19 players. I must say, our league is way more fun with way more people!
I was feeling fine and good - raising on the button with nothing, and sometimes in the cutoff as well, and believe it or not people were folding to me. I found myself at a slightly above average chip stack (2K+) as the blinds made the big jump from 30/60 to 50/100.
In the past when I've found myself near the top of the heap, I've shifted gears and tightened up - translation; I've stopped trying to steal entirely and waited for good cards. This time, I DID tighten up - but I didn't stop stealing. How, you say? Instead of automatically popping a pot sized bet on the button, cutoff or hijack seat EVERY time in a limped or unraised pot, I carefully considered the players who were limping AND who was behind me. I also gave great thought to chip stack sizes.
Who was going to fight me? Who was going to lay it down? Who was ready to go to war? As the tourney progressed, I wasn't always right; but it was a noticeable improvement in my game to actually play the players, and finally, FINALLY, be SELECTIVE with my aggression.
I was relentless. But more importantly, every single aggressive move had a thought and purpose behind it - rather than just blind scrapping, I was picking my targets carefully.
The player to my right, Chipper, I had pegged early on (and in previous tournaments) as pretty much a rock. A guy who only played solid hands. He raised pre-flop only a handful of times, and every time I got out of the way. The few showdowns he got to proved my analysis.
The player to my left, Cali, I knew pretty well. He also was pretty darn tight, and he hated to go to war without at least a piece of the flop. So I stole him blind all night long.
Besides Chipper, there were also two other new guys at my first table; Sammy and Viking. Both struck me as very typical Play Chip Style Internet Donkeys. Any two cards will do, raise with nothing, give absolutely no consideration to bet size or position.
That said, they have both cashed this season; so don't think I completely wrote them off. But I knew they were both crushable, simply from their lack of understanding fundamental poker. They may think they are "maniacs" or "unpredictable", but actually they're VERY predictable and remind me of myself when I lose the selecting part of selective aggression.
I read Sammy perfectly early on. As I had been aggressive in late position, he had been routinely smooth calling me, and then folding when I bet the flop after his check. Finally, he'd had enough. I raised in the cutoff, he called in the BB. Flop came a big blank for me. He checked, I fired half the pot. He min raised. I thought for a minute and then popped him with a pot sized bet.
I honestly didn't know what he had, but I also knew that now was the time to show him who was in charge. If he had hit the flop solidly, he would push all in and I could still get away with an okay amount of damage (the chips I had put in were under 20% of my stack), if he had a piece of the flop (middle pair or such) even he would be hard pressed to call such a large amount. If he blanked, even he would have to fold.
He folded.
Let me side track and point out that this was another big difference in my game the other night; PRE-PLANNING my hands. Just a nugget I picked up from a book on NL Cash games (Professional No Limit Hold-Em), a completely simple but also revolutionary idea. Pre-plan, your hand. Think in advance, what you are going to do and how far you are going to commit depending on what happens.
Again, it sounds simple; but it really helped me. I knew every time going in, before I fired a bet, what I was going to do if someone fired back. If I had premium cards, I was going to get all my chips in as quick as possible. If I had two overs, I was going to be cautious about who I called - and make sure that I was in position. Much of this pre-planning was subconscious, but I was AWARE that I was anticipating the possible scenarios and exactly what I was going to do.
The other new guy, Viking, didn't need my help to get smacked down rather early on. Rabbit, the solid player from last season who's also a good friend and going to be playing in a live cash game at my garage this Friday, schooled Viking on the dangers of trying to be aggressive with someone who has next to the stone cold nuts.
And so we got down to the final table. As I mentioned, my tendency at this stage had always been to tighten up. I still tightened up, but I didn't lose my aggression at all; rather I was more SELECTIVE about which pots to fight for and which to let go. Paramount in my mind, even more than the cards, was position and who I was up against.
I really felt my game had stepped up a notch, as I won pot after pot WITHOUT showdowns. My stats at the end of the night showed I played about 30% of all the hands, and won nearly 20%! Most amazing, almost two thirds of those winning hands never made it to the river. I think I may have taken another small but significant step in my poker evolution.
Maybe best of all, by pre-planning and being highly aware of my chip stack in relation to my opponents, I was even able to weather the occasional suck-out well (especially one against Sammy who I had dominated on the flop, he hit a runner runner straight) and use my selective aggression immediately after to get right back in the game.
But before I pat myself on the back too hard, I need to mention that variance was on my side last night as well. I won a half dozen pots or so by being on the winning side of races, a simple but necessary fact of life in finishing well in a small and very fast sit-n-go tournament. The good news is, that nearly all the races I was in were pre-planned.
And then there were a few mistakes, most of them minor, but one major that could have been fatal.
I found myself UTG five handed with A7os. With blinds in big and scary territory, I fired a "pot sized" raise (x1.5 BB). Everyone folded around to chipper on the BB, who called. I put him on 2 overs, AJ or similar. With any pair (except maybe deuces or threes) he would have likely pushed all in. My semi-subconscious pre-plan for missing the flop was: if he checks I fire, if he leads out 'm gone. If he checks, I fire and he calls - he's hit it big and I'm gone. Likewise, if he check raises me; I'm done.
Flop came Q x x rainbow. He checked. I bet the pot, which was 3K, almost a third of my stack. This was my BIG mistake. I was essentially committing myself to the hand with nothing - no draws and only one over card. In hindsight, if I had bet half the pot, or even less, I could have gained information AND been able to get away. With such a large bet I had all but sealed my fate to getting all my chips in.
