Poker Wars

2005-10-03T14:52:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I played mucho hours of poker, both online and live. I played single table and multi-table tournaments and a live 4-8 kill ring game in the Eureka Casino. Poker was good to me yesterday, as I cashed in every tourney ( even won two of the sit n goes), and took $400 from the live game that was peopled with drunks and wild players.

Aside from great hands, My poker instinct and rhythm was good the entire day. It seems like I folded big hands or played marginal hands at the right times. I correctly layed down pocket kings three times, and won a monster pot with pocket nines, when I called a loose player who bet into overcards on the board. href="mailto:vecino26@hotmail.com">Email me!">Share your poker experience with me

Sit n Go Poker strategy

2005-04-12T09:46:00.000-07:00

Read Howard Lederer's advice on winning online Sit n Go single table poker tournaments. His "Play tight early, loosen up later strategy" is the opposite from the way most people play, but makes perfect sense when you understand Howard's logic. Check this out, you may end up in the money more often!

Coach is Back

2005-04-11T14:16:00.000-07:00

It's been a while since I posted here. I still play poker daily, but I've been involved in another writing project and have neglected this blog. Now that my project is near completion, I intend to write about poker again. I continue to sponsor and moderate my Paradise Poker private tourney Mesquite$. It is $5.00 buy-in omaha8 h/l tournament played at 6:30 p.m. PST daily. The password is omaha and any registered paradise poker player can play. Usually between 40-80 players participate daily. Five or ten places are paid, depending on the number of participants. Log on to Paradise Poker, click on the private tourney tab and join the fun.

Today's Chuckle

2005-01-03T14:38:00.000-08:00

""On Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, when I attend my Alcoholics Anonymous meetings, we play poker. On Tuesdays and Thursdays, when I attend my Gamblers Anonymous meetings, we sit around and drink!" ...anon

New Year's Eve in Mesquite

2005-01-01T09:45:00.000-08:00

At the Oasis casino in Mesquite, Nevada, revelers dressed in their finest holiday wear to participate in some great Texas hold'em action. Loose and tipsy, many players and newbies decided to try their luck. The action was fun, fast and furious. My $10-20 table was a blast. Often the pots were capped pre-flop, with eight or more players tossing in their chips. Every variety of hand was turned over at the showdown, with suckouts by players holding cards like 2-3 offsuit common. It was comical and reminded me of some of the Montana home games that I used to play. The dealers had to settle many trivial disputes because a lot of newbies didn't understand the rules or were unaware of common poker etiquette. Intoxicated gamblers chatted about their hands, played out of turn, exposed their cards, constantly rabbit hunted, and taunted the winners when they lost. It was a full-tilt, albeit profitable game. A true wild west experience. In 3 hrs. of play, I turned a $400 profit, taking advantage of the loose action. A nice way to end the year.

I believe 2005 will be a banner year for poker. New people, being curious about the game's popularity, will enter the fray for the first time. This rush will provide experienced players, such as myself to realize more profit. It's always great when you can make money from your hobby. I love to see new players at the table. They present constant challenges and create a healthy poker environment. I hope you all had as much fun as i did on New Year's Eve. May 2005 be a great year for you. If you're strictly an online player, consider trying out your skill in live casino action. You'll be surprised how good you really are. You've honed your skill from the many hours in front of the computer screen, and you won't take a back seat to anyone. Go for it! Good luck in 2005. See you online at Paradise Poker's Mesquite$ tourney or in my favorite live action poker room, The Oasis casino in Mesquite ,Nevada.

End of Year Luck

2004-12-31T09:02:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year fellow Mesquite$ Omaha H/L players. This year's end, like last year's end has been lucky for me. On Dec. 30th of 2003, I won a live 6-table $100 buy-in NL hold'em tournament at my favorite poker room at the Oasis Casino in Mesquite, Nevada. After the tournament, I sat in a $4-8 hold'em ring game and hit a $1600 bad beat jackpot on my first hand. A $3500 take for one day was a fantastic way to ring in 2004.

My end of year luck is holding up this year as well. Two days ago, Dec 29th, I won Dkblue's on- line $10 buy-in omaha tourney and yesterday Dec. 30th, I won the Mesquite$ online $5.00 Omaha tourney, which I sponsor. This is the first time that I've won my own tournament, so the win was particularly satisfying. I think I had a cute little lady lepracaun sitting on my lap.

As the old saying goes, I think I'd rather be lucky than good. I keep telling myself, that if I play enough, and strive to improve, I'm bound to win once in a while. Being a bridesmaid without getting to the altar in the winner's circle, gets old, and is frustrating. These recent wins, although moneywise, not much to brag about, helps my confidence inmensley. I think I'm on the right track, but have a long way to go before I sleep. As my poker improves, the competition also improves.

The online players are playing better and better as time passes. The competition is fantastic and the level of play is very high. The games, especially Omaha H/L are furiously competetive, and great fun to play. I look forward to some fantastic play in 2005. I'll be looking to improve my play, to increase my luck and to chalk up a few victories. Someone once said the"Luck is the residue of design", so if we can increase our skill, perhaps we'll win more when Lady Luck pays us a visit. Thanks to all of you who have been playing Mesquite$ regularly. If any of you ever visit Mesquite, Nevada look me up and we can play face to face at one of three casinos. Good time guaranteed. Again, Happy New Year to all!! See you at the table.

Coach

2004-12-18T13:04:00.000-08:00

Happy Holidays

2004-12-14T13:16:00.000-08:00

A/V Blog
by Userplane

A/V Blog

2004-12-12T13:54:00.000-08:00

A/V Blog
by Userplane

Confirmation Bias: A poker Analogy

2004-12-01T09:38:00.000-08:00

"Confirmation bias is the investing equivalent of a full house in poker -- you've got a great hand and you're convinced that you're going to win. But someone at the table keeps raising your bets. "Sucker," you think. "I'm going to make this expensive for you." Ah, but come time for the showdown, you're in for a shock. You lose -- to a higher full house"

Fool.com: Beware Confirmation Bias [Commentary] November 30, 2004

Read my blog in Five Languages

2004-11-20T15:50:00.000-08:00

Today I added links at the beginning of each article that enables the reader to choose one of five languages (Spanish, German, Italian, Portugese and French).A reader can select his or her preferred language by simply clicking on the appropriate link, and the article will be translated into that language. Nuances of meaning will change in translation, but the gist of my article will be clear. Try it, international readers, and let me know what you think by leaving a comment. More blog fun!!

Expert Omaha H/L Advice

2004-11-17T15:01:00.000-08:00

Poker writer lou Krieger and expert players Annie duke and Linda Johnson share the following advice on inproving your Omaha H/L game:

• Draws and traps to avoid: Here are some of the draws you ought to avoid and some trap hands you need to be on the lookout for:

1. Top and bottom pair

2. Third-best flush

3. Second-best straight

4. Second-best low hand

5. K-Q-Q-X and similar holdings

6. J-J-10-X and similar holdings

7. 7-6-5-4 suited or unsuited

8. 6-5-4-3 suited or not

• Some miscellaneous tips: Here are some miscellaneous tips to improve your Omaha eight-or-better game. They are covered in more detail elsewhere in our book, but we’ve listed them here so that you can access all of them in one place.

1. If you’re playing $10-$20 or lower, after the flop you should generally draw only to the nuts or have multiple high-quality draws.

2. If you’ve been dealt A-3 or 3-2 with nothing else of real quality, you ought to throw it away if you’re in early position. In late position, A-3 is almost always playable, but 3-2 is not.

3. While late position allows you to play more hands, middle cards such as 9-8-7 — particularly hands with nines in them — should not be played.

4. When you’ve made the nut low on the flop and are sure you’re going to be quartered, you have our permission to occasionally muck your hand, particularly when you have no backup to protect you against getting counterfeited, and no possibilities of making a high winning hand. If you’re holding A-2-K-Q, it may look good if the flop is 6-5-4, but if you suspect that one of your opponents also has an A-2 in his hand, the best you can hope for if there are three others in the pot with you is that you’ll get your money back. It’s sort of like, “Heads they win, tails you tie,” and that’s not a rosy picture, is it?

5. On the river, you can usually raise if you’re holding the nut low when it’s fourhanded, but generally just call if you’re playing threehanded.

6. When you’re in the cutoff seat or on the button in a pot in which no one has come to play, either raise or release. Do not call.

7. In multiway pots, early-position strength should be bet because you’d like to attract paying customers. Deception is unimportant. When your opponents see the flop, many of them will find any possible excuse to call and see the turn — and the river, too.

8. If a player in early position bets into a raiser, do not call with anything other than the very best of flop fits. In this situation, it’s really OK to throw your hand away.

9. An ace is the most important card in Omaha eight-or-better. Next in importance is a deuce. A 9 is the worst card, and if you hang around an Omaha eight-or-better table long enough, you’ll find that nines, eights, and sevens appear in more losing hands than any other cards.

10. According to World Series of Poker bracelet winner and Omaha eight-or-better expert Linda Johnson, 6-5-4-3 is the worst starting hand combination that most Omaha eight-or-better players consider a good hand, and one they will play on a regular basis.

11. The flush factor: You’ll be dealt a suited or double-suited hand the vast majority of the time. So will your opponents, so when you do draw to a flush, be certain it stands a good chance of winning the pot, or at least the high end of it, if you make it.

12. It takes a bigger hand to call a raise than it does to raise in the first place. And it takes a bigger hand to overcall than to be the first caller.

13. Although many players think of Omaha eight-or-better as a game of drawouts, it’s worth remembering that seven-ninths, or 77 percent, of your hand is known on the flop.

14. The river card is the least important card in Omaha eight-or-better. All of the important action takes place prior to the river. If you have the best of it before the river, you’ll win more often than not. Get your money into the pot when you have the best of it, and save your bets when you don’t. While that sounds simple and obvious, many players do not follow that axiom.

15. High-stakes poker player Annie Duke’s list of mistakes many players make in Omaha eight-or-better:

• Playing stranded pairs; hands like K-K-8-4 are unplayable, but hands like K K 2 3 and K-K-Q-Q can be played

• Overestimating the value of small pairs, deuces through eights, since these sets become very vulnerable when hit

• Overestimating the value of A-2

• Overestimating the value of A-A

• Underestimating the value of big connecting cards, because it is tougher to get trapped with them

The Flop

2004-11-15T12:05:00.000-08:00

After selecting a solid starting hand to play, the flop becomes the most important decision one makes in Omaha H/L 8
poker. While to most of you this is self-evident, it's surprising how many players ignore coordinating the flop with their starting hands. It seems like hope springs eternal in this game. From this point, for some, the chase is on! Mucking a great starting hand is impossible, and the hopeful cling to the missed flop in disbelief. They leak their chips, and scratch their bewildered heads as they wonder why their stacks have disappeared so rapidly. After all, they began with a great 4, 5, or even a 6-way hand, so they attribute their demise to bad luck. In reality, poor decision-making creates their so-called bad luck. The next time you begin with a strong starting hand, followed by a missed, uncoordinated flop, muck that trash! You'll be glad you did, and your bankroll will thank you. Remember that Omaha H/L8 is a nut game, and the prize usually goes to the patient players. Good decisions create good results.

