I left Vegas a week ago, but that week has been even more hectic than the weeks I was in Vegas, so I’m just now getting back to my tournament write-ups: I arrived at the Venetian DSE area, which is … Read more…
PokerStars No-Limit Hold’em, 320 Tournament, 25/50 Blinds (5 handed) – PokerStars Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com SB (t3023) Hero (BB) (t3978) UTG (t4344) MP (t2230) Button (t1910) Hero’s M: 53.04 Preflop: Hero is BB with Q♥, K♠ 1 fold, MP bets t100, … Read more…
Villain had high Attempt to Steal and post-flop aggression. I debated 3-betting, since I’m well ahead of his pre-flop range, but I didn’t want to fold to a 4-bet, and I think getting it in pre is kinda light. It’s … Read more…
We had an interesting discussion in last week’s Extracting Value seminar about slowplaying on wet boards (i.e. when there are a fair number of draws possible). It’s overall not a great idea, but I do advocate doing it with often … Read more…
This week’s WYP is inspired by a hand I played on Day 2 of the British Columbia Poker Championship. The table is probably the toughest one in the room, but thankfully there’s only about an hour left in the day. … Read more…
This is from the PokerStars $150 6-max Sunday tournament. People are often surprised by calls that I make out of the big blind when I’m getting very good odds. I don’t know how helpful it is when I say things … Read more…
I had a very frustrating 11th place finish in the $150 6-max today. Lost a huge coin flip. It’s a good thing that’s the last thing I was playing because it was the most frustrated I’ve let myself get in … Read more…
Pretty sure I’ve used that title before, but that just goes to show you what a nit I can be in these silly tournaments. Check out this one, where I 3-bet-fold AKo with a 21BB stack. UTG+1 is very active … Read more…
There’s a full trip report in the works, but for now, here’s my favorite hand that I played in the EPT Madrid main event: Blinds are 150/300/25. The UTG is a very aggressive young Scandinavian with a huge stack. He … Read more…
I was tweating yesterday about some big folds that I made in my Sunday tournaments. At least one person expressed interest, so here are the two biggest. Villain was 11/8, and I’d been reasonable to tight, though admittedly my Team … Read more…
The field in the $1050 PokerStars Super Tuesday had been whittled down from 394 to 28. With 10 BB’s, I wasn’t in great shape, but I had a fighting chance. And then the internet at my apartment went out. I … Read more…
Also, fold the river: PokerStars No-Limit Hold’em Tourney, Big Blind is t80 (6 handed) Hand History converter Courtesy of PokerZion.com UTG (t1560) MP (t3290) CO (t6660) Hero (t4198) SB (t3839) BB (t1453) Preflop: Hero is Button with 7h, 9h. 3 … Read more…
PokerStars No-Limit Hold’em Tourney, Big Blind is t600 (6 handed) Hand History converter Courtesy of PokerZion.com Hero (t14702) UTG (t30344) MP (t15991) CO (t16405) Button (t34712) SB (t61552) Preflop: Hero is BB with Ks, 9s. 3 folds, Button raises to … Read more…
I had a deep run but ultimately a disappointing 15th place finish in last night’s $1000 Super Tuesday tournament on PokerStars, which performance they chronicled on their blog. I say “disappointing” not only because I went from 2/18 to out … Read more…
PokerStars No-Limit Hold’em Tourney, Big Blind is t50 (9 handed) Hand History converter Courtesy of PokerZion.com MP2 (t2650) MP3 (t3048) CO (t2775) Button (t4909) SB (t2070) BB (t2715) Hero (t2646) UTG+1 (t3952) MP1 (t6300) Preflop: Hero is UTG with Kd, … Read more…
A reader recently asked me about a hand, presumably in response to a comment I made about bet sizing on the river when your opponent’s range is defined as a bluff-catcher: “What do you think would be optimal sizing on … Read more…
Despite flopping a straight, I think checking is clearly correct on all streets. Full Tilt No-Limit Hold’em Tournament, 200/400 Blinds 50 Ante (9 handed) – Full Tilt Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com CO (t12678) Button (t11345) SB (t19510) Hero (BB) (t7756) … Read more…
The last hand I posted touched on the concept of recognizing the best bluffing hand(s) in your range. Here’s another example: PokerStars No-Limit Hold’em Tourney, Big Blind is t600 (9 handed) Hand History converter Courtesy of PokerZion.com SB (t32977) BB … Read more…
Full Tilt No-Limit Hold’em Tournament, 15/30 Blinds (9 handed) – Full-Tilt Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com UTG (t4465) Hero (UTG+1) (t5220) MP1 (t5035) MP2 (t5865) MP3 (t5000) CO (t4955) Button (t4460) SB (t4970) BB (t5030) Hero’s M: 116.00 Preflop: Hero is … Read more…
I had some tough tables in the USA COOP main event, full of aggressive tournament regulars. There was a ton of raising 3-betting, and when one player got disconnected and was not around to defend his blind, sparks really flew. … Read more…
I final tabled the $500 KO Friday Night Fight on FTP last night, finishing in a slightly disappointing 8th. Not too shabby though considering I never got above the average stack and collected not a single bounty. Since my November … Read more…
One of my criticisms of Winning Poker Tournaments One Hand at a Time, which I generally liked, was that the authors neglected opportunities to play Ace-high for showdown value and turned such hands into a bluff too frequently. Today I … Read more…
