Sorry for the lack of posts recently. Life’s been hectic in both good and bad ways. Some friends from college were visiting us in Portland over the weekend, which kept us busy but was a blast. I’m about to fly to Boston for a funeral this weekend, though. A long-standing … Read full post
I’ve bragged about some creative bluffs recently, so here’s one where I got owned:
Full Tilt No-Limit Hold’em, $4.00 BB (9 handed) – Full-Tilt Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com
SB ($434)
BB ($160)
UTG ($400)
UTG+1 ($641.60)
Hero (MP1) ($1081.40)
MP2 ($418.40)
MP3 ($1143)
CO ($131)
Button ($402)
Preflop: … Read full post
Full Tilt No-Limit Hold’em, $4.00 BB (9 handed) – Full-Tilt Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com
MP2 ($872.90)
MP3 ($1010.20)
CO ($389.50)
Button ($628.80)
SB ($444.90)
Hero (BB) ($1552.50)
UTG ($442.60)
UTG+1 ($401.20)
MP1 ($1206.60)
Preflop: Hero is BB with 2
, 2
2 folds, MP1 bets $12, MP2 … Read full post
I’ve just finished reading and reviewing Harrington on Online Cash Games, certainly one of the most anticipated poker books of the year. Here’s the two-minute version:
… Read full postHOCG is the single best resource I’ve seen for anyone just starting out online or still learning to beat the microstakes games (i.e. stakes
The indefatigable Tony Dunst has just been named as the host for a new segment on the World Poker Tour broadcasts called “Raw Deal” which will apparently feature “an edgy, yetinsightful look at hands from the week’s broadcast”.
Although he sounds like a caricature of a marketing hack when he … Read full post
The exciting conclusion of my 2010 WSOP Main Event trip report, covering Days 5 and 6, is now appearing in the October issue of 2+2 Magazine. Here’s an excerpt:
… Read full postMy Day 6 felt like what the World Series of Poker is supposed to be about: a battle of wits and
In theory, you ought to be wholly focused on the table(s) when you are playing poker. Even online, there are so many little things to pay attention to that can help you make better decisions in future hands. Who hasn’t raised from late position in a while? Who makes thin … Read full post
Following my 3rd place WCOOP finish, someone commented, “Congratulations on the win. Seems a little weird though that you have your best day ever and your just kind of meh. You should look into that.”
In fact, I was mostly proud of myself for the even-keeled way in which … Read full post
As I predicted, my huge post-flop coin flip against David Baker made Tuesday’s ESPN broadcast.
I’m pretty happy with how I came off, though I wish I hadn’t been calling for cards. I don’t ordinarily do that, but when the cameras are on, I always feel like I need to … Read full post
Different opponent from yesterday’s hand, but similar situation where a guy is simultaneously pissing me off and making it very obvious that he doesn’t have the nuts. I contemplated floating, but this is a really good hand to just ship on him:
Full Tilt No-Limit Hold’em, $4.00 BB (9 handed) … Read full post
Full Tilt No-Limit Hold’em, $4.00 BB (9 handed) – Full-Tilt Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com
UTG ($424.85)
UTG+1 ($167)
MP1 ($435)
Hero (MP2) ($1165.50)
MP3 ($638.40)
CO ($753)
Button ($744.75)
SB ($606.60)
BB ($433)
Preflop: Hero is MP2 with 5, 5
3 folds, Hero bets $8, 4 … Read full post
Amidst all the excitement of the WCOOP Main Event yesterday, I also final tabled the $250 monthly tournament on Cake Poker. I wish I could say there were interesting hands, but honestly the structure is so bad that pretty much every pot I played consisted of me either min-raise-folding, min-raise-calling, … Read full post
It was a good table draw but a bad tournament for me. The only player I recognized from the start was Jason Strasser, who is of course very very good but was thankfully seated two to my right. Everyone else was solid enough but not spectacular.
