Q: Hero and Villian are chip leaders at the table, everyone else is in the 5-15bb range. Both are most active players at the table, Villian continuation bets approximately 65-70% of flops.
$400 +40 tournament
Final Table. 6 remaining
Blinds 1,200-2,400 w/300ante
Villian (57kstack) raises utg to 8k
Folds to … Read full post
Villain is an unknown who seems to play reasonably well. No idea what if anything he knows about Hero (me), but I did have my PokerStars Team Online red spade at the time this hand was played.
For those who have difficulty seeing suits, they’re not terribly relevant here. Hero’s … Read full post
Thanks to everyone who commented on this week’s What’s Your Play, which dealt with playing out of position in a big pot against the chipleader at the final table of a daily live tournament. We’ve already said that it’s best not to end up in this spot by not 3-betting … Read full post
Q: I’m curious to hear your take on dealmaking generally and on a deal I made recently at the final table of a live tournament. Blinds were 5K/10K/1K. Payouts were $3000 for 1st, $1600 for 2nd, $1000 for 3rd, and $700 for 4th.
There was talk of a chop, but … Read full post
Edit: Hero holds Qh Th. Thanks to Georgios for pointing that rather significant omission!
This is a key hand from the final table of a tournament a friend recently won. It was a $125 freezeout at Aria. Hero is in his late 20’s and has been playing aggressively and … Read full post
This is a guest post from a friend of mine who just won his first live tournament last week. It was a $125 freezeout at Aria. He sent this to me in an e-mail and was gracious enough to permit me to publish it. There’s some interesting stuff in here … Read full post
The exciting (?) conclusion of my 2012 PCA Trip Report has just been published in the February issue of 2+2 Magazine. Regular readers of “What’s Your Play?” will recognize a few of the hands, but there’s plenty of new content for everyone, plus it turns out the Mizrachis’ mother … Read full post
I concluded last week’s “What’s Your Play?” by saying that, “I should have been more open to taking in new information and re-evaluating my plan,” since I’d just admitted to following through on a big semi-bluff despite obvious shows of strength from my opponent.
I also said that, in the … Read full post
The next Thinking Poker tournament seminar will focus on Maximizing Value and will be held on Thursday, March 8 from 8-10 PM Eastern (New York) time. Participants will learn when to slowplay, how to build a pot with monster hands, and how to squeeze thin value out of marginal hands. … Read full post
Thanks to everyone who offered opinions on What’s Your Plan? Turned a Big Draw. I’m surprised that so many people zeroed right in on the two most important details of the hand and yet so few came up with what I believe to be the correct play.
Important Details
The … Read full post
Q: Do you have goals in terms of stack size? As a cash player, I’m comfortable with 100bb or so, but in tourneys, I find myself between 10bb and 20bb a lot of the times. Trying to get near 100bb is impossible in the mid game so should I just … Read full post
This hand occurred about an hour and a half after last week’s WYP hand, against the same opponent. This time I’m the Hero and he’s the Villain. For those too lazy to look it up, here’s how I described him: “middle-aged recreational player, presumably aware that he sticks out … Read full post
As you know, I was the Villain from What’s Your Play? Busted Draw. As many of you deduced, I held KK with a spade. My opponent was kind enough to give up on the river and let me win the pot with a hand that, barring some really blatant … Read full post
This week I’m going to address two related questions posted as follow-ups to last week’s Mailbag.
