Remember our Sources of Value in a Bet discussion? My latest poker strategy article, Betting For Protection, is now appearing in the January issue of 2+2 Magazine. Here’s a taste of what to expect:
… Read full postEarly in their no-limit hold ’em careers, many players are overly concerned with protecting their
Happy New Year!
The beginning of a new year is the perfect time to re-evaluate your priorities, set new goals for yourself, and start planning for how you will achieve those goals. This is the first in a series of posts about using goal-setting to help you achieve poker success.… Read full post
From Annie Duke’s website:
… Read full postIt’s bittersweet, but I’ve decided to leave UB.
I have nothing but positive things to say about UB and my experiences with the brand, management team, and dedicated employees who work hard every day to deliver a terrific online poker experience for players like
Certainly an above average year in tournaments, with an FTOPS win, a WCOOP final table, a SCOOP final table bubble, and a top 100 finish in the WSOP Main Event. No room to complain about anything here. My true ROI is probably in the … Read full post
Thanks to everyone who submitted their favorite organizations for the Cheque-Raising for Charity project. If you haven’t already, please consider making a charitable donation before the end of the year. You may choose to give to one of these organizations or let the passions of your fellow poker players inspire … Read full post
PokerStars No-Limit Hold’em, 530 Tournament, 2000/4000 Blinds (8 handed) – Poker-Stars Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com
Button (t157009)
SB (t218178)
Hero (BB) (t115355)
UTG (t136613)
UTG+1 (t93678)
MP1 (t157446)
MP2 (t106054)
CO (t192690)
Hero’s M: 19.23
Preflop: Hero is BB with 7
, 5
1 fold, UTG+1 bets … Read full post
The last hand I posted touched on the concept of recognizing the best bluffing hand(s) in your range. Here’s another example:
PokerStars No-Limit Hold’em Tourney, Big Blind is t600 (9 handed) Hand History converter Courtesy of PokerZion.com
SB (t32977)
BB (t8225)
UTG (t31597)
UTG+1 (t7626)
MP1 (t21893)
MP2 (t17250)
MP3 … Read full post
Yesterday’s post mentioned the “honor system” method that is becoming increasingly popular as an enforcement mechanism on public transportation. The idea is that both weekly/monthly passes and single use tickets are sold by machines at the train stations, but in most cases passengers will never need to use their ticket … Read full post
I was in Dallas recently and rode their light rail, which is one of those “honor system” arrangements where there is no one taking your ticket but you are supposed to have one anyway. Fare patrol officers will randomly board cars and ask for tickets, and if you caught without … Read full post
I am totally addicted to this 2+2 thread “Stingiest Thing You’ve Seen Someone Do“. In between some stupid arguments about tipping and such, there are some truly jaw-dropping stories:
… Read full postmy ex gf’s mother finds overripe fruit at the store, takes it home and removes all the good parts,
It has long been known that scrub jays, cousins of the crow and the raven, both hide and steal food from each other. Researchers recently demonstrated, however, that jays first learn to hide food, not by being victims of a theft, but by stealing themselves. That is, it seems … Read full post
PokerStars No-Limit Hold’em, $6.00 BB (9 handed) – Poker-Stars Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com
UTG+1 ($600)
MP1 ($600.10)
MP2 ($309.35)
MP3 ($1521.45)
CO ($1167.20)
Hero (Button) ($618)
SB ($663)
BB ($600)
UTG ($444)
Preflop: Hero is Button with A, 10
5 folds, CO bets $15, Hero calls … Read full post
Thanks to everyone who has submitted non-profit organizations important to them. Hopefully we can continue to grow this list, recommended by and for poker players, of organizations that are making a difference and that deserve our support. Please recommend an organization to be highlighted on this blog.
In the US … Read full post
Might as well. I mean, I had blockers.
