Didn't you say...? What the...?

Yes, I said live casino report... twice, as a matter of fact... "So, where's the reports, right? I know, you must be a losing player... otherwise, you'd freely report on the games."

Actually, I did go 0 for 2 this past week. However, sad to disappoint, I did not have losing sessions. I had no sessions at all, as a matter of fact. (More after the break).

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This past week - one "bad beat" after another... but wait a minute, I do not believe in bad beats, only bad plays... Fair enough - two "misplayed hands" this week cost me live play.

First, the charity game and soccer night were one in the same. That left Tuesday open for me to do whatever I choose. I naturally chose to make a casino run. For a few weeks now, I've seen this bus leave from a shopping center up the road a bit. So, on Tuesday, I set the alarm, grabbed the bankroll and pushed north to hit the bus.

I board the bus and find out that we're heading to a smaller casino than the one I normally frequent when I play live. No worries though, as they do in fact have a poker room. I get there, only to find out that the card room is empty/closed. Additionally, when I start asking around, it seems that no one working during the day can tell me anything about their card room. It seems that I sit for five hours watching everyone play bingo and that ends my poorly played hand. No worries though, Saturday I am planning to go up too!

Saturday rolls around and the actor and I pack up for a 14 hour session. Our plan was to get there by noon and stay until 4am or we had no opposition, whichever came first. I considered shutting my phone off as soon as I got in the car, as I did not wish for anything to distract or de-rail my mission.

We talk strategy on the way up, passing the time in a productive manner. Five minutes prior to arrival at the casino, I hear this ever so eerie noise. For those who don't know, when my telephone rings, I have the theme song from the movie Halloween, so when I say eerie noise, I mean it.

I look down and mention to the actor that he's calling me. Of course, his house would not be calling unless it was an emergency. Sparing details, there was an "incident" and we had to turn around and head for home. Again, no live play.

I did manage to play at "the host's" house Sunday for a special edition of the "monthly game." We played .05/.10 NL for about 5 hours. We played at a full table, I was in the hole until the last hand, which I dug myself out of. I was at about a 55-60% saw flop rate. Of course, this table did not have the ideal players to implement that strategy, but no matter... I just wanted to have fun, throw some chips around and play... And play I did. I donked around and sucked out on the last hand to recoup nearly all my losses.

Charity game is tonight on the home front. CheckRayz League at Bugsy's Club on the virtual felt. I'm still looking into the answer about how leaderboard points are awarded, so as soon as I have that info, I shall pass it along to all of you.

Have a great day...

Mike


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I wonder if I'll be able to successfully drop the hammer?

And I see I'm not the only one entered... Nice!

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"but i was 75% preflop, how could you call?"

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As poker players, we hear that a lot, don't we? Especially online, where we have plenty of time and resources to crunch the numbers.

Usually these words are uttered in the context of complaining and whining. I am here to tell you... and the whiners, what you already really know... deep down. Just like having a static, one style approach to poker, this line of thinking is flawed.


My buddy Gerg (Greg backwards, pronounced as it sits) and I were talking poker last night. Of which, the whining part came up. It occured to me that I hear entirely too much "didn't he know that I had (insert hand such as pocket 4's, 7s, Kings, AKs here)? And then they follow up with "how could he call, I was 70%?"

For starters, maybe the "caller" thinks you're a donkey... and hopefully if he thinks that, it's wrongfully so. But maybe, just maybe he thinks you have a weak hand or are bluffing. As poker players, we do sometimes like people to think we're bluffing when we are not, right? Don't we also sometimes want players to call with weak hands - or at least hands weaker than ours?


Also, what's this 70% stuff you're talking about preflop? If you're playing against a good player, he's probably got you on a hand range preflop... If you're not playing against a good player, he has no clue you even have a hand. He's not thinking past his own foxhole.

Additionally, pondering how they could have called THERE is flawed. Put yourself in their head. Understanding who they are and what motivates them will help you to better understand how to defeat them. You can't think that you'd never call there with ace king, because to them, Ace king is a made hand! Know this, understand this, embrace and accept this, because it is EXACTLY how it is... People play their style, not yours. Be flexable, think like they do... figure out what mistakes they make, and why they make them. Commit to making adjustments to your game to best exploit their errors, which can also include PURPOSELY MAKING MISTAKES TO GET THEM TO SCREW UP.

The point is... and I know I've made this same point before... First off, know how other players view you RIGHT NOW. Second, have an idea what level thinker you're up against. Do they even know you have a hand or do they think you think that they think they have exactly AK?

Third, don't fall into the "but i was 70% preflop" trap. If it's me, I'm AT LEAST a cointoss on your range, and probably a favorite. If it's a bad player, they don't even know what you mean by incorrectly stating you're 70%.

And finally, don't assume that your opposition thinks just like you... Get into their heads, don't place your head into their situation. Exploit their mistakes...


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If there’s a death switch it’s been thrown. If there’s such a thing as the Poker Pub cover jinx, it’s in full effect.

Specifically, a -360 BB freefall over a two day span is what I am referring to. This comes after building up nearly 300 BB’s.

Type your summary here


Why is this, do you ask? A bit of it is due to poor plays, bad reads, etc. Some more due to things such as set over set, flushed over sets, drawn straights over full boats, four to a flush, four to a straight, counterfeited boards… There’s many reasons. And they’re all happening Thankfully, Poker.com’s hand history has been disabled, so as to be protected from reliving this pain.

Earlier today, the entire poker room crashed. I suspect that was divine intervention, a clue from the “poker gods” telling me that it was time to take a break… Or perhaps not…

Perhaps it is because I am slow playing hands to death, allowing myself to get outdrawn. After all, I “know” everyone is over betting their hands. Or maybe it’s because my “I have two pair because I played shit cards and I’m way out of position… he he he” is starting to look entirely too familiar to my slightly more aware than I‘d give them credit for opposition.

Or, maybe it’s because I am trying to look like a donkey at times, using purposely “incorrect” strategy to try to keep the opposition guessing.

Who knows, it could even be the issue of going from Level 3 thinking back to level zero… slipping down the ladder without realizing it.

What I do know is that there’s a big old kink in my game right this very moment. When my back is kinked, I often apply pressure to the kinked muscle, until I get a pulse, the muscle relaxes, resets and is good as new. Maybe I need the same thing to occur within my game. Pressure, relax, reset…

Here’s to taking the day off tommorrow --- I will be at the P4E tourney, but otherwise, it's Affiliate tourney tonight at Poker.com, BPT on Saturday (full coverage right here on the Poker Pub, by the way), and Sunday, back to Poker.com for the monthly $50K. Other than that, I'm not resuming ring game play until at least Monday...

Mike