The top 7 poker faux pas that should be punishable by death

Just a bit of fun...

The top 7 poker faux pas that should be punishable by death
Okay, maybe not death. Perhaps my mental stability has been damaged beyond a capacity for forgiveness. But certainly people who commit these acts of careless cruelty deserve punishment of some sort.

Cash game strategy: Going all-in post-flop

These are general guidelines based on stack-size and stack-to-pot ratio. You should still strive to develop a read, based on your opponent's tendencies and any physical tells you can rely on.

Cash game strategy: Going all-in post-flop

Going all-in is not a common play, but I wouldn't say it's rare, either. If I had to put a number on it, at a full table, there might be someone all-in once every two orbits. That would be one out of 18 hands. The shorter the stacks at the table, the more all-ins you'll see. The opposite is true for deeper stacks. This isn't just a matter of it being hard to get 200BB's into the pot and have your opponent call, although that can be difficult--your opponent has to have a strong hand to call off that much money. It's also a matter of limiting your variance...

Another Oklahoma casino closes its poker room

Another Oklahoma casino closes its poker room
Choctaw casino in McAlester has closed its poker room.

Hard Rock Poker Open begins October 27

Hard Rock Poker Open begins October 27
For the eighth consecutive year, northeast Oklahoma's largest poker tournament will return to the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Catoosa. Previously known as the Scotty Nyugen Poker Challenge hosted at the Cherokee Casino, the event was renamed in 2009 as the Hard Rock Poker Open following a $155 million renovation and the rebranding of the venue.

Tulsa poker tournament strategy series is complete

Well, it took a couple months but I finally finished my strategy series for local Tulsa tournaments.

Tulsa poker tournament strategy: Part 1

Early stage philosophy, hand ranges, and strategy.

Tulsa poker tournament strategy: Part 2

I briefly discuss post-flop play.  I also discuss developing a tournament plan by being aware of where you stand in the field, and maintaining patience.

Tulsa poker tournament strategy: Part 3

Stack sizes, table image, position, hand selection, stealing blinds, restealing, calling ranges, and factors to consider when making decisions.

Tulsa poker tournament strategy: Part 4

Small and short stack strategy.

Tulsa poker tournament strategy: Part 5
Five example hands to demonstrate strategies from Parts 1-4.

Tulsa poker tournament strategy: Part 6
Approaching the final table, aggression proportionate to stack size.

Tulsa poker tournament strategy: Part 7

Chopping.

Tulsa poker tournament strategy: Part 8
Bubble play and end game.

Another new tournament article out; cash game recap

Well, I've got Part 3 of my local tournament strategy series published. Click here to check it out.
Cash games aren't going so good. I've had 3 straight losing sessions. Nothing to talk about, really. I'm just not making many hands and my opponents have been hitting more than their fair share of draws, while the opposite has been true for me. The only nice thing about it has been that I'm doing a better job of taking it in stride. My reads have been correct except for twice. Once when an opponent took a really weird line (call flop, raise turn) in NL with AA on a draw-heavy board--I had top pair and both draws--and another time where I flopped top pair with 86s on a 832r flop, then turned top 2 when the 6c hit. Unfortunately my opponent had binked a 1-outer with 66. Thankfully that one was a LHE hand and I didn't get stacked.

M

New article out re:local tournaments; cash game recap

I published a new article on Examiner.com. Here's the link: Tulsa poker tournament strategy, Part 1. It's about my strategy for the first 2 or 3 blind levels in the tournaments I play locally.

As I mentioned in my last blog, I went on a business trip to Virginia a couple weeks ago. I had to write a 200 page software manual in 3 weeks, and I squeaked in under the deadline by about two hours. Needless to say, I was worn out after writing 60 hours a week for three weeks straight, which is a big factor for why I haven't played much poker lately. But now that I'm home and settled in, caught up on my sleep, I made it back out to the poker room.

Now, if you read my blog on a regular basis, you know I prefer LHE over NL. (Even though I make more from NL.) But NL is more like work to me whereas LHE is just plain fun. Yes, you take more beats. No, you can't protect your hand in LHE. No, you can't bluff as often in LHE. But forget all that. If you're at a LHE table where 4 or 5 players are seeing every flop, and you are a fundamentally competent player, there is no reason you can't make money playing LHE. All you have to do is make the proper adjustments. The value of big pairs goes down. The value of suited connectors goes up. So you push hard with draws, and play more cautiously with pairs. The percentages even out over time.

Example #1: Last night I was dealt JJ UTG and raised. 5 players called. The flop came 79Tr. I bet. Player A raised, 1 fold, Player B called. Player C called. 1 fold. I called. The turn was the 3d. I bet. Player A called. Player B called. 1 fold. River 6s. I checked. Player A checked. Player B bet. I folded. Player A folded. I could have made a crying call, but honestly, there's nothing I'm beating on this river. He either has the straight or two pair. If he had a pair of tens and nothing else, he would have checked.

Example #2: I was dealt JdJs UTG+1 and I raised. 6 players called. The flop came QT9hh. I bet. Everyone called. Turn Jh. I bet. Player A called. Player B called. 3 folds. Player C called. I was now confident no one had a flush, but one or more straights could be out there. The river came the 2h. I checked. Player A bet. Player B called. Player C called. I folded. Player A had 2p. Player B had the 6h for a baby flush. Player C had the 8h. I played this one perfectly. All of my bets went in as a favorite, then check-folded when I was beat.

