The Nuts

WSOPC Biloxi

2011-11-13T09:58:00.000-08:00

The World Series of Poker Circuit Event at Imperial Palace in Biloxi, Mississippi marks the 4th stop on the Circuit Tour in the 8th season that will offer 17 stops in all from September 2011-May 2012. The Circuits unofficial motto is “12 rings in 12 days” First the ring then the bracelet. The purpose of the Circuit is an additional opportunity for players to earn points for that all but valuable seat into the $ 1Million National Championship Freeroll to play for a WSOP Bracelet & over $ 250K for first! Each stop will conclude with a $1600 Main Event played as a Re-Entry event so those players who fail to bag chips that play day 1A can always Re-Enter day 1B as a new player with a new stack. Both flights play the same number of levels in the structure to come upon an exact end point. The remainder of both flights move on to Day 2 & then play down in accordance to the structure sheet until a champion is reached. The Main Event Champion receives first place money, The Ring, & an automatic entry into the $ 1 Million National Championship Freeroll in Las Vegas Nevada. Lastly the individual at each stop whom amasses the most points that is not the Main Event Champion qualifies for a seat as well as Casino Champion.

It all started with a dream & waking up to see that Co-Owner of Gulf Coast Poker.Net Gene Dudek finished in 3rd place in the massive $355 re-entry that brought in a field of 477 players. It was a great way to start off the series earning Gene D $ 13,348 & 30 points that go toward the National Championship Freeroll. This is only the beginning of what was to become.

Thursday November 3, 2011. Bill Phillips & I arrive in the late afternoon in time for him to late register the $ 235 $ 1K mega satellite. Bill has the patients to wait where others don’t & manages to pick his spots when others would have shoved orbits before with any two. Not that I am saying he is overly tight, but patients & discipline in live poker are crucial to long term survival, but I am saying he understands basic game theory & that there are edges that exist in live poker that may not exist online due to lack of your opponent’s knowledge. So after several hours of grinding the short stack Bill turns that knowledge & experience into a $ 1K seat which starts @ 12pm on Friday. Ship it.

So while Bill is busy winning his seat into the $ 1K I am playing the $ 120 nightly. Yea I know, it better known as the shit storm. You start off with T3k in chips but 30 minute levels. Wait? 30 minute levels? For a nightly? I know right? Anyway, not much happens early as I pick up very few hands early on. Then in level 2 from middle position I look down at two black sevens (77) with T3K behind. I decide to open @ 50/100 to 250. I pick up a call in late position as well as the small & big blinds. Odd as it seems they would both flat a hand even being an early level to play the rest of the hand out of position (oop). The flop comes 3-3-9 with two clubs. The small blind checks, big blind checks, I make a continuation bet 300 & I get flat called 3 ways. Interesting. Turn card comes the 7 of diamonds. GIN!!!!!! Sb checks. BB checks behind. I bet 800. Late position folds, sb & bb insta ships & I snap call. Sb turns over A3. BB turns over J3. The unimportant river was the A & I eliminate 2 players in one hand. I thought that this would be the all important turn of events for me. The one that started the little glimmer of hope. A little run good perhaps? Not quite. Only poor play & coolers to follow imo, but nonetheless the weekend does continue to get better. I eventually bust the nightly with about 4 partial tables left. 110 players began & they were paying the top 12 spots. Let’s just say for discussion purposes that I bust in 40th place, but I don’t really remember. So the rest of the evening we decided to rail Gene Dudek in the previous days 12pm. This was Gene’s 2nd final table of the series & he also went on to finish 3rd in the event for a little over $6k.

So after what has seemed to be a short yet grueling day. Between sweating Gene D @ his 2nd Noon final table & Bill in the $ 1K mega then playing the nightly, it was up to the room in attempt to get some sleep & back downstairs @ 12pm to sweat Bill & Gene in the $ 1K while I tried to make up my mind to decide whether I wanted to grind sit n go's or grind cash. After several hours I finally came to the conclusion that a $ 125 with a $ 40 10 way last longer sit n go it was. Super soft table other than Blake Barrouse & Cameron Ainsworth with both sitting to my left, long story short, I chop the last longer three ways & take $ 120. Then chop the sit and go heads up for $ 500 each. Now this is where the weekend started to get interesting for me. I had a decision to make. Bill & Gene were doing well in the $ 1K. The Main Event started tomorrow. I was going to late register the 5pm mega with a voucher & sold Gene 33% for $ 50. So essentially for the $ 75 dollar buy in + voucher ($50) + Gene $50 , I get T8K going into 200/400/50 & they were giving 41 seats away with over 300+ registered. I managed to last down to about 150 or so when I had no choice but to shove J5hh from UTG with 3bb get reshoved on by UTG+3 with QQ flop a FD & brick the final two streets. Figuring my weekend is now over & I can either go continue to sweat Bill & Gene which is actually quite exciting for me. Most players don’t enjoy it unless they have a financial interest, but railing good friends of mine & providing moral support is something I really don’t mind, or I could go grind cash. I decide to continue to provide moral support instead. As it starts to get later in the night, Bill & Gene are making it deeper in the $ 1K & it appears that they are poised to make a dual final table which would be super exciting as well as great publicity for www.GulfCoastPoker.Net.

But this is where things start to get interesting. As much as I want to continue to be there for my friends as moral support, I don’t get out of the house often enough to play poker & I am having a desire to play. Trying to decide on whether I should play in cash games or should I in the Main Event. The biggest problem I have is the Main event is over-extending my bankroll a little so the only way I can play is by selling 5% blocks for $ 100. I eventually sold 5 10% blocks & I had 50% of myself with the standard 80/20 deal. 337 players entered both flights for a total prize pool of $490,335 which would pay the top 36 spots & $ 112K for 1st. I feel like I definitely owe a shout out to Jeremy Gaubert, Blake Barrouse, Kenny Milam, Ryan Lenaghan, & Jacob Naquin. Thank you for the opportunity & for believing in me. I have a long way to go when it comes to tournament poker & this was a great learning opportunity. Unfortunately running KK into AA AIPF for 50BB is standard I guess.

In the end on the $ 1K Bill & Gene do make a dual final table with Bill finishing in 8th place for about $3.5K & Gene in 2nd place for about $ 20K. Ultimately this 2nd place finish is what locked up “Casino Champion” & a seat in the National Championship Freeroll for Gene Dudek which came down to the wire in the final ring event & the last 4 players on Monday. Bill also decided to play the main after a single table satellite following the $ 1K & his solid play continued. Bill survived Day 1 with a little over starting stack with what amounted to about 20BB going into Day 2. He continued solid play. Doubled up when he needed it. Picked his spots & found folds when Necessary. He was in the zone. He found a way to stay disciplined, focused, & where there was a will he found a way. He never gave up. Bill made the End of Day 2, Bagged up chips for the last time of the tournament series & would come back for day 3 play a short session to get down to the final table & it was short work indeed. In the end Jerry Monroe takes out Bill in a coin flip AQ vs. 99 AIPF & only 3 hands into HU action. This was only 3 hands after Monroe had hit the miracle 4 outer when he hit his gutter on the turn against Jacob Naquin, otherwise he ends up crippled & it would be J Nock vs. Bill Phillips HU for the title. But congrats to Jerry Monroe even though he was the same guy who knocked me out of the main as well. Life has a sick sense of humor sometimes.

Gambling: Perception or Reality?

2011-09-19T13:53:00.000-07:00

“Doubt is uncomfortable, certainty is ridiculous.”-Voltaire.

How do you define gambling?

