Poker Pub Poker Blog: June 2006

2006/06/30

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2006/06/29

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2006/06/28

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calling the home run ball... (or "talking smack")

2006/06/26

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2 am ugly… errr…. The monthly poker game recap

The “Monthly Game” for June is in the history books. I drew the “table of champions.” More specifically, everyone who ever won this monthly game drew the same table, thus the table of champions. Last month’s champion Mitch was seated here, fully equipped with his money (dollar sign) necklace, which was his good luck charm, specifically purchased to counteract the luck of “The shirt.” Yes, “The Shirt” was there, seated at our table. He brought his nephew, who we’ll refer to as “The Telephone,” as he was often spotted talking on the phone during the breaks (yea right). And of course, yours truly was at the table, sporting his lucky poker.com bracelet, to counteract the luck of the necklace, which was counteracting the luck of the shirt. Additionally, we had “The actor,” “Son of Fred (Sanford),” Roger, SuperDonk, “OMG, you killed Kenny,” and “T” at our table.

I think I caught the card flu, as the first hour and a half, I saw two hands, exactly two hands that did not contain 2’s. Surprisingly, I did not catch the hammer once during said timeframe, and only saw pocket twos once. The times I didn’t have twos, I had Ace Jack, and pocket sixes. But seriously, 2-3o, 2-6o, 2-5o, 2-Js, 2-8s, 2-10o… you get the point… The actor took a “not nice feeling beat” during my period of “carddeaddom.” He had his aces cracked by Roger’s two pair from the flop (QJ). Roger pushed out a 500-chip bet, which the actor called. Roger thought it put him all-in, so he flipped over his cards. However, the actor had about 95 chips or so left, but betting was pretty much dead; the actor does not improve, and is left with 95. He folds next hand, and then moves all-in. Taking down three callers, he shows his pocket aces (second time in three hands) and quadruples up.

I continued my run of horrible cards, and then it happened. Blinds at 25/50, stack around 370 or so and in the cutoff, with “OMG, you killed Kenny” having min raised UTG, I peak down and see my cards. I knew exactly what to do, so I push it all-in. Button and blinds fold her up. Kenny thinks for a while, looks up and says, “I know you have a great hand, I respect your bet, I fold.” Little does he know, my hand indeed was the most powerful hand in poker, and I felt it important to show. I proudly turn over… the hammer! 2-7 “not suited” sitting there in its glory mid table as I am raking in chips. Pulling off this move is the equivalent of Hogan “hulking up” during a match. I just knew that despite my low chip count and lack of starting hands, I was winning this tournament.

Players begin eliminating themselves, blinds are 25-50 ante of five, we‘re now five seated. Other table has six, so next one out makes the final table. Mitch, being first or second to act and short stacked, pushes all-in preflop with ace nine. Peeking down I see pocket tens, so I reraise to all-in (I have 55 chips more than Mitch). SuperDonk, sitting in the blind, had roughly thirty-five more than Mitch did. He too calls with ace five. The flop accommodates Mitch with a nine, but misses us every other way. My tens hold up, I mow down last month’s champion and SuperDonk with one “plus EV” move.

Final table forms with me, “The telephone,” “The Realtor” (a girl who is new to the monthly game, but rest assured, a total monster on the table - great player who makes some phenomenal reads). Roger is also present on the final table, as is Fred Sanford’s baby boy, the host, “OMG, u killed Kenny,” and “The shirt.”

I kinda minded my business for the most part on the final table, pretty much either stealing preflop or terminating the hand on the flop. I entered the final table with an M of roughly nine, and had the average stack. My goal for this final table was to maintain average stack until the bubble. I accomplished exactly that.

Down to five players and on the bubble, the telephone, the host and I are in a UTG-SB-BB classic battle. The pot was not raised preflop. The flop comes down two, King, Queen (K and Q both of spades). Check from the host, check from yours truly, and the telephone min bets. Host calls, as do I for some unknown reason (I am not going to even publish what hand I had here). On the turn, a ten of spades falls. At the same time, the blind clock buzzes. I laugh, look at the host and say to him “I know what that means” as I prepare to muck my cards. The host loves to make moves at the buzzer when blinds are this high. I feel bad now, as I surely jinxed him. He moves at the pot, the tele does what he does best and calls. Out of harm’s way, another spade hits the board. The host bets a lil bit, the telephone says “I’ll put you all in.” The host quickly calls, displaying the Jack of spades (he had jack ten, not suited). The telephone shows his ace of spades, conveniently matched up with his seven of hearts from under the gun. The host bubbles as a result of this phone call gone bad.

I felt dirty having made it into the money. Card dead for nearly two hours, calling the buzzer… Oh, forgot to add, I made an all-in push on the final table. I was asked how much was there. I do not ever answer that question. I took the liberty of pointing out my chips are neatly stacked in logical piles, feel free to count. I said it with quite the dick tone. I was joking of course, but I am not sure it came off that way. My whole not smoking gig sometimes makes me feel as if I come off differently than intended (read: cranky, sounding like a prick).

Play continues bubble behind us; “The Telephone” is in the chip lead. Sitting to his left is “the Realtor.” I sit between the telephone (left) and Roger (right). The Transylvanian Terror is seated right behind me, as he and I had been sweating one another from afar early on in the tournament. It sounded as if he was nearly as card dead as I was during the early portion of the tournament. Roughly 50-60% of the chips were sitting with the telephone, while I had almost 20%. The remaining 20% sat with Roger and the Realtor. I still maintained I was winning the tournament. Even told peeps I would call them back after I won. I was slightly more timid on this final table than normal. I raised my “Calling standards” when the pot was opened. To me, if roger limped, or the realtor limped, (even if they raised) hands such as ace nine lost their value at this particular table. Roger would move first, doubling through the Realtor, knocking her out of the match. I cannot remember the exact hand, though she was the only player who remained that I was not 100% confident I could outplay.

Action down to three peeps, I am now last in chips. I could tell the telephone was getting frustrated, as he was often being run over when he was trying to just see a flop. I push all in with the Fillmaff (King Jack “not suited”). He calls from his UTG limp with Jack three, also not suited. 3 hits the flop, king on the turn, river blank. I double through him, but still in third place. Roger made his move a few hands prior and was a convincing second.

Chip counts now roughly 25% to me 40% to Roger 35% to the telephone. I make a couple of steal moves, boost my stack, and Roger eliminates the Telephone, when his pocket pair holds up vs. the telephone’s ace-X.

Roger and I are heads up and he has a 3:1 lead. We color up. As we do, I try to “do Roger a favor” (Read: I am being a dick yet again). I tell Roger that being behind 3:1, and in an obvious position of power, I am willing to split the money with him 50/50 and “let” him assume the spot of champion. He tells me to “get lost” (read: go “F” yourself Mike). He does kindly counter though with taking a bit more and still getting the picture. I act insulted and pull a Happy Gilmore and say, “No, I think I’ll beat you now.” We start heads up play. I am dealt pocket sixes, and I raise 1.25 the blinds, as I am rather confident that he will call that no matter what. Additionally, it is such a small raise that I am also rather confident that with one over card, he will push all-in, two over cards he will simply re-raise me. He push all-in. King five suited vs. 6-6. I double through him.

Again, I offer a deal. This time, 50-50 with the photo shoot now going to me. He is tilting, because he “was beat with f’ing sixes.” Given the tilt, he does not split. I push out a steal raise with 7-9 not suited. He moves all in. I have him covered pretty well at this point. If I lose, we are back to three-one. If I fold, we are 50-50. I can recover from 3:1. Additionally, I had folded two hands earlier to a re-raise, though when I did, I only raised 1.25 the blinds. He could have been “making a move.” I call. He has Ace ten “not suited,” I flip over seven-nine “not suited.” Flop comes 8-8-6. Turn delivers a blank, though there are now three cards to the flush, of which my nine is suited to. So now, going into the river, any card to complete my straight on either side works, as does any seven, any nine, and now additionally, any diamond. River is a five, however, and I complete my straight and take down the second “monthly game” in three months.

Final scorecard reads “Necklace trumps shirt, bracelet trumps shirt, bracelet trumps necklace, hammer trumps all.” As always, thanks to the host and hostess for putting on the event. The time and effort that goes into the monthly game are always appreciated here at the Poker Pub.

Mike

2006/06/25

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"monthly game" today...

