Wednesday, June 27, 2007
Welcome Back Kotter
I don’t know about you guys, but I find myself following the $50k HORSE event at the WSOP daily via internet updates in much the same way that I’d follow the first couple days of the U.S. Open or the first couple days of the NCAA Bball tourney.
Between meetings and projects at work, I’m escaping to the internet to check it out. I’m looking to see who’s been eliminated, who’s doubled up, how many players remain etc… Then, I find myself picking a dark horse, long shot that I can secretly root for to make it through to the weekend (for this event I have 3 – Chris Reslock, Gabe Kaplan, and Greg Raymer – for reasons that I can’t really defend).
The problem is that there is no televised coverage to escape to on Sat or Sun to satisfy my curiosity as to the outcome. I guess we’ll find out soon enough the outcome, but the television coverage will be delayed by a few months. This sucks! They better give this event 3 hours of coverage or I’ll have to write a strongly worded letter of protest to someone.
Between meetings and projects at work, I’m escaping to the internet to check it out. I’m looking to see who’s been eliminated, who’s doubled up, how many players remain etc… Then, I find myself picking a dark horse, long shot that I can secretly root for to make it through to the weekend (for this event I have 3 – Chris Reslock, Gabe Kaplan, and Greg Raymer – for reasons that I can’t really defend).
The problem is that there is no televised coverage to escape to on Sat or Sun to satisfy my curiosity as to the outcome. I guess we’ll find out soon enough the outcome, but the television coverage will be delayed by a few months. This sucks! They better give this event 3 hours of coverage or I’ll have to write a strongly worded letter of protest to someone.
Friday, June 22, 2007
Gamble Responsibly
I’d like to talk about an activity (a vice) that must be at least as destructive as gambling. It’s just as addictive. It controls your mind as much as drugs or alcohol. It causes you to spend money that you should not really be spending. It causes you to miss time from the family that you should not be missing. It is an insidious, destructive, horrible vice.
I’m talking golf.
Think about it. How much money do you spend on golf with absolutely no expectation of a return, ever, on this investment? Then, there’s the fleeting moments where you play a little better than normal. Golf makes you start believing you may actually have the potential to be a good player. It messes with your mind, man! Then the guy at the golf store says something like, “yea, this new $399 driver will make you a better golfer” - and you know what, you believe him. Golf has the ability to make you start dreaming that you can actually post a decent score, beat your friends, and enjoy the game….you can’t. Trust me when I tell you. You can’t.
Ya know how they run those commercials before and during televised poker where the head honcho from Harrah’s Gaming warns the viewers to “keep gambling what it was meant to be….” I think they need to start running commercials before/during/after major televised golf events where Johnny Miller can warn us golfer wannabes, “and remember, you’re not really very good at golf. You’re not really ever going to be any good at it. Don’t fantasize about being anything other than a bad player….and keep golf what it was meant to be – a real bitch of a game”
I’m talking golf.
Think about it. How much money do you spend on golf with absolutely no expectation of a return, ever, on this investment? Then, there’s the fleeting moments where you play a little better than normal. Golf makes you start believing you may actually have the potential to be a good player. It messes with your mind, man! Then the guy at the golf store says something like, “yea, this new $399 driver will make you a better golfer” - and you know what, you believe him. Golf has the ability to make you start dreaming that you can actually post a decent score, beat your friends, and enjoy the game….you can’t. Trust me when I tell you. You can’t.
Ya know how they run those commercials before and during televised poker where the head honcho from Harrah’s Gaming warns the viewers to “keep gambling what it was meant to be….” I think they need to start running commercials before/during/after major televised golf events where Johnny Miller can warn us golfer wannabes, “and remember, you’re not really very good at golf. You’re not really ever going to be any good at it. Don’t fantasize about being anything other than a bad player….and keep golf what it was meant to be – a real bitch of a game”
Thursday, June 21, 2007
Freeeeee Roll'n
I’m sure most everyone is familiar with the term “Free Rolling” If not, free-rolling is when you get into a situation where you can’t really loose any money but you have a chance to win some. A classic example of free-rolling is when you are given an entry into an online poker tournament as a reward for opening an account.
Anyway, the reason I mention free rolling is because I’ve really been working on coming up with some “best practices” for beating the low limit NL Hold’Em game at the casino – a game that features 4 or 5 bad players or more per table. Adjustments are necessary when playing this type of game versus playing at a table with 9 or 10 solid players.
One of these best practices that I’m almost sure is valid is the importance of making bad players play their hands after the flop. I think that bad players are much closer in skill to the better players with their pre-flop play. Bad players can accurately identify good starting hands (especially premium hands) and usually play them correctly (i.e., raising and re-raising with them). Where the skill level really begins to diverge is with post flop play. In my opinion, the bad players tend to make several major post flop mistakes that can be exploited by better players.
First, bad players tend to play their draws unprofitably. Bad players will continue to call with 4 outers (gut shots) and 5 outers (2 pair) regardless of position and stack sizes.
