I had someone ask me what books I recommend. I really based my initial game on David Sklansky's "Texas Holdem" and "Texas Holdem for advanced players". It's really good for limit holdem...the super system from doyle brunson is also worth a read.
That'll give you the basics but after that it's all about experience. Learn and then unlearn the books.
What lucky timing
I had some ridiculously lucky timing in this hand playing $30-60 today. Here's the story:
I'm under the gun w/ Aces and I limp in (not recommended by the way but I wanted to mix things up a bit) and the guy to my right raises. Big blind calls and I reraise.
Flop comes, A, 9 2.
I bet and get called in both spots. Kind of a weird call I think but I'm happy to keep them tagging along.
Turn is a 9
So now I've got the nuts and if I don't got the nuts well shit....nice hand buddy. hehe. I decide to get a little tricky and see if I can get a check raise here. It works as the guy right behind me bets, the big blind folds and I get my raise in.
River is a king:
I bet and get called. I was really hoping he had pocket kings and just played them terribly stubborn. Unfortunately for him he had ace/king which is pretty legit at that spot. I could have easily played ace/king in the same way. If he made that laydown he'd be amazingly tough especially since I'm reasonably unknown to him.
Just nice lucky timing. Huge pot. $660 total I think.
I'm under the gun w/ Aces and I limp in (not recommended by the way but I wanted to mix things up a bit) and the guy to my right raises. Big blind calls and I reraise.
Flop comes, A, 9 2.
I bet and get called in both spots. Kind of a weird call I think but I'm happy to keep them tagging along.
Turn is a 9
So now I've got the nuts and if I don't got the nuts well shit....nice hand buddy. hehe. I decide to get a little tricky and see if I can get a check raise here. It works as the guy right behind me bets, the big blind folds and I get my raise in.
River is a king:
I bet and get called. I was really hoping he had pocket kings and just played them terribly stubborn. Unfortunately for him he had ace/king which is pretty legit at that spot. I could have easily played ace/king in the same way. If he made that laydown he'd be amazingly tough especially since I'm reasonably unknown to him.
Just nice lucky timing. Huge pot. $660 total I think.
The jump
I've jumped to a consistent $30-60 player now and the main difference is aggression and control. I've definitely had to make refinements in my overall thinking in order to be successful at this limit. Time will tell.
There's a reason
"There's a reason they call it the dummy end of the straight" - My Dad
Please checkout my new article Poker Draws for more details.
I'd love some feedback on it.
Please checkout my new article Poker Draws for more details.
I'd love some feedback on it.
Watching Phil Hellmuth with My Dad
My dad spent the weekend with us, and when we got back from the new Star Wars movie, my dad and I watched the heads-up championship with Phill Hellmuth and Chris Ferguson on NBC today. Funny stuff. I don't know if my dad fully understands holdem or not, but he certainly got into the spirit of things. And I'm a bit of a contrarian because I enjoy Phill Hellmuth's antics, even though I know a lot of people in the poker community can't stand that sort of thing.
Phil was playing heads up against Chris "Jesus" Ferguson during the portion of the show that my dad and I watched. There was some commentary from Howard Lederer too, mostly clips of him talking about how he wished that Phil wouldn't act so immature when he suffers a bad beat. I thought it was funny when Phil fell to the ground in surprise when Chris got his 9 on the river.
I think Phil Hellmuth understands that there's a certain amount of showmanship that needs to be involved in poker to keep it interesting as a spectator sport. To me he's kind of like the Happy Gilmour of poker.
Phil was playing heads up against Chris "Jesus" Ferguson during the portion of the show that my dad and I watched. There was some commentary from Howard Lederer too, mostly clips of him talking about how he wished that Phil wouldn't act so immature when he suffers a bad beat. I thought it was funny when Phil fell to the ground in surprise when Chris got his 9 on the river.
I think Phil Hellmuth understands that there's a certain amount of showmanship that needs to be involved in poker to keep it interesting as a spectator sport. To me he's kind of like the Happy Gilmour of poker.
A Player I Coached
A player I coached is going to the World Series of Poker. She won her first holdem tournament a couple of nights ago, and first place won a seat in the WSOP. I'm pretty excited for her, and I'm proud too. I'm not by any means an advanced player, but I've gotten to where I know my way around a hand or two, and she was a beginner a couple of months ago. So I offered to spend a little time with her on the phone, give her a couple of tips, and play with her online a little bit and provide some commentary.
