The proverbial drawing board

Here is one of the great tidbits I got from a book recently:

When stacks are shallow, play strong draws strong. Weaks draws are let go.
When stacks are DEEP, play strong draws weak and weak draws strong.

Let that last part sink in a second.

Now, why?

Well, Deep stack NL is about TRAPPING. Your strong draw implied odds go up with each caller who "hangs around". Even in a tournamnet where survival counts, this is a risk worth taking. When the draw is weak, (much like in situations where you have a hand unlikely to improve) you need to bet to win. And weak bets do not win pots, strong bets do.

Oh,

And Daniel's analysis of the guy playing TT is a must listen. Its in this weeks edition of the Ante-Up! podcast.

weekend recap

ok, so for once there is not much to report about poker. But after a 3 days weekend featuring camping with the family, here are some interesting tidbits:

1. Horseshoes may look stupid... and it is. Simply watching someone throw, emulating it, and adjusting to the weight, was enough to beat a guy who had his own horseshoe pit. I even hit a ringer. Gez, worse than darts.

2. Lord Admiral has signed off. Permanently. :(

3. The Columbo One Minute Mystery has moved. Here is the home page for ANTE-UP!: http://myspace.com/anteuppoker
and here is the podcast:
http://www.tampabay.com/podcasts/player/anteup/index.shtml

4. A successful fishing trip means your hands smell like fish for atleast 4 hours. It doesn't matter how long you wash them.

5. I read the new NO LIMIT book by Skalansky/Miller. Very late at night, with no one around, in the eerie quiet of the woods, Skalansky made some sense. Then the next morning, I again found the "contradictions" in the book he is famous for. Despite this, I found it a VERY informative read.

6. I think this article is geared towards intermediate players who are willing to concentrate for long periods of time at a table to get better. I have it bookmarked.
http://www.pocketfives.com/851BCEAD-B7AE-4035-9409-4BBFF23613DC.aspx

7. No matter how much I read, I still find no evidence that one should do anything in the first two levels of a tournament without 2 pair or better post-flop.

8. I played golf for the first time in YEARS. Amazingly, I borrowed a 5 Wood that was actually metal. It made a beautiful "ting" sound when I hit the ball. As a matter of fact, I hit better drives than I EVER did when I played regularly. What is in these metal clubs anyway, magic?

The “Sweat Spot” of Tournament Strategy

Forget the original Kobayashi Naru scenario of calling an all-in with pocket Kings in the first round of the WSOP. Let’s raise the bar on our scenario…

How is it that you can play a perfect tournament, only to eventually get hit with a beat that sends you home? Believe it or not, it is closely tied to why so many online players have been dominating tournaments in the last 3 years. There is a new Axiom of poker, “In order to survive being right, you must also have your opponent covered”.

Let’s say I play perfect poker and I only get my money in the pot when I am 4-1 or better to win. Sounds great doesn’t it? But, is it really? Let’s explore shall we?

TWENTY percent of the time, my opponent is going to get that King on the river and beat me with his “3 outs twice”. And with the blinds going up, you need to invest in pots where you are 4-1 to win. And 1 out of 5 times, you need to be able to survive losing a big pot. Which means having enough chips to survive it.

Now, how do you accumulate that type of insurance stack? Unfortunately, the only was is to take risks when you are NOT a big favorite. The new breed of internet players do this. And here is the funny thing, it works because of the QUANTITY of players, not quality. If 5 people act stupid, 1 of them is sure to benefit. And if 50 of them are stupid, and you are playing smart, as they bust out to other stupid players, you are not the one accumulating the chips. The guy getting all his money in behind with middle pair and getting lucky is.

So, you play a perfect game and make the bubble as the short stack. Or simply take a “bad beat” and lose your stack at a critical time where you got your money in way ahead.

So, can you compensate for this by playing a lot more hands in early rounds? Some players do this. The “accumulate chips or go home early” strategy. In effect, moving down to their level.

Here is what separates the good from the great. Being able to extract someone’s stack while being marginally ahead and taking them along for the ride (especially on a draw). Which, ironically, SMACKS IN THE FACE the old adage that you can’t do this in tournament games where survival is at the utmost. You need to take advantage of the edges that are presented to you post-flop. This is why in the “middle rounds” of the tournament, its important to bet (whenever you are ahead) the right amount. The amount that dictates that your opponent is wrong if he calls you, yet is not large enough to scare him off. You need to bet the “sweat spot”.

The big BIG draw

I am playing in an impromtu blogger cash game ($.01/$.02) and I see a flop from the blind with 2d5d. The flop is Ad4d and something else. I dont recall, but it was not a diamond. Somehow, while I am half paying attention, Drizz gets all his money into the pot. I go into the tank and type in the chat window, "I have a big draw". I pause and decide to call what amounts to 400 Big Bets. The turn is the 3d.

Donkey's always draw... and the payout is HUGE.

It's Quiet around here for a REASON

I have not played poker in two weeks. Well, at least not MUCH. Last week, I finished 7th (outof 45) in my monthly game. This is ok, but considering my last 3 finishes, this was a welcome rebound. And, I played well. The next day, I went down to the casino. Despite being 30 minutes from one, I rarely go. Here is why.

I get on the list for the NL beginner table ($1/$2, $50 min, $100 max). TEN, yes TEN handed. I am seated to the left of the dealer. Seat two is a standard player.(more on him later). Seat three was INVISIBLE. Played ZERO hands. Seat 4&5 were weak/tight. Seat 6 was a call junkie who JUST doubled up his short stack after I sit down. I can tell he is going to exit first, despite just doubling up. Seat 7 is the token rotating seat of bad players. Seat 8 is a player who plays any two suited and looks for the flush. (more on this later). Seat 9 has a stack of about $500 in front of him. YET, he did not play a single hand past the turn then ENTIRE 2.5 hours I was there. (more on why this worked later). Seat 10 was a weak/ tight who like to see flops in position and then bet if everyone checked. Yes, that was his actual STRATEGY.

So, I watch these guys play and realize that to be profitable, that I would have to play vanilla TAG (tight aggreessive). I played TWO hands the first half hour, winning them both. The player to my left actually says,"I am not playing a hand with you. If you raise, I fold." Remeber this quote.

I also notice that the standard raise of 5xBB was NOT enough to get the "play any two flush" or other draw hands to fold. My sneaky mind comes up with a new plan.

I get JT and raise it not to 10, but to 15. I get TWO callers. The flop is JJx. I make a SMALL bet and I get a call from Mr. Short stack. The turn is a T and even my token bet folds him. I smile and realize how to just punish these guys at no risk.

With My AQ I make it $20 and get TWO callers (both the DRAW players at the far end of the table). I make a contiuation bet and they both fold. Why? They did not flop a straight or flush draw. You see, ALL FREAKING NIGHT, ever player at the table PAID these guys off when they hit. Well, all except me. I never fell for it. But the others did CONTINUOUSLY. So, they would call almost ANY preflop raise. And I could take their money 2/3 of the time. If they called the flop bet, I would just shut down.

30 minutes later, when I get KK on the BUTTON and the usual limpers are in. I make it $25 (yes, really $25) to go. The player on my left, KNOWING I play big hand and after SAYING he would not play hands with me, CALLS my $25. The others fold. When the flop comes, I immediatly bet out $75. Almost daring him to call. Nevermind I flopped a SET of Kings, I had a strategy and I was sticking to it. You see a flop with me, you pay me. He folded his...get this, 88. he called $25 cold with 88 figuring that he could break me if he flopped a set. In the meantime, I had now doubled my buy-in and left.

The bad part, took over 2 hours to do it. I only played 10 hands all night.

Last week I was in Utah and I dont play cards with my work laptop. So, that was that. Camping on the weekend and a new PC to assemble has kept me on the sideline. But, hope springs eternal and I think I may play in a local tourney tonight.

Snakes on a PLANE

Even before I could walk into the movie theater to see the most relevant movie since Tremors, I bought the T-Shirt. Now I own a total of TWO t-shirts. SOAP and the RAMONES (rip. I miss them.)

FT 25k recap

Entered with a peep sex token

1443 players

In levels 1&2 only played post flop with big hands. One was nice, flopped nut straight and he doubled me up...

Level 3, I am the chip leader

Level 4, I play 6d7d from MP and the flop is 3d8cTd. I have a gut shot and a flush draw for 11 outs (no overs). There is 1K in the POT and the other player goes all-in for another 1k. At this point I have 8.5k of my 9k left (500 invested). Do I call? No. SHOULD I call???? I got alot of opinions here, most of them yes.

I was about 40% to win the hand assuming my outs were pure. (If he was on a BIGGER flush draw, then I basically have 3 pure outs (9 if he has like AKs) and I am probably behind). If he is not on a draw, then I am 40% to win 3-1 and should call. I read him as Ad8d and therefore could not call, thus saving myself any embarrassment from responses to this post.

At the break I am 13th, my M is 47 and my Q is 2.6

I am folding alot through a card dead phase. At the 80/160 level I am 23/579 (135 pays).

Called a raise from the blind with T9o. Hit the T for top pair but its an ALL heart board. I bet pot though and he calls all-in with just the A of hearts. More chips for me.

Made a min raise with 89o and just the blinds call. Flop the ever loving nuts on a rainbow board. 567 rainbow. I make a min bet and the BB comes over the top for 1/2 his stack. I quickly go all-in remembering a trick I heard from a pro interview where he said he bet quickly before the guy had a chance to process the information. Sure enough, he calls and I am 4th out of 456 left.

Antes start

AKo raise preflop, continuation bet of 1/3 pot and he comes over the top BIG. I fold.

I watch as KK vs AA happen 3 times at my table. No hands with me though.

I get moved again. 150/300/25 and I am 28th/319

Second break. 16/230

I flop bottom pair on a AT7 board. I play WAY too passively and let 88 take it from me.

QQ 2 hands later and use my weak play indicating that if I bet I must have something
when KJx flops. I bet like I have the K and he folds.

156 left and I fold KJo pre-flop to a raise from my right.

UtG Ako (UGH)
I make a min raise of 2xBB (this was a mistake, I KNOW)
button and BB call.
flop is 334 and BB checks, I check and button OVERBETS the pot. FOLD.

Lose 2k to BB short stack when I try to steal his blind and it goes bad. He wakes up with AK.