Second, bad players find ways to make as little value as possible from their draws. Bad players tend to call with longshot draws, but once they hit, they make really small value bets ~ 25% of the pot so they don’t “scare off” their opponents.
Finally, bad players can not let go of a premium hand even though it should be obvious that they are beat. A real good example of this comes from a home game I was involved with this past Saturday. We are playing 8 handed NLHE with $1/$2 blinds, stacks are at about $100 each around the table, and all 8 players are pretty solid. I’m dealt 2 pretty red Aces in early position. I make a raise to $10 and get 2 callers. The flop comes Q-Q-2. I lead out for $20. I get smooth called by a guy with $100 left. Then, I get reraised by a guy who is all in for another $35. I fold. The first player calls and shows A-Q. The second player shows Q-2. Not that I’m a good player, but I think this is a pretty easy fold. Bad players at the casino will never fold the A-A under any circumstances.
If you’re a good player and can make pretty accurate post flop reads, you can lay down a hand (that looked real good preflop) when you know you’ve been outflopped. This is a profitable play.
If you’re a good player, you can make excellent value from your made hands post flop against bad players that are calling pot sized bets hoping to hit that 5 outer. This is a profitable play.
Freeeee Roll'n
Now here’s where free rolling comes in. If you’re a good player, you can take a flop, even for a raise, against a bad player when you are in position with speculative hands…. and free roll – that is, you can win their entire stack, but there is no way they will win any more money off of you. To validate this strategy, just watch a few hours of High Stakes Poker on GSN and observe the play of Daniel Negreanu. He makes numerous calls, when in position, with very speculative hands (3h-4h). The key is to not play hands that can be dominated (Kx-Jx or Ax-9x) and you must have a pretty high likelihood of being able make a gigantic score against a bad player that will overplay a hand like two kings.
So, the keys to this best practice (Free-rolling) in beating the $1/$2 NLHE casino game.
Anyway, the reason I mention free rolling is because I’ve really been working on coming up with some “best practices” for beating the low limit NL Hold’Em game at the casino – a game that features 4 or 5 bad players or more per table. Adjustments are necessary when playing this type of game versus playing at a table with 9 or 10 solid players.
One of these best practices that I’m almost sure is valid is the importance of making bad players play their hands after the flop. I think that bad players are much closer in skill to the better players with their pre-flop play. Bad players can accurately identify good starting hands (especially premium hands) and usually play them correctly (i.e., raising and re-raising with them). Where the skill level really begins to diverge is with post flop play. In my opinion, the bad players tend to make several major post flop mistakes that can be exploited by better players.
First, bad players tend to play their draws unprofitably. Bad players will continue to call with 4 outers (gut shots) and 5 outers (2 pair) regardless of position and stack sizes.
Second, bad players find ways to make as little value as possible from their draws. Bad players tend to call with longshot draws, but once they hit, they make really small value bets ~ 25% of the pot so they don’t “scare off” their opponents.
Finally, bad players can not let go of a premium hand even though it should be obvious that they are beat. A real good example of this comes from a home game I was involved with this past Saturday. We are playing 8 handed NLHE with $1/$2 blinds, stacks are at about $100 each around the table, and all 8 players are pretty solid. I’m dealt 2 pretty red Aces in early position. I make a raise to $10 and get 2 callers. The flop comes Q-Q-2. I lead out for $20. I get smooth called by a guy with $100 left. Then, I get reraised by a guy who is all in for another $35. I fold. The first player calls and shows A-Q. The second player shows Q-2. Not that I’m a good player, but I think this is a pretty easy fold. Bad players at the casino will never fold the A-A under any circumstances.
If you’re a good player and can make pretty accurate post flop reads, you can lay down a hand (that looked real good preflop) when you know you’ve been outflopped. This is a profitable play.
If you’re a good player, you can make excellent value from your made hands post flop against bad players that are calling pot sized bets hoping to hit that 5 outer. This is a profitable play.
Freeeee Roll'n
Now here’s where free rolling comes in. If you’re a good player, you can take a flop, even for a raise, against a bad player when you are in position with speculative hands…. and free roll – that is, you can win their entire stack, but there is no way they will win any more money off of you. To validate this strategy, just watch a few hours of High Stakes Poker on GSN and observe the play of Daniel Negreanu. He makes numerous calls, when in position, with very speculative hands (3h-4h). The key is to not play hands that can be dominated (Kx-Jx or Ax-9x) and you must have a pretty high likelihood of being able make a gigantic score against a bad player that will overplay a hand like two kings.
So, the keys to this best practice (Free-rolling) in beating the $1/$2 NLHE casino game.
- The opening raiser must be a bad player who has real potential for overplaying his hand post flop
- The money of the opening raiser must be deep (10x or more the size of his opening raise)
- You must be in late position (cutoff or button) – to minimize the chance of a re-raise from behind you
- Your money must be deep as well (10x or more the size of the raise)
- You must have a hand that is not dominated by the likely holdings of the opening raiser.
