Author Archive
Big Time Suck Outs
I’ve been getting sucked out on pretty badly in my home game, so in an effort to console and convince myself that things aren’t always going against me, I’d like to share two suck out stories. Both occurred in a live $2/$5 no limit hold’em games at a casino outside of Chicago.
Hand 1
A Story About Working on Easter
Last night at a casino outside of Chicago, I was talking to this mild mannered playground salesman that I know pretty well. He is a regular in the $2/$5 no limit game. I knew this gentleman was Catholic, so I wasn’t surprised when asked me how my Easter was. “It was great,” I told him, “I went the the park, made a nice meal for myself, and then went to the casino to play some cards.”
Then he asked me where my husband was that day, and I told him that he was working. My husband is an attorney. He was starting a month long trial on Monday, so he had a lot to get done on Easter.
Keeping Variance down in PLO
During the pot limit Omaha discussion on this week’s Two Plus Two pokercast Mike said something like, “Most people think of Omaha as that game where pros win or lose millions.” Omaha can have huge swings, but just like any poker game there are ways to keep your variance down.
Below are some tips that will help avoid large swings in low stakes online Omaha games. Using these ideas might not be the most profitable way to play, but at different times we have different goals. Just like playing the stock market, sometimes we need a high risk/growth strategy, but other times we need a safer approach. If you’re just learning the game, or if your bankroll has taken a hit and you want to grind it back up, well then some of these ideas might be right for you.
Restealing on the flop in PLO
In small multi-way pots that are checked around on the flop, steal attempts from last position are incredibly prevalent in low stakes PLO games. It’s almost like an unspoken agreement–as long as everyone gets to steal every once in a while, no one really pushes back. Some players make the move way too often, and it seems foolish to not repop them.If you know a person is stealing light, you can check raise from early position even lighter–even in multiway pots. When used prudently, this move rarely gets any resistance. It’s a nice little trick to add to the arsenal, especially when you’ve got a player at your table who is stealing more than his or her fair share of the tinnie-winnie pots or if the board looks scary (and like one that you’d be more likely to check raise).
Amarillo
I was in my hometown of Amarillo, Texas for the past two weeks. I thought I was going to be too busy to play any cards, but my flight back to Chicago was cancelled because of a snowstorm in Dallas (believe it or not). Instead of flying back that night, I played 2/5 mixed no-limit hold’em and pot-limit Omaha hi/lo with some very nice Texas gentlemen.
Doyle on Obama
I was just about to write a blog about how disappointed I was to read the negative rumors Doyle Brunson wrote about presidential candidate Barack Obama on his February 7th blog at Doyle’s Room. But when I checked back, I saw that he is now endorsing the Senator! Huhhh?
I have no idea how to contact Doyle, but I wish I could tell him this…
I heart Strange Reno Hotels
I am a poker player, but I am also an artist. I love kitschy things, and the gambling world is full of stuff that I love and that “normal” people might find horrendous.
I’ve had the pleasure (?!?) of staying in casino motels across the country, and the best place to get a wonderfully over the top room is certainly Reno. The night before my husband and I got engaged, we paid $17 for a room at a casino hotel. The gaudy floral pattern on the carpet was the same gaudy floral pattern on the bedspread, which was actually the same gaudy floral pattern on the wallpaper too! No lie. It was like someone decided to camouflage the whole place in peonies. I could have planted a fake flower somewhere and played Where’s Waldo. It was fantastic.
Top Pair Blues
I have a few mantras I try to live by in tournaments. One of them is don’t go broke with top pair.
Giving a poker training site a try
I recently joined Cardrunners after reading a bigaboom’s related post on 1/13 and threads on 2+2 about training sites. I’d like to share my early impressions.
First off, what I was looking for…I am mostly a live holdem tournament player who is looking to gain some knowledge that can be translated to live cash games. If I learn enough to hopefully be profitable, I’d like to play more holdem online (I used to play holdem quite a bit online, but have found a more profitable game). I currently play $.50/1 or $1/2 PLO online, and I hope the training site will also give me a new edge there. Like I said, I am most experienced (and profitable) in live tournaments, so I will eventually take a look at their MTT section, but I haven’t done that yet, since that’s the area where I need learn the least.
Tennis and poker?
I heard a funny story on a poker podcast recently. There were so many tennis players at the Aussie Millions (The Austrailian Open is taking place just a couple miles away from the casino) that reporters were hanging around the casino looking for tennis pros to interview. One of them thought Phil Ivey was James Blake. Pretty bad, huh?
Not long after, I heard an interview with Vanessa Selbst. She talked about playing tennis at MIT before becoming a poker pro. She’s not the only one to convert tennis skills to poker playing. Patrick Antonius, Gus Hanson, Hasan Habib, and David Benyamine all used to play tennis. If you log on to pokerstars, there’s a good chance you’ll see Boris Becker’s intense (and slightly creepy) mug at the bottom of your screen.