INTERESTING HAND ALERT 400/800
We are at the bubble. MP short stack goes all in for 3k. Stack DIRECTLY to his right with 4k also goes all-in. I have AKo and decide to CALL. I should RAISE here, but I call. Then, the BUTTON calls.
The flop is 332. I check (with 2 all ins)
and HE BETS (as sure sign I am beat)
he flips up 66, and the two all-ins flip up QQ and AQ.
the 66 player apologized for betting after the hand. "he forgot not to".
(the ace or king did NOT fall on the turn or river).

But thanks to that hand, I am back to AVERAGE. Now, the old me would have NEVER played a hand with 2 all-ins in front of him. And I think I should not have played this one... BUT, I did have a 50/50 chance of winning 4 TIMES my investment. How can I be sorry I played the hand?

In the money. I am 49/130

Play 44 for a 2xBB raise (TOO SMALL AT THIS POINT) and get called by the BB. flop is 6QQ and I decide to bully him if he checks. When he checks, I push and he calls showing Q6. The CASE queen falls on the river to mock me.

running good?

played the FT 25k last night. 1433 players, I finished 106th. I was chip leader at one point and after the bubble, lost two hand where I was atleasdt 50/50 to double or even triple up. I'll post more on this later and how the game went in comparison to my rules-set.

but for now, I am Chore-Dad (tm) since the family is off camping. I have a week to clean the house (and throw stuff away without an arguement), repair the deck, prime my daughter's room, build a new play-set (those giant wooden ones) AND do some other minor maintenance items. I am tired. But my poker league is on Wed, so I get a break.

Interesting thing about the league. I no longer play for points (in my mind). I play for the win and ignore the fact that I should in 3 of the 6 events just fold as long as possible.

Why are I running better right now? I am not playing scared. At all. More on that when I post the Hands-of-Interest (tm).

Armchair psychology and Tournament poker – wrap up

Final Thoughts:

1. How does one control aggression so that a player can be aggressive without getting into trouble?

Well, I think that is all about POT selection, not hand selection. You need to be opportunistic and keep up appearances.

2. You must have a goal for a hand (risk reward formula). And your goal should /should not be predictable depending on your holding.

I play TT from MP (3xBB raise) and flop a set on a SAFE board. I had 3 callers from LP, BUTTON and BB. Now what? Do I BET or CHECK? Assuming that your opponents do NOT expect you would check a big hand, then you check. If they have witnessed a pattern of you checking big hands, then you must play it backwards and bet. But you make this decision not on the fact that you have a set and are second to act (this is not limit), but rather which bet will extract the most money based on psychology.

3. A table develops a profile personality which should change your play in the final stages. Once you get to the end game, each player will make a decision to play certain hands. But overall the TABLE now develops a profile. You can gain an edge by playing the opposite of the table profile. i.e. playing against the grain.

4. If I do all this and do it correctly, what can I assume about an opponent’s raises?

Well, if you have the proper image, it can be weighed against the following 4 possibles:
a. They want to Take-it-down now because hey are worried, i.e. feel unsafe.
b. They raise a Pot size bet because they are ahead, but at risk.
c. They are attempting to ‘go for your stack’. (they are WAY ahead or have a BIG draw)
d. They are making a mistake or a bluff. And you have to read which one.

When d. occurs, you should think back to this question: “Based on how *I* played the hand, does he think he is ahead or behind.” This "level 3 thinking" will let you pick off a bluff.

Well, that's my brain dump. Now I have to implement...

Armchair psychology and Tournament poker – V

"Is it safe?!" - A well known dentist (marathon man)

Get your opponents in a very uncomfortable place and take advantage of them. Isolation increases odds and reduces volitility. Position allows us to pick our situations easier. And PRESSURE, when we have someone under diress, causes REACTIVE thinking instead of strategic adjustment. And THAT is what we want. This is why concentration is so important. This is why the game gets harder as we go on. This is why players talk about the 3rd level of thinking. Its all about being able to push a psychological edge in a hand, not a 55/45 edge.

When you have a conversation with someone, and it deteriorates into an argument, its because they moved to fight/flight because the conversation is no longer comfortable (or safe) for them. Stated another way, your opponent makes his final choice on a hand at the moment he no longer feels safe. (for those of you who think this is similar to doubleas theories on pressure poker, I agree. The man is a great card player, buy his book. But I want to take it one step further.) This is not about the pressure point (which is measured by doubleas in stacks and bet size) but the psychological equivalent of that measurement in that little mental treadmill in the opponents head. Has he chosen a path at the fork yet? No, they he feels safe. Did we push him to the fork? Then he must make a fight or flight choice. If you are pounding a guy to death, he might make the choice in ADVANCE of the cards being dealt that the next time you play a hand with him, he is going to try and slap you pack. This negates to some degree the ability to apply pressure with a bet or stack size. See?

The recipical is true also. It is easier for you to "risk" when you feel in control and harder when you feel "outflanked". This is a good reason why a pro often can smack around a new player even if he is a good player. It is also the reason so many young players are winning tournaments. We call them "fearless", but a longer winded person :) might say that they never REACT, they are always instead manipulating you to where you are making the fight/flight choices and they are creating the situations. (Because the dispense with subtely and baggage and emotion and even sometimes thinking. But to every strategy is a counter, and this one has its weakness too. The will be susceptable to distractions and attracked to big pots like a moth to a fire.)

You need to feel safe. You need you opponent to be uncomfortable everytime you play a hand with them and are not sure you have a lock on the pot. After years of this, you should be able to steer their choice. And then, suddenly, you are Phil Hellmuth.
Love him or hate him, Phil know this like he knows how to breathe.

Armchair psychology and Tournament poker – IV

The dicodomy of manipulation and innocence.

Discussion of strategy to this point has tended towards being tight because its the easiest way to accomplish the following:

Look unthreatening when not in a pot, look threatening when in a pot. There are, of course, many ways to achieve this edge. And I am realizing how important it is in the greater scheme of things.

I am watching Big Brother last night and watched a master at work. He never reacted. Not in the physically detectable sense (although he had that down pat too), but in the sense that he decided a new course of action each time someone through him a curve. He did not REACT to the change so much as he made ADJUSTMENTS. He was always executing a plan, even if it was a completely new one. The goal: survive. The tactics changed from day to day. But never did he react (a giving up of control). He maintained control of the situation (long term) through adjustment and subtle maniplulative changes. I was in awe. How does one manipulate while maintaining a veil of innocence (the LACK of threat). Just amazing.

And its what people worry about deep down more than anything else. Being outplayed. They start to react, abandon their plans, or as we like to say in poker-speak, they tilt.

Actions that induce this type of reaction in our opponent, while his attempt to do the same to us are dismissed with a small action or adjustment, create a psychological advantage for us. This is feel. This is concentration and being "in the zone". This is what can push us over the top in terms of success at the table.

What is the best way to do this? read on.

status update and part III of Columbot

Entered two 20 table MTT last night at Party. I tried to be as true to the rules I posted thusfar in this thread.

In the first game, in level two I had 88 and
** Dealing Flop ** [ 6h, Ad, 2d ]

I like this. I put my opponent on an Ace, but how strong?
I bet 2/3rd the pot and he calls. I put him on Ace/weak kicker now.

When the turn comes, I make a weak lead expecting the push. It does not come. Now I am sure he has Ax (like 3 or 4).

When the turn comes a non-diamond, I push all in expecting the fold. He called with A4o. And I have no one to blame but myself. Why? Never try to pressure players at the "dawn" levels. You need to wait until "high noon".

The second 20 table MTT went much better:
Congratulations columbo,
You have finished first.

Indeed. I could have done a better job at KNOWING exactly the pressure points, and knowing I was applying them correctly, but I still played a fine game. I played the middle levels well, taking risks only where there was a huge upside. It was rare for me to do this, and I struggled with brief depression everytime I lost chips to a risk. Yet, as painful as a couple of them were, there were times they did pay off and the chips flowed my way. The side effect (and the real secret here) was that allowed me to continue to pressure while retaining a tight image. This is priceless. I also folded KT alot when I was not FTA and raised with it when I was. I caught myself once limping FTA and hit myself with a wire brush. I slow played zero hands. I did not get a trap situation save once, and I made the most of it. At the final table, I would repeat to myself over and over again, "know how to finish". (ABC. Always Be Closing). All my SnG practice clicked in at that point, and I out-strategized the table.

So with that, I should now post part 3, the final levels
* Steal when first to fire!
* Prey on shorter stacks, careful of the larger ones
* play every hand like it could be your last!
* play against the grain. (loose table, play tight and vice versa)
* All-Ins are now PRESSURE bets and you must read the player not your cards. Level 3 thinking time.
* you can CREATE a race, but you cant show up for one. (raise with AJ = good, CALL with AJ is bad)
* IGNORE Q and M at the final table. Strategy not tactics play now.
* ALWAYS BE CLOSING. Mind on the prize. Finish like a pro.

Armchair psychology and Tournament poker – Part II

There are times where “poker is a struggle for the blinds/antes” and “tournaments are a struggle for survival” are in direct conflict.

Long Game, Small ball and the middle stages.

If I wish to be brilliant, then I can say three things. I always get my money in ahead, I control the size of the pot based on my hand, and I never take an action (bet, call, raise) without having a plan and an intention for which that action accomplished something.

Duh. But this is linear thinking. Since I am usually a 4-1 favorite when I get my money in ahead, and that +EV. If I do it 5 times all in, statistically I will be eliminated. Interesting. This is a concept I will return to at the end of this process, but for now, lets again visit our columbo-bot*. (*NOTE: I am not building a bot. please do not prosecute me. This is for example purposes because I think this way.)

It seems easy to calculate when you think you are ahead and avoid marginal coin flips. But its still hard to control the pot size. After all, your opponent has goals also. Before I finish that thought, let me jump again.

There are times that not playing a hand, regardless of the holding, is +EV. There are other times to play hands just with 2 live cards.

There is a tendency to believe that poker is all about fighting for pots. (that and making good decisions). BUT, there are times where it is in your best interest to fold the best hand. (this assumes you are not 100% sure you are the best hand). Why? Because like wolves, there are times you wish to “show your neck”. To let the table know you are willing to lay down (an action a bot does not take). It shows you are human and also that you are dangerous. Yeah, a big laydown does have a psychological impact on your opponent. Remember that.