- Finally, you must be very disciplined. The flop must hit you hard (2 times or more) for you to continue. You simply cannot show down a 2nd best hand – ever, as this will erode any profitability from this play
It’ll work – trust me.
The Free Roller becomes the Free Rollee
Now, what if you find yourself being the “free-rollee” instead of the free-roller? There a couple of things I like to do if I find myself being free-rolled on (BTW, you’ll know you're the free-rollee when every pre-flop raise you make is being called by the same guy, over and over and over).
The counter-measures I like to use against a free-roller include.
- “Tick up”. That is, if your opening bet is $10 and you get called, next time “tick up” to $13, then $16, etc… until you find the maximum point that the free roller will call. These late position calls by the free-roller with speculative hands represent profit for you. Make it as expensive for the free-roller as possible.
- Size the continuation bet correctly. Since the flop will most likely miss the free roller, any bet from you should end the hand. When the flop is pretty safe or uncoordinated, make a smaller bet – around 1/3rd to ½ pot. If you’ve been out flopped by some garbage, it’ll be important for you to control the size of the pot. If you get called, no problem. The pot is still small. If the flop is coordinated, bet around 2/3rd of the pot. If you get raised, consider mucking, but you have to lay an unprofitable price for someone calling with a draw. 2/3rd pot sized bet lays a pretty bad price and is as small of a commitment as you can make with your continuation.
- Finally, you have to be very comfortable laying down a big pre-flop hand when you’ve been outflopped. This ability of yours destroys any profitability of the free-roller. Play a few hundred hours of Omaha if you need some experience laying down big preflop hands when the flop screws you.
Anyway, I know this was a little long winded. Please critique this strategy. Also, this was a kind of response to another blog where a guy’s big hands seemed to be going down in flames around him. [hespyblog]
See ya at the table….oh yea, I’ll be the guy free-rolling.
Wednesday, June 20, 2007
2007 WSOP Observations
I have a few observations from the World Series of Poker this year.
1. Where are all the young internet Pros? Remember over the last 2 years, the 21 to 25 years olds that were just killing the NLHE WPT and WSOP events (Patrick Antonius, Joe Cassidy, John D’Agastino, Michael Gracz, Arron Kantor, and David Williams). Well, check out this year’s WSOP leaderboard. Through about 26 events, there are 8 people with 4 cashes. 6 of these 8 players are clearly over 25 years old. 0 out of the 8 are clearly under 25. 2 are questionable. I think the new face of poker is represented by people like Tom Schneider, Thor Hansen, Chris Rezlock, and Humberto Brenes.
2. What are all of these strange new games? Check out the line up from this year’s WSOP. Out of the 55 events, only 26 are NLHE or PLHE. This means that the majority of the events are poker games other than big bet Texas Hold’em. Plus, there are 6 mixed game events. Compare this to the last few years. This shift in lineup is the result of the influence of the professionals on the WSOP lineup and the expanding popularity of games other than NLHE – due largely to the ease of access to these other games made possible by online poker. Also, it seems to me that there has been a shift within the poker community in the definition of WSOP world champion away from the $10k buyin NLHE event and more towards the $50k HORSE event. Check out the line up one such event - Limit Razz. Is there a more complete list of who’s who in professional poker than the top of this leaderboard? This roster is just sick. I’ve never seen such a stacked roster.
3. Bankroll Requirements – I’ve read various poker authors talk about the importance of bankroll management (i.e., don’t bet your mortgage on a single hand of poker – even if you are a 4:1 favorite, etc…). The most recent reading was from Chris Ferguson talking about how he is attempting to turn $0 into $10k on Full Tilt. He explains that he’ll do this by disciplined bankroll management. Basically, he never risks more than 5% of his bankroll. If you extend this logic to the WSOP events, a guy playing in a $2000 buyin event should probably have about $40,000 in poker bankroll. This may be a little conservative, but a bankroll of 10x the amount of money you are risking in a single session or single tournament buy-in seems reasonable. This would put a guy’s poker bankroll requirement at around $20K to pay into a $2K event at the WSOP
Now there are a lot of very good amateur, home-game, poker players entering into the WSOP events, but I’m pretty sure that many (maybe most) do not have this kind of bankroll overlay. I know of a few examples personally. I’m sure they are big fans of the game, may want to “take a shot” at the big one, and also happen to be very good poker players. What I can’t understand is how they can justify spending 30%, 50%, or even 100% of their bankroll on a single tournament where the competition is as tough as it gets. This type of over commitment of their bankroll seems like a real bad poker play – regardless of how well they actually play at the table.
Not to mention, if you invest 75% of your poker bankroll to buy into one of these events (i.e., $2000), and you find yourself close to the bubble (which pays around $4000), your decision making at that point has got to be influenced by the opportunity to nearly double your bankroll. You might reason, “should I re-raise with pocket Qs? Am I willing to risk the $4000 that I would win by getting into the money on this one hand?”. This pits you as a serious underdog to the well funded pros that will take this opportunity to exploit your tight, ‘scared money’ mentality to build their stacks so that they can go deep into the tourney – where the real money is. Your thoughts?
