New Year's poker plans

I have been reading a lot of poker books this year - mostly by respected winners such as Doyle Brunson, Daniel Negreanu, David Slansky, and Dan Harrington.

I thought I had decided my goal for 2010 was to be a model of consistency - and strive for first quartile results in all tournaments I enter. Surely in so doing, I will stumble into cashing and placing high occasionally.

I have been scanning the results of many successful online players - seems to me cashing 15% of the time is the minimum I should strive for, and some players are a touch north of 20%.

Top quartile play is something I have been striving for in live tournaments for the past few months - and it seems to be working.

However, this is a grinding game - I am rarely in a dominant chip position at the table - seems that is best left for the looser, more aggressive players.

I just finished Doyle Brunson's new autobiography called "The Godfather of Poker" - an enjoyable read to be sure.

Doyle is in his mid seventies. He seems to have an incredibly high opinion of his abilities (I say this with respect since I believe it has served him well) and he also espouses on the need for relentless aggression and fearlessness at the table. And his results certainly speak for themselves.

Funny how he and Bobby Wolff and Bob Hamman (renowned world champion bridge players) are all from Texas and of the same generation. Must be something in the chili.

So now I am rethinking my goal. Maybe I should conduct an experiment for one or two months. I could start two online accounts with identical stacks and enter the same tournaments on the same days. One account would be played according to my chosen style (top quartile objective then see what happens) and the other could be played far looser. I would expect the loose playing account to cash far less times, but perhaps the overall results will be better if this account goes very deep on occasion.

Maybe I can use this experiment to formulate my player profile for the future. To be sure, regardless of how you begin a tournament, you have to modify and adapt your style to the changing size of field and playing conditions, so I guess I am mostly talking about the early stages of tournaments.

One edge I may have is that I am not afraid to play with aggression. Not afraid to lose. The money doesn't scare me - you have to be immune to the money (in the moment) since to play with fear is a losing game.

And I am not an old dog who cannot learn new tricks. (Well I am oldish, but I pride myself on my willingness to learn)

This is gonna be a great year. I feel it. At the same time as Svetlana and I are adapting our business to new realities (more on that later) I plan to write lots, play lots, and develop a winning aura about myself.

Sunday's online report

Sunday Poker update

Not so much to report today because I was playing bridge with Keith at Hazel’s club – first round qualifying for the Canadian Championships.

But I did enter two online tournaments this evening and by accident one of them was a Hi Lo limit stud poker game – which I have never ever played before. I got the hang of it pretty quickly; seemed like people were reluctant to hit the fold button – so lots of calling stations. The original field of around 170 was down to 90 or so when my internet connection to FTP went down. Dead. Down. Can’t get it back. And I was chip leader at my table too!

Same time I was in a KO tournament with around 1500 entrants and there were 400 or so left when the connection went dead. I was not in such a strong position, but I was about to triple up (maybe I did?) when the connection went dead.

I still had internet – just no connection to FTP. Quite frustrating. Could have been worse I suppose – I had just missed qualifying for the $750,000 guarantee which began at 6 pm EST this evening. This morning before I left the house I took two cracks at qualifying.

I suffered a sad bad beat to be eliminated from one of them. Got all our chips in the middle when I began with K10o and the flop was K106.

The villain made a continuation bet which I raised, and he shoved all in. I called and he turned over 76 suited in diamonds (none of which were on the board)

The turn was a 6 and the river a 7 for good measure (he didn’t need the full house – the set already had me beaten)

The villain was playing at 18 tables at the time he beat me – so I cannot credit him with too much forethought to his plays. How do people do that???

Anyway, I am on the sidelines, my stacks being blinded and ante’d away in the two events I was in when FTP went offline for me.

Never give up on a hand

Playing in the daily Deep Stack event at The Venetian (home of the city's best poker room), we were in the early stages with the blinds at $50/$100 when a young player with spiky hair and a completely tatooed right arm (henceforth Spike) picked up 82 offsuit in the small blind.

He had suffered a few knocks early on, and was already short stacked with around $1,800.

A total of six players were in this pot, no raises from anyone.

The flop was 4 5 7 with two clubs.

Spike decided to make a play for the pot. He shoved all his chips into the middle of the table.