I'm not claiming credit for her win. I'm just excited to have been a small part of her success. I hope she makes it to the final table and wins a fortune. I'm hoping to do a full interview with her soon, and get some ideas from her about what she's learned, and what distinctions she's made that have made her a good poker player. When I do finish that interview, I'll post it here.
I have not won my seat in the World Series of Poker yet however. And I'm not even sure that I'm going to make another attempt. I get frustrated in multitable tournaments when I get to a certain point and lose with nothing to show for it. Being a moderately winning player, I know I could have generated an hourly wage at a ring game. But I don't have the time or the focus needed to work on a poker career right now. I'm a webmaster, and I'm trying to put a lot more effort into generating traffic and interest in my websites right now.
I'm thinking, in fact, that I should cash out some of the funds I have in some of the online poker rooms in order to build up my cash reserves. I might go do that very soon in fact.
I'm not claiming credit for her win. I'm just excited to have been a small part of her success. I hope she makes it to the final table and wins a fortune. I'm hoping to do a full interview with her soon, and get some ideas from her about what she's learned, and what distinctions she's made that have made her a good poker player. When I do finish that interview, I'll post it here.
I have not won my seat in the World Series of Poker yet however. And I'm not even sure that I'm going to make another attempt. I get frustrated in multitable tournaments when I get to a certain point and lose with nothing to show for it. Being a moderately winning player, I know I could have generated an hourly wage at a ring game. But I don't have the time or the focus needed to work on a poker career right now. I'm a webmaster, and I'm trying to put a lot more effort into generating traffic and interest in my websites right now.
I'm thinking, in fact, that I should cash out some of the funds I have in some of the online poker rooms in order to build up my cash reserves. I might go do that very soon in fact.
To receive you must give
My friends and I have added several new strategy articles to my
Texas Holdem Online strategy guide including a few on no limit topics. I hope you guys like them. I'll be frequently updating there so please check back often.
Lately I've been thinking about how I receive a lot more action from players when I give a little action. When I sit around and play tight and solid I get paid off very seldom. However, when I show a bluff or two here and there whether successful or not I get a lot more action thereby allowing me to net out with more chips.
For example, the other day I tried to bully thru a player. I raised preflop, went 3 bets on the flop after he check raised, and I bet the turn as well. I checked the end and he turned over a weak ace and won the pot. My bully strategy didn't work so I decided in my head that next hand I get I'm going to ram it to him all the way but I've got to have a strong hand. He's going to call for sure.
A few hands later I flop a set and check raise him on the flop. He immediately goes 3 bets and says, "Trying to steal the pot again eh?". I say, "Are you?", and smooth call. I check raise the turn, he immediately goes 3 bets. At this point I'm a little concerned about my hand so I call. I call the end and he turns over top pair with a weak kicker. All that action because I gave a little action on a prior hand. Note only that but I had a pretty good shot of winning the hand I gave him a little action on.
Don't get carried away with this idea, but sometimes giving a little action isn't such a bad thing.
Try it out sometime.
Texas Holdem Online strategy guide including a few on no limit topics. I hope you guys like them. I'll be frequently updating there so please check back often.
Lately I've been thinking about how I receive a lot more action from players when I give a little action. When I sit around and play tight and solid I get paid off very seldom. However, when I show a bluff or two here and there whether successful or not I get a lot more action thereby allowing me to net out with more chips.
For example, the other day I tried to bully thru a player. I raised preflop, went 3 bets on the flop after he check raised, and I bet the turn as well. I checked the end and he turned over a weak ace and won the pot. My bully strategy didn't work so I decided in my head that next hand I get I'm going to ram it to him all the way but I've got to have a strong hand. He's going to call for sure.
A few hands later I flop a set and check raise him on the flop. He immediately goes 3 bets and says, "Trying to steal the pot again eh?". I say, "Are you?", and smooth call. I check raise the turn, he immediately goes 3 bets. At this point I'm a little concerned about my hand so I call. I call the end and he turns over top pair with a weak kicker. All that action because I gave a little action on a prior hand. Note only that but I had a pretty good shot of winning the hand I gave him a little action on.
Don't get carried away with this idea, but sometimes giving a little action isn't such a bad thing.
Try it out sometime.
Big deal
Been playing online at Poker Stars lately. Not a bad game there at all.