The "Monthly Game" is today... As usual, I'm pumped for the game. Mitch will be defending his title (most likely as aggressively as the "Blind Defender" "protects" his blinds). It should be noted that "the shirt" is the only two time champion.

I think I left my card protector at the weekly game last week, which brings me to this unofficial game of "one upsmanship" we have going on.

"The shirt" has his lucky poker shirt (a hawaiian style shirt with different poker hands and sayings on it). Mitch has countered the luck of the shirt with his "money necklace." I'll be bringing my "poker" braclet to counteract both the shirt and the necklace. I considered bringing a "SuperDonk" stuffed animal, but the stuffed animal is a horse, not a donkey, so that won't work too well.

Sidenote... Good thing I am paying attention to the things I should be paying attention to, as I almost called a rather large raise with a poor hand, thinking I was calling. Though that would solve my problem of not getting action at this particular table (30/9/-18.27/22/40 table stats, in case anyone is keeping score). I'd have left the table long ago, however the seat to my right is a constant tilt magnet (last three peeps have sat to my right, had pocket aces, and got bigtime sucked out on by someone at the table, which led to a constant whining and complaining --- almost as if it was the same guy every time).

Second sidenote, the "River Belle Incident" is being worked on. For those who didn't know, we had a private poker tourney scheduled for Friday night. River Belle modified their poker software and the private mtt folder disappeared, as did our tournament. I tried to get the tourney to reappear, but it didn't happen. Thus, the tourney got deleted. Unfortunately, anyone who entered found that the money they paid to enter disappeared right along with the tourney and the folder.

I've been in constant contact with support, and will be most likely releasing the support details here on the Poker Pub. I will say that River Belle have assured me that on Monday, all players who were affected by this will be reimbursed.

While I am extremely confident that we'll all be taken care of, I am not comfortable setting up a "rainout day" tournament until it is confirmed that we've all been taken care of. So, hang in there, more news to come...

Mike

2006/06/23

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Rescheduling River Belle...

2006/06/22

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Instant replay for Judith

Here are some hands of note from last night’s CheckRayz Poker tournament at Noble Poker. As a side note, I need to mention that I am undefeated from a prize pool standpoint (winning either top prize - satellite seats, or first place) when on the phone with someone I’ve not spoken to in ages. Specifically, someone very special to me tracked me down after twelve years. We were conversing for the duration of the tournament. It stood to reason, with that track record, I’d be in the money.

Hand number 1

Blinds 10/20

Bob limps UTG, Judith raises 8x blinds to 160, I call cleanly, blinds fold, as does Bob. Judith should, at this point, be thinking pocket pair and/or ace king. I’m thinking mid to high pocket pair and/or ace king for Judith.

The flop comes 4-4-6. I check the flop, Judith bets 400 into the roughly 400 chip pot. This leaves her very little money to bet the turn and river, and I know it. She’d have been better off betting either half the pot, or pushing all-in here. I help “correct” things by raising all-in, as I don’t have her on quad fours, A4, or A6. She “could” have 4’s though, just as she could have set her sixes. I have most of the logical hand range beat, so easy play for me. She calls, flipping over her pocket eights, to my pocket kings. My hand holds up.

Very Next Hand...

With 185 chips remaining, blinds still 10/20, Judith is dealt ace king UTG. She pushes all-in, which is a move I like given the chip stack and the fact it’s a reload tourney. She’s called by 88, fails to improve and reloads.

Later in the tournament...

Judith put in her infamous “min raise” with AK offsuit in the SB, allowing Bob in the big blind sufficient odds to call with ace eight off. The hand is checked down, and Bob takes it down with the pair of eights. A larger raise, to include an all in bet would have been best here, as a steal at these levels (blinds 100/200) would have worked out fine.
Judith’s last hurrah comes with pushing all in with pocket fives for $200 above the BB. Easy call all around. Dan takes it down from the small blind with his king four off.

No Judith, I’m not picking on you, just throwing the replay up there for conversation later in the day. And by the way, by all means, keep the hands and the questions and the debates coming!

Talk to you soon!

Mike

2006/06/21

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Who was slow playing whom?

I have two poker stories from last night. One of which is an actual poker story, the other is an “it’s not about poker, but really, it is all about poker” story.

I played in a weekly event at one of the local taverns last night. For reasons unrelated to this post and story, I will not be playing there for quite a long time due to the piss-pour way the event is run. Nuff said there. That’s not to say that the play was not interesting. One hand in particular was a “double slow play” of sorts.

I am sitting on the button, action folds to me and I see queens. Blinds are T500/1000 at this time. The small blind has my roughly 8500 chips covered, and the big blind has 2500 on top of his posted big blind. I limp, hoping for a raise from the BB, that doesn‘t come. Flop comes J-10-3. Small blind checks, big blind pushes all-in. I think for a while, going through the motions of counting my outs, hoping that the older gentleman would reraise me when I weakly called, as he was an aggressive player. He calls cleanly. Turn gives me my set of queens. He checks, I bet slightly, as I want to drag him into the pot. He comes over top of me pushing all-in. I’m smelling a semi-bluff, as I found it possible, but unlikely he was holding a straight, specifically ace king, he could be holding 9-8, maybe K-10, but more than likely he is playing either a pair or two pair, though he could be “betting the ace.” Either way, I am calling, and have chance to redraw on the river IF I am behind.

He proudly flips over AK suited from the small blind. And such a brilliant slow play it was. I too flip over my slow play attempt, showing QQ. He laughs and tells me I am drawing dead. I remind him the queen of hearts has not been seen yet, and I have three outs each with jacks, tens and threes, so I am not dead, nor as bad off as he may believe, but I am in fact behind significantly (77%-22%, underdog to be exact). My three hits on the river. I was dead but not buried. We laugh about slow playing each other and found it rather amusing.

That was amusing to me, but not nearly as amusing as the events that unfolded later in the evening. I head to the “local” watering hole (read: stumbling distance from my house). I was not ready to call it an evening, so I walk literally a block to said establishment. Its there I run into “bartender” who is doing what his Poker Pub nickname suggests.

“Bartender” points me to a gentleman at the other end of the bar, who he says will make a great addition to our weekly game. He suggests we go over there and he gives me an introduction. So, I go over and say hello. We “talk shop” for a little bit, regarding this weekly tournament when this rather intoxicated older gentleman “seems” to interrupt. I say, “Seemed” because things were not exactly how they appeared to be.

This older guy was immediately “familiar” to me. The minute he opened his mouth, I knew who he “was.” I did not know his name, though I did not really care to know it either. But I do recall the name I “gave” him once upon a time when last our paths crossed.

Official Poker Pub Flashback:

“I see what he's doing. He comes here thinking he can buy it. I don't think he realizes that the reason IIIIIIII play limit is so that I CAN'T be bluffed out of pots." He re-raises, we end up capped seven deep. Flop (A-5-7) cap, turn cap (2), river (K comes) cap. My AQ loses out to K2 --- shit you not. Despite my showing the AQ down, with top pair mind ya, he tells the entire table, "I told ya this bum was trying to steal. He's not gonna steal shit from me." - “Waldorf” tells the entire table when proudly showing down his King two, which he runner runnered against my “bluffing” hand of ace queen.

I now also recall the man seated on the other side of the dealer from him, which was directly across from me (during the poker pub flashback). I was introduced by “bartender” to this person initially. As I said, things were not how they seemed.

“Waldorf” comes up to me, and “interrupts,” calling me “shit talker” (apparently in reference to my invite I extended to his friend to what I believe will be the biggest and best tournament in my town). He continues, asking me if I want to “gamble.” I tell Waldorf I have no interest in gambling. He throws two dollar bills on the table and tells me he will bet me $200 that the serial numbers on his right hand beat the ones on his left hand. I politely decline. He makes some racist remarks to me, attempting to challenge my ego. No dice. The person I am talking to suggests to him that he mind his own business and “go back to where he came from.” The guy is trying to act as if he is on my side.

Twenty ego-insulting attempts later, Waldorf challenges me, telling me that he is sure that he’s gambled more money in the last year than I have in my entire lifetime. I tell him that I am sure he has, and asks him if he saved his receipts from his losses for his accountant. He makes some more attempts at insulting my ego and me (still I do not think he remembers me from the casino), and tries to get me to bet with him. Of course, I carry little if any cash on me, so even if I wanted to gamble, I would not be able to.

