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Paul Runge and his wife LeAnn own and operate the Bend Poker Club. We talk to him about the politics and particulars of Oregon’s social gaming regulations and the business of running a poker club.
Timestamps
0:30 hello & welcome
4:46 strategy… Read full post
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
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Andrew tackles the mailbox alone this week, reviewing three no-limit hands played in small stakes games.
Strategy
Hand 1
I’m in MP with 9c9d, a stack of $5.56 and raise to 15c, it folds around to the SB with a stack of … Read full post
The Backstory
I’m currently in Maryland visiting family and have been to Maryland Live a few times. It’s been quite busy; even when I arrived around 4 yesterday there was already a long list for 5/10 and 10/25 and no open tables to start a new game. So, I ended … Read full post
The 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
Nate Meyvis’s latest book, Thinking Tournament Poker Volume Two, which covers his second day of play in the 2014 WSOP Main Event, has just hit the virtual shelves! It features Nate’s own analysis of virtually every pot he entered that day, plus additional commentary from myself, Leo Wolpert, and … Read full post
As you’ve probably figured out right now, there was no new podcast this week. We’ve got one coming tomorrow (Monday February 1) though! In the meantime, here’s another free strategy video from last month’s fundraising campaign. I realized all the videos so far have been from MTTs, so this … Read full post
Just in time for Christmas, the latest volume in The Thinking Poker Diaries is here. Whether you’re looking for a last-minute gift or an escape from the family, this mix of trip reports and strategy essays from the 2012 WSOP Main Event is just the ticket! It’s an honest and … Read full post
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Clayton Fletcher, who first appeared on Episode 74, is back to discuss his 96th place finish in the 2015 WSOP Main Event. Hear how he celebrated, how he dealt with a sudden reversal of fortune, and how his other career in stand-up … Read full post
My 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
Thanks to everyone who commented on What’s Your Play? Big Draw, Short Stack. It got a lot more attention than I expected!
Folding is an Opportunity, Not a Cost
Props to those of you who mentioned the relevant toy game from Mathematics of Poker. That was the first … Read full post
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
Sorry I haven’t posted any Main Event updates. First I was competing, then I was apoplectic. I’ll start with the good news: Carlos Welch, Nate Meyvis, and Leo Wolpert all squeaked into the money but did not survive Day 3.
Nate folded to Queens to two shoves that turned … Read full post
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This isn’t a proper podcast episode, but it’s better than nothing! Andrew goes solo, with no co-host, no editor, and no bumper music (or, perhaps, worse than no bumper music). He talks about his World Series of Poker so far and discusses … Read full post
I just finished 120th in this, out of 1600 or so. It was a fun and interesting tournament, and I want to share a few hands here while they’re still on my mind:
Facing a Donk Bet
I opened 2.5x from the CO with As Tc, a good player in … Read full post
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Andrew and Nate talk about Andrew’s recent friction entering Canada to play online poker, then review two hands from early Spring Championship of Online Poker events.
Strategy
Hand 1
PokerStars – $1000+$50|30/60 Ante 5 NL – Holdem – 9 players
Hand converted … Read full post
I made a pretty bad fold last night. I’m more than a bit embarrassed to post it, and I’ll just ask that those of you not familiar with the sort of game/player described here hold your judgment. I promise you that this isn’t as bad as it looks.
I was … Read full post
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On April 10, 2001, Danielle “dmoongirl” Andersen was a professional poker player living happily in a small town in Minnesota with her husband and young son. The film Bet Raise Fold (which also featured former podcast guest Tony Dunst) shows how … Read full post
Hot off the virtual presses, my latest e-book chronicling the 2009 WSOP Main Event is now available in the Amazon Kindle Store or from www.nitcast.com.
2009 wasn’t my best year in the Main Event – in fact it was one of my worst – but understanding the agony of … Read full post
I’m excited to announce the newest and most affordable poker coaching I’ve ever offered: personalized video reviews. For just $100/hour, half the price of my usual one-on-one coaching, I’ll create a custom video of your tournament or cash game database, a hand history of a tournament or cash game session, … Read full post
The latest and greatest volume in my Thinking Poker Diaries is now available at nitcast.com or in the Amazon Kindle Store. This third volume in the series follows the same format as the first two, interspersing anecdotes from the tournament with strategy essays that discuss topics that came up … 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
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
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The second batch of Thinking Poker Premium Podcasts is now available, and tonight you’re getting the first episode FREE. Fresh off of a $1-$2 no-limit game, Andrew and Nate help Carlos Welch take his first steps from tourney donk to cash game … Read full post
The second volume of the Thinking Poker Diaries, which will focus on the 2007 WSOP Main Event, drops on Friday. If you still haven’t read Volume One, now is your chance. Now through Sunday, it’s available for just $0.99 at www.nitcast.com!
