Posted by Dr Fro 5:36 PM
In poker babe news:

- Shana Hiatt is leaving the WPT.

- Jennifer "Jennicide" Leigh started a website.

In poker stud news:

- CCM and I will be in Shreveport all day tomorrow. I'll go ahead and predict a massive winning session. I'll let you know how it shook out Friday a.m.


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Posted by Junelli 11:20 AM


Napoleon Dynamite: "Stay home and eat all the freakin' chips, Kip."

Kip: "Napoleon, don't be jealous that I've been chatting online with babes all day. Besides, we both know that I'm training to be a cage fighter."


(1) comments

Posted by Junelli 10:24 AM
Actress Jennifer Tilly wins Event #26 ($1,000 Ladies-Only No-Limit Hold'em), earning $158,625 and a coveted World Series of Poker bracelet.



Jennifer has been in some pretty big movies: Monsters, Inc., The Getaway, The Doors, The Fabulous Baker Boys, Let It Ride, Johnny B. Good.


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Posted by Dr Fro 7:55 PM
When playing on Party Poker it is not uncommon to see spam in the chat box. The spam is always gay scams. This is very gay. I love the way it never actually says exactly what the software does. Just pay us fifty bucks and you will have a HUGE edge over your opponents..


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Posted by Dr Fro 9:17 PM

tCOP

We played poker on Thursday night. A very, very strange hand came late in the night. To set this up you have to understand that it was the usual crew plus the host had invited his brother in law. He fit the stereotype to a tee of the invited brother in law - nice guy, bad at poker. Actually he was very nice and very bad at poker.

The gambling gods smiled upon him everytime the cards were dealt. As a matter of fact, given the cards he was dealt, he should have taken all of our money. Take the example of the hand where he had AQ to a board of AQQxx. I lead out w KK thinking he is going to fold or perhaps maybe call with junk (he did it plenty) and he called. Hmmmm. He showed the boat and I thought in my head the same question that 6 other guys were thinking, "Why wouldnt you raise me with that?"

So the funniest hand of the night came when he was heads up with KTL.

KTL picks up 9d9c. He raises ~5-6 times the BB and chases all but 1 caller (Chris). Time will tell that he called w/ Js4c.

Flop comes something like Qd, 10d, 9x. Chris checks. KTL thinks to himself - bet it b/c you don't want this poker Special Olympian to back door a straight and beat the set. KTL is also thinking that Chris probably called the first bet w/ some combination of face cards and may have a pair. KTl bets it strong (~75% of the pot) and Chris calls.

Turn comes 2d. Check again from Chris. KTL is now a little scared that Chris may have picked up the flush. KTL bets again (~75% of pot). Olympian calls again.

River card comes 8d. Worst card possible for KTL; it gives him a flush but not a great flush.

Here comes the funny part:

Chris exclaims "OMIGOG...BOOM" when he sees the river. Nice poker face.

Then - w/o hesitation he bets $27 - which was ~ a pot sized bet - and puts himself all in. The only possible thought is that Chris hit a big flush (count 3 better flushes - A, K, J). Keep in mind that Chris had only called or folded to every bet to this point but just popped in $27, so it seemed pretty obvious to the entire table that he just hit a huge hand.

KTL therefore folds. He flips over his cards over in frustration and show the 9d flush. Chris flips his cards (J4) and says - "I had you beat anyway b/c I had the straight."

Yes, his excitement was because he thought a straight beat a flush and figured he just sucked out on Kyle.

Wow. That, my friends, is home poker at its finest

(1) comments

Posted by Dr Fro 1:45 PM
So, I am looking at a $72.50 pot with Aces and Tens and bet. It will cost the only other player 90 cents to call. He is getting 82:1 odds on a call.

He folded. Nice laydown. What did you buy with that 90 cents you saved? A new boat? Maybe some tampons?


(1) comments

Posted by Dr Fro 1:43 PM
Mark Seif won the NL $1,500 event. Two bracelets this year aint too shabby.


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Posted by Dr Fro 10:56 PM
From CardPlayer


Date / Time:
2005-06-24 17:44:00
Title:
Greg "Fossilman" Raymer Eliminated in 6th Place ($119,450)
Log:
Hand 60 - Kang has the button in seat 4, Raymer moves all in for $137,000, and Kang calls. Kang shows As-Jc, while Raymer has pocket threes (3h-3c). It's another race situation, and the flop comes Jd-9h-6s, and Kang has improved to a pair of jacks. Raymer will need to catch a three to stay alive. The turn card is the Qs, and Raymer is down to his last chance with two outs. The river card is the 4d, and Greg "Fossilman" Raymer is eliminated in sixth place, earning $119,450.


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Posted by Dr Fro 3:26 PM
I wasted an hour of my life watching Breaking Vegas: The Prince of Poker on the History Channel. It is a documentary of Jim McManus amazing story complete with cheesy re-enactments. The casting and acting in the re-enactments were worse than Saved by the Bell.

Not only was it bad, it was innacurate:
- a fan told TJ how he loved watching him on the WPT, which didn't exist at the time
- there was an announcer at the satellite. Right, a stupid satellite for the WSOP gets an announcer

It was also a bit misleading, including the claim that Jim's "marriage was on the line..." Huh? His wife was pretty supportive. I'm glad they showed the phone call he made on Day 1 where I thought she was one cool chick.

The editing was bad, too. They skipped from the key hand against TJ with his classic quote (which was omitted) to the hand at the final table that eliminated McManus.

If you read Positively Fifth Street, you will hate this show.


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Posted by Junelli 10:33 AM
I was surfing through the current WSOP standings, and noticed that Houston is enjoying some good representation out in Vegas. The following Houston players have made final tables. Have any of you played with these guys?

Tommy Grimes
John Bonetti
Jason Berilgen
Tony Sevnsom
Allen Goldstein


(1) comments

Posted by Junelli 9:06 PM
Recognized on Party Poker:




(1) comments

Posted by Johnnymac 9:31 AM
Effectively immediately, you have to register to leave comments. No more pseudonyms and no more anonymous comments. I realize that this isn't necessarily a guarantee that some people aren't going to spout off with spur of the moment random BS, but we're sick of some of the dumb shit that's being posted in our comments section these days and maybe having to set up a blogger account will help to to cut some of that stuff off. We are deleting A LOT of comments these days and it's grown tiresome.

Look, we're not doing this to impress anyone or make ourselves out to be anything other than a bunch of small-time friends who like to play cards and write about it. We are not pros, we don't play for high stakes, and we don't aspire to stand next to Shana Hiatt or sit across from that dumb "Magician" guy. If you don't like it or you think what we have to say is stupid, then that's fine and you can feel free vote with your feet (mice) and don't come back, but please have the courtesy not to leave stupid potshot comments just for the sake of making stupid potshot comments. We don't want to wade through your vandalism and none of our other readers should have to put up with your dumb shit.

It's fine to disagree, but unless you have something constructive to say and care to take the time to say it with at least a little courtesy, please don't say anything at all and just go away.


(2) comments

Posted by Junelli 4:05 PM
I played last night at the Comanche Nation Casino in Lawton, Oklahoma. The poker room was brand new, and had only been open about 3 weeks. Most of the players seemed like they too were brand new. I won $810 in a few hours.

The only noteworthy hand came when the table hit a non-paying bad beat hand. Lemme explain: Because the poker room just opened, they have not yet set up their bad beat jackpot (it's supposed to start any day now). Too bad though, because on the 5th hand of the evening a player with KKK22, lost to 2222, and both lost to a A2345 straight flush. It would've been nice to get a players share on that hand.


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Posted by Junelli 3:55 PM
Fresh off the presses.

The Texas Attorney General has finally weighed in and concluded that bars cannot hold (cash entry fee) poker tournaments without violating Chapter 47 of the Penal Code.


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Posted by Dr Fro 12:06 AM
I played $1-$2 NL for 2 hours tonight. The table had 2 of the most retarded people I have ever met in my life. One guy could not properly count his chips. Their abuse of the English language hurt my ears. To call them hillbillies would be an offense to hillbillies everywhere.

They were on a roll. AA, JJ, KK, AK, AK, JJ, AA..... It was nuts (no pun intended). They were each up >$300. Actually, this proves how stupid they were because anybody reading this site (who therefore possesses the skill of reading) would be smart enough to be up $1,000 with the cards they were dealt.

On the other hand, I only saw 1 showdown in 2 hours.

I used to self destruct in this situation. I could rationalize any call pre-flop, saying "I will outplay him, that fool." Kim and I recently discussed this: I have a history of losing money to these fools when I make said rationalization.

I think the correct strategy is to still play plenty tight. Wait for a whopper and hit them over the head with it. I only got one whopper - AKs and won enough money to put me at even for the night (well, I bought $350 and left with $347 and I drank 1 free beer.)

My point is that when you find yourself salivating over the fool, you can easily become the fool yourself. I think I have fixed that leak. I just tell myself that there is no need to break this fool tonight. There will be plenty the next time. Plenty. Just wait for those good cards and if they don't come, they will come the next time.

Next time.


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Posted by Dr Fro 4:05 PM
Well, I guess AT does work out sometimes.

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Posted by Dr Fro 3:52 PM
I have told this story so many times that I didn't realize I forgot to post it.

A couple weeks ago at J's in the $1-$2 NL HE game, there was a real doozie at our table. He called all in with A8o and won his first hand. But that was nothing compared to this:

Board is KQ875. Pot is $100 and Doozie checks to Hollywood, who fires in all $200 of his chips. Doozie thinks for a while and then calls. Hollywood says, "Wow, great call, I don't have anything more than a little 5."

Doozie showed 22 and seemed surprised that they didn't hold up.


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Posted by Dr Fro 3:43 PM
This poster brings up an interesting phenomenon on internet poker. There are so many of these short-stacked all-in specialists at the low limits (mainly $25) buy in that it makes me wonder what is going on. It is as if some poker pro wrote a post about some simple strategy to winning online without risking very much. It is just wierd, but it really messes up the game. They tend to sit on their short stack and fire out an all in bet about every 20 hands, which tells me that perhaps it is on every pair or maybe pairs 44 and higher. Then they just reload for the minimum again.

Or maybe Ted Hoth got a Party Poker account.


(3) comments

Posted by Dr Fro 3:20 PM
ATs

Yesterday I played in a 290 person NLHE tournament on Party Poker. I made it to the final four tables before getting knocked out w ATs. This wouldn't be all that interesting except that twice before I have been in a nearly identical situation, and all three times I lost.

