So I realize at this point that I am well beyond the learning stages of poker and deep into the implementation stages. Which has affected my desire to blog about lessons learned. But for the sake of edification, I am recording this for my own posterity. I think I have a tilt issue...
This is BIG news to me. I think of myself as detached as I play, unemotional and calculating. But after making a SERIOUS amateur blunder on Friday, I was forced to reevaluate everything I assumed about my process. And I came to the conclusion that I not only have this issue in poker, but in life itself.
Let's look at some symptoms:
I have a track record of going deep when I am not feeling well. (Why is this?)
I play well early, when most players play sloppy. (note: This is not always true in 3 or less tables, but deep it is)
I understand level 3 thinking, but often make decisions based on putting my opponent on a hand that I would have (which is clearly wrong)
I still feel the rush of adrenaline when I play a big hand.
None of this tends to indicate that I am detached. As a matter of investigation, when I am not feeling well, I act slower (thus more time to think), I dont get overly excited about a hand, and I am patient. All of THESE things are good.
When I build a starting stack from $10k to $15k and the blinds hit $200/$400/$50, I am doing alright. That is well over 20 bigs. It's funny, but towards the end of this level, I remember raising to $1500, thinking it was $300/$600 and getting 3 bet off a hand. Lack of concentration.
When I short stack moves in from the button and I have KQ, I was looking for reasons to CALL. and I did. And he showed JJ. and I lost the race. "So what?" you say, easy call. But here is the rub. I did not follow PROCESS. I did not ask for a chip count, which would have been closer to $6k, not the $4k I assumed. I did range him (Ax), but can EASILY find a better spot than with KQ and 37 bigs. And I cant be a favorite in the hand EVER. So, I GAMBLED. Ok. Still, I gambled and lost, no sweat.
I still have $10k and the blinds go to $300/$600/$50. No need to panic. Folds around to me with AQs and I make it $1500. A player who would RARELY 3-bet me light at this level with his stack size, makes it $3200. and I "think" about it, then Shove. Snap call, AK. Duh.
What the hell can I possibly be thinking there? I am not thinking, I am reacting. And then I started to compare this situation to set-back challenges I have in life. Similarities came rushing to me. My recent phone crash, and loss of a RAID drive, a mower I could not get into gear... and in these cases, my "action" (which I now see as "reaction") is to push to get back to working as quickly as possible. To return to the state of what I had. Like chasing lost chips. I throw caution to the wind, pull out a box of hammers, and start hammering on solutions. I'll fail a dozen times, zero in on the solution (which now seems like I could have gotten there without so much carnage) and then "relief". But the cost was too high. In times of stress of "things not as they should be", I need to remember what you are supposed to start with in a stressful situation. First, DO NO HARM.
The coffee maker would not turn on today. Perhaps I will GOOGLE and try something safe before hitting it with my hammer. I only hope I can fix this major impediment to success in both life and poker soon. But the identification has been mind-blowing.
I now am a member of Monkey-tilt anonymous.
Monday, May 13, 2013
Monday, April 22, 2013
90 person MTT
Played well early, and got 2 half stacks, effectively doubling to $40k. Then using my new found aggression and determining when players were sitting on 1 pair hands, I applied the heat. In the first two cases, I got called down thin. I did not expect either as I had showed down two monsters to build my stack. Still, I was at $32k and plenty healthy.
After a table break, I was frustratingly card dead for a while. I managed to take down some hands with marginal holdings (or air), but by the time we reached 1000/2000/300 I still had $40k.
The real tragedy was that with about 32 left, I lost patience and tried a steal raise with JTo and got TWO callers. The flop was AK-rag and I figured I could represent here, but as I review the hand, the button caller had to have an Ace. On the turn there were two diamonds and two hearts on the board and I pushed, which is illogical. Everything calls here. Including Ace-rag, which sent me packing. Terrible, terrible play after a good first 6-7 hours.
If I can lock down this leak, I might stand a chance. BUT, I still did not do a very good job of accumulating chips in middle rounds, which continues to be my Achilles heal.
After a table break, I was frustratingly card dead for a while. I managed to take down some hands with marginal holdings (or air), but by the time we reached 1000/2000/300 I still had $40k.
The real tragedy was that with about 32 left, I lost patience and tried a steal raise with JTo and got TWO callers. The flop was AK-rag and I figured I could represent here, but as I review the hand, the button caller had to have an Ace. On the turn there were two diamonds and two hearts on the board and I pushed, which is illogical. Everything calls here. Including Ace-rag, which sent me packing. Terrible, terrible play after a good first 6-7 hours.
If I can lock down this leak, I might stand a chance. BUT, I still did not do a very good job of accumulating chips in middle rounds, which continues to be my Achilles heal.
Wednesday, April 17, 2013
Guess Who's Back... Back Again....
After a minor fiasco with Google terminator bots, the blog is back on line. And just in time too. 2 months to the WSOP. I am in event #40, representing 1 of my poker leagues. (First in 1, last in the other... WTF?)
I have started studying and practicing again, and I came to a realization. Ok, that makes it sound organic which is disingenuous. I finally started listening to "Thinking Poker" podcast (via a comment by Vanessa Selbst in an interview) found that if I stick to just the strategy sessions, it works great for me. Now, more importantly, a MAJOR piece of my level 3 thinking was missing! The concept of CAPPED RANGES. How the F'N HELL did I ever get this far without studying this to the degree to which it deserves. I feel like a fool!