He then re-raised (but not all of his chips). Strange bet that told me he didn't have a set, but was trying to convince me that he had top pair OR he actually did have top pair and had slow played me! Nah, he wasn't that good. I smelled BS! And there was too much of my chips in the pot to leave crippled; I pushed all in. He called me with QJ. Wow! I was outplayed. He really did have TP big Kicker, and respected my play enough (and was skilled enough) to trap me out of my chips. Well done sir.
An ace spiked on the turn.
Thank God he didn't have AQ, I would have been crushed. But thankfully he had played a good but not great couple of cards (QJ) out of position. A small but costly mistake on his part , that in spite of my much bigger mistake - led to his elimination.
With the bubble burst, I cranked up the aggression. I had been shifting gears all night, but the only thing I was focused on changing was the SELECTION of my aggression. The aggression itself had been with me all night.
Needless to say, when we cashed; the pressure lifted (though I had been pretty good about APPLYING pressure during the bubble period) and I really cut loose with stealing.
As Harrington has pointed out, when your chips give you the right odds, you only need win a steal 1 out of 3 times to make money; and in the tournaments last half hour this is basically what happened. I managed to thieve mercilessly, and also catch sweet cards on occasion to keep the other guys off balance. I had KK, that I showed to great effect; I had QQ that busted a player who went all in against me with A8os.
I pushed relentlessly against Miles, my tricky nemesis from last season, who was on my left. When he called or bet I simply folded - he played way too tight and I was finally able to read him like a book.
Finally, after pillaging and pillaging my stack grew so large that any two cards would do. I was able to almost relinquish the selection of my aggression and bully my way to victory. That's right kids, I took this one down.
Of course I sucked out to win on the final hand, but hey: the damage by me had already been done. I fucking bludgeoned that table.
Next week I imagine I'll come in cocky, and go out early. But if I can somehow maintain both SELECTION and AGGRESSION in just the right harmony, this could be a very profitable season.
Wednesday, January 30, 2008
Tuesday, January 22, 2008
T2 Flateline 2008.1 1/21
There is a famed pro poker player named Mike "the Mouth" Matusow. He's a good tournament player, and sometimes his play even borders on greatness. But he is most renown for his "blow-ups" and I'm not talking about the needling or berating he sometimes engages in.
Mike will be going along, firing on all cylinders, and someone will do something or make a move on him - and he will throw all judgement and reason right in the toilet with a colossally stupid move. Typically this will end with the vanishing of all his chips, and a subsequent bemoaning by him of bad luck and bad beats.
Such was my world last night. Except I made two colossally stupid moves.
I played well at first, but couldn't get a break or a steal to save my life. I got all in against a short stack and had A 10 to his A 9. Guess which card spiked on the river. I found myself at negative 10xBB early on, and had to push in middle position with K 10 suited when UTG min-raised me with a nothing flop. Something about the min-raise just irks me, and I was surprised to see it coming from wytrabbit. I chalked it up to a poorly timed probe bet, and brought my short but still threatening stack over the top to his donk move.
He turned over aces. (After a ridiculous pause, that was either an intentional slow-roll or a computer glitch.) Whoops. Guess I was the actual donk.
Naturally I sucked him out and berated him for the slow roll (which I shouldn't have done, but as I said - I was channeling Matusow).
My chip stack kept right on dwindling however, even as we moved to one table. I was still over 10xBB, so I was going to tighten up and wait for premium cards. The blinds rose and rose.
I sat on a very painful BB of 200 to my 1200 stack. I had Q3os (yuk), but I was prepared to defend if anyone wanted to get frisky. All folded to the button who min-raised. Have I mentioned I HATE min-raises?
Allow me to digress.
Pre-flop a min-raise encourages action, but too much action. Even pocket aces aren't a big favorite with more than 2 callers. Almost every knuckle head with Q3os or worse is getting the right price to suck out good starting cards. Post-flop, a min-raise is even worse. Again, it encourages everyone with ridiculously long-shot draws to stay and suck out the person with the current bad hand. Min-raises are stupid and bush league, except when the min-bet or raise happens to be a large percentage of the average stack. Then I can see it (and I have used it) as an effective weapon against mid to small sized stacks.
In this case, the button that min-raised me was a new guy that I had the pleasure of watching implode last week as we approached the money. Surely he was on that path now, trying to steal blinds from a short stack such as me. I had to stand up, and defend. I was not going to let this punk bitch donkey bully me.
All in sucker! Call me down!
He did. He had kings. I suck.
Stupid decision from top to bottom on my part. Because of my contempt for the inferior min-bet/raise I let my emotions guide my decision, and it was foolish beyond belief. Patience is probably the biggest virtue in poker, be it cash or tournament; and I seem to have lost it of late. With all the literature I've read about being aggressive, I tend to confuse simple flat out aggression with SELECTIVE aggression. Maybe someday I'll learn my lesson, and become capable of swallowing my pride and living to fight another day.
Harrington on Hold-em gives perhaps the best piece of underrated advice on tournament poker. Survival is paramount. I need to go back to basics in my game, recognize that I'm not exactly up against the most sophisticated bunch of players - and learn to lay down my junk in the face of a good position bet.
When I do that, I know I can avoid the min-raising donks and felt their sorry asses when I do catch actual cards.
I so can't wait for next week.
Mike will be going along, firing on all cylinders, and someone will do something or make a move on him - and he will throw all judgement and reason right in the toilet with a colossally stupid move. Typically this will end with the vanishing of all his chips, and a subsequent bemoaning by him of bad luck and bad beats.