How do we reconcile all of this. Well, it is not trivial. But, we make a case to our columbo-bot that we want to get our money in ahead during the long middle stages and avoid building large pots before we know where we stand in the hand. In addition to that, we have to identify EXCEPTIONS to everything we just said NOT to be unpredicatble, but rather to try and dodge the inevitable 1 in 5 times where we lose depite being a big favorite. In order to do that we must task well planned and well timed risks which allow us to build up a "defense fund". This fund is like suck-out insurance. And as we all know, you're gonna need it.

The Middle (long) Levels
a. Prey on WEAK players (blind pressure). This is where we pick up some extra money.
b. Use pressure points (but not against push monkeys) to create folding equity to avoid the use of your "defense fund". Avoid a river, avoid the 20% risk.
c. Project a tight image. Players are less likely to "test" you.
d. Use M and Q to know your place in the tournament.
e. Take risks if they will give you an opportunity to be table chip leader or to double up. Otherwise, you must survive. Being a chip leader at the table is the best "defense fund".
f. Get rid of dominated hands (KT).
g. All-ins are often NOT bluffs now.
h. You can’t limp and be perceived as tight. If you are the first to the pot, you must raise your way in. Some players will raise whenever they can be first to the pot at a big table... (see part e. then)
i. Try to avoid slow playing* for two reasons:
. Survival (you are usually 80% to win a hand you are AHEAD on)
. It continues to project the tight image, which in turn increases folding equity.


comments?

Armchair psychology and Tournament poker – Part I

Supposition #1:
Being tight is valuable but the PERCEPTION of being tight is even better.

Chapter I: the value of being VIEWED as tight, non-aggressive.

We all understand poker strategy and the concept of TAG (tight-aggressive). You play few pots, and when you do come into a hand, you have decent cards and are going to fight for the pot regardless of most flops. You are better off in position for such a strategy and is the most fundamental of successful strategies. But what of your image? Does this play into the formula? If I as an opponent, perceived a robot as programmed to be tight, what advantages would that give THE ROBOT?


If you are not viewed as tight, is this a good thing? Interestingly enough, I think most players would expect that being tight aggressive, but being viewed as loose, is a good thing. The logic is that players will always pay off your good hands and since you only play quality cards, this is a positive expectation move (+EV). I think this is a big misconception (we are talking tournament play now).

The value in being tagged as tight is very important to winning tournament strategy. The psychology of poker says, “I only want to fold when I am behind”. Assuming that 99% of us do not use the “I am a luckbox” strategy, we wish to attack when ahead and withdraw when behind… And yet, even as I type that, I hear you yelling at the screen. “Poker is about aggression and beating your opponent with any two cards!!!”. Well, take a deep breath because I agree. At least on the surface.


If I am a tight player, my bets are going to invoke thought. More thought than if another player (especailly a loose one) makes the same move. This allows me to understand my situation better because I am going to INVOKE a reaction. When you force your opponent to react, you can take control of the hand. If you are in control of the hand, you can maximize your good hands and minimize your losses when you miss a draw or overplay middle pair. Being in control of the betting is KEY in NO LIMIT.


With that being said, let’s compare it to our strategy guide recapped above. In the long middle stage of a tournament, pressure points rule. They provide a guide for a hand like the M and Q provide a guide for your current round. Based on understanding when the maximum pressure can be applied to a given pot, you can control the hand better than your opponent. That pressure needs to be respected and a tight image accomplishes this.


Now a Counter argument from loose aggressive players: “I am a chip accumulator. I come out of the gate fast and I can come at you with any two hands. You can never put me on a hand and I am to be feared!” I agree. That is correct. But it is a more instinctual approach and harder to pull off. And it comes with great risk. For what I am trying to accomplish here, I can’t take that approach. I need a risk adverse approach so I can better gauge cause and effect in my rule-set. But I do agree that it’s always good to be the chip leader at your table and finding a way to do that maximizes your ability to control betting, control pressure and control the flow of the game. I will add that rule later.

Stealing in late stages. You just know what I am going to say here. How do you get away with stealing in the late levels without a) A chip lead big enough to scare people, or b) a tight image? A loose-aggressive player had better have the chip lead by the final stage or suffer challenges at every steal attempt.

So let’s review our first rule-set for a given MTT. For right now, just the early rounds.

1. Early Levels
a. Tight, as risk far outweighs reward.
b. Built a tight IMAGE
c. Watch the table for trends and get a table profile. You need to know who is weak and who is a (push) monkey and who is a (slow playing) snake. avoid being viewed as any of these by your opponents.
d. Anyone can play a set or a big pair.
e. It’s OK to fold the winning hand; it only helps your image. (its only a small error to fold to a raise, remember?)
f. Use position to see flops. dont get caught limping from EP and other weak player mistakes.
g. All-ins are often (not always) bluffs in early rounds. Especially river all-ins after a flush card does NOT come. (broken draw bluff)

Ok, here is our first set of rules. Next I'll float a theory on Long Game vs. Small ball and add our middle level rules. In the meantime, comment!

Armchair psychology and Tournament poker – Preparation

I want to explore why a player can be fundamentally sound, understand the math, and still never be better than a “zero sum player”. Or stated another, more entertaining way, if I were programming a robot (with artificial intelligence) to play poker, what would I program if I wanted the robot to play NO LIMIT instead of limit? This is a LARGE topic and I do not wish to write a dissertation, so the flow of the articles may not be perfect. So be it. What do you want for nothing, rubber biscuit?

Let’s start with a solid foundation of play. With that, just assume we have all read the post “Absinthe revisited” . Sets, bigger pairs, flops that ‘hit a suited connector over the head’. These are your money winners. Dominated holdings, skill moves against push monkeys, races. These are your leaks.
Also, note from DoubleAs, As the tournament gets to the long middle stage, finding pressure points is important.
And from any good poker book and many poker forums, At the end stages, stealing and catching is paramount.
And from my post on “rules of engagement” a set of clichés that help your play (such as “Don’t eat the peppered beef”).

After each chapter, except this intro, I will attempt to update the rule-set for my mythical NO LIMIT robot. Discussion and counter arguments HIGHLY encouraged...

Danger Will Robinson, Danger

I am warning you now. I have a EIGHT part post coming.

Psychology, poker, and you. Be afraid. It might make you think... and it may even (god forbid) invoke the desire to post a comment...

Expect chapter 1 in the next 48 hours...

you have been warned.

Home Game Woes

Interesting night last night. I played to cash and not to win. I sometimes do this, and I am not sure why, but I finished just inside the bubble in 4th.

There was some minor controversy when a player who came by before the game and said to blind them off until level 2 (30 minutes), was still not here at level 4 (90 minutes). Reluctantly, and after 2 phone call attempts, we picked up the chips. He walked in 10 minutes later.

When the blinds got big, and we were playing 7 handed and the UtG+1 raised it 3xBB. He is a tight player, and I was confused as to what to do with ATs. I did not want to see a flop out of position to such strength, I did not want to call, and I did not want to raise. After mulling it over, I made a tight fold. Anyone? comments?

You think THAT was bad? listen up.

we are now 6 handed and the same player does this again from the exact same position. (I realize now that he was probably attacking my blinds every other round.) Rich, on my right, thinks for a while and goes all in. I look down at AQo. I read our first raiser as pot committed and Rich with a pair so I had a race... But I did not want AQ vs. two players so I fold. Then, the UtG plyaers surprising folds and I am left with my overly-tight fold to contemplate.

At the final table, I played very carefully. Bracelet is on my right in the SB and all fold to him. He pops me to 3xBB and I fold K9s. Again, very tight. Next round, exact same thing, and I look at KJ. I KNOW he has an Ace, I just can see it. He knows I might call because he raped me last round. Instead of pushing all in, I decide to run a stop N go. I call, and when the flop comes KJx I push all in on the bluff that is now not a bluff. He decides it just isnt enough chips to fold, but then folds anyways.

Because of that hand, I squeak into the money in 4th. Then, I get all in from the BB again against a UtG all in. I put him on a middling pair, so my 9To is a race. Plus, the BB was 30% of my stack, so I feel this is an easy call. He has 33 and I feel good about the call. But no cards helped either of us and I was out.

I dont feel my concentration was up to par. I was not remembering ranges that players would play, I noticed too late someone attacking my blinds, and twice I let my opponent create the pressure point. I feel lucky to have survived on basic poker 101. "Play tight".

because I have remiss

Because its important work that Huge Junk is doing, I respectfully suggest that you look at the HUGE Lot of Poker related autographed items being auctioned for a charitable cause!

Absinthe revisited

So if you have not read this excellent post on poker strategy (from a blogger who just won a seat into the main event) then go there now
http://www.absinthetics.com/blog/2006/06/15/sixty-minutes/

ok, now let's start from this standpoint. This is an optimal strategy to get to the money, but often often leaves you at average or LESS chips.

A quick recap: (with apologies to Ryan, my notes in parens)

1. Sets are good, but sets on a ragged board are GOLD. (you need to see flops with pocket pairs when at all possible. Call up to a 5xBB raise).

2. Big pairs (AA/KK) well hold up 80% of the time against QQ and JJ. Yet, many players will NOT lay down QQ or JJ pre-flop. TAKE THEIR MONEY. (Just because you have not had a hand in an HOUR, does NOT mean that JJ is better than, well, JJ. TT is RIGHT OUT!)

3. A cheap flop with a suited connector may result in a huge flop for you. Especially if your opponent does not know what a re-draw is. This is pure dumb luck. (Often you will fold in EP and would have hit. C'est la vie. Pick your spots and expect dissapointment. But if you can get in for 1-2x, play a Suited connector from EP and dump it if you need to. Note: if you flop a DRAW, see #6 and #7.)

4. Kickers count more than donkeys will admit. Never play a weak kicker (TJ style). (make notes about players who play A-rag and poor kickers like KT or QT.)

5. If you are a decent player, dont be afraid of seeing cheap flops. Remember the GAP concept (and if someone raises, dont re-raise with middling cards just because Phil Gordon says so on TV. You need to outflop your opponent, you are not looing to make expensive draws!)

