Thursday, May 15, 2008
Poker Tracker 3
Today is the commercial release of Poker Tracker 3! I'm still on vacation, so I haven't had a chance to check it out yet, but I'm sure it's going to be great and an amazing bargain at any price. It has an integrated HUD and gathers crucial NLHE statistics such as 3-bet%. It's also supposed to have an improved and re-designed database that will give you more choices of filters to apply and that can handle larger data sets more easily.
Stumble It!
Labels: poker
Stumble It!
Wednesday, May 14, 2008
Love and Poker
My stepfather found this in a published book of poetry. I really hope this was self-published, as I rejected better poems from my high school's literary magazine (thinly veiled brag/beat). I swear to God I have reproduced every forced rhyme and arbitrary punctuation faithfully.
Love and Poker
Love is like a game of poker
If you don't play it right, you could end up
with a "joker"!
You have to know "when to hold 'em"-
you have to know "when to fold 'em"
You have to play it with style and grace,
all other games you must erase.
Be sure to play it "close to the chest"
Too many chips you shouldn't invest,
There are other "players" all around,
but it's hard to tell when the right one
is found
When he's reluctant - his intentions to place,
don't be confused by his "poker face"
You can place your bet - once or twice,
even making a "raise" might be nice.
But when the "pot is getting heavy"
you have to judge if he is ready.
And when things are getting, really "hot"
You have to know when
- to "call in the chips" -
If you want to "WIN THE POT."
Stumble It!
Love and Poker
Love is like a game of poker
If you don't play it right, you could end up
with a "joker"!
You have to know "when to hold 'em"-
you have to know "when to fold 'em"
You have to play it with style and grace,
all other games you must erase.
Be sure to play it "close to the chest"
Too many chips you shouldn't invest,
There are other "players" all around,
but it's hard to tell when the right one
is found
When he's reluctant - his intentions to place,
don't be confused by his "poker face"
You can place your bet - once or twice,
even making a "raise" might be nice.
But when the "pot is getting heavy"
you have to judge if he is ready.
And when things are getting, really "hot"
You have to know when
- to "call in the chips" -
If you want to "WIN THE POT."
Labels: poker
Stumble It!
Tuesday, May 13, 2008
Eight Kink Porn
Here's a cool little toy that will help you create anagrams from your name or whatever other words you choose to give it. Definitely check out the advanced features, there are a lot of good ways to narrow down the thousands of possibilities it gives you. What do you think of mine, from Thinking Poker? Post your best ones!
Though none of the ones for my real name were great, I discovered that my brother's name can be anagrammed Calmer Bookish, which is a pretty good description of him.
See if you can guess some of these poker personalities:
Whaler Ordered
Hardware Bank Bi
Paint Outranks I
Rebounds Only
Brays Reentering
Vandals Kid Sky
Inane Duke
Mammoth Ulnas
Jeremy's Iron
Stumble It!
Though none of the ones for my real name were great, I discovered that my brother's name can be anagrammed Calmer Bookish, which is a pretty good description of him.
See if you can guess some of these poker personalities:
Whaler Ordered
Hardware Bank Bi
Paint Outranks I
Rebounds Only
Brays Reentering
Vandals Kid Sky
Inane Duke
Mammoth Ulnas
Jeremy's Iron
Labels: poker
Stumble It!
Monday, May 12, 2008
Poker Forum Traffic
Nat Arem, creator of ThePokerDB, has a new project called Poker Forum Traffic. It tracks some statistics about how active various poker forums are. Naturally 2+2 is way out in front. Kinda neat to see how active some of these forums are. Of course, those familiar with 2+2 know that a good chunk of that has little or nothing to do with poker....
Stumble It!
Labels: poker
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Sunday, May 11, 2008
FTOPS Event 6
I almost didn't play the $500 PLO 6-max, but a few people convinced me I should, and I'm glad I did. The field was really weak, and it was a lot of fun to boot. Well, except for losing a monster pot, but I'm getting ahead of myself. For a while I was getting short but then finally managed to connect with a flop (and turn)
Full Tilt Poker
Pot Limit Omaha Ring game
Blinds: $50/$100
6 players
Converter
Stack sizes:
UTG: $8528
UTG+1: $10433
Hero: $2450
Button: $4604
SB: $10522
BB: $7720
Pre-flop: (6 players) Hero is CO with :3d :2s :3c :4s
UTG folds, UTG+1 calls, Hero calls, Button raises to $550, 2 folds, UTG+1 calls, Hero calls.