Such was my world last night. Except I made two colossally stupid moves.
I played well at first, but couldn't get a break or a steal to save my life. I got all in against a short stack and had A 10 to his A 9. Guess which card spiked on the river. I found myself at negative 10xBB early on, and had to push in middle position with K 10 suited when UTG min-raised me with a nothing flop. Something about the min-raise just irks me, and I was surprised to see it coming from wytrabbit. I chalked it up to a poorly timed probe bet, and brought my short but still threatening stack over the top to his donk move.
He turned over aces. (After a ridiculous pause, that was either an intentional slow-roll or a computer glitch.) Whoops. Guess I was the actual donk.
Naturally I sucked him out and berated him for the slow roll (which I shouldn't have done, but as I said - I was channeling Matusow).
My chip stack kept right on dwindling however, even as we moved to one table. I was still over 10xBB, so I was going to tighten up and wait for premium cards. The blinds rose and rose.
I sat on a very painful BB of 200 to my 1200 stack. I had Q3os (yuk), but I was prepared to defend if anyone wanted to get frisky. All folded to the button who min-raised. Have I mentioned I HATE min-raises?
Allow me to digress.
Pre-flop a min-raise encourages action, but too much action. Even pocket aces aren't a big favorite with more than 2 callers. Almost every knuckle head with Q3os or worse is getting the right price to suck out good starting cards. Post-flop, a min-raise is even worse. Again, it encourages everyone with ridiculously long-shot draws to stay and suck out the person with the current bad hand. Min-raises are stupid and bush league, except when the min-bet or raise happens to be a large percentage of the average stack. Then I can see it (and I have used it) as an effective weapon against mid to small sized stacks.
In this case, the button that min-raised me was a new guy that I had the pleasure of watching implode last week as we approached the money. Surely he was on that path now, trying to steal blinds from a short stack such as me. I had to stand up, and defend. I was not going to let this punk bitch donkey bully me.
All in sucker! Call me down!
He did. He had kings. I suck.
Stupid decision from top to bottom on my part. Because of my contempt for the inferior min-bet/raise I let my emotions guide my decision, and it was foolish beyond belief. Patience is probably the biggest virtue in poker, be it cash or tournament; and I seem to have lost it of late. With all the literature I've read about being aggressive, I tend to confuse simple flat out aggression with SELECTIVE aggression. Maybe someday I'll learn my lesson, and become capable of swallowing my pride and living to fight another day.
Harrington on Hold-em gives perhaps the best piece of underrated advice on tournament poker. Survival is paramount. I need to go back to basics in my game, recognize that I'm not exactly up against the most sophisticated bunch of players - and learn to lay down my junk in the face of a good position bet.
When I do that, I know I can avoid the min-raising donks and felt their sorry asses when I do catch actual cards.
I so can't wait for next week.
Monday, January 21, 2008
T1 Flateline 2008.1 1/14
Wow, our little online league has grown now to over 20 players, and 19 of them showed up for this season's inaugural tournament. I knew it was going to be a tough road, with so many decent players and even more difficult to read unknowns.
The new guys, most of which I played last week in a silly practice tournament, seem to favor the classic play chip/micro-stakes internet style. Min-raise a lot, raise with nothing out of position, stick around with middle pair (even when pushed all in). Donks the lot of them pretty much.
So I dove right in, and I must say, I'm pretty proud of my performance. I managed to be card dead all night (save for one or two instances) and still position bet and and pick my spots wisely to keep ahead of the blinds.
On one particular hand I looked down at QQ, and instead of making the mistake of giving anyone the right price to stick around for the flop - I pushed all in. Everyone folded, save for wytrabbit, who tanked for the length of his countdown before finally laying it down. He told me later they were pocket 10's! If only one of the new guys had woke up with a pocket pair in that situation! I would have doubled up for sure.
Other than that pair, the only other one I got I probably overvalued. With only five players remaining, I found myself precariously perched near the bubble (four places would be paid). I got 66. The table had lately been extremely tight, which was helpful to me - I was able to steal just enough to keep ahead of the blinds. Though scarily enough, I had to use all of my diminishing stack to get people out.
With pocket 6's I knew I likely had the best hand at the moment, it was time to make people pay to stick around. I also knew that if I got any raises it was likely to be a bigger pair or two over-cards. I was prepared to go against the latter to race for the money.
The player to my right, a new guy who had been pretty darn tight, popped it slightly. Uh-oh, not a min-raise? He must have aces. Still, my little 6 6 looked like a monster to me. I pushed all in. To my horror, the next player to my left called! I put him on AK or similar.
Of course, since it was only a few hundred more, the original raiser came along for the ride. The flop came three blanks, they checked it down. Yay. The turn was a queen. The player to my left (timmytimmy, one of our old regulars and a pretty good player) fired a bet. Yuk. His J Q would hold up to be the winning hand, as the first raiser called him down all the way with an un-paired A 10. Donk, donk, donk.
And so I was gone. Bubble boy. But as I said, I'm overall very happy with my decisions. And I recognize that with such a large field and super fast blinds, luck is going to be a bigger factor this time around. I'm hoping I have time tonight to replay the tourney on my computer, before we go for T2. I have the sense that the new players are going to be fairly easy to crush, especially if they keep calling for the wrong price and don't protect their hands with the correct sized bets.