My hand reading skills went way up (duh). I must have been evaluating holdings based solely on street actions and getting away with it a lot since most players don't bluff well (poor frequency, poor spots). Gez, what an improvement.
Second best adjustment? Trying not to "end" the hand. The concept of "keeping his range wide" is now comprehensible to me! I sorta knew all this stuff, but never QUANTIFIED it. Now I feel like someone took my screwdriver out of my hand and handed me an electric one.
Poker has become interesting again.
And NOT a shill, but I am liking the 6 max games on Seals (bitcoin).
I have started studying and practicing again, and I came to a realization. Ok, that makes it sound organic which is disingenuous. I finally started listening to "Thinking Poker" podcast (via a comment by Vanessa Selbst in an interview) found that if I stick to just the strategy sessions, it works great for me. Now, more importantly, a MAJOR piece of my level 3 thinking was missing! The concept of CAPPED RANGES. How the F'N HELL did I ever get this far without studying this to the degree to which it deserves. I feel like a fool!
My hand reading skills went way up (duh). I must have been evaluating holdings based solely on street actions and getting away with it a lot since most players don't bluff well (poor frequency, poor spots). Gez, what an improvement.
Second best adjustment? Trying not to "end" the hand. The concept of "keeping his range wide" is now comprehensible to me! I sorta knew all this stuff, but never QUANTIFIED it. Now I feel like someone took my screwdriver out of my hand and handed me an electric one.
Poker has become interesting again.
And NOT a shill, but I am liking the 6 max games on Seals (bitcoin).
Friday, February 22, 2013
Criswell Speaks
As I predicted close to 5 years ago...
http://www.lasvegassun.com/news/2013/feb/21/online-poker-bill-moves-forward-nevada-legislature/
$500k Fee and only be available to a “resort hotel that holds a nonrestricted license to operate games and gaming devices.” i.e. a Brick and Mortar Casino in NV. (again, as predicted)
http://www.lasvegassun.com/news/2013/feb/21/online-poker-bill-moves-forward-nevada-legislature/
$500k Fee and only be available to a “resort hotel that holds a nonrestricted license to operate games and gaming devices.” i.e. a Brick and Mortar Casino in NV. (again, as predicted)
Friday, February 15, 2013
Adventures in Xbox poker and Bitcoins
I recently downloaded the FULL HOUSE POKER on xbox. It has a few things going for it. The first is that it is available to play... Let's explore the software.
It has a level progression tree where you build experience through defeating either bots or humans. These experience points level you from 1-50. Other than the level indicator, there is little gain in all of this. But it does show you who actually played the game enough to level up and who just came to the table to "donk" as the level is displayed in the lobby. The multiplayer consists of putting your virtual bankroll at a cash or SnG table. You are gifted 200 to start (or when broke) and you build that up. I wish there was a bot cap and the remaining chips would have to come from multiplayer, but that isn't going to happen. If you are willing to play bots for hours, you can build any bankroll you wish. There is a "ranked multiplayer", which I assume ranks you based on winn/loss and not bankroll, but I have no idea how it works. I have finished 3 SnGs, all in second place. I got 4 rank points for each. I still have no idea what it means. On the third one, despite being a ranked event, there were 3 all-ins on the first hand.
There are MTT "Events", but I have never managed to find one. There supposedly 30 minute events where you try to accumulate the most chips, Monte Carlo night style. Ugh.
The real niche of this game is for your xbox friends to get together and play. This supports Headset chat and thus you can have a pretty decent experience, despite the wonky table views (birds eye). If you are interested, let me know. My current xbox friends are all Rockband and Borderlands players, so I hope 9 of you crawl out of the shadows.
Ok, now for the real adventure... BITCOINS. Seals With Clubs poker opened up, which is a online poker room for bitcoins. This means that there is zero jurisdiction for funds, because bitcoins is a non-government backed currency. The equivalent of a community based currency. It works as long as people are willing to use it. It's a bit esoteric to wrap your mind around, so go to the bitcoins.org site and watch there marketing video.
Now that I decide to try this, there is a ton (I mean a crap-ton) of learning. Not just how it works, but how to MAKE it work. There is a virtual wallet, which is like a portable safe. Lose it (or the combination) and it becomes a black hole. Then, there is the issue of how to deposit. Here is where the "risk meets the road" (like that?). There are brokers, merchants, cryptic messages like "Transaction status: Not funded. Seller should send the bitcoins to the temporary transaction address. " and lots of cloak and dagger type instructions featuring two factor authentication. I can purchase bitcoins for just under $30 bucks each, assuming I can find someone or somewhere to buy them from. If I want an easy transaction, I may be paying upwards of $50 for a single coin, which is an insane premium for a virtual coin.
I decide to try the local merchant route and use localbitcoins.com to find a local person to purchase from. Will this work? No idea. I am going to buy 3 coins for like $85 bucks, which is 3000 chips on seal (1 to 1000 conversion). The mission is to meet a broker in Plymouth (over a beer I assume) and trade money for a virtual "code" which contains my 3 coins. That "code" is assigned to me via the broker. At that point, I can "re-assign" the code to Seal, and in exchange for the 3 coins, they give me 3000 chips. Today, I have to arrange a "meet up"... More to come.
