From the Desk of the Poker Philosopher

I'd never played the $1000 FTP Money Monday until last night, but at the time, it just felt right. I'm an early-to-bed, early-to-rise kind of guy, and I often start getting tired around 9PM. Last night, however, I felt awake and alert, so I decided to give this tournament a shot. July has done great things for my bankroll, and a $1000 tournament is now very practical for me.

Having made this sober decision, I quickly proceeded to try to bluff all my entire stack on the first hand by running a squeeze play against an UTG raiser and then double barrelling a known calling station (I had a note). Observe:

*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to Hero [Ac Jh]
GetPWN3D raises to 70
Bigsleeve folds
tiltskuja folds
Rojotito folds
JOEYTHEB folds
RandomDonk calls 70
Phd J calls 70
Clonie Gowen calls 60
Hero raises to 400
GetPWN3D folds
RandomDonk folds
Phd J calls 330
Clonie Gowen folds

*** FLOP *** [5d Qc 8s]
Hero bets 600
Phd J calls 600

*** TURN *** [5d Qc 8s] [Kd]
Hero bets 2,000, and is all in
Phd J folds

The UTG raiser was BelowAbove, a very successful tournament player. He's also very aggressive, which made me think that even UTG he could have a fairly wide range. Even if he thinks I'm up to no good, however, I really can't see him continuing against such a large re-raise without AK or QQ+.

I get a call from the calling station, which isn't that much of a problem, because I've still got a very playable hand, and unlike when I'm called by a better player, here I am not particularly concerned about only getting action when I'm beat.

The flop misses me, but it's ideal for a continuation bet. Calling station does what he does best.

It's a common misconception that you can't bluff calling stations. The truth is that if you fire enough barrels, bluffing them can actually be quite profitable. Because they are playing too many hands on early streets, they are often too weak to call big bets on later streets. So far, i think Villain's play is very consistent with something like 99. He just doesn't want to let it go, so he keeps calling, but if you apply enough pressure, you can convince him to go away. At least in $1000 tournaments, even the donkeys don't want to bust on the first hand by calling off 150 BB's against the pre-flop reraiser with an underpair to the board.

Also I turned a gut shot.

Along with some 5/10 tables, I was also playing the Poker Stars $150 100K guarantee. I got off to a really amazing start and was among the top ten players with about 250 remaining when I was moved to a new table with another big stack. The player's name, Ayodeji, looked familiar to me, but I couldn't figure out why. He wasn't a tournament regular, I didn't know him from 2+2, but still I felt like I should know the name.

I've been doing a ton of research on Africa the last few weeks, as that is the debate topic for the upcoming season, so I decided that maybe it was a common name I'd come across in something I'd read. Anyway, Ayodeji was very aggressive, and that frustrated me, because I wanted to be table captain. So I tried to put him in his place:

PokerStars No-Limit Hold'em Tourney, Big Blind is t400 (9 handed) Hand History converter Courtesy of PokerZion.com

SB (t2830)
Hero (t22003)
UTG (t11965)
UTG+1 (t3910)
MP1 (t5920)
MP2 (t4470)
MP3 (t18985)
CO (t7240)
Button (t10507)

Preflop: Hero is BB with 5h, 6h.
4 folds, MP3 raises to t1200, 3 folds, Hero raises to t3483, MP3 calls t2283.

Flop: (t7106) Ad, 2s, 7c (2 players)
Hero bets t4500, MP3 calls t4500.

Turn: (t16106) 6c (2 players)
Hero bets t14000 (All-In), MP3 calls t10982 (All-In).

River: (t41088) 9s (2 players, 2 all-in)

Final Pot: t41088

He showed AQ to double through me. So much for the "I turned a pair, I'm all in!" theorem. My thinking at the time was that a lot of players will shove their stronger Ax hands against a reraise, even when in position, rather than calling and risk missing the flop (which isn't to say that a call is bad, in fact I like the way Ayodeji played the hand). They'll also fold the weaker ones, maybe taking a flop if they are suited. So I felt like on the turn I could get a fold out of a weak Ace or a pair that was trying to trap and then too stubborn to give up to a continuation bet even though an Ace flopped. Just to emphasize how large this pot was, the average stack was probably around 10K at this point.

Anyway, after the hand, Ayodeji typed, "R- O- C!" and immediately I realized why I recognized him. He left a comment on here a while back in response to my WSOP Main Event Day 3 report saying that he enjoyed the reports and especially liked my references to Jay-Z's "Takeover." Not that it required any 'insider knowledge' to make this call, but if I knew that he was familiar with my playing style and knew how aggressive I'm capable of being, especially when my table dominance is threatened, I would not have pulled something like this against him. Oh well, it's entirely my fault for not recognizing him, because he plays under the same name that he used to leave his comment.

Ayodeji, if you are reading this, please explain how you managed to finish 90th after I gave you all those chips!!!! I hope you didn't blow up, too. I saw that JabbatheFlop, who sucked out (kinda) to eliminate me but generally seemed to be pretty bad, had a high finish. Maybe he sucked out on you too? Good playing with you, man, from what I saw you seemed to be playing very well.

Oh yeah I made like six buyins at 5/10 while I was donking it up in the tournaments, so even though I ran into some bad spots in the Money Monday and didn't cash, I still finished up pretty substantially for the night.

Labels: poker, poker strategy, session review

Stumble It!

Ugh, yesterday was not a good day. I spent most of the day playing 6-8 tables of big Sunday tournaments and 5-10 NL. I wasn't playing particularly well in either, and combined with some moderately bad luck, this led to a pretty rough day. The only redeeming point was a fairly deep run in the $200, 200K Guarantee on Ultimate Bet. I'd love to have some of your feedback on what turned out to be a critical hand.

We just knocked out player number 31, and my table was broken, so I'm new here. My 75K stack is a little above average, making me 10th out of the 30 players remaining. Blinds 1500/3000 with some ante.

Folds to me in CO-1, I raise to 8000 with Kh Js , and the BB calls.

Flop 7s 6s 2s . He checks, I check also. Basically I expected him to check-raise a very wide range here, including any pair, any good spade draw, and maybe even something like JT. That's pretty much a lose-lose range for my hand, which though it doesn't have a ton of showdown value, often has a lot of outs. With position, I felt like I could make better turn and river decisions than the one I'd often end up making on the flop.

Turn Jd, he bets 10,000, I call. There's definitely a case to be made for a raise here, because worse hands can call and it would be nice to protect against better spade draws. However, my goal was to value bet non-spade rivers or induce a bluff.

River As, he quickly shoves a little over 40,000 into a pot of about 37,500. I called the turn intending to call a spade river, but the timing of the shove gave me pause. I don't know how much it matters that I have the third nuts here, because he probably isn't value shoving the Ts or 9s, and if he is, he is at least thinking about it first. And my flop check + turn call actually look a good deal like a spade playing for pot control, so this isn't the best river for him to bluff. Not to mention that an unknown may be a little reluctant to bluff off his stack so close to the final table of a big Sunday tournament.

But I went with my original plan, called, and got crippled by Kc Qs. Fuuuuuuuuuuuck Sunday!

Labels: poker, poker strategy, session review

Stumble It!

After much delay, anticipation, and worry, the day has finally arrived. US customers can now withdraw their long-locked-up funds from Neteller. The only catch is that Neteller asks you to sign a release that indemnifies both you and them from being sued. I'm not a lawyer or in any way educated about such things, so I'm not going to offer my opinion right now on whether or not you should agree to the release, but my understanding is that you can get your money whether or not you agree. There's a discussion on 2+2 right now about whether or not to agree, and I'm going to keep an eye on that for a little while before I make a decision. I'll keep you posted.

Edit: There have also been reports of people's bank account numbers being incorrect in Neteller's records, despite having completed successful EFT's in the past, so be sure to check this information before confirming your withdrawal.

