Whew!!

OK - blogging works.  I took a break then came back to FullTilt and have redeemed myself (though only somewhat).  3 SnG’s and I recovered$90 by coming in 2nd (twice) and 1st (once).  Time for bed and hopefully a long and prosperous recovery.

FullTilt Woes

After a week where I took my bankroll 5X what it started with, I have now crumbled back to where I started.  It feels horrible, but after reviewing my play on PokerOffice, I don’t feel I did too many things wrong.  To give an example:

Multi-Table SnG (45 players).  I’m in 5th.  It pays top 6.  A medium stack raises from early position to 250.  He has about 1800 remaining (including the 250 out there).  I have Rockets, so I raise to 1/2 his stack (900) thinking he’ll be committed and just push all-in if he likes it.   He just calls.  Flop comes J-9-6.  He checks.  I move all-in.  He calls…shows K-10.  He’s got a gutshot - needing a Q.  Or so I think.  Turn = 10.  River…you guessed it…King.  I wasn’t out - but I was crippled and was unable to recover.

Another example:  Similar scenario - only KK this time.  The player remaining to act is most likely going to go all-in because he’s short stacked in relation to the blinds and to me, etc.  I min-raise trying to entice him to steal.  He pushes all-in as I hoped.  I insta-call.  He shows 10-10.  Flop 10-X-X of course.  Again crippled and unable to recover.

There are countless other examples - and it seemed to be one after another.  There were some bonehead moves where I neglected to account for the fact that a fish will call a raise with A-4 offsuit.  So, my AK is useless on a flop that’s A-8-4 for example.  Again, had my target right where I wanted them - but the gods were being a bit evil.  Hard to put someone on A4 when they call a raise from out of position - but I guess I need to work on evaluating the range of hands based on how foolish someone appears to be and really give the fish some credit for a post-flop monster even though their hand was complete dung pre-flop. 

I really hope the trend reverses and goes back in the right direction.  I was so fed-up with FullTilt that I opened an account on Absolute Poker and deposited $50.  Wish I’d installed it and checked out the interface first…because it’s total crap compared to FullTilt IMHO. 

Do as Tommy Says….

Calling it quits tonight at 11:40…early for me.  I’m up $185 for the day after playing maybe 2.5 hrs tops.   Quitting tonight after good wins (multi-tabling and took first place in both - one for $43 and one for $117).  Quitting before I get tired.  Quitting with the comfort that $185/day, 5 days a week, for 50 weeks = a $46,250/year salary.  Not bad by some standards…though not enough to live on in this area, that’s for sure!   

With that being said, I may as well spill it out in the blog since I’ve started saying it to a few close friends:  July 1st is the target date for declaring this as my full-time job - perhaps sooner.  Consistent performance, continued bankroll growth, satisfaction with my play, overall discipline, the power to quit and take time off, and the ability to maintain social commitments all have to be in alignment.  Ideally, once I hit $250 to $300/day on average, I’ll make the jump.  It currently feels like transition mode because I’m working my normal biz during the day, and dedicating my evenings to poker.  So every day feels like a double-shift at the moment, but I’m heading in the right direction and at a pretty good trajectory.

Once I finish “Elements of Poker” I’ll be diving into a book called, “How to Turn Your Poker Playing into a Business: Knowing What to Deduct to Improve Your Odds With the IRS”.  It won’t be as interesting as other recent reads - but it sets the tone for legitimacy from day 1 - which is also important to me if I’m going to call myself a professional poker player.

Back at it over the weekend if I have time between doing taxes, taking care of Zack (he’s not doing well), and checking in on my neighbor’s dog while they’re away.

G’night!

Like the Jefferson’s…I’m moving on up (and reading books and lecturing on the perils of playing 10-8 offsuit)!

Over he last 2 weeks I’ve been hitting the online short-handed SnG’s pretty hard.  I’ve taken my starting bankroll from the beginning of the 2 week period and multiplied it 4X.  My preferred game is now the $22 and $33 6-handed Turbo’s (I started off at the $2 and $5 tables).  I’ve also gotten somewhat decent at managing 2 games at a time with the occasional 3 at a time session when I’m feeling particularly alert.   During longer sessions I’ve been able to squeeze a profit of $150+- a day.   Sometimes more…sometimes less.