Flop: :5s :7h :2d ($1800, 3 players)
UTG+1 checks, Hero bets $1800, Button raises all-in $4054, UTG+1 calls, Hero calls all-in $100.
Turn: :2h ($11808, 1 player + 2 all-in - Main pot: $7500, Sidepot 1: $4308)
River: :5c ($11808, 1 player + 2 all-in - Main pot: $7500, Sidepot 1: $4308)
Results:
Final pot: $11808
Button showed Qh Ac 7s Ah
UTG+1 showed Jc Qs 7d 9c
Hero showed 3d 2s 3c 4s
Four Pair
Full Tilt Poker
Pot Limit Omaha Ring game
Blinds: $60/$120
6 players
Converter
Stack sizes:
UTG: $8768
UTG+1: $2396
Hero: $6820
Button: $7556
SB: $10247
BB: $8470
Pre-flop: (6 players) Hero is CO with :kc :ah :2c :qd
2 folds, Hero raises to $370, 2 folds, BB calls.
Flop: :2s :qs :ac ($800, 2 players)
BB checks, Hero bets $550, BB raises to $1200, Hero calls.
Turn: :kd ($3200, 2 players)
BB bets $3200, Hero raises all-in $5250, BB calls.
River: :6h ($13700, 1 player + 1 all-in - Main pot: $13700)
Results:
Final pot: $13700
BB showed 5h As 5c 7s
Hero showed Kc Ah 2c Qd
I figured him for the nut flush draw on the flop, but if he's got something like a gut shot or better to go with it, he could still be the favorite or a very slight dog, so I wanted to get it in on a non-spade turn. Obviously a broadway card wasn't ideal, but I felt I could be way ahead and I'd have a lot of boat outs even if he had turned a straight. Unfortunately, my exuberance over my big stack was short-lived:
Gwaaaaaaah!!!
It's definitely not a good idea to re-pot habitually with Aces in PLO, but here I had a nut flush draw and the opportunity to get a good chunk of my stack in preflop. Both turned out to matter, but not enough:
Full Tilt Poker
Pot Limit Omaha Ring game
Blinds: $60/$120
6 players
Converter
Stack sizes:
Hero: $13700
UTG+1: $7436
CO: $10187
Button: $1530
SB: $9008
BB: $2396
Pre-flop: (6 players) Hero is UTG with :ad :ac :9c :3h
Hero raises to $400, UTG+1 folds, CO raises to $960, 3 folds, Hero raises to $3460, CO calls.
Flop: :jc :9h :tc ($7100, 2 players)
Hero bets $6300, CO raises all-in $7127, Hero calls.
Turn: :2h ($21354, 1 player + 1 all-in - Main pot: $21354)
River: :5d ($21354, 1 player + 1 all-in - Main pot: $21354)
Results:
Final pot: $21354
CO showed 7c 7d 8d 8c
Hero showed Ad Ac 9c 3h
I have no idea what he was thinking pre-flop. If he just called that wouldn't be too bad, though in general two pair is an overrated PLO holding. But to make that tiny 3-bet and then call my 4-bet is awful. This would have been a tough decision for me without the flush draw, but with it I definitely have no choice but to stick it in and hope for the best.
Bit of a Comeback
Full Tilt Poker
Pot Limit Omaha Ring game
Blinds: $60/$120
6 players
Converter
Stack sizes:
UTG: $8828
UTG+1: $2706
Hero: $4826
Button: $7136
SB: $19051
BB: $1710
Pre-flop: (6 players) Hero is CO with :ks :kh :qh :7h
2 folds, Hero raises to $376, Button calls, SB folds, BB calls.
Flop: :tc :jc :3s ($1188, 3 players)
BB bets $1188, Hero raises all-in $4450, Button folds, BB calls all-in $146.
Uncalled bets: $3116 returned to Hero.
Turn: :9d ($3856, 0 player + 2 all-in - Main pot: $3856)
River: :8s ($3856, 0 player + 2 all-in - Main pot: $3856)
Results:
Final pot: $3856
BB showed 7s 8c 6c 5s
Hero showed Ks Kh Qh 7h
This put me back in the running for a while, but eventually I got ground down, shoved QJ96 or something from the SB, and got it in against AQJ9, in other words I was massively dominated. And that was that.
I'm off on my road trip by now, but I've tried to take advantage of a new Blogger feature and post-date some entries, so hopefully there will continue to be updates even while I'm not around.
Stumble It!