1. Where are all the young internet Pros? Remember over the last 2 years, the 21 to 25 years olds that were just killing the NLHE WPT and WSOP events (Patrick Antonius, Joe Cassidy, John D’Agastino, Michael Gracz, Arron Kantor, and David Williams). Well, check out this year’s WSOP leaderboard. Through about 26 events, there are 8 people with 4 cashes. 6 of these 8 players are clearly over 25 years old. 0 out of the 8 are clearly under 25. 2 are questionable. I think the new face of poker is represented by people like Tom Schneider, Thor Hansen, Chris Rezlock, and Humberto Brenes.
2. What are all of these strange new games? Check out the line up from this year’s WSOP. Out of the 55 events, only 26 are NLHE or PLHE. This means that the majority of the events are poker games other than big bet Texas Hold’em. Plus, there are 6 mixed game events. Compare this to the last few years. This shift in lineup is the result of the influence of the professionals on the WSOP lineup and the expanding popularity of games other than NLHE – due largely to the ease of access to these other games made possible by online poker. Also, it seems to me that there has been a shift within the poker community in the definition of WSOP world champion away from the $10k buyin NLHE event and more towards the $50k HORSE event. Check out the line up one such event - Limit Razz. Is there a more complete list of who’s who in professional poker than the top of this leaderboard? This roster is just sick. I’ve never seen such a stacked roster.
3. Bankroll Requirements – I’ve read various poker authors talk about the importance of bankroll management (i.e., don’t bet your mortgage on a single hand of poker – even if you are a 4:1 favorite, etc…). The most recent reading was from Chris Ferguson talking about how he is attempting to turn $0 into $10k on Full Tilt. He explains that he’ll do this by disciplined bankroll management. Basically, he never risks more than 5% of his bankroll. If you extend this logic to the WSOP events, a guy playing in a $2000 buyin event should probably have about $40,000 in poker bankroll. This may be a little conservative, but a bankroll of 10x the amount of money you are risking in a single session or single tournament buy-in seems reasonable. This would put a guy’s poker bankroll requirement at around $20K to pay into a $2K event at the WSOP
Now there are a lot of very good amateur, home-game, poker players entering into the WSOP events, but I’m pretty sure that many (maybe most) do not have this kind of bankroll overlay. I know of a few examples personally. I’m sure they are big fans of the game, may want to “take a shot” at the big one, and also happen to be very good poker players. What I can’t understand is how they can justify spending 30%, 50%, or even 100% of their bankroll on a single tournament where the competition is as tough as it gets. This type of over commitment of their bankroll seems like a real bad poker play – regardless of how well they actually play at the table.
Not to mention, if you invest 75% of your poker bankroll to buy into one of these events (i.e., $2000), and you find yourself close to the bubble (which pays around $4000), your decision making at that point has got to be influenced by the opportunity to nearly double your bankroll. You might reason, “should I re-raise with pocket Qs? Am I willing to risk the $4000 that I would win by getting into the money on this one hand?”. This pits you as a serious underdog to the well funded pros that will take this opportunity to exploit your tight, ‘scared money’ mentality to build their stacks so that they can go deep into the tourney – where the real money is. Your thoughts?
Wednesday, June 13, 2007
The Answer Key
Ok. Now that you’ve taken the test from the last post, I’ll now provide the answer key. I consulted numerous experts from around the world and I’ve boiled down their collective advice into a succinct set of answers.
But first, let’s talk about that asinine ending on the very last episode of the Sopranos.
I’ve read some critics describe the ending as “genius”, “classic Sopranos genre”, etc… You know what I say? Bull S***! The ending was a gimmick. It was an insult. I’ve spent the last 6 years dedicated to watching this show. 85 episodes in all. Faithfully – every Sunday night. I’ve dedicated myself not only to this show but also to it’s creator David Chase.
He owes me. He owes me - big time. Then, when it’s finally time for him to deliver, he pulls this crap. In case you did catch it, the show concludes with about 10 minutes of ‘set-up’ with Tony meeting his entire family for dinner in a Coney Island type restaurant. The tension builds. A suspicious looking guy walks across the floor past Tony and towards the bathroom. The obvious conclusion is that this guy is a hit man who will soon put a gun to Tony’s temple and pull the trigger.
But before the story can complete, the TV screen goes completely black and silent for a full 8 seconds. I thought my cable went out. Then, the credits start to roll. So instead of ending the show, instead of trying to come up with an ending, instead of “maning up”, this guy, David Chase, cops out. He shrinks. He throws in the towel. He just gives up. What a wimp! I’m pissed…I’ll get over it.
Now, back to the answer key:
Question #1.
I’m in the big blind with 9-2o. An EP player raises to $10. Seven players call. Do I
a) Fold
b) Call – getting 7:1 odds. This is an easy call.
c) Raise – the original raiser is the only one who has shown strength.
