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
If you’ve enjoyed Nate and Gareth’s mixed game commentary as much as I have, then you’ll be excited to learn that the pair are scheduled to host a live stream of the MiniFTOPS Main Event final table this Sunday night/Monday morning at 1:30AM eastern. You can catch the action at … 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
Big congratulations to the University of Alberta Computer Poker Research Group and their collaborater Oskari Tammelin, who announced this week that their program Cepheus has essentially solved heads up limit hold ’em. Nate and I interviewed the CPRG team last year, and we hope to speak to them again … Read full post
I know I’m a little to the party, but for my take on Mark Newhouse’s infamous main event bustout hand, check out the latest issue of Two Plus Two Magazine:
… Read full post“Antonio Esfandiari, who was providing commentary for ESPN while the hand went down, said “He put his opponent on
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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
As you may remember from his latest appearance on the podcast, Gareth Chantler is now in charge of the Full Tilt Poker Blog. He’s done a bang-up job on the content, including an interview with me and a collaboration with Carlos Welch. Nate’s first appearance there was commenting, … 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
My latest poker strategy article, “Lessons From the WSOP Main Event: Marginal Hands in Heads-Up Play“, is now appearing in Two Plus Two Magazine. It’s an analysis of some key hands from the heads up portion of the 2014 WSOP Main Event:
… Read full post“The heads-up battle between Martin Jacobson
This post is inspired by a question from the Tournament Poker Edge forums. I’m just going to paraphrase it here.
Q: In your videos, you very frequently call raises from the big blind with weak hands. You say that with antes in play you are getting odds, and that you … Read full post
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It’s an all-strategy episode as your hosts tackle spread-limit hold ’em, value betting, and playing your image. Don’t forget to support the show this holiday season with the Thinking Poker Amazon Affiliate Link and the fine offerings at www.nitcast.com.
Strategy
UTG+2 … Read full post
The second e-book in the Thinking Poker Diaries series is now available at www.nitcast.com or in the Amazon Kindle Store! It follows the same format as the first book, combining a trip report from the 2007 WSOP Main Event with present-day essays considering strategy topics that come up in … Read full post
The second volume of the Thinking Poker Diaries, which will focus on the 2007 WSOP Main Event, drops on Friday. If you still haven’t read Volume One, now is your chance. Now through Sunday, it’s available for just $0.99 at www.nitcast.com!
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Matt Sienkiewicz is an assistant professor of communications and international relations at Boston College. He’s also a film buff and a poker fan. Matt puts Andrew’s knowledge of Foucault to the test with his analysis of key scenes from Rounders as well … Read full post
This question actually comes from the Tournament Poker Edge forums, but I decided to answer it here as it references the Thinking Poker Premium Podcasts.
Q: In episode three, at around the 10 minute mark, you describe how open raise sizes should be a function of the pot size, … Read full post
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Dara O’Kearney went pro somewhat later in life than your average grinder, but his background in bridge, chess, backgammon, and most recently ultramarathoning made him a natural. He’s also a natural raconteur and an excellent writer. We talk about his unconventional background, … Read full post
The World Poker Tour has been kind to our podcast guests this week. Faraz Jaka won the WPT South Africa High Roller over one million rand (about $100,000), and Ryan van Sanford won the Bounty Scramble in Jacksonville for $421,068 (plus some bounties, presumably)! Ryan’s achievement is even more impressive … Read full post
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Jim Greer, founder of Kongregate, is an avid poker player. Now he’s using game theory to combat “dark money” in American politics through CounterPAC, an organization that threatens to outspend candidates who accept anonymous donations. He joins the show to … Read full post
My latest series of poker tournament training videos is now appearing on Tournament Poker Edge. This review of some key hands from a $2000 main event at Maryland Live is a rare chance to see a training video focused on a live multi-table tournament, and to see me butt … Read full post
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This landmark episode sets a new bar for navel-gazing, as guest hosts Carlos Welch and Gareth Chantler turn the tables on guest guests Andrew and Nate and ask about their lives, their poker careers, and their work together on the podcast.… Read full post
I’m excited to announce, to those who missed the news on Twitter and the podcast, that I’ve finally published a book! It’s based on my 2006 World Series of Poker Main Event, and it’s actually the first in a series of e-books compiling updated and revised versions of my most … Read full post
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For a guy who’s played $500/$1000 no-limit, Ben “Sauce123” Sulsky is a surprisingly nitcast-appropriate guest. He talks about his background in philosophy, his low-rolling lifestyle, how he arrived at the heavily game theoretic style he plays today, and how he thinks artificial … Read full post
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Chris Moon, a border-straddling tournament pro and Tournament Poker Edge instructor, is on the show this week talking about Detroit, economics, data science, five-betting light, and searching for a post-poker career.