Waldorf goes on to inform me of how a man is defined by how much cash he carries. The other person starts in asking me how much I have in the bank. I’m still not giving a straight answer, and doing the little pamper Waldorf’s ego trick while at the same time slapping him in the back of the head with the same commentary. He goes totally nuts when he tells me the conversation is over once I said that I carry no cash. It is obvious that he is a gambler and I am not. I inform him that I could never “out gamble” a man of his status and that even an idiot with a stated bankroll similar to his could very easily become fortunate over an apparently broke, “non gambler” such as myself. Then I shut my mouth, because according to him, the conversation was over when I stated I was “cash broke.”

He went absolutely nuts. I knew he would though. He needed for everyone in that bar to know he was “a gambler.” He had the uncontrollable urge to show ME he was. I did not feel I needed to show him anything. I was and perhaps still am slow playing the hell out of him though.
Turns out, he is one of the bigger homebuilders in my town. He built my parent’s home, as a matter of fact. He is a “whale” from a bankroll standpoint. Combined with his need to show people “who he is “ it stands to reason he probably did lose more money last year gambling than I’ve played for in my lifetime. That was a bet however; that I was not confident he would be able to prove one way or the other anyways. Besides, it did not really matter to me anyways how much he has won or lost for his career.

What does matter is that this person may make it down to our weekly game. Eventually, he and I will end up going to the casino at the same time, because he will not be able to resist. And what will matter at that time is how much money he loses to me then. He will not have any of his buddies helping him on that table when the time comes. He has a far deeper bankroll than I do, and money means less to him than it does to me. The difference is though, my ego is not the least bit engaged. I do not need to prove anything to anyone. He does…

Mike

Poker Stories
Thoughts on Poker

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Poker.com to the rescue...

2006/06/20

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Found my “target audience”…

Well, Judith obviously saw the “Ode to Judith” post, where I discussed the min raise. Her paraphrased responses are as follows:

“OK teach - This was among the first things I read. You do make a very strong case as usual - and I really do understand and agree for 95% of the time. However (just so you remember I love to discuss/debate as much as you do) how about the following ideas: (I know you will kill them with some big bang but here it goes anyway)

1)- I want to increase the pot a bit at a minimum cost to me as I see potential in my cards - in other words - I risk 40 call it lost leader - pot will increase 5 - 6 times that if I get my cards I got extra chips from more people - if not - I did not lose anything that really matters.

2)- I hope to obtain some level of "respect" from other players that I can build on.

3)- I think I have a decent hand but I am too low on chips - to risk preflop 3-4 x the blinds - it takes too much out of my stack .... (this last one I probably can argue your point for you lol)

CHEERS

PS - my eyes are improving in leaps and bounce my spelling is not”

I should note, I ran spell check before posting, so spelling is not an issue J

“Oh yes and one more comment/question would you should you raise hard preflop with say AK - as you put it it only can beat a bluff - then why risk so many chips on it? This is a very honest question - I am not cheeky or something - but what is the best thing to do? limp? or put out the bet and if flop misses you... retreat? or pretend? Here is an other Q I meant to ask you for some time now - when I see (in a all in situation) say a 44 against a AK or a 77 against an AK if I remember correctly the 77 has higher odds then the 44 - why? Or am I just having vision issues? LOLCheers teach”

So Judith, let us break down the above scenarios and put this min raise theory of ours into the grinder.

In response to number one, you want to increase the pot at minimal cost. I am assuming that you are putting in this “min-raise” being the first person to open the pot. Typically speaking, while you may “build a pot,” you will not be successful in knocking players out of the hand. Typically, they will treat this as a limp, thus they will limp with the hands they would normally limp in with and raise with the hands they would normally raise. So, if the soul purpose of this min-raise is to begin to build a pot, it would be “acceptable.” My guess though is that if you do this often, will be reraised by “better” players with a larger hand raise, who is doing nothing more than making a positional play on you.

Additionally, it should be noted that many a player “complains” about how the best preflop hand in limit poker “rarely” holds up (I do not necessarily agree with this). A big reason why hands don’t necessarily hold in limit is because raises can only be put in by increasing from the previous bet (10/20 - first raise is 20...). This generally offers the blinds sufficient odds to play if they have somewhat of a hand, and there are callers between raiser and blind.

No limit, on the other hand, allows us the luxury of pricing in chasers or buying them out pretty much when we feel like it. I cannot think of many hands where I would purposely want five callers AND be raising from the early position. One might argue that hands such as 9-8 suited would not mind five callers. Do we really play that hand when we are in the early position?
If we are in the late position putting in a min raise, we are not fully utilizing our positional advantage. Anyone who has entered the pot will call, and we risk a re-raise if someone has put in a limp, with hopes of a raise behind. More often than not, one’s ego gets stuck and runs into a monster. Additionally, how can we get a read on our opposition’s hand ranges with a min raise. If they will limp with any “playable” hand (from position), we really do not know what our opponents might have. For these reasons, I am still not a fan of the min raise.

As for number two, “you plan to obtain some level of respect from other players you can build on.” I hate to be the one to say this, but the Beer Guy has a real hard time respecting a min raise. In fact, I would be inclined to come over top of that min raise more often than not, providing I had position and was in a position to at the very least hold up (+EV) heads up. So honestly, I am not sure how one would plan to build respect with a min raise.

And for the third point you made, Judith, I think I have a decent hand but I am too low on chips - to risk preflop 3-4 x the blinds - it takes too much out of my stack .... (this last one I probably can argue your point for you lol). Go back and read my endgame series. If your chip stack is too low, you are in all-in or fold mode. You have no post flop betting power at this time, so you might as well maximize the impact of your bet. Push all-in or fold!

The AK ordeal

As for your commentary on the AK ordeal, I believe you took my quote entirely out of context. If I recall correctly, the board missed you completely, while you were holding AK. A face card did flop (queen, I believe). Your opposition pushed all-in, you called. The only hand you could beat at the time of the call was a bluff. Any pocket pair beat you, any pair beat you, and any set beats you. You cannot “correctly” make the call on that particular bet unless you are deep stacked and your opponent is short stacked, generally speaking.

77 is 54-45 heads up vs. AK. 44 is 53-46. Quickly, the reason that 7’s are ever so slightly higher than fours heads up vs. AK is because fours stand a slightly better chance of being counterfeited than sevens do. There are five values that help neither sevens nor AK but are higher than sevens (q, j, 10, 9, 8). There are eight values above fours that help neither the fours nor the ace king. It is more probable, mathematically speaking that the fours get counterfeited (board such as 10-10-5-5-2). The board missed the fours and the ace king, and the sevens and the ace king. 4’s vs. AK = AK win (by virtue of the ace kicker - 10-10-5-5-A, vs. 10-10-5-5-4). With 7s vs. AK, the sevens hold up (10-10-7-7-2 vs. 10-10-5-5-A). See why?

Keep asking questions and I will do my best to explain, discuss and debate!

Mike

Poker Strategy
Small Stakes Holdem

2006/06/19

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My live poker project…

For about a month or two now, a friend and I have been working on holding regular, live poker tournaments to support a local charitable cause. I envisioned that we would quickly become known as having the best run local games in the area. Additionally, I pictured being able to price it high enough to be gone with any potential riff raff, yet at the same time attract enough players to make it a sizable event. I think we have on our hands EXACTLY what I envisioned.

This weekend marked the inaugural tournament (while we have all these visions, we still do not know what the hell we’re calling it). We had about one-third the number of players we expected; however, we weren’t necessarily expecting a full house for our opening week. From a timing standpoint, we managed to start just about on time (15 minutes late by choice). The tournament still finished exactly on time.

Perhaps best of all was the reaction from the players who participated. Everyone, with no exception, walked away telling us that we put on what was by far THE BEST poker tournament they have ever played. Honestly though, we did nothing that “shouldn’t be done” in every poker tournament. We just made sure that we had the bases covered. We provided a nice poker tabletop and a new deck of cards. Some instrumental jazz played in the background for mood music. We invested in a decent set of poker chips, with denominations on them.

Our blind structure is very logical, as it deliberately progresses and allows for play in the first hour, without the threat of immediate short stacking. Everything was spelled out. A set of rules were on display for everyone to read. We had a nice blind clock, so everyone knew where we stood with respect to the blinds. Said another way, we were organized. Its ironic how one can create such an experience for people just by simply focusing on the things we are supposed to do.

