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Jamie Kerstetter is a lawyer-turned-poker-pro with a long and colorful career. She talks about her decision to go pro, her first experiences playing live poker, moving to Mexico after Black Friday, the East Coast poker scene, the New Jersey online poker … Read full post
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Before Julie Anna Cornelius became a professional poker player, she was a ballet dancer and a flight attendant working in the fleet of one of the poker world’s most notorious characters. In this interview, she shares her story and reflects on the … Read full post
Q: I’ve got a hand that came up at Event 3 of the $40k Guarantee $200 buyin Deepstack event at The Bike (no rebuys, no add ons).
This is level 2 (150 – 300) and I ran the starting stack of 15k up to 28k. A player from middle position … Read full post
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Alex “Assassinato” Fitzgerald and “The” Carlos Welch join Nate and Andrew in a room at the Gold Coast to talk about Las Vegas, getting better at poker, creativity, poetry, pre-flop raise sizing, and more. Don’t miss this rare treat, with two hosts … Read full post
Depending on your definition of exciting, you might be interested to hear that my latest book has hit the digital shelves! The fifth volume of The Thinking Poker Diaries chronicles my 87th place finish the 2010 WSOP Main Event. Day by day, it introduces the situations and opponents I encountered … Read full post
Sorry I haven’t posted any Main Event updates. First I was competing, then I was apoplectic. I’ll start with the good news: Carlos Welch, Nate Meyvis, and Leo Wolpert all squeaked into the money but did not survive Day 3.
Nate folded to Queens to two shoves that turned … Read full post
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Nate and Andrew follow up on the strategy discussion of donk betting from Episode 128.1, then discuss protecting your hand and a dealer who miscalled the action.
Timestamps
:30 hello & welcome
15:43 strategy
Strategy
EP open limps. I raise from … Read full post
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This isn’t a proper podcast episode, but it’s better than nothing! Andrew goes solo, with no co-host, no editor, and no bumper music (or, perhaps, worse than no bumper music). He talks about his World Series of Poker so far and discusses … Read full post
Sorry gang, but will all the poker I’ve been playing, I haven’t been around at our usual recording times, and we don’t have a show for you this week. I will, however, present a few hands from yesterday’s $1500 NLHE event.
My original table was awesome, and I got off … Read full post
Delightful little tournament. As in the Millionaire Maker the day before, I found plenty of good spots in a short amount of time and finished with time left over to play cash.
The table was, perhaps not quite as good as the previous day’s, but pretty spectacular. I made good … Read full post
Today went pretty much perfectly. I had an amazing table draw in the Millionaire Maker, put my money in good several times, busted in just a few hours, got a seat in 10/25 game, won back my MM entry and then some, registered for tomorrow’s $1K turbo, and got home … Read full post
I just finished 120th in this, out of 1600 or so. It was a fun and interesting tournament, and I want to share a few hands here while they’re still on my mind:
Facing a Donk Bet
I opened 2.5x from the CO with As Tc, a good player in … Read full post
The first High event I played was the $2K 8-max. I once again found myself bet-folding a strong hand on the river to a strange raise that represented only an improbable value hand or even more improbable bluff:
PokerStars – $2000+$100|200/400 Ante 50 NL (8 max) – Holdem – 8 … Read full post
As much as I like Zoom tournaments, I needed a day off, and Friday was it. I spent a good chunk of the day at the Chun-Yet Sen Classical Garden. It proved not only interesting and beautiful but also the perfect place to unwind from the stresses of poker:
The High event I planned to play on Wednesday was the $2K re-entry. As with several of the other mid-week $2Ks, though, it was shaping up to be a small and tough field. The re-entries really compound that, because the best players are far more likely to re-enter than the … Read full post
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Andrew and Nate talk about Andrew’s recent friction entering Canada to play online poker, then review two hands from early Spring Championship of Online Poker events.
