Huge congratulations to David Baker, 2+2’s own “Bakes”, who took down the WSOP 2-7 NL event last night. For those who don’t know, this is a 5-card draw game where the objective is to make the low hand. Aces are high and straights and flushes count against you, meaning that … Read full post
This is one of my favorite spots for an overbet, either with a very strong hand like this or with a draw, because Villain’s hand is so clearly defined as marginal showdown value. To be honest, given what he shows up with, I don’t understand why he raised the turn:… Read full post
I wasn’t counting on being able to do this when I called the turn, but it’s a nice bonus:
PokerStars No-Limit Hold’em, $4.00 BB (5 handed) – Poker-Stars Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com
Hero (Button) ($400)
SB ($191.70)
BB ($1242.75)
UTG ($599)
MP ($757.80)
Preflop: Hero is Button with 9… Read full post
I get a lot of questions/comments about my underbetting, which is understandable since it’s one of the more non-standard plays in my arsenal. I think this hand illustrates one of the many advantages of such a play, which is inducing spazziness from hands that otherwise wouldn’t give you action.
Villain … Read full post
I’m
embarrassed to say that I’d never heard of Praz before I played with him during this year’s PCA, but I could tell immediately that he was a great player. He has this intense table presence that you rarely see, where you can tell he is studying everything that … Read full post
My latest poker strategy article, Bluff Catching, is now appearing in the June issue of the 2+2 Internet Magazine. Here’s the hypothetical that kicks off the discussion:
… Read full postI had a nightmare last night that I was playing high-stakes heads up no-limit hold ’em with Phil Ivey himself. I
When I first heard that James McManus was working on a book about the history of poker, I was surprised that such a book had not yet been written and glad that McManus was the one writing it. His first poker book, Positively Fifth Street, is a personal favorite … Read full post
Before leaving Leipzig this morning we visited an excellent museum dealing with the Stasi, the secret police of the East German government. The museum was located in their old headquarters and preserved the look and feel of the place complete with the equipment the Stasi used to bug telephones, detain … Read full post
Sorry for the lack of posting this week, I’m currently traveling around Germany with sporadic internet and frankly better things to do. I spent my first few days in Berlin and Potsdam, then two days in Dresden, and am now in Leipzig. Tomorrow it’s onto Weimar, then back for a … Read full post
Over two weeks ago, I won the FTOPS Tournament of Champions, the prize for which was a seat in the WSOP Main Event. I never received the money or any further information, so eventually I wrote them to ask about it. It sounds like the only incentive they are … Read full post
It freaking sucks to river the second nuts and have to make a crying call with it. I’m pretty surprised the guy wasn’t more aggressive with it when I showed so much weakness on the turn, but I can’t see what else he plays like this on the river, let … Read full post
I know this isn’t the first “river semi-bluff” I’ve posted, but it never ceases to amaze me how few players do this. It’s sooooooooo unlikely anyone is checked a flush on the river, betting is a virtual freeroll.
Full Tilt No-Limit Hold’em Tournament, 30/60 Blinds (9 handed) – Full-Tilt Converter … Read full post
CO in this hand was unknown to me. He’d only been at the table for a few hands, but he seemed to be involved in every pot, and indeed had played 40% of his hands.
PokerStars No-Limit Hold’em, $10.00 BB (6 handed) – Poker-Stars Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com
SB ($1148)… Read full post
These are both from the Poker Stars weekly $500.
Hand 1, I think re-raising at either opportunity pre-flop makes me look really strong, and pretty much any hand that can stack off to that pre-flop is going to lose a lot on most flops anyway:
PokerStars No-Limit Hold’em, 530 Tournament, … Read full post
Learned this on a tour of the State Capitol today. There are seven justices, and apparently after hearing a case they vote using a poker chip (this was the term the tour guide used to describe it, anyway) with a smiley face on one side and the name of the … Read full post
I should probably just fold pre-flop. I ran my time bank down all the way before finally deciding I’d pretty much never have a hand stronger than this and so needed to call here. When I saw his hand, I felt totally owned:
PokerStars No-Limit Hold’em, $20.00 BB (4 handed) … Read full post
I played both the 250 and the 2500 but not the 25K. Go ahead, call me a nit.
