What a run. In the last two days I’ve 20x’ed my chips without ever seeing TT, QQ, KK, or AA. I did have AK quite a few times today, though, and I connected with a few flops when it counted.
I stole more than my share of pots for a … Read full post
Today was everything that Wednesday was not, namely fun and profitable. I had a very enjoyable table and showed a handsome profit to boot.
Early on I doubled up with Q’s vs. 9’s on a 4h 4s 3h 2h board. We both had a heart, so he was in real … Read full post
Villain and I had been heads up for a while, and based on how he’d been playing, I was pretty confident he had either a flush or a bluff on the turn but not a full house. My intention was to shove over a river bet and rep the full … Read full post
This is another example of making a move with one of the best possible bluffs. The flop float is a little more questionable.
PokerStars No-Limit Hold’em, $6.00 BB (5 handed) – Poker-Stars Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com
UTG ($1771.35)
MP ($1505.40)
Button ($1541.80)
Hero (SB) ($1718.80)
BB ($516)
Preflop: … Read full post
Different opponents, but similar mistakes:
PokerStars No-Limit Hold’em, $6.00 BB (6 handed) – Poker-Stars Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com
BB ($2300.05)
UTG ($1358.40)
MP ($1222.80)
CO ($616)
Hero (Button) ($2405.20)
SB ($3304.20)
Preflop: Hero is Button with 10
, 9
1 fold, MP bets $12, 1 fold, … Read full post
Villain is a pretty good regular. He also plays higher and is well above average for the stakes. We’ve tangled a fair bit in the recent past and have some aggressive history. I believe his turn raising range to be disproportionately semi-bluffs, possibly with as little as a gutshot but … Read full post
I usually overbet in situations where my opponent’s range consists primarily of hands that are strong but not too strong. Particularly if this is obvious to both of you, the overbet turns even the stronger part of his range into a bluff-catcher by representing either an extremely strong hand or … Read full post
This is one of my favorite spots for an overbet, either with a very strong hand like this or with a draw, because Villain’s hand is so clearly defined as marginal showdown value. To be honest, given what he shows up with, I don’t understand why he raised the turn:… Read full post
My latest poker strategy article, Bluff Catching, is now appearing in the June issue of the 2+2 Internet Magazine. Here’s the hypothetical that kicks off the discussion:
… Read full postI had a nightmare last night that I was playing high-stakes heads up no-limit hold ’em with Phil Ivey himself. I
I should probably just fold pre-flop. I ran my time bank down all the way before finally deciding I’d pretty much never have a hand stronger than this and so needed to call here. When I saw his hand, I felt totally owned:
PokerStars No-Limit Hold’em, $20.00 BB (4 handed) … Read full post
I played both the 250 and the 2500 but not the 25K. Go ahead, call me a nit.
My first opponent in the 250 was absolutely awful. He played 63/1 over the course of the match (he open limped his button when he didn’t fold it) and played pretty badly … Read full post
I ended up doing quite well in this one, finishing 5th out of more than 1400 runners. On the whole it was a lot of fun to play so short-handed and I felt I played well, but a monumental error in my final hand left a bad taste in my … Read full post
Last night, as I was sleep-deprived and caffeine-jittery and getting deep in the $300 SCOOP 4-Max, I was also on the phone with Mike Johnson and Adam Schwartz, hosts of the 2+2 Pokercast on which I am this week’s feature guest! You can search for it on iTunes or listen … Read full post
Don’t Try to Bluff a Guy Named Psycho
This one’s a little embarrassing. I shoved turn here hoping to get him off a mid-pair, but here’s what happened instead:
Full Tilt No-Limit Hold’em Tournament, 6000/12000 Blinds 1500 Ante (8 handed) – Full-Tilt Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com
Hero (CO) (t497480)
Button … Read full post
We played for 10 hours, so obviously there were a lot of hands, but here are two that stick out in my head:
Full Tilt No-Limit Hold’em Tournament, 250/500 Blinds 50 Ante (9 handed) – Full-Tilt Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com
UTG (t55790)
UTG+1 (t36186)
MP1 (t27509)
MP2 (t15323)
MP3 (t15790)… Read full post
My latest poker strategy article, No Such Thing as a Free Hunch, is now appearing in the May issue of 2+2 Magazine:
… Read full postYou’ve undoubtedly heard it said before that poker is a battle for information. At least among good players, the one who has the most information about
Like the $100 rebuy, this one ran with an overlay. I was only in for $900, so I had like $240 in overlay.
