EuroRounders

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EuroRounders
written by Saddlepoint <http://saddlepoint.livejournal.com/7844.html> .
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Michel (voiceover): "If you can't find the boorish American hold'em player at the table within half an hour, you are the boorish American hold'em player."
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TITLE/CREDITS. This entire movie is in black and white, with subtitles.
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Michel (voiceover): "This game is really scummy, and well above what I can afford to play. My entire bankroll is riding on this one session going well. This is Teddy CIA's place, where they only play Pot Limit Omaha, the most sophisticated game in Europe."
◊ ◊ ◊ Michel knocks on the window ◊
Teddy CIA: "You want poker, or whore?"
Michel: "Poker. Give me three stacks of high, elitist society."
Michel: "I raise."
Teddy CIA: "It's a position raise. I call."
◊ ◊ ◊ The flop comes 5-7-A, with two diamonds ◊
Michel: "I bet the pot."
Teddy CIA: "I raise the pot."
Michel: "I reraise the pot."
Teddy CIA: "I reraise the pot."
Michel: "Pot."
Teddy CIA: "Pot."
Michel: "Pot."
Teddy CIA: "Pot."
Michel: "Pot."
Teddy CIA: "Pot."
Michel (voiceover): "I sit back and think. I have three aces - the best possible hand. I want him to think I'm debating a call, but really I'm just thinking about Monte Carlo, and whatever the fuck is in Monte Carlo."
Michel: *shrugs* "Okay, well, I re-pot it, I'm all in, because I don't think you have a pair." *winks at the camera*
Teddy CIA: "Who are you winking at? It doesn't matter, I call."
Michel (voiceover): "I know before he even says it."
Teddy CIA: "I have 8-6-4-3 with two diamonds, for a wrap straight draw and a flush draw, which is a favorite over your top set."
◊ ◊ ◊ Turn is a King. River is a 2 which gives Teddy CIA an ace-to-five straight for the win. Michel sits there, shell-shocked. ◊
Joey Croissant: "Come on, I'll get you a whore."
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Michel (voiceover): "Well, that sucked. Since then, I've sworn off of poker and made my living as a roadside prostitute for boorish American tourists. Hopefully, I can pay my way through law school that way. I can always find games, though. I could turn this truck onto the road and be at the Taj in 19 and a half hours."
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Michel (voiceover): "I'm here to pick my friend Worm up from prison."
◊ ◊ ◊ Worm walks out of prison ◊
Michel: "Worm! It's wonderful to see you!"
◊ ◊ ◊ They kiss each other passionately on the mouth ◊
Michel: "How was prison?"
Worm: "I was brutally sodomized on a regular basis."
♣
Michel: "Look...Croissant, I never told you this, but about a year ago, I was playing poker at the Casino des Atlantes, and Marcel Luske walks in. He sits down at the 50/100 pot limit game. And, I mean, the whole place stops, right? Just watching this guy play. After a while there isn't a retarded European gambling game going, because everybody's just, you know, watching this guy."
◊ ◊ ◊ Joey Croissant nods ◊
Michel: "So you know what I did? I sat down."
Joey Croissant: "No way, you need at least 300,000 euros to sit down at a game like that. Such bad financial management is typical of a boorish American!"
◊ ◊ ◊ Joey Croissant and Michel laugh for twenty-six minutes ◊
Michel: "Right, okay, but seriously, I played for an hour, doing nothing but folding. Then I won a huge pot."
Joey Croissant: "Aces? Kings? Ace-King doublesuited? Suited aces? High connectors? Middle doublesuited connectors? Two big pair?"
Michel: "Rags."
Joey Croissant: "That's probably fine too, you're only like a 48/52 dog."
Michel: "I raised. And he came over the top of me, like I was a boorish American. I re-popped it. He potted it again. I think for like two seconds and then I re-pot it."
Joey Croissant: "Jesus fucking Christ, how much money did you have?"
Michel: "After I bet I would quietly slide my chips back toward my stack, nobody noticed. Anyway, he thinks for a while, looks at me, checks his cards again, and he mucks. I take it down. And then he looks at me and says, 'I have to know. Did you have it?' And I said, 'I'm sorry Marcel, I can't remember.'"
Joey Croissant: "Face!"
Michel: "I know, totally. Anyway, based on that one hand, I felt confident gambling for all the money I had, at one time."
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Law Professor: "I am a Jew."
Michel: "I hate you."
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Teddy CIA: "We play, heads up, Pot Limit Omaha, 25 and 50 blinds, until one of us has it all?"
Michel: "Out of sheer curiosity, you realize you're giving up like boat loads of equity by agreeing to gamble for money that's effectively yours anyway, right? That you could just not let me play, and then kill me and take what I have?"
Teddy CIA: "I know, but I am a boorish American!"
◊ ◊ ◊ Michel and Teddy CIA laugh for seventy-two minutes ◊
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Michel (voiceover): "I pick up Ace-Ace-Jack-Ten doublesuited."
Michel: "I raise the pot."
Teddy CIA: "Very aggressive. But, I reraise the pot."
Michael (voiceover): "He's representing Ace-Ace-King-King doublesuited, the only hand better than mine. I can't call, and give him a chance to catch. I can only fold...if I believe him."
Michel: "I reraise, I'm all in."
Teddy CIA: "Take it down."
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◊ ◊ ◊ The flop reads 10-9-5, with two spades ◊
Michel: "Pot."
Teddy CIA: "Pot."
Michel: "Pot."
Teddy CIA: "Pot."
Michel: "Pot."
Teddy CIA: "Pot."
Michel: "Pot. I'm all in."
Teddy CIA: "Alright, I call. What do you have?"
Michel: "Jack high flush draw and middle set."
Teddy CIA: "Wrap, with a king high flush draw."
Michel: "Boy, I sure hope my 5:4 edge holds up, otherwise I am going to die."
◊ ◊ ◊ Turn is an off-suit 5, giving Michel an unbeatable hand. But the river is the ace of spades anyway, because it's always the fucking ace of spades. ◊
Teddy CIA: "He beat me. Pay that man his money. His silly, silly-looking European money."
♣
Cab Driver: "Where are you off to?"
Michel: "Monte Carlo."
Cab Driver: "Good luck."
Michel: "Shut the fuck up."
♣
FIN

I can't afford your game, man

I went to the car wash yesterday, and the guy hooked me up with a $22
wash for $13. I said thanks, and tipped the fella $2.
He notices one of my poker books on the seat, "So, you learning the
game?"
Sly smile, "Yeah, a little bit."
"Well, when you're ready to step up, I can show you a game downtown."
"Yeah?" I'm always happy to know of another game.
"Yeah, the guys play big time!"
Cool! "Really, what's the limit?"
"Well, the buy in is $20..."
...
...
"So, cleaning the rims is included in the price, right?"

... in the likely case that I take everyone's $ there, I still have to
pay for gas to get there.

22 hour home tournament concept

How about 30 players, $200 buyin, with (rotating) dealers provided?
Different houses? A structure worthy of 22+ hours of play in a weekend?
8pm to 2am Friday (6 hours)
1pm start Saturday (12 hours)
1pm start Sunday (6 hours)

$3300 first
$1500 second
$700 third
$500 fourth

Level structure: 24 hours less (3 20 min breaks and 30 min food) 1.5 =
22.5 hours of poker fun! 90 minute levels
1 - $25-$50
2 - $50-$100
3 - $75-$150
4 - $100-$200
5 - $150-$300
6 $25 $150-$300
7 $25 $200-$400
8 $50 $300-$600
9 $50 $400-$800
Remove $25 Chips
10 $100 $400-$800
11 $100 $500-$1,000
12 $200 $600-$1,200
13 $200 $800-$1,600
14 $200 $1,000-$2,000
15 $300 $1,200-$2,400 (22 hours!)
16 $400 $1,500-$3,000
Remove $100 Chips
17 $500 $2,000-$4,000
18 $500 $2,500-$5,000
Remove $500 Chips
1 $1,000 $3,000-$6,000

operating costs? Dealer cost avg $20 per hour? - we need 45
dealer-hours; $900 / 30 is $30. hmmm..Food? Refreshments? $200+$30?
Adjustment for dealer tips? Side cash games? (if a dealer stays for
that, tips go in a pool to be shared.)

Starting chips by formula:
Starting chips = M25/starting players
Reasoning:
End game situations will start with average chipstack M12.5 times 2
players = 25M total available chips @ heads up
Structure at end game is level 15
15 $300 $1,200-$2,400
1 M = $4200.
Total chips = 25*4200 = $105000 / 30 players is $3500 starting. (I'm
guessing that more starting chips could be used because loose play early
will knock out more players)

Starting with M40 stacks
Assuming 24-30 hands per hour from dealers means 40 hands per level, so
this would be the most skill weighted blind structure I've ever played.
We're talking 600 hands.

Starting chips - modified M15 stacks:
Level-Morbit:Mcost(Mspent)[hands dealt]
1-75:300(300)[40]
2-150:600(900)[80]
3-225:900(1800)[120]
4-300:1200(3000)[160]
5-450:1800(4800)[200]
6-700:2800(7600)[240]

Off the subject:Payout splits:
Assume headsup:
$3300 first.
$1500 second.
Total pot $4800
Award $1500 to each, pot remaining: $1800
70 - 30 chip distribution flat: 1260-540
weight to shorter stack: 1060-740??