My latest series of poker tournament training videos is now appearing on Tournament Poker Edge. This review of some key hands from a $2000 main event at Maryland Live is a rare chance to see a training video focused on a live multi-table tournament, and to see me butt … Read full post
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
My latest poker strategy article, The Worst Seat at the Table Should Be the One On Your Right, is now appearing in 2+2 Magazine. It’s about how, simply by playing well and applying pressure with the right kinds of hands in the right situations, you should end up making … Read full post
Andrew and Nate review a hand from a live $1/$2 cash game before talking with semi-professional poker player, entrepreneur, and DeucesCracked coach Andrew Seidman about a myriad of topics, including his book Easy Game (Andrew’s review here), his travels, his studies, and much more.
Here is the hand … Read full post
This one comes from a $10-$25 game against a very tough and creative opponent. We’ve played together a few times in Maryland, Las Vegas, and Pittsburgh, and if I recall correctly he once told me that he learned a lot from my Poker Savvy Plus videos, though he’s now a … Read full post
You all are really getting the hang of this! I’m impressed by how many of you began your analysis of What’s Your Plan? Good Draw, Lots of Interest with a consideration of what you would do with a set here. Speaking of which, a few people questioned whether I’d limp … Read full post
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
Act One: They Meet
One of the first hands I saw when I sat down at the 5/10 game was this guy (“Villain”, hereafter) 4-bet-jamming 54 (no draw) on a 9h 7h 4s flop. He actually won a “flip” against 8h 5h, and his opponent was pissed. Other than that … Read full post
This week’s mailbag is special because the question was submitted to the podcast, and both Nate and I answered it.
Q: I started out as one of those players you often refer to who says “I don’t really need to balance my ranges in the games I play – … Read full post
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
Thanks for all the comments on this week’s What’s Your Play?, and sorry for the lack of response on my end; it proved to be an unexpectedly hectic week.
Important Points About Multiway Pots
I want to start by making two observations about multi-way pots:
1. It is not … Read full post
I’ve got a new series now going live at Tournament Poker Edge. It’s called Evaluating Bluffs, and it’s a hand history review with an emphasis on considering whether and with what range I should have bluffed in various situations. More than that, it’s a case study in how … Read full post
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Clayton Fletcher, professional poker player and comedian, talks about growing up in a poker playing family (his mother is also a professional poker player!), how his two careers complement each other, and what he’s learned from each. Then, we talk about the … Read full post
I was pleasantly surprised by the great discussion of this week’s What’s Your Play? I nearly didn’t post it because it was “just a pre-flop spot”.
How Likely Are Better Hands?
Everyone was rightfully quick to recognize that it’s rare to see people overlimping the biggest pairs in late … Read full post
In case you didn’t hear the announcement on the latest podcast, Nate and I have just released more than five hours of tournament strategy podcasts that are available for $19 at www.nitcast.com. Though similar to the strategy discussions we have on the weekly podcasts, the content in these premiums … Read full post
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After last week’s interruption, Nate and Andrew are back with an all-strategy episode plus exciting news about how to get even more strategy from us! You’ll hear our thoughts on Ed Miller’s new book (more from Nate on his blog), folding … Read full post
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Carlos Welch fills in for Nate this week and is remarkably open about his recent setbacks, including the challenges of playing underrolled, finding a good backing deal, and balancing live vs online play. In an extra-long strategy segment, he and Andrew discuss … Read full post
I’ve revamped my most popular coaching programs to be better than ever for 2014! (Yes, I realize we’re pretty well into 2014, but I had a bit of a backlog to clear before taking on new students.) Both the Crushing Live Cash Games and Dominate Donkaments programs are designed to … Read full post
I’m really impressed by the comments on What’s Your Play? Bad Runout for an Overpair. I was actually reluctant to post it so soon after begging for more comments, because it seems like the biggest reason people have for not commenting is a concern that they don’t have … Read full post
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Andrew, Carlos, and Sean share stories from their recent trip to Atlantic City. There’s plenty of strategy, from small-stakes cash game hands to big decisions in a six-handed bounty tournament and the $2700 Fall Poker Open Main Event. Plus the Nitcast … Read full post
Sorry I’ve been so long in getting this up. A lot of people expressed interest in it after I posted about Day 1, which I appreciate.
My Day 2 starting table was probably above average. It featured Harrison Gimbel (youngest ever winner of the PCA main event, now 23) … Read full post
Nate and I were flattered to be nominated for Best Podcast in the 2014 Bluff Reader’s Choice Awards. Hopefully this will prompt some new listeners to come check out the show, and with nearly 100 hours of content out there, it might be hard to know where to start.
