Archive for February 28th, 2010

I was curious who ended up winning the NAPT Venetian which I played last weekend and had to google the name “Tom Marchese”. Not only did I learn that he plays online as kingsofcards, a tough regular whom I avoid at 25/50, but I also found this kind of old but interesting interview with him. It’s not very long, but it’s a nice picture of what it takes to break through the “ceiling” of the mid-stakes games and start winning at high stakes poker:

For me my biggest problem was that I was always playing 9-12 tables. Because of this, I was making a lot of money but never really working on my game and improving. I think this is a problem that many mid stakes players struggle with as to improve and move up they most likely will need to sacrifice a little bit in the short run in order to progress as a player. I also found that playing heads up greatly improved my hand reading skills along with improving my game in blind battles and when playing OOP. Most of my success at the 5/10 – 25/50 level has come when I was playing 1-5 tables and truly concentrating on every hand instead of just going through the motions.  Read the complete post...

Versus a Scandi, no less!

Full Tilt No-Limit Hold’em, $10.00 BB (7 handed) – Full-Tilt Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

SB ($1507.85)
Hero (BB) ($1405.25)
UTG ($1047)
MP1 ($1395)
MP2 ($1000)
CO ($808)
Button ($1741.25)

Preflop: Hero is BB with J, 5
5 folds, SB bets $30, Hero calls $20

Flop: ($60) 8, 6, K (2 players)
SB bets $40, Hero raises to $105, SB calls $65

Turn: ($270) 10 (2 players)
SB checks, Hero checks

River: ($270) A (2 players)
SB checks, Hero bets $270, SB raises to $1372.85 (All-In), Hero calls $1000.25 (All-In)

Total pot: $2810.50 | Rake: $3

Results:
SB had Q, 10 (flush, Ace high).
Hero had J, 5 (flush, Ace high).
Outcome: SB won $2807.50

I pot the river precisely because I think it will make my hand look like flush/bluff. Villain pretty much always has showdown value here, so if he’s raising, it means he can beat most flushes, and I just don’t see him feeling that way with a T-high flush. Not that it’s relevant here because he doesn’t and apparently I’m not, but if Villain knows I’m making laydowns like this, then he ought to bluff any time he has the bare Qc.