My first opponent in the 250 was absolutely awful. He played 63/1 over the course of the match (he open limped his button when he didn’t fold it) and played pretty badly … Read full post
I like PLO8 and know a bit about it, but I’m far from an expert. I also played the $100, in which I was surely a favorite, but the 1K had a surprisingly competent field (or maybe not so surprising- I mean it was a 1K). Not that there wasn’t … Read full post
I’d been playing a 2-5 NL game at the MGM Grand for about two hours when Mary came to the table. She looked to be in her early 60’s, with a sweet face and the perfect little old lady vestments: a beige sweater with an oversized ceramic image of a … Read full post
Since we’ve got a lot of new visitors at Thinking Poker, and probably a lot of people who haven’t read my more monolithic trip reports (understandable), I’m going to start reprinting select stories that are buried in much longer narratives but that I consider among my best. This article is … Read full post
An old friend of mine is currently living in Berlin, and I’m going to be visiting him there from May 25-June 5. I tell you this for three reasons:
1. Bragging.
2. If you’re a Thinking Poker reader who happens to live in or around that area, drop me a … Read full post
I ended up doing quite well in this one, finishing 5th out of more than 1400 runners. On the whole it was a lot of fun to play so short-handed and I felt I played well, but a monumental error in my final hand left a bad taste in my … Read full post
Last night, as I was sleep-deprived and caffeine-jittery and getting deep in the $300 SCOOP 4-Max, I was also on the phone with Mike Johnson and Adam Schwartz, hosts of the 2+2 Pokercast on which I am this week’s feature guest! You can search for it on iTunes or listen … Read full post
Between the deep stacks and the very short-handed tables, I was really looking forward to this event. I’ve actually missed both Sundays of the SCOOP, but I made sure I was around for this one.
Needless to say, it was a tough field. My first few tables actually weren’t bad, … Read full post
This guy sat down across from me at one of my HU tables with an 80BB stack and lost it on the second hand of the match. In retrospect my shove might not be great. I thought he would have raised all his strong hands on the flop, but I’m … Read full post
Full Tilt Poker hosted a Tournament of Champions today for everyone who won an FTOPS event in any of the last four series. The only prize was a $10,000 WSOP seat (no details whatsoever on how/whether it can be cashed out) to the winner, and guess who that was?
To … Read full post
I played the SCOOP Large Ante $150 and $1500 events yesterday, not even realizing what they were until the tournament started. What a lot of fun! I think formats like this are awesome because they separate the people who understand poker from those who have a robotic, if successful, strategy. … Read full post
Have you read Freakonomics by Steven Levitt and Stephen Dubner? I never wrote a review of it, and I doubt I’ll re-read it just for that purpose, but it’s got a lot of appeal for the poker player who’s interested in more than just poker. Though the book itself doesn’t … Read full post
I’ve finally gotten around to adding some more of my poker strategy articles and World Series of Poker trip reports to the archive. The sad part is that my girlfriend/webmaster does all the work, all I have to do is give her the stuff when it’s ready to go up, … Read full post
Isn’t it pretty? Plus, now that my avatar is no longer the black guy with the Afro, I expect to see 17% less racist vitriol directed at me in the chatbox!
Don’t Try to Bluff a Guy Named Psycho
This one’s a little embarrassing. I shoved turn here hoping to get him off a mid-pair, but here’s what happened instead:
Full Tilt No-Limit Hold’em Tournament, 6000/12000 Blinds 1500 Ante (8 handed) – Full-Tilt Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com
Hero (CO) (t497480)
Button … Read full post
Wow. Thanks to everyone who was watching and following along.
For those who weren’t, here’s the quick version:
With 10 left I was in 8th, which was a tough spot because Bakes was swinging his big stack extremely well. I pretty much couldn’t move. Finally picked up AK and ended … Read full post
We played for 10 hours, so obviously there were a lot of hands, but here are two that stick out in my head:
Full Tilt No-Limit Hold’em Tournament, 250/500 Blinds 50 Ante (9 handed) – Full-Tilt Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com
UTG (t55790)
UTG+1 (t36186)
MP1 (t27509)
MP2 (t15323)
MP3 (t15790)… Read full post
Woke up at 6AM this morning, drove from Boston to Baltimore, got in just in time to fire this bitch up, and 10 hours later I am through Day 1 ranked 22/106, with 946 runners starting. I actually burst the bubble myself, busting the lovely Lauren Kling when she shoved … Read full post
Congratulations on busting durrrr in the following tournament:
FTOPS Event #25 (2-Day) (147664209)
Your Full Tilt Poker account has been credited with a bounty prize of $200.00.
