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In this all-strategy episode, Nate and Andrew discuss ICM and Risk Premium in non-hold ’em games, then Andrew talks about bluffing, bluff-catching, and tiny continuation bets.
Support the podcast and get daily strategy segments at www.patreon.com/thinkingpokerdaily.
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Cory Mikesell is a professional poker player, a chess master, a writer, and the author of 3Bet Pots Game Theory and Practice. We talk about his struggles, his successes, and how thoroughly he’s thrown himself into everything he’s done.
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
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Daniel Wolf AKA Clarence AKA Baby Dick is a professional poker player. Originally from Pittsburgh, he now lives and plays in Maryland. We talk to him about having fun at the table, jumping back and forth between 2/5 and 25/50 no limit, … Read full post
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Tommy Angelo is back to talk about “speech play”, stalling, and other ways your opponents can annoy you at the table, if you let them. Plus we’ll get an update on his latest book, Painless Poker, and his meeting with Carlos Welch… Read full post
I guess this is kind of old news now, but the World Series Of Poker is off to an exciting start for Nate and me! Two of our (somewhat) recent guests have already won gold bracelets, and even more excitingly, both bracelets were firsts for their recipients! Congratulations to Ryan … Read full post
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Nikolai Yakovenko is a highly accomplished poker player and computer scientist. We talk to him about artificial intelligence, his Open Face Chinese Poker app, playing in Bobby’s Room, preparing for the Annual Computer Poker Competition, and the Computer Poker Research … Read full post
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Jamie Kerstetter is a lawyer-turned-poker-pro with a long and colorful career. She talks about her decision to go pro, her first experiences playing live poker, moving to Mexico after Black Friday, the East Coast poker scene, the New Jersey online poker scene … Read full post
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Ben “ProfessorBen” Yu is an accomplished multi-table tournament player with three WSOP final tables to his name across a variety of games. He talks to us about ditching school to play poker, ditching poker to play Magic, and learning to play a … Read full post
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
On Friday nights, when there’s generally a bigger-than-usual hold ’em game at my local casino, they also get some PLO action going, which is nice because sitting in a $1/$3 PLO game while I wait for a seat is a lot more interesting than sitting at $1/$3 NLHE and it … Read full post
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Roy Bhasin is a professional poker player and a member of PokerStars Team Online who specializes in pot-limit omaha cash games. He talks to us about how he got into poker, how he got into PLO, and how he got into self-improvement … Read full post
I’ve finally finished reviewing John Beauprez’s PLO QuickPro Manual, though I feel I’ve only begun reading it. It’s an extremely dense and thorough book, which is what you deserve for shelling out $297 though not always what the authors of expensive poker books deliver. If you’re willing to invest … Read full post
Edit: I awarded John a bracelet in the wrong event.
John “KasinoKrime” Beauprez, winner of the 2013 $5000 pot-limit omaha $1500 no-limt hold ’em 6-max WSOP event, will be our guest on Episode 43 of the podcast. In addition to talking to him about his poker career and the excitement … Read full post
My latest poker strategy article, “A Different Kind of Slowplaying“, is now appearing in Cardplayer. Here’s a little taste of what you’ll find there:
Particularly in big-bet games like no-limit hold‘em and pot-limit Omaha, failing to build the pot and missing out on a bet are potentially very … Read full post
Q: I recently read Andrew Seidman’s response to a question about the key to become a winning poker player. His statement was simple and direct: “Don’t pay off.”
This advice hit me right in the face, given how frequently I look up a big river bet even when I’m pretty … Read full post
Tri Nguyen just came out with a new book that has more in common with Barry Greenstein’s Ace on the River than with a strategy manual. Here’s the long and short of what I had to say about it:
… Read full postHow I Made My First Million From Poker is all over
…but this guy managed. He almost got there, too:
PokerStars Pot-Limit Omaha High, $1.00 BB (6 handed) Hand History converter Courtesy of PokerZion.com
Button ($170.35)
Hero ($250)
BB ($1351.95)
UTG ($258.90)
MP ($456.15)
CO ($96.50)
Preflop: Hero is SB with 7c, As, 5h, Ac.
UTG calls $1, MP raises to … Read full post
My latest poker strategy article, Slowplaying, is a meditation on a variety of topics related to slowplaying: what it costs you, when to do it, which types of boards and opponents are best, etc. Here’s an excerpt from the introduction:
“[Y]ou must weigh the advantages of slowplaying against what … Read full post
PokerStars Pot-Limit Omaha High, $1.00 BB (6 handed) Hand History converter Courtesy of PokerZion.com
MP ($263.80)
CO ($250)
Button ($362.30)
SB ($264.20)
Hero ($250)
UTG ($166.90)
Preflop: Hero is BB with Ah, 4c, Ac, Tc.
