I’ve been toying around with this situation for a while, and although I want to retain some measure of caution simply because I have a history of making mistakes with this sort of thing, I’m pretty sure I’ve determined that the optimal bluffing frequency for Hero doesn’t change even if … Read full post
I know I promised earlier this week that I’d follow-up with more on optimal multi-street bluffing frequency. It proved to be a more thorny problem than I anticipated, and while I still don’t have a definitive answer, you’ll get a chance to hear me discuss the problem with two very … Read full post
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Leo Wolpert, who’s been both an interviewee and guest host on the show before, returns in the latter capacity. We talk cold war politics, getting value from maniacs, Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? strategy, and the difference between good and … Read full post
Thanks for all the comments on What’s Your Play? Worst Card to Bluff, and sorry that I’ve been slow in getting this results post up. It’s possibly a result of the fact that I’ve been driving back across the country this week and not online much, and possibly a matter … Read full post
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It’s our first Pot Limit Omaha-centric episode, with guest John “KasinoKrime” Beauprez. John is a professional poker player who specialized in PLO and the author of the PLO QuickPro Manual. He won his first WSOP bracelet in the 2013 $1500 six-handed … Read full post
This one comes from a $5/$10 no-limit hold ’em game at the Venetian. I’m new to the table, initially bought in for $1000 but relatively quickly decided to load up enough to cover the table. I don’t think I’ve done anything else of note since I’ve been here, but that … Read full post
Pardon the spammy title, but I’ve got some seriously good material to share with you. First and foremost is the second installment in a series of free coaching videos I’m making with Andre Coimbra. Together we review his deep run in a Big $16.50 on PokerStars. This video, nearly … Read full post
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Faraz Jaka is one of the most consistent tournament players in the game. He was the 2009 – 2010 World Poker Tour Player of the Year and continues to appear at major final tables around the world.
He’s also one of the … Read full post
Thanks for all the comments on this week’s What’s Your Play?, and sorry that I’m late in getting results up. My weekend turned out to be a lot busier – in a good way – than I’d anticipated.
Preflop
I’ll start with a quick note on the raise vs … Read full post
The second installment of my WSOP trip report is now appearing in Two Plus Two Magazine. After a disappointing start to the series, my next few tournaments offer me some opportunities to regain confidence:
… Read full post“Phil probably forgot about this hand seconds after it happened, but although it was in some
Edit: Thanks to ThereYouGoAgain and others who pointed out the errors in my original post. Sorry for the confusion – Villain 1 (the open limper) did overcall the raise, and three of us saw the flop and turn (where pot size was wrong).
This hand comes from a $2/$5 no-limit … Read full post
I’ve got a new video series going up on Tournament Poker Edge which deals with strategy for playing the final table bubble. It will be a three-part series, with one part dedicated to each of big-, medium-, and short-stacked play. Check it out, and if you’re not already a … Read full post
Thanks for all the great comments on this week’s What’s Your Play? As I’d hoped, your suggestions have helped me to think more about both the river decision and my play on earlier streets.
One point I want to emphasize up front about playing against tough/tricky opponents is that I’m … Read full post
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Gareth Chantler talks about Norwegian family politics and covering tournaments for the PokerStars Blog. He also joins in discussions of the ethics of accepting an unsolicited chip dump, playing second pair in a limped pot, and playing Kings when an Ace flops, … Read full post
I’ve got a tough one for you this week. This is one of the trickier spots I’ve been in of late, and I’ll tell you up front that I’m not 100% sure about my play or my plan at multiple points in the hand. So with that said, we’ll zero … Read full post
I was very happy with the comments on What’s Your Play? Underrepresented Top Pair. Some of you thought it was an “easy call”, some an easy fold, and a few even wanted to raise, though I don’t recall anyone considering that an obvious or easy choice. So what’s my … Read full post
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Bill Ordine is the editor of PhillyGambles.com, an editor and writer for PressBox, and a former reporter for the Philadelphia Inquirer and the Baltimore Sun. In his capacity as a sports writer, Bill pushed for greater poker coverage in the … Read full post
My main event run came to an end early on Day 3 in unspectacular fashion. I do, however, currently have an above average stack going into the $5000 Venetian Deep Stacks main event. I don’t think any hands from those tournaments are as instructive as this one, though.
