The Trials and Tribulations of a Poker Pro Hopeful

Wow, do you still play poker?

2011-02-17T22:23:00.000-08:00

Yes, I do! But I haven't played at the casino in a very long time. Truth be told, I haven't played seriously for 5ish years... I entered graduate school in Aug 2009 and haven't seen the inside of a poker room since. Sad, I know. I am reduced to a hodgepodge of low-stakes homegames. For me right now, though, its fine.

Anyway, so I just finished a homegame, and was part of a very interesting hand. It's a $0.25/$0.50 NLH ring game with a $40 table limit. I had ~$80-90 in my stack, and came up as UTG against the Button (villain), who had a comparable stack. The game allowed for straddles UTG.

CO ($80.26)

Villain (Button) ($85.87)

SB ($15.62)

BB ($11.20)

Hero (UTG) ($89.15)

UTG+1 ($40.09)

MP1 ($25.47)

MP2 ($130.38)

MP3 ($34.68)

Preflop: Hero is UTG with 10, 10

Hero straddles $1, 2 folds, MP2 raises to $3, 2 folds, Villain calls $3, 2 folds, Hero raises to $6, MP2 calls $3, Villain calls $3

Flop: ($18.75) 6, 3, 7 (3 players)

Hero bets $15, 1 fold, Villain calls $15

Turn: ($48.75) 7 (2 players)

Hero bets $15, Villain raises to $34.75

Pot odds were a favorable 4.99 to 1, but I just couldn't put the villain on a hand.

So I thought: What could beat me? AA-JJ, 7X, 66, and 33. AA and KK seemed unreasonable because I would expect a player on the button to re-raise. Due to the tightish nature of the villain, 7X seems unlikely, unless it is 77 or A7 suited diamonds. However, I don't think those hands can call my re-raise. 66 seems less likely (because of the re-raise) and 33 seems impossible. So really, I'm expecting QQ or JJ, as they both fit into the betting profile. If that is the case, then I'm only 5% to win.

What could I beat? Lots of things, right? I beat 99,88, 55, 44, 22, AX (save 7s), etc. These hands are still drawing and didn't seem it could stick around amidst all the action. I couldn't see any of these hands playing to the flop, then pushing the turn.

I fold, and Villain shows 99.

Now, I can't help but wonder if I missed something.

Poker; An Interesting Perspective

2008-12-21T00:43:00.001-08:00

Wow, I really haven't written since the beginning of the fall Series, eh? Well, just to recap, the only real noteworthy play was when Caesars spread the $5-10 HORSE table. It was a great experience, and I really held my own with the cream-of-the-crop poker players at the boat. I was even in Holdem, I beat Omaha HiLo, got crushed in Razz, but rallied in the Studs. Awesome game; and I hope to play it again soon.

In other news, the "Prodigy" has been doing well lately. It seems that he's come into a bad run lately, but his smallball is getting better, and he's really starting to find his style.

Finally, after playing in so many different situations over the years, I realized one thing this evening during an impromptu; there is nothing like social poker during the holidays! Its full of laughs and good times. Bad beats are funny, not frustrating. It's much more about having a good time then it is winning money. So, my advice to you over the holidays is to take a break from the stresses of competitive poker and play with friends and family!

Thanks to all of you for reading my blog this year! I hope you've had a good run this year; I hope you're up; and I hope that the tables treat you well in the future. See you all next year!

May your rivers be full of boats!

Day 1 2008 WSOP Circuit @ Horseshoe: Walk of Shame

2008-10-03T06:55:00.000-07:00

Yesterday (10/3) was the first day of the fall WSOP event at the Horseshoe. All of the conditions were set for a great day at the tables. They opened a new $1-2NLH table and I was one of the first to sit. I was full stacked. There were multiple people sitting at the table with small stacks and white chips. Everything was seemingly perfect... except the cards that were dealt.