6. Don't play pressure poker in early levels. Playing people off of hands is HARD. Doing it early is IMPOSSIBLE. This is a great skill to have that pays off surprising little in online NLHE tournaments.

7. Races should be saved for when you have a below average stack. Say a Q of .5 or less. Take what you get. Feast of Famine. Since its ALL LUCK, save it for last. (But get those chips in PRE-FLOP with AK. Consider a stop-N-Go with a pair. Remember that heads up, he will miss the flop 60% of the time. And he may fold bottom pair to boot.)

So, what if anything, can I contribute to this. Precious little. Expect that I like to see flops from the cutoff with almost any playable hand if I can get in. I am in position to flat call a single better on the flop and then decide what to do on the turn based on my position and how tentaive he has. BUT, before you do this, see #6.

If there are alot of limpers and NO raisers, and you're in the CUTOFF, you can make a big RAISE ((3+N)xBB when N is the additional limpers) and get heads up not only with a player out of position (I assume the button folds here), but with alot of DEAD MONEY from the limpers to boot. This move, stealing from Scott Fishman here, may be the most positive EV move in poker in early levels. You are playing heads up with for a pot that is the size of 3 players.

Oh, and remember this is a tournament. Play a hit flop strong if you are willing to see a river. Unlike a cash game, getting outdrawn can be the end of the world.

And be prepared to fold the best hand.

Poker Drinking Game

columbo its the poker drinking game!
Easycure cheers!
* Easycure raises his Pacifico
DrizDrunk I need to refill
columbo win a race=drink, suckout = drink
DrizDrunk I can suckout, but I get sober if I wait for a race
Easycure Driz says something funny, spit out drink
DrizDrunk well you don't have worry about that
columbo oh yeah, min raise = DRINK
DrizDrunk Monks are better comedians then me
columbo double up = DRINK
columbo Double up on a suckout = 2 drinks
Easycure suckout at greater than 3:1 odds = shot of SoCo
DrizDrunk CJ would have to be hospitalized
columbo KK called on his all in by T6 sooooooted. That is an ALL DRINK!
* facty complies
* Easycure too
columbo recap - any caller to an all in who makes the call with 2 suited cards = all drink
Easycure anybody with a Rock avatar that calls an allin preflop without a Top 5 hand = all drink

Home, home again...

Well, I return to you both from surgery and from Vegas where the WPBT was recently held. It was my second WPBT and I was ay table 48:

me, Alan (not gay), Garthmeister (whos accent immigrated with him from Aussieland), Lori from FullTilt, Poker Princess, Cali April, Joe Speaker, Sox Lover, and Grubby. (Later seat 10 would be filled by Amy Calistri.)

It starts simple enough. Alan drops the hammer on Speaker, who folds TT.

It was the best of tables, it was the worst of tables. Everyone of us playing like it was the final table. We saw only 1 showdown in all of level 1 and a total of 3 by the end of level two. As we danced around, other tables busted out players and built stacks. By the 3rd break, we were forced into a position of recklessness. No a single player at the table "controlled" the tables. It sealed all our fates.

The first turn card was myself and Lori. I make a MP raise with KidRock (Cowboys, baby) and she calls on the button. The flop is T46. I bet 200 and she calls. The turn is a 3 and after I bet 500 she RAISES to 2000. This is half our stacks! I go into the tank, but in the end decdie that AT or JJ is just too probable and I move all in. She mucks AT.

The first offical showdown was Sox and I. We basically check down our Q7 vs. Q6 hands on a QJT board. The SECOND straight flush of the day is announced at another table. We just had our first showdown.

In level 3 the antes start. I must admit I was not prepared for this news. We ran out of time to maneuver and had to play even marginal edges. I knocked out Alan when he put me all in. I called (reluctantly) with AT, pleased to see 44. I won the race. Maudie raplaced him on my left.

I won the last hand before the break when Speaker raised from MP and I reraised from LP with KK. He thought a long time that I might have the hammer, but in the end he folded his TT.

So after the break it was hard to tell where we were at. the blinds DOUBLED to 400/800/100 so everyone at our tables had an M of 5 or less, even though we were average stacked (8000). It became a push fest :(

Speaker goes out. Then I do something HIGHLY questionable.

I bluff UTG with the Hammer for 2000 (mistake 1 this late, but it is a WPBT after all). I get raised to 3100 all-in from the button. Because I felt I needed the chips, I FOLD?!??!?! (mistake 2)

I am now in the BB and will have to go with any hand that is reasonable. Its folded around to the Button (grubby) who raises me all in. I folede the hammer so I could take this hand and I am forced to defend with K9o. I know now that Grubby pushed into me WITHOUT noticing I had to call because i was folede around to him and he had the blinds isolated. But with the M and blinds at this point, he could have any two when its folded to the button. Turns out it was KT.

Best Cash game:
Friday night mixed 2-4 Horse at the MGM was great. Is there a better run card room than the MGM? Ask and they spread. (insert good woman joke here)

Broken promises:
The tournament was run ok, but no cash games materialized for quite some time, the staff showed disinterest, and I think Ceasar's blew a golden opportunity to get 115 who write about poker to love them. Still, they fared FAR better than the Excaliber, who's "new" poker room sucks in so many ways I had to invent a new term "Tornadoing the trailerpark". The room is run like a storm, on the whims of whichever way the wind is blowing. And its smaller. And the wheel is not fun anymore. And the rake for the wheel is now noticable. And they take no game requests. And they treated us with total indifference.

I never thought I would say this, but "oh how I long for the IP".

Kudos to everyone who helped set up this event as it is always worth while! Any problems are because we got to have the event in the first place!

Time I laughed out loud:
Speaker pays off Shane for the THRID time (with his entire stack) with his BOTTOM PAIR when Shane had a SET. Speaker looks at Shane afterwards and just starts laughing. That's the way HE rolls.

Prop Bets:
Biggestron won the best prop bet of the weekend as we snuck out to Hoffbrau house for beer and sausage and bet on participants of the Stein Holding Contest. His scientific brain picked out one of the top two finishers and I paid him off.

More Surreal moment:
Iggy almost getting beat up by a fireman in a wheelchair.

Brush with greatness:
Screw the WSOP and the ton of poker celebrities I saw there. I ate dinner with the WPBT winner, F-Train. Words of wisdom for the night revolved mostly around anal-rape jokes (thanks HBO), so I will not post a list of who was at that dinner (StaticKling, Biggestron, Sox Lover, Mrs. Columbo, Dawn Summers, and Zeem). Oops. and we waited an hour for that table to boot.

Lord Admiral:
Great meeting these guys, but I was surprised they played ZERO cash games. What happened guys?

I now know how to play -EV games such as "Let it Ride". Bobby Bracelet's explanation of why he HAD to put the $1 on the sucker longshot payoff bet each hand was "because I am going to get a royal flush". Ah.

Before leaving for the airport, we took a quick trip downtown just to see the old strip. I wonder if one of those hotels would PAY us to stay and have our tournament down there in the winter?! Boring...

Thanks to everyone who let me introduce myself to them for the ump-teenth time.

why I am not posting too much lately...

ouch. Wrist surgery has left me numb for a week. Now that I can type, I do so in short spurts for the next two weeks.

Crying in my beer

The blogger freeroll is over. Or it must be by now. I was unable to bring myself to watch the ending. I was devastated. Nearly 2500 entries and I played damn solid poker. I did not win any races all night because I never had to get in one. I got my money in ahead every time. I missed one pot for 10% of my stack because I called an all-in from a short stack with KJ and lost to his AQ. Other than that, I made one big weak questionable fold.

A player who was tight, raises big and another player gets all-in with him. He flips over JJ and wins to double up. He is suddenly more aggressive. I have AKs in the BB and when I raise it, he comes over the top all-in for ½ my stack. At this point in the tournament, I am DOUBLE average (Q of 2) and have PLENTY of chips and time. I make a very weak fold putting him on a BIG pair. He then starts going hog wild with the all in and about 30 minutes later is taken down by a QQ. He had 72o. Did he use his image to bully me off a potentially huge hand? Maybe, but I think it was a solid decision. Don't eat the peppered beef.

Then I go card dead. Fast forward to 125 left and I am stealing enough to survive. I play 56s in the BB and ESCAPE from the LP player who flopped a nut flush. I am freakin’ Houdini on that hand. But for the first time in the tournament, I am below average.

I may be on the ropes, but it gets worse as I am moved to a monster table that at one point has Absinthe, studio glyphic, Bill Rini, and is brutal. I make my way to 95th and can see a chance to squeak across the line drawn at 54. My Q is low, my M is brutal, but I have yet to make a large mistake in over 2 hours. After folding what was 7 hands in a row with a 2 in them, I get a gift. QQ in LP. Frank goes all in, but only has 1600 chips. Glyphic goes all-in and I have to assume that that since we both have about the same size stack (he was slightly larger) and our M is SO low, that he can do this with Any pair or big Ace. I feel I am good here and make the call to see his beautiful 66. The flop has not 1 but 2 aces, but I don’t care about the 1600 anymore, I need glyphic’s chips (and he needs mine). A 6 on the turn and IGHN and glyphic goes on to cash (I assume). I could not even speak. I walked away from the computer and spent the rest of the evening with the kids.

I thought it would effect me for quite some time, but despite the disappointment. DISSAPOINTMENT!!! !#$&(@#$@#$^ I am ok now. Anyways, despite the disappointment, I played some mean poker baby. And for that I can be proud

or content

or I take some solace. F**K.

Well, I refuse to feel sorry for myself anyways. 94th. Not much of a trophy eh? Biggestron set the tempo days earlier when he said “I am going to chip up early or go home early. I don’t want to bubble a freeroll.” Indeed. That was my goal too. But sometime after that first hand was dealt, I knew I was going to play like it was the freakin’ world series.

Mark my words (please don’t), ONE OF THESE DAYS I AM GOING TO WIN SOMETHING. And not in Moneymaker fashion either (not that there is anything wrong with that). By playing a mean game of poker and getting a break at the end.

I may not post for a few days as I need to get some wrist surgery. (Typing accident. No, really!) But you can rest assured that I am gathering thoughts and I’ll be back. Oh, you can count on that. I’ll be back. CURSE YOU POKER STARSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS...

p.s. I hope glyphic won it.