It has a level progression tree where you build experience through defeating either bots or humans. These experience points level you from 1-50. Other than the level indicator, there is little gain in all of this. But it does show you who actually played the game enough to level up and who just came to the table to "donk" as the level is displayed in the lobby. The multiplayer consists of putting your virtual bankroll at a cash or SnG table. You are gifted 200 to start (or when broke) and you build that up. I wish there was a bot cap and the remaining chips would have to come from multiplayer, but that isn't going to happen. If you are willing to play bots for hours, you can build any bankroll you wish. There is a "ranked multiplayer", which I assume ranks you based on winn/loss and not bankroll, but I have no idea how it works. I have finished 3 SnGs, all in second place. I got 4 rank points for each. I still have no idea what it means. On the third one, despite being a ranked event, there were 3 all-ins on the first hand.
There are MTT "Events", but I have never managed to find one. There supposedly 30 minute events where you try to accumulate the most chips, Monte Carlo night style. Ugh.
The real niche of this game is for your xbox friends to get together and play. This supports Headset chat and thus you can have a pretty decent experience, despite the wonky table views (birds eye). If you are interested, let me know. My current xbox friends are all Rockband and Borderlands players, so I hope 9 of you crawl out of the shadows.
Ok, now for the real adventure... BITCOINS. Seals With Clubs poker opened up, which is a online poker room for bitcoins. This means that there is zero jurisdiction for funds, because bitcoins is a non-government backed currency. The equivalent of a community based currency. It works as long as people are willing to use it. It's a bit esoteric to wrap your mind around, so go to the bitcoins.org site and watch there marketing video.
Now that I decide to try this, there is a ton (I mean a crap-ton) of learning. Not just how it works, but how to MAKE it work. There is a virtual wallet, which is like a portable safe. Lose it (or the combination) and it becomes a black hole. Then, there is the issue of how to deposit. Here is where the "risk meets the road" (like that?). There are brokers, merchants, cryptic messages like "Transaction status: Not funded. Seller should send the bitcoins to the temporary transaction address. " and lots of cloak and dagger type instructions featuring two factor authentication. I can purchase bitcoins for just under $30 bucks each, assuming I can find someone or somewhere to buy them from. If I want an easy transaction, I may be paying upwards of $50 for a single coin, which is an insane premium for a virtual coin.
I decide to try the local merchant route and use localbitcoins.com to find a local person to purchase from. Will this work? No idea. I am going to buy 3 coins for like $85 bucks, which is 3000 chips on seal (1 to 1000 conversion). The mission is to meet a broker in Plymouth (over a beer I assume) and trade money for a virtual "code" which contains my 3 coins. That "code" is assigned to me via the broker. At that point, I can "re-assign" the code to Seal, and in exchange for the 3 coins, they give me 3000 chips. Today, I have to arrange a "meet up"... More to come.
Tuesday, February 05, 2013
time invested
spent hours on Saturday afternoon watching poker video and absorbing reasons to NOT fold and trying to gleam better ways to look at hands based on your opponents actions. Later that night, I took down a 3 table league MTT. You would think that I would site cause and effect, right? But what really happened was that in one of the rare nights of my long poker playing adventure, I ran good. I never really recall it happening before. Sure I have won a hand from behind, but usually the luck/odds limit themselves to that instance. After grinding to the final table, in which I was perhaps 8/10 in chips, I snap called a bully push with AK and WON the hand! He had J8 and even hit the jack on the flop. I had already stood up. So, this is the big deal and I expect the one big "one time" I am going to get. But then *I* take a flop with J8s. (It was blind vs. blind and he raised 3x. I felt compelled to see a flop). The flop is J XdXd and I am going no where. I check and when he shoves to get me all, I insta-call. Even though I did not improve, the jacks were enough to win the hand. Good, eh? The final of the big-3 was when I had a pair (JJ?) and HE had AK and had to call my bet with his stack, only to not improve while I made a pair. THREE hands, any one of which I could have easily lost, I won. And even as it was progressing, I was aware. For someone who has a run-bad cloud above him and loses more than 50% of flips, I must admit I enjoyed the moments. I even thought, "So this is run good. I like it."
Friday, January 18, 2013
More Thoughts on Deconstruction
Am I going to BET this flop or check?
Well, where does my holding fall in the ranges of my possible action? For example, if AK is at the TOP of the checking range, but in the middle of my betting range, I am better off betting.... hmmmm... perhaps this is too awkward to be used as a axiom.
Sometimes I think we (I) forget the simplest mantra of poker for post flop play:
"Does he fold a hand better than me? Does he call with a hand worse than me?" In those cases, bet. I recall Phil Gordon used to expound a variant of this (which I done like at all), "Am I ahead? Bet. Am I behind? Check". I think he might have been oversimplifying for the medium he expressed this to/in, but its awful if taken at face value.
Well, where does my holding fall in the ranges of my possible action? For example, if AK is at the TOP of the checking range, but in the middle of my betting range, I am better off betting.... hmmmm... perhaps this is too awkward to be used as a axiom.
Sometimes I think we (I) forget the simplest mantra of poker for post flop play:
"Does he fold a hand better than me? Does he call with a hand worse than me?" In those cases, bet. I recall Phil Gordon used to expound a variant of this (which I done like at all), "Am I ahead? Bet. Am I behind? Check". I think he might have been oversimplifying for the medium he expressed this to/in, but its awful if taken at face value.
Thursday, January 17, 2013
ERMEGERD! POST!
So its been a while since I wrote something, anything, about poker. I still play twice a month, buts its rare that something interesting comes up that isnt a rehash of a previous post or simple remembering something.
