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:
… Read full postWhen you talk about approaches to poker, there are
My fellow Poker Savvy Plus pro Christian “charder30” Harder is at the TV table (final 6) of the World Poker Tour $25,000 Championship event at the Bellagio! According to the WPT, Christian comes in at a distant second with 7.5 million chips:
Seat 1 – Elky Grospellier – 5,955,000… Read full post
It’s been more than a year since the finale of The Wire, and I don’t know about you, but I’m missing the hell out of it. Consequently, I was very excited to see the Freakonomics Blog report that writer/creator David Simon is planning to shoot a pilot for HBO … Read full post
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
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
I didn’t play the $25K, but the $2500 was plenty big enough for me. Emily and I even rearranged Easter brunch plans so that I could play it, which turned out to be a huge disappointment, as I lasted fewer than ten minutes against AJKHoosier1, my first round opponent. Obviously … Read full post
I hate and suck at FLHE, so I didn’t play this one. I just wanted to give a big congratulations to Terrence “Unassigned” Chan, who won both the $500 and $5000 tournaments. I had the privilege of meeting, playing with, and losing a big pot to Terrence in Barcelona. … Read full post
This was a pretty cool event, with one of the deepest structures in the SCOOP. The buy-in sizes were a little awkward for me, though, and I ended up playing only the $200, figuring that the $20 was too small and the $2000 (effectively $6000 with the rebuy and addon) … Read full post
I had some fierce competition in this one, but I guess that’s to be expected in a 5K. There was dpeters17, Timex, psyduck, and Poker Savvy’s very own Christian “charder30” Harder, but the player who ended up giving me the most trouble was a Pocket Fivers guy named Wretchy. I … Read full post
I made a decent run in the $500 6-max on Wednesday, and though I didn’t do as well in the $5K, there were interesting hands from both, so I’m going to do two different posts.
I lost about half my stack early on in the $500, but managed to recover. … Read full post
Unlike most players, I enjoy Razz. Yeah, it can be infuriating, but it’s also kind of elegant in its simplicity. I spend most of this tournament catching well, so even though I didn’t cash, it was fun. The only really interesting hand to come up was this one, where I … Read full post
Once upon a time I considered myself a pretty decent Stud/8 player, but I’ve probably played fewer than 1000 hands in the last 6 months. Consequently, $1500 was a little more than I wanted to put behind my skillz. I did play the $150, though, and had a good time … Read full post
Edit: Fixed title. This is SCOOP, not FTOPS. Was tired and tilted last night when posting this.
I was really looking forward to this event, as I’ve been working on my heads up game of late. I played both the $1500 and the $150 and had reasonable tough first round … Read full post
I was going to play the HORSE event, but the buyins just didn’t line up right for me. The 10K was out of the question, even the 1K was a touch high, and the $100 was too small for me to add two hours onto what was already a potentially … Read full post
I even knew they were putting a cap on registration for these, but I waited until the last minute to register anyway. Both the $150 (at 1000) and the $1500 (at freaking 100) buy-in events were locked, so I played the $15 for a lark. I don’t know if it … Read full post
My latest article, “Making Quick Reads in Poker Tournaments“, is now appearing in the April issue of 2+2 Magazine. Here’s an excerpt that previews the article’s content:
“This article will suggest several strategies for formulating preliminary profiles of new opponents and adapting your play accordingly. It is important … Read full post
I hate turbos, but they are quick, so I chose to play the $15 and the $150 but not the $1500. Sure enough, within an hour I was reduced to push/fold on both tables. I actually picked up a lot of big hands in the $150, but it didn’t do … Read full post