Yesterday I played at the casino up north and ran into a really young kid who has own over $200k this year playing in tournaments and online limit and no limit. It was my first time sitting int he game with him and so I was particularly interested in seeing him play. Seattle's a small town so I won't put his name in this blog out of respect. At any rate I thought I actually might be able to learn something. He was a tight solid player but I didn't see anything remarkable about his play. In fact I saw a more holes than I thought I would see. He paid off when beat against players who I was certain had strong holdings and I put a move on him when it went short handed w/ a marginal hand.
Makes me feel like i should be playing even bigger limits. Sky's the limit when your arrogant. hehe.
How to Tell if an Online Poker Room or Casino is a Spammer
Here's an easy way to tell if an online poker room or online casino is a spammer: when you sign up for a new account with a poker room or a casino, use a unique email address for that purpose. You'll have a separate email address for each poker room and each casino this way, and if you receive anything from anyone besides that group, you'll know they've sold your email address to someone. (Which, by the way, is a very bad thing and shouldn't be done.)
My suggestion is that if a poker room or a casino gets caught spamming or selling your email address to spammers, you should stop doing business with them, and you should let other people know. You might not have a strong opinion on spam or on selling player information, but if you do, then now you have a solution.
In terms of creating a unique email address for each new account, keep it simple. Use your normal email handle and attach the name of the poker room to it, or add a 3 digit code after that too. Thanks to Michael Shackelford for the inspiration for this article; he caught a casino selling his email address using this technique. (Scroll down the page to the part about Giant Vegas.)
My suggestion is that if a poker room or a casino gets caught spamming or selling your email address to spammers, you should stop doing business with them, and you should let other people know. You might not have a strong opinion on spam or on selling player information, but if you do, then now you have a solution.
In terms of creating a unique email address for each new account, keep it simple. Use your normal email handle and attach the name of the poker room to it, or add a 3 digit code after that too. Thanks to Michael Shackelford for the inspiration for this article; he caught a casino selling his email address using this technique. (Scroll down the page to the part about Giant Vegas.)
Sometimes you lose even when you win
Been taking a break from playing Full Tilt and Poker Room to play at my local casino's $8-16. Definitely feels like too small of a game now but I need the break from looking at a computer screen. I don't really want to drive an hour to play in anything bigger either.
So, 6 wins in a row makes a guy feel like a champion. Like I've got the Sharingan (Naruto anime joke). http://yhbt.mine.nu/t/ check that link out and you'll know what I mean. Naruto is amazing.
Anyhow, last night I only won $80 when I should've won $300. In fact that's what I need to win everday minnimum. I'm mostly disappointed because I let a strong player slightly put me on tilt. It's rare that I find a young player who I think is better than me but yesterday I did. Add on the fact that he acted right after me and it took me out of my game just enough to make a difference.
So, what did I do? I got up and left. Never sit in a game where you feel uncomfortable, in fact I should've left earlier.
So, 6 wins in a row makes a guy feel like a champion. Like I've got the Sharingan (Naruto anime joke). http://yhbt.mine.nu/t/ check that link out and you'll know what I mean. Naruto is amazing.
Anyhow, last night I only won $80 when I should've won $300. In fact that's what I need to win everday minnimum. I'm mostly disappointed because I let a strong player slightly put me on tilt. It's rare that I find a young player who I think is better than me but yesterday I did. Add on the fact that he acted right after me and it took me out of my game just enough to make a difference.
So, what did I do? I got up and left. Never sit in a game where you feel uncomfortable, in fact I should've left earlier.
Differences Between the Party Poker $50 and $30 SnG
I've done a little looking on the internet about this, and I've found one article about the difference between $50 buy-in SnG's on Party Poker and $30 buy-in SnG's. One major difference that is immediately apparent: the $50 buy-in game starts you off with 1000 chips instead of only 800. The other difference that is apparent, but not immediately: the players at the $50 tables are generally pretty good. They play tighter and trickier than the players at the $30 level.
Which level is more profitable? A lot of that probably has to do with how good you are. I do well at the $30 level but I suck at the $50 level. I lose money and lose it fast at the $50 buy in tables. At the $30 tables I can out-play almost anyone at Party Poker who's playing at that level. And the $10 and $20 tables? Forget about it; they're a cinch.
