The next installment in the Thinking Poker Tournament Seminar series will be on Saturday, December 3rd, Noon-2 PM Eastern. The topic will be Playing Out of Position: Value Betting, Bluffing, and Getting to Showdown. Virtually all of the toughest spots in poker arise from playing out of position, … Read full post
Villain is a decent player on the tight side of TAG, 18/15 pre-flop with a 33% Fold to Flop Continuation Bet over a sample of about 200 hands. Don’t have much idea how he views Hero.
PokerStars No-Limit Hold’em, $2.00 BB (6 handed) – PokerStars Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com
BB … Read full post
Yesterday’s inaugural Thinking Poker Tournament Seminar was a great success. I think all the participants got a lot out of it, and I learned a few things that I can do to make future seminars even better. So thinking of future seminars, the next one will be on Tuesday, November … Read full post
Q: You were talking about a hand you played on Day 1 of the recent BCPC . You didn’t specifically say the blinds and stack sizes, but I can estimate them from your write-up and my guess is that the blinds were 100/200 (no ante?) with effective stacks about … Read full post
If you’ve been enjoying my BCPC trip reports, be sure to check out my write-up from the WSOP Europe, now appearing in 2+2 Magazine:
… Read full postLoose-aggressive play has become so common among the best players that many of them tend to assume that anyone who doesn’t open 50% of hands
I once final tabled a small-field, small buy-in PLO8 tournament at the PCA, but otherwise the final two tables was the closest I’d ever made it to a live final table. It was exciting to keep seeing (some of) the same people day after day, and to feel the envy … Read full post
Such a great day! Where to begin? My day actually started around 9:30. Emily was sick and needed some things from the grocery store, so I biked over to the Whole Foods (I told you we’re in the yuppy district!) before leaving for the casino. It was a beautiful morning. … Read full post
I was happy with my table, and the day got off to a great start. I was one of the two biggest stacks, the other one of whom was a young Asian kid in yellow hoodie and designer sunglasses who looked like he could be good. He handled his chips … Read full post
This is from the PokerStars $150 6-max Sunday tournament. People are often surprised by calls that I make out of the big blind when I’m getting very good odds. I don’t know how helpful it is when I say things like, “The more you feel that you have a skill … Read full post
I didn’t expect Villain to much Kx in his flatting range. Then again, I wouldn’t have expected him to flat the hand he showed up with, either, so maybe that’s a bad read. In any event, I felt I was in very good shape versus his betting range but a … Read full post
Edit: Fixed the flop in the Vanessa Rousso hand, I didn´t river a full house obviously.
Busted third to last hand of the night, been going back and forth a lot for the last half hour about whether I like my call, but we´ll get to that in a second. … Read full post
The conclusion of my 2011 WSOP main event trip report is now appearing in the October issue of 2+2 Magazine. We’re down to Day 6, and needless to say, things are starting to get tense:
“The last hand before a break, especially a dinner break, always means fireworks. Some … Read full post
I suppose my main event was a fitting end to the series and a paradigmatic WCOOP experience. In the early stages I plundered the satellite qualifiers, going on an early rush that made me chipleader with 1400 players remaining. Over time the table got tougher and tougher, with 3-bet pots … Read full post
This was one of the more frustrating events I played, probably because it came on the tail end of so many other frustrations. I played for nearly 7.5 hours and finished in something like 140th place with 108 paying. This is the hand that I went out on:
PokerStars No-Limit … Read full post
Sorry for the lack of posts on here. It’s just that I’ve been playing so much poker that when I’m finished I don’t feel like spending another half-hour at the computer putting together a blog post.
Also I haven’t done anything of great interest in any of the recent WCOOPs. … Read full post
Round 1
My first opponent was a guy I didn’t recognize from China. Before cards were even dealt, he typed “lololol pro so cool”. Based on that alone, I predicted that he was going to give me no credit and try to outplay me.
Picking up JJ on the first … Read full post
I’m really upset at myself for spewing off my stack in the 4-max. It’s such a fun tournament, especially in the early stages when everyone is really deep and trying to play loose aggressive. Many otherwise good tournament players are just clueless about playing wide ranges super-deep and seem to … Read full post
I was really kicking ass in this thing, had twice-average stack of 150 BBs approaching the bubble, and then it all went to shit in about 25 hands. This was the first one that took a big chunk out of me:
PokerStars No-Limit Hold’em, 530 Tournament, 500/1000 Blinds 125 Ante … Read full post
I played so badly in the $265 that there weren’t even hands worth posting. Here are some interesting ones from the Second Chance, though.
The Villains in Hand 1 both have nitty pre-flop stats, so I think 7’s are extremely unlikely for either of them (not to mention that I’m … Read full post
I love this game. For those who don’t, the blinds are always 5 and 5, but the antes get progressively larger every level. So what you end up with is a large pre-flop pot but no one player any more committed to it than any other. The rules are otherwise … Read full post
I played all of today’s WCOOPs but only did anything notable in the $320 6-handed shootout. My starting table feature PokerStars Pro Lex Veldhuis, thankfully on my right, and four players I didn’t recognize. I’d been playing aggressively against Lex, generally with the best hand, and finally he’d had enough. … Read full post
In a recent mailbag, I discussed the potential for exploiting players who size bets one way when they want to induce a raise and another when they don’t. I had the opportunity to take advantage of such a player last Sunday.