For those who are curious, here's the release:

You and NETELLER Plc Group (each, a “Releasing Party”) mutually release, waive, and discharge each other (each, a “Released Party”) from any and all manner of actions, causes of action, suits, promises, damages, judgments, executions, claims, counterclaims, demands, and any other form of liability whatsoever, in law or equity, known or unknown, that the Releasing Party ever had, now has, or hereafter can, shall, or may have against the Released Party from the date You opened Your Account to the Effective Date with respect to Your request to receive funds under the Distribution Plan and Your Account. The additional definitions below apply to this release:“You” or “Your” refers to you and any of your assigns, heirs, executors, agents, or anyone else acting on your behalf or in your capacity.“NETELLER Plc Group” means NETELLER plc and its predecessors, successors, present and former affiliated companies, subsidiaries, assigns, officers, directors, stockholders, employees, and agents. “Your Account” means your online stored value account with the Neteller plc Group, or any of them, which holds electronic money.“Distribution Plan” means the distribution plan announced by NETELLER Plc Group on 4 June 2007 pursuant to agreements with the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York and Navigant Consulting, Inc. “Effective Date” means the date on which You successfully withdraw funds from Your Account under the Distribution Plan.

Labels: poker

Stumble It!

There's a trailer up on YouTube for the documentary, called Resolved, about high school debate in which my friend Dave plays a key role. Unfortunately he isn't in the trailer, and in fact his students are barely shown either, but if you're intersted in a brief introduction to the world of debate anyway (trust me, you'll be surprised), click here.

Labels: personal, urban debate league

Stumble It!

This isn't a move I make often, but here the stars were aligned correctly. My opponent was very aggressive at several tables and seemed to be targeting me specifically (not a bad approach, since I was playing more weak hands than anyone else). He was c-betting 100% of the time, so I call flop, and then the turn is such a good card for him to double barrel that I think his range is still very wide. In particular, I think he's often checking his one pair hands here for pot control, which means he's a lot more likely to be bluffing than to have a hand, especially one that can stand a check-raise. The raise, by the way, is to knock him off bluffs that still have me beat (66 probably thinks it needs to bluff at this point) and not give free cards since almost anything that I'm still beating has 12% or better odds to beat me on the river.

Full Tilt Poker No-Limit Hold'em, $10 BB (5 handed) Hand History converter Courtesy of PokerZion.com

BB ($1051.25)
UTG ($2632)
MP ($1784.75)
Button ($602.25)
Hero ($1782.75)

Preflop: Hero is SB with 3c, 4c.
1 fold, MP raises to $35, 1 fold, Hero calls $30, 1 fold.

Flop: ($80) 8d, Js, 4d (2 players)
Hero checks, MP bets $55, Hero calls $55.

Turn: ($190) Ah (2 players)
Hero checks, MP bets $135, Hero raises to $592, MP folds.

Final Pot: $917


Here's a river check-raise bluff that didn't work:

Full Tilt Poker No-Limit Hold'em, $6 BB (6 handed) Hand History converter Courtesy of PokerZion.com

Button ($701.65)
Hero ($1411.90)
BB ($600)
UTG ($237)
MP ($257.55)
CO ($1688.55)

Preflop: Hero is SB with 4c, 7c.
4 folds, Hero completes, BB checks.

Flop: ($12) 8d, 3d, 4h (2 players)
Hero bets $12, BB calls $12.

Turn: ($36) Ac (2 players)
Hero bets $36, BB calls $36.

River: ($108) Jc (2 players)
Hero checks, BB bets $55, Hero raises to $207, BB calls $152.

Final Pot: $522

He insta-called with A8 for two pair. Basically, I just didn't think he was that strong after he failed to raise flop or turn and then made a pretty blatant weakish value bet on the river. I would have played any two pair or better the same way, and that's what I was trying to represent: a strong hand that gave him a chance to bluff a missed draw or value bet a worse hand on the river and is now check-raising for value. It's hard to say whether this would have worked against weaker holdings like A5 or something, since he ended up having a much stronger hand than I expected and thus a pretty easy call.

Labels: poker, poker strategy, session review

Stumble It!

Came across a good story recently on the blog of 2+2 poster Degen about being arrested for playing poker in Thailand. I couldn't figure out how to link to just that post, but it's currently the top item on his blog. Here's a good excerpt:

"In America if you are picked up for a petty crime, they cut you a ticket and tell you when to return to court. That’s the only reference point I had, and coupled with the fact that they had what looked like about ten people working on this, it seemed more serious to me than they were making it out to be. Why would they send an undercover informant into our game and bring six officials down for several hours, then haul us all away and hold us while they investigate for several more hours...if this is a minor crime that they are going to let us walk for?

I learned about Groupthink in college and that started to flash before my eyes here. It is when a group of people all basically just nod in unison, not wanting to be the one to buck the status quo, when going down a slippery slope to a horrible decision...such as being arrested in a third world country and signing a confession they cannot read under duress. I could see this on the Amnesty International website. I began to panic."

Labels: narrative, poker

Stumble It!

Sorry for the lack of updates recently, I didn't realize how long it had been because I actually posted something two days ago, but then Blogger ate it and I was too despondent to retype it all. But I still had it in my head that I had updated recently, when in fact I hadn't.

Most of you probably know by know that min-raises tilt the hell out of me. But sometimes tilt pays:

Full Tilt Poker No-Limit Hold'em, $10 BB (6 handed) Hand History converter Courtesy of PokerZion.com

BB ($1106.25)
UTG ($995)
MP ($530)
CO ($437)
Hero ($2119.50)
SB ($1808)

Preflop: Hero is Button with 3c, Jc.
1 fold, MP calls $10, CO calls $10, Hero raises to $60, SB calls $55, 1 fold, MP folds, CO folds.

Flop: ($150) Qs, 6h, 4d (2 players)
SB checks, Hero bets $109, SB raises to $218, Hero calls $109.

Turn: ($586) Ts (2 players)
SB bets $210, Hero raises to $841, SB folds.

CO here had actually just sat down and posted out of turn. Then MP limped, which with all that dead money in the pot is super-weak. So I pot it from the button, and this donkey in the SB calls. It's a great flop to c-bet, and I felt like he could easily be making that stupid little check-raise just to see where he was at, and we were deep enough that I could float him and see if he showed me weakness on the turn. He did, I raised, and he tanked forever, which had me worried until I realized he was disconnected. Finally he reconnected and folded instantly.

And if min-raising titls me, I figured that might work on this clown too. He'd been check-raising me like it was his job, which was actually a giant pain in the ass because when I've got position and we're deep stacked, I really love to put the pressure on. But he got his:

Full Tilt Poker No-Limit Hold'em, $10 BB (6 handed) Hand History converter Courtesy of PokerZion.com

BB ($1050)
UTG ($1527)
MP ($831)
CO ($1708.75)
Hero ($2515.25)
SB ($1403)

Preflop: Hero is Button with Ac, Ah. CO posts a blind of $10.
2 folds, CO (poster) checks, Hero raises to $50, 2 folds, CO calls $40.

Flop: ($115) As, Th, 9s (2 players)
CO checks, Hero bets $115, CO raises to $230, Hero raises to $345, CO calls $115.

Turn: ($805) Qd (2 players)
CO bets $1308.75 (All-In), Hero calls $1308.75.

River: ($3422.50) 9d (2 players, 1 all-in) .

Final Pot: $3422.50

Results in white below:

CO has Ks 4s (one pair, nines).

Hero has Ac Ah (full house, aces full of nines).

Outcome: Hero wins $3422.50.

The other thing about this guy is that he was a slowplayer. At least I'm pretty sure he was, based on situations where he would like check-call, check-call, check-raise the river, and that kind of stuff, I didn't usually see his hands in those spots. But I felt like he would probably check if he had a draw and hit it on the turn, so that giving him a free-card if I didn't induce a 4-bet bluff wouldn't be so disastrous.

Labels: poker, poker strategy, session review

Stumble It!

OK this is pretty much just a brag post, but whatever, I had a huge day today, thanks in no small part to this first guy. Here's some masterful play by him that angers the universe:

Full Tilt Poker No-Limit Hold'em, $10 BB (5 handed) Hand History converter Courtesy of PokerZion.com

Hero ($3296)
SB ($1706.50)
BB ($1000)
UTG ($1165.50)
MP ($1348.50)

Preflop: Hero is Button with As, Ac.
1 fold, MP raises to $30, Hero raises to $105, 2 folds, MP calls $75.

Flop: ($225) Qh, 8c, Jc (2 players)
MP checks, Hero bets $191, MP raises to $730, Hero raises to $3191 (All-In), MP calls $513.50 (All-In).

Turn: ($4659.50) Tc (2 players, 2 all-in).

River: ($4659.50) Ad (2 players, 2 all-in)

Final Pot: $4659.50

Results in white below:

MP has 7c Kc (flush, king high).

