead.

I cashed, but I coulda won. I coulda been a contender...

Homicide

"Suicide's an alternative" - Suicidal Tendancies...
"HOMICIDE" - 999

I killed myself last night and wish pain upon the false poker gods. I am playing in a 3 table MTT where I am clearly better than 2/3 of the field. I am running over my table and accumulating chips. At the final table, I am 4th in chips. 2 players go out and with 7 left, I could easily take this down. I need to bust a player and catch the chip leader in order to take the big prize. I am playing for top 3 here and dont intend to finish 4th. I am dodging and weaving very well, projecting the image I wish to project, never showing cards and trying to avoid costly showdowns. Then, I get KK and someone raises in front of me. We have equal stacks, but I will be the chip leader with this hand. Based on his position and bet size, I figure him for 99-JJ, MAYBE QQ. This is what I want, 4-1+. I push and he calls with TT. FLOP? 679. Turn 8. Gez. I want to strangle someone. I played WELL!!! I DESERVE TO WIN. (yeah right)

In the Mookie, I did not fare as well, although I went out in the top half of the field. I just could not accumulate chips and eventually ran my A-rag steal raise into AK. Bummer.

WPBT #2 is Feb 25th at 9pm and its PLO (at FT). I sent in the set up request. Same password, so you dont have to decifer the banner!

London UK card room info needed

I am going to London again. Last time I was there, I found gutshot up on clerkenwell, but there was an EPT event an no ring games at all.

This time, I want to atleast play a low stakes game of omaha or hold'em. Does anyone have any advice/locations. And do I need to apply for a membership in advance? (I am going in 10 days)

I found this post on some site...
There are a number of places you can play poker in London in Central London. Probably the best known are:
The Gutshot, 44 - 48 Clerkenwell Road, EC1
The Vic, 150 - 162 Edgware Road, W2 2DT
The Sportsman, Old Quebec Street London W1
The Western, 620 Western Avenue, W3 0TE

The smallest buyin would be the £10 freezeout at The Western on a Friday night.

Event #1 WPBT

So, I take down a big hand by cracking Aces with A4o. Why? The player with AA give me a free card on the flop to make a gutshot with a 3. The turn is a 3 and he goes broke.

Immediately I am moved to another table and within one rotation I get my first and only AA of the night. A player comes in for about 3xBB and I pop it double + a blind for a total of 7xBB. All fold back to our player who calls with position. The flop is KJT. Dangerous? Yes. But what do I expect to be against here. I put in a pot size bet, and he goes all in. I have him covered and even if I lose, I have a slighter larger than average stack. I am 4th place right now, but taking down this hand would surely make me the chip leader.

I figure him for AK or KQ and call. He has KJ. Surprised? I was. But is that really that unlikely. His call of my challenge could be any big Ace, a pair of Queens, AQ (in which case I was totally stupid if that is in my realm of possible hands) and KQ is more likely than AK here. KQ is a very likely holding as it would be TP AND a st8 draw. As is AQ. I would call the KQ as a favorite and would pay off the perfect flop for AQ. I did not see KJ coming.

So, I soldier on, but go card dead. I actually make the bubble by out folding 3 other players (so I'll get some points). I was battling GCOX for 30th for a while. After my defeat, I went to go watch the Simpsons. Aftwardwards I check back and its down to the final 3. And one of them is GCOX!!! OMG. (Never give up, never surrender.)

I'm worth...

"I'm worth a million dollars in prizes" -Iggy Pop

Last night I hosted a NLHE SnG and I got away with one.

I am so card dead, that frustration sets in. Starting with 500 chips, I never got above 600, and spent most of my evening at 450.

At one point, I am so frustrated I am looking for something to play and get dealt the hammer. Now, considering my last 10 hands had a 6 in them, this was a monster. I decided I would avoid the "curse of the hammer" and play it. I raised the 3xBB and got a call from the EP limper. The flop is AKQ. That is trouble. He checks, I bet over 1/2 the pot, he calls. Turn is a blank and he check, again I bet and he calls. UGH....

My strategy with the hammer is always the same. If you are first to raise pre-flop, play it like AK. If you are not first to raise and are re-raising or raising limpers, play it like AA.

So when the river came, knowing damn well I had a long night of watching poker in my own basement instead of playing, I pushed all in. He folded.

A bad fold? not by a longshot. How do you call that bet with anything but 2pr or better. Even A-rag is dead here.

Then, I showed the hammer as is customary.

I felt bad. I made a blogger play on non-bloggers and felt obligated to show. I didn't have to. I could have left it a mystery. Why did I show? I am not really sure.

That was my highest chips stack of the night, but I soon found myself back at 450. When there were 8 left, I had about 450. Same with 7,6,5, and with 4 left, I still have 450 at the bubble.

What amazed me is that I continued on life support. Why was kinda simple. Everyone was playing a tactical game and no one was trying to isolate and kill off the short stacks. And I certainly are not going to bring it up. Suddenly 4th goes out and I have... counting.... 450 chips. I am going to cash?

As if by magic, I get JJ (at this point, far and away my best hand of the night) and it holds up against something like 77. Then, the very next hand, I get the hiltons and poor Rich raises it up with JJ. Now I am 2nd.

I battle my way to chip lead by about 20% and my final opponent is restless. He goes all-in 2 hands in a row, both times I fold 52s. (The happened earlier in the game with 3 left, both time he had AK). But when he does it a THIRD time in a row, I can not give him credit for a monster. And I have 77. I count and posture, but I call and he shows the 45s. The 7 comes on the turn, but that is bad since my set now gives him the OESD outs. But the river is a King and I take down the SnG.

When you are not dealing with a big field, never concern yourself with chips. Concern yourself with chips and AGGRESSION. Since the table was not aggressive, I was able to lay low even when my M was 6 and wait for my spots. At one point I had a mear 271 chips left.

If you do have chips in an SnG, you need to ATTACK THE SHORT STACKS. If you dont, you leave them "hanging around" (as they say in the NFL) and they are one big play from ruining your Sunday.

The Age of Discovery

My game is off as my concentration is off. I am playing hap-hazardly and I need to get a handle on that. But despite playing pretty good yesterday (or so I thought) I went out early. I made what I thought was a well timed bluff (and was wrong), folded when I was theoretically behind and would have split, then lost when I flopped middle pair on a flop of 532. I had A3. He went all in with the HAMMER and I called. Of course, the hammer went on to win. Who can be mad about that? (the night before I once again ran my 1/2 stack JJ into AA).

I need to work on EARLY level chip accumulation without ruining my later round game.

oh yeah, and in other news...

I really should of realized this a while ago, but it seems that with technology and services like google alerts or technorati that I can attrack alot of attention...

So, here are some amazing new stories (that probably are not true, since I am simply making them up)...

NOVELL buys BMC Software (ohh, that's a big one. and incredibly doubtful.)

Bank of America sued by Bank of America (cant possibly be true, but the bots will love it)

Pfizer to lay off 10,000, close five sites (oops, that is true. Take that Michigan)

Manning's thumb confirmed broken!!! (who knows for sure really?)


I'll give you a hit count later...

The worst Kings

In level two, I have lost every hand so far. More accurately, folded pre-flop so often I am going crazy.

Utg limps, another limper, I see KK in cutoff and make it 3x.

Button and blinds fold, limpers call.

Flop is J72 rainbow.
Check
1/2 pot bet
I push.
Both call?

Utg has QQ?! Wtf?
Mpos limp caller had 22

It seems SO obvious, but despite the total donkey QQ play, where did I blow it?

Nip it!

I am tilty like an old school pinball machine.

Good Idea: emulating your poker heros
Bad Idea: Using Hellmuth and Madasow

So after play the Hellmuth part all week, I pull a classic and firey crash in burn in the WWdN. I go from chip leader with 20 left to OUT 14th. HOW?

In 2-4th place I get involved defending my blind with AQs. I call what I hope is a button steal. We both check the raggedy flop and I try the steal on the turn and am reraised all in. I have Ace high and fold. Now I am 8 of 16 and still OK, but tilty.

I flop top two on an all diamond board. I push, and get TWO callers, overpair (bad call) and nut flush (easy call). The blow up is complete.

In a 3 table MTT, I play good enough to be the chip leader and blow it that badly? Man, I need to see a doctor.

Hoy-vay

Its level 2 and I am playing the Hoy, watching the game with the sound off, and occasionally watching Poker After Dark via the internet. After all, its level 2. I had to shut off the poker as I was dealt AA, KK and now QQ in level 2. Both AA and KK did not get called and won small pots. I have about 1500 or so and Someone raises it up to 100 (3.5x). I make it 300 to go with my QQ and it folds around to the original raiser. After a very brief pause, its all in.