Young John, to the right of the button, called - holding 88. The button himself had begun life with 74 offsuit so he was excited about this hand too! The button raised all-in himself.

Young John made a good lay down with his 88 and now it was heads up between the dealer's flopped two pairs and Spike's 82 (basically his only chance was an inside straight draw completed with a 6)

Spike got up and put his coat on and said, "cheesh I don't even want to show this hand."

Everyone laughed as both hands were tabled face up.

The turn was a 3, and the river was a 6.

Spike's 82 (the second worse starting hand in NL Hold 'em Poker, had made a straight on the river. Staying Alive!

Aces busted by kings in Venetian daily deep stack

Another enjoyable, but too brief, run in the daily Venetian deep stack event. A smallish field of 87 players paying $150 each.

My stack size was always on the wrong side of average, but I was playing pretty well without great cards. I was moved to the General's table (Texas pro Joseph Davis, who I remarked about in an earlier blog - he reminded me of General Custer) with around 30 players left.

Initially improved my stack with an all-in versus an even smaller stack, when I had KK and he had AQ suited.

Not long later, with the blinds at 75/400/800 and a stack size of around $17,000 (average would be $22,000 or so), my right hand opponent (young John)in second position opened for $2,600 . I think there had been a limper before him. I was looking at two red Aces. I had not seen a high pair all day, and now I had been dealt kings then aces within minutes of each other. I like this dealer !

I could call or raise, but I went for the max with an all-in re raise. At this stage, young John would be hard pressed to lay down what was clearly a real starting hand, as he had even fewer chips than I did.

Everyone else got out of the way, and as he exposed his kings, John said, "I know you have Aces, but I am committed to my hand, I have to call".

Lucky for John and Jocelyn (his cheering section) his agony was short lived, as the flop included a sadistic looking king of clubs.

Nothing else of interest popped up on the board and for the second time in two days, my red Aces have been cracked in key situations. In fact, since I have been in Vegas (8 days now) I have had Aces twice only - once online yesterday in late stages of a big event) and now today. Last night I lost to a starting hand of AK when the turn AND river were BOTH Kings.

John had the good grace to be apologetic, and commiserated that it should be me sitting there with an above average stack in excess of $30,000, rather than the $2,700 or so I was left with.

Had I simply re-raised, it is unlikely John would lay down his hand. And calling would make no sense. I believe he would have re-re raised, and all our chips would have ended up in the middle regardless.

Ah such is poker. As great as AA or KK are as starting hands; neither comes with any guarantees.

Special hellos to Nicholas from Atlantic City, Clint, James (pronounced Jame - es) and John who were at my table today and who all went deep.

Sunday is online poker day

Sunday is supposed to be a day of rest. So I decided not to enter any live poker tournaments today. (At least not so far!)

I got up early to do battle in the DD blackjack pit. Yesterday had been a real struggle – I lost small, six times out of seven tables. Whereas the prior night, after fuming over my pulled muscle and untimely poker tournament exit, I had won significantly in four of six sessions.

Overall, my BJ play has been profitable this trip, though the winning session percentage has been very low, at around 55%.

I have not been able to catch a rhythm.

This morning was particularly annoying as this Asian kid beside me was winning money at a clip of $300 per hand or more, while my spot treaded water. And he was asking me for advice on many of his hands.

Most of my time has been organizing my notes from the week’s adventures and playing online poker tournaments concurrently. Sunday is usually a big day for online events at all the major poker sites. My site of favor is FTP – known as Full Tilt Poker.

I love the word “ tilt”

It is so apropos for what I see at the card tables almost every day.

I have suffered ‘bad beats’ in every online tournament I have played in so far today, so I am bit bummed out.

The one that mattered most to me had 118 entrants, with the top 15 winning entries into today’s $1 million guarantee – which starts in a few minutes, and presently has an enrolled field of close to 1,900 players.

The entry fee is a healthy $535 – which, to this point in time, is more than I have ever spent on an online poker tournament entry.

I was nursing my chips, being patient, as we got down to only 17 players – just about ‘on the bubble.’

If I had owned a huge stack, I would simply have folded all hands until I won my entry – taking no risks. But I was always hovering between 12th and 16th, so I could not sit quietly.