Starting Hands In Omaha H/L8

2004-11-05T17:25:00.000-08:00

Good Omaha H/L 8 players realize that solid starting hands often determine success or failure in winning or a losing a pot. (See my starting hand article, Close But No Cigar) Without at least a 4-way hand and a chance to scoop the whole pot, they know that over time, they'll be consistent losers. Their objective should always be to win the entire pot. Given this goal, one still sees some very strange hands in this difficult game. Online, I often see players raise pre-flop with only an un-suited A-2 and little else in their hand. When the flop hits two cards to a low, they'll reraise, hoping to catch a low card to complete a low hand, without much chance to a scoop. Then they'll continue to chase and call or raise through the river or turn, irrespective of the number of players participating in the hand or the strength of the opponents action. They are frequently counterfeited or at best, end up with a quarter or a sixth of the pot. A losing proposition for sure. The next time you ask yourself."Why can I not seem to win very often?", Carefully consider your starting hands. 4, 5, and even 6-way starting hands with strong scooping possibilities should be your major consideration when deciding to play. Next, you must be able to get away from your strong hand when it doesn't coordinate with the flop.. In my next blog, I'll talk about the flop. start with good hands to win more!

[Listening to: Cuando Vuelva a Tu Lado - Luis Miguel - (03:48)]

Paradise Poker's Mesquite$ Online Omaha H/L Tournament for November 3rd

2004-11-03T22:19:00.000-08:00

Congrats to the 1st place winner kakalaki kid for his fine performance in the Mesquite$ Omaha H/L tourney. 55 players participated in the 6:30 p.m. event. hopefully we're filling a void in respect to both the $5.00 buy-in and the time slot. Thanks to everyone for making this a fun competition. Perhaps we will offer this same format every weekday. Your comments and suggestions are always welcome and appreciated. A special thanks to dkblue for participating tonight. We play at 6:30 p.m. tomorrow, with a $5.00 buy-in. The password is Omaha. Tonight's final table featured some excellent Omaha H/L play. Everyone is welcome to participate in the tournament.

password

2004-11-03T13:26:00.000-08:00

the password for Mesquite$ is omaha (if doesn't work...try money) begins at 6:30 pm $5.00 buy-in; no add ons or rebuys

Saturday. Oct 30th Mesquite$ Winners

2004-10-30T14:34:00.000-07:00

Congratulati0ns to the following Mesquite$ tourney 3rd week Winners :

ashymike (New York) $86.45; JCORD (St George) 51.87; SHATAR (Harrisburg) 34.58.

I've changed the times (now 6:30 p.m. PST) , the buy-in ( now $5.00), and the password (now omaha) for the November Mesquite$ Omaha H/L tourney, to accomodate requests and convenience for players. Also I want to apologize to dkblue for inadvertently scheduling the past tournaments during the same time slot, and creating a conflict. It was an unintentional error. I continue to seek a satisfactory time and price to hold this tourney. Your suggestions have been helpful and are always welcome. Please leave your comments at the end of this blog.

password

2004-10-29T15:26:00.000-07:00

mesquite$ tourney is omaha

Tourney Input from A Fellow Player

2004-10-27T18:02:00.000-07:00

Today I received the following e-mail from a fellow online poker player. His suggestions on improving the Mesquite$ are helpful and I would like more suggetions as to how we can make our tournament terrific for all! I'd love to hear suggestions from more players. Please express your opinions and suggestions by clicking the comment link at the end of this letter:

Hello, I'd like to play in your tournament, I just found out about it today. I gather it keeps getting cancelled-- here's a couple ideas for more participation:Different TIME - tonight for example there are established private Omaha HL8 tourneys at at 18:30, 20:00, and 23:00... so how did also yours get scheduled at 18:30, with an identical $10 buyin?? Why not start Mesquite$ at say 21:30?? That way four new tourneys would be starting in 90 minutes intervals from 18:30-23:00 (instead of overlapping start times).Different FORMAT - Common sense says the lower the buyin, the more entries. The cheapest Omaha HL8 buyin is the $5 Gecko, which gets plenty of entries at 2:00. Maybe an early evening $2 would be popular?? Or heres my best idea-- ever play in Riptide R&A?? Its a wild and crazy $2 holdem with rebuy and add on, hundreds of entries every night. Try a $2 Omaha HL R&A!! It could really take off.One last thought and this may be stupid, but maybe if the password was OMAHA like the other private tournies...??

Password

2004-10-27T15:16:00.000-07:00

Mesquite$ password is money

Close, But No Cigar!

2004-10-25T11:23:00.000-07:00

Almost nightly, I play in an online, multi-table Omaha H/L8 poker tournament called Stingray. Usually around 150 players participate, with the top 20 finishing in the money. Most nights I cash-out, but I've yet to win or to reach one of the coveted top three positions, where the serious cash resides. "Why can't I breakthrough and win this tournament?", I ask.

Like a Monday morning quarterback, after a defeat, I always examine my play post-game. I've discovered that I'm usually the short stack in chips when I've advanced to positions 5th to 20th. Why is this? Is my play too tight? Am I passing up winning opportunities and not getting the most out of certain hands? Am I just unlucky? Are the poker gods mad at me? It's a bit un-nerving to be a bridesmaid, but never a bride. Let's examine my play.

My starting hand requirements are usually as follows:

I play any A-3 hand when the ace is suited.
I play anyA-2 hand.
I play any ace and two unpaired prime cards (2, 3, 4, 5) if no one raises in front of me.
I play any four prime cards in late position in an un-raised pot.
I play any 40-point hand (4 cards A-k-Q-J-10 in any combination).
I especially play any of the above if my hand is double suited.

If the flop doesn't coordinate with my hand, I usually fold, and never chase. I'm always looking for sweeps and nut possibilities. I beleive Omaha H/L8 is basically a nut game and one shouldn't be in too many pots.

My aggressiveness leans toward the conservative side, as I almost never raise pre-flop, as the flop determines about 78% of one's hand. This may well be my shortcoming, as I have observed very aggressive players gambling, and winning pot after pot on speculative, gambling-type hands. These same players often exit early from the tourney or win the whole enchilada. It's an all or nothing mentality, which is contrary to my personality.

Essentially, I've described my style of play. Although conservative, I don't fear putting all of my chips in when I think I have the best of it. If I can discover the holes in my play, exploit more small edges. and arrive at the final table with a larger stack, I'm certain I will eventually win. Perhaps more heart, more bravery and improved technique will propel me to victory. Let me know readers, what you think. Tell me about your style of play and how you win. Perhaps we can learn from each other. See you online!

Online Omaha H/L Winners

2004-10-23T13:56:00.000-07:00

Mesquite$ tourney 2nd weeks winners
Koo-vee (tampere) $94.19; Stoneycreek (Reading) 52.33o; Olgaluna (amsterdam) 35.58; Keno66 (mesquite) 27.21.

Congratulations to the above winners of this weeks tourney!

MesquiteOnline Omaha H/L tourney Oct. 23, 2004

2004-10-22T14:40:00.000-07:00

Tomorrow, Oct. 23rd the Mesquite online tourney at Paradise Poker is open to all players at 10:30 a.m. (PST). The buy-in is $10.oo with no additional re-buys or add-ons. The password is money. Everyone welcome. Join the fun!!

Mesquite$ Online Omaha H/L8 Cancels

2004-10-16T13:55:00.000-07:00

Friday and Saturday's Omaha H/L online tourney fizzled out this week and was cancelled because of a shortage of participants. We're unsure of the reason for its failure after beginning with 21 players in the inaugral event last week. Perhaps people forgot the password or maybe our days and times are inconvenient for most players. At any rate. we'll continue to offer this tourney and make adjustments to insure success. Any suggestions that you have, either leave them in the comments at the end of this writing or drop me an e-mail Check out my blog and feel free to leave your comments also. Also tell us about your preferences in regards to time, buy-in, preferred days, etc. Hope to hear from you.

Mesquite$ Tourney

2004-10-12T20:44:00.000-07:00

We've added another day to the Mesquite$ online Omaha H/L8. The tournment will be held on Fridays and Saturdays at 10:30 a.m. (PST). The additional day should accomodate players who are unable to play on Saturdays. It will remain a $10 buy-in tourney with no re-buys or add-ons. The password is money and the games are listed under private tournaments at Paradise Poker. Everyone is welcome. Join the fun!!

Survey finds 'web withdrawal

2004-10-10T11:18:00.000-07:00

I think I have a new disease called web withdrawal. My palms sweat, I shake, my stomach growls, and my head pounds if the day passes without my online fix. How did this happen?Haven't been this addicted since I crushed out the last butt of that filthy Marlbourough smoke 30 years ago. I'm in good company though. I encounter millions of others, just like me, everyday. The cyber-family has replaced the real family. The glaring computer screen has become the center of the universe. It's pathetic. I play poker, blog, e-mail, read the news, chat with friends, research, emote, philosophize and interact with unknown faces in far away places. I'm connected in ways, un-imagined just a few years ago. Orwellian culture is reality. Willingly, I submit to the prying eyes of "Big Brother" like a fish to the bait. The meaning of freedom is being re-defined. After I'm gone, I wonder what my children's live will be like?

Inaugral Mesquite$ Online Omaha H/L Tourney

2004-10-09T13:24:00.000-07:00

Our 10:30 a.m. (PST), $10.00 buy-in, Omaha 8 H/L tournament on Paradise Poker, launched succesfully with 21 excellent players competing for four spots in the money. Congrats to:

Mesquite$ 1st week Winners
harpoon234-----$86.00resourse------- $47.78bijue---------- $32.49asskickr------- $24.84Number player: 21 Running Time: 2 hrs and 20 mins

The tournament is called Mesquite$ and the password is money. We are planning to hold this event at the same time every Saturday. All Omaha players are welcome to participate. We're kicking around the idea of allowing a single $5.00 re-buy and one$5.00 add-on to increase the purse for the winners and allow a second chance for players who bust out early. We want to have an enjoyable and affordable event. Your input about this in the comments section at the end of this article is welcome and appreciated. Hope to see you all next Saturday!!

