My latest poker strategy article for Two Plus Two Magazine, Poker is Not a Chest Beating Contest, addresses one of my favorite subjects, which is language and how it shapes the way we think:
“Poker lingo is full of bluster and bravado. For some, the colorful language and the … Read full post
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Carlos Welch reports on his trip to the PCA and ponders moving west. Andrew rants about what it means to give your opponent a decision. You can watch Carlos advise newly-minted professional Mike Sneideman in “Poker Pro: Year 1”.
Timestamps
0:30 … Read full post
As you’ve probably figured out right now, there was no new podcast this week. We’ve got one coming tomorrow (Monday February 1) though! In the meantime, here’s another free strategy video from last month’s fundraising campaign. I realized all the videos so far have been from MTTs, so this … Read full post
This week’s free strategy video comes to you courtesy of the lucky donor who was randomly selected to receive a free review of one of his tournament hand histories. He graciously gave me permission to post it online so that everyone could see and learn from it.
I primarily review … Read full post
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Michael “Gags30” Gagliano is a teacher turned poker pro with a long-standing record of success as both a player and a coach. He even worked with world champion Joe McKeehen years ago! In this interview, he talks about his former life as … Read full post
We raised so much money last month that I’m still rolling out all the free videos you all unlocked. Here’s the conclusion of my PLO8 WCOOP event review with Nate. If you haven’t seen them yet, be sure to check out Part 1 and Part 2.
Thanks so much to everyone who contributed to the Bay Area Urban Debate League during our year-end fundraising campaign! I’ll announce prize winners shortly, but want to be sure I’ve got a complete list of contributors first, as some people chose to mail checks. So I’m sorting out the list … Read full post
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Nikolai Yakovenko is a highly accomplished poker player and computer scientist. We talk to him about artificial intelligence, his Open Face Chinese Poker app, playing in Bobby’s Room, preparing for the Annual Computer Poker Competition, and the Computer Poker Research … Read full post
Of course donations are always welcome, but the Bay Area Urban Debate League‘s end-of-the-year fundraising campaign ends at, well, the end of the year. Which means that you’ve got a little more than 24 hours to make your contribution, if you haven’t already. Remember, any donation of $10 or … Read full post
Just in time for Christmas, the latest volume in The Thinking Poker Diaries is here. Whether you’re looking for a last-minute gift or an escape from the family, this mix of trip reports and strategy essays from the 2012 WSOP Main Event is just the ticket! It’s an honest and … Read full post
Thanks to everyone who commented on the turn situation. Here’s a recap of the action so far:
Blinds are 50/100, Villain has about 20K (starting stack), and I have about 25K. Only six players (including both blinds) have claimed their seats so far. I have black Aces first to … Read full post
As reported on last week’s podcast, I’m part of an end-of-the-year fundraising drive for the Bay Area Urban Debate League, a non-profit organization I’m deeply involved with here in the Bay Area. Debating in high school and college changed my life, and in the 15 years that I’ve been … Read full post
We’re taking this week off from podcasting. Please use this opportunity to catch up on some recent greats. Several listeners have told us our interview with Brian Koppelman is their favorite of all the shows we’ve done. Jorge Limon is another recent standout you may have missed.
Gamble Gamble
It … Read full post
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Your hosts talk about Nate’s new book as well as strategy from a limit hold ’em game and a heads up no-limit game.
Timestamps
0:30 – hello and welcome
15:08 – strategy
Strategy
Hand 1
30/60 Limit Hold ‘Em.
Hero opens K9o … Read full post
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Clayton Fletcher, who first appeared on Episode 74, is back to discuss his 96th place finish in the 2015 WSOP Main Event. Hear how he celebrated, how he dealt with a sudden reversal of fortune, and how his other career in stand-up … Read full post
My sixth e-book tells the story of my 2011 World Series of Poker Main Event, in which I finished 53rd. Like the other volumes, it features an entertaining trip report from the tournament interspersed with essays discussing strategic concepts that play an important role in each day’s success.
Pick up … Read full post
Thanks to everyone who contributed to the Hand of the Week so far.
The comments from the pre-flop discussion that I found most interesting were from dullgeek and others who struggled with the problem of how to put money in good once there’s an Ace or King on the … Read full post
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Andrew is in Montreal for the second half of the WCOOP, and he and Nate discuss some hands.