In addition to a growing bankroll, I’ve taken some withdrawls, am generally making better decisions - erring on the side of aggressive at times, but with generally good results.  I’m seeking out new poker literature to incorporate into my game and am pleased with the results.  The more I read though, the more I feel like there’s still a LOT to learn - but I’m hungry and am willing to do the work!

On that note, a book that arrived the other day from Amazon called, “Elements of Poker” by Tommy Angelo has become a favorite although I’m only 50 pages in.  Like my other favorite, “Professional No Limit Hold ‘Em - V1″ which I found unique because of it’s focus on risk management and committment threshold, I find “Elements of Poker” to be unique because it leads off with the importance of quitting.  Quitting helps you tilt less.  Quitting better than your opponents gives you an edge.  Quitting better than your opponents is key to avoiding burn-out, etc.  Tommy hasn’t gotten into anything regarding hand reading, starting hand charts, betting strategies, or anything like that within the first 50 pages.  To borrow from Stephen R Covey, this book could have easily been called the “7 Habits of Highly Effective Poker Players”.  I look forward to devouring the rest of this book over the weekend.

As for live play.  An interesting hand transpired last night where I raised 4X BB from position (on the limper) in order to isolate.  I held a modest ATo, but one I consider to be a monster vs my opponent (a loose-aggressive limper in early position) .  Flop came 8-10-X  (6 or something).   He checked, I bet, he raised all-in.  This guy is notorious for chasing draws.  I had top-top against this guy which ordinarily might be pretty good.  But he’s also notorious for playing any 2 cards (AT, KT, QT, JT, T9 are all in his range - even from out of position).   I reasoned that we might actually have the same hand or that I had him out-kicked and called.  He showed 2 pair.  8’s an 10’s.  I was hurting.  By the river, the board had paired again, we both had 2-pair, but my A kicker played and he was out.  He was stunned.  Other people said I sucked out, etc.  While technically that’s true - I did suck out - I’d actually argue that this player had no business playing 10-8 offsuit out of position against a solid player - particularly after a 4X pre-flop raise.   He consistently plays hands like that hoping to get lucky - and I hate to break it to you folks and sound like an asshole, but hoping to get lucky (so early in a tourney anyway) is just not good poker.  Pre-flop play is crucial to keeping yourself out of harm’s way.  If you play weak hands like that against strong opponents you are asking for trouble - period.  I honestly don’t care if I rivered the guy and sent him packing and I really don’t care if his hand had held up and he’d sent me packing.  No matter how you slice it, if you play to “get lucky” you really are asking for huge swings in your results.   10-8 offsuit is just not a hand you want to play when 1)  out of position, 2) up against a solid opponent, and 3) faced with a large pre-flop raise from said solid opponent.  I’m sorry to be so harsh - but the ONLY thing 10-8 offsuit has going for it is the possibility of a lucky flop.   And what are the odds of that?  Don’t play that complete and utter shit hand when those 3 pre-flop factors all point to an obvious fold.  You’ll last longer and have more consistent results.  Choose to play those hands and you’ll continue to be either the first one out, or the overall winner on your “lucky” nights…but you won’t be consistent.  As for me, I’d rather play well and make proper decisions than get lucky.  I end up in the money more often, am feared by more opponents, I’m not notorious for chasing draws, and I don’t have people snickering behind my back because I don’t get to the showdown with a rubbish hand.  But that’s just me.

No Limit Hold Em - Top 10 Tips for Beginners

Ok - today my friend asked me for some poker tips before a charity tournament he was playing in this evening.

Of course, I went way overboard with the advice.  However, it turned into a good exercise for me and could really turn into something useful for those who have a tourney with the boys on Saturday and on Friday find themselves in a panic because they don’t know the first thing about poker!

 Leave your suggestions for #10 in the comments if you don’t mind!

Before doing anything, take a look at the starting hand chart on the website referenced below and do your best to observe patterns regarding the hands, their ranking, their suit, etc and the relationship to profitability.

http://www.tightpoker.com/poker_hands.html

1)  Tell yourself you’re playing No Limit FOLD ‘Em…it’s not as “fun” as gambling, but it’s more profitable.  See the flop LESS than anyone else at the table, and raise MORE than anyone else.  This is considered Tight/Aggressive poker - and is the most profitable.  Another way to look at this is to play as if you want to win money, not pots…just good risk management.

