I wasn’t going to play the first $200 because it started so early in the day (10AM here on the West coast), and I knew today was already going to be a long day. But I happened to notice that it had over 8000 runners, making it essentially a Sunday … Read full post
Today was the $300 Antes Up WCOOP event, which I think is just a fantastic tournament structure. For those who don’t know, the blinds stay at 5/5 for the entire tournament, but the antes increase with each level. So like the stakes could be 5/5/120, with a pre-flop pot of … Read full post
From yesterday’s $300 6-max shootout WCOOP:
I’m curious how you all would handle this river. The table generally had been pretty aggressive pre-flop, and believe it or not I’d been pretty well behaved. Villain was the most aggressive 3-better, with a 3B% of about 10.
PokerStars No-Limit Hold’em, 320 Tournament, … Read full post
Although we started with 325 BB’s, I managed to blow off my stack in just about an hour.
PokerStars No-Limit Hold’em, 1050 Tournament, 10/20 Blinds (9 handed) – Poker-Stars Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com
Button (t7525)
Hero (SB) (t7834)
BB (t7303)
UTG (t7333)
UTG+1 (t7315)
MP1 (t7530)
MP2 (t7720)
MP3 (t7470)… Read full post
The second installment of my trip report from the main event of the 2010 World Series of Poker, covering Days 3 and 4, has just been published in the September issue of 2+2 Magazine. Here’s an excerpt:
… Read full postI came into Day 4 with a monster stack relative to the field.
Last week’s double float cost me about half my chips on the first hand of the $700 NAPT-Los Angeles satellite and was not so popular with the commenters. Here’s a similar bluff somewhat deeper in the same tournament this week. Our Villain is a slightly better target: I couldn’t tell … Read full post
3 spots pay
PokerStars No-Limit Hold’em, 109 Tournament, 200/400 Blinds 50 Ante (4 handed) – Poker-Stars Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com
Hero (UTG) (t8288)
Button (t219)
SB (t4401)
BB (t17092)
Hero’s M: 10.36
Preflop: Hero is UTG with 8
, 8
Hero calls t400, Button calls t169 (All-In), SB … Read full post
I’ve never been a professional teacher, but I’ve done a lot of teaching, in a wide variety of settings, and I’ve observed and worked with a lot of professional educators. I’ve come to believe that there’s a lot more to teaching than being smart or even being able to explain … Read full post
I won’t be a back-to-back champion in the $2000 2-day FTOPS. I actually had quite good luck with my table draws, recognizing no one at my starting table and only two players over the course of the three and a half hours I played: Eric Froehlich and Tmay. The two … Read full post
This was the second rush tournament I’ve played, and while I miss having reads and establishing dynamics at the table, I will say that rush otherwise allows for great tournament structures. You get in a ton of hands at each blind level and the tournament still goes by pretty quickly. … Read full post
The first installment of my 2010 WSOP main event trip report, covering Days 1 and 2, is now appearing in the 2+2 Internet Magazine:
“We began play with 30,000 chips each and blinds of just 50 and 100. On the very first hand, about half the table … Read full post
…is anything else. Lots of aggressive history, plus the BB is sitting out, which always makes things fun.
PokerStars No-Limit Hold’em, 162 Tournament, 400/800 Blinds 100 Ante (6 handed) – Poker-Stars Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com
SB (t13288)
BB (t16067)
UTG (t47632)
MP (t62024)
CO (t38096)
Hero (Button) (t45630)
Hero’s M… Read full post
I know a lot of you have seen these already, but I promised a few people big clear links in the body of a blog post, so here we go:
Let me explain for the record why I am wearing the ridiculous … Read full post
This year’s WSOP journey ended for me about an hour ago. Out of more than 7000 players, I finished 87th and won just shy of $80,000. There was nothing dramatic about it. I lost two very standard pre-flop hands to Eric Baldwin, once with A4s < KJs for a 700K … Read full post
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
Well, today’s the day! I’ll be playing Day 1C, beginning in about 3 hours. I know I don’t tweet much outside of poker tournaments, but I will be sending updates from my phone about chip counts and big pots. You can follow me at www.twitter.com/thinkingpoker. Of course I’ll post some … Read full post
My latest poker strategy article, Improving Your MTT Skills, is now appearing in the July edition of the 2+2 Magazine. It’s a little different in that it doesn’t discuss particular hands or strategy concepts. Rather, it recommends some non-traditional ways to hone MTT skills that MTT specialists rarely … Read full post
Granted my flop call isn’t the greatest, but I think most of his bluffing range is just giving up pretty much any turn, so I’m not too worried about getting bluffed out when I’m ahead.
Full Tilt No-Limit Hold’em Tournament, 600/1200 Blinds 150 Ante (9 handed) – Full-Tilt Converter Tool … Read full post
When I first heard that James McManus was working on a book about the history of poker, I was surprised that such a book had not yet been written and glad that McManus was the one writing it. His first poker book, Positively Fifth Street, is a personal favorite … Read full post
Over two weeks ago, I won the FTOPS Tournament of Champions, the prize for which was a seat in the WSOP Main Event. I never received the money or any further information, so eventually I wrote them to ask about it. It sounds like the only incentive they are … Read full post
I know this isn’t the first “river semi-bluff” I’ve posted, but it never ceases to amaze me how few players do this. It’s sooooooooo unlikely anyone is checked a flush on the river, betting is a virtual freeroll.