Timestamps
Sorry for the delay on this week’s podcast. We do still have an episode in the works. In the meanwhile, here’s a hand submitted by listener favorite Carlos Welch in which he bluffs frequent commenter Pie Farmer. My comments at the end:
Q: This is a hand from our regular … Read full post
If you’ve been mourning the lack of brag posts here since the end of WCOOP, your prayers have been answered. My latest poker strategy article, Reg Wars, is an extended brag about a big bluff from a $10/$25 game:
… Read full postIt’s often correct to fold a weak flush draw to
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On Episode 77, we spoke to Kristy Arnett as she was about to embark on a career as a professional poker player. Now she returns to the show to talk about her first WSOP, the frustrations of her first few months, … Read full post
After a great series, the Main Event was a real disappointment. I cashed in 14 of the 40 preliminary WCOOP events that I played, and although I didn’t have any especially deep runs, I felt good about putting myself in position to go deep so many times.
The Main got … Read full post
Disclaimer: Just a reminder that I am a decidedly non-expert Razz player, so take this post as my attempting to muddle through a somewhat unfamiliar game with my general poker knowledge rather than a confident statement of sound Razz strategy.
Villain is a well-known Australian pro, a very successful tournament … Read full post
Andrew is still grinding the PokerStars World Championship of Online Poker in Montreal, so he and Nate break down a few hands he played in a PLO eight-or-better event and a 2-7 triple draw event.
I made Day 2 of the $200 Sunday Warm-Up WCOOP, which, with only 109 of 8000+ entrants making it even that far, was an achievement in its own right. My hopes weren’t especially up, as I was one of the shorter stacks with about 16 big blinds to start the … Read full post
I’m often asked about donk betting or when to take the initiative away from an opponent who’s been betting or raising. My usual answer is that you should bet when you have reason to think your opponent is unlikely to bet the next street and you don’t want to give … Read full post
This was from the $215 rebuy WCOOP. Villain is a Zoom regular, we’ve played a few hundred hands together there and I think he’s pretty good. I imagine he has some respect for me as well.
PokerStars – $200+$15|60/120 Ante 15 NL – Holdem – 9 players
Hand converted by … Read full post
I can count on one hand the number of times I’ve called with a bluff-catcher and lost to a hand my opponent thought he was bluffing with. I’ve been on the good end of such situations a bit more often, including at the final table of the FTOPS that I … Read full post
This is from the $215 4-max WCOOP event. Villain is Chris Moorman. In my experience, this sort of “blatant” continuation betting tends to provoke LAGs, because they want to be the ones picking up all of the pots where no one has anything, and of course that’s going to happen … Read full post
This is probably the dumbest thing I’ve done all WCOOP. Villain is Pascal Lefrancois. I don’t know much about him except that he’s very good. This is just a classic example of what not to do when you have a big stack in a very soft tournament. Just flatting his … Read full post
I’m too tired to try to pick out the most interesting hand of the tournament, so here’s the one I busted on. I’d be curious to hear from those who know more about this game whether I might be better off just calling flop. FWIW Villain is Caio Pimento, who’s … Read full post
The Stud/8 situations I find most interesting are often those where you have what looks like a low hand but is actually a high hand or vice versa. I’ll post the hand first then say a few things about it:
Poker Stars $300+$20 Limit Stud Hi/Lo Tournament – t100/t200 Limit … Read full post
This is something I do sometimes. There are often exploitive reasons for it, but I do also think it’s good to be capable of making a flush on the turn when you check back the flop. This hand from the $300 Ante Up WCOOP illustrates why:
PokerStars – $300+$20|5/5 Ante … Read full post
This was from the first table of the $300 6-handed NLHE shoot-out. Villain is a very successful tournament player but in my opinion not fundamentally solid. Basically he’s learned how to take advantage of a lot of common weaknesses found in MTT players but is slow to adapt and back … Read full post
I got the WCOOP off to a decent start today, ultimately busting Event 1 ($109 full ring NLHE) and Event 3 ($215 Sunday Million replacement) on coin flips and min-cashing Event 2 ($215 6-handed). Early in Event 2 I made a pretty nitty river fold that I think is interesting … Read full post
My latest poker strategy article, The Worst Seat at the Table Should Be the One On Your Right, is now appearing in 2+2 Magazine. It’s about how, simply by playing well and applying pressure with the right kinds of hands in the right situations, you should end up making … Read full post
Andrew and Nate review a hand from a live $1/$2 cash game before talking with semi-professional poker player, entrepreneur, and DeucesCracked coach Andrew Seidman about a myriad of topics, including his book Easy Game (Andrew’s review here), his travels, his studies, and much more.