2)  If you’re early to act, your 2 hole cards should be on the higher end of that chart.

3)  The later you are to act, the more liberal you can be/further down that chart you can go.

4)  Pay attention to your chipstack and other people’s chipstack.  Any time someone commits 10% or more of their chips before the community cards are shown, there’s a possibility that as the hand progresses they’ll end up all-in simply because of the way bet sizes typically progress throughout the hand.  10% is what’s called a “committment threshold”.  Have a plan if you or an opponent are about to cross it.  In general, you’ll want to apply pressure and force your opponent to make a decision for all of his/your chips if you like the community cards or simply back down and fold if you don’t.  (For more, See #5 below).

5)  If your chips get low (10 Big Blinds or less) you want to consider a double-up or bust-out philosophy (you don’t want to be “limping” in or calling).  ****If nobody’s raised ahead of you****, pick a better than average hand and shove your chips in and hope that either everyone folds and you steal the blinds or that you get called and double-up.  If you double up, resume normal poker.  If everyone folds, you’ve relieved some pressure and just bought yourself 1 whole orbit around the table to wait for another good hand.  If you get called and lose, go have a drink!   ****If somebody’s raised ahead of you****, you’d better have a monster if you’re gonna committ any chips to this pot (see #6 below).

6)  Obey the “Gap Concept” which says you need a better hand to call a raise with than you do to make a raise with.  Example:  You might raise with A-8 before the community cards are shown, but shouldn’t call someone else’s raise when you are holding A-8 before the community cards are shown.  Your A-8 is likely to be dominated by AK, AQ, AJ, AT, or a pocket pair of some kind.  Whether you call with it or are called with it, you’ll probably be behind and be relying solely on one of your 2 cards to pair up in order to even have a chance to win the hand.  Simply put, the 8 decreases the A’s value too much and can leave you with tough/unprofitable decision making as the hand progresses.

7)  Suited hole cards (J of spades, 4 of spades) are over-rated.   Connected cards (5 of clubs, 6 of diamonds) are over-rated.  They make flushes and straights (respectively).  However, they’re ranked higher for a reason…the odds of achieving them are low and you almost always find yourself “needing to improve” throughout the hand in order to win.  Suited AND Connected cards do have some value (J of diamonds, Q of diamonds) because you have both possibilities.  See that chart for proof.  They still require some caution in terms of committment as a hand progresses.

8)  If you really want to get tecnical you can make your post-flop decisions based purely on math. Say after the flop you have 4 cards to a spade flush.  There’s 13 spades in the deck and 4 are exposed to you (say 2 in your hand and 2 on the table).  So you assume there’s 9 left out there somewhere.  With 2 cards to come, multiply the 9 X 4 for a 36% chance to hit your flush.  With 1 card to come multiply the 9 X 2 for an 18% chance to make your hand.  If it’s a straight or a flush it doesn’t matter.  The rule is that with two cards to come you multiply the # of outs X 4.  With one card to come you multiply the # of outs X 2.  If there’s $200 in the pot and someone bets $100 you’re getting great odds to call with 2 cards to come on a flush draw since you’re being asked to commit $100 to win $300 (25% of the total or 3:1 odds with a 36% chance to win).  No brainer.  As part of an aggressive strategy, you might even raise to build a bigger pot so you get paid more when/if you make your hand. 

9)  I’d urge you not to bluff…at all.  To do it successfully you have to be aware of the “story” you’ve told via your betting patterns and know if the other person is paying attention or not.  Better players will be more in tuned with the story line and catch you if the story doesn’t add up.  Beginner players are too dumb to back down and will just call with any pair.  So it’s not a profitable strategy for a beginner to try to execute.

10)  See comments for other reader’s input!

