Saturday, February 09, 2008
Thursday, February 07, 2008
Seven Sins to Avoid in '07 --- and now in '08
I know.... '07. But these hard-headed, no listening, gonna-do-it-their-way-or-die-mugs ... didn't hear it then and probably won't this time either, but here goes anyway.
Source: The Offical World Poker Tour Magazine http://www.worldpokertour.com/http://www.worldpokertour.com/magazine/?x=detail&aID=389
SEVEN SINS TO AVOID IN ’07Polish your poker etiquette with some sensible New Year resolutions. Poker dealer Ian Hatlen helps you avoid being slapped with a poker ASBO.
1. Never discuss a hand that you’re not involved with.
Casino rules prohibit the discussion of a live hand by players not active in the hand – which is to say, those holding cards. This is perhaps the most fundamental tenet of poker etiquette, yet amazingly it’s also the most frequently breached. As a dealer I’m baffled by how badly some people want to discuss hands they’re not involved in, even after being repeatedly informed both that it’s against house rules and that it shows a lack of respect for others.
In 95% of cases, people talk about hands not to help out a friend or purposely try to sabotage someone, but to demonstrate just how ‘smart’ they are. They love to point out ‘Look how he’s shaking! He must have a monster hand,’ or ‘Remember he did that bet five hands ago and then showed a bluff?’ so everyone at the table will respect their poker knowledge. But this is counter-productive.
2. Quality players shouldn’t draw attention to their abilities.
When weaker players realize they’re up against a strong player, two things tend to happen: they avoid playing marginal hands against the stronger player, and they start to play smarter. Good players know this, and tend not to try to impress others with their abilities.
The dealer should control his or her table and prevent repeated commenting on the hands. If every hand is turning into a 10-man discussion on what the current bettor is holding, you have the right to ask the dealer to control the table. There are very few times I’d advise complaining about a dealer to a floor person, but if a dealer is blatantly allowing table talk that’s affecting the outcome of hands (especially if you’re involved), then it’s perfectly acceptable to speak to a floor person – in a calm and reasonable way, of course.
3. Don’t ‘sandbag’ or ‘slowroll’.
A few places refer to check-raising as ‘sandbagging’, but that’s not what we’re talking about here. Although the odd cardroom still doesn’t allow it, check-raising is much more accepted and commonplace in poker than it was 20 years ago. Sandbagging occurs when two or more players have reached the showdown and it’s time to turn over their hole cards to determine the winner of the pot, but one player misrepresents his hand to make the opponent believe they’ve got a chance at winning the pot when, in reality, they don’t.
For example, Player A shows Ad Kd on a Qd Qh Jd 3d 7c for an Ace-high flush. Player B says: “Wow! Nice hand! You got me!” and pretends to throw his cards in the muck…then slams Qs Qc face up and says: “Just kidding! Quads, baby! Ship that pot over here!”
This is terrible etiquette, and will infuriate Player A – not to mention the rest of the table, plus the dealer will likely think Player B is an idiot. Even if Player A has been a jerk all night, there’s really no need to stoop to that level. Also, gloating of any type is generally considered poor form – especially if you’ve outdrawn someone to win the pot.
4. Keep the action going.
There’s nobody at the poker table who wants a slow game – especially if you’re playing in a game where the house takes an hourly session fee instead of a hand rake. For those that play professionally (and for the dealers), unnecessary delays mean fewer hands per hour and less earning potential. For recreational players, fewer hands mean less excitement.
Behavior that’s not appreciated by anyone includes habitually not paying attention to when it’s your turn to act, not posting your blinds, taking extra time to ponder folding when there’s really no decision, and laboring simple actions, such as counting out chips for a call. If the bet is $14, you can verbally announce call and let the action continue, then put your chips in the pot. There’s nothing more frustrating than watching for 30 seconds while a player counts out 17 single chips to call a bet, when he could have simply verbally announced it and allowed the action to continue.
Nobody’s asking you to rush your actions at the table, or to maintain razor-sharp concentration at all times. It’s simply appreciated when you do your best to keep up with the action, and don’t purposely waste time.
Probably the biggest time waster and pet peeve of many dealers, which you should avoid at all costs, is the actor-fold. You’re entitled to take time to make decisions during a hand, and if you’ve a legitimate decision to make, I strongly advise you to take some time to think about it (although someone at the table can usually ask for a clock to be put on you, which gives you one minute). If you’re facing a $950 all-in call, it’s fine to take 45 seconds to ponder your move; it’s not likely to be an easy decision.
But what nobody wants to see, and what drives many players and dealers crazy, is when you take 40 seconds to fold your 7-2 off-suit to an all-in pre-flop because you want to create a table image (that table image, by the way, will be of somebody who wastes time). Occasionally, you won’t want to fold immediately to a bet, and will pretend to think about it a little bit (like when you’ve just put in a bet on a bluff, and you’ve been re-raised), but try to keep the amount of time to a reasonable limit.
5. It’s poker. Just deal with it!
Rarely do 10 hands go by at any given table without someone insulting another player for how they chose to play their hand, or pointing out why it was an unsound play in terms of game theory or pot odds. I know it hurts to have your Aces cracked by 4-9 off-suit, especially when you bet hard all the way, but that’s poker.
Before you sit down at the table, remind yourself that other people have the right to use their money however they see fit, and that it’s the nature of the game that powerful hands can change in value after one card hits the turn or river.