Full Tilt No-Limit Hold’em Tournament, 30/60 Blinds (9 handed) – Full-Tilt Converter … Read full post
These are both from the Poker Stars weekly $500.
Hand 1, I think re-raising at either opportunity pre-flop makes me look really strong, and pretty much any hand that can stack off to that pre-flop is going to lose a lot on most flops anyway:
PokerStars No-Limit Hold’em, 530 Tournament, … 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 like PLO8 and know a bit about it, but I’m far from an expert. I also played the $100, in which I was surely a favorite, but the 1K had a surprisingly competent field (or maybe not so surprising- I mean it was a 1K). Not that there wasn’t … 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
Between the deep stacks and the very short-handed tables, I was really looking forward to this event. I’ve actually missed both Sundays of the SCOOP, but I made sure I was around for this one.
Needless to say, it was a tough field. My first few tables actually weren’t bad, … Read full post
Full Tilt Poker hosted a Tournament of Champions today for everyone who won an FTOPS event in any of the last four series. The only prize was a $10,000 WSOP seat (no details whatsoever on how/whether it can be cashed out) to the winner, and guess who that was?
To … Read full post
I played the SCOOP Large Ante $150 and $1500 events yesterday, not even realizing what they were until the tournament started. What a lot of fun! I think formats like this are awesome because they separate the people who understand poker from those who have a robotic, if successful, strategy. … Read full post
I’ve finally gotten around to adding some more of my poker strategy articles and World Series of Poker trip reports to the archive. The sad part is that my girlfriend/webmaster does all the work, all I have to do is give her the stuff when it’s ready to go up, … 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
Wow. Thanks to everyone who was watching and following along.
For those who weren’t, here’s the quick version:
With 10 left I was in 8th, which was a tough spot because Bakes was swinging his big stack extremely well. I pretty much couldn’t move. Finally picked up AK and ended … 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
Woke up at 6AM this morning, drove from Boston to Baltimore, got in just in time to fire this bitch up, and 10 hours later I am through Day 1 ranked 22/106, with 946 runners starting. I actually burst the bubble myself, busting the lovely Lauren Kling when she shoved … Read full post
Congratulations on busting durrrr in the following tournament:
FTOPS Event #25 (2-Day) (147664209)
Your Full Tilt Poker account has been credited with a bounty prize of $200.00.
In addition to your bounty prize money, you’ve also earned a T-shirt to commemorate your accomplishment. You’ll receive a second email that will … Read full post
A third of the year is officially behind us. Am I 1/3 of the way to achieving my Yearly Resolutions?
Goal 1: Average 15 Hours/Week Playing My “Regular” Games
I’ve found that 15 hours/week enables me to earn a pretty healthy income, far more than I could make at
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’ve had some deep runs lately in the Saturday $300 6-max, so I was looking forward to this event. Unfortunately, it didn’t really go my way. I lost a big pot (though not my stack) with AJ vs. AQ on a AJ7Q9 board in a 3-bet pot. My bust-out hand … Read full post
We’re just inside of 100 people left in the monthly FTP $500, down from a little over 2000 who started.
UTG is a random who definitely does not play these stakes with any regularity. Googling his name reveals a few $.05/$.10 hands, so I’m sure he’s a satellite qualifier. He’s … Read full post
I made it down to 300 or so in the Sunday Million today, thanks in no small part to a gamble relatively early on:
PokerStars No-Limit Hold’em, 215 Tournament, 500/1000 Blinds 75 Ante (9 handed) – Poker-Stars Hand Converter from HandHistoryConverter.com
MP1 (t11074)
MP2 (t21590)
MP3 (t47491)
CO (t62986)
Button … Read full post
I ran deep in the $300 6-max on Full Tilt today. For much of the end-game, I had a player on my right who I recognized from the 2+2 forums but whom I’d never played for. To the best of my knowledge, he is a successful tournament pro and also … Read full post
“Relative position” refers to when you must act in comparison to the player who is most likely to bet on a given street. For example, if there are several limpers, you complete the SB, the BB raises, and everyone calls, it may seem like you have the worst position. After … Read full post
I don’t necessarily call here vs. randoms, but these two were both red pros and knowledgeable tournament players (Jon Turner and Mandy B). Against the, it’s a mandatory snap-call. Jon isn’t the wildest player in the world, but he has to be on at least 60% of his hands here, … Read full post
I was curious who ended up winning the NAPT Venetian which I played last weekend and had to google the name “Tom Marchese”. Not only did I learn that he plays online as kingsofcards, a tough regular whom I avoid at 25/50, but I also found this kind of old … 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
My
starting table had not a lot of chips but a couple of notable players, including Owen “ocrowe” Crowe, Andrew Chen, Jonathan “driverseati” Tamayo, and Lauren Kling. We broke after less than an hour, but I still managed to play a few interesting pots. Also, a very friendly reader … Read full post
75/150 I limp UTG with Ac Qc. Folds to the SB, who completes, and BB checks.