But I recently saw two things that I deem interesting:
1. Tim Ferriss. I read his book 4 hour chef, which I enjoyed. What I enjoy most of all is his glorification of shortcuts. It's not just the complete lack of guilt over it, it relishing in finding a way to learn a skill without having to learn all the "noise" that comes with it. [note: Truly not a paid ad, the link is a courtesy.]
He has an interesting section on Deconstructing the success of others. My favorite, converted to poker context would be, "Which pro has a huge amount of success, who shouldn't?" Is the biggest possible name here Gus Hansen or is there a better fit? I've read his books, watched him play, and I am continually amazed by Gus' play style. If what Tim professes is correct, Gus is the type of player we should be studying for shortcuts.
2. JCarverPoker's CAKE series of videos which consistently reminds us of things we may already know, but in context of the moments they happen.
When can we call a three bet with 33? When the opponents range is NARROW, not wide. Great stuff. [again I feel the need to say this due to my lack of recent content: The link is a courtesy.]
In other news: "PokerStars Confirms Agreement to Purchase New Jersey Casino". I talked about this even prior to Black Friday (when Harrah's decided to go private). THIS is the future of online poker... STATE regulated gaming for INTRAstate online gaming. i.e. you can host an online poker room to service states where you have a brick and mortar casino. That is the regulatory "neck to choke" that he government 'needs'. It only takes one deal to open the flood gates.
But I recently saw two things that I deem interesting:
1. Tim Ferriss. I read his book 4 hour chef, which I enjoyed. What I enjoy most of all is his glorification of shortcuts. It's not just the complete lack of guilt over it, it relishing in finding a way to learn a skill without having to learn all the "noise" that comes with it. [note: Truly not a paid ad, the link is a courtesy.]
He has an interesting section on Deconstructing the success of others. My favorite, converted to poker context would be, "Which pro has a huge amount of success, who shouldn't?" Is the biggest possible name here Gus Hansen or is there a better fit? I've read his books, watched him play, and I am continually amazed by Gus' play style. If what Tim professes is correct, Gus is the type of player we should be studying for shortcuts.
2. JCarverPoker's CAKE series of videos which consistently reminds us of things we may already know, but in context of the moments they happen.
When can we call a three bet with 33? When the opponents range is NARROW, not wide. Great stuff. [again I feel the need to say this due to my lack of recent content: The link is a courtesy.]
In other news: "PokerStars Confirms Agreement to Purchase New Jersey Casino". I talked about this even prior to Black Friday (when Harrah's decided to go private). THIS is the future of online poker... STATE regulated gaming for INTRAstate online gaming. i.e. you can host an online poker room to service states where you have a brick and mortar casino. That is the regulatory "neck to choke" that he government 'needs'. It only takes one deal to open the flood gates.
Tuesday, October 16, 2012
Thursday, August 23, 2012
This week in Poker
Variance ate me alive this week, resulting in a negative swing in the bankroll. In all cases but one, I got my money in ahead. In the last case I was about a 5-1 dog getting 4-1 and reluctantly made the a call on the river (in Omaha, if you call the flop, you are often calling the turn).
So, to recap: Poker sucks, first losing session of Omaha ever, week long tilt.
Oh, and this small thing happened: A federal judge in New York ruled that poker isn’t gambling under federal law because it’s primarily a game of skill.
Holy pocket aces! Ok, in the grand scheme of online poker, this is really not relevant. BUT, it does mean that home games can not be prosecuted, nor can running games be considered racketeering. Which is semi-significant.
So, to recap: Poker sucks, first losing session of Omaha ever, week long tilt.
Oh, and this small thing happened: A federal judge in New York ruled that poker isn’t gambling under federal law because it’s primarily a game of skill.
Holy pocket aces! Ok, in the grand scheme of online poker, this is really not relevant. BUT, it does mean that home games can not be prosecuted, nor can running games be considered racketeering. Which is semi-significant.
Wednesday, August 15, 2012
Do You Validate?
I have finally put enough time between me and my last MTT to discuss it. Four table MTT and due to a poor showing the previous week in a 3 table MTT, I vow to play perfect.
We are down to 3 tables, the level is 200/400/50 and I am in the SB with $14k in chips. ( M=14, Q is around 1.)
EP standard player raises to $1200 UtG. Folds around to me and I have QQ. I make what I consider a standard raise here to $3k. Villain moves in for $8k.
I thought only briefly about this, thoughts of building a stack in my head. My two choices:
FOLD and have $11k left. (A very weak play here in my opinion)
or
CALL off $5k more to win the pot of $17k or so. (This would put me at $23k and very comfortable.)
Is this an easy of a choice as I made it? More importantly, would you RAISE there with QQ vs. and UtG raiser with $9k?
I call and he tables AK, which hits an ACE and takes 65% of my stack... BUT, I am not out yet... I build it back up. By the time we are down to two tables, I am back at $14k, but the levels are now 500/1000/100. I Call a short stack all-in with TT, only to see that she flopped a flush draw. Turn = boom and I am again now at $8-9k and hanging on.
I grind back up to about $12.5k and finally get KK, but in EP. I cant really fool around and make it $3k to go. The BB is the only caller. But that $3k call + $500 SB + antes will take me to $17k if I take it down on the flop. Not great but not bad.
The flop is 8d9h9d and the BB CHECKS. Can emphasize this enough. He CHECKS. I have only $9500 behind and bet $4500. He then ASKS what I have behind and I state, just $5k. He then CHECK-RAISES me all-in on a OESD. WTF? GREAT for me as I am going to double to... Oh wait, TURN is a TEN and his 67 sends me home. He might of even had 6d7d but I didnt even care to make sure, as I am NEVER folding KK to a single BB caller when I am short-stacked and the flop is 899.