Snatching Defeat from the Jaws of Victory

I'm in the small blind, and I've put my $1 in the pot. The cards are
dealt, Blade is first to act, and he bets $20. People start to fold
their cards, Blade is telling them that they can't call.
I have not looked at my cards yet, but I puff up and retort, "I
guarantee I won't call, Blade."
In my mind, I'm either going to raise or fold.
It's my turn.
"I raise, sixty straight." I don't think he can call.
After the player between us folds, Blade makes the $40 call. The total
in the middle is $122.
The flop shows 6 of hearts, 10 of diamonds, Jack of hearts.
"I check."
Blade checks behind me.
Turn, 3 of hearts.
"I check."
Blade stacks up his remaining chips and pushes them forward. Two
hundred and twenty one dollars.
I turn over a card, showing only an Ace of hearts.
Normally I'd do that to watch the reaction of my opponent; does he fear
a call, but I'm not even looking at him.
I believe Blade has two hearts, he's winning, holding a flush.
I should fold instantly, I have to call $221 to win $342, and if I do,
I'll lose 7 out of 8 times.
But I'm not thinking about odds or correct play, I'm thinking a single
heart on the river, overcoming odds, the thrill of victory, a sick
satisfaction of being rewarded for doing something wrong.
A gamble.
It's most of my remaining chips, "I feel a gamble. Call."
I have Ace of hearts and Queen of spades. I need a heart.
Blade shows a 3 Jacks. There is one more heart for me in the deck.
A slightly better chance for luck to smile.
The last card is not a heart; it's Blade who smiles and reaches for the
$563 pot.

One of the worst things in this game is believing you've won, and then
having someone 'slow roll' you; turning their cards over after you think
you've won, savoring defeat on your face as they show you the best hand.

I suppose it's not much different than Blade believing he's won, only to
realize he's misread the situation, slow rolling himself in his mind;
the King of clubs gives me a straight and the win. I've been in his
situation many times, mumbling the mantra, "That's poker."

Ship it.

M · Rogers

This morning I put it together in a grand unification theory: This one may need a little refinement. However, I'll be shocked if you don't immediately smack your head and say wow, this is no ordinary Box o Rocks.

We all live and breathe Harrington's M. Snyder calls us all idiots and we bristle. Now, Box o Rocks is on the scene and he's worked thru the suffering of these conflicting views. I can confidently say that all of my tournament mistakes this last trip resulted from an incorrect application of M. Here's the good news, and not much of a shock: Dan Harrington's M is correct and valid for all situations. There are modifications for figuring M and Dan writes about M for short handed tables. I will talk about M for impending level changes, and this is the key.

I will say that I feel Snyder's 'bullet/ammunition' theory of chip value is probably a better analogy than Sklansky's 'each chip won is worth less', but I need to reconsider both theories further before I address the issue of chip values.

M is a number that roughly represents the number of rounds you can survive before you go broke. Simply, M is your stack divided by the sum of blinds and antes. We know that M must be recalculated every time the level advances. I suspect that most of us have even gone to the next step of determining our M based on an impending level change. But this modification is not enough.

M for number of rounds before you're broke is fine and usually valid for hour long rounds that are present in higher dollar value tournaments. If there's 10 minutes remaining of an hour long level, and the blinds have just past, most people will refigure M base on the next level values. You probably see where I'm going with this, don't you?

Consider the following common situation: Levels are 15 minutes, but antes have not started yet. The blinds double from here on with aggressive antes. You fold 72off in early middle position. 3 tables remain, and you check your M at 13. You study a fellow who's called all-in and you eventually call time on a third potential caller. The third caller does call with 99, and the original AI shows KK. Your read on the first caller was correct: He was weak, but this is ridiculous: J♥6♥? The board shows 6 7 4 7 6, and two people are eliminated. As J♥6♥ sheepishly rakes the pot, you correctly ignore the fact that you would have eliminated all 3 opponents with great chip position if only you were temporarily gifted with an IQ of 57. Now you fold K♣3♣ UTG on a table with 6 other fairly timid opponents. The buzzer sounds for the next level as the BB shows a walk with T♦2♠. You call for the floor, but he refuses to balance the tables since the opponents are dropping very fast.

On the next orbit, UTG, you fold 92off, affectionately nicknamed the "s#!+ milkshake" by a fellow named William. Finally, the tables combine to 2. The buzzer sounds again for a short break, and you lose the chip race. No problem, it's only a single ante. When you return from break, you see a much shorter stack. You recount your M at 2.5. How did this happen? The dealer tells you he colored up your chips. You think for a moment, and realize you weren't robbed. You post your blind, you see A♠, and push in without a glance at your 2nd hole card. Your opponent flops a boat, board K2K. You rap your bare patch of felt, smile, and congratulate the table. You head to the counter to queue for a juicy cash game, and consider what you might have done to improve your play; did you miss a steal opportunity or misread strength when your opponent made a move? What is it that the pros know, that you don't? As you're seated, you see your old pal J♥6♥ has made the money. Good for him. Sure, this is J♥6♥'s birthday, but this is ridiculous. Hopefully he'll take his chances over here at the cash game.

Do you see it yet? You should have figured your M at much less a couple of rounds ago. M is supposed to tell you how many rounds you can survive, but nobody told you to consider that the level can change twice in a single orbit. This is the missing link. M has to be considered for not only an immediate level change but all impending level changes that will affect the 'tail end' of your real M. I'll call it MR. M12 based on level X can realistically mean 1 orbit at level X, 2 orbits at level X+1 and 1/2 orbit at level X+2. Now, M12 in this situation = MR3.5 and K♣3♣ UTG on a table with 6 other fairly timid opponents = push.

A good, rapid dealer can run about 30 and 35 hands per hour and automatic shuffling machines can speed the process up to about 40 to 45 hands per hour. A typical online poker game deals between 65 and 85 hands per hour. A self-dealt game with inexperienced players can crawl at 18-25 hands per hour.

I believe that Mr. Harrington's M is based on 1 hour blinds with a speed of 30 hands per hour. I establish a baseline of 30 hands per blind level. M1 assumes one orbit of 10 players (B+A)

Consider an M10 on a blind schedule that doubles. 1/3rd should be based on the current level, 1/3rd based on the next, and the remainder on the level after. Your effective M10 -- 3M·1(current level)+3M·1/2(next level)+4M·1/4(level after)+1M·1/8 -- MR5.35 You think you have 'time', and you're playing Dan's recommended 'zones', but you're not. You're much worse off that you think you are.

If you have an online tournament with 30 minute levels, then you can expect to see 35 hands per level; (70hph) You're better off, even though you have less time. You'll see 16.6% more hands, so you can slow down your M erosion that much: Roughly, M10+16.66%=M11.66 -- M3.5·1+3.5M·1/2+3.5M·1/4+1.16M·1/8 -- MR6.2 (the level consideration stretches because you lose more M per level, but you see more hands, so your have more M to eat up)

How about a home game with 18hph and 20 minute rounds? 6 hands per level. You're seeing only 20% of number of hands that Dan was considering when he wrote his book. Now what's your M10 worth? Well, you'll lose less M per level; only .6 per level. M10·20%=M2 -- .6M·1+.6M·1/2+.6M·1/4+.2M·1/8 -- MR1.075. An M10 to a dead zone wisp.

If you mentally think about tournament game structures, you'll see that this concept is even closer to the truth.

How does that change your play considerations? Kick in antes, and you have blown M to smithereens. No wonder so many tournament that we play are crapshoots.

I thought of this today, June 18th, 2007. Me. If not, I want to see where someone wrote it first.

Kid Before Christmas

I'm going to Vegas! I'm going to Vegas!

I just realized that this Friday is the 1st of June. My flight leaves
June 12th. I'm excited!

The one thing that bugs me so much is that I might donk out hour 1, day
1. That is so terrifying to me. I need to seek help to calm my nerves
on that issue.

Yay me!

WSOP 2007 in Vegas!

Well, I've managed to wander into part of my dream. I'm going to the WSOP 2007 baby!

Here are my choices:
No-Limit Hold’em $2,000 No Rebuy/Add-ons
Wed, June 6th to Fri, June 8th (Event 10)
Fri, June 15th to Sun, June 17th (Event 25)
Fri, June 29th Sun, July 1st No Rebuy/Add-ons (Event 47)

I'm playing as a rep from a group; 60% of whatever I win is mine.

Here's what I have to manage:
Play your big draws more aggressively. The money won't go in after the draw hits, especially a flush draw.
Think about timing when acting. Act the same time every time.
Look at cards on your action after you think about your position and situation everytime.
Notice your head position when you're strong and when you're weak. Figure your observation position; where you hold your head and bodyand act from that position everytime.
Work on moving out of your comfort zone when bluffing.

Here's the commentary from the qualifier:
Final match, Game 2, Friday, 5/4, $240 buy-in
10 players, winner got to select one of 3 WSOP events in Vegas ($2,000 buy-in + $660 in travel expenses). Events are # 10, 25, 47 (June 6, 15, 29) and each are 3-day tournaments.

Everybody played well and hard. B's solid play had her with a dominating chip lead at the half-way point. By the time she was heads up with Doug, she had at least a 2 to 1 chip advantage. Doug fought hard and played well to take it all down. CONGRATS DOUG! We will of course be rooting for him. I will let everyone know which event he has chosen as soon as Doug makes travel/registration plans. Here are the places and percentages for all the players:

1. Doug R. 60%
2. Becky M. 9%
3. Dean B. 7%
4. Michael R. 6%
5. Darnell B. 5%
6. Brad S. 5%
7. Wendy B. 4%
8. Costa 2%
9. Brian S. 1%
10. Al M. 1%

The Rise + Fall of the New York poker room

From Bluff Magazine:
https://www.bluffmagazine.com/magazine/2006_08_052.asp
The Rise + Fall of the New York poker room
By: Matthew21v13

I cry easily. From an early age, I learned to avoid physical
confrontation. That night in New York, however, I knew my cowardice was
on a collision course with greed.

