My father was generally the parent more interested in playing board and card games, including poker, with my brother and me, but this particular story involves my mother. I meant to post this on Mother’s Day but didn’t get around to it (I did call her from Madrid, though).
Most … Read full post
Without online poker to order my life, the days just run together. Sunday in particular used to be a day that would almost invariably be given over to poker. But I just now realized what day it is today, and that I won’t be playing the Sunday Million, and that … Read full post
There’s a full trip report in the works, but for now, here’s my favorite hand that I played in the EPT Madrid main event:
Blinds are 150/300/25. The UTG is a very aggressive young Scandinavian with a huge stack. He opens to 750, and I call in the CO with … Read full post
Sorry for the long silence- I’ve just had better things to do than blogging while I’m in Madrid. I’ll be home on Thursday and should return to a normal blogging schedule not longer after.
It turns out one of my coaching students lives in Madrid and is also a very … Read full post
Andrew busted at EPT Madrid shortly after the dinner break Day 1A.
I expect he’ll post a more thorough recounting tomorrow, but he did have a Spanish friend relay the busto hand info for me to share –
… Read full postIt was shortly after dinner break, with blinds at 300/600, Andrew had
Andrew is playing EPT Madrid’s Main Event today, dubbed the Grand Final for the EPT series.
Main Event winners from each of this year’s other EPT stops are given an entry into this 10,000 Euro Grand Final as part of their prize package.
In … Read full post
My current 2+2 Magazine article, Gray Friday, is one of the most personal I’ve published. It’s about what was going through my head around the time of the online poker indictments and by extension a reflection on my relationship to online poker in general:
… Read full postIt still seems surreal to
Dipping into the archives to bring you some poker content…
Villain and I were starting a game. He’s pretty solid and not someone I’d ordinarily go out of my way to play heads up, especially not at 2/4 where there’s easier competition available.
PokerStars No-Limit Hold’em, $4 BB (2 handed) … Read full post
A few months ago, I began to experience pain along the top of my right forearm. Insert your masturbation jokes here, but realize that this is the arm I use for directing my mouse, and as a professional online poker player, I was spending hours every day moving and clicking … Read full post
(Sorry for all the low-content posts lately, I do plan on getting some more poker-related stuff going soon. For now, enjoy the filler!)
One summer during college I worked at a day camp for kids from Cambridge. Most people know the city for Harvard and MIT, but actually a good … Read full post
I’ve made a last-minute decision to play the EPT Grand Final in Madrid. I’ll be starting Day 1A on May 7th. A friend who used to play in my old high school home game way back when is going to join me for the trip, so it should be fun … Read full post
In light of recent events, I’ve decided to end the Thinking Poker Home Game tournament series early. Americans are still allowed to play for play money, and I thought about finishing out the series that way, but I think there are too many people who just aren’t going to be … Read full post
This cloud has a silver lining for those of you who have been considering coaching: my time right now is worth a lot less than it was last week, and consequently I’m cutting the price of my coaching in half! Effective immediately, individual coaching is $150/hour with even deeper discounts … Read full post
I want to begin with appreciation and an apology. I’m flattered that so many people have been eager to hear my thoughts on the recent events that rocked the online poker world, and I’m sorry that this post is going to disappoint you.
The truth is that I don’t know … Read full post
Edit: Well this was a little premature. In light of recent events I will in all likelihood not be able to play in the Home Game this Sunday. Unless Stars automatically unregisters me, my dollar will stay in the prize pool, so phat overlay for those who do play!
Sorry … Read full post
…but this guy managed. He almost got there, too:
PokerStars Pot-Limit Omaha High, $1.00 BB (6 handed) Hand History converter Courtesy of PokerZion.com
Button ($170.35)
Hero ($250)
BB ($1351.95)
UTG ($258.90)
MP ($456.15)
CO ($96.50)
Preflop: Hero is SB with 7c, As, 5h, Ac.
UTG calls $1, MP raises to … Read full post
As “The Poker Philosopher”, and in honor of one of my favorite non-poker blogs, I occasionally consider the ethical dimensions of a high-profile controversy in the poker community. Today, in honor of the US’ April 15th deadline for filing, I address the underreporting of income, which many poker players … Read full post
I think Villain’s turn range consists of bluffs, flushes, AQ, sets, and perhaps the occasional 43 or AJ no spade that is raise-folding. I think it’s unlikely that he’s raising a singleton spade, as without a pair he’s setting himself up to get blown off of the draw and with … Read full post
The day started well enough. My table couldn’t be called “soft”, but given the overall tough field, I imagine it was one of the more desirable tables. We were supposed to be playing 8-handed, but my table consisted of me, three primarily live players of varying skill, and three online … Read full post
I started the day with 30K, quickly ran it up to 80K, dropped back down to 40K, ran it up to 130K, dropped down as low as 36K, then quickly ran back up to 140K and finished the day with 127,200.