So, frustration and despair results. But overall was happy with my play. Still, second guessing, could I have just CALLED with QQ? (No I still dont think so).
We are down to 3 tables, the level is 200/400/50 and I am in the SB with $14k in chips. ( M=14, Q is around 1.)
EP standard player raises to $1200 UtG. Folds around to me and I have QQ. I make what I consider a standard raise here to $3k. Villain moves in for $8k.
I thought only briefly about this, thoughts of building a stack in my head. My two choices:
FOLD and have $11k left. (A very weak play here in my opinion)
or
CALL off $5k more to win the pot of $17k or so. (This would put me at $23k and very comfortable.)
Is this an easy of a choice as I made it? More importantly, would you RAISE there with QQ vs. and UtG raiser with $9k?
I call and he tables AK, which hits an ACE and takes 65% of my stack... BUT, I am not out yet... I build it back up. By the time we are down to two tables, I am back at $14k, but the levels are now 500/1000/100. I Call a short stack all-in with TT, only to see that she flopped a flush draw. Turn = boom and I am again now at $8-9k and hanging on.
I grind back up to about $12.5k and finally get KK, but in EP. I cant really fool around and make it $3k to go. The BB is the only caller. But that $3k call + $500 SB + antes will take me to $17k if I take it down on the flop. Not great but not bad.
The flop is 8d9h9d and the BB CHECKS. Can emphasize this enough. He CHECKS. I have only $9500 behind and bet $4500. He then ASKS what I have behind and I state, just $5k. He then CHECK-RAISES me all-in on a OESD. WTF? GREAT for me as I am going to double to... Oh wait, TURN is a TEN and his 67 sends me home. He might of even had 6d7d but I didnt even care to make sure, as I am NEVER folding KK to a single BB caller when I am short-stacked and the flop is 899.
So, frustration and despair results. But overall was happy with my play. Still, second guessing, could I have just CALLED with QQ? (No I still dont think so).
Friday, August 10, 2012
Forced to post
I dont want to post! I played solid early level poker last week, running $10k to $15k and then. TRAGEDY.
Lost to a 3 outer on river, KQ outflops my AJ, two middle pair hands go astray and finally a steal attempt runs into QQ. Not a great end to a fine start.
So I did not want to post. Instead I have been studying some poker play video, concentrating on knowing when to see a turn card and subsequent actions, and just as I think I can still avoid posting...
THIS HAPPENS
PokerStars Closes Deal With DOJ
"and repay players outside the U.S. within 90 days, as was specified in the agreement last week."
RLY? Merry F'xmas to me then!
But of course, the fine print: "The remission process is still up in the air at this time." Which means, the DOJ is involved in some way.
Lost to a 3 outer on river, KQ outflops my AJ, two middle pair hands go astray and finally a steal attempt runs into QQ. Not a great end to a fine start.
So I did not want to post. Instead I have been studying some poker play video, concentrating on knowing when to see a turn card and subsequent actions, and just as I think I can still avoid posting...
THIS HAPPENS
PokerStars Closes Deal With DOJ
"and repay players outside the U.S. within 90 days, as was specified in the agreement last week."
RLY? Merry F'xmas to me then!
But of course, the fine print: "The remission process is still up in the air at this time." Which means, the DOJ is involved in some way.
Friday, August 03, 2012
wat I lernd tooday
"You want to manage the size of the pot to the predicted strength of your hand on the river. In other words: grow the pot with value hands (where you will tend to have a pretty strong hand on the river naturally), and with hands that will make strong hands on the river with some frequency (decent draws). This is sometimes misinterpreted as aggression? Turn missed draws into bluffs some % of the time. Try pot-control with hands of medium or mediocre strength."
"Playing game theory optimal/equilibrium strategies is "playing defense." Estimating your opponents' strategies and trying to exploit them is "playing offense." The first important fact here is that playing defense ignores your opponents. You only want to play defensively when an opponent is exploiting your play."
Hand Tactics should include situational awareness. (position, image, stacks, opponents) and often come into view pre-flop.
"Playing game theory optimal/equilibrium strategies is "playing defense." Estimating your opponents' strategies and trying to exploit them is "playing offense." The first important fact here is that playing defense ignores your opponents. You only want to play defensively when an opponent is exploiting your play."
Hand Tactics should include situational awareness. (position, image, stacks, opponents) and often come into view pre-flop.
Thursday, August 02, 2012
uh, wah?
To quote professor Farnsowrth, "Good News Everyone!" It seems that Pokerstars becomes the GG PS
Although, until a final public statement is made by both PS and DoJ that the full bankroll (not just DEPOSITS) are being returned, I'll continue to hope not assume.
Although, until a final public statement is made by both PS and DoJ that the full bankroll (not just DEPOSITS) are being returned, I'll continue to hope not assume.
Thursday, July 19, 2012
Repot!
Ok, so I like Omaha, so shoot me. Last night, I sat down at the weekly low level donk Omaha table and due to a lack of practice and a guy misplaying a hand which resulted in me deciding to call off the remainder of my stack with bottom set, I started $250 after the first hand. But as with Omaha, correct play almost always profits over time.
Despite its reputation as an action game, there are fewer suckouts in Omaha and you really do have a better chance utilizing the math because there are fewer "races".