The Answer
This is a pretty easy answer. Fold - $10 is real money – don’t waste it. You are out of position the entire hand. Even if you flop a monster (i.e., 9-9-7), when you’re up against 7 other players, the risk of getting complete stacked by someone holding A-9 or 7-7 is too great. You’ll do yourself a favor and avoiding situations like this where you are at risk of making mistakes.
Question #2
At a 9 handed table. Seat 1 has $500. He’s a bad but experienced player – a real donkey. Seat #2 has about $50. He’s mediocre, but you can tell he’s looking to get his money all in at any moment. This guy is just looking for a spot to gamble. My friend, BS, is seat #8 and first to act he has about $425 and is holding Ac-10c. He leads out for $10 which is standard and is called by Donkey and Gambler. The flop comes Ax-Qc-3c.
Should BS
A) Check with the intention of raising 3x the opener’s bet. Then, call any 2x or 3x reraise – fold to a larger raise
B) Lead out for a 2/3rds pot sized bet – call any 2x or 3x reraise - fold to a larger raise
C) check - call any normal bet
D) check - fold any normal bet
The Answer
BS really has no idea where he stands right now. This table is pretty loose. These players could be playing any top 50% hands. Being first to act is a huge disadvantage. BS should treat his hand as “drawing-plus.” BS should lead out for a bet of about 2/3rds the pot and consider this primarily a semi-bluff. This gives him control of the betting and may just win the pot right there or at least win him free cards.
A small re-raise (2x-3x) of BS’s semi-bluff tends to “price him in” to see the turn. For example, if BS leads out for $20 and is reraised to $50, he’d need to call $30 into a pot of $104 (3.5:1). Being a 4:1 dog to hit a club on the turn, BS would need to make, via implied odds, merely another $20 to make this call break even. If BS hits a club on the turn, he’ll make value bets on both the turn and the river well in excess of $20. There is not much value in making a large All-in reraise back at the Donkey. This type of player is not really capable of laying down any decent made hand (A-K, A-Q, or A-J).
Conversely, if Donkey makes a large re-raise of BS’s opening $20 bet (5x or more), it destroys the semi-bluff and BS should fold – having avoided putting himself in a position where he’d “have to” call off his entire stack.
But first, let’s talk about that asinine ending on the very last episode of the Sopranos.
I’ve read some critics describe the ending as “genius”, “classic Sopranos genre”, etc… You know what I say? Bull S***! The ending was a gimmick. It was an insult. I’ve spent the last 6 years dedicated to watching this show. 85 episodes in all. Faithfully – every Sunday night. I’ve dedicated myself not only to this show but also to it’s creator David Chase.
He owes me. He owes me - big time. Then, when it’s finally time for him to deliver, he pulls this crap. In case you did catch it, the show concludes with about 10 minutes of ‘set-up’ with Tony meeting his entire family for dinner in a Coney Island type restaurant. The tension builds. A suspicious looking guy walks across the floor past Tony and towards the bathroom. The obvious conclusion is that this guy is a hit man who will soon put a gun to Tony’s temple and pull the trigger.
But before the story can complete, the TV screen goes completely black and silent for a full 8 seconds. I thought my cable went out. Then, the credits start to roll. So instead of ending the show, instead of trying to come up with an ending, instead of “maning up”, this guy, David Chase, cops out. He shrinks. He throws in the towel. He just gives up. What a wimp! I’m pissed…I’ll get over it.
Now, back to the answer key:
Question #1.
I’m in the big blind with 9-2o. An EP player raises to $10. Seven players call. Do I
a) Fold
b) Call – getting 7:1 odds. This is an easy call.
c) Raise – the original raiser is the only one who has shown strength.
The Answer
This is a pretty easy answer. Fold - $10 is real money – don’t waste it. You are out of position the entire hand. Even if you flop a monster (i.e., 9-9-7), when you’re up against 7 other players, the risk of getting complete stacked by someone holding A-9 or 7-7 is too great. You’ll do yourself a favor and avoiding situations like this where you are at risk of making mistakes.
Question #2
At a 9 handed table. Seat 1 has $500. He’s a bad but experienced player – a real donkey. Seat #2 has about $50. He’s mediocre, but you can tell he’s looking to get his money all in at any moment. This guy is just looking for a spot to gamble. My friend, BS, is seat #8 and first to act he has about $425 and is holding Ac-10c. He leads out for $10 which is standard and is called by Donkey and Gambler. The flop comes Ax-Qc-3c.
Should BS
A) Check with the intention of raising 3x the opener’s bet. Then, call any 2x or 3x reraise – fold to a larger raise
B) Lead out for a 2/3rds pot sized bet – call any 2x or 3x reraise - fold to a larger raise
C) check - call any normal bet
D) check - fold any normal bet
The Answer
BS really has no idea where he stands right now. This table is pretty loose. These players could be playing any top 50% hands. Being first to act is a huge disadvantage. BS should treat his hand as “drawing-plus.” BS should lead out for a bet of about 2/3rds the pot and consider this primarily a semi-bluff. This gives him control of the betting and may just win the pot right there or at least win him free cards.