I sat at a $5/$10 no-limit table that was groaning under $180,000 in
chips and bricks of $100 bills. I held much of it, but I had no safe way
home.

It was 4:00am. The decent people of New York had long ago abandoned this
lonely side street with its black puddles and cardboard sleeping bags. I
was nervous because, instead of leaving, rounders started showing up.
This meant a lot of people were receiving wake-up calls that a drove of
donkeys were shoving insane amounts of cash in an underground club poker
game. While rounders were jockeying for a seat, shadows were likely
gathering in the alley outside.

Hours earlier, I sat down with my $2,000 buy-in. This was big for me,
but short for the game. I normally play $2/$5. However, I have recently
noticed the only games you can find in Manhattan are $1/$2 baby
no-limits or deep-stack $5/$10 tables.

I was not happy with that evening's line-up, as I was clearly the table
idiot. The other players, who ranged from loose action junkies to rocks,
were all aggressive sharks that had earned the respect of the
underground community.

As I sat down, Anon ogled my rack of chips like they were Courtney
Friel's breasts. He was a former grinder who had taken to playing like a
maniac as his company grew profitable. To his right sat Bob, an affable
real estate tycoon who developed the annoying habit of smirking whenever
he buried puny continuation bets under mountains of black chips.

Charlie lurked in a corner seat. He was a lilywhite all-American boy who
left his prestigious job at a corporate law firm to play cards. His
wife, meanwhile, stayed home, wondering where everything went wrong.
Other rounders - doctors, bankers, computer programmers - gathered
around us, coming and going throughout the night.

I knew them well, but we normally did not all play at the same table. I
was accustomed to seeing a smattering of slack-jawed garlic-eaters
diluting the poker gene pool. But the suckers had vanished. In a city of
8.1 million people, we were part of a dwindling cadre of rounders -
currently only a few dozen - who still played games bigger than $1/$2 in
the underground clubs.

As midnight approached, we started adding columns of black chips to our
stacks without necessarily paying for them beforehand. When someone
suffered a bad beat, or even a well-deserved comeuppance, he would
replace the missing towers.

Soon everyone began to straddle: $25 under the gun, $75 re-straddle,
$200 re-re-straddle. Preflop raises came at $1,000. All this to steal
$15 in blinds. One hand, I looked down to find 10-7 suited, so I
promptly raised the $200 straddle from middle position to $1,000. Anon
called from the big blind. Bob grimaced in pain, he wanted to call so
bad. But he threw away his cards, letting me know that one of the
remaining sevens, and probably a two, were out of play.

When the flop came 6-8-J rainbow, Bob looked disgusted. Okay, he folded
a six. I naturally bet out $1,500. Anon promptly called. I checked
behind him when a king arrived on the turn. An ace fell on the river,
and Anon thought long and hard before checking. "Missed," I grunted as I
started to muck. But the wild look on Anon's face screamed that my 10
high might be good. Reluctantly, I flipped my cards up. And waited.

Anon sat motionless. During this interminable delay, I said a novena.
Both to win the hand and arrive home safe.

My fears sprung not merely from a feverish mind. Underground games in
Manhattan have become enormous, and dangerous.

On Wednesday, May 24, 2006, three men brandishing pistols rushed the
door of a popular underground poker room in Manhattan. Wearing only
sunglasses to mask their identity, they seized control of the room with
the confidence of trained professionals.

This oddly was a relief. Last year, when the current spate of robberies
started, thugs raided a nearby room. They had bigger guns, but
apparently much smaller balls. One of the heavies was shaking so hard
that the club's employees went out of their way to cooperate so that he
would calm down and not accidentally kill someone.

None of the rounders recognized the May 24 robbers as regular players.
Nevertheless, the gunmen cut a beeline to the big game in the back of
the room. Men who robbed poker clubs in New York historically left
players alone and instead focused on the cage. This is where you would
expect to find the money. Instead, this group went directly to the
players at a $5/$10 no-limit game where the average stack was over
$5,000. In menacing but controlled voices, they ordered the players to
empty their pockets.

That this team of gunmen showed up on that particular night has spawned
numerous rumors concerning their ties to the poker community. Because of
the disappearance of many of the city's high-stakes nolimit players, the
underground dens now stagger their games. This ensures that only a few
high-stakes tables compete for players each night. Regulars have grown
familiar with the weekly rotation. The big game at this club, however,
usually formed on Tuesdays. You would have needed a well-informed
insider to know beforehand that a scheduling glitch sited the big game
there that Wednesday.

However they learned about this game, the thieves chose the right time.
They took $60,000 in cash from the nine players sitting at that $5/$10
table. This was in addition to the over $50,000 of chips in play. The
tenth player, who was in the bathroom, cowered on the toilet clutching
$8,500 in cash. He was reportedly the only person that night who did not
crap his pants. With the amount of cash on the tables, it's hardly
surprising that we are in the midst of a robbing spree.

I was instantly awakened back to the $180,000 game when Anon smacked his
palm against the table. He flung his cards face-down towards the dealer.
"I knew it, I should have bet."

I still don't know what he had, but I'm almost sure it must have been
4-7. Anon would have re-raised on the flop with 7-9 and probably moved
all-in on the turn. "Yes, you should have bet your seven-high, and good
call with the gut shot on the flop," I guessed.

Ed could only grin at me in disbelief. Moments like this compelled him
to leave wife and hearth every night.

Sitting on a mountain of chips, I found my out. Even though my instincts
told me to leave, I decided I would play until morning when the
neighborhood came to life.

The game broke at 9:30am, but only because the club rented space in an
office building. Management did not want games running during business
hours. I walked out to the crisp morning air with my sweatstained shirt,
reeking of cigarettes, stress and coffee breath. By that point, however,
I was not worth mugging.

As I weaved my oily corpse past hordes of responsible businessmen in
their fancy suits, smelling of soap and balanced family lives, I sensed
that there were fundamental problems developing in the poker
underground.

The presence of deep-stack games would normally evidence a thriving
poker community. However, the current trend towards disproportionately
large stacks in relation to the blinds is symptomatic of a broader
breakdown in the underground economy.

Traditionally, underground cardrooms occupied a vital role in training
players in expert cash game strategy. Like the old Texas gamblers before
them, many of today's legends honed their skills in these clubs,
particularly in New York City. Case in point: Howard Lederer may now be
the Professor of Poker, but in the 1980s, he was just some homeless guy
sleeping in Washington Square Park after repeatedly losing his entire
bankroll to the city's infamous rounders.

Underground rooms serve an essential role in training the next
generation of players, because casinos do not offer games that allow
poker to be played the way it was intended, unless a player owns a
bankroll to compete at the highest stakes.

Big corporations are too smart to allow players to lose their money
quickly. Their profits flow from keeping players at the table. Casinos
therefore enforce idiotic policies such as Bellagio's $300 maximum
buy-in at the $2/$5 no-limit tables. After a respectable pre-flop raise
and continuation bet, not many players will fold top pair, especially if
they started with just $300. Forget the possibility of pushing anyone
off even the most marginal hands.

Admittedly, many casinos remove caps for their bigger games. No cap
buy-ins are common for $10/$25 or $25/$50 no-limit tables. But if you
are playing these games, you are likely well up on the learning curve
already. Outside of underground rooms, there is no place to learn the
subtleties of the game unless you already have a large bankroll and are
willing to play the biggest games.

Underground rooms used to offer mid-level games with sufficient buy-ins
to allow for tactical maneuvering. Unlike the maximum buy-ins of 60
times to 100 times the big blind that prevail in most casinos, such
rooms permitted players to buy in for at least 200 times.

These games are better for learning advanced plays because they allow
for bluff re-raises and check-raise steals without pot-committing
opponents to calling. Moreover, when playing deep-stack poker, a player
must learn quickly that an overpair is just not that great of a hand
when facing several raises.

Underground clubs also supported a stable group of players who came to
know each other's play in intimate detail. Such a community does not
exist in a casino. This distinction is important because developing
expert no-limit skills requires a player to cultivate a habit of
observing very closely how people play.

It is simply not possible to determine in a few hours the true habits of
other players, other than assigning broad categories such as tight,
loose, aggressive, passive, and maniac. Not enough hands are shown down
in even a ten-hour session to form reliable determinations of how a
player reacts to pressure or what hands he will raise out of position.
This is particularly true if a player is good enough to introduce a
minimal amount of randomness to his play.

Generally speaking, therefore, deep observational skills do not develop
for casino players because the effort required to practice them is not
as crucial as in the underground community. In contrast to casino
players, underground rounders have a greater incentive to develop
reliable kinesic intuition to maintain an edge over a stable population
of competitors over the long-term. The efforts to foster such aptitude,
however, are under-rewarded within the non-iterative environment of
casinos. There, a player can skate along in blissful ignorance without
perceptible disadvantage.

The trick is to foster mid-level games with sufficient buy-ins to allow
for expert play, but to keep the games from growing so big that they
squeeze out mid-level players. Underground rooms historically achieved
this balance. Unfortunately, the dual pressures of police raids and
armed robberies have amputated the poker pyramid. The middle layers
necessary for building experience are vanishing. This threatens a larger
breakdown within the poker community.

This decline all started with a few arrests.

From the 1980s through 2000, law enforcement generally left poker rooms
alone. Two of the most famous from that era, the Diamond Club and The
Mayfair Bridge Club, were famous proving grounds for such legends as
Howard Lederer, Erik Seidel, and Dan Harrington. The NYPD, however,
closed the clubs in the summer of 2000 during the Giuliani
administration's law and order campaign.

