As I was driving to the Rio on July 4th, whatever radio station I was listening to at the time wished me a “Happy Fourth from the All-American Radio Station” and then started playing the song, “Fortunate Son” by Creedence Clearwater Revival. You may recall there was a Wrangler jeans … Read full post
I arrived at the Rio around 3:30 PM on July 4th. I had $4000 in tournament lammers in my left pocket and $3400 cash in my right. My objective was to play satellites (they were running a bunch of $500 and $1000 megas, including one at 4PM) until I was … Read full post
Went out to the Rio last night, primarily to meet Nate from 2+2. Traffic was atrocious, so it took me like twice as long to get there as it should have, but I still had about two hours to play. I got a seat in a new game, and when … Read full post
Jonas Flug-Entin, 2+2’s Riverboatking, is at the final table of the $10,000 World Series of Poker Pot Limit Omaha Championship event. It’s a pretty sick line-up:
Seat 1 – Doyle Brunson – 510,000
Seat 2 – Patrik Antonius – 650,000
Seat 3 – Marco Traniello – 420,000
Seat 4 – … Read full post
This was only my third hand at the table, but I’d already established an aggressive image at the table by steal raising from late position on the first two hands, once checking and folding when my opponent caught better than I did on fourth and once winning with a bet … Read full post
My most recent poker article, entitled “Your First World Series of Poker“, has just been published in the July issue of Two Plus Two Internet Magazine. Please let me know what you think with comments here or in my thread in the 2+2 Magazine Forum.… Read full post
I went out to the Rio last night to play the 7PM $1000 second chance tournament. For some reason, even though our table was apparently sold out, four players didn’t show up in the time I was there, which unfortunately was not very long. In fact I was probably the … Read full post
I heard this story from Bond, who heard it from someone else, so I have no idea how true it is, but I think it’s hilarious, regardless.
Some NLHE tournament or something, guy raises pre-flop, Chan calls out of the blinds. On the flop, Chan check-raises all him, and the … Read full post
After the $5K yesterday, I played a $512+13 ten-handed satellite. It was winner take all in tournament lammers, but since this was live poker, my understanding was that deals were almost always made.
The play was predictably bad. Tons of limping pre-flop, no one ever raised without having AK or … Read full post
I am both pretty good at poker and kind of arrogant, so it is rare for me not to be one of the best players at any poker table and even rarer for me to admit it. In yesterday’s $5K 6-max event, I was not one of the best players … Read full post
I’d been going back and forth on whether to play this. I’ve been frustrated with how few prelim events I’ve played and how little playing time I ended up with in the two that I did play. However, my bankroll can’t really handle more shots right now, especially since I … Read full post
I was browsing this blog from a Vegas taxi driver and was very glad to see this post about all the racism surrounding NBA All Star Weekend. I was in Vegas while Mandalay Bay was hosting the NBA All Star game, in fact I was staying just next door at … Read full post
For those who liked the first Rekrul story I linked a few days ago, here are some more:
I Saved a Life Today
I Made a Friend Today
I Made an Enemy Today… Read full post
2+2’s Matt “mlagoo” Lagoo has just won the largest top prize in the history of the Poker Stars Sunday Million, taking down 1st place money of $315K with no chop in the quarterly $1000 buy-in event. I’ve briefly met Matt twice in Vegas, once just last week, and he’s just … Read full post
Apparently I didn’t have Poker Stars set to record HH’s on this computer, so I don’t have the exact details, but this is from the $200 HORSE tournament. First, the history that set it up:
I raised like A239 or something from UTG+1, SB calls, everyone else folds. Flop is … Read full post
Ray “ExitOnly” Coburn busted from the WSOP $2000 PLHE tournament in 8th place when his 44 lost to AK all in pre-flop. That’s worth $22,000 and change. Congratulations, Ray!… Read full post
Just read a good post from Taylor Caby (Green Plastic) over at Cardrunners that captures very well my sentiments towards at least one segment of the WSOP scene:
“I’m already really tired of the whole live poker scene. I don’t HATE vegas by any means, but i do hate the … Read full post
This is one of the best poker stories I’ve read. Definitely check it out:
Ray Coburn, 2+2’s ExitOnly, has final tabled the $2000 PLHE event at the WSOP (yeah, the one I scrubbed out of in like 2 hours). He’s coming in as the short stack, but this kid is so good, he’s probably the favorite to win anyway.