A small re-raise (2x-3x) of BS’s semi-bluff tends to “price him in” to see the turn. For example, if BS leads out for $20 and is reraised to $50, he’d need to call $30 into a pot of $104 (3.5:1). Being a 4:1 dog to hit a club on the turn, BS would need to make, via implied odds, merely another $20 to make this call break even. If BS hits a club on the turn, he’ll make value bets on both the turn and the river well in excess of $20. There is not much value in making a large All-in reraise back at the Donkey. This type of player is not really capable of laying down any decent made hand (A-K, A-Q, or A-J).
Conversely, if Donkey makes a large re-raise of BS’s opening $20 bet (5x or more), it destroys the semi-bluff and BS should fold – having avoided putting himself in a position where he’d “have to” call off his entire stack.
Monday, June 04, 2007
It's a Test
So, with no home games scheduled this past weekend, I headed to Motor City with a friend on Friday night to play some poker.
It’s a little tiring working all day downtown, fighting traffic for an hour and a half to make it back home, then turning around and heading back downtown to play poker 3 hours later. But, with a bum hamstring, I was staring straight down the barrel of having a “do nothing” weekend, so I decided to make the effort to get out on Friday night. Plus, I was envisioning the wads of cash I’d be taking home with me, so I mustered up the motivation.
Anyway, the session was pretty uneventful. I was up. I was down. Then right before the session ended, I won a few hands and ended up $32 for the night. On the last hand of the night, I was UTG with J5o. I had been playing pretty solid poker all night with pretty much the same cast of characters. The table started off really loose and wild and then evolved to a really passive table. Anyway, I raised it to $10. I wanted a little action on my last hand (no one knew it was my last hand of the night). I got 4 callers (2 LP players and the blinds). $40 in the pot. The flop is rags 6-9-9. The blinds check. I bet $30. Fold, fold, fold, fold. I win $40, show everyone a bluff, get a good laugh out of it, wish everyone a good night and take my tiny profit home with me. In looking back, I guess I could have made that same play on the first hand of the night and saved myself 5 hours of grind. Oh well.
Anyway, I need help with 2 hands that came up. This is a quiz. If you answer correctly, you might win a prize – or not.
On one hand, my good Friend lost his stack. On the other hand, I got lucky and won a huge pot.
Hand #1 – I get lucky
I’m in the big blind with 9-2o. An EP player raises to $10. Seven players call. Do I
a) Fold – c’mon, are you serious? 9-2o is such a ragged hand. Plus, I’ll be out of position. Fold this trash. $10 is real money. Don’t play this crap, ever!
b) Call – getting 7:1 odds. This is an easy call. Everyone is probably playing big cards or small pairs. Plus, being last to act, there is no chance that you'll be re-raised. C'mon, throw your chips out there and outplay these donkeys after the flop.
c) Raise – the original raiser is the only one who has shown strength. The callers and overcallers are weak. Even the original raiser may be making a raise with weak holdings. Take down this nice $70 pot right now with a $100 bet.
I really need help with this one. I think this may be a huge leak in my game. I call with trash hand because I’m “getting a good price”. Help me out here. What’s the correct play?
Anyway, I called. Flop is 9-7-6. Original raiser continues with another $10 bet (weak!). 3 of us call. Pot has $110. Turn is a Jack – board reads 9-7-6-J. It’s checked around. Whew! I would have folded here to any reasonable bet. The river is a deuce. Original raiser bets $40. Next 2 players fold. I call and win a $190 pot with the lowly 9-2 for top and bottom pair.
Hand #2 – BS Gets Stacked.
To set this up, I need to describe the table. It’s 9 handed. Seat 1 has $500. He’s a bad but experienced player – a real donkey. He thinks that any Ace is playable and worth calling down to the river when he flops an Ace. He’s taken some money off of me, so he’s on my target list. Seat #2 has about $50. He’s mediocre, but you can tell he’s looking to get his money all in at any moment. This guy is just looking for a spot to gamble.
My friend, BS, is seat #8 and first to act he has about $425.
BS makes it $10 and is called by seat #1 (Donkey) and seat #2 (Gambler). The blinds fold. We’re 3 handed to the flop. The pot has $34. The flop comes Ax-Qc-3c. BS checks (he’s holding Ac-10c). He’s hoping to check raise with Top pair and nut flush draw. Donkey opens for $10. Gambler min raises to $20.
Action on BS. He can now spring his check raise if he wants.
Should he.
A) smooth call – in this game, bluffing has little value. You can’t bluff an idiot. You must realize that you are probably behind at this point with top pair and a middle kicker (10) to one of these players. Why not wait until you have the nuts to punish these donkeys? Plus the pot is building up nicely without your check raise.
