Home add your blog Archives Search Forum Contact RSS FEED

This site is an rss/xml news reader containing our favorite feeds. All articles are the copyrighted material of the blogs that wrote them.

WSOP Circuit Poker at Caesars $10K Championship

post from Poker Profs Las Vegas Poker Blog on 08 May 2006 08:29:00 PM. © Poker Profs Las Vegas Poker Blog

Caesars Poker Room is hosting the WSOPC Championship and its conveniently located next door to one of Paris Hilton's fave hangouts. Caesars Palace Poker Room is once again the center of the poker universe with today's Noon start of...

Read The Full Article:
http://www.lasvegasvegas.com/pokerblog/archives/002708.php

Digg this

A Very (Un)Important Poll

post from High on Poker on 08 May 2006 06:01:00 PM. © High on Poker

Bear with me folks. I had lunch with good pal Jefe and we got off on a random topic. I want to know your thoughts. Keep in mind that this involves adult males here:

Read The Full Article:
http://highonpoker.blogspot.com/2006/05/very-unimportant-poll.html

Digg this

Monday stuff

post from Big Slick Nuts! on 08 May 2006 01:23:00 PM. © Big Slick Nuts!

Played a little poker this weekend. Up and down. The ups came when I played low, the downs came when I played high.

Oh well...

I did spot on leak I make on the bubble, though, so it made for a satisfying weekend knowing I have something I can focus on for improvement. I've been too loose with my calls on the button. Probably because alot of the better players are very loose with their raises. But, just because I've got a coin-flip, there are times when I shouldn't be CALLING knowing I am, at best, a coin flip.

Think 5-5 or 6-6. Almost always a coin flip AT BEST, and many times completely dead to two outs. Many times, I don't want to CALL off all my chips where I am 50-50 at best. It's a donkey move.

Now, being the raiser, on the bubble, is another matter. If you're first-in and have a pair, you're almost always right to raise and take that folding equity to the bank. But calling... well, no, there are a lot of other factors that need to be taken into consideration, table and chip position among them.

So, yeah, something to work on.

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

I added a Gabbly Chat module to the sidebar, so now y'all can chat right on this page. Let me know what you think.

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

Down 8 lbs last week, 38 total. Report over here.

Read The Full Article:
http://bigslicknuts.blogspot.com/2006/05/monday-stuff.html

Digg this

Hyper Awareness

post from FeliciaLee on 08 May 2006 12:26:00 PM. © FeliciaLee

Psychology of Poker (Part IV)

When I started my Psychology of Poker series, the first post was titled, "Learn to Think Like a Fish." It got an overwhelming response, and has been linked to many times from different places on the net. I'm really, really happy that I got such positive feedback.

In the beginning of that first post, I did a bullet list of things that I was interested in exploring. I then made a second Psychology of Poker post, entitled, "Learn to Think Like a Loser," which was based on the first of the bulleted list (outline): 1) I always downplay my ability.

As if it couldn't get any more confusing, I then veered off into an even more elementary post, "Be Yourself," which was not one of my bulleted items, and was based on John Vorhaus' book, "Killer Poker."

Hmmm, at least I never claimed to be a real writer, lol :)

So here I have come full circle, and am still extremely interested in continuing the series. I guess that since it's all free and widely available, I don't need to apologize for my lack of coordination and not sticking to the subject matter very well. Free is free, so you can either take it or leave it, for what it's worth.

The second subject in that original, bulleted list, was named, "I am hyper-aware, which makes up for my lack of skill (and is actually a skill set in and of itself)."

This is something that is tough to develop if the player doesn't already have it within himself.

After years of playing live, in all different venues, at limits ranging from 1/2 all the way up to 20/40 limit, and 1/2 blinds up to 10/20 blinds NLHE, playing both cash games and tourneys, satellites and super sats, Glenn still has almost zero awareness.

He had an opportunity for a free $50 in an "aces cracked" promotion, yet never even showed his hand. He has been involved in situations where he would have won a bad beat jackpot, but didn't even know that the cardroom had one (like someone could miss the extra drop for the BBJ while sitting at the table for hours???). He regularly plunks down a decent amount of money for a satellite and never once asks the floorperson what the juice is, if there is a percentage taken for dealers and/or staff, how many players get a seat, if the winner(s) get lammers or cash, if certificates are resalable, if he is participating in a multi-table sat or STT, and many other questions that I would ask before seating myself at a satellite table.