Once again on the precipice

So, I played a 3 table MTT last night with an interesting twist. Up to ONE reuby in levels 1 and 2, then an add-on after level 2.

As usual, based on the fact that the add-on was the full 10k in chips at half the price, the mathematically correct thing to do (usually) is play very tight, finish even a bit above 10k and take the 10k add-on. Survival. In this case, however, you would also like to double up once or twice at no risk if you can.

I flopped 2 pair twice and took down small pots. I flopped sets twice and played them strong, only to chase away action. It may have been overkill, but I had decide to play strong on any flop I hit.

Let's review the rules:
1. Don’t eat the peppered beef (no calling all-ins in early levels)
2. Table tight, play loose. Table loose play tight. This table was loose pre-flop , tight post flop. So, I was tight pre-flop and looser post flop.
3. Don't plays drawing hands our of position.
4. When in doubt, tight
5. If you are FTA (first to act), raise or fold. I broke this rule about 4 times, and had to fold pre-flop about 4 times. like getting your hand slapped.
6. Its ok to fold to a raise. I got away from a big one this way. and was correct.
7. Don’t get caught with crumbs. (Don’t get caught with nothing but a draw)
8. watch stacks
9. watch patterns
10 find pressure points
11. big pots are for big hands
12. Gauge bets to drive out other hands or take advantage of worse hands.
13. Never stab at the dark (aka no dark tunnel bets)
14. Don't underbet a hit flop.

This is, for me, mechanically correct poker. And its how I played last night. And its how I bubbled.

I think the BIG difference from playing mechanically correct and playing creatively is not playing 85o pre-flop. Its letting a lesser hand see a turn card. Sometimes even a river card at the right price (for them). I NEVER did this. In fact I took very few chances at all. Each time I flopped a big hand, I hope someone had caught SOMETHING. ANYTHING. But each time, I was alone with my big hand, unwilling to give anyone any rope.

I played correct, but uninspired poker.

I did, however, get to witness first hand a "pressure player" that operated under the doubleas (see link) formula. I have a much better grasp of this now. "It's about relative stack sizes, not pot sizes", he told me. I think its starting to sink in.

I also got to congratulate Motown's own "ballgame" who final tabled the stars big event last week for $50k. Wow.

I remember something from my stand up days. The more thoroughly you have memorized your act, the more freedom you have to deviate from the path. Because you always can get back to your act at any time smoothly. Poker is the same way. Now that I have the base set of my rules established, I can begin to play more creatively.

Biggest change I wish to make: I wish to SLOW DOWN and think after a flop and decide “what is the best amount to bet here” instead of applying a formula or 1/3, ½ or pot.

NL tournament Strategy from 1995 vs. 2006

To recap strategy from a DECADE ago:

Rule 1: Play only very good starting hands. (group 1 from EP, group 1-2 from other positions)

Rule 2: If you are the first one in, enter with a raise. (in early levels, raise preflop 5%-10% instead of 3xBB and post-flop make the raise % of stack instead of % of pot)

Rule 3: If there are other callers in before you, raise if you have a large pocket pair, otherwise call. (and by large pocket pair, the rules was QQ or better. Or if you’re TJ, KK or better. You did not CALL and all-in pre-flop with JJ).

Rule 4: Use caution in responding to a raise.

Rule 5: When you hit a flop you like, bet big and raise big. (you need to accumulate chips and because you are playing fewer hands, you need the hands you play to pay off)

Rule 6: When you hit a good draw, bluff if the conditions are right. Call only if the one-card draw odds are correct. (i.e. semi-bluff on the FLOP not the turn and give it up if the turn is a blank and the new odds are against you.)

Rule 7: Late in the tournament, fight for the blinds with big cards.

Rule 8: Treat your last few chips as though they were precious, because they are. (Note that using the modern day comparison, we are talking an M<2 or a Q of .1)

What is different a decade later?

Rule 1: Playing tight is a great way to go, but the fields are SO large now that waiting for group 1 hands creates a “slippery slope of Q”. Meaning that you win just enough hands to “chase average”. If your Q is always below 1, its going to be harder to get to the money in a large field of over 500. Something unheard of in 1995.

Adjustment: Play speculative hands from LP in the hopes of hitting a big hand or a big draw. You will need to push marginal advantages if you wish to accumulate chips against 1000+ players. You also need to get away from these hands quickly when you are up against tight players.

Rule 2: Players today are less likely to play for a big raise pre-flop in level 1 to win 3xBB chips. If the starting stack is 1500 and the blinds are 10/20 and you make it 75-150 to go, you may get no action at a tight table. (Interesting point though is that you would quickly find out just who is loose and who is tight.) If you flop MP or better, you are now going to follow up with not 200 (2/3 pot sized bet if you have 1 caller), but more like 400 (which is 30% of the remaining stack size). That is big pressure to try to apply at level 1. Many times this works out of the gate and you can get some chips. And many other times VERY LOOSE players call you and draw on you.

Adjustment: You must mentally tag which players will lay down hands and which will NOT and play your hand accordingly. Of course, if you correctly tag a loose player and flop TP and he calls you down while making 2 pair on the turn, you are going broke, but so be it.

Rule 3: Not much change here. Don’t play baby pairs up front, call from late.

Adjustment: I think we add suited connectors in late position, especially if they contain a 9 or a Ten.

Rule 4: This is still true in 1-2 or 2-5 NLHE live cash games in Vegas.

Adjustment: Not everyone is a fish. Despite the LOADS of bad play out there, I think you need to respect this rule. What was one of Steve Dannenmann’s rules? “It is only a small mistake to fold to a raise”.

Rule 5: The classic tight aggressive. Play few hands and when you hit make others calls as a dog. Too bad too many players are now “loose pre-flop, tight post flop”. This means that it’s less common to isolate to one opponent pre-flop.

Adjustment: Playing the speculative hands from late position adjusts for some of this in terms of expected EV, but you also must be able to figure out if you are behind vs. someone who just “feels” pot committed. Pros do this very well. You must do it well too.

Rule 6: As the tournament progresses, this gets more and more applicable. But I rarely bluff at all in the first half of a tournament. If it’s a 180, I wait until 90 or so are gone. At that point, the remaining players feel vested in the tournament and stop throwing chips around like water.

Rule 7: Late in the tournament, fight for the blinds with big cards. As good today as it was then. BUT, in today’s large fields, there are always loose players who accumulate large chips stacks by playing lots of hands and getting luckier than the other loose players playing lots of hands. When you run into that stack in the late stage, you need to up your base steal hand requirements from any 2 to something viable. That way, when he makes a big re-reaise with broadway, you can crush him.

Rule 8: I think the modern day equivalent of this is to understand your M and Q in relation to the field size. If your Q<.5 (even doubling up wont get you to average), you need to think about pushing very marginal edges. You can’t fold your way to the money in these large fields, nor can you double up just to live for another hour. That hour still won’t get you to the Promised Land.

shame and redemption

Full Tilt does not have IP subnet blocking, so Mrs. Columbo challenged me to join her in a HORSE SnG. I said sure, figuring I could half pay attention and still do ok. As I watched net copies of SNL Celebrity Jeopardy, I bubbled twice. Lame of me to play without being fully engaged. So, last night I signed up for a FT HORSE SNG and fully engaged myself. I finished 2nd. Better.

I am concentrating on two events right now:
the $4-180 (20 table) MTT at Stars (when I have 3 hours)
[ROI since starting last week: 550%, 1cash/3)
and the FT HORSE $5 SNG. (when I dont have 3 hours)
[ROI since starting last week: -20% 1cash/3)

I am hoping for some P-HORSE at the WPBT, so I have been playing play money Pineapple at paradise poker for practice. I(s the P in P-HORSE high-low P or just high?)

My stud 8OB is better than my 7 card stud, but I took a sick beat when my 76543 failed to take EITHER the high (someone made a flush) NOR the low (lost to, get this, 76542). I refused to play that holding weak. Still, I finished 2nd overall and the winner of the SnG was the 76542 guy. Weird.

My WPBT strategy plan so far: Dont play any hands with the luckbox or STB.

How does one donk off $30 bucks with the guys?

Ed's birthday was yesterday and we needed a fun activity that included cigars, gambling, yelling and about $30. So what do you think we played for 5 hours?!





It was quite a treat to come across something of that nature. It was like the first time you played poker. So fun, but you have no idea what you are doing. SO much fun!

catching up

had to leave on business RIGHT AFTER the HORSE game. How does one lose at limit at LEVEL 1 - during the H?!

1. run into the luckbox(tm) on hand #1 (I'm talking about you CJ!)
2. Next hand, run TP into an overpair.
3. Next hand, have your aces cracked.

That's right, I lost $1250 of my $1500 in the "H" in level 1. I suck.

Ok, now for something I did WELL. A great decision...

the 180 $4.00+$0.40 Hold'em No Limit - Level IV (50/100)
JSFARM: posts big blind 100

*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to Columbo777 [Kc Kd]
mgpferreira: folds
rod-macedo: calls 100
gill36: calls 100
blauman32: folds
Columbo777: raises 300 to 400
Dominator197: folds
FLYBOYS: folds
hotpoppa: folds
JSFARM: calls 300
rod-macedo: folds
gill36: calls 300
*** FLOP *** [Td Jd 3h]
JSFARM: bets 500
gill36: folds
Columbo777: raises 500 to 1000
JSFARM: calls 500 <=drawing?!
*** TURN *** [Td Jd 3h] [9c] <=oh no!
JSFARM: bets 1685 and is all-in

[columbo goes into the tank!]













Columbo777: calls 1685
*** RIVER *** [Td Jd 3h 9c] [5c]
*** SHOW DOWN ***
JSFARM: shows [Qc Ad] (broken draw)
Columbo777: shows [Kc Kd] (a pair of Kings)

I was hard to put him on KQ when I had two of them. It was also impossible to put him on 78. No, I figured him for QJ and a bluff... well, eventually I did.

And the side effect of making a good decision? momentum!

