Some of you may have heard of the Yeti Theorem, named for the 2+2 poster who first postulated it. The theorem states that when the pre-flop raiser 3-bets a check-raise on a paired flop, he can very rarely stand a 4-bet. Consider if you raise pre-flop and bet a 993 … Read full post
…was my third losing month of 2007. I was only out about $1500, and I made almost $1000 in rakeback, so it was really more of a breakeven month than a losing month. Still, there was a negative sign in front of the total on my spreadsheet, and that makes … Read full post
My most recent article, De-Polarizing Your Turn Range, has just been published in the September issue of 2+2 Internet Magazine. Unfortunately for regular readers of my blog, there won’t be a lot of new information, as the article mostly brings together my analysis of two different cash game … Read full post
The Washington Post recently ran a very thorough story on two debaters from the Baltimore Urban Debate League. It’s probably the best article I’ve seen on any urban debate league. It’s generally true that any press is good press, but too often news articles tend to have an undertone … Read full post
I was really happy with the way I was playing yesterday. The aggressive style that wins money at shorthanded 5/10 NL has been getting me into trouble in tournament play lately, but yesterday I didn’t do anything dumb: no hopeless calls, no big bluffs, and no desperation plays. I was … Read full post
Sorry for the lack of updates, but as predicted, I haven’t spent a lot of time on the computer in Chicago. I’m out here for a week volunteering for the Chicago Debate Summer Institute, a two-week camp very similar to the institute I ran in Boston last week. Unlike my … Read full post
Today was the last day of the BDL’s week-long summer institute, and it really went better than I could have hoped. There were some snags, particularly when the post office lost three weeks worth of my mail including all of the applications, but we rallied and managed to bring together … Read full post
I skipped Tuesday’s $200 O/8 event, but played the $300 rebuy 6-max last night. I started to the left of kwob20, who was playing like a complete monkey during the rebuy period, just shipping his stack in really bad spots. In one hand, he limped behind a limper, I potted … Read full post
I literally felt physically ill after busting out of this tournament. That was probably in no small part due to the fact that I’d slept badly the night before, spent the whole day teaching and running around doing other things to keep the BDL summer institute going, and then played … Read full post
I’ll start by telling you that the BDL camp got off to a good start. We had twelve students on our first day, which was about as many as I’d expected when we first thought about having an institute, but not as many as I’d hoped after the flood of … Read full post
Once again, got off to a good start. Eventually, this happened:
Full Tilt Poker
No Limit Holdem Ring game
Blinds: $100/$200
9 players
Converter
Stack sizes:
UTG: $13505
UTG+1: $15869
MP1: $1845
MP2: $7740
MP3: $10452
Foucault: $7435
Button: $2686
SB: $10085
BB: $6027
Pre-flop: (9 players) Foucault … Read full post
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Skipped Event 4, which was the $500 PLO 6-max. Chief (for those of you who know him) IM’ed me for a quick primer in the game cuz he satellited in. My first piece of advice was not to play satellites for tournaments you shouldn’t be playing. I told him … Read full post
$200 Pot Limit Hold ‘Em. I built up from 3000 to 5000 early on when my KK flopped KJJ and the clown who called me out of position with Q9o bluffed his gutshot into me. That should have taught me something: don’t try to bluff random tournament donkeys. At 25/50, … Read full post
Last night was the $200 HORSE event. I made it about three hours in, ran well in the first couple levels against some clueless donks, then got nothing playable for like an hour, got outdrawn by another donkey at Razz, rebuilt thanks to some stubborn Stud donkeys, made a baby … Read full post
I took seven semesters of French in college, and though I’ve never been to a French-speaking country, my knowledge of the language, particularly the written languate, was pretty strong when I graduated. In the past three years, though, I’ve barely used it. I’ve been wanting to read the Harry Potter … Read full post
Since I was already planning on playing the Stars $300 and FTP $200 last night, and I’m going to be playing more tournaments because of FTOPS, I decided just to play all tournaments last night and no cash. That’s probably wise anyway, because the mentality required for tournaments versus is … Read full post
The fifth Full Tilt Online Poker Series started with a $200+9 NLHE tournament last night. It got a huge field, well over 4000 players, and featured the usual generous FTOPS structure. There were no antes, for example, until two hours into the tournament. A little over 500 places paid, and … Read full post
Sorry, I know this is old news, but it’s something I’ve been wanting to comment on for a while. In my opinion, Jerry Yang’s victory at the 2007 World Series of Poker is great for the game’s image. There are those who claim that a win by a largely inexperienced … Read full post
I knew this was going to happen once I made my first TED post. Now I am going to have tell you about what exciting new things I see each day!