He just doesn't know, and doesn't really care. At times I have exploded when finding him sitting at a satellite where about 50% was being taken from the prize pool. He looks around in wonder and horror, after confirming from the floor person that I am correct. He, along with the other nine idiots sitting at the table are shocked that they just gave away 50% of their money to the house, without bothering to find out what they are getting themselves into.

I usually call these people "action junkies," along with several other less flattering names.

They simply cannot help themselves. They MUST get into the action the moment they enter a cardroom or tournament arena.

They are the same people who amble up to a Craps table and simply plunk down money, never bothering to find out what odds they can take. They don't know, and probably don't care. They just want to give their money to the house, and as fast as humanly possible. Some are addicts, some are simply there for recreational purposes, and couldn't care less if they are playing the worst house game.

Now, out of these players emerge two groups. The total recreational player, and the good player.
The good player is someone I rarely make money off of. Glenn is one of these. He makes money, more money than me, playing smaller stakes, so he has no incentive to be more diligent about paying attention to a game or promotion. Some people are just good. The elite don't even have to read a poker book in order to win. They just "know" the right play in almost every circumstance. David Sklansky called these players "freaks of nature," and it is exasperating to those of us who struggle and have to use every resource available just to make a little scratch. We gape in wonder as they play in bad situations, under horrible circumstances, completely clueless, yet still win more than the average bear.

Those guys aren't the ones I'm addressing today. I hate them, they should all be killed in a very violent and painful way, and the world would be better. <----this is just a joke

The people I'm addressing today are people like myself. People who NEED to use every resource available in order to win. People who need to be ultra diligent and ultra aware, or they will be break-even at best, probably losers.

I once pulled a trick on Glenn. After playing for several hours, I put my hands over his eyes and asked him how many chips each of his opponents had in front of them. I asked him how they were dressed, whether they were male or female and other details. I asked him how much the rake was, if it was being taken correctly, if there was a BBJ drop, and if so, how much was it?

He could remember a few details. The fish in seat three who had rebought four times. He could usually remember IF there was a woman at the table, but not what seat she was in, or any other details. As far as chips go, he could remember nothing. Ditto on the rake and BBJ drop. Oddly enough, however, Glenn has an uncanny memory when it comes to particular hands. He can remember how a hand played out years later, and sometimes even remember the opponent's name or face. Usually they are situations where he took a "bad beat" (cough), but he does have an amazing ability to remember particulars about a big hand.

Now take me. I am anal about details to a fault. One time I was playing at a casino which still used quarters. I happened to glance down at my stack when not in a hand and noticed I WAS A QUARTER OFF. Yes, I really noticed ONE quarter missing. I later found it under the padded rail.

I know details about each of my opponents. I can close my eyes and tell you those details immediately. I know how much rake each cardroom takes before I take a seat. I know if they are taking it correctly, or if they are over raking the pot. I know if they have a bad beat jackpot, and if so, what the qualifier is. I know other promotions, too, and try to utilize them if it gives me an edge.

Probably the biggest compliment I've ever been given in poker is when someone told me I looked "just like Phil Ivey." Yes, it got a laugh from the table, but later he went on to explain the hyper awareness similarity, although I'd known all along what he was talking about.

Too bad I don't play like Phil, eh?

So, at the top, I stated that someone is probably either born with this type of awareness, or not. I'm not sure that it can be taught properly, and I wonder if some "natural" players will even be handicapped by trying to learn.

At the very least, however, you should be informed of some things that are costing you a lot of money. After all, if you are a winner at poker, why not win more (or save more, as the case may be)? By bringing a check list to the cardroom, you can ask a few simple questions before sitting down, and perhaps double your earnings. It won't intrude on your game at all, nor do you have to be hyper aware while actually playing. It is a win/win situation.

For those of us who ARE capable of being hyper aware, work on honing this edge you have at the tables. Make it a weapon, a blunt object with which to spear your opponents, and get extra winnings into your bankroll.