Example #3: I was in the BB with 9hTh. 2 limpers then the CO raised. The BTN called and I 3b. The limpers called then the CO 4b. Everyone called. The flop came KJ4h. I checked. It checked around to the CO, who bet. BTN called, I raised, both limpers folded. Turn was the 9d. I bet. CO called, BTN called. River Qh. I checked. CO bet. BTN called. I raised. CO called, BTN folded. CO showed AA. This one is a variation play I like to make at tables full of call-happy players. I'm building a big pot pre-flop to give me the odds I need to call big bets on the turn with a draw. Of course, if my opponents slow down, I'm going to represent a big pair and try to take the pot away. With a big pot, it doesn't have to work very often to be profitable.

Anyway, I had a great time and took home $140 in profit over a 5-hour session.

By the way, if you have a choice, don't let your house get hit by lightning. We lost 2 tv's, the washer, the microwave, the cable modem and router, both cable boxes, the main circuit breaker and several GFI outlets. On the plus side, my gal says to me, if we have to buy new TV's, lets get the 50". God, I love her.

Good luck at the tables.
M

Time away from poker (sort of)

There's not much in what I'm about to write that will engage your poker brain. I haven't played a hand of poker for two weeks now. Instead, this is a perspective post. Still interested? Read on.

As part of my new position as a Technical Writer, I had to travel to Virginia Beach, VA to interview the development team as part of a writing project. My daughter lives in Virginia with her husband, so it was a chance to see her as well. Of course, one of the things I did before I left was to look up where I could play some poker while I was there. Well, the answer was nowhere. The closest place was Dover, DE. Well beyond driving distance. I spent my time watching the WSOP on ESPN2 instead--when I wasn't on the beach or working. I also had The Poker Blueprint with me which I read on the plane and when dining alone.

For those who are struggling with their post-flop play, I recommend this book and I recommend you wade through the first half, which is mostly common sense, and get to the second half, where post-flop play is disected. I didn't have any real "Aha!" moments, but it did a better job than Super System (imho) to describe how to be aggressive effectively, rather than just generally. After reading Super System the first time I was much too aggressive to the point of border-line spewing. I had to unlearn some of that aggression to return to profitability.

Anyway, at this point I've read Poker Blueprint twice, and I'll reread it again over the next week or two. If you need help reading hands or putting opponents on a range, this book helps. Will I be playing poker in that time? Maybe, maybe not. My poker drive is not what it was before I started working again. I have more money in the bank right now than I've had in years. Some of that is thanks to tournament wins, but most of it is due to having a good job that pays a decent wage. So I may be stepping away from poker as a profession, and treating it more like what it was when I started: entertainment.

I never tore up the felt during my short career as a poker player. I made more than I could have made working at Target, and about the same as a data entry clerk, but without the regular hours or having to answer to anyone but myself. My live poker win rate this year is between 5 and 6 BB per hour at 1/2NL. Not exactly bragging material, but I suppose it could have been worse. Full time employment has tripled that, without swings, without bad beats, without the constant worry of whether I'll be able to pay my bills that week or month.

If nothing else, I have a greater respect for those of you who play the game for a living. I don't know if I'm cut out for that kind of life. I still love the game and will always play, but the stress, now that I no longer have to bear it, is a real joy killer. So my hat's off to you, guys. Keep up the good work. This humble player is going back to his game a bit wiser, and is rediscovering his joy in the game.

M

River Spirit modifies its poker tournament schedule

River Spirit modifies its poker tournament schedule
A new tournament schedule has been implemented at River Spirit casino in Tulsa. All of the events are now open to everyone to enter (the men's, women's and senior's tournaments have been discontinued)...

Luck is a funny thing

I spent two and a half years jobless, while looking for a worthwhile job in my chosen career path (although I admit I could've been more tenacious about it). Meanwhile, I'm playing poker online and eking out a profit--not enough to live on, mind you, but enough to hope that one day I might. Then BF hits and my online run comes to a screeching halt. I rejected the idea of trying new sites as too risky, and opted for the live poker route. At first, I did great. $2K in 2 weeks. Then the bottom fell out and I couldn't scoop a pot no matter how big a favorite I was. So for 8 weeks now I've been breaking even overall in the cash games. Obviously, this can't be explained entirely by luck. I AM making mistakes.

The corporate world finally called me back into the office two weeks ago, taking bankroll constraints and self-sufficiency issues out of the equation. I was never great at pinching pennies, and I'm enjoying the reprieve. Funny thing is, now that I'm flush with cash, I'm tearing up the felt in tournaments. Cashed again tonight for a $700 profit. I've final tabled 6 of 7 tournaments in the last month, and cashed 5 times. Is it just my luck changing? Or is it that I'm playing tournaments where the stacks are shallow and preflop play dominates the action? Or is it that I'm playing better now that I don't have to worry about downswings? Or a combination of all of these?

Whatever the case, I hope it continues.

The Poker Blueprint arrived, and I'm halfway through it. So far, there's not much here I didn't already know and practice. But I've just gotten to the post-flop chapters, which is where I'm making most of my mistakes. I'll probably read it twice through before I return to the cash games.

All in all, things are looking bright. The pressure is off, the green line is moving upwards, and I couldn't be happier.
M