A lot of players are torn about what to do when they know an opponent is frequently betting the flop without a hand. Is it better to float, or to bluff-raise? I’ve written a strategy article on the subject, but … Read more…
About 3 hours into today’s $300 6-max, I got moved to a table with two Pocket Fives superstars. One was to my immediate right, and one two seats to my left. We tangled in a few interesting spots, and while … Read more…
28 players remaining in the FTP Friday Night Fight, 27 places pay. As soon as I saw this flop, I told myself that if the pre-flop raiser made a continuation bet I’d have to either check-call or check-fold. I just … Read more…
Second hand of the Stars $300. I figured I was going to take it easily on the turn because there just aren’t strong hands in BB’s range. I figure randoms raise 2-pair on the flop like 80% of the time … Read more…
Amidst all the excitement of the WCOOP Main Event yesterday, I also final tabled the $250 monthly tournament on Cake Poker. I wish I could say there were interesting hands, but honestly the structure is so bad that pretty much … Read more…
From yesterday’s $300 6-max shootout WCOOP: I’m curious how you all would handle this river. The table generally had been pretty aggressive pre-flop, and believe it or not I’d been pretty well behaved. Villain was the most aggressive 3-better, with … Read more…
Although we started with 325 BB’s, I managed to blow off my stack in just about an hour. PokerStars No-Limit Hold’em, 1050 Tournament, 10/20 Blinds (9 handed) – Poker-Stars Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com Button (t7525) Hero (SB) (t7834) BB (t7303) … Read more…
Last week’s double float cost me about half my chips on the first hand of the $700 NAPT-Los Angeles satellite and was not so popular with the commenters. Here’s a similar bluff somewhat deeper in the same tournament this week. … Read more…
3 spots pay PokerStars No-Limit Hold’em, 109 Tournament, 200/400 Blinds 50 Ante (4 handed) – Poker-Stars Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com Hero (UTG) (t8288) Button (t219) SB (t4401) BB (t17092) Hero’s M: 10.36 Preflop: Hero is UTG with 8, 8 Hero calls … Read more…
Well, I was right about everything except this player’s ability to read hands/make a remotely disciplined fold. Zeebo Theorem FTW: PokerStars No-Limit Hold’em, 700 Tournament, 10/20 Blinds (8 handed) – Poker-Stars Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com Button (t3000) SB (t3000) BB … Read more…
I had a solid Sunday today, no wins but made two deep runs. I took 2nd out of nearly 1000 runners in the Stars $150 6-max. The competition was surprisingly tough for a $150 tournament: I recognized three good players … Read more…
…is anything else. Lots of aggressive history, plus the BB is sitting out, which always makes things fun. PokerStars No-Limit Hold’em, 162 Tournament, 400/800 Blinds 100 Ante (6 handed) – Poker-Stars Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com SB (t13288) BB (t16067) UTG … Read more…
Granted my flop call isn’t the greatest, but I think most of his bluffing range is just giving up pretty much any turn, so I’m not too worried about getting bluffed out when I’m ahead. Full Tilt No-Limit Hold’em Tournament, … Read more…
I know this isn’t the first “river semi-bluff” I’ve posted, but it never ceases to amaze me how few players do this. It’s sooooooooo unlikely anyone is checked a flush on the river, betting is a virtual freeroll. Full Tilt … Read more…
These are both from the Poker Stars weekly $500. Hand 1, I think re-raising at either opportunity pre-flop makes me look really strong, and pretty much any hand that can stack off to that pre-flop is going to lose a … Read more…
We’re just inside of 100 people left in the monthly FTP $500, down from a little over 2000 who started. UTG is a random who definitely does not play these stakes with any regularity. Googling his name reveals a few … Read more…
I made it down to 300 or so in the Sunday Million today, thanks in no small part to a gamble relatively early on: PokerStars No-Limit Hold’em, 215 Tournament, 500/1000 Blinds 75 Ante (9 handed) – Poker-Stars Hand Converter from … Read more…
I ran deep in the $300 6-max on Full Tilt today. For much of the end-game, I had a player on my right who I recognized from the 2+2 forums but whom I’d never played for. To the best of … Read more…
I don’t necessarily call here vs. randoms, but these two were both red pros and knowledgeable tournament players (Jon Turner and Mandy B). Against the, it’s a mandatory snap-call. Jon isn’t the wildest player in the world, but he has … Read more…
The FTOPS main event started at 3PM PST. I busted the NAPT around 3:20 and booked it back up to my room to late register. Obviously immediately after experience some bad luck in a big live tournament, I wasn’t in … Read more…
My starting table had not a lot of chips but a couple of notable players, including Owen “ocrowe” Crowe, Andrew Chen, Jonathan “driverseati” Tamayo, and Lauren Kling. We broke after less than an hour, but I still managed to play … Read more…
100/200, very young kid in CO opens to 450, I call with Js 9s in SB, relatively bad German calls in the BB. Flop Q c Tc 5s. I consider leading out but decide to check, and we check it … Read more…