As far as letting others know just how aware you are at the table, don't do it. Just sit and act like a fish. Don't go there. Don't tell others you know exactly how much money they have in front of them. Don't tell the dealer he or she is raking too much (go to the podium instead), don't give others any indication that you are there for any other reason than they are, to have a good time at the poker tables.

Your hyper awareness can be a valuable tool in poker. Use it to your advantage, and you might find a couple of extra pennies to rub together in an otherwise break even situation.

Felicia :)

Read The Full Article:
http://felicialee.blogspot.com/2006/05/hyper-awareness.html

Digg this

Poker, Prose, Ponies

post from The Obituarium on 08 May 2006 12:15:00 PM. © The Obituarium

In the wee hours on Saturday night, I received an invitation from Daddy to Ram and Jam on some unsuspecting tourists in a $50 SnG on Full tilt. Iggy was along, as well. I was, at the time, folding my way to immortality (aka "the bubble") in the $9K but...Daddy? The Blogfather? It was an offer I couldn't refuse.

It took me a while to shift from ultra-tight MTT mode into Let's Gamble a Little SnG mode. At the $50 buy-in level, I tend to assume folks know what they're doing. The exception was the one guy on whom I had notes, which he perfectly defined with his play and mis-guided comments. Yes, I busted him. Calling my raise with A9 and jamming unimproved on the flop? Tourist.

The table chat was hysterical. Daddy mentioned how he was down to his last $60 so he had to win. He responded to a comment about playing above his bankroll by saying his brother, he of the "sweet...tricked-out Eclipse," would give him more money if he went broke. We had plenty of smart-alecky railbirds, too.

All three of us were alive on the bubble, but an interloper busted Ignatious in fourth.

From there, only one result was possible. It was pre-determined long ago, the prophecy contained in the Book of Isaiah. The Daddy and I would be heads-up. He claimed to be a little more in the bag than I and I'm inclined to believe him, but lucidity was not a problem for either of us. At least after the first hand of heads-up where we went to Donkey War. I made a horrible call, banking on one of my seven outs to hit. It did. Except, I only had five outs, the ace giving Daddy the frush. That gave him about a 10-3 chip advantage and I had to pull my head out.

The next 20 minutes were artistry. Sure, some of the railbirds thought the play was "like watching paint dry." They just didn't get it. Like trying to explain the nuances of baseball, the always-changing strategery, to a Luddite. And Daddy and I were painting. Sliders on the black. Uncle Charlie in the back door. High fucking heat. He and I have had enough conversations on the Art of the SnG that it was like playing a mirror. So some trickery was in order. Level 12 all the way. I had some good hands, but couldn't get him to pay me off, though I steadily chipped up and, after a time, took a lead. Finally, we got it all in with my flopped pair of aces holding off his flush draw.

It was the most fun I've had playing poker in a while. The company, for sure. The commentary...gorgeous. Being able to do something different than playing ABC poker to grind out a small win...gold. Thanks, gentlemen and ladies.

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

Full of hubris and my first heads-up triumph in Idontknowhowlong, I waded, puffy-chested, into my postponed mana a mano duel with Veneno. I was crushed. Fast. Premature stackedulation. Maybe my plan to counter her aggressiveness with more aggression wasn't such a good idea, especially considering I had only 8 river outs when all the money went in. At Level 1. AJ...not particularly gold this time. I bow to The Poison.

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

I had Point Determined in The Derby. It has not been determined whether he has finished yet.

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

$330 NLHE tourney tonight at Commerce, part of their Heavenly Hold 'Em series of events. Ryan, with an ITM finish in last evening's contest, and I will be playing. Send good mojo.

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

I've been reading poker books lately. And some self-help stuff ("How to Be a Great Divorced Dad"). This is due to my mind's propensity to wander these days, so following a fictional narrative is a bit difficult. Heck, I can't even watch TV with any noticeable level of concentration. However, after reading Mean Gene's post about books, I went over to Amazon to read the first few pages of The Mysteries of Pittsburgh. I figure a good writer who loves a book that much can't be wrong. He wasn't. I bought it on Saturday and tore through half of it yesterday. And I can't wait to pick it up again. It's not just a great story. Not just impeccably written. It makes me wanna write.