As individuals, we all will have a different definition or perception on a given subject & that is what makes us individually unique. Our perception may have been molded by personal life experiences or what society has lead us to believe through informative misinformation. Keeping that in mind if we were utilize rational thoughts with the lack of emotional attachment, our definition would more than likely produce such a result similar to what we would find in The Oxford English Dictionary.

Gamble (v): To play games of chance for money [Without Object], bet (a sum of money) [With an Object], or to take risky action in hope of desired result.

Now we can come to the rational conclusion that gambling is just human nature & a part of our everyday reality. Society has made an effective attempt to streamline human decision making as a product of a results oriented thought process. This is where I feel society has failed us. Effectively it means that society as a whole does not understand statistical variance & how it will balance out over a large sample of data or in this case a large sample of decisions. This is why I tend to believe that we no longer depend upon individual decision making that is based on factual information at hand. We tend to seek information elsewhere that effectively in a sense is unreliable, thus we tend to fail much more than we succeed. We tend to put the carriage before the horse.

Maybe this is just a fundamental flaw of society or result in a lack of understanding that has developed through our educational system. Although failure is just another aspect of life & an essential component of success, the rate of failure can be drastically reduced based upon rational thinking & using quantifiable information to make well informed decisions knowing that the end result does not truly matter, life will go on. The more we allow society to shape our thought processes in this manner, the more we are susceptible to lose our sense of individuality & our ability to think for ourselves.

Although the definition of gambling is theoretically correct on paper, in practice only with a deeper understanding the definition will only partially apply to poker. Poker is a game that beneath the surface of perception many intangible variables exist that can be condensed into relatively two areas of skill, mathematical computation & psychological warfare. Poker is a constant emotional struggle for individualistic superiority based upon mathematical computations & interpreting the significance of intrinsically incomplete information.

These are just two variables that exist that give a strong argument to classifying poker as primarily a game of skill with elements of chance.

“Defining poker as a game of skill is actually quite simple. First we must forget winning at poker & think for a moment about losing. It is possible to intentionally lose in poker as where to craps & roulette it is not. In games of chance we have no control of the outcome no matter our intent, our odds remain the same. In poker our actions can influence the outcome of the hand. If we fold we know with absolute certainty we will lose or calling bets with hands that cannot win the pot we will lose every time.”- Treat your poker like a business by Dusty Schmidt

Table games such as blackjack or craps are played against the house in which the casino has a specific built in mathematical advantage, where as poker is played against other human beings. The intrinsic flaws of human beings are where we can effectively exploit psychological tendencies or individual weaknesses through tactics of deception & manipulation. Understanding mathematical concepts & human psychology is only the beginning to understanding the level of skill that exists within the game & how they will translate from theory into practice. When our understanding of game theory is effectively implemented, it will in effect lead to a more profound understanding of the game. This is when it is we come to realize that skill is a primary component in a game which by the untrained eye is perceived otherwise. For the individuals who feel that gambling casts a negative shadow on society, poker in particular, understand that life inherently involves risk & everything we do has an element of chance involved. There is nothing certain in this life but death & taxes. Factually that is a reality that you cannot escape.

As human beings we can only comprehend what we truly understand. Poorly executed decisions made on the basis of inferior information or unfounded perception of actuality have a tendency to result in a better than desired outcome. This is the way that the game maintains a delicate sense of humor based on the realism of uncertainty. Individuality (Ego), emotional attachment, & level of understanding of the game are just a few of the qualities that tend to create the element of chance. These factors have the ability to create delusional distortions that have a direct effect on the mental game & personal decision making.

The only certainty in poker that exists is the point where the pot has been awarded. Thus in poker perfection does not exist; mastery is skill that separates an individual from the competition & in theory poker will continually provide a challenging yet dynamic environment.

Oklahoma: The home of Running Bear

2011-08-09T13:33:00.000-07:00

“Anyone who would build a city five feet below sea level, in a hurricane zone, & fill it with democrats is a damn genius.”- Larry the Cable Guy

Oklahoma was nice but nothing compares to Drago's char-broiled oysters, stately oaks, LSU & New Orleans Saints Football, Sportsman’s Paradise, 100% humidity, Harrah’s New Orleans, Rock N Sake sushi, sweet tea, & southern belles. Louisiana may not be the greatest place on earth, but it is where I call home. Maybe one day I will move back to Baton Rouge or maybe even Lafayette where I can belong to a nice country club & get back into golf.

For what I had time to see, OKC was a nice place indeed. The food was different yet surprisingly good. I did have an opportunity to visit Cattleman’s Steakhouse which has been operating in the stockyard district of OKC for over 100 years. This is the same restaurant that was featured on the Food Network on their popular show Diners, Drive Ins, & Dives hosted by Guy Fieri & on Travel Channel’s Man vs. Food hosted by Adam Richmond. The food was phenomenal & you could not ask to get a better quality for the price. They are obviously able to provide their customers with value due to their volume & long lasting reputation. If you are ever in OKC, I highly recommend that you visit Cattleman’s Steakhouse. It may not be the most upscale but I highly doubt you will find a higher quality better tasting steak for the price they charge in OKC than Cattleman’s.

Although the food was good, the casinos & especially the poker economy was an entirely different story. First of all, most if not all casinos in the state of Oklahoma are owned by different Indian tribes. "Running Bear" does not offer craps or roulette. Go figure. However they do rake the table games at a rate of $.50 per hand in blackjack & other table games. That should have been a sign of things to come. The poker room in this particular casino was centrally located yet entirely sealed off from the rest of the casino & was a non smoking room, which is always nice to have. There are no slot machines ringing in your ears or second hand smoke you are forced to breathe in. The rake in the poker room was a 10% pot rake with a $4 max rake & a $1 jackpot drop per hand. However they do drop the small blind initially so there is essentially no chop when action is left blind vs blind & obviously no house rule against a no flop no drop since they immediately drop the small blind in a 1/2 no limit hold’em game.

This is where things just start to get interesting. First of all the games had a max buy in of $200 when starting a new game or not. Minimum buy in was $40 & these restrictions are included when buying back in. This was a major handicap in my opinion & if I had not been 500+ miles from home or would have had a vehicle, I would have went elsewhere. This was supposedly the best games in OKC metro area, so I did not bother. The 2/5 games which I did not have the bankroll with me or have in general at the moment dictated that I could not nor should not buy into. My lack of a bankroll & current ability to overcome the psychological barriers to do so profitably was the ultimate decision maker. I was trying to preserve my fund allocation for the trip without having to put it all in play on one buy in. They played nowhere near as deep as they do in New Orleans or Biloxi. Average stacks were maybe $1300-$1500 at best & the action was nowhere near what we experience here at home. The games were super soft & easily beatable in the long term without a shadow of doubt.

The first game I get into is a 1/2 no limit hold’em. I proceeded to make the obvious buy in. This table could not have been any tighter or more passive with premium holdings, yet would limp in a high % of the time just to see a flop with any two. They were min-raising specialists, & even afraid to shove with the nuts in a heads up pot on the river even after you had lead into them for three streets & then check raised them on the river from OOP. Board texture dictated in those spots that I was obviously ahead of everything in their range other than the nuts. That actually happened several times against different opponents. I can see if he may have thought we had the same hand & were eventually chopping, but when you have position & are not three bet shoving the river in that spot it makes me question their ability.