The first time was our 4th ever NL tournament. I made the final table and we had just eliminated the bubble man, which ensured that I would cash in. However, due to the steep payout structure, this wasn't much of an accomplishment yet. I had enough chips to last about 2 more orbits - maybe 15 hands and got ATs. I went all in thinking that there would be no better hands coming my way, got called by Planck with AK and lost.

The second time was our 6th ever NL tournament. We were down to 14 players and we were paying about 9 or so. Again, I could have folded and seen around 15 more hands, but I went for it. I lost.

So yesterday, it comes up again and I figured that it has to work out one of these days. It didn't. I was in the BB ($600) with a stack (exclusive of the BB) of $1,500 and two other players were already all-in. Of course calling w AT is much worse than betting with it, but I didn't think I could get a better opportuinity after this one.

Once in a tournament Scotland, I folded and folded and folded evertyhing but a premuim hand. When I finally got AA, I couldn't even call the full value of the BB. (incidently, I lost the hand). I swore I would never again fold to the point that my stack was so anemic.

But AT really sucks to call 3-way action. John may have folded. Junell would have definitely called. I think I did this right, but I have been pondering it for the past 24 hours. If I had folded, then I would have needed to successfuly win (via bluff or a good hand) one of the next 10 hands. After 10 more hands of folding, I would have $600 and after 11 hands $300. So, desparation was at the heart of my decision. It seems to me to be an easy decision to call, but seeing as how that call has never worked for me, I wanted to solicit your thoughts.


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Posted by Johnnymac 9:17 PM
One more pic from today. The box was empty but Bojak the poker dog wanted the crumbs, too... But then he couldn't get it off of his head and couldn't escape and he started to panic. I wish I had a video camera for moments like that.




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Posted by Johnnymac 8:58 PM
So I promised Mrs Johnnymac that once I was finished running the WSOP tournament I would start on remodeling our guest bathroom. Needless to say, I haven't been playing poker and I don't plan on playing much until the job is done later this summer - although at the rate it's taking them to deliver our new fixtures that will be more like sometime in November.

Anyway, I've been busy. Today I finally finished getting all of the drywall and other crap out of there (a job we started last Saturday morning) and I started framing the newly downsized bedroom closets and the new doorway from the front bedroom. Tomorrow I start on the new windows.

Here are a couple of pics of our progress. The only part of the job we're not doing ourselves is moving the pipes around - I'm happy to pay someone for that.




One other thing: I bought one of these. Not only does it work like a charm and is a lot better than hammering, it's pretty cool, too. Well worth the money.


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Posted by Dr Fro 3:22 PM
I promised a post about middle-ish pairs getting re-raised, inspired by a hand against Adam. The facts below have been changed from what happened a week ago, but the conclusion is the same.

Assume everyone starts with $300.
Adam has 99 UTG
BB=$2, SB =$1.
He raises to $12 and gets re-raised to $75, so it is $63 to call.

He has 3 options:

Option 1: Fold
Since all money invested so far is a sunk cost, the EV of this option is exactly $0.

Option 2: Call
This is a bad option and I will first say that the reason why is the best case scenario is to be about a coin toss. Several possible hands are huge favortites. I seriously doubt A9 or 88 or lower would be making this move.

The math:
Assuming the only hands to re-raise here are AA, KK, QQ, JJ, TT, AK, AQ, AJ (see footnote below). The first 4 can be made in 6 possible ways making 24 hands. The last 3 hands can be made 16 ways for 48 possible hands. So 24/72 hands dominate you (19% chance of Adam winning) and 48/72 hands are a coin flip (52% chance of Adam winning).
52%*$90 + 48%*(-$63) * 48/72 +
19%*$90 + 81%*(-$63) * 24/72
= an EV of -$0.27.

Of course, that is all pot odds, not implied odds, which are much more difficult to calculate. The fact that Adam is out of position only hurts the case for calling. So far, folding looks better than calling. What about a raise?

Option 3: Raise
First assume he pushes all in for $288 and gets a call. The math is:
52%*$315 + 48%*(-$288) * 48/72 +
19%*$315 + 81%*(-$288) * 24/72
= an EV of -$40.77.

That doesn't sound very good. Ahhh, but what if Adam's opponent folds, giving Adam fold equity? He wins $90.

Now if Adam thinks that he will get a fold 31% of the time, this is a break even proposition. It seems to me quite reasonable that he would get a fold > 31% of the time. Maybe only AA, KK, QQ call...that would mean 75% of the hands would fold. Even if his opponent is quite loose, it still seems pretty reasonable to expect him to fold more than 31% of the time.

Conclusion:
Don't call. Fold or Re-raise all-in. Adam was probably right to not re-raise me because I am known to stand my ground (to a fault) and thus he may think he gets a fold < 31% of the time.

Footnote:
I know people will take all sorts of exceptions to the above analysis, including the range of hands I selected. However, 2 points should be noted: 1) The above assumptions are consistent with the play in the games in which I play and 2) tweaking the assumptions doesn't change the main conclusion that calling is wrong, wrong, wrong.


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Posted by Dr Fro 10:13 AM
On the same day IAG gave away $12,000, there was a blogger tournament in Vegas.

It took me forever to figure out that Bill won, because all the bloggers' reports just talked about how drunk they got that night. We need to play next year.


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Posted by Dr Fro 5:22 PM
Well done, TJ. Whenever I see him, I think of his quote to Jim McManus:

"You certainly didn't learn that in my book"


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Posted by Junelli 2:37 PM
Ten Million…..and Counting

Through the first week of the World Series of Poker (conclusion of Event #7), total prize money awarded to winners amounts to $10,829,050. To give this figure some perspective, the $10 million barrier was not crossed until Event #16 last year. Ten years ago, the entire 1995 WSOP awarded $10,904,500, which was the first year that total prize money exceeded the $10 million mark. Based on projections, the total prize pool for the entire 2005 WSOP could reach $100 million. This makes the WSOP the richest competition in all of sports!


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Posted by Junelli 2:31 PM
A beautiful sight:




(3) comments

Posted by Junelli 1:58 PM
Let me know your thoughts about this hand:

In $1-$2 PL, I have $165 in front of me on the button (from a $200 buy-in). There are a lot of chips on the table, and 3 players have approx $600-$900. The game is very loose/aggressive and it is always at least $10 to see a flop, and it's regularly re-raised much higher.

I'm dealt AcJc on the button. A middle position and very aggressive player raises to $10. I smooth call the $10. The small blind (Mark Lester) reraises to $25. Mark is a solid player and generally won't make this move without a pretty good hand. I wouldn't call him passive (because he's not afraid to get his chips in the middle), but he usually won't reraise without a hand.

Anyway, the Big Blind (also hyper-aggressive) re-reraises making it $85 to go. The aggressive middle position player smooth calls the $85.

So it's $75 to me (with a chip stack of $150). It's clear that if I play this hand, it's going to be for all my chips. If all 4 of us smooth call the $85, the pot would be $340, and I couldn't scare/intimidate anyone with only $75 left.

I thought about folding for the obviously reasons: (1) I may be dominated, and (2) my cards may not be live.

However, I'm getting very good odds on my money. Right now, it costs me $75 to call a pot of $205 (2.7:1). Plus, if the small blind calls (remember he had reraised), I'm getting about 4:1 on my money.

However, I know that smooth calling is the wrong move here. It's either fold or move all-in for $165 straight. If I move in, I gain fold equity (as previously discussed), and might push 1-2 players out. If I get heads up, I have a much better chance of winning.

Also, $165 wasn't a big deal for me to call, and I was certainly willing to gamble. If I win the hand, I stand to collect between $415 - $660 (assuming at least one person stays in the hand). If they all fold I pick up a pretty good sized pot and profit $195 on the hand.

So I move all-in.

Mark Lester folds AKo in the small blind (how about that for fold equity??).

Both the Big Blind and Middle Position call. The main pot is $495.

Big Blind turns up 99 and Middle shows JJ. My ace is live, but it never comes. JJ takes down the pot.

Incidentally, a King did come giving Mark Lester the winning hand (had he stayed in). He would've won between $500-$800 on the hand. If Lester had moved over the top all-in, the BB (with 99) would've likely folded, and there's a decent chance that the JJ would've folded (fold equity gained).

If JJ calls, he is a coin-flip to win the hand. But he is getting very goods odds for the play (>3:1).

What do you think about my all-in move before the flop with AcJc? What do you think about Lester's fold of AKo? What do you think about the other calls (99 & JJ)?


(5) comments

Posted by Junelli 10:03 AM
If Monday night was a super rush, last night was the anti-rush. The poker gods giveth and they taketh away. Last night they tooketh away.

In 4 hours of playing $1-$2 Pot Limit, I lost every showdown. Yes that's right: every single one. I only won 2 pots the entire night. One was a stone cold bluff from the button (into a $30) pot, and everyone folded. The other was top pair that resulted in no callers, and another $30 pot.

Not a single straight, flush, set, or full house. Only one pocket pair (77), but I had to lay it down preflop to a $200 re-reraise. Turns out my sevens would've held up against JJ and AT when the board came QTT72. Oh well.

I lost a gigantic pot when I flopped 2 pair (top and bottom). On the button, I moved all-in on the flop for $325. I was called by 2 players, and one of them had a set of 7's.

Back to the drawing board.


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Posted by Dr Fro 10:40 PM
Man, this kills me. I have read Iggy's site for several years now. This is just is horrible


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Posted by Dr Fro 10:14 PM
The hot streak continues...

after work I stopped at J's. I picked up $230 on my way home from work. Just to give a little bit of perspective on how easy it is to win there, consider this:

Board is AJJxx
(I have AJ)
Pot is $75
He checks
I bet $50
He calls

I show AAAJJ
He shows 88JJx

Huh?

Oh my, these guys are bad. I played in Houston at the FSC, Ace Kickers, Top Hat, etc. Nowhere have I seen play this bad.

If you want a piece of it, let me know...

THANK YOU BYRON!!!


(2) comments

Posted by Junelli 6:03 PM
Poker in Oklahoma? Has anyone played up there?

On Monday I have a deposition in Lawton, Oklahoma (45 min North of Wichita Falls). My flight back to Houston doesn't leave until the following morning, so I figured I'd try to find a place to play on Monday night.

Let me know if you can provide any insight on close places to go to find good games.


(2) comments

Posted by Dr Fro 5:52 PM
CCM and I are headed to Shreveport for 24 hours of poker. My quick research is below. Anybody have more to add??