If pocket Aces were the be-all and end-all in the poker world, there would be a rule that pocket Aces were wild, guaranteeing victory every time. Obviously, no such rule exists, so if you don’t want to be the token whiner at the table, take your beats with your chin up.
You might also want to keep in mind that in order for someone to lay a bad beat on you, you have to be ahead in the hand, and they have to have made a mistake in terms of game theory. Let’s say your opponent calls a $300 all-in with 9-4 pre-flop. Sure, when the flop comes 4-4-4, you want to throw a tantrum and call him every name under the sun, but remember that in the long term, every penny you earn at the poker table is going to come from mistakes just like this made by your opponents.
If everyone at the table played optimal game strategy there’d be no long-term winners (except the house rake). You want players to make idiotic calls, and belittling them for doing so makes them feel bad and, believe it or not, even bad players can play better when they want to. Don’t make someone fold their 9-4 off-suit to a raise because they remember how you’ll insult them if it wins – you want that player to be in there with every possible piece of trash to a raise.
6. Understand that a 19% draw will hit…19% of the time.
There’s a certain proportion of players at the table who like to whine about how unlucky they are and how ‘everyone else hits their flush draws all the time, and I never hit mine’. If you prefer that the people around you don’t find you incredibly annoying, I’d recommend trying to avoid being seen as this person at the table.
Even if you’ve had a spat of bad luck, nobody at the table really cares. In fact, opposite to the pity you’re looking for when you complain, other players are happy when you miss your draws, because they want your money. Frustration is a normal part of the game, but if you find yourself commenting every hand on just how bad your hole cards are or how you get no action on your Kings, you might just be the table whiner.
7. Remember the dealer has enough to do.
I, like most dealers, have no problem making change between pots or exchanging money for chips when a player loses part of his or her stack. What I, and many others, find annoying, however, is the player who makes the dealer do unnecessary work because they’re superstitious about their stack.
For example, some players like having black ($100) chips, and will ask the dealer to color up their $5 and $1 chips for blacks simply because they like them. The especially frustrating part about a player like this is that, two hands later, he throws that same $100 in to call an $8 bet because he has no more singles or fives.
Others don’t like having a particular denomination of chip, like quarters for example, and will ask to change up that chip every time they win a pot with one in it. This nonsense not only annoys the dealer, but slows down the entire game, especially if done frequently.
In games where cash plays on the table, you’ll often see players buying chips off one another to save going through the dealer and slowing down the game. Some players, however, don’t like taking cash for their chips (even when they have monumental stacks of chips in front of them). But there’s a reason why I actually consider that this is often good practice.
American casinos in particular are magnets for counterfeit money, because of the volume they process, and unless you know your currency, it can be difficult to be sure if the money you’re being asked to exchange is legitimate. If you’re playing in a $1 / $2 game, it’s not necessarily a big deal, but if it’s $20 / $40 you could easily wind up stuck with $500 in counterfeit currency if you sell chips to the wrong person.
Reprinted from www.worldpokertour.com/
Source: The Offical World Poker Tour Magazine http://www.worldpokertour.com/http://www.worldpokertour.com/magazine/?x=detail&aID=389
SEVEN SINS TO AVOID IN ’07Polish your poker etiquette with some sensible New Year resolutions. Poker dealer Ian Hatlen helps you avoid being slapped with a poker ASBO.
1. Never discuss a hand that you’re not involved with.
Casino rules prohibit the discussion of a live hand by players not active in the hand – which is to say, those holding cards. This is perhaps the most fundamental tenet of poker etiquette, yet amazingly it’s also the most frequently breached. As a dealer I’m baffled by how badly some people want to discuss hands they’re not involved in, even after being repeatedly informed both that it’s against house rules and that it shows a lack of respect for others.
In 95% of cases, people talk about hands not to help out a friend or purposely try to sabotage someone, but to demonstrate just how ‘smart’ they are. They love to point out ‘Look how he’s shaking! He must have a monster hand,’ or ‘Remember he did that bet five hands ago and then showed a bluff?’ so everyone at the table will respect their poker knowledge. But this is counter-productive.
2. Quality players shouldn’t draw attention to their abilities.
When weaker players realize they’re up against a strong player, two things tend to happen: they avoid playing marginal hands against the stronger player, and they start to play smarter. Good players know this, and tend not to try to impress others with their abilities.
The dealer should control his or her table and prevent repeated commenting on the hands. If every hand is turning into a 10-man discussion on what the current bettor is holding, you have the right to ask the dealer to control the table. There are very few times I’d advise complaining about a dealer to a floor person, but if a dealer is blatantly allowing table talk that’s affecting the outcome of hands (especially if you’re involved), then it’s perfectly acceptable to speak to a floor person – in a calm and reasonable way, of course.
3. Don’t ‘sandbag’ or ‘slowroll’.
A few places refer to check-raising as ‘sandbagging’, but that’s not what we’re talking about here. Although the odd cardroom still doesn’t allow it, check-raising is much more accepted and commonplace in poker than it was 20 years ago. Sandbagging occurs when two or more players have reached the showdown and it’s time to turn over their hole cards to determine the winner of the pot, but one player misrepresents his hand to make the opponent believe they’ve got a chance at winning the pot when, in reality, they don’t.
For example, Player A shows Ad Kd on a Qd Qh Jd 3d 7c for an Ace-high flush. Player B says: “Wow! Nice hand! You got me!” and pretends to throw his cards in the muck…then slams Qs Qc face up and says: “Just kidding! Quads, baby! Ship that pot over here!”