Other than maybe three players, myself included, the tables post flop play was extremely weak, & adjusting to live 1/2 no limit from higher stakes can be much harder than it appears to be. The players in general are weaker, more passive, & stacks are not super deep. There is no room to play poker or get creative against an opponent. There are fewer opportunities to three bet due to lack of opponents opening pots or just in general my table position relative to other competent & aggressive opponents. My four bet range is obviously a little tighter at this level than my three bet range. If the pot was opened it was more than likely opened by me or two other players with any regularity & with a wider range of opening hands.The play at this level is so ABC & showdown is reached a high % of the time. This will eventually mean at this level with the competence of the average player is rather mediocre & effective stack sizes essentially amount to flips in bigger games. A more basic approach coupled with cards that have showdown value are required to play more profitably at this level. Honestly, with this little money on the table & the buy in requirements, I should have been able to change gears a little more frequently, but for me at this level has not been so easy.

There are mental barriers that I must overcome & adjustments that I must make. I must reacquaint myself with the value of patience & discipline, because they were two of the founding principles of how I have been able to create the success in the past & will undoubtedly be able to do so again in the future. I have lost my belief system & I am slowly working on rebuilding it. To me confidence is the ability to trust your instincts & adapt to the environment. It helps make well informed decisions & allows you to pull the trigger when necessary. Ultimately I must be able to believe in myself in order to succeed & if I don’t then nothing else will matter. I will have to take it one step at a time.

“The body cannot achieve what the mind does not believe.”- Unknown Author

This whole trip I was extremely card-dead & when I managed to make a hand it was almost always second best. The calling stations that were at the table managed to get there what seemed like a high % of the time in pots I was involved with, mostly just horrible spots. I managed to flop several straights or make several hands that were almost un-foldable & in turn they always happened to be the second nuts running into the nuts. I did manage to make quite a few disciplined laydowns, but with the table dynamics being what they were, it just turned out to be one of those trips. It was all part of dealing with the variance that exists in poker. I did not play anywhere near my best, I did make quite a few mistakes. I just have to accept the consequences, take them in stride, & use them to grow as a player.

Black Friday: The future of online poker

2011-07-04T01:27:00.000-07:00

The future of online poker as we know it in the United States is all but gone. On April 15th, yes on the day most Americans pay taxes, the Department of Justice (DOJ) in one fell swoop seizes the domain names of the top three online poker site operators that operate in the United States. It all came crashing down without notice. Site bank accounts were seized & funds were deemed inaccessible, thus player balances were immediately frozen & all cash out transactions were suspended. Virtually millions of dollars all of a sudden did not exist, or I am sure it felt that way.

It has been currently reported by subject poker that the world’s second largest poker site Full Tilt Poker is facing an unfathomable $60 million dollar shortfall. What really was the underlying cause of this shortfall?

Is this a next version of a Wall Street Ponzi scheme? Is Ray Bitar no better than Bernie Madoff? So before I get bombarded with accusations that I don’t know what I am talking about, remember this is only my opinion. Lets first look at the definition of a Ponzi Scheme as provided by Wikipedia:

“A Ponzi scheme is a fraudulent investment operation that pays returns to separate investors, not from any actual profit earned by the organization, but from their own money or money paid by subsequent investors. The Ponzi scheme usually entices new investors by offering returns other investments cannot guarantee, in the form of short-term returns that are either abnormally high or unusually consistent. The perpetuation of the returns that a Ponzi scheme advertises and pays requires an ever-increasing flow of money from investors to keep the scheme going.” - Wikipedia

Now I know that this opinion or argument can go one way or another, but let’s take a closer look for discussion purposes. First of all poker is an investment, but not perceived as a fraudulent one by its investors. Full Tilt Poker (FTP) took deposits that were processed by either banks or some sort of payment processing service & would subsequently credit player accounts for these deposits. Now the rake charged during every cash game hand dealt & juice from every tournament buy in would be their primary source of income.

Was there a separate financial account holding player balances that was not used for daily operations or ordinary business expenses? It is still unknown at the moment. Players would then take these balances & use them as buy ins for tournaments or cash games thus expecting a rate of return based upon skill in the long term or the inherent short term luck fest. Either way at some point in time they were looking to cash out & when those checks that were written but not honored that should have immediately raised a red flag to cause some concern that something just was not right. In the end it seems that as deposits flowing in were used as a mean to pay out player cash out requests & that the players’ balances were used as means to finance the day to day operations if not worse, theft.

So many questions have been asked with little to no information provided in response. That is what happens when lawyers are part of the equation. They have a license to interpret & invoice. We have now turned the reigns over to Capitol Hill yet once again to intervene with decisions that any adult of legal age should be competent enough to decide whether an activity creates moral hazard. Don’t tell us how to spend our money that we make after taxes have been paid. In this country it seems as we are protected more from ourselves than from others & it should obviously be the other way around. It’s sad but if change is not inevitable, our demise will.

Inherently flawed: Breaking free from the staus quo.

2011-06-23T16:07:00.000-07:00

“If we strip poker down to its core, it’s essentially a constant emotional struggle for superiority based upon mathematical computations & interpreting the significance of intrinsically incomplete information.” – Ross Leitz

In society, we as human beings are not only inherently flawed, but we are also conditioned to practice risk avoidance & to make everyday decisions based solely upon the end result. In poker, “results oriented” thinking leans toward experiences of unprofitability & mental anguish. I feel that this type of decision making is based more upon uncertainty than the true outcome, & this is done ultimately to protect our fragile egos. But nothing in life is guaranteed, which should be all more the reason to let our inhibitions go & make it happen. Nothing hurts more than falling short of your ability or should of, would of, could of.

Once you realize that the game is not about you, & that the results do not matter, you will enable your mind to break free from the reigns of inadequacy & the indistinguishable traits of the status quo. The game is about making good situational decisions, and what happens after that is meaningless.

“Gambling is in my blood. I have never been the one to learn the easy way. I’ve been told “I told you so” on more than one occasion. I am not normal. I do not live a normal life. So why would I want to walk the straight & narrow path down mediocrity just because it was what I was conditioned to do. Why play it safe?”

Poker is a game of skill with elements of chance, not the other way around. It’s a game of many variables that include risk management, capital management, expectation, & variance which measures uncertainty. Well timed aggression coupled with a confident yet fearless demeanor are two of the necessary components that are vital to success in the long term, which is how success in poker is measured. Playing poker for a living is no different than trading stocks on Wall Street or playing professional golf. They obviously are not identical disciplines yet they all mirror each other with amazing similarities.

Perfection is something that I simply use to keep my fragile ego intact. There is no room for an overvalued sense of self-importance in this world because karma is right around the corner waiting to humble the insatiable desire of individualism that skews us from reality.

Unlawful Internet Gaming Enforcement Act of 2006 (UIGEA)

2010-06-03T18:58:00.000-07:00

Enforcement of UIGEA will officially begin on Tuesday 6/1/2010, & will carry a wide range of speculation throughout the online poker community; this speculation will range from having no major impact on most players to complete lockdown of all U.S. accounts. This act does not make online poker illegal or playing poker an illegal activity, yet is it designed to block transfers from US financial institutions to offshore gaming websites. This is just another way in which big government attempts to micromanage our daily lives.

Final Nightly Donk-a-ment @ Harrah's New Orleans Bayou Poker Challange

2010-05-20T11:04:00.000-07:00

So far 2010 has been a rather dismal year, but not much different from 2009. I decided to make my way on down to Harrah’s New Orleans for their last nightly event of the Bayou Poker Challenge. The buy-in was $ 235 with 7k in starting chips & 20 minute levels.