Which level is more profitable? A lot of that probably has to do with how good you are. I do well at the $30 level but I suck at the $50 level. I lose money and lose it fast at the $50 buy in tables. At the $30 tables I can out-play almost anyone at Party Poker who's playing at that level. And the $10 and $20 tables? Forget about it; they're a cinch.
A hand played poorly
Time to be a little humble for once since my good homegirl says I have an "understated arrogance" about me. Here is a hand I played poorly.
The Players:
Big blind - A pretty decently strong, tight aggressive player
Seat 3 - weak tight player. I actually like having him in the game since I know where he's at and I can steal from him.
Seat 5 - Yours truly
Seat 8 - Loose aggressive
Seat 9 - Tougher than me but a little looser. If the pot odds are right he's likely to call with a marginal hand and take a look at a flop.
Scenario:
Seat 3 limps in, I raise w/ queens. Everyone else cold calls.
Flop:10, 7, 2 with 2 diamonds:
Seat 3 checks to me
I bet
Seat 8 raises
Seat 9 calls
big blind calls
Seat 3 pushes it to three bets
Everyone calls
Turn: 4
Big blind: checks
Seat 3: bets
everyone else calls
River: J
Big blind bets
Seat 3 calls
I fold as does everyone else.
Analysis:
When the jack hit I mucked my hand as that was surely 8,9 who completed his open ended straight draw. However I think I could've mucked my hand on the turn. When the weak tight player went 3 bets I'm surely beat by a set (which he later said he had). The other 2 players probably had flush draws. In fact I might've been able to get away from my hand when it went 3 bets on the flop.
2 small bets and 1 big bet donated to the competition.
The Players:
Big blind - A pretty decently strong, tight aggressive player
Seat 3 - weak tight player. I actually like having him in the game since I know where he's at and I can steal from him.
Seat 5 - Yours truly
Seat 8 - Loose aggressive
Seat 9 - Tougher than me but a little looser. If the pot odds are right he's likely to call with a marginal hand and take a look at a flop.
Scenario:
Seat 3 limps in, I raise w/ queens. Everyone else cold calls.
Flop:10, 7, 2 with 2 diamonds:
Seat 3 checks to me
I bet
Seat 8 raises
Seat 9 calls
big blind calls
Seat 3 pushes it to three bets
Everyone calls
Turn: 4
Big blind: checks
Seat 3: bets
everyone else calls
River: J
Big blind bets
Seat 3 calls
I fold as does everyone else.
Analysis:
When the jack hit I mucked my hand as that was surely 8,9 who completed his open ended straight draw. However I think I could've mucked my hand on the turn. When the weak tight player went 3 bets I'm surely beat by a set (which he later said he had). The other 2 players probably had flush draws. In fact I might've been able to get away from my hand when it went 3 bets on the flop.
2 small bets and 1 big bet donated to the competition.
Losing Streaks Suck
Played in two SnG's tonight, one at Party Poker for $30 + $3 and one at Full Tilt for $20+$2. Placed 6th place in both. Damn it.
I also realized tonight that I have over 4000 frequent player points at Party. I can get quite a few ballcaps for that. I might even get one for my dad.
What else? I watched the new Stu Ungar movie on dvd a few days ago. I thought it was a very good movie indeed, although the framing device didn't make any sense to me at all. I think it would have been a much better and more watch-able movie had they left the frame story in the motel room out of it.
No more poker for me tonight. Going to go to bed in a few minutes and get some sleep.
I also realized tonight that I have over 4000 frequent player points at Party. I can get quite a few ballcaps for that. I might even get one for my dad.
What else? I watched the new Stu Ungar movie on dvd a few days ago. I thought it was a very good movie indeed, although the framing device didn't make any sense to me at all. I think it would have been a much better and more watch-able movie had they left the frame story in the motel room out of it.
No more poker for me tonight. Going to go to bed in a few minutes and get some sleep.
Multi Table Tourneys at Full Tilt Poker Tonight
So I played in two multi table tourneys at Full Tilt Poker Tonight. The first one was a $100 + $9 buy-in, and had about 80 participants. I played at the same table as Andy Bloch, who was a real gentleman, and who chatted happily with the other players at the table. My chip count and his were much the same for most of the tournament. At least for most of the tournament that I was in; I busted out fairly early unfortunately. I think placed 60-something. My main problem was that I didn't play a tight enough game. I fell in love with my pocket kings that I had before the flop, even after the ace hit on the river.