Full Tilt Poker
Pot Limit Omaha Ring game
Blinds: $50/$100
6 players
Converter
Stack sizes:
UTG: $8528
UTG+1: $10433
Hero: $2450
Button: $4604
SB: $10522
BB: $7720
Pre-flop: (6 players) Hero is CO with :3d :2s :3c :4s
UTG folds, UTG+1 calls, Hero calls, Button raises to $550, 2 folds, UTG+1 calls, Hero calls.
Flop: :5s :7h :2d ($1800, 3 players)
UTG+1 checks, Hero bets $1800, Button raises all-in $4054, UTG+1 calls, Hero calls all-in $100.
Turn: :2h ($11808, 1 player + 2 all-in - Main pot: $7500, Sidepot 1: $4308)
River: :5c ($11808, 1 player + 2 all-in - Main pot: $7500, Sidepot 1: $4308)
Results:
Final pot: $11808
Button showed Qh Ac 7s Ah
UTG+1 showed Jc Qs 7d 9c
Hero showed 3d 2s 3c 4s
Four Pair
Full Tilt Poker
Pot Limit Omaha Ring game
Blinds: $60/$120
6 players
Converter
Stack sizes:
UTG: $8768
UTG+1: $2396
Hero: $6820
Button: $7556
SB: $10247
BB: $8470
Pre-flop: (6 players) Hero is CO with :kc :ah :2c :qd
2 folds, Hero raises to $370, 2 folds, BB calls.
Flop: :2s :qs :ac ($800, 2 players)
BB checks, Hero bets $550, BB raises to $1200, Hero calls.
Turn: :kd ($3200, 2 players)
BB bets $3200, Hero raises all-in $5250, BB calls.
River: :6h ($13700, 1 player + 1 all-in - Main pot: $13700)
Results:
Final pot: $13700
BB showed 5h As 5c 7s
Hero showed Kc Ah 2c Qd
I figured him for the nut flush draw on the flop, but if he's got something like a gut shot or better to go with it, he could still be the favorite or a very slight dog, so I wanted to get it in on a non-spade turn. Obviously a broadway card wasn't ideal, but I felt I could be way ahead and I'd have a lot of boat outs even if he had turned a straight. Unfortunately, my exuberance over my big stack was short-lived:
Gwaaaaaaah!!!
It's definitely not a good idea to re-pot habitually with Aces in PLO, but here I had a nut flush draw and the opportunity to get a good chunk of my stack in preflop. Both turned out to matter, but not enough:
Full Tilt Poker
Pot Limit Omaha Ring game
Blinds: $60/$120
6 players
Converter
Stack sizes:
Hero: $13700
UTG+1: $7436
CO: $10187
Button: $1530
SB: $9008
BB: $2396
Pre-flop: (6 players) Hero is UTG with :ad :ac :9c :3h
Hero raises to $400, UTG+1 folds, CO raises to $960, 3 folds, Hero raises to $3460, CO calls.
Flop: :jc :9h :tc ($7100, 2 players)
Hero bets $6300, CO raises all-in $7127, Hero calls.
Turn: :2h ($21354, 1 player + 1 all-in - Main pot: $21354)
River: :5d ($21354, 1 player + 1 all-in - Main pot: $21354)
Results:
Final pot: $21354
CO showed 7c 7d 8d 8c
Hero showed Ad Ac 9c 3h
I have no idea what he was thinking pre-flop. If he just called that wouldn't be too bad, though in general two pair is an overrated PLO holding. But to make that tiny 3-bet and then call my 4-bet is awful. This would have been a tough decision for me without the flush draw, but with it I definitely have no choice but to stick it in and hope for the best.
Bit of a Comeback
Full Tilt Poker
Pot Limit Omaha Ring game
Blinds: $60/$120
6 players
Converter
Stack sizes:
UTG: $8828
UTG+1: $2706
Hero: $4826
Button: $7136
SB: $19051
BB: $1710
Pre-flop: (6 players) Hero is CO with :ks :kh :qh :7h
2 folds, Hero raises to $376, Button calls, SB folds, BB calls.
Flop: :tc :jc :3s ($1188, 3 players)
BB bets $1188, Hero raises all-in $4450, Button folds, BB calls all-in $146.
Uncalled bets: $3116 returned to Hero.
Turn: :9d ($3856, 0 player + 2 all-in - Main pot: $3856)
River: :8s ($3856, 0 player + 2 all-in - Main pot: $3856)
Results:
Final pot: $3856
BB showed 7s 8c 6c 5s
Hero showed Ks Kh Qh 7h
This put me back in the running for a while, but eventually I got ground down, shoved QJ96 or something from the SB, and got it in against AQJ9, in other words I was massively dominated. And that was that.