Sound Bites from The Poker Room

2004-10-08T17:18:00.000-07:00

Rounder

cards fall
he watches
the green felt
waiting, waiting
he watches
ever patient
waiting, waiting
eerily silent
ever patient
the green felt
eerily silent
yields another winner

The Dealer

Smoke curls
He shuffles
The stiff deck
Mixing, mixing
He shuffles
Always calm
Mixing, mixing
Ever precise
Always calm
The stiff deck
Ever precise
Chooses victims

from "Collected Sound Bites"....Coach

Online Pros

2004-10-07T19:06:00.000-07:00

Quit your job, sit in front of the computer screen and play poker and double your income. Sounds like a dream come true. Is it? Online Pro Players

Georgiev on Cheating

2004-10-06T13:32:00.000-07:00

Check out this site PokerMafia.com , to read some entertaining articles about cheating in poker and read some of Russ Georgiev's excellent poker articles.

Learn To play Omaha Hi/Lo poker

2004-10-05T16:12:00.000-07:00

Get the scoop on Omaha 8 Hi/LO at this great website and add some fun to your poker repetoire. You'll find rules. strategies and tips from great players here.

Mesquite$ Online Poker Tourney

2004-10-05T02:46:00.000-07:00

Saturday. October 9th, I am sponsoring a private, pot limit, Omaha 8 H/L poker tourney on Paradise Poker. The name of the tourney is Mesquite$ and the password is money. It is now listed under private tournaments on Paradise. All players are welcome. The tournament begins at 10:30 a.m. PST. The buy-in is $10.00 with no re-buys. Sign-up and join the fun.

2004-10-04T09:52:00.000-07:00

Poker tournaments are addicting. Once you start it just seems impossible to stop. It's a fun way to go broke!:-)

2004-10-04T09:15:00.000-07:00

So this is what my online poker opponents look like when making that all-in raise!! :-)

U.S. teens hit by poker craze epidemic

2004-10-04T09:09:00.000-07:00

U.S. teens hit by poker craze epidemic

New faces at the Oasis

2004-09-30T14:20:00.000-07:00

The Wednesday NL Hold'em tournament at the, Oasis Casino/Resort seated a plethora of strange faces. Of the sixty players, I recognized about 20 faces. As poker gains popularity, more and more folks are coming to my little brick and mortar casino to cash-in on the excitement.

Last night, many newbies were trying out live poker for the first time, as was evidenced by their questions and actions.. Before the first hand, two fellows on my right asked the dealer the meaning of the blinds. Several players had to be instructed about playing in turn, concealing their cards, or chatting about mucked hands during play. A few went all-in with meager hands, mimicking the pros of the WPT final tables. Usually, they experienced a quick and painful lesson.

I exited in 19th position as my pocket queens were run down by a young man with A-6 offsuit at the river. He just didn't understand that one usually doesn't call megabets all the way to the end with such a meager holding! I was not surprised, disappointed, angry, frustrated or emotionally upset in any manner at my bad luck. These situations are becoming the norm nowadays and experienced players must bite the bullet, welcome new players and continue to improve or find another game. The atmosphere of this new, looser, gambling-style of poker is exciting and fun to play. I used to be a rock, but i'm turning into a marshmallow! :-)

[Listening to: Daughter [*] - Bread - The Best of Bread [Rhino] (03:21)]

Five Mistakes of New Players

2004-09-30T13:44:00.000-07:00

ChicagoSportsReview.com

Poker passwords

2004-09-30T08:35:00.000-07:00

Online sites seem to always want you to create a new password. Very annoying. Double click the following cartoon to enlarge it!
damn Passwords!

Some Omaha/8 hi-lo Thoughts

2004-09-26T16:36:00.000-07:00

Annie Duke gets $2 million after winning Vegas poker tournament

2004-09-22T15:41:00.000-07:00

SignOnSanDiego.com > News > Features -- Annie Duke gets $2 million after winning Vegas poker tournament

Big tournament

2004-09-21T12:59:00.000-07:00

I've spoken before about the importance of patience in NL hold'em tournaments, but this quality is vastly magnified when a large number of players is involved. Online, these tournaments feature all-ins as the primary strategy of the vast majority of players and the stack flucuations are extreme. It's common for a field of 1000 plus, for 1/2 of the field to be eliminated before the first break. Usually this is a result of gambling with poor or speculative hands. Traditional poker of putting one's chips in with the best of it flies out the window.

A patient, intelligent player usually has a great advantage in these wild melees. Waiting for good cards, playing the correct odds, using position advantageously, and limiting gambling-type plays early-on, often results in reaching the latter stages of a tournament. Often a final table or even a win is the consequence of solid play. The all-in move as a primary weapon is greatly exaggerated, as one witnesses the early exit of these wild gamblers, employing this tactic indiscrimanately. As my friend TV counsels, one must set small goals and play each phase of the tournament, without looking too far towards the end game. One poor decision often means elimination. The player who makes the fewest errors is rewarded with victory, To win money; play smart, eliminate your mistakes, and above all have patience (Consider T.J. Cloutier's style and successes). This is a winner's formula for poker success.

[Listening to: Come Away With Me - Norah Jones - Come Away With Me (03:18)]

Figuring odds in Poker

2004-09-17T19:12:00.000-07:00

"The Rule of Four -Two.

The rule of four-two, as I like to call it, is an easier way to figure the odds for any situation where you know your outs. It is not completely accurate but it will give you a quick "ballpark" figure of your chances for making a hand. Here is how it works.

With two cards to come after the flop you multiply your number of outs by four. With one card to come after the turn, you multiply your number of outs by two. This will give you a quick figure to work with. If you have a four-card flush after the flop you have nine outs. With two cards to come, you multiply the nine by four and you get 36 percent chance of making the flush. The chart shows the true odds at 35 percent. With one card to come you multiply nine by two and get 18 percent. The chart shows that the true figure is 19.6. It is not completely accurate but it is pretty close, and it is an easy calculation to do in your head..........Lou Krieger"
For a more comprehensive discussion of these ideas, click on the title of this article or click on the link that follows this paragraph.

Poker Top10: Top omaha pot limit starting hands.

2004-09-14T13:41:00.000-07:00

Poker Top10: Top omaha pot limit starting hands.

Start Right in Omaha/8

2004-08-29T12:31:00.000-07:00

Recently I discovered that Omaha/8 hi-lo is a very entertaining and tricky game. New to this game, I've been very reluctant to join the fun because of the variety of hand possibilities that seem very confusing to the novice. Ever curious, I decided to try to understand what Omaha fanatics continually rave about as they sing this game's praises. My past attempts in playing Omaha almost always resulted in disaster until I read Lou Kriegers recent article in Card Player Magazine, regarding starting hands. Lou details a very sensible method of playable hands that one needs to even enter the pot in an Omaha hi-lo game. After assimilating these principles, I tried them in 3 different sit & go tournaments online at Paradise Poker and won all 3 tournaments, against experienced players! What a shock! I've discovered that Omaha/8 hi lo is a fascinating, fun game, with infinite combinations and possibilities to exercise one's intellect. If you want a challenge, try this game, but first read some good poker literature to get off to a good start. Lou Krieger's article is an excellent beginning point.

Poker Stats

2004-08-21T19:58:00.000-07:00

Are you a winning poker player or do you just think you are? Do you know how much dinero you win or lose over time? Do you keep track of your sessions? If not, you can sign up for a free program that I recently came across that will keep track of your poker sessions and yield a true picture of your successes and failures. The url is http://www.pokercharts.com. It's a useful online program that reveals the truth about one's play ( for those of you that really want to know the truth). It's a handy tool that not only tracks your sessions, but enables you to take notes on your opponents and view several charts on different aspects of your game. Get this handy tool and surely you'll be in the winner's circle soon!

Friendship

2004-08-17T10:16:00.000-07:00

My friend e-mailed me today and asked if she scared me off by asking certain personal questions. Her letter was very long and filled with personal insecurities. The following is part of my reply to her:"Our friendship is not like a binge, dependent upon a mood swing to fill a need. It's not fragile like a grounded-robin with a broken wing. You don't scare me with your desert places. You see, I have it in me to scare myself with my own desert places. Our e-mail exchanges aren't tit-for-tat, you-show-me-yours-and-I'll-show-you-mine affairs. Sometimes the emotional wrting inkwell is dry and waits for the inkman to arrive and refill it. It's putting space between the stimulus and the response as Stephen Covey would say. It's stepping back, taking a deep breath and re-oxygenating the tissues. It's an open friendship, without expectation, obligation, or excessive neediness. We've both put much out there, therefore there's much to contemplate. One of my strengths and also my weaknesses is that I've always independently proceeded with my life on my own biorhythmic time frame. Because of this "attitude" I've been misunderstood. Ideas and thoughts take time to process and understand. By proceeding in a thoughful way, one can avoid the fire and pain of impulsiveness. I never want to ask myself the questions "Why did I say that?' or "Why did I do that?" It's not that I'm afraid. I simply like the soup to simmer awhile before eating it."

Friday the 13th Luck

2004-08-14T12:55:00.000-07:00

I'm not superstitious, but I sure had bad luck in the Oasis Friday the 13th Tournament of Champions last night. The tournament had a great prize structure with lots of opportunities to win some serious cash. I was card-dead most of the night and never seriously contended for the the money. I didn't see a flop during the first half of the contest and felt more like a spectator than a participant. After the break, I was involved in only three pots and finally went out 17th when Reece outdrew my all-in pocket 7's with pocket 10's and rivered a full house. It simply wasn't my night, and I was a little disappointed because I failed to reach the final table. This was a well-run event, with great money and solid participants. I enjoy playing against better players and testing my poker skills, but I was outplayed on this unlucky Friday the 13th. Maybe there is something to the bad luck superstitions for this day!

A Blind Move

2004-08-11T21:27:00.000-07:00

A Poker Book

2004-08-09T08:39:00.000-07:00

In reviewing David Skalansky's Tournament Holdem For Advanced Players, several outstanding ideas present themselves that will help the average player improve his or her tournament play. As a serious player, I have greatly benefitted by using some of Skalansky's concepts. His "gap" concept, his NL system, his ideas on short stack play and several other ideas have given me some small edges that have allowed me to reach many final tables and win a few tournaments. If you want to improve your Texas Hold'em tournament play, I highly recommend this book. Parts of this book are mathematical and technical, but many of Skalansky's ideas are easy to understand and will allow you to play at a higher level. With so many new people entering this game, we need all of the small edges that we can get to become winners! It's a good read!