Flop Js Td 9s. Checks to me, I bet 300, SB calls. I think he can have any pair and even a few draws that I’m beating.
Turn 2d. He checks, I bet 900 … Read full post
The table started out pretty soft, with only two players I recognized at the table. Unfortunately, Jon “fatalerror” Aguiar and Bill Chen were on my immediate left. Bill didn’t get involved in too many pots, but Jon sure did.
Early on, I raised 55 on my CO and called a … Read full post
Story of the FTOPS for me for as long as I’ve been playing it: I went deep but not quite deep enough. After nearly 7 hours, I took 37th and won less than 4 buy-ins. My bust-out hand was pretty standard, shoving 33 from the SB over a button raise … Read full post
Even after days when I’m totally immersed in poker, it’s pretty rare for me to dream about the game (or to remember those dreams, anyway). I’m sure it’s happened before, but I can’t recall any specific instances. I had two such dreams last night, though.
… Read full postIn the first, I raised
45 runners in the $500 PLO8 today, and yours truly managed to final table it, finishing 8th (we were playing 8-handed) for a whopping $875. Also at the final table was my friend and fellow Poker Savvy Plus instructor Tom Chambers, who finished 4th after a series of gross suckouts … 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
Ever since reading Tommy Angelo’s excellent Elements of Poker, I’ve been working on keeping calm and focused while playing live poker. This is no mean feat: the pace is glacial and the company grating. There are a million reasons to zone out, wander around, or get annoyed with someone. … Read full post
I’ve got myself a nice little room at the Atlantis Resort and Casino. I’m only on the third floor, so the view sucks, but I’ve got a little patio that’s large enough for a table and chairs, whichis kinda cool. The higher rooms just have a very tiny balcony.
I … Read full post
Happy New Year everyone! I hope you all enjoyed yourselves responsibly last night (and last year, for that matter), and that you are striding confidently forward into a new year.
Yesterday, I revisited my 2009 poker resolutions. Now, it’s time to make some new resolutions and set some new
Resolution One: Keep Grinding NLHE Cash Games
This is my bread and butter game, and even if I don’t do anything to improve,
There was a rarity on Poker Stars on Sunday: substantial overlay in one of their major tournaments. They ended up contributing nearly $100,000 in overlay to reach the 40-seat guaranteed in the $700 PCA satellite. This hand occurred with 114 players remaining. The average stack was 20K, and I figured … Read full post
Let me say up front that I don’t think I played this particularly well. Nevertheless, I think there’s some interesting discussion to be had here.
This hand was from the Poker Stars $500 weekly. Villain is Roothlus, a very successful MTT pro who teaches at Poker X Factor and is … Read full post
My tournaments results have been pretty good the last few months, culminating most recently in two PCA seats and a win in the FTP $300 Saturday 6-Max. I attribute this improvement to a disciplined effort to avoid bringing the aggressive play needed to win in high-stakes cash games over to … Read full post
What is it with me losing three-way pre-flop all ins with Aces on the bubble of the final table of big Full Tilt tournaments? This is with 20 people left in the $300 6-max Saturday tournament.
Full Tilt No-Limit Hold’em Tournament, 1000/2000 Blinds 250 Ante (5 handed) – Full-Tilt… Read full post
… Read full post“Super Satellite
Buy-In: $665.00/$35.00 USD
585 players
Total Prize Pool: $389025.00 USD
Target Tournament #201001051 Buy-In: $14130.00 USD
25 tickets to the target tournamentTournament started 2009/11/01 18:00:00 ET
Dear foucault82,
Congratulations – You have won a package for the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure (PCA) 2010 Main Event. The PCA is
Particularly earlier in the year, running too many big bluffs in tournaments was a substantial leak of mine. I’ve made a concerted effort to confine the monster bluffs to the cash tables, and my tourney results have improved a bit. In the $300 rebuy 6-max FTOPS, though, I did pull … Read full post
How not to play in the Sunday Million:
PokerStars No-Limit Hold’em, $200+$15 Tournament, 25/50 Blinds (9 handed) – Poker-Stars Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com
CO (t9600)
Button (t10700)
Hero (SB) (t9850)
BB (t10000)
UTG (t10000)
UTG+1 (t10000)
MP1 (t10000)
MP2 (t9850)
MP3 (t10000)
Hero’s M: 131.33
Preflop: Hero is … Read full post
Wicked Chops Poker is reporting that, with 2400 players left in the main event, Phil Ivey accepted a $20K wager from Andy Bloch at 99:1 that he would win the main event. Now that he’s made the final table, Bloch’s got to be sweating the $2 million loss.
My first … Read full post
The tournament cold-deckings continue, with me busting the Sunday million set under set after accumulating an above average stack three hours in, losing a huge pot with set under set in the $500 WCOOP satellite (which had a remarkably small and tough field, hopefully that will change with time), and … Read full post