Under the gun, I was dealt KsQs. I chose not to raise since the table was new and we had only played a few hands with each other. 2 limp behind me to this guy named "Max," who raises to $10. The guy (herein, cowboy), sitting to the left of Max calls, BB calls, and I call. All others fold to Max. $50 in the pot. Flop comes with a disjoint 3 spades (at the time, I couldn't make out the cards... stupid contacts). I check. Max bets $30. Cowboy re-raises to $60. Quick thinking, I put one of them on a naked As, and the other on a set. I call and Max calls. Turn comes red. I check again. Max bets. Cowboy pushes all-in. I have him covered with the 2nd nut flush, so I call. Max goes into the tank. Once he goes into the tank, everything seems to fall into place. Max has the set and is wondering whether he should draw to the boat. I now begin to think cowboy has a made nut flush, but it's too late. Max folds, and cowboy shows As2s. This, dear friends, is when I go on tilt.

Many of you who I play with know that I don't tilt like the stereotypical "tilter." I don't yell or scream, or call people names. Instead, I focus on you and try to beat you, and you alone. Bad idea. In poker, I've learned that many *perfect storm* situations come up, and you just have to hope that you're on the winning end of the storm. Sometimes you are, sometimes you're not. But, when you're on the bad end of the perfect storm, it's not the fault of the person playing you, nor is it your fault. Instead, it's just the way the cards land. That's it and that's all.

I was on tilt. Learn from my mistake; don't change your gameplan. You still need to play opposites, and play situational poker. Win money regardless of who or where it came from. Cowboy was an aggressive, and instead of playing him tight, I tried to out-aggressive him (is out-aggressive even a viable English phrase?). He was a decent enough player that he knew how to put me to the test. He made the right moves to make me fold the best hand (AK high v. 777), and put all my money in when I had the worst of it (donkey straight v. QQ77). Am I mad at him? No. I'm frustrated that I let one hand throw my game off. I went against a lot of the things that I've wrote about in the past. And, I went into the game knowing that I hadn't played in weeks. My skills are rusty to say the least, and I let myself get away from good, fundamental situational play.

What's the remedy? Well, I think it's twofold. First and foremost, if I want to get back to the level I was at 2 years ago, I need to play more hands. I need to play 3-4 times per week. Maybe I should start going to the freerolls again. Second, I need to get back to fundamental play. Play patiently. Know the situation and play the situation. Play the player. I think my fundamental poker is good, but rusty. If you look at the last sentence in the first paragraph, you'll see my problem. "...except the cards that were dealt..." The cards that are dealt are meaningless. You know that, I know that, and I preach that. Unfortunately for me and my ever-shrinking bankroll, I've reverted to Level 1 Poker. That's ok, though. Now that I know where I am, I can start rebuilding.

A couple of side notes. First, congrats to my new poker friend, "Stone." He has been working on his game for the past 6-7 weeks, and is now starting to reap the benefits. He was out last evening playing $4-8LH and beat the game for about $120. Nicely done!

Also, it seems that the state of KY is attempting to ban online poker. The PPA has sent the following email to all PPA members:

As you know, Kentucky is attempting to seize the domain names of 141 Internet poker and Internet gambling websites. This seizure could result in the state blocking your access to your favorite poker sites! The PPA has been engaged in the fight against this action from the start, and now others are joining the effort.

On Monday, the non-partisan Bluegrass Institute is hosting an "Emergency Summit" in Frankfort to discuss the dangerous and far-reaching implications of the state's action. The PPA and others groups, including the Internet Commerce Association and Americans for Tax Reform, will participate in this important meeting. It is open to the public, so I hope you will attend to show your support for poker and to learn how you will be affected if the state is successful in its action.

When: Monday, October 6th at 1:00 pm

Where: Capital Plaza Hotel – Frankfort
405 Wilkinson Blvd, Frankfort, KY 40601

Who: Bluegrass Institute
The Poker Players Alliance
Internet Commerce Association
Interactive Media Entertainment & Gaming Assoc.
Americans for Tax Reform

Others expected to participate but not yet confirmed.

RSVP by email: kysummit |at| pokerplayersalliance dot org

The PPA also invites you to attend the court hearing on Tuesday. Several PPA members attended the previous hearing on Sept. 26th, and their presence had a big impact. The hearing is open to the public, so let’s fill the courtroom with poker supporters!

When: Tuesday, October 7th at 9:30am

Where: The Franklin County Courthouse
218 St. Clair Street
Frankfort, KY 40601

I know you are busy, but your attendance at both of these events is important to show Kentucky that we care about our rights. I hope you will join the PPA at these events next week.