This is terrible etiquette, and will infuriate Player A – not to mention the rest of the table, plus the dealer will likely think Player B is an idiot. Even if Player A has been a jerk all night, there’s really no need to stoop to that level. Also, gloating of any type is generally considered poor form – especially if you’ve outdrawn someone to win the pot.
4. Keep the action going.
There’s nobody at the poker table who wants a slow game – especially if you’re playing in a game where the house takes an hourly session fee instead of a hand rake. For those that play professionally (and for the dealers), unnecessary delays mean fewer hands per hour and less earning potential. For recreational players, fewer hands mean less excitement.
Behavior that’s not appreciated by anyone includes habitually not paying attention to when it’s your turn to act, not posting your blinds, taking extra time to ponder folding when there’s really no decision, and laboring simple actions, such as counting out chips for a call. If the bet is $14, you can verbally announce call and let the action continue, then put your chips in the pot. There’s nothing more frustrating than watching for 30 seconds while a player counts out 17 single chips to call a bet, when he could have simply verbally announced it and allowed the action to continue.
Nobody’s asking you to rush your actions at the table, or to maintain razor-sharp concentration at all times. It’s simply appreciated when you do your best to keep up with the action, and don’t purposely waste time.
Probably the biggest time waster and pet peeve of many dealers, which you should avoid at all costs, is the actor-fold. You’re entitled to take time to make decisions during a hand, and if you’ve a legitimate decision to make, I strongly advise you to take some time to think about it (although someone at the table can usually ask for a clock to be put on you, which gives you one minute). If you’re facing a $950 all-in call, it’s fine to take 45 seconds to ponder your move; it’s not likely to be an easy decision.
But what nobody wants to see, and what drives many players and dealers crazy, is when you take 40 seconds to fold your 7-2 off-suit to an all-in pre-flop because you want to create a table image (that table image, by the way, will be of somebody who wastes time). Occasionally, you won’t want to fold immediately to a bet, and will pretend to think about it a little bit (like when you’ve just put in a bet on a bluff, and you’ve been re-raised), but try to keep the amount of time to a reasonable limit.
5. It’s poker. Just deal with it!
Rarely do 10 hands go by at any given table without someone insulting another player for how they chose to play their hand, or pointing out why it was an unsound play in terms of game theory or pot odds. I know it hurts to have your Aces cracked by 4-9 off-suit, especially when you bet hard all the way, but that’s poker.
Before you sit down at the table, remind yourself that other people have the right to use their money however they see fit, and that it’s the nature of the game that powerful hands can change in value after one card hits the turn or river.
If pocket Aces were the be-all and end-all in the poker world, there would be a rule that pocket Aces were wild, guaranteeing victory every time. Obviously, no such rule exists, so if you don’t want to be the token whiner at the table, take your beats with your chin up.
You might also want to keep in mind that in order for someone to lay a bad beat on you, you have to be ahead in the hand, and they have to have made a mistake in terms of game theory. Let’s say your opponent calls a $300 all-in with 9-4 pre-flop. Sure, when the flop comes 4-4-4, you want to throw a tantrum and call him every name under the sun, but remember that in the long term, every penny you earn at the poker table is going to come from mistakes just like this made by your opponents.
If everyone at the table played optimal game strategy there’d be no long-term winners (except the house rake). You want players to make idiotic calls, and belittling them for doing so makes them feel bad and, believe it or not, even bad players can play better when they want to. Don’t make someone fold their 9-4 off-suit to a raise because they remember how you’ll insult them if it wins – you want that player to be in there with every possible piece of trash to a raise.
6. Understand that a 19% draw will hit…19% of the time.
There’s a certain proportion of players at the table who like to whine about how unlucky they are and how ‘everyone else hits their flush draws all the time, and I never hit mine’. If you prefer that the people around you don’t find you incredibly annoying, I’d recommend trying to avoid being seen as this person at the table.
Even if you’ve had a spat of bad luck, nobody at the table really cares. In fact, opposite to the pity you’re looking for when you complain, other players are happy when you miss your draws, because they want your money. Frustration is a normal part of the game, but if you find yourself commenting every hand on just how bad your hole cards are or how you get no action on your Kings, you might just be the table whiner.
7. Remember the dealer has enough to do.
I, like most dealers, have no problem making change between pots or exchanging money for chips when a player loses part of his or her stack. What I, and many others, find annoying, however, is the player who makes the dealer do unnecessary work because they’re superstitious about their stack.
For example, some players like having black ($100) chips, and will ask the dealer to color up their $5 and $1 chips for blacks simply because they like them. The especially frustrating part about a player like this is that, two hands later, he throws that same $100 in to call an $8 bet because he has no more singles or fives.
Others don’t like having a particular denomination of chip, like quarters for example, and will ask to change up that chip every time they win a pot with one in it. This nonsense not only annoys the dealer, but slows down the entire game, especially if done frequently.
In games where cash plays on the table, you’ll often see players buying chips off one another to save going through the dealer and slowing down the game. Some players, however, don’t like taking cash for their chips (even when they have monumental stacks of chips in front of them). But there’s a reason why I actually consider that this is often good practice.
American casinos in particular are magnets for counterfeit money, because of the volume they process, and unless you know your currency, it can be difficult to be sure if the money you’re being asked to exchange is legitimate. If you’re playing in a $1 / $2 game, it’s not necessarily a big deal, but if it’s $20 / $40 you could easily wind up stuck with $500 in counterfeit currency if you sell chips to the wrong person.