My website is finally up! It’s still a little rough around the edges, but check out https://www.thinkingpoker.net. It’s not just for redirecting anymore!
At the moment, there are just a few links to some of what I consider my best poker writing. I’m hoping eventually to add a section … Read full post
Today I played my second preliminary event in the 2007 World Series of Poker. The game was pot-limit, rather than no limit, Texas Hold ‘Em, with a $2000 buy-in. As the name implies, a player may not at any point bet or raise more than the amount in the pot. … Read full post
On Monday, I played my first WSOP preliminary event, a $2500 6-max tournament. This is a little beyond my bankroll, but there are so few opportunities to play 6-max tournaments, and I’m not playing many other events, so I decided to go for it.
The dealer at my first table … Read full post
A few months ago, I was invited to a meeting at Harvard Law School where a group of academics, journalists, medical professionals, and poker players discussed whether and how to go about legitimizing the game of poker in the United States. Here’s the trip report from that meeting.
A few … Read full post
On Friday I played some 5/10 NL at the Rio with Tom (LearnedFromTV on 2+2). He took a seat to my immediate left, but didn’t give me much trouble and provided a welcome relief from the boredom of live cash play. No particularly interesting hands, but here, I think, were … Read full post
Justin ended up chopping the $2000 NLHE with three players remaining. Rumor is that he got like $370K, but that’s not confirmed. I’m sure it was a sick score regardless. Way to go, J!
In other news, 2+2’er T_Mac has final tabled the $1500 NLHE. I haven’t been reporting on … Read full post
I invited Justin to a lunch with Andy Bloch and Howard Lederer (more on this later) like two weeks ago. Here was his response:
“Andrew, I should be available that day. I am in Vegas on June 12th. I can take that day off from tournaments if it is definitely … Read full post
Over continental breakfast, Emily and I discuss what to do about the last episode of Sopranos, which was to air that night. Though Emily is not a fan of the show, I very much am. The complication was that, lacking either cable or ready access to friends with cable, I’d … Read full post
For those who don’t know, my girlfriend Emily is moving to Las Vegas for work, and I drove out with her to help her move and then to stay through the WSOP. After a solid week of driving cross-country from Boston, Emily and I finally got into Vegas late last … Read full post
We’re now three days into road trip to Vegas. Sorry for the lack of updates, we’re spending most of each day on the road and getting in too late for me to do something coherent with limited internet access. Not much of note has happened, though I did find myself … Read full post
I played a bunch of tournaments yesterday and some cash tables as well, including a substantial amout of 5/10 NL. I’ll get my tournament whining out of the way early. Most of what I played went badly, though I came close to winning a fourth WSOP seat. I was in … Read full post
Thayer finished up 4/228 in the WPT Mandalay Bay event, winning $131,170. Nice job, kid.
Meanwhile, Steve Paul-Ambrose has final tabled the $5000 mixed hold ’em event at the WSOP. Good luck today, Steve!… Read full post
I won the afternoon $100 tournament on Ultimate Bet. It was a small field, just 99 players, but it was nice to win, since I final tabled yesterday only to go out on the first hand (TT
At that point, I was the chipleader, and mostly I just coasted … Read full post
I came across a very interesting/disturbing report today from the New York Civil Liberties Union entitled “Criminalizing the Classroom“. The following is an excerpt from the Executive Summary:
“Since the NYPD took control of school safety in 1998, the number of police personnel in schools and the extent … Read full post
Two Plus Two Internet Magazine has just published an article of mine, entitled “Game Selection For Tournament Players“, in its June issue.
This is the fourth article I’ve published with them, but it differs substantially from the other three, which were all about strategic concepts in tournament play. … Read full post
Thayer Rasmussen, UCFThay3r on Two Plus Two, has final tabled the $10,000 buy-in Mandalay Poker Showdown. Play begins today at Noon.