Easy fold? Actually it was very tough. I have the 4th best starting hand. There are about 21 players in the tournament? There are 3 out? So, if I fold, I have 1100 left. Plenty of play. But I am in a tough field and would be in the latter half of the pack. Still, I think I can get away here.

Yet, something is nagging me. Maybe its the law of pairs. (Despite the odds of being dealt a pocket pair, 50% of the time you are, someone else at a full table is also. Not scientific, but often true. -Mrs. Columbo) In which case, I am against AA, KK? Well, why not JJ or less? I mean, why does he want me to fold so badly for 600 chips? And who is this guy anyway? I don't remember him.

So my thinking starts to clear. Like the fog dissipating, I see through the mist right into his soul (disclaimer: online soul not redeemable, no cash value). He has AK.

Now I have a NEW decision to make. Do I want to race AK, (assuming I am right) for all my chips, as a slight favorite. I chew through about 20 seconds on my time bank (this is why I like Stars, the time bank. That and Triple Draw) thinking about this.

In the end, for a reason I am not sure is correct, I decide I am not going to lay down as a favorite. I call, him shows AK and there is an Ace in the door, and the turn, and by the time the river card is dealt, the sound is back on the TV.

WPBT event #1 banner

This guy cant even spell P-O-K-E-R

Yes, I was dissapointed last night. I am playing in a "Poker After Dark" satellite on Full Tilt and its a 2 table winner take all NLHE tournament. I am playing perfect poker and with 8 left I am tied for 4th in chips, my M>20 and the chip leader does not have more than twice my chips (my SnG final table equivalent of "Q") so I am in great shape.

I am playing excellent pressure poker, making pot size reraises on hands I am playing to put opponents to the test.

Then some $d!fa@#%#

With 8 people left, its folded around to the button. He is a marginal player, who takes too many chances. He has gotten lucky on a couple of occasions. He button raises 3x to 300, which is just under 10% of his stack. (He has 3400 and I have 3350, the chip leader has but 4200). I have KK and I reraise him to 1300 which is over a third of half his stack. Not 5%, not 10%, but almost 40%. Now if he calls, the pot size is 2600, which POT COMMITS us. Yet he CALLS with pocket twos.

Other than flopping a set, what is his expected outcome here? I am not re-raising to 1300 on a steal of 300. I must have something. Does he think its AK? can you call 40% of your stack on ducks? Even if I did have AK, he calls 40% on a race when if I have any pair, he is a 4-1 dog?

So the flop comes without an Ace and disconnected (very KK friendly) and I push all-in. There is NO WAY he can be ahead here without a set, and he would have had to have it on the flop. So I am 7+ to 1 favorite, and I am not going to let him see a turn or river without his stack going in. Remember, this pays the top spot only and this hand puts me in the chip lead.

But he flops the duck set and in my mind, the Hellmuth scene from TV plays in my head. "This guy cant even spell poker". But in the end, its nothing more than a bad beat. I played an excellent satellite and moved in at the right time. So be it. Dissapointed though.

DRAWS

Are you watching POKER AFTER DARK? I was NOT, as my local affiliates of NBC suck ass. We'd rather waste the time wtih INFOMERCIALS. Thanks.

But I have started watching via the web site (viva l'internet!) and I have this observation...

It is SO nice to see poker on TV that isn't WPT all-in hold'em. Did you see in the very first 10 minutes Annie Duke and Gus Hanson play the OESD vs. the nut flush draw? Neither wanted to make the pot big on the flop. Why?

Memorize the following statement (and Mamuth will back me up on this)

IN DEEP STACK POKER (NOT TV POKER), PLAY YOUR WEAK DRAWS STRONG AND YOUR STRONG DRAWS WEAK.

There are many reasons why this is good and I could post lines and lines explaining it. But in a nutshell:

You are looking to TRAP in deep stack NLHE
You wish to control the pot size and win a hand quickly if your outs are limited

More tournaments to play in!

Do you listen to the best poker podcast on the internet? It's not just the home of the Columbo One Minute Mystery (tm), its also the home of the ANTE-UP POKER SERIES. (see link at right or click here http://www.tampabay.com/podcasts/player/anteup/index.shtml).

Here is an excerpt from their recent announcement:

AIPS 2! That's right, our very successful poker tournament series is back! Most Ante-Uppers wanted something that lasted awhile, and they wanted us to start the second series right away. So what better way to accomplish this than to have a monthly tournament that begins in January and ends in December? That's right, a yearlong AIPS!!! It returns to Full Tilt poker and the entries will be $5, though the Main Event will be more (TBD).

Come on and join in!

World Poker Blogger Tour 2007 Event #1

I (Full Tilt) have created your private tournament as you requested in your e-mail below and it is open for registration at this time. In order to locate your tournament, click the "Private" tab in the tournament lobby.Tournament #11178930

Name/Title: WPBT 07 event #1
Buyin: $24 or token
Game: NLHE (deep stack)
Limit: NL
Password: wpbt+(hammer)
Date: Sunday 1/28
Time: 9 pm EST

The Dangers of Outsourcing (Redux)

The latest in the saga was that my own bank was "trying" to call me, but could not. The reason? well, no matter how many times I TOLD them my number, they still insisted on calling the number I set up the account with TWELVE YEARS ago. A number that no longer exists.

And best of all, I seem unable to GET it changed. Hilarious.

After getting past that, we had yet another 3 way call with the bank and Bill Me Later. I was assured (mostly by the bank) that this was now resolved. But my favorite part was this comment from the nice Bill Me Later rep: "Give us up to 30 days to make the correction."
To which my heated response was "Do I get credit for the 60 days I ALREADY waited?"
She puts me on hold for a long time and when she returns says, "I escalated this to management, you only need to wait 15 days". I still cry with laugher when I remember it.

I am crossing my virtual fingers.

An apple a day

How hard is it to run a doctor's office? Harder than brain surgery apparently. For example, the ability for a patient to actually meet a doctor at a predetermined time is apparently impossible.

And if the doctor works in two different offices, the office staffs are forbidden to exchange the tiniest of details. Such as who you are.

I am especially impressed by the steadfast anti-paperless-office position the offices take. Not only is everything paper, but the forms themselves have extra information to make them longer. Such as these back-to-back questions:
Date of birth?
Age?
Math is hard.

But above all is the complete lack of concern in regards to any of the above. How can the Domestic medical community hope to survive vs. Cheaper and better run looming competition?Don't believe its coming? Isn't that what Detroit said in the 70s when discussing Japanese cars? Ha.

The Dangers of Outsourcing

Lend me your eyes for a few moments and let me spin you a tale of woes. Let’s set the stage. It’s the 1960s and movies like Rollerball entertain us and scare us by painting a picture of global corporations rewriting morality and controlling the masses through unseen power. But the oppressed masses raise a champion (as the always do) and he proves once again that a person can raise above the limitation artificially placed on them and become incredibly good at something, no matter how stupid and pointless it is. (in that case, a sport combining the pointlessness of rollerderby with the attraction of a demoltion derby.)

I wish this tale was so black and white. No, in this tale, I am Harry Tuttle (Brazil) who due to an innocent clerical error (in this case of his own doing), exposes the inefficiencies caused by poorly run efficiency efforts.

In this case it started innocent enough. I ran out of checks. I had three bills left to pay and was going on a trip. I decided to pay them via electronic online bill pay. Now I have always embraced the new ways. I used online banking for SEVEN years now. Far longer than the average person. And in all that time, I never made a mistake. As a gambler would say, “I was due”. And on that fateful day, I did the unthinkable and unforgivable. I made a human error. I transposed a digit.
Well, imaging my surprise when the statement came and it showed I made no payment. Yet, when I pulled up the bank records, I had made a payment. Hmmm. Ok, this should be simple to sort out…

Except there are layers of bureaucracy, caused not just by outsourcing, but by the layers upon layers of distance between business functions and the customer being "served".

First off, in this day and age, good luck trying to reach a human being before your tolerance for technology reaches a new low as you navigate the "call avoidence" systems of the world. And if you do eventually reach a human, who in turn will ask you to REPEAT all information submitted to the automated system, they in turn will then transfer you to a call queue anyway.

Now that being said...
My bank has gone through some mergers and has emerged with a new name. In their efforts to either control costs, unify platforms or simply not being competent enough to do it themselves (who is the CIO?), they outsourced the online bill pay process. This company, generically branded Bill Pay, sent my payment to Newegg.com for some computer equipment I bought on credit using “6 months same as cash”. That is not run through Newegg.com, who is really just and over glorified shipping warehouse and web site, but through a third party generically branded Bill Me Later.