PokerStars No-Limit Hold’em, $6.00 BB (6 handed) – Poker-Stars Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com
Button ($1546.80)
SB ($3819.10)
BB ($1477.80)
Hero (UTG) ($1844.50)
MP ($1745.95)
CO ($2134.80)
Preflop: Hero is UTG with 8, 8
Hero bets $24, 2 folds, … Read full post
Villain’s flop call out of position with a gutshot may look bad, but it actually illustrates an important point about deep-stacked NLHE: you must play in such a way that your opponent can never exclude nutted hands from your range. Otherwise, you are exploitable by bluffs such as the one … Read full post
There is obvious untapped potential for poker games playable on mobile devices. Full Tilt Poker’s fast-paced Rush Poker in particular is a great fit for this format. The relative speed of the game makes one-tabling it more tolerable, and the general aesthetic of speed poker fits well with that of … Read full post
Full Tilt No-Limit Hold’em Tournament, 15/30 Blinds (9 handed) – Full-Tilt Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com
UTG (t4465)
Hero (UTG+1) (t5220)
MP1 (t5035)
MP2 (t5865)
MP3 (t5000)
CO (t4955)
Button (t4460)
SB (t4970)
BB (t5030)
Hero’s M: 116.00
Preflop: Hero is UTG+1 with 3, 3
1 fold, … Read full post
As poker’s self-proclaimed master debater (sorry Siola), I feel like I should have been the one to write this excellent article on how the PPA and other poker proponents ought to be selling online poker to the American public:
… Read full postAs with almost everything in politics, public perception does matter and
Obviously I’ve been closely following discussions of the “Reid Bill” that would pave the way for licensing of US-based online poker operations following a “blackout period” during which it would be unlawful to offer such games to American players. I have no inside knowledge of the issue myself, but I … Read full post
This holiday season, I’m starting what I hope will become a yearly tradition to encourage more poker players to donate a portion of their winnings to non-profit organizations. And since it must have a cheesy poker related name, I’m calling it Cheque-Raising for Charity.
Over the next three weeks, … Read full post
I’ve played more tournaments than usual in the past few months, and while I certainly can’t complain about how they’ve gone for me this year, I nonetheless find myself feeling frustrated at the end of virtually every Sunday. Last week, I started thinking about how a few years ago you … Read full post
I had some tough tables in the USA COOP main event, full of aggressive tournament regulars. There was a ton of raising 3-betting, and when one player got disconnected and was not around to defend his blind, sparks really flew. I happened to have the button when the disconnected player … Read full post
I final tabled the $500 KO Friday Night Fight on FTP last night, finishing in a slightly disappointing 8th. Not too shabby though considering I never got above the average stack and collected not a single bounty.
Since my November strategy article was about bet sizing in tournaments, here’s a … Read full post
A few days ago, Poker Grump asked me what Harry Reid had ever done for internet poker. It wasn’t until I saw this article in the Wall Street Journal that I remembered I hadn’t responded:
… Read full postStaffers for Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid are circulating a bill to legalize poker
I had a bit of a read on Villain that he bet big with his monster hands and small when going for thin value. In deciding to turn my hand into a bluff, I didn’t give sufficient consideration to the fact that he really can’t raise many thin hands for … 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
My latest poker strategy article, Joseph Cheong WSOP Final Table “Blow Up“, has just been published in the December 2010 issue of 2+2 Magazine. It’s an in-depth analysis of the complex factors at play in the infamous A7 vs. QQ hand, many of which have been overlooked by … Read full post
Sunday’s Washington Post ran an article on high school poker clubs, after-school activities where teens learn math skills by playing poker:
… Read full postFletcher had been on a tear during the past few meetings of the high school poker club – part of a nascent effort nationwide to take the game
I recently asked for reader opinions regarding a hand where I had top pair until the river, which brought an Ace but also missed a possible flush draw. Here I’m posting the results and my thoughts. If you haven’t already offered your own thoughts, please follow the link above … Read full post
Happy Thanksgiving! Here in the US, today is a day for reflecting on all that you’re thankful for in life. Here’s my poker list:
10. Sharron Angle- Thanks for being so goddamn crazy that you couldn’t even get elected as a Republican in Nevada during the 2010 midterms. If anyone … Read full post
Sometimes Villains just spaz out and throw crazy bluff raises at you:
PokerStars No-Limit Hold’em, $20.00 BB (2 handed) – Poker-Stars Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com
Hero (BB) ($2289.50)
SB ($2098.50)
Preflop: Hero is BB with 4, 4
SB bets $60, Hero calls $40
Flop: ($120) A… Read full post
PokerStars No-Limit Hold’em, $20.00 BB (2 handed) – Poker-Stars Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com
Hero (BB) ($3307.50)
SB ($2010)
Preflop: Hero is BB with 3, 3
SB bets $60, Hero calls $40
Flop: ($120) 5, 4, 2 (2 players)
Hero checks, SB bets $100, … Read full post
We had some fun rivering quads, so let’s play this game again.