The table was active … Read full post
Believe it or not there weren’t too many interesting hands from yesterday’s WCOOP. I was always at really aggressive tables, so generally the best strategy for me was to hunker down and play good cards. Here was one sort of neat spot with one very short-stacked player all-in:
PokerStars No-Limit … Read full post
After 14.5 hours, I managed to take 3rd out of 1066 runners in the $500 1 Rebuy 1 Add-on. It was a very very tough tournament from start to finish. I at least felt like I had a much more difficult time than in the FTOPS that I won. Of … Read full post
Chris Moneymaker was on my immediate left for most of the $500 rebuy today. To my surprise, he mostly played pretty well. He was probably a little too loose-aggressive pre-flop, but that’s far from the worst leak to have and something that it’s very difficult for me to exploit from … Read full post
UTG and I have been together for a few orbits now. This is the third time he’s raised from this position, and he once showed down A8s (for the nut flush vs. my second nut flush, which amazingly didn’t cost me my stack), so I’m assuming his range is relatively … Read full post
I enjoy Stud/8 and all, but… it’s my birthday, bitches! No poker today. Good luck to those of you playing.… Read full post
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 … Read full post
I thought it was me.
Full Tilt No-Limit Hold’em, $4.00 BB (9 handed) – Full-Tilt Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com
Hero (MP2) ($1886.10)
MP3 ($505.70)
CO ($1569.40)
Button ($400)
SB ($145.90)
BB ($188)
UTG ($1787.10)
UTG+1 ($400)
MP1 ($562.60)
Preflop: Hero is MP2 with 8, 8
UTG bets $14… Read full post
Players were matched with our Round 5 opponents last night, so I had the chance to google my adversary. He looked to be a Pocket Fives guy who used to play some big MTT’s like the daily 100r and such but lately had been playing a lot $16 hyper-turbo sit … Read full post
We played four rounds today. The first one started at 13:00 and I finished a little before 20:00, though many tables were still playing for some time thereafter.
My first opponent was by far the toughest. He’s a regular with a in biggest NLHE games on Poker Stars, not as … Read full post
… Read full postMy Two Minute Review: Given the choice between Travis Steffen’s Peak Performance Poker and Eric Beck’s Poker Mindfulness, Steffen’s is the better book by far. Whereas the latter consists mostly of uncontroversial platitudes and little practical advice, the former is a helpful book packed with practical, actionable advice for
I’ve posted a few hands recently where I floated AK and ended up bluffing the river to get an opponent off of a pocket pair. Here’s another:
Full Tilt No-Limit Hold’em, $4.00 BB (9 handed) – Full-Tilt Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com
MP2 ($587.50)
MP3 ($867.20)
CO ($182.90)
Button ($316)
SB … Read full post
The Wired blog yesterday reported on a recent experiment in which robots “learned” deception autonomously, without specific instructions from their programmers:
Two robots — one black and one red — were taught to play hide and seek. The black, hider, robot chose from three different hiding places, and the red,
I wasn’t going to play the first $200 because it started so early in the day (10AM here on the West coast), and I knew today was already going to be a long day. But I happened to notice that it had over 8000 runners, making it essentially a Sunday … Read full post
Boston-based poker radio show House of Cards recently aired an interview with me that was recorded not long after my exit from the WSOP Main Event. The host of the show, Ashley Adams, is actually a union negotiator who works with Boston Public Schools teachers, so while we talked a … Read full post
(Sorry had trouble finding a converter for PLO8)
I mean I’m no expert but jeebus, guy cold calls a 3-bet out of position with AKT8 and then stacks off with top-pair, a gutshot, and a backdoor flush draw:
PokerStars Game #49366543208: Tournament #2010090013, $200+$15 USD Omaha Hi/Lo Pot Limit – … Read full post
I finished around 163 out of 2300-some runners (it was an odd number, so I guess they did byes for Round 1) in the $200 heads up WCOOP, meaning I went out in my fifth match. My first opponent was easy, just way too tight and predictable. Here was one … Read full post
Today was the $300 Antes Up WCOOP event, which I think is just a fantastic tournament structure. For those who don’t know, the blinds stay at 5/5 for the entire tournament, but the antes increase with each level. So like the stakes could be 5/5/120, with a pre-flop pot of … Read full post
From yesterday’s $300 6-max shootout WCOOP:
I’m curious how you all would handle this river. The table generally had been pretty aggressive pre-flop, and believe it or not I’d been pretty well behaved. Villain was the most aggressive 3-better, with a 3B% of about 10.
PokerStars No-Limit Hold’em, 320 Tournament, … Read full post
Although we started with 325 BB’s, I managed to blow off my stack in just about an hour.