None of this seems far fetched. But here is where it starts to get nasty. Newegg absolves themselves of responsibility for the actions of Bill Me Later and apparently their agreement states that they never allow customers to contact Bill Me Later directly. (note: I assume this based on trying multiple avenues to attempt to gather contact information.) After MONTHS of trying to resolve this with Bill Me Later (via their advanced communication method known as FAX), and them insisting on a specific piece of paper that I can not possible have, I contacted my bank. Now the bank wants to help me, but seems unable. They don’t release the paper that Bill Me Later wants outside of the bank, and can not allow the customer to talk with their Online Bill Pay department directly. So a phone representative, who is polite and powerless, continue to “translate” customer speak to “bureaucracy speak” ™ as I listen to inoffensive hold music.

At one point, I am on the most pointless conference call in the history of conference calls, with the powerless rep and the bank and the pointless rep at Bill Me Later (a company, the believes that by not allowing you to talk to anyone but a rep, that you will believe they are based somewhere in the civilized world, which I highly doubt). I am trying to convey that I simple need the digit fixed and the payment applied, but it was as if I was talking to two animatrons at the Disneyworld Hall of Presidents.

It’s at this point that I see the problem. The bank outsourced not just their costs, but their control. They no longer control the vendors, much less the situation, and thus become unable to service a customer need (even when the customer is them). Newegg.com on the other hand, outsourced their ability to resolve a customer issue in regards to billing and thus has created a permanent liability. i.e., each time a customer deals with Newegg.com and their outsourced credit bank, they risk losing that customer for life.

So does this tale have a happy ending? I ask you, “How could it?” Even if this gets corrected and the bank manages to cajole the vendor into fixing the errant digit, did they really create a happy ending or are they simple just addressing their own shortcomings at my expense?

Sigh. Welcome to the 21st century.

Feast

So here in the land of camping and vanquished Rose Bowl teams, some of the locals got together and put together an online Detroit poker league. Little do they know I play 3 nights a week with some of the best online tournament competition in the US. ( Yes, I mean the Bloggers… )

Dear Columbo, You finished the tournament in 1st place.

Congratulations! Thank you for participating.

Oh yes, and there was one occasion where I called an all-in with just 2 pair on the flop and it held up against? The nut flush draw, what else?

Confessions of a Lions fan

Confessions of a Lions fan

So here we are again. All but forgotten. But the Lions went out with a bang Sunday, signaling the decline of the over-hyped “America’s Team” the Dallas Cowboys and the first “turned-corner” of the Matt Millen regime since the finishing of Ford Field.

Despite being in an almost insurmountable minority, I support Matt Millen. When he first came to the Lions, he inherited an unsalvageable infrastructure. He set out to replace it, and left a wake of destruction in his path. And has had little to show for it. Matt started by bringing in the wrong players (Bill “hands of stone” from the Packers stands out) and followed it up by bringing in the wrong coaches. And then to seal the deal, brought the wrong drafting philosophy. And it all blew up in his face, culminated this year in a 3-13 record and probably the worst GM record over 5 years since the Buccaneers were an expansion team.

Its ironic, that based on all of the above, I see the break in the clouds. So, if you are a football fan and can stand some non-poker content, here now is why the Lions will be a good team to bet on in 2007. (and remember, you heard it here first).

* When your team is bad, and you want it to be good, you draft defense. (Argue all you want, this is reality). The Lions went against that mandate for years. Then Coach Rod Marinelli came to town. And he drafted Ernie Simms. With Leinart on the board. This guy understands what it takes to fix a team.
* Early meetings with Coach were Night/Day different from previous coaches. Not so much in the message, but for its lack of sales. Mooch and Morningweig (whatever) spent a lot of time with the media explaining and selling the vision. The first time I met coach, he reminded us he did not have time for us. Now that is a coach. And he is firmly in charge.
*He wanted his son-in-law to be the defensive coordinator but was denied access by the Bucs until this year. Expect that change VERY shortly. Henderson did not even understand the Tampa-two.
*The Lions are going to flip some WELL RESPECTED assistant coaches. Why? Because this is the Rod and Martz show. They know what they want. They don’t have time to argue with “well respected assistants”.
*Think briefly about the defensive line you will likely face as a Lions opponent in ’07:
Gaines Adams, Cory Redding, Shawn Rogers, James Hall.
Um, good luck.
*“The Lions need talent at every position”. It just isn’t true. The Lions lack blockbuster starters. They used Sunday to pencil in Stanley Wilson as the starting corner in 07. Bly, Kennedy and Bullocks with him in the secondary. But the linebacker core has underperformed for years now! Bailey and Lenon will need to compete just to remain on the team next year.

* Expect the Lions to sign a FE backer when Rod’s son-in-law comes over. I’m sure he has someone in mind as he is a linebackers coach currently.
* On offense, the line is paramount, as is a 3rd/4th receiver. For this reason alone, I bet Mike Williams is granted one more year to “get it”. Expect the signing of a “Martz type 4th receiver” and the resigning of Furrey. As for the offensive line which boasts just 2 starters, expect THREE new faces.
* In talking with players towards the end of the season, most believed they had a top-notch head coach, liked the complex Martz system and secretly admitted that a couple of players were not “on board” yet. (see above) Matt Millen will personally work on Rogers. The players believe now by and large, and Sunday proved it. They went far from mailing it in. They beat a playoff team (albeit a poor one). This team wants to win, Kitna is a blood and guts QB (and Harrington will not even make the Miami roster next year) Kitna is the type of QB that the Lions needed. One that will get dirty and in your face.

Ok, so now it all looks rosy, right? Well, just one problem. The Lions have no running game. No offensive guards, no right takle, and probably no running back. I don’t expect Kevin Jones to play again. (Do you?). IF the Lions can run the ball in pre-season, take them seriously.

This will be the most important off-season for the Lions in decades. Do it right, improve drastically. Blow it, and the entire thing will come apart.

The ULTIMATE irony. Picture 3 years from now the Lions playing for the NFC championship with Millen still in charge. And if that day comes, and if there is any justice in the world, all the Detroit sportswriters will be fired. Mostly for what we already know, they have no idea what they are talking about. (according to “sources”, Matt Millen has been fired every year he’s been here.)

Tournament vs. Cash

I believe I am so much better at tournament vs. cash because tournaments employ strategy where a cash game is mostly tactics. My tactics are average, following the fundemental theory of poker mostly. Bet when ahead, raise when vulnerable, fold when behind, donkeys always draw. The last one being the Hellmuth fundemental theory of poker.

But I noticed recently that in playing triple draw and HORSE, my cash game results are pretty good. I expect because I know triple draw pretty well and can switch into limit mode in HORSE.

When it comes to cash games, especially live, I need to avoid what I call, "wishful thinking". You have been playing for hours and you are up maybe 20BB/hour. You are playing well, but are card dead and bored, while other bust players for entire table bankrolls in one hand. Then, I solid starting hand comes your way, you hit the flop, and you go broke. You lost 100BB in one hand. If I can learn to get away from the big hand, I think my next B&M trip will be much better.

Feast or Famine

Since the local big game I took down about a month ago, it’s been feast of famine. (It also told me I am still a lousy cash game player.) Then I took down the Luxor nightly tournament, the Hoy on Monday, and last night took down the big game again. But in the WWdN, the Mookie and the $25k, went out very early.

The $25k was very disappointing as there were 1500 players and at the end of level 1 I had yet to really play a hand. You can’t play solid tight in these giant fields. So when I flopped top two with KQ on a board of KQJ, I figured I was going to the wall. When I made a pot size bet on the turn when a 2 fell, I was committed. Someone called and I figured I was against AK or JT. But it was the nuts with AT. If the stacks were bigger, I might escape. But not here… I just cant fathom playing passive when after 1 rotation, the chip leader already has double up twice and you have not played a hand. You can quickly become irrelevant in these big fields without chips.

But the big game is my favorite kind of game, live and 5 tables or less.
Start with a 10k stack, and after 2 hours I have… 10k ugh. I am the king of hands with a 4 in them. When I finally get 44, I figure it’s an omen. Yeah, that 44 is going to lose.

The AK hand. UtG limper, Raise from UtG+1 to 4xBB. I can’t decide from LP to call or fold. I SHOULD raise to drive out the limper and blinds and isolate, but something is bothering me about this. It will cost me 30% of my stack to call… I decide to call. The limper goes all in and the raiser calls. I yell at myself and fold. JJ for the raiser, AQ for the limper. JJ leads the whole way and sets on the river.

