Episode 197: Eileen Sutton

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Eileen Sutton discovered poker later in her life, but that only heightened her passion for the game. In this interview, Eileen beautifully describes her love affair with poker and the strange set of coincidences that resulted in her learning from the likes of Matt Matros, Ed Miller, Matt Berkey, and Christian Soto.

Eileen is the author of The Total Poker Manual. You can follow her on Twitter @PokerForGirls and read the articles she’s written for Red Chip Poker.

In our strategy segment, our correspondent asks about how to play a big draw facing some weird bets.

Nate’s new project is Gonfalon Bubble. Andrew would appreciate, and is offering prizes for, donations to the Bay Area Urban Debate League. Use our Amazon Affiliate links to support the podcast while you do your holiday shopping.

Timestamps

0:30 – Hello & Welcome
14:56 – Strategy
48:27 – Interview: Eileen Sutton

Strategy

Edit: Replaced with the correct hand history!

WSOP Senior’s circuit event in Cherokee, NC. The blinds are 800/1,600 with a 400 ante. I have approximately 42K in chips and villain covers. There are 9 players at the table.

Villain in 3rd position limps. I am directly to his left with KsQs and raise to 3,500. BB calls.

Pot is now 14,900 and I have 38,100 remaining.

Flop is Jc 8h 4s. BB checks and villain bets 3,000. I call.

Pot is now 20,900 and I have $35,100 remaining. Turn is 9s making the board Jc 8h 4s 3s. Villain again leads for 3,000. I call.

We go to the river with $26,900 pot and my stack at $32,100. The river is a blank and he checks.

6 thoughts on “Episode 197: Eileen Sutton”

  1. I’m not sure how accurate this is for Eileen, but in the discussion at the end about showing bluffs I thought of something I read somewhere about reasons to play. So keeping stereotypes intact might be the way to make most money but on the other hand destroying stereotypes can also be something that someone gets out of the game.

    I also think it may be +EV for certain players to show bluffs in certain games. Some opponents (and I’m thinking of a lot of live players here) have a tendency to call too much, so if they are reducing that (and playing more balanced) against players they assume always have it due to stereotyping, then showing the occasional bluff and letting them know it’s ok to always call down (what they really want to do anyway) might be a good strategy.

  2. I truly enjoyed Eileen’s honesty and hearing about her adventures with poker and writing, especially creative writing. It was fascinating to hear about her experience with Matt Matros in her class. Good luck to her in playing, editing, and writing about poker!

  3. I’m an Eileen Sutton fan! Halfway though the podcast I went and followed her on twitter. I have listened to a lot of podcast and this has to be one of the most honest and most passionate I’ve ever heard.
    I have been playing poker for sometime but fall way short in my ability and certainty as Eileen does. I enjoyed her comment on how kids figure out how to balance by falling on their faces. I also appreciated her comment on how you can grow your muscle during the process of playing.
    I’ve recently started to read Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience, and it’s reference to Attention and Self are such a major influence to ones success. Her statement reminded me that being in the moment and learning and pushing oneself allows us to grow.
    I do read some poker books along with online material and of course your podcast, and feel as I continue to see hands, I’m getting my FLOW on the felt.
    I did wonder what her range would be in her “Buy high and sell higher” strategy would look like?
    I really appreciated Andrews question at the end about showing bluffs, I have always been told to NEVER show your hand let alone your bluffs.
    She has a great spirit and I look forward to her tweets. I think I’m even going to purchase her book, seems reasonably priced for a kindle version.

    Keep up the great work and I look forward to a follow up podcast with Eileen.

    Cheers!

  4. Absolutely loved this episode (I just recently discovered your podcast and am grinding through episodes and decided to start with all the ones with women guests). I found so much to relate to in what Eileen talked about, particularly as we are the same age. I have been playing play money poker for years (gee, thanks for nothing, Black Friday) and trying to play “seriously” (although there are challenges in doing that in an environment where real money isn’t on the line) but recently have got the itch to start playing “for real” in low stakes live games and tournaments. Eileen’s story has really inspired me to figure my options for that…probably Charlestown and Maryland Live as a start or finding some local home games (I know there are some, the question is how one gets invited). Maybe I should just start my own home game for women and see how things organically evolve.

    Your podcast is very helpful; I love the strategy segment.

Comments are closed.