Post Archives Tag: bad beat

WCOOP Day 16 ($530 NLHE, $109 NLHE Day 2)

Monday was going to be a day off, but since I was going to be playing Day 2 of the $109 anyway, I decided to reg a few other tournaments, including the $530 NLHE WCOOP. That one got off to a good start, but I soon ended up in a … Read full post

Mont Tremblant

WCOOP Day 10 ($530 NLHE and $215 6-Max Zoom)

I took Tuesday as a proper vacation day. Emily and I drove to Mont Tremblant, a ski resort about 45 minutes north of where we’re staying, to hike and get dinner. It was a nice drive deeper into the mountains, with the leaves already beginning to turn. Resorts aren’t really … Read full post

WCOOP Day 8 ($215 rebuy, $530 NLHE)

This was the second Sunday of WCOOP. There was actually a $1050 6-max that I ended up skipping. It started several hours earlier than everything else I wanted to play, and it didn’t seem quite good enough to build my entire schedule around. Sundays are (hopefully) long days already, and … Read full post

WCOOP Day 3 ($215 Rebuy, $530 Super Tuesday)

The $215 rebuy started with a bang, as I got all in on the flop on the very first hand holding KJ vs QJ on JJT, only to get rivered for a stack. Not really a big deal, it was a $215 bad beat, but it set that “every damn … Read full post

WCOOP Day 2 ($215 PLO 6-Max, $1050 PKO, $530 8-max NLHE)

Emily and I did some extensive grocery shopping in the morning, returning in just enough time for me to squeeze in a quick workout before the start of the $1050 Progressive Knock-Out. I late registered the $215 PLO around the same time. I’m barely competent at PLO, but I do … Read full post

Second in the WPTDS $570

There’s a World Poker Tour Deep Stacks series running at Maryland Live right now, and last night I managed to take second in one of the prelim events, a $570 multi-flight NLHE tournament. This was despite a shaky start where a questionable (Who am I kidding? There’s no question about … Read full post

Suicide Shove

This is the “absurd” hand I referenced on Twitter yesterday. I want to be clear that I’m not posting this as an example of a hand that seems bad but I think is actually good. It was a badly played hand, I don’t have any delusions about that. I do … Read full post

WSOP $1500 Bounty

I got off to a good start in this tournament, doubling through (but not quite stacking, and therefore not winning a bounty from, a tough player on my right). I tanked a bit on the river decision, even though I was pretty sure I was calling, and that seemed to … Read full post

WSOP $1000 NLHE

My second event of the 2016 World Series of Poker was the $1000 No-Limit Hold ‘Em. With just 100 big blinds to start, this tournament goes quick, which makes it great for the hourly rate but not particularly interesting, poker-wise anyway (the people watching can be extraordinary).

Still, I got … Read full post

The Thinking Poker Diaries, Volume 8 Now Available!

vol8threedeeThe eighth installment in my Thinking Poker Diaries series, which tells the story of my summers at the World Series of Poker, is now available. Unlike past volumes, this one covers many preliminary events as well as the 2013 Main Event. In particular, includes a report from the $1500 PLO8 … Read full post

Battle of the Bay, Part 2

Based on how risk-averse everyone seemed to be during the latter half of Day 1, I expected the start of Day 2, with 43 people competing for 40 prizes, to go quite slowly. In fact, we saw four eliminations in three hands, and just like that, the bubble was over.… Read full post

Just Released! The Thinking Poker Diaries Volume 6

cover_7fcd65a2-b494-44c9-ad82-075a3bdad5f6_grandeMy sixth e-book tells the story of my 2011 World Series of Poker Main Event, in which I finished 53rd. Like the other volumes, it features an entertaining trip report from the tournament interspersed with essays discussing strategic concepts that play an important role in each day’s success.

Pick up … Read full post

Thinking Poker Diaries, Volume 5

Depending on your definition of exciting, you might be interested to hear that my latest book has hit the digital shelves! The fifth volume of The Thinking Poker Diaries chronicles my 87th place finish the 2010 WSOP Main Event. Day by day, it introduces the situations and opponents I encountered … Read full post

WSOP $1K Turbo

Delightful little tournament. As in the Millionaire Maker the day before, I found plenty of good spots in a short amount of time and finished with time left over to play cash.