Horseshoe
http://www.horseshoe.com/bossiercity/poker.asp
Horseshoe Casino & Hotel Bossier City711 Horseshoe Blvd.Bossier City, LA 711111-800-895-0711

Mondays @ 6:00pm"No Limit Texas Hold'em"$60 Buy-in - $15 Entry fee - $40 Re-buy's and add-ons.

Tuesdays @ 6:00pm"World Series of Poker Satellite No Limit Texas Hold'em"$100 Buy-in - $20 Entry fee - $100 re-buy's and add-ons.

Wednesdays @ 11:00am"No Limit Texas Hold'em"$60 Buy-in - $15 Entry fee - $40 Re-buy's and add-ons.



Hollywood
For Poker Room information call 318-220-5274.
$4/$8
$5/$10 (when it's busy)
$10/$20
$20/$40$
2/$5 NL (Max $300 Buy-in)
$5/$5/$10 NL


(3) comments

Posted by Dr Fro 5:49 PM
Since we have been stuck on the subject of hot chicks lately, at least I managed to tie it back to poker.

Shana Hiatt gets nudey in this.


(1) comments

Posted by Junelli 3:52 PM
Here are Daniel Negreanu's Cash Game Results for 2005 (as posted on his blog on March 28)

Date -- Limit -- Hours - Result
Feb 6 - 1500-3000 - 7 - +45,600
Feb 21 - 4000-8000 - 8 - (-251,000)
Feb 22 - 4000-8000 - 8 - (-190,000)
Feb 26 - 4000-8000 - 5 - +598,000
Mar 1 - 4000-8000 - 31 - (-114,000)
Mar 18 - 2000-4000 - 2.5 - +16,500
Mar 30 - 2000-4000 - 5.5 - +25,300
Apr 9 - 100-200 - NL 1.5 - +1,200
Apr 15 - 2000-4000 - 3 - +78,000
Apr 16 - 4000-8000 - 6 - +120,000
April 29 - 80-160 - 5 - +5,200
May 1 - 40-80 - 1 - +1,400
May 4 - 80-160 - .5 - +700

Totals 84 Hours +336,900
Hourly Rate= $4010.71


(0) comments

Posted by Junelli 3:12 PM
Fold Equity - Why Aggressiveness Makes Mathematical Sense - A mathematical look at playing A-K in no-limit hold’em
by Matt Matros

People misuse aggressiveness. They hear the advice, "Play aggressive poker," and translate it to, "Bluff a lot." Aggressiveness is a lot more than bluffing. Too many players are aggressive by putting in a lot of money with their weak or mediocre hands, but slow-playing their other hands. They even get passive with big hands like A-K, wanting to "look at a flop." This approach is often a recipe for disaster. In this column, I’m going to explain why I think A-K is usually a reraising hand in no-limit hold’em.

Let’s say the under-the-gun (UTG) player has raised to three times the big blind at a ninehanded no-limit hold’em table. Three players fold and you look down at A-K offsuit. You have 15 big blinds in front of you. What’s your play? Lots of players tell me it’s their "style" to just call there and take a peek at the flop. "And if I hit my hand," they say, "I’m going with it."

Here is some quick mathematics to show why I think this is bad strategy. First, note that A-K offsuit will miss the flop about two-thirds of the time. So, presumably, we’re mucking to a bet on the flop almost two-thirds of the time. I’ll allow for some bluff-raises with gutshot draws from us or for the occasional check-fold from the UTG player, and say that we will have to muck on the flop about 60 percent of the time. Next, let’s assign the UTG player a typical UTG range of hands — pocket pairs of sevens or higher, A-Q, A-K, A-J suited.
If we hit the flop with our A-K, pocket pairs of 7-7 through Q-Q hate the flop (unless they flopped a set). They’ll bet out a lot of the time — say, 75 percent of the time, anyway — trying to represent top pair, but they’ll almost always stop putting money in the pot after we give them action.

So, let’s do the math. When we cold-call with our A-K preflop, 60 percent of the time we lose just the three big blinds it cost us to call; 10 percent of the time or so, we hit the flop and our opponent check-folds. We win four and a half big blinds (our opponent’s raise, plus the blinds who folded before the flop). The other 30 percent of the time is when our opponent bets and we’ve hit the flop.
If we look at the range of hands we’ve given him, and assume that he calls our raise only with a set, an overpair, or top pair, we’ll see that on about 8 percent of flops, both of us end up all in. On those flops, we have 40 percent equity ("equity" is a term I covered in my last column). That’s right — if our opponent actually wants to get all in with us, we’re an underdog to win the pot. On 22 percent of flops, he bets out and folds to our raise. Let’s say he chooses to bet out four and a half big blinds. In that case, we win nine big blinds on the hand (the four and a half from his bet, the three from his preflop raise, and the one and a half from the blinds that folded preflop).

Add up all of the big blinds we win or lose in every possible scenario, and you’ll find out that cold-calling with A-K against that UTG player’s raise wins about 0.4 big blinds per hand in the long run, which is not bad. But A-K is supposed to be a big hand. We’re not supposed to be satisfied with winning less than a small blind with it.

Now let’s compare flat-calling to the play I recommend — moving all in preflop. If we move in (jam), I’m going to assume that the UTG player mucks his sevens, eights, nines, A-J suited, and A-Q offsuit, but calls us with A-Q suited, A-K, and pairs of tens or higher. If we look at the money we win when he folds, compared to the money we lose when he calls, it turns out that in the long run, we earn 1.2 big blinds per hand by jamming with A-K — triple what we earned by calling.

The biggest reason it works out this way is that we got the UTG player to fold a whopping 45 percent of the time preflop when we moved in. If you don’t believe that, what hands do you think he calls with that I have him folding? A-Q, nines, and eights? If he calls with all of those hands, jamming is still almost twice as good as calling. By moving all in, we give ourselves something called fold equity. We have two kinds of equity: our equity in the pot against our opponent’s range of hands in a showdown, and our equity in picking up money for free by getting our opponent to fold before the showdown.

Let’s go inside the numbers from the above calculations a bit. When we moved in preflop, the UTG player folded 45 percent of the time, and we won four and a half big blinds. The other 55 percent of the time, we lost a little — about one and a half big blinds. As you can see, this was easily offset by the times we picked up the four and a half big blinds without a fight. Also notice that when our opponent had tens, jacks, or queens, we won the hand about 43 percent of the time. If we had just called, we would’ve won the hand less than 30 percent of the time. This is because A-K wants to see all five cards. A-K offsuit has a 43 percent shot to beat two queens by the river, but only a 31 percent chance to be beating two queens after the flop. We need to give ourselves a chance to spike an ace on the turn or the river — and if we hit an ace at any point, we want to get paid. We won’t get paid if our opponent has an underpair on an ace-high flop and we still have money in front of us. That’s why it’s important to get the money in before the flop.

You could nitpick the argument I just made. You might say, for example, that I ignored the rest of the players in the hand. But I would say that we want all of those players to fold, and the best way to get them out is to move all in. You also might say that some players will open from UTG with A-5 offsuit and play badly enough to lose all of their chips on an ace-high flop, or even a king-high flop. I would say that if the player is that bad, you’re probably way ahead of him preflop and want to isolate right then and there.

Here is the central point: With hands that want to reach a showdown, like A-K preflop, or a straight-flush draw with two cards to come, it’s important to get money into the pot as soon as possible. The more money there is in the pot, the harder it is to fold, and the more likely you are to get your showdown. So, don’t be one of those passive A-K players. Learn to love the words, "I’m all in."

Matt Matros finished third in the 2004 World Poker Tour Championship, and cashed four other times in major tournaments last year. His book, The Making of a Poker Player.


(4) comments

Posted by Dr Fro 12:20 PM
10 bucks says Junell scores poker blog press credentials next year at the WSOP


(2) comments

Posted by Dr Fro 9:57 PM
The $2,000 PL Omaha event is down to 18 players. It is a tough field that includes:

4th Erik Seidel 87,500TC - already won a bracelet this year and "starred" in Rounders w John Chan
5th John Juanda 77,000TC - former Player of the Year
7th Josh Arieh - 71,500 won "Ass of the Century" at 2004 WSOP main event
10th Jesus Ferguson 58,500TC - former World Champ

I wouldn't like to mix it up with that crowd.


(1) comments

Posted by Junelli 2:03 PM
Another quote from Negreanu regarding his heads up challenge matches against Barry Greenstein.

Q: How do you feel about what Barry Greenstein said about you and other tournament players who come to play in the big game?

Negreanu: “I think he misunderstands who I am, realistically because I DO play $4,000-$8,000. That’s what I played all last year. Well for most of the year. And $2,000-$4,000. He seems to say that I cannot win in that game. Well, I already have. I’m up over a million. I know it’s a short amount of time. I haven’t played hundreds of hours, but I am ahead in that game. And when I continue to play with Barry, I will be ahead. And I plan on, literally...this is going to sound really bad...but I plan on beating him so badly that eventually I have to stake him in a $40-$80 Hold ‘Em game.”


(5) comments

Posted by Junelli 1:11 PM
An interesting quote from Daniel Negreanu about loose/aggressive players:

"I thought about what types of players I didn’t like to be on my left. Who did I hate having on my left?

I hated someone who called all the time, who played a lot of pots. I was never scared of a tight, solid player. Never.

So I realized, you know what? Why don’t I become that player? The one that I hate. So I did. I became the nuisance. You know, the guy who when I raise in late position just calls behind ya and I’ll just play with ya.

That’s the one player that you can’t stand. A guy like Gus Hansen, Phil Ivey, Huck Seed, Ted Forrest, John Hennigan.

I mean guys like this….You have them on your left, they’ll just handcuff you. They are going to force you to make hands. They’re going to force you to hit flops.

Why would I be scared of someone who folds all the time and when he raises, they always have a hand? That guy is not going to scare me. It is going to be a guy who is in my face all the time."


(5) comments

Posted by Junelli 11:31 AM
Last night I had one of the biggest rushes of my career. I played $1-$2 Pot Limit at the MVP. I was dealt approx. 25 pocket pairs, including AA four times. Twice I was dealt AA in my straddle, and both times I flopped a set and got action. I hit at least 8-9 full houses and made countless other straights and flushes.

Although I booked a nice profit on the evening, it should’ve been much more. I was on the losing end of 2 big hands that limited my profits. One was just bad luck, and the other was a mistake.

