This is a topic that is very near and dear to my heart, as I am pretty much always on the stupid side of them... in recent memory, I don't even remember the time when I was on the winning side... don't get me wrong, it's not that I have never won a hand coming from behind, but when my money goes in, I am generally aheads... sometimes i might only be slightly ahead, but ahead still... you get the picture...
But most often, I lose only when I am being handed one bad beat after another by the poker gods... and I don't complain that much about em as long as they happen once every 7-8 hands... but when they start happening every other hand or more importantly every key hand, I just blow a gasket... not in a going on tilt kind of way, but just being furious...
So, the question is what do you do when that happens... cuz, the problem is that if you are a half decent poker player, you will always be on the recieveing end and never on the giving end of stupid bad beats... I guess in a sense you can consider that as a compliment to your poker playing ability, but quite frankly I don't give a f**k about compliments when it comes to poker... all I care about is my bank roll and that it continues to grow...
So far in my short poker career, I have not come across any proven strategy to deal with them... some say yoga, or just go walk around for a bit before you start playing again... others say that the only real way to get over a bad beat is to hand it to someone else as well... but I don't think that is something that is actually in your control.... my personal half-baked solution is to just take it in stride and b*tch and curse in private if you must... take some time off from the game till you are mentally ready to start playing again...
Do you have any good technique ? would love to hear from anyone who has anything to offer... please leave a comment or two if you get a chance...
Wednesday, December 5, 2007
Monday, December 3, 2007
Playing the Drunk Maniac on his Lucky Day
Went to AC this weekend, and once again had a very long poker session... playing straight for 24-25 hours is an experience unlike any other, and I am happy to find out that I don't get as tired as you would think... may be I have chance to play in the WSOP some day...
There was a guy at our table that had the luckiest streak I have ever seen so far... (don't ask me why I didn't switch tables, probably should have at some point... but there was easy money on that table also...)
Anyway, this guy was drunk and raised every hand for about 7-8 hours... and I am not kidding... he would raise it pre-flop, bet about 75% of those hands on the flop and the turn, and pretty much move all-in on the river on about 60-70% of the hands he was in... what's surprising you ask... ? the surprising (and while it was happening, very frustrating) part is that he would always have the nuts... or close to that... and I am not talking just flush draws and straight draws coming through... I am talking hands like this...
the guy raises from middle position
flop comes A , K, 8 rainbow
he bets pot
turn comes 4 (making a flush possible)
he bets 50+% of the pot
river comes 6 (no flush)
he bets pot
now the other guy in this hand was a very conservative player and was calling his bets... pretty much everyone on the table knew he had atleast two pair or probably a set on the flop... so he calls... the lucky, drunk guy flips over 5-7 off-suit.... don't ask me how....
and this was just one example...
another hand...
on a board of A-Q-7, he pushes all in... one guy calls with his A-7... the drunk guy has Q-5 in his hand... guess what the turn and the river were... 5 and yes, another 5...
so anyway, this guy keeps making stupid bets and calls all night long, and kept getting lucky pretty much everytime... I called him with some good hands but the flops were just not coming my way... I kept thinking to myself, how long can this possibly go on... after all, how long can one person defy mathematics and laws of statistics...
and so he would raise, I would call with what seemed like a very good hand at the time, A-Q, A-J, A-10 suited, 9-9, J-J.... whatever.... but nothing, I was down almost $500 at one point without losing more than $15-20 in any particular hand against that guy... and for a while I kept on trying playing good poker against him... and was getting baffled as to why I just kept losing against him...
but then, I realized something that is actually obvious and I guess pretty much everyone knows it, but you forget it in the heat of the battle...
poker, has a factor of luck in it, a big factor... and the difference between a good player and a very good player is that the very good one knows when to get out of the way of a falling tree and just lay low for a while... after all, there are always other people on the table who are weak and you can simply play against them and make the night profitable...
so, lesson for the future... if you are up against a lucky, drunk guy... stay out of his way... poker is not a game of going head on against the biggest raging bull you find... it's a game of trampling little sheep that are always around....
There was a guy at our table that had the luckiest streak I have ever seen so far... (don't ask me why I didn't switch tables, probably should have at some point... but there was easy money on that table also...)