Hero has As Ac (three of a kind, aces).

Outcome: MP wins $2712. Hero wins $1947.50.



There's a reason these guys usually hit and run. Suffice it to say this guy had no clue how to play a deep stack:

Full Tilt Poker No-Limit Hold'em, $10 BB (6 handed) Hand History converter Courtesy of PokerZion.com

Hero ($2612.75)
Button ($995)
SB ($1377)
BB ($1367)
UTG ($2387.25)
MP ($3785)

Preflop: Hero is CO with 6c, 6h.
1 fold, MP raises to $30, Hero calls $30, Button calls $30, SB calls $25, 1 fold.

Flop: ($130) 4c, Ad, 6d (4 players)
SB checks, MP bets $340, Hero raises to $882, Button raises to $965 (All-In), SB folds, MP calls $625, Hero calls $83.

Turn: ($3025) 7s (3 players, 1 all-in)
MP bets $2790 (All-In), Hero calls $1617.75 (All-In).

River: ($7432.75) Qh (3 players, 3 all-in).

Final Pot: $7432.75

Results in white below:

MP has Ac Ks (one pair, aces).

Hero has 6c 6h (three of a kind, sixes).

Button has Ah 4s (two pair, aces and fours).

Outcome: Hero wins $6260.50. MP wins $1172.25.

Here's a hint: juicing the pot from out of position while simultaneously telling your opponent exactly what you have is not good deep stack poker.

Full Tilt Poker No-Limit Hold'em, $10 BB (6 handed) Hand History converter Courtesy of PokerZion.com

Hero ($5437.50)
CO ($999)
Button ($2001)
SB ($185)
BB ($2609)
UTG ($3396)

Preflop: Hero is MP with Qh, 9h.
UTG calls $10, Hero raises to $45, 4 folds, UTG raises to $150, Hero calls $105.

Flop: ($315) 3d, 4d, Qs (2 players)
UTG bets $290, Hero calls $290.

Turn: ($895) 9d (2 players)
UTG bets $600, Hero raises to $2695, UTG calls $2095.

River: ($6285) Kd (2 players)
UTG bets $261 (All-In), Hero calls $261.

Final Pot: $6807

Results in white below:

UTG has Ah As (one pair, aces).

Hero has Qh 9h (two pair, queens and nines).

Outcome: Hero wins $6807.

You can imagine how happy I was when I saw that this guy did not have the Ad. I'm blown away that he called turn without it, but whatever. He finally left the table, but then showed up a few minutes later on other table I was playing:

Full Tilt Poker No-Limit Hold'em, $10 BB (6 handed) Hand History converter Courtesy of PokerZion.com

BB ($316.40)
Hero ($4165.50)
MP ($1303.50)
CO ($807)
Button ($1612.50)
SB ($984)

Preflop: Hero is UTG with Kc, Ks.
Hero raises to $35, 3 folds, SB raises to $330, 1 fold, Hero raises to $4200.5 (All-In), SB calls $654 (All-In).

Flop: ($5194.50) Qs, Js, Qh (2 players, 2 all-in).

Turn: ($5194.50) 2s (2 players, 2 all-in)

River: ($5194.50) 9s (2 players, 2 all-in)

Final Pot: $5194.50

Results in white below:

SB has Qd Ad (three of a kind, queens).

Hero has Kc Ks (flush, king high).

Outcome: Hero wins $5194.50.

Meanwhile, Villain B also decided to jinx himself:

Full Tilt Poker No-Limit Hold'em, $10 BB (4 handed) Hand History converter Courtesy of PokerZion.com

Hero ($3206)
UTG ($1716.75)
Button ($897)
SB ($661)

Preflop: Hero is BB with Kh, 5h.
1 fold, Button raises to $26, SB calls $21, Hero raises to $111, Button folds, SB calls $85.

Flop: ($248) 3c, Qd, 3h (2 players)
SB checks, Hero bets $145, SB calls $145.

Turn: ($538) Ah (2 players)
SB checks, Hero bets $538, SB calls $405 (All-In).

River: ($1481) 8c (2 players, 1 all-in).

Final Pot: $1481

Results in white below:

SB has 6c Qh (two pair, queens and threes).

Hero has Kh 5h (one pair, threes).

Outcome: SB wins $1348. Hero wins $133.

That's alright. You keep making those heroic calls:

Full Tilt Poker No-Limit Hold'em, $10 BB (6 handed) Hand History converter Courtesy of PokerZion.com

Hero ($2502)
SB ($1057)
BB ($1101.05)
UTG ($1567)
MP ($1436.50)
CO ($2027)

Preflop: Hero is Button with Ac, 7s.
1 fold, MP calls $10, 1 fold, Hero raises to $45, 2 folds, MP calls $35.

Flop: ($105) 7d, 5c, 5h (2 players)
MP checks, Hero bets $77, MP calls $77.

Turn: ($259) 4c (2 players)
MP checks, Hero checks.

River: ($259) Jd (2 players)
MP bets $10, Hero raises to $230, MP calls $220.

Final Pot: $719

Results in white below:

MP doesn't show.

Hero has Ac 7s (two pair, sevens and fives).

Outcome: Hero wins $719.


Full Tilt Poker No-Limit Hold'em, $10 BB (6 handed) Hand History converter Courtesy of PokerZion.com

Hero ($2866)
MP ($1052)
CO ($1101.05)
Button ($1552)
SB ($1074.50)
BB ($2042)

Preflop: Hero is UTG with 6h, 5h.
Hero raises to $35, 3 folds, SB calls $30, 1 fold.

Flop: ($80) Kc, 6s, Qc (2 players)
SB bets $30, Hero calls $30.

Turn: ($140) 6d (2 players)
SB bets $100, Hero raises to $301, SB calls $201.

River: ($742) 5s (2 players)
SB checks, Hero bets $742, SB calls $708.50 (All-In).


Final Pot: $2192.50

Results in white below:

SB doesn't show.

Hero has 6h 5h (full house, sixes full of fives).

Outcome: Hero wins $2192.50.
I've played 14K hands of NL cash since returning from Vegas, a little 3/6, a little 10/20, but almost all 5/10. I'm running at 8.29 PTBB/100 overall, and 7.77 at 5/10. It's nice.

Labels: poker, trip report

Stumble It!

The 5/10 NL FTP game is very aggressive, much more so than the 3/6 game. That's given me opportunities to make some big calls, which is always fun. Here's a few from last night:

Full Tilt Poker No-Limit Hold'em, $10 BB (6 handed) Hand History converter Courtesy of PokerZion.com

Hero ($1416.50)
SB ($1263)
BB ($1985)
UTG ($1115)
MP ($968.25)
CO ($944.50)

Preflop: Hero is Button with Ah, Td.
1 fold, MP raises to $20, 1 fold, Hero raises to $75, 1 fold, BB calls $65, MP folds.

Flop: ($175) 6s, 5s, Jh (2 players)
BB checks, Hero bets $141, BB calls $141.

Turn: ($457) Th (2 players)
BB checks, Hero checks.

River: ($457) 5h (2 players)
BB checks, Hero bets $300, BB raises to $1769 (All-In), Hero calls $900.50 (All-In).

Final Pot: $3426.50

He had 77.

This pot was against ArbianNight, who is a very good and aggressive cash game player. We were playing on a few tables and had already butted heads several times. The turn check was an accident; I was involved in a few pots on other tables at the same time and just timed out before I got a chance to bet.

On the river, I'm betting for value. Every draw (from the flop) missed, which makes it a good spot for me to bluff, and therefore a good spot for him to call me light. Based on the flop and turn action, I felt he could have either a missed draw or a pair worse than Jacks, and that he could call with the latter. With so many draws possible, I just can't see him playing a Jack or better so passively.

I also can't see him check-raising a Jack for value on the river. Maybe he runner runnered a flush, but I felt it was more likely he missed a draw and either put me on a bluff with a hand that was nonetheless ahead of his, or put me on a thinnish value bet and felt he could take me off the hand. I was very surprised to see him turn over 77. I wouldn't have a problem with him calling 77 on the river, because bluffs are definitely a substantial part of my range here, but I don't think he can put me on a better hand that will nonetheless fold to his check-raise very often.

I didn't know anything about this next Villain, but most players in the 5/10 shorthanded games are very familiar with the squeeze play, and I expected him to play aggressively post-flop when he called my re-raise. Basically he's passed on two opportunities to reraise but still hasn't folded, which tells me he's got a marginal hand but thinks I'm FOS.