After late registration ended, we now have a whopping fifteen (15) players show up for the tournament & we are playing for a total prize pool of $ 2,970 which will pay the top 3 places. We began the tournament playing three 5-handed tables with dead stacks of money posting blinds, until we got down to 12 handed play. The first significant hand that I get involved in is in level 3 where the blinds are 75/150, I am under the gun (utg) & look down at JJ. I raise to 375 & pick up 4 callers. The flop comes out K-4-8 rainbow. I immediately decide to make a continuation bet of about 2/3 the pot which was about 1,000, not only for value, but to see where I am at with one over on the board. Two players fold around to the villain in late position who has been getting hit in the face with the deck & he decides to flat my C-bet. The turn is a harmless 9 & once again I bet about 2/3 of the pot. The villain decides to tank for a few minutes but then eventually folds.

A few orbits later we make it down to the final 9 players & the tournament director has us redraw for seat positions to begin play after the break 9 handed. The first hand back from the break the blinds are at 150/300 & I have about 15k out of a 7k starting stack remaining behind. I look down at JJ & from under the gun I decide to raise to about 1200. I make a slightly larger raise since I have an ulta-aggressive donkey to my immediate left with a healthy stack. The donkey inst-calls & the rest of the action folds to the small blind who also decides to flat my pre-flop raise so we see a flop of K-J-3 three handed. What a gin flop! I flopped middle set & I know by change in my opponents posture & physical mannerisms that he had definitely caught a piece of that flop. So instead of trying to trap, I decide to lead out for about 2/3 the pot which is instantly re-raised by the villain to my left which forces the sb out of the pot. I decide to flat, keep him pot committed on the turn, & shove the river. The turn comes out a blank & I do decide to make another C-bet. My opponent doesn’t blink. At this point I am putting him on top pair with a good kicker. I can’t remember what the river came, but I did shove, the villain snap called, I announced that I had a set, turned over my JJ & the villain angrily threw his cards at the dealer then went on life tilt. It was a great feeling to get the money in with the best hand & not be out drawn.

I was now the chip leader & throughout the rest of the tournament it was not a lead I would ever relinquish. Several orbits later in level 8 the blinds were 300/600/75. From middle position facing at least two limpers I look down at QQ. I take my time before announcing raise, which I did to 2,150. The same guy who I had crushed several orbits later immediately announces “All In”. I ask the dealer for a count. The dealer lets me know that he has approximately 10k left & I have about 35k behind. I announce “I call”. The villain sheepishly turns over 55 & is in complete disgust when I turn over QQ. The board bricks, neither of us improve & he is eliminated in 9th place. Several eliminations later we were down to 4 handed play. This was the first time I had actually gotten my money in bad during the entire tournament. I had about 60k behind & it was going to cost me 12k at blind levels of 600/1200/200. After I had raised from the small blind the gentlemen who had shoved has been falling asleep in between hands. We were AIPF. My opponent tables A6x vs my A4x. The flop comes 4-2-2 with a brick on the turn & the river. I congratulate him & decided to do a $100 save for fourth place.

We are now down to 3 handed play & after so graciously putting the save in we decide to chop. At this point if we play it out I only win 100 more than if we end it right there. So I did, even though I had about 65% of the chips in play. The win was good for $ 1,330 & I did tip the staff $ 130 which was 10% of my winnings. It felt good to win & I am sure this won’t be my last.

Harrah's New Orleans Bayou Poker Challage 5k Main Event

2010-05-18T10:12:00.000-07:00

Today marks day 1 of Harrah’s New Orleans Bayou Poker Challenge WSOP Circuit 5k Main Event. The event attracted 156 players, some earning entry via satellite & with the remaining entrants buying in directly for the $ 5,150 entry fee. Today the players will complete 9 levels of play & play will conclude at 2 am CST.

Tournament director Steve Frezer & his staff have done a phenomenal job in providing player friendly structures which allow players to methodically chip up instead of turning into what would resemble an online shove fest in the late stages of the tournament where players have no option but to re-raise all-in or fold pre-flop because the blind to chip ratio is so high. Players will begin with 22k in tournament chips which is approximately 440 big blinds deep with 75 minute levels. The top 18 finishers, which is just over 10% of the field, will be competing for the massive prize pool of $ 750,000. The winner of this event will receive a gold ring & an entry into the WSOP Main Event this summer in Las Vegas Nevada.

Today I had my first chance to talk to Dwyte Pilgrim who is quite arguably the hottest player on the live tournament poker circuit. Currently ranked 3rd in the Card Player Magazine Player of the Year standings, Dwyte is always 24 hours from greatness. One opportunity after another arises in his world. It’s a shot in the dark. He has an unbelievable work ethic & is obviously loaded with natural talent. Look for him to make some noise this summer as he continues his run toward poker immortality.

For most of the day I sat on the rail behind a table that included Dan “Thunder” Walsh, TK Miles, & Eric “Lafayette” Cloutier. It didn’t take long before a few big hands developed within the early stages of this tournament. Fresh off the first break within a few hands in the early stages of level 3, the blinds are at 75/150 & Dan Walsh raises to 600. Small blind & big blind fold & the Green Bay donkey in seat 7 flats Walsh’s pre-flop raise. They see a flop of A-K-2 rainbow. The donkey leads out & ships 5k into a pot of only approximately 1,425. Dan snap calls all-in & tables 22 for a set of deuces vs the villains AQ which was top pair with a Q kicker. The board ends up running out A-K-2-J-A. Dan Walsh doubles up. The rest of the table including TK Miles was pretty quiet for the most part with the exception of Eric Cloutier. Eric is quite a colorful character full of energy & brings a lot of action to the table. Look for these three to make it relatively deep into this event.

Mid-way through level four, I decide to go grab a bite to eat & scope out the cash game action in the poker room. During tournament events the cash game action just gets to be completely insane. People are dying to give their money away. It is definitely a grinder’s paradise.

I would also like to thank Mr. Nolan Dalla for all of his advice & insight. He is truly a great man & it was an honor to meet him. I surely hope most of this makes sense as this is my first blog on a tournament in which I was not involved in. This makes me respect guys such as Nolan Dalla & Bryan Heptinstall who tirelessly provide the coverage for these events year around.

Mini-FTOPS Event 22

2010-05-14T16:17:00.001-07:00

I played in a 6 max no-limit hold-em tournament today which yielded 8,858 runners when late registration ended. These online tournaments are just insane with the number of players they produce as well as the prize pools. The super stack tournaments have great structures starting with 250 bb’s & longer than usual levels, which eventually allows you to be quite patient to chip up methodically instead of creating a shove-fest after the first several hours. Today’s tournament was a mini-ftops event with a $22 dollar buy-in. The prize pool was guaranteed at $ 300,000, which even with the slightly top heavy pay outs, a deep run would yield a nice return on investment. A final table appearance is guaranteed at least $ 4,200 for 6th place & 1st is paying slightly above $ 32,000. The biggest task ahead is attempting to fade a donkey infested field & invest somewhere in the range of 4 hours to at least to make the money. This is usually quite a daunting task, but with the structure being so deep it is quite attainable.

Obviously playing 6 max will dramatically change the initial table dynamics in a tournament as compared to full ring. Starting with fewer players initially will leave more unknown cards in the deck thus making drawing hands less difficult to play as compared to pocket pairs. In the early stages of these types of tournaments, I attempt to set my table image as well as try to gather as much information on the players as I can. I generally play very tight aggressive which ultimately allows me to make moves in critical positions that help me methodically chip up, kind of a small ball approach.