This is … Read full post
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Carlos “loxxii” Welch is a grinder if ever there were one. The former math teacher was happily learning the game playing small-stakes online tournaments until Black Friday complicated that plan. Undeterred, he now travels to casinos, sleeping in his truck or on … Read full post
Hopefully a lot of you follow me on Twitter, because I know I’ve been bad about keeping the blog up-to-date. The short version is that I’m still in the Main Event going into day 3. I’ve got about 20K chips, and blinds are 800/1600/200 when we return, so if I’m … Read full post
Thanks for the comments on the river bluffing What’s Your Play? I was actually surprised not to get more comments on this one, because the impression I get is that many people don’t feel comfortable in their ability to make good decisions about whether or not to fire a second … Read full post
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Nach Ralston, whom you might know better as Private Joker if you frequent either the Two Plus Two Limit Hold ‘Em forum or Zach’s movie review blog, is a professional poker player turned television producer. Specifically he works for POKER PROductions … Read full post
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In honor of Andrew’s deep run in the $1500 WSOP PLO8 episode, this show is dedicated to that beautiful game. Nate and Andrew discuss general strategy for the game, tournament-specific adaptations, and a number of hands from Andrew’s tournament.
Since recording this … Read full post
I know it’s a little early for a What’s Your Play?, but I decided to publish my report from this tournament elsewhere so this hand is sort of a stand in before I move on to the next one. Patient listeners and those stuck in the driver’s seat of moving … Read full post
Thanks for all the comments on this week’s What’s Your Play? In this post I’m going to talk a lot about a concept that I call Value Targeting. Hopefully it will make sense just from what I say here, but if you want to learn more about it, you can … Read full post
I left Vegas a week ago, but that week has been even more hectic than the weeks I was in Vegas, so I’m just now getting back to my tournament write-ups:
I arrived at the Venetian DSE area, which is actually in the Palazzo, at the stroke of noon. I … Read full post
It’s early in a $1500 WSOP event, and we’re playing 10-handed. Hero has been one of the more active players at the table but hasn’t done anything especially crazy or noteworthy. Villain is a middle-aged white woman, pretty clearly an amateur and seems a little scared/concerned about doing well in … Read full post
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Nate and Andrew discuss Andrew’s second week in Las Vegas, dealing with dealer errors, tricky decisions for the floor, a big bluff, a big call, and a big fold.
Timestamps
0:30 Hello and welcome
7:10 Table manners and procedure
44:00 Mailbag: Staking … Read full post
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Ray J has been dealing for nearly 20 years and now, much like a professional poker player, follows the tournament circuit around the country plying his trade. He talks to us about the life of a traveling dealer, the rewards and frustrations … Read full post
The $2500 six-handed event got off to a good start for me. It seemed like a pretty tough field overall, so I was pleased with my starting table at which there was only one truly tough player, seated across from me.
Even better, I took a big bite out of … Read full post
Thanks for all the comments on What’s Your Play? Who Wants to be a Millionaire. I’m sorry it’s taken me so long to get results up, but I ended up playing two long days of poker on Friday and Saturday, so I’m just getting around to it now.
Estimating … Read full post
Someone flopped a set against my Aces in a four-bet pot. Stack-to-ratio was less than three when we saw the flop. If I put it to you like that, it sounds like a cooler plain and simple, like I was simply destined to go broke. And maybe I was. But … Read full post
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No interview this week, but Gareth Chantler makes an extended appearance to share his on-the-ground experience with the civil unrest in Istanbul and his thoughts on The Mental Game of Poker 2. Plus Nate and Andrew discuss the ethics of mark-up and … Read full post
My starting table was a thing of beauty, nine opponents who lay somewhere on the spectrum of weak to competent but none who seemed likely to give me tough decisions, a great example of why I wanted to play a $1K WSOP event. The table was loose and limpy and … Read full post
I’ve got a new series going up on Tournament Poker Edge. It’s a continuation of my hand history review from the $300 2x Chance WCOOP, with a new emphasis on late game play and stealing and restealing dynamics.