Thankfully the cash games I was playing on the side went well, because the tournaments did not. I played the $50 and $500 rebuys, but decided to skip the $5. I was thinking it might be fun to play despite the small stakes, but then I saw that there were … Read full post
March came in like a lion but went out like a lamb. I was within a few hundred dollars of even, then dropped 10K on the Bay 101 WPT. I don’t regret it, though. It was a fun experience (the tournament itself, and the vacation) and, based on the people … Read full post
Most players just don’t know how to execute a good bluff raise on the river and won’t even try, and I probably play the Hero a little more than I should in “good spots” that my opponents probably don’t even recognize. This was against a smarter opponent, though, and while … Read full post
To top off a great weekend, I played and won my second $2000 satellite to the $10,000 WCOOP main event. The first one I played, which I replayed for Poker Savvy Plus, had only 9 runners and paid one seat plus a lot cash. This one got 52 runners, paying … Read full post
Hmmm, 80:1 odds? I think I’ll call:
Full Tilt No-Limit Hold’em, $10.00 BB (6 handed) – Full-Tilt Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com
Hero (Button) ($1802)
SB ($490)
BB ($1424)
UTG ($985)
MP ($1884)
CO ($1442.45)
Preflop: Hero is Button with 6
, 8
1 fold, MP bets $35, … Read full post
For the second time this year, I’ve dug myself out of a big old hole. Let’s hope it’s the last (that I need to). Here’s the hand that did it:
PokerStars No-Limit Hold’em, $50.00 BB (5 handed) – Poker-Stars Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com
Button ($9411)
SB ($5550)
BB ($20776)
UTG … Read full post
Full Tilt No-Limit Hold’em, $10.00 BB (2 handed) – Full-Tilt Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com
SB ($1836.25)
Hero (Button) ($2411.75)
Preflop: Hero is Button with 8
, A
Hero bets $30, SB calls $20
Flop: ($60) A
, 10, 4 (2 players)
SB checks, Hero bets $44… Read full post
Sorry for the recent lack of posts, I’ve had a lot to catch up on since returning from vacation. But here’s an interesting hand:
Full Tilt No-Limit Hold’em, $10.00 BB (2 handed) – Full-Tilt Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com
Button ($2002.50)
Hero (SB) ($3412.50)
Preflop: Hero is SB with A… Read full post
Awesome town! I had this preconception of a kind of shallow California surfer dude town, but I actually found a surprisingly friendly, welcoming, and charming place with a strong sense of community and civic identity (as a California surfer dude town, granted), at least among the locals. I’m sure … Read full post
For those who didn’t see Calmer’s comment yesterday, I didn’t last long at all on Day 2 of the WPT. My table was fairly tough, not that it mattered. There were a few, young internet players who seemed pretty tough, one or two middle-aged guys who were probably the soft … Read full post
Edit: Important correction here. The non-bountied live pro I busted was not Bill Gazes but rather Bill Edler.
I decided to play the Bay 101 because of the combination of a nice location, great structure/tournament director (thanks Matt Savage!), and interesting people I thought it would attract, both because of … Read full post
Day started with something like 136 players and 20,000 chips each. I spend most of the day in good shape, never amassing a huge stack but maintaining near or above the average. Then I made a big move on Joe Sebok on the very last hand of the night:
Daniel … Read full post
I’ve been alternately promising Emily a vacation and insisting that I haven’t had enough time for poker for months now. Finally, she offered the very appealing suggestion that we go to Northern California for the World Poker Tour event at the Bay 101 casino in San Jose. We’ve tacked on … Read full post
Although this worked, I think it’s really awful play on my part. I am representing a ridiculously narrow range (like QQ and maybe KK) and even those don’t necessarily make sense. This guy was just frustrating me because he wasn’t folding to 3-bets ever and was just generally being a … Read full post
OK, this has sparked a lot of interest among commenters, so I think I will offer a few of my own thoughts on the hand after all. In terms of what durrrr may have been thinking and why he was successful, I don’t have a lot to add to the … Read full post