Underground rooms nevertheless flourished in New York. Up through the
poker boom in 2003, several major clubs established themselves in
Manhattan. The better known included Playstation near Union Square and
Players' Club on the Upper West Side. Significant clubs also sprouted
throughout the city. Despite a few sporadic raids, there was no
concerted crackdown.

Vice squads from the NYPD fired the first salvo in the current campaign
against the underground rooms on "Black Thursday" on May 26, 2005. These
crews shuttered numerous rooms, including Playstation and Players' Club.
The authorities were shocked - shocked - to find gambling in those
establishments, even though Playstation purportedly maintained an alarm
wired directly to the local precinct. Police seized over $100,000 in
cash and arrested dozens of employees.

Although these raids shook the underground poker scene, they still left
its foundation intact. The surviving clubs voluntarily shut down for
weeks, but reopened when the heat died down.

The rounders' outrage over the police crackdown grew so intense that
they staged, in July 2005, a demonstration outside City Hall. Rounders
viewed playing poker as a civil right in light of the history of
underground rooms in New York, the lack of explicit statutory authority
prohibiting such rooms, and even the link between poker, rugged
individualism, and Manifest Destiny.

Indeed, although this legal argument has never previously been raised,
most forms of poker should be legal in New York. Penal Law Section
225.00(2) defines gambling as placing a wager on "the outcome of a
contest of chance or a future contingent event not under his control or
influence." Under this definition, the police raids themselves are
illegal because most poker games fall outside the ambit of New York's
statutory framework. A player can exercise "influence or control" over
the flop, turn and river cards: he can bet enough so that they never
happen.

The city responded to the rounders' demands on October 14, 2005. At
approximately 11:30pm, police stormed a major club near Chelsea. They
seized over $60,000 in cash. The bust came down on the eve of a $100,000
tournament. The NYPD apparently missed the event because of mistaken
information over its start date.

In January 2006, the NYPD swooped down on the Hudson Club and
Doubletake, the successor to Playstation. Particularly troubling about
these raids was not only their timing - which suggested an accelerating
crackdown on poker rooms - but also the unwarranted hostility displayed
by the cops.

Up to and including the October 2005 raids, police reacted to the
well-behaved order permeating underground rooms by treating the players
with a modicum of respect. After all, it is not illegal to play poker in
New York or frequent underground clubs. Even if Section 225 applied to
poker, it is narrowly directed against owners of gambling establishments
and their employees, and not against players. Reports of the January
2006 raids, however, reveal significant anger against cops who
unnecessarily detained elderly players for hours and required them to
seek permission to go to the bathroom or take prescription medicine.

In May 2006, vice squads raided four of the remaining major clubs in
Manhattan. An unprecedented degree of police hostility accompanied these
arrests. Past raids were spearheaded by officers in windbreakers who
entered the clubs with weapons holstered. During these May 2006 raids,
however, police in body armor stormed the rooms with guns drawn.

In one club, cops forced players to lie down on the floor with their
hands on their heads. Only after some protests did they grant an
exemption to a grandmother who had been playing a low-limit game. In
another raid that same week, they isolated a petrified teenage waitress
and threatened her with jail if she did not rat out the dealers.

This hostility did not always exist. Playstation reportedly had a direct
line to the local precinct, and the Mayfair's employees wore medallions
that summoned police in an emergency. (The Mayfair medallions were
reportedly depicted by the rather ugly white necklace Famke Janssen wore
in Rounders. In the movie, the Chesterfield was the Mayfair.)

Thugs now believe, probably correctly, that underground rooms cannot
rely on cops for help during an emergency. Accordingly, an unforeseen
consequence of the increasingly hostile police raids is that they have
encouraged robberies. Together, these two factors have distorted the
fundamental economy of the underground rooms.

The frequency of raids and robberies has relegated many recreational
players to their homes or worse - Atlantic City. Only pros and very
motivated players now regularly show up at the clubs. Such men are
generally solid players who love to play big. This development has not
only thinned the $2/$5 and $5/$10 no-limit population, but it has also
starved the $1/$2 games that are the breeding ground of future $2/$5
players (and initial fodder for the $5/$10 game).

Although $2/$5 games still form, the concentration of sharks has
skyrocketed, making the games play much bigger and tougher than usual.
This has shunted many mid-level players to the $1/$2 tables and
compelled rooms to cancel their $2/$5 no-limit games in favor of $5/$10.
Mid-limit players seeking experience, therefore, are left to choose
either baby no-limit or deep-stack $5/$10 no-limit.

At the same time, to reduce the risk of losing their stacks when police
raid a room and seize all cash and chips as "evidence," many respected
rounders now play on credit. Other players have made predeposits,
generally up to $10,000, with the club owners so that they do not have
to bring cash to the rooms.

This way, if cops seize their chips, they only lose profits because the
clubs generally erase that evening's buy-ins from their books after a
raid. Barring such force majeure, however, the understanding is players
will settle up before leaving. But this is not always the case. Players
now do not often carry sufficient cash to cover their buy-ins, and ATMs
do not permit $10,000 withdrawals. Even in the case of pre-depositing
rounders, club owners simply do not store the deposits on the premises.

After a particularly bad beat, players will often rebuy on credit for
double their initial buy-in without having the funds on hand to cover.
This creates a ratcheting upwards of table stakes. Because the $5/$10
no-limit games in underground clubs are usually uncapped, players now
regularly buy in for $5,000 or higher without putting up cash.

Even the $1/$2 no-limit games, which are capped, play too high. In one
popular $1/$2 game, where the maximum buy-in is $750, several players
usually command over $4,000 in chips by late evening.

Play on credit has led to the tendency for players not to be fully paid
after a big win. That many clubs are asking players to extend them
credit (because their losing players were unable to settle up for the
evening) is causing players to demand more credit from the rooms,
resulting in a vicious cycle. The easier the credit, the bigger the
games, and the greater incentive for robberies.

While it remains uncertain whether this degeneration can be reversed,
two trends deserve watching.

First is the rise of semi-private "home" games. Sub-communities of
players have started organizing home-games for a short list of vetted
players. A typical $5/$10 semi-private game outside the city has an
average buy-in of $5,000. Unfortunately, the rakes in these games are
high, and the player pool is tiny. There are advantages to maintaining a
small, collegiate community of players. But you also want sufficient
elasticity in the pool so that fresh money and talent are constantly
added. With the miniscule player pools in semi-private home games, the
dangers of soft-play engendered by close friendships are too great.
Underground rooms used to offer a middle ground between incestuous
private games and anonymous casinos.

Second is for rounders to organize semi-private games online. One site,
Third Bullet Poker (www.ThirdBullet.com), markets itself as the
"underground room online." It maintains a medium-sized pool of players
with whom you can gain familiarity over the long-term, just as rounders
would in brick and mortar underground clubs.

Matthew21v13 is a lifetime money contributor to the underground poker
scene. He can also be found losing tons of cash at the public $15/$30
limit and $2/$5 no-limit rooms on ThirdBullet.com, as well as its
high-stakes private rooms.

If you would like information on the private games on ThirdBullet.com,
e-mail management directly at management@thirdbullet.com. We understand
that if you type in Bonus Code 3RDAK0001 when making your first deposit,
you will receive a 150% sign-up bonus. This deposit is also eligible to
win the $300 Winner's Cash Bounty paid monthly to all winning players.

Bittersweet Update.

I used my Bank of America debit card at FullTilt; I'm back at it!

In other news, since Tuesday of last week, I had all winning sessions; 2
sessions on Friday, Donovan's Saturday.

In one of the sorriest tournament performances, I managed to come back
from a single chip (no chair) to take down 2nd place at Donovan's.
(okay, okay, so I rebought)

It's been a long road, but with that win, I can now say that I am a +
live game player. (started playing 10/2003)
I'm -$4k online; my goal is to be + before I return to a casino. I plan
to do that by playing using online to play tournaments and honing my
deep stack game. (low limit)

Them's some sorry stats, but that's my history.

This is the most important poker related post in this blog:

I really do hate Barry.

This is the most important poker related post in this blog:

I really do hate Barry.

Report from the riverboat

Well, here's the first report from the January 2007 Tunica outing:

I left with $1300, return with $1200.

Expenses:
$1850

7 tournaments costing a total of $1450.
Travel costs were $125 (private charter flight there and back)
Lodging 6 nights: $215
1 paid dinner, Lamb: $60 [I went with the fellas to the nicest
restaurant in the casino, kinda like Bones on Piedmont.] (all other
meals and drinks comped)
Wins:

I was only able to cash in one tournament to win $500, of which, I
paid $125 protection [Donovan and I paid $125 to enter. 10 people
total, 2 winners. If I won, but Donovan did not, then I gave back the
entry fee... Protection] , net gain, $250
Doing the math, this is ($300) [Tournament wins, $250 less expenses
$1850 is $1600. Starting cash $1300 = ($300). Since I have $1200, I
must have gained $1500 somewhere.] . I return with $1200 cash,
therefore, I won $1500 playing $1/2 on the cash tables [these were
the 'cheap' tables, you can only start with $200 maximum] .
Massive experience points. ATL scene, look out!
Net -$100 for a week of poker fun! I can't live on $100 a week, normally.

Good article

The Four Ways to Lose a Tournament and How to Avoid Them
by Jennifear on 10/27/2006 19:57
http://www.pocketfives.com/B1954A43-6C48-43E9-8513-036828B66AB2.aspx

It has long been said that to win a tournament, playing to survive is
secondary. The greatest players of our time seem to know exactly when
to take the risks necessary to get the job done at just the right
time. Playing to win is key to maximizing tournament profits, often
at great immediate risk.