I also just published an article entitled Open-Minded About Open Limping… Read full post
The Millionaire Maker is like the PokerStars Sunday Million on crack, drawing a field of thousands with a relatively affordable buyin and the distant prospect of a life-changing score. It ended up drawing a field of 6343, making it roughly the size of the Main Event for about 1/7 the … Read full post
I went grocery shopping on the night I arrived in Las Vegas, but more chores remained for the next morning. I packed myself a lunch, a task that took me back to my grade school days as I tucked two halves of a peanut butter and jelly sandwich (I didn’t … Read full post
This hand comes from level 3 of the $1500 “Millionaire Maker” WSOP event, a two-day affair expected to draw a field of 5000+. With just 4500 starting chips, preflop shoves were commonplace. They’ll be commonplace in lots of the low buy-in tournaments in Las Vegas this summer, so if you … Read full post
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Taylor Caby, playing as “Green Plastic”, was one of the first superstars of online poker. He’s also one of the only self-described entrepreneurs in the poker world who has actually founded several successful businesses. The first was Cardrunners, which launched the … Read full post
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Jared Tendler, author of May book club book The Mental Game of Poker 2, talks about his transition from aspiring pro golfer to psychology student to mental game coach. Then talk turns to his new book and your questions!
Timestamps
0:39 … Read full post
Thanks for all the comments on this week’s What’s Your Play?, and sorry that I’m late in getting up the results. My girlfriend and I are about to embark on a cross-country roadtrip, ending (for me) in Las Vegas, so we’ve been busy getting ready for that.
I want … Read full post
The World Series of Poker is unique among poker events. In no other tournaments will you encounter such a wide variety of opponents, from those who barely know the rules to the very best in the world. This seminar will discuss a number of strategic adaptations for dealing with various … Read full post
Villain is in his early 20s. I’ve never seen before, but he gives off a distinct air of “I used to play on the internet and I wasn’t too bad at it.” He just joined the table 10 hands ago, and when he sat down he asked what was the … Read full post
My latest article, which is something like half tournament poker strategy and half navel-gazing in the tradition of Gray Friday and Three Days in Madrid, is now appearing in 2+2 Magazine:
… Read full postA lot of people, in the wake of the Boston bombing, seem deeply troubled by the question
Podcast listeners may remember that, when Andre was a guest on the show, I suggested that he and I record some coaching sessions to post online. Well, the first one is up! In this hand-by-hand review of a deep run he made in a $50 MTT, we talk … Read full post
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Jussi Palomäki is a cognitive scientist who’s published several studies on the subject of tilt. He discusses his findings, opines on Angelo’s and Tendler’s treatments of the subject, and even proves capable of discoursing on ancient philosophy. He also shares the … Read full post
I thought about posting this one as a “What’s Your Play?”, but I think it’s too weird and the flop check would be too much of a distraction from the turn decision, so I’m just going to post it and write about it like I don’t do often enough anymore. … Read full post
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Listener (and host) favorite Tommy Angelo returns to the podcast to discuss Elements of Poker. If you enjoy this one, be sure to check out his previous appearance as well. And if you like the mailbag segment, there’s more discussion about … Read full post
Thanks for all the comments on What’s Your Play? Kings on an Ace River.
