O-Poker

High Stakes Poker Season 6, Episode 12

"Wow!!  Wow!!  What a call?" - Mike Matusow

"Nice call, man." - Eli

"Where you thinking of raising?" - Tom "durrrr" Dwan with a very confused look on his face.

"No." - Elky

"How can you fold?  How can you fold?  You people must be playing a different game than I am!"

This conversation happened after durrrr bet 58k on the river into a $147k pot on a 3sAsAh/9h/Ac board after raising pf, betting the flop and checking the turn.  Elky took a while to finally call him with TT for a chopped pot with durrrr's TT.

Elky must have taken an incredible amount of time (edited down for TV) to make the call.  Durrrr seemed to think that it was a no brainer call with 9x, TT-KK, and a hero fold with 77 or 88.  In his mind (I think) he was value betting his TT and hoping to get paid off by 9sXs hands or a mid pair.

Yes, most of the rest of the table are probably playing a different game than you, Tom.  Isn't that how you are so successful?  Isn't that why you have an edge?  Whether it is someone clearly playing with scared money (Matusow), someone with playing on one bullet, someone that views the money as actual real world money, or someone that can't fold trips when they are obviously beat.

I think most of us nobodies that like to play poker would at least have to think about the possibility of durrrr having JJ-KK.  It might also cross our minds that durrrr has something like A3 or A9 - although we could probably discount those hands because he would be betting the turn almost 100% of the time on a board with two spades and two hearts.  For the same reason, we could probably discount the rest of the AX hands.

So, I know that I would have to at least think about the call before making it.  Maybe some of our brains don't process information as fast as durrrr's.  I blame the keg parties during my college years. 



The video below starts right before durrrr's river bet.  Search for clip 3 if you want to see the entire hand.

We are a little less than 2 hours from the start of another BBT5 tourney on Full Tilt Poker.  I think tonight is a must play, after all it's the BBT5 and it's Cinco de Mayo!!!!  5/5/10.

Fuel55 is probably a 2 to 1 favorite to win the BBT5 MookieDank.  (I like the hybrid instead of going all the way to calling it the Dank or the Buddy - sorry Waffles)

If you hold pocket fives preflop, they are at least a 5x favorite against aces tonight.

Good Luck to everyone tonight.  I'll be rooting for you to come in 2nd.

CINCO de BBT!!!!

EDIT:  Out quickly thanks to some horrible play on my part!!

I'm starting to get excited about the 2010 WSOP!!!

I finally bought my plane tickets and booked my room at the Rio.  I'll be arriving in LV June 14th and leaving June 21st (Monday-Monday).  I was going to leave on Sunday, but overall it was about $60 cheaper to stay because the airfare was ridiculous on Sunday.

I plan to play a lot of cash games and the following tourneys:
6/16 - WSOP Event #30 $1,500 NLHE
6/17 - Venetian Deep Stack $2,100 NLHE (unless I'm still in the WSOP tourney)

If I make it to Day 2 of WSOP #30, then I will probably play the $550 Venetian tourney on Friday.

The only way that I will change the plans is if I somehow luckbox my way into winning a WSOP ME seat in the BBT5.

Florida Poker

1.  The Seminoles, governor, and key members of the FL legislature are in agreement on the compact.
2.  The compact should be approved by the FL house and senate this week.
3.  The governor will sign it.
4.  July 1st we should have uncapped NL poker!!!!

I may have to start a countdown clock soon.

Battle of the Bloggers #5

There have been some twitter rumblings about the BBT5.  It looks like it should be starting sometime in the near future.  These might be the only satellites to the WSOP main event that I play this year.  Hopefully, I can luckbox my way into a WSOP seat!  Weeee to FTP for the free stuff!!!

WSOP plans

I plan to head to LV this summer for the WSOP, but am still debating on dates.  I can't decide between the middle of June and the beginning of July.  The middle of June would allow me to play some of the low buy-in WSOP events.  The beginning of July would leave satelliting into the ME as a possibility.  I'm really 50/50 right now on when to head out there.  July would be in the lead if it wasn't for 95% chance that FL will have uncapped poker on July 1st.