First significant hand comes in level 12. The blinds are 140/280/25 & I look down at KK in the big blind. Sitting at an aggressive table I guess you can’t ask for a better spot to pick to increase your stack. With an aggressive Russian behind me, I am almost certain to be facing a pre-flop raise here & I intend on flatting it unless we are in a multi-way pot. I have 7,460 behind & I get my wish when the ultra aggressive Russian donkey on the button (OTB) raises the pot to 840 with 9,360 behind. The small blind folds, I flat his pre-flop raise & we see a flop of 8-7-3 rainbow. This is a great flop for me & out of position with the over-pair I decide to check with the intention of re-raising if the villain took a stab at the pot, he decides to check behind. At this point I am putting my opponent on something like AK-AJ or maybe a medium pair. The turn comes a 6 of spades, which puts two spades on the board. I can’t check any longer & decide to lead out for 750 into a pot of 1995, which is just under a third of the pot. The villain decides to flat the bet on the turn seemingly looking for what could be at best a 3 outer for the ace or maybe only a 2 outer to hit his under-pair. The river produces a J of diamonds, another blank in my mind & at this point we have a pretty sizable pot of 3495 in which I decide to make a value bet on the river of 1400. If my read is somewhat close, I think that this bet will pay me off & take this donkey to value town. The villain thinks for a moment then folds & I take down a pretty nice pot of just under 3500 which at this stage is just over 14 big blinds. I now have just over 9,600 which is equivalent to just over 34 big blinds.

I continue along with a healthy stack & continue to pick up the blinds & antes a little bit over once an orbit as well as take in a few small pots. Then a few levels later I reach a pivotal point in the tournament for me in level 14. The blinds are 200/400/50 with levels lasting 12 minutes. I have 10,700 behind & on the button look down at QJxx. This is not particularly a monster but versus this tables range it looks like pocket aces. The action folds around to me on the button I make it 950 to go. This is a play that I believe works more than 50% of the time that will take down blinds & antes provided that the big blind does not wake up with a hand. Very rarely will you face a 3 bet in this situation at this level of play. The small blind folds & the big blind quickly flats my raise. We see a flop of K-J-7 rainbow. The villain pre-flop had about 7,000 after posting his bb. Out of position he checks the flop to me & I decide to check behind to maintain control of the pot. The turn comes out a 6 of diamonds, putting two diamonds out there. I decide to lead out for 1,300 & the villain insta-ships his remaining stack of almost 7,000. Now I know this guy could just be spewing his stack away with something very marginal like K8 or could have had me crushed with something like two pair or QQ/AK. I think for a second,& then fold because I am not at the stage to risk that many chips on such a marginal hand.

I still have a healthy stack of 8,450 & will live to fight another day. So the blind levels are increasing & I feel comfortable with my style of play so far. Then I go absolutely card dead & several huge aggressive euro donkeys’ get moved to the table, with the largest stack to my immediate left. Every time I raised I got 4x over the top 3 betted & would eventually lead to my ultimate demise. My stack wasn’t large enough to 4 bet him, so I would continue to get blinded down until I was AIPF on my big blind in level 17. The blinds were 400/800/100. I am in the big blind, AIPF with AJxx. The table folds around to the small blind & he calls with 87xx. The great news is I have the best hand with ace high & we both have spades. The board runs out Q-5-2-8-K, & I am out in 1614th place. I know I made a few mistakes, but this is just getting to the point of being so sick that I cannot even explain. I know I will live to fight another day, but I have to get back to playing live poker. This internet shit is going to cause me to die from either a stroke or heart-attack. I will keep my head up though & keep grinding.

FTOPS # 28

2010-05-02T23:45:00.000-07:00

It all started as a dream. I played in my first FTOPS event today on Full Tilt Poker. For some reason there is a psychological difference in respect toward money when you play online compared to live. But this all started off of a 150 FTP point 24 man sit-n-go that lead to the 3500 FTP point with 43 seats guaranteed. It was a turbo format with starting chip stacks @ 1500. This satellite started with 643 runners & I managed to finish in the top 43 earning me a seat in the 240+16 FTOPS Event # 28. 6-max no-limit hold-em, $1,000,000 guaranteed, final table guaranteed $ 12,500 with $ 191,000 to ship it. 4997 runners & pays top 492 with a $ 40 KO bounty.

First break @ 30/60 85 hands the first hour. First key mistake came in hand number 51 where I pick up KQss in the hijack position 6 max. UTG leads out for a 3x raise blinds @ 20/40 for 120. I re-raise in position to limit the completion and I get flatted by the original raiser. Flop comes 8-7-K with 2 hearts. He checks & I decide to bet 375 which is a little more than half of the pot of 620. Once again I think either he is flatting with at-least one heart in his hand looking to make some fireworks on the turn. I’m pretty comfortable that he has at-least a big Ace (A) like AQ or AJ, or a small pair that missed. Turn comes 6 hearts, which obviously slows down the action & he decides to check. To continue to maintain pot control in position I decide to check behind with the intention of making a value bet on the river if checked to me. Instead my opponent fails to check & leads out for 1000 which was approximately a pot size bet which should have set off the warning signs. The cash game mentality cost me some valuable chips early. I tank & eventually call . My opponent tables AK for top pair top kicker with the Ace of hearts.

This hand will not leave my memory for a while. In the cut-off I pick up 66, 166 hands deep into the tournament blinds @ 140/280/50. I bet the pot roughly 730. Button folds, SB & BB immediately shove. I have no choice but to fold. I watch the small blind table A9x vs AKx in the BB. I observe as the board of Q-6-4-9-9 is laid out. I feel so sick to my stomach, even-though I made the correct long-term play.

I have about 4400 behind, blinds at 170/340/25 in the BB I pick up A10x. It folds around to the CO that decides to raise me all-in. I snap call & he tables A3x. Looks like a good spot for a double up? Worse case a chop? Not even close when the board ran out 4-K-9-J-3. You have got to be fucking kidding me, out in 1634/4997. I played roughly for 2 hours & 45 minutes; booked 1 KO for $ 40; saw about 9% of my flops, took down about 85% of my pots won either pre or post flop. I played about as well as I could, just a little unfortunate for the deck to bail out my opponent with the ungodly 3 outer to unceremoniously end my run at greatness.

Intangible Attributes

2010-03-31T18:26:00.000-07:00

"You cannot survive without that intangible quality we call heart. The mark of a top player is not how much he wins when he is winning but how he handles his losses. If you win for thirty days in a row, that makes no difference if on the thirty-first you have a bad night, go crazy, and throw it all away." Bobby Baldwin

Individuality. It’s what makes us unique. Other than physical characteristics, there are intangible qualities that exist among many individuals because in the end we are all human. I have identified several of these intangible attributes as distinct weaknesses that refrain players from being consistently profitable. If you've played poker seriously for any amount of time, you've probably hit a downswing & downswings can be completely demoralizing. Downswings cause frustration & frustration develops into tilt that will cause you to adjust to a less than optimal strategy that will eventually lead to mistakes. Downswings are inevitable, but what separates the great players from the good players is their ability to adapt during these unavoidably brutal episodes.

If we strip poker down to its core, it’s essentially a constant emotional struggle for superiority based upon mathematical computations & interpreting the significance of intrinsically incomplete information. Thoughts determine actions & actions determine results, although past results have no direct relationship on future outcomes. I believe that poker psychology is the defining characteristic that is the ultimate difference between breaking even & profitability. Truth can be our most deceptive psychological asset, while lack of emotional control over an extended period of time can only lead to downswings & lack of profitability in our win rate.