The 2nd tourney was a $20 buy-in, and had quite a few more players. Almost 200 in fact. I fared a little better in this one, placing 39th, but I lost this one for the same reason--I overplayed my hand. AJ preflop, hit a single J on the flop, and went all in against someone who bet into me and had me outstacked. Of course, she had a pair of kings. I had outs, but it was still a bad move on my part.
Both tournaments reminded me of a couple of things. The first is that if I don't play regularly, I lose focus and discipline, especially if I'm tired. The second is that multi-table tournaments can be a real let-down if you don't place in the money, because you can invest two or three hours and have nothing to show for it other than a poker blog post at the end of it.
I am really enjoying Full Tilt Poker though. It's quickly becoming one of my favorite cardrooms online. Their play-through requirements are a brilliant marketing strategy too, because I play there almost exclusively in an effort to work off the massive amount of bonus money I have that's waiting to be released. And I do fairly well at the lower-limit no limit games there too, and I love the software.
Sorry I haven't written much lately. Haven't been sleeping well, and haven't been thinking about poker so much lately.
The 2nd tourney was a $20 buy-in, and had quite a few more players. Almost 200 in fact. I fared a little better in this one, placing 39th, but I lost this one for the same reason--I overplayed my hand. AJ preflop, hit a single J on the flop, and went all in against someone who bet into me and had me outstacked. Of course, she had a pair of kings. I had outs, but it was still a bad move on my part.
Both tournaments reminded me of a couple of things. The first is that if I don't play regularly, I lose focus and discipline, especially if I'm tired. The second is that multi-table tournaments can be a real let-down if you don't place in the money, because you can invest two or three hours and have nothing to show for it other than a poker blog post at the end of it.
I am really enjoying Full Tilt Poker though. It's quickly becoming one of my favorite cardrooms online. Their play-through requirements are a brilliant marketing strategy too, because I play there almost exclusively in an effort to work off the massive amount of bonus money I have that's waiting to be released. And I do fairly well at the lower-limit no limit games there too, and I love the software.
Sorry I haven't written much lately. Haven't been sleeping well, and haven't been thinking about poker so much lately.
Jacks - My last date
With my ankle still healing (I took my first step today) it's been a few weeks since I've been out at the bars or on a date. I'd like to think that's the only reason, whether or not that's true..um. hehe.
In the hole:
Anyhow, my last date was a pair of Jacks in early position. At the bar after I had a couple of glasses of Glen Livet on the rocks she looked beautiful. It was just like when you look down and see a pair of Jacks in the hole. I promptly got her number and setup dinner at a nice restaurant.
Preflop:
I picked her up and I immediately noticed all the warning signs. Although she was pretty hot she talked about herself all the time. That would be ok but I wasn't hearing anything interesting. Call me obtuse but I think if you're going to talk all the time about yourself you should be pretty damn interesting. Otherwise just be quiet and uninteresting, maybe people won't notice. :) Anyhow, so things started to not look that great. It's just like Jacks in a limit game. You sit there and say well there's 12 overcards to come that will beat me if I just limp in with this hand. I should probably put more money in this pot and maybe I'll get the blinds or limit the competition. So, what did I do...I took her to the expensive restaurant and got us some drinks.
On the Flop:
The flop came low, 9, 8, 2 but with 2 hearts. The conversation picked up slightly and the scotch kicked in as well. There were still some weird signs that I won't go into but in my mind they sounded like overcards hanging in there trying to catch something or a flush/straight draw. Naturally I continued to play my hand but something seemed suspicious.
On the turn:
She said something bad about my friend who was with me when we met. Sheesh. The ace of hearts I said to myself. She bet, I folded and took her home.
"Just throw that shit in the muck"
In the hole:
Anyhow, my last date was a pair of Jacks in early position. At the bar after I had a couple of glasses of Glen Livet on the rocks she looked beautiful. It was just like when you look down and see a pair of Jacks in the hole. I promptly got her number and setup dinner at a nice restaurant.
Preflop:
I picked her up and I immediately noticed all the warning signs. Although she was pretty hot she talked about herself all the time. That would be ok but I wasn't hearing anything interesting. Call me obtuse but I think if you're going to talk all the time about yourself you should be pretty damn interesting. Otherwise just be quiet and uninteresting, maybe people won't notice. :) Anyhow, so things started to not look that great. It's just like Jacks in a limit game. You sit there and say well there's 12 overcards to come that will beat me if I just limp in with this hand. I should probably put more money in this pot and maybe I'll get the blinds or limit the competition. So, what did I do...I took her to the expensive restaurant and got us some drinks.