If you're heading to LV this summer, you should drop a comment on CK's blog.  She is compiling a list of when everyone is going to be in LV.

From Busto to Robusto

The 2nd video in the FBTR series is out.  It features Andrew "good2cu" Robl.  There are definitely mixed opinions on the video over  in the 2+2 thread.

It seems like people either liked it a lot or hated - mainly because of their opinions of Andrew.  I fall in the middle.  I think they do a good job (with  of showing Andrew for what he is - a young guy that has made an incredible amount of money but is still insecure about his place in the world/worries about how others view him.  Sure, he is a little immature at times, but he has definitely come a long way for the Ship It Holla Balla days.  I would love to see this video with a follow up vid in 10 years.

The first video of Captain Zeebo was some much more interesting, but that is mainly because Zeebo is so quirky.  Zeebo would have made a great interview even if he had nothing to do with poker.

Even though you can view both videos online, I recommend purchasing the DVD to help the filmmakers move forward with the project and release more episodes.

I'm back from Hawaii (after spending way too long in paradise - 2 weeks).   My plane landed Saturday morning at 6 AM EST.  I think I am finally getting close to adjusting to EST (+6 hours from Hawaii). Now time to start playing some online poker again.

I've started to write a post about 10 times in the last few weeks, but every time I start to write one other things seem to get in the way.  I'm crazy busy at work which is definitely a good thing, especially in this economy.  This post is just to catch up a little.

I'm heading to Hawaii (for 2 weeks) on business next week, so I'm not sure how much playing or posting I will be doing between now and late March. 

Rush Poker
I had been playing a ton of Rush Poker until about 1 1/2 weeks ago (when the craziness at work really started).

Some thoughts:
- Rush Poker seems to be getting extremely nitty.  It seems like everyone is set mining.
- Taking notes is a must.  It's always good to know if a player is a set mining nit or a will go broke with TT on an all undercard board.
- A HUD is a must.  HEM's HUD seems to work pretty well when I load the tables a 30 secs to 1 min apart instead of joining four at once.
- The weekends are the time to play Rush.  I may start playing Rush on weekends and regular tables during the week.

Countdown to July 1, 2010

- I'm not going to get my hopes up, but 7/1/10 is looking like the date that uncapped cash game poker will become a reality in Florida.   We currently have a $100 max buy-in on cash games.  I'll update more as things progress or you can follow the 2+2 thread on the bill.  Needless to say, I'm counting down the days until I get to play deep stacked against a bunch of players that are used to playing 20 BBs deep ($100 buy-in at 2/5 NL)


Phil Ivey....

- ...is still sick.  If you haven't watched the first couple of episodes of High Stakes Poker Season 6, watch them.  He seems to step to a higher and higher level each year even as those around him continue to get better and the fish die off.

Phil Hellmuth.....

- is still LOL.  Just watch any time that he has opened his mouth over the last few weeks (HSP, WSOP Europe) and all you will be able to say is LOL.  You might even start feeling bad for him.  Well, maybe not.  He is like the rich kid in school that was a douche and everyone picked on relentlessly, but still had plenty of people that wanted to be friends with him because he was rich and had lots of cool toys.

Blogging....

- ...sometimes seems like work.  I'm working way too much to put the time and effort into working a second job.
- ...may get more attention from me once I get back from Hawaii.  I may even have a little bit of free time here and there for a post while in HI.

Full Tilt Poker is doing so many things right this year.  I predict it won't be long before they overtake Pokerstars as the premiere site on the internet.

Let's see:

1.  Rush Poker - Weeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!!!!!!!!!!!

2.  People asked for Rush Poker with antes - they added it

3.  Elimination of short stacks from cash games - Doulbe Weeeeeeeeeeeee!!!  - although due to Rush Poker I haven't played any of the regular tables lately.