Anyway, this guy was drunk and raised every hand for about 7-8 hours... and I am not kidding... he would raise it pre-flop, bet about 75% of those hands on the flop and the turn, and pretty much move all-in on the river on about 60-70% of the hands he was in... what's surprising you ask... ? the surprising (and while it was happening, very frustrating) part is that he would always have the nuts... or close to that... and I am not talking just flush draws and straight draws coming through... I am talking hands like this...
the guy raises from middle position
flop comes A , K, 8 rainbow
he bets pot
turn comes 4 (making a flush possible)
he bets 50+% of the pot
river comes 6 (no flush)
he bets pot
now the other guy in this hand was a very conservative player and was calling his bets... pretty much everyone on the table knew he had atleast two pair or probably a set on the flop... so he calls... the lucky, drunk guy flips over 5-7 off-suit.... don't ask me how....
and this was just one example...
another hand...
on a board of A-Q-7, he pushes all in... one guy calls with his A-7... the drunk guy has Q-5 in his hand... guess what the turn and the river were... 5 and yes, another 5...
so anyway, this guy keeps making stupid bets and calls all night long, and kept getting lucky pretty much everytime... I called him with some good hands but the flops were just not coming my way... I kept thinking to myself, how long can this possibly go on... after all, how long can one person defy mathematics and laws of statistics...
and so he would raise, I would call with what seemed like a very good hand at the time, A-Q, A-J, A-10 suited, 9-9, J-J.... whatever.... but nothing, I was down almost $500 at one point without losing more than $15-20 in any particular hand against that guy... and for a while I kept on trying playing good poker against him... and was getting baffled as to why I just kept losing against him...
but then, I realized something that is actually obvious and I guess pretty much everyone knows it, but you forget it in the heat of the battle...
poker, has a factor of luck in it, a big factor... and the difference between a good player and a very good player is that the very good one knows when to get out of the way of a falling tree and just lay low for a while... after all, there are always other people on the table who are weak and you can simply play against them and make the night profitable...
so, lesson for the future... if you are up against a lucky, drunk guy... stay out of his way... poker is not a game of going head on against the biggest raging bull you find... it's a game of trampling little sheep that are always around....
Tuesday, October 23, 2007
Tournament Play
Playing big slick out of position against a big stack or the second biggest stack in case you are the big stack, is tricky business... play it very carefully...
I suggest the following...
1- don't raise... cuz if you do and he re-raises, you are screwed... you can't fold... and he might have cowboys or worse bullets... and you are out of position...
2- call the hand down if you hit an A or K... no need to play aggressive against the one person on the table who can really hurt you...
3- remember, in tournaments, your focus is on the small stacks and the weaker players... stay clear of the top 3 stacks as long as possible...
I suggest the following...
1- don't raise... cuz if you do and he re-raises, you are screwed... you can't fold... and he might have cowboys or worse bullets... and you are out of position...
2- call the hand down if you hit an A or K... no need to play aggressive against the one person on the table who can really hurt you...
3- remember, in tournaments, your focus is on the small stacks and the weaker players... stay clear of the top 3 stacks as long as possible...
Wednesday, October 17, 2007
What is a "Good" Poker Player ?
Poker is a fascinating game... if i had infinite amounts of money, i would play every hand and try to out play everyone on the table... every pot would be mine unless you have the nuts or you are willing to go all the way to the end to wrestle it out of my hands...
unfortunately, no one has infinte amounts of money... and that's not the point of poker anyway... calculating odds, making good reads and then trusting your instincts, patience, discipline, guts to pull the trigger... all of these combine to form the "good" poker player... and what does the good player do with all of these qualities ?
1- Create a table image of unpredictable aggression...
2- Wait for the right opportunities to exploit...
and then
3- Exploit the hell out of those opportunities when they present themselves...
on most days, most good players can do at least 2 out of 3 fairly well... and some days, they do all 3 really well...
so here's the rule from now on...
Spot weak players... and attack them mostly...
Spot strong players... and play back at them once or twice, so they back off...