I do have a tricky question though. Game loosens up and guy opens for $10. Stacks are from $200-$500 ish. Caller. Caller, next guy POTS to $45 pre-flop. This would be the biggest pre-flop of the night. Everyone is CALLING NOW with their speculative hands. Gets around to me and I have JdJhAs7s and I expcet this to be a 6 way pot ($275 pot). If I call here to see a flop, am I playing this hand profitaby knowing I either have to flop TOP SET or a nut flush draw to even continue the hand?
btw: I DID call and flopped nothing of the kind and folded.
I ended up grinding it back up to a marginal profit of about $100, but the game really loosens up at 10pm or so. I should have stayed for the most profitable hours, but I was tired and I play poorly when I am tired.
I also caught some grief for the term "Re-Pot" from one player, who wanted to know why I could just say "Pot" again. This is the stupidest thing I ever heard, as clearly communicating intent at the table avoid future issues.
Here's another weird thing. Lousy loose player sits down and starts spewing. I have JJxx and the flop is J32 rainbow. Someone bets $10, calls around to me and I POT. On this board, EVERYONE KNOWS what I have?! Folds around to spewer, who CALLS! turn is a 7, I pot he folds. Here is the fun part.
He says (to the table, not me) "I know you have Jacks here".
And I reply "Then why did you call?"
Spewer: "If you dont know why, then you dont understand Omaha".
Me:
EVEN IF HE HAD THE BEST HAND HE CAN HAVE THERE
I swear the play is consistently bad through the night, but late-night its a fountain of mistakes.
Despite its reputation as an action game, there are fewer suckouts in Omaha and you really do have a better chance utilizing the math because there are fewer "races".
I do have a tricky question though. Game loosens up and guy opens for $10. Stacks are from $200-$500 ish. Caller. Caller, next guy POTS to $45 pre-flop. This would be the biggest pre-flop of the night. Everyone is CALLING NOW with their speculative hands. Gets around to me and I have JdJhAs7s and I expcet this to be a 6 way pot ($275 pot). If I call here to see a flop, am I playing this hand profitaby knowing I either have to flop TOP SET or a nut flush draw to even continue the hand?
btw: I DID call and flopped nothing of the kind and folded.
I ended up grinding it back up to a marginal profit of about $100, but the game really loosens up at 10pm or so. I should have stayed for the most profitable hours, but I was tired and I play poorly when I am tired.
I also caught some grief for the term "Re-Pot" from one player, who wanted to know why I could just say "Pot" again. This is the stupidest thing I ever heard, as clearly communicating intent at the table avoid future issues.
Here's another weird thing. Lousy loose player sits down and starts spewing. I have JJxx and the flop is J32 rainbow. Someone bets $10, calls around to me and I POT. On this board, EVERYONE KNOWS what I have?! Folds around to spewer, who CALLS! turn is a 7, I pot he folds. Here is the fun part.
He says (to the table, not me) "I know you have Jacks here".
And I reply "Then why did you call?"
Spewer: "If you dont know why, then you dont understand Omaha".
Me:
EVEN IF HE HAD THE BEST HAND HE CAN HAVE THERE
I swear the play is consistently bad through the night, but late-night its a fountain of mistakes.
Tuesday, June 26, 2012
What the WSOP means to me
I just finished a 4 day junket of Vegas and all things WSOP.
Here now is what the WSOP means to me:
It means sitting for 2 hours at a time, interrupted only by waiting in line to pee and eating a protein bar.
It means passing various TV pros in the hallway all utilizing the "I'm on a cell call" ply to avoid you bothering them. (Most don't even talk into the phone to drive the illusion home.)
It means being constantly reminded that we don't have online poker and thus could not practice a 2700 person field in any way, shape or form.
It means watching tweets of all your poker associates, secretly hoping you got deeper than them in a given event.
It means watching a guy play badly, then tilt while lamenting his bad luck after amassing chips all day on coin flips.
It means shivering at the table, while outside its a balmy 105.
It means purchasing WSOP swag, only to have to answer questions about how you did for years down the road.
It means walking by countless people on cell phones loudly telling their buddy their bad beat story.
It means getting it in good, but not good enough. And getting it in often, but not often enough.
It means taking the walk of shame away from the table despite getting through 80% of the field.
It means winning the blinds with KK, then the next hand a player across the table with TT breaks 2 players. It's a game of epic clashes. If you avoid thme, you dwindle away. If you find them, you had better get it in.
It means promises of LOW-stakes Omaha cash games that will never see the light of day.
It means lots of Deep Stacks tournaments that are deep stacked for 4 hours... then all hell breaks loose.
It means spotting the pros at the table, and memorizing their ranges and facial expressions... followed quickly by a table break.
It means $1 for a tiny cup of water.
It means politely correcting the dealers.
It means that 90% of the us could use more practice.
It means $15 cab rides to anything just to get away from poker for an hour.
Until next year...
Here now is what the WSOP means to me:
It means sitting for 2 hours at a time, interrupted only by waiting in line to pee and eating a protein bar.
It means passing various TV pros in the hallway all utilizing the "I'm on a cell call" ply to avoid you bothering them. (Most don't even talk into the phone to drive the illusion home.)
It means being constantly reminded that we don't have online poker and thus could not practice a 2700 person field in any way, shape or form.
It means watching tweets of all your poker associates, secretly hoping you got deeper than them in a given event.
It means watching a guy play badly, then tilt while lamenting his bad luck after amassing chips all day on coin flips.
