Showing posts with label Friday Night Poker. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Friday Night Poker. Show all posts
Sunday, May 15, 2011
Back on Track???
I've been playing break-even poker for a couple of months now. This weekend however, I won 4 out of 6 games. It's really difficult to win consistently when you play against the same group of guys every week. Familiarity necessitates frequent change-ups with these guys. A couple of them have really improved over the past few months, making winning much less than a foregone conclusion, but the enhanced level of competition is pretty fun. Anyways, I haven't blogged in quite a while. So, I figured I would commemorate today's 3 for 3 showing with a new post. Thanks to all of my buddies for playing at my poker room today.
Thursday, March 17, 2011
Just Playing Math in Texas Hold'em
I love this subject because it's the math of poker. In my Friday Night Games, I started saying, "I'm just playing math." It's really maddening sometimes to know the math of poker, especially the odds of hitting draws (or really the odds of hitting any card). It's maddening because of how much fun it is to play and not fold, but smart poker relies on playing the odds.
Many of the guys I play with regularly REALLY like to have fun playing poker - I mean seriously, really like to have fun. And the trade off to fun is WINNING in the long-run because smart poker requires folding and not getting involved in many hands.
What? Folding! And then there's Friday Night Poker. I'm not risking all that much to play with my friends, so it's OK. But, like I said, this is a fun topic and I'm going to write about it anyways.
So, the odds of hitting draws on the river are really, really bad. It's the rule of 2 which says that you multiply your outs by 2 (with only the river card to go) and that gives you the percentage chance of success. So, the best possible draw you can have is an open-ended straight draw, along with a flush draw, and add that one of your hole cards is an Ace that if it hit could possibly win the hand. So, you have 4 cards to a flush already, leaving 9 other flush cards. Add to that 6 of the remaining non-flush cards that could make your straight, and the remaining 2 non-flush Aces and you've got yourself a solid 17 OUTS.
Now multiply those 17 outs by 2 and you get a whopping 34% chance of hitting a winning hand. That's basically a 1 in 3 chance of success, but a 2 in 3 chance of failure. But wait! What if you're up against another flush draw hand or another open-ended straight draw hand and that person hits too and has a higher flush or straight? Well, now you're just screwed all the way. You might think that a scenario like that is too unlikely to really happen and true, the odds of that aren't super high, but I've seen it.
Last week, I saw 2 guys hit a Jack High Straight by the turn and river, while a 3rd guy also hit his Jack High Straight on the River (seriously, this really happened). Guess what? Guy #3 actually made a Jack High Straight Flush and won the hand. The really sick thing about that, is that his odds of hitting that Jack of diamonds were about 49 to 1 against, but for some people, hitting that hand is all they need to chase cards for the rest of their poker lives.
But back to our 2 out of 3 chances of failure scenario. The only way you can make a call where 2 out of 3 times you will fail is if you get more than those same odds in the pot. So, you need to make 3 to 1 or more on your money to even consider calling river bets. And there you go playing math again.
At a game like I play on Friday nights, you have 4 to 6 guys that are generally willing to call down to the river - regardless of the odds. If you have 1 or 2 guys who do this, then you have a very profitable game in the long-run, but with 4 to 6 people doing it, you're very likely going to simply lose your mind.
Many of the guys I play with regularly REALLY like to have fun playing poker - I mean seriously, really like to have fun. And the trade off to fun is WINNING in the long-run because smart poker requires folding and not getting involved in many hands.
What? Folding! And then there's Friday Night Poker. I'm not risking all that much to play with my friends, so it's OK. But, like I said, this is a fun topic and I'm going to write about it anyways.
So, the odds of hitting draws on the river are really, really bad. It's the rule of 2 which says that you multiply your outs by 2 (with only the river card to go) and that gives you the percentage chance of success. So, the best possible draw you can have is an open-ended straight draw, along with a flush draw, and add that one of your hole cards is an Ace that if it hit could possibly win the hand. So, you have 4 cards to a flush already, leaving 9 other flush cards. Add to that 6 of the remaining non-flush cards that could make your straight, and the remaining 2 non-flush Aces and you've got yourself a solid 17 OUTS.
Now multiply those 17 outs by 2 and you get a whopping 34% chance of hitting a winning hand. That's basically a 1 in 3 chance of success, but a 2 in 3 chance of failure. But wait! What if you're up against another flush draw hand or another open-ended straight draw hand and that person hits too and has a higher flush or straight? Well, now you're just screwed all the way. You might think that a scenario like that is too unlikely to really happen and true, the odds of that aren't super high, but I've seen it.
Last week, I saw 2 guys hit a Jack High Straight by the turn and river, while a 3rd guy also hit his Jack High Straight on the River (seriously, this really happened). Guess what? Guy #3 actually made a Jack High Straight Flush and won the hand. The really sick thing about that, is that his odds of hitting that Jack of diamonds were about 49 to 1 against, but for some people, hitting that hand is all they need to chase cards for the rest of their poker lives.
But back to our 2 out of 3 chances of failure scenario. The only way you can make a call where 2 out of 3 times you will fail is if you get more than those same odds in the pot. So, you need to make 3 to 1 or more on your money to even consider calling river bets. And there you go playing math again.
At a game like I play on Friday nights, you have 4 to 6 guys that are generally willing to call down to the river - regardless of the odds. If you have 1 or 2 guys who do this, then you have a very profitable game in the long-run, but with 4 to 6 people doing it, you're very likely going to simply lose your mind.
Monday, December 27, 2010
Texas Holdem: Not Another Bad Beat Story
This is NOT another bad beat story. Nobody wants to hear about that anyways. Suck-outs on the river, a term I just came up with - "River Boats", chasers, miracle inside straights, and the list goes on. These bad beats are a fact of life in Texas Hold'em that serious players just have to be able to live with in exchange for long-term profits. I've taken some seriously bad beats in the last few months, but during that time I've also learned something very valuable about the reason for those so-called bad beats. The lesson? It's my own damn fault!
That's right. Nobody else is to blame for the bad beats I've taken. Not the old man who sucked out a flush on the river at Winstar. Not the all-camo guy who bluffed me off of pocket kings at Winstar (with pocket 4's). And not the kid who "River Boated" me on Sunday afternoon. It's not the guy at Friday Night Poker that loves chasing river cards either (actually the 3 or 4 guys - affectionately).
Most people don't actively calculate the odds of hitting that miracle card. Actually, lots of guys don't even know how to calculate the odds. We're supposed to love playing with chasers because the odds are so bad against them hitting and in favor of us making a profit. I can live with it because the odds are against hitting for chasers. The "rule of 2" says that to hit the river, you have to multiply your outs by 2. So, to hit a flush on the river, you have 9 possible outs. Times 2, that's 18% that your flush card will hit. Put another way, you have an 82% chance of failure.
What about an open-ended straight draw AND a flush draw on the river (and forget that someone else could have already hit their flush at the turn)? Well, here you have 9 flush cards and 8 other cards for the straight (at the most). Now you have 17 outs! Congratulations - you still have a 2 out of 3 chance to fail. That's almost as good as it gets. Don' get me wrong. That's the kind of river I'm probably going to chase too, especially if I have an A or K that I could also pair on the river which would give me 3 additional outs (which is very unlikely to begin with).
So, with those river odds, I guess I want to play with a few chasers. And now back to my main point. It's not their fault when they hit and I lose. It's mine. I think it was Alan Schoonmaker, PH.D. who said that "aggression is the ultimate equalizer" in poker. What an enlightening statement!
The guy who hit his river flush did so because I didn't bet him off of it after the flop. His stack was way bigger than mine. $35 wasn't getting that done. All in! The pocket 4 bluffer? Something inside of me said he didn't have it, but the devil on my shoulder got me to fold. That's because the devil on the other shoulder wasn't asshole enough to push All in! The "river boat" was absolutely my fault. I checked to maximize profit and the miracle river card hit. Checking is weakness in Texas Hold'em. I deserved it. I let the remaining 2 sixes in a 52-card deck become a factor and he hit one of them.
If aggression is the ultimate equalizer in poker, then I'll use it. I have to use it and I can't worry about it upsetting guys at the table (especially the loose-aggressive / loose-passive table I play at every week). Why would I worry about it upsetting someone at the table anyways? I don't know, but there's an interesting true story about it.