For all the latest news and updates, check out this special PPA page: http://pokerplayersalliance.org/special/kentucky-poker

That's all for today. Good luck at the tables!

Poker v. GMAT study

2008-09-01T13:05:00.000-07:00

Unfortunately, for now, poker will have to take a backseat to GMAT study. Yes, it's sad, but true. I'm hoping to still average 5 small tournaments per week and focus on HORSE and Kansas City. The real goal is to finish all of my grad school applications by mid October, but play enough online (and select weekends) to be ready for the Fall WSOP at the Horseshoe. We'll see.

As far as *interesting* hands or situations go, I can't remember anything that just sticks out in my head. I broke down and played $2-4-4-8 this past week with my auntie, we'll call her AC. She did well pre-dinner break, but donked off most of her stack post-dinner break. To me, it looked like she got caught up in her cards and not on what others could have which, at the $2-4-4-8, could have been anything. The rest of the regulars were playing $1-2, and one of my buddies had moved up to the $5-10, and I don't think he's good enough to play there, but whatever.

So, for the near future, good luck to everyone on the tables!

FullTilt, PokerStars, PokerTracker and $2-4-4-8

2008-08-06T10:53:00.000-07:00

Due to rising gas prices (and the cumbersome antennae on my car), I have been playing almost exclusively online poker this past month. I've been playing mostly SNGs with the occasional MTT (I'm loving that FT $3 + $0.30 Double Stack Turbo Knockout) and cash games (mostly HORSE, O, R, S, E, PLO and a little NLH).

So, first things first: I almost had to reload on FT trying that Chris Ferguson "Challenge" as I call it. Fortunately, the 1-Table SNGs brought me back to respectability.

In other news, I've recently put money on PokerStars. I'm not a fan of their layout selection as compared to FullTilt. Otherwise, it's good. I like the selection of games, especially that 2-7 Lowball Triple Draw... which I'm having an interesting time figuring out. I'm not sure if I rate the players better or worse. They seem more likely to call than fold at the limits I play, which means it's harder to bluff, but easier to trap.

I did see some very interesting play on a PS $5 + $0.50 I recently played. The player in question never preflop raised. NEVER. The player always called preflop, but would bet out on the following streets. I found it hard to play this person because I would have to constantly bet to see where my hand stood. Ultimately, this person busted out, but it was very noteworthy play. IMHO, though, it's bad play because you'd never know where your opponent stood if it was a limp pot and you had a premium hand. Nonetheless, I tried to stay away from that player as much as possible.

I have also acquired a license for the PokerTracker software. I find this software very useful, not so much in playing against other players, but more so for evaluating my own play. Over a sample of several thousand hands in the past month, I've been able to quantify, in real dollars, where the strengths and weaknesses of my game lie. It's great! I only wish that they would come out with a Mac version sooner rather than later. I'd definitely recommend it for your online play.

Lastly, limit hold'em. Ugh. On a recent trip to the new poker room at the Horseshoe, AA convinced me to only play $2-4-4-8 limit hold'em for the evening. If you follow my blog, you'll know about my profound love for limit poker *rolls eyes.* AA, however, was very persuasive, and the $600+ he made the previous evening helped sway my decision. His argument was, that, at the NLH tables, you have to play poker against people of your skill level. You have to make moves, read, evaluate, etc. If however, you play the lowest limit poker, you will, more than likely, be the most skilled player at the table.

So, I decided to try this theory. I got to the poker room and put my name on 2 lists, $1-2 PLO, and the $2-4-4-8. Fortunately, seats always seem to be open on the $2-4-4-8, so I got a table immediately. When I sat down, I kept telling myself what AA's mantra was: "Don't get creative, don't make moves. Just read them and play accordingly." I was actually taken aback by the straight-forwardness of the play. I always knew where I was in the hand when no one else bothered to pay attention. Unfortunately for me, variance took over and I was on the losing end of 1-outers and 4-outers all night long. I left being down a few dollars. In summary, it's a good gameplan if the cards are rolling well for you, though I missed having the ability to charge someone for bad play. It was also hard to keep paying attention to the game because you really couldn't bluff; either you had it or you didn't, and you weren't going to push someone out of the hand for another $8. Conclusion: I'd try it again, especially if I didn't have the time to get *into* a game properly.