In addition to your bounty prize money, you’ve also earned a T-shirt to commemorate your accomplishment. You’ll receive a second email that will … Read full post
My latest poker strategy article, No Such Thing as a Free Hunch, is now appearing in the May issue of 2+2 Magazine:
… Read full postYou’ve undoubtedly heard it said before that poker is a battle for information. At least among good players, the one who has the most information about
A third of the year is officially behind us. Am I 1/3 of the way to achieving my Yearly Resolutions?
Goal 1: Average 15 Hours/Week Playing My “Regular” Games
I’ve found that 15 hours/week enables me to earn a pretty healthy income, far more than I could make at
Like the $100 rebuy, this one ran with an overlay. I was only in for $900, so I had like $240 in overlay.
It went down basically the way I expected it to: got some fish to clown off their stacks to me early, then had to play poker with … Read full post
Full Tilt No-Limit Hold’em, $10.00 BB (2 handed) – Full-Tilt Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com
Hero (SB) ($2014.50)
BB ($1000)
Preflop: Hero is SB with 7
, 4
Hero bets $20, BB calls $10
Flop: ($40) 6
, 5, 10
(2 players)
BB checks, Hero bets $28… Read full post
I’ve had some deep runs lately in the Saturday $300 6-max, so I was looking forward to this event. Unfortunately, it didn’t really go my way. I lost a big pot (though not my stack) with AJ vs. AQ on a AJ7Q9 board in a 3-bet pot. My bust-out hand … Read full post
OK I did play it ;-). It didn’t end up taking up much time at all.
I’m still not sure about this fold. He certainly ought to have more than AA to do this, but you never know with these clowns. Then again if he does have AA2 (or any … Read full post
I finished 12th in this, out of 1024, meaning I made it to the Sweet 16. I’m not going to go into a lot of detail about hands here because I’ll probably make a video of this for Poker Savvy Plus. But here’s the quick rundown:
Round 1- Guy was … Read full post
Full Tilt No-Limit Hold’em, $20.00 BB (5 handed) – Full-Tilt Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com
SB ($2000)
Hero (BB) ($2108)
UTG ($2060)
MP ($3164)
Button ($2916)
Preflop: Hero is BB with A, 5
2 folds, Button bets $60, 1 fold, Hero raises to $210, Button … Read full post
Well this is embarrassing. A few days ago I made a post about the new card mod I was using for FTP. I suggested downloading the image files from RapidShare, which as several commenters pointed out is needlessly risky. I did use that link myself and I don’t have any … Read full post
Edit: Changed to a better link for downloading.
From time to time I like to check in at the 2+2 Software Forum to see what kinds of software, mods, etc. are out there that could potentially enhance my playing experience. These cards have actually been around for a while, but … Read full post
We’re just inside of 100 people left in the monthly FTP $500, down from a little over 2000 who started.
UTG is a random who definitely does not play these stakes with any regularity. Googling his name reveals a few $.05/$.10 hands, so I’m sure he’s a satellite qualifier. He’s … Read full post
PokerStars No-Limit Hold’em, $10.00 BB (8 handed) – Poker-Stars Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com
Hero (Button) ($3084)
SB ($1000)
BB ($1759)
UTG ($2449)
UTG+1 ($3007)
MP1 ($2512.20)
MP2 ($2498)
CO ($2469)
Preflop: Hero is Button with 7, 5
UTG bets $20, 3 folds, CO calls $20, Hero … Read full post
For 250BB’s, no less. My flop call isn’t great, but only because people’s ranges are nowhere near what they should be in these spots.