A few weeks ago, I came to play a very different game that I usually play. I raised all of my premium hands. Checks to me led to raises of 3 or 4 times the BB or 3 times the previous bet. My initial bets were 1/3 to 1/2 the pot. I took full advantage of my good hands and my good position. This style worked. My chip stack was nearly double the person in 2nd place. Aggression was the ultimate equalizer. I wasn't bluffing (at least not more than anyone else). I was just playing my hands, position, and my reads on the other guys.
So, here's the point. One of the guys was noticeably irritated with me and I happen to really like and respect him a lot. I got pocket 6's and checked them on the button with some callers ahead of me. The flop came Q, 6, and something else. After everyone else checked around to me, I bet my set with a healthy raise. The SB (whom I like and respect) angrily shoved all in. He was probably frustrated because I was raising him off of his hands most of the game. Everyone else folded back around to me and I did something that I will never do again. Want to guess what that was?
I "contemplated" my hand, appeard to "struggle" with my decision, and folded my set face down saying, "I can't beat your set." He showed me his bluff (of course I knew he didn't have anything) and I patted him on the back and told him what a great move he made on me.
That's right. Nobody else is to blame for the bad beats I've taken. Not the old man who sucked out a flush on the river at Winstar. Not the all-camo guy who bluffed me off of pocket kings at Winstar (with pocket 4's). And not the kid who "River Boated" me on Sunday afternoon. It's not the guy at Friday Night Poker that loves chasing river cards either (actually the 3 or 4 guys - affectionately).
Most people don't actively calculate the odds of hitting that miracle card. Actually, lots of guys don't even know how to calculate the odds. We're supposed to love playing with chasers because the odds are so bad against them hitting and in favor of us making a profit. I can live with it because the odds are against hitting for chasers. The "rule of 2" says that to hit the river, you have to multiply your outs by 2. So, to hit a flush on the river, you have 9 possible outs. Times 2, that's 18% that your flush card will hit. Put another way, you have an 82% chance of failure.
What about an open-ended straight draw AND a flush draw on the river (and forget that someone else could have already hit their flush at the turn)? Well, here you have 9 flush cards and 8 other cards for the straight (at the most). Now you have 17 outs! Congratulations - you still have a 2 out of 3 chance to fail. That's almost as good as it gets. Don' get me wrong. That's the kind of river I'm probably going to chase too, especially if I have an A or K that I could also pair on the river which would give me 3 additional outs (which is very unlikely to begin with).
So, with those river odds, I guess I want to play with a few chasers. And now back to my main point. It's not their fault when they hit and I lose. It's mine. I think it was Alan Schoonmaker, PH.D. who said that "aggression is the ultimate equalizer" in poker. What an enlightening statement!
AGGRESSION IS THE ULTIMATE EQUALIZER
The guy who hit his river flush did so because I didn't bet him off of it after the flop. His stack was way bigger than mine. $35 wasn't getting that done. All in! The pocket 4 bluffer? Something inside of me said he didn't have it, but the devil on my shoulder got me to fold. That's because the devil on the other shoulder wasn't asshole enough to push All in! The "river boat" was absolutely my fault. I checked to maximize profit and the miracle river card hit. Checking is weakness in Texas Hold'em. I deserved it. I let the remaining 2 sixes in a 52-card deck become a factor and he hit one of them.
If aggression is the ultimate equalizer in poker, then I'll use it. I have to use it and I can't worry about it upsetting guys at the table (especially the loose-aggressive / loose-passive table I play at every week). Why would I worry about it upsetting someone at the table anyways? I don't know, but there's an interesting true story about it.
A few weeks ago, I came to play a very different game that I usually play. I raised all of my premium hands. Checks to me led to raises of 3 or 4 times the BB or 3 times the previous bet. My initial bets were 1/3 to 1/2 the pot. I took full advantage of my good hands and my good position. This style worked. My chip stack was nearly double the person in 2nd place. Aggression was the ultimate equalizer. I wasn't bluffing (at least not more than anyone else). I was just playing my hands, position, and my reads on the other guys.
So, here's the point. One of the guys was noticeably irritated with me and I happen to really like and respect him a lot. I got pocket 6's and checked them on the button with some callers ahead of me. The flop came Q, 6, and something else. After everyone else checked around to me, I bet my set with a healthy raise. The SB (whom I like and respect) angrily shoved all in. He was probably frustrated because I was raising him off of his hands most of the game. Everyone else folded back around to me and I did something that I will never do again. Want to guess what that was?
I "contemplated" my hand, appeard to "struggle" with my decision, and folded my set face down saying, "I can't beat your set." He showed me his bluff (of course I knew he didn't have anything) and I patted him on the back and told him what a great move he made on me.
I WILL NEVER DO THAT AGAIN.
Since that night, I've won 2 out of 10 games. At various times in almost all of those games, I've had nice sized chip stacks too that I should have eventually won with. I'm going to Vegas in less than 3 weeks and this crap I'm throwing out is going to get me killed! Yesterday, I suffered 4 straight losses. I didn't sleep well last night, to say the least. Who loses sleep over low-stakes poker games? Me! Most of the guys I play with play for fun. I want the fun too, along with being able to hang out with a lot of really great men. But I play to win and I would play that way even if there was no money at stake. I just want to win.
I don't think I'm God's gift to poker and that I should win every game just by showing up. That's crazy. I'm still relatively new at this game. Rob and Chris are great players that make me want to be better. Prescott's maniac game can put an entire table badly off balance. I've seen Charlie make some seriously disciplined lay downs that I've learned from. Spain's loose-passive style can trap you and his big hands will shut you down. Cody's unpredictable and not scared to bluff and chase the river. Brandon's hard to push off of a hand. Keith is the most improved player at the table who's really starting to put a serious game together. Larry can push a big stack around as good as anyone (and plays Q 3 like champ) and George could literally have anything in any hand.
But this is not another bad beat story and I'm not whining about my recent losses. I'm grateful for them. They made me wake up and pull my head out. I'm not having fun when I lose 8 out of 10 games. Losing SUCKS! I'm going to start playing my big hands big - period. My style has to be Tight-Aggressive. I'll either wait for cards or position, and then I'll get the best of it. If I get "rivered", so be it. That river won't be free. I'll still get my butt handed to me from time to time, but it won't be because I didn't do my best to equalize.
That's it.
Saturday, December 11, 2010
Texas Holdem: 10,000 Hours to Achieve Greatness
I'm listening to the book by Malcolm Gladwell, called "Outliers". In his book, Gladwell points out that throughout history, greatness has come from, among other things, 10,000 hours of practice. He names several important historical figures that became great after 10,000 hours of working on their trade. To this point, the most interesting 10,000 hour story that I've heard is Bill Gates of Microsoft, but plenty of others come to mind fairly easily: Michael Jordan, Tiger Woods, Brett Favre . . . . Doyle Brunson.
I've only been playing poker for about 3 years. Gladwell says that it takes at least 10 years to hit 10,000 hours, but that's about 3 hours per day, 7 days per week. 3 hours per day isn't easy. Most of us have very busy lives. And 10 years? I don't know if I can stand to wait 10 years for greatness. Anyways, I haven't put in 3 hours per day. Gosh!
I've played live and online probably about 12 hours per week and I've watched poker on TV about 2 hours per week. That's just 2 hours per day. And, now I'm reading books on Texas Hold'em. For what it's worth, I think about poker probably about 16 hours per day, on and off. I even dream about it sometimes, but not about winning or losing. My dreams are usually about playing specific hands - kind of hard to explain.
Anyways, I'm pretty sure that thinking and dreaming about something doesn't count towards my 10,000 hours, so I probably have about 12 long years of consistent practice before I achieve greatness in poker. Bummer - 12 years of playing poker. : )
If anyone wants to put together a regular Texas Hold'em game, count me in. I need the practice.
I've only been playing poker for about 3 years. Gladwell says that it takes at least 10 years to hit 10,000 hours, but that's about 3 hours per day, 7 days per week. 3 hours per day isn't easy. Most of us have very busy lives. And 10 years? I don't know if I can stand to wait 10 years for greatness. Anyways, I haven't put in 3 hours per day. Gosh!
