Whether or not you’re participating in the April Bookclub, I hope you’ll find my latest poker strategy article, “Idealistic Extremes“, to be of interest. It extrapolates on the meaning of a key phrase from Tommy Angelo’s introduction to Elements of Poker and talks about its implications for … Read full post
This is the fourth hand of a six-max tournament on a .FR site. Hero (who is not me) and Villain are both readless on each other. Blinds are 50/100, both players have roughly 20K to start the hand.
Villain opens to 205 from the HJ, Hero calls with As Th … Read full post
Thanks to everyone who commented on What’s Your Play? Overpair on Dry Flop. I realize that in some sense this isn’t a very interesting spot, because nothing out of the ordinary has happened and I’m not going to advocate some bizarre play like betting 4x pot. In another sense, … Read full post
Nate and I will be discussing Tommy Angelo’s Elements of Poker for the Thinking Poker Bookclub during the month of April. I figured I’d make a separate post about here since not everyone reads the shownotes. If you’ve never read Elements of Poker, you’re in for a treat. It’s … Read full post
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Poker author Ed Miller, the brains behind March book club selection Playing the Player among other great titles, gives generously of his time for both a regular interview and a thorough discussion of his book. We talk about the unconventional beginning … Read full post
Playing 10-handed $1/$3 no-limit hold ’em. Villain has roughly $300, Hero covers.
Villain is relatively new to the table, but he’s already complaining, good-naturedly but often, about how he’s getting nothing but bad cards. Before looking at his cards this hand, he said, “I just want to see one card … Read full post
… Read full postYou pay off too much. You have trouble letting go of big hands. Bad calls on early streets get you into trouble later. You call when you know you’re beat, saying things like, “I had to,” or “I was priced in.”
Does this sound like you? I’ve got good news.
Often, when I’m in a smaller stakes game waiting for a seat in the bigger game to open up, I use it as an opportunity to practice my discipline. Generally it’s easier to pick up physical tells, betting tendencies, etc. in smaller stakes games, and rather than acting like it’s … Read full post
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Nicolás “Nico” Amaya is a professional heads up hyper-turbo sit-and-go player. He’s also an industrial engineering student, an entrepeneur, and a former member of the Spanish national ski team, and we talk to him about all of those things. Nico has made … Read full post
Thanks for all the comments on this week’s What’s Your Play? There was a lot of disagreement, which is understandable since multiple players are defensible. The important thing is your reasoning behind your choice.
Brief Comments on Earlier Streets
The nut flush draw is an extremely versatile hand, and there … Read full post
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Leo Wolpert, whom you may remember from Episode 10, is back as a co-host this week. He shares a hand from a recent WSOP circuit event and a story from his friend Jason Somerville’s blog.
Strategy Segment
Leo starts the … Read full post
Our editor checked his laptop on a recent flight; he arrived at his destination, but his bag did not, so no editing got done today. We hope to get the podcast up tomorrow – I may even edit it my damn self if he doesn’t get his laptop back tomorrow. … Read full post
This WYP should be of particular interest to fans of my Getting Paid series on Tournament Poker Edge. We’re heads up at the first table of a $500 NLHE Shootout WCOOP event. (In a shootout, they don’t break tables. Instead each starting table plays until one player remains, then … Read full post
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André Coimbra is a member of PokerStars Team Online and the 2009 Magic: The Gathering World Champion. In 2013, he withdrew all but $100 from his PokerStars account, asked support to reset his VIP status to Bronze Star, and set about trying … Read full post
This week’s What’s Your Play? highlights an important point about how to integrate an opponent’s physical tells into your decision-making process. Contrary to what Hollywood would have you believe, it’s not something that you can do in a vacuum: TeddyKGB didn’t eat the Oreo, he’s bluffing, call him with Ace-high!… Read full post
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Something different today: Andrew interviews his grandmother about her brother, a 400-pound cross-dressing stand-up comedian with a love for all things gambling. The result is a moving, inspiring portrait of a life well-, if strangely, lived. Plus, some exciting announcements!