First Play at the Horseshoe Southern Indiana

2008-07-13T19:00:00.000-07:00

This past weekend was the Caesars/Horseshoe changeover (technically, the Horseshoe's grand opening). The new digs are actually pretty nice; everything is very upscale and has more of a casino-y feel, if that makes sense. After watching a free Barenaked Ladies concert (put on by Horseshoe), AA and I decended to the newly renovated poker floor. Not much changed except the high stakes area "cage" was replaced by a 1/4 wall. Also, at the high stakes tables, there are nicer chairs. On the regular floor, everything else was the same; same tables (33 now, and no blackjack tables), same WSOP chairs, cupholders, quasi-old chips (the Horseshoe chips replaced the Caesars chips some time before the grand opening), and, yes, same donkey players.

With AA and JA (AA's wife) playing slots/roulette the money we received for attending the free concert ($5 each), I sat for 2 dealers at the $1-2 NLH table. The only interesting hand I remember was:

$1-2 NHL
SB - $155
BB - $85
UTG - $500
UTG + 1 - $575
UTG + 2 (Villain) - $350
UTG + 3 - $110
UTG + 4 - $300
UTG + 5 - $700 (maybe 800)
UTG + 6 - $300
CO (Hero) - $200

Hero is dealt QcQs

Blinds post. UTG - UTG + 6 limp for $2. Pot is $17. Hero raises to $15. All fold to Villain, who calls $15. Pot is $47.

Flop - Jc2c9s

Villain checks. Hero bets $30. Villain calls. Pot is $107.

Turn - Ts

Villain checks. Hero bets $70. Villain thinks, then calls. Pot is $247.

River - 8c

Villain pushes all in. Hero folds.

I folded on the river because I came to 2 conclusions: either the villain caught his flush, or he realized the situation, and executed the proper theatrics to bluff properly. I've played against this particular player a few months earlier and I remembered him being fairly weak, so, I ruled out the"making a move" option. Everything else seemed to point to hands that beat me. No sets because I would have expected him to repop the turn, and/or check the river (notice I'm really not giving this guy credit for being able to make moves). JT-J8 were all likely holdings, and they all beat me. All I could really beat was AX - JQ. I think, despite ignoring the pot odds at the end, I made the correct lay-down. I really didn't think he was a sophisticated player, and, he proved it a few times by continuing hands when he knew he was beat, and being caught in errant bluffs (that were not similarly played as compared to this hand).

I showed 1.1 to 1 preflop, 1.6 to 1 on the flop, and 1.5 to 1 on the turn. So, really, unless he had pocket aces preflop, he made mistakes on every street, which is exactly what you hope players do; make mistakes. So long as I keep playing those hands the same way, I'll make money in the long run... or I *hope* to make money in the long run.

In other news, I've picked up the Harrington on Cash Games (HOCG) Vol. 1 & 2. Hopefully, they'll be as good as the HOH series.

Finally, I squandered my Fulltilt winnings and have reloaded. Maybe this time, I'll be able to catch a "Ferguson" run to $10K.

EDIT: PS: 2 new goals. First, earn at least one Fulltilt Iron Man medal by December. Second: Due to the recent success of David Dao (old family friend from childhood days), I'd like to be listed as a ranked player in the player database on Poker Pages.

Hand Analysis Ex Post Facto of Last Evening's Crowbar

2008-07-09T06:59:00.000-07:00

Ok, now that I'm not tilting and am fully awake without headache, here is a hand analysis of my bust out last evening.

I sat at the table when it opened. Table limit is $300.

$1-$2 NLH Live Game

Button - $300
SB - $500
BB - $350
UTG - $275
Villain - $192
Hero - $250

Hero is dealt TT

Blinds post. Live straddle from the button for $7. SB, BB, UTG and Villain call $7. Pot is $28. Hero raises to $27. All fold to Villain, who calls. Pot is $75

Flop: 3 9 2, rainbow.