It went down basically the way I expected it to: got some fish to clown off their stacks to me early, then had to play poker with … Read full post
I finished 12th in this, out of 1024, meaning I made it to the Sweet 16. I’m not going to go into a lot of detail about hands here because I’ll probably make a video of this for Poker Savvy Plus. But here’s the quick rundown:
Round 1- Guy was … Read full post
PokerStars No-Limit Hold’em, $10.00 BB (8 handed) – Poker-Stars Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com
Hero (Button) ($3084)
SB ($1000)
BB ($1759)
UTG ($2449)
UTG+1 ($3007)
MP1 ($2512.20)
MP2 ($2498)
CO ($2469)
Preflop: Hero is Button with 7
, 5
UTG bets $20, 3 folds, CO calls $20, Hero … Read full post
Not that it affected the outcome of this hand, but I think Villain’s river check is pretty interesting, given that he’s got a monster hand and only a pot-sized bet left in his stack:
PokerStars No-Limit Hold’em, $50.00 BB (9 handed) – Poker-Stars Hand Converter from HandHistoryConverter.com
UTG+1 ($5000)
MP1 … Read full post
My latest poker strategy article, How to Spot a Level 3 Thinker, has just been published in the April issue of 2+2 Magazine. The introduction describes the genesis of the article:
… Read full postOne of my first articles for Two Plus Two Magazine, Level-Headed Thinking, was a brief introduction
A lot of players make too much of the idea that when you have a draw that you’re willing to get all in with, you’d prefer to make the final bet yourself. This is true when better hands will fold, but often people make huge shoves that make it pretty … Read full post
After betting big on the turn, my range is polarized (ie I’m not doing it with KQ, 77, or 54) and weighted towards the strong side (43, KJ, 33, 44). I think Villain’s range is exactly hands that beat my bluffs but lose to my value range, with the possible … Read full post
A good player is never check-calling this river. Weaker players will, though, and they rarely check better. This guy was new to me but seemed decent and had an aggression factor of 7 over a small sample. Good reason, in other words, to think he’s not a check-caller.
PokerStars No-Limit … Read full post
My range for 3-betting an UTG raiser from UTG+1 isn’t going to be all that wide, and by the river, AK is probably closer to the bottom of it than the top:
PokerStars No-Limit Hold’em, $50.00 BB (6 handed) – Poker-Stars Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com
CO ($4925)
Button ($6246)
SB … Read full post
Versus a Scandi, no less!
Full Tilt No-Limit Hold’em, $10.00 BB (7 handed) – Full-Tilt Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com
SB ($1507.85)
Hero (BB) ($1405.25)
UTG ($1047)
MP1 ($1395)
MP2 ($1000)
CO ($808)
Button ($1741.25)
Preflop: Hero is BB with J
, 5
5 folds, SB bets $30, … Read full post
I’m probably good here sometimes, and it’s close whether a call is better than a fold, but I think raising wins me the pot almost 100% of the time:
Full Tilt No-Limit Hold’em, $10.00 BB (9 handed) – Full-Tilt Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com
UTG+1 ($1114)
MP1 ($1249.25)
MP2 ($1000)
MP3 … Read full post
The FTOPS main event started at 3PM PST. I busted the NAPT around 3:20 and booked it back up to my room to late register. Obviously immediately after experience some bad luck in a big live tournament, I wasn’t in a mindset to play the best poker of my life, … Read full post
Full Tilt No-Limit Hold’em, $8.00 BB (3 handed) – Full-Tilt Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com
Button ($816.20)
Hero (SB) ($2062.85)
BB ($2710)
Preflop: Hero is SB with A
, 6
1 fold, Hero bets $32, BB calls $24
Flop: ($64) 5
, 6, 5
(2 players)… Read full post
This is a blatant example of a guy who is thinking about my hand and what he wants me to do but not about what I will be thinking or what his hand will look like to me:
Full Tilt No-Limit Hold’em, $20.00 BB (5 handed) – Full-Tilt Converter Tool … Read full post
The player that I ended up sucking out on yesterday was the reason I was sitting in this 40/80 game. I didn’t recognize his name, so I sat in and started playing a bit. It quickly became apparent that he was one of the most loose and aggressive players I’d … Read full post
I’m a little late in mentioning this, but my latest poker strategy article, “Thinking Ahead”, is now appearing in the February issue of 2+2 Magazine. I’m a little frustrated that I couldn’t find a way to express myself quite as clearly as I would have liked, but I … Read full post
100/200, very young kid in CO opens to 450, I call with Js 9s in SB, relatively bad German calls in the BB. Flop Q c Tc 5s. I consider leading out but decide to check, and we check it through. Turn is a blank, I bet 750, BB raises … Read full post
The more I think about it, the more I feel like this is one of the worst calls I’ve made in a long time:
Full Tilt No-Limit Hold’em, $10.00 BB (5 handed) – Full-Tilt Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com
SB ($4423.50)
BB ($2026)
UTG ($2477)
MP ($2168.50)
Hero (Button) ($2000)
Preflop… Read full post
Full Tilt No-Limit Hold’em, $20.00 BB (6 handed) – Full-Tilt Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com
CO ($2441)
Button ($2814)
SB ($4000)
Hero (BB) ($6186)
UTG ($2278.70)
MP ($630)
Preflop: Hero is BB with 3, K
4 folds, SB bets $40, Hero calls $20