Reprinted from www.worldpokertour.com/
Wednesday, February 06, 2008
Monday, February 04, 2008
It was a good plan.....
there's no air in your lungs.... no air in the room.... no air in the whole world!
Sunday, February 03, 2008
I have good news and bad news....
Yep, this is the way that I normally start my conversation with someone who is considering joining the Juice's game. Then I finish the sentence with "they will call you with any cards..." Yep, you can flop the nuts (let's just say a Queen high straight with back up flush draw) and there'll be a bet and 4 callers in front of you. You thinking you're doing the right thing will PUSH - Pump it up! And again, the good news is that you'll get 3-4 callers. And the bad news is.... you'll get 3-4 callers. You see... there's 1 card to the low and Keith has A, 2, 3 rainbow and knows if the flop comes with basically any 2 low cards, he'll get half. And the Juice, well... the Juice has middle pair and a crappy flush draw so you couldn't get him out with a hand gun. And Big Dave has 4, 5 and feels as if there is an A, 2 coming and maybe even a 6 and 7 which might make his straight good.... so here we go, they all call. The turn is a 7.... now the Juice has 2 pair - 7's and 9's. Keith has an UNDUPLICATIBLE low DRAW! Big Dave has a gut shop and a crappy low draw. I push all-in - everyone calls.... the board pairs nines and the Juice scoops! Whee!
The point is that no matter how well - or tight - you play at this game, there'll be many instances when you put your chips in "good" but the one, two, three or twenty-three outer will come that will give someone else at least half the pot, if you're lucky and the entire pot when you're not.
As the clock was running down this a.m. I did have an interesting hand. A desperate hand. I'm the big blind and peer down to find As, 2s, 8s, 8c... it was chocolatey! It's late, I'm feeling froggy, I don't have many chips left so when it gets back to me and there were 6-7 callers, I pot it up $150 on top. Bill T calls, the Juice calls and Keith calls. Who would have thunk it? The flop is 6x, 7x, 10x. I pop it another $150 and the Juice pumps it up to $360 straight - enough to put me all in. Keith and Bill T call as well. The turn is a beautiful 8.... give me the nut low AND a middle set. I like it! Bill T checks and the Juice pushes all in. Keith was all in already and after enough to watch Titanic on an ailing vhs machine... Bill T folds to the $2000 bet... I'm sure he laid down a monster... probably a middle pair with no shot at low. At any rate, there's a sweet 10x on the river to give me the nut low and 8's full of 10's..... Scooper! It turns out the Juice turned the nut straight and would have actually made money if Bill T had called. We waited for some reaction from Keith but he had disappeared faster than a gravy biscuit at an Oprah family reunion. Gone! Just gone... no good-byes... Gone!
Let the suck outs begin!
The point is that no matter how well - or tight - you play at this game, there'll be many instances when you put your chips in "good" but the one, two, three or twenty-three outer will come that will give someone else at least half the pot, if you're lucky and the entire pot when you're not.
As the clock was running down this a.m. I did have an interesting hand. A desperate hand. I'm the big blind and peer down to find As, 2s, 8s, 8c... it was chocolatey! It's late, I'm feeling froggy, I don't have many chips left so when it gets back to me and there were 6-7 callers, I pot it up $150 on top. Bill T calls, the Juice calls and Keith calls. Who would have thunk it? The flop is 6x, 7x, 10x. I pop it another $150 and the Juice pumps it up to $360 straight - enough to put me all in. Keith and Bill T call as well. The turn is a beautiful 8.... give me the nut low AND a middle set. I like it! Bill T checks and the Juice pushes all in. Keith was all in already and after enough to watch Titanic on an ailing vhs machine... Bill T folds to the $2000 bet... I'm sure he laid down a monster... probably a middle pair with no shot at low. At any rate, there's a sweet 10x on the river to give me the nut low and 8's full of 10's..... Scooper! It turns out the Juice turned the nut straight and would have actually made money if Bill T had called. We waited for some reaction from Keith but he had disappeared faster than a gravy biscuit at an Oprah family reunion. Gone! Just gone... no good-byes... Gone!
Let the suck outs begin!
Friday, February 01, 2008
Pretty sick NLO8 hand, imo
Just sat down for a few hands of NLO8 on FullTilt. Bought in short for $40 and ran my stack up to $144 in about 10 hands and this hand came up. I told everyone that it was my last hand so I didn't think that the guy would have the other 10 just a nut flush draw and backdoor low. Ended up Boat vs Boat...sick. Still ran away with a $30 profit. Not bad. I'll try not to lose that tonight over at the Luck Poker Night.
http://www.pokerhand.org/?2034083
Flop %
Results:Omaha Hi: 820 enumerated boards containing Ts Td 2d
cards win %win lose %lose tie %tie EV
Jd 6d 3d Th 438 53.41 382 46.59 0 0.00 0.534
8s Qc Tc Qd 382 46.59 438 53.41 0 0.00 0.466
I would think that I was further ahead then just a 53%/47% favorite but I'm sure a would have been a favorite on the turn had he not hit his Q for me to complete a flush or boat up.
http://www.pokerhand.org/?2034083
Flop %
Results:Omaha Hi: 820 enumerated boards containing Ts Td 2d
cards win %win lose %lose tie %tie EV
Jd 6d 3d Th 438 53.41 382 46.59 0 0.00 0.534
8s Qc Tc Qd 382 46.59 438 53.41 0 0.00 0.466
I would think that I was further ahead then just a 53%/47% favorite but I'm sure a would have been a favorite on the turn had he not hit his Q for me to complete a flush or boat up.
