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The details aren't as appealing as the headline but still an interesting story. Wonder how it affects his game knowing that if he can't win he goes to jail?
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I played some poker this past weekend. On Friday night we had 23 players and things went fairly well. We were down to 8 players left with the average chip stack being 5750 chips. I was sitting on about an average stack and believing I was in the zone and it was my night to win. Then it happened. Blinds were 1500/3000 and I was in the small blind. Everyone folded around to me. I looked down at 2 5 off suit. Perhaps the best player at the table (other than me of course) was in the big blind. I considered folding because I didn’t want to get caught up with this hand, but decided I needed to try to steal the big blind. I raised to 9000 and the big blind folded. Phew!
So, the next time I was the small blind (now at 2000/4000) everyone folded to me again. Now if I’m going to try to steal the big blind again I will need to raise big. I only have about 57,000 in chips so a 4X the BB raise would be almost a third of my stack. The BB was sitting on about 65,000 in chips so if I moved all in there was very few hands that he could call with. I looked down at pocket two’s. I decided to go for it. After all, chances are he only has a marginal hand and will have to fold. I moved all-in. I didn’t even fully get the “all-in” past my lips when I heard “I call.” Sure enough he had pocket aces and they held up for him.
I was now knocked out and asking myself what I did wrong. It was pretty clear. I shouldn’t have put my tournament life at risk when I had no idea what I was up against. In retrospect I know my opponent is a good player so the only hands he would have called with are probably QQ, KK, or AA. I doubt if he would have called with AK knowing he would be crippled if he lost. I could have limped in and hoped to catch trips for cheap. Since everyone folded he may have played his aces slowly to try to keep someone in the pot. I could have raised to 2X the BB and I would have obtained some information, probably been forced out of the hand with an all in over the top. Well, anyways at least I learned a valuable lesson . . . Or did I?
On Saturday night I was playing in another tournament. I found myself short stacked with only about 6X the BB. I figured I was down to all in or fold at this point. However, when in this situation I like to be the first one in the pot and that was proving to be difficult with these players. It seemed all night there were at least 4 players to the flop no matter how much the pre flop raise. I once raised to 5X the BB and had 5 callers. I certainly didn’t want to be up against more than one player with my tournament life at stake. Then it happened. I was in the small blind (sound familiar?). It folded around to me and I looked down at JQ off suit. This must be it. At most I could have one caller and at least I have two face cards, right? . . . . All-in . . . . . . Call . . . He had pocket kings and caught a third on the flop to seal the deal. I can’t believe I made the same stupid move two nights in a row. Maybe now I finally learned the lesson? Maybe.
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Finally! I am going to actually play poker tomorrow night. It seems like it has been forever.
Whenever poker night draws near it inevitably leads me to think about strategy. Since this particular game is against pretty much the same people every time, there is an added complexity. My normal game is usually pretty good, but occasionally I think that some people have me figured out to the point that they consistently beat me. This makes me think that I should change up my play. But it hasn’t worked for me in the past.
For example, I once thought I was getting the reputation for being an extremely tight player. I was finding it difficult to ever get a caller when I wanted one. So, I decided at the next game I would play more aggressively. I figured with a tight reputation I should be able bluff easier than most. It seemed to be working great at first. Less than an hour in, I was easily the chip leader with more than double the chips of the second largest chip stack. However, less than hour later I was out of the tournament. In hindsight my mistake was obvious. Your reputation only matters when you first sit down. After a while, how you are playing tonight matters more.
So what will be my strategy tomorrow night? I will stick to the strategy that has worked best for me in the past; almost no strategy. Just simply make the best possible decision every time. Every hand, every turn of another card, every different situation, calls for a different strategy, and every time I have tried to stick to a more specific strategy it has backfired.
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Okay, so I am a facebook addict like thousands or maybe even millions of other people. Recently I made the mistake of trying out facebook poker. I had a few minutes to kill and I have found that when I play for money with limited time I tend to lose. I don’t have enough patience and I play stupid hands to try to win quickly since I don’t have time to wait for the right time to make a move. So, I figured maybe this facebook poker would be good. I can kill a few minutes playing poker and if I lose, so what. It’s only play money.