Villain checks, Hero bets $30, Villain calls. Pot is $135

Turn: 7

Villain bets $40. Hero raises to $100. Villain calls. Pot is $335

River: 8

Villain goes all in for $65 more. Hero calls. Villain shows 98os and wins with two pair.

Ok, so first, let's run the numbers. Villain calls a bet with 2-1 pot odds. He is a 2-1 dog to most raise-able drawing hands (AK-AT,KQ-KT,QT-QJ,JT) suited or unsuited, and a 5-1 dog to most raise-able pocket pairs (AA-TT). According to CardPlayer's Poker Odds Calculator, I was 84.87% to win versus his 14.75% with 0.37% tie rating, or a 5.8 - 1 favorite. So, I made my opponent call as a 5.8 - 1 dog, with only 2-1 pot odds; good move for me, bad move for him.

The flop comes and improves his odds. He's now 18.38% to win the hand, so he's improved to be a 4.4-1 dog instead of a 5.8-1 dog. Now, I bet $30 into a $75 pot, $105 total, giving him 3.5 - 1 pot odds. Still a mistake for him to call theoretically, but it's close. Marginal play on my part for letting him in so cheap.

Turn comes 7. The odds are now 7.8-1 for me to win the hand. He bets $40 into $135 pot, $175 total, and showing me 4.3-1 pot odds. A call would also be correct since I'm 7.8-1, but I reraise to $100. This makes the pot $275, and he has to call an extra $60, which is 4.6-1 pot odds. Mistake #2 for Villain.

River, he pushes the rest of his stack, $65, making the pot $400, and showing me 6.1-1 pot odds. As bad as I hated it, I had to call. The pot odds were just too good. No straight or flush possible. I couldn't put him on an overpair, or he would have raised preflop. There was the possibility of a set, but I think he would have fired earlier on the set, as I didn't give him credit for being able to slow play for so long.

So basically, he had 5 wins left in the deck, and he caught one of them. Bad luck for me, but I still think that the pot odds could not be denied. Pros would make this call all day long (I think). The math was correct the whole way. After hitting bingo on me, he totally fell apart, got too aggressive and lost what he took away from me. Maybe I should have reloaded, but I'm trying to save up for some other non-poker events coming up soon. :)

Aside from the numbers, in trying to recall the hand, I realized that I could not remember the flop properly, as in I don't remember the suits nor the third card on the flop. It seem that, contrary to what I have been preaching about "play the player," I need to be able to settle down a bit and focus on the cards again. I feel like I played the player well, but I also need to be able to remember the situation so that I may learn from it. I used to be able to remember every hand I played, along with every street, and every bet. Need to get back there.

Lastly, it was good to see some familiar faces at the tables. One guy, who used to be one of my partners in crime down there had moved back from NY, was there. Also, a couple of the more friendly high stakes players were there (thanks again BB for the candy). It was good to see that they are still rolling well, and were up more than down these days. Man, sometimes I wish I was still living that life. Maybe I will again some day, but nights like last night bring back memories of the stress that came with playing poker for a primary source of income.

Change of Focus

2008-07-08T20:54:00.000-07:00

Man, lately it seems like I've been on the bad end of variance. Tonight, I was playing $1-$2 NLH at Caesars. It was a good night for my friends JG and AG because they're fairly new to poker; one came out even, and the other was ahead. When starting to play, it's always nice to have winning sessions. I've read, and have been told, that you should be happy with your play so long as you make correct decisions. This follows the thought that so long as you do the right thing, the money will come in the long run. I believe this is true, but, a poker player still needs to make money.

I laid down my TT when I ran up against an overpair. I laid down KK when I knew I was beat. I made good reads all night, only to lose my stack to some donk who couldn't lay down the worst hand (and caught 2 pair on the river).

I should probably shift to tournament poker until I can rebuild my stack. I needed to rebuy and sit and crush the (few) donks at my table, but my bankroll isn't there anymore. I only had one bullet. In tournament play, one can apply pressure to a player better than in a cash game (IMHO) because, in a cash game, players can buy back in if they can afford it. Also, for a little money, you can win a lot if you have the skill.

Anyway, enough of my rant. I'll be back Saturday!!!