I've played live and online probably about 12 hours per week and I've watched poker on TV about 2 hours per week. That's just 2 hours per day. And, now I'm reading books on Texas Hold'em. For what it's worth, I think about poker probably about 16 hours per day, on and off. I even dream about it sometimes, but not about winning or losing. My dreams are usually about playing specific hands - kind of hard to explain.
Anyways, I'm pretty sure that thinking and dreaming about something doesn't count towards my 10,000 hours, so I probably have about 12 long years of consistent practice before I achieve greatness in poker. Bummer - 12 years of playing poker. : )
If anyone wants to put together a regular Texas Hold'em game, count me in. I need the practice.
Saturday, November 13, 2010
Texas Hold'em Game Transformation
Over the past several weeks, I've been literally fighting against myself in Texas Hold'em. My game has evolved from very tight to super loose and then back to variations in between. For too long, my cards were see-thru. When multiple people could call my hand, there's a serious problem. That's what instigated my current situation.
I began changing up my game and that brought win after win after win for weeks. But then, winning wasn't even satisfying. My game started being about something more than just winning. I had nights where I was in the money in all 3 games and I would drive home picking my bad moves a part. I had one game where I ended up with every single chip on the table, but all I could think about after a while was the game I got 2nd place in. What if I would have bet big instead of check? How did I misplay pocket A's so bad? Did I get bluffed on that one hand? Why couldn't I see the bluff? Even with an over-whelming winning percentage, something was wrong. I still wasn't good enough (and I'm still not).
Then, a series of things recently happened that turned it all upside down. I played a cash game at Winstar and lost $300 in a rushed effort with my wife waiting. Then, I went to New Orleans and played 6 hours only to lose $300 more. And last weekend, I went to Shreveport and lost $100 over several hours. Lose, lose, lose!!! I lost $700 in about a month's time, not to mention just barely breaking even in Friday Night Poker. You would think this probably didn't help matters very much, but it actually changed me.
These cash poker games are very aggressive. Sitting down with under-sized chip stacks and losing $700 over the course of about 12 hours opened my eyes to the fact that not only could I sit in there with big players, but I'm just on the cusp of being a big player myself. I feel like I'm very close and I learned that the #1 thing I'm missing is the thing I love most about poker - poker psychology.
I'm missing most of the tells and giving off most of them back to my opponents. I'm still an open book and my cards are still see-thru, but not for long. I had a chance lunch meeting with at attorney who just played in the WSOP main event and he placed in the top 10%, getting him into the money. We hit it off instantly and he recommended that I read Caro's Book of Poker Tells. In fact, he had it delivered to my office a couple of days later and I read it for the first time that night. Yes - I read it cover-to-cover that first night. I couldn't believe how badly I was crippling my game by giving off and not recognizing obvious tells.
So, last night I was playing Friday Night Poker with the guys and I spent most of the evening watching for tells. I still didn't win either game last night, but I did pick up some tells that saved me a lot of chips. One guy was sizing up his chip stack after seeing the flop. He had a good hand and I folded. He had me beat. Good fold. Another guy saw the flop and immediately glanced down at his chips - huge tell. Then, to add to it, he appeared to be indecisive as to whether or not to bet. That made up my mind to fold - good fold. He had it. Then, my favorite one took a little friendly manipulation on my part. I had pocket J's and the flop was all cards lower than jack, so was the turn. I bet fairly big and was raised on the flop and the turn. So, I said to the other guy, "I have a pretty big pocket pair, so if you're raising me, you must have an even bigger pair." It took a few seconds before he couldn't hold in his smile. It took even less time for me to fold my Jacks and he had pocket Kings. I'll keep watching for tells and I'm going to read the book a couple of more times too.
Finally, tonight I sat down to play a Full Tilt Poker tournament (90 players) and for the 21st time this year, I made it to the final table and ended up in 4th place. I was pretty happy with that outcome. My game purpose was to get back to "basics". I tightened back up some and primarily played a range of about 15 to 20 starting hands. I raised about 30% of the time that I bet, made some good position bets, and put in some strategic bluffs that paid off. I even loosened up a couple of times to suck out on the river, which I guess you have to be able to do sometimes. Tonight, I just needed to be reminded that I could still get it done if I needed to back away from the game transformation. But then, what am I really thinking? Back away from the game transformation? Now, I have a "range" of acceptable starting hands, a calculated % of raises, strategic position bets and bluffs. My game is evolving to a mix of tight and loose, aggressive and calculated.
I have no idea where my game will go next, but I do know one thing: I'm very competitive and there is nothing that I hate worse than losing at poker. But poker energizes me, so I'll weather the losing until I start winning consistently again. Hopefully a winning streak is coming.
I began changing up my game and that brought win after win after win for weeks. But then, winning wasn't even satisfying. My game started being about something more than just winning. I had nights where I was in the money in all 3 games and I would drive home picking my bad moves a part. I had one game where I ended up with every single chip on the table, but all I could think about after a while was the game I got 2nd place in. What if I would have bet big instead of check? How did I misplay pocket A's so bad? Did I get bluffed on that one hand? Why couldn't I see the bluff? Even with an over-whelming winning percentage, something was wrong. I still wasn't good enough (and I'm still not).
Then, a series of things recently happened that turned it all upside down. I played a cash game at Winstar and lost $300 in a rushed effort with my wife waiting. Then, I went to New Orleans and played 6 hours only to lose $300 more. And last weekend, I went to Shreveport and lost $100 over several hours. Lose, lose, lose!!! I lost $700 in about a month's time, not to mention just barely breaking even in Friday Night Poker. You would think this probably didn't help matters very much, but it actually changed me.
These cash poker games are very aggressive. Sitting down with under-sized chip stacks and losing $700 over the course of about 12 hours opened my eyes to the fact that not only could I sit in there with big players, but I'm just on the cusp of being a big player myself. I feel like I'm very close and I learned that the #1 thing I'm missing is the thing I love most about poker - poker psychology.
I'm missing most of the tells and giving off most of them back to my opponents. I'm still an open book and my cards are still see-thru, but not for long. I had a chance lunch meeting with at attorney who just played in the WSOP main event and he placed in the top 10%, getting him into the money. We hit it off instantly and he recommended that I read Caro's Book of Poker Tells. In fact, he had it delivered to my office a couple of days later and I read it for the first time that night. Yes - I read it cover-to-cover that first night. I couldn't believe how badly I was crippling my game by giving off and not recognizing obvious tells.
So, last night I was playing Friday Night Poker with the guys and I spent most of the evening watching for tells. I still didn't win either game last night, but I did pick up some tells that saved me a lot of chips. One guy was sizing up his chip stack after seeing the flop. He had a good hand and I folded. He had me beat. Good fold. Another guy saw the flop and immediately glanced down at his chips - huge tell. Then, to add to it, he appeared to be indecisive as to whether or not to bet. That made up my mind to fold - good fold. He had it. Then, my favorite one took a little friendly manipulation on my part. I had pocket J's and the flop was all cards lower than jack, so was the turn. I bet fairly big and was raised on the flop and the turn. So, I said to the other guy, "I have a pretty big pocket pair, so if you're raising me, you must have an even bigger pair." It took a few seconds before he couldn't hold in his smile. It took even less time for me to fold my Jacks and he had pocket Kings. I'll keep watching for tells and I'm going to read the book a couple of more times too.
Finally, tonight I sat down to play a Full Tilt Poker tournament (90 players) and for the 21st time this year, I made it to the final table and ended up in 4th place. I was pretty happy with that outcome. My game purpose was to get back to "basics". I tightened back up some and primarily played a range of about 15 to 20 starting hands. I raised about 30% of the time that I bet, made some good position bets, and put in some strategic bluffs that paid off. I even loosened up a couple of times to suck out on the river, which I guess you have to be able to do sometimes. Tonight, I just needed to be reminded that I could still get it done if I needed to back away from the game transformation. But then, what am I really thinking? Back away from the game transformation? Now, I have a "range" of acceptable starting hands, a calculated % of raises, strategic position bets and bluffs. My game is evolving to a mix of tight and loose, aggressive and calculated.