I picked up the two red Aces on the dealer’s button. The big stack was in the small blind. He should be folding his way to the end.

I opened with a three bet (3 times the BB) and he decided to shove me all in. Of course, I called.

He turned over the Ace of spades and the King of hearts.

The flop was the 1098 all of hearts. Good – if the winning hand is a flush, it’ll be mine.

The turn was the King of Spades, giving him a pair of kings to go up against my Aces. But the river was a damned king of clubs, and that was NOT amusing.

I mean come on !

“Runner runner” kings to beat me, and to ensure I do NOT play in the million dollar guarantee which is starting right now.

Anyway, as consolation, I won a smaller tournament which qualified me into the FTOPS main event which began at 5 pm. Just under 16,000 players are in this thing, with a prize pool of $799,000.

And concurrent with that, I am playing in a $15,000 tournament. around 2,300entrants, and 250 remaining as I write. I am presently in 89th place.

Taken out with three strikes

I played in the big stack $340 entry event at the Venetian Saturday. It's my favorite event of the week. You receive $12,000 in starting chips (versus the normal $7,500); the blind levels increase more slowly; and the field is far stronger than the rest of the week.

Today there were 112 players, with prizes paying down to 13th. First place a cool $9,800 - and a chop of the first four places would be around $5,000.

It took me a while to find my footing. On my left was General Custer - a very nice man who looked like he has been playing poker more than 30 years in every casino in Nevada. He had long flowing grey hair with a beard and mustache that would do Custer proud, and a hat that looked vintage cavalry from the 19th century. A dark vintage blazer, blue jeans, and high heeled cowboy boots completed the ensemble.

He played with panache and mixed his style very well. In the beginning he was a virtual patsy, folding his button, limping into the pot, and giving up his blinds - but then he began to make some moves.

Within a couple of hours, if anyone wanted to see a flop at our table, they were going to pay dearly for it. Raises were met with re-raises, and re-raises were met with all-ins.

I am beginning to recognize the local regulars - good tough cash game players who look down at the rest of the poker world, and who feel they have nothing new to learn. I can feel their eyes smirking knowingly at some of the stuff I do. One of them caught a big pot off me in the early stages – it saved his tournament life in fact.

I held 99 in mid position, and opened for $300. (blinds were only $50/$100). He called as dealer, and we were heads up.

The flop came 752 rainbow. I bet $350, and he called. The next card was an 8. I bet $800, and he called again. The river was another deuce, and the action was on me.

I had seen him play two hands down to a showdown already. He was a typical cash game player who believes in milking a hand till the end. Which is fine in a cash game, where you theoretically have an unlimited supply of chips, but in tournaments, you live in the short run – and you better be right most of the time if that is how you play.

He had lost almost half his stack already. On one of these two occasions, when he had a sizeable investment in the pot, he had made a big bluff bet on the river, and had been called. He mucked without even showing.

Meanwhile, his buddy beside him had busted early. These guys get demoralized if they lose a hand they should have won. His buddy had picked up AA in first position. A short stack in mid position had gone all in with 63 suited in clubs. (Yes you read correctly)

Everyone else got out of the way, and the old timer was happy to call the bet for about 1/3 of his stack. When the flop came 63x, the short stack was well on his way to doubling up.

Now with a large starting stack and blinds still small, there is plenty of time to regroup and play small ball poker, waiting for the right hand to make a move. But a guy came very late to the table (a full hour and a half after we began) and ended up in an all-in encounter on his very first hand of the day. Old timer had QQ and newbie had AK. The old timer saw a flop of K9x and shoved all in - for no good reason that I could see. Newbie called and quickly doubled up.

I say all this because I want you to know the context and the table vibe when my 99 hand came up.

After the river 2, I felt I had to make a bet. I had been uncomfortably out of position this whole pot, forced to make betting decisions before my guy. So I bet $2,000 (the pot was around $3,300 at this point. He thought for a long time and shoved all his chips all in.

I had conflicting information. Was this a last gasp attempt to win a hand he was doomed to lose (say with A7 or something), or had he flopped a set, or made quad two’s ??