B) Check raise to $80 – you could very well be ahead here with top pair and pretty good kicker, so if you are called by Gambler (who would be all in), you might be ahead anyway. Or, you might need to hit a club – but you’re only 2:1 against hitting, so your chances are pretty good. You might just take down a nice pot here without a contest. Raising gives you 2 ways to win. Fire out a raise that will give you a good chance to win, but doesn’t commit your entire $425 stack just yet.
C) Check raise all in $425 – you are going all the way with this hand anyway so just get your money in now. Plus, you put a lot of pressure on the donkey with $500 behind. He may even lay down a hand like A-J – who knows?
D) Fold – why get involved here in a huge pot. You’re out of position. One of these donkeys will get lucky on you anyway. Plus, you just never able to hit a draw when you need it.
D is just out of the question. If you chose D, you will be given “platinum elite” status at all future Husker House Poker events.
BS chose option B. The after he check raised to $80, Donkey goes all in for $500. Gambler calls. Action back to BS
Should BS
A) Fold - BS would need to call off his last $415 to compete for a pot of $580. This is a price of 1.4:1. At this point he must know that he is at least up against AK (for top pair top kicker) or AQ (for top 2). He might even be up against a set. This means that even if he hits a 9 outer for the nut flush on the turn, his opponents can boat up on the river with 4 or 6 outs. This makes him about a 2:1 dog to win. He’s not getting the right price.
B) Call – this is the hand you’ve been patiently waiting for 5 hours for. It’s time to make a gigantic score. Stick it in there. Who knows, you may be in the lead right now, if not, a club is sure to come. Right?
As it turns out, Donkey held 3-3 for bottom set (this was the hand he was waiting for all night). Gambler held AQ for top 2. The flush never came. I know, sad ending to this story.
It’s a little tiring working all day downtown, fighting traffic for an hour and a half to make it back home, then turning around and heading back downtown to play poker 3 hours later. But, with a bum hamstring, I was staring straight down the barrel of having a “do nothing” weekend, so I decided to make the effort to get out on Friday night. Plus, I was envisioning the wads of cash I’d be taking home with me, so I mustered up the motivation.
Anyway, the session was pretty uneventful. I was up. I was down. Then right before the session ended, I won a few hands and ended up $32 for the night. On the last hand of the night, I was UTG with J5o. I had been playing pretty solid poker all night with pretty much the same cast of characters. The table started off really loose and wild and then evolved to a really passive table. Anyway, I raised it to $10. I wanted a little action on my last hand (no one knew it was my last hand of the night). I got 4 callers (2 LP players and the blinds). $40 in the pot. The flop is rags 6-9-9. The blinds check. I bet $30. Fold, fold, fold, fold. I win $40, show everyone a bluff, get a good laugh out of it, wish everyone a good night and take my tiny profit home with me. In looking back, I guess I could have made that same play on the first hand of the night and saved myself 5 hours of grind. Oh well.
Anyway, I need help with 2 hands that came up. This is a quiz. If you answer correctly, you might win a prize – or not.
On one hand, my good Friend lost his stack. On the other hand, I got lucky and won a huge pot.
Hand #1 – I get lucky
I’m in the big blind with 9-2o. An EP player raises to $10. Seven players call. Do I
a) Fold – c’mon, are you serious? 9-2o is such a ragged hand. Plus, I’ll be out of position. Fold this trash. $10 is real money. Don’t play this crap, ever!
b) Call – getting 7:1 odds. This is an easy call. Everyone is probably playing big cards or small pairs. Plus, being last to act, there is no chance that you'll be re-raised. C'mon, throw your chips out there and outplay these donkeys after the flop.
c) Raise – the original raiser is the only one who has shown strength. The callers and overcallers are weak. Even the original raiser may be making a raise with weak holdings. Take down this nice $70 pot right now with a $100 bet.
I really need help with this one. I think this may be a huge leak in my game. I call with trash hand because I’m “getting a good price”. Help me out here. What’s the correct play?
Anyway, I called. Flop is 9-7-6. Original raiser continues with another $10 bet (weak!). 3 of us call. Pot has $110. Turn is a Jack – board reads 9-7-6-J. It’s checked around. Whew! I would have folded here to any reasonable bet. The river is a deuce. Original raiser bets $40. Next 2 players fold. I call and win a $190 pot with the lowly 9-2 for top and bottom pair.
Hand #2 – BS Gets Stacked.
To set this up, I need to describe the table. It’s 9 handed. Seat 1 has $500. He’s a bad but experienced player – a real donkey. He thinks that any Ace is playable and worth calling down to the river when he flops an Ace. He’s taken some money off of me, so he’s on my target list. Seat #2 has about $50. He’s mediocre, but you can tell he’s looking to get his money all in at any moment. This guy is just looking for a spot to gamble.
My friend, BS, is seat #8 and first to act he has about $425.
BS makes it $10 and is called by seat #1 (Donkey) and seat #2 (Gambler). The blinds fold. We’re 3 handed to the flop. The pot has $34. The flop comes Ax-Qc-3c. BS checks (he’s holding Ac-10c). He’s hoping to check raise with Top pair and nut flush draw. Donkey opens for $10. Gambler min raises to $20.