Do not back away from gambles when you are ahead... even if you are not that far ahead...
unfortunately, no one has infinte amounts of money... and that's not the point of poker anyway... calculating odds, making good reads and then trusting your instincts, patience, discipline, guts to pull the trigger... all of these combine to form the "good" poker player... and what does the good player do with all of these qualities ?
1- Create a table image of unpredictable aggression...
2- Wait for the right opportunities to exploit...
and then
3- Exploit the hell out of those opportunities when they present themselves...
on most days, most good players can do at least 2 out of 3 fairly well... and some days, they do all 3 really well...
so here's the rule from now on...
Spot weak players... and attack them mostly...
Spot strong players... and play back at them once or twice, so they back off...
Do not back away from gambles when you are ahead... even if you are not that far ahead...
Monday, October 15, 2007
4th best Full Houses and 2nd best Flushes
Full Houses
On the river when you make a Full house that is not the best full house, never raise... in fact, any time when you have the 3rd or 4th best Full house, don't raise, just call... Why ?
because if you raise and the other person moves all-in, you have no choice but to call... even though you know you might be beat or even if you know you are probably beat... why else would that person raise ?
in all reality, all you can beat at that point is a "pure" bluff... and by that i mean the flush or the straight... for example...
$1-2 NL table at the Borgata, with Q-9 of spades in the big blind, i call middle position's standard raise ($12)...
flop comes Kc-Qh-7c... he checks, i check...
turn come 9c, making a fulsh draw on the board... not to mention the possible straight...
he checks again, i bet $15... he calls...
river comes another 9... he bets $20...
my gut told me not to raise, after all, he will only call or raise if he has me beat, so there is no more money for me to win there... but i had been card dead for a while and wanted to make some money... i raise to $60...
before i had finished putting chips in, he moves all-in... i had about $100 left and he has me covered... i have to call now...
what beats me... K-K, Q-Q, K-9... so i call...
he flips over K-K...
the point is, i can only win his last bet... if he has the straight or the flush or the A-9, he is not calling a raise... what am i hoping for, he has 9-7 or that he is stupid enough to call a raise with the straight or the flush ?
so... on the river, if you have the 3rd or 4th best boat, just call...
Flushes
here's the situation... same table, same stakes... i am in the big blind...
button raises to $12 (he had been raising his button pretty much every time...)
small blind calls... (he's been playing tight but has been getting frustrated for a while now)
i call with 10-9 spades...
flop comes A-K-J all spades!
small blind bets $20... i "reluctantly" call...
button raises to $80... small blind instantly moves all-in with $350...
i have around $450... just getting back to even after that stupid full house disaster... button has about $200 left, so if i call he might call as well... what do they have.... ?
Worst case - one has a set/two pair, the other has a pair with Qs as kicker... so, if they both call, i have to avoid the boat as well as a spade...
7 outs on the turn for the guy with the set... 10 outs on the river... i.e. if anything pairs, i am done... about 35% for him... 7 outs twice for the guy with the Qs to make the nut flush... about 30%... so there is a 35% chance my hand will hold... i am actually an underdog against two opponents combined... (35% Me vs. 65% Them)
if one guy has two pair instead of a set, he has 4 outs twice... about 18-19%... and the other guy has Qs, i am even money / very slight favorite to win this hand... (50+% Me vs. 45+% Them)
if one has a set and the other have two pair or both have sets... i am a 4-1 favorite at least, depending on what set and what two pair they have... but no combination has more than 20% chance to improve in that situation... (80% Me vs. 20% Them)
In short, anything but the worst case scenario, i am at least even money or a huge favorite... of course i could be drawing dead... so basically, this is the classic A-K facing a re-raise pre-flop scenario.... do you go all-in ? or do you wait for a better spot ?
I don't know... I chose to fold in this situation... You can't lose what you don't put in the middle...
I am beginning to realize that you don't win much either....
On the river when you make a Full house that is not the best full house, never raise... in fact, any time when you have the 3rd or 4th best Full house, don't raise, just call... Why ?
because if you raise and the other person moves all-in, you have no choice but to call... even though you know you might be beat or even if you know you are probably beat... why else would that person raise ?
in all reality, all you can beat at that point is a "pure" bluff... and by that i mean the flush or the straight... for example...