Buy-In: $4.00/$0.40 180 players
Dear Columbo777,

You finished the tournament in 3rd place.
You earned 126.13 tournament leader points in this tournament.

home game movie moment

Gets down to what it's all about, doesn't it? Making the wrong move at the right time. And I did. I became more bold in the second half as the blinds escalated and my chip stack did not. Each time I made a move with my entire stack I either got the fold I wanted (like TT vs KQ) or won the showdown. Now we are 5 handed, just before merging to the final table and I have A9d. The MP (a good player) min raises. fold to me and I think for a minute. I decide to call from the SB. The BB folds. The flop is A89. I check knowing that no one is going to credit me with an Ace here so I play it cool. The MP bets 1/2 pot. I come over the top. He quickly calls with his set of Aces, thinking I must have a straight draw. IGHN.

I noted that I took too many stabs at pots in levels 3-6 where I left myself exposed THREE times to a check -raise or a bet over the top. My one attempt to play a pot away from someone was aborted. The players were agressive post flop, almost to a fault, and I adjust to play with the grain instead of against it. BAD, but fixable.

ABC's LOST

So they DID go "The Prisoner" route in the finale! Cool.

a tale of 2 evenings

It's night number two for the 180 SnG at stars. Last night, I finished a dissapointing 24th, tonight a dissapointing 30th. But in baseball terms:
2 runs
2 mistakes
0 major errors

Which was not good enough to win.

Run #1 was when I called a raise pre-flop with Q9s. I was 4 flushing on the flop and I make a 1/2 pot bet in the hopes of disguising the draw. He comes over the top for twice that. Can you see where he made a mistake? He gave me odd to call that. (the raise was not big enough). BUT, we BOTH know that I am on the draw now. So when the turn is a non-flush card, I can attempt to continue the charade or check. I have a feeling that either way my money is going in and so is his. I check hoping he will make a mistake somehow and not put me all in. But in reality, his RAISE on the flop made the pot big enough that his all in on the river (or more to the point, putting ME all in) have given me 4-1 odds AND folding leaves me with a Q of .3 I CAN NOT see how he expects me to fold. The river is the flush card and I hit the break back at average.

I am about average after losing with AK and winning with AA. But after that, I tried only THREE "moves", they all failed. The last one is an old story. Folded around to you in the SB and you have KJ so you raise your shortish stack all-in and the BB calls with AK. "That's the third time this week"

So, I continue to soldier on. I did make a nice pot steal with middle pair once. And I did not make any MAJOR stupid moves. But I did make a dark tunnel bet with AK and I did overplay a hand. I had alot of BLOw hands (big-little offsuit) to contend with.

In the end, I was not aggressive enough to chip up where I needed to be at the bubble. I know to gear up at that point, but the chip leader was on my left and that really hinders your ability to steal. No excuses, but it was a tough challenge. I need to continue this crusade.

wot's, uh, the deal?

PS is running the 20 tables (180 players) $4s again! To me, this the BEST talent test for the money.

Last nights adventure was definetely a wake up call for me.

In level 1, I make a bad play. I made a push in level 1 (already a bad idea), but then checked the turn and so did the opponent. Had I put in a good bet there, he would have folded what turned out to be a 4 outer. He hit it on the river. And he bet. AND I called it. IF I WAS GOING TO CALL A RIVER BET, THEN I SHOULD HAVE MADE A TURN BET INSTEAD. Not only am I down half my chips, I did this in level 1 where you start in a position where you need to ACCUMULATE chips.

5 minutes later I double up back to the starting stack size. But I COULD have been chipped up. Instead I am "chasing average" (what I call it when Q<1) all the way to the break. At the break, the average is like 4000 and I have like 1800. I figure its a few more hands and I am out. BUT, I am making GOOD decisions now and about 90 players have eliminated themselves.

There are now 60 players left and I am 27th in chips.
There are now 50 players left and I am SEVENTH in chips!
There are now 40 players left and I am 5th in chips!

With 24 or so players left (18 pay), I am in the top 10. And then I bubbled. How did it happen? Was it bad luck? Was it suckouts? HARDLY. I played BAD.

How does one play so good and then SELF DISTRUCT?! Let me tell you!

Let's skip the hand analysis and skip to the BASIC breakdowns that directly contributed to my downfall. Since I was a big stack, I should AVOID confrontation with the ONLY OTHER BIG STACK at my table! Worse yet, HE was in position! When that flop came and I bet out and he called. I got suspicious. Why, because I watched him numerous times call on the flop and raise on the turn to steal a pot. And yet, I made the flop bet with a weak holding, which he called. Then I made a STRONG turn bet which he came over the top of. I had to fold. POOR PLAY.

Then I COMPOUNDED my mistake by trying the same trick he used on me on another player. He also took my chips. And suddenly, I was in RED (M=5) territory again. TERRIBLE PLAY. It pains me to see that after years of this, I can still be such a train wreck.

I need to train. I am back at the 180s until I can produce results.

Vegas on Business (a rambling and some poker)

This entry has been re-titled in my mind no less than 6 times. Read into that what you will.

Vegas Business Trip Report

What are the Pros and Cons of staying off the strip? Price is what I expected the answer to be. But I sorta found the exception to the rule. I stayed at the RIO, which is on strip, but only if you take the shuttle over the highway. Which means you need to be back by 1am. Since I am here on business, this has not been a problem. But otherwise, not good.

The RIO is all-suites which means the rooms are twice as large than say, the Paris, but also cost exactly twice as much.
It’s nice because the pool has a sandy beach, but they also charge $18 for a large Pina Colada. That’s a big number for something that is held in a plastic cup.

My room air conditioning is barely keeping up, while the hallways are a refrigeration unit at 65 degrees. The weirdness of Vegas. (note: later in the day, the hotel will lost power for a good hour. I wonder if its related to keeping cavernous hallways at 65 degrees?)

#1 Tip for Vegas, ALWAYS get a player card. It makes check in so much more pleasant.

Tip for Vegas #2: Find the nearest coffee (such as starbucks). Its too hard to locate them in the morning when you need them. The RIO has two Starbucks and a 3rd coffee and pastry stand.

Tip for Vegas #3: Bring your own cigars. The cigar booths are typically out of the way places with high prices. Counter to the trend, the RIO had one by the front desk. Not counter to the trend, cigars were expensive.

I stayed on the 11th floor with a strip view. If you are not here on business, get a strip view. How? Use your gold card to check in and be VERY NICE to the check in clerk. Especially if they are new and their supervisor is helping them learn the ropes.

The RIO shuttles run to Harrah’s where the monorail is and to Caesars Palace. But its 5-10 wait for the shuttle and a 5-10 minute ride. It add up when the temperature is over 90.

Card rooms:
The RIO poker room (not where the WSOP will be obviously) is very small and their lowest NLHE game was 2-5. I am very bankroll driven, so I always look for a 1-2 game.

After business concluded on day #1, we had a wonderful dinner at the RIO steakhouse. Tremendous . My previous trips to Vegas have been very anti-climactic in the food area. Not this time. Go for the expense restaurants or stick to subway. The “inexpensive fare” restaurants are so bad, its almost a crime. I swear that at the imperial palace burger place someone should be sued over what they call edible.

I took the shuttle to Harrah’s and since they had a 1-2 NLHE game, sat down. I had maybe a 5 minute wait (if that). Nice room, sequestered off (which I prefer).

I am playing for about an hour, but never had a hand better than AJ or TT. I held my own but was coming up about even. I have a rule when playing live NLHE 1-2. If there are more than 3 players in the pot, don’t bet or call bets bigger than ½ pot with anything less than 2 pair. So, I rarely get into trouble with these types of tables.

They start their evening tournament (which I decided to skip) which had but nine players (resulting in a SnG for their tournament.)

Some players from each of the 1-2 tables went over to the SnG and the rest collapsed into our table. The guy on my left was a regular since the dealer knew him by name (alex). Here now is the second hand after he sat down.

I raise it up to 10 with ATs from EP and he calls. No other players.
The flop is AT6 with 2 clubs. I have flopped top two and all worries about being out kicked are gone. I am just concerned with the 2 clubs.
I decide to play this aggressively, because I expect he will pay me off with Ax, hopefully A6. I bet $25 into the pot of $23 (defend against the flush) and he raises $25. With top two pair I figured him for a flush draw semi-bluff with a pair or Ax (hopefully A6, but more probably AK).

I decide since I will have committed 50% of my stack if I call, and he has a big stack, I need him to leave that flush draw on the table and fold if he has just the draw. I push my remaining stack in and he calls. He turns over 66 for the set. Its not often you flop top 2 vs. a set in a cash game. I am not sure I could escape based on our stack sizes.

I buy back in for a second buy-in. I spend the next hour+ working it back. Just solid play, taking opportunities, not getting greedy. I have gotten 90% of it back.

Meanwhile an interesting hand comes up that I was not in. The flop is AAx with two players. The out of position player postures and says “I am trying to figure out if my Kings are good.” He then checks. The other player takes the bait and bets the flop. The “kings” smooth call. “kings” now check the turn and the other buy gets, again the smooth call. The river is x and this time the “kings” bet. The other player folds. “kings” turns over Ax for a boat.

The boat player cashes out and leaves. Classic.

For 10 minutes I fold. Solid play.

I now find AcJc in MP. Two early players have limped in and I pop it to 5xBB. I get the original limper and the SB to call.

The flop is Ad7c6s

SB checks, I bet 35, hoping to get a AJ to fold if there is one). The first limper folds, but the SB calls after thinking about folding for about 15 seconds.

The turn 5c and I have picked up the nut flush draw. SB checks, I bet 35. He check-raises all-in. (Its 100 more or the remaining 50% of the starting stack on this hand). I go into the think tank. This is not a tournament I say to myself, I feel like I a supposed to make this call. I doubt the club helped him, and I think he is trying to grab the pot from me. I don’t consider the 5 a worry card. Still, something is wrong. But, I call figuring I have the flush redraw. He has 89. (he made a straight on the turn)

I look for the club. The last card is a red K. All my work flushed down the toilet.