PokerStars No-Limit Hold’em, $4.00 BB (6 handed) – Poker-Stars Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com
BB ($1023)
UTG ($936.40)
MP ($1422)
CO ($1631.85)
Hero (Button) ($1462.85)
SB ($2367.20)… Read full post
Sorry I’ve been a bit quiet of late, I’ve been doing plenty of writing but it’s mostly towards the book. It’s taken away from my playing time a bit as well, so not as many interesting hands of late. If you’re looking for something interesting to read, check out this … Read full post
O
K, so I am comfortably settled into this huge house on the Maine coast and will be here for the rest of the month.Off-season extended rentals FTW- it’s too cold to get in the water and most of downtown is closed, but that just makes it a better writer’s … Read full post
I made it down to 300 or so in the Sunday Million today, thanks in no small part to a gamble relatively early on:
PokerStars No-Limit Hold’em, 215 Tournament, 500/1000 Blinds 75 Ante (9 handed) – Poker-Stars Hand Converter from HandHistoryConverter.com
MP1 (t11074)
MP2 (t21590)
MP3 (t47491)
CO (t62986)
Button … Read full post
I ran deep in the $300 6-max on Full Tilt today. For much of the end-game, I had a player on my right who I recognized from the 2+2 forums but whom I’d never played for. To the best of my knowledge, he is a successful tournament pro and also … Read full post
This isn’t something I do often, just because you’re basically announcing strength without charging your opponents anything, plus by spotting them position you put them in control of the betting as well. Against good players I almost always 4-bet or fold, usually fold in this spot. Against a monkey with … Read full post
From the same HU match:
Full Tilt No-Limit Hold’em, $10.00 BB (2 handed) – Full-Tilt Hand Converter from HandHistoryConverter.com
Hero (BB) ($1875)
SB ($2356.50)
Preflop: Hero is BB with 3
, 6
SB bets $20, Hero calls $10
Flop: ($40) 2
, 5
, 9 (2 players)… Read full post
Not that it affected the outcome of this hand, but I think Villain’s river check is pretty interesting, given that he’s got a monster hand and only a pot-sized bet left in his stack:
PokerStars No-Limit Hold’em, $50.00 BB (9 handed) – Poker-Stars Hand Converter from HandHistoryConverter.com
UTG+1 ($5000)
MP1 … Read full post
“Relative position” refers to when you must act in comparison to the player who is most likely to bet on a given street. For example, if there are several limpers, you complete the SB, the BB raises, and everyone calls, it may seem like you have the worst position. After … Read full post
Another month, another monthly review of progress towards my Yearly Resolutions.
… Read full postGoal 1: Average 15 Hours/Week Playing My “Regular” Games
I’ve found that 15 hours/week enables me to earn a pretty healthy income, far more than I could make at any real job I could get, without impeding too
My latest poker strategy article, How to Spot a Level 3 Thinker, has just been published in the April issue of 2+2 Magazine. The introduction describes the genesis of the article:
… Read full postOne of my first articles for Two Plus Two Magazine, Level-Headed Thinking, was a brief introduction
Sorry it’s been quiet for the last few days, Emily and I have been camping in the White Mountains with very limited internet access and no poker playing. I’m about to start a session now though so hopefully I’ll have some good fodder for some more posts.
Just wanted to … Read full post
Today’s the last day of March and the last chance for you to help out the Boston Debate League in its March for Goodness competition. This is an organization that’s near and dear to my heart, and if you’ve enjoyed and/or profited from this blog, a $10 donation is … Read full post
I don’t necessarily call here vs. randoms, but these two were both red pros and knowledgeable tournament players (Jon Turner and Mandy B). Against the, it’s a mandatory snap-call. Jon isn’t the wildest player in the world, but he has to be on at least 60% of his hands here, … Read full post
The girlfriend and I were driving yesterday from White River Junction, Vermont to Burlington, and is par for the course for us, we consulted the GoogleMaps application on her Blackberry for directions. To our pleasant surprise, Google actually suggested a route consisting of small highways and county roads rather than … Read full post
Yesterday, I posted a hand where I paid a price for not blatantly jamming a big draw and discussed some of the pros and cons of playing big draws this way. Another reason not to go for the last bet when you have a big draw is when you believe … Read full post
A lot of players make too much of the idea that when you have a draw that you’re willing to get all in with, you’d prefer to make the final bet yourself. This is true when better hands will fold, but often people make huge shoves that make it pretty … Read full post
Hopefully these new suit characters will solve the problem of people not being able to see suits at work (pun):
Full Tilt No-Limit Hold’em, $10.00 BB (2 handed) – Full-Tilt Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com
BB ($1799.75)
Hero (SB) ($2339)
Preflop: Hero is SB with 2♦, 4♦
Hero bets $30… Read full post
The Wired Game|Life blog featured today a unique indie game in the early stages of development. Chris Hecker’s SpyParty is
… Read full postan asymmetrical multiplayer game: One player mingles among computer-controlled party guests, attempting to perform sly feats of espionage. The other player watches the action from afar through the sight of
