Bluff Catching

The last two months have been pretty brutal. Certainly part of that was due to whiffing the WSOP and a few failed shots at 40/80, but even my regular games have not been going well. Unlike in past downswings, I don’t feel that I’ve experienced extraordinarily brutal luck. There were … Read full post

Exciting Day at the Pool

When I made it through to Day 3 of the WSOP, my girlfriend came out to Las Vegas to be with me. Sadly, there didn’t turn out to be much more poker to watch, so we took the next few days to travel in the area. We were in Bryce … Read full post

There Will Be No 4-Peat

Ironically, after surviving two days at three tough tables playing in some cases less-than-stellar poker, I busted at a great table after a few hours where I think I was playing quite well.

The day got off to a nice start. Blinds were 600/1200/200 On the third hand, I overcalled … Read full post

Day 3 is underway

Just finished up the first break of the day, Andrew is down to 26k after a couple hands didn’t get there. Table is much less intense than days 1 and 2 though, so we’ll see.

Updates on twitter fairly regularly, you can view the feed at www.twitter.com/thinkingpoker

Thanks to everyone … Read full post

A Few More Day 2 Hands

First off, I want to say thanks to everyone who’s commented to wish me luck or to share intelligence. What an amazing thing that one of you is a Russian from Prague able to offer some insight into both a Czech opponent and a Russian one! I’m not going to … Read full post

Day 3 Table Draw

Don’t recognize any names, which is a nice change of pace:

Toriani, Keith 110,200 BR224 1
Lezcano, Ed 23,900 BR224 2
Hai, Le 113,100 BR224 3
Brokos, Andrew 92,200 BR224 4
Phung, Steve 26,500 BR224 5
Bykov, Andrey 27,500 BR224 6
Pages, Fernando 87,100 BR224 7
Fiala, Miroslav 103,500 BR224 … Read full post

Day 2A Table Draw

Ahlberg, Tom Vasa Sweden 5,200 B29 2
Boyette, Robert Archer FL 38,950 B29 7
Brokos, Andrew Catonsville MD 16,350 B29 5
De Bon, Cedric Suisse Switzerland 22,725 B29 9
Levy, Grant Sydney Australia 52,225 B29 8
Ludovic, Lacay Paris France 53,425 B29 3
Pagano, Luca Treviso Italy 40,125 B29 6… Read full post

Congratulations Darren and Sukaina

One of my original poker buddies and his wife welcomed their first child into the world today. Picture forthcoming if I can convince his parents that it’s safe for his picture to appear on a poker blog. It’s safe to say that depending on which side he favors, he will … Read full post

Capped Ranges

Forgot to mention this with all the excitement of the WSOP, but my latest poker strategy article, Capped Ranges, is now appearing in the 2+2 Magazine. Here’s a tantalizing excerpt:

“On the turn or river, it is often possible to determine, based on how he has played on … Read full post

Key Hands From Day 1

I'll hopefully be publishing a full write-up after the tournament, so for the moment I'm just going to share two key hands. In the first, blinds were 150/300. The CO, who was pretty blatant with his bet sizing, opened to 675. The Button, a young player in a Poker Stars hat who seemed good and was probably a participant or a similar forum, called. The SB folded, and I had QdTd on my BB. I squeezed to 2500. The CO folded, and the Button called. He had about 40K to start the hand, I had 45K.

Dinner break

Andrew moved to a softer table and is up to a comfortable 45k at the dinner break.

They are only playing four 2-hour levels today, instead of the scheduled 5,  so they’ll come back from dinner at a little after 6pm PST and then play until about 10:30pm with a … Read full post

Twittering from the table

Andrew is at a meh starting table with a good player on his left. For those not following the twitter, here are the updates so far:

3:35pm Fish wins huge pot off of best opponent. this is a very very good thing.

First Break- 2:15pm Just over 30K starting stack … Read full post

The Blog, It Is A-Changin’

My girlfriend’s been working tremendously hard on a redesign of the Thinking Poker blog/website, and it’s going to be going live tomorrow. By the time many of you read this post, it may be live already, in which case, don’t panic- you’re still in the right place!

If you happen … Read full post

Imperial Palace Elevator Conversation

For some reason, people in Vegas talk to strangers on the elevator, which is a total 180 from common elevator behavior anywhere else in the world. I think it has something to do with the general mood of the place combined with how crowded the elevators often are.

Usually it’s … Read full post

Dinner break

3875 coming into the break. Were playing 200 400 when we resume.

Level 3 I got into some good spots vs the fish (there are 2 now). Once had three to a low flush that turned into a 7 low and lost to a better low from fish who limped … Read full post

5400 at first break

Up from 4500 at the start. Table isn’t particularly soft. There’s one very loose player on my right but otherwise everyone seems solid. I’ve had some strong hands, including rolled up 7s that only got half of a small pot and a buried pair that made trips to chop a … Read full post

Focking Marcel Luske

Edit: As I was drifting off to sleep last night, it occurred to me that I should have titled this post “Loosey Luske”. In my defense, it was 3AM and I’d been playing Stud/8 for 8 hours, so my creative juices were a bit stymied.