I have no idea where my game will go next, but I do know one thing: I'm very competitive and there is nothing that I hate worse than losing at poker. But poker energizes me, so I'll weather the losing until I start winning consistently again. Hopefully a winning streak is coming.
Friday, October 8, 2010
Texas Holdem Game Adjustments
I haven't written anything in 2 or 3 weeks. During that time, I have just broken even in Friday Night Poker, while having probably my 2nd worst game streak in over a year. My winning prior to that could best be described as total dominance, but I've been rattled by distractions that turned my poker brain upside-down. Lately, when I've won, it's been ugly and when I've lost, it's been a result of stupid play and an utter disregard for my own personal "rules". But, I've been lucky to break even.
I've used this down time as an opportunity to grow my game and I've made some mental adjustments that should be very helpful in the long-run. I have been playing a lot of online cash poker and I spent a few hours in the poker room at the Winstar Casino. I've also done my normal routine of watching every hand played on TV. A primary adjustment that I'm making is aggressive betting - raising and re-raising, but not only with predictably good hands like, KK, QQ, AA, or JJ. I've paid special attention to the game style of Tom Dwan. Now, I understand that his style alone probably is not going to have long-term benefits, but it does serve as a nice change-up. I might, for example, play 6-8 suited like it's a pair of Q's, especially in the right position. Unpredictability is another game adjustment that I need to make. This style of play should be particularly good for that change-up.
In the past, I've shown too many of my hands after winning hands and I've confirmed when other players called my hands correctly. That has to stop. From now on, I'll only show my hands if I feel that doing so has some strategic value. Otherwise, you have to pay to see.
Finally, I'm going to try to play fewer overall hands. I read once that Hellmuth said that you should only be in about 20% of flops. So, I'm going to fold a little more often, but I also read that when betting, roughly 50% of bets should be raises so that you're not playing against so many opponents in a hand. Both of these things will help me with unpredictability and aggressiveness.
Of course, we'll see how this ultimately plays out at the table. The distractions are mostly gone now. I'm acutely aware of my recent stupid game-play. And, I've run my losing hands thru my head over and over and over again. So, I think the winning should start back up again. We'll see.
Stay tuned.
I've used this down time as an opportunity to grow my game and I've made some mental adjustments that should be very helpful in the long-run. I have been playing a lot of online cash poker and I spent a few hours in the poker room at the Winstar Casino. I've also done my normal routine of watching every hand played on TV. A primary adjustment that I'm making is aggressive betting - raising and re-raising, but not only with predictably good hands like, KK, QQ, AA, or JJ. I've paid special attention to the game style of Tom Dwan. Now, I understand that his style alone probably is not going to have long-term benefits, but it does serve as a nice change-up. I might, for example, play 6-8 suited like it's a pair of Q's, especially in the right position. Unpredictability is another game adjustment that I need to make. This style of play should be particularly good for that change-up.
In the past, I've shown too many of my hands after winning hands and I've confirmed when other players called my hands correctly. That has to stop. From now on, I'll only show my hands if I feel that doing so has some strategic value. Otherwise, you have to pay to see.
Finally, I'm going to try to play fewer overall hands. I read once that Hellmuth said that you should only be in about 20% of flops. So, I'm going to fold a little more often, but I also read that when betting, roughly 50% of bets should be raises so that you're not playing against so many opponents in a hand. Both of these things will help me with unpredictability and aggressiveness.
Of course, we'll see how this ultimately plays out at the table. The distractions are mostly gone now. I'm acutely aware of my recent stupid game-play. And, I've run my losing hands thru my head over and over and over again. So, I think the winning should start back up again. We'll see.
Stay tuned.
Saturday, September 18, 2010
Texas Hold'em: To Be Great - Learn
I'm the kind of guy who has to eventually be great at something if I'm ever going to pick it up to start with. I've always been this way. It's no fun to be bad at things, so I will only pick something up if I think I have a chance to be great. By "great," I mean being among the best (not necessarily THE best).
I started playing Texas Holdem about 3 years ago and at that time, I was just playing to hang out with the guys and have some fun. I didn't know how much I would love it though. In keeping with wanting to be among the best at things, I'm very competitive by nature. That's just part of wanting to be great at things.
Anyways - poker. I do want to be great at poker. I still remember the first No Limit Hold'em "tournament" that I won. There were 18 players at 2 tables. I made the final table and eventually won. I took a picture of all of the chips and I still have that picture. That was it for me. I beat some really good Holdem players that night and I wanted to win more.
Since that night, I've spent a lot of time playing poker and even more time studying poker (especially No Limit Texas Hold'em). I realized very early that if I ever wanted to be great, I needed to seriously LEARN to play like great players. To learn to be a really great poker player, I do all of the following things farely regularly.
1. I play 3 live poker games every week.
2. I watch poker almost every time it's on TV. If I can't see it "live," I always record it to watch later.
3. I search the internet for other poker blogs to learn about how others play and think about poker.
4. I search the internet for poker educational sites. There are lots of them out there that are really good.
5. I study the guys that I play with and I pay close attention to the way they create success at the table.
6. I spend time weekly reflecting on my own game. I tend to be brutally honest with my own game play.
7. I play online weekly at www.fulltiltpoker.com. Playing several hundred hands per week keeps me on my game and improves my Friday Night Poker games.
8. I even have a Texas Hold'em app on my Blackberry.
Texas Hold'em is like everything else when it comes to being great. You have to learn the trade (so to speak), and there is a lot to learn: The basic rules, winning hand hierarchy, basic and advanced strategies, statistical odds, and more. This will take a lot of time, but if you really love doing anything, it's worth it.
I started playing Texas Holdem about 3 years ago and at that time, I was just playing to hang out with the guys and have some fun. I didn't know how much I would love it though. In keeping with wanting to be among the best at things, I'm very competitive by nature. That's just part of wanting to be great at things.
Since that night, I've spent a lot of time playing poker and even more time studying poker (especially No Limit Texas Hold'em). I realized very early that if I ever wanted to be great, I needed to seriously LEARN to play like great players. To learn to be a really great poker player, I do all of the following things farely regularly.
1. I play 3 live poker games every week.
2. I watch poker almost every time it's on TV. If I can't see it "live," I always record it to watch later.
3. I search the internet for other poker blogs to learn about how others play and think about poker.
4. I search the internet for poker educational sites. There are lots of them out there that are really good.
5. I study the guys that I play with and I pay close attention to the way they create success at the table.
6. I spend time weekly reflecting on my own game. I tend to be brutally honest with my own game play.
7. I play online weekly at www.fulltiltpoker.com. Playing several hundred hands per week keeps me on my game and improves my Friday Night Poker games.
8. I even have a Texas Hold'em app on my Blackberry.
Texas Hold'em is like everything else when it comes to being great. You have to learn the trade (so to speak), and there is a lot to learn: The basic rules, winning hand hierarchy, basic and advanced strategies, statistical odds, and more. This will take a lot of time, but if you really love doing anything, it's worth it.
Texas Hold'em: It Helps to Hit Good Cards
OK, so I said I was going to leave stupid at home last night when I went to play poker, and I did. Looking back on the night, I can't remember one stupid move (on my part). I was back to making calculated plays, at times even reminding myself not to play stupid. There were 9 people there last night, whereas usually we have 8. So, the card "rotation" was changed slightly. We also used 2 new decks. I'm not necessarily saying that these 2 factors had anything significant to do with the outcome of the games because we had winners in all 3 games. I'm just pointing out that we had some (minor) changes last night.
What I am saying is that sometimes even if you avoid playing stupid, you still need to get good cards at least some of the time. You need good cards in your hand with matching good cards on the board (at least sometimes). Last night, I got junk hole cards in what seemed like 80% of my hands. In statistics there is a term called "mode". This is the thing that happens most frequently - not an average - just the thing that happens more often that anything else. Well unbelievably, my "mode" cards were 2-7 off. I got that ugly combination 4 times in the 2nd game and 3 times in the 1st game. I also got 2-7 suited twice. Ordinarily that wouldn't necessarily be such a big deal because that kind of stuff happens. However, on top of getting 2 7 nine times, I also got just about every junk card combination you can think of. 8-2, 9-2, 9-3, 8-3, 6-3, and on and on and on.