The new guys, most of which I played last week in a silly practice tournament, seem to favor the classic play chip/micro-stakes internet style. Min-raise a lot, raise with nothing out of position, stick around with middle pair (even when pushed all in). Donks the lot of them pretty much.
So I dove right in, and I must say, I'm pretty proud of my performance. I managed to be card dead all night (save for one or two instances) and still position bet and and pick my spots wisely to keep ahead of the blinds.
On one particular hand I looked down at QQ, and instead of making the mistake of giving anyone the right price to stick around for the flop - I pushed all in. Everyone folded, save for wytrabbit, who tanked for the length of his countdown before finally laying it down. He told me later they were pocket 10's! If only one of the new guys had woke up with a pocket pair in that situation! I would have doubled up for sure.
Other than that pair, the only other one I got I probably overvalued. With only five players remaining, I found myself precariously perched near the bubble (four places would be paid). I got 66. The table had lately been extremely tight, which was helpful to me - I was able to steal just enough to keep ahead of the blinds. Though scarily enough, I had to use all of my diminishing stack to get people out.
With pocket 6's I knew I likely had the best hand at the moment, it was time to make people pay to stick around. I also knew that if I got any raises it was likely to be a bigger pair or two over-cards. I was prepared to go against the latter to race for the money.
The player to my right, a new guy who had been pretty darn tight, popped it slightly. Uh-oh, not a min-raise? He must have aces. Still, my little 6 6 looked like a monster to me. I pushed all in. To my horror, the next player to my left called! I put him on AK or similar.
Of course, since it was only a few hundred more, the original raiser came along for the ride. The flop came three blanks, they checked it down. Yay. The turn was a queen. The player to my left (timmytimmy, one of our old regulars and a pretty good player) fired a bet. Yuk. His J Q would hold up to be the winning hand, as the first raiser called him down all the way with an un-paired A 10. Donk, donk, donk.
And so I was gone. Bubble boy. But as I said, I'm overall very happy with my decisions. And I recognize that with such a large field and super fast blinds, luck is going to be a bigger factor this time around. I'm hoping I have time tonight to replay the tourney on my computer, before we go for T2. I have the sense that the new players are going to be fairly easy to crush, especially if they keep calling for the wrong price and don't protect their hands with the correct sized bets.
Monday, January 14, 2008
PSP 1/12/08
I had to feel good about my home game last Saturday night. The first time I'd ever had 19 people in my garage, the first time it was all No Limit Hold-em. I finished 7th (I think) and overall was very pleased with how I played. I went out when I played the cards well, but again-completely misjudged who I was playing against. My card reading is pretty good, when I pay attention. My people reading really needs some work.
I survived a few close calls before that, and even sucked out the chip leader at the first table. I was on the BB and UTG made a min-raise. It was folded all the way around and I limped in for the discounted flop. The flop came 4 Q 7 rainbow with Q 10 in my hand. I bet out half the pot. UTG, who was the chip leader, min-raised again, x2 the size of my bet.
I didn't put him on AA, KK or even QQ, he would have bet larger pre-flop to protect his hand. He might slow play these premiums post-flop with such a ragged board, but even he would value bet a big more I would think; especially since he had the big stack. Nope, more likely he had JJ, 10 10 or similar and was trying to get me away and/or see where he was at. It would also be very typical of him to still think he had the best hand, even with an over card on board. He would also fire a min bet with AK, or even AQ, AJ, etc. Again, to get me to leave or get more information on my cards.
So rather than simply just raise, the minimum would have been half my stack - I pushed all in. He insta-called and turned over AA. A 10 spiked on the river and he was left reeling.
I screwed up. I misread him completely, as a player and his betting patterns. I overvalued my hand here, and since I was up against a passive player, I likely could have smooth called after the flop, and he would have fired a small enough bet (or even checked!) on the turn to let me see the river for cheap and get paid when my 5 outer hit.
In any event, the night progressed and I happily was able to steal a handful of times, as well as flop a broadway straight as the bubble approached AND get paid for it. My downfall came as once again (as is the inevitable nature of a two table one night tourney) the blinds rocketed skyward and my once healthy stack was in trouble. I was in the BB and the small blind limped after everyone had folded around. I checked my option with rags.
The board came three low cards as well, giving me a gut-shot and a backdoor flush draw. The SB checked and I started digging my own grave. The pot was actually quite big already, nearly a quarter of my remaining stack. I really needed to pick up the blinds to go longer. I KNEW, absolutely without a shadow of a doubt that the player to my right had squadoosh. She had been weak-passive all night, never betting or raising without at least face cards, never slow playing her monsters. She had mistakenly stuck around in pots she shouldn't have been in and put bad beats out several players; she really didn't know what she was doing.
I went all-in. She had me barely covered, she couldn't risk her tournament life with nothing. I had checked my BB option, I could have anything, the flop could have hit me solidly. Surely she would fold. She called with Ace high. It held up. I shook my head in disbelief, what a donk!
Now, to be fair, if an experienced player at the table had called me down with that with a similar chip stack I would have to give them credit for a great read. In her case however, I knew that she had no clue what she was doing. Or maybe she did.
She had been making remarks (before making loose calls) all night like "Oh what the hell, I need to get to bed early tonight anyway." Do you think I'm an idiot? I do.
I really need to pay more attention to people, since I have a good grasp on reading the board and gauging what people might have based on how they bet. The biggest donk in this whole scenario, culminating with me looking like a moron to everyone else, was me.
Still, I had probably the best time I've had at one of my home games. The energy of a NL Hold-em tourney really can't be beat. Everyone knows how to play, and the tables run themselves - I get to concentrate more on playing and having a good time. So we'll do it again in a month!