Read The Full Article:
http://obituarium.blogspot.com/2006/05/poker-prose-ponies.html

Digg this

Parched With Thirst Am I

post from BadBlood on Poker on 08 May 2006 12:03:00 PM. © BadBlood on Poker

The last week has been very busy, perhaps you could tell by the drop in posting frequency.  My trip home from Schenectahole was thankfully uneventful, but a visit from the parental Bloods was looming.  My daughter was having her first communion Sunday and we?d be having a house full of company for the majority of the weekend.

Friday night would mark the 9th consecutive day that I did not play live poker.  I had a Jones for it the size of G-Rob?s head.  It?s funny; I go through phases with respect to the online/live poker split.  When I grow tired of one, I yearn for the other.

I coerced G-Rob to call my cell phone with a plan for mrsBlood to answer it.  That way, I could pawn off the idea that heading out to play in the underground game was all his idea.  That?s what we do in G-Vegas ? we?re all fall guys for the other when it comes to convincing a reluctant spouse that so-and-so should in fact be allowed to ?come out and play.?    I ended up getting more flack from my mom who, as I mentioned, was in town for a few days visiting.  I was burning up huge capital to go out and play poker, but in the end, I said ?Fuck it, I?m playing.?

We arrived on the late side as the game usually starts at around 7pm.  Seats were scarce, but one opened up just as we arrived.  G-Rob and I flipped a coin to see who would get to sit first.  I lost.  And the craving grew.

After 30 minutes of waiting and drinking the free beer, finally a seat opened up.  A player had lost all his money on two hands.  The first was a coin flip; 99 vs. AK and the second was a flopped two-pair vs. a rivered flush draw.  He grew disgusted and left.  The seat would prove to be somewhat unlucky.

For the previous week, I?d been in somewhat of a card dead funk.  On Sunday night, April 30th, my records indicated that I was up for the year a sum greater than my entire 2005 winnings.  Since that fateful database query, my bankroll slowly but surely receded back down.  I wasn?t concerned, knowing full well that constant bankroll growth is impossible in poker.  I blamed a drought of big hands and some ill-timed bluffs.

When you combine card deadness with an itch to play, you often find frustration in the resulting mixture.  After folding for a good half hour, the following hand came up, which really shows how bad the play is at the raked game.

I?m on the button, and the rock is in play to my left.  For those unfamiliar with the rock, it?s a forced blind straddle.  In this $1/2 game, the rock is $5.  A bad player in middle position raises the rock to $25.  One of the few women regulars in the game pushes her short stack all-in with a raise to $48.  I look down at AK.  I?m willing to race with the short stack, so my move is to isolate.  I re-raise all-in to $123.  It?s folded back around to the original raiser who goes in the tank.  He finally calls.

Here?s what everyone is holding:  Short stack has AJo.  Nice.  The original raiser at first shows only one card.  It?s a ten.  I figure pocket tens and think that I?m in a tough spot because the short stack holds one of my outs.  Then the moron flips his other card.  It?s an Ace.  AK vs. AJ vs. AT.  I couldn?t have hoped for a better match up.

I reach into my wallet for a rebuy even before the flop hits the table.

Card dead streaks, plus good cards getting outdrawn equals crazy Blood tilt.  To be fair, I did not go on tilt per se, but I will confess to lapsing into the passive zone, which is nearly as costly.  The passive play continued on Saturday during some online play.  By Sunday morning, my peak bankroll had dropped by nearly 20%.

I?ve gone through similar drops before and will again.  When these downswings occur, my plan of action is to slow down a bit and begin booking some smaller wins.  Being content with any win is usually what gets me back to playing well.  If I grow too impatient and try to win back the losses too quickly by forcing things, then I usually just extend the downswing.  Sunday proved to be a decent day and I was able to recoup some losses with a renewed focus.

External distractions should subside for the coming week and I should be able to get back into the swing of the G-Vegas home game schedule.  And I?ll be right back here to report on it.  Because that?s what I do.