An undisciplined player might get tired of folding and just start playing those cards. Believe me, it was tempting, but then what? Those are the worst statistical starting hands in poker. You could get lucky from time to time, but more often than not, you're just going to lose. I played patiently, folding one hand after another. And, I played frustrated, which like I've said before, is part of the formula to losing. I would occasionally get some decent starting hands: Q-J off, J-J, 9-10 suited, A-7 suited. Those never worked out for me though. It just wasn't my night. In Texas Hold'em, even the best players (and I am not one of those guys yet) need to get cards to at least build some momentum.
So, I got off the short-lived losing streak in game 3 with a win, but it wasn't very significant to me. Only 5 of us stayed for the final game, so I only had to deal with 4 other players instead of 8. I started hitting cards with a smaller card rotation and 1 of the guys had more than a few beers in games 1 and 2, so getting his chips wasn't the hardest thing I've ever had to do. It was a win, but it wasn't a good win.
What I am saying is that sometimes even if you avoid playing stupid, you still need to get good cards at least some of the time. You need good cards in your hand with matching good cards on the board (at least sometimes). Last night, I got junk hole cards in what seemed like 80% of my hands. In statistics there is a term called "mode". This is the thing that happens most frequently - not an average - just the thing that happens more often that anything else. Well unbelievably, my "mode" cards were 2-7 off. I got that ugly combination 4 times in the 2nd game and 3 times in the 1st game. I also got 2-7 suited twice. Ordinarily that wouldn't necessarily be such a big deal because that kind of stuff happens. However, on top of getting 2 7 nine times, I also got just about every junk card combination you can think of. 8-2, 9-2, 9-3, 8-3, 6-3, and on and on and on.
An undisciplined player might get tired of folding and just start playing those cards. Believe me, it was tempting, but then what? Those are the worst statistical starting hands in poker. You could get lucky from time to time, but more often than not, you're just going to lose. I played patiently, folding one hand after another. And, I played frustrated, which like I've said before, is part of the formula to losing. I would occasionally get some decent starting hands: Q-J off, J-J, 9-10 suited, A-7 suited. Those never worked out for me though. It just wasn't my night. In Texas Hold'em, even the best players (and I am not one of those guys yet) need to get cards to at least build some momentum.
So, I got off the short-lived losing streak in game 3 with a win, but it wasn't very significant to me. Only 5 of us stayed for the final game, so I only had to deal with 4 other players instead of 8. I started hitting cards with a smaller card rotation and 1 of the guys had more than a few beers in games 1 and 2, so getting his chips wasn't the hardest thing I've ever had to do. It was a win, but it wasn't a good win.
Thursday, September 16, 2010
Friday Night Poker: 2 of Me
In the last couple of weeks, I've been 2 players.
One of me has been patient, calculated, and in a zone. The other just plays stupid! Tomorrow, I plan on leaving stupid at home. The stupid player has been distracted and unable to recognize the habits of my opponents. The stupid me makes bets with reckless abandon and without regard to what I know my opponents will do as a result.
So, I plan on taking the patient, calculated version of me to Friday Night Poker. That person understands the other players at the table. I'm going to understand that one guy will make huge bets with absolutely nothing and another guy's going to bet his top pair every time. A couple of guys are going to "know" I have them beat, but call me anyways. One guy is going to play complete wild-ass poker. Nobody will be able to predict him and another guy is going to bet huge on huge hands and then warn you not to call. Another guy will play it fairly straight, but throw in a bluff here and there, but if you call and raise, he might just fold. And finally, one really good player is going to make you make decisions for lots of your chips. Build him up and then God help you because nobody else will be able to.
But me? I'm just going to recognize my opponents and play accordingly. I might play aggressive at times and tight at others. I might have a hand, but then again, maybe not. Maybe those are pocket Jacks, but you never really know - maybe it's Aces or maybe it's just KQ off. There's a couple of guys that I won't be losing to tomorrow and there's a couple of guys that will give me a run for my money. I show up to play with those guys.
I had all week to think about tomorrow. I've been extremely distracted lately, but tomorrow - I'm bring the one of me that doesn't play stupid. If I lose tomorrow, it's because the other guys brought their A games. I look forward to a table full of A games. Stay tuned.
One of me has been patient, calculated, and in a zone. The other just plays stupid! Tomorrow, I plan on leaving stupid at home. The stupid player has been distracted and unable to recognize the habits of my opponents. The stupid me makes bets with reckless abandon and without regard to what I know my opponents will do as a result.
So, I plan on taking the patient, calculated version of me to Friday Night Poker. That person understands the other players at the table. I'm going to understand that one guy will make huge bets with absolutely nothing and another guy's going to bet his top pair every time. A couple of guys are going to "know" I have them beat, but call me anyways. One guy is going to play complete wild-ass poker. Nobody will be able to predict him and another guy is going to bet huge on huge hands and then warn you not to call. Another guy will play it fairly straight, but throw in a bluff here and there, but if you call and raise, he might just fold. And finally, one really good player is going to make you make decisions for lots of your chips. Build him up and then God help you because nobody else will be able to.
But me? I'm just going to recognize my opponents and play accordingly. I might play aggressive at times and tight at others. I might have a hand, but then again, maybe not. Maybe those are pocket Jacks, but you never really know - maybe it's Aces or maybe it's just KQ off. There's a couple of guys that I won't be losing to tomorrow and there's a couple of guys that will give me a run for my money. I show up to play with those guys.
I had all week to think about tomorrow. I've been extremely distracted lately, but tomorrow - I'm bring the one of me that doesn't play stupid. If I lose tomorrow, it's because the other guys brought their A games. I look forward to a table full of A games. Stay tuned.
Saturday, September 11, 2010
The Worst Strategy in Poker
Last night's strategy in Friday Night Football was LOSING. I don't recommend it. I want to be the first to tell you that winning is way better than losing. The game though just didn't seem serious or real. The host player wasn't there. We couldn't figure out how to work the Texas Holdem computer program. Guys weren't very serious during game play. 4 players showed up late. Once the game finally got going good, I just played unfocused and stupid. I lost that game with a full house and was beaten by a bigger full house - figures.
In game 2, we lost 2 players. I ended up having to deal for both dealers (we use 2 dealers to speed up the game), and I tried not to let that be a distraction, but it just was. I played OK in that game, but I went out in 3rd place - no money, but lots of stupid play.
Game 3 - not even worth talking about really, except that my rule of understanding the other players at the table didn't really get used. I played as if a couple of the guys wouldn't call all of my bets. I had pocket 8's, but one of the guys said he thought I had pocket K's (and there was another K on the flop), so I played my supposed set. I made a couple of huge bets and he called. By then, I was totally pot-committed (which is a term that I hate because it can be trouble), so I went all-in. Guess what? He called. His 2 pair beat my pocket 8's. I deserved to lose, but I was shocked that he made that call. I'm not sure if that was just a very gutsy call or a potential mis-play, but either way, he got me.
Where was my head last night? If you see it, please return it.
Lesson: Losing is the Worst Strategy in Poker
In game 2, we lost 2 players. I ended up having to deal for both dealers (we use 2 dealers to speed up the game), and I tried not to let that be a distraction, but it just was. I played OK in that game, but I went out in 3rd place - no money, but lots of stupid play.
Game 3 - not even worth talking about really, except that my rule of understanding the other players at the table didn't really get used. I played as if a couple of the guys wouldn't call all of my bets. I had pocket 8's, but one of the guys said he thought I had pocket K's (and there was another K on the flop), so I played my supposed set. I made a couple of huge bets and he called. By then, I was totally pot-committed (which is a term that I hate because it can be trouble), so I went all-in. Guess what? He called. His 2 pair beat my pocket 8's. I deserved to lose, but I was shocked that he made that call. I'm not sure if that was just a very gutsy call or a potential mis-play, but either way, he got me.
Where was my head last night? If you see it, please return it.