BTW: Good luck to AA who is playing a PL Omaha Hi/Lo FullTilt Fantasy Freeroll Championship. He's the chip leader. Also congrats to AG and JG for their winnings tonight!

Beware! Negreanu-esque blog

2008-07-05T21:33:00.000-07:00

(continued from a tweet on 7/6/2008). Actually, I think I'm just tired of hold'em in general. BTW, I know it's been almost a year since my last post, and I had fallen off the wagon a bit poker-wise, but I have been playing. In the past year I've noticed that hold 'em has become more like bingo, especially at the lower limits. There's often no strategy employed at these limits because the people who sit across from you have NO concept of correct play.

I went to the boat on 9/15/07 and found myself at a very juicy $1-2NLH table. People would call with absolutely ridiculous cards, and I was just waiting to bust them. I actually employed a little Hellmuth strategy: PRF with a good hand, C-Bet, when people come over the top, fold to show that you'll fold to a bet. I've seen Hellmuth talk about this technique all of the time; portraying weakness as a set up for a big trap later. Well, I did pulled it off. Doubled through a few people like that at the tables, and in the 2 single table satellites I sat in. Strict conservative poker would have had me lose money, but employing smallball techniques, I didn't have to invest much to pull it off. I am still amazed at the number of donkeys that think they know what they're doing at the tables. I had a guy sit yesterday and tell us about all the "fish" at his other table... and he was only up like $150. Wow. Lots of fish there!

I remember playing the $1-3 NL Hold'em game at Argosy sometime in February '08 (before flying out for my MBA interview at Cornell) while waiting for a spot on a $2-5 NLH table. I was playing very tight to conserve my stack for the big game. I don't remember the exact hand, but I remember making a 10-15xBB PFR with a high suited connector in position (maybe KQ or KJ). One person called. Flop came and I flopped top pair (the other 2 were like a 5-8 or something), rainbow. She checks, I bet 2/3 pot and she calls without hesitation, so I start to think she has 2 pair, middle pair, or a medium pocket par. Turn gives me 2 pair. I fire again (1/2 pot), and she calls. River comes 7, only 2 cards to a flush. I'm not sure where I'm at, so I make a probe bet; like BBx2, only to get reraised. I called because I feel my 2 pair was good because I was only afraid of a set of 5s or 8s. I beat everything else, or so I thought. Apparently, the flop gave the girl a gutshot straight draw, which she caught on the river. Yeah. That's poker, right? The thing that bugs me the most is that she had the gall to say "yeah, I knew he had top pair at least, but sometimes I like to try to hit those." Yes, yes, I know that you want people to do that to you all day long, but it just bugs me that, afterward, she tried to justify her bad play to me. Consequently, I flopped a straight on her only for her to catch a flush at the end. Again, that's poker; I get it. Just save me the soliloquy.

Lately, though, hold 'em feels very much like the same ol' same ol'. I wish that Caesars (which is soon to be the Horseshoe) would spread other games, like an affordable Stud/Stud Hilo game, or more Omaha games. Tonight's session at Caesars was no exception to the usual donk poker at low limits. Nothing noteworthy hand-wise, but just a general reiteration of the wreckless nature of the low limit poker players, be it in limit or no-limit games.

I've been playing a lot of mixed games online such as HORSE/HOSE/HA, and I've recently revived my PokerStars account to try to learn Kansas City (2-7) Lowball Triple Draw. I'm becoming a big fan of 2-7, but I'm still having trouble figuring out the odds and the hand selection. Most recently, I've began to do the Chris Ferguson challenge. The challenge is: build up $10K from scratch by winning freerolls etc. I am now up to an astounding $4.68, mostly by playing mixed games or Omaha freerolls. I'll keep everyone posted as to the results.

Ok, that's all for now!

Manipulate Emotions to Your Advantage; PLO is Crazy

2007-07-10T08:54:00.000-07:00

So, since AA is back, I've revived my focus on poker. I played both days this past weekend, and am planning to play tomorrow as well. Finally, I've started to catch cards and be able to trap the donks who don't have a clue what's happening.