Jennifer Lin on Piano Composition and Improvisation– Everything she plays is very good, but I especially recommend the … Read full post
They are called TED Talks, and they are like intellectual crack. TED stands for Technology, Entertainment, Design, and basically TED conferences bring together some of the smartest and most fascinating people from these fields. Each gives an 18-minute talk about the work that he or she does, and to … Read full post
I’ve got an article called “Value Flows Downstream” in the August issue of 2+2 Magazine. The article is about river play and how it can influence other streets. In particular, it discusses the importance of thin value betting marginal hands on the river, so I figured I’d … Read full post
After much delay, anticipation, and worry, the day has finally arrived. US customers can now withdraw their long-locked-up funds from Neteller. The only catch is that Neteller asks you to sign a release that indemnifies both you and them from being sued. I’m not a lawyer or in any way … Read full post
There’s a trailer up on YouTube for the documentary, called Resolved, about high school debate in which my friend Dave plays a key role. Unfortunately he isn’t in the trailer, and in fact his students are barely shown either, but if you’re intersted in a brief introduction to the … Read full post
I happened today to come across two media pieces dealing, at least tangentially, with the issue of gangs in Los Angeles. Gangs and related problems of crime and drugs are issues in virtually every major metropolitan area in the US, but LA seems to be the epicenter both in terms … Read full post
Money should be available around the end of the month. From today’s press release:
“The Company is using its best efforts to allow withdrawal requests as soon as possible and US customers will be able to sign in to their NETELLER account to request the withdrawal of their funds … Read full post
Now that the WSOP is over, I really want to scale back my tournament play and focus on improving at 6-max no limit ring games. My recent winnings have given me enough of a roll that I want to dive right in and start multi-tabling 5/10 pretty aggressively. I’ve played … Read full post
I should be on my way to the Rio right now, preparing to nurse a sickly stack into a monster as I did on Tuesday. Instead, I am sitting in front of my computer trying to decide how to explain to all of you how it all came crashing down.… Read full post
The Los Angeles Urban Debate League, run by my good friend David Wiltz, has been in the news lately thanks to a new documentary about the world of high school debate that highlights two of his former students. Here’s a good summary from the article:
“In the film, the … Read full post
Barry and goleafsgoeh were the two players who most concerned me at the table, and with one gone and one crippled, I was ready for total table domination. Except that we didn’t get to play even a single hand after the second break. No sooner had the tournament director announced … Read full post
I got a mention on the Baltimore Sun sports page today from a blogger named Bill Ordine. He didn’t know much about me at the time, but here’s what he had to say:
“The only other Maryland player who appeared to cash-in at the main event who was listed … Read full post
I ended my Day 1 report by bemoaning my measly 30,000 chips but predicting that, “A lot will depend on how things go in the first few hours. If I can get off to a good start, I could easily double or triple up and be right back in contention.” … Read full post
I’m at Table 26, Seat 6. Here’s the full lineup:
1. Olav Prinz von Sachsew (101,700)
2. Justin “Jurollo/WPTHero” Rollo (238,500) Justin’s blog
3. Dale Michael (123,500)
4. Matt “Matt24/Mattster24” Sterling (137,000) Matt’s website
5. Andy Stocker (261,500)
6. Me (344,100)
7. David Lee (74,700)
8. Randall Amiel (179,700)
9. … Read full post
I’m at Table 26, Seat 6. Here’s the full lineup:
1. Olav Prinz von Sachsew (101,700)
2. Justin “Jurollo/WPTHero” Rollo (238,500) Justin’s blog
3. Dale Michael (123,500)
4. Matt “Matt24/Mattster24” Sterling (137,000) Matt’s website
5. Andy Stocker (261,500)
6. Me (344,100)
7. David Lee (74,700)
8. Randall Amiel (179,700)
9. … Read full post
I had a huge day today, up from 30K to 344,100. I’m not sure when I’ll get around to posting the write up, so please be patient. Hopefully I’ll be tied up for a few more days :-).