I am confident that next week’s game we will be more than half way to our goal of the number of players we are targeting, and I would not be surprised if in 4 weeks, we are taking our show on the road, in addition to hosting our “weekly games.”

So, I guess I should speak of the actual tournament results, considering I mentioned the whole set-up. Long story short, SuperDonk emerged victorious. Well, actually, there was a three way split, but he had the most chips when they split the prize money.

I had just mentioned a day or two earlier that I have not really had any SuperDonk stories for the poker blog for quite a while. There have been several SuperDonk stories, none of which were poker related “enough” to be included here, is what I am saying. Honestly though, he played nearly perfect poker. From our count, he only lost one showdown all day long, and the pot was relatively small. He was doing a fine job of betting for value and not going too far in his hands. He “done good.”

I have a long day ahead of me today, and on very little sleep. On the agenda today is more work for CheckRayz’ July schedule, working off another poker reload bonus, and soccer. Strategy post most likely on the horizon tomorrow.

Mike

2006/06/18

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stars World Blogger Championship of Online Poker...

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Happy Father's Day...

2006/06/17

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Poker legislation updates...

This is a reposting of an email I received from the Poker Player's Alliance:

Dear PPA Member:

The federal effort to ban online gambling has cleared another hurdle and within the next 10 days the House of Representatives will be voting on H.R. 4777, The Internet Gaming Prohibition Act. It is essential that your member of Congress know that you oppose this legislation. We have posted an updated letter that you can send TODAY by going to http://capwiz.com/pokerplayersalliance/issues/alert/?alertid=8585611

It is critical that Congress hears from you before this vote!

Additionally, the Poker Players Alliance is seeking members who would be willing to lend their name to a letter that would be published in their local newspaper. These letters would let fellow citizens know that Congress is seeking ban online poker and open the door to greater government involvement in our personal affairs. If you would be willing to put your name on a letter contact us immediately at email@pokerplayersalliance.org

Finally, we wanted to make you aware of an excellent editorial published on June 9th in the Los Angeles Times. I encourage each of you to read this enlightened and thoughtful look at the current Congressional debate surrounding online gambling. The complete editorial can be found by going to http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion.

Thank you for all you do to support the Poker Players Alliance. And rest assured that we are working tirelessly on your behalf.

Sincerely,

Michael Bolcerek,
president Poker Players Alliance

Contact your local rep by telephone:
Bachus
Spencer
AL
(202) 225-4921

Berman
Howard
CA
(202) 225-4695

Boucher
Rick
VA
(202) 225-3861

Cannon
Chris
UT
(202) 225-7751

Chabot
Steve
OH
(202) 225-2216

Coble
Howard
NC
(202) 225-3065

Conyers
John
MI
(202) 225-5126

Delahunt
Bill
MA
(202) 225-3111

Feeney
Tom
FL
(202) 225-2706

Flake
Jeff
AZ
(202) 225-2635

Forbes
Randy
VA
(202) 225-6365

Franks
Trent
AZ
(202) 225-4576

Gallegly
Elton
CA
(202) 225-5811

Gohmert
Louie
TX
(202) 225-3035

Goodlatte
Bob
VA
(202) 225-5431

Green
Mark
WI
(202) 225-5665

Hostettler
John
IN
(202) 225-4636

Hyde
Henry
IL
(202) 225-4561

Inglis
Bob
SC
(202) 225-6030

Issa
Darrell
CA
(202) 225-3906

Jackson Lee
Sheila
TX
(202) 225-3816

Jenkins
Bill
TN
(202) 225-6356

Keller
Ric
FL
(202) 225-2176

King
Steve
IA
(202) 225-4426

Lofgren
Zoe
CA
(202) 225-3072

Lungren
Dan
CA
(202) 225-5716

Meehan
Marty
MA
(202) 225-3411

Nadler
Jerry
NY
(202) 225-5635

Pence
Mike
IN
(202) 225-3021

Sanchez
Linda
CA
(202) 225-6676

Schiff
Adam
CA
(202) 225-4176

Scott
Bobby
VA
(202) 225-8351

Sensenbrenner
Jim
WI
(202) 225-5101

Smith
Lamar
TX
(202) 225-4236

Van Hollen
Chris
MD
(202) 225-5341

Wasserman Schultz
Debbie
FL
(202) 225-7931

Waters
Maxine
CA
(202) 225-2201

Weiner
Anthony
NY
(202) 225-6616

Wexler
Bob
FL
(202) 225-3001

Other links on regarding this legislation:

Write your elected official on this matter.

Lou Krieger's blog - excellent insight and commentary regarding this legislation. Lou has been on top of this issue since day 1.

Politics & Poker

2006/06/16

[+/-]

Why min raises are -EV… or “Ode to Judith”…

Judith, this one’s for you while you are recovering from your eye surgery. May the first page you read when you are “back” be this article.

I am not very sure why anyone (Judith) would make a “min-raise” when playing Hold’em in a tournament or a ring game. We raise pre-flop for the following primary reasons:

1. For value - We are confident we have the best hand and wish to charge our opponents for the right to draw on us.

2. For isolation - Our hands stand up best against few opponents, we want to narrow the field down to 1-2 players.

3. To steal the blinds - We wish to take the pot uncontested without seeing a flop.

4. As a semi-bluff - We are not sure we have the best hand, but we have a decent hand, so let’s raise and see if we can knock players who have already entered out (in addition to the blinds).

5. As a total bluff and/or to deceive - Usually later position, with suited connectors or “the hammer”

6. To manipulate pot size - To try to build a bigger pot that will psychologically commit players to the pot upon the flop.

I propose that a standard raise of between 3-5 times the blinds can “usually” accomplish raising for value, isolation, stealing, bluffing or semi-bluffing, and pot building. Specifically, a “standard raise” usually charges players “too much” for the right to draw, as they are not getting the proper pot odds to “play garbage.” At the same time, it is also typically allowing for only those hands who will make suitable “second best” hands will be playing (Axs, pocket pairs, etc). For this reason, you get a read on the probable hand range you are up against.

As a hypothetical, you are under the gun and are holding AK suited. Making it simple, blinds are 10-20, everyone has a stack of 1000. You put in a raise of 80 (or 4 times the big blinds). You are raising because you feel you have the best hand pre-flop and wish to charge others for the right to draw on you. Now the pot is 110, it is costing 80 for anyone to play (70 for the small blind, and 60 for the big blind) - assuming there’s not a re-raise. What hands can “correctly” call with those pot odds? Can the guy on the button with king-three suited who would “really love to see a flop with this” call you correctly? How about the small blind with Queen Jack “not suited?” Are they making a mistake by calling with those hands? Do we want to force our opposition to make mistakes, even if they are unaware of the fact that they are making said mistake?

Now, let us replay this scenario, and we will just put in the min raise. Blinds 10-20, everyone stacking 1000. UTG, you are dealt AK suited. You place the minimum raise out there of 40. Now the pot contains 70, it costs 40 to stay, which is close to 2:1. Suddenly, QJ “not suited” from the small blind is playable for 30 (even though the field is getting 2:1, keep in mind, the blinds get in cheaper because they’re already partially involved), and the big blind is now justified in calling with his pocket twos, as he’s getting nearly 3:1. In fact, if he had the hammer, and the small blind called, he would be correct in calling. Furthermore, you have not made the blinds define their hands. They could be playing with any two cards. Later positions and button “could” be as well.

This means that on the flop, we are going to have to bet out to figure out what we should have began to determine pre-flop. The min-raise neither defines our hand, nor helps us to determine a hand range our opposition is playing. This of course, means that we have no idea where we are at in the hand. Supposing we have four to five callers in the min raise scenario, and a pot of 200, how much do you think it will cost us to find out where we are at under the gun? It might be relatively simple if the flop comes AK2 to know where we are at, but what about a color coordinated flop away from us, where we have top pair (A-J-10 all of clubs).