Here is the hand … Read full post
I’ve read a lot of commentary on Olivier Busquet and Dan Colman’s t-shirts from the EPT Barcelona Super High Roller final table, and I was fortunate enough to discuss the issue at length with Olivier himself as well as with the always-thought-provoking Nate Meyvis on Episode 92 of our podcast… Read full post
Andrew and Nate skip the strategy this week to get right to a special hour-long interview with Olivier Busquet. Busquet discusses his win in the EPT Barcelona Super High Roller, the economical and personal value of playing in big buy-in tournaments, and, of course, the political t-shirt drama.
I’m really impressed with the comments on What’s Your Play? TPTK Facing Strange Line. More than a few of you have gotten to the heart of a tricky situation in a more succinct way than I’m about to do.
In my eyes, the flop check-raise polarizes Villain’s range to … Read full post
Brian Rast may not have the knack for self-promotion that some of the biggest names in the industry do, but he’s been quietly winning at the highest stakes, in a variety of formats, for years. In this interview, he talks about discovering Macau, the social dynamic of nosebleed live games, … Read full post
This one comes from a $10-$25 game against a very tough and creative opponent. We’ve played together a few times in Maryland, Las Vegas, and Pittsburgh, and if I recall correctly he once told me that he learned a lot from my Poker Savvy Plus videos, though he’s now a … Read full post
Tony “Bond18” Dunst, host of the World Poker Tour’s Raw Deal, joins the Thinking Poker Podcast to talk about wearing suits, interacting with fans, and treating poker like a job.
You all are really getting the hang of this! I’m impressed by how many of you began your analysis of What’s Your Plan? Good Draw, Lots of Interest with a consideration of what you would do with a set here. Speaking of which, a few people questioned whether I’d limp … Read full post
Edit: Sorry, typo in the original post. The SB completed pre-flop, he did not fold, which is how he was able to bet the flop.
This is from a $5/$10 NLHE live game. Opponents are some combination of intimidated by and annoyed with Hero, who has won a lot of … Read full post
There’s no Andrew this week, but Gareth Chantler catches Nate up on his “new job” (it’s one all poker players hope for and also one that many struggle with when they’re lucky enough to get it) and his recent travels. Then the two talk strategy, including a hand where Gareth … Read full post
My latest poker strategy article, A Wide Range Situation From the Main Event, is now appearing in the August 2014 issue of Two Plus Two Magazine. It references an earlier article I wrote and analyzes the last hand that I played in the 2014 WSOP Main Event:
… Read full postAlthough
I played two big pre-flop pots with KK in Las Vegas cash games, one where I ended up folding and one where I got all in against QQ. A lot of people expressed curiosity about these hands when I first tweeted them, so I figured I’d post the details here.… Read full post
On Episode #88 of the Thinking Poker Podcast Andrew Brokos andNate Meyvis break down two hands that were submitted from the audience. One is a cash game hand from an underground joint in New York with a favorable preflop rake, and the other comes from a tournament.
Nate and … Read full post
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Nate is back on the program to discuss a hand he played in the World Series of Poker Main Event, then he and Andrew talk with Mike “goleafsgoeh” Leah about mixed games, how he got into poker, backing, and more.
Nate’s no longer in Vegas, but Andrew and Leo Wolpert sit down during Day 6 of the Main Event to talk about their own deep runs in the WSOP as well as some key hands from their 2014 tournament.
I’ve obviously been running this over in my head a lot, so I might as well post it here. It’s the last hand before break, blinds are 250/500/25. I have a little shy of 20K, Villain has 30 or 35K. He seems to be the only other pro at the … Read full post
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