In the first hand I had approx $800 in front of me, and was dealt a 24o in the small blind. I was able to limp in for $1 more, and saw a flop of 356 rainbow, giving me the nut straight. I checked and a middle position player bet $10. It was called once, and then the button (a strong player) raised the pot, making it about $60 to me. I smooth called hoping to draw in another player, and decided to make my move on the turn. Everyone else folds. The turn is a Q, and I check again to the button (waiting to trap). The button bets again, and I raise putting him all in. The pot was approx $600. He turns over a set of fives and my straight is a 2.5:1 favorite to win the hand. I decide to take insurance and pull back $200, giving him $80. We play for the remaining $320 in the pot. The river brings another Q, giving him 555QQ, and my straight loses the pot. Thank goodness I took insurance and still had a sizable chip stack. Which brings me to the 2nd beat I took:

By way of background: The MVP gives $50 to the high hand every 3 hours. To give you an idea of how big my rush was, I hit KKK66 early in the night to get my name on the board. Before the time expired I hit AAA66 to give me a better high hand. I won the first $50. 30 minutes later I hit JJJQQ putting me on the board for the 2nd high hand payout. Before that one expired, I hit AAAKK to improve my high hand. It again held up and I won another $50.

While I enjoyed winning the high hands, it played a role in a big mistake I made at the end of the night. I wanted to go home about 1am, but since I was running so hot, and had a pending high hand on the board, I decided to play until the high hand expired at 2:35am. My stack didn’t change much during this time, I was sure to leave with a huge profit.

At 2:33am (2 minutes before I collected my $50), I was dealt Ad2d in the BB. The flop was all diamonds (9d3d8d) giving me the nut flush. I checked and an early position player bet $10. A middle position player raised it to $25, and I smooth called, hoping to keep the early player in. The early player raises all-in for approx $30 more, and both of us call. The turn is another 8, pairing the board. I really don’t give the second 8 much attention at this point, because I had put the bettor on (1) a flush/straight draw, (2) a smaller made flush, or (3) trip eights (all of which lose to my nut flush). Bettor bets $35 and I smooth call waiting to trap him on the river (this was my 1st mistake). My second mistake came on the river (which was a blank). I checked and the bettor led out with $50. This was a confusing bet for several reasons. First, it was a sizable bet from this player. In 4 hours, I had only seen him make a bet this big once or twice. He usually would bet $15-$35. However the pot was large (>$250), giving me another signal that the bet was odd. It was a massive underbet. Did he have the 2nd nut flush (Kx)? Was he betting trips? Did he turn a full house? Or was he trying to steal it with something mediocre like 2 pair? (remember that I had only checked-called up to this point).

I decided against the full house, and was certain my hand was the best (mistake number 3). I then debated over how much of a raise I could get him to call. I raise $100 more, and he quickly reraises all-in for $150 more. He turns over 99 giving him top full house (99988) and takes down the $950 pot. I immediately cashed out and went home.

The last hand is a good example of what I consider to be my biggest weakness in NL and PL Hold ‘Em: Betting/Raising the river with mediocre hands. My aggressive style tends to breed this kind of play, but I’m slowly learning to reign in the aggression on the river. As Dr. Fro has pointed out in previous posts (I couldn’t find them for this article), there is little to no expected value from my raise on the river. If I’m ahead, he probably won’t call my raise (so I actually gain nothing by making the raise), and if I’ve lost, I will be faced with a sizable re-raise, which I may or may not be able to call. Folding to a reraise on the river is not fun, and certainly not something you want to get into the habit of doing. However, sometimes it’s the right thing to do.

I think my mistake last night, was not in calling his all-in bet, but rather, it was in making the initial raise of $100. I should’ve realized that (1) the board had paired, (2) the bettor was exhibiting unusual strength, (3) better did not appear to be afraid of my flush, (4) the pot was already big enough. If I had smooth called his $50 bet on the river, I only would’ve lost $150. Instead, my aggression got the better of me, and I got greedy. I made an ill-advised raise and painted myself into a corner. Net loss on the hand = $400.

But I did collect $50 for my high hand… :)


(3) comments

Posted by Junelli 3:42 PM
Daddy wants to go all-in with Clonie...




(4) comments

Posted by Junelli 11:36 AM
FUCK PARTY POKER!!!!!
(and yes that's an 8 under the chips)




(0) comments

Posted by Junelli 10:59 AM
Good luck finding your seat Padilla!



Some interesting finishes from the WSOP:

$2,000 NL Hold 'Em (1,403 players)
- Erik Seidel wins 1st place (Brief appearance in Rounders playing against Chan in the 88 World Series)
- Marcel Luske - 21st place ("Give a little bit of your chips to me!")
- Dutch Boyd - 37th place
- Tobey Maguire - 54th place (Spider Man cashes!)
- Jim Morrison - 100th place (Came out of the grave to break the bubble!)

$1,500 NL Hold 'Em (2,305 Players)
Scott Fishman - 2nd place
Diego Cordovez - 20th place (wasn't this guy in Blow?? :)
Helmuth - 24th place
Matusow - 44th place
Raymer - 86th
Evelyn Ng - 125th

$1,500 PL Hold 'Em (1,071 players)
Layne Flack - 2nd
Gavin Smith - 10th (isn't this the kid who won a bracelet last year?)
Al Krux - 13th
Jennifer Harman - 28th


(0) comments

Posted by Junelli 9:22 AM
Probability Guide


Pocket pair improving to three of a kind on flop - 12%, 1 in 8, 7:1
No pair hand preflop improving to a pair on the flop (either card) - 32%, 1 in 3.125, ~2:1.
If you have suited cards, two will flop - 11%, 1 in 9, 8:1
One pair on flop improving to two pair or three of a kind by river - 22%, 1 in 4.7, ~4:1
Pocket pair improving to three of a kind after flop - 9%, 1 in 11, 10:1
Two over cards improving to a pair by river - 26%, 1 in 3.9, ~3:1
Two over cards and a gutshot improving to pair or straight - 43%, 1 in 2.3, 4:3
Gutshot straight draw hitting by river - 17%, 1 in 6, 5:1
Gutshot and pair improving to two pair or better - 39%, 1 in 2.6, 3:2
Backdoor Flush hitting (5s6s Flop 7sAh9c KsJs) - 4%, 1 in 24, 23:1
Runner Runner Straight (56 Flop 3TQ 47) - 1.5%, 1 in 68, 67:1
Backdoor Flush and One Over Card improving to that pair or flush - 17%, 1 in 6, 5:1
Catching Ace on turn or river (A4 Flop Q63 KA) - 13%, 1 in 8, 7:1
Backdoor Flush and Gutshot improving to one by river (Ac4c Flop 3s5cKs) - 21%, 1 in 4.8, 3.8:1
Backdoor Flush And Two Over Cards improving to pair or flush - 30%, 1 in 3.3, 2.3:1
5 players on flop, that someone has an A when one is on board 58%, 1 in 1.7
4 players on flop, that someone has an A when one is on board 47%, 1 in 2.1
3 players on flop, that someone has an A when one is on board 35%, 1 in 2.9
2 players on flop, that someone has an A when one is on board 23%, 1 in 4.3
3 of one suit on board and another coming (QsTs2s) if you have one, 39%, 1 in 2.6, 3:2
5 players in with board paired, chance of one of them having it 43%, 1 in 2.4
4 players in with board paired, chance of one of them having it 34%, 1 in 3
3 players in with board paired, chance of one of them having it 26%, 1 in 4
2 players in with board paired, chance of one of them having it 17%, 1 in 5.8


(0) comments

Posted by Dr Fro 10:37 PM
SI is covering the WSOP. Funny tidbit:

Favorite poker moment: Barely an hour into the tournament, 30 year-old wunderkind Daniel Negreanu, Card Player magazine's "Player of the Year" in 2004, was down to his last $300 in chips and holding a Jack and a low card. An amateur about the same age, Marco Tranello, bet $400. The flop came 9-10-J of spades. Tranello turned over a Q-K for the straight, bouncing Negreanu out of the
event.

Negreanu, who has the mannerisms of Ed Norton in Rounders, smiled and stood up. Then he looked at the man who'd taken him out and said, "I need some money. You got any money?" Tranello looked at him. "Seriously?" Negreanu, who has earned millions playing poker since dropping out of high school, replied, "Yeah. I gotta enter a tournament tomorrow." It was a bluff, of course, but Tranello called it. He pulled a thick wad of bills out of his pocket, wrapped by a rubber band, and tossed it to Negreanu. Impressed, Negreanu pulled out five $10s, then tossed the roll back.

Cool.


(0) comments

Posted by Dr Fro 6:18 PM
"I really like what Cameron is eating..."

Last night was a lot of fun. Plenty of poker, but the focus was more on the beer drinking. After playing about 200 hands of poker on Party during the day, the game was a sharp contrast in focus. Case in point: the cash game "started" at 8, which meant starting at 8:10 and finishing THE FIRST HAND at 8:25. Granted, 3 players were all in and the pot had to be quartered, but it set the tone for an evening of fun and beer drinking with the occasional poker hand mixed in.

Four guys busted out completely, 1 lost a little, 1 broke even, 1 won a little and Kyle went home with something north of $200. I have discussed it before, but results in a night of NL holdem does not follow a normal distribution curve. Rather, there are typically fewer winners than losers and the wins are much larger than the losses. Typically, that is.

There were a few notable hands.

Busted
Given 500TCs for our quickie SnG that kicked off the night, on the fourth hand I re-raised Kyle to 75TC and the player to my left (Eric) called. So did Kyle. The flop came A85. Perfect. Unless Kyle was holding AA, I can safely say that I am beating just about any hand he could possibly have. Kyle would not play 88 or 55 for that much money. I go all in and get called by the player to my left. Kyle folded. Caller had A8o. Yup, he called the big re-raise with A8o. Eric was new to the game and this hand is a perfect example of why it is impossible to put a novice on a hand. It is the ultimate irony in poker, but it is harder to beat new players, in the short run, than it is to beat seasoned players due to the unpredictable nature of a newbie's play. I did say "in the short run."

Quads
I don't remember all the particulars, but the board had 995xx. I had 55. Kyle had 99. I think he checked the turn with the quads already made. He led out a measly $5 into like a $30 pot on the river. This seemed like a pretty lame attempt to steal. I popped him hard and he came back with a reraise a little more than my raise. At that point I knew there might be trouble since my boat was the lowest on the board, and Kyle isn't one to mess around with junk against a paired board. I thought that there was too much uncertainty here to raise back. I called and lost to quads. Had Kyle bet big, I may have just called the first bet. So his first bet did an excellent job of enticing me to raise. Also had he checked, he would have risked winning no more money if my had was fairly poor. His reraise of only slightly more than my raise (which was not insignificant) got the call he was looking for. Kyle just finished the Rope-a-Dope section of Harrington on Holdem. He was the Rope. I was the Dope.