Read The Full Article:
http://badbloodonpoker.blogspot.com/2006_05_01_badbloodonpoker_archive.html#11471
0422898197563

Digg this

DADI 6: Pot Limit

post from High on Poker on 08 May 2006 11:18:00 AM. © High on Poker

This month, we'll be playing some Pot Limit. It's close to No Limit, but has a little twist to keep things fresh.

VegasPokerPro has been kind enough to offer their support this time around. They are offering a total of 2000 VPP Points, which will be split up as follows:

1000 VPP Points for First Place.

500 VPP Points for the money Bubble.

500 VPP Points as a bounty on VPP_Dave.

DADI would like to thank VPP for thier generosity.

VPP Points can be used at the VPP store for a variety of poker related and non-poker related items, including gift certficates.

Other notes: The event will take place on Monday, May 29th. The buy-in is back to $10+1. The time has been changed to 10pm EST to accomodate some of the West Coasters. POY points will not be awarded for this event.

Check out the DADI Website for future Updates.

Read The Full Article:
http://highonpoker.blogspot.com/2006/05/dadi-6-pot-limit_08.html

Digg this

Back to the Books

[Insert 5/4/06 Post Here]. Yep, I did it again. I played like crap.

Last night, I finally began playing late at night. I signed up for PokerShare via PokerSourceOnline, in the hope of finishing the 500 points (necessary for the PSO bonus) quickly. After that, I would get 9000 PSO points, which, along with my current 1000 points, would earn me a $100 gift certificate to Party Poker (immediately withdrawable). Yeah. Nice plan buddy. But it didn't work out, because apparently, once you deposit on PokerShare, you then have to "transfer" your money from your Share account to the actual poker account. Whatever! I found this out this morning. At least their customer support was quick and painless.

In the meanwhile, I decided to fire up some Noble. They are still giving me the run around on some of my referrals, crediting me for 2 instead of the 5 confirmed referrals that I know about (and a sixth one that is apparently one of the 2 confirmed, but from an unknown person), but I'm hoping we work it out. That said, I can't turn down their soft as stool action. Okay, bad mental picture. (On that note, if you decide to get in on Noble, please use my link AND bonus code HighPoker. I don't mean to be repetitive, but the problems I've had so far have been so ridiculous that I just want to avoid future problems with them. I also don't want to discourage people from playing there or at Titan. They share the same tables and the same fishy fish fish action.)

Side note, I noticed the Titan Poker commercials on TV. There is a couple of shots where they show the monitor with Titan running. If you look carefully one of the two players whose names you can read is: fckcongo. So apparently Titan Poker hates the nation of Congo. Can you blame them? After all, the Congo was previously a French colony. And if you don't know the official High On Poker stance when it comes to them Frogs: "Fuck the French!" They do make good mustard though.

So, Noble. Unfortunately, my Omaha H/L games were empty, so I decided to play some .25/.50 NL. Lovely. I lost half of my $50 buy-in and left the room. The action was weird, I wasn't getting a good feeling from it, and I had fired up a Rio. The Rio was going well, so I fired up a second one. I busted out of the money in both. -$72 or so last night. That pretty muched wiped out my hard-earned Saturday winnings and then some.

The usual problem, of course. I was anxious to play, but not into the game. I was watching the Sopranos and trying to fit in some poker. This does not make a winning combination. I guess I found my 2nd leak after sports betting: unfocused poker. I must work on both.

That's about all I've got in my engine right now. On Thursday, I will be playing in a home game hosted by the ladies of I Had Outs. SoxLover was throwing around the idea of a home game on Memorial Day weekend as well, since Weak_Player would be in town, but that went the way of the dodo (apparently) because I have an engagement party. Nine times out of ten, I'd be pissed, but the part is for none other than Dave Roose himself, so I can expect some good food, booze and company.

These NYC homegames are really great. It reinforces the idea of the poker blogging community for me. I've never been to a WPBT event, mostly because of money and timing. I mean, how the hell do all of these people get so much time off from work, and can spend so much money traveling around. Color me impressed. All I know is that when I had the blogger tourney at my apartment, it was a great time.