In … Read full post
I’m skipping ahead a bit in time here in my chronicling of Carlos’ and my trip to AC, but there are a few of you with a financial interest in this, so I figured you’d want to know how it’s going right away. Also, Carlos and I recorded a … Read full post
I just published a review of the first volume of Jonathan Little’s Secrets of Tournament Poker:
… Read full postSecrets of Professional Tournament Poker Volume 1 is a dangerous book because it has the potential to lull inexperienced readers into a false sense of understanding. Only the simplest of concepts are explained in
Part 3 of my trip report from the 2013 WSOP is now appearing in the Two Plus Two Magazine. It deals with the only two preliminary events in which I made Day 2: the $3000 Mixed Max and the $1500 PLO8:
… Read full post“By the end of Day 1, I was playing
Pardon the spammy title, but I’ve got some seriously good material to share with you. First and foremost is the second installment in a series of free coaching videos I’m making with Andre Coimbra. Together we review his deep run in a Big $16.50 on PokerStars. This video, nearly … Read full post
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Faraz Jaka is one of the most consistent tournament players in the game. He was the 2009 – 2010 World Poker Tour Player of the Year and continues to appear at major final tables around the world.
He’s also one of the … Read full post
Thanks for all the comments on this week’s What’s Your Play?, and sorry that I’m late in getting results up. My weekend turned out to be a lot busier – in a good way – than I’d anticipated.
Preflop
I’ll start with a quick note on the raise vs … Read full post
Edit: Thanks to ThereYouGoAgain and others who pointed out the errors in my original post. Sorry for the confusion – Villain 1 (the open limper) did overcall the raise, and three of us saw the flop and turn (where pot size was wrong).
This hand comes from a $2/$5 no-limit … Read full post
I’ve got a new video series going up on Tournament Poker Edge which deals with strategy for playing the final table bubble. It will be a three-part series, with one part dedicated to each of big-, medium-, and short-stacked play. Check it out, and if you’re not already a … Read full post
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Carlos “loxxii” Welch is a grinder if ever there were one. The former math teacher was happily learning the game playing small-stakes online tournaments until Black Friday complicated that plan. Undeterred, he now travels to casinos, sleeping in his truck or on … Read full post
Hopefully a lot of you follow me on Twitter, because I know I’ve been bad about keeping the blog up-to-date. The short version is that I’m still in the Main Event going into day 3. I’ve got about 20K chips, and blinds are 800/1600/200 when we return, so if I’m … Read full post
Thanks for the comments on the river bluffing What’s Your Play? I was actually surprised not to get more comments on this one, because the impression I get is that many people don’t feel comfortable in their ability to make good decisions about whether or not to fire a second … Read full post
The $2500 six-handed event got off to a good start for me. It seemed like a pretty tough field overall, so I was pleased with my starting table at which there was only one truly tough player, seated across from me.
Even better, I took a big bite out of … Read full post
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Taylor Caby, playing as “Green Plastic”, was one of the first superstars of online poker. He’s also one of the only self-described entrepreneurs in the poker world who has actually founded several successful businesses. The first was Cardrunners, which launched the … Read full post
Podcast listeners may remember that, when Andre was a guest on the show, I suggested that he and I record some coaching sessions to post online. Well, the first one is up! In this hand-by-hand review of a deep run he made in a $50 MTT, we talk … Read full post
Whether you enjoyed my theory videos on Tournament Poker Edge, or if theory videos aren’t your thing, you might be interested to know that I’ve now got a new series going up there that is in the form of a full hand history review. You can follow me … Read full post
I’ve just published a review of Jonathan Little’s Secrets of Professional Tournament Poker Volume 2. Here’s the synopsis:
… Read full postThe book is subtitled “Stages of the Tournament”, but fewer than half of the book’s 270 pages are dedicated to this topic. Ironically, much of the book addresses topics on which Little
If you’ve been following my WCOOP posts, then you know that there were definitely times when I got impatient and tried to force things: questionable bluffs, ambitious value bets, spazzy shoves, excessively heroic calls, I made every mistake in the book at some point in the … Read full post
I’ve gotten pretty far behind on my daily WCOOP/Montreal reports, but now that the series is over, I’ve got more time (and not so much else to blog about!), so let’s pick up where we left off. My last of these posts dealt with Wednesday September 12, so we’ll … Read full post
With my first tournament, the $320 Ante Up, not starting until 11, I had a leisurely Wednesday morning. It was a beautiful day, bright and crisp, and The Plateau, the neighborhood where my Montreal apartment is located, looked lovely as it woke up. My street is lined with trees through … Read full post
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