It means shivering at the table, while outside its a balmy 105.
It means purchasing WSOP swag, only to have to answer questions about how you did for years down the road.
It means walking by countless people on cell phones loudly telling their buddy their bad beat story.
It means getting it in good, but not good enough. And getting it in often, but not often enough.
It means taking the walk of shame away from the table despite getting through 80% of the field.
It means winning the blinds with KK, then the next hand a player across the table with TT breaks 2 players. It's a game of epic clashes. If you avoid thme, you dwindle away. If you find them, you had better get it in.
It means promises of LOW-stakes Omaha cash games that will never see the light of day.
It means lots of Deep Stacks tournaments that are deep stacked for 4 hours... then all hell breaks loose.
It means spotting the pros at the table, and memorizing their ranges and facial expressions... followed quickly by a table break.
It means $1 for a tiny cup of water.
It means politely correcting the dealers.
It means that 90% of the us could use more practice.
It means $15 cab rides to anything just to get away from poker for an hour.
Until next year...
Tuesday, June 19, 2012
Playing with FIRE
I went to the local card room with a few hundred and a goal. Play like a maniac. I went up $100, then quickly down $200. But in the end, it was an old-fashioned simple hand that FELTED me.
8 handed and distracted table, I raise to $10 from MP with AT. 2 Callers, the cutoff and button.
Flop is AcKd7c. I check. He bets $30. I figure he actually has either a King or a flush draw. I call and intend to act on a non-club.
The Turn is another 7 and I figure I am good now. I want him to pay to draw and bet pot (about $100). He goes all-in and I am stuck since I only have $40 behind at this point and he could simple have a club draw.
Turns out he had 7c4c and made a LP call hoping to get a good flop. And he did.
I could have gotten away in different situations, but wanting to maximize action prior to my trip cost me a buy-in.
It's not so hard to put him on EITHER a K or a 7 here, but with the preflop raise, I convinced myself he had a KcXc. I was so sure that I went broke.
8 handed and distracted table, I raise to $10 from MP with AT. 2 Callers, the cutoff and button.
Flop is AcKd7c. I check. He bets $30. I figure he actually has either a King or a flush draw. I call and intend to act on a non-club.
The Turn is another 7 and I figure I am good now. I want him to pay to draw and bet pot (about $100). He goes all-in and I am stuck since I only have $40 behind at this point and he could simple have a club draw.
Turns out he had 7c4c and made a LP call hoping to get a good flop. And he did.
I could have gotten away in different situations, but wanting to maximize action prior to my trip cost me a buy-in.
It's not so hard to put him on EITHER a K or a 7 here, but with the preflop raise, I convinced myself he had a KcXc. I was so sure that I went broke.
Tuesday, June 12, 2012
Practice where you can practice
With two weeks until Event 43, I actually fired up a SHOOTOUT on Live Poker (not for $). Play varies WILDLY, but tables are 6 max for many decisions. I got rivered 5 times in a row then actually made a mistake on a river call. After that, went on a tear winning three straight SnGs.
I'll have to twitter something to activate the account again, and sit at the local game playing uber aggro to stimulate some brain cells.
I'll have to twitter something to activate the account again, and sit at the local game playing uber aggro to stimulate some brain cells.
Tuesday, May 08, 2012
MTT league cash
Amazing what difference an attitude and 1 hand holding up can make in a Tourney. It's the monthly league and I need a top 10 finish (30 runners).
I have about $8200 of my original $10k and have not won a hand yet. I am also in a different mindset: Don't play uber conservative like you usually do. Why? Because I was sick of finishing out of the money.
I get KK in early position and I limp, knowing full well what that means. I do this for 2 reasons here:
1. I want to get value out of KK here. I cant afford to win 300 chips with this hand.
2. The player on the button is a LAG who will call big raises and put in raises with position.
I take the risk and if no one raises and I get 3-5 callers, I just have to muck the KK and lose $200 in chips.
The player to my left, who is playing SUICIDAL AGGRO (he has Weird Al tickets for tonight) raises. Ok, good.
The player across from me moves all-in for $7000.
The Button makes what I can only consider an INSANE CALL. CALL, mind you (he has about $8200 also, so he leaves $1200 behind?!)
Comes back around to me. Now in a 3 table MTT with two all-ins in front of me, there are many situations (especially in level 2) that this is an EASY FOLD.
Instead I move all-in also. The player on my left, who decides he cant pass up 3-1 or bust, calls.
Can you guess the hands? Probably not because the play her is SO BAD by two players...
I limp with KK. Player to left Raises, so he has a hand. In this case AQ. ok so far.
Player across moves all-in with QQ. I get this, SORTA. He has just $7k sure, but he has way over 20 BB here and if he does shut the hand down, he picks up like $800 in chips. He must be thinking that he wants the rest of the table to fold and the limper (me to fold) and get heads up with the AGGRO loose players with QQ. I get that, but if the Raise is to $700 or so, you make it $7k, there are lots of bad scenarios for you... But at least I UNDERSTAND the decision.
Button calls $7k (of his $8200) with 77. WTF? In what poker world is this a wining play? RAISE, All-IN, 77!!! He little fold equity vs. the first raiser who has made it as obvious as possible that these are the situations he WANTS. Seems likely your "call" will be more attractive and now you have 77 vs. a BIGGER HAND plus a third hand of ATC which he can SAFELY assume 1 of which is > 7 !!!