I always leave the table when I make a bad decision. Sort of self imposed imprisonment. I review the hand over and over in my head…

mistakes:
1. Didn’t I eat the Peppered beef? I called an all-in (check raise no less) with less than two pair.
2. Check raise, heck any re-raise at this table. In retrospect, I realize I did not see a single re-raise at this table where the player did not have a big hand. (this goes for my 2 pair vs. set hand also)
3. I did not completely think out big decision because I don't play live enough. I am not even sure that the check-raise registered. No, that is hiding the truth. The check raise did NOT register at all. I felt the pressure to respond because everyone was waiting. In a home game, I would have made them wait.
4. I Did not really address the turn card. When a turn card comes, you have to evaluate its impact on the value of the hands. It greatly diminished mine. Why did I think A8 vs. 89?? Because of the call on the flop? I figured A weak kicker. The check raise should have said I was wrong.
5. Counted my redraw as too many outs. Sure it was 8 or 9 outs, but I was still a DOG to get there. I was getting 3-1 ish on a 4.5-1 draw (assuming I cant win with 2 pair or its even more). This was the fatal clincher and a psychology lesson in one. In a CASH GAME, it’s HARDER to lay down a draw to the nuts.

Worst of all, I realize the next day that this was a similar mistake I made last December at Excalibur!!! I had a guy pull a straight out on 4th street and did not re-evaluate my holding and paid it off. (Although I did not have a redraw in that situation. That’s what really screwed me up here, the re-draw.)

If I hit the club, I am up $200 for the night and think I am king of the table. But I have never been what you would call “lucky”.

"walking back to Dallas" as TJ would say. Went broke from behind. Embarrassed and defeated I went to bed.

The next night, I have a wonderful dinner at the China Griil at Mandalay. Afterwards, it is off to play again. Mandalay no longer spreads 1-2, only 2-5 in low NLHE. So we took the train to the castle. They had 1-3, which would normally qualify. But after last nights sting, I wondered over to MGM instead. And let’s face it, it’s an easy thing to do. MGM runs an excellent card room. They will post games based on interest, they process the wait quickly, and they have lots of dealers. (I have not played at the big rooms at Bellagio or Wynn).

I come in after the button and as is my habit, decide to wait for the BB so I can watch the table. Twice in one rotation I see a raised flop called by 5, checked around on the flop and the turn, and someone stab at the river only to get no resistance. These guys are not bullies or bluffers it seems.

10 or so hands in, I realize I have seen zero flops. Here come my blinds AGAIN.

There are 4 callers and I look down to see AJo in the SB. This is absolutely the hardest position to play this hand from. I do know, however, not to raise with AJo from the SB. I reluctantly pay the extra ½ bet and see the flop figuring I am going to have to fold unless I get a strong flop.

Flop JT6 rainbow. Nice, strong flop for me. The UtG limper makes it 10, there is a caller and back to me in the SB. I raise it to 35 (25 more). Without even a delay he puts me all in.
I go into the tank again, only this time I take a good 2 minutes. The dealer was accommodating. After much thought fold. My read was that he limped with AA waiting for the re-raise pre-flop that never came. After the flop, he led out to build a pot and when I showed strength, went for the stack. If I had a set, he would be broke right now. Neither of us showed, but since he had not done that and did not do it since, I feel I was exactly right. So even though I lost $35, I felt pretty good about my play. It was very similar to last night’s hand where I called, but this time I escaped.

10 minutes later I have about $90 in front of me.
I am UtG and look down at two Jacks. Another difficult hand, but I am going to play it. I decide to raise to 10 UtG with JJ. This might have been a bit light for this table, but if I bet 15, the only caller is AA or KK or QQ. I want worse hands to call and better hands to give me a chance to out-flop them. UtG+1, a nice older lady who played too many hands pre-flop, calls. The Button then raises to 25. I actually think for a moment about folding. Then reason and rational return to my brain and I call as does the old lady.

The flop is 68J 2 diamonds. FINALLY, I have a big hand. And top set no less. It seems obvious that in a cash game I check here. If they have something I get extra money in the pot, if they don’t I give them a chance to catch up as a BIG dog. I check and the other two check after me. The old lady probably has zero. (I really expected the button to bet here and he does not. Curious that he did not make a continuation bet. Ax?) pot is $78. I have about $55 left in front of me.

The turn is a Q. I quickly notice that I cant check. I wish to “bid” up the pot and allow the other two to make a mistake. Maybe 1 of them just made two pair or top pair with that Q. I bet 25, hoping the old lady will stay. She does not. The button, however, says “I’ll donate” and calls. I expect that because of that comment he has an 8, maybe even 78. (I have a about 30 left)

His call was with AK and he was drawing to a 4 outer. He mistakenly thought his overcards were good as he put me on AJ (or so I expect).
River is a T and the stack gets pushed the other way. All I can do is get up and walk away. My 3rd buy in is gone.

If I am all in on the flop, I bet 40 instead of 25. But I expect to be way ahead on this flop (and I am!). That would chase away hands that are big dogs. I feel I played this hand well and just did not get the results. I should win this showdown 11 of 12 times.

I don’t know if I can take playing again. Instead, I will go to the corporate event and see Richard Jeni for free. Having been in stand-up in the past, and having seen Richard work, there are few better. There are maybe 6 comics I would go see. He is one of them. (I wrote this before I ran into Richard in the hallway.)

Warning: Non-poker related post (rare for me)

So in the last 24 hours, I have corresponded with / run into two very interesting people.

I have often traded tv shows with people on tape and DVD. I love rare stuff, especially from Japan, or shows I loved as a kid but would like to see again. Sometimes you get lucky, like with Columbo, and they come out on DVD. I hear Brisco County is coming out this summer (via the Bruce Campbell web site). Other times you need to be more createive. (see my lists at www.eifco.org/tapetrade)

So I end up trading my copy of "It's your move" to a guy in Austrailia. Nice guy and a big fan of the show like me. (the show stared Jason Bateman as a kid who was the ultimate scammer. The writers created Married with Children after this show.)

This Aussie kid is such a big fan in fact, that he somehow TRACKS DOWN one of the child actors from the show (Eli). I get an email telling me that he wants a copy of the show. There is no way I could charge this guy or ask for a trade, so I simple ask him for a story about working on the show instead. And he wrote me one. Now that was a fair trade. I really enjoyed hearing about the back stage antics, and how auditioning was and how much his parents hated the idea. So funny. So, I am sending him of DVDs of his own show. How cool is that?

So, I am walking back to my hotel room and who do I run into but comedic genius Richard Jeni. (The BEST of the "no sitcom yet" comics in America). I met Richard about 12 years ago at Comedy Castle back when I did stand up. He did not remember me (nor should he), but he was very personable and asked me about what I did now for a living and even asked some more in-depth questions about it. So after the brief conversation, I sort of switch sides of the hallway (from his right to his left) so he can continue talking to the other guy he was walking with. But he says, "what was that? switching sides?" I said "I was shifting over to another location so that you would not feel obligated to keep talking to me." He thought that was funny. "First of all that isnt going to work. and second, I dont mind at all. But it was polite of you." Funny how some people are genuinely approachable and don't do it just for the act of doing it. We talked about how he used to drive the staff crazy by doing 180 minutes instead of 90 (he doesnt do that anymore) and his gigs at the comedy castle (positive, although now its meadbowbrook, a concert venue). He is performing tonight as a special treat to the attendees of this confernce, so I get to see his show.

All in all, A blue ribbon day. Oh by the way, I am on Vegas in business. I will have a long poker post about Vegas when I return. Long and detailed.

This weekend its camping. Memorial Day camping. Up in the great white north (well upper michigan at least). 3 days with no electronics. Wish me Good Luck.

Blogger Freeroll A stars

I have registered to play in the PokerStars World Blogger Championship of Online Poker!

This Online Poker Tournament is a No Limit Texas Holdem event exclusive to Bloggers.

Registration code: 7330476

The concept of BIDDING on a hand

A very similar concept has also been discussed on 2+2 as "The Pot Philosophy" and by Mike Caro as the "value of a hand". This is my take on the topic.

What is one thing Phil Ivey does better than any other player? In my opinion, its that he evaluates the "value" of his situation before he looks at his cards. He takes a quick survey of the table and thinks about the faces and the moves that came before him. He may even think about something related to an overall opportunity that may or may not fit this hand. Then he looks at his cards for the first time.

There are huge advantages in this somewhat long and boring discipline. He never gives off a tell related to hand interest. He has already decided what hands are playable given the current circumstances. If he is going to bluff, he may have already decided to do so before he looks at his cards.

The current situation has a value (stack sizes, position, level, tilting playing in the pot, etc). This is called SITUATIONAL VALUE. Then you look at your hand and THAT has a value. Let’s call that HAND VALUE for obvious reasons. Then you look at the POT SIZE and THAT has a value, especially post flop. That is the RETURN VALUE.

(Let's not talk about future-value as that is for the advanced only. I understand it, but can't use it effectively yet as I don’t compete at that level yet. FUTURE VALUE is making a certain play to set up the opposite move later on. You ONLY should do this when it will work, which is a very distinct set of circumstances.)

It is now, with the action to us, that we are going to BID. It doesn't matter if it’s a call or a raise; I am still assessing whether of not the potential RETURN VALUE of the hand outweighs the risk of being involved in the hand. In addition, we are deciding the value in being in this hand vs. the risk / reward paradigm.

So how do we decide what the BID should be? In high level terms, its like any other auction bid. Do we value to pot more than we value our current bid? If so, that is evidence to proceed. Do we think that our bid is the winning bid? Is that our intent? Poker is unique in that the pot has its own marketing program. As it gets larger, it advertises as such. So do we wish to make the pot more attractive, or do we wish to make our bid vs. its current value? If we make a pot size bet to protect top pair, that is a beginner move. If we make a 3/4 pot bet because we believe that our TP is probably good, but the texture of the board is luke warm so we need to protect it, then this is a more advanced play. But if we make the same 3/4 pot bet because we assess the value of the pot and our assessed value of the hand and think that we don't desire a showdown here based on value of the hand vs. our goals, we BID 3/4 pot to see if the other player will BID more or FOLD. We have made a more advanced play now despite making the same bet. We chose 3/4 of the pot because based on what we were willing to bid on the hand, we have to determine if we are going to win it right here and if we did win it right here, did we PAY the right price.

If we value this POT more for strategic reasons, we may adjust our bid UP. If we value this POT for return on investment reasons, we may bid LESS and accept more long term risk for less short term risk. (A dangerous business in NLHE, but not as much so in Omaha).

The chips you invest are gone once they are in the pot. At any given time, you are going to BID on the pot, knowing that you lose your bid chips whether or not you win the auction. The closer you BID is to the PERFECT value bid at that time, the better you are playing.

