Archive for May, 2009

There were 61 players remaining in a Poker Stars $650 satellite, and 51 seats to be won. We were already at the point where we’d be getting our buyins back. I was in like 49th or so place with 25K chips at 1250/2500 and had a nice spot for stealing. On my right were a far too tight short stack and a guy with a huge stack who was just folding virtually everything. On my left were two stacks about equal to my own, and the guy two to my left was someone I knew to be a successful tournament player. Action folds to me on the button, I shove J9s, “decent” tourney player calls me with AT and wins the flip.

He had me covered, but barely, so it was very near to being a flip for his life. Even if he puts me on any two, which isn’t correct but not an unreasonable assumption, he’s only a 68-32 favorite. As a good player at this stage of the tournament, he’s probably got at least a 70% chance of winning a seat if he folds this hand, and of course busting me doesn’t guarantee him a seat anyway.

Thinking about this river play cheers me up a little though:  Read the complete post...

The Full Tilt Poker Strategy Guide: Tournament Edition
Edited by Michael Craig

This Full Tilt guide is a 19-Chapter anthology, so I’ve broken down my review chapter-by-chapter.

Chapters Reviews:

Chapter 6 – Play Before the Flop by Andy Bloch

Chapter 10-Online Tournament Strategy by Richard Brodie

Chapter 11-Pot Limit Hold ‘Em by Andy Bloch and Rafe Furst

Chapter 12-Limit Hold ‘Em by Howard Lederer

Chapter 13-Omaha Eight-or-Better by Mike Matusow

Chapter 14-Pot Limit Omaha by Chris Ferguson

Chapter 16-Seven Card Stud: Tournament Strategy by David Gray

Chapter 17-Stud Eight-or-Better by Ted Forrest

Chapter 18-Razz by Michael Craig, Huck Seed, and Ted Forrest

Big congratulations to my friend and former student Todd, who just won a $12K WSOP package in a Poker Stars $10 rebuy satellite. Just days after completing my inaugural group seminar, he effectively quadrupled his bankroll. Naturally I take full credit.

In all seriousness, though, Todd’s a bright, hungry player, and he definitely had a big score coming to him.

It’s been a big month for my former students, with Diego also winning a WSOP package and final tabling the FTOPS main event. I wish I could play so good. I guess those that can, do…

By the way, I’ve just wrapped the first group seminar, which went very well, and I only have one individual student at the moment. So if you’re interested in coaching, this is a good time for me to pick up a few new students.

Cost for individual lessons is $250/hour. I probably won’t run another group seminar until after the WSOP, but when I do, cost will likely be $100/student/hour. I generally aim to work with students for 5-10 hours over the course of a few weeks, and the lessons are designed to run very efficiently. There’s a lot of content packed into every session, ensuring you a ton of value for your money.  Read the complete post...

To be honest, I actually took my time before calling, so much so that a few railbirds accused me of slowrolling. Most of the big pots I’ve lost this month have been cold decks where I have the smaller set/flush/quads, so I guess I’m just a little gunshy. Not only is a bluff possible, but this Villain is very capable of big, thin value bets. I wouldn’t be shocked to see him show up with as little as AK, and he probably does this for value with any Q. The fact that he can do that makes a bluff like this one more effective.  Read the complete post...

That’s right! My thousands of Finnish readers will be thrilled to learn that select articles from my archive will now be available in Finnish at Pokerisvut. Currently appearing: Tuottoisia virheitä (Profitable Mistakes).

I don’t speak a word of Finnish, but I’m enjoying looking at Pokerisvut’s news sidebar nonetheless. Between cognates and proper names, it’s not too difficult to figure out what’s going on. To wit: Dan “Wretchy” Martin sai porttikiellot multiaccountingin takia.

This, by the way, is the project that I referenced back in my April post that would be of interest to very few if any readers. If you happen to be of the German persuasion, you can read select articles in your native language at PokerOlymp.

My One Minute Recommendation: The Pot Limit Omaha Book: Transitioning from NLHE to PLO scores a 9/10. There are probably better books for all-around poker noobs, but experienced NLHE players looking to get better at “the other big bet game” would be hard-pressed to find a better resource.

The Good: Advanced tactics, high-level strategy, strong theoretical grounding, well-explained, genuinely insightful, appropriately calibrated for its target audience

The Bad: Some concepts, including but not limited to certain basic skills, not covered in great detail

The Ugly: A little unpolished, with some typos and minor grammatical errors; feels pretty much like reading a Word document, albeit a nicely laid out Word document

Tri “Slowhabit” Nguyen’s Transition from NLHE to PLO delivers just what the title promises: a strong guide to Pot-Limit Omaha, delivered at a pace and level appropriate for a poker player with a fairly sophisticated understanding of No Limit Hold ‘Em. Though there is plenty of practical advice and hand examples, this is not a soup to nuts “how to” guide offering a ready-to-play strategy. In fact, it could stand to be a bit more comprehensive in its advice for specific, common situations. Rather, it is a rigorously mathematical theoretical framework for approaching the game. It will require a thorough understanding of poker to appreciate the depth of this book, but for someone with such an understanding, it should prove an invaluable text, certainly worth its not inconsiderable $375 price tag.  Read the complete post...