I'm off on my road trip by now, but I've tried to take advantage of a new Blogger feature and post-date some entries, so hopefully there will continue to be updates even while I'm not around.
Labels: PLO, poker, poker strategy, tournament
Stumble It!
Saturday, May 10, 2008
Mobile Blogging?
Apparently I can post from my phone. Perhaps there will be scant updates from the road after all. I'll have to get faster at texting though....
Stumble It!
Stumble It!
FTOPS Event 5
This was a $200 Stud/8. I got off to a great start and scooped like three reasonably sized pots in the first level. Unfortunately, the first level of a limit tournament is pretty irrelevent. After that I was getting run down incessantly by a reasonably good NLHE tournament player who evidently had no clue how to play Stud/8. To some extent that's understandable, but there's also a degree to which core poker concepts ought to carry over, and if they aren't, I have to question just how well you even understand NLHE.
Unfortunately for some reason my HH from this tournament wasn't recorded, but great example of this came when I opened first to act with an A in the door. This player called the raise with split K's and then called me down all the way. As it happened, I had just a low and he got half the pot. Even players who don't play split pot games usually know that you aren't supposed to play for half the pot, but that's not my point here.
I feel like anyone who genuinely understands reverse implied odds in NLHE (which I guess a tournament specialist might not) should intuitively recognize how bad this is. His hand is essentially face up at every decision point, and even if I don't have him crushed already, he knows I've got at least three outs to beat him for the high pot plus I'm freerolling for the low.
Anyway in addition to that hand he was doing stuff like calling raises with AQ5 and ending up with a better low and a better pair than mine, etc. I did manage to scoop him once with a five-card baby straight when he actually had a legitimate hand (AA4 or something), but it was small consolation.
The hand that really crippled me came about two hours in. I raised with buried Q's and a 6 in the door, which is a great deceptive hand because it looks I'm playing low. I got called by the 8h. He caught a big heart on 4th and I caught a third Q, so I check-raised him and managed to get four bets in. On 5th he caught another heart, which I figured was bad news, but at that point he only had like 3 BB left so we put them in. It turns out he actually had a pair, a three-flush, and a three to a low when he 3-bet me on 4th (which is an alright play, because it doesn't really look like the Q helped me) but he rivered a flush to scoop me for most of my stack.
Today I played the $500 PLO, and I'll have a report on that tomorrow, but I think I'm going to skip tonight's $100 rebuy. It'll probably be one of the better events of the series, but I leave tomorrow for a week-long road trip with the girlfriend, who's moving back across the country to DC (just in time for me not to have a place to stay for the WSOP!!), and I still have a lot of stuff to get done.
Stumble It!
Unfortunately for some reason my HH from this tournament wasn't recorded, but great example of this came when I opened first to act with an A in the door. This player called the raise with split K's and then called me down all the way. As it happened, I had just a low and he got half the pot. Even players who don't play split pot games usually know that you aren't supposed to play for half the pot, but that's not my point here.
I feel like anyone who genuinely understands reverse implied odds in NLHE (which I guess a tournament specialist might not) should intuitively recognize how bad this is. His hand is essentially face up at every decision point, and even if I don't have him crushed already, he knows I've got at least three outs to beat him for the high pot plus I'm freerolling for the low.
Anyway in addition to that hand he was doing stuff like calling raises with AQ5 and ending up with a better low and a better pair than mine, etc. I did manage to scoop him once with a five-card baby straight when he actually had a legitimate hand (AA4 or something), but it was small consolation.
The hand that really crippled me came about two hours in. I raised with buried Q's and a 6 in the door, which is a great deceptive hand because it looks I'm playing low. I got called by the 8h. He caught a big heart on 4th and I caught a third Q, so I check-raised him and managed to get four bets in. On 5th he caught another heart, which I figured was bad news, but at that point he only had like 3 BB left so we put them in. It turns out he actually had a pair, a three-flush, and a three to a low when he 3-bet me on 4th (which is an alright play, because it doesn't really look like the Q helped me) but he rivered a flush to scoop me for most of my stack.
Today I played the $500 PLO, and I'll have a report on that tomorrow, but I think I'm going to skip tonight's $100 rebuy. It'll probably be one of the better events of the series, but I leave tomorrow for a week-long road trip with the girlfriend, who's moving back across the country to DC (just in time for me not to have a place to stay for the WSOP!!), and I still have a lot of stuff to get done.
Labels: poker, poker strategy, Stud/8, tournament
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