4. Added Player Search Widget (and widgets in general)

5.  Revised HH replayer to reduce the amount of memory the software uses.

I'm really excited about 2010 in poker and can't wait to see what FTP will bring us next!!!

I decided to try to complain less this year.  It isn't really a New Year's resolution.  I just want to be more positive about things poker and non-poker related.

This post isn't meant to be a whiny "whoa is me" post.  In the past I might have posted the graph below with something about how bad I am running.  You'll get none of that today.  This post is really to highlight how much my perspective on things has changed.

The first couple of days of February haven't treated me well.  I have played 5 or 6 sessions of 50NL full ring Rush Poker on FTP (although HEM has them grouped as 4 because I had too short of intervals between some sessions.)  I am barely break even (up $58) over 4,092 hands, but I am running $306 below expected value.  This might have been a reason to get frustrated in the past, but not this time.  I haven't let losing 80/20s, 70/30s, or 60/40s effect my play.  No tilt for me!!  Let me say that again - No tilt for me!!  My mind is in a much better place poker wise.  As I mentioned in my previous post, if you tilt easily then Rush Poker is not for you.  Bad beats will lead to tilting and spewing your bankroll.

I don't know if I have had that "Ah ha" moment recently, but it sure feels like it.  My biggest leak in the past has been tilt.  It might not be the full on definition of tilt, but it is/was tilt.  I didn't spew stacks, but I would get very stubborn when running bad and make a call or raise when a fold was the obvious choice.  My tilt would make me less likely to think someone really had a hand, when all I had to do was step back and look at the information to know that it was -EV to continue.  I haven't completely fixed this problem, but I have reduced it dramatically.  I sit back and really exam if I just got unlucky or if I played a hand poorly after I lose a big pot.  If I think it was due to poor play, I might sit out for a few minutes and review my biggest winners and losers of the current session as a gut check to see if I feel like I am playing good or bad.  If I feel I am playing bad I will usually quit for at least an hour or so.

Bottom line for me - Complaining less = Tilting Less.  I'm not in a "Rush" to post my latest bad beat on the forums now.  No one cares.  Bad beats happen.  Everyone has a story of running bad or how horrible their beat was.  Again, no one cares.  The real question is will the beat lead to you eventually being a stronger or weaker player - both short and long term?

Next time you get your set in on the flop and your opponent hits perfect, perfect for the suckout, maybe sit back and say, "I got unlucky, but if I keep playing against guys like this I am going to be a huge winner in the long term."

Good luck at the tables!! Stay Tilt-Free!!

I was going to write a long detailed post about Rush Poker, but I think every blogger/poker website has already written almost everything that you could say on the subject (click one of the links on the side if you wan to read a more about Rush).  I still want to mention a few things about it though.

1.  As others have posted it is the crack of online poker! - I four tabled for 4 straight hours yesterday and averaged 1,140 hands/hour.  I don't remember playing for four straight hours with no breaks anytime recently.

2.  If you tilt easily don't play - Since you see so many hands/hour, you will see more bad beats in a day than you might usually see in a week or two.  If bad beats cause you to tilt then Rush Poker is definitely not for you.  Spewing after a couple of bad beats could cripple a bankroll when you are playing 1k hands/hour.


3.  Breakeven stretches and Downswings don't last long - I had a 15k breakeven stretch that might have been frustrating in the past, but isn't a big deal now because it was over the course of 4 days.

4.  Rakeback - At 50NL full ring, my rakeback is averaging $9.21/1k hands after close to 40k hands.

5.  HUDs are coming - HEM has a crude limited HUD work around that writes to your notes file.  It is helpful in some spots but a little frustrating when you are used to the extended HUD stats.  I'm guessing that within the next week or so, both HEM and PT3 will have fully functional HUDs.


6.  Nits are everywhere - As the rush games get tighter and tighter a HUD will almost become a necessity in order to maximize profits against the nits.  The good players will be able to bet the nitty guys off their overpairs and know which players to fold their over pairs to when they see that big turn check/raise.