If we bet ½ the pot, we are risking an additional 100 chips MINIMUM (a bit more than 10% of our stack) to find out if we have the best hand. With four players, we can pretty much count on anyone who has the K or Q of clubs to stay. We can count on any Kings or queens to most likely stay, especially if there are already players calling your ½ pot bet. Furthermore, how about any ace now, specifically AJ or A10? My guess is that for ½ the pot, even the big blind with pocket twos also stays, especially if he has a club. We are no longer truly ahead on this board, and we did not charge proper odds for anyone to have the right to catch up to us. Additionally, we have no “cheap” way of determining whether we are truly ahead in the hand. A pot size bet or an over bet would tell us, but then the problem becomes that five handed, we are most likely beat, so there is really little to nothing that is +EV for us to do. Check is -EV and tells us nothing, any size bet tells us nothing, an over bet is called only when we are beat. See the dilemma here?

If we throw out a standard raise, we get one or two opponents. We have a pot size of roughly 200. Same flop comes A-J-10 all of clubs). This time, we have 1-2 players to bet into instead of four or five. We throw out a continuation bet of half the pot. We remain confident that this flop is scary to the one or two opposing players and we will only be called by hands that contain the king of clubs, the queen of clubs. Odds are Ax will fold, unless x is clubbed, at which time, they will call. A set will likely re-raise here, fearing the fourth club. With this continuation bet, we know better where we stand and stand a better chance (due to bigger raise, fewer opponents, and same pot size).

More on this in the next few days. I am confident that I didn’t go through everything as thoroughly as I would have liked. I am of course blaming this on the quitting smoking gig, which is making me more scatter brained than normal. My point though, Judith, min raise is not good. Hope you do well with your surgery today.

Mike

Poker Strategy
Small Stakes Holdem

2006/06/15

[+/-]

It was not me…

Very recently, a poker room called Check N Raise Poker seems to have cheated their players out of promised WSOP seats won through a tournament. I first came across this news via Felicia’s Blog.

Following the link paths, there are conversation threads regarding the topic on twoplustwo and RGP.

This marks the second time in as many months where scandal of some sort has had a near miss with my CheckRayz name.

There was also a scandal with CheckRaised, which can be read about here at haley's blog. Essentially, there was a Trojan in a web-based program on this site (rake back calculator).

I wish to point out, that in no way, shape, and/or form am I now or have I ever been associated with either Check N Raise Poker, or CheckRaised. Our names may be similar (CheckRayz vs. Check N Raise Poker vs. CheckRaised), but they are not the same. Please be aware of that…
Additionally, I do my best to “do my homework” when it comes to promoting poker rooms or endorsing poker rooms within our CheckRayz Organization. Does this mean that I will never be “burned?” Probably not. Honestly, there are times when one will never see it coming. Other times, “how could I be so blind” is a question that comes to mind. Yet other times, we avoid a room and dodge a bullet.

I never made it around to Check N Raise. It was not because I saw something coming though. It was simply that their affiliate manager did us a favor and did not return my email requesting information on their site. That is one way to filter someone out. If I email or contact by phone an affiliate manager and do not get a response in a timely manner, I move on to the next poker room. It is that simple. Of course, when they in fact respond, I review with a fine tooth comb the requested information, and may come up with additional questions. I am rather new to the business end of this; however, I am not new to business. Either way, I am learning quickly though and erring on the side of caution.

I’ll bottom line with this: They were not us, and other than similar names, we were nowhere near the fire.

Mike

--- The not smoking thing is getting easier, thank God.

Poker News

Poker News

2006/06/14

[+/-]

quick hits...

2006/06/13

[+/-]

Special Edition of the Mailbag… Because I’m “that guy”

Oh my, I’m still laughing the morning after. Funny story… I received this email from a guy who claims to be a member of CheckRayz. I am quite certain he forgets that I recall where he came from… In any event, I’d like to post his complete email here (because I‘m “that guy“), along with my response… and then some further commentary.

First *for background information:

my blog entry on freerolls from this weekend,

Original announcement on the CheckRayz Challenge

Now, email from this “member”

Hi Mike,

I see your so called "freeroll" has entry requirements of drag hands. A "freeroll" by definition is FREE entry. That means no drags, player points, coupons, money fee, etc. You are advertising an event as a "freeroll" when it is anything but that, due to your entry requirements. What you are doing is called a "bait and switch". Saying you have one thing, get people to your site and then say "oh, by the way, our freeroll is not exactly free because .................."

Mike, as you well know, what you are doing is dishonest and a total scam. You should read what the players say on the poker forums about your kind of "special" freerolls.

In a way it is kind of sad that you have to resort to these kinds of tactics in order to lure players to your site.Just a suggestion, try running honest freerolls (no entry gimmicks) and I bet you have more players than what you get doing things in a dishonest manner.

Mike

(note, its not me talking to myself, he is also named Mike, it would seem).

My word for word response:

There is nothing dishonest in the celeb tournament. I am clearly stating that there is a $500 freeroll with a 50 raked hand requirement. This is no different than sites such as Poker4ever, which if I recall correctly, you joined us from there via another forum who held a special 500 freeroll for peeps who qualify...

I am not sure that I can agree with you regarding being dishonest, because I am certainly not a dishonest person. If you read my blog, you'd clearly see my take on freerolls both in general and specifically.

Thanks for your "concern" and "take" on this matter.

Mike

I think I went above and beyond the call of duty by even responding to this "member," but anyways… I didn’t want him whining that I didn’t get back to him.

That being said, we get some commentary on the matter.

“As I well know, what I am doing is dishonest?” As I well know? Oh my god, this guy has me soiling myself in laughter. You might want to start by going back to “your little corner of the internet” and re-assess whether or not I am an honest person. Wait, wait wait… let me back up here, as I am getting way way ahead of myself.

Let’s do a play by play on his letter to me…

1. "I see your so called "freeroll" has entry requirements of drag hands." - You see this because I properly disclosed such a requirement in my announcements and on my blog.

2. "A "freeroll" by definition is FREE entry." - I am not charging anything… It is a free entry, for those who qualify as stated.

3. "That means no drags, player points, coupons, money fee, etc." - No, that means that you are charged nothing to get in… said another way… Let me spell it out for you Mike… You contribute N-O-T-H-I-N-G to the prize pool… Got it? Was that slow enough for ya, Mike? That being said, there is nothing being charged for the entry to the $500 event. There is a hand requirement, which has been stated each and every time all day long since day 1.

4. "You are advertising an event as a "freeroll" when it is anything but that, due to your entry requirements." --- so, when a given “forum” has an event somewhere such as I don’t know, say Trident Poker for example… If the freeroll has a password, its not a “freeroll?” I mean after all, Mike, there is an entry requirement, you must have a password. (let me guess, “wait a minute, wait a minute… that’s different”). Of course it is Mike, of course it is.

5. What you are doing is called a "bait and switch". Educate yourself on what “bait and switch” truly means. Here, let me help you. Click on this thing called a “link” I put there to help you "better understand" what a "bait and switch" truly is.

6. Saying you have one thing, get people to your site and then say "oh, by the way, our freeroll is not exactly free because --- once again, I stated from day 1 there were hand requirements. I stated exactly what those requirements were… from day 1. And once again, is there an entry fee?

7. Mike, as you well know, what you are doing is dishonest and a total scam. - no, it seems very straight forward. I’m offering a nice, private, $500 promotional freeroll. I set requirements, which is within my right, 'as you well know.' No scam, nothing dishonest… Or do you mean "dishonest" in that you don’t rake hands?

8. You should read what the players say on the poker forums about your kind of "special" freerolls. - I really have no interest in what people on “the poker forums” say about this. Really, I don’t.

9. In a way it is kind of sad that you have to resort to these kinds of tactics in order to lure players to your site. - I hate to burst the bubble here, Mike. This promotional freeroll was not designed to “lure” peeps to my site. It was designed to reward my players who are raking it, playing the buy-in events, supporting the cause, so to speak. If it were to "lure" people to my site, I'd perhaps offer that size of a freeroll with no requirement and act like I hold "these types of events" all the time?

10. Just a suggestion, try running honest freerolls (no entry gimmicks) and I bet you have more players than what you get doing things in a dishonest manner. - I am running “honest” events. I have no intentions of running a freeroll now or in the future to give away cash prizes. All promotional money that I work to obtain goes towards the cash players and the buy-ins. Which, I really hate to break it to ya, Mike… These are the players that the poker rooms want. They are also the players I want playing with CheckRayz. I don’t think any of us are truly interested in full-time freerollers who have no intentions of depositing and playing. None of us wants the players who constantly have their hands out with no intention of contributing and no desire to work towards anything.