AAKK
All night long I would make monster hands, bet them, and watch everyone fold. (Do I have a sign on my forehead advertising my hand?). We played a couple rounds of stud and I had a straight using both of my hole cards - a somewhat disguised hand. I bet. Cameron folded Aces over Kings. He was right to do so, his four-outer was a massive dog. But let's face it, when was the last time you saw a non-pro make that laydown? People just don't laydown AAKK. It just looks really pretty, even though it is a 4-out draw to a completed hand. This was when I realized that my poker crew had improved significantly since we started a year ago.

33
Huge PL O/8 hand. Side pots, all in bets, couterfeited lows, quartered sides, and all the other trimmings that make O/8 the heroin of all rollercoaster rides (forgive the mixed metaphor, but it is an inside joke intended for a few). As it turns out, my second (or third) best low lost me a lot of money, but all 3 of us were only shooting for the low. My only opponent in the final side pot, Kyle, didnt even pair up. Ergo, my little 3 that made bottom pair and earned me $30. Small problem - my cards were face down in the middle of the muck by the time we came to this realization. This was the result of alcohol induced frustration and can accurately be described as a rookie mistake. I just sat there with a stupid look on my face and Kyle handed me the $30 without even digging in the muck to see the little 3 that earned backed-into the $30 pot. Of course, he could should have taken the $30 that was rightfully his, but he is a nice guy. Now, who said that people are only looking out for #1 in poker? Well that person has never played with this group.

Race
I have decided to write a complete piece on this later, but here is the situation: pair vs overcards. It is basically a coin toss and it is so close, that I personally find it irrelevant that the pair is a slight favorite. What I do find relevant is how you play this hand in this situation. Adam had a pair (so he says), maybe about a 99. He raised and I popped him hard with AK. He thought for a while and folded. I think he did the right thing, or at least one of the right things. His only options are to fold or go all-in, IMO. A call is so very wrong with a low or middle pair because your BEST case scenario is a coin toss and there is a possibility of the 4.5:1 situation of facing a bigger pair. Fold or raise big. He folded.

This hand isn't all that interesting except that it happened the same day that I posted Matusow's rant about calling in this situation and the same day Kim Hock and I analyzed a similiar hand from a tournament in Houston on Friday. Anyway, look for a rambling diatribe soon on how to play your cards in this situation.

The Result
I lost $0.50, but I put the result in the thinly populated column in my poker results Excel spreadsheet labeled "break-even". I hope you forgive the rounding. The most tangible results were a dry taste in my mouth, a pounding headache and a sensitive stomach. Odds are that a monkey broke into our house, shat in my mouth and hit me in the head with a hammer.


(2) comments

Posted by Dr Fro 5:58 PM
Odds on winning WSOP Main Event are posted at sportsbook.com. Ivey, Negreanu and Hellmuth have the shortest odds. I looked for Padilla but couldn't find him.


(0) comments

Posted by Dr Fro 3:37 PM
I told you I was hot:

Transcript of Tournament #13004325.

Summary
----------
Played on : 11 June 2005 03:36 PM
On Table : Table 11229
Game Type : Texas Holdem
Buy-In : $10 <----BIG TIME!!
Fee : $1
You finished in position 1
1st place - phreaux - $50
2nd place - CD912 - $30
3rd place - FD_its_me_gl - $20

***** Hand History for Game 2191117972 *****
15/30 TourneyTexasHTGameTable (NL) (Tournament 13004325) - Sat Jun 11 15:36:57 EDT 2005
Table Table 11229 (Real Money) -- Seat 4 is the button
Total number of players : 10
Seat 1: Maris009 (800)
Seat 2: vennesla (800)
Seat 3: CptBeat (800)
Seat 4: duckplucker2 (800)
Seat 5: CD912 (800)
Seat 6: antcam49 (800)
Seat 7: phreaux (800)
Seat 8: Tonynlily (800)
Seat 9: FD_its_me_gl (800)
Seat 10: makro111 (800)
CD912 posts small blind (10)
antcam49 posts big blind (15)
** Dealing down cards **
Dealt to phreaux [ Ac, 6d ]
phreaux folds.
Tonynlily calls (15)
FD_its_me_gl folds.
makro111 folds.
Maris009 folds.
vennesla calls (15)
CptBeat calls (15)
duckplucker2 folds.
CD912 raises (20) to 30
antcam49 calls (15)
Tonynlily calls (15)
vennesla calls (15)
CptBeat calls (15)
** Dealing Flop ** : [ 6h, 9c, 2c ]
CD912 checks.
antcam49 checks.
Tonynlily checks.
vennesla checks.
CptBeat checks.
** Dealing Turn ** : [ 6s ]
CD912 checks.
antcam49 checks.
Tonynlily checks.
vennesla checks.
CptBeat checks.
** Dealing River ** : [ Qh ]
CD912 bets (200)
antcam49 folds.
Tonynlily folds.
vennesla folds.
CptBeat folds.
** Summary **
Main Pot: 350
Board: [ 6h 9c 2c 6s Qh ]
Maris009 balance 800, didn't bet (folded)
vennesla balance 770, lost 30 (folded)
CptBeat balance 770, lost 30 (folded)
duckplucker2 balance 800, didn't bet (folded)
CD912 balance 920, bet 230, collected 350, net +120
antcam49 balance 770, lost 30 (folded)
phreaux balance 800, didn't bet (folded)
Tonynlily balance 770, lost 30 (folded)
FD_its_me_gl balance 800, didn't bet (folded)
makro111 balance 800, didn't bet (folded)

***** Hand History for Game 2191122347 *****
15/30 TourneyTexasHTGameTable (NL) (Tournament 13004325) - Sat Jun 11 15:38:04 EDT 2005
Table Table 11229 (Real Money) -- Seat 5 is the button
Total number of players : 10
Seat 1: Maris009 (800)
Seat 2: vennesla (770)
Seat 3: CptBeat (770)
Seat 4: duckplucker2 (800)
Seat 5: CD912 (920)
Seat 6: antcam49 (770)
Seat 7: phreaux (800)
Seat 8: Tonynlily (770)
Seat 9: FD_its_me_gl (800)
Seat 10: makro111 (800)
antcam49 posts small blind (10)
phreaux posts big blind (15)
** Dealing down cards **
Dealt to phreaux [ Qh, Qc ]
Tonynlily folds.
FD_its_me_gl calls (15)
makro111 raises (30) to 30
Maris009 calls (30)
vennesla folds.
CptBeat calls (30)
duckplucker2 calls (30)
CD912 folds.
antcam49 calls (20)
phreaux raises (785) to 800
phreaux is all-In.
FD_its_me_gl folds.
makro111 calls (770)
makro111 is all-In.
Maris009 folds.
CptBeat folds.
duckplucker2 folds.
antcam49 folds.
Creating Main Pot with $1735 with phreaux,makro111
** Dealing Flop ** : [ Qs, 3s, 8h ]
** Dealing Turn ** : [ Qd ]
** Dealing River ** : [ Ah ]
** Summary **
Main Pot: 1735
Board: [ Qs 3s 8h Qd Ah ]
Maris009 balance 770, lost 30 (folded)
vennesla balance 770, didn't bet (folded)
CptBeat balance 740, lost 30 (folded)
duckplucker2 balance 770, lost 30 (folded)
CD912 balance 920, didn't bet (folded)
antcam49 balance 740, lost 30 (folded)
phreaux balance 1735, bet 800, collected 1735, net +935 [ Qh Qc ] [ four of a kind, queens -- Ah,Qh,Qc,Qs,Qd ]
Tonynlily balance 770, didn't bet (folded)
FD_its_me_gl balance 785, lost 15 (folded)
makro111 balance 0, lost 800 [ 9d Ac ] [ two pairs, aces and queens -- Ac,Ah,Qs,Qd,9d ]

***** Hand History for Game 2191126216 *****
makro111 finished in tenth place.
CD912: OOOOO
CD912: omg
duckplucker2: vnh
15/30 TourneyTexasHTGameTable (NL) (Tournament 13004325) - Sat Jun 11 15:38:58 EDT 2005
Table Table 11229 (Real Money) -- Seat 6 is the button
Total number of players : 9
Seat 1: Maris009 (770)
Seat 2: vennesla (770)
Seat 3: CptBeat (740)
Seat 4: duckplucker2 (770)
Seat 5: CD912 (920)
Seat 6: antcam49 (740)
Seat 7: phreaux (1735)
Seat 8: Tonynlily (770)
Seat 9: FD_its_me_gl (785)
phreaux posts small blind (10)
Tonynlily posts big blind (15)
** Dealing down cards **
Dealt to phreaux [ Ac, Qc ]
FD_its_me_gl folds.
Maris009 calls (15)
vennesla calls (15)
CptBeat folds.
duckplucker2 folds.
CD912 folds.
antcam49 folds.
phreaux raises (1725) to 1735
phreaux is all-In.
Tonynlily folds.
Maris009 folds.
duckplucker2: texas sizwd, lol
vennesla calls (755)
vennesla is all-In.
Creating Main Pot with $1570 with vennesla
Creating Side Pot 1 with $965 with phreaux
** Dealing Flop ** : [ 6d, 8s, Td ]
** Dealing Turn ** : [ 6h ]
** Dealing River ** : [ Ah ]
** Summary **
Main Pot: 1570 Side Pot 1: 965
Board: [ 6d 8s Td 6h Ah ]
Maris009 balance 755, lost 15 (folded)
vennesla balance 0, lost 770 [ Qd Ks ] [ a pair of sixes -- Ah,Ks,Qd,6d,6h ]
CptBeat balance 740, didn't bet (folded)
duckplucker2 balance 770, didn't bet (folded)
CD912 balance 920, didn't bet (folded)
antcam49 balance 740, didn't bet (folded)
phreaux balance 2535, bet 1735, collected 2535, net +800 [ Ac Qc ] [ two pairs, aces and sixes -- Ac,Ah,Qc,6d,6h ]
Tonynlily balance 755, lost 15 (folded)
FD_its_me_gl balance 785, didn't bet (folded)