Solid Night
So I went and played last night and played well. Not great, not bad (relatively speaking) just pretty solid. I was easy to bluff last night, I'll admit that but I was also able to pull some off. You see I'm know for playing an extremely wide range of hands. As long as I have two of them, I'm willing to raise or reriase. That's all change now b/c back then I could really play my game and push people off hands. Not anymore. I'm going to get callers no matter what so now I just play like a nit and try to feel my way around after the flop. It worked very well for me last night. We were in about 15 or 16 hands, two rounds and I'm in the small blind with a limp pot. I bump it up to $8 (4x BB) with AA and get 4 callers. I was really hoping for a reriase but that's how it goes. The flop comes out QQJ. Now usually I would do a continuation bet here to find out where I'm out but I check and H (the Mad Man himself) bets out $30. Everyone folds to me. Surprisingly I was able to lay that down with little thought. Yeah I stalled for a minute to make sure he had a Q and asked him, he gave an odd response so I knew he one then and showed him my As and he showed QJ, the nuts. I'll give H credit for betting there b/c typically he would get called by everyone b/c he plays so crazy. Later in the night/early this morning we started playing some NLO8 when I had a nice pot that I left some money on the table on. I have Ks10c3s5c and raise it up $12 utg, Pro goes all in for some small amount and 3 others calls. Flop comes AsJs4c, Coach bets I call. Turn is a Jc, small bet and I call. River comes a 2s, and then out of no where Coach bets $200 and I insta call thinking its a split pot, me low him high when he actually shoved with the wheel and got quartered thinking he was scooping the entire pot. I was sitting at $300 and could have had a few more dollars out of him. So I take down 3/4 of a nice pot but as the night when on I started to chase a few times when I shouldn't have and missed out on a few nut/nut draws that ended up losers. I was able to put together a solid will, paid of the house and crushed Wingding at some Ginn. Oh yeah, it was also fun last night b/c we only had enough for 1 table so I got up to let a player sit since I know that I'll stay to the morning and he'll leave earlier and got up a Ginn game and a Rummy game. That was so much fun. We didn't have any money on it, just $5 to say there was something in play but I'm thinking that we might e getting some side table action of Ginn or Rummy going. Sweet! If only I knew how to play Chinese poker, then we could really have some fun!
Wednesday, January 30, 2008
Tuesday Night High Stakes Poker....
LOL. That's what it has turned into anyways. I know that "High Stakes" is all relative but with the recent crazy action from Eli, the Juice, et al (just for you Chad), we're getting close.
Let me give you an example.... the last couple of hands: I probably have about $1500 or so in front of me and my hole cards are Qh, Qd, 3h, 3s.... there's a straddle pre-flop of $30 and it is raised to $75 with 5 callers. The flop Qs, 10s, 6h. Eli leads out with an $85 bet and gets 1 caller and I push all-in for about $1350... Rick says "Here's a gift" and pushes in about $800-$900 and of course Eli calls. Everyone else folds and I'm not happy about the callers. I was really just hoping to isolate Eli. My hand is very vulnerable especially against 2 players. Rick turns over 2 spades and some sort of funky straight draw that somehow doesn't get there. Eli doesn't show and my set holds up! Nice...
The last hand of the night.... everyone who just busted out in the hand with me buys in for $1k and somehow Rick and Eli get them all-in pre-flop. About a $2500 pot or so and Rick scoops it with 2nd Nut-No Pair ... Ax, Qx.
Well, there you go....
Let the suck outs begin!
Let me give you an example.... the last couple of hands: I probably have about $1500 or so in front of me and my hole cards are Qh, Qd, 3h, 3s.... there's a straddle pre-flop of $30 and it is raised to $75 with 5 callers. The flop Qs, 10s, 6h. Eli leads out with an $85 bet and gets 1 caller and I push all-in for about $1350... Rick says "Here's a gift" and pushes in about $800-$900 and of course Eli calls. Everyone else folds and I'm not happy about the callers. I was really just hoping to isolate Eli. My hand is very vulnerable especially against 2 players. Rick turns over 2 spades and some sort of funky straight draw that somehow doesn't get there. Eli doesn't show and my set holds up! Nice...
The last hand of the night.... everyone who just busted out in the hand with me buys in for $1k and somehow Rick and Eli get them all-in pre-flop. About a $2500 pot or so and Rick scoops it with 2nd Nut-No Pair ... Ax, Qx.
Well, there you go....
Let the suck outs begin!
Monday, January 28, 2008
Chip Reese on Poker
The object of the game is to increase your wealth, improve your lifestyle and provide for your family.
------ Chip Reese
Interview
Tribute
------ Chip Reese
Interview
Tribute
Famous Poker Quotes....
"Give them everything.... take from them nothing."
-------------Eli, Saturday
-------------Eli, Saturday
Saturday, January 26, 2008
My 10 Golden Rules of Poker
For those of you that may be new to the game of Poker, I have made up ten thoroughly comprehensive commandments to follow at your local game. Following these rules will ensure you a tidy profit and hours of fun!
1 - Never Fold Aces. Ever.
No one can possibly make a pair higher than yours, so you have no reason to fold! That jackass raising you on the JhTh9h board is putting you exactly on what you have, two black aces, and that bastard is going to try to bluff you out of the pot you rightly claimed with your under-the-gun limp! Nothing says strength like the UTG limp with aces, and there's no way you're beat here! ALL IN! This rule leads us into number two!
2- Never fold Kings. Ever.
