This is the first match of the $700 Heads Up NLHE WCOOP event. Villain is Liv Boeree. This is one of the first hands of the match, so nothing significant has happened yet. Liv and I have actually played together … Read more…
After a frustrating Sunday on which I didn’t always play my best, I seriously considered taking Monday off. I had, after all, played poker, often a lot of it, every day for the past 12 days. But the weather was … Read more…
This week’s “What’s Your Play?” was a little light on comments – have I been giving you too much to read lately? Most people have advocated calling pot odds, but seeing that you’re getting a good price is only half … Read more…
Thanks for all the comments on Part 1 of the WCOOP “What’s Your Play?” After my own thoughts on the hand, I’ll post flop results and the next decision point. BB’s Range We must begin our analysis of this hand … Read more…
Q: I played my first live game at a casino this weekend. I played $1/$2 NLHE for about and hour or two at the Sands in Bethlehem, Pa. I finished with a very small profit, but I found the game … Read more…
The next seminar in the Thinking Poker Tournament Seminars series will be Big Bluffs: Recognizing, Creating, and Taking Advantage of Good Spots. The seminar will be conducted over Skype from 10AM – Noon Eastern (New York) time on Saturday, September 1. … Read more…
Q: Thanks for the great blog. I’m a cash game player who has started to venture into playing tournaments and had a question about tournament theory for you. I was thinking about preflop shoving ranges earlier and I was wondering if … Read more…
On behalf of myself and TaddisvonBaddis, the Hero in this week’s hand, thanks to everyone who commented on this week’s What’s Your Play?. I really wasn’t sure what to tell him about the hand, and the comments here were a … Read more…
My latest poker strategy article, “A Different Kind of Slowplaying“, is now appearing in Cardplayer. Here’s a little taste of what you’ll find there: Particularly in big-bet games like no-limit hold‘em and pot-limit Omaha, failing to build the pot and … Read more…
This hand was submitted to me as a Mailbag question, but after wrestling with it for a while I couldn’t come up with a great answer, so I’m going to crowdsource it. Here’s all the info I have, as provided … Read more…
Q: While reading Sylvain’s discussion of his hands with Bonomo, I wondered how best to handle such an aggressive player. Sylvain described his style of pushing back against the aggro. I wondered if you can ever counter aggression with passive … Read more…
Thanks for all the comments on this week’s What’s Your Play? I consider the nut flush draw one of the most interesting hands in no-limit hold ’em. Not only is it almost always an excellent semi-bluffing hand, but under the … Read more…
This is from one of the early $2000 SCOOP events. Villain is new to the table, but I don’t recognize him, which says something in a $2000 online tournament (though not a lot, since I’m hardly a regular these days). … Read more…
I take responsibility for the dearth of comments on this week’s What’s Your Plan?. Not only did I initially fail to include Hero’s hole cards in the post, but I also left off the actual action from the list of … Read more…
Edit: I’m such a spazz! Sorry I had JJ. Don’t know why I can never get the details right on these on the first try. It’s the last hand before dinner break on Day 1 of the $5K main event … Read more…
My latest poker strategy article, Defending Your Button, is now appearing on CardPlayer.com. If you struggle with deep-stacked play in cash games or in the early stages of a tournament, then this article may help you to gain an understanding … Read more…
Thanks to everyone who commented on the river action of this street-by-street What’s Your Play? This spot demonstrates the dangers of wistful thinking at the poker table. You must be rigorous in thinking about your opponents are actually likely to … Read more…
I’m just going to give the turn action and skip straight to the river. It’s not entirely unworthy of debate, but I do think it’s almost always correct to bet the turn. Villain (UTG+1, 45K stack) is probably mid-30s, part … Read more…
Thanks for all the comments on the flop discussion. And here’s a link to the pre-flop discussion as well, for those who are curious. Gareth gets a lot right in his comment, but we disagree that, “this is a spot … Read more…
Edit: Top card on flop is Ad, not Kd. The latter is in my hand. Thanks to Lacroix for pointing that out, and sorry for the significant error. The most important information is repeated here, but here’s a link to … Read more…
Thanks to everyone who commented on the original post. I can understand the desire to check here, but I do think it’s a mistake. WPS22 puts it well: I don’t see how you can check. It’s obviously profitable to make … Read more…
Edit: Hero is in BB. Sorry I should have made that more explicit. It’s been a few weeks, but “What’s Your Play?” is back with a vengeance! This is another hand that we’ll look at over multiple streets. It’s based … Read more…