Lesson: Losing is the Worst Strategy in Poker
Saturday, September 4, 2010
Texas Holdem: Sick Winning Streak
In the last few months, I've been winning - period. I'm winnng on-line. I'm winning in Friday Night Poker. I'm winning when I'm not interested in the game. I'm winning when I'm badly distracted. I'm winning when I get bad to medium hands. And last night, I won when I couldn't miss. I got 2nd, 1st, 1st last night. My hands last night were so lucky that I was embarrarssed to keep winning. I even folded what would have turned out to be great hands, including a full house. The thing about getting cards though is that you have to play them right. I wrote a while back about not mis-playing hands: http://floppedtheboat.blogspot.com/2010/08/avoid-mis-played-poker-hands.html.
Well, I can only think of maybe 1 or 2 hands that I mis-played last night. Most of my moves last night were on purpose, meaning that even when I made questionable calls, it was for a reason. For example, I played a couple of hands all the way to the river and made small raises and straight calls and lost the hands because I didn't even have a pair. That was sort of my way of mixing up so the other guys don't "figure me out" like they used to all the time. There's a guy that I play with that I swear sometimes he can see my cards before I do. In recognition of this, I have to try to keep him guessing.
I had a couple of other winning hands that I might have folded in the past. In one of them, I hit the straight on the river. I wasn't chasing the river. The bets made just weren't big enough to get me off my hand and I hit. The river card was the 3rd club on the board and my opponent made a big bet THAT I DIDN'T BELIEVE. So, I went with my gut and made the successful call. In another hand, I had A J suited and the board paired 7's and some other small cards. It was checks on the flop and checks on the turn (keeping me in the hand) and then my opponent bet the river. I quickly calculated the odds of what I thought he had and found that the odds were against him, so I made the call and won. He also had an Ace in his hand with a smaller kicker.
I know the way I've been winning lately has to be frustrating for the guys I play with. I would be frustrated if I was them. Then again, frustration is a weakness in poker because it brings a loss of focus, but it's hard to avoid sometimes. Right now, I'm questioning my poker ability because this kind of winning makes me wonder how much of my success is pure luck. I'm happy to have it on my side for as long as possible, but in the bigger picture, luck isn't why I want to win. I'm going to be re-evaluating my actual skills over the next week. Some of the guys I play with are too good for me to hope for luck each time I set down. I want to be good enough to play with anyone. I'm not there yet and that's going to be my focus.
This has been a sick streak though.
Well, I can only think of maybe 1 or 2 hands that I mis-played last night. Most of my moves last night were on purpose, meaning that even when I made questionable calls, it was for a reason. For example, I played a couple of hands all the way to the river and made small raises and straight calls and lost the hands because I didn't even have a pair. That was sort of my way of mixing up so the other guys don't "figure me out" like they used to all the time. There's a guy that I play with that I swear sometimes he can see my cards before I do. In recognition of this, I have to try to keep him guessing.
I had a couple of other winning hands that I might have folded in the past. In one of them, I hit the straight on the river. I wasn't chasing the river. The bets made just weren't big enough to get me off my hand and I hit. The river card was the 3rd club on the board and my opponent made a big bet THAT I DIDN'T BELIEVE. So, I went with my gut and made the successful call. In another hand, I had A J suited and the board paired 7's and some other small cards. It was checks on the flop and checks on the turn (keeping me in the hand) and then my opponent bet the river. I quickly calculated the odds of what I thought he had and found that the odds were against him, so I made the call and won. He also had an Ace in his hand with a smaller kicker.
I know the way I've been winning lately has to be frustrating for the guys I play with. I would be frustrated if I was them. Then again, frustration is a weakness in poker because it brings a loss of focus, but it's hard to avoid sometimes. Right now, I'm questioning my poker ability because this kind of winning makes me wonder how much of my success is pure luck. I'm happy to have it on my side for as long as possible, but in the bigger picture, luck isn't why I want to win. I'm going to be re-evaluating my actual skills over the next week. Some of the guys I play with are too good for me to hope for luck each time I set down. I want to be good enough to play with anyone. I'm not there yet and that's going to be my focus.
This has been a sick streak though.
Saturday, August 28, 2010
Friday Night Poker: Respect the Streak
To be honest with you, I'm a little embarrassed to be writing this. I've either gotten 1st or 2nd in 6 of the last 7 games I've played in at Friday Night Poker. I've actually gotten 1 or 2 in about 80% of the games I've played over the last 3 months. I really quit keeping score because I wanted to respect the streak and I've been in an incredible poker zone. You have to respect the streak, but I really like the guys I play with and at some point, I hope some of them win a game or 2, or at least get 2nd place and get a piece of the chop. That did happen tonight for my buddy Chris. He's been playing in the exact opposite direction as me over the last several weeks and tonight he got in the money twice out of 3 games, so for him, the losing is officially over. He's a great player so I'm pretty sure he's not getting back on the losing streak anytime soon. God help the rest of us.
But tonight - wow. In the first game, I literally ended up with ALL OF THE CHIPS. Chris said he's never seen that before and I hadn't either. So, there was no chop because I knocked out both of the last 2 players with a straight on the flop (from the small blind). It was pure brutality. Prior to that however, I was down to a very small stack just like I have so many times before. I lost a huge hand and donated a ton of chips, leaving me crippled (a position I have come to enjoy). So, I told that guy that I would be coming back to get them. I did. I got 'em all - every last one of them. I wanted to say I was sorry, but I wasn't. He was 1 of those final 2 players. I wasn't mad for losing my chips to him. That's not why I went back in after them. It was just a challenge that I made with myself. What a thing that was!
The 2nd game started like the 1st one ended. I got an early huge chip lead and ended up getting 2nd behind Chris who finally ended his losing streak against me. Game 3 was forgettable, but to be completely honest, I was glad to lose. I don't want to believe the hype. The game 3 reality check was a good one too. I played wild and stupid and deserved to lose, but stupid's gone now. We'll see what happens next week.
To be continued. . .
Lessons:
1. Don't play stupid!
2. Don't believe your own hype.
3. Respect the streak.
But tonight - wow. In the first game, I literally ended up with ALL OF THE CHIPS. Chris said he's never seen that before and I hadn't either. So, there was no chop because I knocked out both of the last 2 players with a straight on the flop (from the small blind). It was pure brutality. Prior to that however, I was down to a very small stack just like I have so many times before. I lost a huge hand and donated a ton of chips, leaving me crippled (a position I have come to enjoy). So, I told that guy that I would be coming back to get them. I did. I got 'em all - every last one of them. I wanted to say I was sorry, but I wasn't. He was 1 of those final 2 players. I wasn't mad for losing my chips to him. That's not why I went back in after them. It was just a challenge that I made with myself. What a thing that was!
The 2nd game started like the 1st one ended. I got an early huge chip lead and ended up getting 2nd behind Chris who finally ended his losing streak against me. Game 3 was forgettable, but to be completely honest, I was glad to lose. I don't want to believe the hype. The game 3 reality check was a good one too. I played wild and stupid and deserved to lose, but stupid's gone now. We'll see what happens next week.
To be continued. . .
Lessons:
1. Don't play stupid!
2. Don't believe your own hype.
3. Respect the streak.
Saturday, August 21, 2010
Ride the Poker Rush
After last night's Friday Night Poker, I feel like I might be back in my zone. Last week, I got 1st place in a 90-person full tilt poker tournament and then last night, I played 3 games and got 1st, 2nd, 1st. Last Friday night I won the 3rd game too. In the last 4 tournament games I played in, I got 1st, 1st, 1st, 2nd, 1st.
Prior to last Friday night, I took a week off from playing poker and very nearly lost my poker "mojo". I showed up and donated the 1st 2 games I played, but finally I got back on track and won game #3. This was a very important lesson - don't jack with a poker rush. When you're on fire, don't put it out by taking time off. Respect the rush.
Once you're on it, the other players at the table will often recognize it as well and that will push you through pots that you have no business winning. You start betting bottom pairs like their top pairs and watching other players fold. The river all of a sudden gets very kind to you like last night when I unintentionally rivered a straight. Getting bad cards doesn't hurt so bad when you're on a rush and neither does getting down to a very low chip count.
Last night was a different kind of rush though. I successfully played pocket jacks 4 times. Who even gets pocket jacks 4 times in one night? I also won with pocket 9's, pocket 8's and very nearly pocket 7's. I won with pocket A's and pocket K's as well. An inexperienced or unconfident player could mis-play these hands, but I was feeling it and that's the big lesson here. Recognize when you're on a rush and respect it. Play the rush. Play the momentum.