Despite all this stupidity and usually an easy fold, I call. Why is this a fold usually? Because KK against 3 hands is going to be a favorite, but at 50% at best (in this case 49%). And its LEVEL 2.
Why did I call. Because I set up this situation. I limped for action and that was my plan for the hand. I was not going to sit around and wait for a perfect situation this tournament, only getting my money in ahead, hoping they all hold up. I was fed up. I walked into the room knowing I would make this call today and sure enough it came up.
The board plays out bricks and suddenly I have over $30k and go on to finish 3rd. I COULD have won. I made zero mistakes and had just gotten the chip lead when I ran top-top into a flopped straight. The river call of $25k (1/2 my stack) was ill advised and it eventually forced me to take a race against 33, which I lost.
I have about $8200 of my original $10k and have not won a hand yet. I am also in a different mindset: Don't play uber conservative like you usually do. Why? Because I was sick of finishing out of the money.
I get KK in early position and I limp, knowing full well what that means. I do this for 2 reasons here:
1. I want to get value out of KK here. I cant afford to win 300 chips with this hand.
2. The player on the button is a LAG who will call big raises and put in raises with position.
I take the risk and if no one raises and I get 3-5 callers, I just have to muck the KK and lose $200 in chips.
The player to my left, who is playing SUICIDAL AGGRO (he has Weird Al tickets for tonight) raises. Ok, good.
The player across from me moves all-in for $7000.
The Button makes what I can only consider an INSANE CALL. CALL, mind you (he has about $8200 also, so he leaves $1200 behind?!)
Comes back around to me. Now in a 3 table MTT with two all-ins in front of me, there are many situations (especially in level 2) that this is an EASY FOLD.
Instead I move all-in also. The player on my left, who decides he cant pass up 3-1 or bust, calls.
Can you guess the hands? Probably not because the play her is SO BAD by two players...
I limp with KK. Player to left Raises, so he has a hand. In this case AQ. ok so far.
Player across moves all-in with QQ. I get this, SORTA. He has just $7k sure, but he has way over 20 BB here and if he does shut the hand down, he picks up like $800 in chips. He must be thinking that he wants the rest of the table to fold and the limper (me to fold) and get heads up with the AGGRO loose players with QQ. I get that, but if the Raise is to $700 or so, you make it $7k, there are lots of bad scenarios for you... But at least I UNDERSTAND the decision.
Button calls $7k (of his $8200) with 77. WTF? In what poker world is this a wining play? RAISE, All-IN, 77!!! He little fold equity vs. the first raiser who has made it as obvious as possible that these are the situations he WANTS. Seems likely your "call" will be more attractive and now you have 77 vs. a BIGGER HAND plus a third hand of ATC which he can SAFELY assume 1 of which is > 7 !!!
Despite all this stupidity and usually an easy fold, I call. Why is this a fold usually? Because KK against 3 hands is going to be a favorite, but at 50% at best (in this case 49%). And its LEVEL 2.
Why did I call. Because I set up this situation. I limped for action and that was my plan for the hand. I was not going to sit around and wait for a perfect situation this tournament, only getting my money in ahead, hoping they all hold up. I was fed up. I walked into the room knowing I would make this call today and sure enough it came up.
The board plays out bricks and suddenly I have over $30k and go on to finish 3rd. I COULD have won. I made zero mistakes and had just gotten the chip lead when I ran top-top into a flopped straight. The river call of $25k (1/2 my stack) was ill advised and it eventually forced me to take a race against 33, which I lost.
Monday, April 23, 2012
What a year has done
Last year, I won my league outright and started strong this league year. But as I play only 2-3 a month now, I find myself making mistakes that seems to be from lack of experience. Not stupid mind you, but if you do something wrong over the course of a MTT and you fix it for the next one, that is learning. If you make a mistake and then a month later make another mistake, you are trapped in a feedback loop that is too large to be helpful.
$200 live MTT:
Level is 300/600/75 and I still have about $18k of my starting $20k. Despite my best efforts, I had to lay down a number of hands (correctly in all cases). So now, its costing me $1500/round for an M of 12. UTG opens and I call in the BB with Jh9h. I am just defending my BB more than anything here, BUT the player who opened is not a stealer.
Flop comes down 9 high with 2 diamonds. He bets out $5k into a $2500 pot and I mistakenly hatch a plan. I am going to go with this hand hoping I am ahead but also bluff all-in if the 3rd diamond falls. So I call and when the 2d comes on the turn, I move in. He SNAP calls with TTd.
Would I SNAP call there? No, I am thinking it through. But enough about his TINY mistake. My large mistake comes from playing stupid 1/2 cash games and not a daily MTT. My gosh what a difference playtimes makes.
$200 live MTT:
Level is 300/600/75 and I still have about $18k of my starting $20k. Despite my best efforts, I had to lay down a number of hands (correctly in all cases). So now, its costing me $1500/round for an M of 12. UTG opens and I call in the BB with Jh9h. I am just defending my BB more than anything here, BUT the player who opened is not a stealer.
Flop comes down 9 high with 2 diamonds. He bets out $5k into a $2500 pot and I mistakenly hatch a plan. I am going to go with this hand hoping I am ahead but also bluff all-in if the 3rd diamond falls. So I call and when the 2d comes on the turn, I move in. He SNAP calls with TTd.
Would I SNAP call there? No, I am thinking it through. But enough about his TINY mistake. My large mistake comes from playing stupid 1/2 cash games and not a daily MTT. My gosh what a difference playtimes makes.
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