Full Tilt Poker No-Limit Hold'em, $10 BB (5 handed) Hand History converter Courtesy of PokerZion.com

Button ($1077)
SB ($1005)
Hero ($1605)
UTG ($1943.80)
MP ($900)

Preflop: Hero is BB with Td, Qs.
1 fold, MP raises to $35, Button calls $35, 1 fold, Hero raises to $155, MP folds, Button calls $120.

Flop: ($350) As, Qd, 2d (2 players)
Hero checks, Button bets $100, Hero calls $100.

Turn: ($550) 3c (2 players)
Hero checks, Button bets $300, Hero calls $300.

River: ($1150) 9s (2 players)
Hero checks, Button bets $522 (All-In), Hero calls $522.

Final Pot: $2194

Results in white below:

Hero has Td Qs (one pair, queens).

Button has 7h 7s (one pair, sevens).

Outcome: Hero wins $2194.

I wasn't thrilled when he shoved for half pot on the river. I called the turn thinking he would give it up on the river if he didn't have the Ace. But the more I thought through his line, the more I didn't think he had one. When he just calls twice pre-flop, he's unlikely to have a good Ace like AK or AQ, but he could have a smaller, suited Ace. But that doesn't gel with the tiny flop bet. In a reraised pot, he's got to expect to be way ahead/way behind with something like A7s on this flop. In that case, he'd be looking to keep the pot small and maybe get one bet from me on the turn or river. Instead, he took a line that bloats the pot from the get-go, and that just isn't consistent with a weak Ace. A set of deuces is about the only non-bluff holding I could put him on, so after some thought, I snapped him off.

And here's a bad call, for good measure:

Full Tilt Poker No-Limit Hold'em, $10 BB (6 handed) Hand History converter Courtesy of PokerZion.com

SB ($1722)
BB ($386)
Hero ($1731)
MP ($1001.25)
CO ($1010)
Button ($1395)

Preflop: Hero is UTG with Ad, 7d.
Hero raises to $35, 1 fold, CO calls $35, 1 fold, SB calls $30, BB calls $25.

Flop: ($140) 4h, 5d, 4s (4 players)
SB checks, BB checks, Hero bets $96, CO folds, SB calls $96, BB folds.

Turn: ($332) 6c (2 players)
SB checks, Hero checks.

River: ($332) 3c (2 players)
SB bets $255, Hero calls $255.

Final Pot: $842

Results in white below:

SB has 5s 5c (full house, fives full of fours).

Hero has Ad 7d (straight, seven high).

Outcome: SB wins $842.

The earlier my position, the more likely I am to fire into multiple callers on a dry flop. I raise a wide range UTG to protect my monsters, which means I have to occasionally make some strong moves even when I don't have a big pair. Even if my opponents realize my range is wider than just big pairs, it's hard for them to play back at me because they are so far behind the times that I do actually have the pair. Only a very few hands hit this flop hard enough to continue when I represent an overpair.

When SB calls me, he either has 55/54 or has a different medium pair but doesn't believe me. Had I not turned an open-ender, I would have double-barreled him, but I didn't want to risk getting check-raised off my draw. When he bets the river, though, I think I should have followed my first instinct and folded. On the flop, I put him on a full house or a smallish pair, and now several of those latter holdings have improved into full houses as well. If he has something like 8's, he doesn't have anything to gain by betting the river. I'm really hoping for a chop with something like 76 or 77 when I call, and in retrospect I'm pretty sure I should be folding.

Labels: poker, poker strategy, session review

Stumble It!

I happened today to come across two media pieces dealing, at least tangentially, with the issue of gangs in Los Angeles. Gangs and related problems of crime and drugs are issues in virtually every major metropolitan area in the US, but LA seems to be the epicenter both in terms of incidence and as a barometer of how the country generally addresses the issue.

I'll start with the good news. My friend David Wiltz is garnering still more media attention for the work that he has done with youth in LA. He and one of his former debaters were interviewed in this National Public Radio segment.

There are nearly two dozen urban debate leagues in the US, and I'm more familiar with some than with others, but everything I've seen suggests that few leagues do as good a job as LA has done to reach young people already in gangs or at high risk of getting involved with one. To some extent, this is simply a matter of necessity. Gangs are such an omnipresent part of urban life in LA that it would be nearly impossible to work with the populations Dave does without addressing the issue.

But I also know that in some leagues, and unfortunately I must count my own Boston Debate League among these, coaches and administrators have not done everything they could to reach out to these students who may ultimately have the most to gain from an activity like debate. The temptation, especially for young leagues and teams, is to start with the "naturals", students who are already, responsible, high-achieving, engaged with their schoolwork, and generally on a relatively good track. There's certainly nothing wrong with this, as these students deserve opportunities as much as anyone and will often still have college access difficulties for economic reasons or because even the best students at their schools simply do not receive an education that is on par with that provided to their competitiors from wealthier areas.

But debate has the power to change lives, to interest students in academic subjects in a way that school does not, to engage them in a way that traditional pedagogy does not, and to imbue them with a sense of confidence and power that they sorely need. I've seen many seemingly unlikely students take a remarkable interest in debate and change the trajectory of their lives because of it. I really admire the work that Dave has done to reach students most in need, and he's a constant reminder to me of what I could and should be doing in Boston.

On the flip side of the coin, however, I also came across a New York Times article entitled "The Wrong Approach to Gangs" that argues,

"No city has failed to control its street gangs more spectacularly than Los Angeles. The region has six times as many gangs and double the number of gang members as a quarter-century ago, even after spending countless billions on the problem. But unless Congress changes course quickly, the policies that seem to have made the gang problem worse in Los Angeles could become enshrined as national doctrine in a so-called gang control bill making its way through both the House and Senate."

LA is a paradigmatic example of a city that over-invests in heavy-handed and punitive responses to drug- and gang-related problems and under-invests in prevention and avoidance measures, including educational initiatives like the LAUDL. The willingness of policy-makers to write off people as young as 11 or 12 as irredeemably criminal is both heartbreaking and self-fulfilling. As my namesake Michel Foucault observed in Discipline and Punish, nothing breeds crime like prisons. Handing out prison sentences for petty offenses serves only to harden the offender, limit his access to legal employment, and connect him to other criminals.

It is beyond disheartening to see the federal government on the brink of replicating LA's preference for punishment over prevention.

Labels: race, urban debate league

Stumble It!

I made a squeeze play with rags and ended up sucking out on some terrible player. He told me how awful I was to re-raise with J7 etc etc so I challenge him to 10/20 NL heads up and he accepts. It starts off alright, he is pretty tight, I run one big bluff and show him, he just says "good bet" and seems not to be tilting, which is unfortunate. Then I make it $60 with Q4s, he reraises to $150, I call. Flop Qxx, he bets $200, I call. Turn 4, he bets, I shove, his AA is no good. That pissed him off.

He reloads, I stack him again KQ vs K7 on KQJ5 board. He quit but wants to play again tomorrow for "higher stakes". I'm not holding my breath, but would happily play him at 25/50.

Labels: poker

Stumble It!

Money should be available around the end of the month. From today's press release:

"The Company is using its best efforts to allow withdrawal requests as soon as possible and US customers will be able to sign in to their NETELLER account to request the withdrawal of their funds by no later than 30 July 2007. The exact date upon which US customers will be able to make requests will be communicated to US customers via email and through our website."
Stumble It!

Now that the WSOP is over, I really want to scale back my tournament play and focus on improving at 6-max no limit ring games. My recent winnings have given me enough of a roll that I want to dive right in and start multi-tabling 5/10 pretty aggressively. I've played a fair amount of 5/10, but it was generally only when I saw particularly good games going. Last night, I just sat down at 8 tables and let the fun begin. Some hands:

Full Tilt Poker No-Limit Hold'em, $10 BB (5 handed) Hand History converter Courtesy of PokerZion.com

Hero ($1445)
UTG ($525)
MP ($513.50)
Button ($225)
SB ($1691)

Preflop: Hero is BB with 4s, Kd.
1 fold, MP calls $10, Button calls $10, 1 fold, Hero checks.

Flop: ($35) Kh, 7s, 4c (3 players)
Hero bets $35, MP calls $35, Button calls $35.

Turn: ($140) 4h (3 players)
Hero checks, MP checks, Button checks.