One of the other players last night (once we were down to the final 3) started to build some momentum of his own and he was chipping away at me, but I was in the middle of this thing and I just kept looking for a place to take advantage of his momentum and I did. You can't hit every time. Busting his momentum was a game changer. I ended up edging him out and winning by a single $100 chip.
But he gave away his momentum by not recognizing where he was. Don't do that. When you have it, keep it. Recognize where you are in the game and keep your mojo going. Ride the poker rush.
Prior to last Friday night, I took a week off from playing poker and very nearly lost my poker "mojo". I showed up and donated the 1st 2 games I played, but finally I got back on track and won game #3. This was a very important lesson - don't jack with a poker rush. When you're on fire, don't put it out by taking time off. Respect the rush.
Once you're on it, the other players at the table will often recognize it as well and that will push you through pots that you have no business winning. You start betting bottom pairs like their top pairs and watching other players fold. The river all of a sudden gets very kind to you like last night when I unintentionally rivered a straight. Getting bad cards doesn't hurt so bad when you're on a rush and neither does getting down to a very low chip count.
Last night was a different kind of rush though. I successfully played pocket jacks 4 times. Who even gets pocket jacks 4 times in one night? I also won with pocket 9's, pocket 8's and very nearly pocket 7's. I won with pocket A's and pocket K's as well. An inexperienced or unconfident player could mis-play these hands, but I was feeling it and that's the big lesson here. Recognize when you're on a rush and respect it. Play the rush. Play the momentum.
One of the other players last night (once we were down to the final 3) started to build some momentum of his own and he was chipping away at me, but I was in the middle of this thing and I just kept looking for a place to take advantage of his momentum and I did. You can't hit every time. Busting his momentum was a game changer. I ended up edging him out and winning by a single $100 chip.
But he gave away his momentum by not recognizing where he was. Don't do that. When you have it, keep it. Recognize where you are in the game and keep your mojo going. Ride the poker rush.
Saturday, August 14, 2010
Lesson From Friday Night Poker: Play With Patience
Last night, I was reminded of an important lesson in Texas Hold'em, and that is to play with patience. I took last week off and upon returning last night, I lost the 1st 2 games badly. I was getting really bad cards, but that happens. The problem was that I kept playing them. Face it: folding is not fun. After folding a few hands in a row, I start thinking about how late into the game, I'm going to have a serious chip deficit if I don't win some hands. What an idiot! Instead of folding, I played bad hands and lost even more chips. So, the 1st game was a total disaster.
The 2nd game was worse. I went out in less than 5 hands and I didn't exactly lose to the best player at the table. Through those 1st 2 games, I tried bluffing. That didn't work. I chased river cards. That almost never works. I did everything but play smart. I was second-guessing myself, feeling irritated with my game, doing negative self-talk. Shoot! I was in my own head.
So, of course that bled over into the 3rd game, but by that point I was mentally beaten. The way my head was, I probably shouldn't even have played the game. As the game started, the bad play continued. I just kept donating my chips until we were down the the final 4 and I was unbelievably still in the game. I had the lowest chip stack of the remaining 4 and in fact, it was the lowest chip stack I had ever had before losing everything.
Then something clicked. I had been in that position before. I've won lots of times after having a depleted chip stack. I started talking to myself. Don't play stupid. Be patient. Fold for God's sake! I waited for my spots, picked up some decent cards and things started turning around. I made it to the final 3 and still had the lowest chip stack. The other 2 guys were really playing for 1st and 2nd. Then, each of them started chipping away at each other, and I took turns taking down pots from each of them little by little. A strategically placed all-in here and a big raise there and 3 sets of pocket 9's inside of a 10-hand stretch didn't hurt either. I completely turned it around to where I finally made a bet large enough to call BOTH of them all-in. One guy called and the other folded so he could guarantee himself 2nd place. I won, taking me from worst to first in what was turning out to be my worst night of poker in 2 months.
At the point, in game 3, when I had a sick little stack of chips, I could have just thrown in the towel and made one last stupid bet to put myself out of my misery, but instead I got out of my own head and started playing with patience. It isn't over until all of your chips are gone. When you're down, even almost out - you're still not out yet. Play your game. Play with patience. Don't beat yourself. Give yourself a chance to come back and win it all.
The 2nd game was worse. I went out in less than 5 hands and I didn't exactly lose to the best player at the table. Through those 1st 2 games, I tried bluffing. That didn't work. I chased river cards. That almost never works. I did everything but play smart. I was second-guessing myself, feeling irritated with my game, doing negative self-talk. Shoot! I was in my own head.
So, of course that bled over into the 3rd game, but by that point I was mentally beaten. The way my head was, I probably shouldn't even have played the game. As the game started, the bad play continued. I just kept donating my chips until we were down the the final 4 and I was unbelievably still in the game. I had the lowest chip stack of the remaining 4 and in fact, it was the lowest chip stack I had ever had before losing everything.
Then something clicked. I had been in that position before. I've won lots of times after having a depleted chip stack. I started talking to myself. Don't play stupid. Be patient. Fold for God's sake! I waited for my spots, picked up some decent cards and things started turning around. I made it to the final 3 and still had the lowest chip stack. The other 2 guys were really playing for 1st and 2nd. Then, each of them started chipping away at each other, and I took turns taking down pots from each of them little by little. A strategically placed all-in here and a big raise there and 3 sets of pocket 9's inside of a 10-hand stretch didn't hurt either. I completely turned it around to where I finally made a bet large enough to call BOTH of them all-in. One guy called and the other folded so he could guarantee himself 2nd place. I won, taking me from worst to first in what was turning out to be my worst night of poker in 2 months.
At the point, in game 3, when I had a sick little stack of chips, I could have just thrown in the towel and made one last stupid bet to put myself out of my misery, but instead I got out of my own head and started playing with patience. It isn't over until all of your chips are gone. When you're down, even almost out - you're still not out yet. Play your game. Play with patience. Don't beat yourself. Give yourself a chance to come back and win it all.
Friday, August 13, 2010
Bad Hand? Get Over It!
In a typical poker tournament, players will see hundreds of hands (or thousands if they make it deep into the tournament). In your home game, you can easily see hundreds of hands. In my weekly Friday Night Poker games, we always see the turn and river cards, even if everyone folds after the flop. If you've already folded, but others are still in the hand, you're always going to see the next cards. Very often, you made a smart fold and then cards that would have improved your hand will come on the turn or the river. Does that make you mad? Get over it. What about when you think you should have won a hand, but then someone chased the river card and sucked out a win? Does that make you mad? Get over it.
When stuff like this happens, you really do just have to get over it. You need a terrible memory. Forget the last hand. That hand is over. The next hand is coming. If you're still angry over the previous hand, how do you think you're going to feel after this hand? You're going to make "pissed off" bets. You'll go down with "sunken chips". You'll make a stupid bet or a bad raise and you'll get called. Then, you're sitting around waiting for the next game to start.
If you feel yourself getting upset over hands, stand up and walk away from the table. Lose your blinds, but don't lose your mind. Just get over it.
When stuff like this happens, you really do just have to get over it. You need a terrible memory. Forget the last hand. That hand is over. The next hand is coming. If you're still angry over the previous hand, how do you think you're going to feel after this hand? You're going to make "pissed off" bets. You'll go down with "sunken chips". You'll make a stupid bet or a bad raise and you'll get called. Then, you're sitting around waiting for the next game to start.
If you feel yourself getting upset over hands, stand up and walk away from the table. Lose your blinds, but don't lose your mind. Just get over it.
Sunday, August 1, 2010
Friday Night Poker - Quads, Quads, Quads
I play poker with 8 to 12 other guys every Friday night. We play tournament style poker with low stakes of $10 per game, plus a $5 knockout. I've never heard of a game that has gotten as many 4-of-a-kinds as ours has. It seems to happen a couple of times each Friday. This past Friday, Prescott got quad 3's and I got quad A's. In fact, I've actually gotten quads lots of times. I've had:
Quad A's 2 times
Quad J's once
Quad 8's (on the flop!)