$1-2 NL table at the Borgata, with Q-9 of spades in the big blind, i call middle position's standard raise ($12)...
flop comes Kc-Qh-7c... he checks, i check...
turn come 9c, making a fulsh draw on the board... not to mention the possible straight...
he checks again, i bet $15... he calls...
river comes another 9... he bets $20...
my gut told me not to raise, after all, he will only call or raise if he has me beat, so there is no more money for me to win there... but i had been card dead for a while and wanted to make some money... i raise to $60...
before i had finished putting chips in, he moves all-in... i had about $100 left and he has me covered... i have to call now...
what beats me... K-K, Q-Q, K-9... so i call...
he flips over K-K...
the point is, i can only win his last bet... if he has the straight or the flush or the A-9, he is not calling a raise... what am i hoping for, he has 9-7 or that he is stupid enough to call a raise with the straight or the flush ?
so... on the river, if you have the 3rd or 4th best boat, just call...
Flushes
here's the situation... same table, same stakes... i am in the big blind...
button raises to $12 (he had been raising his button pretty much every time...)
small blind calls... (he's been playing tight but has been getting frustrated for a while now)
i call with 10-9 spades...
flop comes A-K-J all spades!
small blind bets $20... i "reluctantly" call...
button raises to $80... small blind instantly moves all-in with $350...
i have around $450... just getting back to even after that stupid full house disaster... button has about $200 left, so if i call he might call as well... what do they have.... ?
Worst case - one has a set/two pair, the other has a pair with Qs as kicker... so, if they both call, i have to avoid the boat as well as a spade...
7 outs on the turn for the guy with the set... 10 outs on the river... i.e. if anything pairs, i am done... about 35% for him... 7 outs twice for the guy with the Qs to make the nut flush... about 30%... so there is a 35% chance my hand will hold... i am actually an underdog against two opponents combined... (35% Me vs. 65% Them)
if one guy has two pair instead of a set, he has 4 outs twice... about 18-19%... and the other guy has Qs, i am even money / very slight favorite to win this hand... (50+% Me vs. 45+% Them)
if one has a set and the other have two pair or both have sets... i am a 4-1 favorite at least, depending on what set and what two pair they have... but no combination has more than 20% chance to improve in that situation... (80% Me vs. 20% Them)
In short, anything but the worst case scenario, i am at least even money or a huge favorite... of course i could be drawing dead... so basically, this is the classic A-K facing a re-raise pre-flop scenario.... do you go all-in ? or do you wait for a better spot ?
I don't know... I chose to fold in this situation... You can't lose what you don't put in the middle...
I am beginning to realize that you don't win much either....
Wednesday, October 10, 2007
Final Table of the 2007 WSOP
If you haven't seen the final table play yet, I suggest that you do right away. It has to be one of the worst games I have ever seen. The champ is an over-betting calling station who got lucky like no one's business. I don't know what prayers he was using and what the other guys were drinking, but they were just handing him money. I would love to play this guy for some serious cash. This just goes on to show that luck has such a huge affect on any given day. I personally think that they should change the format of the final table at the WSOP, some way to neutralize the luck factor somewhat. I mean, this guy Yang has to be one of the worst players I have seen. He keeps over betting with J-10, K-8, A-x... and keeps calling re-raises and keeps getting lucky... Poker can be disgustingly luck-oriented sometimes.
Tuesday, October 9, 2007
Tells
This is a topic that will be of interest forever, and it will always be evolving as people discover more and more tells... not to mention the fact that as players get better and better, they start faking them... so far, i have discovered the following tells from personal experience...
Strength
1- if someone starts making odd bets i.e. non- round numbers e.g. 1,475 or 2,150... they are definitely strong... they have something very close to the nuts and will call an all-in bet... so go ahead and put them all-in if you have the nuts... otherwise fold...
2- after making a bet, if someone starts looking around for their drink or the waitress or simply is not paying attention to what you are doing, they definitely have a strong hand and will call an all-in bet... conversely, if they start doing that before they bet or before you have bet, they are about to fold... it just shows that they have already made up their mind... obviously if they bet and have made up their mind, they are strong...
