Archive for October, 2009

The Boston Marathon is the most prestigious and oldest continuously-run marathon in the entire world. Many people dream of running it, but participation is extremely limited and exclusive. The only way to get a spot is either to qualify with a world-class time in a different marathon or to earn a waiver by raising money for select local charities.

I’m proud to announce that the Boston Debate League, a non-profit organization that I founded 5 years ago and on whose Board I now serve, has been selected as one of these charities. If any of you, or anyone you know, is interested in this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to run the Boston Marathon and support a valuable cause, please e-mail me (andrew@thinkingpoker.net) for more information. Running for our team will get you weekly training and advice from a professional coach and the opportunity to share this experience with other motivated individuals like yourself. And the best part is, you don’t have to be an experienced distance runner already- that’s what the training is for!  Read the complete post...

This one jumped out at me just because it’s kind of a paradigmatic case. I call a relatively innocuous flop against a guy who I don’t think will multi-barrel bluff well (against a good barreler folding flop is probably best). Turn and river bring two cards that may well give him the lead, plus the fact that he hasn’t tried to bluff suggests he has some showdown value. At the same time, river brings  a hand that he probably doesn’t have, after he checks, but that I very well could have.

Full Tilt No-Limit Hold’em, $10.00 BB (6 handed) – Full-Tilt Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

UTG ($543.50)
MP ($4640)
CO ($2000)
Hero (Button) ($2134.50)
SB ($1279.50)
BB ($3458)

Preflop: Hero is Button with 4, 4
1 fold, MP bets $40, 1 fold, Hero calls $40, 2 folds

Flop: ($104) 2, 9, J (2 players)
MP bets $70, Hero calls $70

Turn: ($244) 10 (2 players)
MP checks, Hero checks

River: ($244) K (2 players)

MP checks, Hero bets $244, 1 fold

Total pot: $244 | Rake: $3

Results:
Hero didn’t show 4, 4 (nothing).
Outcome: Hero won $241

I got a very good comment/question from Christoph on a recent post about a huge bluff that I averted when I rivered a pair:

“I’ve been thinking a bit about this hand and I’m wondering about how you’d play it if you were the player holding the aces. It sure depends a lot on reads, but let’s just say that you’re playing a good thinking player that is able to make big bluffs. I tried to come up with a way to defend against such a bluff, but I don’t really see any. I mean, you can start check/calling on the turn and river, but that way you might loose some value from 7x, 8x and overpairs. On the other hand if you bet and get raised, I don’t like any option. You can fold, but AA is still pretty strong considered your whole range you could be double barreling, so b/fing seems exploitable. However if you b/c, then I can’t see how you can not stack off on almost any river, if you think villain is capable of a big bluff. But that way you’ll loose 300BB with one pair pretty often as well.”  Read the complete post...

I just published what I think is a very interesting instructional video with Poker Savvy Plus. It’s actually the second in a series (I hesitate to call it that since it’s been months since the first part) called The Parable of Tighty McNuts.

I have no delusions of being among the most talented poker players among the many instructional video producers out there. Where I do think I bring something unique to the table is in my experience with education and my general ability to explain complicated concepts in ways that others can understand. While I’ve never been a professional educator msyelf, I’ve worked with quite a few excellent ones, and I like to think I’ve learned a few things from them. As bright as they are, and as good as they are at poker, most of the other twenty-somethings in the industry have little to no teaching experience.

The Parable of Tighty McNuts is the sort of video that can result from that. It’s far from the best video I’ve made, but it’s among the most creative. Instead of recording a session live or fabricating some instructions hands in a replayer, I tell a story that illustrates poker concepts. It’s the tale of Tighty McNuts, an absurdly conservative player, and Floppy McSetterson, his erstwhile adversary. The story follows these players through several iterations of adapting to each other’s exploitable tendencies and plugging their own leaks. As the video progresses, I encourage viewers to pause and consider various situations for themselves.  Read the complete post...

Robert Wright’s Nonzero is not a poker book. I picked it up because it claimed to apply game theory to human evolution, both biological and cultural, and to offer a sweeping and prophetic account of humanity’s history and future. Yes, that’s a pretty ambitious goal, and the author acknowledges as much. Wright does indeed provide a fascinating, fast-paced survey of the history of human civilization that, despite occupying only one-third of a not particularly long book, rarely feels rushed. His predictions for the future are spotty, which can be forgiven, but he could at least provide more guidance about what the world’s leaders ought to do to continue to pursue mutually advantageous relationships. As nothing more than an educated layperson, I found Nonzero to be a quite compelling introduction to the continuing evolution of human civilization, with at least a glimpse into what the future might hold as well.

I also found most of the content to be not nearly as controversial as the author seemed to expect it would be. This, I think, is due to the fact that I was not previously familiar with the academic literature that Wright engages. The central thesis of Nonzero is that, at both the cellular level and the cultural level, the possiblity of realizing nonzerosum gains rewards cooperation and complexity and punishes those who go it alone. Though I found it unremarkable to suggest that life on earth is evolving towards ever-greater complexity and that this evolution is not solely motivated by changes in the external environment, Wright exerts a good deal of effort refuting some prominent academics who argue otherwise. In his defense, he does provide a very accessible introduction to these long-standing debates.  Read the complete post...

If I don’t pick up showdown value on this river, I shove it. I doubt he calls 250BB on the river, but I’ve been wrong about such things before:

Full Tilt No-Limit Hold’em, $10.00 BB (2 handed) – Full-Tilt Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

Hero (SB) ($8365.25)
BB ($3787.25)

Preflop: Hero is SB with K, Q
Hero bets $30, BB raises to $120, Hero calls $90

Flop: ($240) 7, 4, 2 (2 players)
BB bets $160, Hero calls $160

Turn: ($560) 8 (2 players)
BB bets $300, Hero raises to $999, BB calls $699

River: ($2558) Q (2 players)
BB checks, Hero checks

Total pot: $2558 | Rake: $0.50

Results:
Hero had K, Q (one pair, Queens).
BB had A, A (one pair, Aces).
Outcome: BB won $2557.50

I’m pretty sure that catching a pair on the river cost me a $2500 pot, though there’s certainly a chance that it saved me $2500.

You might not know it from reading this blog, but I make some big folds. The key for me is thinking about my whole range. If I can think of a few hands that I could have in this same spot, that I would have played the same way up to this point, that I would not be folding, then I am more comfortable folding the hand that I do have. I know that even if I am getting bluffed, I am at least not getting exploited too badly.