Despite the swings, it was actually a really boring … Read full post
Didn’t get the table draw until the very last minute, but here it is:
1 Richard Woodall 81,000
2 Andrew Brokos 30,800
3 Mario Nagel 18,600
4 Douglas Johnson 33,000
5 George Kalaitzis 37,000
6 Mike Beasley 34,300
7 Cliff Josephy 32,100 (JohnnyBax)
8 Chris Bonita 24,500
9 Tony Cousineau … Read full post
Day got off to a good start: I made some big hands and won some big pots during levels 1 and 2 to go on break with about 50K. I’ll post more details after the event is over but basically I played a couple of pots in position against Carter … Read full post
Today marks my first public appearance sporting the PokerStars Team Online patch (assuming I successfully meet up with fellow PSTO’er Kevin “WizardofAhhhs” Thurman, who is supposed to have some for me). I hopefully won’t be able to post a blog update until tonight, so if you want the play-by-play, be … Read full post
Yesterday, I posted a few hands where I exploited Early Position raisers with transparent ranges. Here’s an example of of the kind of play you can make to combat players who try to exploit you in this way:
PokerStars No-Limit Hold’em, $4 BB (8 handed) Hand History converter Courtesy … Read full post
Many Tight-Aggressive players do a poor job of mixing up their ranges for raising from Early Position. This means that you can often identify boards on which your perceived range is stronger than theirs and bluff relentlessly:
PokerStars No-Limit Hold’em, $6 BB (7 handed) Hand History converter Courtesy of PokerZion.com… Read full post
I was tweating yesterday about some big folds that I made in my Sunday tournaments. At least one person expressed interest, so here are the two biggest.
Villain was 11/8, and I’d been reasonable to tight, though admittedly my Team Online avatar does seem to make people a little suspicious:… Read full post
Congratulations to Pokerpaulmd and Piefarmer, who chopped the $5.50 NLHE 6-Max Shootout Home Game yesterday. Rjtii finished 3rd, and Jeppe18 came fourth after surviving the many bad beats I put on him at our starting table to eventually triumph over me in the heads up. The other final tablists were … Read full post
Sorry it was late to show up in the lobby, but the $5.50 6-Max NLHE Shoot-Out is taking place as planned at 16:30 today in the Thinking Poker Home Game. Club ID# 312467, ID Code “foucault” to join.… Read full post
In my recent poker strategy article, Slowplaying, I emphasize how much a failure to build the pot can cost you when you slowplay a huge hand in NLHE. One of the exceptions I discuss is when you have an aggressive opponent who may help you to build the pot:… Read full post
My latest poker strategy article, Slowplaying, is a meditation on a variety of topics related to slowplaying: what it costs you, when to do it, which types of boards and opponents are best, etc. Here’s an excerpt from the introduction:
“[Y]ou must weigh the advantages of slowplaying against what … Read full post
At the end of 2010, I urged poker players to send me write-ups about their favorite charities in order to encourage year-end giving and paint a broader picture of just what the non-profit sector looks like and how many diverse opportunities there are for charitable giving. Quite a few well-known … Read full post
PokerStars Pot-Limit Omaha High, $1.00 BB (6 handed) Hand History converter Courtesy of PokerZion.com
MP ($263.80)
CO ($250)
Button ($362.30)
SB ($264.20)
Hero ($250)
UTG ($166.90)
Preflop: Hero is BB with Ah, 4c, Ac, Tc.
UTG calls $1, 1 fold, CO raises to $5.2, Button calls $5.20, SB … Read full post
This is an update concerning a post I made a few weeks ago about some strange goings on in my old UB account.
I requested a security audit as several people on 2+2 suggested. To their credit, UB support was quick to respond with the results and also to answer … Read full post
The field in the $1050 PokerStars Super Tuesday had been whittled down from 394 to 28. With 10 BB’s, I wasn’t in great shape, but I had a fighting chance. And then the internet at my apartment went out. I tried the usual disconnecting and reconnecting, but it didn’t fix … Read full post
Yet another Home Game Fail, as I apparently did not set the tournament up correctly to be a shootout as advertised. It’s a shame, too, because 34 players is a near-perfect size for a 6-max shootout. We ended up playing a plain old $5.50 6-Max NLHE tournament, which Birchum took … Read full post
BTN and SB both seem fishy, not just because of their stacks but because they are respectively 100/20 and 55/9, albeit over small samples. I felt like they’d both have a lot of random crap and I could drive them out of the pot and get it heads up with … Read full post
…so overbet-overbet it is:
PokerStars No-Limit Hold’em, $2 BB (5 handed) Hand History converter Courtesy of PokerZion.com
UTG ($518.95)
MP ($500)
Button ($538.90)
SB ($211.55)
Hero ($1162.75)
Preflop: Hero is BB with 7s, 7d.