Living in the shadows of ADHD & Bipolar disorder, it becomes increasingly more difficult to control the emotions in turn which control me. Impulsivity is merely a lack of consciousness which I happen to experience quite often, but can often lead to the never-ending pursuit of satisfaction for attaining material possessions or exaggerated sense of self-importance. Fear & negativity can only lead to further detrimental behavior that embodies an extreme lack of self-control. The fact of the matter is that it is imperative for me to recognize the situation & react accordingly. The only way for me to take control of my emotions is to develop self-discipline & make rational decisions to rise above the adversity that was created by my unconscious thought process.

Ambiguities of online poker

2010-03-14T09:59:00.000-07:00

“It's hard work. Gambling. Playing poker. Don't let anyone tell you different. Think about what it's like sitting at a poker table with people whose only goal is to cut your throat, take your money, and leave you out back talking to yourself about what went wrong inside. That probably sounds harsh. But that's the way it is at the poker table. If you don't believe me, then you're the lamb that's going off to the slaughter.” Stu Ungar

Over the last few months I have been primarily playing online and all I have to say is that the results are far less than spectacular. I utilize HUD software to analyze my sessions and break them down into meaningful information. This helps me decipher opponent’s tendencies as well as my strengths and weaknesses. Now I understand that poker is a game of adaptability, but the absence of a physical human being sitting at a table across from you & the inability to physically view your surroundings is mentally exhausting. Full Tilt’s introduction of Rush Poker has become the next poker epidemic which is similar to playing bingo on crack. The lack of table dynamics & post flop play make it a quite attractive venture. Unlike a standard ring game, rush poker consists of large pool of players & every hand is played at a different table. The beauty of this is if the hand that’s dealt is less than desirable, the quick fold option can be selected & the player is moved to a new table before the flop of the previous hand is even dealt. This is also great for players with ADHD & the lack of patience.

There are only two things certain in life, death & taxes. In the United States, it’s more like pwned by the Chinese. Instead of practicing irresponsible fiscal policy, maybe the United States government should consider the economic benefits of legalizing & regulating online poker. In its current state I have feelings of uncertainty toward online poker. There are too many critical aspects that leave online poker vulnerable to the next Bernard Madoff “Ponzi “scheme. “A Ponzi scheme is a fraudulent investment operation that pays returns to investors from either their own money or money paid by subsequent investors, rather than from any actual profit. The scheme usually entices new investors by offering returns other investments cannot guarantee, in the form of short-term returns that are either abnormally high or unusually consistent. The perpetuation of the returns requires an ever-increasing flow of money from investors to keep the scheme going.” This is actually conceivable considering that the online poker market continues to grow at an astronomical rate.

When it comes to computers & technology I am usually skeptical, because they can be compromised. Unlike human beings, morals do not exist in technology. Trust me I am a firm believer in that history tends to repeats itself. Take prohibition in the early 1900’s for example. From 1920-1933 the manufacture, sale & transportation of intoxicating liquors was illegal in the United States. Organized crime recognized this imbalance of supply & demand & the realization of a profitable business venture on the black market took place virtually overnight. Although online poker & prohibition do not necessarily parallel identically, the moral of this comparison is to identify the potential weaknesses of the online poker industry. Online poker is considered to be illegal in the United States via the unlawful internet gaming enforcement act of 2006 (UIGEA), but the industry continues to grow exponentially reaching approximately $7 billion dollars in annual revenues, with the United States consisting of approximately more than 1/3 of the global market.

We are in the midst of an economic crisis. Although illegal, online poker continues to grow exponentially. Identity theft & white collar crimes are highly prevalent in today’s society. Now do you see the parallels for comparison? After conducting some research, I found it interesting that legal ambiguities diminish accountability. Instead it tends to protect the financial interests of online commerce instead of the reason for its existence, the customer base. With that being said, why would online poker sites not want to protect its customer base? This question could create an interesting debate. Most sites do not offer disconnection protection, unless it had to specifically correlate to site server failure & there is a point of disconnect where the site legally separates accountability for any losses incurred. This occurs when private hole card information is transmitted from the server to the player’s personal computer. Once received it is then decoded by the software & made visible in a publicly readable format. This is the most evident situation of susceptibility against potential collusion or deception. It is conceivable that malicious software could gain access to a personal computer, thus gaining access to private hole card information & transmitting it to a third party. If you believe that this is not even a logical possibility, then you must have forgotten that MIT still exists. Playing poker is a tough way to make an easy living, but someone has to do it.

Don't forget to listen to WTF Poker hosted by Jack McAdoo, Danielle Adams-Benham & Hannah Elisabeth only on www.pokerpodradio.com. Putting the broads back in broadcasting to go. Remember there is no substitute for profanity. Enjoy!

What is variance & how does it apply to poker?

2010-03-08T13:33:00.000-08:00

What is variance and how does it apply to poker? Variance simply measures uncertainty & in poker many decisions are based upon incomplete information. For example in a full ring game prior to the flop being revealed, 17 of the 19 cards dealt are unknown. This includes the burn card. So the only information that is available is to look for specific betting patterns, psychological tendencies, physical mannerisms, stack size & position. “For every action there is a complete and opposite reaction.” (Isaac Newton) This statement is not only true concerning the laws of physics in relation to motion, but also applies to many situations that occur in poker. This is why understanding table dynamics is imperative. When seated at a new table it is crucial to determine the table dynamics. Identify which players are aggressive or passive by their pre-flop actions and how many hands they play. Becoming aware of betting patterns & the range of hands that players may play post flop as well as how they tend to play them are fundamental aspects in reading players. After the table dynamics are read, your table image can manipulate the dynamics of the table and ability to change gears will determine long term success.

In probability theory and statistics, variance is the expected value of the standard deviation squared of that variable from its mean. Statistics can prove that the luck factor exists on a short term basis, but in volume, skill & the math will prevail. Kind of like the tale of the tortoise & the hare. It’s not a race. It’s a marathon. Slowly but methodically the tortoise (skill) will triumph. Expected value (EV) & variance are directly proportional to the volume of hands played. EV is the expected outcome on average for a certain action used consistently over an extended period of time. Online it seems that bigger swings of variance will be experienced due to the volume of hands played per hour.

Poker is a game of conscientious decision making, emotional control & making the correct plays from a positional/mathematical standpoint over a long period of time. Avoiding or managing tilt is crucial to becoming a better player. Tilt is a state of psychological perplexity or aggravation in which a player implements a detrimental strategy, typically resulting in the player becoming overly-aggressive. A technique that is generally used to manage tilt is to disregard the unfavorable outcomes of pots, especially those that are statistically uncommon; they are the products of variance, not bad strategy.

The psychological adjustments that are necessary to make the transition from primarily playing in live cash games to tournament play online can be extremely difficult. I prefer to play deep stack no limit hold-em. Normally in a live cash game my stop loss limit is set at 3 buy-ins which is roughly 450bb or $2250 for 2-5 no limit. This strategy requires a bankroll of approximately 30 buy-ins or 23k. & having an adequate bankroll is essential to longevity in playing poker. Well I had to learn that lesson the hard way. I built up a starting bankroll of approximately 10k & built it up as high as 80k but never fell below 60k when it came to poker. Now spending night after night in strip clubs, high priced hotels & restaurants, I finally reached a breaking point that leaves me where I am today, felted. When you stay up from days on end, party like there is no tomorrow & of course have a little assistance from self medicating it has shown me that there is no room for that type of reckless lifestyle if you want to be on top of your game. Now I am still trying to make the transition to online poker & I am finding out that the potential is there I just need a proper bankroll and put in more volume to create an accurate assessment of my success or failure. Until then I will just have to continue the daily grind .