3- when people start breathing heavy, it's because their heart is beating fast which generally means that they have a strong hand... you'll know it when you see it, you'll see their chest rise significantly at a fairly high pace... same as shaky hands...
4- if someone keeps checking their hole cards, they have a monster...
5- minimum raise i.e. twice the blind or twice the amount you bet... is almost always a tell of strength...
6- going absolutely quiet is a tell of strength for most people... but beware, it is the easiest to fake also, so you need to know your opponent...
7- if someone slides their chips in very quietly as if you almost didn't notice that they raised, they are strong... but probably not too strong... they have a good hand but they are afraid of something...
8- if someone is eating food and they play a hand, they are generally strong...
Weakness
1- Someone starts talking too much... they are generally weak... accept for pros like Jamie Gold or Negraenu, who can talk at anytime....
2- Someone puts in their chips forcefully, that means they have something decent, but definitely not the nuts or close to that... for example, if there is a straight and/or flush on the board, they don't have it... they might have a set or a two-pair...
3- Someone splashes the pot, they are generally not that strong... but beware, that person is probably on tilt and will call an all-in bet out of spite...
4- When someone keeps staring at the flop or somewhere on the table but is not willing to look at you, they are afraid of something... they might have a medium pocket-pair with one or two over cards on the board...
5- when someone tries to stare you down... they are not that strong... a good idea is to ask them how many chips they have left... that'll generally make them blush or their shoulders will drop a little which is definitely a tell of weakness... that doesn't mean that they are ready to fold just yet, they might call one bet... but they will probably not call the second bet... i.e. they bet the flop (and stare at you), you raise (after asking them to count their chips)... they'll probably call... they'll check the turn, if you bet a medium amount (say 30-40% of the pot) they'll probably fold...
Strength
1- if someone starts making odd bets i.e. non- round numbers e.g. 1,475 or 2,150... they are definitely strong... they have something very close to the nuts and will call an all-in bet... so go ahead and put them all-in if you have the nuts... otherwise fold...
2- after making a bet, if someone starts looking around for their drink or the waitress or simply is not paying attention to what you are doing, they definitely have a strong hand and will call an all-in bet... conversely, if they start doing that before they bet or before you have bet, they are about to fold... it just shows that they have already made up their mind... obviously if they bet and have made up their mind, they are strong...
3- when people start breathing heavy, it's because their heart is beating fast which generally means that they have a strong hand... you'll know it when you see it, you'll see their chest rise significantly at a fairly high pace... same as shaky hands...
4- if someone keeps checking their hole cards, they have a monster...
5- minimum raise i.e. twice the blind or twice the amount you bet... is almost always a tell of strength...
6- going absolutely quiet is a tell of strength for most people... but beware, it is the easiest to fake also, so you need to know your opponent...
7- if someone slides their chips in very quietly as if you almost didn't notice that they raised, they are strong... but probably not too strong... they have a good hand but they are afraid of something...
8- if someone is eating food and they play a hand, they are generally strong...
Weakness
1- Someone starts talking too much... they are generally weak... accept for pros like Jamie Gold or Negraenu, who can talk at anytime....
2- Someone puts in their chips forcefully, that means they have something decent, but definitely not the nuts or close to that... for example, if there is a straight and/or flush on the board, they don't have it... they might have a set or a two-pair...
3- Someone splashes the pot, they are generally not that strong... but beware, that person is probably on tilt and will call an all-in bet out of spite...
4- When someone keeps staring at the flop or somewhere on the table but is not willing to look at you, they are afraid of something... they might have a medium pocket-pair with one or two over cards on the board...
5- when someone tries to stare you down... they are not that strong... a good idea is to ask them how many chips they have left... that'll generally make them blush or their shoulders will drop a little which is definitely a tell of weakness... that doesn't mean that they are ready to fold just yet, they might call one bet... but they will probably not call the second bet... i.e. they bet the flop (and stare at you), you raise (after asking them to count their chips)... they'll probably call... they'll check the turn, if you bet a medium amount (say 30-40% of the pot) they'll probably fold...
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