Stealing short handed. I have to “get to work” now and as the players dwindle, I make a nice living stealing and making big bets. I work back to 9k, then take down a hand and I have 14k. I wanted it to stay short handed, but alas it was final table time… I bleed and I go to the final table with only a starting stack size of 10k. The average is like 35k.

I make a couple of steals to keep up with the blinds. Just keep plugging away. Don’t give up. Never say die, never surrender…

Then, the turning point. I am moving all in whenever I have anything and can be first to act. But this hand plays out differently. The UtG limps. The button raises to 4xBB or half my stack. I look down in the Big Blind at 88. Well, I already have 10% of my stack in the blind, so I pause to think. I figure the Original Gangster (what I call an UtG raiser) for Ax and the button for AK. I figure if I move in here, the Ax folds and I race with AK. Since I am the short stack, this seems like a good time to get my money in… IF I AM CORRECT. Well, I was correct on the holdings… But strangely the limper had been quite a charmed man all night. Twice he had come from WAY BEHIND to win big pots and seemed like he played “level 1” cards. (He never really knew when he was behind and just played his holdings). So, I should NOT have been surprised when he called me. The button calls and they both still have chips.
The flop is like AKT. I don’t even know what they have, but I know with that flop my 40/30/30 edge went down to 5%. I get up and grab my coat as all their money goes in. As I pick up my drink and push in my chair, the river is an 8. AK rakes the side pot, but I TRIPLE up to 30k. And everyone looks at me like I am a luckbox. It was really hard for me to feel bad here though. The AT should NOT have been in the hand, and I was a favorite going in vs. and Ax hand.

A few hands later, an LP player picks up the 88 and tries to do the same thing. But I wake up with my only premium hand of the entire night, QQ. It holds up and suddenly, for the first time ALL NIGHT, I cross into positive Q territory.

Then came my Hellmuthian moment. (I invented a word!). With 5 left (and in the money), Scott raises it up from EP. It’s folded around to me and I look at ATo. I think about it for a while, wanting to fold. But it’s Scott and I know his range of hands is the biggest at the table. For that reason, and having position, I call.

The flop is Axx with 2 spades and Scott says all in. In a split second, I say loudly and firmly “I CALL” and flip over the Top Pair. Scott is a big shocked that I make such a quick call with only TP vs. an all-in. The flush draw I KNOW he is on does not get there and I double up (he had me covered). -When you are the short stack ALL night, and a player notorious for playing suited cards tries to push you off a Top Pair, and you just KNOW it’s a semi-bluff, you call before you can talk yourself out of it. It’s 2-1 for you and the best odds/flop you have gotten all night. Emotion takes control and I could not even conceive that there was another move for me here. In retrospect, I wish I would have had the control to think before this act, but I still would have made the call. Scott continued to question my call here, but I was so sure I was ahead.

Now, the table is Tight Aggressive and I change gears. I am looking to see flops and pick people off. I slow play KQ when I King hits and pop a better. I take down the pot. The player on my left is constantly re-raising me and I am biding my time… I sneak in with Ax suited and the flop is ATx. I know he can’t put me on an Ace, so I check. I expect him to push me out, but he surprises me with an all-in. But he did this to me so many times, I only gave him credit for a lesser pair. I call and he shows middle pair. My hand holds up and he is out. He is mad at himself, but I set this up so well AND he flopped middle pair when he could not put me on an ace, with only 4 left and he was the shortest stack at the table. I don’t think he should beat himself up here. BUT he could have made a smaller bet that would have gotten he job done (pot size) without putting his tournament at risk.

I am very aggressive now, but I don’t knock out 3rd. The player on my right does. We make a deal for $ then decide to play it out. It took 2 hands. I decide I am going to raise every hand and out Aggression him. He folds the first one and calls the second one, where I have AT. I win the hand and the tournament.

I really played up the luck factor at the final table, but I think I played pretty good.
* Despite being short stacked all night, I did not do anything stupid. Never paniced
* I may have gotten “lucky” on the 88 hand, but I was the favorite.
* I may have been “lucky” that Scott did not hit his flush draw, but I was a 2-1 favorite.
* I may have gotten “lucky” that I woke up with QQ when 88 went all in, but it was my only premium hand all night (with the exception of a couple of AK hands).

Put yourself in a position to win, and let the mistress variance have her way with you…

Poser, Know Thyself

I miss the Ramones. Growing up in the suburbs, I was a big poser. I loved punk music, but watched the scene from a safe distance. Sure, I went to see bands, but usually only the ones I just could not bear to miss. DKs, Buzzcocks, and the Ramones. The Ramones were especially interesting in that their albums never sounded like their live shows. They were like two bands in one.

I never wanted to be a real punk. A kid with a nihilist view of the world bent on non-conformity and personal destruction? Not for me. I wanted to enjoy the music, then upon turning 18, go to college. Well, sorta. I wasn't ready for college, and well, umm. never mind, that is not the point.

fast forward 20+ years...

I played in the "Monday's at the Hoy" last night and only 13 players participated. But for a player like me, that is a best case scenario. You see, I play poker based soley on the "fundamental theorem of poker", aka MATH. I don’t "read people" (although I dabble in pattern recognition). I rarely bluff (but I'll steal like a motha), and I HATE getting my money in behind unless I am certain it will look to my opponent that I am instead getting my money in ahead. When you play this conservative style, field size is your #1 strategic opponent. Tactics are even different, as with a big field you need to accept more volatility. Something I accept as readily as a high school reading assignment of Anna Karenina.

Short story long, last night was the longest bubble in freaking history. We were down to 4 player (pays 3) at like level 5. So we had deep stacks and were trying to maneuver appropriately. I had twice the chips of everyone else, and was determined not to do anything stupid. But one player (Tommy2Tone) was freaking Napoleon. Nappy was making CJ the Luckbox look like Bad Luck Schlep-rock (Flintstones reference). It reminded me of the old RISK commercial from our childhood when the Napoleon dressed guy exclaims "Can nothing stop this man?!" as some geeky kid rolls 3 sixes.

But here is game where hand histories tell no real tales. It was the strategm of "dodge and weave" that took me to head up with Nappy, and a change of strategy that secured the come from behind victory. After the longest 2 table MTT I have ever played online, I actually went to watch an episode of "ROME" and fall asleep in the early morning hours... Hail Ceasar!

oh, yes and... save the cheerleader, save the damn internet! http://savetheinternet.com/

Hear ye, Hear Ye

paid advertisement:

Compatiblepoker has the freshest fulltiltpoker bonus code and has the first ever poker bonus calculator. The site is designed for Mac online poker players but the bonus codes can be used by everyone. For online poker pro biographies you can also check out the images on the website and find out who guys like Texaslimitking, sheets and Greenplastic are. Coming up is an interview with QuietLion, the creator of Microsoft Word turned poker professional.

2007 WPBT Season coming soon

That's right, another fine year of the WPBT World Poker Blogger Tour is coming your way! And if you are not a blogger, you can still watch the results of your favorite blog author on the big leader board!!!!!

Biggestron is passing the paton to me as the tour admin for 2007. Here is the planned schedule:

Stars and Full Tilt only. Bloggers only.
Results tracked on a WPBT portal to be linked up.

JAN - NLHE DS
FEB - PLO (cap bet)
MARCH - RAZZ
APRIL - Limit HE
MAY - STUD 7
JUNE - HORSE
JULY - THE SUMMER CLASSIC (NLHE)
AUG - TRIPLE DRAW
SEPT - NLHE DS* (unless PS or FT deal Budagi by then)
OCT - 5 card DRAW (stars)
NOV - HORSE
DEC - WINTER CLASSIC FINAL (NLHE)

I am going to be soliciting comments on what night and what time works best as soon as I get my ducks in a row...

Community Chest

Take a ride on the Reading Railroad. If you suck out, collect $200.

I have been playing alot of triple draw and HORSE lately and I have a frustrating observation. I lose most of my money in Hold 'em.

I played the WWdN last night and played to a perfect early exit.