There are only four ways to lose a tournament. Every tournament loss
is related to one of these four ways, and many losses are related to
more than one of these ways! My intention in writing this article is
to state these four reasons for losing the tournament that a player
faces, and with each, to show instances where playing to win and
playing to survive actually work together to increase your chances of
success!

Way to Lose #1: Succumbing to a Bad Beat.

Well since you got your chips in with the best of it, there's nothing
you can do about a bad beat right? Often, the answer is... Wrong!
When a bad beat knocks you out, it is because, at the beginning of the
hand, you had fewer chips than the one who put you out with his
four-outer. If you had chips remaining after the hand, you would have
survived.

The remedies:

- Chip up as you go, especially early on, and when the money bubble is
about to break.

- If the action is folded to you in late position, be sure to open the
pot for a raise with a wide variety of hands.

- Take advantage of weakness by attacking it at every opportunity.

- If your opponent raises too much, come over top on occasion.

- Make the most of your big hands.

- Induce a bluff when you have the goods by making a small lead bet
against an aggressive opponent.

- Play your strong draws very aggressively when you are a favorite or
only a slight underdog to win the pot.

Each of these moves adds a little to your stack and just might be
enough to save your tournament life, so that when the inevitable bad
beat comes around, you aren't on the rail.

Way to Lose #2: Getting Caught with the Second-Best Hand.

When you have an excellent hand and your opponent has the nuts, often
it is correct to go broke on the hand because you are a favorite to
win. This does not mean the situation was definately unavoidable
though! When a second-best hand knocks you out, much of the time it
was a case of failing to isolate.

The remedies:

- Raise your big hands preflop to reduce the number of hands you are
up against. The more hands that are in there with you, the more
likely it is, exponentially, that your fantastic hand will not hold
up.

- Preflop, open the pot for a raise as often as possible, as opposed
to limping in.

- Play good starting cards, so that kicker hands are decided in your favor.

- Don't slowplay non-monsters, allowing a draw to catch up, and make
it costly to find out that he did.

- Make large bets when there are draws out there, in order to make it
unprofitable for them to continue drawing.

- Respect check-raises against bad opponents; they often have a very
strong hand.

- Don't ignore a strong read that says you are beat. Often when it
looks like the nuts, it's the nuts.

Way to Lose #3: Bluffing Big at the Wrong Time.

It's a fine line between making the one big play that counts at just
the right time and making the one big play that counts against you at
just the wrong time. Aggressive players often have a yo-yo effect on
their stack throughout the tournament, going from the top to the
middle to shortstacked to the middle and to the chiplead again! Then
all of a sudden, it all comes crashing down at the most inopportune
time...

The remedies:

- Save the biggest bluffs for special occasions when you are more than
reasonably certain your opponent will fold and your read of his hand
or range of hands is extremely solid.

- Don't try advanced plays against simple players. The key is to
think exactly one level ahead of your opponent, not two or more. If
you are two levels ahead, your opponent often has the right response
for the wrong reason. Too often a play is made based on what you
think your opponent will think you have, when all he is doing is
playing what he has, because he doesn't have the wherewithal to even
attempt to read your hand.

- Don't bluff the unbluffable. If you see an opponent make a
ridiculous call or multiple beginner's mistakes, stop and think before
trying a bluff on him.

- Have outs when you bluff as often as you can. This way, if you get
caught, you might just be able to pull out the card you need to not
only survive but double, which will help you survive later!

- Be aware of your table image. If you are seen as someone who makes
plays frequently, you are bound to be looked up.

- Against the toughest players, be sure the hand you are representing
on the street on which you are bluffing makes sense for every street
up until now. If not, you will confuse your opponent, and confused
people call.

- Choose opportune times to bluff, such as continuation betting and
around the money bubble.

Way to Lose #4: Blinding out.

When you are down to a shortstack, any of these ways can take you out
at any time. You are now just a fly to be swatted. People will call
you for any reason and even cooperate at times to ensure your
elimination. You must avoid getting too low on chips at all costs, so
that you can have the flexibility to have more than just one move.

The remedies:

- Learn about "M." Harrington on Hold'em, Vol 2. teaches you the way
to play when your stack is declining, at every step downward.

- Play more hands for a raise. When you are pot-committed, you cannot
be reraised out of the hand. If you are called by a better hand, they
still have to beat you to get you out!

- Be aware when there is little time left. Always know where the
blinds are, and when the next blind increase is, and if it will take
away all or most of your fold equity (ability to make others fold).
If the increase will reduce your stack to that level, steal a pot or
two while you still have a big enough stack to make others fold.

- Play your draws aggressively when you are shortstacked.

- Make slightly -EV plays now in exchange for getting a stack that
gives you the flexibility to make more +EV plays later.

- Chip up while your stack is average and below average, not just when
you have a big stack.

Hopefully, this article will help you recognize dangerous situations
and the best counters for each, while still allowing you to go for it
all! Remember, the ultimate in survival is outlasting everyone by
winning the last hand you play!

This is my first article that pertains to players of all levels,
rather than just my specialty, the low-limit game. I hope everyone
can benefit from it at every level.

I teach low-limit SNG lessons at the rate of $79.00 for four hours. I
offer a discount to anyone who signs up for a site through
pocketfives.com. For more information, e-mail me at
Goodtime46@aol.com or check out my website at
spaces.msn.com/jennypoker.

Tunica Schedule

I've decided to clean up the blog below. Archiving the bad beat
whining, extract the wisdom and lessons, and push the learning limits of
what I can do in 'Meta' poker.

Sun. 1/7/2007 2:00PM Mega Satellite $300+$30
Sun. 1/7/2007 4:00PM Second Chance Tournament $175+$25
Sun. 1/7/2007 6:00PM Mega Satellite $500+$50
Mon. 1/8/2007 11:00AM 1 No-Limit Texas Hold'em $500+$50
Tue. 1/9/2007 11:00AM 2 No-Limit Texas Hold'em $1000+$60
Wed. 1/10/2007 11:00AM 3 No-Limit Texas Hold'em $500+$50
Thu. 1/11/2007 11:00AM 4 Omaha 8 or Better $500+$50
Thu. 1/11/2007 3:00PM 5 No-Limit Texas Hold'em $1500+$70
Fri. 1/12/2007 11:00AM 6 No-Limit Texas Hold'em (6 handed) $1000+$60
Sat. 1/13/2007 11:00AM 7 H.O.R.S.E. $1000+$60
Sat. 1/13/2007 3:00PM 8 No-Limit Texas Hold'em $500+$50
Sun. 1/14/2007 11:00AM 9 Ladies No-Limit Texas Hold'em $200+$30
Sun. 1/14/2007 12:00PM Mega Satellite $500+$50
Sun. 1/14/2007 3:00PM Mega Satellite $300+$30
Sun. 1/14/2007 6:00PM Mega Satellite $500+50
Mon. 1/15/2007 11:00AM 10 Main Event - No-Limit Texas Hold'em $5000+
$150
Tue. 1/16/2007 11:00AM Main Event, Day 2
Wed. 1/17/2007 11:00AM Main Event, Final Table

Update

I have neglected the postings for a while, so I will try and catch up.

I am on poker break this week following Tunica. (I decided to return to live play a smidge early. yay me, Saturday night, the deck beat me over the head, and nearly erased all my losses from my trip.) ... (another update; played Monday night, and erased all my losses, and most of my lodging expense)

Bill Frisk and Bob Goodlatte have panicked the online poker community by passing some toothless legislation about banks not allowed to do business with gaming companies. Well, banks don't do those transactions anyway.

Nux Vomica is dead. It served its purpose, we learned a lot, but it's over.

I am curious about a situation where someone get felted by a bad player then they just leave the online table?

The tournaments in Tunica were good to me, but that's probably because there were so many fish. I think I should start playing more tournaments and not neglect that arena. There is a difference between short stack, ante, and deep stack tournaments. Tunica gave me some valuable insight on short play: No early limping, get into raised pots that you might be behind so you can get a reasonable chance to double up, and conversely, it's very important to play tight early.

Live tournaments I seem to be doing fairly well. Mr. Rome has provided me with a very powerful thought pattern / mentality about fear:
"There is a scene in Band of Brothers that I often think of in the context of NL Hold'em tournaments. An officer is fearlessly walking from foxhole to foxhole, encouraging the men during a battle. He finds a cowering private rolled up into a ball, and says to him "Do you know why you are scared, Private?"
"No sir," says the private.
"It is because you think there is hope... you don't understand that you are already dead."
After this exchange, the private picks up his weapon and joins the fight.
This works for me.

Google has started an online spreadsheet service. I now keep my Poker Accountability Report(PAR) there.

I still continue to struggle with online play, but after Tunica, I am beginning to think that the 10¢/25¢ proving grounds are good practice.

I seem to be doing very well in terms of my mentality towards poker. I have had many instances when someone will tell me, 'man, that was a tough beat / laydown,' and I think there was nothing to it... I lost a large pot set vs. set, and I was fine with it. No gut wrenching, just on to the next hand.

In cash games, I realize that I have been playing short stack cash. That's all I have ever played. I read an article about the struggling New York underground scene, and realize that deep stack cash is another animal altogether, and I need to learn that game.

I have also neglected my limit game, as well as other forms of poker, including Omaha, 7 card, razz, hi/lo versions and um... This other 4 card game... 4 low cards, all same suit...

Tunica, Sep 25-Oct 2, 2006. WSOP Circuit.

My first casino poker/WSOP Circuit event.

Well, my initial impression is that the vast majority of the people at this event are simply not good at playing poker. Unfortunately, this reflects poorly on me, as I was unable to leave with a overall win.