2 folds, Button raises to $6, SB calls $5, Hero calls $4.
Flop: ($18.80) … Read full post
PokerStars No-Limit Hold’em, $6 BB (2 handed) Hand History converter Courtesy of PokerZion.com
Hero ($1078.40)
BB ($2126.95)
Preflop: Hero is Button with 7s, 9c.
Hero raises to $18, BB calls $12.
Flop: ($36) 2c, 2d, 6h (2 players)
BB checks, Hero checks.
Turn: ($36) 7h (2 players)
BB bets … Read full post
Villain’s hand looks so much like a busted draw that I was afraid I was getting leveled. I had to double-check the board to confirm that it really made no sense for him to play any value hand this way before snapping him off:
PokerStars No-Limit Hold’em, $2 BB (4 … Read full post
Also, fold the river:
PokerStars No-Limit Hold’em Tourney, Big Blind is t80 (6 handed) Hand History converter Courtesy of PokerZion.com
UTG (t1560)
MP (t3290)
CO (t6660)
Hero (t4198)
SB (t3839)
BB (t1453)
Preflop: Hero is Button with 7h, 9h.
3 folds, Hero raises to t160, SB raises to … Read full post
First off, congratulations to Home Game newcomer Gellybooty, who bested a field of 26 to win the 8-Game Freeroll (in under 4 hours, I might add- structure was perfect IMO).
The runner-up, despite mis-reading his hand at least twice, was I. In triple draw, I drew four to an Ace, … Read full post
PokerStars No-Limit Hold’em, $10 BB (2 handed) Hand History converter Courtesy of PokerZion.com
Hero ($1000)
BB ($3855.15)
Preflop: Hero is Button with 8s, Ts.
Hero raises to $30, BB calls $20.
Flop: ($60) 8c, 5d, Qd (2 players)
BB checks, Hero bets $44.6, BB calls $44.60.
Turn: ($149.20) … Read full post
First hand is a very relevant bit of recent history:
PokerStars No-Limit Hold’em, $6 BB (2 handed) Hand History converter Courtesy of PokerZion.com
Hero ($1153.70)
Button ($752.10)
Preflop: Hero is BB with Th, Jh.
Button raises to $12, Hero raises to $42, Button calls $30.
Flop: ($84) Qc, … Read full post
I have no idea what to make of his flop min-check-raise as the pre-flop raiser, but I seriously doubt he can stand a turn raise. I just don’t see him doing this with either 2 pair+ or a good draw. My intention was to raise just about any card. Be … Read full post
After three tournaments, here are the standings in the Thinking Poker Home Game:
As you can see, winning a tournament is not essential to win the contest. Bond2King has never taken 1st, but he’s got a 2nd, a 3rd, and a 4th to his name, which is a pretty impressive … Read full post
PokerStars No-Limit Hold’em Tourney, Big Blind is t600 (6 handed) Hand History converter Courtesy of PokerZion.com
Hero (t14702)
UTG (t30344)
MP (t15991)
CO (t16405)
Button (t34712)
SB (t61552)
Preflop: Hero is BB with Ks, 9s.
3 folds, Button raises to t1200, 1 fold, Hero calls t600.
Flop:… Read full post
This was the first and only hand I played with Villain, he just sat with a random amount that was probably all he had in his account:
PokerStars No-Limit Hold’em, $10 BB (2 handed) Hand History converter Courtesy of PokerZion.com
Hero ($1000)
Button ($573.55)
Preflop: Hero is BB with Jh, … Read full post
I’m posting three hands tonight, all of them against the same Villain. I’d just stacked him for the second time, and after that he bought in for just 30 BB’s, won a sizable pot, and then started donking a lot of flops. In the first two, I made some biggish … Read full post
I know where I’ll be May 8-22: PokerStars is guaranteeing $45 million in prizes over the course of two weeks in the third annual Spring Championship of Online Poker. They’ve released the schedule, and just looking at it gets my adrenaline rushing. There are so many tournaments that will … Read full post
I didn’t realize it at the time or I would have raised the flop, but this is one of those interesting PLO situations where my draw is a pretty solid favorite against the nuts:
PokerStars Pot-Limit Omaha High, $1.00 BB (6 handed) Hand History converter Courtesy of PokerZion.com
UTG ($339.20)… Read full post
I figured Villain’s river range was nuts/bluffs, and given that this was a backdoor draw and the flop draws missed, there’d be enough bluffs to warrant a call. I hadn’t counted on this:
PokerStars Pot-Limit Omaha High, $1.00 BB (5 handed) Hand History converter Courtesy of PokerZion.com
Button ($655.40)
SB … Read full post
Edit: Support tells me that they are “experiencing some delays” but that points should be awarded appropriately within 24 hours.