PokerStars No-Limit Hold’em, 1050 Tournament, 10/20 Blinds (9 handed) – Poker-Stars Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com
Button (t7525)
Hero (SB) (t7834)
BB (t7303)
UTG (t7333)
UTG+1 (t7315)
MP1 (t7530)
MP2 (t7720)
MP3 (t7470)… Read full post
As I recently mentioned, some old friends came out to Seattle to visit us over the weekend. We had a great time camping on Orcas Island, hiking, kayaking, drinking beer and making S’mores (the secret ingredient is Hershey’s Special Dark instead of milk chocolate bars), and then to top it … Read full post
I expect Villain’s flop raise to be his only barrel if he is bluffing. That is, he’s usually going to check down his air and bet only if the river improves his hand to one that beats mine.
PokerStars No-Limit Hold’em, $4.00 BB (4 handed) – Poker-Stars Converter Tool from … Read full post
It was one year ago today that my girlfriend and I left our apartment in Boston and became officially homeless. For the past year we’ve been without permanent residence, living out of a Subaru Forester, camping, renting garages and spare rooms when we can, and staying in hotels when there’s … Read full post
The second installment of my trip report from the main event of the 2010 World Series of Poker, covering Days 3 and 4, has just been published in the September issue of 2+2 Magazine. Here’s an excerpt:
… Read full postI came into Day 4 with a monster stack relative to the field.
Thanks for all your help so far in generating this list. Now that I’ve got a revised version of it, let me try to explain a bit more about what I’m going for here.
I believe that a bet or raise should always have an objective (or objectives), and … Read full post
Last week’s double float cost me about half my chips on the first hand of the $700 NAPT-Los Angeles satellite and was not so popular with the commenters. Here’s a similar bluff somewhat deeper in the same tournament this week. Our Villain is a slightly better target: I couldn’t tell … Read full post
3 spots pay
PokerStars No-Limit Hold’em, 109 Tournament, 200/400 Blinds 50 Ante (4 handed) – Poker-Stars Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com
Hero (UTG) (t8288)
Button (t219)
SB (t4401)
BB (t17092)
Hero’s M: 10.36
Preflop: Hero is UTG with 8, 8
Hero calls t400, Button calls t169 (All-In), SB … Read full post
Their flawless software that is now the best and most secure in the industry apparently produced this little gem in the UBOC O/8 event the other day. The bet sizes were all screwed up, enabling people to limp in for 15 at the 50/100 level, and for the player in … Read full post
I was telling my girlfriend about the latest online poker gossip/scandal involving an alleged chatlog in which Thorladen and Imperium discuss multi-accounting with the help of services like GoToMyPC that allow you to access other computers remotely from a different computer anywhere in the world. The basic idea, and something … Read full post
I really had no idea what to put UTG+1 on here, but I didn’t think he’d play anything better than 99 this way on the flop. Obviously the K is rather unlikely to hit him, and while his turn bet is weird, I also wasn’t sure he’d check Kings on … Read full post
Honestly I can probably even fold the flop. Granted I have one of the best bluff-catching hands, but it’s just so unlikely Villain is bluffing here. Calling the flop to see what he does on the turn reduces the chance that I end up folding to trips with a worse … Read full post
This first hand is an interesting juxtaposition to the failed bluff that I posted yesterday. On the one hand, this player was more of a known quantity than was yesterday’s Villain. On the other hand, my range is way wider in this situation, and I think calling with something like … Read full post
Well, I was right about everything except this player’s ability to read hands/make a remotely disciplined fold. Zeebo Theorem FTW:
PokerStars No-Limit Hold’em, 700 Tournament, 10/20 Blinds (8 handed) – Poker-Stars Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com
Button (t3000)
SB (t3000)
BB (t3000)
UTG (t3000)
UTG+1 (t3000)
Hero (MP1) (t3000)
MP2 (t3000)… Read full post
The problem: I’ve usually got the best hand, but I don’t think a bet is getting called by worse.
The solution: Bet small and call the check-raise.