Your Poker Friend,
Coach

A Monster

2004-08-06T09:11:00.000-07:00

When Mary Shelley's Dr. Frankenstein created his monster, he didn't have a clue what he was about to unleash on society. When I introduced Texas Hold'em to my neighbor, I, like Dr. Frankenstein didn't realize what a problem I was about to create. Both characters, Frankenstein's monster and my neighbor are filled with obsessive/compulsive feelings that manifest in rantings, ravings, cursings and general manic/depressive disorders. For months I sold my neighbor on the idea that poker was a beautiful and relaxing game. Now that he plays online everday, I take it all back! He's proof positive that one's personality shapes and molds the experience and not the other way around. Whatever one brings to the game, shapes the game.
Now that my neighbor understands poker concepts of hand values, tight play, loose play, pot odds, premium starting hands, positive EV, calling stations, suck outs and a variety of other poker ideas, he's become an expert! He doesn't win much, but he can always tell you why he lost.

He exclaims that" those idiots online don't understand the game, and keep calling my good hands with nothing, and sucking out on the River!" His apartment has become bad-beat story central. I'm subject to bad-beat stories day and night. He hunkers over his tiny laptop screen, screaming "Look at that dumb bastard, he went all the way to the River with3-4s and got lucky! I always lose to these fools!" He hates to see his chips go to the other side of the table. In poker he seeks revenge and justice. (a non-existent concept. Life isn't fair folks!) I suggested that he try Bingo, which went over like a bad-beat to the heart. He replied, "I'm having a great time playing (and losing) poker online." Which brings me to conclude, that we all play this great game for different reasons. Love, companionship, competition, ego, lonliness and money are some of the reasons that we play poker. Whatever your motivation, have fun, play nice or play Bingo.

Some Heads Up Thoughts

2004-08-05T11:41:00.000-07:00

Between eye surgery and online poker tournaments, my blog has suffered from extreme neglect during the month of July. The blistering Nevada desert heat causes some lethargy and ennui.

Almost daily, I play a variety of online poker tournaments ranging from one table $20 sit and go NL games, to massive 6000 person freeroll tournaments, while attempting to qualify for a WPT event. I've won many single tables and placed quite high in the larger events. I've also won larger NL tournaments with small buy-ins yielding nice top prize money. For example, I won the "Parrot" No-limit $5.00 buy in tourney yesterday and collected $525 top prize. Not a bad return on my money! In many of these events, both large and small, I often find myself in a short- handed game, or even better heads-up for the top prize. I've observed that while many good players can reach the final table, few understand the changes required to be a good short- handed or heads-up player. The following link takes you to a short article by the Hendon mob from Britain. Their ideas Should help your short handed game. Don't use these tips against me! :-)

Plan Your Tournament

2004-07-05T13:36:00.000-07:00

"The better your are are at determining how things around you affect your chances, the more successes you'll enjoy"...Mike Caro.

In poker, according to Caro, the key element of success is knowing what your chances are and then planning your strategy. This idea seems to seperate good poker players from mediocre ones. Many players understand solid and fundemental poker play, but fail to have a plan for winning.

A personal example of this idea took place in last night's Oasis weekly poker tournament. Fifty players began the tournament. Some among them were excellent players with years of experience. Time after time, I watched players eliminated because of poor decisions, like all-in moves with an A-10 offsuit; calling too much with weak draws, and playing small pairs to the River, out of position. Some bluffed with nothing, while others played tightly and timidly trying to survive. Many were easy to exploit because they would over-commit their hands and over-bet. Almost all of these players appeared to rely on luck and play without a strategy to win. Following T.J Cloutier's advice from his book "Championship Pot-Limit and No-Limit Holdem" I luckily reached the final table, and eventually finished 2nd place, because I had a plan and my hands held up. I was able to pick up small pots throughout the tournament and gradually increase my chip size. Changing gears at various stages of the tournament, made it difficult for opponents to read me well and they often guessed wrong about the strength of my hands. It's very satisfying when one's plan works and success ensues. As Caro says, "Among similarly skilled opponents, the player with the most discipline is the favorite". Discipline played a major role in last nights game plan. The next time you enter a poker tournament, have a plan and the discipline to work the plan. Maybe this will give you the winning edge.

Poker ... Online Poker. Primate Poker (tm).

2004-06-23T13:49:00.000-07:00

Poker ... Online Poker. Primate Poker (tm).

Know Thyself

2004-06-19T15:47:00.000-07:00

"Examining why you play poker could be the official start of a broader self-examination of all your motivations. Psychological self-examination of any kind will not be easy. The payoff is that efforts aimed at self-understanding will always improve the quality of your life.

At a minimum, examining specifically why you play poker will help you begin to understand yourself. This is an essential first step in understanding others. Understanding yourself and others can only help improve your overall poker results."...Dan Mezick, Primate Poker essays.

Why do I play poker? Competition? Money? Ego? Mental gymnastics? Social life? Perhaps it's a combination of these qualities. As a phiosopher once wrote (Emerson, I think) "An un-examined life isn't worth living." As I examine my poker play, I become more conscious of behaviors that motivate me and help me understand why I do what I do. Poker seems like a microcosm of life. Games are filled with fear, disappointments, exhilarations, losses, victories, mood swings, sportmanship, rude behaviors, and the gamut of other emotions found in humankind. While playing poker, one is constantly making snap decisions that determine success or failure. As I continue along the path of self examination, I realize that not only does my poker improve, but my relationships with others are more satisfying. Ask yourselves why you play this wonderful game called poker and perhaps it will help you "Know thyself" a little better.

Do You Always Exit Early in Tournaments?

2004-06-18T13:02:00.000-07:00

I don't think of myself as a "great" poker player, but I've enjoyed considerable success in Online Paradise Poker NL Texas Hold'em single table, $20 buy-in tournaments. In fact, I've won the last four tournaments that I've played. In two days my $80 investment returned $400 in winnings.Is it luck, skill or a combination of both qualities? Are my opponents weak or inexperienced players? In analyzing the play at these single tables, a few thoughts partially explain my success:

1. Too many players use the all-in move as their primary weapon and eliminate themselves early-on. They gamble too much with marginal hands for small gains. Their risk/reward ratio doesn't merit such loose play. They exit early.

2. Many players are impatient and give up and push in their chips too quick when short-stacked. They don't pay attention to the blinds and how many hands they're able to play with a small amount of chips. They exit early.

3. Some get pot-committed with draws and call off their chips with poor odds. They can't bear to fold and miss seeing the next card come off the deck. They exit early.

4. Most play any Ace-offsuit from any position, hoping to catch an Ace. When it comes they're often dominated by an Ace with a higher kicker. They exit early.

5. A majority raise into pots when the flop has two overcards bigger then their hole cards. These players pay for foolish aggressiveness. They exit early.

These observations account for much of my poker success. I'm patient, I pay attention to position and I generally use the all-in move when I know that I have the best of it. In other words, I don't gamble much until the game is short-handed and only 3 or 4 players remain at the table. I then shift to a more aggressive style of play, using position as my ally. The next time you're in a NL Hold'em tournament, be patient early, maintain high starting standards, pay attention to your opponents levels of aggressiveness, value table position, and never play trashy Aces, small pairs out of position and dominated face cards. Perhaps you won't exit early and will win the tournament.

Confidence or Cockiness?

2004-06-04T10:21:00.000-07:00

Cockiness in poker happens when we think we're better than we are. A cocky player envisons his play far superior to other's play, and loudly whines when a so-called bad player draws out on the River or enters a pot and wins with a marginal hand. Cockiness is manifest in bragging, berating new players and dealers, overtly reacting to wins and losses and in general, displaying bad manners at the table. I call it the horse's ass syndrome.

Confidence in poker is displayed by players who play within themselves, study the game, humbly except bad beats and are gracious in winning and realize that luck and skill are bedfellows. They respect their opponents and enjoy competing, win or lose. These players are respected by others and are a joy to play against.

In most poker games, both of these types are prevalent. We have a choice when we decide to participate in this wonderful sport. Which player are you? Cocky or confident?

A Weird Win

2004-06-03T10:19:00.000-07:00

Reaching the final table at last night's Oasis Wednesday hold'em tournament was bizarre. With 18 players remaining and my blind coming the very next hand, I found myself with only enough chips to cover the blinds, when the floorman tapped me on the shoulder, and said "You're moving!" Miracle of miracles!! At the new table, I was further from the blinds, so I got to play a few more hands before being blinded out. With all-in moves I won the next five hands and went from almost out, to second chip lead. One by one eight players were eliminated and I reached the final table and the money. Not only was I in the finals, I eventually won the tournament! A little luck and aggression paid off! Especially during the heads up play with two of us remaining.

I sensed timidity in my opponent and took advantage of his willingness to fold too many hands when heads up. In position I raised with marginal hands and adjusted my play to a much more aggressive style. The winning and final hand, I went all-in with ten- deuce offsuit and was called with Ace- Queen offsuit. When my opponent turned over his cards I swallowed my Adam's apple. I knew I was sunk, but jokingly said " No sweat, My Brunson hand's gonna win this!" (Referring to Doyle Brunson's World Series win with ten-deuce offsuit). I had a final miracle. The board came ace, three, four, five, blank, giving me a wheel and the win. I'd bluffed once too often, got caught and still won. I was so far behind the chip leader at the start of the heads up match that I had to make my luck, so I did. Today, I'm laughing all the way to the bank. Poker is a bizarre and amusing game!

Online Oddity

2004-05-29T16:32:00.000-07:00

Paradise poker disconnected my $3-6 hold'em game today when my server crashed. I was $160 ahead when it went down. By the time I re-connected, I was $200 ahead. Maybe the hands play better without my interference!!:-)

A Real Bad Beat Story

2004-05-25T18:13:00.000-07:00

"If you fall I'll be waiting, time after time"...Cyndi Lauper song

With mouth wide open, reaching for a high note at an outdoor concert, Cyndi Lauper gagged and choked as a passing, high-flying pigeon deposited its load directly down the singer's gullett!Girls just wanna have fun! :-)

Major Tilt

2004-05-25T10:58:00.000-07:00

"Poker is a beautiful game. It's not pretty like chess, or graceful like football, but it's a lot like life. Sometimes ugly, sometimes beautiful, and never beyond the grasp of luck. It's got plenty of bad in it, but if you pay attention, you'll learn a lot about yourself playing this game"... Henry Wasserman

When you think its going great, it turns sour. Last nights'partner's game in the Oasis Open Omaha 8/ Holde'em tournament was a humbling experience. playing with Tony (Turbo), a professional dealer and a fine Omaha player, I found it difficult to hold up my end as the Hold'em player. It was a tough field, but not intimidating. For some reason, I changed my usual style of play into an unrecognizable form of bad poker. I played a very conservative, weak game that guaranteed failure. I didn't want to let my partner down, but that's exactly what happened, because I folded when I shouldn't have and called with questionable draws. It was a formula for disaster and we were elimninated early in the tournament. If I would've stuck to my game plan, I'm certain the results would've been different. The final straw was my calling to the River with pocket Jacks, when the board contained two overcards and we were knocked out. It was ugly. Tony, my partner, was gracious, but we both were disappointed. The moral of this tale is "Don't alter the style to conserve chips, if you want to win"!!