I’d already folded to re-raises twice this orbit, … Read full post
I expected my American coaching business to dry up after Black Friday. Of course I did lose some US online players, but I also got some new students who were mostly live players. Interestingly, these haven’t generally been online players “making the switch” but people who have always played live … Read full post
I had a very frustrating 11th place finish in the $150 6-max today. Lost a huge coin flip. It’s a good thing that’s the last thing I was playing because it was the most frustrated I’ve let myself get in months. Anyway, here are two key hands.
CO was a … Read full post
There were tons of comments on the most recent “What’s Your Play?” post, which is awesome. I’m going to go ahead and post the results, but especially after seeing the comments I think it’s very close and I don’t mean to hold my play up as the best possible … Read full post
Pretty sure I’ve used that title before, but that just goes to show you what a nit I can be in these silly tournaments. Check out this one, where I 3-bet-fold AKo with a 21BB stack. UTG+1 is very active but seems good. I previously 3-bet him from the button … Read full post
Hero and Villain are heads up on four tables at Villain’s request. Villain bought in short at all four but promised not to quit no matter how big his stack got, and he’s been true to his word. He’s not a professional but has proven surprisingly capable. He is playing … Read full post
Q: I have a question about your article “The Last Bet“.
It is a very interesting article and I want to thank you for that and for your website. I read a lot of books about poker and learned a lot, but since I read your articles and … Read full post
First hand of the match, but both players are 5/10 regulars and each respects the other’s game. No history particularly relevant to this hand.
PokerStars No-Limit Hold’em, $10.00 BB (2 handed) – PokerStars Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com
BB ($2500)
SB ($2581.50)
Dealt to Hero: T♥ T♣
Preflop:
Hero bets … Read full post
One of the cooler hands from my time splashing around in the small stakes:
PokerStars No-Limit Hold’em, $1.00 BB (2 handed) – PokerStars Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com
Hero (SB) ($100.50)
BB ($51)
Preflop: Hero is SB with K♦, Q♠
Hero bets $2, BB calls $1
Flop: ($4) … Read full post
Part 1 of my trip report from the 2011 WSOP Main Event is now appearing in the August edition of 2+2 Magazine. This covers my first two days and includes everything you could want from the WSOP: big calls, big bluffs, scared money, fearsome Russians, surly Frenchmen, bad beats, and … Read full post
This is an interview that I did with Railbirds.com a few hours after my elimination on Day 7. No beautiful women in this one but it is much less rushed than the others so I’m able to answer questions in more depth:
Whenever we get a lot of new visitors at Thinking Poker, and probably a lot of people who haven’t read my more monolithic trip reports (understandable), I reprint select stories that are buried in much longer narratives but that I consider among my best. This article is part of that … Read full post
Just posted a review of No Limits: The Fundamentals of No-Limit Holdem by Chris “Fox” Wallace and Adam Stemple. Here’s the gist of it:
As a book for small stakes cash game players, it’s not bad, but not bad isn’t good enough when it’s covering ground already tread by great … Read full post
Here’s an interesting hand that one of my students shared with me. We’d been working on bet-sizing, and his assignment for the week was to find spots to under- and over-bet the pot.
His reads here were that the BTN was a weak regular and the BB was on the … Read full post
Part trip report, part sequel to “Gray Friday“, “Three Days in Madrid” is my latest article for the Two Plus Two Poker Magazine:
… Read full postMy heart beat eagerly as my eyes scanned the waiting crowd at Madrid-Barajas Airport. It’s nice to know that, after nine hours of
The day started well enough. My table couldn’t be called “soft”, but given the overall tough field, I imagine it was one of the more desirable tables. We were supposed to be playing 8-handed, but my table consisted of me, three primarily live players of varying skill, and three online … Read full post
My latest poker strategy article, Slowplaying, is a meditation on a variety of topics related to slowplaying: what it costs you, when to do it, which types of boards and opponents are best, etc. Here’s an excerpt from the introduction:
“[Y]ou must weigh the advantages of slowplaying against what … Read full post
…so overbet-overbet it is:
PokerStars No-Limit Hold’em, $2 BB (5 handed) Hand History converter Courtesy of PokerZion.com
UTG ($518.95)
MP ($500)
Button ($538.90)
SB ($211.55)
Hero ($1162.75)
Preflop: Hero is BB with 7s, 7d.
2 folds, Button raises to $6, SB calls $5, Hero calls $4.
Flop: ($18.80) … Read full post
Villain’s hand looks so much like a busted draw that I was afraid I was getting leveled. I had to double-check the board to confirm that it really made no sense for him to play any value hand this way before snapping him off:
PokerStars No-Limit Hold’em, $2 BB (4 … Read full post
Also, fold the river:
PokerStars No-Limit Hold’em Tourney, Big Blind is t80 (6 handed) Hand History converter Courtesy of PokerZion.com
UTG (t1560)
MP (t3290)
CO (t6660)
Hero (t4198)
SB (t3839)
BB (t1453)
Preflop: Hero is Button with 7h, 9h.