The catch: They always have it. 🙁
PokerStars No-Limit Hold’em, $50.00 BB (5 handed) – Poker-Stars Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com… Read full post
I’ve never been a professional teacher, but I’ve done a lot of teaching, in a wide variety of settings, and I’ve observed and worked with a lot of professional educators. I’ve come to believe that there’s a lot more to teaching than being smart or even being able to explain … Read full post
I’m trying to make as thorough of a list as I can of reasons for betting or raising, and I’d appreciate your help. Obviously this isn’t an exact science, but I’m very interested in your feedback regarding the following list:
1. Value– To get called or raised by worse … Read full post
O
ddly, 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 … Read full post
I won’t be a back-to-back champion in the $2000 2-day FTOPS. I actually had quite good luck with my table draws, recognizing no one at my starting table and only two players over the course of the three and a half hours I played: Eric Froehlich and Tmay. The two … Read full post
My One Minute Recommendation- The Poker Blueprint gets an 8.5/10 for content but a 5/10 for presentation. It contains plenty of great material for players who need help beating smaller stakes online short-handed games, but I fear the often terse, jargon-laden explanations will be too confusing or overwhelming for many … Read full post
Full Tilt No-Limit Hold’em, $10.00 BB (6 handed) – Full-Tilt Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com
Button ($3902.35)
SB ($1434)
BB ($911.25)
Hero (UTG) ($2747)
MP ($1000)
CO ($1242.25)
Preflop: Hero is UTG with A, J
Hero bets $40, 2 folds, Button calls $40, 2 folds
Flop: … Read full post
Here’s a sad but humorous exchange I had with FTP support today. For what it’s worth, I’m pretty sure I would have folded the river anyway, though that’s hardly the point:
… Read full postI just played a hand in the $1000 NLHE FTOPS event in which I activated my time bank, for
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 … Read full post
I reported back in June that for the first time ever an Urban Debate League team won the National Forensics League Grand Tournament, the largest of three high school debate national championship events. The Chicago Debate League, with the help of the National Association for Urban Debate Leagues, was … Read full post
This was the second rush tournament I’ve played, and while I miss having reads and establishing dynamics at the table, I will say that rush otherwise allows for great tournament structures. You get in a ton of hands at each blind level and the tournament still goes by pretty quickly. … Read full post
I’ve been taking a beating in heads up games recently. There were one or two cases of bad game selection, but for the most part I don’t think I’ve playing or running all that badly. I’m losing to people against whom I’m pretty confident I have an edge, not because … Read full post
Emily and I left Missoula, Montana this morning, passed through Idaho, and crossed the border into Washington, bound for Spokane. With that, I can now say that I’ve been to every state in the continental United States. No immediate plans for Alaska or Hawaii, but I’m pretty sure I’ll get … Read full post
Interesting little blurb on the Freakonomics blog this morning entitled When is a Poker Face Not a Poker Face? plugs a study finding that smiling or emotionally positive faces result in more mistaken folds that an emotionally neutral face:
… Read full postThe authors conclude that “the best ‘poker face’ for bluffing
The first installment of my 2010 WSOP main event trip report, covering Days 1 and 2, is now appearing in the 2+2 Internet Magazine:
“We began play with 30,000 chips each and blinds of just 50 and 100. On the very first hand, about half the table … Read full post
Full Tilt No-Limit Hold’em, $10.00 BB (6 handed) – Full-Tilt Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com
MP ($2234.75)
CO ($350)
Button ($1000)
SB ($2029)
BB ($3622.05)
Hero (UTG) ($1183)
Preflop: Hero is UTG with A, J
Hero bets $40, 2 folds, Button calls $40, 2 folds
Flop: … Read full post
…is anything else. Lots of aggressive history, plus the BB is sitting out, which always makes things fun.
PokerStars No-Limit Hold’em, 162 Tournament, 400/800 Blinds 100 Ante (6 handed) – Poker-Stars Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com
SB (t13288)
BB (t16067)
UTG (t47632)
MP (t62024)
CO (t38096)
Hero (Button) (t45630)
Hero’s M… Read full post
…and not necessarily a good one.
Full Tilt No-Limit Hold’em, $50.00 BB (2 handed) – Full-Tilt Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com
Hero (BB) ($5664)
SB ($8603)
Preflop: Hero is BB with 8, K
SB calls $25, Hero checks
Flop: ($100) K, 2, Q (2 players)
Hero … Read full post
This time I’m on the receiving end. Villain is ordinarily a pretty big nit, but he doesn’t like me much and seems to enjoy putting moves on me. I was calling any river, though obviously this one makes it a lot easier.
PokerStars No-Limit Hold’em, $10.00 BB (6 handed) – … Read full post
PokerStars No-Limit Hold’em, $4.00 BB (2 handed) – Poker-Stars Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com
BB ($1000)
Hero (SB) ($1807.80)
Preflop: Hero is SB with 10, 6
Hero bets $12, BB calls $8
Flop: ($25.60) 3, 5, 6 (2 players)
BB checks, Hero bets $19, … Read full post
I don’t know how many of you will find this relevant, but for what it’s worth, several of my articles are now available in Russian at a site called Poker Moscow. Even if you don’t speak Russian, it’s worth a visit just for the banner. There are some fine … Read full post