I have worked from 1500 to 2200 without doing anything stupid. I get QQ in MP and pop it up (there was a limper) to 5xBB. I get a RAISER out of position.
STOP: What does this mean?
Well, it typically means AK. Someone who wants to make the pot big and scary and see all 5 cards.
WEAK PLAY: Throw all your chips in and pray when he calls.
BEST PLAY: Take the flop and make the read. If you have to get away, you only lose HALF your stack and not all of it.
Oh yes, and remember its a tournament
FLOP: A99
I make my continuation bet and he comes over the top. 72o? Not likely. Its the big AK and I escape.
2 hands later
I flop a set of 2s on an all heart board. My read, which is correct, is he has an overpair and a heart redraw. Do you get all your money in here? Your Q is maybe .5, does that make a difference to you?
Well, I have to dodge 9 hearts (i dont have one) at the most, plus his other 2 pair cards for 11 outs twice. 25% at best. I am a 3-1 favorite. And when the turn is a blank, 6-1. So, with a Q<1, my money is going in... It did not work out that time.

But I am not mad about all that. That's hold'em. What I am frustrated with is that I have to play HE at all. I mean, the community card concept creates these suckout opportunities by its very nature. When I am playing HORSE now, I dread getting money in during the HE round. I actually like RAZZ far better, despite the junk kicks.

And how to end this tirade? Well, with a hypothesis of course:

Does the Fundemental Theorm of Poker apply to community card games?!

stolen comments (mine)

I was reading Chris' blog and Ante-up! and saw where he was dissapointed in himself that he could not think through hands like he can while he is watching tv...

I posted this reply:

Here is my 2 cents on this subject. It's one that is VERY important to me...

When you are AT the table, you lack the prospective necessary to think out the hands like you do after the fact. When you are watching on TV, or watching 2 OTHER players at the table, the analysis is much easier because of the 3rd eye view.

As you become an intermediate player, you LEARN from these experiences in addition to your own and often times they will steer your behavior correctly.

Additionally, when you are not in a hand, you have no RISK and thus think very clearly. Much more clear than when you heart is pounding out the national anthem.

As you move from intermediate to pro, you are able to do what Lederer calls "being in the moment". Or what Daniel Negreanu does, which is perform it casually, like an actor playing a part. Its HARD. It comes with YEARS of experience, coupled with patience and an ability to filter out the noise. Every hand tells us something about someone. But its hard for our brains to categorize and store the information, much less use it.

That comes with time... or a raw talent for that sort of thing. Since I have zero raw talent for anything, I always have to go the experience route.

Is there an emotional factor tied to performace?

I previously had read what now is affectionately called "the rant" of Hoyoza with guarded interest. (hammerplayer.blogspot.com) He ranted on the donkey draws he saw and people playing post flop with nothing but overs. That in itself is nothing special. We all need to steam once in a while.

As a matter of fact, in one of those Monday night games, I had an exchange go thusly:
Hold'em No Limit - Level II (15/30)

BB (2543 in chips)
Seat 3: (1248 in chips)
Seat 4: (1084 in chips)
Seat 5: (1290 in chips)
Seat 7: (2956 in chips)
Seat 9: Columbo777 (1379 in chips)
Columbo777: posts small blind 15

folded around to me

Dealt to Columbo777 [Ks Tc]
Columbo777: calls 15
BB: checks

could have raised here, but who cares about winning 30 chips?? keep the pot small right now.

*** FLOP *** [Th 5c 7h]
Columbo777: bets 60
BB: calls 60

Pot sized bet with TP, reasonable and "correct"

*** TURN *** [Th 5c 7h] [7c]
Columbo777: bets 180
BB: calls 180

Pot sized bet with two pair probably vs. draws, again "correct".
Pot is now 540

*** RIVER *** [Th 5c 7h 7c] [9d]
Columbo777: checks, assuming this card helped him
BB: bets 240 about 1/2 the pot
Columbo777: calls 240 crying call (3-1)

*** SHOW DOWN ***
BB: shows [Jc 8c] (a straight, Seven to Jack)
Columbo777: mucks hand
BB collected 1020 from pot

BB said, "silly rabbits"
BB said, "top pair is gold"

Columbo777 said, "yeah, i should have put you on the donkey draw"

Now, note the exchange at the end where the person raking the pot rubs-in the fact that I made, what he believes, to be a donkey move. which is to say, I rode top pair to the river.

Huh? What I did was BET when I was AHEAD, STOP betting when his hand got there, and decided to make a crying call when he bet less that 1/2 the pot. Can ANYONE explain to me how that can possibly be so bad it justified taunting?

And his comment DID tilt me. Thus my sarcastic response. Oh, maybe not in the "bet off all your chips in the next hand" way (I actually got my money in ahead later and got out-drawn). But certainly it upset me, which is saying a lot. 90%+ of my comments when people start mouthing is to constantly just respond with "?". This, for some undetermined reason, irritates people who use the chat box a lot. But this time, I thought it was just annoying.

Yet, the very next time I played, I finish 5th (squeaked in the money) in a tough field. Heck, I finally lost when my AKs ran into QQ pre-flop and he won the race. And Hoyazo has been on a tear since his rant.

Could it be that there is a benefit to being emotionally invested prior to playing? And if so, why?

oh, and his play was not THAT bad really...
Lets play the hand back from our opponents point of view.
First a Free Flop
A gut shot, pot is still small. mathmatically incorrect, but low investment.
Turn brings a flush draw
Again, calls a pot sized bet without odds, this time for 180 (which is still only 10% of his stack) Not great, as he is drawing to about 11 outs or a 3-1 dog getting only 2-1 to call here. The "donkey draw" as I put it, but really not so awful.
And the home-run. He bets half the pot, which is paid off. and he is pleased with himself. Not so much about his play, but probably getting me to call the value bet. He bet the right amount to be called.

Las Vegas Trip Report part 2 (where I give away money)

It’s my last day/night in Vegas. I attend my conference, make my phone calls, and generally make sure my house is in order. There was a “rush street” type reception afterwards where rooms were set up by the vendors, each with a different theme, where food and drinks were served. I passed on the drinks, but did have some sushi. I relaxed with a hand rolled cigar. And then I left the free-loaders gobbling up free "vendor branded" dollar store crap before meeting Poker Prof (www.lasvegasvegas.com) for dinner at the Wynn. Oh and just a note. No. 1 on list of things that you would think would be sexy but aren’t? A Woman smoking a hand rolled cigar.

I had never seen the Wynn before. Wow. Ostentatious. We ate at a restaurant that featured a $32 burger, which we both ordered. It was a stuffed-burger, full of unique flavors. Frois gras? Really? Tasty. But ask any waiter if they serve a Mojito, and they’ll answer “yes”. This is a lie. I think waiters must be trained to answer this question yes regardless of the theme of the restaurant. "Yes, sure. Chez Burger can get you a Mojito". They did serve something CALLED a Mojito, but let’s face facts… It’s going to be sugar water, rum and some mint leaves throw in at the last second. In my head, I bashed his skull in with prof's empty coffee mug.

The restaurant faced a water fall which, upon some random time lapse of nothing weird happening, will break into either an MTV video or an animatronics song that would make Walt Disney jealous. The later, in this case, being a giant frog singing “Low Rider”. And that's all I have to say about that.

I leave for the poker tables. I am currently, after tips juice and miscellaneous tables goofs, up $478.

POKER CONTENT
Warning: The following contains graphic donkey content of a mature nature. Parental Discretion is advised.

The Wynn runs a 1-3 NLHE low end table. Here is the problem. Rich people play here. The table I get seated at has two tight guys to my left, a huge LAG with a ton of chips, more tight players, and a Frenchman on my right. The LAG loved seeing flops with position, in total disregard of the pre-flop raise. Well, more specifically, he would CALL a big raise if he had position and a thin field with ANY TWO. When a player moans with disappointment when a third club falls on one flop, he bets him off the pot and shows a K high bluff. We all saw that coming. The guy literally moaned. Donk-tacular!

But when I understand this guy's LAG mentality and still completely misplay a hand…

I have TT in Mid-position and make 18 (6xBB) to go. He calls from the button and we are heads up. The flop is J65 rainbow. I like this flop. Unless he has a jack, I am ahead. And even if he has a Jack, (in which case he is a JERK) he has put me on QQ-AA. Especially if I bet on both the flop and the turn. So, I make a flop bet of 2/3 the pot and anticipate a call. I( will then bet the turn if a blank falls and take down the pot.) He indeed calls and the turn is a 2. A great card if I am indeed ahead and maybe even if he has something like J9. I make another 2/3 pot size bet and he calls while getting a massage at the table. The river is a 3 and I expect I have won the pot. I bet off the rest of my chips (only about 1/3 of the pot) and he calls. He played J5 and led the whole way, hoping I had AA. “Nice flop” was all I could muster as I left the table.