***** Hand History for Game 2191129038 *****
vennesla finished in ninth place.
15/30 TourneyTexasHTGameTable (NL) (Tournament 13004325) - Sat Jun 11 15:39:38 EDT 2005
Table Table 11229 (Real Money) -- Seat 7 is the button
Total number of players : 8
Seat 1: Maris009 (755)
Seat 3: CptBeat (740)
Seat 4: duckplucker2 (770)
Seat 5: CD912 (920)
Seat 6: antcam49 (740)
Seat 7: phreaux (2535)
Seat 8: Tonynlily (755)
Seat 9: FD_its_me_gl (785)
Tonynlily posts small blind (10)
FD_its_me_gl posts big blind (15)
** Dealing down cards **
Dealt to phreaux [ Qd, Ts ]
Maris009 folds.
CptBeat folds.
duckplucker2 folds.
CD912 folds.
antcam49 calls (15)
phreaux raises (2535) to 2535
phreaux is all-In.
Tonynlily folds.
FD_its_me_gl folds.
antcam49 folds.
Creating Main Pot with $2575 with phreaux
** Summary **
Main Pot: 2575
Maris009 balance 755, didn't bet (folded)
CptBeat balance 740, didn't bet (folded)
duckplucker2 balance 770, didn't bet (folded)
CD912 balance 920, didn't bet (folded)
antcam49 balance 725, lost 15 (folded)
phreaux balance 2575, bet 2535, collected 2575, net +40
Tonynlily balance 745, lost 10 (folded)
FD_its_me_gl balance 770, lost 15 (folded)

***** Hand History for Game 2191130550 *****
duckplucker2: on a rush, tex
15/30 TourneyTexasHTGameTable (NL) (Tournament 13004325) - Sat Jun 11 15:39:59 EDT 2005
Table Table 11229 (Real Money) -- Seat 8 is the button
Total number of players : 8
Seat 1: Maris009 (755)
Seat 3: CptBeat (740)
Seat 4: duckplucker2 (770)
Seat 5: CD912 (920)
Seat 6: antcam49 (725)
Seat 7: phreaux (2575)
Seat 8: Tonynlily (745)
Seat 9: FD_its_me_gl (770)
FD_its_me_gl posts small blind (10)
Maris009 posts big blind (15)
** Dealing down cards **
Dealt to phreaux [ Qc, As ]
CptBeat folds.
duckplucker2 folds.
CD912 folds.
antcam49 folds.
phreaux raises (2575) to 2575
phreaux is all-In.
Tonynlily folds.
FD_its_me_gl folds.
Maris009 folds.
Creating Main Pot with $2600 with phreaux
** Summary **
Main Pot: 2600
Maris009 balance 740, lost 15 (folded)
CptBeat balance 740, didn't bet (folded)
duckplucker2 balance 770, didn't bet (folded)
CD912 balance 920, didn't bet (folded)
antcam49 balance 725, didn't bet (folded)
phreaux balance 2600, bet 2575, collected 2600, net +25

Anytime you go all in 4 of the first 5 hands, winning all 4; picking up 1/3 of the TCs in the first 3 hands, it is easy to win the tournament. I won it quickly. You should have seen the chat box:

"idiot"
"lemme guess..all in"
"did your mom teach you that?"

I responded to the last one with, "no, your mom did" And then he busted out.

Watch out CCM...I'm on fire!


(1) comments

Posted by Dr Fro 11:51 AM
I am in my best poker form ever. I feel like Rocky in the 2nd half of Rocky IV where he decides that doing situps in Siberia will help him get over Ivan Drago. I haven't had a losing session in a while and as I type this I just got JJ on the button. ... Ok, I just won it w/o seeing the flop. Harrington's book changed my game and mentally I am at 100%. No work distractions, just focus, focus, focus.

The reason I say this is there are a few blog readers with whom I will play tonight. Not only do I have my lucky chip back and not only am I fit as a fiddle (poker-wise), John Kryptonite Kleckner won't be around. He is the grim to my yang. He is the OU to my UT. He is the Woods to my Mickelson, the Swiftboat Veterans for Truth to my Kerry. He is my Achille's heel and my Waterloo. point made?

With him out of the picture, I am predicting massive victory. Look for updates tomorrow.


(2) comments

Posted by Dr Fro 11:44 AM
Is this Matusow after the $1,500 NL event at the WSOP or John Greene after losing to Canonico holding J4o?


(0) comments

Posted by Dr Fro 10:09 AM
Yummy


(0) comments

Posted by Johnnymac 3:27 PM
Padilla sends word that he has been confirmed to play on Saturday the 9th, which is 'Day 1C' of the tournament but really the third day of competition. My response to his email was "Here's to Monday!" but that was a mistake as 'Day 2' is really Sunday... So here's to Sunday instead.

Also, he would like to talk to anyone who has some multi-table advice for him. The advice I give him is to read Harrington's book (which he says he's already done) and then to read TJ's book. If anyone else wants to help be a coach, check out his email below.

-------------------------------
-----Original Message-----
From: Michael Padilla [mailto:padillamichael-@-hotmail.com]
To: Johnnymac
Subject: RE: wsop shares

A word from your horse...

Ok guys & gals, the money is away. I am now waiting on confirmation that will hopefully tell me I'm starting Day 1 on Saturday the 9th. (So I can say I beat thousands of other players)

Though confident (to a fault) in playing the single table tourneys, I'm not so confident in my abilities in these big multi's. Well, lack of confidence isn't a problem, but my history isn't stellar. A few final tables and a few bubbles, but not much more in anything with more than 5 tables. I am willing to listen to or sort through different opinions. I just finished Harrington on Hold 'Em and consider it the best poker book ever. I wonder how more aggressive players feel about it though, as I wouldn't be surprised to hear that it seemed a bit tight for some. If there are better NL tourney books (or just tourney books) out there, let me know. I have the Daugherty/McEvoy satellite book also, which helped me money in a double shootout in 2004.

Finally, I'll take this opportunity to thank John, Mark, and Craig for the site and the idea of holding the tournament. For the price, it's a cheap thrill, but nothing like Swank's business lunches. Barring the heat, I think we can all agree that it was well run and organized.

Find me at padillamichael-@-hotmail.com

-------------------------------

(His 'heat' comment refers to Canonico's house last Saturday for games 9 & 10. I thought we would be ok, but that little house doesn't have the strongest air conditioning in the world and 20 sitting guys in one room quickly overwhelmed it. It wasn't completely unbearable - we survived - but it was probably the biggest breakdown of the Tourney. Yet another thing to add to the things to correct for next year)


(3) comments

Posted by Dr Fro 1:13 PM
There have been a lot of poker articles lately worth mentioning from the Daniel Negreanu piece in the NY Times to the Doyle interview in Bluff and DMN to the SI article on college kids playing online to the Rolling Stone article on the Crew. Much has been written on the Crew and on Dutch in particular. I think that this one gives some new insight. Reading the last few paragraphs makes me wonder if either the writer can't write or if Fischman is a lunatic. I am pretty sure the latter is the case.

I think the article does a good job of pointing out how self serving poker is how self service is the natural enemy of the community the Crew tried to be (this is the natural state of poker that I recently lamented.)

Dutch is a freak but I cut him a little bit of slack. The disservice he did customers was not intentional, and that is a key point. Another key point is that he first got screwed by the credit card processing company. That is, Dutch didn't run off with everyone's money. There was no more money. Dutch is probably better labeled a failed businessman than a con artist. I know that ignores the month or so he continued operations after the sh1t hit the fan, but that only delayed and expanded the problem. Had he declared bankruptcy and folded a month earlier, there would simply be fewer people pissed off.

But he is crazy and that is a fact. Not to sound to unsympathetic to a person with a diagnosed illness, but mental illness has one thing in common with physical illness that we have to be honest about: you can't absolutely avoid illnes, but you can make decisions that reduce the risk and severity of illness. People that eat well and exercise get sick less than people who don't. People who live life on the edge are more likely to suffer mental illness. Trust me, if I had never met Jane, I would have continued on a path that would have almost surely landed me in a padded room. I have made decisions that reduce that likelihood and Dutch can (or could have) too.

Overall it was interesting and thanks to Iggy for the link.

I wonder why they chose to spotlight those 7 youngsters rather than the 4 good looking studs on this blog? Hmmm...

More on the SI article later.


(1) comments

Posted by Dr Fro 8:51 PM
Life has really turned around since I got that chip back. I won $285 at Jackie's then $20 at Byron's house, about $50 at Party Poker and then tonight I won another $112 at Jackie's.

Unfortunately, I could have won a lot more. I had 66 and the turn showed 3376 w three diamonds. It was heads up with $90 in the pot. I checked my boat to Roy, who ALWAYS bets in that position. He bet $40. I thought forever about what to do. Assuming he was on a steal, I decided to wait to pop it on the river. Plus, maybe he had 1 diamond and would make his flush on the river and pay me off big time. What is the worst that could happen with a smooth call? The check raise would give my hand away.

River was a 3. SHEEEEEEEEET. I bet $40 into the $170 pot and he folds, showing me the nut flush. Any 6, 7 or pocket pair now makes a boat to beat his flush. It is weird to label a victory as a "bad beat" but this was. Had that 3 not come, it would have been payday - he had about $400 and I had him covered.

I was hoping he would catch up a little bit when I called. I still havent figured it out if I would play that same hand differently the next time.


(4) comments

Posted by Dr Fro 9:50 AM
Natalie Portman turned 24 today. That makes her 75% my age.

I used to think that all the fuss over her was from guys that have their own stormtrooper outfit in the closet and know how to speak Greedo. That all changed when I rented Closer. If you are a guy and you are not gay, you have to rent Closer. If you want, skip all scenes and go to the part where she is at the strip club. It is a 10-15 minute scene that will change your life. If you are a guy and you are gay, I warn you that watching this scene will turn you hetero.


(8) comments

Posted by Dr Fro 9:44 AM
The response to our proposed online tournament has been overwhelming. So far there is me and, and.... um... (chirp, chirp.... crickets .....) well just me. I really fancy my chances at placing in the money, though.

I think the post quickly fell down the blog as there were so many posts related to our $12,000 WSOP qualifier. I have learned that PokerStars does not give referral bonuses, but you do get a sign up bonus. So, sign up! Then let me know if you are in for a tournament.


(2) comments

Posted by Junelli 4:54 PM
Absolutely brutal.