I’m not much for watching televised poker, but from what I’ve seen, if you’re going to watch anything, High Stakes Poker is the show to watch. Although I didn’t see this hand go down, I heard it discussed quite a bit by Aaron “aejones” Jones and Rob “Bobbfitos” Eckstut on … Read full post
I noticed this video on The Stranger Blog this afternoon. I must say that as a University of Chicago undergraduate, I had a haughty disdain for the Alpha Delts. In my defense, their president did get our twice-weekly campus poker tournament shut down so that his frat could host the
When you get to about the 2/4 or 3/6 level, an important goal to set for yourself is to make it hell for your opponents to show down marginal hands against you when they are out of position. The deeper you get, the wider the definition of marginal becomes, and … Read full post
Full Tilt No-Limit Hold’em, $10.00 BB (2 handed) – Full-Tilt Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com
SB ($1905)
Hero (Button) ($1104.50)
Preflop: Hero is Button with 3, 2
Hero bets $30, SB calls $20
Flop: ($60) K, 3, K (2 players)
SB checks, Hero bets $44… Read full post
Full Tilt No-Limit Hold’em, $10.00 BB (2 handed) – Full-Tilt Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com
Hero (SB) ($2955.50)
Button ($4698)
Preflop: Hero is SB with Q, K
Button bets $30, Hero calls $20
Flop: ($60) 6, 7, 8 (2 players)
Hero bets $44, Button … Read full post
I was playing a decent but not great player heads up, and the match had been close, with first him then me having the upper hand, until I tried to bluff him off of trips:
PokerStars No-Limit Hold’em, $10.00 BB (2 handed) – Poker-Stars Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com
SB ($2045.50)… Read full post
February felt like (and was) a pretty awful month, but I did actually win some money. Just not nearly enough to make up for January. After the first week, I was in black and then some, pretty much right where I wanted to be for the month. Then it was … Read full post
This month I’ve got two publications to report. First, my latest article for 2+2 Magazine, titled Float On, is now appearing in the March issue. It’s an analysis of when, whom, and how to bluff-call, including an in-depth example:
… Read full postSuppose that when your opponent bets, you think there
The first few levels of this tournament were pretty uneventful, but eventually I won a coin flip to get up to an average stack. Then I floated for a few hours, through the bubble, on twenty big blinds or so.
This was maybe the most interesting hand I played, fairly … Read full post
This afternoon I got an e-mail from Ultimate Bet reminding me that I still have a $.26 in my account and suggesting some things I could do with it, like a $.02 tournament. They only let you cash out whole dollar amounts, so when I cleared my account, I had … Read full post
From yesterday’s Sunday Million:
PokerStars No-Limit Hold’em, $200+$15 Tournament, 600/1200 Blinds 100 Ante (9 handed) – Poker-Stars Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com
Hero (BB) (t30683)
UTG (t23180)
UTG+1 (t69583)
MP1 (t45234)
MP2 (t42249)
MP3 (t22891)
CO (t38571)
Button (t32005)
SB (t14539)
Hero’s M: 11.36
Preflop: Hero is BB with … Read full post
From yesterday’s Sunday Million:
PokerStars No-Limit Hold’em, $200+$15 Tournament, 600/1200 Blinds 100 Ante (9 handed) – Poker-Stars Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com
Hero (BB) (t30683)
UTG (t23180)
UTG+1 (t69583)
MP1 (t45234)
MP2 (t42249)
MP3 (t22891)
CO (t38571)
Button (t32005)
SB (t14539)
Hero’s M: 11.36
Preflop: Hero is BB with … Read full post
Also, don’t raise 52s in middle position.
PokerStars No-Limit Hold’em, $10.00 BB (6 handed) – Poker-Stars Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com
BB ($1033)
UTG ($1233.55)
MP ($3131.75)
CO ($1000)
Hero (Button) ($1150)
SB ($2026)
Preflop: Hero is Button with Q, A
1 fold, MP bets $30, 1 … Read full post
On my recent post, “Defining His Range Into Oblivion“, tce left a comment that I felt warranted a new post:
… Read full postThis is a tantalizing post with some really interesting ideas that need more meat. Can you say more? In my experience, trying to blow someone off an Ax
What a donkey. I’m never 3-betting worse for value here, and it’s not a spot where I’m prone to bluff, either.