Then it happened . . . I got sucked in. At the bottom of the page the application tracks the bankroll of all of your friends. I started out in something like 70th place among my facebook friends. My competitive streak told me this was unacceptable and I had to get to first place. So I started playing more. It didn’t take long to double my play money bankroll and then do it again and again. Before I knew it I was in third amongst my friends. A couple more days and I will be in first place. Maybe then I can quit playing this silly version of poker.
I call it a version of poker because it isn’t real poker. It has been many years since I played for play money on Poker Stars or Full Tilt, but I seem to remember these games having significantly less bingo poker. Bingo poker is when several people at the table are going to go all in with any two cards and hope to win. Usually they will call anything with poor hands as well. This makes it extremely easy to win in the long run. Just don’t put much in when the odds are against you and go all in when you are sure you have the best hand. Someone always calls. Watch for draws. If the board has straight draws or flush draws wait to see if it hits before you go all in.
It is easy to win on facebook poker, but therein lies my concern. I fear I am destroying my game by playing. When I go back to real poker am I going to be more likely to play any hand or to move all in when I should be value betting? Will I be less likely to give a player credit for a good hand because of all the terrible play I have been up against? Most of all I have been getting used to losing several small pots because I know I will more than make it up by winning a couple huge pots. When playing for real money against players who are really trying to win I believe I am much better off winning several small pots and staying out of the huge pots. I guess time will tell how much I am damaging my game, but now it is back to face book to finish my climb to first place.
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There can be some argument over what is essential to hold a home poker tournament. After all, you can hold a poker tournament with just a deck of cards and use cash, or pretty much anything else to keep score. However, it is my belief that certain things contribute so much to hosting an enjoyable tournament they should be considered essential.
Poker chips are absolutely essential. Sure you can play with cash or pretzels but nothing is the same without the poker chips. Really, whoever invented poker chips made the game exponentially better. Further, while running a cash game can be done using only cash, we are talking about poker tournaments here and trying to make sure everyone has the same amount of starting cash, has adequate change to make whatever size bet they want, and doesn’t reach in to their pocket for more cash when they are low or bust out would be difficult at best. Luckily there is an easy solution to all of this. Use poker chips! The kind of poker chip doesn’t matter so much. Poker chips run the gamut on price, material, and design, ranging from cheap plastic chips for pennies a piece to high end clay chips that easily can cost over one dollar per chip. While the clay chips are nicer to stack and handle, less expensive chips are perfectly adequate for most games. The biggest decision here is whether to get chips with or without denominations printed on them. This is really a decision based on personal preference. In a tournament it is easier to remember what chip values are if the values are printed right on the chip, but it isn’t too difficult to remember what values are assigned to which colors if there are no denominations and if you only have one set of chips a set without denominations is more versatile. A poker chip that is worth $1 in cash games can be worth $1000 in a tournament.
The next best addition to a home poker tournament has got to be a blinds timer. Whether it is the poker genie, a software program running on a laptop, or a dealer button with built in blinds timer, having something that is easily seen and alerts players when blinds go up is crucial. I have played in games when a simple kitchen timer was used. If you go this route be sure that the timer is easily visible and that the blind levels are determined before play starts. It makes the game more enjoyable for everyone if the blind levels are visible and it is easy to see how much time is left before blinds go up.
I highly recommend investing in a couple decks of high quality playing cards. Copag and Kem cards are widely considered the best of the best. Having two decks of cards per table greatly speeds up the game because the small blind can be shuffling one deck in preparation for dealing the next hand. High quality plastic cards are a good investment. They last much longer than cheap cards and are much less likely to become marked by being bent or soiled. Also, be sure to get cut cards (at least one per table). They help keep the integrity of the game.