Villain views me as aggressive but not crazy. It is extremely unlikely that he is checking behind either a strong made hand or a strong draw on the flop, and he knows that I know that. Other … Read full post
Villain tells me had 6d 4d, which seems plausible:
Full Tilt No-Limit Hold’em, $20.00 BB (6 handed) – Full-Tilt Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com
MP ($7477)
CO ($2314)
Hero (Button) ($6720)
SB ($6379)
BB ($2207)
UTG ($9558.50)
Preflop: Hero is Button with A, K
1 fold, MP bets … Read full post
I started things off with a solid cold decking, and within minutes I was 3rd overall:
Full Tilt No-Limit Hold’em Tournament, 10/20 Blinds 3 Ante (9 handed) – Full-Tilt Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com
UTG (t6043)
UTG+1 (t6006)
MP1 (t6253)
MP2 (t5929)
MP3 (t5889)
CO (t5949)
Button (t5949)
SB (t6133)
Hero … Read full post
One of my criticisms of Winning Poker Tournaments One Hand at a Time, which I generally liked, was that the authors neglected opportunities to play Ace-high for showdown value and turned such hands into a bluff too frequently. Today I had the misfortune of having one of the authors … Read full post
Gary Wise’s new article on ESPN.com, Choosing Between Career and Home, about the recent decisions by Full Tilt Poker and Poker Stars to forbid residents of Washington state from playing on their sites. Obviously this decision, made to comply with a long-standing Washington law making online poker a felony, … Read full post
A lot of players are torn about what to do when they know an opponent is frequently betting the flop without a hand. Is it better to float, or to bluff-raise? I’ve written a strategy article on the subject, but in the 1K FTOPS tonight, I had the chance to … Read full post
This wasn’t anything that I planned from the get-go. It was just that on each street, I kept feeling like he could be weak enough for an underbet to show a profit. I almost shoved the turn, and then I was like, “Screw it, 80% of what he folds to … Read full post
Before I became a serious poker player, I loved to watch poker on TV. Now, I can hardly stand it. I did watch a few episodes of this year’s WSOP broadcast, mostly from the days I expected to be on there and for the final table coverage. It’s clearly increased … Read full post
About 3 hours into today’s $300 6-max, I got moved to a table with two Pocket Fives superstars. One was to my immediate right, and one two seats to my left. We tangled in a few interesting spots, and while I definitely got the best of the one on my … Read full post
Finished a very frustrating 12/500 in this, capping off a long and shitty day of poker. I was in very good shape approaching the bubble, then got scooped in two sizable pots to get busted down to average as we approach the final two tables. Cyndy Violette took two more … Read full post
Full Tilt No-Limit Hold’em, $4.00 BB (9 handed) – Full-Tilt Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com
MP3 ($126.70)
CO ($508.10)
Button ($470.80)
SB ($443.50)
Hero (BB) ($823)
UTG ($469.40)
UTG+1 ($793.10)
MP1 ($400)
MP2 ($376.90)
Preflop: Hero is BB with 9, 10
1 fold, UTG+1 bets $12, 4 … Read full post
…and it isn’t me. Or you. Unless Jonathan Duhamel is reading this, in which case, congratulations, bro!
In honor of the event’s conclusion, we’ve now got up a page with links to my 2010 WSOP trip report plus interviews and ESPN appearances.
Maybe next year…… Read full post
FWIW I shouldn’t have 3-bet this guy pre-flop because he rarely calls but often 4-bets and KQs isn’t quite so good that I’m happy about 3-bet-calling it (although I did after remembering who this guy was).