In other news, online league play starts tonight. I'm pleased that I was able to recruit a new player from my home game, a great guy whose game I really respect - so it should be a barrel of fun. Stay tuned!
I survived a few close calls before that, and even sucked out the chip leader at the first table. I was on the BB and UTG made a min-raise. It was folded all the way around and I limped in for the discounted flop. The flop came 4 Q 7 rainbow with Q 10 in my hand. I bet out half the pot. UTG, who was the chip leader, min-raised again, x2 the size of my bet.
I didn't put him on AA, KK or even QQ, he would have bet larger pre-flop to protect his hand. He might slow play these premiums post-flop with such a ragged board, but even he would value bet a big more I would think; especially since he had the big stack. Nope, more likely he had JJ, 10 10 or similar and was trying to get me away and/or see where he was at. It would also be very typical of him to still think he had the best hand, even with an over card on board. He would also fire a min bet with AK, or even AQ, AJ, etc. Again, to get me to leave or get more information on my cards.
So rather than simply just raise, the minimum would have been half my stack - I pushed all in. He insta-called and turned over AA. A 10 spiked on the river and he was left reeling.
I screwed up. I misread him completely, as a player and his betting patterns. I overvalued my hand here, and since I was up against a passive player, I likely could have smooth called after the flop, and he would have fired a small enough bet (or even checked!) on the turn to let me see the river for cheap and get paid when my 5 outer hit.
In any event, the night progressed and I happily was able to steal a handful of times, as well as flop a broadway straight as the bubble approached AND get paid for it. My downfall came as once again (as is the inevitable nature of a two table one night tourney) the blinds rocketed skyward and my once healthy stack was in trouble. I was in the BB and the small blind limped after everyone had folded around. I checked my option with rags.
The board came three low cards as well, giving me a gut-shot and a backdoor flush draw. The SB checked and I started digging my own grave. The pot was actually quite big already, nearly a quarter of my remaining stack. I really needed to pick up the blinds to go longer. I KNEW, absolutely without a shadow of a doubt that the player to my right had squadoosh. She had been weak-passive all night, never betting or raising without at least face cards, never slow playing her monsters. She had mistakenly stuck around in pots she shouldn't have been in and put bad beats out several players; she really didn't know what she was doing.
I went all-in. She had me barely covered, she couldn't risk her tournament life with nothing. I had checked my BB option, I could have anything, the flop could have hit me solidly. Surely she would fold. She called with Ace high. It held up. I shook my head in disbelief, what a donk!
Now, to be fair, if an experienced player at the table had called me down with that with a similar chip stack I would have to give them credit for a great read. In her case however, I knew that she had no clue what she was doing. Or maybe she did.
She had been making remarks (before making loose calls) all night like "Oh what the hell, I need to get to bed early tonight anyway." Do you think I'm an idiot? I do.
I really need to pay more attention to people, since I have a good grasp on reading the board and gauging what people might have based on how they bet. The biggest donk in this whole scenario, culminating with me looking like a moron to everyone else, was me.
Still, I had probably the best time I've had at one of my home games. The energy of a NL Hold-em tourney really can't be beat. Everyone knows how to play, and the tables run themselves - I get to concentrate more on playing and having a good time. So we'll do it again in a month!
In other news, online league play starts tonight. I'm pleased that I was able to recruit a new player from my home game, a great guy whose game I really respect - so it should be a barrel of fun. Stay tuned!
Monday, January 7, 2008
After Dark Dreams
On my main blog (before this one came about) I wrote at length of my love for the best poker show on television, "High Stakes Poker". Fantastic coverage of the best poker players in the world, playing for their own money in the world's largest regularly televised cash game. With a minimum buy-in of 100K the stakes are incredible, and the poker is out of this world. As a poker skill showcase, it simply can't be beat; even by the WSOP.
But lately, thanks to the miracle of the DVR, I have discovered another program - that while still not AS good as HSP in my opinion, deserves recognition and appreciation in it's own right.
The show is "Poker After Dark" and it airs every night of the week on NBC at 2 in the morning. Each week shows an entire one table tournament, a six handed sit-n-go of top tournament players. What makes the show unique, and great in my opinion, is that it airs pretty much unedited. Every single hand is shown, including the "inconsequential" ones, as well as all the chit chat and dead spots in between.
This show, more than even HSP, gives you a true feel as to how the pros actually play. You get a much truer sense of their personalities than any edited program, WSOP, WPT, HSP, etc. could ever hope to deliver. By sitting down and watching a weeks worth of recorded shows, I truly get an amazing lesson in short-handed tournament poker.
For entertainment, and the "wow" factor - HSP is the best poker show on television. But for tournament poker in it's purest form, you absolutely cannot beat Poker After Dark. And as sit-n-go tournament play is my favorite way to play, this is the show that was made for me. I'm truly in love with it, and grateful for the technology of Tivo.
Recently a new season has kicked off, and this last week they tried something a bit different. First, they have a new hostess; she seems capable enough - but she doesn't have the lovely and pendulous breasts of the recently departed Shauna Hiatt. Oh well, I can get used to her I suppose.
Second, and more interestingly, they had a single amateur at the table - who won his way onto the program through a series of free roll tournaments on Full Tilt. I have played in these free rolls as well, and I must say to actually win your way through them is pretty impressive.