On the Flop:
The flop came low, 9, 8, 2 but with 2 hearts. The conversation picked up slightly and the scotch kicked in as well. There were still some weird signs that I won't go into but in my mind they sounded like overcards hanging in there trying to catch something or a flush/straight draw. Naturally I continued to play my hand but something seemed suspicious.
On the turn:
She said something bad about my friend who was with me when we met. Sheesh. The ace of hearts I said to myself. She bet, I folded and took her home.
"Just throw that shit in the muck"
Playing Fast
The other day i had 4, 2 in the big blind in the local $8-16 game. Hey...don't give me flak it's the biggest they've got and i wanted to play in a live game not online for a change. Anyhow, got pretty lucky with timing in this hand.
2,4 in the big blind. 5-way action
Flop is 3, 5, 6 with 2 hearts:
Since there were so many people I decided to play this hand fast, maybe I get raised by a flush draw or something funny. I bet, Danny raises, and there's a reraise on the button. I hesitate and cap.
This is such a great hand because Danny is such a tight player. He's how I used to pay. He just sits around waiting for aces and kings and thinks he can beat the game that way. Although in that $8-16 loose game that's all you did need to do. Back to the hand.
The turn is a 10:
I bet the turn, Danny raises and the other guy goes away. There's no hand I can put Danny on besides top set of 10s, maybe 6's since he played it pretty aggressive on the flop. He's that tight. He couldn't have any other hand. He wouldn't even play a set of 5s against me in that style.
I repop him and bet the end. Naturally....he had a set of 6's.
I love taking chips from tight players, especially since in that game I was one of them. :0
Anyhow that got me to thinking how it really is all about timing. If I was Danny I might've played the hand in the exact same way against me. Although I probably would've been able to lay it down when it went 3 bets on the turn. My point is lately I like to play fast, just bet and get those chips in there.
Like the other day I raised with ace, king and flopped the nut straight. I slow played it and lost to a full house when a ten hit on the river. I wanted her to get me all in which is what happened and got knocked out early. (sigh)...then I had to settle for playing 13 and speed with the girls.
I had no chance in speed. hehe
2,4 in the big blind. 5-way action
Flop is 3, 5, 6 with 2 hearts:
Since there were so many people I decided to play this hand fast, maybe I get raised by a flush draw or something funny. I bet, Danny raises, and there's a reraise on the button. I hesitate and cap.
This is such a great hand because Danny is such a tight player. He's how I used to pay. He just sits around waiting for aces and kings and thinks he can beat the game that way. Although in that $8-16 loose game that's all you did need to do. Back to the hand.
The turn is a 10:
I bet the turn, Danny raises and the other guy goes away. There's no hand I can put Danny on besides top set of 10s, maybe 6's since he played it pretty aggressive on the flop. He's that tight. He couldn't have any other hand. He wouldn't even play a set of 5s against me in that style.
I repop him and bet the end. Naturally....he had a set of 6's.
I love taking chips from tight players, especially since in that game I was one of them. :0
Anyhow that got me to thinking how it really is all about timing. If I was Danny I might've played the hand in the exact same way against me. Although I probably would've been able to lay it down when it went 3 bets on the turn. My point is lately I like to play fast, just bet and get those chips in there.
Like the other day I raised with ace, king and flopped the nut straight. I slow played it and lost to a full house when a ten hit on the river. I wanted her to get me all in which is what happened and got knocked out early. (sigh)...then I had to settle for playing 13 and speed with the girls.
I had no chance in speed. hehe
Full Tilt Commercials
While taking a little break from work I found a few pretty cool commercials, with Howard Lederer, Phil Ivey, and Chris Ferguson. I really like Ivey's. Check them out.
Full Tilt Poker.
Full Tilt Poker.
Poker Tournament Rules
In my never ending quest to put together a strong poker site on the web I've added a new page to my poker site. I thought I'd share it here as I'm sure some of you are putting together your home tournaments and it might be useful to print out for reference.