Tubby Boots … Read full post
I’ve always done well in live cash games, but prior to Black Friday I didn’t play them all that often, and I do think you encounter a somewhat different player base in live games than you do online. As you may have noticed from the hands I’ve been posting, I’ve … Read full post
Edit: Just realized the first paragraph of this post disappeared for some reason. Rewriting it now.
In his opinion, Hero hasn’t been that aggressive, but that isn’t how this loose and passive $1/$3 no-limit hold ’em table sees it. I’ve mostly been doing pretty simple stuff, bombing it preflop against … Read full post
My new video series at Tournament Poker Edge is called Getting Paid, and it’s about getting money into the pot when you have the best hand. The first video in this five-part series, which was just released, is about identifying specific hands in your opponent’s range from which you’ll … Read full post
Thanks for the comments on this week’s WYP, everyone. You all seem to agree with my thinking during the hand, which was that Villain’s line just doesn’t make sense. People often use that as an excuse to call, since they can’t put their opponent on a value hand, but … Read full post
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Steve Day, better known in some circles as “SteveD” and in others as “ackbleh”, is Manager of VIP, Team Online, Ring Games, and Sit-and-Go tournaments at PokerStars. He takes us behind the scenes at PokerStars to talk about how major decisions, from … Read full post
Sorry all, I’m on vacation this week and thought I’d have time to get this up today but I haven’t. It will be up by Thursday night, apologies for the delay.… Read full post
It’s not unheard of for me to dream about poker, particularly if I go to bed shortly after ending a session or am still mulling over a hand when I go to sleep. This was the first time I’d ever dreamed about writing about poker, though.
In the dream, I … Read full post
I haven’t posted in a while so I figured I’d go ahead and put up an early WYP.
Villain is a regular but for whatever reason we don’t have a lot of experience playing together. From what little I’ve seen he seems to be mostly loose-passive in small pots but … Read full post
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John Wray, co-creator, director, and co-writer of The Micros, talks about the origins of the show and his early vision for it. We also delve into John’s own origin story, from his studies at film school to his stint at Disney … Read full post
It occurs to me that, although my latest poker strategy article has been up since the beginning of the month, I haven’t actually mentioned it here yet. You can read The Button Tax in Two Plus Two Magazine to learn more about the value of position in multiway pots:
… Read full postI
I arrived at my local card room expecting to play the usual loose-passive $1/$3/$6 game. Instead, there were two full tables of $5/$5 running with a substantial waiting list. I sat for over an hour in a $1/$3 game before a seat in the must-move game opened up. When I … Read full post
Thanks for all the comments on What’s Your Plan? Flopped Straight, Board Pairs on Turn.
The Action So Far
Despite having somewhat better reads on my opponents and their timing than I sometimes do in these posts, I didn’t believe I could eliminate too many of the relevant hands … Read full post
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“Ike” Haxton, the newest member of PokerStars Team Online joins us for one of our most wide-ranging interviews, covering his lifelong love of games, his first job in a spring factory, his days as a limit hold ’em grinder, his current life … Read full post
The Game: $1/$3/$6 no-limit hold ’em. Plays loose-passive pre-flop but gets progressively more tight-passive as pots get larger.
Villain 1 ($1800): Best of the regulars in this Hero’s opinion. He’s 30ish, seems comfortable playing 200+ BB pots when it’s warranted, capable of bluffing, calling down, and folding in … Read full post
Wow, thanks for all the comments on What’s His Hand? Nit vs LAG! For whatever reason this post generated more guesses and discussion than any other WYP. And sorry for the delay in getting results up – I just ran out of time yesterday.
Hero’s Hand
I’ll start by … Read full post
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Ryan Hall has a full-time job teaching high school in Ontario, but that hasn’t stopped him from staying on top of the MTT world for six years and counting. Ryan has amassed more than $2 million in online winnings and an FTOPS … Read full post
In honor of my first video series at Tournament Poker Edge, here’s a twist on the “What’s Your Play?” theme with an emphasis on hand reading.
