My deepest run this summer was in the $2500 no-limit hold ’em event at the World Series of Poker. Like most WSOP events, opponents represented a range of experience and skill levels ranging from extremely amateurish to world-class. In my … Read more…
The Art of War is a classic on the subject of military strategy. How can it help us to think about poker? Join me in my latest series for Tournament Poker Edge for a discussion of what this ancient text … Read more…
My latest poker strategy article, Complicated Indifference, is now appearing the March 2018 issue of Two Plus Two Magazine. It aims to explain the value of acquiring at least a low level understanding of game theory, even if you know … Read more…
My latest series of poker strategy videos is a review of key hands from the $3500 World Poker Tour Main Event at Maryland Live. This is the event that I discussed with Christian Soto on one of my all-time favorite … Read more…
Thanks to everyone who’s contributed so far to my Bay Area Urban Debate League campaign. Here’s the first of your free videos. It’s a one-hour look at river bet sizing in PioSolver. Not only will you learn the basics of … Read more…
I’m once again raising money this holiday season for the Bay Area Urban Debate League, a non-profit organization I’m deeply involved with as a Board member, volunteer, and donor. Debating in high school and college changed my life, and in the … Read more…
The first installment of latest poker strategy videos series just went up at Tournament Poker Edge. It’s one I’m especially excited about because it’s the first time I’ve ever done a member hand history review (well, excepting the time that … Read more…
My latest poker strategy article, Progressive Knockout Examples Part 1, is now appearing in 2+2 Magazine. It’s a follow-up to a previous article, using some real examples from progressive knockout tournaments to explore some theory about how to make decisions … Read more…
My latest poker strategy article, Head Hunting, is now appearing in 2+2 Magazine. It’s an attempt to, not solve, but build some intuition around how to value bounties in knock-out tournaments. The trickiest problem of all is that you can only … Read more…
My latest poker strategy article, Games With Kids, is now appearing in 2+2 Magazine. It’s on a subject I’ve discussed before on the podcast, playing games with my cousin’s three young sons. This article recounts a few specific stories and … Read more…
There’s a World Poker Tour Deep Stacks series running at Maryland Live right now, and last night I managed to take second in one of the prelim events, a $570 multi-flight NLHE tournament. This was despite a shaky start where … Read more…
My latest poker strategy article, A Thin Shove, is now appearing in Two Plus Two Magazine. It covers in great detail a large pot that I briefly mentioned on Twitter, in which I won a big pot by three-betting TT … Read more…
Nate and I had the great privilege of participating in the premiere broadcast of a series of matches between DeepStack, a state-of-the-art heads up no-limit hold ’em Artificial Intelligence, and human professionals. We found DeepStack to be a really tough … Read more…
My latest poker strategy article, Evaluating Three-Bet Opportunities, is now appearing in the March 2017 issue of Two Plus Two Magazine. It builds on last month’s article, What Are the Best Hands to Three-Bet?, demonstrating how to apply the theory … Read more…
This is the “absurd” hand I referenced on Twitter yesterday. I want to be clear that I’m not posting this as an example of a hand that seems bad but I think is actually good. It was a badly played … Read more…
I never just post hands any more! I am curious in your feedback, but I don’t have a lot more to say about the hand myself, so I’m not going to construct it as a What’s Your Play? But here’s … Read more…
In December of 2016, the Thinking Poker community raised over $8000 for the Bay Area Urban Debate League, and I’m so grateful to everyone who contributed! This hour of free poker strategy, with very special guest Matt Berkey, is part … Read more…
Thanks for all the comments on What’s Your Play? Facing an Overbet on River. Time for Some Game Theory It’s probably impossible to find a game theoretically optimal betting strategy for me on the flop, and likewise a calling strategy … Read more…
In December of 2016, the Thinking Poker community raised over $8000 for the Bay Area Urban Debate League, and I’m so grateful to everyone who contributed! I promised a free half-hour of strategy video for every $500 we raised, and … Read more…
Playing a 9-handed 5/10 game last week at Bellagio, effective stacks $1500. Decent recreational player opens to $40 UTG+2, mediocre pro calls MP, good pro calls HJ, I call with 9s 8d (Edit: added suited to clarify that I don’t … Read more…
My latest poker strategy article, “What Are the Best Hands to Three-Bet?”, is now appearing in the February 2017 edition of Two Plus Two Magazine. If you know anything about me, you know that that’s not a question I’m going … Read more…
Below you’ll find nearly a full hour of high-quality tournament poker strategy, a combination of hand review and general strategy talk. Best of all, one of the participants is the always-delightful Jamie Kerstetter, so you’re bound to get a few … Read more…
