Posts Tagged ‘Las Vegas’

Since we’ve got a lot of new visitors at Thinking Poker, and probably a lot of people who haven’t read my more monolithic trip reports (understandable), I’m going to start reprinting select stories that are buried in much longer narratives but that I consider among my best. This article is part of that series, so apologies to those who have already seen it. If you have suggestions for other stories that deserve to be reprinted with their own dedicated post, please leave a comment!

Excerpted from my WSOP 2007 Trip Report:

I am sitting in a 5/10 game at the Rio when this giant tool takes a seat next to me. He’s got the sunglasses, the hair gel, fashionably unbuttoned shirt, and a ball cap that reads “Philly” in what I guess was supposed to look like graffiti letters. He clearly thinks he’s hot shit as he takes a fat roll of bills from his pocket and peels off twenty. Then, in completely unballer fashion, he thinks better of it, puts half the bills back, and buys in for $1000.  Read the complete post...

I’ve finally gotten around to adding some more of my poker strategy articles and World Series of Poker trip reports to the archive. The sad part is that my girlfriend/webmaster does all the work, all I have to do is give her the stuff when it’s ready to go up, and I can’t even be bothered to do that consistently. Anyway, here’s what’s new:

Hand Reading Made Simple- By far my requested article ever, this one outlines a simple method for categorizing an opponent’s hand as strong, marginal, or weak/drawing. It also explores some of the applications of this information in common no-limit hold ‘em situations.

Debunking Myths About Implied Odds- This poker theory article offers some new thinking about one of the most important concepts in big bet poker, especially no-limit hold ‘em, and debunks some common misunderstandings and mistakes.  Read the complete post...

Part 1| Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4

Off to a Good Start

On Day 3 of the World Series of Poker, I was feeling good. Nearly 6500 players entered the tournament, and now more than two-thirds of them had been sent packing. With roughly 2000 of us remaining, there was finally room for everyone to play on the same day. It had been a week since I played my first day, but now there were no more days off. Everybody would be playing every day until he lost his chips or there were only nine remaining.

Day 2 had been harrowing. I’d come in short stacked, and despite opposition so tough that Poker News called mine the “Table of Death”, I’d managed to finish the day with just over 90,000 chips, putting me right around the average.  Read the complete post...

Part 1| Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4

Ego and Variance

The most difficult thing about playing poker for a living, far more difficult than being good at cards, is dealing with the ups and downs. Although I’ve always ended up with a nice income at the end of the year, I have periods every year where it feels like nothing is going my way and I am losing tons of money. Even after experiencing them multiple times, I still find it difficult to keep a clear head during these “downswings”. This is probably due in part to the fact that for the last few years I have been playing ever higher stakes, meaning that each year brings the necessity of getting used to winning and losing larger sums.  Read the complete post...

Part 1| Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4

Jack Links and NASCAR

The 2009 World Series of Poker was presented by Jack Links Beef Jerky. It takes some effort to step down from Milwaukee’s Best, the presenting sponsor for the past few years, but when a man in a Sasquatch costume appeared on stage to speak, or more accurately to growl, “Shuffle Up and Deal!”, it was apparent that Harrah’s had pulled it off.

Jeffrey Pollack, the commissioner of the WSOP, is a man with an admirable mission and an enormous task: to bring poker into the mainstream of American sports culture. A lot has been accomplished in this regard, much but not all of which can be attributed to Pollack: poker programming has appeared not only on ESPN but on such diverse networks as GSN, Fox Sports, the Travel Channel, and even NBC. The most prominent players are household names, and the WSOP itself is a two-month long spectacle that attracts tens of thousands of players and quite a few spectators as well.  Read the complete post...

Part 1| Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4

Just before takeoff, the pilot announces that we are scheduled to arrive at about 11PM local, at which time the temperature will be 104 degrees. For the fourth year in a row, I’m spending the middle of the summer in the middle of the desert, braving the blistering hot sun to compete in the World Series of Poker (WSOP).

It’s surreal to think that three years ago, I was a young kid, barely out of college, who took a flyer on a qualifying tournament on the internet. Though even then I was earning a modest living at poker, I rarely wagered more than $200 at a time. I was more than thrilled when, with an investment of just a few hundred dollars, I won a seat in the $10,000 buy-in Main Event of the World Series of Poker. Though more than a little intimidated by the stakes and the competition, I was lucky enough to finish 279th place, winning almost $40,000 for my trouble. I’ve been back every year since, and remarkably, I’ve managed to win something every year, most recently finishing 35th in the 2008 tournament and winning nearly $200,000.  Read the complete post...

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 a few interesting pots. Also, a very friendly reader named Mark (hi, Mark) recognized me from the Blog and introduced himself, which was cool. A kid at the PCA recognized my voice from Poker Savvy, but I think this is the first time a blog reader I didn’t already know has recognized me.

500/1000/100, I open complete 73o in the SB, Lauren checks.

Flop Ks Js Jc, I check planning to call a bet and bluff river. She checks behind.

Turn 7c, I check, she bets 3000, I call.

River 9d, we check, I show my hand, and it’s good. Owen comments on my playing 73o and predicts that I won’t be giving a lot of walks.  Read the complete post...

75/150 I limp UTG with Ac Qc. Folds to the SB, who completes, and BB checks.

Flop Js Td 9s. Checks to me, I bet 300, SB calls. I think he can have any pair and even a few draws that I’m beating.

Turn 2d. He checks, I bet 900 expecting him to fold anything worse than a pair of Jacks that doesn’t also have a draw.

River 6h. He checks, I bet 1400 expecting him to fold most of his one pair hands. He calls with J9, which is fine.

75/150, I have been very tight but choose to raise to 450 with Jc9c in MP. Jon calls on my left, bad player calls on the CO, spazzy guy calls on the Button, blinds fold.

Flop Js Td 8s. Checks around to button, who bets 600. I call, the others fold.

Turn 6c, we both check.  Read the complete post...