Thanks to Darren and others for the updates on here. That hand … Read full post
Here’s a good tibit from Conor Tate, who will be at my table today. Apparently he’s a pro with some British coaching site, but I found his blog from his first day’s play both interesting and informative. Two highlights:
“I immediately get the impression my table is going to play … Read full post
Looks like a tough lineup, and I’m not thrilled with where I’m sitting relative to the big stacks and specifically Barry G:
1- Me 31K
2- Barry Greenstein 93K
3- Scott Yeates 163K
4- Miles Dooly 57K
5- couldn’t find a listing, maybe empty?
6- Conor Tate 109K took 1… Read full post
I left the house around 11AM on Friday bound for the Rio and the main event of the 2007 World Series of Poker. Vegas is experiencing record highs for the weak, with the thermometer topping out near 120 degrees. It’s enough to leave me sweating after a two block walk … Read full post
I’m working on a longer write-up, but I don’t know when that will be done, so just to let you all know, I did survive Day 1 of the main event. It was a real roller coaster, as evidenced by my chip stack relative to the average at the end … Read full post
I arrived at the Rio around 3:30 PM on July 4th. I had $4000 in tournament lammers in my left pocket and $3400 cash in my right. My objective was to play satellites (they were running a bunch of $500 and $1000 megas, including one at 4PM) until I was … Read full post
Went out to the Rio last night, primarily to meet Nate from 2+2. Traffic was atrocious, so it took me like twice as long to get there as it should have, but I still had about two hours to play. I got a seat in a new game, and when … Read full post
Jonas Flug-Entin, 2+2’s Riverboatking, is at the final table of the $10,000 World Series of Poker Pot Limit Omaha Championship event. It’s a pretty sick line-up:
Seat 1 – Doyle Brunson – 510,000
Seat 2 – Patrik Antonius – 650,000
Seat 3 – Marco Traniello – 420,000
Seat 4 – … Read full post
My most recent poker article, entitled “Your First World Series of Poker“, has just been published in the July issue of Two Plus Two Internet Magazine. Please let me know what you think with comments here or in my thread in the 2+2 Magazine Forum.… Read full post
I heard this story from Bond, who heard it from someone else, so I have no idea how true it is, but I think it’s hilarious, regardless.
Some NLHE tournament or something, guy raises pre-flop, Chan calls out of the blinds. On the flop, Chan check-raises all him, and the … Read full post
After the $5K yesterday, I played a $512+13 ten-handed satellite. It was winner take all in tournament lammers, but since this was live poker, my understanding was that deals were almost always made.
The play was predictably bad. Tons of limping pre-flop, no one ever raised without having AK or … Read full post
I am both pretty good at poker and kind of arrogant, so it is rare for me not to be one of the best players at any poker table and even rarer for me to admit it. In yesterday’s $5K 6-max event, I was not one of the best players … Read full post
I’d been going back and forth on whether to play this. I’ve been frustrated with how few prelim events I’ve played and how little playing time I ended up with in the two that I did play. However, my bankroll can’t really handle more shots right now, especially since I … Read full post
I was browsing this blog from a Vegas taxi driver and was very glad to see this post about all the racism surrounding NBA All Star Weekend. I was in Vegas while Mandalay Bay was hosting the NBA All Star game, in fact I was staying just next door at … Read full post
Ray “ExitOnly” Coburn busted from the WSOP $2000 PLHE tournament in 8th place when his 44 lost to AK all in pre-flop. That’s worth $22,000 and change. Congratulations, Ray!… Read full post
Just read a good post from Taylor Caby (Green Plastic) over at Cardrunners that captures very well my sentiments towards at least one segment of the WSOP scene:
“I’m already really tired of the whole live poker scene. I don’t HATE vegas by any means, but i do hate the … Read full post
Ray Coburn, 2+2’s ExitOnly, has final tabled the $2000 PLHE event at the WSOP (yeah, the one I scrubbed out of in like 2 hours). He’s coming in as the short stack, but this kid is so good, he’s probably the favorite to win anyway.