Strategy
Hand 1
PokerStars – $1000+$50|30/60 Ante 5 NL – Holdem – 9 players
Hand converted … Read full post
The day started off not much differently from the last. I busted the $2K Warm-Up with Queens on the big blind versus Aces on the button, though with 100 BBs there was once again some question as to whether I could have gotten away from it. The Villain was Randal … Read full post
Today was the most frustrating day I’ve had so far, though I suppose that’s in part because it comes on the backs of several other frustrating days. I don’t want to sound like a broken record, because I know I’ve said this here before, but I can swallow my share … Read full post
I intended to play the $1K Big Antes event as well, but I didn’t realize (or more precisely, had forgotten) that it was a rebuy. Initially I thought that I hadn’t presented it as such to my investors, and consequently didn’t register for it, but then one of them pointed … Read full post
I didn’t post yesterday because nothing much of interest happened in the Super Tuesday, and I didn’t want to bump the new podcast off of the top slot on the blog. Speaking of which, if you skipped it because you didn’t recognize the guest, do yourself a favor and go … Read full post
I decided to unregister the Low buy-in heads up event, because heads up really isn’t a game I can autopilot in the corner of my screen the way I’ve generally been doing with the Low events, and I didn’t want to be distracted from a $700 heads up match by … Read full post
As I now live on the west coast, I decided to do Vancouver instead of Montreal for my online pokering. I’ve barely been here 24 hours, and the weather has been beautiful, but I do miss the familiarity I have with Montreal, and the ease of getting around the city … Read full post
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Before Black Friday, Reid Young was one of the most successful no-limit hold ’em players on the internet. Now, he’s turning his attention to how the game is taught. In this interview he talks about his career, his new project, and the … Read full post
I made a pretty bad fold last night. I’m more than a bit embarrassed to post it, and I’ll just ask that those of you not familiar with the sort of game/player described here hold your judgment. I promise you that this isn’t as bad as it looks.
I was … Read full post
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Nate and Andrew field some mailbag questions related to both poker strategy and ethics, including collusion, what exactly a “guaranteed” prize pool should entail, when to rebuy, and how to add more aggression to your game.
Strategy
Villain #1 opens to $4 … Read full post
$5/$10/$20 game with $2500 stacks.
UTG2 opens to $60, gets four calls, I call with 85s in the BB.
Flop A85r (no backdoor for me), checks to the second caller, who bets $170. I call, everyone else folds.
Turn A. We both check.
River 4.
At this point I’m almost … Read full post
Thanks for all the comments on What’s Your Play? Suited Gapper In Position, Deep. The very first comment, from Zach, pretty much nailed it:
… Read full post[E]ven though position is important, and the stacks are deep enough to make 74s less ghastly than if we were 100BBs or shallower, there just
My latest poker strategy article, What Do Ranges Want?, is now appearing in the Two Plus Two Magazine. And it’s inspired by some of your What’s Your Play? comments:
… Read full postSome of my blog comments highlight this point starkly. When the Hero in the hypothetical hand example holds a
Sorry but there’s no new podcast this week. The show will return next Monday, April 6, with Matt Savage as the guest. In the meantime, here’s a What’s Your Play? to occupy your mind:
The game is $5/$10 with $2500 effective stacks. Hero is widely perceived as tough but a … Read full post
I recently finished reading Matthew Janda’s Applications of No-Limit Hold ‘Em and considered it one of the most helpful poker books I’ve read in some time. On a scale of 1 – 10, I give it a 9.5.
Applications is a Two Plus Two book par excellence. It’s dense, it’s … Read full post
Thanks to everyone who commented on this week’s What’s Your Play? Here’s a sample:
Ruud says, “Generally I find Villain has the goods when he bombs the river like this.”
Pepito agrees, “unless he contemptuously views you as a bad, nitty player, what adept villain expects Kx to fold given … Read full post
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On April 10, 2001, Danielle “dmoongirl” Andersen was a professional poker player living happily in a small town in Minnesota with her husband and young son. The film Bet Raise Fold (which also featured former podcast guest Tony Dunst) shows how … Read full post
This is a continuation of What’s Your Play? KJo in the BB. For a discussion of the pre-flop action, please see this post.