Flop: ($80) 5… Read full post
Full Tilt No-Limit Hold’em, $20.00 BB (2 handed) – Full-Tilt Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com
Hero (SB) ($5294)
BB ($4588)
Preflop: Hero is SB with 7, 5
Hero bets $60, BB calls $40
Flop: ($120) 9, 8, 6 (2 players)
BB checks, Hero bets $77… Read full post
Happy Thanksgiving! I know I’m a few days late, but I do want to thank all of my readers, especially those of you who read and comment regularly. I generally enjoy blogging and am pretty sure that reviewing my thought processes publicly is helpful to my bottom line as well. … Read full post
This hand from the 2+2 high-stakes multi-table tournament forum got me thinking about what it means to be “at the top” of a polarized range. Here’s a quick summary, for those who can’t/won’t follow the link:
It’s a tournament, and blinds are 100/200. Hero raises to 475 UTG with KK, … Read full post
The last two months have been pretty brutal. Certainly part of that was due to whiffing the WSOP and a few failed shots at 40/80, but even my regular games have not been going well. Unlike in past downswings, I don’t feel that I’ve experienced extraordinarily brutal luck. There were … Read full post
Dani Stern, my fellow Poker Savvy Plus pro perhaps better known as Ansky, is one of the players whose game I respect the most. I love watching his videos, and I hate playing at his tables. Thus, I am more than a little upset that he’s been “slumming it” in … Read full post
Full Tilt No-Limit Hold’em, $10.00 BB (2 handed) – Full-Tilt Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com
SB ($1836.25)
Hero (Button) ($2411.75)
Preflop: Hero is Button with 8, A
Hero bets $30, SB calls $20
Flop: ($60) A, 10, 4 (2 players)
SB checks, Hero bets $44… Read full post
Full Tilt No-Limit Hold’em, $10.00 BB (2 handed) – Full-Tilt Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com
Hero (SB) ($2955.50)
Button ($4698)
Preflop: Hero is SB with Q, K
Button bets $30, Hero calls $20
Flop: ($60) 6, 7, 8 (2 players)
Hero bets $44, Button … Read full post
I was playing a decent but not great player heads up, and the match had been close, with first him then me having the upper hand, until I tried to bluff him off of trips:
PokerStars No-Limit Hold’em, $10.00 BB (2 handed) – Poker-Stars Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com
SB ($2045.50)… Read full post
On my recent post, “Defining His Range Into Oblivion“, tce left a comment that I felt warranted a new post:
… Read full postThis is a tantalizing post with some really interesting ideas that need more meat. Can you say more? In my experience, trying to blow someone off an Ax
It’s embarrassing how, after three years of playing poker very seriously, I’m still affected so dramatically by short-term results. For two weeks, I was getting brutalized, doubting my instincts, and not playing my best. Then I have one big day and I’m back to making good reads and following through … Read full post
Not my best double barrel ever, but the A is a good bluff card on the river. That makes it a good time for him to call down light, which makes it a good time for me to value bet light, which makes it a better bluff card in the … Read full post
Both of these hands are against a real 3-betting fiend. He’s ridiculously loose and aggressive pre-flop, especially when he has position. Even though I think he’s taken it to the point of exploitability, it’s still a tough and high-variance playstyle to combat. There are a lot of adjustments you need … Read full post
Of course I couldn’t actually see my opponent’s hold cards, but it sure looks like I could when you see the results:
Full Tilt No-Limit Hold’em, $10.00 BB (6 handed) – Full-Tilt Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com
UTG ($3706.55)
MP ($1875)
Hero (CO) ($3852)
Button ($4474)
SB ($1325)
BB ($2872.95)
Preflop… Read full post
Until recently, I didn’t play HSNL very often on Poker Stars and consequently did not remember anything about this player. However, I had a note on him indicating that I had previously observed him fail to make a thin value bet. Thus, I felt comfortable calling him down here:
PokerStars … Read full post
It never ceases to amuse me when my mistakes make me money. Here I meant to bet $99 on the river and accidentally bet $9. The result was inducing a huge check-raise bluff from a hand that almost certainly would have folded to my intended bet:
Full Tilt Poker, $3/$6 … Read full post
I think the river 3-bet bluff is one of the sexiest plays in poker. Precisely because it’s so hard to pull off, it’s something I rarely attempt. But today I managed a good one:
Full Tilt Poker, $5/$10 NL Hold’em Cash Game, 6 Players
LeggoPoker.com – Hand History Converter
SB: … Read full post
A triple barrel bluff will by definition involve at least three bets. Especially when dealing with a player who can read hands well, sizing these bets will often be the difference between success and failure.
As I discussed in a previous post, your objective on early streets may actually … Read full post
This one was against a not-very-good player:
Full Tilt Poker, $3/$6 NL Hold’em Cash Game, 6 Players
LeggoPoker.com – Hand History Converter
Hero (UTG): $1,454.70
MP: $1,323.15
CO: $546.65
BTN: $318
SB: $621.75
BB: $590.95
Pre-Flop: A
T
dealt to Hero (UTG)
Hero raises to $21, 4 folds, BB … Read full post