Early in level 7, the … Read full post

David Sklansky’s Home Invaded

Legendary 2+2 poker author David Sklansky was recently the victim of a home invasion robbery committed by what appeared to be several armed individuals. According to the local NBC affiliate,

“‘The guy burst into the bedroom, it was dark but I did see what appeared to be a gun,'” home … Read full post

Imperial Palace, Here I Come!

So apparently Vegas isn’t quite as dead as I thought and waiting until the day before my arrival to make hotel arrangements was not wise. The Rio is booked solid until Tuesday, so I’m spending my first three nights at the good old Imperial Palace. I stayed there last year, … Read full post

Article Requests

I’ve recently received a few requests for old articles of mine that appeared in the 2+2 Magazine. First off, let me apologize that my archive is so out of date. The revamping of the website has proved far more complicated than anticipated, but it is nearly finished now. When it … Read full post

WSOP Plans

Sorry for the recent lack of updates, but I haven’t been playing all that much. Since I’ll be in Vegas soon and devoting myself to poker nearly 24/7, I’m trying to get some other stuff done right now.

Speaking of Vegas, thanks to everyone who’s asked what my plans are. … Read full post

I Am Adorable

I didn’t have any kind of read that dude was gonna spaz out like this, but it’s the kind of thing that happens when you make strange bets:

Full Tilt No-Limit Hold’em, $10.00 BB (5 handed) – Full-Tilt Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

Button ($885)
SB ($2165)
Hero (BB) ($2458)
UTG

… Read full post

Quantifying the Value of Position

Even though I’m too sloppy/lazy/uneducated to work out the details of complicated problems, I’m quite interested in the mathematics of poker. I feel like I do have a broad grasp of the game theory that underlies many situations and can use that to aid in my decision-making. Recently, I’ve been … Read full post

A Critical Bet Sizing Tell

Let me say up front that I do this whole “check and figure it out” thing entirely too often against good players, and I have to stop. That said, in this case something about his turn bet led me to conclude that I ought to call the river.

Full Tilt

… Read full post

Nice River

Full Tilt No-Limit Hold’em, $50.00 BB (6 handed) – Full-Tilt Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

BB ($9000.50)
UTG ($16025)
MP ($5309)
Hero (CO) ($10269)
Button ($10000)
SB ($10391)

Preflop: Hero is CO with A, J
2 folds, Hero bets $175, 1 fold, SB calls $150, 1

… Read full post

Change is Coming

As a first step towards a larger blog/website revamping, I’m finally moving away from the awful Ipower company that’s been hosting the blog. This should be a smooth transition that doesn’t result in any downtime, but nothing with them has ever gone smoothly, so we’ll see. If for some reason … Read full post

Final Tabled the Stars $300

Maybe I haven’t forgotten how to play tournaments altogether? I went into yesterdays’ session resolved not to LAG off too many stacks in my tournaments, and while I didn’t entirely keep that pledge, I did play a pretty disciplined game in the Stars $300. To wit:

PokerStars No-Limit Hold’em, $300+$20
… Read full post

Pot Odds!

Full Tilt No-Limit Hold’em, $10.00 BB (6 handed) – Full-Tilt Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

Button ($1000)
SB ($1195.75)
Hero (BB) ($2396)
UTG ($1232)
MP ($1679)
CO ($1052)

Preflop: Hero is BB with 9, 10
2 folds, CO bets $30, Button calls $30, SB calls $25, Hero

… Read full post

May

May was a solid month, though a bit bittersweet because it started off phenomenally and then took a pretty sour turn. I can’t complain about the bottom line, but let’s see what kind of progress I’m making on my yearly goals.

Resolution One: Keep Grinding NLHE Cash Games

Goal 1: … Read full post

Dani “Ansky” Stern Finishes Fourth in the WSOP 40K!

Congratulations to Poker Savvy’s Dani “Ansky” Stern, who finished fourth for better than half a million dollars in the special $40K NLHE WSOP anniversary event. I’m ashamed to say that I didn’t even realize he was at the final table. I’d looked at an article about the final table that … Read full post

Even Good Players Suck at Satellites

There were 61 players remaining in a Poker Stars $650 satellite, and 51 seats to be won. We were already at the point where we’d be getting our buyins back. I was in like 49th or so place with 25K chips at 1250/2500 and had a nice spot for stealing. … Read full post

Congratulations Todd!

Big congratulations to my friend and former student Todd, who just won a $12K WSOP package in a Poker Stars $10 rebuy satellite. Just days after completing my inaugural group seminar, he effectively quadrupled his bankroll. Naturally I take full credit.