The Poker Weapon

2004-05-24T10:38:00.000-07:00

"Poker is a mirror of life. Superb knowledge and skill is not enough-- the successful player must be able to ride the waves of luck, and separate bad luck from bad play. Self-awareness and "knowing thyself" is the only weapon the poker player has against the temptation to tilt away hours of hard-earned profit"...Henry Wasserman

"knowing thyself" in poker is a shield against meltdown in critical situations that differentiate failure from success. Controlling one's impulse to make risky, low-odds moves in questionable gambles in tournament play, seperates the winners from the losers. Last night in the limit hold'em tournament at the Oasis Open, I was a loser.

Low on chips, I risked it all with an Ace-nine offsuit and paid the price as I was eliminated. It is often said that one must make a move with a low chip count to survive. Wrong! Patience and discipline are more important when behind than unnecessay gambles. The under the gun player made a nice raise and I pushed my chips in. With the right thinking, I would have known that he had a hand that probably dominated my pitful Ace with a weak kicker and my chances were slim. When an Ace hit the Flop, I felt a rush of luck, but then realized that I was in trouble, given his position. Sure enough when the cards were out, He turned over an Ace-Queen and I was gone in 40th place. I chose to gamble in the wrong spot and got knocked out. Another lesson learned in my education as a tournament poker player. Patience, discipline, intuition and a thoughtful read are important element to success. I lacked all of these qualities in my decision-making. Maybe tonight, in the partners Omaha/Hold'em match I'll take this lesson to the table and advance to the winner's circle. Luck is the residue of design. I LOVE THIS GAME OF OURS!!! Congratulations to Reece and Tiger, two locals for their fine showings and excellent play to win mucho dinero!!:-)

Mucho Poker

2004-05-23T16:20:00.000-07:00

With the Oasis Open Tournament in full swing, I haven't had much time to update this blog. I've played four tournaments in three days, with only a modicum of success and no earnings. In the four matches (both no limit and limit Texas hold'em, I've placed 19th, 78th, 82nd, and 83rd, respectively. Collectively the winner's share of these contests is about $20,000. Would've been nice to be in the money, but I'm happy with my play, aside from a few mistakes and brain farts. Simply, It's difficult to wend one's way through 200 plus excellent players and win one of these events. A combination of good cards, luck and skill are required. I'm playing another limit hold'em event in about three hours. There's two more days of the tournament following today, so all is not lost yet. After the whole shebang is over, I'll write my analysis of my play and share some ideas that will improve my poker in the future. Hindsight is a wonderful thing and I'm an excellent Monday morning quarterback!! :-)

Oasis Open early Bird Tournament

2004-05-21T09:23:00.000-07:00

The Oasis Open 5-day event kicked off with a no-limit Texas Hold'em event consisting of 200 players in a no-rebuy tournament that paid 18 places. The winner's share was $3,950.

On the very first hand of the tournament, I looked at my hole cards, and voilá! Pocket Aces. I was on the button, and decided to check them. It was checked around to the big blind, who just happened to be a good friend, John Moore. He put in a substantial raise and I of course called. John then, inadvertently made the most amazing error, he turned his cards face up!! They revealed Ace/Queen offsuit. John checked and I checked. The flop was rag, rag, Ace, Giving me three Aces and John two Aces with a Queen kicker. He checked and I went all-in. To my amazement he called, and the rest is history. John was eliminated from the tournament!!

I felt bad about knocking John out of the tournament so early , in the manner that it happened. I rarely trap or slow-play pocket Aces, but being that it was early, I decided to try to get an quick lead if they didn't get cracked, and it worked. The fact that I saw John's hole cards and knew what he had, made me feel guilty about my all-in play; but in retrospect, I would have put my chips in, even if John hadn't revealed his hand. When I made my all-in raise, I was hoping that he would fold and preserve some chips. Given the facts, knowing that I saw his hand, John should have known that I wouldn't bluff him in this situation with all my chips. Sorry I hammered you so early John. I got lucky.

My luck in the tournament continued to hold, and I was patient and won some races, until I found myself in the second to last table with 19 players remaining in the tournament. I was faced without enough chips to cover the blind, which was coming up the very next hand, so I pushed my chips in with Queen/Ten suited and was eliminated 19th, and one spot out of the money, when the big blind picked up a flush as four clubs hit the board! I was disappointed, but happy with my play. It's a great tournament and I'm looking forward to four more days of fierce competition!!

Blog under Construction

2004-05-18T18:49:00.000-07:00

I repaired the comments section of the posts. It should work now...Leave your comment so that I can test it. thanks

New Look

2004-05-18T08:52:00.000-07:00

Poker Wars has a new look today. I changed the template in a complete re-design and overhall. I hope it's more pleasing to the
eye and easier to read. Readers can leave comments by clicking on the brown comments link that follows each post. I hope my poker friends will respond and cajole, opinionate, criticize and advise in any manner that srikes the fancy. I would enjoy a poker dialogue with the many folks that I play poker with. Let me hear from you!! In addition to making comments, you can read my past posts by clicking on any date in the archive section of the right sidebar, or you can check the Vegas weather (hot as usual); or you can read a new daily quote from scripture, provided courtesy of the International Bible Society. Also you can convert dollars into any foreign currency or read my other weblogs found under the Links section of the sidebar. I've provided plenty here in which to bore the daylights out of you, so feel free to peruse and cuss me out! Meanwhile I hope all of your hands are monsters and the redbirds fly your way!

Online Marathon

2004-05-17T18:30:00.000-07:00

I played a Paradise Poker online limit Texas hold'em tournament today and was the chip leader going into the final table. 450 players began the tournament (45 tables by brick and mortar standards.).That's a lot of folks to compete against in a poker game. When I watch the top pros on televison, it amazes me that the same players make it to the final tables week in and week out against fields of a thousand or more players. After today, I have great admiration for these poker pros. It's exhausting work. I had a lot of luck today, but my concentration was good and I awaited patiently for playable hands. In the later stages of the tournament, I was able to steal many small and medium pots because players were worried about being eliminated and played much tighter, Skalansky's "Gap concept" worked beautifully in my favor (Read David Skalansky's Tournament Hold'em for Advanced players to learn more about this idea). I truly wanted to win this event to test my mettle against so many other fine players, so I was a bit disappointed to be so close and finish third. It was a marathon event to be sure, and great large tournament experience. If it would have been A World Poker Tour event, I would be a wealthy man right now, but alas, with my $5.00 buy-in, I'll bank my $156.00 prize and smile knowlingly!!

Poker Rhythm

2004-05-17T10:40:00.000-07:00

As of late I seem to possess a good poker rhythm. Yesterday in the Oasis "Tournament of Champions" I was fortunate to place fifth after a table chop of seven players. I've been in the money nine out of the last eleven Texas Hold'em no-limit tournaments. I've been lucky, having won my fair share of coin flips and drawing good cards. Good fortune smiled on me yesterday when Becky, a fine player and a friend, called my initial bet and then put me all-in after the flop with my A-10 vs. her Queens and I Rivered an Ace. I doubled up in chips and was in the hunt.

At the final table, with a few chips left in my stack, T.V.Leonard called my raise from the big blind. I had K-10 offsuit, and when he checked on the flop I went all-in on a pure bluff and he capitulated, doubling me up and saving my bacon. My luck has been holding lately, but I also think that some of the changes I've made in my play have been effective. I'm more patient and I rarely use the all-in move early in a tournament unless the size of the pot merits such a play. I see too many people busting out of tournaments with careless moves.

I hope my fortune continues and propels me into the money during the Oasis Open Tournament this week. About two hunderd people are expected for this five-day even, and the competitiion will be fierce, as many tough Vegas poker players willo be playing, as well as players from throughout the West. It should be a real shootout and a great poker event. The side games will be profitable.

I intended to talk about luck vs. skill in this short peice, but I'll save that for later, and just enjoy the way Lady Luck has smiled at me lately. Whoo Hoo! See you at the the table for a friendly game soon!

Slow Playing High Pairs

2004-05-04T13:07:00.000-07:00

i was eliminated from two online WSOP satellite qualifying tournaments today, by players that slow- played high pocket pairs (Aces and Queens) I've noticed this trapping technique being used in several other instances by online tournament players. More often than not these hands lose because other players are allowed free draws and win the race. When trapping works, the trapper often amasses a large amount of chips. When I was trapped by Aces today, the trapper allowed me to play with Ace-Ten suited and the Flop gave me two more cards of my suit to yield a nut-flush draw. I bet the turn ( a mistake, except he showed no strength) and and my opponent called. The Turn card was a Ten, giving me top pair, top kicker. The River was a rag and of no help to my hand. I made a medium-size bet, and the trapper moved all-in and I called. Of course I was beaten and knocked out of the tournament. The trap worked perfectly. This time, the trapping gamble paid off. Of course, if Aces would have moved in pre-flop, I probably would have folded.

In live, brick and mortar poker, I don't see nearly the amount of trapping ploys, that I see online. For the most part, it's a poorly-conceived, over-used technique, because if you don't protect high pairs with a raise, they're often cracked and you lose. It might seem like a cute and a clever trick, but you often end up on the short end of the stick when you slow play high cards. Avoid the words "Bad Aces" when the dealer calls out your hand!

Super Satellite

2004-05-03T20:05:00.000-07:00

I won a four- table online satellite tournament at Paradise Poker to qualify for tonight's Super-satellite, and a WSOP $12,000 prize. Hopefully my computer, my brain, and my luck will cooperate and give me a shot at winning a seat in the "Big one"! If not, I'll try to qualify in a live satellite tournament at the Horseshoe or the Golden Nugget on Thursday, when my friends and I drive to Vegas. Look for my screen name, hombreciego (blind man in spanish) to be in the winner's circle!:-)

WSOP Attempt Online

2004-05-01T23:42:00.000-07:00

Tonight I qualified for a shot at the World series of poker online. The winner earns a $12,000 prize package that includes an entry fee into the WSOP. 320 players began the tourney on 32 tables. I turned on some soothing Nora Jones music, kicked back and began a night of great poker. As they moved me from table to table, I found myself in or near the chip lead for my respective tables most of the night. Players were eliminated at a rapid pace and I reached the 7th table in position #68, with a reasonable amount of chips. Then the inevitable happened and I shared the following in a message to my poker friend TV:
"I got knocked out at 68th out of 310 players. My F*&*^&&k*#ing computer kept disconnecting and then I lost my patience and played like shit!"Once my dialup started disconnecting, I lost my concentration and played poorly. My decision to go against a large stack all-in with an Ace (even though the board paired my Ace) was impulsive and unnecessary. I outplayed most of my opponents for over two hours, and then allowed a small computer tilt derail my careful play. I was disappointed with myself, because I strongly felt that I had a good chance to win or at least get much closer to the prize. I'm glad that I usually play live, in cardrooms, against people whom I can see the whites of their eyes. I might try a couple more of these qualifiers if I can solve the computer connections. It's a dream to play in the "big one" at the Horseshoe!