UTG calls $1, 1 fold, CO raises to $5.2, Button calls $5.20, SB … Read full post
BTN and SB both seem fishy, not just because of their stacks but because they are respectively 100/20 and 55/9, albeit over small samples. I felt like they’d both have a lot of random crap and I could drive them out of the pot and get it heads up with … Read full post
I didn’t realize it at the time or I would have raised the flop, but this is one of those interesting PLO situations where my draw is a pretty solid favorite against the nuts:
PokerStars Pot-Limit Omaha High, $1.00 BB (6 handed) Hand History converter Courtesy of PokerZion.com
UTG ($339.20)… Read full post
I figured Villain’s river range was nuts/bluffs, and given that this was a backdoor draw and the flop draws missed, there’d be enough bluffs to warrant a call. I hadn’t counted on this:
PokerStars Pot-Limit Omaha High, $1.00 BB (5 handed) Hand History converter Courtesy of PokerZion.com
Button ($655.40)
SB … Read full post
My girlfriend was kind enough to let me plan our Valentine’s Day around an interview with Mike and Adam. We spoke for a little over half an hour about all kinds of stuff: blogging, coaching, traveling, and of course strategy.
My only regret is with regard to the last question … Read full post
PokerStars Pot-Limit Omaha High, $1.00 BB (5 handed) Hand History converter Courtesy of PokerZion.com
Hero ($288.45)
BB ($99.70)
UTG ($238.20)
MP ($110.80)
Button ($250)
Preflop: Hero is SB with Qh, Kh, Jc, Ts.
2 folds, Button raises to $2.5, Hero raises to $9.5, 1 fold, Button … Read full post
Villain is an excellent NLHE player and surely competent enough to read my hand and play well in this spot. I feel like there are no just good options with my hand on a flop like this because it’s essentially face up.
PokerStars Pot-Limit Omaha High, $2 BB (5 handed) … Read full post
In NLHE, I pretty much always choose to call rather than re-raise-get-it-in when I have position and suspect some sort of coinflip situation (overs vs. pair pre-flop, top pair vs. big draw on the flop, etc.). I figure that between position and superior skill, I ought to be able to … Read full post
This is the fifth and final part of my Setting Effective New Year’s Resolutions for Poker Success series. If you haven’t already, please check out Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, and Part 4.
Today’s goals are smarter and not particularly similar to each other, but this … Read full post
It’s been a while, but with only one month left in the year, it’s time to assess my progress on my goals for the year and consider how I should allocate my remaining time.
Goal 1: Average 15 Hours/Week Playing My “Regular” Games
PokerStars No-Limit Hold’em, $4.00 BB (5 handed) – Poker-Stars Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com
Hero (BB) ($400)
UTG ($400)
MP ($300)
Button ($414)
SB ($425)
Preflop: Hero is BB with 10
, A
2 folds, Button bets $12, 1 fold, Hero calls $8
Flop: ($26) 6… Read full post
Even after days when I’m totally immersed in poker, it’s pretty rare for me to dream about the game (or to remember those dreams, anyway). I’m sure it’s happened before, but I can’t recall any specific instances. I had two such dreams last night, though.
… Read full postIn the first, I raised
My One Minute Recommendation: The Pot Limit Omaha Book: Transitioning from NLHE to PLO scores a 9/10. There are probably better books for all-around poker noobs, but experienced NLHE players looking to get better at “the other big bet game” would be hard-pressed to find a better resource.
The Good:… Read full post
I think this has been out for a few days, but I just noticed that Poker Stars has posted a tentative schedule for a yet-to-be-named tournament series in April. I love the format of offering a low-, medium-, and high-stakes option for every tournament and am frankly staggered that they … Read full post
Resolution One: Keep Grinding NLHE Cash Games
This is my bread and butter game, and even if I don’t do anything to improve, just maintaining my current winrate and putting in hours will be very valuable to me. Of course I do want to get better, but my general focus … Read full post
At the beginning of last year, I set some poker resolutions and goals for myself. It’s time now to see how I’ve fared during the course of 2008. Yesterday, I posted about my resolution to Focus on Short-Handed No-Limit Hold ‘Em Cash Games.
Resolution 2: Keep Getting Better at … Read full post
I was actually only in for $400 because I didn’t rebuy immediately. Only one person at my table did this, and I decided that Omaha being a high variance game, my one rebuy would be more useful to me as an insurance policy than as an immediate add-on. However, I … Read full post
Didn’t get many NLHE cash games in this month. The month started with FTOPS, so I was playing more tournaments than usual. It wasn’t a good series for me, but I was doing alright on the side. Then I spent the second half of the month running a summer camp … Read full post
Two kind of interesting spots from a recent PLO session. They don’t have much in common other than the fact that both involve AAxx hands.
Full Tilt Poker
Pot Limit Omaha Ring game
Blinds: $2/$4
6 players
Converter
Stack sizes:
UTG: $616.70
UTG+1: $236
CO: $345
Button: $806.40
Hero: $1024.30… Read full post
I’m not great at PLO, but I played the $500 PLO 6-max FTOPS event because I want to get better and I was sure there would be plenty of worse players. There were. Unfortunately, they ran good:
Full Tilt Poker
Pot Limit Omaha Ring game
Blinds: $20/$40
6 players
Converter… Read full post
Full Tilt Poker
Pot Limit Omaha Ring game
Blinds: $2/$4
5 players
Converter
Pre-flop: (5 players) Hero is SB with :9d :9s :8c :8h
UTG calls, CO raises to $11, Button calls, Hero calls, BB calls, UTG calls.