Full Tilt No-Limit Hold’em, $4.00 BB (9 handed) – Full-Tilt Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com… Read full post
28 players remaining in the FTP Friday Night Fight, 27 places pay. As soon as I saw this flop, I told myself that if the pre-flop raiser made a continuation bet I’d have to either check-call or check-fold. I just didn’t see him betting this board into two players with … Read full post
From the team that brought you The R4v3n comes another excellent, fully produced and animated poker poem, “The Ballad of Jackie Mayfair”:
It takes a little while to get going, but I was pretty into it by the end. Enjoy!… Read full post
This Poker Stars commercial is pretty awesome. Just a warning: there’s a lot of graphic violence, so possibly not suitable for work/children:
I witnessed this hand in weekly $1K on Stars. BTN underbets the river, SB tanks for a while and then check-raises about 75% of his stack, BTN snap-shoves, and SB folds. Now in all likelihood SB was bluffing, but I feel like he could fold some pretty strong hands like … Read full post
My latest poker strategy article, Standard Bet Sizes, has just been published in the November 2010 issue of 2+2 Magazine. Here’s an excerpt to give you an idea of what the article is about:
… Read full postThe ability to size your bet based on the situation and what you hope
Instead of grinding the Sunday majors today, I donned a clown costume cobbled together from accessories at the Halloween store and visited “The Corn Maize”. Yes they spelled it Maize even though Corn is already in the title, and yes, there was an obligatory use of “A-maze-ing”. Still, it was … Read full post
Following hot on the heels of last week’s “What’s Your Play?”, here’s another hand where there’s a full house on the board and I beat it. This time I did go for the overbet just because in this case my range looks a lot stronger and my opponent … Read full post
This hand generated some really interesting comments and discussion both at Thinking Poker and at Cardplayer. Thanks to everyone who participated. Some of you have seen the results already, but for those who haven’t, here’s what happened:
Full Tilt No-Limit Hold’em, $4.00 BB (9 handed) – Full-Tilt Converter Tool … Read full post
Second hand of the Stars $300. I figured I was going to take it easily on the turn because there just aren’t strong hands in BB’s range. I figure randoms raise 2-pair on the flop like 80% of the time at least, and he’s not checking AA/JJ preflop. By the … Read full post
The Freakonomics blog reports that an Israeli lottery last week picked the same six winning numbers that had been picked three weeks prior. Predictably, this seems to have led to speculation of fixing, as
… Read full postLottery officials denied allegations of rigging: “We are in the business of luck, and when it
PokerStars No-Limit Hold’em, $10.00 BB (6 handed) – Poker-Stars Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com
Hero (CO) ($2068)
Button ($1200)
SB ($1140)
BB ($2034)
UTG ($1082)
MP ($872)
Preflop: Hero is CO with Q, Q
2 folds, Hero bets $30, Button calls $30, 1 fold, BB calls … Read full post
I finally got around to buying a new phone today, after having run out my contract with Sprint months ago. I’d been wavering between a Droid and an Iphone for a while, and then Full Tilt went and made the decision for me by releasing a Beta version of Rush … Read full post
You guys put me in my place earlier this week, so let’s see what you think of this one. All of the Villains, but especially the big blind, are among the tighter and more straight-forward regulars who play in this game.
PokerStars No-Limit Hold’em, $6.00 BB (7 handed) – … Read full post
A friend recently sent me a link to an article entitled “Big Game Theory” in Discover magazine. It’s about the phenomenon of physicists getting interested in, and having success at, poker. Author Jennifer Oullette cites Michael Binger, Michael Piper, Liv Boeree, and Marcel Vonk as examples and offers … Read full post
A lot of you probably get these “pro tip” e-mails from Full Tilt from time to time. I’ve glanced at a few and they were always very rudimentary and sometimes wrong. The title of this one caught my eye, though, and while it’s not a very sophisticated concept, it’s well-executed:… Read full post
Someone e-mailed me this question recently, and as I began to compose an answer, it occurred to me that it could make for an interesting blog post:
… Read full postRecently a friend of mine and I were batting around a question about the pros.
Essentially it came down to this:
“Do pros
Thanks to all the commenters who have contributed to some very good discussion this week. Let’s keep it going!
Full Tilt No-Limit Hold’em, $4.00 BB (9 handed) – Full-Tilt Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com
Button ($518.20)
SB ($490.30)
BB ($276.80)
Hero (UTG) ($773.50)
UTG+1 ($1109.10)
MP1 ($154.10)
MP2 ($1936.65)
MP3 ($943.80)… Read full post
PokerStars No-Limit Hold’em, $6.00 BB (5 handed) – Poker-Stars Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com
SB ($1703)
BB ($743.05)
UTG ($600)
MP ($201.05)
Hero (Button) ($609)
Preflop: Hero is Button with 7, 7
UTG bets $18, 1 fold, Hero calls $18, 1 fold, BB calls $12
Flop… Read full post
An overbet seemed like a good idea at the time…
PokerStars No-Limit Hold’em, $4.00 BB (6 handed) – Poker-Stars Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com
UTG ($471.10)
MP ($497.25)
CO ($380.70)
Hero (Button) ($445.15)
SB ($1167.20)
BB ($400)
Preflop: Hero is Button with 10, K
2 folds, CO bets … Read full post
Sorry I’ve been slow in getting the link up, but I was actually on the ESPN WSOP broadcast again the week after the clip I already posted. The hand is around the 12:00 mark in this clip. It’s Eric Baldwin doubling through me with KJ vs. my A4. Apparently … Read full post
I tried to play some small stakes games while taking Amtrak from Boston to New York yesterday. There were too many tunnels for the aircard to be reliable, but I played this hand before giving up on it.
I was going to check-shove the turn. When Villain didn’t bet turn, … Read full post