The twist was, the amateur got to pick his "dream table". The players he would most like to play with. I love this concept and hereby submit my own ideal final table. (Interestingly, this weeks amateur picked some of the same players, the first four on my list.)
These are the 9 players I would love to have a chance to play with; even though I'd be so nervous that any coherent thought would probably be impossible.
Jennifer Harman - She's just so adorable! But she's also an absolutely fearless player who specializes in cash limit HE. I love her demeanor of humility and quiet relentless aggression. I try hard to live up to her standard of table manners and decorum. She managed to keep her cool in the WSOP even when she got a speech from some amateur dick head who had a straight flush and slow rolled her. Class act. World Class poker player.
Scotty Nguyen - A great tournament player, winner of the 1998 WSOP main event. Of all the players, this is the man I would most like to meet and shake hands with. He is absolutely genuine and without pretension. I can tell just from watching him, that there is no "act". He is 100% real. I am in awe of his story - a Vietnamese refugee who came here with NOTHING, and built a life as a professional poker player. He has faced unimaginable tragedy (losing his brother on the night of his main event win) and yet still perseveres and manages to support his rather large family. Every flaw and every charm is absolutely unfiltered. What an amazing man.
Daniel Negraneau - A bit of a shyster, but a hell of a card player. I'd love to sit down with him just for the entertainment value. I'd have to keep my mouth shut though, this is a guy who routinely calls out the EXACT hole cards of his opponents.
Phil Hellmuth - I am a bit of a glutton for punishment, so I wouldn't mind being berated by the poker brat. Or as I like to call him, the poker asshole. His play is tremendous, and I'd say after Jennifer, his poker skill is right up my alley. Note I said PLAYING skill, NOT manners. His demeanor is just about the WORST on the planet; yet as with Scotty, I feel it is mostly genuine. He just can't help himself to belittle people, as an instinctive response to his own insecurities and flaws as a player and as a human being.
Doyle Brunson - What can you say. The man is a legend, and it would be an honor to sit at the same table with him. Plus, from what I have read and seen - for all his prowess at taking people's money and coming from the old school of angle shooting and soft play among fellow pros, he has a genuine warmth and humility in his heart before God.
Johnny Chan - another quiet legend. I love his stoic demeanor, and his play is as renowned as anybody in the game.
Phil Ivey - Yikes! He's probably the most formidable player alive today. I would probably crap my pants, but he would have to be included. Great tournament player, legendary cash game prowess.
Allen Cunningham - Tremendous young gun, who's not so young anymore. Probably the most underrated tournament player ever. Five bracelets, over a million in tournament cashes. But like Jennifer, he let's his moves do the talking at the table. Another role model for my table demeanor and play.
Annette Obrestad - I would just be thrilled to be at a table with this 18 year old Norwegian phenomenon. Not for conversation or insight (she comes across as a bit naive and boorish) but just to witness how she more than any other online flavor of the week has taken the tournament world by storm with her fearless aggression and mostly absolute perfect timing. Google her and behold her amazing accomplishments. And she's not even old enough to step into a Vegas casino.
There is one more player I should mention, that I would like to play with even more than any others listed above, the man that Doyle Brunson calls the greatest all around poker player who ever lived. Chip Reese.
Chip passed away last month of pneumonia, he was 56. But anyone who follows poker knows he was one of a kind. Definitely the best stud player of all time and likely the best mixed game player ever, he played at the absolute highest level of stakes in cash games for the last 20 years. And best of all in my book, he was a quiet family man who let his skill do the talking at the table.
I had no idea how the loss of Chip would affect me. I followed his career somewhat, but he was a guy who spent less time at tournaments (and thus less time on tv) and more time making lots of money in "side" games. Yet he emerged on the tournament scene recently on behest of his kids who said to him in effect "If you're supposedly one of the best players in the world, how come we never see you on tv?"
When Chip died I felt my heart sink and sink as each voice in the poker world sung praises of this gentle man who was a giant even among poker legends. A nice guy who beat everyone. What a tragic fate for someone so young, skilled and yet nice to be around.
In 2006 Chip won the inaugural 50K H.O.R.S.E. event at the World Series of Poker. This event is regarded now as the "true" main event, as it is only an elite field of pokers absolute best players that can bankroll the hefty entry fee. Plus, the mixed game format of Hold-Em, Omaha/8, Razz, Seven Stud and Seven Stud/8, truly showcases who is the actual BEST poker player in the world.
This guy WAS poker. And he did it quietly and without malice in his heart. He exemplified how you should play the game. Be the best and be relentless with genuine kindness.
Starting this year, the winner of the 50K H.O.R.S.E. event will receive a trophy in addition to the bracelet. The trophy will of course, be the Chip Reese Trophy.
But lately, thanks to the miracle of the DVR, I have discovered another program - that while still not AS good as HSP in my opinion, deserves recognition and appreciation in it's own right.
The show is "Poker After Dark" and it airs every night of the week on NBC at 2 in the morning. Each week shows an entire one table tournament, a six handed sit-n-go of top tournament players. What makes the show unique, and great in my opinion, is that it airs pretty much unedited. Every single hand is shown, including the "inconsequential" ones, as well as all the chit chat and dead spots in between.
This show, more than even HSP, gives you a true feel as to how the pros actually play. You get a much truer sense of their personalities than any edited program, WSOP, WPT, HSP, etc. could ever hope to deliver. By sitting down and watching a weeks worth of recorded shows, I truly get an amazing lesson in short-handed tournament poker.