Nate Meyvis is my guest for the latest free strategy video, and in his honor, I found a PLO8 tournament for us to review. It’s fun and informative! We created this video as part of a year-end fundraising campaign for the … Read more…
This is the second and final part of the published as part of the free strategy video that Carlos and I created as part of a year-end fundraising campaign for the Bay Area Urban Debate League. If you enjoy him here, be … Read more…
Here’s the first video published as part of my year-end fundraising campaign for the Bay Area Urban Debate League. I’m joined by the incomparable Carlos Welch, be sure to check him out on Twitch. To unlock more videos like this … Read more…
Thanks to everyone who participated in What’s Your Play? Flush With Redraw. I folded, and I don’t think it’s close. The short explanation is #TheyAlwaysHaveIt. Here’s a longer one: Is This a Bluff-Catcher? The first question to ask is whether … Read more…
Edit: Fixed pot size on turn. Playing $5/$10 No-Limit at Maryland Live, a game that does not participate in the Bad Beat Jackpot and other promotions. I don’t have a lot of experience with either Villain, but there’s a good … Read more…
My latest poker strategy article, Deep Thinking, was just published in Two Plus Two Magazine. Does this sound like you? Playing with a short stack can be a good way to learn: it simplifies your decisions, minimizes the magnitude of … Read more…
Sorry to say there’s no new podcast this week. However, we recorded a great interview (is there any other kind?) with Tommy Angelo this morning that we’re excited to share with you soon, so stay tuned! In the meantime, here’s … Read more…
Somehow it took me 12 years to get around to playing a World Poker Tour event, but I played my first one over the weekend at Maryland Live. Overall it was a well-run and well-attended event and I’m glad I … Read more…
Here’s an interesting pot from the $200 Rebuy 6-Max WCOOP event. You probably know that in theory, multi-street bluffing tends to involve building two ranges for each street, a “keep bluffing” range and a “give up” range, such that your … Read more…
Thanks to everyone who participated in Rate Our Play: Blind Battle. I hope you benefited from thinking about this spot. Blind battles and other spots where players have very wide ranges are tricky because, if you just try to apply … Read more…
It’s called Rate Our Play. I’m going to post a hand featuring multiple decisions points for both myself and my opponent(s). Your job will be to comment on any mistakes (or choices that surprised you in a good way) that … Read more…
I knew that my small turn bet in the recent Rate Our Play post would be controversial, and although I had reasons for doing it, they weren’t particularly exploitive, and I hadn’t actually used GTORB to look at the EV … Read more…
Q: I would love to hear your thoughts on zoom poker. It seems to me, at low stakes anyway, that the level of play is much higher than at regular cash tables at the same stakes. For some reason, it seems … Read more…
In an effort to blog a bit more often (about topics other than new podcasts), I’m going to try out a new sort of post that hopefully will be similar to but less time-consuming (for me) than a multi-street What’s … Read more…
The Backstory I’m currently in Maryland visiting family and have been to Maryland Live a few times. It’s been quite busy; even when I arrived around 4 yesterday there was already a long list for 5/10 and 10/25 and no … Read more…
Sorry for the recent, worse-than-usual silence. Immediately after the WSOP, Emily and I moved out of our apartment (big job!) and then took a two-week vacation. There were also some technical difficulties with the latest podcast, though we hope to … Read more…
My plan for Sunday was to play the $1500 NLHE and, if I busted early, to register the $1500 PLO8. I ended up busting the no-limit shortly after the dinner break around 8PM, and I wasn’t in the mood to … Read more…
My latest poker strategy article, Poker is a Gambling Game, is now appearing in 2+2 Magazine. I suspect the title will seem like an obvious statement to some and a controversial (heretical?) one to others, but I don’t think there’s … Read more…
This question first appeared on the Tournament Poker Edge forums, under the title “Looking for some insight in to effective stack sizes and 3-bet/4-bet decisions.” Q: I’ve often wondered how best to consider stack size when confronted by 3 or … Read more…
My latest poker strategy article, Putting Your Opponents to a Decision, is now appearing in the May issue of 2+2 Magazine. It addresses some misunderstandings related to the intrinsic value of aggressive actions: [T]here are other decisions in poker besides … Read more…
Q: Do you, personally, use any kind of loss limit for a given session? Do you have a cap on the max you will lose before going home? I know this is not consistent with thinking of each hand independently, so … Read more…
Thanks to everyone who participated in the second and final part of the Hand of the Week. You can find discussion of the flop play here. I was really impressed with the quality of the comments. It didn’t seem like … Read more…