Gogogogogogogogo!
PS: Thayer already won $33,000 in a $1000 buy-in preliminary event at Mandalay. I’m not jealous.… Read full post
As some of you may already know, my girlfriend Emily has accepted a job doing public relations and marketing work for an adventure tours company based out of Las Vegas. Believe it or not, Vegas was in no way my idea, and in fact I was not thrilled to hear … Read full post
Playing the afternoon $150 on FTP, I pick up KK UTG+1 and type in my bet amount. Click raise, nothing happens. kahfldhaglashgdsajhfdashfdaslf piece of [censored] router fklahgdhafkashgdsaf. After much swearing, my connection comes back in time for me to see a bet and a raise all in on an Ace … Read full post
I almost always fold to raises like this, because even though my hand is under-repped, I feel like these low- to mid-stakes players are almost universally incapable of taking advantage of that. From time to time, I talk myself into a call, though. The Villain in this hand was new … Read full post
Most of the Razz hands I’ve posted here lately have been against this same fish. He’s mostly just way too loose aggressive, hates to let go of a hand even when he’s been caught bluffing. That can make him tough to play against, but it also makes him easy to … Read full post
I won another WSOP seat tonight in a $650 satellite. Man, these things are soft. I mean, there are some good players, but you don’t even have to get first. Plus you get half hour levels, so nice deep stacks to outplay the donks. Three and a half hours into … Read full post
Even though we’d technically had our last game a few weeks ago, Logan invited some regulars over for $.50/$1 NLHE game on Wednesday with a $150 buy-in. I played really poorly and got kind of tilty towards the end, which I don’t usually do, and as a result I was … Read full post
I’ve been trying to play some higher stakes Razz games recently to feel them out, get some practice, and decide whether it’s worth trying to play the $1500 WSOP Razz event. It hasn’t been going great, but I don’t feel like I’m in over my head. I’ve certainly got some … Read full post
In general, I’ve found that my opponents at mid-stakes no limit are quite passive: they don’t make a lot of big bluffs, and they aren’t very good at value betting thin. In a lot of ways, this makes them easy to play against, but it generally means that when I … Read full post
I’ll explain why soon, but it looks like I’m going to be in Las Vegas for most of the preliminary WSOP events. After reviewing the schedule, I’ve identified these tournaments as the ones I’m most likely to play:
Friday, June 15th. $2000 NLHE 3-day event.
Saturday, June 16th. $1500 … Read full post
This is from today’s $300, 20-minute level Saturday tournament on Poker Stars. The Villain is a pretty solid regular, but I don’t have much of a read on him beyond that. Blinds are at 15/30, I have about 3600, a nice improvement from our 2500 starting stacks. Villain, who has … Read full post
I was doing some research yesterday when Joe from my old home game sent me an IM to tell me he was at a really juicy 2/4 PLHE game but had to leave. Thankfully there was no waiting list, so I was able to get into the seat he vacated … Read full post
Wowowow were there ever some donkeys out last night. I had a great session at 2/4 and 3/6 NL. I felt like I was doing quite a lot of things right: good table selection, applying a lot of pressure in position with deep stacks, building big pots against the fish, … Read full post
PokerStars Tournament #49464655, No Limit Hold’em
Super Satellite
Buy-In: $615.00/$35.00
551 players
Total Prize Pool: $338865.00
Target Tournament #43905792 Buy-In: $10000.00
30 tickets to the target tournament
Tournament started – 2007/05/13 – 18:00:00 (ET)
Dear foucault82,
You finished the tournament in 1st place.