For entertainment, and the "wow" factor - HSP is the best poker show on television. But for tournament poker in it's purest form, you absolutely cannot beat Poker After Dark. And as sit-n-go tournament play is my favorite way to play, this is the show that was made for me. I'm truly in love with it, and grateful for the technology of Tivo.
Recently a new season has kicked off, and this last week they tried something a bit different. First, they have a new hostess; she seems capable enough - but she doesn't have the lovely and pendulous breasts of the recently departed Shauna Hiatt. Oh well, I can get used to her I suppose.
Second, and more interestingly, they had a single amateur at the table - who won his way onto the program through a series of free roll tournaments on Full Tilt. I have played in these free rolls as well, and I must say to actually win your way through them is pretty impressive.
The twist was, the amateur got to pick his "dream table". The players he would most like to play with. I love this concept and hereby submit my own ideal final table. (Interestingly, this weeks amateur picked some of the same players, the first four on my list.)
These are the 9 players I would love to have a chance to play with; even though I'd be so nervous that any coherent thought would probably be impossible.
Jennifer Harman - She's just so adorable! But she's also an absolutely fearless player who specializes in cash limit HE. I love her demeanor of humility and quiet relentless aggression. I try hard to live up to her standard of table manners and decorum. She managed to keep her cool in the WSOP even when she got a speech from some amateur dick head who had a straight flush and slow rolled her. Class act. World Class poker player.
Scotty Nguyen - A great tournament player, winner of the 1998 WSOP main event. Of all the players, this is the man I would most like to meet and shake hands with. He is absolutely genuine and without pretension. I can tell just from watching him, that there is no "act". He is 100% real. I am in awe of his story - a Vietnamese refugee who came here with NOTHING, and built a life as a professional poker player. He has faced unimaginable tragedy (losing his brother on the night of his main event win) and yet still perseveres and manages to support his rather large family. Every flaw and every charm is absolutely unfiltered. What an amazing man.
Daniel Negraneau - A bit of a shyster, but a hell of a card player. I'd love to sit down with him just for the entertainment value. I'd have to keep my mouth shut though, this is a guy who routinely calls out the EXACT hole cards of his opponents.
Phil Hellmuth - I am a bit of a glutton for punishment, so I wouldn't mind being berated by the poker brat. Or as I like to call him, the poker asshole. His play is tremendous, and I'd say after Jennifer, his poker skill is right up my alley. Note I said PLAYING skill, NOT manners. His demeanor is just about the WORST on the planet; yet as with Scotty, I feel it is mostly genuine. He just can't help himself to belittle people, as an instinctive response to his own insecurities and flaws as a player and as a human being.
Doyle Brunson - What can you say. The man is a legend, and it would be an honor to sit at the same table with him. Plus, from what I have read and seen - for all his prowess at taking people's money and coming from the old school of angle shooting and soft play among fellow pros, he has a genuine warmth and humility in his heart before God.
Johnny Chan - another quiet legend. I love his stoic demeanor, and his play is as renowned as anybody in the game.
Phil Ivey - Yikes! He's probably the most formidable player alive today. I would probably crap my pants, but he would have to be included. Great tournament player, legendary cash game prowess.
Allen Cunningham - Tremendous young gun, who's not so young anymore. Probably the most underrated tournament player ever. Five bracelets, over a million in tournament cashes. But like Jennifer, he let's his moves do the talking at the table. Another role model for my table demeanor and play.
Annette Obrestad - I would just be thrilled to be at a table with this 18 year old Norwegian phenomenon. Not for conversation or insight (she comes across as a bit naive and boorish) but just to witness how she more than any other online flavor of the week has taken the tournament world by storm with her fearless aggression and mostly absolute perfect timing. Google her and behold her amazing accomplishments. And she's not even old enough to step into a Vegas casino.
There is one more player I should mention, that I would like to play with even more than any others listed above, the man that Doyle Brunson calls the greatest all around poker player who ever lived. Chip Reese.
Chip passed away last month of pneumonia, he was 56. But anyone who follows poker knows he was one of a kind. Definitely the best stud player of all time and likely the best mixed game player ever, he played at the absolute highest level of stakes in cash games for the last 20 years. And best of all in my book, he was a quiet family man who let his skill do the talking at the table.
I had no idea how the loss of Chip would affect me. I followed his career somewhat, but he was a guy who spent less time at tournaments (and thus less time on tv) and more time making lots of money in "side" games. Yet he emerged on the tournament scene recently on behest of his kids who said to him in effect "If you're supposedly one of the best players in the world, how come we never see you on tv?"
When Chip died I felt my heart sink and sink as each voice in the poker world sung praises of this gentle man who was a giant even among poker legends. A nice guy who beat everyone. What a tragic fate for someone so young, skilled and yet nice to be around.
In 2006 Chip won the inaugural 50K H.O.R.S.E. event at the World Series of Poker. This event is regarded now as the "true" main event, as it is only an elite field of pokers absolute best players that can bankroll the hefty entry fee. Plus, the mixed game format of Hold-Em, Omaha/8, Razz, Seven Stud and Seven Stud/8, truly showcases who is the actual BEST poker player in the world.
This guy WAS poker. And he did it quietly and without malice in his heart. He exemplified how you should play the game. Be the best and be relentless with genuine kindness.
Starting this year, the winner of the 50K H.O.R.S.E. event will receive a trophy in addition to the bracelet. The trophy will of course, be the Chip Reese Trophy.
Tuesday, January 1, 2008
P&P 1/1/08
Live MTT, rebuy period has just ended. I have 2300 in chips, a bit lower than average for the table (we started with 1000, but with multi-rebuys the majority has 3K+) , I'm in the cutoff.