River: ($140) Js (3 players)
Hero checks, MP bets $100, Button calls $100, Hero raises to $1400 (All-In), MP calls $368.50 (All-In), Button calls $80 (All-In).

Final Pot: $2188.50

Results in white below:

Hero has 4s Kd (full house, fours full of kings).

MP has 7d 7c (full house, sevens full of fours).

Button doesn't show.

Outcome: MP wins $1257. Hero wins $931.50.

I'm pretty obviously stacking off here, just a cooler. And MP is really lucky that I did the betting for him. I made note of what a ridiculous slowplayer he was, which allowed me to determine I could move him off a hand here:

Full Tilt Poker No-Limit Hold'em, $10 BB (5 handed) Hand History converter Courtesy of PokerZion.com

Hero ($1010)
SB ($1963)
BB ($1055)
UTG ($4418.50)
MP ($989)

Preflop: Hero is Button with Ac, 7h.
1 fold, MP calls $10, Hero raises to $45, 2 folds, MP calls $35.

Flop: ($105) 2d, 9c, 2h (2 players)
MP bets $30, Hero raises to $105, MP raises to $220, Hero calls $115.

Turn: ($545) Kh (2 players)
MP bets $160, Hero raises to $745 (All-In), MP folds.

Final Pot: $1450

Results in white below:

No showdown. Hero wins $1450.

I felt like calling the flop would be better than 4-bet shoving both because it looks more like a big pair and it gives me a chance to evaluate his action before I decide to pull the trigger. Once he made that weak-ass turn bet, it was an easy decision.

I was pretty happy with how I played this one:

Full Tilt Poker No-Limit Hold'em, $10 BB (5 handed) Hand History converter Courtesy of PokerZion.com

SB ($1340.25)
Hero ($1000)
UTG ($661)
MP ($1257)
Button ($220)

Preflop: Hero is BB with Kc, Kd.
UTG calls $10, MP raises to $45, 2 folds, Hero raises to $150, UTG calls $140, MP calls $105.

Flop: ($455) Ah, 7d, 4s (3 players)
Hero checks, UTG bets $90, MP folds, Hero calls $90.

Turn: ($635) Ac (2 players)
Hero bets $760 (All-In), UTG calls $421 (All-In).

River: ($1816) 4d (2 players, 2 all-in).

Final Pot: $1816

Results in white below:

Hero has Kc Kd (two pair, aces and kings).

UTG has Qs Qc (two pair, aces and queens).

Outcome: Hero wins $1816.

Given the size of the pot on the turn, I'm going to stack off if someone has trip Aces, so my only goal at that point was to win the most from smaller pocket pairs when I'm ahead. Most people are, rightfully, checking back the turn if I check, and may or may not call a big river bet. But I figured there's no way he's going to put me on trips if I open-shove the turn.

Just for good measure, here's one that didn't work out so well. Even with my reads it's pretty debateable, but basically the reraiser was a ridiculous LAGtard and pretty outplayable post-flop, which is why I'm in there pre-flop.

Full Tilt Poker No-Limit Hold'em, $10 BB (6 handed) Hand History converter Courtesy of PokerZion.com

UTG ($1236)
MP ($1656)
CO ($1287.25)
Button ($985)
SB ($3519.50)
Hero ($1144)

Preflop: Hero is BB with 8d, 8s.
3 folds, Button raises to $35, SB raises to $115, Hero calls $105, Button calls $80.

Flop: ($345) 9h, Kh, Tc (3 players)
SB checks, Hero bets $220, Button calls $220, SB folds.

Turn: ($785) 3c (2 players)
Hero bets $809 (All-In), Button calls $650 (All-In).

River: ($2244) 3s (2 players, 2 all-in).

Final Pot: $2244

Results in white below:

Hero has 8d 8s (two pair, eights and threes).

Button has Ad Ks (two pair, kings and threes).

Outcome: Button wins $2085. Hero wins $159.

This is a good flop for the kinds of hands I'm cold calling, stuff like 99, TT, and AK. I expected to fold out everything worse than AK. Maybe I don't need to shove the turn to do that, thought?

I was down a bit after a 7-hour session, but I was still happy with how it went. I felt I was largely playing well and making good reads, adn I encountered a fair number of poor players.

Labels: poker, poker strategy, session review

Stumble It!

Poker received brief but favorable mention on the Op-Ed page of the New York Times this week. The piece, Texas Hold 'Em Seizes Gotham, focuses on a character nicknamed "Old Man". Old Mas is portrayed positively as a responsible recreational gambler:

"he limits losses to $500 a night but also has taken home as much as $1,800 after intensely enjoyable hours at the table.

Old Man is one of the many modest, white-collar gamblers at the city’s illegal clubs who avoid the $1,000 buy-in games with $50,000-plus pots that co-exist in his favorite haunts."

"Old Man finds their well-run games great fun, especially as young pigeons arrive for the challenge of figuring how to bet in bursts in Texas Hold ’Em, the television-generated poker craze seizing the city’s parlors. He thinks New York plays a “just plain crazy” hand in comparison with other locales where poker parlors are legal, pay taxes and run 20 stories high.

In finding a place to enjoy his favorite pasttime, however, Old Man must endure the inconveniences of armed robbery and police raids. Though the article expresses no explicit stance on what the city's policy on poker dens ought to be, it seems to suggest that legalization and regulation might not be a bad idea. One can only hope.

Labels: poker

Stumble It!

I should be on my way to the Rio right now, preparing to nurse a sickly stack into a monster as I did on Tuesday. Instead, I am sitting in front of my computer trying to decide how to explain to all of you how it all came crashing down.

Yesterday morning, I felt on top of the world. I had undecupled my chips on Day 2 of the World Series of Poker and put myself in great shape to go deep at the biggest poker tournament of the year. Within a few hours, I’d have $20,000 locked up and a shot at much more. My starting table was going to be tough, with at least two strong players I knew fairly well from an internet poker forum. Nonetheless, I had 80,000 chips more than the next largest stack at my table, and my seat position was good as well, with the strongest players and biggest stacks on my right and the shorter, unknown players on my left.

Like any self-respecting white man in America, I am constantly seeking out ways to appropriate black culture for my own financial gain. Listening to some Jay-Z in the car, I hoped, would get me pumped up and help me perform my best. This morning, I intended to bring a knife to a fist fight and hold triggers to crews... metaphorically... at the card table.

I started the day in the 6 seat, which is right in the middle of the table and afforded me a nice view of all the action. Justin Rollo, a moderator of the 2+2 poker tournament forum and a really fantastic tournament player, was in the 2 seat. Matt Sterling, another 2+2 member and one of the top-ranked online tournament players, was in the 4 seat. A mid-stakes cash game player named Andy had the most chips after me and was seated to my immediate right in the 5 seat.

We were rapidly approaching the money bubble, the point at which the lowest cash prizes are awarded. This year’s payout structure is less top-heavy than it was last year, meaning that there is more money for the lower places. The top 621 finishers were all guaranteed about $20,000, which isn’t a lot relative to the $10,000 entry fee, but since many players won satellites into the tournament and didn’t actually invest $10,000 in it, I knew that quite a few would be very worried about busting out in, for instance, 625th place and winning nothing.

With my big stack, I’d hoped to get a table full of scared players whose blinds I could steal with abandon. There were a few at the table, but unfortunately I had to compete with Justin, Matt, and Andy, who all also recognized and wanted to take advantage of this dynamic. My plan for the day was to come out of the gate with guns blazing. I was going to be the one stealing blinds, and if the other good players at the table wanted a piece of the action, they’d have to get through me.

I knew that Justin in particular was pretty aggressive, and I planned to reraise him at the first opportunity. As it turned out, his first raise was against my big blind, and I had Ace-Queen, so it was how I would have played the hand anyway. He folded, though later told me he was contemplating a re-re-raise with Jack-Ten, and if he had, I would seriously have considered moving all in. That’s just how it goes when two aggressive players with a history lock horns.

Reraising Matt didn’t go over so well. At the 1200/2400/400 level, he opened to 6000 from late position, and I made it 20,000 to go with A9 in the small blind. He called and called a bet of 30,000 on Ks Ts 5d flop. I checked and folded the turn, my stack suddenly 50,000 chips lighter.

Stacks were still pretty deep though, so I took a few flops in position with speculative hands like small pairs and suited connectors, but I never connected with anything and had to keep folding to flop bets.