So the new page, Texas Holdem Tournament Rules also has an interesting rule that I actually had to ask my dealer friend about. It is as follows:
Suppose we have players A, B, and C in a Texas Holdem tournament where the blinds are 5-10. Player A opens with a raise to 50 total chips (he matches the 10 chip blind and raises by 40 chips). Player B reraises all in for a total of 70 chips (he calls the bet of 50 chips and raises 20 more). Player C cold calls the 70 chips. Player A can not reraise since Player B did not put in a legal raise. Player B raised by only 20 chips when he needed to match a raise of 40 total chips.
Now let us consider an example of when player A could reraise. Again we have players A, B, and C with the blinds at 5-10. Player A raises to a total of 40 chips (he matches the blind of 10 chips and raises by 30). Player B pushes all in with 70 chips (calls the 40 chip bet by Player A and raises by 30 chips). Player C then cold calls. Player A can reraise as much as he wants because Player B has sent in a legal raise. Player B has matched the original raise amount of 30 chips.
So the new page, Texas Holdem Tournament Rules also has an interesting rule that I actually had to ask my dealer friend about. It is as follows:
Suppose we have players A, B, and C in a Texas Holdem tournament where the blinds are 5-10. Player A opens with a raise to 50 total chips (he matches the 10 chip blind and raises by 40 chips). Player B reraises all in for a total of 70 chips (he calls the bet of 50 chips and raises 20 more). Player C cold calls the 70 chips. Player A can not reraise since Player B did not put in a legal raise. Player B raised by only 20 chips when he needed to match a raise of 40 total chips.
Now let us consider an example of when player A could reraise. Again we have players A, B, and C with the blinds at 5-10. Player A raises to a total of 40 chips (he matches the blind of 10 chips and raises by 30). Player B pushes all in with 70 chips (calls the 40 chip bet by Player A and raises by 30 chips). Player C then cold calls. Player A can reraise as much as he wants because Player B has sent in a legal raise. Player B has matched the original raise amount of 30 chips.
Why I love poker
Poker provides me with an opportunity to be the man. To be clutch. Clutch like Ray Allen last night. You could just tell the Sonics were going to win that game even when we were down. Ray just had that fire in his eye. Like just give me the ball, I want to take the shot, I want to win the game, I want to be the man. Bibby had it against the Lakers. Jordan had it. He was so clutch. You knew that no matter what he was going to win the game for his team.
It seems like there are only a few brief moments in life nowdays when true heroics shine through. Life isn't quite like the movie "Troy" where Archilles is a super hero. If you're like me as you've gotten older you run into heroes a lot less each year. That's why I love basketball and that's why I love poker.
Poker provides me with the opportunity to be the man. To be clutch. Every hand is another shot at the rim. Every chip you add to your stack is another point that the other team has to make up. Every steal is like another battle that Archilles won. Every time someone says "man he can play" feels like that fadeaway shot by Jordan when he just left his hand hangin' in the air because he knew that shot was going in. It had to. He was clutch. He was the man.
It seems like there are only a few brief moments in life nowdays when true heroics shine through. Life isn't quite like the movie "Troy" where Archilles is a super hero. If you're like me as you've gotten older you run into heroes a lot less each year. That's why I love basketball and that's why I love poker.
Poker provides me with the opportunity to be the man. To be clutch. Every hand is another shot at the rim. Every chip you add to your stack is another point that the other team has to make up. Every steal is like another battle that Archilles won. Every time someone says "man he can play" feels like that fadeaway shot by Jordan when he just left his hand hangin' in the air because he knew that shot was going in. It had to. He was clutch. He was the man.
All in or just call
I played in a very small no limit cash game at MJ's sweet house the other day. I was intending to just chill out and socialize but hey if there's a game I usually accept the challenge just for pride.
Ended up leaving w/ 5x the cash buy in when there were like 8 of us playing. I found that amusing, just wish we were playing for a lil more money.
So I had 9, 10 of clubs and the flop comes 8, 7, 3 with the 7 and 3 of clubs. I check, the guy on my left checks and the other guy pushes all in for like 1/3rd the pot. I've got him and the other guy covered no problem and I'm thinking about if I should push all in or just call. I decide on just calling with the hopes of inducing a call.
He folds and after we show our hands my good buddy says he thinks I should've gone all in to isolate. I said, I want the most equity out of my hand with the draw.