Quad 2's once
And, that's all that I can remember, but at our table, there have probably been others. As I mentioned in a previous post, I also got a Royal Flush (of clubs) twice in a single month. Has that ever happened before to anyone else? But, that's a little off-point.
On Friday, I had trip 6's and I knew I was up against a probable Ace high flush. In a moment that I like to call "my stupid move of the night", I went all-in and got called by 2 players. Honestly, I was blinded by the possibility of getting quads again (I said it was a stupid move). On the outside, I knew I still had a chance at pairing another card on the board to get the "boat". And you know what? It happened. I ended up with 6's and K's - a full house. It was so freakin' lucky that I was actually embarrassed to have won the pot. I knocked 2 guys out (including the Ace high flush - what a bad beat for him!) and won 2 $5 knockouts on my way to a decided game 2 victory. My chip stack was so high that I was ashamed to keep winning. . . .
But at that point, it would have been an embarrassment to lose, so I won anyways.
Quad A's 2 times
Quad J's once
Quad 8's (on the flop!)
Quad 2's once
And, that's all that I can remember, but at our table, there have probably been others. As I mentioned in a previous post, I also got a Royal Flush (of clubs) twice in a single month. Has that ever happened before to anyone else? But, that's a little off-point.
On Friday, I had trip 6's and I knew I was up against a probable Ace high flush. In a moment that I like to call "my stupid move of the night", I went all-in and got called by 2 players. Honestly, I was blinded by the possibility of getting quads again (I said it was a stupid move). On the outside, I knew I still had a chance at pairing another card on the board to get the "boat". And you know what? It happened. I ended up with 6's and K's - a full house. It was so freakin' lucky that I was actually embarrassed to have won the pot. I knocked 2 guys out (including the Ace high flush - what a bad beat for him!) and won 2 $5 knockouts on my way to a decided game 2 victory. My chip stack was so high that I was ashamed to keep winning. . . .
But at that point, it would have been an embarrassment to lose, so I won anyways.
Saturday, July 24, 2010
Top 10 Starting Hands in Texas Holdem
I researched this topic using Google and found 10 web sites with articles about the 10 Best Starting Hands in Texas Holdem. You would think that the mathematical odds to this topic would determine what the 10 best hands are, but then you'd be wrong.
Everyone agrees on the best 3 starting hands: AA, KK, QQ. But that's about it. Here's my breakdown of hands 4 thru 10.
4th Best Hand - 6 people said AK suited. 4 said JJ.
5th Best Hand - 4 said AQ suited. 4 AK suited. 2 JJ.
6th Best Hand - 4 said JJ. 3 10-10. 3 AQ suited.
7th Best Hand - 6 said KQ suited. 3 AQ suited. 1 said 10-10.
8th Best Hand - 8 said AJ suited. 2 said AK off suit.
HERE'S WHERE IT GETS REALLY GOOD.
9th Best Hand - 4 said AK off suit. 2 AJ suited. 3 KJ suited. 1 KQ suited.
10th Best Hand - 3 said AK off suit. 3 said 10-10, 1 said 9-9, 2 KQ suited. 1 A-10 suited.
So, with all of that, here is my Top 10 Starting Hands in Texas Holdem.
1. AA
2. KK
3. QQ
4. AK Suited
5. JJ
6. AQ Suited
7. KQ Suited
8. 10-10
9. AK Off Suit
10. AJ Suited
I also like: KJ suited, A-10 suited, 9-9, but this is a Top 10 List.
Everyone agrees on the best 3 starting hands: AA, KK, QQ. But that's about it. Here's my breakdown of hands 4 thru 10.
4th Best Hand - 6 people said AK suited. 4 said JJ.
5th Best Hand - 4 said AQ suited. 4 AK suited. 2 JJ.
6th Best Hand - 4 said JJ. 3 10-10. 3 AQ suited.
7th Best Hand - 6 said KQ suited. 3 AQ suited. 1 said 10-10.
8th Best Hand - 8 said AJ suited. 2 said AK off suit.
HERE'S WHERE IT GETS REALLY GOOD.
9th Best Hand - 4 said AK off suit. 2 AJ suited. 3 KJ suited. 1 KQ suited.
10th Best Hand - 3 said AK off suit. 3 said 10-10, 1 said 9-9, 2 KQ suited. 1 A-10 suited.
So, with all of that, here is my Top 10 Starting Hands in Texas Holdem.
1. AA
2. KK
3. QQ
4. AK Suited
5. JJ
6. AQ Suited
7. KQ Suited
8. 10-10
9. AK Off Suit
10. AJ Suited
I also like: KJ suited, A-10 suited, 9-9, but this is a Top 10 List.
Thursday, July 22, 2010
Lessons From Friday Night Poker
I've learned over the last couple of years that poker is a marathon, not a sprint. When you play on Full Tilt Poker, hundreds (if not thousands) of people are going all-in every second (because they're playing for free). However, when you add money into a game, you have to leave that mind-set behind. I can't imagine going all-in on the first hand when my money's up for grabs. Of course, that happened 2 weeks-in-a-row just a few months ago. One week, I got a full house and a friend of mine got a smaller full house and I knocked him out ON THE FIRST HAND. We both thought we had the best hand, but I was lucky. THE VERY NEXT WEEK, I had an Ace high flush and got beat by a full house. I was all-in ON THE FIRST HAND! What goes around comes around I guess.
So, I've learned to play steady and in control. Minimize stupid moves. Recognize when I'm probably beat. Understand my opponents. Make smart plays. I'm usually good for 1 or 2 really dumb moves each Friday night, but an overall steady approach is paying off big for me.
Five Fridays ago, I left my house and my poker box had just $30 left in it (I took $45 with me). I knew that if I didn't break my 6-week losing streak, I would only have enough money for one more poker night before having to hit the ATM again. I hadn't been back to the ATM since December (I withdrew $20). After that, I went on a hellacious winning streak.
That streak went cold for 6 weeks though and I was on the verge of busting. So, now back to 5 weeks ago. In the last 5 weeks, I have gotten 1st or 2nd place 12 out of 15 games. The cold streak has been over and I'm on fire. My secret in all of this is steady, controlled poker. I fold a lot, never go down with sunken chips, and wait for my spots. Result: My $30 money box now has $400 in it.
I play with some really good and interesting men. When I win, it's not just from showing up and taking down pots. These guys have been playing for 10+ years in most cases. One of them is 85 years old. He's been playing for over 50 years. The man is good. Another guy (also named Chris) is the model I use for how to play poker. He's the smartest poker player I know. He keeps me and everyone else on their toes. There's a funny story to each of the other guys at that table, but they all play poker well. Winning against them requires a steady, controlled approach to the game. Then, add about 20% luck.
Poker Lesson #1: Slow and Controlled
Poker Lesson #2: Never Go Down with Sunken Chips
So, I've learned to play steady and in control. Minimize stupid moves. Recognize when I'm probably beat. Understand my opponents. Make smart plays. I'm usually good for 1 or 2 really dumb moves each Friday night, but an overall steady approach is paying off big for me.
Five Fridays ago, I left my house and my poker box had just $30 left in it (I took $45 with me). I knew that if I didn't break my 6-week losing streak, I would only have enough money for one more poker night before having to hit the ATM again. I hadn't been back to the ATM since December (I withdrew $20). After that, I went on a hellacious winning streak.
That streak went cold for 6 weeks though and I was on the verge of busting. So, now back to 5 weeks ago. In the last 5 weeks, I have gotten 1st or 2nd place 12 out of 15 games. The cold streak has been over and I'm on fire. My secret in all of this is steady, controlled poker. I fold a lot, never go down with sunken chips, and wait for my spots. Result: My $30 money box now has $400 in it.
I play with some really good and interesting men. When I win, it's not just from showing up and taking down pots. These guys have been playing for 10+ years in most cases. One of them is 85 years old. He's been playing for over 50 years. The man is good. Another guy (also named Chris) is the model I use for how to play poker. He's the smartest poker player I know. He keeps me and everyone else on their toes. There's a funny story to each of the other guys at that table, but they all play poker well. Winning against them requires a steady, controlled approach to the game. Then, add about 20% luck.
Poker Lesson #1: Slow and Controlled
Poker Lesson #2: Never Go Down with Sunken Chips
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)