Story Problem (10 points)
He called a 6xBB raise with J5 because:

1. He could (He had about 500 in front of him)
2. He likes to crack aces
3. He had isolation and position
4. He cared not about odds or the money, just the chance of flopping big and breaking someone.
5. All of the above

Obviously, 5 is the answer. But if everything played out as he scripted, his implied odds pre-flop were just over 4-1 (assuming he breaks me if he hits hard) and IF I had Aces, he is almost a 7-1 dog. (I only bought in for 100 to test the waters and had about 85 in front of me when this hand occurred).

I left not because I felt I was out-matched here, but because of the no-cap buy-in. There were just too many big stacks at the table. That and I did so well at MGM.

So, back to the MGM to grind out more money. After all, I am still up $378 for the trip, right? And its late, but I figure I’ll play an hour and leave.

Fast forward an hour and I am up about $75 bucks. I have just over $225 in front of me. Then, I would go insane.

The player on my left was a big fat guy who played like he was in the world series. He made fancy moves at small pots. There were some generic guys, the guy who kept feeding me chips from the night before, and a serious tattoo guy on my right. (I caught a glimpse of the tatoo and it was poker related. PLUS the word lucky was visible underneath the picture. um, welcome to the 1-2 table Mr. My Life is Poker)

I had taken a SMALL hand off tattoo guy about 30 minutes earlier. This was an exciting hand as he was the button and raised to 3x. I called with 44 in the SB and the BB folded. The flop was 34T. I bet out and it confuses him. Not only did I bet out, I made a pot size bet. He was sure if I had a set I would check the flop and says so out loud. Yet, he hesitates to call. He folds. Then as the dealer deals the next hand he says he thinks I had 99. I tell him he was right and he is noticeably upset. After calming down, he told me he had AT and he wanted to put me all in. pwned. Maybe next time he will.

So it’s the end of the night and big fat guy raises my limp to 3xBB. Tatoo guy calls and I call with AJ. The flop is JT5. TPTK and I bet out. Fat guy raises. He did this at times to win with second best hand, so when Tatoo guys calls, I put in a huge re-raise. Pot sized. Both players go all in. I am already pot committed and if I was way behind, I already made my mistake when I re-raised. Donk-Y. Even if I had AA, my odds were: “Drawing dead”. Set of tens vs. the OESD. The OESD got there on the turn and tattoo guys wins a ton of money and I am the vanquished donk-tacular victim. I get up and go, too tired to play on.

I can’t be upset about getting out-flopped, or Top Pair not holding up. What I CAN be upset about is that the re-raise was nothing but stupidity. There was NO WAY that was the correct play against TWO players. They couldn’t BOTH be drawing. Plus, I made the pot huge, making sure the draw was going to stay. I felt EXTRA stupid as I was up for the night before that hand and managed to lose an ENTIRE STACK on TOP PAIR. I PREACH AGAINST THAT STUPIDITY!!!! I am Jack’s crushed ego.

I finish the trip up $178. Lame. Better than last time when the SAME thing happened (only one loss was a huge suckout by a runner/runner straight to beat my flopped top set) where I lost $220. Oh well, better a winner and disappointed, than a loser and miserable.

As I am checking out, I hear advice about getting to the airport earlier on an irrational level. 3 hours prior?! Are you kidding?

I stood in line for breakfast (at the airport's world famous whatever) and the girl behind me in line had a cliché’ Baby girl voice. You know, like in the cartoons? I thought it was a joke, but it was real. I listened to this latin Betty Boop as I munched my breakfast burrito. Those don’t go together well, especially where there is no salsa in there. Check please.

Las Vegas Trip report (Part 1 of 2)

Disclaimer: I hereby understand and disclose that this trip report is lame in all ways, known and unknown, in comparison to the events that will transpire next week at the WPBT. By reading this, you acknowledge and agree to not hold me in contempt for missing the WPBT blogger symposium in Vegas and admonish me and my lame schedule from further abuse regarding my inability to attend said event despite being in Vegas a week prior to B-day.

It’s a Monday night flight, and I got to the airport a tad early, so I sat down at the Japanese restaurant and got my fix of unagi. Mmmm, Eel. My film for the plane was “Bottle Rocket”. Eh. So-so. The Wilson brothers attempt to amuse you with dysfunctional characters in a ply reminiscent of the overly plotted crime films. Films like this rarely hit. I recently saw both “Rififi” and “Big Deal on Madonna Street” so this should be even funnier. It was not. Cést La Vie. (Hey, that’s French) I missed the Monday night NFL game.

I arrive at 10pm local time (1am for me). As I get out of my cab at the RIO, I see the Hooter’s cab-top ad and recognize the big guy with the big smile on his face. Really. I did SOMETHING with him. Was it stand up? Improv? It was something and it’s been haunting my brain for a week now… Like an itch you just can’t scratch. Even worse, you feel bad about it since you can’t remember. I STILL CAN REMEMBER HIS NAME. ARGH.

Oh, and it’s cold, very cold.

I amuse myself by catching up on a blog written by another Michigan blogger (with huge confirmed junk) who is suddenly posting again!

In the morning I attend a Convention, and stare bleakly at Starbucks Christmas ornaments while I wait entirely too long for coffee. How does Las Vegas not understand that every second I wait for something is a second that I am not gambooooling!. It was weird being where the WSOP was held and there are no poker tables! Just geeks. Lots of geeks. Hey, I run a top 12 percent IT organization according to the pundits and their metrics. Bully for me, off to eat and play poker. ANY time I get a chance to eat sausage and drink German beer, I take it! So it was a quick ride to the Hofbrauhaus (I recommend the veal sausage with kraut) and then a quick exit to one of the better run poker rooms, the MGM card room rodeo fishbowl. VERY long story short, I play tight aggressive and in 5 hours win 2 beers and 2 dollars. Zero sum poker @ MGM.

The next day, the cowboys have started rolling in for next week. Enjoy G-Rob! Some more convention (who cares), and then dinner. I had planned on going to the cool street food court in NY-NY, but alas I got free convention food. So, I decide to play a tournament. Using the ultra-scientific tournament listings page at lasvegasvegas.com (putting the Vegas in Vegas) I decide that my low risk donk-fest is at…..(drum roll) Luxor!!!!

Dicks Last Resort is coming to Vegas? It’s only a matter of time before Vegas has to turn the old downtown in to a world showcase ala Epcot Center to house all things from everywhere.

WARING: COMPREHENSIVE POKER CONTENT IN THIS PARAGRAPH. IF YOU DO NOT WISH EXPLICIT POKER CONTENT, PROCEED TO NEXT SECTION.

The Luxor was $47+$13 juice for 500 in chips. $3 for the dealers added 20% for a total of 600 chips. The blinds start at 25/25, so your effective starting M is 12. 24 players. The VERY first hand, a lady raises to 100 from UtG+1 and I have 77. She might have AK or she might have Ax? Who knows. I call and heads up we see a flop of 854 rainbow. I am excited until she bets 200. Am I willing to go out on hand #1? I should be, but I am not. My read is she has the 8 beat. Maybe JJ. I fold.

It was feast of famine with so few chips to play with. One guy gets all-in twice, wins both and each time knocks out another player. I see a couple of flops and surrender a blind and suddenly I am at $375. I have yet to win a hand. Heck, I have yet to see a turn card. The blinds are now 50/100 and soon to double. I decided that I would be all-in first chance I get and roll the dice. Why not? My M is 2 and change and I need to double up to even play. When I look down at A7 sooted, I push. The button, who is the same guy who has sent the two players to the rail, goes into think mode. What is there to think about? He calls with A9o. The Ace flops and I get up to leave. The river is a 7. My one big luckbox suckout for Vegas. I sat back down, determined not to waste it. And waste it I did not! From that hand forward I never got my money in behind the rest of the night. Normal, math correct and nothing fancy play, gets me to the final table.

I have about the 6th largest stack of the 10 (which says little). But what I have on my side is SnG experience and a strategic viewpoint. It seems my opponents had neither. I was like the flowing water, changing my shape to flow around the big stacks, but to come crashing down like a breaking wave on the short stacks. By using my head and knowing what battles to choose, I broke 3 other players. Fast forward to 3 players left. A Swede, a big guy wearing Raiders gear, and me. The Swede was smart but inexperienced. He fell to the Raiders guy. Now we are heads up. Its $500 for first, but only $225 for second. I have 60% of the chips, but offer a 50/50 deal. (sound familiar). But apparently some people are gamboolers. He says, “Nah. If I win I’ll buy a big screen TV”. And the moment he said it, I knew I was going to have the edge. It wasn’t about skill for him, nor the honing of his craft. He just like the idea of winning a lot of money. All I have to do is keep the pots small until I have a big hand. The first 2-3 hands confirmed my diagnosis as I watched him reluctant to spar with me. By hand 5, I broke him when I disguised my top pair flop and got him pot committed on the turn with bottom pair.