UTG is a typical splashy recreational player, with lots of limping and calling pre-flop followed by lots of checking and folding post-flop. He has about … Read full post
Thanks for all the comments on What’s Your Play? KJo in the BB. I think my favorite was Carlos’ remark that, “The goal in this hand is not to go after the fish. It is to go after the shark who is going after the fish. He has made himself … Read full post
Hot off the virtual presses, my latest e-book chronicling the 2009 WSOP Main Event is now available in the Amazon Kindle Store or from www.nitcast.com.
2009 wasn’t my best year in the Main Event – in fact it was one of my worst – but understanding the agony of … Read full post
I’m excited to announce the newest and most affordable poker coaching I’ve ever offered: personalized video reviews. For just $100/hour, half the price of my usual one-on-one coaching, I’ll create a custom video of your tournament or cash game database, a hand history of a tournament or cash game session, … Read full post
Game is 9-handed $5/$10 NLHE with deep stacks.
UTG is a typical splashy recreational player, with lots of limping and calling pre-flop followed by lots of checking and folding post-flop. He has about $800 in his stack.
HJ is the best of the competition by a long shot. He definitely … Read full post
Villain joined the game around 5PM and immediately ordered a beer and a double shot of Petron, which made me happy to have him on my immediate right. He was a typical splashy recreational player, limping into a lot of pots, sometimes folding to raises, sometimes calling and check-folding flops … Read full post
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Ben “ProfessorBen” Yu is an accomplished multi-table tournament player with three WSOP final tables to his name across a variety of games. He talks to us about ditching school to play poker, ditching poker to play Magic, and learning to play a … Read full post
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Gavin Griffin once held the record for youngest WSOP bracelet winner, and he remains one of a select few players to have won WSOP, EPT, and WPT events. Yet in 2012, he found himself writing this essay about rebuilding his bankroll and … Read full post
Thanks for all the comments on What’s Your Play? Big Draw vs Bad LAG. I hope you’ll find the results and analysis more interesting than the typical bad beat post, which if I’m being honest was part of my motivation in sharing this hand.
The reason I find it … Read full post
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Ed Miller talks about his latest book, No Limit Hold ‘Em Made Simple, as well as the Las Vegas poker economy, his experiences with the Clark County foster care system, and how his perspective on being a parent has changed.
Ed’s previous … Read full post
This is from a $5/$10/$20 NLHE game. Villain has some natural disbelieving/trying to win every pot tendencies that have been exaggerated by positive tilt. He’s got about $10K in front of him (max buy-in is $2500 because this is technically a $5/$10 game, we’re just playing with a mandatory straddle). … Read full post
Thanks for all the comments on What’s Your Play? Suited Broadway on the River. I’m going to start by speculating a bit about what GTO strategies might look like on the river considering the (probably non-GTO) ranges with which each player gets to the river. Then I’ll say a … Read full post
I’ve got two new poker strategy articles to share with you. The first is the conclusion of my analysis of the infamous Mark Newhouse bustout hand from the 2014 WSOP Main Event (the first part of the article is here):
… Read full post“[T]his looks like a textbook example of a “leveling
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Nate and Andrew discuss showing bluffs and getting value. Then Carlos and Andrew talk tournament strategy from Carlos’ recent trip to Florida, with an emphasis on dealing with overly aggressive tables.
Timestamps
0:30 – hello & welcome
3:24 – strategy: getting value … Read full post
This is a continuation of a multi-street What’s Your Play? For discussion of the pre-flop action, please see this post. Flop action is here, and turn action is here.
You’re at a 9-handed $2/$5 NLHE table with $600 effective stacks. UTG is very loose, especially pre-flop, and … Read full post
Thanks to everyone who commented on What’s Your Play? Suited Broadway on the Turn.
Pre-flop and on the flop, I argued that Hero had the opportunity, thanks to a bet sizing tell, to get more credit than he deserved on a 3-bet/c-bet and consequently could make these plays with … Read full post
This is a continuation of a multi-street What’s Your Play? For discussion of the pre-flop action, please see this post. Flop action is here.