I should also probably say this: SoxLover has really been challenging me with my game. He convinced me (rather easily, even though I put up a stubborn fight) that I need to finish Harrington Vol. 1 and read Harrington Vol. 2. I stopped reading them because I was getting bored with all poker all the time. I prefer my train rides to be for escapist literature or mindless magazines. But he is right. Even if I don't use the strategies, 30% of the field is using them, and if I have their playbook, I'd be an idiot not to read them. Oh, and I probably will use the strategies. One of the things I noticed when I was reading Vol. 1 was that I use a lot of Harrington's techniques, even before I knew that he used them. Other things were new and helpful. So, back to the books.

Aside from that, Sox is just willing to talk about the game in an open way. And I trust what he has to say, even if I did whoop his ass at my homegame tournament and cashgame (oh sting!).

So, thanks Sox, and thanks readers. I'm out!

Read The Full Article:
http://highonpoker.blogspot.com/2006/05/back-to-books.html

Digg this

A Weekend of Grinding

© COPYRIGHT 2006 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

For the most part, it was an uneventful last three days of low limit poker. You know, just grinding away:

Friday

A light day of $2/4 LHE action between Interpoker ($28 profit, 79 hands) and the Prop Site ($30 profit, 77 hands).

I also logged 36 hands of $2/4 LHE at Poker Syndicate, netting a profit of $2. Unfortunately, I fell prey to the "all-in" cheating once again. I was involved in a couple more hands where opponents went all in on the turn and did not put any more money into the pot when I had a big hand and they would have paid off heavily when they made very good, but second best hands on the river.

I was very honked off after those last two hands. For now, I'm just not going to log time at Poker Syndicate until they get the "all-in" cheating problem fixed. I know the good folks at Syndicate will push to get it fixed, but they are a skin of a bigger network, so it will take some time. Once that happens, I'll head back.

Saturday

I woke up to find an e-mail telling me that the Prop Site had suspended the propping program until further notice. That's a bummer, as the site usually had two $2/4 LHE games going and they were soft. Well, at least after 150 hands or so, they appeared to be. I went ahead and withdrew my funds from the site and will await further developments. My prop manager did say that he believed that the prop program at that site will likely comeback in a month or so.

I did sign up for propping at a second site, but I'm not sure how much I'll play there. Most of the action at this site is at $1/2, which I don't play anymore. I'll keep an eye on their $2/4 and $3/6 LHE action. If there's enough of that going on, I'll put in some time at the site.

I spent my time at the $2/4 Interpoker LHE tables, grinding out a $65 profit over 291 hands. They had a promo for an additional $30 for 350 raked hands from Friday through Sunday, so I decided to go for it and clear the latest $100 bonus in addition, for an overall $130 bonus.

I was surprised to find that the Crypto games at times were kind of loose at times this weekend. Especially with a couple of promos going on for additional bonuses (the $30 promo I got and another account specific promo for $100 for other players) and the fact that many bonus whores hit Crypto hard early in the month).

Sunday

I finished off the $130 in bonuses at Interpoker, but logged a $52 loss over 326 hands of $2/4 LHE. One of those sessions where nothing went right. Card dead and the few times I got a hand, I made very good second best hands.

I then moved over to Paradise to get some time in on their $3/6 LHE tables. That went well, as I logged a $51 profit over 177 dealt hands.

I capped the weekend of grinding by taking my prop pay of $15 that I received to the baby NL tables ($0.20 and $0.10 blinds) at the Prop Site and built it up to $42. Just for fun, I am going to take that $15 and see how far I can build it up.

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

Just another weekend of grinding away at the low limits...

This week, I'm going to spend my time at Interpoker to grind out another $100 bonus (I have $400 worth of them available) at the $2/4 LHE tables and the Paradise $2/4 and $3/6 LHE tables.

More grinding ahead...

Bloggers Championship I am registered to play in the

Online Poker Blogger Freeroll

Win your share of $25,000 and a set

of Nevada Jacks poker chips.

Hosted By: Absolute Poker

Sponsored By: Poker Source Online

Registration Code: 65334548

Read The Full Article:
http://countingmyouts.blogspot.com/2006/05/weekend-of-grinding.html