Poker and the Art of War (Part 2 - Five is the magic number)

More poker related thoughts on, “Sun Tsu’s Art of War - A Modern Chinese Interpretation - Bold-faced wisdom to guide you through life’s daily conflicts” by General Tao Hanzhang (Translated by Yuan Shibing).  Throughout this post (and later posts) I’ll refer to quotes/suggestions from this book as coming from “TAOW”.  You can buy the book at Amazon.com for $10 (link below)

http://www.amazon.com/Sun-Tzus-Art-War-Interpretation/dp/1402745524/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1203720815&sr=8-1 

Just like most of us have 5 senses to help us survive daily life, there are 5 elements to the Art of War, a successful General has 5 characteristics, and one who is unsuccessful may possess (at least) 1 of 5 characteristics:

Senses

1. Sight
2. Sound
3. Taste
4. Smell
5. Touch

5 Elements of the Art of War (as listed in TAOW)

1. Measurement of space (position, blinds)
2. Estimation of quantities (stack sizes, potential gains/losses)
3. Calculations (pot odds, implied odds, bet sizing, committment)
4. Comparisons (player’s range, abilities, past play, likely actions of others, motivation)
5. Chances of victory (analysis of all of the above)

The successful General (as listed in TAOW)

1. Knows when he can fight, and when he cannot (Gap concept, etc)
2. Understands how to fight in accordance with his opponents strength (player profiling and adapting play accoringly, play the player - not the cards)
3. Ranks are united in purpose (Play to win money - not pots)
4. Well prepared and lies in wait for an enemy that is less prepared (Tight/Aggressive vs Loose/Passive, etc)
5. Are able and not interfered with by others (Focused, little/no distractions)

The unsuccessful General may be (as listed in TAOW)

1. Reckless (Loose)
2. Cowardly (Passive)
3. Quick-Tempered (Tilt)
4. Too delicate a sense of honor (easily insulted)
5. Too compassionate (easily harrassed)

In summary - know your enemy and know yourself!  If you know both you’ll be profitable.  If you are ignorant of the enemy but know yourself, you’ll break even.  If ignorant of both, you’ll be unprofitable.

Poker and the Art of War (Part 1 - Preparing for Battle)

While in Mexico I devoured a book called, “Sun Tsu’s Art of War - A Modern Chinese Interpretation - Bold-faced wisdom to guide you through life’s daily conflicts” by General Tao Hanzhang (Translated by Yuan Shibing).  Throughout this post (and later posts) I’ll refer to quotes/suggestions from this book as coming from “TAOW”.  You can buy the book at Amazon.com for $10 (link below)

http://www.amazon.com/Sun-Tzus-Art-War-Interpretation/dp/1402745524/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1203720815&sr=8-1 

Anyway - it definitely has applications to Poker.  All the good stuff is highlighted in red throughout the book, so if you just wanna skim it, you can do so.  If you want to dive deeper into examples, you can do that too.

First of all, poker is a war made up of many many battles.  According to “TAOW”, in preparing for battle it’s worthwhile to consider the following about yourself and your opponent(s):

1. Who is more wise and able?  (Experienced, knowledgeable, multi-level thinker, battle selection, etc)
2. Who is more talented?  (Varies play depending on circumstances)
3. Who takes advantage of nature and terrain?  (Player tendencies, position, committment, etc)
4. Who’s regulations and instructions are carried out the best?  (Discipline, risk management, committment planning, etc)
5. Who’s troops are stronger?  (Tight, Aggressive)
6. Who’s got the better trained officers and men?  (Isolation, Effective use of ChipStack?)
7. Who administers rewards and punishments in a more enlightened and correct way?  (Bankroll management, reviewing play, learning from mistakes)

My “poker” interpretation is in parenthesis after each bullet point.  What other poker interpretations can you make?

On Vacation

Yesterday marked the start of a much needed vacation.  I awoke at 4:15am to eat breakfast, shower, and run 3 errands (drop off some appraisal biz, get gas for the car, and hit the ATM) before picking up Kevin and Katya at 5:30am for our 8am International flight to Mazatlan in Sinaloa Mexico.

Holy crap is this ever a different a world from what I’m used to!

1)  Driving in Mexico is not for the weak of stomach (our taxi-driver was insane)

2)  Stop signs, lane hash marks, speed limit signs, and one-way-street notices are merely suggestions.  Violating any of the posted “suggestions” does not appear to result in any fines or inquiries from the police.

3)  Mexico is not a training destination for triathletes (cycling here would be a death wish)

4)  Brittany Spears would win a “Mother of the Year” award for keeping her child securely in her lap while driving in Mexico.  I’ve seen toddlers standing up looking over the windshield of convertibles and riding between dad’s crotch on motorcycles with no helmets. 