Q: I regularly play these short stacked tourneys at my local casino. We only start with 6000 in chips, the blinds start at 25/50 but double every 20 minutes except for one level … Read full post
I’m still in the US, which means no online poker, which means I’m still mining the PCA for WYP hands. This is one of those ones where I’m actually the Villain in the hand and we’ll look at it from my opponent’s perspective. So Hero is a middle-aged recreational player, … Read full post
Q: Level 6 of a Tuesday night weekly tournament held at Parx Casino in Bensalem, PA $100 buy-in, 20 minute levels, 10k starting stacks. Blinds are 300/600 with 50 antes. Hero (Me) is in the cutoff with a stack of 16,050. Everyone in earlier position folds and I find 8s7s. … Read full post
Today’s question comes from a comment on last week’s “What’s Your Play?” The relevant details are that Hero is in the SB with AQs facing a raise from a loose-passive player in early position and a call from a possible scared money player in late position. It’s early in the … Read full post
The wait is over! I’m flattered by everyone who’s been asking about this. Part 1 of my PCA Trip Report is now appearing in 2+2 Magazine. Part 2 will be in next month’s magazine. Here’s a snippet from one of the more interesting hands I played:
… Read full postSaskatchewan limped UTG again,
This week’s WYP is a little different, in that I don’t have a strong opinion about what’s best. I was actually hoping some of you smart people could help me out there, in particular with regard to how V2’s question and timing on the turn influences his range. My own, … Read full post
I’ll be leading a small-group seminar on Hand Reading on Wednesday, February 8th at 2PM Eastern (19:00 GMT). The cost is $150/person, which includes a preparatory curriculum introducing a basic hand-reading technique, the two-hour seminar featuring opportunities to practice this method and receive individualized feedback, advanced strategy advice on counteracting … Read full post
This is really the second WYP from the PCA, but the first was technically a “What’s Your Plan?”, and I couldn’t think of a catchier name for this one. It takes during Level 2 of the tournament, with blinds of 75/150 and effective stacks of well over 20K (I … Read full post
Thanks to everyone who commented on this week’s “What’s Your Play?” Sorry for the delay in getting results up; I’m currently visiting old friends and a new baby in New York, and the days have been busy.
We’ll start with the results:
PokerStars No-Limit Hold’em, 320 Tournament, 200/400 Blinds … Read full post
Today’s mailbag question comes from a comment on the What’s Your Plan? Flopped Pair and Draw: Results post. It was a good question that I felt warranted a thorough response.
Q: Though honestly I agree with what you wrote I just wonder since “Villain is a young online MTT wizard: … Read full post
Villain is an unremarkable tournament grinder, probably a modest winner. I don’t know much about him, nor do I know what if anything he thinks of me. This is on PokerStars, so I do have my Team Online avatar which occasionally entices people to do crazy things, though I’ve got … Read full post
Judging from the number of comments, folks found this WYP less compelling than someone. That’s to your credit, because as many commenters advocated, I believe folding the flop is correct. Dangerhorse explains why:
… Read full postI would probably fold although the pot odds are enticing and your hand (a pair and a
During the second half of Day 1 of the PCA, I had a young, apparently very successful high-stakes cash game player on my left. I didn’t recognize his name or screenname, but he talked about playing 10/20 and 25/50 NLHE games on PokerStars and a 50/100 game here at … Read full post
Edit: Fixed the suit of card (c) so it doesn’t match what’s in Hero’s hand.
It’s Level 4 of the PCA. Hero is wearing his PokerStars Team Online patch, which in Villain’s eyes probably makes him a cash game grinder with minimal tournament experience. Villain is a young online MTT … Read full post
I took plenty of notes for a full write-up, but for now I’ll just say that we started with 30K and I finished with 38.5K. I think the average is between 50 and 60, and blinds will be 500/1000/100 on Monday, so I’m in OK shape. I had two other … Read full post
My latest poker strategy article, Balance, addresses a pet peeve of mine that I see often in the tournament forums:
… Read full postBalance is one of the most misunderstood concepts in tournament poker. Many players believe that playing in a balanced way matters only when dealing with players they encounter on
Huge congratulations to fellow PokerStars Team Online member Shaniac, who started the year off right by final tabling the New Year’s Day Sunday Million. What an insane tournament, where $200 can turn into $84K. And what a great player- Shane is one of the few people who was already an … Read full post
Q: If you find time i want your opinion about a hand i played in a EPT side event with a pokerstars pro from Argentina (i don’t remember his name but he won the high roller event last year at EPT London i think)…
With 75/150 blinds and about … Read full post
One of my primary goals when coaching poker is to help my students think more creatively and situationally, to consider all of their options rather than just doing what they think is “standard”. They learn to find value in places they hadn’t thought to look for it by thinking through … Read full post
Sorry again for the error in my original What’s Your Plan? post. It certainly wasn’t deliberate, but in a weird way it did help to highlight one of the central points of this exercise, which is the significance of Villain’s pre-flop stats and our general read on him.