6-way flop with a board of A 6 2? Three's a 0% chance anyone has an ace. Call any and all bets down and pump your fist after the showdown. Remember, poker players are deceitful, so if they is an ace on the board, they're just trying to trick you into making you fold! Shovel it baby! Rules one and two are sort of a corollary to rule number three...
3- Never fold top pair, top kicker.
Of course you're going to play any ace for any amount pre-flop, and when you dominate the flop 9 5 5 with A9, there is no sense in folding. That butt-pirate in sunglasses who made it $50 pre-flop is just continuation betting. Like the song says, you gotta know when to Hold'em, and know when to Hold'em longer!
4- Pot odds ALWAYS favor your flush draw.
You could read Theorm of Poker for this, but I'll spell it out here...never fold your flush draw. There's $8 in the pot, you flop a beautiful 7-high flush draw on a 988 board. One of them jackass players from Duke open pushes all in for 3,200, and accidentally flips over his measly pocket pair of 9's. He has three nines and is going to pay you off when you hit! Do the Math! 3200/8 = 97.4% chance of completing your flush. Ship it!
5- Drink copious amounts of alcohol while playing.
Tom Cruise will suddenly appear and tell you everyone's hole cards. After 10 shots of tequila, L. Ron Hubbard's spirit will enter the dealer and give you pocket aces every time so you NEVER have to fold!
6- Supplement your bankroll by mortgaging your house.
In this time of economic strength and the housing market at an all-time high, take out some equity in your home to play poker. Bring 20k to your friendly 1-2 game and never fold. The odds will crush your opponents and you'll walk away $400 richer! Nothing says Economic Stimulus like non-taxable income!
7- Educate your fellow players.
Someone call you down with middle pair and cost you a big pot when you were trying to represent the nuts?!? Let them know! Because you have special Tom Cruise powers, they should never have the audacity to think you're bluffing! You have a wide variety of words to chose from. Try Donkey, Nit, Idiot, lactating hermaphroditic hamster, and smelly yellow discharge from a polar bears butt! It's your responsibility to make this world a better poker playing place.
8- Whenever you lose, it's a bad beat
And whenever you win against that other nit's AA, it's "poker justice". After all, no player can expect to beat you with any sensible consistency. Hit your gutshot on the river? Stand up, pump your first, and ask him IF IT HURT!!!!
9- Each runner runner draw is +20% to your chances of winning.
If you think you completely missed the flop, look again! That lone spade on the board is your ticket to a monster! Call any and all bets with any 3 to a flush or three to a strait!
and finally....
10- Start your own game!
Bring all the donkeys to your house, and make money the easy way, RAK(P)E them! Everyone knows the acceptable limit to a house rake is 40% of each pot with more than one player involved. For advanced tactics, develop your card mechanic skills and deliver cooler after cooler! A few hours of hearty fun and all your friends will go home laughing and broke while you work towards paying off all those court costs!
Hope this helps everyone play better poker!
1 - Never Fold Aces. Ever.
No one can possibly make a pair higher than yours, so you have no reason to fold! That jackass raising you on the JhTh9h board is putting you exactly on what you have, two black aces, and that bastard is going to try to bluff you out of the pot you rightly claimed with your under-the-gun limp! Nothing says strength like the UTG limp with aces, and there's no way you're beat here! ALL IN! This rule leads us into number two!
2- Never fold Kings. Ever.
6-way flop with a board of A 6 2? Three's a 0% chance anyone has an ace. Call any and all bets down and pump your fist after the showdown. Remember, poker players are deceitful, so if they is an ace on the board, they're just trying to trick you into making you fold! Shovel it baby! Rules one and two are sort of a corollary to rule number three...
3- Never fold top pair, top kicker.
Of course you're going to play any ace for any amount pre-flop, and when you dominate the flop 9 5 5 with A9, there is no sense in folding. That butt-pirate in sunglasses who made it $50 pre-flop is just continuation betting. Like the song says, you gotta know when to Hold'em, and know when to Hold'em longer!
4- Pot odds ALWAYS favor your flush draw.
You could read Theorm of Poker for this, but I'll spell it out here...never fold your flush draw. There's $8 in the pot, you flop a beautiful 7-high flush draw on a 988 board. One of them jackass players from Duke open pushes all in for 3,200, and accidentally flips over his measly pocket pair of 9's. He has three nines and is going to pay you off when you hit! Do the Math! 3200/8 = 97.4% chance of completing your flush. Ship it!
5- Drink copious amounts of alcohol while playing.
Tom Cruise will suddenly appear and tell you everyone's hole cards. After 10 shots of tequila, L. Ron Hubbard's spirit will enter the dealer and give you pocket aces every time so you NEVER have to fold!
6- Supplement your bankroll by mortgaging your house.
In this time of economic strength and the housing market at an all-time high, take out some equity in your home to play poker. Bring 20k to your friendly 1-2 game and never fold. The odds will crush your opponents and you'll walk away $400 richer! Nothing says Economic Stimulus like non-taxable income!
7- Educate your fellow players.
Someone call you down with middle pair and cost you a big pot when you were trying to represent the nuts?!? Let them know! Because you have special Tom Cruise powers, they should never have the audacity to think you're bluffing! You have a wide variety of words to chose from. Try Donkey, Nit, Idiot, lactating hermaphroditic hamster, and smelly yellow discharge from a polar bears butt! It's your responsibility to make this world a better poker playing place.