I think there's really good points in each of our views. If I push all in i probably get a guy w/ ace king, an ace high flush draw, or overcards to fold. That way if I catch a 9, or a 10 I might be able to win the pot (effectively giving me more outs than the 15 in my straight and flush draws). However, I looked at it more like I've got over 50% ( more on poker probabilities) to win this hand if I hit and I want more people in to get more money.
In retrospect I think I should've pushed all in myself. Thoughts?
Ended up leaving w/ 5x the cash buy in when there were like 8 of us playing. I found that amusing, just wish we were playing for a lil more money.
So I had 9, 10 of clubs and the flop comes 8, 7, 3 with the 7 and 3 of clubs. I check, the guy on my left checks and the other guy pushes all in for like 1/3rd the pot. I've got him and the other guy covered no problem and I'm thinking about if I should push all in or just call. I decide on just calling with the hopes of inducing a call.
He folds and after we show our hands my good buddy says he thinks I should've gone all in to isolate. I said, I want the most equity out of my hand with the draw.
I think there's really good points in each of our views. If I push all in i probably get a guy w/ ace king, an ace high flush draw, or overcards to fold. That way if I catch a 9, or a 10 I might be able to win the pot (effectively giving me more outs than the 15 in my straight and flush draws). However, I looked at it more like I've got over 50% ( more on poker probabilities) to win this hand if I hit and I want more people in to get more money.
In retrospect I think I should've pushed all in myself. Thoughts?
Shana Hiatt Leaving Party Poker & WPT?
I heard a rumor that Shana Hiatt is leaving the WPT and Party Poker to move on to new television endeavors. Sad news for the poker world. I'm a huge fan of Shana Hiatt, and I have been since the Girls of the Hawaiian Tropic issue of Playboy that she was featured in. (Yes, I really do remember it--ah, college life! My first subscription to Playboy, and my first exposure to so many wonderful things in life.)
Here are some links to some good Shana Hiatt pages on the internet:
Shana Hiatt Fan Site - This is probably the most complete source of information on Shana Hiatt that I've seen on the internet, and the photo gallery is fantastic.
Shana Hiatt on AskMen.com - I've been a big fan of AskMen for a long time, and the feature on Shana Hiatt certainly lives up to the high levels of journalistic integrity that they've always aspired to and achieved.
Shana Hiatt in FHM - I can't remember the last time I went to a live cardroom and didn't see a copy of this issue of FHM. Shana is particularly stunning in this issue.
Shana Hiatt - Women We Love - Esquire - There's only one picture on this page, but it's a great one.
Shana Hiatt in Cardplayer Magazine
Shana Hiatt in the Open Directory - A couple of the links in the Open Directory's page about Shana Hiatt are listed here too, but it's always interesting to see what's listed in the directory for any particular topic.
Here's some more tidbits about Shana: She's 30 years old, and she's from the east coast. She's been quoted as saying she likes real men, not men who spend more time looking in the mirror than she does and spend a lot of time shaving their body.
Finally, there was some speculation last month at the Two plus Two forums that Shana Hiatt might be pregnant. (I don't think this one's true, but I always get a giggle out of those wacky Two plus Two posters and their unnatural levels of testosterone.)
Here are some links to some good Shana Hiatt pages on the internet:
Shana Hiatt Fan Site - This is probably the most complete source of information on Shana Hiatt that I've seen on the internet, and the photo gallery is fantastic.
Shana Hiatt on AskMen.com - I've been a big fan of AskMen for a long time, and the feature on Shana Hiatt certainly lives up to the high levels of journalistic integrity that they've always aspired to and achieved.
Shana Hiatt in FHM - I can't remember the last time I went to a live cardroom and didn't see a copy of this issue of FHM. Shana is particularly stunning in this issue.
Shana Hiatt - Women We Love - Esquire - There's only one picture on this page, but it's a great one.
Shana Hiatt in Cardplayer Magazine
Shana Hiatt in the Open Directory - A couple of the links in the Open Directory's page about Shana Hiatt are listed here too, but it's always interesting to see what's listed in the directory for any particular topic.
Here's some more tidbits about Shana: She's 30 years old, and she's from the east coast. She's been quoted as saying she likes real men, not men who spend more time looking in the mirror than she does and spend a lot of time shaving their body.
Finally, there was some speculation last month at the Two plus Two forums that Shana Hiatt might be pregnant. (I don't think this one's true, but I always get a giggle out of those wacky Two plus Two posters and their unnatural levels of testosterone.)
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