You obviously have me confused with someone else.

Once again, there is nothing wrong with asking questions, peeps... however, come correctly. This ~~assclown~~ "member" accusing me of being dishonest and misleading? Telling me I should read what "they" say on other forums regarding a promotional freeroll that has a requirement of sorts to gain entry? Are you f-ing kidding me? I care what "they" say? Actually, the people who's opinion I care about (in this topic) are my depositing players at CheckRayz. I don't care what "they" say (they being "other forums")...

Dude, thanks for the laugh. You get your thirty seconds of fame and now I'm done...

Nuff said,

Mike

CheckRayz Mailbag

2006/06/12

[+/-]

Personal: Quit Smoking...

2006/06/10

[+/-]

Freebies (read: freerolls, forums, blogs, advice) are a privilege, not a right

By nature, I am a highly opinionated person. I am also a skeptic, but that is irrelevant to this post. Recently, a hot topic of discussion in the Shark Forum has been freerolls and I decided it’s long since overdue for me to add my +EV (opinion) to the discussion.

For starters, what is a freeroll? A freeroll poker tournament is one in which it costs nothing to enter, and pays out something. There are different types and purposes of freeroll poker tournaments that poker rooms hold. Generally speaking, they are as follows:

1. Strictly Promotional in Nature Freeroll Poker Tournaments - these tournaments are open to the public. Any Tom, Dick, Harry, Sally, Bob, and Carol, and Ted, and Alice can enter, providing they have the common sense required to click, download, and register for a “real money account” at the hosting poker room. These tournaments have no entry fee; have no criteria other than bottom of the barrel at best common sense. A cash prize is usually paid out to the top portion of the field. The purpose of these tournaments is to draw players to the hosting poker room. They are promotional in nature, not designed to build a bankroll from them, just to get a player’s foot in the door.

2. Promotional Incentive Freeroll Poker Tournaments - these tournaments are open to the public, but have some sort of qualification involved. Registration is free in the traditional sense (no direct entry fee) and pays out a prize of some value, generally cash. There is, however, something required in order to gain entry. Make a first time deposit, play x number of raked hands within a specified timeframe, answer a trivia question, refer a friend, etc. These freeroll poker tournaments are generally designed to reward a client base for “supporting the cause.”

3. Private Freeroll poker tournaments - these freerolls may or may not be open to the public. They are generally organized and obtained by a third party group, of which the organizer may set requirements (or choose not to) as he or she sees fit. CheckRayz and the Shark Poker Tour often hold private events of this nature. The Blogger Poker Tour is also a great example of such a private event.

The third party group maintains the right to place restrictions on these events. The restrictions can be having a blog and being a blogger, or play x number of raked hands, or even make x number of quality posts on the resident poker forum. These private freeroll poker tournaments are not a right; they are a privilege, which brings me right to the point of my ranting.

Far too many people in this world believe they are entitled to a free lunch. This cannot be further from the truth. Originally, I allowed myself to become very irritated when I announced the private $500 freeroll at Celeb Poker, and placed what I believe to be simple requirements in order to qualify for this event. 50 raked hands at .50/$1 or higher is where I set the bar. I could have set it higher. I chose not to. I could have not even included any requirement. I chose to not go that route either. I could have set the bar anywhere I chose. Why, you ask? Because it is my rules, my $500, I can do whatever I damn well please with it, that’s why!

An individual cited how she did not believe this was fair, citing a reason such as “well, many tournament players are not good at ring games, just like many ring players aren’t good in tournaments, so this rule is not fair!”

First, I did not state it is fair. They are my rules, so they’re designed to be fair to me. I put the effort in obtaining a $500 freeroll. If you work with poker rooms to obtain such a freeroll, then you set the rules. I will either not play, if I do not find the rules “fair”… or I will and I will follow your rules without question or complaint. If I do not like the rules, I will not post on it, I will not complain… I will just go away. Fair enough?

Going one step further, in my clarification, let us suppose I did not find the rules “fair.” And let us suppose that I had the exact same opinion that our little lady I speak of had, when she said, “tourney players are not always good cash players, thus this is unfair.” IF I were to post such a thing, first I would privately email them regarding such unfair rules.

I would not stop there though, and I believe it is something like what I am about to say that separates people like me from people like “them.” In my opinion, I do not have the right to complain unless I bring some sort of value to my complaint. In this case, a solution… Following along in the example, and once again assuming I am Ms. Complainer, citing how unfair the rules are, in order for me to “earn” the right to complain, I have to offer a solution or a suggestion as to how I could make it “fair.”

So, to continue, I am she… I cite, “Your rules are unfair to tournament players such as me who would be willing to support the cause by playing raked hands. I deposit and play regularly. I am not a freeloader by any means. I am, however, afraid that I will break myself by playing 50 raked hands at .50/1 and above. I am, however, willing to do something to gain qualification. Would it be at all possible for me to still “work” for the “right” to play in your tournament, but instead of playing raked hands, could I gain entry by participating in X number of buy-in tournaments and/or sit-n-go’s? I am strictly a tournament player and have no problem playing 10 sit n go’s or tournaments at $x.

I believe this would be fair to both you and me, and give people such as myself the opportunity to qualify. Additionally, you just might find that the number of people who are willing to participate will increase as a direct result of such a qualification process. In the event you do not find my suggestion appropriate, I will understand completely and won’t complain one bit. I do appreciate the hard work you do and all of your efforts. Thank you in advance for considering my suggestion and hearing my concerns”

But then again, that would require a complaint coming from someone who is not out shopping around to find that free lunch, now wouldn’t it?

Mike

Thoughts on Poker

2006/06/09

[+/-]

Second Leg of the CheckRayz Challenge and an interesting blog hit…

[+/-]

How to handle the tool to your right and MANY other poker-related ramblings…

I’m writing this while on the poker table. Yes, I am still playing NL. Yes, I am still on my poker bonus whoring mission. And yes, I am going after yet another “Mr. 63%.” Yes, I just reloaded, as I too get the beat layed on me from time to time. Despite every effort on his behalf to rattle my cage, I am not tilting. Don’t get me wrong, I “needed” five minutes away from the table to regain my composure and reflect on what the hell just happened. That also opened up the seat immediately to his left, which to me is much better a position than all the way across the table, especially if I am looking to dismantle him piece by piece.

As I type this, I am dealt KK in the BB. Other people are gunning for this clown as well, so I have to keep this in mind. Half the table is tilting with his 23% preflop raise. He called me cleanly and we are heads up. I didn’t take him for nearly as much as I wanted. I want it all. I am sure after the last beat; he knows that I’m gunning for him. He knows everyone is.

I observed him over roughly 200 hands, raising and continuing, stealing, just running over the entire table. When I first sat down, I knew he was “that guy.” I have to wonder though; did simply knowing this, seeing him all-in on a board he completely missed with Ace-x have me on “tilt” of sorts? Did this fact alone impair my judgment, even if it was ever so slight? We’ll dive into “the hand” and “the comment” to see.

I am looking to pick my spot, and dealt jack-eight suited in the big blind. Once again, he is sitting all the way across the table at this time, and he throws in a min raise, which two people including myself call cleanly. The flop comes jack-three-five. If he is Ax, he has outs. He seemed to have a pattern of min raising with Ax with x>7, from what I was able to notice. I would later see that the 2x raise is Xx, with X>10 and x<7. The board “probably” hit him somehow, I think to myself as he throws out a pot bet. I have top pair, “ok” kicker, so I play ball with him. I raise into him. He re-raises me, which I have seen him do with virtually nothing. My judgment slightly impaired, I re-re-raise to all-in. I am confident I have the best hand. I do not think he has a jack, probably low pair and an over card to me. There is one heart on the board, so I have the possibility of runner-runner flush, I think to myself.

Well, the good news is that my read was somewhat correct, in that I did in fact have the best hand. He had a jack… and a six. I had a jack… and an eight. The six comes on the turn; he has two pair and tells me “I knew you were bluffing.” If I was not already tilting, that comment does the trick. I sign off, take a quick walk around the block, come back and sit next to him, calm… composed. I will get that money back. It does not need to come from him, but I will get it back.

