Posts Tagged ‘Poker Savvy’

Despite nearly 2000 runners, there was actually $44,000 of overlay in this one. Perhaps fewer people used their rebuy than Stars expected? I made a bit of a run, finishing 90th. I liked the structure on this one a lot. It felt deep the whole way but at least after 9 hours we were well into the money and progressing at a good clip. Better than playing 9 hours in the $1K yesterday and finishing not even that close to the bubble.

But I digress. I got up a big stack and then blew a good chunk of it off to fellow Poker Savvy Plus instructor Siola with a questionable play:

PokerStars No-Limit Hold’em, 320 Tournament, 800/1600 Blinds 200 Ante (9 handed) – Poker-Stars Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

Button (t60440)
Hero (SB) (t132402)
BB (t65313)
UTG (t50744)
UTG+1 (t15300)
MP1 (t29189)
MP2 (t104493)
MP3 (t42716)
CO (t14914)

Hero’s M: 31.52

Preflop: Hero is SB with 9, Q
3 folds, MP2 bets t3200, 3 folds, Hero raises to t9999, 1 fold, MP2 calls t6799

Flop: (t23398) 3, 3, 7 (2 players)
Hero bets t17777, MP2 calls t17777

Turn: (t58952) K (2 players)
Hero checks, MP2 checks

River: (t58952) 7 (2 players)
Hero bets t44444, MP2 raises to t76517 (All-In), Hero folds

Total pot: t147840  Read the complete post...

Oddly, as much thought as I’ve put into the more than 100 instructional poker videos I’ve made and the many more I plan to make, I’ve never actually asked my audience what they like to see in a poker video.

So… I’m doing that now. In your opinion, what makes for a good poker video? Do you learn more from hand examples, power points, theory discussions, watching a full session, etc.? What do you want to see more of? What feels like a waste of time? What makes you turn off a video without finishing it? I’m interested in any and all comments, criticism, and advice. Thanks!

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 at my starting table, and the last few tables were downright tough. The competition was if anything over-aggressive, but there are worse mistakes to make. Speaking of over-aggressive:

PokerStars No-Limit Hold’em, 162 Tournament, 1500/3000 Blinds 375 Ante (6 handed) – Poker-Stars Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

Hero (BB) (t64393)
UTG (t286807)
MP (t283047)
CO (t165436)
Button (t59865)
SB (t164471)

Hero’s M: 9.54

Preflop: Hero is BB with 8, 9
1 fold, MP bets t6600, CO calls t6600, 2 folds, Hero calls t3600

Flop: (t23550) 7, 5, 6 (3 players)
Hero checks, MP bets t10990, CO calls t10990, Hero raises to t57418 (All-In), MP raises to t276072 (All-In), CO calls t147471 (All-In)

Turn: (t397890) J (3 players, 3 all-in)

River: (t397890) 2 (3 players, 3 all-in)

Total pot: t397890

Results:
Hero had 8, 9 (straight, nine high).
MP had 8, A (high card, Ace).
CO had 5, 5 (three of a kind, fives).
Outcome: Hero won t195804, CO won t202086  Read the complete post...

The first in a series of four videos reviewing my play at the final table of the FTOPS $2K event that I won has just been posted on Poker Savvy Plus. The video contains a lot of insight into managing final table dynamics. Without giving too much away, I can tell you that I spend some time as a short stack, some time as a medium stack, and some time as a dominatingly large stack. The series explores my thoughts on how best to handle each of these situations at a final table.

If you aren’t yet a member, now’s a great time to sign up for a 7-day free trial!

Please be sure to let me know what you think of the videos.

Last night, as I was sleep-deprived and caffeine-jittery and getting deep in the $300 SCOOP 4-Max, I was also on the phone with Mike Johnson and Adam Schwartz, hosts of the 2+2 Pokercast on which I am this week’s feature guest! You can search for it on iTunes or listen here to hear me talk strategy, offer some life advice to all those young poker pros out there, and even play a hand with the nuts live on the air! I haven’t actually listened to the episode yet myself, but apparently the guys also talk about the latest debacle at UB/AP.

Please let me know what you think!

As “The Poker Philosopher”, and in honor of one of my favorite non-poker blogs, I occasionally consider the ethical dimensions of a high-profile controversy in the poker community. In September, I discussed Joe Sebok’s decision to join Team Ultimate Bet. In November, I examined a $50,000 $W swap gone wrong (or right, depending on which party you ask). This month, I consider the multiple accounts of Nick “Stoxtrader” Grudzien. In the interest of full disclosure, I’ll state up front that I work for Poker Savvy Plus, a video training site that competes with Grudzien’s Stoxpoker. I also believe that I have played against several of Grudzien’s accounts without knowing that they were the same person. While I don’t believe either of these facts colors my view of the situation, I’ll leave the reader to be the final authority on that.

The latest scandal to rock the online poker world is Nick “Stoxtrader” Grudzien’s admission that he has played under multiple screennames on both Poker Stars and Full Tilt Poker. According to his post in the 2+2 thread on the subject:

In the last few days various allegations have been made that I have played on multiple accounts on FTP and Stars and that by doing so I have violated the terms and conditions of the sites and also cheated in ways including colluding. The relevant facts are:  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.

I open raise to 2400 with Ad 2d on the Button, Owen calls on the BB.

Flop Kd 9d 5c. He checks, I bet 3300, he calls.

Turn 8d, he bets into me 6400. This is close, but in retrospect I think a big raise to 24K or so is best (I have about 50K behind). He’s never getting away from any flush and may stack off with two-pair or worse putting me on a semi-bluff. However, I called.  Read the complete post...

45 runners in the $500 PLO8 today, and yours truly managed to final table it, finishing 8th (we were playing 8-handed) for a whopping $875. Also at the final table was my friend and fellow Poker Savvy Plus instructor Tom Chambers, who finished 4th after a series of gross suckouts by every other player at the table. Tom assures me it was not good to get it in with AcQcTx8x for 14BB’s UTG+1 early at the final table (my bustout hand).

Two other moderately interesting hands:

50/100, I open to 300 with AA64, solid online guy on the button calls, decent slightly passive European lady calls on BB. Flop Q95r, she checks, I bet 600, Button calls, she check-raises pot, I have a pretty standard fold.

100/200, four limpers, I check Q246 in the BB. Flop Kh Qh 2c (I have no hearts). Checks around.

Turn Kh Qh 2c 7d. I check, first limper checks, same lady from before bets 500, gets one fold. I have about 3K in my stack and fold, but I am not so sure this was good. I think check-raising probably gets me a fold maybe 20-25% of the time, and while I’m not ahead of her calling range, it’s very difficult for her to be ahead of me for both high and low.  Read the complete post...