Andy, on my right, had also been playing a very loose and aggressive style. He was calling a lot of raises from Justin and Matt, and I’d been looking for a chance to punish him. Finally, at the 1500/3000/500 level, Justin opened for 9000, Andy called, and I reraised to 35,000 with Q4 on the button. They both folded. “Nobody can read you dudes like we do.”

On my next big blind, Andy raised to 8000 from the small blind, and I called with Js Ts. He was very aggressive post-flop, so I knew I could win a big pot if I caught well against him. The flop was Kd 6s 5s, and sure enough he fired a big bet of 18,000. I called with my flush draw, counting on either winning another big bet if I hit or maybe taking the pot away on the turn if he showed weakness. Unfortunately, it was a blank, and he fired 64,000 at me. I really felt like he was just pushing me around on a board where it would be tough for me to have a big hand, but at this point I wasn’t even sure I had enough chips left to make him fold if he had anything. There was also the danger that he was semi-bluffing with a better flush draw than mine, in which case I’d be in terrible shape. I threw away my hand angrily, leaving myself with only about 200,000 chips.

Desperate to pick up a pot, I raised to 9000 with 66 first to act. Not surprisingly, Andy called on his big blind, and we saw a flop of QT5. He checked and called a bet of 15,000. The turn was a J, and he checked again. I couldn’t expect my 6's to be good here, but this is a board where I, as an early position raiser, could easily have a monster hand like QQ, JJ, or TT for three of a kind or even AK for a straight. Since Andy didn’t reraise pre-flop, it was rather unlikely that he had a hand this strong. So I fired 35,000 at him, and he thought for a long time before finally folding. “Your reach ain’t long enough, dunny.”

Blinds jumped again to 2000/4000/500, and I was planning on slowing down with the reraises, which I probably should have done, but I found myself in kind of a weird spot. Matt raised the blind of a pretty weak player to 10,000, and Andy called. I had Ace-Nine on the button, and I felt like I could have the best hand here and regardless it was a decent spot to squeeze. I made it 40,000, Matt called instantly (that was very worrisome), and Andy folded.

I got an AJ7 flop, which gave me top pair, but my nine kicker meant that most likely any action I got on this board would be bad action, so when Matt checked, I was happy to check as well. The turn was a T, he bet 40,000, and I called. I would have been very unsure of what to do if he bet the river, but thankfully he checked. I checked as well, and he looked disappointed. I was hoping that was because I had caught him bluffing on the turn, but it turned out he was hoping to induce a bet from me on the river, because he showed me TT for a turned set. Ouch, down to 140,000. I’m lucky he played this the way he did or I could have lost even more.

At this point we were about 10 players away from the bubble and playing hand for hand, which meant that the dealer had to pause after every hand we played and wait for all 70 other tables to finish playing the hand as well before we could deal the next one. This was to ensure that the right players got paid, but it made the game move at an excruciating pace. I think we played maybe 15 hands in two hours before the bubble finally burst.

I had come into the day thinking that I was virtually a lock to make the money, but now I found myself with a below average stack and a bit of a conundrum. I wanted the $20,000, but I also wanted to take advantage of the many profitable situations that the bubble created for players willing to take risks. Andy had accumulated a ton of chips with his aggressive play and was now raising every single hand, so I wasn’t going to be able to steal cheaply from the scared players. My best bet to pick up chips was going to be to turn Andy’s aggression against him, but that would mean putting my neck on the line and risking elimination myself.

Hand for hand was so boring that Andy would sometimes get up and leave the table for a few minutes, since that was how long we generally waited between hands. He once failed to make it back to the table in time to steal, which meant I finally had the opportunity. I raised to 12,000 with Qc 3s, and a loudmouth kid from Florida named Randall called from the small blind. D’oh.

The flop was Jc 5c 2c, giving me a decent flush draw but not much else. Randall bet out 16,000. I felt like he was just trying to steal cheaply from me and didn’t have a hand that could call all in. But if I was wrong, it was likely to cost me $20,000. “All in.”

“Nice flush draw,” he commented as he threw his hand away. Phew. ”Don’t let me do it to you dunny cuz I overdo it.”

A minute later, Andy returned to the table. I told him he missed a hand and that I got to steal the blinds for once. He seemed genuinely upset about this. The very next hand, it was back to business as usual, with a 12,000 raise from Andy. Except this time, I had a pair of Jacks. The safe way to play them would be to move all in for about 140,000 now. Andy would almost certainly fold, and I could win about 20,000 chips with very little risk of getting knocked out on the bubble.

But Jacks were the best hand I had seen all day, and I really needed to win more than 20,000 chips with them. The smart thing to do was to give Andy some rope and let him hang himself, so I just called the raise. I was going to call a bet on any flop, even if three overcards to my pair came. Thankfully, I got a very safe 854 flop. He bet 24,000, and I moved all in. “I have a pair,” he told me. I stared silently straight ahead. “I think you were trapping me with a big pair. Were you trapping me” I’m behind. I’m sure I’m behind. But I want the table to know they can’t bluff me. I’m going to call if I’ve got a pair,” he told the table at large. “I call.”

“All in and call, table 26!” the dealer shouted for the benefit of the camera crews. Reporters from ESPN and various internet sites, plus random players from other tables, swarmed around us. We turned our hands face up, but had to wait for ESPN to set up the shot before seeing the turn and river. Andy showed K5 for middle pair, making me a solid 79% favorite to win a 300,000 chip pot. This also meant, however, that there was a 21% chance I would be eliminated right here, agonizingly close to a $20,000 payday, and go home empty handed.

The ESPN producer finally gave the signal, and the dealer showed us the turn, a harmless 9c. My odds of winning just improved by 9.5%. I breathed a sigh of relief when the river was neither a K nor a 5, giving me the best hand and a much needed double up. “No, you’re not on my level, get your breaks tweaked.”

“Do you think we’ll be on TV?” Andy asked me a little despondently.

I shook my head. “Only if you had caught a 5.”

Undeterred, Andy was right back at it next hand, raising to 12,000. This time I called with Js Ts. The flop was Qh 9h 6d, giving me an open-ended straight draw. Andy bet his usual 24,000, and I called. The turn was the Ac, he checked, and I bluffed him out with a bet of 55,000.

The hand after that, he called a raise from Matt, called a flop bet, bet 90,000 on the turn when Matt checked, and folded to check-raise all in. Just like that, he went from table chipleader with 500,000 chips to having barely 150,000. “Had a spark when you started but now you’re just garbage. Fell from top ten to not mentioned at all.”

Finally, the bubble burst, and the room erupted with cheers. I visited the restroom during the ensuing break, and a man at the urinal next to me remarked, “Nothing like a $20,000 piss.”

With their money locked up, the previously scared short stacks were suddenly very willing to double up or go home. We busted out a couple people from our table very quickly and got some new faces, including a somewhat well-known pro named Chip Jett. Chip had an artificial tan, frosted hair slicked back with a heavy gel, and a complete inability to sit still. He was constantly rocking from side to side in his chair, stacking and shuffling chips, and glancing nervously around the table. Despite all this, he actually turned out to be a pretty friendly guy.

To my left was a white guy in his early fifty’s who lived in Seoul, South Korea. He had won some Korean championship with like 600 players, but I have no idea how, because, though a hell of a nice guy, he was the most predictable player ever. He only played really big hands, and he always came in for huge raises that generally resulted in him winning nothing more than the blinds and antes. If he ever flopped top pair or better, or ever had Ace-King pre-flop, he would instantly move all in without regard for the size of the pot relative to his bet.

Naturally, this guy was a prime target for blind theft, but infuriatingly, he kept getting dealt the 1% of hands he would actually play whenever I raised him. On three occasions, he reraised my steal, ultimately showing me KK or AK. The fourth time, he just called me and then moved all in on a Q-high flop, showing me AQ. Damn it, man, how do you always have big cards?!?! He was very apologetic and kept showing me his monster holdings, assuring me he wasn’t trying to pick on me. Well you should have been, sir, because it was certainly my intent to rob you blind.

I gave him such a hard time about catching well against me that I’m pretty sure he let me steal from him once just out of pity. It was the fifth time I’d raised him, and before I did, I warned him, “If you have AK again, I might have to call you just out of spite.” He looked at his cards, smiled, and folded an Ace face up. Piece of advice, sir: if a guy raises you five times in a row, your Ace is probably good.