My latest poker article, Scare Card, is now appearing in the July 2012 edition of Two Plus Two Magazine. I hope you’ll find the thesis thought-provoking: in certain circumstances, a “scare card” such as a third flush or straight card … Read more…
I’ve just published two new poker strategy articles, both of which are available to read for free! Beginning and immediate players should check out “Calling is Not a Compromise” in the pages of Cardplayer magazine. This article addresses one of … Read more…
I would argue that an Ace is the worst possible turn card. In addition to giving Villain the lead if he held AA, it’s a scare card to some portion of his range and also a card he expects to … Read more…
Thanks for all the comments regarding the flop check-raise, and sorry again for the delay in getting this next post up. This is another close decision. Holding the nuts, our goal is of course to get as much money into … Read more…
Thanks as always for your comments on the flop action. I think just about everyone was on the right track in terms of how they were thinking about Villain’s range. So let’s discuss our options. Checking As is generally the … Read more…
PokerStars – $2000+$100|30/60 NL – Holdem – 9 players Hand converted by PokerTracker 4: http://www.pokertracker.com BB: 9,290.00 UTG: 9,903.00 UTG+1: 11,228.00 Hero (UTG+2): 10,517.00 MP: 7,131.00 MP+1: 11,411.00 CO: 14,790.00 BTN: 6,490.00 SB: 9,240.00 SB posts SB 30.00, BB posts … Read more…
Thanks for all the great comments on the first post in this series of street-by-street What’s Your Play? posts. I think the discussion of whether to 3-bet and why was one of the best discussions we’ve had. Not coincidentally, I … Read more…
After the popularity of the What’s Your Play? Street-by-Street in the WSOP Main Event edition, I’ve been on the look-out for another hand to present in the same way. In one of the first SCOOP events last Sunday, the $2100 … Read more…
My latest poker strategy article, Worrying About a Raise, has just been published in the May issue of Two Plus Two Magazine. Broadly speaking, it’s about how to assess the merits of pot control vs. hand protection and building the … Read more…
Thanks to everyone who commented on last week’s “What’s Your Play? Four Flush on the River” post. Calling I want to begin my analysis by quickly ruling out calling as an option. Virtually every hand Villain would have called to … Read more…
Q: My question is about calling UTG open raise (say 3.5X) on the button with small pairs (say 22 – 55). Unless UTG will stack off with one pair it doesn’t seem profitable to set mine. Say UTG has AA … Read more…
Happy Queensday everyone! Queensday is a huge national celebration in the Netherlands that falls on the day of the previous queen’s birth (the current one was born at an inconvenient time so they continue to celebrate on the last day … Read more…
Well, I’m late and doing a half-assed job on top of it. Guess I’m really adapting to life in Europe! But seriously, sorry I’m so late in posting results for the EPT Berlin Wha’ts Your Play? There are just so many … Read more…
Q: My guess is most people (including me) don’t play 89suited (67,910,10J) the right way… 20BB 89 suited on button vs 3x raise? 40BB 89suited on button vs 3x raise? 100BB 89 suited on button vs 3x raise? 200BB 89 … Read more…
Edit: Villain 1 has me covered – think he had like 50K. Sorry I forgot to mention that important detail. It’s Day 1 of the 5000 euro Main Event of EPT Berlin. Hero (me) has recently moved to a new … Read more…
This week’s question is in response to the recent “What’s Your Play? Street-by-Street at the WSOP Main Event” feature. In the river results post, I compared calling with a low full house on the river versus shoving with it. Because it … Read more…
Thanks to all the commenters, and especially to those of you who contributed to all three parts of this special multi-street “What’s Your Play?” With regard to the river action, WPS22 encapsulates the situation well: I think he could easily … Read more…
My latest poker strategy article, Surviving a Multi-Day Tournament, is now appearing in the April 2012 edition of Two Plus Two Magazine. The intention of this article is to get beyond cliches about “valuing your tournament life” to some in-depth … Read more…
This week’s Mailbag is a follow-up question to an earlier Mailbag about stack sizes. I gave a short answer to the question in the comments section of that post, but now I want to elaborate a bit: Q: Thank you … Read more…
We slowplayed the flop, we raised an arguably scary turn card, and now it’s time to talk about what to do on the river in this third and final installment of “What’s Your Play? Street-by-Street at the WSOP Main Event”. … Read more…
Thanks to everyone who commented on Part Two of this special street-by-street “What’s Your Play?” Like it or not, Hero checked the flop, and now we’re faced with a small bet on a turn card that makes a lot of straights … Read more…
Q: I have seen a french poker video in which 2 players discuss about a hand played by one of these player on a french online tournament (6max, buy in 100€). This is the hand : Blinds 250/500 ante 60. … Read more…