Needless to say, a lot depends on how you interpret Villain’s actions up to this point. If you believe he has a polarized range for raising flop and betting turn – meaning probably two pair … Read full post
This question was posted in response to my analysis of a hand in which the Hero had to make a decision, for most if not all of his stack, with pocket Jacks facing an early position raise, a call, and a re-raise all-in in front of him. I wanted to … Read full post
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Olivier Busquet is back for more (actually he never left, we just chopped up our interview with him). This time around, we talk about televised poker commentary, the quality of political discourse in America, Olivier’s Toronto poker pad, and the possibility of
Whether you enjoyed my theory videos on Tournament Poker Edge, or if theory videos aren’t your thing, you might be interested to know that I’ve now got a new series going up there that is in the form of a full hand history review. You can follow me … Read full post
“To live well, the right things have to go wrong. I don’t know in what proportion. But in Buenos Aires, I seemed determined to find out.” So begins the latest installment in Gareth Chantler’s chronicle of his continent-spanning nomadic poker life. In the latest installment, Gareth earns the ire … Read full post
Edit: Hey look, a mistake in a WYP post! Been a while since that happened… At least this was a minor one. My preflop raise was to 150, and I’ve adjusted pot size to reflect that. Sorry for any confusion.
It’s early in the $2500 Borgata Spring Poker Open Main … Read full post
Edit: As usual, my attempts to perform a complicated equity calculation in under an hour resulted in a mistake. I don’t have time to fix it at the moment – the Borgata Main Event starts shortly – but any calc involving UTG+2 is wrong because his actual calling range is … Read full post
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Olivier Busquet, AKA high-stakes heads up sit-and-go boss livb112, joins us from his poker refugee pad in Toronto. With remarkable candor, he talks about his frustrations and his strategy for staying on top of his chosen format. You can follow @OlivierBusquet on … Read full post
This one comes to us via Andre Coimbra. Hero is new to the table but has the PokerStars Team Online red spade that sometimes affects how people play. He has only 25 hands worth of data on all the Villains in this hand, so keep that in mind when considering … Read full post
Card Player just published one of my articles about a challenge that I gave myself at the casino one night when it became clear that the game I wanted to play wasn’t going to go off:
… Read full postRather than leave immediately, though, I gave myself a challenge. I had to pay
In the results post for What’s Your Play? Overpair on Dry Flop, I cited a quote from Zach Ellwood, author of Reading Poker Tells, about opponents who comment on the texture of the board: “players who actually connect with the board will not want to draw attention to … Read full post
Thanks for all the comments on What’s Your Play? Rivered Top Pair. This was an interesting one for me because although there were quite a few different opinions, no one suggested what I consider to be the best play. I do think many options are close, but that doesn’t … Read full post
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No guest this week, just thorough strategy talk. Andrew brags about a deep run in a free poker tournament, we break down a hand from a 6-handed WSOP prelim event, and we discuss the first third of Tommy Angelo’s Elements of … Read full post
This is the fourth hand of a six-max tournament on a .FR site. Hero (who is not me) and Villain are both readless on each other. Blinds are 50/100, both players have roughly 20K to start the hand.
Villain opens to 205 from the HJ, Hero calls with As Th … Read full post
Thanks to everyone who commented on What’s Your Play? Overpair on Dry Flop. I realize that in some sense this isn’t a very interesting spot, because nothing out of the ordinary has happened and I’m not going to advocate some bizarre play like betting 4x pot. In another sense, … Read full post
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Poker author Ed Miller, the brains behind March book club selection Playing the Player among other great titles, gives generously of his time for both a regular interview and a thorough discussion of his book. We talk about the unconventional beginning to … Read full post
Playing 10-handed $1/$3 no-limit hold ’em. Villain has roughly $300, Hero covers.
Villain is relatively new to the table, but he’s already complaining, good-naturedly but often, about how he’s getting nothing but bad cards. Before looking at his cards this hand, he said, “I just want to see one card … Read full post
… Read full postYou pay off too much. You have trouble letting go of big hands. Bad calls on early streets get you into trouble later. You call when you know you’re beat, saying things like, “I had to,” or “I was priced in.”
Does this sound like you? I’ve got good news.