The table was, perhaps not quite as good as the previous day’s, but pretty spectacular. I made good … Read full post

SCOOP Day 15: The Final Sunday

The first High event I played was the $2K 8-max. I once again found myself bet-folding a strong hand on the river to a strange raise that represented only an improbable value hand or even more improbable bluff:

PokerStars – $2000+$100|200/400 Ante 50 NL (8 max) – Holdem – 8 … Read full post

SCOOP Day 2: Heads Up and Full Ring Rebuy

I decided to unregister the Low buy-in heads up event, because heads up really isn’t a game I can autopilot in the corner of my screen the way I’ve generally been doing with the Low events, and I didn’t want to be distracted from a $700 heads up match by … Read full post

SCOOP Day 1: Warm-Up, 6M Progressive, and Sunday Million

As I now live on the west coast, I decided to do Vancouver instead of Montreal for my online pokering. I’ve barely been here 24 hours, and the weather has been beautiful, but I do miss the familiarity I have with Montreal, and the ease of getting around the city … Read full post

Not Quite the Nuts

Villain joined the game around 5PM and immediately ordered a beer and a double shot of Petron, which made me happy to have him on my immediate right. He was a typical splashy recreational player, limping into a lot of pots, sometimes folding to raises, sometimes calling and check-folding flops … Read full post

$9000 Pot at $5/$10 NL

A few people asked about this pot after I bragged about it on Twitter, so here it is, pretty sure it’s the largest pot I’ve won at $5/$10 (not counting straddled pots). I’ll talk about some of the more unconventional decisions after I recount the details.

UTG opens to $40, … Read full post

Best of the Thinking Poker Podcast 2014

Nate and I are grateful to those of you who have listened to The Thinking Poker Podcast this year, whether you’re a regular follower, a sporadic listener, or just now discovering the show. I’ve compiled a list of some of my favorite episodes of the year, in case you missed … Read full post

WCOOP Live Play Videos

Now appearing on Tournament Poker Edge is a series of videos I recorded live while playing the World Championship of Online Poker. This is the first live recording I’ve done in years and my first ever for TPE. The bulk of the footage is me playing in various Knockout events, … Read full post

The Thinking Poker Diaries, Volume 1

I’m excited to announce, to those who missed the news on Twitter and the podcast, that I’ve finally published a book! It’s based on my 2006 World Series of Poker Main Event, and it’s actually the first in a series of e-books compiling updated and revised versions of my most … Read full post

Taking the Initiative

I’m often asked about donk betting or when to take the initiative away from an opponent who’s been betting or raising. My usual answer is that you should bet when you have reason to think your opponent is unlikely to bet the next street and you don’t want to give … Read full post

Finding New Ways to Run Bad

I can count on one hand the number of times I’ve called with a bluff-catcher and lost to a hand my opponent thought he was bluffing with. I’ve been on the good end of such situations a bit more often, including at the final table of the FTOPS that I … Read full post

Checking the Nut Flush Draw

This is something I do sometimes. There are often exploitive reasons for it, but I do also think it’s good to be capable of making a flush on the turn when you check back the flop. This hand from the $300 Ante Up WCOOP illustrates why:

PokerStars – $300+$20|5/5 Ante … Read full post

What’s Your Plan? Good Draw, Lots of Interest

What's Your Play?

Edit: Sorry, typo in the original post. The SB completed pre-flop, he did not fold, which is how he was able to bet the flop.

This is from a $5/$10 NLHE live game. Opponents are some combination of intimidated by and annoyed with Hero, who has won a lot of … Read full post

Episode 86: WSOP Hands with Leo Wolpert

Nate’s no longer in Vegas, but Andrew and Leo Wolpert sit down during Day 6 of the Main Event to talk about their own deep runs in the WSOP as well as some key hands from their 2014 tournament.

Read full post

LOL Liveaments

The WSOP is right around the corner, so bone up on your live tournament skills with my new Tournament Poker Edge series, LOL Liveaments. It’s a review of key hands from a $1000 tournament that I final tabled at my local casino. Although I’m not the world’s biggest expert … Read full post

SCOOP Week 2 Update

Sorry for the lack of updates. I’ve just been playing all day every day, but I’ve decided to take today off so here’s the rundown:

Monday

I played all three of the Action Hour tournaments. For those who don’t know, these are tournaments where the blinds go up very quickly … Read full post

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