Tip Toeing Through The Minefield

2004-04-30T08:34:00.000-07:00

"The truth is – the cards played themselves". -- James Vogl (poker champion)

The truth is – the cards played themselves. It’s no (challenge) to pick up aces and find someone with kings and double up with a huge stack against one of the other chip leaders. Often, we attribute skill to a win when luck has played a major role in our success. Such was the case in the Virgin River No-limit hild'em tournament last night. Bill, a good tournament player (and a professional dealer), came over the top of me all-in with pocket Aces against my Jack-Ten offsuit. because I was very short-stacked (kind of like my old girlfriend :-) , I called, which was a gamble (not a very intelligent one at that). The flop was 9-8-7 to fill my straight, and I doubled up to continue playing with some breathing room. I went on to make the final table, win some money and finish the tournament in sixth place. I was lucky....."The cards played themselves"! Skill is important in poker, but I'd rather be lucky than good as the old saying goes. Skill helps you hang around long enough to get lucky. It's negotiating the minefield to avoid getting your legs blown off before you reach the other side. I've managed to save my legs for two weeks now!

2004-04-29T09:00:00.000-07:00

50 players participated in the Oasis Casino's no-limit Texas hold'em tournament last night, and yours truly won first place. The small town tournament circuit has been good too me this week, as I've been in the money four straight times. Yesterday's game featured Chris Hinchcliff ( recent $444,000, 4th place finisher in Party Poker million III) and Cadalic Joe, a friend, who won a super-satellite at Binion's Horeshoe this week and a $10,000 seat into the World Series of Poker. Joe is recovering from a devastating stroke, and his courage and sense of humor are remarkable given his condition. Congratulations Joe and good luck in the WSOP. Jim C., my neighbor and new to hold'em, made the final table for the second time this week. Good job Jim! On a side note, TV Leonard, a fine poker opponent, won a $125 seat in the big upcoming May Oasis Open Tournament, when I knocked him out in 13th place. (This was a special consolation prize). He told me that his chips caused me to win the tournament. Right!:-)

As I continue in my quest for poker excellence, I realize that luck aside, patience is truly a virtue in NL tournament poker. Last night I observed player after player get busted out by ill-timed all-in moves and giving up unnecessarily with short stacks. I began the second half of the tournament with only the add-on ($4000 tournament chips) and waited patiently for premium cards in the right spot. Given that I had the lowest chip count at my table, patience was essential for survival. Sure enough, the cards came, I won a couple of nice pots, and was positioned nicely to move up, I had resisted the temptation to get my money in with marginal drawing hands and was rewarded later. Luck, perserverance and careful observation paid off and I eventually won the tournament. Patience is a quality that will give you an edge over others, less patient, and often differentiate winning from losing. As a kid, when I'd lose my patience and become demanding, my mom would yell "Keep your pants on !!" To have that winning edge "Keep yor pants on!"

Decisions, Decisions!

2004-04-27T07:27:00.000-07:00

Last night I got my hand caught in the cookie jar! While playing in the Virgin River Casino's (Mesquite, Nevada) Monday night Texas Hold'em limit tournament, I decided to steal the blinds from my button position with a Jack-seven offsuit. It was late in the tournament (only two spots away from the final table), so I figured Skalansky's gap concept applied in this situation as I shoved my $18,000 stack all-in. The small blind, with about $26,000 in chips called. Gulp! I knew I was sunk! Sheepishly I turned over my nothing hand against his King-eight offsuit. In a race, I Rivered a Jack, won the pot and doubled up, giving me the tournament chip lead. The caller got knocked out of the tournament on the very next hand by pocket deuces after he put his remaining chips in the pot. He went from chip leader to railbird in two hands.

My blind-stealing tactic was questionable in this situation. I gambled when two spots away from guaranteed money. In retrospect, I question my judgement. I'm even more perplexed by the small blind's mega-call (He was the chip leader) with such a poor holding. With the amount of chips in front of him, he was certain to make the final table without doing anything else. Some players will defend a blind as if it's sacred. In this case, he committed a major mistake. Poker tournaments often spin on a single decision and the luck of the draw. We can't determine our draws, but we sure can decide when to play or not to play a hand. Winners and losers are separated by the fine line of their decisions. Make better choices and win more often!

Poker Yin and Yang

2004-04-26T07:59:00.000-07:00

Often, when a known wild player joins a poker game, he or she will immediately raise their first hand, irrespective of the strength of the cards. This modus operendi is an obvious attempt to intimidate the table. This tactic usually backfires. Danny is such a player. Last night in the 4-8 hold'em game, he raised his first hand "in the dark". After a couple of callers, I raised with queen-Jack suited and Danny re-raised (in the dark), the others folded, I called and we were heads-up. The flop was queen-rag-rag. Danny bet, I called. The Turn and River were non-threatening and Danny checked and I bet my top pair (queens)and he re-raised and I just called. He turned over pocket Aces and I was beaten. With a normal player, I wouldn't have been in this pot too long, given the vigorous action. But i knew that Danny was capaable of firing bullets all the way through the River with a marginal holding, so I played. The moral of this tale is that even wild players get good cards and Lady luck favors them sometimes. That's poker folks!

On a brighter note, I hit a bad beat jackpot and won $1000 earlier in this game. Also I placed fifth in the Sunday no-limit hold'em tournament earlier in the day and won $200. To top off my good fortune, Sue, a lovely woman, a friend and a fellow poker-player, joined me for wonderful dinner of fine wine, Oysters Rockefeller, and petite filet mignon at Charmaines, the Oasis fine dining restaurant. It doesn't get much better than this. A winning day of poker and the companionship of a sweet woman is hard to beat!

A Brief Break

2004-04-24T09:15:00.000-07:00

My son Paul, who returned from Iraq, is in town this weekend, so I'm spending time with him, his wife, and my granddaughters. I'll write some more poker thoughts next week. I have, however written in my other blogs. If you're interested, click on the pensamientos link in the right column of this weblog.

Blogging

2004-04-21T07:42:00.000-07:00

Blogging, or the fine art of journaling on the web with a weblog is cathartic. It allows one to give voice to the mental stream of ideas floating in the mind. A weblog is also educational. when I write about a subject, I come face to face with the truth of my thinking. Often I'm surprised how little or how much I know about a certain subject. Writing gives form and structure to ideas. I like to write about my pastime, poker (http://www.tholdem.blogspot.com), social issues and the war (http://www.kbris.blogspot.com), health and aging issues (http://www.innerbear.blogspot.com), and Spanish language study (http://www.seniorbriscoe.blogspot.com). Eventually, I hope to develop a small readership who will exchange ideas and dialogues on various issues. If not, I will continue to write and express myself in a monologue of self-discovery.

Big Blind

2004-04-20T14:04:00.000-07:00

In my low limit game, I've noticed a lot of passive play from the big blind lately. Players are limping in with premium hands instead of raising pre-flop. I think this is a mistake,as they'll usually get callers who have already contributed to the pot, and are costing themselves extra revenue when they make their hands. I don't know what to attribute this trend to, except many players try to be clever and trap after watching the World Poker Tour.

Gambler's Fallacy

2004-04-19T14:13:00.000-07:00

If you find yourself saying, "I can't quit now, I'm on a winning streak," Gambler's Fallacy. If you find yourself saying, "I can't quit now, my luck's about to change," Gambler's Fallacy (the second version). "Gambler's Fallacy" is another way of saying "stupid."

The Gambler's Fallacy states that if each event is independent, then
the probability of future events is unaffected by past events or
trends. (Gamblers frequently assume that if an event has not occurred
in a long time, it is "due," and has a higher probability of occurring
on the next attempt.) For example, if a fair coin is tossed repeatedly
and comes up heads five times in a row, the probability is still .5
(50%) that tails will come up on the next toss. A gambler might assume
that since in six tosses of the coin, it should come up tails three
times on average (and it has not come up even once yet), it must be
more likely to come up tails on the next toss. In other words, the
gambler falsely assumes that the event probability changes to reach
the long-term average instead of the other way around.

After a bad run and several bad beats, I found myself thinking that my luck was due to change. When I raised with pocket Kings, and flopped a king in last night's hold'em game, I thought "At last, my turn has finally come!" Wrong. Bill a poker opponent, rivered the nut flush, and I was crushed again. I was stuck in the game and started reaching for my wallet. I was also on tilt and wanted revenge. Surely this bad streak couldn't continue.! Suddenly, this all-day sucker image popped into my little brain, and I put my wallet back in my pocket, gathered up my remaining chips, cashed out, and went outside and howled at the moon like a wounded coyote! (Didn't cost me more money). The Gambler's Fallacy is indeed another way of saying "Stupid"!

Control Your Game

2004-04-18T12:28:00.000-07:00

One of my favorite poker writers, Las Vegan Maryann Guberman gives sage advice when she writes the following:
Here, then are a few ways you can steer a game in the direction you want it to go.

1. Don't throw the fish back into the water. Every player relishes the times he can find a game where at least one person doesn't know how to play. He stays through numerous raises with a little pair; he calls every raise just to keep you honest; he isn't scared out of the pot by a pair on the board, even when he has nothing but a high card in the hole. Sure, he's going to draw out once in a while, maybe even several times an hour, but eventually his recklessness will cost him money. When that moment arrives, you want to be the person who profits. If you chide, berate, or even try to educate this player, whether it's out of frustration or as a good deed, you are running the risk of losing him and any money you might extract from him.

2. Don't enter a game without a sufficient bankroll. There's not a player alive who hasn't experienced a short run of bad luck. Bring enough cash to sustain at least two hours of tough breaks.

3. Don't be a loudmouth at the table. Mike Caro got the moniker "Crazy Mike" not because of his weird antics at the table but because he was doing research on image. Yes, an image is important in that it can force opponents to follow a direction you want them to follow when reacting to you. But a loudmouth image will usually just annoy them. And when your opponents are annoyed with you they are likely to sit out the hands you play.

4. Leave your angry persona in the parking lot. If you can compartmentalize your life, you can be a better poker player. That is, as soon as you leave the house, your argument with your significant other over a lost set of keys should be allowed to stay behind. The minor road rage you suppressed when the guy in front of you drove too slowly, causing you to miss the green turn light should be allowed to dissipate.