Most … Read full post
PokerStars No-Limit Hold’em, 320 Tournament, 25/50 Blinds (5 handed) – PokerStars Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com
SB (t3023)
Hero (BB) (t3978)
UTG (t4344)
MP (t2230)
Button (t1910)
Hero’s M: 53.04
Preflop: Hero is BB with Q♥, K♠
1 fold, MP bets t100, 2 folds, Hero calls … Read full post
Villain had high Attempt to Steal and post-flop aggression. I debated 3-betting, since I’m well ahead of his pre-flop range, but I didn’t want to fold to a 4-bet, and I think getting it in pre is kinda light. It’s probably slightly +EV, but I hate giving away the advantage … Read full post
I’ve now got three Thinking Poker Tournament Seminars under the belt, and they keep getting better every time. The next seminar will be held at 11AM Eastern time on Monday, December 19. The topic will be Advanced Flop Fundamentals, and it will take one of my most popular … Read full post
One nice side benefit of teaching is that forces the teacher to crystallize his own knowledge and learn concepts more thoroughly in the process. In my recent Big Bluffs seminar I talked about how people will usually bet a flush draw on the flop if they have one, which means … Read full post
The next installment in the Thinking Poker Tournament Seminar series will be on Saturday, December 3rd, Noon-2 PM Eastern. The topic will be Playing Out of Position: Value Betting, Bluffing, and Getting to Showdown. Virtually all of the toughest spots in poker arise from playing out of position, … Read full post
I can get jaded about poker sometimes, so wrapped up in improving and maximizing my hourly rate that I lose sight of what is fun about this game and what is remarkable about its internet incarnation. Then PokerStars rolls out something like the Red Spade Open that, if you stop … Read full post
We had an interesting discussion in last week’s Extracting Value seminar about slowplaying on wet boards (i.e. when there are a fair number of draws possible). It’s overall not a great idea, but I do advocate doing it with often with top set. Good hand readers don’t expect you to … Read full post
I’m confident putting Villain on a very tight range pre-flop, maybe even just AA and KK but possibly AK and QQ as well. Obviously this is a good flop for many of those hands but not for KK. Once he checks twice, KK becomes a big part of his range, … Read full post
On Monday, I posted a hand from the British Columbia Poker Championship in which I flopped top two pair in a three-way pot but saw heavy action in front me. It solicited a lot of interesting thoughts and comments. I’ll start by telling you what actually happened, and then I’ll … Read full post
Yesterday’s inaugural Thinking Poker Tournament Seminar was a great success. I think all the participants got a lot out of it, and I learned a few things that I can do to make future seminars even better. So thinking of future seminars, the next one will be on Tuesday, November … Read full post
Q: You were talking about a hand you played on Day 1 of the recent BCPC . You didn’t specifically say the blinds and stack sizes, but I can estimate them from your write-up and my guess is that the blinds were 100/200 (no ante?) with effective stacks about … Read full post
If you’ve been enjoying my BCPC trip reports, be sure to check out my write-up from the WSOP Europe, now appearing in 2+2 Magazine:
… Read full postLoose-aggressive play has become so common among the best players that many of them tend to assume that anyone who doesn’t open 50% of hands
I once final tabled a small-field, small buy-in PLO8 tournament at the PCA, but otherwise the final two tables was the closest I’d ever made it to a live final table. It was exciting to keep seeing (some of) the same people day after day, and to feel the envy … Read full post
Such a great day! Where to begin? My day actually started around 9:30. Emily was sick and needed some things from the grocery store, so I biked over to the Whole Foods (I told you we’re in the yuppy district!) before leaving for the casino. It was a beautiful morning. … Read full post
This week’s WYP is inspired by a hand I played on Day 2 of the British Columbia Poker Championship. The table is probably the toughest one in the room, but thankfully there’s only about an hour left in the day. Both Villains are very smart and good players. To … Read full post
I was happy with my table, and the day got off to a great start. I was one of the two biggest stacks, the other one of whom was a young Asian kid in yellow hoodie and designer sunglasses who looked like he could be good. He handled his chips … Read full post
Emily and I arrived in Vancouver less than two days before my departure for Europe. I’ve been back for a little over a week now, so I’m just starting to get settled in. It seems like a very cool city: mild climate (for Canada- still chilly, but the notorious rain … Read full post
This is from the PokerStars $150 6-max Sunday tournament. People are often surprised by calls that I make out of the big blind when I’m getting very good odds. I don’t know how helpful it is when I say things like, “The more you feel that you have a skill … Read full post
I’m excited to announce my newest poker coaching offering: Thinking Poker Tournament Seminars. These seminars are pre-scheduled, small-group discussions focused on the most common mistakes and skills gaps that I see in my NLHE tournament students. Each two-hour seminar costs $150 per person and is capped at five participants, … Read full post
Edit: Fixed the flop in the Vanessa Rousso hand, I didn´t river a full house obviously.