Conversely, I leave with a confidence that I am a much stronger player than ever before. I was able to play a variety of games from cash 2/5 NL and 4/8 limit, to single table tournaments (SNG) and large field multi table tournaments (MTT) with 800+ opponents. I was very effective at the SNG, finishing first or chopping a deal more than 50% of the time.

The limit cash tables were somewhat tough, as it seemed that none of the players knew enough to ever be afraid, and the NL tables were very intimidating since there is no maximum buy in. I might sit down with $400, someone else might sit with $4000. It took me the full week to not let that difference concern me and just simply take their money, as they were just giving it freely.

I managed to only tilt once while playing 4/8 when it seemed that nothing would ever go my way early Monday evening. My other bad run happened on Saturday at the SNG tables, when I entered 6 times, and only split once, erasing my slight win and putting me firmly in the red(-1200). I can only take solace that the 3 sharks that traveled with me were down similar amounts.

Now, before you fret, dear fans, I did a quick check; for the entire month of September, I am still up, so I have every expectation of my future play starting 9/9/06 will return my bankroll to its previous luster and health.

Highlights:
I met Susan, the director for the WSOP events; she hires the dealers. She asked for my information.
Everybody likes me... except that one jerk, and nobody liked him.
The Atlanta crowd is huge and healthy. Great underground scene.
Player to my right gets Royal Flush (I didn't pay him a dime)
I saw a $4700 pot, one hand. (The mounds of chips and cash... wow)

Lows:
I leave light.
I don't meet or see a single pro.
I don't have a story where I was in a massive pot, much less win one; my biggest win was right at $800 in one hand... actually 2-3 times that trip. maybe this should go in the column above.

I'll post more if I can think of anything else relevant.

Thursday Game

Well, I thought I played much better last night.

 

I think I chased one flush draw last night:  I raised $20 PF, got 3 callers.   I have AcQc, flop comes KcJc2h.  Check to me, I check, Harvey checks behind me.  Turn 3d, no help, check, check, harvey bets $100, checker calls, I call for implied odds.  <- bad move?  Not quite the right odds, but if I hit, my implied odds...  But I don't.  River 5s, no help, Harvey bets $200, (he says he rivered a straight, not that it matters), us two wussy callers fold. (I'm sure he was chasing a flush as well, and I'm sure Ida gotten paid, just not by Harvey, unless it was the 5 of clubs.)

 

Another hand: I have KK, Chris raises 20 pf, I am in late position, he gets one caller, I reraise to $65 straight.  EJ calls from the button, Chris calls. (too much pf?)  I don't mind shutting it down right there, or gaining information to let me know where I am.

 

Pot just over 215.  flop is 78x with 2 clubs.  Chris checks.  I bet $200, EJ felt it was an overbet, he says he thought the pot was only $150.  Whatever, he goes AI for $92 more.  I realize I may have made a mistake here, only because I didn't leave myself enough room to learn if there was a flopped set.  Yeah, well.. 92 to win $605? um.. yeah!

 

The turn and river are 9, T,  which work just perfectly with his jj.  FACK!  Outstanding.  Oh well, I calm myself down and get back into the game.

 

Started with $400, made it just over $600 got tagged, dropped to $100, rebought $300, fought back, left with $365.

 

I reasonably could have saved $100, on that call with Harvey, or perhaps raised instead of calling, but that would have meant AI on a draw.  Like I said, I think I played much better, I just have nothing to show for it, but a minimal loss.  Which is better than (-1300), or (-1000)

Long time no post

A few Thought to ponder to start:

 

A professional performs, regardless of how they feel.

- unknown  (no tilting)

 

Stages to become a professional:

Unconscious  Incompetence

     Unaware of what to do, or why to do it.

Conscious Incompetence

     Awareness of the need for knowledge.

Conscious Competence

     Awareness of knowledge and proper application.

Unconscious Competence

     Application of knowledge by reflex.

 

A long written muse.

 

So, here's what has given me an awesome edge in No Limit every time, hell, I probably have his posted somewhere below:

 

NEVER CALL.  Preflop, Flop, Turn, Always Raise, and raise properly for a specific goal in mind:

 

Now here's the important part: If you can't raise to meet one of these three goals, then strongly consider folding.

Raise to prevent callers.

Raise to induce a call.

Raise to induce a raise.

 

Inducing a raise can give you information about your position in the hand.  Listen to that information.

 

Sometimes 'raising' to induce callers might mean calling in a early position to allow multiple callers.

 

Don't allow the game to become a 5 card game if you can end it before then.

Guilty as Charged.

PL: Speaking of online poker, did you hear about those two players who had their accounts seized for playing multiple entries in one tournament?
MIZRACHI:
Yes, they decided to take their tournament winnings away and divide it up between the other players. I played multiple accounts in a tournament before and I didn't even know it was against the rules and they never said anything; but I don't really think it's fair. It's pretty much a normal thing and a lot of players do it; playing two or three entries in a tournament, they're basically trying to give themselves 2 or 3 chances to win the tournament. As long as they're not at the same table, it doesn't really matter. I tried playing a few entries at once but didn't play very well; I can concentrate a lot better with just one. Now I just play the way they want with one account.

Yeah, well, I gotta come clean with my sordid history:
I started playing poker right after Moneymaker won, but I didn't know at the time. I was playing wild card homegames and learning new stuff. I soon met this fella who ran an underground 3/6 game. I was a great producer for his game. I played at his game for about 4 months, and also learned to deal. One evening, I went on tilt and got stuck for $360. While not earthshattering, I wasn't willing to toss that kind of $ a night with my lack of ability.

I started play $ online at PokerRoom as adodomini. I eventually built my play stack and was playing regularly in the 10K pf/or fold rooms. One day I tilted and got out the credit card to get the 10K play reload.

Next was a steady diet of 25¢/50¢ NL, lucky dollars, and freerolls. About this time, several friends of mine were at the same skill level. We would conference call and coach each other in tournaments, and cover for each other to register and start tournaments. Then, while covering, I 'met myself'. I stole a few pots until the table broke. We laughed about that, but it was never the object to win that way.

My darkest time was when we brazenly colluded on a cash table. Over a few sessions, we probably stole hundreds of quarters from unsuspecting victims.

I invited another fellow player to join in, but he declined, citing integrity of the game. That did it for me. I stopped colluding then, realizing that I wanted to become a better player, not a better cheater.

In a combination of Karma and donktastic play, I felted a short time later. I decided to abandon the adodomini name and become Box O Rocks as a new start. In an effort to better myself, I started learning all I could and started Nux Vomica on Pokah. I contacted PR and shut down adodomini.

The sordid story should end there, but i did a stint at FullContactPoker before the multiaccounting tournament bit started. I entered the first Royal Tournament early this year, to give myself a second chance, not to cheat. I lost both entries, but it was the wrong thing to do. I decided not to do it again.

Then the ace of aces news broke. That's my story. I'm guilty. but I think we all have holes in our past.

So I'm doing okay with the live return, but the real reason for this post is this cartoon:

Sad, I know but I just think it funny.

Live return

So far, so slow. My return to live play has been with mixed results. I have learned a couple of moves that are very important, and was essential for me to see and experience live to really get the concepts into my head.

I stumbled into learning something the other day: I hold 99, my table image is loose but knowledgeable, I raise to 3x bb, 6 handed UTG, which should let me know if someone has a larger pocket pair, and should announce that I hold a hand stronger than my usual crap.

2 callers,

Flop is ATT, two diamonds.

Simply terrible. I need to know where I am right now, so I bet pot, first to act. The first player hems and tosses, then the button tosses… I win?

Why did I win? Player one is fairly tight, and uses pot odds a lot. Button likes to be aggressive, only if he can be first aggressor. The first player says he had an ace with a strong kicker, the button says he had QQ. They both were sure that I had trip T's

Given that neither one had a flush draw, how did they put me on trips? When I bet pot, I ruined the odds to draw to the flush, and I had a reasonably strong hand. Also, the loose image provided the possiblity that I had TJ KT, AT, even 9T.

The lesson learned is that thinking players will consciously or subconsciously put you on a hand based on the odds presented by a particular bet. 2/3s to pot sized bet is the type of bet that will ruin flush draws over time, but make $ for trips. I blindly made a bet that said a lot about the hand that I held.

Really, I was just trying to find out where I was, but my bet 'said' trips. It's another piece of the 'storytelling' about my hand, that I need to incorporate into my game, and know that I can use it with thinking players, not fish or donks.

Whoops

Aright.  I went back to the game, and I got stuck for $600… plus whatever vig Jason is charging on his $20.  Overall though, I don't think I did anything really bad.  Jason might take issue with that, and I want him to tell me so.

Same plan.  I wanted to play a little looser with my initial buyin, and tighter with my second buyin.  The first buyin, I did indeed play looser, and made a bet that was iffy, with the nut flush draw.  I had fold equity, and outs to the best hand.  Again, Jason might take issue with that, but that's why I'm including him on this blog.  Heh.  He's probably the only one reading this… ever.

The second buyin, I didn't tighten up!  I just played pretty much the same, if anything, I became weaker. I made a call that I could have folded vs. Tony.  I made the call thinking I had the best hand (top 2), (Jason says he knew Tony had the nuts), and I had outs to the best hand again... (uh… 4)

After getting busted the second time, I though about how I had played and how the game was playing.  I had two smart aggressive players on my right, and two players on my left that I thought I could beat.  One guy was raising raising 10x the bb in early position a lot with just the blinds in the pot.  I wonder if those $3 takedowns were raked?  That would be hilarious.  Anyway, I was hoping to be the guy to bust him, but Jason got those honors.  The guy started whining about not knowing how much Jason had in front of him, but it was total BS.  He knew.  It took everything I had for me to not laugh when Jason simply gave him $50 to stop bitching, under the pretense that it was because Jason didn't have the stack 'precisely' in front of him.