5. Save your anger for another situation. When that loose player beats you on the river when he shouldn't have been in the hand beyond the flop, don't get angry and especially don't show that you are angry. It will backfire on you, trust me. Not only will that player know you are emotionally upset but so will the other observant opponents. That's when they'll start gunning for you, and they'll probably succeed because you are now obsessed and are no longer in control of your own destiny.

6. Don't come to a game in yesterday's shirt. Miss Manners would probably have a lot to say about the unwashed poker player. The rest of us will just get up and leave the game if you smell bad.

7. Don't gloat. Okay, maybe you can gloat inwardly but when you take down a huge pot, do it with dignity. Don't get the loser any angrier than necessary. It's okay to let him stew because he might start chasing as a result, but don't overdo it to the point that he is affected enough to leave the game. As long as he has money in front of him, keep him happy. Tell him it was a good hand or a tough break or that you got luck.

Of you find you can't do any of these things, change careers. You'll never be happy and you'll probably not be a long-term winner.

On second thought, if you can't do any of these things, don't change careers. Just drop me an email and let me know when and where you'll be playing next. I could use a few easy wins.

Forgivness

2004-04-16T08:43:00.000-07:00

This Is Just To Say

I have eaten
the plums
that were in
the icebox

and which
you were probably
saving
for breakfast.

Forgive me
they were delicious
so sweet
and so cold.

-- William Carlos Williams
Some times we ask to be forgiven for something we're not really sorry for. This devilish aspect of human nature often creeps into my comedic spirit at times unexpected. In a poker game the other night I apologized to a lady when my full house caused her to lose and go broke. I felt sorry for her, but as always, winning is delicious!

Tournament Chops

2004-04-15T10:41:00.000-07:00

Lately, the players who make the final table at the bi-weekly Oasis Texas Hold'em tournament have been splitting (chopping) the purse. According to the rules, everyone has to agree to chop or the final table is played out. Last night a player refused to go along, so the tournament continued to the last man (or woman) standing. TV, a fine tournament player and the chip leader, lost in a confrontation with another player, when his pocket Kings lost to a straight draw on the River. This is a classic Skalansky problem of decision-making that "You lose, You're gone".

Given TV's chip lead and the number of remaining players, according to Skalansky, it would have been correct to even muck pocket Aces in this situation, and allow players with lesser chips to become either blinded out or knocked out by each other. The goal here is to first, finish in the money (This tourney payed to 4th place, which was more than a chop), and second, to win the whole enchilida. As I told TV in an e-mail reply, it's easy for me to be a Monday morning quarterback, but the fact is, when we see pocket Kings in our hand, throwing them in the muck is mighty hard to do. I was knocked out of the tournament early, so I've had a lot of time to ponder this problem! My final thought is that when you find yourself in TV's situation, stop and reflect for a couple of minutes about what your goal is. Is it to win a hand or to win the money?

Poker Dogs

2004-04-12T13:58:00.000-07:00

in the early 1950's my Uncle Doyle became a " poker dog" (According to my Aunt Shirley- his ex-wife.) He began hanging around the Mint Bar in downtown Great Falls, Montana, drinking, gambling and staying out half the night. About this time the song "Irene Goodnight Irene" was popular, so the theme fit right in with Doyle's life style ("Sir Bremlin stop your gambling. Quit staying out late at night. Go home to your wife and family and stay there by your fireside bright."). The Mint Bar was part of my paper route, so I usually saw my uncle, half-drunk playing five card draw every afternoon around 3 p.m. He'd always buy a nickle paper from me and tip me ten cents, and tell me a stupid joke and then laugh at the top of his voice. All of his construction-worker "Poker Dogs" would join in and I'd end up with about fifty cents worth of tips- a fortune in those days. This poker pack was a jovial fun-loving bunch of rowdys who seemed to lack a care in the world. The Mint- their poker room, was a smoke filled saloon, with brass spitoons on the floors, and walls covered with original Charles Russell paintings, and a seated mixture of drunken construction workers, un-employed native americans, downtown office workers, cowboys, and a plethora of other drinkers participating in this bonding ritual. Many of the patrons smoked nickel Roi-tan cigars while gambling on punch-boards, while other were semi-concious or passed out at the long bar from drinking whiskey. The bar population was almost all male.

I often saw fights or the aftermath of a brawl, as I wended my way through the bars of downtown Great Falls, selling The Great Falls Leader ( the local newspaper). One day, as I exited the alleyway door of the Mint Bar, I came upon my
Uncle Doyle laying in a drunken heap, covered with blood, groaning, in the alley. Apparently, a drunken poker dispute, resulted in Doyle recieving a bad beat and getting the stuffing knocked out of him. After that day, I didn't see my uncle again for about four months. My aunt divorced him, and once again he joined his fellow "poker dogs" and lived his life as a rounder. In today's world of poker respectability, Doyle's world is a thing of the past. Gone are the colorful "poker dogs" of yesteryear!

Edges

2004-04-12T11:48:00.000-07:00

Winners and losers. What seperates these entities in poker? Is it luck? Skill? Or is there an invisible force that operates slightly below the surface to create a positive outcome? I often ponder these questions in an attempt to influence and affect my own Texas Hold'em play at my favorite casino, The Oasis in Mesquite, Nevada. In the search for answers, I carefully study the best player's and the worst player' characteristics and play. Over time I've noticed that winning players have small, but consistent edges. The winners are usually:

- Patient
-Attentive
-Sober
-Knowledgable
-Conservative but aggressive
-Know when to quit
-Rarely on tilt (stable)
-Play few hands

The losers usually:

-Overly aggressive
-Call off their chips
-Bluff too much
-Whine at bad beats
-limited poker knowledge
-Play weak draws
-take unnecessary gambles
-Blame bad luck for losses
-blame the dealers for bad hands
-Drink too much

Generally, these differences result in small edges for winning players. The next time you're in a poker game, try emulating the traits of winning players and you also might take home the gold!

2004-04-01T11:36:00.000-08:00

Paul's Home!!! He arrived in Colorado Springs from Kuwait at 1:A.M. this morning. I praise the Lord for my son's safe return. This is a great day for our family. I want to thank my friends for the prayers and well wishes. I'm on my way to Colorado. my next blog will be tuesday April 6th. This is for real and not an Aprils Fool's joke!

Big Slick

2004-03-31T15:22:00.000-08:00

"Big Slick" or A-K as it is known in the poker world was powerful in the Oasis Texas Hold'em tourney this a.m. This hand dominated three seperate times today, allowing me to win the contest by a wide margin. Opponents insisted on putting all of their chips in the pot with AJ, A10 or AQ and were eliminated. Some days the hand that should dominate does. Percentage-wise, 100% success is above the norm, but I'll take it. Big Slick is like one of my former girlfriends " When she's good, she's very good, but when she's bad, she's very bad!" In poker we learn to accept the bad with the good. I'll take A-K anytime and chance my lumps. Winning is fun!

Experience Is The Best Teacher.

2004-03-30T07:27:00.000-08:00

Jim, my neighbor from Wisconsin, joined my poker table at the Oasis Casino last night. This was his first experience in a live 4-8 Texas Hold'em ring game. We'd been chatting about poker for a couple of weeks and Jim had been reading a good low-limit book (Lee Jone's low-limit hold'em) and practicing with Wilson's poker software. He's an intelligent fellow who teaches college courses, and he readily grasps difficult concepts.

With a $60.00 buy-in, Jim decided to get his feet wet in live brick and mortar poker. He played good starting hands and paid careful attention to his position. Understandably, he was somewhat shy when he entered a pot. During his hour at the table, Jim never got one of the starting hands that he'd read about, until AJ hit his hand, so he bet. My hand was pocket 5's, so I called. The Flop produced a queen and two rags,. Jim bet and I called (A weak call on my part). Another rag hit the Turn and Jim checked, giving me a free card. A five came on the River, giving me a set. Jim bet and I re-raised and he called. He turned over an AJ hand, which produced nothing and I won a nice pot. this was his final hand of the day. Later he told me that he'd fallen in love with the Ace and used poor judgement.

The above scenario is often re-played by new players. That Ace looks stronger than it actually is. If Jim would have stuck to known principles, he would've abandoned the hand after the flop. For his first effort he played well, but his inexperience and impatience cost him money. In poker, as in life, experience is the best teacher.

Focus and Success in Poker

2004-03-24T14:09:00.000-08:00

Want to improve your poker? Click on the following link and read Mary Ann Guberman's article about focus. Her insite is invaluable, and will save you mucho dinero if you follow her suggestions!

Casino Guide - The Detroit News Online - 03/24/04

American Airlines

2004-03-24T08:37:00.000-08:00

"I hate pocket aces! they never hold up!", is a statement often heard from the lips of poker players, although statistics prove otherwise. This is especially true in the low-limit $4-8 Texas Hold'em game that I usually play. Last night, I luckily drew this treasured pair of pocket rockets four times. They held up to win three of the four times because the board helped them. In low-limit, no-fold'em games, high pocket pairs almost always need help from the board to win. As newer players, attracted by internet and televised poker games, come to brick and mortar poker rooms, showdowns are the norm. They play much looser and chase many hands to the River. Usually, the bluff is ineffective and the best hand wins the showdown. Having said that, I'll always prefer to see premium high pairs in my starting lineup. The difference in playing these hands today as compared to the past is that we have to sharpen our board and people reading skills. Necessity requires a better read and more attentiion to detail, because it's more difficult to isolate one player and get heads-up. The next time you see aces in your pocket, give them a big hug and pay attention to what your opponents are doing!

More Tests

2004-03-24T08:35:00.000-08:00

I'm testing the w. bloggar tool to find out how it works while posting to more than one blog simultaneously. Also, I'm going to try out the text color feature.

To Play Or Not To Play?

2004-03-22T10:38:00.000-08:00

Four places from reaching the final table of the Oasis, Sunday no-limit Texas hold'em tournament, my hole cards revealed As10d. I was under the gun and faced with the decision to bet or fold. If I bet and lost, I'd be out of the tournament and the money. If I folded, the forthcoming blinds would leave me with a very short stack of chips. Two other players with short stacks were seated at my table. I chose to fold, remembering Skalansky's words not to gamble in this situation with a slight edge. I was in the survival mode. I estimated that the lowest spot at the final table would pay around $300 if they elected to chop (which is normal in this tournament). The flop turned up an Ad10h!! The rest of the board was unhelpful and the hand was won by pocket 3's. Evil game!! Both of my blinds revealed weak hands, so I folded. Another short stack was eliminated, so I was one step closer to my goal. During the next few hands, another short stack was knocked out, leaving me with a couple of chips and 11 players remaining.