You’re at a 9-handed $2/$5 NLHE table with $600 effective stacks. UTG is very loose, especially pre-flop, and the whole table is salivating over … Read full post
Thanks for all the comments on What’s Your Play? Suited Broadway on the Flop. Thanks also to Vookenmeister for pointing out that I forgot to add the big blind to the pot. Not that it makes a huge difference, but with a $5 rake and a $1 bad beat … Read full post
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A quick show that almost didn’t happen, this one features Nate and Andrew talking through an online NLHE hand and a live NLHE hand.
You can hear Andrew and his grandmother talk about her brother on Episode 21.
Be sure to … Read full post
This is a continuation of What’s Your Play? that began last week. For discussion of the pre-flop action, please see this post.
You’re at a 9-handed $2/$5 NLHE table with $600 effective stacks. UTG is very loose, especially pre-flop, and the whole table is salivating over him. UTG+2 is … Read full post
Thanks for all the comments on What’s Your Play? Suited Broadway Preflop. You all came up with some really diverse suggestions, and some interesting conversation resulted. I do think that changing the game conditions and player profiles (including, as some of you astutely mentioned, those of the players still to … Read full post
The latest and greatest volume in my Thinking Poker Diaries is now available at nitcast.com or in the Amazon Kindle Store. This third volume in the series follows the same format as the first two, interspersing anecdotes from the tournament with strategy essays that discuss topics that came up … Read full post
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Dr. Michael Bowling and PhD candidate Mike Johanson from the University of Alberta Computer Poker Research Group, who first appeared on Episode 79 of the podcast, return to discuss Cepheus, their “essentially” unexploitable heads up limit hold ’em AI and its … Read full post
This is the beginning of a multi-street What’s Your Play? Unlike many of these, it’s not an actual hand I played, but it illustrates some common situations that I think a lot of people get wrong.
You’re at a 9-handed $2/$5 NLHE table with $600 effective stacks. UTG is very … Read full post
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Old friend Leo Wolpert joins us to talk about setting goals, taking breaks, and planning for the year. And strategy, of course!
Timestamps
:30 – Hello & Welcome; Planning and Goal Setting
34:42 – Strategy… Read full post
A few people asked about this pot after I bragged about it on Twitter, so here it is, pretty sure it’s the largest pot I’ve won at $5/$10 (not counting straddled pots). I’ll talk about some of the more unconventional decisions after I recount the details.
UTG opens to $40, … Read full post
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David Einhorn is the founder and president of Greenlight Capital. He’s made a name for himself in the poker world not only by competing in both of the $1,000,000 buy-in Big One For One Drop WSOP tournaments but by finishing 3rd … Read full post
Nate and I are grateful to those of you who have listened to The Thinking Poker Podcast this year, whether you’re a regular follower, a sporadic listener, or just now discovering the show. I’ve compiled a list of some of my favorite episodes of the year, in case you missed … Read full post
Thanks for all the comments on What’s Your Play? Top Pair Facing Turn Donk. Sorry for the delay in getting these results up, I’ve been busy with holiday-related travel.
How to Interpret a Donk Bet
A donk bet is a way for the out of position player to guarantee … Read full post
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Kevin “Kevmath” Mathers’ job title is Manager of Poker Information for Bluff Magazine, but even before he had that position, he was known as the go-to guy for structure sheets, redraws, and just about anything you would want to know about the … Read full post
This is from a $5/$10 game at Lucky Chances (yes, I finally got out there last night). Villain seemed to be a typical mid-stakes non-pro regular, which is to say bordering on loose-passive in small pots but tight-passive in larger pots and excessively reluctant to get stacked. Hero probably had … Read full post
Now appearing on Tournament Poker Edge is a series of videos I recorded live while playing the World Championship of Online Poker. This is the first live recording I’ve done in years and my first ever for TPE. The bulk of the footage is me playing in various Knockout events, … Read full post
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The second batch of Thinking Poker Premium Podcasts is now available, and tonight you’re getting the first episode FREE. Fresh off of a $1-$2 no-limit game, Andrew and Nate help Carlos Welch take his first steps from tourney donk to cash game … Read full post