Busted third to last hand of the night, been going back and forth a lot for the last half hour about whether I like my call, but we´ll get to that in a second. … Read full post
The conclusion of my 2011 WSOP main event trip report is now appearing in the October issue of 2+2 Magazine. We’re down to Day 6, and needless to say, things are starting to get tense:
“The last hand before a break, especially a dinner break, always means fireworks. Some … Read full post
This was one of the more frustrating events I played, probably because it came on the tail end of so many other frustrations. I played for nearly 7.5 hours and finished in something like 140th place with 108 paying. This is the hand that I went out on:
PokerStars No-Limit … Read full post
Round 1
My first opponent was a guy I didn’t recognize from China. Before cards were even dealt, he typed “lololol pro so cool”. Based on that alone, I predicted that he was going to give me no credit and try to outplay me.
Picking up JJ on the first … Read full post
The biggest news is that fellow PokerStars Team Online member and old-school MTT forum member Shane “Shaniac” Schleger won the 2-7 Triple Draw WCOOP yesterday! My excitement for him was tempered only slightly when I double-checked the terms of our staking arrangement and confirmed that I had 20% of him … Read full post
I don’t have much of interest to report from the other WCOOPs I’ve played recently, which were the $1K NLHE and the $500 NLHE Triple Shootout. I registered 2.5 hours late for the 8-Game but ended up running up a big stack almost immediately but running well in PLO, Triple … Read full post
I’m really upset at myself for spewing off my stack in the 4-max. It’s such a fun tournament, especially in the early stages when everyone is really deep and trying to play loose aggressive. Many otherwise good tournament players are just clueless about playing wide ranges super-deep and seem to … Read full post
I was really kicking ass in this thing, had twice-average stack of 150 BBs approaching the bubble, and then it all went to shit in about 25 hands. This was the first one that took a big chunk out of me:
PokerStars No-Limit Hold’em, 530 Tournament, 500/1000 Blinds 125 Ante … Read full post
I didn’t last too long in this one but ran one kind of interesting bluff that I ended up bailing on (which I think is the most interesting part):
PokerStars No-Limit Hold’em, 109 Tournament, 30/60 Blinds (9 handed) – PokerStars Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com
Hero (MP3) (t9760)
CO (t9500)
Button … Read full post
I played so badly in the $265 that there weren’t even hands worth posting. Here are some interesting ones from the Second Chance, though.
The Villains in Hand 1 both have nitty pre-flop stats, so I think 7’s are extremely unlikely for either of them (not to mention that I’m … Read full post
I’m not a great Razz player, but you really don’t need to be to do well in a large-field Razz tournament. I like to break the players down into two categories: those who understand the basic strategy of the game (how to evaluate starting hands, when to continue past 4th, … Read full post
I love this game. For those who don’t, the blinds are always 5 and 5, but the antes get progressively larger every level. So what you end up with is a large pre-flop pot but no one player any more committed to it than any other. The rules are otherwise … Read full post
Edit: Oh snap! I just saw that Villain in this hand went on to win the tournament! And it was his second WCOOP bracelet. Congratulations 2FLY2TILT!
I skipped the PL Draw event because I don’t know how to play that game, and I registered three hours into the Triple Stud … Read full post
I played all of today’s WCOOPs but only did anything notable in the $320 6-handed shootout. My starting table feature PokerStars Pro Lex Veldhuis, thankfully on my right, and four players I didn’t recognize. I’d been playing aggressively against Lex, generally with the best hand, and finally he’d had enough. … Read full post