Laissez les bon temps rouler in the Big Easy

2010-02-08T10:43:00.000-08:00

Pigs have flown, HELL has frozen over, the New Orleans Saints have WON the Super Bowl!! I thought I would never see the day. Against all odds, what seemed to be the most improbable journey. The New Orleans Saints are now enshrined in the immortality of sports history, & no one can take that away from us.

Online Poker & The WPT Biloxi

2010-01-24T17:25:00.000-08:00

Lets get things started off here by talking a little bit about the online poker scene and the many accusations of online poker being "rigged". Now if you have played no limit hold-em long enough, you realize that variance is a natural factor of the game, and the transition from being primarily a live cash game player to the online landscape is not as easy as most may think. There are so many variables that are critical when playing in a live cash game or tournament that you need to apply to the online landscape. First attribute to exploit when first sitting down would need to be table dynamics. Each individual at the table has a unique dynamic that dictates the style of play. First you should assess the dynamics of the table and then change gears if necessary to adjust your play that will ultimately give you an advantage. Secondly to be a winning poker player you must possess intelligence and the ability to compute various bits of information before logical decisions can be made. Exploit your ability to demonstrate emotional control to avoid going on tilt and self destructing before your very eyes. Try to keep an even keel. Now there are definitely valid arguments that players have obtained an unfair advantage online. Just look back at the Ultimate Bet & Absolute Poker scandals. Other than players participating in collusion, I am lacking the technical computer skills as far as what it would take to infiltrate the servers for these sites and create a software program that can identify your opponents hole cards. So what are the poker sites doing to prevent these types of scandals from occurring? Why does the gaming commission not adopt more stringent policies for reoccurring audits for all approved software? So now with that said let me know what you think and maybe we can continue this subject in a later blog.

So now lets discuss one of the hot topics concerning online poker, HR 2267. This is a bill that is sponsored by Representative Barney Frank that should go to vote in the House within the next few weeks. Frank has taken the stance that ultimately there would be a 42 billion dollar tax increase with in the next 10 years. Well What does that do for poker players. Only the ability to make easier deposits? Well I am not a Lawyer by any means, but if I am not mistaken there are no specific federal or state laws that prohibit online gambling. But from a tax stand point I do have a little more insight and experience. First it all begins whether the gambling income was a source of primary income or by way of a hobby. As a hobby the income is exempt from self employment taxes of 15.3%, but is still fully taxable as other income. Also you can only claim the amount of losses equal to the amount of income, and you can not net your expenses against your income directly, but if you meet the requirements for itemizing your expenses you would be able to itemize qualifying expenses. As a professional gambler you can claim your gambling income and offset your losses against your gambling income. There are several distinct factors though that the IRS requires in order to file as a professional gambler. One of the primary advantages to filing as a professional gambler would be that all incurred expenses would flow through a schedule C and be netted directly against reported income. This is extremely helpful when it comes time to calculate the federal taxes owed. If you are unsure whether or not you qualify to file as a professional gambler or should report the income as a hobby. I highly suggest finding a qualified CPA and make sure you keep thorough records and retain receipts.

Now to the WPT Event, The Southern Poker Championship which is being held at the Bad Times Resort & Casino in Biloxi Mississippi. Recently, like maybe of ummm last night. Daniel Negreanu comments on the structure of the 10k No Limit Championship event. Well as most of you know, a well known player on the Gulf Coast as well as many other casinos nationwide, Will "The Poker Monkey" Souther was 86'ed by tournament director and current poker room manager Johnny Grooms. It was on the same topic as Negreanu had discussed in his most recent blog. So I ask, was Johnny's decision to disallow Monkey to play in his poker room but have no public comment concerning Negreanu's statement on the same topic? I do certainly admire Daniel from every standpoint and this statement is in no way criticizing him for his opinion, as the first amendment entitles him to one. But just a note to Johnny, when one of the worlds most respected poker players has an opinion, its probably in your best interest to listen.

Well I'm not sure if any of this makes sense as I have not taken my medicine in a few days and shit is just kind of spaced out. Please feel free to post your comments or suggestions as I am open to constructive criticism. Enjoy!

Ross

The Blonde Bombshell of Poker

2010-01-20T19:38:00.000-08:00

So I am talking to Kai Landry on facebook, commenting on his status. Kai sez New Orleans Saints 33 & Vikings 20. Well considering how close Kai was on the last game I decide to tell him I will bet the farm on his prediction. Kai sez take out a 2nd & 3rd mortgage, sell all my belongings, take a loan out on my soul, and SHOVE! Sounds like great advice. So I ask where can I take a loan out on my soul? A few minutes later a woman named Hannah Elisabeth comments on the post suggesting that I Google "Dr. Faustus". So before I continue with the search for my answer, I take a second to take a look at her profile and first reaction is wow, what a Cougar! This woman is not only gorgeous, but she is a gifted writer, has a tremendous personality, & is a phenomenal poker player.

So lets take a second & talk about her desire to write/blog. If you are interested in a unique perspective that comes with a warning label, then this woman is for you.

WARNING: Enter Blog site at your own risk! Author will not be held responsible for spikes in blood pressure caused by reactions to what you have read. Seek immediate medical attention for any reactions lasting more than four hours. I think I have read something similar to this before, but it was the warning label on a box of Viagra. Anyways.....

Talk about a sense of humor...good times. Her mission is to provide an in-depth look into poker, politics, polemics, & pasta primavera. Her opinion on these subjects may be controversial to the views of others, but that's what makes us individuals. No doubt that after reading a few of her entries you will have an insatiable appetite for more. She has a tremendous personality and is definitely not your average woman. Lets review again shall we...she is hot, plays poker....blond hair....large breasts...great smile...oh did I mention personality?

So lets talk a little about her poker skills. She first started playing about 20 years ago in Southern California. Limit was the game of choice for most of the worlds best players. She started out playing for smaller stakes and gradually moved up in limits. Now that she lives in Las Vegas and in the 21st Century. She has access to brick and mortar rooms as well as the online landscape. She has many tournament and cash credentials to her name; most recently 2008 Main Event feature table at the World Series of Poker. Even though she didn't cash, it is great publicity. On the other hand she did chop the Caesar's Mega-stack for $31K, which is a pretty sweet score. This year she will undoubtedly be the next future ex wife of Norman Chad. That is an honor in itself.

Mark my words on this one. This woman will be the next big name woman in poker. Check out her website at http://hannahqueenofhearts.com/. As my boy Rod Ryan always says "AMF" it stands for adios mother fuckers! Enjoy.

Ross

The IP and Bad Times Resort & Casino

2010-01-12T12:37:00.000-08:00

Oscar Levant once said "There's a fine line between genius and insanity. I have erased this line."