My latest poker strategy article, Stop Telling Stories, is now appearing in Two Plus Two Magazine. It’s about the natural but dangerous temptation to create a narrative (and assign blame/take credit in the process) out of all of the randomness … Read more…
This is a continuation of Hand of the Week: 666 (Flop). For a discussion of the flop decision, see this post. We’re playing 10/25 NLHE with effective stacks of about $8K. The main Villain, in the SB, is a capable … Read more…
Thanks to everyone who participated in the first part of our Hand of the Week. Assessing Range Advantage The only information I gave about the SB was that he’s “capable and experienced” and probably has “a similar opinion of me”. … Read more…
Seems like a fitting thread to start on Easter! This is from a 10/25 NLHE game with effective stacks of about $8K. The main Villain, in the SB, is a capable and experienced player, not 100% sure whether he’s a … Read more…
Q: I watched this video by Daniel Negreanu explaining the pros of using the “Johnny Chan Play” as he calls it (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x4iAuxikBVU) whereby you can neutralize your opponent’s positional advantage by c/c the flop then lead out bet the turn. But … Read more…
My latest poker strategy article for Two Plus Two Magazine, Poker is Not a Chest Beating Contest, addresses one of my favorite subjects, which is language and how it shapes the way we think: “Poker lingo is full of bluster … Read more…
As you’ve probably figured out right now, there was no new podcast this week. We’ve got one coming tomorrow (Monday February 1) though! In the meantime, here’s another free strategy video from last month’s fundraising campaign. I realized all the … Read more…
This week’s free strategy video comes to you courtesy of the lucky donor who was randomly selected to receive a free review of one of his tournament hand histories. He graciously gave me permission to post it online so that everyone … Read more…
We raised so much money last month that I’m still rolling out all the free videos you all unlocked. Here’s the conclusion of my PLO8 WCOOP event review with Nate. If you haven’t seen them yet, be sure to check … Read more…
Thanks so much to everyone who contributed to the Bay Area Urban Debate League during our year-end fundraising campaign! I’ll announce prize winners shortly, but want to be sure I’ve got a complete list of contributors first, as some people … Read more…
Of course donations are always welcome, but the Bay Area Urban Debate League‘s end-of-the-year fundraising campaign ends at, well, the end of the year. Which means that you’ve got a little more than 24 hours to make your contribution, if … Read more…
Just in time for Christmas, the latest volume in The Thinking Poker Diaries is here. Whether you’re looking for a last-minute gift or an escape from the family, this mix of trip reports and strategy essays from the 2012 WSOP … Read more…
Thanks to everyone who participated in the Hand of the Week. Here’s a recap of the action so far: Blinds are 50/100, Villain has about 20K (starting stack), and I have about 25K. Only six players (including both blinds) have … Read more…
Thanks to everyone who commented on the turn situation. Here’s a recap of the action so far: Blinds are 50/100, Villain has about 20K (starting stack), and I have about 25K. Only six players (including both blinds) have claimed their … Read more…
This is a continuation of the Hand of the Week. Discussion of the flop action, which I imagine will surprise some of you, can be found here. Blinds are 50/100, Villain has about 20K (starting stack), and I have about … Read more…
Thanks to everyone who’s participated so far in the Hand of the Week. To recap the action so far: Blinds are 50/100, Villain has about 20K (starting stack), and I have about 25K. Only six players (including both blinds) have … Read more…
This hand is from the first level of the $1080 Battle of the Bay tournament that I went on to win. I don’t have any specific reads on particular players, but the field in general is quite amateurish, with lots … Read more…
My latest poker strategy article, now appearing in Two Plus Two Magazine, is called Weighing Your Options. It’s about a rule I try to play by, that helps me to recognize the right times for unconventional plays and avoid timing … Read more…
For those of you who aren’t sick of this hand yet, here’s a video I made analyzing my river check-raise, discussed on Episodes 143 and 144 of the podcast, with GTO Range Builder. This is free because the production value … Read more…
Thanks to everyone who contributed to the Hand of the Week so far. The comments from the pre-flop discussion that I found most interesting were from dullgeek and others who struggled with the problem of how to put money in … Read more…
My latest poker article, Fancy Play Syndrome, is now appearing in the October 2015 issue of Two Plus Two Magazine. It might be a poor title, because the argument is that many supposedly “fancy” plays are actually a part of … Read more…
Thanks to everyone who’s participated in the Hand of the Week so far. Today’s post deals with the turn play. This is from the $700 NLHE 1R1A WCOOP event. Blinds are 350/700/85. It’s well after the rebuy period but not particularly close … Read more…