In all seriousness, though, Todd’s a bright, hungry player, … Read full post

Pretty Sure He Ought to Call Me Here

It’s very unlikely he has a straight- I think he bets virtually every 8 on the turn, and doesn’t 3-bet that many hands with 8’s in them in the first place- but realistically I don’t know how often I check an 8 on the turn either. Though it might be
… Read full post

Book Review: Transitioning from NLHE to PLO by Tri Nguyen

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

We Both Got Outplayed

I took a sort of goofy line here turning my hand into a bluff, or so I thought. He “caught” my bluff but….

PokerStars No-Limit Hold’em, $20.00 BB (9 handed) – Poker-Stars Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

Hero (Button) ($2000)
SB ($1669)
BB ($3229)
UTG ($2000)
UTG+1 ($3617)
MP1 ($2000)
MP2

… Read full post

FTOPS $500 Main Event

Standard tournament garbage. Congratulations, though, to my long-time reader and former student Diego, who made the final table! Diego, why oh why did you back out of our staking deal?!!?

Obviously I’m planning a check-raise here, but given his bet sizing, I actually think I might be better off just … Read full post

FTOPS NLHE Two-Day

I was not playing very well on Saturday, and it showed through in my results. I think I’m pretty good at letting bad beats and unlucky cards roll off my back, but I have a lot more trouble getting over a session where I played badly. Obviously a few mistakes … Read full post

1K WSOP Satellite

Played the 1K WSOP satellite on Stars tonight. There were 21 runners, meaning 2 seats and a lot of cash paid out. I came into the final table in second place, and had the lead by the time we got down to 5. I was running roughshod over everyone, and … Read full post

Gross Spot Vs. Peter Eastgate

Yesterday, PeteEastgate was sitting at something like 8 25/50 tables on Stars. After confirming that this was the actual 2009 WSOP Champion and not some clever shark impersonating a tourney donk, I hopped on a few of the tables to try my luck. It was indeed trying:

PokerStars No-Limit Hold’em, … Read full post

FTOPS Event 13: $300 NLHE 6-Max Quad Shootout

I lasted no more than 15 minutes in this tournament and got 3-bet no fewer than four times. The final time, I raised 44 in the SB, shoved over a 3-bet from the BB, and lost the flip to AQ.

Poker Savvy’s Dani “Ansky” Stern final tabled this one, but … Read full post

FTOPS Event 11: $200 PLO8

I always look forward to the PLO8 events, but I couldn’t get anything going. The opposition was beyond awful:

Full Tilt Poker Game #12159019788: FTOPS Event #11 (84242375), Table 41 – 20/40 – Pot Limit Omaha H/L – 14:20:39 ET – 2009/05/11
Seat 1: babbelz (1,028)
Seat 2: Sensor (8,220)… Read full post

FTOPS Event 1: $200 6-Max

I donked my way out of this one with a quickness, lost my ass with QQ on a 972 board with two clubs. Worse, it was to a guy who’d previously called KJ on a J74 flop, potted the turn when I checked to him, then made a half pot … Read full post

Exhausting Heads Up Match

I was about halfway through last night’s session, and a lot of the 6-max games I was in were kinda bad. I was at the end of a few long waiting lists, but mostly there just weren’t many good games going at the time.

I’d been sitting alone, waiting for … Read full post

April

I won and lost a lot of money in April. I finished the month with a decent though not spectacular bottom line, but given what I spent on tournament buy-ins (thank you very much, SCOOP), I’m impressed that I was up at all.

Resolution One: Keep Grinding NLHE Cash Games… Read full post

61st in the FTP 750K

God I hate fucking tournaments. Been playing since 4:30, made it deep in yet another Sunday tournament, and out to another bad beat. Granted, it was a pretty thin spot, but that makes it only moderately less annoying. I had about 12 BB’s, and action folded to a pretty successful … Read full post

Go Back to 25/50, Ansky

Dani Stern, my fellow Poker Savvy Plus pro perhaps better known as Ansky, is one of the players whose game I respect the most. I love watching his videos, and I hate playing at his tables. Thus, I am more than a little upset that he’s been “slumming it” in … Read full post

7% Return on Losses

I was sitting at two decent HSNL tables yesterday with the same very good player, and happened to stack him at both tables. At 25/50, he cold 4-bet TT and called my 5-bet shove. I had AA. At 10/20, he 3-bet 98s, I flatted with KK, we got it in … Read full post

Part Time Poker Interview

Part Time Poker just published a short interview with yours truly. I’ve generally shied away from doing a lot of self-promotion, but this was a fun and original set of questions. They also persuaded me with liberal doses of flattery:

When you talk about approaches to poker, there are

… Read full post

Book Review: Whale Hunt in the Desert

By most accounts, Steve Cyr revolutionized the ways in which casinos worldwide cater to the whims of “whales”, the highest rolling gamblers in the world. Flying in the face of received wisdom, his mass marketing and customer service approach to the business upset decades of tradition but ultimately set the … Read full post

SCOOP Main Event

I played all three tournaments: the $10K, the $1K, and the $100. Each was what I expected it to be. The $100 was monkeylicious. The 1K was soft enough for the buyin, certainly weaker play than would be found at a 5/10 cash table or a weekly 1K tournament. The … Read full post