I made one very good laydown (flopped 2 pr vs. turned 2 pr), and one lucky laydown (AJ vs. TT, flop JTT)  Lucky because had it only been me, Jason would have never have bet his quad, and I would have rivered the boat, so I saved $50 there.

I think the one thing I could have done better was to have cashed out for $50 at that point.  I would never buy into the game for $50, so why would I continue playing for $50?  Hell, I could have made that decision at $75, or $100.  I made a game evaluation earlier, when I bought back in with Jason's money.  I need to make constant game evaluations.

Sucked in some more.

I have not posted in a while, but it's not because I've been losing.  I played live again, and again, I really just got lucky.  1/2 again, this time, +90.

 

Online, I've been playing a string of 5+.50 turbos, fishing at FCP, slowly but surely advancing.  I really think that Jason's words of wisdom assist me to become a much better player live and online.

 

I also think that my attitude has improved my play.  I don't think less of someone calling my bets down to show me a 4 card river flush that beats me with a 5 in his hand, no pair.  I don't feel bad when my AA or KK gets cracked by someone holding 92off.  This allows me the ability to play around with other people's emotions, I can raise UTG with 23off, and be the aggressor to the showdown, just to show my raw nekkid bluff to induce action later.

 

I've also learned to play extra aggressively with the nuts to induce calls or portray a bluff to get paid, or to bet aggressively when I do have the best draws.  I still need to understand when to make those critical laydowns, and also get a better understanding of 'training' my opponent.

 

I'm slowly gaining an understanding of the value of betting on the river for not only value and fold equity, but also the value of not having to show my hand.

 

I try to remain conscious of the story that I tell with my manners, my betting, and my image, while keeping in mind what stories other players tell, and how all of that story telling becomes an intricate conversation.

 

Tonight, I plan on being more of a 'listener', trying to focus on the 'conversation' of the game, and try to keep my physical mouth shut more than I have been.  I'll also focus on some possible tells that I may be exhibiting.

Just enough to suck me in

So after talking with my coach, Jason, for a while, I decide to go play live. 1/2 NL, I bring two buyins; I leave one in the car.

A couple of rounds in, I'm SB, and this guy straddles, betting $4 in the dark and gaining an option to raise after the BB calls.

There are a couple of calls behind him; I look down and see two black aces.

I raise to 15$ straight, and Adam(BB) and Chris(straddle) call behind me, the rest of the limpers fold.

I look at Jason, "I thought you told me 15$ preflop shuts this table down?" He shrugs.

Flop: QJ8 two spades.

I bet the pot hoping to shut down the draws, Adam calls, Chris raises, putting us both AI. Great. So much for careful play. I'm thinking of the ways that I'm beat, Adam starts whining about how he's sure that he has the best hand. I think I'm up against a set and 2 pair, putting me firmly in 3rd place, but Adam is moaning so much, I think if I call, Adam will fold, not wanting to suffer the draws vs. a bet and a call for all his money. I wanted to isolate anyway, but I still think I'm behind. If Adam calls, I'll have better odds: I have overpair aces, but I need my draws to best set, top 2 pair, or a back door straight or flush. 6 outs, by my retarded math.

Chris calls time, I make a weak joke and the horrid call, believing I'm behind. Adam bitches a little more and folds, showing top 2 pair. Tough fold, it is the best hand as Chris shows 82 for bottom pair and the flush draw. Good bet by Chris. He almost got 2 much better hands to fold to him. Hey! I'm ahead. He was counting on us to fold. But even if we stayed, he had the good draws.

Turn spade. Feck!. 26% to catch.

I did plan to play a little loose with my first buyin, looks like an early trip to the car…

River spade. Runner runner, and I've caught it.

Damn. Nice to re-suckout for so much. It seems like it never happens to me, but it did tonight! After that, there were 3 or 4 more large pots and I won them.

Just enough to suck me back into the game. But I realize that I was stupid lucky that first hand, and I've got to become a much better player if I expect to survive.

On the other hand, winning that one hand gave me a lot of someone else's money. Playing with that $ gave me the confidence to play aggressively and boldly.

whoops

A series of idiot blunders last night: -$150  Dumb

Holding steady

I used one of my $50 tickets for the Daily - didn't get very far at all  :(

Bank at $350+

Break!

Weird.  I stopped playing Sunday afternoon, and the next poker game I played was live Thursday night.  That's a very long break for me.

I needed it to clear my head and shake off that malaise.  I plan to play tonight.

Game on.

BITCH!

I managed to double my PR account, but I lost everything at FCP. net loss: 50 for the weekend, or thereabouts.

On the plus side, I do have a $50+4 and a $6+1 ticket, so technically you could say I'm even. (cough cough.. bullshit)

I feel I'm coming closer to getting the hang of winning the full table SnG. This goes hand in hand with winning the 5 handed tables. I think my conservative play described earlier is not giving me the edge I need heads up. I was primarily concerned with not stealing earlier, now, I am trying to learn when to actively steal whenever I can, by setting it up preflop, and so on.

More to come.

I didn't play last night, but Damn, my car looks good.

Downside of bonus whoring

Well, things have gone wrong today. I loosened up, and had 3-4 good hands ruined with suckouts. What was extra irritating is that I ended up losing it all to the same guy! -$200. It will come back. Then, I got in a $10+1 MTT, 340 enter, I got 8th, cracked outta there with AA in the hole on the short stack. That's 2x now gone with AA at the final table.

I did get some nice wheels for my ride, though:

And another view from the rear:

Bonus Whoring

After a marathon session yesterday, I experienced some of the largest swings yet:  From a high of $712, nothing at risk, to a low of $280, ending at $403, +$200 bonus.  That's $400 at $1/$2 NL, or 10 buyins for me.  The last time I did this, my variance was only $140, and I ended up + $60.  This time, I got the bonus, but ended up down over all $320.  Granted, this was over the entire weekend, but I still think this is way too much.

I've now opened an account at www.FullContactPoker.com to obtain another $240 bonus there.  I don't like the interface as much.  I have not been able to locate where you keep track of your player points... I will suggest that there be a running tabulation of player points at the bottom of the main screen, right along with the Real money and Play money counters for all of ongame servers.  The cashier function seems clunky.
Also, there are no people icons at the table, but there are chairs.  Seems silly to me.  I like the people icons at PokerRoom.  I'll ask for those as well at FCP.
Normally, I'd be irritated at seeing some 'famous' person plastered all over the site, but I don't mind Daniel Negranu.  I like what I've seen of his persona on TV, his blog, and playing online.
I'm sure I'll get used to the blue background.

I will bank at 2.5x buyin, currently $120 which seems to insulate me from some of the more terrible things that happen to my bankroll.
I will do some calculations/research on mid pocket pairs and see how they fare.
I will do some calculations/research on small suited connectors, based on Doyle.  They work for him, could they work for me?

I will also consider starting at $43-$50.  This will increase my variance, and I'm now delving into the realm of playing rather than waiting for the cards.  Interesting.  Let's see where this goes.

MTT table finish

30+3 6th. My AA got cracked by QT. Oh well.

Lessons learned

The announcement: reload bonus: 50% up to $200. Deadline is in 3 days. The problem: an existing bonus due to clear in 3-4 weeks. (I might be able to run them concurrently, but I have to write about something) The solution: clear the current bonus in less than 3 days, so the new bonus can start.

The bonus is paid a player collects player points (PP) based on rake. Currently at PokerRoom.com: for each dime in rake, you get .07 PP. At the max rake of $3, you get 2.1 PP.

The smallest table spread that collects the max $3 in rake is $1/$2. The choice is to play NL HE.

Problem: Bankroll. The minimum buyin at $1/$2 is 20, with a maximum buyin of $200. The current bankroll is only $340, and at one point in the session drops as low as $200. Variance is as high as total buyin which makes sense, since the average pot was almost the size of the buyin for each table. The object is to get raked at the maximum amount for minimum risk while making enough $ to cover the blinds, and maintain bankroll position.

Solution: Open 4 $1/$2 tables with $40 each, which is 2x the minimum buyin. These tables average pot was $30+ or 15x BB. There's risk with these very low amounts, but the defense is playing tight: AA thru TT and AK. AQ and lower PP in later positions only in unraised pots. Fold everything else. Of course, anything in an unchallenged BB. Once flopped bottom 2 pair in the BB, and doubled. Once played JJ to the river and lost table buyin.

On the other hand, considering 50 hands per hour, the button rotates by every 9 hands with a full table of 10, due to players coming and going. This means 5.5 rotations x $3 for blinds equals hemorrhage of $16.50 per hour. Times 4 tables is $66 per hour. Simply sitting at the table is not an option. Sitting at a short handed table where the blinds come more frequently is out of the question.

One bluff per hour in 2nd thru 5th position with any hand. (These are my favorite bluff positions). 3 bluffs work, generally getting 1 caller, and a strong bet after the flop ending the hand. One bluff picked off preflop by a very strong hand, and the bluff is folded. Minimal loss.

Rule: Do not stay on a table when the average pot drops below $25 since the goal is to gain player points, and the pots have to stay high. As a tight player, there is somewhat of a cooling effect on the table, so pay attention to the average pot sizes. Also, leave a table if the buyin gets doubled. AA preflop is not unbeatable, and the bankroll can't withstand more variance.

Results: Remaining 475 points and current $100 bonus cleared in 3 hours of play. A little luck serves up a run of good cards towards the end of the session and the bankroll gets an overall gain of $60 for play. Total gain on the bankroll of 47%!