Flop: :6d :ks :9c ($55, 5 players)… Read full post
I almost didn’t play the $500 PLO 6-max, but a few people convinced me I should, and I’m glad I did. The field was really weak, and it was a lot of fun to boot. Well, except for losing a monster pot, but I’m getting ahead of myself. For a … Read full post
This was a $200 PLO tournament with a $40 bounty. Predictably, there were a ton of people playing trashy hands. I imagine a really good PLO player could have done a lot more to take advantage of that, but the best I could do was tighten up and try to … Read full post
This is a pretty consistent problem for me:
Poker Stars
Pot Limit Omaha Ring game
Blinds: $2/$4
6 players
Converter
Stack sizes:
UTG: $302.70
UTG+1: $361.75
CO: $338
Foucault: $400
SB: $76
BB: $304
Pre-flop: (6 players) Foucault is Button with 
2 folds, CO raises to $12… Read full post
In Pot Limit Omaha, hand values tend to run close, which means that people often do not fold to re-raises. Consequently, a lot of players will never reraise without Aces, and any time you do re-raise, your thinking opponents will put you on Aces. By occasionally re-raising with other hands, … Read full post
This was a $200 PLHE/PLO mixed event. I was thinking it would be pretty juice because of how poorly even some of the better hold ’em players would do in the PLO portion, and boy was I right. Unfortunately, I didn’t get much chance to push my edge. I lost … Read full post
In his Closing Thoughts, Jeff Hwang comments on what motivated him to write Pot Limit Omaha Poker: The Big Play Strategy:
… Read full post“…nowhere in poker literature was truly useful instructions on where to start. Everybody says the same thing: Play four cards that work together, A-A-J-T and A-A-K-K are the
Too Thin
Full Tilt Poker Pot-Limit , $6 BB (6 handed) Hand History converter Courtesy of PokerZion.com
BB ($386.55)
UTG ($428.05)
Hero ($986.50)
CO ($618.45)
Button ($249.30)
SB ($538.15)
Preflop: Hero is MP with 5d, 6d, As, Ah.
1 fold, Hero raises to $21, CO calls $21, 1 … Read full post
Full Tilt Poker Pot-Limit , $6 BB (5 handed) Hand History converter Courtesy of PokerZion.com
MP ($425.65)
Button ($588)
Hero ($620.55)
BB ($388.55)
UTG ($978.80)
Preflop: Hero is SB with 7c, 5h, 8s, 9h.
3 folds, Hero raises to $18, BB calls $12.
Flop: ($36) Ac, Js, 2h … Read full post
Full Tilt Poker Pot-Limit , $6 BB (5 handed) Hand History converter Courtesy of PokerZion.com
Button ($819.45)
SB ($1382.40)
BB ($604.65)
Hero ($837)
MP ($813)
Preflop: Hero is UTG with Kh, Ac, Ah, 7d.
Hero raises to $21, MP calls $21, Button calls $21, 2 folds.
Flop: ($72) … Read full post
Since I’m trying to improve my Pot Limit Omaha game right now, I found this to be one of the more useful Full Tilt Tips from the Pros. Brandon Adams argues that,
“
One of the best bluffing opportunities in Omaha comes on paired boards, but to pull this … Read full post
Full Tilt Poker
Pot Limit Omaha Ring game
Blinds: $3/$6
6 players
Converter
Stack sizes:
UTG: $676.15
UTG+1: $598.20
Hero: $658.70
Button: $535.30
SB: $110.95
BB: $251.10
Pre-flop: (6 players) Hero is CO with :td :as :qs :qd
UTG folds, UTG+1 raises to $21, Hero calls, Button … Read full post
I haven’t set up Poker Tracker Omaha to record UB HH’s, so this is from memory. But it was a PLO tournament, and while I’ve been doing well in 6-max PLO cash games, I don’t have a lot of full ring experience. I still think I was playing pretty well, … Read full post
Chris Ferguson’s introduction to the game of Pot Limit Omaha is strongly grounded in mathematics and game theory, just what you’d expect from the computer science PhD. It’s a little light on tournament theory for a chapter in a tournament strategy guide, but it does a very good job of … Read full post
I make a lot of continuation bets in PLO, but other than that, it can be tricky to pull off a bluff. The biggest mistake most players make is overvaluing hands that are strong in Hold ‘Em but marginal in Omaha, so once they call one street, they usually don’t … Read full post
Poker Stars
Pot Limit Omaha Ring game
Blinds: $2/$4
5 players
Converter
Stack sizes:
CO: $784.95
Button: $146.10
SB: $662.20
Foucault: $702.30
UTG: $397.40
Pre-flop: (5 players) Foucault is BB with :4s :2d :3s :5d
UTG raises to $12, CO calls, Button folds, SB calls Foucault calls.… Read full post