***** Hand History for Game 2176090507 *****
3/6 TexasHTGameTable (Limit) - Wed Jun 08 17:49:37 EDT 2005
Table Table 25532 (Real Money) -- Seat 4 is the button
Total number of players : 10
Seat 1: simonmaskil ( $172)
Seat 2: JasperDaniel ( $145)
Seat 3: TtheTIGER ( $138.5)
Seat 4: gnodal ( $114.39)
Seat 5: EzTheKid ( $109.5)
Seat 6: junell ( $183.5)
Seat 7: snosbrries ( $172)
Seat 8: ocean55 ( $117)
Seat 9: them_Apples ( $157.35)
Seat 10: PartyToad ( $201)
EzTheKid posts small blind (1)
junell posts big blind (3)
** Dealing down cards **
Dealt to junell [ 6s, Td ] - A dogshit hand, but hopefully I'll get to limp.
snosbrries raises (6) to 6. - Doh! Oh well. Hopefully a bunch of people will call giving me the odds to come in.
ocean55 folds.
them_Apples folds.
PartyToad folds.
simonmaskil folds.
JasperDaniel calls (6)
TtheTIGER folds.
gnodal folds.
EzTheKid folds.
Not exactly what I had in mind. Oh well, I'll donate $3. Let's see a flop.
junell calls (3)
** Dealing Flop ** : [ Tc, 6d, 5d ] - That's what I'm talking about!! Top 2 pair on a dogshit flop! I'm dancing at my computer now. I can't wait to crack it off in him!!
junell checks. - Here comes the trap baby!!
snosbrries bets (3) - Come on in, the water's warm!
JasperDaniel folds.
junell raises (6) to 6 - My first checkraise.
snosbrries raises (6) to 9 - Hahaha! You're AA or KK is no good baby! You're going down!!
junell calls (3) - I'll just smooth call so I can entice a second check raise on the turn!!
** Dealing Turn ** : [ 6h ] - That's what daddy's talkin' about! Full House baby! I immediately think of Friou's "Housin'" soundtrack!
junell checks. - Here comes the checkraise baby. Take the bait!
snosbrries bets (6) - Yes! Sucker!! Laughing all the way to the bank!
junell raises (12) to 12 - Call that motherfucker!!
snosbrries raises (12) to 18 - What? You wanna raise me? Don't you know I have a full house??
junell raises (12) to 24 - Well let's cap it. Daddy's gonna get paid on this one!!
snosbrries calls (6)
** Dealing River ** : [ 2c ]
junell bets (6) - One last round to build my pot.
snosbrries raises (12) to 12 - Hahaha! What an idiot!!
junell raises (12) to 18 - Let's make it 3 bets!
snosbrries raises (12) to 24 - Oh you wanna make it 4? No problem!!
junell calls (6)
** Summary **
Main Pot: $130 | Rake: $3
Board: [ Tc 6d 5d 6h 2c ]
simonmaskil balance $172, didn't bet (folded)
JasperDaniel balance $139, lost $6 (folded)
TtheTIGER balance $138.5, didn't bet (folded)
gnodal balance $114.39, didn't bet (folded)
EzTheKid balance $108.5, lost $1 (folded)

junell balance $120.5, lost $63 [ 6s Td ] [ a full house, Sixes full of tens -- Td,Tc,6s,6d,6h ]

snosbrries balance $239, bet $63, collected $130, net +$67
[ Ts Th ] [ a full house, Tens full of sixes -- Ts,Th,Tc,6d,6h ]
ocean55 balance $117, didn't bet (folded)
them_Apples balance $157.35, didn't bet (folded)
PartyToad balance $201, didn't bet (folded)

FUCK!
DADDY NO LIKE!


(6) comments

Posted by Junelli 3:45 PM
It seems that yet another cocksucker has stolen my plans to sell on Ebay.


(5) comments

Posted by Junelli 3:42 PM
What a difference a day makes...




(3) comments

Posted by Junelli 2:03 PM
I found a better outfit for Padilla to wear at the WSOP...




(1) comments

Posted by Junelli 9:44 PM
The coldest session of my online career...




(0) comments

Posted by Johnnymac 6:31 PM
I just received an inquiry from a guy who needs some dealers for a small charity tournament this Friday night. I am assuming that there is no cash in the game and that it's legal and whatnot, so all they are offering to pay the dealers is a plate of barbecue and beer for the evening. I know it doesn't sound like much but charity is always a good thing and I can think of worse ways to "give back," so to speak. In fact, I would do it if I were in town and not going fishing this weekend, but I can't so I am putting out an inquiry to the IAG family.

So if you are interested shoot me an email (the address is on the right) and I will put you in touch with the organizers.


(3) comments

Posted by Junelli 1:17 PM
You can find/order Copag cards here


I ordered 3 sets of Copag cards from this Seller, and everything was great. Here are his listings.


(2) comments

Posted by Johnnymac 11:23 AM
Not that we would make him wear it, and the price is too high right now to make an order, but if we can come up with a more suitable design that's cheaper (ie one color) I might have to ask Padilla to do some advertising.



The back of the shirt is a suggestion from Baird... but I like it.


(0) comments

Posted by Johnnymac 10:28 AM
I just found out that USPC decided to discontinue Kem's old policy of replacing damaged single cards and after some searching this morning it appears that the retailer who sold me my new set of Arrows back in March (Kardwell) doesn't offer any sort of a warranty. This is bad because as he was shuffling after a hand on Sunday, Baird noticed that the Jack of clubs in my blue deck had been slightly torn on one side. The deck is relatively worthless now unless I can replace that one card. Damn.

So I found a guy selling a brand new set on Ebay for $21. This is the cheapest price I can find, but it still seems a little steep to have to completely replace after only about 25 hours of play something that is designed to last "thousands" of hours.

Now back to your happy and normally upbeat poker blog.


(1) comments

Posted by Johnnymac 2:12 PM


OK, this is preliminary, but I think it's right. If anyone notices any discrepancies or wants to check my work, be my guest. Send me an email and I'll forward you the excel file.

A few things to note:

- The sharing calculation can be found in Rule #1.8 of the official rules. To summarize it, if Padilla wins anything, a portion (I think 28%) will be withheld by the IRS. Of the part that's left, he keeps everything up to $20,000 and whatever is left above $20,000 gets shared among the participants: Padilla gets 90%, each of the other nine final table participants gets 1%, and everyone else who played in the tournament shares the remaining 1% (90% + 9% + 1% = 100%).

- The guys who bought out the empty seat at Table #10 get an extra 1/9th of a share. It's very very minimal, but it's still equity.

- My deal with Kirk Belch was to purchase his seat at the final table and his interest in the WSOP share for that seat. This is why I show Kirk as having one win but a 0% share. I presume that John Robertson's deal with Rick was similar, but since John played more than once he still has two more shares left besides his final table share.

- I realize that this is all pie-in-sky and that, despite his efforts and his abilities, it is more likely that Padilla will come back to Houston empty-handed than with any money to share. The field is just too big and, despite running all of us over, he's still just an amature. So before we get any anonymous flames here, let me say that we know this is probably all theoretical but I would rather get it set now than fight about it in a month. Just in case. (ha ha)

- Finally, the following restrictions are in place if we somehow end up having something to share: Michael will not come looking for you (don't worry, he'll be easy to get in touch with) and you have to collect it by the end of 2005.

So now that that's all said, the list is posted below. We probably won't win anything, but it's going to at least be fun (and more interesting) cheering for someone we know and we might even see him on TV.



Incidentally, Michael Padilla isn't the only person on this list going to play in the WSOP main event. Michael Marx played on the first night of the tournament and then shortly thereafter he won a seat through an online qualifier, so he'll be there too. He didn't play in our tournament again because he didn't need us. Congratulations to him as well.


(1) comments

Posted by Johnnymac 11:57 AM


Let's wrap this up... for now.



Thanks to everyone who played in the tournament and supported us either through the website or by coming out to watch or lending us their homes or other material help. It was all very appreciated. I am sure that Padilla will represent us well in Las Vegas and I am anxious to get to be able to say that I have a piece of a guy at the WSOP and that this little 'ole website is "sponsoring" someone at the biggest tournament of all. Goodness.

It was nice meeting all of the nice guys (and a few girls) who played with us, too. A lot of people have asked to get on our distribution for future tournaments and for any friendly games, so you definitely will be added. I don't know how Junell's marriage will affect his regular poker game, but I'm sure he will get started up again, and then there's always the garage game, which itself will resume once I live up to my promise to Mrs Johnnymac to finish remodeling our guest bathroom before I play poker again.

Besides blogging Padilla's participation in the WSOP next month, there are two more posts I want to do about this tournament: 1.) I need to publish the final "shares" of Padilla's winnings in Vegas, if there are any, (I am waiting for my calculations to be second checked first) and 2.) If we do this again next year there are a few things that can probably be changed for the better and there's enough of them that I have thought of and that other people have suggested that we could make a whole post out of the topic. So I will. In the meantime, if you have any suggestions yourself before then, please shoot me an email.

As far as my participation yesterday, I can't complain. I got all of my chips into the pot preflop with a high pair (QQ) versus a lower pair (99) and he had to catch up by making his set on the river. Had I doubled up I would have been close to 2nd place in chips and the dynamics of the game would have changed a lot, but that's poker. I'm glad it was the eventual winner, which is good, and at least I didn't have to deal with the awkward circumstances of winning my own tournament. (Not that it would have stopped me or anything.)

Anyway, the tourney is done now. It was fun and it was very successful and for the umpteenth time, the four of us here at IAG appreciate your help and support.

And to the nice anonymous guy who left the "This is never going to happen" comment within 10 minutes after we first announced this tourney... I invite you to go back and read all of the posts over the past 2 months and then accept my sincere invitation to fuck off.

Thanks guys. We'll do it again next year.




(0) comments

Posted by Johnnymac 7:16 PM




We are done. Congratulations to Padilla, I know he'll represent us well. (Look at all that money! He had better!)

I'll write a long post tomorrow (ala the Fall tourney) but for now I need to unwind and mow the lawn. Mrs Johnnymac deserves some attention because she was such a good sport all through this, especially so this weekend. Thank you, Rachel, and thanks also to all of you guys for making this work.

More tomorrow. A lot more.


(0) comments

Posted by Dr Fro 1:53 PM


Padilla won with AKs v A5. Congratulations. Details to follow...

6:19
Padilla starting to pull away.

5:44
Thad just flopped AAA and won a big pot.

5:35
Thad is pulling ahead.