8- Whenever you lose, it's a bad beat
And whenever you win against that other nit's AA, it's "poker justice". After all, no player can expect to beat you with any sensible consistency. Hit your gutshot on the river? Stand up, pump your first, and ask him IF IT HURT!!!!
9- Each runner runner draw is +20% to your chances of winning.
If you think you completely missed the flop, look again! That lone spade on the board is your ticket to a monster! Call any and all bets with any 3 to a flush or three to a strait!
and finally....
10- Start your own game!
Bring all the donkeys to your house, and make money the easy way, RAK(P)E them! Everyone knows the acceptable limit to a house rake is 40% of each pot with more than one player involved. For advanced tactics, develop your card mechanic skills and deliver cooler after cooler! A few hours of hearty fun and all your friends will go home laughing and broke while you work towards paying off all those court costs!
Hope this helps everyone play better poker!
Tuesday, January 22, 2008
BBV TPJ Style
For most of you I would assume that you have no idea what BBV is but then again maybe most of you do. For those who don't. BBV stands for Brag, Beat Variance. If you ever go to 2+2 Forums, you'll see a BBV section which is full of graphs about guys bragging about how much money they've made each month, bad beats, posted hands and some hilarious stories. For the real action, mostly not poker related, BBV4Life is great. Pics and topics of just about anything you could think of. So let's bring it to the blog one time.
Brag: Starting to turn a very nice profit with Razz now that I switched over to Stars and left FullTilt
Variance: There still is a chance I can hit the lottery....or someone reading this has a position open. Any position.
----------------
I was sick when I had to end my 2/4 game during lunch today and I was another +$100 for the 3/6 game until I took a brutal beat when we were capping it just about every street and when I had a made 6543A on 5th street and he bricked 5th & 6th only to cut me with a 64 on 7th. I didn't tilt which was a show of just how much I'm growing here lately as a player. The action was incredible but that's how it goes. Its a start in the right direction and once I'm able to put in another 1k hands tonight, I hope to be running steady at 4-5BB/100 building a very nice roll quickly and by the weekend should be a regular at the 2/4 & 3/6 tables. I would be there now but I can't stand playing one or two tables and I have to play six in order for me to stay focused and zoned into everything that is going on and so far I'm getting some very solid results for doing so. My goal is to play smart and I would really like to have my 5k in hands before the weekend but that means I can't play or deal at the local games. As for FT, I'm done for now until the FTOPS starts up in February and the Razz event on Feb 14th. Shows you how much FT thinks of Razz, they put it on Valentine's Day. Then again, first place pays out at least $35k so its worth a try. Now if I can only find a stable job.... Feel free to email me with any opportunities or if you would like to know more about the exciting future of precast concrete and how we can save you money and time or your new home....
Brag: Starting to turn a very nice profit with Razz now that I switched over to Stars and left FullTilt
Beat: Need to find new employment quick. Going on commission for sales when residential market is starting to tighten up, er.. tank for more expensive products like the one I sale for new construction (one of the most energy efficient, safest, most durable products on the construction market today...precast concrete wall panels, the right choice for your next home!). foreseeable financial stability, -EV.....HUGE -EV!!!
Variance: There still is a chance I can hit the lottery....or someone reading this has a position open. Any position.
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Razz- from the start of this year, I have been really focusing on Razz at FullTilt b/c I really thought I had the advantage. It was only break even poker at the 2/4 HU tables and I hated the full ring games there. The only way I put in over 2k hands at .25/.50 was sitting and then leaving after more then three players sat down. Another issue with FT is the antes. The rake pisses me off also but now that I have a rakeback, its not as bad but it stil sucks. Think about it, if you play FT where the antes are nearly twice, and some cases are, as much as PS, then you're behind even if you win the same amount on both sites. $0.25 doesn't seem like much but when you play so many hands and hour/day/month/year....your profit is cut and I've finally have realized its not about how many pots you can win each session but how much you can win in each pot! Maybe I should post that quote from Mike Caro. So then I decided to go back to PokerStars where the fish are plenty and try my best to stay away from Triple Draw (which I haven't been doing a very good job of mind you....I love that game so much). Since playing on PS, I've taken my tiny deposit of $25 and rolled up to close to $400 and just two days. Why not more you ask... triple draw is the devil's game and a each time I built up some scratch I would venture over there a few times loosing 7 pots, count it, SEVEN pots with either 765 vs 764 or 86 vs 85. So sick. A few buyins of $25 here, $50 there, it adds up quick to deplete a small bankroll. Overall my stats are horrible but that's b/c of FT. PS is running pretty decent so far. See:
I was sick when I had to end my 2/4 game during lunch today and I was another +$100 for the 3/6 game until I took a brutal beat when we were capping it just about every street and when I had a made 6543A on 5th street and he bricked 5th & 6th only to cut me with a 64 on 7th. I didn't tilt which was a show of just how much I'm growing here lately as a player. The action was incredible but that's how it goes. Its a start in the right direction and once I'm able to put in another 1k hands tonight, I hope to be running steady at 4-5BB/100 building a very nice roll quickly and by the weekend should be a regular at the 2/4 & 3/6 tables. I would be there now but I can't stand playing one or two tables and I have to play six in order for me to stay focused and zoned into everything that is going on and so far I'm getting some very solid results for doing so. My goal is to play smart and I would really like to have my 5k in hands before the weekend but that means I can't play or deal at the local games. As for FT, I'm done for now until the FTOPS starts up in February and the Razz event on Feb 14th. Shows you how much FT thinks of Razz, they put it on Valentine's Day. Then again, first place pays out at least $35k so its worth a try. Now if I can only find a stable job.... Feel free to email me with any opportunities or if you would like to know more about the exciting future of precast concrete and how we can save you money and time or your new home....