The entire 2500/5000/500 level was bad for me. Having to back down to the Korean constantly was costly, and Justin re-raised me twice as well, once showing Ace-King. I was pretty sure he was bluffing the other time, but I had 5-4 and didn’t feel like putting him to the test for all my chips, so I just folded. I never had any big hands and lost some money at showdown with JT versus AJ on a J high flop in a blind battle.

By the time we got to the last hour of the day, where stakes were 3000/6000/1000, and I was back down to about 220,000 and in a bad mood. I felt like I had played pretty well for most of the day, taken some big risks when appropriate, and still I had lost more than 100,000 chips. Everyone else was catching cards and hitting flops and I just kept getting dealt garbage or getting bad flops for whatever promising hand I held. Finally, I got Ad Qd in first position. It was the best hand I’d seen in ages, and I decided that since I was in first position and had been pretty tight for a while, I was going to represent an overpair post-flop if I got called. I raised to 16,000, and only the big blind, a young guy in Full Tilt Poker gear who had been pretty quiet, called. The flop was Ts 4s 2h. He checked, I bet 25,000, he raised me 25,000 more, and I moved all in for his last 175,000 chips. He called so quickly and so eagerly that I knew not only was I beat but that I couldn’t win even if I caught an Ace or a Queen.

“All in and call, table 26!” the dealer shouted, but now the bubble was over, and ESPN was no longer rushing to cover every all in confrontation, so thankfully this embarrassment was not preserved for posterity by video camera.. My opponent turned over 44 for three of a kind. He was a 99.6% favorite to win. My only hope was to catch either a 3 or a 5 on the turn, followed by the other card on the river to make a running straight. A 6 on the turn cut my odds down from .4% to 0%, and just like that, I had 27,000 chips, barely enough to pay the big blind of 6,000, which hit me on the next hand.

Action folded to Matt in late position, who raised to 16,000. The small blind called, and I threw in the last of my chips without looking at my cards. There was already 46,000 in the pot, so I was getting better than 2:1 on my money ,and it was very likely that Matt would re-re-raise to knock out the small blind get the pot heads up with me. If I could win at showdown versus him, I would triple up and have a workable stack again. “All in and call!” the dealer went through the motions of muttering, but it was such a small pot that he knew no one would care.

Matt showed Ace-Jack, and I turned over my hand to find King-deuce. Not bad for a blind hand. I had about a 35% chance of winning. My Korean friend patted me on the back. “King is coming. Just watch,” he told me. Sure enough, the flop was K85, and suddenly I was way ahead. The turn was a T, but an Ace on the river crushed my comeback.

“Nice hand,” I told both Matt and the guy on my right. I shook hands with my friends at the table, wished them luck, and stood up. “Get zipped up in plastic when it happens that’s it.”

Except that wasn’t it. I would have preferred go like Tony Soprano, a sudden black-out and then roll credits. Instead, I had to stand beside my empty seat like a rotting corpse while the dealer tossed the next round of cards to those still playing until a floorperson arrived to escort me to the payouts area.

It was after midnight, I was tired, disappointed, frustrated and angry at myself for making a stupid move. So what did I most want to do after busting out of the main event? If you guessed, “Spend an hour filling out paperwork and waiting in queues,” well, you were wrong, but you may be qualified to work at the Rio.

I’ve played enough tournaments to know the importance of patience, especially when it comes to my last few chips. The old adage is that ’a chip and a chair’ are all that is needed to win a tournament, and I had so recently made a big come back after getting short stacked that I really should have known better than to make a crazy, desperate bluff.

Now I had to sit, back against a wall, shoulder to shoulder with all the other losers, to wait for some crocodile-skinned bureaucrat to call my name. “Anthony Brooks?” It took me a minute to figure out that meant me. I was somewhat consoled by the fact that a fairly strong player showed up on bust out row right around the time I did. Although his name will be well-known to most poker enthusiasts, to the career paper shuffler behind the scenes at the Rio, he was just “Robert... Miz-arky?”

I finished 361st and won $34,664, showing a tidy profit even after deducting the $10,000 entry fee, which was itself a prize I’d won in another poker tournament. By any account, I’m very fortunate to make this kind of money playing a card game, and it’s always my goal to do something valuable with the money and free time that poker affords me. In the next month or so, I’ll be organizing and teaching at a free summer debate camp for public high school students and teachers in Boston, and then traveling to Chicago for a week to volunteer at a similar camp.

Thanks again to everyone who’s followed along and offered your encouragement and congratulations. Hopefully we can do this again next year!

Labels: Las Vegas, narrative, poker, poker strategy, session review, trip report, wsop

Stumble It!

That blogger from the Balitmore Sun whom I mentioned a few days ago just posted another little blurb about me. His conclusion?

"...super smart and level-headed don't always necessarily go together. It's refreshing to see when it does."

I'm blushing.

Labels: personal, poker

Stumble It!

I wasn't feeling real well today, so I only played three of the majors: the $200 million guarantee on Stars, the $500 million guarantee on FTP, and $200 200K guarantee on UB. I ended up cashing kinda well in all three, and came 36th out of more than 2000 on FTP. Obviously I both played and ran pretty well to get there, but I ended up busting with KK versus AA, which was more than a little annoying, especially since I had just turned down an offer to buy 20% of my action for more than what I ended up winning.

The play I'm probably most proud of was snapping off a check-raise bluff from 2+2'er luckychewy when we were both among the chipleaders near the bubble. We each had more than 50K, and blinds were 300/600. I raised to about 1900 with AJo in late position, and he called from his BB. The flop was very dry, like K83 rainbow or something. He checked, I bet 3000, and he raised to 9500. This is pretty much the best possible board for me to bet at if I don't have a pair, so AJ is actually one of the better hands in my flop betting range here, and I expected luckychewy to know that I'd often be bluffing the flop. This deep, he's probably going to play top pair for pot control out of position, so I didn't really feel like he was representing much on the flop, either. I also didn't expect him to bluff again on the turn, since my call could easily be something like AK that isn't going anywhere. We checked it down, and sure enough he had T6s for no pair, no draw.

Labels: poker, poker strategy, session review

Stumble It!

The Los Angeles Urban Debate League, run by my good friend David Wiltz, has been in the news lately thanks to a new documentary about the world of high school debate that highlights two of his former students. Here's a good summary from the article:

"In the film, the team of Richard Funches and Louis Blackwell, who are black and now former students of the inner-city North Long Beach high school, stick out. They stand out in an activity where few of the high-powered teams, mostly from private schools, have black members.

The documentary shows the Jordan pair - who after becoming state champs have since graduated and gone on to compete in college - trying to change the style of debate by speaking more slowly and drawing on personal experiences during arguments, instead of relying just on research by experts."

I'm obviously looking forward to seeing this film, but I imagine it will be of interest to those of you who aren't familiar with academic debate, as well. It's very different, in many ways, from what you would expect, and it will be especially interesting to see how David and his kids attempt to expose the race and class disparities that permeate the activity.

Labels: personal, urban debate league

Stumble It!

Barry and goleafsgoeh were the two players who most concerned me at the table, and with one gone and one crippled, I was ready for total table domination. Except that we didn’t get to play even a single hand after the second break. No sooner had the tournament director announced “shuffle up and deal” than a guy known as the Grim Reaper, because he walks around breaking tables, deposited an armful of plastic chip racks in the center of our table and started passing out new seat assignments. I will say, though, that it was a pretty cool feeling carrying four full racks of chips across the convention center floor and feeling the envious eyes of every player in the room burning into my back.

There was no one I recognized at the new table and several weak looking players to my left, so I decided to carry on with my plans for domination. Blinds were now 800/1600/200, and a guy who seemed pretty aggressive moved all in for 24,000. Not on my table! I called with a pair of Tens. He turned over a pair of Jacks. Whoops. A flop of J55 left me dead to running quads, which I did not catch.

But no worries. A few hands later, I raised to 4500 with AA. The big blind raised to 12,000, leaving about 25,000 behind. Hoping to look like a bully, I grabbed a stack of orange chips and shoved it into the pot. He shrugged and called with KK. My hand held up, and I took down another good-sized pot and eliminated my third player of the tournament.