Blinds are 25-50, two limpers, a player two to my right makes it 250 to go. I'm in the cutoff. I look down at two Aces and with potentially 5 other players I raise to 500, hoping to get rid of all but 1 or 2. All players fold back to the raiser who calls.
The caller has been fairly loose, limping a lot, and raising with stuff like AQ and a pair of 7's regardless of position. On an earlier hand he flopped a set and tried to trap me, I read it correctly and folded with high pair big kicker, another player behind me wasn't so lucky and lost his stack when he flopped two pair.
Now the flop comes 9 K 6 with a club draw. He checks. I have 1800 left, he has just over 1900. The pot is 1000.
I have nearly a quarter of my stack invested, as does he. I know I have to fire at least a bit more than half the pot for value and to discourage any drawing hands. If I do that then I've committed about a third of my remaining chips. Seems silly to do that and then fold to a big raise.
I'm pretty confident I've got the best hand, and I'd love to just take his 250 plus the blinds and limpers chips (175). The words of Doyle Brunson echo in my head "Aces will win a small pot or lose a big one"
I have put this guy on a big pair, Queens, Jacks or very possibly AK. People stupidly fall in love with AK (myself included sometimes) especially after a bad beat, which this guy DID have before the break. If he'd had a pair of Aces or Kings he would have come over my pre-flop raise.
He could have a smaller pair, but would he put in almost a quarter of his stack out of position against a big raise? Hopefully he would be that dumb. If I was online I would pull the trigger completely without even thinking about it.
I'm not going to commit a third of my chips and fold here, if I know he doesn't have Kings. If he has two club face cards or a lousy middle or small pair. I MUST punish him for trying to draw out on me or sticking around, without giving myself a tough decision if he does catch something.
He's a pretty bad player, seems experienced, but he's seen me splashing around and stealing for the last hour or so. He probably thinks I'm a young aggressive punk who likes to push the table around. You know, I have the best hand, and he just might call!
I'm all-in.
He insta-calls. Oh shit.
Yep, he has 6 6 in the hole.
He raised 4x the BB in late middle position with 66. Reasonable yes, but then called when I raised him double. Two cards in the deck would save him, and of course one hit.
I think I did okay here, a better play I could have made - in hindsight after thinking about how he had been playing - would have been to go all-in pre-flop. I DOUBT very much he would have even considered calling with sixes, since he hadn't yet called a 250 raise.
Sigh. I give myself a B- for this play; but I can't be too hard on myself. I recognize there was a better way to play, but also that there were only 2 cards in the deck that could have saved this limper/donkey.
Pepper St. Tourney coming up in 2 weeks! Flatline starts the following Monday! I'll have to suck it up and hold out till' then for my next poker fix.
Blinds are 25-50, two limpers, a player two to my right makes it 250 to go. I'm in the cutoff. I look down at two Aces and with potentially 5 other players I raise to 500, hoping to get rid of all but 1 or 2. All players fold back to the raiser who calls.
The caller has been fairly loose, limping a lot, and raising with stuff like AQ and a pair of 7's regardless of position. On an earlier hand he flopped a set and tried to trap me, I read it correctly and folded with high pair big kicker, another player behind me wasn't so lucky and lost his stack when he flopped two pair.
Now the flop comes 9 K 6 with a club draw. He checks. I have 1800 left, he has just over 1900. The pot is 1000.
I have nearly a quarter of my stack invested, as does he. I know I have to fire at least a bit more than half the pot for value and to discourage any drawing hands. If I do that then I've committed about a third of my remaining chips. Seems silly to do that and then fold to a big raise.
I'm pretty confident I've got the best hand, and I'd love to just take his 250 plus the blinds and limpers chips (175). The words of Doyle Brunson echo in my head "Aces will win a small pot or lose a big one"
I have put this guy on a big pair, Queens, Jacks or very possibly AK. People stupidly fall in love with AK (myself included sometimes) especially after a bad beat, which this guy DID have before the break. If he'd had a pair of Aces or Kings he would have come over my pre-flop raise.
He could have a smaller pair, but would he put in almost a quarter of his stack out of position against a big raise? Hopefully he would be that dumb. If I was online I would pull the trigger completely without even thinking about it.
I'm not going to commit a third of my chips and fold here, if I know he doesn't have Kings. If he has two club face cards or a lousy middle or small pair. I MUST punish him for trying to draw out on me or sticking around, without giving myself a tough decision if he does catch something.
He's a pretty bad player, seems experienced, but he's seen me splashing around and stealing for the last hour or so. He probably thinks I'm a young aggressive punk who likes to push the table around. You know, I have the best hand, and he just might call!
I'm all-in.
He insta-calls. Oh shit.
Yep, he has 6 6 in the hole.
He raised 4x the BB in late middle position with 66. Reasonable yes, but then called when I raised him double. Two cards in the deck would save him, and of course one hit.
I think I did okay here, a better play I could have made - in hindsight after thinking about how he had been playing - would have been to go all-in pre-flop. I DOUBT very much he would have even considered calling with sixes, since he hadn't yet called a 250 raise.
Sigh. I give myself a B- for this play; but I can't be too hard on myself. I recognize there was a better way to play, but also that there were only 2 cards in the deck that could have saved this limper/donkey.
Pepper St. Tourney coming up in 2 weeks! Flatline starts the following Monday! I'll have to suck it up and hold out till' then for my next poker fix.
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