Finally, the poker table. A poker table is not a necessity to have a good game, but it does add to the enjoyment. I have played many games on kitchen tables and it works fine. The biggest problem is if the table has leafs that the cards and chips can get caught on, but this can be easily solved with a table cloth. Still, a poker table adds a large amount of enjoyment to your poker game. I highly recommend picking one up if you can swing it. If not chances are one of your poker buddies has a portable table they would be willing to bring or just wait until after you win your first tournament and buy a poker table with the winnings.
To sum it up; for a good home poker tournament get poker chips, some kind of blinds timer and some good quality playing cards with cut cards. If you can afford it get a poker table as well.
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Just about every live poker game I have played in there has been someone who doesn't understand the minimum bet or minimum raise required. It inevitably leads to slowing the game down as someone explains why the bet made was not legitimate and sometimes even leads to arguments when the person betting incorrectly is positive he is right. If you are just making the switch from internet poker to a live poker game take some time to understand the betting amounts. When you make an illegitimate bet it is an annoyance to the other players, but even worse it exposes you as an inexperienced player (of course there are times where this could be a good thing, but that is another topic).
In no limit holdem there are 4 betting rounds; preflop, post flop, after the turn, and after the river. The preflop betting is slightly different from the other three rounds because there are blinds or forced bets involved. Before the cards are dealt the small blind and big blind are forced bets. The amount to call is the amount of the big blind. The minimum raise is twice the big blind. So, if the big blind is $200 the minimum amount you can raise to is $400. You can raise to any amount $400 or more. I have seen people try to raise to $300; this is not a legitimate raise because it is not twice the size of the original bet (in this case the big blind is the original bet). I have also seen players contest a raise to more than twice the big blind but less than three times the big blind; For example, a raise to $450. This is a legitimate raise because it is more than twice the big blind. The requirement for a raise is "twice the original bet" not "a multiple of the original bet." I am always amazed at how many people don't understand this. A reraise can get even more complicated. If the first raise was to $400 (a $200 raise) the minimum reraise is $200 more or twice the raised amount. If the original raise was to $500 (a raise of $300) the minimum reraise is another $300, to $800. You are not required to double the total of the original bet and the raise. This is a common mistake.
The betting rules for post flop rounds are essentially the same with the obvious difference of there being no forced bets. The minimum opening bet is the same as the big blind. It can also be any amount more than the big blind. If the blinds are $200 opening bets of $200, $250, $400, and $4000 are all legitimate bets. Often someone will think that the $250 bet is not good because "it isn't twice the big blind." However, it doesn't have to be. Since there was no previous bet in the round any amount $200 or more is legal. The reraise in post flop betting rounds is the same with one important distinction; A reraise must be twice the amount of the original bet, not twice the amount of the bet minus the big blind. For example, if after the flop a player bets $500 the minimum raise would be another $500 to $1000. A raise of $300 (the original bet minus the big blind) would not be legal.
Now that you have a full understanding of minimum raises don't ever use them. A minimum raise is rarely the best strategy. It can be used effectively to obtain information; if you raise the minimum and get a only a call this could mean your opponent is on a draw or has only a marginal hand. I have also seen times where a minimum raise causes an opponent to believe you have a marginal hand and try to bet you off of it. This can come in handy when you have a monster. However, generally speaking if you want a caller you can usually get one with a bigger bet and earn more money. If you don't want a caller a minimum bet is seldom enough to force a fold.
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Hello poker enthusiasts. I am pleased to announce the creation of the Poker Room Supplies Blog. This will be a place to share anything at least remotely related to poker. We have been considering starting this for a long time, but have been hesitant because it can be a lot of work to come up with interesting material and monitor for appropriate responses by users. However, in the end there are a lot of interesting topics that customers frequently ask us about that can't be adequately covered in a FAQ page and plenty more topics that I find enjoyment in discussing with others. I hope that this becomes a valued addition for our customers.
To start with it will be a blog style with responses allowed. However, responses will be audited before becoming live on the site. Any response that is inappropriate or appears to be spam may be edited or deleted. I will make every effort to include responses but reserve the right to delete or edit any post for any reason. If things go well I will consider allowing responses to go through in real time and consider allowing users to start their own threads in more of a forum style.
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