I believe that this quote describes my last 36 hours that I was awake. Its Sunday morning and I wake up around 10am. I decide to venture over to the IP in Biloxi to play in there nightly $200.00 dollar buy in no limit holdem event. Things went well, I made the final table, and I made it heads up with Will Souther aka The Poker Monkey. The rest is history, I finished second by the way. We finish at roughly midnight and immediately thereafter I decide to head down to the poker room and play a little 1-2 no limit cash game. After playing for several hours and leaving slightly ahead. I make my way to the Beau Rivage to get into a slightly larger game. I sit in a 2-5 no limit which is my game of choice. But I do have to say that it isnt out of the ordinary for me to buy in a 2-5 no limit game for a minimum of $1200.00 or so, but this game was stacked slightly deeper. The guy in the 10 seat is from Tampa Florida and has roughly 20k behind. Also remember we are in Mississippi and cash is allowed on the table. Average stack at the table is somewhere in the neighborhood of #2500.00. So I play for an hour or so and end up cashing out for about a $300.00 dollar winner. I decide to go eat some breakfast and by this time it is about 4am. After eating breakfast I head back to the poker room and sit in another 2-5 no limit cash game. Roughly the same as the table before, deep stacked and aggressive. I did have some nice highlights during that session that made sitting in that game well worth while. I am in late position with pocket 7's, roughly $1300.00 behind and I am facing a three bet with two callers. The raise was to $25 and eventually we would go 5 handed into the flop. The flop came 2-7-5 rainbow, which is a pretty wet flop. The original raiser utg+1 decides to bet the pot which is roughly $130. We loose 2 players and the action returns to me. I decide to re-raise to $350.00 in this position to eliminate any draws that may be lingering and to entice someone that may have a pair think that I am just making a move to take down the pot. We lose the guy behind me and the original raiser snap shoves all in and I immediately call. I flip over pocket 7's for top set. He decides not to flip his cards over. The turn sealed the deal when the case 7 hit. With him being at best a 19:1 underdog, he instantly mucked his had and left the table. It was a pretty good feeling. Just a few hands later the table begins to break and we are moved to start a new game.

After moving tables there are 5 new players added to the mix. Still playing 2-5 no limit and in the top 33% of stacks at the table. It is about 9am. Ive been up for at least 24 hours straight. So the game begins and things seem a little tight. After several hours of play at this table, I feel that I have a pretty solid read on the players that surround me. Once again I get involved in a big hand. I am on the button with around $2000.00 behind. I look at KQ of diamonds. There is no raise ahead of me so I make what seemed to be the standard button open raise for that table to $25.00. After a few folds, I get 3 bet to $75 with one caller. The pre-flop pot is at about $275.00. So I decide to flat the 3 bet. Now 3 to the flop and the flop comes 2-J-10 with 2 diamonds. So I have two overs to the board, king high flush draw, open ended straight and straight flush draws. Original raiser now decides to lead out for $500.00 and gets a call. I decide with the size of this pot and the plethora of outs that I was priced in. So now we are around just shy of $1800.00 in the pot. The turn comes a Q of spades. Well that now given me a pair in addition to all of my draws. At this point with a Q high board with straight and flush possibilities that the original raiser has to have one of two hands. Pocket aces or pocket kings. It would be tough to think that he was just on the ace high flush draw but it was a possibility. So after the turn the original raiser decides to shove. The player in between us folds and now I have a decision to make. I have a little over 25% of my stack invested in the pot of what I had when the hand began, which gives me at least 33% equity in the pot. So I go into the tank for a bit and start calculating my pot odds and probabilities of hitting one of those outs. Well I figured if this guy has aces, I was a 4:1 underdog pre-flop, after the flop I am just on the downside of a coin flip, after the turn I am now around a 3:2 underdog. So basically I think to myself that any of the 9 diamonds, any 9,K,A,or Q would book me a winner. So that is 9 diamonds + 2 Kings + 2 Queens + 2 A's= 15 outs. So my math entering the turn was (15 x 3 + 9)% which comes down to 54% which is basically a coin flip even though at the table if I thought this was the senario that I was in that I would be a slight underdog. When the turn hit, I went from being a slight favorite to having a realistic 33% chance of hitting one of my outs. The math on the turn to improve on the river was 15 x 3= 45. 45 rounds up to 50 and I add the first digit of the rounded number to get my percentage. So 55% of the time, I am going to improve on the river in this situation. So I decide to make the call and he leaves his cards face down. The river is dealt and its a FUCKING QUEEN! Holy shit!!! He did flip over pocket aces and was dealt the bad news. One time for the kid. So now the adrenaline is definitely rushing and before my chips are all raked in and stacked I look at KK in the cutoff. I am thinking to myself you have got to be fucking kidding me. So after several limpers, I decide to make it $80.00 to go. All the limpers fold except the gentlemen (And I use that term very LOOSELY) two seats to my right. He just decides to flat my raise. So the flop comes out I dont even remember what, just a bunch of undercards and rainbow. Well the gentleman decides to lead out for about $250.00, I snap call, because I figured that it may have been a continuation bet. The turn reveals a Q. He then makes it $500.00 to go. I have to go into the tank again and replay the last minute or so in my mind. Is it really possible that I am going up against aces, a set of queens or another set of some kind? I felt that it was unlikely that I was going up against a set unless it was queens or I was up against aces. So I just flat the bet on the turn. The river was dealt a blank and the board is not paired. Howard the Duck then makes it $1,000 to go and after a short while I am thinking to myself that this guy is going to have to show me a set of queens or aces because I am not laying this down. So I call and flip over my kings. The son of bitch slow rolled pocket aces. He was such a cold hearted asshole that I wanted to beat him, but I politely said nice hand sir and went on about my business. After that the day went completely down the drain and what seems like every time I was a favorite in a hand, I was destined to get out drawn. I ended up taking one on the chin, but that's poker. Tomorrow will be another day and today was just another lesson learned. It is what it is and I will just have to keep grinding it out.

Thoughts on investing: A look into similarities in the stock martket and on the felt

2010-01-01T18:17:00.000-08:00

Whether making investments in the stock market or at the poker table, it is essential to have a reliable set of rules or a system that has been tested in real time, you should follow these rules in order to preserve capital and cut losses. The investor must also consider the odds of their stock making a gain or a loss. Price objectives and targets should be a large part of every investors system. With proper money management and calculated expectancy, you should aim to trade only in situations where the odds are in your favor. Another major component that works its way into investing is psychology and/or human emotion. Stocks are made up of human character traits, similar to the type of people that own them. Some stocks are risky and volatile while other stocks are conservative and predictable. The market repeats cycles and specific chart patterns because humans repeat their actions and character tendencies.

The same is true in investing; I can cut a loss short and wait for the next opportunity without risking the farm if a realizable loss is recognized. If the cards are good and my probabilities of winning the hand are high, I can call the bet or raise the bet. The connection I am trying to make with investing in the stock market and playing poker relates directly to cutting losses short (capital preservation and money management) and my odds of winning the game (in the stock market this could be called expectancy).The no-limit aspect allows your upside potential to be unlimited which carries through to investing. If you cut losses short and ride your winner, the up-side potential in investing can also be unlimited. In the real world of investing in the stock market, you should always invest in the most optimal situations and ideas. The ensuing gain or loss will prove or disprove your prior theory. Again the most important component of both ventures is cutting losses short and moving on without becoming emotionally involved.

All investors and poker players bring emotions to the table, some control them better than others. The bottom line is to understand your surroundings. Implement an optimal strategy that maximizes your success & minimizes your risk. Tomorrow is a new day and there will always be an opportunity, because they are always around the corner. 2010 is a new year and I wish you much success in all of you future investing endeavors.

Joint Business Ventures in the Poker Affiliate Market

2009-12-31T10:20:00.000-08:00

The economy has been through hell and back in the last 12 months, 2009 will sure be a year to forget rather than remember. Uncle Sam and the far left are making it more difficult to start or even maintain a small business. Death by taxation. So I started brainstorming and doing some internet research, & I came across the Poker Affiliate Market. It only makes sense to consider a business venture that has low overhead and is almost recession proof. The only problem is I am good with numbers & not so much with computers as far as website design. The key to the poker affiliate market is to aggressively promote and attract consistent and high volume players. Not only is this good for the site, but if you decide to choose the option of a rake revenue sharing plan, this strategy has an endless potential revenue stream. The site can also generate revenue by selling advertisements, but also buying and selling domains. Any thoughts?