Strategy
Hand 1
2-4 PLO8 on Bovada. 4-handed.
I open to $12 with (AT)J7–I’m using Bill Chen’s notation where suited cards go in parentheses.… Read full post
My latest poker article, Fancy Play Syndrome, is now appearing in the October 2015 issue of Two Plus Two Magazine. It might be a poor title, because the argument is that many supposedly “fancy” plays are actually a part of fundamentally sound poker strategy:
… Read full postIn a recent $5/$10/$20 session,
Thanks to everyone who’s participated in the Hand of the Week so far. Today’s post deals with the flop play.
This is from the $700 NLHE 1R1A WCOOP event. Blinds are 350/700/85. It’s well after the rebuy period but not particularly close to the bubble. Table is on the tough … Read full post
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Nate and Andrew discuss a question of live card room ethics and procedure, then follow up a discussion of bluffing from Episode 140, then consider another bluff-turned-bluff-catcher!
Timestamps
0:30 Hello and welcome
14:24 Strategy… Read full post
Hero is UTG+2 with a $2500 stack, and most of the table covers. Action folds to Hero, who opens to $30 with 8s 7s. The hijack, button, and SB call. For discussion of the preflop action, see this post.
Flop ($118 in pot after rake) 7h 6d 3s. Action … Read full post
Hero is UTG+2 with a $2500 stack, and most of the table covers. Action folds to Hero, who opens to $30 with 8s 7s. The hijack, button, and SB call. For discussion of the preflop action, see this post.
Flop ($118 in pot after rake) 7h 6d 3s. Action … Read full post
Thanks to everyone who’s participated in the Hand of the Week so far. Today’s post deals with playing top pair on the flop.
Hero is UTG+2 with a $2500 stack, and most of the table covers. Action folds to Hero, who opens to $30 with 8s 7s. The hijack, … Read full post
Hero is UTG+2 with a $2500 stack, and most of the table covers. Action folds to Hero, who opens to $30 with 8s 7s. The hijack, button, and SB call. For discussion of the preflop action, see this post.
Flop ($118 in pot after rake) 7h 6d 3s. Action … Read full post
Thanks to everyone who participated in What’s Your Play? Pair Plus Draw. I was glad to have the opportunity to reflect further on the hand myself and read some comments about it, because in the moment I basically just said “Pair plus draw, strap in, let’s go!”, and regardless … Read full post
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Chad Power just finished 26th in the WSOP Main Event, so if you haven’t seen him on ESPN yet, you probably will soon. His real claim to fame in the poker world, though, is as the manager of a large stable of … Read full post
Playing $5/$10 NLHE with $3000 effective stacks. Villain 1 is among the better regulars in the game, and, I believe, considers me tough and capable. I started to say that he doesn’t like to fold big hands to me, but he also knows how to avoid stacking off to strong … Read full post
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Neil Blumenfield is third in chips at the final table of the 2015 World Series of Poker Main Event. At 61, he is also the second-oldest player ever to final table this event (the oldest, Pierre Neuville, will be competing against him … Read full post
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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 scene … Read full post
This is actually a question that was posed on the Tournament Poker Edge forums, so I’m paraphrasing it a bit here. It began with me arguing against checking KQ on a Q72r for “pot control” because there are plenty of run-outs where you can bet three streets for value (more … 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
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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
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
Man ten-handed, short-stacked poker is the nut low, but at the same time it’s plain to see how much value there is in this tournament. Our discussion on the latest podcast makes me tempted to just go play something I’ll enjoy more, and I’m still a little on the fence, … 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
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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 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
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Gareth Chantler joins Andrew in San Francisco to talk to Carlos Welch about his career-changing win in the Bovada $100K Guarantee. Learn how Carlos became the player he is today, the strategy that carried him to victory, and how this win will … 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
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Matt Savage, tournament director extraordinaire, talks shop about it takes to put on a great tournament series. We discuss the Tournament Directors’ Association, some of its more controversial rules, and Matt’s role as its public face and mouthpiece, as well as the … 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
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
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Shane “Shaniac” Schleger is kind enough to grace us with his presence despite Andrew’s losing our last conversation. In this interview, we talk about depression, addiction, suicide, music, and, yes, poker. Even if heavy conversation isn’t your thing, be sure to … 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
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
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