Monday, January 21, 2008
Saturday, January 19, 2008
Cary O8 Pot Limit
It was the first time in a couple of weeks that I have played in Cary and it was a juicy night.... All the usual suspects plus a couple of new guys "to me" anyways.... Daniel, who I gathered plays mostly online and Theron (sp.?) who came in late and I only played a few hands with before I cashed out... There was one monster pot, the biggest pot of the night before I left anyways. And it was sort of interesting in that I was in late position with Ad, 2c, 4d, 6c when I believe two guys managed to get all of their chips in pre-flop (I think it was Super Playa and Chad). They only had about $100-$150 so from late position with a stack of chips in front of me it was a pretty easy call. The flop missed me completely, but by the time it got to me Big Dave was all in and now it's just another $165 to see the turn. The flop was Kh, Jd, 5s. I know it's runner/runner, but (as Rick pointed out earlier in the evening), I did have a flush draw on the flop. So I call and the turn is a low diamond. Now I've got all kinds of outs.... I think it was the 4d. There is a bet from someone (it was all kind of running together at this point) of about $150 and I can't wait to get my chips in the pot. This pot is up around $2800 or so and there's like 4 people already all in. It checks to me and I over bet hoping that someone will think that I missed and am trying to steal it.... no such luck. Everyone folds. Still, a very nice pot. If I had it to do over again... I probably would have bet about $500 or so to see if someone else had anything. Oh well... next time... which is tonight by the way.....
poker with the juice....
Let the suck outs begin!
poker with the juice....
Let the suck outs begin!
Friday, January 18, 2008
Top 8 Poker Etiquette Rules.....LOL...yea right
Top 8 Poker Etiquette Rules from about.com with my 2 cents worth
1. Don’t Play Out of Turn
While you may be so excited about how good your hand is you can hardly wait to raise the pot, you have to wait until it's your turn to do so. Same goes for folding hands you can't wait to get away from. If you jump the gun, it gives other players information they shouldn't have before they make their own decision and can confuse the action.
As we always say "Order is just a suggestion"
2. Don't Talk About Your Cards While the Hand is Still Going On
Once you've folded, it's tempting to chat about what would have happened if you had stayed in, but if anyone who's still in the hand hears, it'll give them information that they might use to their advantage. For instance, if you had a 7-2 as your pocket cards in Hold'em and the flop comes 7-7-2, if you blurt out that you would have had a full house, everyone will know that it's unlikely that any player still in the hand has the full house, making it hard to bluff and represent that hand.
If you can't talk about your hand, what else is there to lie about? Or am I really lieing? Hmmmm. Btw, I think the writer could have come up with a much better example b/c if the flop does come 772 and you say you have a full house, who's going to believe you, it's the perfect hand to tell the truth about and get paid off on.
3. Don't Show Your Cards (Until the Showdown)
When you fold, make sure you don't flash or flip over your cards as you toss them into the muck. Again, if players know what you fold, it'll give them information that may change how the rest of the hand plays out. Unless you are all-in and heads up, there is no reason to show or expose your cards until the showdown.
Are you kidding me? I agree with the first part, but I'm showing cards every chance I get to confuse people in a hand. There IS a reason to show your cards.
4. Don't Splash the Pot.
There are two bad betting habits that you see a lot in the movies which are no-nos in real life. The first is when a player tosses his bet in a big mess in the center of the pot. That's called Splashing the Pot, and it makes it hard to tell how much you've bet. A better way is just to stack your chips neatly in front of you to bet.
In my club and I will splash the pot whenever the f^
5. Don't Make String Bets
The second bad habit from movies is the string bet, which is when a player goes "I'll call your 500.... and raise another 1000!" You have to declare whether you're simply calling or raising right away -- once you say "call," that's all you can do. If you're going to raise, say raise and the amount right away. This is especially important in casinos.
Why is this such a hard concept to understand? We have one guy is horrible about this but he's so bad that we've gotten used to it, and allow it most of the time b/c he a gimme to loose a few hundred each time he plays. Of course, this is also the same guy who brings the game to a halt since we have to wait 2 minutes ever hand for him to look at his cards....so frustrating.
6. Don't Be Rude or Mean
Even if you're having a bad losing streak, it doesn't give you the right to curse other players or be rude to the dealer. It will win you neither pots nor friends.
Sorry, I was on the floor laughing at this one for the past 5 minutes before I could type. Umm, yea, not being rude.... that'll be the day. LMAO-It will win you neither pots nor friends- classic
7. If You Show One, Show All
If you win a hand before the showdown but want to show your cards anyway, you can't just show them to the one player to your left or right, you have to turn them up for the whole table to see. After all, why should only the lucky players next to you get to know what you were holding?
This "rule" is blown so out of proportion. You can and should be able to just show certain people out the table 1 or both cards dependent upon the situation especially to the player that you just beat out of money. On top of that, its a cash game so you can pretty much do just about anything you want anyways. Just b/c they see it done a certain way on TV in a tournament they assume that it must be done that way at home. Getting off my soapbox now.
8. Do Pay Attention
If you're in a hand, don't make everyone remind you that it's your turn -- keep up with the action so the game keeps moving. Talking on cell phones is a bad idea.
LMAO...keeping the game moving. We have 2 human stop signs at some of the games. When the action stops it's on JJ or Coach....every time.
Thursday, January 17, 2008
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