Tight play is Very correct, and serves the bankroll quite well. Seeing about 200+ hands per hour, it is expected to see all the pocket pairs once each hour. AA showed 4x and KK once. That's just about right, if not a little lucky. All of them won, probably because the time(s) when a looser player might have sucked out, they figured, 'too tight' and just folded to the PF raises.

Individual hands got unlucky 3-4 times, and lucky 3-4 times. QQ lost to 34 suited, but TT won against AA.

It's just what the doctor ordered. Good practical examples of reinforcement demonstrating that the odds are true, personal luck is not running poorly, and logic does prevails over superstition.

There's a bit to be said about splitting concentration over 40 people over 4 tables. It is much harder to judge your situation when there is not time to pay attention to the table. It is noted that 3-4 other players were on at least 3 tables, and many others playing 2 at a time. However, a tight style helps to overcome the disadvantage of less attention.

All things considered, this was a great learning experience.

Felted!

So I haven't written in a while.  Why?  Because I've felted.  I'm still felted, and I've had to reload.  But I had to write.  As far as poker goes, I was depressed for a bit because it seemed nothing was going my way.  The only thing I have to say is that I'm still in high spirits about tagging that strong win.  Because I'm good.  People  pretty much consistently have to get lucky to beat me.

I think a missing part of my strong program is struggling back from the brink.  Then, struggling out of mid pack and into the lead.

The rivers seem to be unkind to me, but I notice more when I get lucky when I'm behind.  The Grand V is this weekend, and I will try to score a ticket for that event.

Another weapon to use

Dan Harrington makes the analogy to the different moves and ploys as golf clubs.  You use a few select clubs most of the time, but for those rare occurrences, when you need it, you have that perfect move for a particular situation.

I was playing Osiris the other evening, and lost like 3-4 heads up matches.  He told me that I was too timid as a big stack, I thought about it, and I agreed.  And so, I tried something new, and well, I learned something today about bubble play.

3 players remain with the top position winning $54, 2nd winning $6, nothing for 3rd.  I find myself 10K to the 2 small stacks, both were even, about 2.5K each. (Starting with 3 players I was down to less than 600 in chips, got lucky to get called with a winning hand, and then doubled again with a set vs. flush draw and rebuilt to my strong lead.)

Well, everyone knows that if you're big stack, and there's a bubble, you should use that opportunity to steal like mad:
I could have just let them knock each other out, but the result would be that I'm a 10k stack vs. 5k stack.  While not bad, it could be much better:

If I continue to obviously steal, they may roll over and play dead, each hoping for 2nd.
Here's the fine point that I learned:
I did my best to steal from them both evenly.

I was actively stealing with total bluffs; I would try and create opportunities to punish the larger stack more, and give the little guy a break.

I didn't want them to get unbalanced, because it made it difficult to steal from the both of them.

With the blinds at 200-400, the little guy on the BB, I call, attempting to force the big guy out; his thought being that I would end the little guy.  But after the flop, maybe I'd go easy on the small stack, if that would even them up with 2nd place.  (I kind of have to, anyway, see below) That puts pressure back on the other stack and he has to play more marginal hands.

Maybe the bigger stack gets too big?  I bet enough that makes him less than the small stack if he decides to play.  He's not going to gain enough to be a threat to me, but he could end up crippling himself; a lose-lose proposition.  He folds with anything less than a premium hand.

I leave the short stack to fend for himself when he's really short; he'll get too antsy and won't be a good target to steal from.  I'll leave that to the other stack, so they get even again.  What I don't want is to let the big stack double thru me, or get rid of the small stack until I've stolen the maximum amount from their combined stacks.  It's much easier to smash an ant than a weasel.

I don't know if this tactic is always possible, but it's a good situation to try and create.

Oh, yeah, I won. 

Doing much better

Very lovely.  Bankroll is growing nicely and steadily.  Tighter early, looser later.  The fun easy game this past weekend started with first two hands; a boat that was paid off max, then quads that was paid off max.

 

I got to deal at Brookwood, $40/hr for 4 hours.  A few mistakes, but overall good game.  I wish I could get more practice.

 

So, after backsliding down to 180, I've returned to 340.  About $40 thru Omaha.  I might have made more, but I made a few boneheaded calls running into a better hand, and not making those key laydowns.

Decent MTT finish

Since this Sunday, I have had a bad run of rivers.  But last night, I played a tight solid game and made it to 11th place in a 10+1 out of 322 players.  I didn't get a lot of good hands, but I was able to skim along the bottom and make a decent finish anyway.

The following was said during a bashing in the lobby. The question was, "How long is this tournament?"
Answer "Usually 5 to 6 hours of profesional play, something you don't have, so dont bother!"

Harsh, but true.  Fortunately, I have what it takes.  I will succeed.  I also learned that during May 2005, I outperformed 10691069 in terms of ROI in tournaments.

Return to live play

Well, this weekend, I returned to live tournament play.  Unfortunately for me, I got colddecked: AJ best unpaired hand, 55 best paired hand.  I still managed to make it to 8th place of 20.

All in all, I felt pretty good about my play, except I was kinda bitchy when I went out.  It was a coin flip preflop,  I flop Q flush, guy gets runner runner boat with 22.  I was shortstacked.

The table I was on was pretty wild, nobody seemed to start with anything other than crap.  Not a whole lot of fun for me, but it was a learning experience, in that I learned a bit about my reads and knowledge of people and their betting styles.

Terrible Hand Analysis

I screwed myself out of a daily ticket. I was upset with myself because I tossed a perfectly good lead with a dumb hand. Bluffed and got caught. Yeah, I know, I'm thinking of booting myself from the group. Totally senseless. At the expense of my reputation, I'm going to describe my idiotic play in hopes that we can learn a lesson.

This is a 6+1 Daily Qualifier Tournament, 10 players, 1st gets ticket, 2nd gets rebuy. By playing very solidly, I found it was not too difficult to make it to heads up with Guy. We started heads up with stacks at about 5K for me, and 10K for him. Throughout the game, I was quite observant of his play. He seemed to overvalue his starting hands, but seemed to bet for value when he had a hand. He also seemed to recognize that I was a solid player, who did not attack me without a hand.

After a very few hands, I had taken advantage of his tendency to overbet his preflop hands, and his intention to use his bigstack like a club. I soon found myself with a great advantage, 12K to 3K

He started pulling the AI move with all hands.... blinds are at 200/400. He may have been on tilt at this point. Simply, he did not know what to do heads up. I did. There was really no need for me to get involved in any pot that I did not have a strong advantage.

As the BB, I start with 78 suited. I call, and he checks. I put him on weak overs.

Flop is all low cards. I have no hand, no draw, 8 high. He puts in a bet of about 2x pot. He tends to overvalue too much while headsup. I decide that he also does not have a hand, and that I can steal here.

I thought he was bluffing, and I re raised him AI. He called anyway. I just didn't think he could call without a hand.

Essentially, he called 7k with QJo. While there is no excuse for his play, there is plenty of room for improvement on my part. The mistake was very plain to me when I did it. I knew better than that; was just DUMB. There was no slip of the slider. Just being stubborn for no good reason. I have no way out of this one... worst move I've made in weeks.

Now, I would say that heads up is not a weak part of my game. I don't get impatient when headsup anymore. I tend not to get impatient at all, ever. I've been playing these short handed tournaments; once heads up, I'm better than 65% to win if I'm behind in chips.

I honestly did not think Guy could call, even though I knew I was behind at that point. A solution would have been to call at that point, or a min re-raise. A reraise or AI from him would have been all the information I needed to understand that my bluff would not work.

I'm not upset about the loss... really, more I'm upset at my moment of weakness. I played a very solid game up to that point, and even after that point. I almost made a comeback, but he got lucky, and that's fine. I love it when they get lucky, because this lets me know that my game is on point.

I'm over it... I am allowed to make mistakes, but that was a massive mistake. I've learned that I can bluff, but no reason to put in an over-bluff in that situation. What I did looked like A) a bluff b) top pair on board; he called, hoping to hit an over. He was weak enough (and I knew it) that I could expect
that he would call, simply hoping to get lucky. For his itty bitty poker brain, he was right to call. Personally, holding QJo, I woulda tossed in the face of the AI.

Now, if I did have top pair, I would never have put in that bet. If I had over pair, I wouldn't have put in that bet. I would have been trying to massage the pot.

Nux members are good and we can be bluffed and thats okay. Thats where our patience becomes our virtue. We have enough sense to be able to be bluffed. I like that.

I really wanted to forget about this foolishness and not think about my stupidity, but Dr. Blizzuff convinced me to analyze this debacle. Thanks, Dr. Blizzuff; good lessons can be learned even from dumb hands.

Damn, I'm becoming powerful.

Onward, Upward

Omaha, last night I got brutalized with quad aces vs. my underboat.  Ouch.  The good news is that I was totally even playing Omaha yesterday.

The march continues, however with the 10+1 shorts.  I've commented on my earlier strategy, based on my current playing style.  It's very interesting how much more solid I've become with my strategy, and how it translates directly to a much better return on my $. I won 1, got second in the other.  I should have won 2, but once heads up, this guy sucked out on me 2x in a row.

However, far from being discouraging, I am reassured that my solid play is a superior method, and I really don't mind this guy winning this time.  He got lucky and won.  He could not win vs. me any other way.

!! what if everyone read Dan Harrington?!  How can I get better than what I've read?

I will take my strategy from the shorts and attempt more SnG full table qualifiers.  I'm strong enough now that I should be able to obtain more 1/2 finishes vs. a full table.  And that's where the $ is, and that's where I can further my original goals as listed below.