Five-handed $5/$5 no-limit hold ’em game. Villain bought in about an hour ago for $500 and is down to about $440. He’s a … Read full post
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Derek “Killingbird” Tenbusch is a founder and owner of Tournament Poker Edge, the video training site for which I now make videos, and a host of the Tournament Poker Edge Strategy Podcast. Tournament Poker Edge Live and The Chirp Herm … Read full post
Several weeks after his appearance on The Thinking Poker Podcast, I finally got around to publishing my review of Zachary Ellwood’s Reading Poker Tells. In short, it’s one of the most helpful poker books I’ve read.
Ellwood covers his subject clearly and thoroughly, and his book is well-organized … Read full post
Nate and I are going to start releasing new episodes of The Thinking Poker Podcast on Wednesdays rather than Mondays as we’ve been doing (in theory). That means the next one will be out in two days, but in the meantime you can get caught up on old episodes with … Read full post
Just as I take my seat in the $1/$3/$6 game, I see a player curse, hurl his cards angrily into the muck, leap out of his chair, curse again, and kick the wall. Naturally curious, I look to the board to see what has happened and am surprised to find … Read full post
Thanks to those who commented on this week’s “What’s Your Play?”. I think this may have been the liveliest discussion yet, and I’d encourage everyone who hasn’t to read those comments, because I think those conversations are at least as valuable as what I’m going to say here.
I’ll … Read full post
Live $10/$25 NLHE cash game at the PCA, playing seven-handed at the moment. I haven’t been involved in many pots but may have an aggro image anyway because of a hand that went to showdown where I raised K6s, bet a backdoor flush draw on the flop, barreled a turned … Read full post
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Q: I thought Russ Fox was a cool guest to have on the show! I have played both live and online poker for many years. About 5 months ago I began to read, watch videos, and listen to podcasts related to poker strategy and have quickly become a winning online … Read full post
I suppose the Atlantis resort is an appropriate place for a poker tournament, because the whole place is built on value betting the shit out of rich fish. Everywhere the trappings of luxury convince people to fork over absurd sums of money for silly baubles, bad food, and tacky experiences.… Read full post
I took my seat and immediately recognized Lee Markholt two seats to my left and Dani Stern two seats to his left. I never learned the names of the rest of my opponents, but they proved nearly as capable, and it was probably one of the toughest tournament tables I’ve … Read full post
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Zachary Ellwood is a former professional poker player and author of “Reading Poker Tells“. We recorded this episode on the assumption that I would have already published a review of the book, which unfortunately I haven’t gotten around to doing … Read full post
Sorry I’ve been so self-promotional these last few days, it’s just that I’ve had a lot to promote and not much time to write about anything else. First I was showing Miklos, my Hungarian PCA roommate, around DC and Baltimore. Although he’s a few years older than I and grew … Read full post
My latest poker strategy article, “Way Ahead/Way Behind and Other Common Situations“, is now appearing in the January edition of Two Plus Two Magazine. It re-examines the standard advice for way ahead/way behind situations and then applies that logic to similar sorts of situations:
… Read full postThe term “way ahead/way
In case you haven’t heard the announcement on the podcast yet, I’m pleased to let you know that I’m now producing poker strategy videos for Tournament Poker Edge. My first series focuses on hand reading and is essentially a much more in-depth version of my very popular Hand Reading … Read full post
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Russ Fox is an Enrolled Agent and author of the Taxable Talk blog, which often addresses issues related to poker and gambling. With Scott Harker, Russ is the author of Why You Lose at Poker and Mastering No-Limit Hold ‘Em, and … Read full post
Sorry for the lack of updates – holidays and such, you know. It’s going to continue to be spotty through mid-January, as I’ve got a guest visiting for the next few days, then I’ll be visiting friends for a few days, then I’ll be at the PCA where internet may … Read full post
Nate and I are both busy with family and travel this week, so there’s no new episode of the Thinking Poker Podcast. We’ll be back with a new episode next week. Merry Christmas!