You need to make this calculation. Some do it by instinct, some by feel, some by math. But you are making a BID decision. Are you making good ones? If you can't think about poker in these terms, how can you expect to beat players who do?

Your got Questions? We got Answers!

Questions courtesy of http://www.tripjax.com/

1. What is the biggest mistake people make at a NL table?
Playing. Poker is -EV.
Secondly, they don't control the size of the pot properly. They win only when others make bigger mistakes than their own.

2. What is the biggest mistake people make at a Limit table?
Pretneding that limit is anything other than a math game.

3. Why do you play poker?
I have been a game player since I was a kid. Computer games, war games, parlor games, even road rallies, but not games of chance. To this day, I have no taste for table games. But poker is a battle of wits without a huge learning curve in explaining the rules. I would have just as much fun if I did not play for money (assuming everyone else took it seriously).

4. If you weren't playing poker, what would you be doing?
Some other battle of wits. Before I found poker, I hosted a weekly game night on Saturdays. We also drank alot of Mai Tais. I even have a published board game under my belt. ("Bootleggers" is available at Barnes and Noble this fall.)

5. What is your favorite poker book and why?
Harrington's book on NLHE. Far and away the easiest system to understand and implement. After that, I like "the 48 laws of power". I mean, lets face it. When *I* watch survivor, I fast forward through those stupid competitions and just watch the politics. Now that is riviting.

6. Who is your favorite poker player and why?
Phil Hellmuth. He isn't afraid of expressing his frustrations which I consider ammusing.

7. Which poker player do you dislike the most and why?
Annie Duke. Because I met her. Nuff said.

8. Do your coworkers know about your blog?
Few if any.

9. What is the most you have won in a cash game or MTT (both live and online)?
I won a nice $600+ purse once in a local $40 tournamnet.

10. What is the most you have lost in a cash game or in one day total (both live and online)?
$200 at the castle at the winter WPBT. The guy on my left was lying in wait and I got caught with second nuts, TWICE. My loses never had previously nor since have ever gone into 3 digits.

11. Who was your first poker blog read?
It was the Lord Admiral poker podcast!!!

12. What satisfies you more, your aces holding up for a big pot or a bluff working for a big pot?
Neither. I like a well plaid hand. Period. One where I correctly work out if I am ahead or behind and make the correct move.
Ok, that is bullshit. Its a big bluff baby!

13. Why do you blog?
I have always been a closet writer. Comes from my years in comdey (improv and standup). But I feel that immersion in something is good for the brain. Helps it commit to learning things... and stuff.

14. Do you read blogs from an RSS reader like bloglines or do you visit each blog?
RSS only. No time for browsing. I got a life. -Ok, I have a job.

15. Would you rather play poker for a living than do what you currently do for a living?
I think if I played for a living, all the fun would be drained out of it. I enjoy it as a hobby.

16. Do you wear a tin foil hat on occasion?
I am not superstitious, but I did once exercise my suck-out demons with a sacrifice.

17. If you had to pin it down to one specific trait, what does a great poker player have (or do) that separates them from an average player?
"They know where they are at." (Mike Madasow)
I think in terms of Brain attributes, they are adept at "complex pattern recognition".

18. Is Drizz the coolest person on the planet for naming his baby Vegas?
I hope so. They might have said that decades ago about the Hiltons.

19. What is your primary poker goal and are you close to accomplishing it?
I am always on the cusp of achieving my goal. To become a consistent whining (sic) player.

20. What is your primary online site and why?
Poker Stars. I feel it offers the highest level of competition.

21. What site do you dislike and why?
Party. There are too many to list.

ready, touchdown... hut,hut,hut, HIKE!

Ok, fellow amateurs, lend me your ears. The level of competition out there is getting better as more and more of the "players who saw poker on TV" get bored of losing and stop playing.

So, what are you doing to improve your game? Are you the type of player who PRACTICES poker by scrimmaging, or do you just show to play on game day? If you are not performing drills nor finding ways to practice elements of the game, then either you are already to good for it to matter or you are not getting better.

With that in mind, here are the top 3 poker drills you can practice this week. I went through a bad spell recently and went back to drills. I cashed in 2/3 of my last tournaments after running dry for weeks.

Drill #1: Make a list of top 10 rules YOU WILL NEVER BREAK. Write them down. Tape them to the monitor. Now play. DONT BREAK THE RULES.

Drill #2: Tighten up. I mean "beginner tight". You must play 12% or LESS from non-blind positions. In the SB, you MUST fold if you dont have atleast a 2-gapper. NO 3 HOLERS, not even suited. Use the extra time to WATCH the flow of the tournament or table. See how a table ebbs and flows from loose to tight. Not you, the table. Its not always about you. Now, when you see the table start to get foldy, watch THIS TABLE for where a steal would work best. BUT, do not steal. Just watch for validation.

Drill #3(my favorite) : Give yourself THREE chips. Place them next to the keyboard. Each time you bet POST FLOP with not even a pair, discard a chip. When you use up your 3 chips, you are no longer allowed to bet/push post flop without a pair. period. (you may call, but I dont recommend it). This will force you to stop pushing in early rounds from bad posiion. You will be AMAZED at how much further you go in a tournament. (for advanced players, give yourself 1 new chip each level at levels 3+).

I ASSURE you that this will improve your game. Try it and see.

ADDENDUM: Questions related to continuation bets. You may continuation bet and not discard a chip IF:
1. You were the raiser before the flop
2. You isolated to 1 opponent

Donkey challenge update: I am a donkey. 'nuff said. I play way too much for fun and thus my bankroll suffers. I think my $ at PS is down to like $90. Sad really.

...so does the fool to his folly

Why do I keep playing at Poker Stars? I know its the hardest field/engine to beat consistenly! So why do I keep going back? Because I have something to prove. I just hope I figure out what the hell it is.

Mothers day was once again a knees-bent running about day. I visited so many mothers, that there has to be an offensive joke in it somewhere.

I also seem to be perpetually broke, despite making a decent living. Where does it all go? Why does it keep going? Does it have a destination in mind when it leaves?

I bubbled my last two practice sessions at the 45 player SnGs. This time I was in the top 5 most of the way, then my A8s made a steal attempt that was picked off by the BB with A3o. WTF? and... IGHN. Can't be sad though. As TJ says, "you get your money in ahead, its all you can do." Feh!

I am Brian and so is my wife!

I am going to challenge two very large assumptions in EARLY ROUND NLHE tournament play.

1. You always want to be in control of the hand by betting, pushing and being generally aggressive. This forces players to REACT to you.

2. The GAP principle applies in early rounds.

A new way of thinking:

1. In the EARLY stages of a tournament (say level 1 or 2), it is much better to judge the strength of your opponents hands and make the maximum amount of money by calling players down. Too many players are too loose and too aggressive.

2. The GAP principle is INVERSE in early rounds. You want to try and hit a big hand vs. a pre-flop raiser because players are trying too hard to play big pots. If you miss, you fold. If you hit, you let him bet off his chips.

Some days you just cant get rid of a bomb

That quote is from Batman the movie. Imagine being drunk in a bar, at 1:30 am, at a gaming convention, and your 19 years old and so is the drinking age. And THAT movie is playing. What a riot.

ok, so the scene is Batman running around trying to throw away a oversized, cartoon like bomb with a fuse. Each time he turns a corner, he runs into another encounter which prevents him from throwing the bomb away. Nuns, baby carriage, family, even birds! Hilarity ensues.

Last night, I played in a game of amateur players. It is an interesting setup as its a 50 player freezout NLHE, but you start with a shallow stack. 110 in chips, level starts at 1/2. This may seem like an M of 30, but if you assume that a hand will cost you about 10-20 chips to see a showdown, you can ill afford to be wrong even once. Not only that, but the tables are EIGHT handed, not 9 or 10. So you play more hands. Our table for SEVEN handed and one of the guys was playing for only his second time and another guy has a bad hand, so dealing was slow. Fewer hands, shorthanded, shallow stack, how do you play?

Well, I played simple solid. I played about 8 hands and ended up blowing the escape hatch on all of them (and correctly too!). I was behind on all 8 flops. And when I did not see a flop because am early position player raised, I would have flopped trips and the like. I could just not win a hand. Finally, I get dealt AK, flop a king and get chased down by KJ (as expected) who hit the two pair on the turn. They player would have stayed with kicker on TP, so with my stack size the way it was, I tried to keep the other two around with middle pair longer. It worked, and Looze Lloyd took down the monster pot with his Kings up.

Loose Lloyd has a VERY interesting way to play and I will put forth a very interesting set of postulates in my next post...

I am going to challenge two very large assumptions in NLHE tournament play.

Talking to ya cordless!

I am over in London on business right now. I have never played cards in London, mostly because I am a cheap bastard and the exchange rate (2 for 1) keeps me from being able to sit at the table without balking. So, I have never looked up the GUTSHOT card room. But on Friday, I am sitting at a cafe with my wife, who is wearing a FullTilt Hat (courtesy of Bill Rini). Out of nowhere, a bloke comes up and asks us if we play poker. One of them was tournament director Matt Savage. Apparently there was a European tournament series this weekend at the card room and it was only 4 blocks from our hotel. How could I resist?

Well, it was hard not to go there, but pretty easy to not play. The card room, by casino standards, was reminiscent of a newsroom from the 1970s. No paint, no décor, unless you count a poster of Negraneau on the wall. (He has posters?!) The tournament had taken up all the tables on the main floor (all 10?). But next door there were cash tables in the “lower level”. Well, the lower level was NOT as nice as my basement. It had room for 4 tables, 3 of which were full. No one else managing the place down there. This was obviously not the right day to visit them.

Not only that, there were about 2 dozen players playing at Gutshot.com via terminals? Why would you play online whilst AT the casino? Am I just a spoiled American with my internet and computer in my own house with its shower and its AC current? Gez.

So, I am here for one more night, and again doubt I will go over to play cards because there is so much to do in London with the wife. Plus, we live within 30 minutes of 2 very nice card rooms, so there is no feeling that we have to play cards. Next time I am in London, and alone, I’ll give them a whirl.

In some non-poker news, I ran into the web site of an old roommate. Timharrod.com Turns out he is now a writer for Conan O’Brien in NYC. He always had that great sense of humor that you could just envy from off-stage. Great to see other people (whom you don’t hate) be successful!