The fact of the matter is that this hand “may” have been what some people consider a “bad beat.” I do not. I wanted him with the better hand, him calling down or pushing with the lesser. I got exactly what I wanted. The only regrets I have (and no, it was not that turn card either), is that I chose to make this play with “that hand,” combined with the way I played pre-flop (calling out of position, not representing strength).

In looking back, Jack eight suited is not really a “strong” hand. It is definitely not a top pair hand. Its better suited (no pun intended) for its connectivity and the ability to make a straight. Two pair, for that matter, can get a brotha’ in trouble if not careful. Heads up against a random hand, J8s is 54% to win preflop. Against his hand range for that min raise, it is a coin toss. However, I am 80% against my read post flop, assuming my read is dead on. Using “after the fact math,” something I do not condone, I am still roughly 80% on that board. Hand ranges are better to calculate more realistic results (which is why I do not buy into the after the fact computations showing who was ahead and using that as my “how could he call?” indicator).

Did I have the edge when I made this move? Absolutely. Would I have been better served to wait for a better opportunity, which included being in position and raising preflop? Damn right. Did I misplay from OOP? Probably.

I am still re-adjusting to the no limit game. For the most part, I have been successful. I seem to forget where I am at from time to time though. I have called once when I was card dead, and another time when I was dominated. Those two were the only costly “total mistakes” of note. The hand I just discussed was a mistake as well, but not as large of a mistake (just as costly). I have a lot of work to do during this NL project of mine. TPGK is not always good to go. Nor is TPTK all the time, depending on the pre-flop story told. I have to keep in mind that while limit is a game of exploiting slight edges, no limit is a game of doubling through your opposition. Hands that are “playable” in limit are not nearly as playable in no limit. The re-raise can easily put you in a “shit or get off the pot scenario,” as often a re-raise results in the opposing donk pushing all-in, instead of that dramatic and deliberate build-up in limit, where the three bet comes into play. Nope, fast forward to all-in.

As stated, in limit you push your slight edges. In no limit, you pick your spots. Yes, as we speak, the sticky tab is going on the monitor. Right on cue, “Mr. 63%” took a hike. I marked him and will play wherever he chooses to sit down. Another one sat down, however… to my left this time. He is apparently a Jack Black fan, as his name is one of the songs Jack’s band sings (read: the hero to nasty man).

Other ramblings, as promised…

Congrats goes out to CheckRayz member gary812 for taking down the May CheckRayz Challenge. Gary generated the most net revenue for the month of May at our featured rooms, thus he takes down a cool $100 from the Beer Guy. Thanks to everyone who participated in the challenge. Individual poker room winners and prizes will be announced within the next week.

On the calendar

Tonight at 10pm EDT, Kiwi Poker is the stop for the CheckRayz Leaderboard Poker Tour, where we have one seat to the 10K guaranteed added to the prize pool. The buy-in for tonight’s event is $3+.30. Check back over the weekend, as I will have a special offer for Poker Pub readers regarding Kiwi Poker. This too will be part of the June CheckRayz Challenge.

Saturday at 5pm, the CheckRayz Leaderboard Poker Tour returns to the official tour sponsor, River Belle Poker for a $1+.10, $50 added poker tournament. The tournament is located under private multi-table tournaments.

Passwords for both events are available on the CheckRayz Poker Tournament Schedule page.

CheckRayz Challenge

The first leg of the June CheckRayz Challenge has been announced. Rake 50 hands at .50/1 or higher at Celeb Poker and qualify for the $500 freeroll poker tournament in July. This is an easy qualification process, with the opportunity to play for a sweet prize pool. Don’t be shy, download, deposit and play today. Members of CheckRayz, who download through my link are also eligible for a special 250% first time deposit bonus, as opposed to the normal 50% bonus Celeb are currently offering. Please note, only those who have downloaded through me and met the play requirements will be eligible for the $500 freeroll.

As mentioned, there will be multiple legs in the June CheckRayz Challenge. The second leg will be at Kiwi Poker. Stay tuned for details…

Blogger Poker Tour

The blogger poker tour is back this weekend, with Haley being the host. In case you didn’t know, the Blogger Poker Tour is sending a blogger to the WSOP, fully equipped with chip, chair, gear, and more. If you have a blog, and are a blogger, this is a no-brainer. Register, play, and compete for the wsop prize package. More great prizes are also available, such as poker tables, a sweet monitor, ipods, Gear and more!

This just in… Haley has a bounty on her head in the event this weekend, which equates to a direct entry into the grand finals. Details regarding the bounty and password for this weekend’s event can be found on Haley's poker blog. Bloggers wishing to join can do so via this blogger poker tour link. Be sure to tell them the beer guy sent ya!

Legislation on Poker

More and more, I am beginning to think we need to rename our country “The People’s Republic of America” when I read about new legislation enacted and/or proposed. As many of you know, there has been legislation proposed in congress to not only ban internet gambling, but also to have the internet service provider block access to gambling related websites. This legislation made it out of the committee, but has not yet gone to the floor for a vote. Coincidentally, The People’s Republic of China has successfully strong-armed Google to block access to websites in which the Chinese Government does not approve. Are we making the path to China becoming “more like us” much shorter?

Additionally, “The Great State of Washington” decided to make it a felony for the citizens of their state to engage in online gambling. The law went into effect this week. They have no plan for as to how they will enforce this law, however, the law is in fact on the books.

Back to poker table action

Some donkey, appropriately named “Donkeyman” (by his own choosing, I imagine) just pushed all-in preflop with King six suited from the big blind. UTG limper called with ace six not suited. DM caught on the river. This table is sweetening more and more by the second.

A final note...

Wow, seems like I put out a week’s worth of commentary in one post. I suspect it is because my writer’s block has gone away for the time being, at least. Well… that combined with the need to re-focus myself, and it doesn’t hurt that I have made progress in getting things done behind the scenes.

I leave by giving a shout-out to my friend Scott, who qualified for regionals last night through the World Tavern Poker Tour. He had his back against the wall, and NEEDED to win last night to gain access to regional. With the Beer Guy’s Harrington on Hold’em vol. 2 as his guide, he called his shot and took down the event. Way to go Scott!

Mike

Poker
Blogger Poker Tour
Thoughts on Poker
CheckRayz Announcements

2006/06/08

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CheckRayz News

2006/06/05

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Must be something to the “90th minute”

Our Outdoor Soccer Season starts tonight and the world cup is just around the corner, so I figured I would give this entry a soccer feel to it. Speaking of the world cup, you heard it first on the Poker Pub (which means it must be true, right?); the US will not go through to the second round. I repeat, the US National squad will not go through to the second round (read: they will finish last in their group).

In fact, it is far more likely the world ends tomorrow (you can actually bet on this) than for the US to win the cup. “Beer guy, how can you say that?” you ask. I look no further than our “back-up” keeper, Tim Howard. He failed to get one start all season long at United, yet he is our number two guy? I’d be willing to bet he has match fitness… not!

More on the World Cup later this week. Onto the point of my post. As we all know, a soccer game lasts 90 minutes (two 45-minute halves). I think there is very little more exciting than a goal in the closing minute. There’s just something about that last second effort in stoppage time that gets my heart racing and keeps me on the edge of my seat. Hitting the through-ball to the forward on the run, separation of defenders, chip on the keeper and that’s the ball game.

I’ve had my second “90th minute goal” of sorts in three days. Just like in “football”, there’s really nothing more exciting. Off we go to prima (32 Red, to be exact --- also has football ties) where the Beer Guy is UTG in the “90th minute”… Peaking at the hole cards, he sees “4-5 suited!” This is a playable hand, providing the table refuses to raise, as they have been most of the afternoon, so I limp. Two other limpers (mid position and cutoff), big blind completes. Four handed we see the flop of 6 (hearts), 7 (clubs), 2 (diamonds).

Big blind checks, middle position bets out the pot, folds around to me. With two to one odds, I make the call. I am not really wanting to raise here, and certainly not fond of folding my draw, especially considering we are in “stoppage time.” For the record, “last hand of the night” does not mean we have the green light to donk out. I knew I should not be playing this hand before even limping. I stand ready to release if the board and bet seems to go against me.