He thanked me for something and I thanked him for not taking the deal. He was not amused. Then the lady from hand 1 told me she had TT. It was that fold on hand 1, (yes, and a suckout), that won it for me.

I TRIED to play a bit at the castle, but they wanted me to WAIT for a seat. Their poker “room” is now so small, that when you walk in there all you expect to see is a copier and a coffee maker. "Columbo!" "Playing Poker" "Colum-ster" (etc, et al.). I said, “why should I wait when I can walk right up and sit down at MGM?” and with that cashed back out and left.

At the MGM (where I walked in and there was a seat open) I GRINDED out about $67 at the 1-2 table and finally had to sleep...

Tomorrow, the exciting conclusion where I attempt to LOSE money instead of win it!

Armchair psychology redux

Is it just me, is is there a tournament player mentality that is predictable?

Axiom: If a player's Q falls below 1, it is much harder for him to make a merginal fold (he'll more likely stack-off). When a Q is higher than 1 (especially when its much higher), it seems that its easier for you opponent to make a "big laydown".

Comments?

Playing the Ponies, Vegas and WPBT

First of all, let me say that I just can't get enough of HORSE. (I like triple-draw too.) So, Poker Stars has been luring me back. Most of the low stakes HORSE Tables are loose like HE tables were 3 years ago.

I am in Vegas this week on business, should be at the MGM poker room Monday evening. Unless I am very lazy, in which case I'll be at the RIO poker "room" (alcove).

AND IN SPRING/SUMMER NEWS!
(by CJ )
It's on!

What: The World Poker Bloggers Tour Aladdin Casino Classic
When: Saturday, June 4th
Where: The Aladdin Casino in Las Vegas, NV
Following my last e-mail exchange with Edna, the Aladdin Poker Room manager, we are confirmed for our June event. Start making your plans now! I'm still working on getting a maximum number of entrants, so get your RSVP's to me immediately. Send me an email at cjhoyt !-@-! upforanything DOT net.

I believe the buy-in for this event will likely be $50+5, although I'm still finalizing those details. I also don't have the exact start time of the tournament in stone, but the date is final. Send whatever questions you have for me as soon as possible!

This is the same weekend as the start of the World Series of Poker so there should be a big poker crowd in town. Those interested in playing the $1500 NLHE event will likely be able to play in both that and our WPBT event. Although if you make the final table in the WSOP event, that might conflict. I'm sure that wouldn't be too disappointing!

I imagine this event will be bigger and better than the last! Remember, we're likely going to limit this to poker bloggers unless I can get a larger number of participants from the Aladdin. That means I'll need to know your blog when you RSVP. Questions? Send 'em my way!

Mirror, Mirror

So, after my last post, aren’t you curious about how I did in my live game?

I like Scott’s game in that it has the environment that plays to my strengths: 45 people or less, tournament freeze-out, with a fair number of players who think they are good. I like tournament structures far better than cash games for two reasons. The first is that I feel that I am strategically sound, and that too many players concentrate on just tactics. The second is that in a tournament where there are 5 tables or less, you occasionally find yourselves short-handed and I feel that plays to more of my strengths. I enjoy the level of competition, so I look forward to Scott’s game. I had missed the last two months, and wondered how quickly I could get a read on players.

I drew table 2. To my left was a lady who was mechanically sound, but not good enough to get away from top pair. Next (left) was a guy who reminded me of all poker players two years ago. He knew the mechanics of the game, and could outplay a novice, but you could read his play like a book. Next was an older gentlemen who did not “get out of line”. He would occasionally stab at an uncontested pot. Next was an empty chair that would later be filled by Mr. Purple. He knew what he was doing, but… Next was a young woman who I knew nothing about. Over the course of the night, I tagged her as a “lady in waiting”. She would wait for hands that had the potential for big gains, and sometimes even make –EV calls to see if she could win a big pot. And when she hit, she invariably got paid off. Next was the Cobra, a good player and previous winner, but when I play a big pot with him, I try to act weak (like Columbo) so that I can disguise my intents. To my right was a guy who was me last year. A better player, who know his stuff. Odds, when to push, etc. But he did not read others particularly well, so I figured he would struggle in the later rounds.

I played simple, by the book poker. I am up maybe 5% and I get dealt AA. A make a minor raise (the table was currently tight was rockets) and got two callers. I flopped a set, and Cobra was interested in the pot. To confuse him, I checked the flop behind him, knowing that he would bet out on the turn. He made a good sized bet on the turn card and my raise put him in the tank. He eventually folded.

The very next hand I decided to call a 3x pre-flop with 44 because I had enough chips that I felt I could take that chance. I hit the set and let the lady to my left with top pair bet off ALL her chips. She lamented her bad luck.

At the break, I had a Q of over 2. And I notice something too, I am playing detached and emotionless, almost like I didn’t care. But I did. I was just concentrating on being competent and waiting for opportunities.

Table breaks. I am now sitting down with slightly higher than average stack, and Cobra is now on my left. Table is tight aggressive and there are some familiar faces. To Cobra’s left, is an unknown. Next is the host, an aggressive player who can often get into kicker problems. Another unknown. Frank from my table earlier. Next a woman who is mechanically sound, but does not read players. And the three players to my right that I did not expect to be factors, but had no reads on them. I get involved in a hand when its folded around to me (9 handed) and I raise 3xBB with AJ. The SB calls and the BB goes all in. Well, it’s not that much more (another 2xBB) and I call. The SB now also goes all-in and I realize my mistake. I got caught in a squeeze. BUT, the SB could not make the bet because the BB could not make a complete raise. But I know the money is going in. The flop is 3 blanks and the SB throws in his 2xBB remaining. What am I going to do? Fold? Mathematically, I had to call this. The BB had A8s, and the SB Cobra? He had AK. We all missed the flop and its lotto time. The J on the turn and the 8 on the river results in me taking all those chips. Now, what I don’t know at this point is that one of the three players on my right is from Scott’s other monthly game and this guy has a ton of poker experience. He has seen this hand…

We are now at the final table and seats are changed.

Fast forward to 6 left. I have bled down to average after folding a lot and having one hand where I tangled with Jim, who would not lay down his pocket sixes. I had to throw away my AK after stabbing on the flop and Jim calling. We take a short break and I start my usual worrying about making it past the bubble (pays 4 places). Then, it dawns on me. THAT IS BULLSHIT. This is what I wanted. This is what I ENJOY. This is the time that separates the pretenders from the closers. I decide that I am not going to now ruin the entire evening by trying to do anything but play well. I sit back down and resume my detached and concentrated self. I have been listening to music this entire tournament also, not standard for me. I also took no notes, as I wanted to just concentrate on playing. Both seemed like good choices in retrospect.

On my left, a guy I know nothing about… yet. Next, the young lady from my first table. Then Jim, who I know to do a notorious “looker upper” (see above). The host, who can not seem to change gears as the field thins. Boone, a talkative player, who occasionally steps out of line and occasionally lectures people on their play. He talks during hands he is not in (not a good thing to do). He also is observant of what cards you play. I always make sure I pre-flop raise with a marginal hand at least once to remind him to watch out for me. The solid lady is on my right, but I am not too worried as she is the short stack.

Boone sees two limpers and makes it 3xBB to go from the button. The SB folds and I look down at AK. I am out of position and bleeding, this is a good time to push back at Boone. For all his aggression, he is what I call a viper. He strikes often and aggressively, but he often retreats when slapped back with a big re-raise. All this weighs into my thinking, and since my Q is about .8 and the pot already has enough chips to add 20% to my stack AND take me back to a Q of 1, I decide this opportunity is too good to waste. I go all in, knowing that I get to see all 5 if he calls. He goes into the tank and he is sure I have an upper pair like TT or JJ. Does he want to race with his Ax? After MUCH time, he folds (bad for me?) and I scoop the pot and confirm my TT. Then, he says he does not like the way I played the hand. He would have called with TT and played after the flop. I stated that I felt that was a mistake as most flops are danger cards for TT and the pot was already big enough that I felt the 10k in chips was worth taking down. He says it was foolish to risk 30k to win 10k. I said, I felt it was foolish to risk 10k when I could apply the pressure now and make him fold. Of course the entire conversation was actually theory, as I never had the TT.