7.  Adjusting your play based on your stack - This might not make sense, but when I have a huge stack (400bb+ or more) I get played back at a ton more.  I have also noticed some players are more willing to call an over shove with  mediocre holdings against someone with a lot of chips.  I'm not sure the exact mentality of some of these guys, but I'm guessing that they think you bluffed your way to a lot of chips.

Must. Go Play. Rush. NOW!!!

I just finished updating the blog template and the bloglines list.

Please let me know if the template looks messed up.  I put it up pretty quick and have only viewed it in Firefox.

I think my blogroll still needs a little work.  I might have a missed a few blogs - let me know if you want to be added.

It has been forever since I update my blogroll.  There are several blogs that I read daily that aren't even on the list.  I'm also going to delete the blogs that haven't updated in a very very long time.

If you want me to add your blog to my blogroll, let me know via a comment or email.

Anyone know a good site for blogspot templates?  I am trying to come up with a new layout for the blog.

I have a lot of poker thoughts on my mind that are itching to ooze out. Look for new regular posting in the near future.

Happy New Year!!!

Here's to an awesome 2010 (pretty crazy)!!!!

When I was a kid, I used to wonder what I would be doing when 2000 rolled around. I never wondered what I would be doing in 2010. That was way too far out there (Sci-Fi stuff). Surely, we would have flying cars, robot maids, recreational space travel, colonies on the moon, etc, etc.

Hmm.... I wonder what I'll be doing when 2050 rolls around.

Happy New Year George and Judy Jetson!!!

Wow. Has it really been over 3 weeks since my last post?

I was going to do a New Orleans recap, but never really got around to it. Everything is pretty fuzzy now, so I'll give you the quick version.

We stayed in NO for four days. I only played 2 sessions of poker - one session Saturday late morning/afternoon and one session from about 1 AM - 5 AM Sat night/Sun morning.

Saturday Morning Session

I put my name on the list for 1/2NL and 2/5NL. There were a few 1/2 games running and they had a list to start a 2/5. I got called for the 1/2 first. When I sat down, I asked the chip runner how much was the maximum buy-in. She turned to the dealer and he said it looks like about $800. (Apparently, the max buy-in is up to the biggest stack on the table.) She laughed and said how much do you want to buy-in for. The second biggest stack was around $500, so I bought in for $500.

Nothing real exciting happened during this session. My biggest hand was an open ended straight flush draw with QhTh.

Seat 2 raises to $6 from EP. 4 calls. I call otb.
Flop comes Jh9h4x.

Seat 2 (stack around $250) bets around $15.
MP (stack around $150) calls.
I raise to $60-$70 (don't remember exactly)

Seat 2 agonizes and eventually folds.
MP insta-shoves.
I call.

MP has A9 and I miss.
Weeeeeeeeeeeeee.

I finished up the afternoon down approx. $100.

Sat Night/Sun Morning Session

I wound up deciding to play 1/2NL again after my wife went to sleep. I got down to the poker room around 1 AM after drinking from about 2 PM. It seemed like a pretty good idea at the time. I even decided to stop drinking after my first beer in the poker room and switched to Diet Coke.

I think if I ever go back to NOLA, I will only play poker late at night on the weekends.

I was getting hit by the deck and running over the table for about 2 hours. The best part about the game was that the players had a clue, but they did not know how to fold.

I stacked one guy for $300 with my 67 against his AK on a 668JA flop. He had put almost all of his money in before the river after only betting $6 preflop.

At one point I had built my $500 starting stack up to $1,300. Another table broke and they moved the players to our table. There was a guy sitting two to my left that had me covered with his $1,600 stack. LOL.

I would give more details of the late night session, but it is definitely a little cloudy. After losing a big pot with KK vs. AA I decided it was time to cash out with a tidy little $650 profit. Not too shabby for someone that had been drinking for 11 hours straight.

----------------

I'm bummed out that I didn't go to the WBPT. There are a lot of great recaps of the trips out there.

Go congratulate Hoyazo - He had a huge score in one of the Mini-FTOPS events last night!!!

I'll try to start posting more.