I was on my last gasp! I would be blinded out the very next hand. My hole cards revealed QsJd, so I moved all-in. The chip leader called, and for some strange reason, another large stack moved all-in and the chip leader called again. The board didn't improve my hand and the initial raiser was quelched. We were both eliminated on the bubble and tied for 10th. It's hard to swallow losing one spot from a final table, especially after fighting through 50 people in a competetive tournament. When I re-capped my play, I concluded that the A/10 fold and one other fold were weak plays. In a tournament "To play or not to play" is always a question at a certain phase of the contest. This decision, as in my case, often differentates winning and losing!

"Evil game, this poker is."

2004-03-20T09:50:00.000-08:00

I wrote about "Crazy Chris" in one of my last week's posts regarding a tournament at the Oasis casino in Mesquite, Nevada. I was referring to a young man, Chris Hinchcliffe by name. Chris is a frequent visitor to Mesquite, having completed a construction project here, he continues to return to play poker and other casino games. He has a gambling spirit and and loves to gamble it up in Texas hold'em poker. His style is aggressive and he doesn't shy away from getting all his chips in the pot. It's fun to play poker against Chris, especially when he's running cold. Apparently, this past weekend, Chris was running very hot, and took home approx $450,000 from The Party Poker Million III Cruise WPT tournament, which he qualified for with a $25.00 buy-in.

He made the final table and was seated with some of the world's best poker players. He began with a huge chip lead. On the final day, the seats and chip counts were:

Seat
Player
Chip Count

1
Zolotow, Steve
$380,000

2
Nguyen, Scotty
$310,000

3
Hinchcliffe, Chris
$1,765,000

4
Greenstein, Barry
$220,000

5
Negreanu, Daniel
$560,000

6
Lindgren, Erick
$595,000

Here is a brief account of Chris's final hand and his reaction:

"We were three-handed, and with one of the broadest grins you’ve ever seen, Hinchcliffe asked rhetorically “Do you know what I can do with $450,000?”
The grin stayed even when Hinchcliff’s tiny stack went away four hands later, when Negreanu made it 100k from the button, Lindgren called from the small blind, and Hinchcliffe called all-in from the big blind. Negreanu and Lindgren each checked rather rapidly as the board came down J-3-2-2-4, and with small wonder: Negreanu had K-6, and Lindgren Q-9. Hinchcliffe offered a rue smile and flipped up his Q-8, and left to a standing ovation slightly more thunderous than the other players had received. Big chip lead lost or not, he had been in troubled waters and regained control just in time to make enough money to change more than his own life.

A YOUNG MAN’S LIFE CHANGES FOR THE BETTER

He had been in debt before he came on the cruise: he owed his mother $8,000. He had joined PartyPoker.com only a few days before online qualifying ended, and had won his seat and cruise on his first $25 try. Now Mom was not only going to get repaid all at once, but she was going to get a new car, ".

Chris Moneymaker, eat your heart out! Mesquite, Nevada now has its own poker celebrity. It gives hope to the poker fanatics, who dream of playing in a big game against top pros and getting the best of it. We love this evil game. I can't wait to see you on the Travel Channel Chris Hinchcliffe. Congratulations.

Montana Max

2004-03-17T10:48:00.000-08:00

A loud ,stuttering voice asked the dealer "Is this a Texas hold'em game". "Yes sir" answered Tony, the dealer. The giant of a man with a scarred face who was propping himself with a cane said "Deal me in then". This was last night's introduction to Montana Max. After he sat down to play and stacked his chips, we introduced ourselves and discovered that we were fellow Montanans. Max was having difficulty hearing (he had hearing aids), difficulty seeing and stacking his chips. He looked to be about 45 yrs. old (certainly young for a man with his apparent physical impediments). Despite his problems, Max was a very friendly and sociable man. Also, it was obvious that pain was his companion.

Max and I played poker and chatted about Montana things for about an hour. He was in Mesquite on a golf junket and loved to play poker in a smoke-free cardroom. He told me he used to be a 6-handicap golfer, but now was just thankful to be on a course, with friends, in the fresh air. That's when he told me that a virus had invaded his brain and body five years ago. He said that it caused him to have brain surgery at the Mayo Clinic and treatments at multiple hospitals like the University of Southern California Medical Center. It was obvious that Max had rehabilitated from a long devastating viral condition. He had a hearing loss, a speech impediment, a loss of vision, poor balance and coordination, but his mind and wit were razor sharp. He played strong, competetive poker and displayed the independent spirit and Montana mind that I've always cherished. I love it when I meet a new friend at the poker table. Thanks Max!

Comments

2004-03-17T07:37:00.000-08:00

Following each of my writings is a green, underlined, comment box. If you click on it, you can reply to my statements. I would enjoy hearing comments from my poker friends and others about the content of my observations and this blog. Feel free to comment, discuss, disagree or say anything that strikes your fancy. It would be great to start an ongoing dialogue about poker. I know that our thoughts are as diverse as the nations of the world. Let me hear from you!

Tres Cuervos (Three Crows)

2004-03-13T08:55:00.000-08:00

Like three crows lurking for roadkill, the three rounders perched at the hold'em table last night , attempting to pick the bones of unsuspecting fish. The head crow incessantly chatted like a magpie with its tailfeathers caught in razor wire, as the other two birds heads bobbed up and down in agreement as if God was speaking to them. The assistant crow was nervous and emaciated, as if he had only received the left overs after his rotund boss ate his fill and threw him a few scraps . The third bird was an apprentice crow. He was learning the fine art of the scam from the others. He was taught how to use casino coupons to earn points for food and lodging, to read a racing form, to pick a loose slot machine, to check for coins, left by tourists in the slot tray, and to borrow money, and suck-up to dealers, and to share small gains. In poker he was learning when to fold'em, when to hold'em and when to bet'em. His education would be complete and a rounder diploma awarded, when he could join his unwashed companions on the rail and proudly say that "I don't need to work". The crow's numbers are increasing nowadays. It's time to call animal control to thin this bird's burgeoning overpopulation. At least last night, the carrion at the poker table was alive, and the pickings were slim!!

The Butcher

2004-03-12T08:23:00.000-08:00

The expression "Gentle as a lamb" doesn't reflect the poker mind. Successful poker players are innately aggressive. Like the famous Howard Lederer, they may show a cool exterior, but inside resides a competitetive "Killer instinct". They patiently wait, like a butcher, to take the lambs to a slaughter and gather up the money. The love of competition, winning the gamble, and dominating an opponent are the poker players narcotic. It's a true rush! Amarillo Slim epitomizes this attitude.

Final Table

2004-03-11T07:11:00.000-08:00

Seventy players participated in the Wednesday no-limit Texas hold'em tournament at the Oasis Casino last night. In the first couple of rounds, I patiently waited for playable cards as I witnessed "Wild Fernando" and "Crazy Chris" knock out player after player with all-in raises with marginable holdings. The first half of the tournament allowed re-buys, so when these wild players would get beat, they'd simply purchase another re-buy. This tactic is often used by very aggressive players in an attempt to amass a mountain of chips prior to the end of the re-buy period. This type of poker anarachy often backfires and allows players with strong holdings to aquire more chips and strength than they normally would. In fact, when I called Fernando's all-in with my pocket queens, I doubled up in good shape just minutes before the end of the re-buy period.

During the second half of the contest, I maintained my patience, as players were eliminated (including "Wild Fernando' and "Crazy Chris"). With thirty players remaining, my luck changed and the hands started to come my way. I won five nice pots in a row and eliminated six players. I amassed a significant amount of chips and was the chip leader at the second table. I then lost a coin toss when my As Ks lost to pocket eights. This loss left me with a medium stack, so I still had some strength. Two more players were eliminated and I found myself at the final tabe. The table elected to chop the pot and I walked away in 8th place (positions determined by chip amount at the time) and $300 richer. All in all it was an enjoyable tournament. There were many tough competitors and I was patient, but aggressive when I should have been. At times I was sufficiently lucky to win a few coin tosses, which kept the momentum going. As I refine my game, I'm making it to more and more final tables. Whew! This game is difficult to master!!

9 to 5

2004-03-10T15:13:00.001-08:00

I smile when I peek at my hold'em pocket cards and see a 9 and a 5, suited or unsuited. I think of that sexy little Dolly Parton in the movie of the same name (9 to 5) and I chuckle. Last evening, 9s5s blessed me on the button. I usually play this hand in an unraised pot, in deference to Dolly, to see the Flop. Although it's an irrational move, I do it anyway. I guess I just love saying on the River "I've got a Dolly Parton" when I win the Showdown. It's been a lucky hand for me. Yesterday was no different. A nine and a five flopped and a 9 came on the River giving me a full-house winner!! The next time you see half of this little country singer in your hand, give it a try, she just might bring you a little luck!

Testing

2004-03-09T22:03:00.000-08:00

This is a test of w.Bloggar= a desktop publishing tool

Mexico Tourney TKO

2004-03-08T14:24:00.000-08:00

Yikes! I finished in 17th place and out of the money at the Oasis Puerto Vallarta
getaway hold'em tournament. The following hand led to my demise: Four tables had disappeared, with two remaining. With the blinds at $2000-$4000, I pushed $22,000 all-in from under the gun with K-K red. I had three callers ( Which I hated of course). Two of the callers were also all-in, so we turned up our cards. One had J-10 offsuit, another showed pocket 6's and the button , to my chagrin, turned up pocket Aces. The button was T.V., a friend and an old nemesis. I got no help on the Flop, Turn or River and my tournament hopes ended along with two other players. T.V. clobbered three of us in one fell swoop. It was a great tournament, and I had a good opportunity. To win a tournament like this, a player has to win some of these races. I played a good tournament, but lady luck wasn't with me today. Oh well, tomorrow's another tournment! iI really wanted to buy a Huichol mask in Mexico

Tournament Day

2004-03-07T09:47:00.000-08:00

"Even if you're on the right track, you'll get run over if you just sit there!"...Will Rogers

The big Oasis Mexico-trip.no-limit hold'em tournament is today. Qualifiers are the winners of the past weekly tournaments throughout the year. There will be seven tables for a total of seventy players. Players will start with an amount of chips based on a point system from the number of wins by each person. For example. I have three wins so I'll receive $15,000 in tournament chips or $5000 for each past win. It'll be an exciting tournament, with the the ten final table players winning an all-expense paid trip to Puerto Vallarta, Mexico and a stay in a massive beach villa. Also, the finalists will receive cash prizes for extra spending money. I'd love to win this trip, so I'm thinking about tournament strategy.

To be successful today, a combination of patience, aggressiveness, skill and luck is required. The players will be trying to survive and make it to the final table, so they're apt to be less aggressive with marginal holdings, and play premium cards. With the quality of players in this tournament, passive play will not get the job done. The delicate balance between aggression and passivity is difficult to perform. Getting cards, reading players, playing position and betting and raising with favorable odds, should yield a victory. I shall report the results later tonight!