3 folds, Hero raises to t160, SB raises to … Read full post
PokerStars No-Limit Hold’em, $10 BB (2 handed) Hand History converter Courtesy of PokerZion.com
Hero ($1000)
BB ($3855.15)
Preflop: Hero is Button with 8s, Ts.
Hero raises to $30, BB calls $20.
Flop: ($60) 8c, 5d, Qd (2 players)
BB checks, Hero bets $44.6, BB calls $44.60.
Turn: ($149.20) … Read full post
First hand is a very relevant bit of recent history:
PokerStars No-Limit Hold’em, $6 BB (2 handed) Hand History converter Courtesy of PokerZion.com
Hero ($1153.70)
Button ($752.10)
Preflop: Hero is BB with Th, Jh.
Button raises to $12, Hero raises to $42, Button calls $30.
Flop: ($84) Qc, … Read full post
I have no idea what to make of his flop min-check-raise as the pre-flop raiser, but I seriously doubt he can stand a turn raise. I just don’t see him doing this with either 2 pair+ or a good draw. My intention was to raise just about any card. Be … Read full post
PokerStars No-Limit Hold’em Tourney, Big Blind is t600 (6 handed) Hand History converter Courtesy of PokerZion.com
Hero (t14702)
UTG (t30344)
MP (t15991)
CO (t16405)
Button (t34712)
SB (t61552)
Preflop: Hero is BB with Ks, 9s.
3 folds, Button raises to t1200, 1 fold, Hero calls t600.
Flop:… Read full post
I’m posting three hands tonight, all of them against the same Villain. I’d just stacked him for the second time, and after that he bought in for just 30 BB’s, won a sizable pot, and then started donking a lot of flops. In the first two, I made some biggish … Read full post
I’ve never really been a grinder, one of those online poker players who plays 10+ tables at once, cursor and attention whizzing from monitor to monitor so quickly that they have only seconds to think about they want to play any given hand. For me, 4 tables is common, and … Read full post
Thanks to everyone who played in the inaugural Thinking Poker cash game last night. We had our share of technical difficulties:
1. When I set the stakes at $.10/$.25 and 100-250BB buy-in, I somehow thought that would mean a $2.50-$6.25 buy-in range. Of course it’s actually 10x that, so we … Read full post
My latest poker strategy article, Out of Position Against a LAG, has just been published in the March 2011 issue of 2+2 Magazine. It’s a street-by-street analysis of a single hand, highlighting a lesson that can be learned from each. Here’s an example:
Lesson: Against an opponent who is … Read full post
I’ve posted a lot lately about overbetting, so here’s a spot where overbetting with (functionally) the nuts would be a bad idea:
PokerStars No-Limit Hold’em, $6 BB (8 handed) Hand History converter Courtesy of PokerZion.com
SB ($696)
BB ($645)
UTG ($785.70)
UTG+1 ($493)
MP1 ($368.50)
MP2 ($201)
CO ($109.30)
Hero … Read full post
I know I’m late to the party on this one, but I just started using Table Ninja about two weeks ago, and I love it. I just published a full review, but here’s the bottom line:
… Read full post“Table Ninja is one of the very best poker tools I’ve found. Though
Villain was unknown to me and had pretty crazy stats for a 6-max game, like 57/32 or something. He floated a lot of flops and would fire the turn when in position, so I was originally looking to check-raise. The overbet threw me off, as I’d never seen him do … Read full post
Sorry that I was slow in posting results and lax about responding to comments. Not only was I moving over the weekend (got a place in Boston for a few months- more on this soon), but I also took ill. In retrospect eating a pre-made tuna sandwich from a rest … Read full post
Thanks to everyone who sounded off on the special HUD edition of “What’s Your Play?”. As always your comments were thought-provoking, and I was actually led to conclude that the answer isn’t as open-and-shut as I thought.
I’ll start by giving you the results, and then I’ll let you … Read full post
I think this is one of the worst hands I’ve played in a while:
PokerStars No-Limit Hold’em, $10.00 BB (6 handed) – PokerStars Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com
Button ($646.60)
SB ($1000)
Hero (BB) ($1000)
UTG ($458)
MP ($2288.55)
CO ($1148)
Preflop: Hero is BB with K
, Q
2 … Read full post
A reader recently asked me about a hand, presumably in response to a comment I made about bet sizing on the river when your opponent’s range is defined as a bluff-catcher:
“What do you think would be optimal sizing on this river? I feel like this is a spot … Read full post
The first video in my new four-part series about HUD-based decision making and using statistics to exploit opponents has just gone live at Poker Savvy Plus. In conjunction with that, I’ve got a twist on the old “What’s Your Play?” series. In this hand, calling or folding are your … Read full post
As played, Villain pretty much never has a straight, and he probably realizes that I know that. This means that I can just abuse him on the river with overbets, and the best he can do is try to guess at the correct calling frequency. Not only can I overbet … 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
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
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
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
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
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