5)  The idea for the video game “Frogger” must have come to life from watching Mexican pedestrians cross the road.

6)  The water in my hotel room is literally brown when it first comes out of the tap.

7)  VH1 Reality Shows aren’t bleeped when the catty contestants blurt out the F* word.  I wish I could say that it added something to the show, but it doesn’t.

8)  If you have what I call “Travel Butt” when you travel in the states, you won’t have that problem in Mexico.  (”Travel Butt” is the inexplicable phenomena where you find it difficult to poop for the first few days of your vacation.  May also be called “Vacation Butt”, “Hotel Butt”, or “Constip-vacation”).

9)  We don’t need no stinking infrastructure.

To be honest though - all this stuff is just what I needed.  No rules.  Delicious food.  Potent drinks.   Sunshine!  I’m outside now at poolside on a sunny day with clear blue skies!  What more could you ask for?  If only I could find a poker game at the hotel!

On Hiatus

This is one of those times when the sh*t just hits the fan and you gotta roll with it.  In a nutshell:

1. Zack’s cancer has returned…aggressively
2. I’ve decided to discontinue his chemotherapy and put him to sleep as soon as he starts to exhibit signs of physical pain/stress.  Right now things appear to primarily be cosmetic (lumps all over the place…and getting bigger)
3. I took him and his friend Oscar to the beach today for one last “sand between the toes” experience…though if he’s still here, the weather cooperates, and I have the time - I may take him again this weekend
4. The appraisal biz is BOOMING at the moment.  It’s hard to stay on top of things.  I’ve got inspections scheduled up the yin-yang tomorrow and still have 2 to research and it’s 4:45pm.  I’ll be working late for sure!
5. I really worry that I’m going to get too caught up in appraisal work/money and not take the time to make a few more memories with Zack before I have to put him to sleep.
6. My trip to Mexico over President’s Day weekend is looking questionable or at least uncomfortable.  I fear that Zack’s physical condition has the potiential of getting bad right around that time.   It will be difficult to leave him for a weekend if he’s still around.  And if he’s not around, it will be difficult too - but I suppose I’ll find the strength to make the best of it and celebrate his life.

When the Oncologist gave me the (very short) list of options I sat in the room with Zack and thought about things a lot.  I came to the conclusion that it was a battle that we couldn’t win.  We needed to face the facts and realize that no matter how much money or energy we put into battling Zack’s cancer, that the outcome would be the same…perhaps delayed by a few weeks.  That’s right, weeks.  He was in remission for about 4 months.  When they slip out of remission, you can sometimes get them back into remission - but typically for only about 1/2 the time of the original remission.  Not a pleasant thought. 

If I were to use a poker analogy - sometimes you can fire at the pot after the flop, but if you get called - you might be better off checking to your opponent on the turn - especially if you think your opponent is strong and you can’t get him off his hand.  When you’re beat, you’re beat.  Protect what little you have left, and pick another battle.  

 That’s exactly how I feel about this whole K9 Lymphoma experience.  We are literally “drawing dead”.  Throwing more money and chemicals at the problem will not change the outcome.  So I learn from the experience.  I keep what little I have and use it to fight the next battle.

What a Judge should know about Poker (It’s not gambling and it ain’t just about the money)

OK - I read this article last year when I really started to get a bit more serious about poker - I found it so thought provoking and so sound in nature that I forwarded it on to a few other poker enthusiasts.  Recent happenings have brought this article back to the front of my mind and I went through painstaking efforts to find a reprint of it for you readers.  It’s from the Sept 2007 Issue of “Two Plus Two Internet Magazine” and is written by David Sklansky & Alan N. Schoonmaker, Ph.D. 

Reading the article may take 5 to 10 minutes of your time, but I HIGHLY recommend you do so.  It could save your livelihood, your marriage, your sanity, your friendships, etc.    The Poker Players Alliance hosts this in PDF format for good reason I imagine…IMHO it could be the foundation for a lot of their political stance on Poker.

Without further ado….   

http://pokerplayersalliance.org/pdf/PokerPositiveAspects.pdf

Enjoy, and PLEASE COMMENT if you feel the urge!