5:32
Swank got 6th. J Greene got 5th when his QQ lost to 99 on the river. Tony got 4th and Daly got third. It is heads up with Thad and Padilla near even in chips.

3:52
Dr Fro is headed to the gym w Mrs Dr Fro - no updates for the nxt hour.

3:51
Padilla flopped a boat and his buddy Byron flopped a set. Byron got eliminated. At least we know the two friends weren't colluding!! Padilla has massive stack. Size matters.

3:50
Johnnymac just double thru Rick Daly w a King high flush vs a baby flush. Bodes well for J for sure but all are happy to see Rick's stack shrink.

3:37
Sal is out. Daly, the favorite, is starting to roll.

3:12
John Tugwell has been eliminated. Chip leader is Mike Padilla followed by Thad Davis. Nobody is on life support. The break is almost over.

2:05
Beau Ryan eliminated. He had AA and lost to 2 guys, each with a Q-hi str8.

1:51
It's 1:51 and the game has been on for almost an hour. No real movements in stacks. Rick Daly bought John Robertson's seat. Check in here today and I will keep you posted on results. I will make all updates to this one blog entry, so be sure to hit "refresh."


(0) comments

Posted by Johnnymac 9:43 PM


The final table is set! Byron Cox drove all the way from Dallas to get a seat in the tournament this weekend and his trip proved worthwhile. He outlasted his friend and fellow Dallas resident Mike Pope in the end and won the first table this afternoon. Following Byron's win, Tony Ford proved that the third time is a charm as he finally made his way to the final table. Tony's win came at the expense of Pete Rangel, who played very well but eventually was overtaken by the blinds when the cards chose an inopportune time to go cold. Tony's win is also notable that he wasn't even signed up to play this afternoon - he only came when another player gave up his seat and Tony was available to play. Tony now has the distinction of being the player at the final table who tried the most times to get there. Good for him that it worked out.

Incidentally, Byron's win threw a monkey wrench into the final game of the first round because he was also signed up to play in that game, too. Since he won we had to find a replacement player and we couldn't, so the other players chose to buy-out his seat for $10 apiece. This means that the final price pool will be $30 short and pursuant to the rules that difference will come out of the eventual winners travel funds.

Byron and Tony will both be playing with us tomorrow afternoon. If you want to come out and check on the action (and maybe get a little action yourself in a side game), send me an email and I'll get you set up with directions.

Table #9 (start time 06/04/05 2:16pm - 123 minutes)

1. Byron Cox
2. Mike Pope
3. Merrily Mann
4. Pablo Brito
5. Mr. G
6. Fred Willumsen
7. Frank Moreno
8. Barry Kraus
9. Juan Miranda
10. Javier Gonzalez

Table #10 (start time 06/04/05 4:43pm - 117 minutes)

1. Tony Ford
2. Pete Rangel
3. Jeff Brannen
4. Cliff Tubbs
5. Randy Brown
6. Charles Dunshie
7. Mr. G
8. Charles Fuqua
9. Mike Pope
10. (bought out)

Good luck to everyone tomorrow!


(2) comments

Posted by Dr Fro 6:35 PM
I found this site, which is one of many specializing in databases of online players. I think it only keeps track of 1 table SnGs on Party Poker. Look at the free samples. Their history doesn't go back very far, because it only showed me with 1 win, and I had won twice in the past week. I won 1 and lost 2 today, so I guess I am at 50%, which they call "Pro". Junell is a pro, too. Interesting that he has managed to play 11 SnGs in his first week of marriage. Are those hours billable, Junior?


(3) comments

Posted by Dr Fro 9:31 AM

from poker forum

(0) comments

Posted by Junelli 1:56 PM
From the mailbag...

======================
From: Binions
To: Junelli
Date: 6/3/05

Hey Mark

Hope the wedding and honeymoon were great.

I have approached *** about hosting a unique
game at the Dirty Zebra. Basically, it starts off as
limit Omaha, and thru a pineapple-style ends up as no
limit Holdem (with pot limit betting in between on the
turn). It was invented by Rolf Slotboom, Cardplayer
writer. Here are the rules:

**********************

Potnopine Hold'em Rules:
by Rolf Slotboom

Before the flop:

* Two blinds ($2-5; $5-10, etc.), each player gets
four cards
* Betting round # 1: limit betting, just like in limit
hold'em or limit Omaha
* After betting, each player releases one card (three
cards left)

Flop:

* Betting round # 2: double limit betting ($10
increments for $2-5 blinds, $20 for $5-10 blinds,
etc.)
* After betting, each player releases one additional
card (two hole cards left, just like in regular
hold'em)

Turn:

* Betting round # 3: pot-limit betting; it is possible
to bet any amount up to the size of the pot

River:

* Betting round # 4: no-limit betting; everybody can
bet any amount he or she wishes
* Best 5 card hand wins (high only); players can use 1
or 2 cards from their hand or play the board just like
hold'em

*** is interested in trying this new game out in his
new card room. Several players have already expressed interest. If you are interested, let *** know.
Also, feel free to post this on IAG.

Binions


(0) comments

Posted by Junelli 5:14 PM


This is my favorite picture from the honeymoon. In my mind, it says a thousand words about life in the Virgin Islands. Our captain Malcolm, clearly lives a laid back lifestyle. He was born on Virgin Gorda and has been working for Little Dix Bay since the first day it opened in 1964. 41 years of cruising around the Bays sounds pretty good to me...


(3) comments

Posted by Dr Fro 1:51 PM
The street heats the urgency of sound. As you see there's no-one around..

I spend a lot of time sleeping on airplanes. I also spend a lot of time sleeping in my own bed. Sometimes, I over-serve myself with Scottish malt whisky and doze off on the sofa. I've been known to fall asleep with my eyes open while at work.

When I was 18, approximately 99% of my thoughts while dozing off surrounded sex. Now I am 32. With rare exception, I spend all of my dozing moments thinking about poker. When I was 18, I never fantasized about getting turned down by Holly Davis. At 32, I don't dream about losing big hands.

In my dreams, I am one helluva poker player. My big wins typically take place in a huge cash game. For reasons that are not clear, they always take place in front of a large crowd, all of which are cheering for me. The baby-killing, puppy kicking, Jesus-hating Communist that loses to me has no friends in the bleachers surrounding our game.

My great dream moments are, in a very MTV-like fashion, accompanied by a great soundtrack. There was the time that my full house beat an ace-high flush and Rage Against the Machine's "I'm Housin'!" came over the speakers. The chorus came around as I verbally declared my hand. The crowd was very impressed. I high fived all of my friends and went home with a stripper.

I have had great dream moments in tournaments where I made an all-in bet while holding the nuts on the river. Franz Ferdinand started playing. Again, my actions were synchronized with the lyrics. I started taunting my doomed opponent with the lyrics "Take me out" to induce a call. He called and I decided to hesitate for dramatic effect before singing "I won't be leaving here...I won't be leaving here...WITH YOU". I showed my hands and it was all high fives and praise for my bravado. I stood on the table and announce to all that I am the most ass-kicking dude in the universe and they all agreed. Just to prove it, I jumped at my opponent (ala the first episode of Tilt) and beat the turd out of him. "Nothing but the finest meats and cheeses in all the land for my men."

But I always wake up to find that the real world has little in common with my dream world. No high fives, strippers, soundtracks, meats, cheeses or applause. As a matter of fact, each big win is usually followed by a low growl by all opponents. The insincerity in the rare "nice hand" is palpable. In many pursuits in life, you receive a lot of positive feedback for doing well. At work, you may get a raise, bonus or promotion. In bowling, a high five is standard for all strikes and spares. Paint a nice painting and somebody is bound to tell you "good work". In poker, your only reward is money. Since teaming is against the rules, all other players at the table are by definition rooting against you. It is a zero net sum game, so every dollar you take home is a dollar they don't. The players may be very nice people, but they don't want you to win.

This partially explains why poker has always drawn more than its fair share of loners and freaks. People that are used to positive reinforcement for a job well done can't enjoy poker. People that have always disengaged themselves from the rest of society aren't discouraged by the lack of positive reinforcement; they go their whole life without it and don't notice when it is missing.

I am not talking about the friendly poker game on Thursday night with your work friends. When the objective is more social than competitive, there will be plenty of positive social interaction. But the more serious poker game leaves you with two options - 1) lose or 2) win and have all the people you just spent the last 5 hours with wishing you hadn't won (in other words, resenting your success). This seems like a Catch-22 to me.

So, what to do about this conundrum? Nothing really. I enjoy poker and I love making money at it. I get in plenty social games, too, and the competitive games don't bring me down. It would be nice if they were more like my dreams, but I will take them as they are. I guess that makes me a freak or loner. I prefer freak.


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Posted by Johnnymac 7:32 AM



Table #8 is in the books and only one more day remains of first round action before Sunday's big final table. Beau Ryan was last night's winner after he squeaked ahead of John Courtney in what was probably one of the toughest beats in the tournament so far and definitely the best heads-up hand that the 2005 tournament has seen. John was dealt AQ - a monster hand heads up - and got all of his chips into the pot before the flop. But Beau got his chips into the pot too... he had AK! The flop didn't help John, but the 4th street sure did when he caught one of the three remaing queens in the deck. With only three outs left in the deck and just one card to come, Beau caught his miracle King on the river! John was left with a handful chips for one final hand and the tournament was soon over. Both players played very very well and it's unfortunate that only one could move on.

Just like Sal Garcia last month, Beau is a money winner from last November's IAG one-day tournament. Well, he won not just money... he won the whole tournament! Coincidence? Beau would disagree.

Table #8 (start time 06/01/05 7:05pm - 147 minutes)

1. Beau Ryan
2. John Courtney
3. Raj Joshi
4. John Robinson
5. Charles Dunshie
6. Chris Canonico
7. David Hock
8. Rick Daly
9. Frank Moreno
10. LeRoi Cochran

As of this writing on Thursday morning, there are still some seats left for Saturday's last day of first round qualifying to Sunday's final table. Please email me ASAP if you are interested in playing.

UPDATE:

What is Canonico thinking in this picture?


UPDATE #2:

Notice in the picture aboce that there is an empty space on the right side of the table. That was LeRoi Cochran's seat. He was the first one busted out. Not that am I am calling him out or trying to humiliate him, but I would like to point out that among the 7 people who have the honor of being knocked out first at all of the 7 tournament tables so far before last night, two of them held AA. Than came last night and LeRoi became the third! Even worse, LeRoi got all of his chips into the pot against someone with KK, and the KK drew out. Now THAT is a tough break.


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