Next orbit, a hotshot looking British player raised to 5000 first to act. He had a stack of about 75,000, and I decided not to reraise him with my pair of Jacks because if he moved all in, I would feel like throwing up. We went heads up to a 5s 5h 4s flop. He bet 10,000, and I grabbed the trusty stack of orange chips (there were twenty of them in the stack, so this single pillar of my mountain of chips was worth 100,000) and moved it into the pot. He thought for a long time before folding. I may have lost some value here with the big raise, but there were a lot of turn cards I did not want to see (ie I did not have the Js), and I wanted the whole table to get the message: if you play a pot with me, you may well be playing for all of your chips.

I got to talking with another Poker Stars qualified at the table who turned out to be internet player Teacuppoker. His real name was Casey, so that’s what I’ll call him. Then a clean cut middle aged guy got seated to Casey’s left. The man glanced at my Poker Stars hat and asked me what my screen name was. I told him and asked him his. He pursed his lips. “Yeah, I don’t so much give that out.” What the [censored]? That’s fine if you don’t want to out yourself, but don’t ask for my screenname and then refuse to give me yours.

“So you’re one of those guys?” Casey asked him, seemingly bothered by the same discourtesy I was.

“Well there’s only a small pool of people who play 200/400, and game selection is a big part of my game.” 200/400?!?! This guy is big time.

“Am I at least allowed to know your real first name?”

“Adam. Adam Richardson.” That made him Admo from the 2+2 internet poker forum. I still didn’t know what name he played under online, but this was enough info for me that I didn’t feel slighted any more.

We talked a bit about the highest stakes poker games online, and I asked him if he ever played Brian Townsend, the high stakes player who showed up at my first table on Friday. He shuddered and laughed. “I quit Brian almost a year ago. You can ask my wife, I have a recurring nightmare where there’s a glitch in the software so that I can see his cards, and I still lose!” Good Lord, I am glad I got off that kid’s table.

I never played a big pot with Admo, but he did get me into some trouble. He opened for 4500, I reraised to 15,000 with AK in the small blind, and then the old man in the big blind, I think he was Greek, started counting his chips. He looked annoyed, and, and this was important, I don’t think he knew I was looking at him. I was in the 9 seat and he the 1 seat, so the dealer was between us. If he knew I was looking and looked annoyed, there would be a chance that he was acting with a monster holding like KK or AA. If he is genuinely annoyed, he’s more likely to have a slightly less strong hand like JJ, QQ, or AK. “All in,” he finally said.

Now Admo thought for a minute or two before folding. That still wasn’t enough time for me to make up my mind. There was now about 40,000 in the pot, and it was going to cost me 75,000 more to call. Although I’d have an above average stack if I called and lost, this was still the single biggest decision I’d had to make so far in the tournament. My gut was telling me to call, but in general you don’t make money by calling big bets from unknown old men with Ace-King.

I closed my eyes and recounted the pot. I took a deep breath. I opened my eyes and looked at the old man. He was staring straight back at me over his bulbous nose. It was an aggressive stare, another sign of weakness. When people want a call, they will try to look non-threatening or nervous. This time he definitely knew I was watching him, and now he was trying to look strong. I sighed and stood up. “Call.”

“Let’s see ‘em,” the dealer said. I turned over my Ace-King. The guy kept his cards face down. This is an annoying thing about live poker, no one ever wants to show his hand and at showdown there is always this big production over who is going to show first. Just turn your [censored] hand over. “Sir?” she prompted him.

He grunted something.

“What was that?”

“Keep them low,” he said in a heavy accent, and flipped TT. I breathed a sigh of relief. I had made the right call. Against a pair of T’s, my AK has 43% equity. I needed 39.5% to make the call correct. Flop Q85. Turn 5. River 7. TT is good.

The Greek beamed and shook my hand. “Nice hand,” I told him, nodding sagely and returning the hand shake. I sat back down, remarkably unflustered. So this is what it feels like to flip a coin for $100,000. And lose.

A few minutes later, I went over to talk to my girlfriend, who was standing in the spectator area about fifty feet away. “I just lost a monstrous flip.”

She gave me a sympathetic frown. “I saw you stand up, so I knew it was something big, but I couldn’t tell if you won or lost. The guy sat back down, so I didn’t think you eliminated him, but you were smiling.”

I took that as a big compliment. One of the toughest things about being a serious poker player is learning to deal with bad results. The goal is always to focus on making the right decisions, because in the long run, the money follows the odds and the best players win. In the short run, things can and do go wrong all the time. I can control my decisions, but I can’t control the cards, so there is no sense in getting upset over them. If I can accept a bad outcome in a gigantic pot at the World Series of Poker so well that my girlfriend of six years cannot tell from my body language whether I won or lost, then I am in the right mind set.

Hopefully, the table got another lesson: I’m willing to make a big call if you play back at me. Soon thereafter, I opened Qd Td against a weak player’s big blind, and he called. The flop came 8h 6h 3d, and he bet into me for 7500. When someone bets into me on a board like this, it’s often because he’s unsure of his hand and wants to take the pot down before you put in any more money and get more committed to your hand. Hell, I’ve two over cards, a backdoor flush draw, and a read. I call.

The turn was the Ad, a scare card for my opponent and a flush draw for me. He checked and folded to a bet of 15,000.

Despite losing the huge pot, I went into break with 280,000 chips. I’m 90% sure I would have been chip leader for the entire tournament if an Ace or King had fallen.

After break, a French player named Paolo was seated at our table. Blinds were now 1000/2000 with a 300 ante, meaning that there were 5700 chips in the pot before cards were dealt. I was really looking forward to stealing from the tight players on my left, and was already envisioning all those chips getting pushed my way when I heard a little French voice on my right say, “Raise.”

Whaaaaaaaaaat?!?!? Those are supposed to be my blinds to steal. We can’t have this. Paolo had put 7000 chips in the pot. I pretended to look at my cards and then announced, “Re-raise”, shoving 21,000 chips into the pot. Someone needed a lesson in etiquette.

The action folded back to Paolo, who quickly said, “All in.” Damn it. I looked at my cards, praying to see Aces. Instead, I tossed a Nine and a Seven into the muck. Paolo must have had a monster hand, to risk all chips like that against an unknown player with so little thought.

My next aggressive re-raise was against Casey, who raised to 5500 when I was small blind and the Greek was big. I made it 16,500 with King-Queen, and he folded.

Dominance at the table finally (and expensively) established, I started stealing like mad and meeting very little resistance. Only Casey showed a willingness to play back at me, and he had really bad timing such that I usually had hands when we tangled. Somehow, I finished the level with barely more than the 280K I had when it started.

After break, blinds were 1200/2400/300. My plan was to tighten up for the last level of the day and take advantage of my aggressive image to get paid off on any big hands now that the antes were smaller relative to the blinds. Unfortunately, my plans were once again spoiled by an untimely table break. On the plus side, this meant I got to run over a new table that didn’t know how aggressive I was.

Once again, I was already envisioning the pot getting shipped my way when some annoying guy on my right beat me to the punch, raising to 7200. Annoyed, I made it 21,000 with 54 off-suit on the button. Even if he suspects I’m up to something, this is a rough spot for my opponent. I’m brand new to the table, he’s got no idea how I play, he’s out of position, and his entire stack of 150,000 is at risk if he makes a bad read. He folded.

I put the same guy in another tough spot about half an hour later. He opened for 7200, and I just called with Ace-Jack offsuit. The flop was 965, all different suits. He bet 9000, which is a pretty weak bet for a board that coordinated. I had no piece of the flop, so I raised to 32,000. I’m representing two pair or better here, and if my opponent decides not to believe me, he’s either going to have to call and risk a big bet on a scary turn or shove his stack in a spot where he’s only going to get called by monster hands. There weren’t even any good draws on the board for him to semi-bluff all in with. After a long session of irritated chip shuffling, he folded, and I finished the day with 344,100 chips. Quite a long way from the 30,000 I had at the start.

There were 6,358 entries in this year’s main event. We stopped for the night with 351 remaining. Day 2B will probably have a few more than that, but when everyone plays together for the first time, there will likely be around 800 competitors remaining. First prize is $8.5 million, and I honestly feel I have as good a chance as anyone at winning it.

Oh, this will probably be meaningful to some of you. I later found out that the guy I bluffed in those last two pots was Robert Mizrachi, brother of Michael “The Grinder” Mizrachi.

Labels: Las Vegas, narrative, poker, poker strategy, session review, trip report, wsop

Stumble It!