Play is tight. I am not maneuvering a lot, but still awaiting good opportunities. I make a few well timed steals, but I am still bleeding more chips than I am accumulating. I have a slightly below average stack when its folded around to the Woman on right (on the button I think). She limps and I look down at my second big pair of the night. The big AA. I make a 2.5xBB raise, like I am trying to steal because she limped on the button. When the BB folds, she goes all in and I call so fast that I must have reminded everyone of Phil Helmuth. She had Ax and I take down a big hand. 5 left.

A few hands later, Boone is taking across the table with the young woman about favorite hands. Hers is T7s, his is J9. As he says this, he limps from the button. I look down at J9 on the button. I actually snicker out loud and call. The flop is KQT. I flopped the nuts. Boone stabs at the pot with JT and I raise but look weak. He puts me all in and I quickly call. Two blanks and I am the chip leader.

We are now three handed, well past the bubble. We push chips around the table for about 30 minutes and everyone is wondering why it’s not over. But I know. It’s because I have twice the chips as either of them, and I don’t intend to double them up. Plus, I have time as the blinds are not hurting me. But the guy is VERY aggressive and has re-raised me all-in at least twice when I entered the pot from the button for 3xBB. He feels very confident.

And here it gets REALLY interesting. The host suggests we make a deal. Now its about $745 for first, $400 for second and about $295 for third. A total of about $1400 (sic). The player on my left (who is the guy from Scott’s other game) suggests $450, $450, $500 and it doesn’t take me long to find the flaw with this math. I say, in a matter of factly, bored voice, “that doesn’t make any sense, as I have twice the chips you guys have”. His response was something to affect that I was not sure to win and that the $500 was a guarantee. I counted my chips and said, “I have a little over 120k”. (they had about $50-$60 each). And his response? “Well, what would you want?”. I say “ $600” (it was late and I thought it was enough.) HE SCOFFS. (WHY?) Then, he says this gem:

“Well, we can play it out if you guys want, but I feel like I am the best player here”.

I was very proud of what happened next. Nothing. I did not flinch, make a face, or say a word. I just watched with almost disinterest. Let’s go. But then the lady says something brilliant. Why not split it and give him the $600 and then we’ll put in $50 a piece and finish the tournament winner-take-all. I could not agree fast enough. This is a GREAT deal for me. First of all, I got the $600 at no further risk. Secondly, if I win it all, I win nearly the same amount I would have for first anyway. And third, this guy now wanted to back up his words, and this was a way to make sure he could.

We start playing again, and the guy continues his aggression. Its then I realize what is going on. He thinks he is FAR better than us. He thinks we were both gotten lucky to get here. He saw a couple of hands where he thought we came from behind or just got lucky and thought he could easily out play us. Wow. (I found out later, that he too took down one or two big pots from behind and had nothing on us). I decide that with the blinds they way they are and with my big stack, I needed to parry the aggression and not allow these guys to play post flop. I was going to wait for opportunity. And I wanted to knock the lady out first. A couple of times I folded good hands to raises, including a REALLY tight fold with TT. After 20 more minutes of this, I realize I need to take more stands. I get raised by the young lady and I figure she can do this is any two face cards. I call with A6s, only to see a better Ax. But I hit the 6 on the turn, and she is out.

I have a 3 to 1 chip lead and when my lone remaining opponent raises, I realize I no longer wish to play pre-flop for the chips. I want to change gears again, wanting to see flops. I call his raise with 64s. The flop is 763 and I flop middle pair, a belly buster straight draw and a back door flush draw. He makes a big bet and all the money goes in. I feel I am probably ahead here and that he has two big cards. Nope, he had a 7. But the turn is a 5 and its over. If he wins that hand, we are heads up with close to even stacks.

But, that’s the danger in poker. Chips are power, especially in a tournament. I can afford from a single hand to not go my way, your opponent cant. And in LARGE field tournaments, you have to take so many chances to get those big stacks that its often the suicide players that end up with the stacks. But when you play 5 tables or less, you can accumulate chips without getting your money in behind. Just one or two hands go your way, and you can out maneuver your opponents when they have marginal hands. It’s all the difference in the world.

There was no celebration. Not so much as a smile on my face. It was simply business. I finished the tournament the same way I started it, with little emotion or excitement. I went to work, did my best, and then I go home.

So, there it is. I go in and take home the bacon. Did I play amazingly great? No. Did I play the best poker ever? No. Did I play a good tournament, mixing tactics and strategy, taking chances at the right time, and make careful observations of my opponents? Yes, I did.

For goodness sakes, have a point!!!

Nope. Can't. Quite frankly I am surprised I am even posting as I type this...

First of all, let me state for the record, that Iggy retiring is a blow to the blogger community, the poker community, and to the WPBT stories bin. Some of my most memorable moments of Vegas revolve around the little guy. (and I don't mean little Elvis.)

Secondly, I think Biggestron made a great statement with his "boredom with reading poker blogs, especially strategy posts" comments. Which, of course, is horrible news for me as I rarely post anything else.

But I will have a trip report as I am in Vegas next week on business and will do nothing with my evenings that does not involve poker. Until then, what is worth writing?

I guess that... well, let me state it another way. I played a 20 table last night and lost interest when I had a Q of 2. Now I understand losing interest when you are constantly fighting at a Q of .95, but to loaf it at 2 ???? WTF!? I ended up 60th-ish (of 180). Mostly because I did not change gears at the right time. Actually, I did not change gears at all as I did not care enough to watch carefully. Lazy. And distracted by other things.

I am playing a live 3 table tonight and hopefully I can keep my interest on the table and not on other things. Hopefully I do well.

Is poker just becomming a tad boring? Is that it? With all the hype and "newness" gone, isn't this inevitable?

Who can say? But with the $ conduits being cut off, the poor ESPN WSOP coverage, and Harrah's talking about chocking off online qualifiers, what other conclusions can one come to?

WSOP main event field in 2007, 4500 players?

BONUS CODE <"insert nothing here"> DAMMIT!!! (sigh)

The Irony of everyday life

So I go to vote today. And I find myself in a elementary school gymnasium standing in line with a sticker on my right index finger and a slip of paper in my left. It dawns on me that this is a complete waste of everyone's time because its the bloody 21st century and I should be able to vote from my computer or even cable set-top box in about 5 seconds. We are (debatably) the most technological nation on the planet for cripes sakes.

So when I get home, I figure I will fire up the olde (sic) blog to tell you all about it. And its then that I realize that it takes bloody 5 minutes for my blog to load and I have not been posting lately because the response time on blogspot has been so poor and sometimes I just plain cant get in to post.

So much for electronic voting...

da mookie

The Scenario:

We are at level 6 or 7? and I have a Q of .95. I THINK my M is about 10-15, but I am 16th in chips right now (about mid field). (This is all from memory).

I get Jd3d in the BB and an MP min raised. The player to his right calls. I fold too many blinds as it is, so I always look at opportunities to see a flop in the BB. I decide to take this one. The flop is an Ace and two diamonds.

In a tournament, if you play tight, there are a few opportunities that are special. They are not just pots, they are lead changing pots. And you have a big impact decision to make...

I check and the MP bets BIG. Then, the player after him bets bigger (enough that I would be pot committed).

I am on FT and there is no time bank. I have to think fast.

1. What's my read on their hands?
Well, I am VERY sure they do NOT have flush draws. The way the betting went pre-flop and post flop, I am sure my flush draw is good.

2. What are my odds?
I always assume a flopped flush draw is 2-1 to get there. EVEN if the first MP folds (which I doubt), I am getting 2-1 plus the current pot size, so about 2.25 to 1

3. What can happen if I win/lose/FOLD.
Well, I am pot commited, so if I lose I am out. If I fold, I am only out the original pre-flop raises and my Q falls to .9 and I have to double up soon or except the distinct possibility that I will not cash. If I win, I will rocket to the top 5 in chips as I TRIPLE up and will actually have a solid chance to cash.

4. Am I about to do something stupid?
The previous hand, I folded the HAMMER UTG because I could not bring myself to play it based on the fact that the hadn before that, I raised 3xBB and stole the blinds from UTG+1. I felt I would have to see a flop with it and could not afford the chips. I thus invoked the CURSE OF THE HAMMER (not playing it when first to act) and would have had a BOAT by the river.

Because of that, I felt I had to justify that by accumulating chips. So, yes, maybe I was, but I could justify the odds.

So, I push my stack in and both players call. When the turn comes, the first MP checks and the second pushes. This is great for me as the first MP folds! (I already have his money in there). But alas, the river is a blank and he pulls down the pot with AJ. (my jack was not live in retrospect).

So, did I play smart, competently, or donk-ish?