Today I played my second preliminary event in the 2007 World Series of Poker. The game was pot-limit, rather than no limit, Texas Hold ‘Em, with a $2000 buy-in. As the name implies, a player may not at any point bet or raise more than the amount in the pot. … Read full post
On Monday, I played my first WSOP preliminary event, a $2500 6-max tournament. This is a little beyond my bankroll, but there are so few opportunities to play 6-max tournaments, and I’m not playing many other events, so I decided to go for it.
The dealer at my first table … Read full post
Justin ended up chopping the $2000 NLHE with three players remaining. Rumor is that he got like $370K, but that’s not confirmed. I’m sure it was a sick score regardless. Way to go, J!
In other news, 2+2’er T_Mac has final tabled the $1500 NLHE. I haven’t been reporting on … Read full post
I invited Justin to a lunch with Andy Bloch and Howard Lederer (more on this later) like two weeks ago. Here was his response:
“Andrew, I should be available that day. I am in Vegas on June 12th. I can take that day off from tournaments if it is definitely … Read full post
Over continental breakfast, Emily and I discuss what to do about the last episode of Sopranos, which was to air that night. Though Emily is not a fan of the show, I very much am. The complication was that, lacking either cable or ready access to friends with cable, I’d … Read full post
For those who don’t know, my girlfriend Emily is moving to Las Vegas for work, and I drove out with her to help her move and then to stay through the WSOP. After a solid week of driving cross-country from Boston, Emily and I finally got into Vegas late last … Read full post
We’re now three days into road trip to Vegas. Sorry for the lack of updates, we’re spending most of each day on the road and getting in too late for me to do something coherent with limited internet access. Not much of note has happened, though I did find myself … Read full post
I played a bunch of tournaments yesterday and some cash tables as well, including a substantial amout of 5/10 NL. I’ll get my tournament whining out of the way early. Most of what I played went badly, though I came close to winning a fourth WSOP seat. I was in … Read full post
Thayer finished up 4/228 in the WPT Mandalay Bay event, winning $131,170. Nice job, kid.
Meanwhile, Steve Paul-Ambrose has final tabled the $5000 mixed hold ’em event at the WSOP. Good luck today, Steve!… Read full post
I came across a very interesting/disturbing report today from the New York Civil Liberties Union entitled “Criminalizing the Classroom“. The following is an excerpt from the Executive Summary:
“Since the NYPD took control of school safety in 1998, the number of police personnel in schools and the extent … Read full post
Two Plus Two Internet Magazine has just published an article of mine, entitled “Game Selection For Tournament Players“, in its June issue.
This is the fourth article I’ve published with them, but it differs substantially from the other three, which were all about strategic concepts in tournament play. … Read full post
As some of you may already know, my girlfriend Emily has accepted a job doing public relations and marketing work for an adventure tours company based out of Las Vegas. Believe it or not, Vegas was in no way my idea, and in fact I was not thrilled to hear … Read full post
I almost always fold to raises like this, because even though my hand is under-repped, I feel like these low- to mid-stakes players are almost universally incapable of taking advantage of that. From time to time, I talk myself into a call, though. The Villain in this hand was new … Read full post
Most of the Razz hands I’ve posted here lately have been against this same fish. He’s mostly just way too loose aggressive, hates to let go of a hand even when he’s been caught bluffing. That can make him tough to play against, but it also makes him easy to … Read full post
I won another WSOP seat tonight in a $650 satellite. Man, these things are soft. I mean, there are some good players, but you don’t even have to get first. Plus you get half hour levels, so nice deep stacks to outplay the donks. Three and a half hours into … Read full post
Even though we’d technically had our last game a few weeks ago, Logan invited some regulars over for $.50/$1 NLHE game on Wednesday with a $150 buy-in. I played really poorly and got kind of tilty towards the end, which I don’t usually do, and as a result I was … Read full post