Full Tilt No-Limit Hold’em, $20.00 BB (2 handed) – Full-Tilt Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com
Button ($2030)
Hero (SB) ($4011.75)
Preflop: Hero is SB with 10, Q
Button … Read full post
Full Tilt Poker, $5/$10 NL Hold’em Cash Game, 2 Players
LeggoPoker.com – Hand History Converter
Hero (SB): $2,434.50
BB: $3,954.50
Pre-Flop: T
K dealt to Hero (SB)
Hero raises to $30, BB raises to $100, Hero raises to $255, BB calls $155
Flop: ($510) 3 A
2… Read full post
I think this has been out for a few days, but I just noticed that Poker Stars has posted a tentative schedule for a yet-to-be-named tournament series in April. I love the format of offering a low-, medium-, and high-stakes option for every tournament and am frankly staggered that they … Read full post
About three hours into this tournament, it was looking to be short and sweet. I shoved 33 from the SB over an aggressive guy in the CO who’d been raising most of the time it was folded to him. The BB wakes up with TT and shoves over the top, … Read full post
I really wish FTP had found a way to avoid scheduling this on Valentine’s Day. Emily told me she was OK with me playing it, which I think she would have been, but that’s really all the more reason to spend the day with her. And obviously the latter is … Read full post
I really wish FTP had found a way to avoid scheduling this on Valentine’s Day. Emily told me she was OK with me playing it, which I think she would have been, but that’s really all the more reason to spend the day with her. And obviously the latter is … Read full post
As I’ve said many times before, my preference in Stud tournaments is not to build big pots on 3rd street. That’s generally a high-variance, low-edge strategy, and it makes otherwise large mistakes on future streets much less severe. Unfortunately, people were being stupidly aggressive on 3rd, seemingly raising at every … Read full post
Not surprisingly, the quality of play in this was something like atrocious. Judging from the chat and general play, I was at a table full of clowns, which was cool. My favorite hand saw a guy raise pre-flop, and get two callers, and then bet 2x pot on A44 flop. … Read full post
I almost didn’t play this because my experience with limit tournaments has always been that even if I am not doing well they take forever. At least in NLHE if it isn’t going well you don’t waste a lot of time on it. Well, I managed to eliminate myself in … Read full post
Given the deep stacks, short-handed format, and substantial buy-in, this was probably the FTOPS event I was looking forward to the most. Sadly, the other players at my table were giant nits during the rebuy period. I got AK on the first hand and open shoved, then shoved a more … Read full post
I almost didn’t play this because my experience with limit tournaments has always been that even if I am not doing well they take forever. At least in NLHE if it isn’t going well you don’t waste a lot of time on it. Well, I managed to eliminate myself in … Read full post
This was an odd format. If you lost all 5000 of your starting chips in the first two hours, you got a free T5000 rebuy. However, if you reached the end of those two hours with chips, even if you had less than 5000, you got nothing. Essentially, it was … Read full post
Not a lot to say about this one. Only remotely interesting hand was this one:
Full Tilt Poker, NL Hold’em Tournament, 60/120 Blinds, 9 Players
LeggoPoker.com – Hand History Converter
CO: 5,090
BTN: 10,960
SB: 3,465
BB: 9,106
Hero (UTG): 4,070
UTG+1: 6,958
UTG+2: 7,021
MP1: 9,145
MP2: 7,050
Pre-Flop:… Read full post
The Boston Debate League’s Fifth Annual City Championships took place over the weekend, and it was a great event. Nearly sixty students competed, which is actually a little low compared to the numbers we’ve had recently, but their enthusiasm more than made up for it. In the Varsity division, the … Read full post
I took an early exit from this tournament on a coin flip:
Full Tilt Pot-Limit Omaha Hi/Lo Tournament, 20/40 Blinds (8 handed) – Full-Tilt Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com
Hero (MP1) (t4925)
MP2 (t5142)
CO (t5938)
Button (t4775)
SB (t8994)
BB (t5025)
UTG (t5146)
UTG+1 (t5070)
Hero’s M: 82.08
Preflop… Read full post
This guy was decent in some ways but pretty insanely loose and aggressive. I don’t think he ever folded to a 3-bet pre-flop (I probably should have made my raise size bigger), and there was a lot of 4-betting going on. For the most part, I just hung back, made … Read full post
It’s embarrassing how, after three years of playing poker very seriously, I’m still affected so dramatically by short-term results. For two weeks, I was getting brutalized, doubting my instincts, and not playing my best. Then I have one big day and I’m back to making good reads and following through … Read full post
What a month. It started out well enough, and after about a week and a half I was well on my way to a very solid January. Then all hell broke loose, and I lost heavily for the rest of the month, finishing it well in the red. I … Read full post
I pretty much never open limp, with the occasional exception of being in very early position, usually UTG, at a full ring table. This is particularly true in tournaments, because there is so much value in stealing the pot pre-flop and stacks aren’t generally deep enough to play a wide … Read full post
My latest poker article, Calling for Information, is now appearing in the February issue of 2+2 Magazine. It’s a relatively low-level strategy article, compared to some of the stuff I’ve published, but even more advanced players may find parts of it useful.
… Read full postMy central argument is that if