Villain here is pokerjamers, a pretty standard Pocket Fives donkamenteur hero: PokerStars No-Limit Hold’em, 530 Tournament, 350/700 Blinds 85 Ante (6 handed) – Poker-Stars Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com CO (t40190) Hero (Button) (t65575) SB (t25644) BB (t66189) UTG (t192484) MP … Read more…
How not to play in the Sunday Million: PokerStars No-Limit Hold’em, $200+$15 Tournament, 25/50 Blinds (9 handed) – Poker-Stars Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com CO (t9600) Button (t10700) Hero (SB) (t9850) BB (t10000) UTG (t10000) UTG+1 (t10000) MP1 (t10000) MP2 (t9850) … Read more…
The first few levels of this tournament were pretty uneventful, but eventually I won a coin flip to get up to an average stack. Then I floated for a few hours, through the bubble, on twenty big blinds or so. … Read more…
From yesterday’s Sunday Million: PokerStars No-Limit Hold’em, $200+$15 Tournament, 600/1200 Blinds 100 Ante (9 handed) – Poker-Stars Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com Hero (BB) (t30683) UTG (t23180) UTG+1 (t69583) MP1 (t45234) MP2 (t42249) MP3 (t22891) CO (t38571) Button (t32005) SB (t14539) … Read more…
I pretty much never open limp, with the occasional exception of being in very early position, usually UTG, at a full ring table. This is particularly true in tournaments, because there is so much value in stealing the pot pre-flop … Read more…
Sorry I haven’t had the opportunity to put together my 2009 Resolutions yet- they’ll be coming soon… The Poker Stars Sunday Million (which now guarantees a $1.5 million prizepool and routinely clears that by a healthy margin) is comparable to … Read more…
I put in one of my longest online poker sessions ever yesterday, starting at 2PM to play the $256 FTOPS 6-max knockout event (ran like ass but as you’ll see I’ve got no room to complain), then making a deep … Read more…
Had a decent morning at the tables but the real brag is for the Boston Debate League, which was awarded today a $50,000 grant from the Carl and Ruth Shapiro Foundation. The grant will support the BDL’s work with debate … Read more…
The ninth Full Tilt Online Poker Series commenced on Wednesday with a $200 NLHE freezeout. I lasted only about two hours, and this was the closest thing to an interesting hand I could find: Full Tilt Poker, NL Hold’em Tournament, … Read more…
More often than not I end up regretting big moves like this in tournaments, but I think this one is alright. It worked, anyway. Full Tilt Poker, NL Hold’em Tournament, 120/240 Blinds, 25 Ante, 6 Players LeggoPoker.com – Hand History … Read more…
Ugh I can’t even tell you how gross the weather is in Boston right now. It is so humid, and my window fan is doing nothing. I really was in no mood to play poker today, and I think it … Read more…
Well, I final tabled the Stars $300 today, but I took 9th which was only good for under five buyins. I actually want to look at a hand from the FTP $50 1 rebuy/1 add-on (not sure why I played … Read more…
Sorry, forgot to post this before going to bed last night. If you haven’t read it already, here’s Part 1. I’d just won a series of big pots and was ready to abuse my commanding chip lead: Grrrrrrrr Min-Raise Full … Read more…
This is the third and final part in my review of a recent final table finish in the FTP $100 rebuy 6-max weekly tournament last Wednesday. If you haven’t already, check out Part 1 and Part 2. We were down … Read more…
I had a bunch of interesting hands from my final table run in the FTP $100 rebuy 6-max last night. Over the next few days, I’m going to post them here along with my analysis. Skipping the not-very-interesting rebuy period, … Read more…
I had a decent run in the monthly $500 on Stars today, though it ultimately ended in tragedy. As you’ll see, I had some lucky cooler situations early on, but there was usually at least an element of my opponent … Read more…
I got up big stacks in both the $200 UB and the $500 FTP tournaments today. The UB went south when I called a tiny raise from the CO with 64s in my BB. He had been active, we were … Read more…
I’ve never played this tournament before, but since I was going to be playing the FTOPS anyway, I decided to give it a go. I’ve generally assumed it would attract a fairly strong field and be a high-variance, low-profit venture. … Read more…
I think I might be trying a little too hard to make thin value bets, especially when I’ve already shown a lot of strength. People are generally pretty reluctant to make big river calls in tournaments, which means they either … Read more…
Although I’m running pretty low on cash on Poker Stars of late, I did have some $W sitting around, and since I don’t actually have a conflict with the European Poker Tour Dortmund event at the end of January, I … Read more…
This was an amazingly deep tournament, and I’m really disappointed not to have gone further in it. It was a $100 rebuy where $100 buys 2500 chips, and with blinds starting at 5/10, were sometimes 500BB+ deep when we started. … Read more…
The Ultimate Bet Online Championship commenced last night with a $200 6-max tournament. The great structure and the 6-max format meant there was a lot of room for post-flop maneuvering, and I felt I played very well for most of … Read more…