I decided to call, and he showed a starting pair of sevens, giving him a full house of 7’s and 2’s, and more than 1/3 of my stack. (I had been doing well to that point)

Ach, I felt I had been outsmarted. Which is true. The guy put on his dark glasses, after several verbal high fives with his buddies at his end of the table, and he settled back into a long run, content that his tournament life was no longer in immediate jeopardy.

Anyhow, back to the grind for me. I played my normal game and watched the monitor for updates on the size of the field.

As time goes by, the average stack size increases, and the number of survivors decreases, and the number of active tables in play consolidates down. They try to keep 9-10 players at all tables all the time (until they get down to 20 or less). So as a result, you can find yourself moved around from time to time.

At 7 pm, after seven hours of play, we were down to 31 players, and I had an above average mid size stack of around $55,000. I was moved to a table where the lady at the opposite end had a stack that would choke a large horse. Her raises were usually monstrous, so that if you played a hand with her, there was a risk you were going to be all-in whether or not you wanted to be.

As a result, she was running roughshod over everyone.

She was guzzling beers straight from the bottle, and sounded like she had had a few too many. Loud and in form. Deadly.

I decided I would keep a low profile for a couple of orbits, and size up whose stacks I could go gunning for. Conveniently, three of the four players on my left were very tight, and their blinds were ripe for the picking. The dominatrix would have to commit to a hand in early position whenever their blinds were in play. So I had an edge there.

I picked off several pots, and my stack increased to $80,000 or so. Doing well, all things considered. I picked up QQ in late position. The blinds were $2,000, $4,000 with a $500 ante. Dominatrix made it $17,000 to go from first position, which meant (even she) had some kind of hand.

I decided to call, not raise, and everyone else folded. The flop was A102 and she instantly said all in, and just as quickly my cards hit the muck. Strike one.

A while later, I held AS 6C on the dealer button. My RHO limped in to the pot and I flat called. It was a three player pot, as the small blind folded. The flop was AC 7C 3D.

The BB and my RHO checked and I bet $13,500. The BB folded, and RHO called. The turn card was a scary ten of clubs, and we both checked. The river was a red king, which I felt had not changed anything.

RHO now bet $20,000 and I called. He turned over A8 unsuited. We both had a pair of Aces, but his 8 out kickered my 6, and he took down a pretty big pot. Strike two.

In retrespect, I might have taken down the pot pre flop with a big bet - maybe even an all-in. Ironically, it seems to play small ball you often have to put your whole stack at risk when you judge weakness everywhere else.

I suppose I also could have folded to his river bet, but that seems too tough to figure out.

I was down to $30,000 or so, definitely below average. Not long after I picked up JJ in mid position, the boozy lady was in the big blind. I needed a double up, and she was usually a willing customer when someone else tried an all in move.

"All in" I announced, and everyone folded to her. Finally, after an unusually long wait, she called and turned over 32 suited in hearts !!

Everyone at the table gasped. Even she had gone too far. We had seen her call all-ins with 109, K3, Q7 even, but 32 !!

The flop was an unsuited but still highly toxic 654.

Can you believe this??

Nothing else came on the turn or the river, and I was busted when my all in bet with a pair of jacks was called by 32 suited and the lady flopped a straight!

Strike 3 - tough game. I was busted just before we got down to two tables.

The lady was playing like a drunken pork chop, and she was crushing everyone. (She won the whole event by the way)

Deja Vu

Back in 1982 I was in between my two University degrees, and I filled my time working for Ted Horning at his fine bridge studio in Thornhill, Ontario. I was a jack of all trades, including game director.

I used to enjoy sitting at the front of a large room filled with earnest bridge players as I waxed eloquently over the microphone about the movement of boards or whatever.

The players used to remark I sounded like an airline pilot.

One day I was directing a very large Olympiad game and was in fine vocal form. In between announcements and rulings I would amuse myself with whatever there was at hand. Certainly not a PC back in those days.

I had the unfortunate habit of swinging on my chair back then. I chose this particular night to lean back a touch too far, and went head over heels into the boxes and debris behind the director's desk!

Well, you can imagine the reaction this ruckus caused among the forty odd tables of bridge players in the room.

And you can certainly imagine the colour of my cheeks as I sprang from the floor like a cat, trying to act as if nothing had happened !

I don't think I pulled a muscle that time though !