This week’s “What’s Your Play?” is a little different, in that it’s the second in a series of three posts about the same hand. Rather than asking you to discuss a plan for the entire hand, I’m going to give … Read more…
Thanks to everyone who commented on Part One of this street-by-street “What’s Your Play?” series. Even if you didn’t, please check out the results of the flop action and feel free to chime in with your opinion on how to … Read more…
Q: I recently read Andrew Seidman’s response to a question about the key to become a winning poker player. His statement was simple and direct: “Don’t pay off.” This advice hit me right in the face, given how frequently I … Read more…
This week’s What’s Your Play? is a little different, in that it’s the first in a series of three posts about the same hand. Rather than asking you to discuss a plan for the entire hand, I’m going to start … Read more…
Thanks to everyone who commented on What’s Your Plan? Boated Up in a Blind Battle. The most recent comment is also the one that most closely resembles my own opinions, so I’m going to start with what Rant2112 said: “Most … Read more…
Q: Hero and Villian are chip leaders at the table, everyone else is in the 5-15bb range. Both are most active players at the table, Villian continuation bets approximately 65-70% of flops. $400 +40 tournament Final Table. 6 remaining Blinds 1,200-2,400 … Read more…
I’ve now got another video up with Poker School Online, the PokerStars training site. This one focuses on mid-stakes no-limit hold ’em and specifically on hand reading, so it’s a nice option if the last video I posted was too … Read more…
Villain is an unknown who seems to play reasonably well. No idea what if anything he knows about Hero (me), but I did have my PokerStars Team Online red spade at the time this hand was played. For those who … Read more…
PokerStars’ Poker School Online recently released a video that I made for them quite some time ago (as evidenced by my introduction of myself as “one of the newest members of Team Online”). It’s very basic, strategy-wise – I’m playing … Read more…
Thanks to everyone who commented on this week’s What’s Your Play, which dealt with playing out of position in a big pot against the chipleader at the final table of a daily live tournament. We’ve already said that it’s best … Read more…
Q: I’m curious to hear your take on dealmaking generally and on a deal I made recently at the final table of a live tournament. Blinds were 5K/10K/1K. Payouts were $3000 for 1st, $1600 for 2nd, $1000 for 3rd, and $700 … Read more…
A friend shared this hand with me, and I thought it was a solid example of a good, creative line. The small bet on the flop helps him draw cheaply, establishes who if anyone is interested in the pot, and … Read more…
Edit: Hero holds Qh Th. Thanks to Georgios for pointing that rather significant omission! This is a key hand from the final table of a tournament a friend recently won. It was a $125 freezeout at Aria. Hero is in … Read more…
Q: My understanding is that I should generally continuation bet a polarized range consisting of both bluffs and strong hands but check medium-strength hands for pot control. Sometimes I have difficulty determining which category my hand falls into. For example, … Read more…
I concluded last week’s “What’s Your Play?” by saying that, “I should have been more open to taking in new information and re-evaluating my plan,” since I’d just admitted to following through on a big semi-bluff despite obvious shows of … Read more…
Edit: Effective stacks are $2000. The fact that I didn’t think to include that should tell you something about how relevant I think that is. Thanks to Ian for pointing out the error. This hand comes from a live $5/$10 … Read more…
Thanks to everyone who offered opinions on What’s Your Plan? Turned a Big Draw. I’m surprised that so many people zeroed right in on the two most important details of the hand and yet so few came up with what … Read more…
Q: Do you have goals in terms of stack size? As a cash player, I’m comfortable with 100bb or so, but in tourneys, I find myself between 10bb and 20bb a lot of the times. Trying to get near 100bb … Read more…
This hand occurred about an hour and a half after last week’s WYP hand, against the same opponent. This time I’m the Hero and he’s the Villain. For those too lazy to look it up, here’s how I described him: … Read more…
As you know, I was the Villain from What’s Your Play? Busted Draw. As many of you deduced, I held KK with a spade. My opponent was kind enough to give up on the river and let me win the … Read more…
This week I’m going to address two related questions posted as follow-ups to last week’s Mailbag. Q: I regularly play these short stacked tourneys at my local casino. We only start with 6000 in chips, the blinds start at 25/50 … Read more…
I’m still in the US, which means no online poker, which means I’m still mining the PCA for WYP hands. This is one of those ones where I’m actually the Villain in the hand and we’ll look at it from … Read more…