My thanks and apologies to everyone who played in last night’s Triple Stud event. I’ll start on a positive note: I had a great time, and it seemed like many … Read full post
I’m all out of Tales from a 7-11, but I’ve had a few requests for more stories, so I’m going to reach back to another job that I once held for a new series called “Tales From a Summer Camp.”
One summer during college I worked at a day … Read full post
We’ll be playing $.05/$.10 Pot-Limit Omaha today starting at 13:00 ET.
If you aren’t yet a member of the Thinking Poker League, you can find us in the PokerStars Home Games tab by searching for Club ID# 312467. The Invitation Code is “foucault”.
Also don’t forget that our next tournament … Read full post
I’ve never really been a grinder, one of those online poker players who plays 10+ tables at once, cursor and attention whizzing from monitor to monitor so quickly that they have only seconds to think about they want to play any given hand. For me, 4 tables is common, and … Read full post
Thanks to everyone who played in the inaugural Thinking Poker cash game last night. We had our share of technical difficulties:
1. When I set the stakes at $.10/$.25 and 100-250BB buy-in, I somehow thought that would mean a $2.50-$6.25 buy-in range. Of course it’s actually 10x that, so we … Read full post
My latest poker strategy article, Out of Position Against a LAG, has just been published in the March 2011 issue of 2+2 Magazine. It’s a street-by-street analysis of a single hand, highlighting a lesson that can be learned from each. Here’s an example:
Lesson: Against an opponent who is … Read full post
Villain was pretty disbelieving of me and wasn’t making a lot of what I call “disciplined folds”, meaning that in small- to medium-sized pots he usually called any time his hand was defined as medium-strength rather than trying to figure out my value bet vs. bluffing frequency. I also think … Read full post
Edit: Meant to add that there’s still room for a few more people in the league. You can join by searching Club ID # 312467 in the PokerStars Home Games lobby and entering “foucault” when prompted for an Invitation Code.
Thanks to everyone who played in yesterday’s inaugural Thinking Poker … Read full post
After my other adventures on Friday night, I decided to read for a while. I’m currently working on Cormac McCarthy’s Blood Meridian, but I didn’t want to exacerbate my already bad mood by immersing myself in a world of flea-ridden “soldiers” graphically scalping and getting scalped by Apaches, so … Read full post
I let a guy get under my skin and tilt me tonight, which I almost never do. We were at a $2/$4 deep-stacked table, and he was just relentlessly aggressive pre-flop, both in and out of position. He was cold 4-betting me, he was 3-betting me, he was 5-betting me, … Read full post
Edit: The buy-in for the tournament will be $5+$.50.
Second edit: The invite code is “foucault”, I’m told you need that join. Sorry for the confusion.
Third edit: Invite code is all lowercase.
I’m pleased to announce that I’m starting a Thinking Poker League on the new PokerStars Home Game … Read full post
A Hungarian poker site picked up on my recent post about money disappearing from my old UB account. Curious to see what they said, our Esteemed Webmistress ran it through Google Translate. Playing around with GT is always fun, and I especially like seeing what happens when you translate … Read full post
I’ve posted a lot lately about overbetting, so here’s a spot where overbetting with (functionally) the nuts would be a bad idea:
PokerStars No-Limit Hold’em, $6 BB (8 handed) Hand History converter Courtesy of PokerZion.com
SB ($696)
BB ($645)
UTG ($785.70)
UTG+1 ($493)
MP1 ($368.50)
MP2 ($201)
CO ($109.30)
Hero … Read full post
I had a deep run but ultimately a disappointing 15th place finish in last night’s $1000 Super Tuesday tournament on PokerStars, which performance they chronicled on their blog. I say “disappointing” not only because I went from 2/18 to out in 15th but also because I felt like I … Read full post
I recently had an experience with Ultimate Bet that can best be described as “shady”. I don’t feel that the evidence warrants accusing them of outright theft, so I’m just going to post a factual account of what happened and let people make up their own minds:
In 2007 and … Read full post