This qualifies you for a seat in … Read full post
nTodd and I hit up the breakfast buffet at the Veranda Café. I mentioned that I like casino buffets for cheap meals because although some of the food is guaranteed to be terrible, you can keep rolling the dice until you find something you like. If you order a sandwich … Read full post
With about ten minutes to go before the 6PM $500 satellite, I spot Rich (2p2’er Shorty55), whom I first met in Vegas last summer and who took half my action in the 2K I played at Foxwoods a few months ago. Then again, he’s not tough to spot, partially because … Read full post
For some reason, Foxwoods decided it would be a good idea to have a $3000 deep stack tournament on a random Thursday. Todd invited me down to play satellites on Wednesday, and I took him up on it. I’m a time nit, so we left way earlier than we needed … Read full post
I came across an amazing post on 2+2 today. I can’t say that I’ve fully grasped its implications yet, but it’s the first time in a while that I’ve found myself moved to think about certain situations in a very different way. I don’t know much about the poster, soah, … Read full post
Sorry for the lack of updates guys, I haven’t played much recently and have generally been busier than usual. Every summer I have a pretty large research project that entails assembling some five hundred pages of materials on the upcoming debate topic. These materials are then distributed for free to … Read full post
A few weeks ago, Logan IM’ed me to say that there was a giant fish playing a 15/30 NL deep stack table. I watched for a few orbits of three-handed play and agreed that the guy was awful. He wasn’t particularly deep, so I sat down with $3000 to take … Read full post
I mentioned a few days ago that I was happy with a recent trend in my river play, which is that I tend to be the aggressor. I’m much more likely to make a thin value bet or a bold bluff than a crying call or even a check to … Read full post
Edit: The converter screwed up the results on two of these, showing me as the winner when in fact I got stacked. I’m fixing this now, sorry for the confusion.
For whatever reason, I decided during last night’s session that I was going to believe people a lot less than … Read full post
Two Plus Two Magazine has just published an article of mine entitled Hidden Costs in Tournament Poker in their May issue. Please take a look and tell me what you think either here or in my discussion thread in 2+2’s Magazine Forum.
And here’s a good example of me … Read full post
I’m posting here every pot for a two-hour session yesterday in which I either lost or won more than $100 and in which I either bet or raised the river. I think it’s a good sign that even when I lose, I’m usually the river aggressor. This means I’m missing … Read full post
Last Wednesday was the last ever session of the home game that my college roommate Logan has been hosting for the past three years. He and most of our fellow players are about to graduate from Harvard Law School and move away, so this was my last chance to play … Read full post
Sunday’s Boston Herald contained a very nice article about the Boston Debate League, a non-profit organization that I founded and now direct. Please click here to read it!
There are actually some audio clips also, though they’re hard to find. After the second paragraph, there’s a drop-down box that says … Read full post
This weekend I’m taking a two debaters from Boston to the J. B. Fuqua Urban Debate League Celebration in Atlanta. The two debaters, Charles and Peter, are a great team. Charles is a hefty black man, smart but reserved, very friendly and with a charming sense of humor once he … Read full post
I attended a pretty interesting meeting yesterday about the UIGEA and strategies for legitimating the game of poker in general. It was an impressive crowd consisting of some prominent lobbyists and lawyers for the gaming industry, Poker Players Alliance president Michael Bolcerek, professional poker players Annie Duke, Howard Lederer, and … Read full post
I got a note today from a young woman I first met last summer while teaching at a debate camp for the Los Angeles and Southern California Urban Debate Leagues. She was one of the smartest, nicest, and most mature teenagers I’ve had the pleasure to work with, and she’s … Read full post
We took a break from out usual Wednesday home game to play a $1/$2 game with a $500 buy in at the home of another Harvard Law student named Josh. Only Logan, Darren, and I elected to play, so it was a very deep, very loose and aggressive four-handed game … Read full post
Sorry for the recent silence, but I’ve had a busy few days. On Tuesday, my non-profit organization, the Boston Debate League (BDL), co-hosted a luncheon with the National Association for Urban Debate Leagues (NAUDL). To be brutally honest, the BDL’s organizational and institutional capacity is severely underdeveloped right now. That … Read full post
Ever since I first heard it on the soundtrack to Trainspotting, I’ve been a huge fan of the Lou Reed song, “Perfect Day.” Cameron from 2+2 just sent me this amazing link to a live performance in which Lou Reed sings a duet with a most unlikely partner.… Read full post