Action on BS. He can now spring his check raise if he wants.
Should he.
A) smooth call – in this game, bluffing has little value. You can’t bluff an idiot. You must realize that you are probably behind at this point with top pair and a middle kicker (10) to one of these players. Why not wait until you have the nuts to punish these donkeys? Plus the pot is building up nicely without your check raise.
B) Check raise to $80 – you could very well be ahead here with top pair and pretty good kicker, so if you are called by Gambler (who would be all in), you might be ahead anyway. Or, you might need to hit a club – but you’re only 2:1 against hitting, so your chances are pretty good. You might just take down a nice pot here without a contest. Raising gives you 2 ways to win. Fire out a raise that will give you a good chance to win, but doesn’t commit your entire $425 stack just yet.
C) Check raise all in $425 – you are going all the way with this hand anyway so just get your money in now. Plus, you put a lot of pressure on the donkey with $500 behind. He may even lay down a hand like A-J – who knows?
D) Fold – why get involved here in a huge pot. You’re out of position. One of these donkeys will get lucky on you anyway. Plus, you just never able to hit a draw when you need it.
D is just out of the question. If you chose D, you will be given “platinum elite” status at all future Husker House Poker events.
BS chose option B. The after he check raised to $80, Donkey goes all in for $500. Gambler calls. Action back to BS
Should BS
A) Fold - BS would need to call off his last $415 to compete for a pot of $580. This is a price of 1.4:1. At this point he must know that he is at least up against AK (for top pair top kicker) or AQ (for top 2). He might even be up against a set. This means that even if he hits a 9 outer for the nut flush on the turn, his opponents can boat up on the river with 4 or 6 outs. This makes him about a 2:1 dog to win. He’s not getting the right price.
B) Call – this is the hand you’ve been patiently waiting for 5 hours for. It’s time to make a gigantic score. Stick it in there. Who knows, you may be in the lead right now, if not, a club is sure to come. Right?
As it turns out, Donkey held 3-3 for bottom set (this was the hand he was waiting for all night). Gambler held AQ for top 2. The flush never came. I know, sad ending to this story.
Sopranos
I remember when I watched the very first episode of the Sopranos on HBO about 6 years ago. It was a Sunday night. I was in my living room in South Carolina. The family is upstairs in bed. All of the lights are off. I’m folding laundry by the light from the TV. I didn’t plan on watching the show. I was just channel surfing and happened to land on HBO.
When the show started, I was folding one of my white T-Shirts. The show starts off with that very compelling, and now somewhat familiar, song, “woke up this morning…..got yourself a gun”. Anyway, 48 minutes later, I’m still holding that same white T-Shirt - unfolded. I was so riveted to the show that I was unable to move for the entire show. I just sat there – glued to the set, motionless for 48 minutes. From that point on I was hooked. This was TV unlike anything else. It was plain captivating.
I faithfully watched every episode for the next 6 years. The first 2 seasons were incredible. Every show was as good as the first. The next 3 season went a little stale. This last season has notched back up.
Last night, the Sopranos finally captured some of the magic of the first two seasons. Ironically, I was again folding laundry. Again, I sat there with a T Shirt on my lap, unmoving, for the entire duration. It was great.
Anyway, next Sunday is the last episode – ever. Now, I’m feeling a little betrayed. The show was so good for the first two seasons. Then, then it was pretty mediocre for the next 3 seasons. Now, finally with 2 episodes to go, they switch gears and are back to being edgy, provocative, and riveting. I can’t wait for the final show!
If you haven’t gotten into the Sopranos, do yourself a favor – get the first few seasons on DVD. I’m telling ya, this is the best TV series ever made. Ever!
I’m out.
When the show started, I was folding one of my white T-Shirts. The show starts off with that very compelling, and now somewhat familiar, song, “woke up this morning…..got yourself a gun”. Anyway, 48 minutes later, I’m still holding that same white T-Shirt - unfolded. I was so riveted to the show that I was unable to move for the entire show. I just sat there – glued to the set, motionless for 48 minutes. From that point on I was hooked. This was TV unlike anything else. It was plain captivating.
I faithfully watched every episode for the next 6 years. The first 2 seasons were incredible. Every show was as good as the first. The next 3 season went a little stale. This last season has notched back up.
Last night, the Sopranos finally captured some of the magic of the first two seasons. Ironically, I was again folding laundry. Again, I sat there with a T Shirt on my lap, unmoving, for the entire duration. It was great.
Anyway, next Sunday is the last episode – ever. Now, I’m feeling a little betrayed. The show was so good for the first two seasons. Then, then it was pretty mediocre for the next 3 seasons. Now, finally with 2 episodes to go, they switch gears and are back to being edgy, provocative, and riveting. I can’t wait for the final show!
If you haven’t gotten into the Sopranos, do yourself a favor – get the first few seasons on DVD. I’m telling ya, this is the best TV series ever made. Ever!
I’m out.