Continuing in the hand, the turn card delivers a queen of spades. This time, my opposition offers me 3 to 1. Again, I call, figuring if I take 2:1 on the flop, I’ll gladly accept 3:1 on the turn for this hand, right? The river delivers my through-ball, sending me an 8 of hearts. Keeping in mind, I do not have the nuts; I still have one “defender” to beat. I check, figuring he is going to step in. He does, with a pot-sized bet. I put the move on him, raising to place him all-in. He bites on my move and I bury the ball in the back of the net, showing a straight to his set of queens.

Overall, there has been more to my game than these last second suck outs of mine. And rest assured, they were in fact both suck outs. In fact, just to demonstrate such, we will walk through a hand where I played “more correctly” and the best hand (from your hero) held up.

Same day, same game… same position, this time I am dealt Kings under the gun. Ideally speaking, I like to limp/raise with aces, kings, AK, and 2-7o under the gun. The table, being only 5% preflop raise does not give me confidence I will have the opportunity to re-raise before the flop. That being said, I throw in a small 3x raise to see who wants to play ball. I get three callers, the semi-loose passive/aggressive button, and the small and big blinds that have yet to fold to a steal. Four handed we see a flop of Jack (clubs), 9 (hearts), 4 (clubs). Blinds check to me, and I throw out a suspicious looking 1/3 times pot bet. S-LPA puts in a raise of pot size. My suspicion is that he has either KJ, QJ, or J10, of which he may be willing to play some ball. Action folds to me and I reraise him, merely doubling his bet. He moves all-in, which doubles mine. Is he stronger than I am right now? Was he stronger pre-flop and playing possum?

Aces are unlikely, as his summary demonstrates he would have correctly re-raised preflop. Kings, well… I have kings, so unlikely. Queens? Perhaps. AK? Unlikely, especially considering the all-in move. He has to have “something.” While he could have set, I think not. I put him on a pocket pair, most likely Queens or tens. I make the call, he shows me his queens and the board misses everyone on the turn and river. My kings hold up as he calls me a… “Donk.” Nice!

More tomorrow.

Mike

Poker Strategy
Small Stakes Holdem
Poker Stories

2006/06/04

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Whoring for Bonus

(I hear the crowd cheering when it appears I won’t be discussing luck vs. skill today - I‘m cheering too, rest assured).

My goal for the month of June is to go back to bonus whoring, to some extent. Going through and looking at my respective poker accounts last week, I cannot help but notice several bonuses still pending in my accounts. It occurs to me that when I first began playing (outside of my little world known as poker.com), bonus whoring was a significant portion of my game. My goal for the week was to complete all outstanding bonuses that were worth obtaining (read: I am not going to sit on the .10/.20 cent tables to play through for a bonus. Bonus and games willing, I’ll do it, but I am not dropping down to play a ridiculous game just to achieve said bonus.

So off I went, working off my bonuses at the various poker sites I frequent. As I may or may not have mentioned, I made the switch to playing full table limit now, as opposed to the short-handed limit. It occurs to me that the semi-loose aggressive player is ideal for shorthanded play. That… is not me. I “can” play semi-loose, but really, I am more of a tight aggressive player. When I loosen up my play in ring games, I find myself outside of my comfort zone. Thus, it makes sense that I play at a table that is ideal for my style of play. After all, I preach table selection, right? Might as well go a step further and go with game selection as well.

Anyways… off to Sun Poker I go to clear my free $40 (shout out to Sharky for sending me to the donk-infested beaches of Sun Poker). $40 cleared in no time at all. Sun will be my first stop every month. Fast forwarding to the point of my writing today, PokerStars. This is my “online poker birthplace.” I got my start here, and frankly, I played as if I was a newborn when I first started playing online. Actually, a newborn could have beaten me, now that I think of it.

I had a decent size reload bonus I needed to work off, so I fire up a few tables, varying in limits and once again full table limit Hold’em being the game of choice. I couldn’t help but notice the presence of “Mr. 63%” on one of the tables. Usually, his hand looked as follows:

Pre-flop raise, continuation bet/call the reraise, turn bet/call the reraise, fold…

unless he hit, then it was

Pre-flop raise, continuation bet/re-reraise; turn bet/call, bet/re-reraise…

As his bankroll seems to dwindle down into non-existence, I suspect the table full of nine other players who are seeing less than 30% of the flop and all but two profitable will quickly break up. Just like clockwork, player busts out, fails to reload and the table begins breaking up. I have no desire to play at a cash poker table among players who are seeing 20-25% of the flops, raising 10%, post-flop aggression factors above 2. So, smartly I depart, looking for a “better” game. Fortunately, I kept “Mr. 63%” marked, so I tracked him down to a $1/$2 NL table. This could be fun, I thought. I was showing profit and close to working my bonus off, so I shut down the remaining two limit tables, in favor of playing against “Mr.63%.” Moreover, I was “outside of my world” here. Unfortunately for me, he left quickly. However, the game was somewhat donk infested, so I decided to stay, but only until I achieved my bonus play-through requirements.

I sat down with twice table minimum in this game, which was less than the max, of course. My goal was to take a shot, but to do so smartly. The table was not very aggressive pre-flop and people only seemed to bet when they hit their hands. In short, it was a non-hostile, mostly transparent table. Two players in particular I had noticed playing hands like Queen-two suited, or Jack-eight “not suited” under the gun and to a limp. Usually three to four players would see the flop per hand. Players seemed to raise A-x and large pocket pairs preflop, but avoided raising other hands, even in position.

It was on my final hand, that I had my donk-like moment. Keeping in mind that I know the very next hand in which the rake becomes “enough“ my bonus is released. The hand plays out as follows:

Two players are sitting out. I limp after two folds and a call. The player to my left (one of the out of position donks) raises, making it 4x BB. The small blind folds and big blind calls, because that is what the BB does. Player sitting to my right calls, so I too cleanly call. I have the pot odds to call and see a flop with my hand. I’m thinking raiser has Ax, with X most likely 9-Q. In the event he had a large pocket pair, he would have tipped us off with a larger than 4x raise, I suspect. If the blinds have a large pocket pair, or AK-A10, they reraise here. My preliminary suspicion is that one of the two acting before me has Ax (x=small) and the other is suited somehow or might even have an ace, who knows. I am rather certain, however, that at least two of my three opponents are spending at least one of the other’s outs.

The flop comes Ah, 2h, 7d. I nearly forgot to mention that I am holding 6h-7h. The BB checks, player to my right checks, as do I. Original raiser pushes out a “bet pot” move. I suspect if he bets the pot, he is not trying to extract value or suck anyone in. I believe he has a pair, but not a set, nor is he on a flush draw. BB calls. The ace scares him off if he does not have one of his own. Player to my right folds. Thinking this one over for a bit, I count my outs. I’m on a flush draw (potentially 9 outs), I have middle pair (2 potential outs) and my other card may or may not have outs (I’ll call it ½ of an out). Obviously, no one has the hearted ace, as it’s on the board. I have neither of them on Ace-King or two pair, as the hand would have been re-raised before getting back to me, I suspect. Additionally, the bettor would not have pushed out a pot-sized bet, in my opinion, based on how the table has played out previously. He would want to suck value from his two pair, even if it were ace-two, while at the same time, not giving the odds to draw to the flush or the better two pair.

Considering all, I throw out the all-in re-raise, which offers about 2.5:1 odds to the original raiser, I am certain he is going to be a taker. The blind may or may not join in, but I am not very worried about him, as his stack was small, relatively speaking and he‘d not cover my all-in bet. Did I mention this was my last hand of the evening, win or lose? Pot is full and split. Turn comes off 5 of spades, and the river brings the king of hearts (told you no one was playing A-K, or at least A-K with the king being hearted).

My flush, ace high shows down, muck from opponent number 1 (ace-queen not suited though queen was hearted), pot slides to me. Second opponent mucks (Ac-8c). Main pot also slides to me.

Once again, this was somewhat donk-like of a play for me, and a bit out of character. However, (here comes the justification), my bonus was replacing my loss if I lost the hand (and then some). I was confident that if one of my nine flush outs came my way, I was good. I was confident that I had more outs clean than my opposition did. It was my last hand of the evening, and I was close to a “Freeroll” situation, given the above. Had this hand played out earlier in the day, or without the bonus riding on the line, I would have likely folded.

I knew calling this hand after the raise/call was incorrect, even though I had the pot odds and raising was “more correct.” Folding was an option, but “just was not going to happen,” given all of the above.

More from the felt tomorrow.

Mike

Poker Strategy
Small Stakes Holdem

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