Q:Game is 2/5 and involves three players:
A-$350(SB)
B-$500(hero, MP)T/T
C-$650(Button)
action is limped by1 player(B) to Button that raises to $25, folds to BB and he re pops it for $85 total… now here is the question, given a hero read of extremely strong ranges on at the … Read full post
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Our guest is PokerStars Team Online member, occupational therapist, and all-around delightful poker player Adrienne Rowsome. She talks to us about getting more women into the game, getting everyone to have more fun at the table, taking a shot at a 300/600 … Read full post
Update: Thanks for the enthusiastic response! Everything I want to sell is spoken for, so if you haven’t contacted me about this already, sorry but there’s no more action for sale. Hope you’ll root for me anyway though!
I decided, at the last minute as usual, to play the … Read full post
Not too much controversy surrounding this week’s “What’s Your Play?”, but interestingly I think it nevertheless generated some of the best comments. Nearly everyone advocated folding, so let’s start by considering the alternatives:
Shoving
Hero risks, roughly, 800 to win 1750, so we’d need 46% equity against his calling … Read full post
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Due to some logistical conflicts we found ourselves without a guest this week, but what you get instead is lots of strategy talk and a cameo from Gareth Chantler. Here’s what to expect and when:
0:23 — Hello! Nate on preparing … Read full post
Edit: Villain is the BB (the $3 blind).
Ten-handed live $1/$3/$6 game. Hero is the only player at the table with a pre-flop raise percent greater 5 (it’s close to 15). As such, I’m perceived as an insanely aggressive bully even though I’ve mostly shown big hands in big pots … Read full post
China Paul
I played some $1/$3/$6 last night. China Paul was already in the game when I got my seat, sitting two to the left of the player who’d spearheaded last weekend’s sit-out. After half an hour, I was about to tweet that they were coexisting peacefully when suddenly … Read full post
This happened the same night as the first one. The $1/$3/$6 game is up and running again. There are a couple of limps, so I limp behind with 85s in the HJ. The CO limps, the BB completes, and then the $6 blind (not sure what to call that) … Read full post
I’m at the card room sitting in a $1/$3 game while I wait for a seat in the $1/$3/$6 when the player on my left mutters, “What the fuck?” and turns to stare at the entrance to the poker room, where a slander Asian man clad all in black and … Read full post
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Leo Wolpert, a true grinder and a good friend, joins us on the 10th episode. Leo has a WSOP bracelet, a law degree, a Quiz Bowl pedigree, and a Jeopardy! appearance to his name, and he finished 50th in the 2012 … Read full post
My latest poker strategy article, Capping Ranges in Live Poker, has just been published in 2+2 Magazine. Using examples from the Borgata Poker Open, I demonstrate what you can get away with when your opponents are kind enough to broadcast the upper limits of their hand strength via bet … Read full post
Gareth Chantler is back in South America, and he’s chronicled the start of his journey, in Cartagena, Colombia, for the PokerStars blog. I can’t recommend it highly enough, it’s literally the best poker narrative I’ve read in years. In a few hundred words, the author tells you a lot … Read full post
I’ve just published a review of Jonathan Little’s Secrets of Professional Tournament Poker Volume 2. Here’s the synopsis:
… Read full postThe book is subtitled “Stages of the Tournament”, but fewer than half of the book’s 270 pages are dedicated to this topic. Ironically, much of the book addresses topics on which Little
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Lee Jones joins us on the show to talk about the past, present, and future of poker and PokerStars. Lee’s an interesting guy with an interesting story, and his PokerStars blog is pretty interesting too. You can learn more about the Rec.Gambling.Poker … Read full post
Thanks for all the comments on this week’s What’s Your Play? from the Borgata Poker Open. Sorry I was late in posting this, I ended up making a last-minute trip to see my family for Thanksgiving. I also played the $1000 Pittsburgh Poker Open all day yesterday and will hopefully … Read full post
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Ben “NeverScaredB” Wilinofsky is an MTT superstar with an EPT title and over $3 million in online tournament cashes, but that’s not why we asked him to come on the show (though it is why we asked him to stick around for … Read full post