Saturday, I was sitting at a very strange calling station $1-2NLH table in seat 10. Some were aggressive, some were passive. Some played strict HOH poker. To my right was a VERY aggressive player; apparently a player who had just moved from California. All at the table were convinced that she was a donk, but after careful analysis, it seems to me that she is a very strong player who was not afraid to gamble. She could bet people off decent hands, play marginal hands very well, etc. Anyway, I hadn't posted yet since the blinds were 2 away from me, so I was watching a hand between her and the HOH player. He PFRed to like $15 and she called. Flop came junk (unbenounced to me and most of us, the flop have a gut shot straight drwa). HOH made a pot sized bet, she called. The turn, as we later found out, completed the gut shot straight. HOH bet, she pushed all in, HOH called. They don't show yet, but the river comes blank and she doubles through HOH.

So, the HOH guy starts to go off about how she is a crap player because she called a pot sized bet with a straight draw. So, the lady fires about how he was an idiot for calling with an all-in with an overpair. The HOH guy goes completely on tilt, busts out and rebuys a few times. All the while, this lady is just dragging pot after pot with what ended up being the best hands. It seemed that many people were trying to attack her/her stack and she could capitalize... all because of that one gut shot. She actually hit a few more gut shots, and when I say few, I mean more than 2. She also did a very good job of protecting her stack. She picked the right times to gamble. At the end of the day, she was up at least $1800, and the other dude was stuck at least $500.

That night reminded me of a story I heard about a poker player.. I think I read it in a magazine. Basically it goes: "While sitting at a very tight table, a very weak loose-aggressive player sat down. He played every hand, but not only did he play every hand, he RAISED every hand. He won a lot of pots with crap cards. So, we all tried to bust him, but his cards kept holding up. He made a lot of money off us and then left. The rest of us sat there and talked about how how bad of a player he was. Later on, after leaving the casino, I analyzed his play. Being that aggressive, he knew that people would try to bust him with 'good' hands. He played accordingly, and knew when he was beat. He wasn't the bad player after all; he was the best player at the table, and we were the bad ones for trying to pick on one player versus playing our game."

To update you all on how I did, I got up a few hundred. I could never coax that lady into a pot with me. Seems like she would always fold when I showed aggression. I did, however, also change up my play. I pushed a few more marginal hands, started to straddle-with-mandatory-reraise a lot. Didn't get a lot of action at first, but would eventually get action... lots of action. Many times much more than I wanted. I remember having AKos anf PRF UTG to $20. I got 6 callers. Flop came middle cards, and I CBET about $40. 2 folds I believe, and one re-raises to $100. 1 calls, folds to me, and I of course have to fold. Crazy. But I was early, so maybe that dude hit a set or something. I didn't sweat it. Those actions/folds gave me action later in the game... profitable action. I saw people winning pots all night with 5 high flushes, so I would limp with Ax suited and bust people. It's nice to catch cards. They couldn't even see it coming.

Ok, one last word about this session. If there are any poker newbies reading this, do NOT bring friends to watch you play poker if it's your first time ever on a table. Doing this essentially labels you as "FREE MONEY." There was this guy who sat down in the 3-4 seat with like $200. Not unusual, but what was unusual was that he had 2 buddies, who weren't on lists just sit back and watch. They weren't even on the rail. I told AA that it was the first time in a LONG time that I felt like a shark on the table. The look on his face just said "Please sir, take my money." Sure enough, after about 3 orbits, he was busted. So if it's your first time, just don't say anything to anyone, k? It'll save you money.

Sunday's session was 1 hand on a $1-2NLH table, a $45 single table SNG, and about 4 hours of $1-2PLO. Our PLO table was stacked! 2 WSOP winners, 3 high limit cash game players, 1 strictly PLO player (who has probably played the big game), one of the Russians, and AA and myself. Play was CRAAAZZZYY. It was nothing to see $300-$600 pot bets get called. They just kept digging into their pockets, pulling out $100 chips, pumpkins, or cash, and kept going. AA and I were just trying to catch hands. Unfortunately for AA, he was still card dead from 4 months ago. I did ok. I pulled a few small-medium pots, but got one big beat on the river for all of my winnings from the night before.

I don't remember any notable hands, but I did feel very comfortable and competitive on the PLO in comparison to the last few times I played. Hopefully, they'll keep spreading the game. I wish they could spread a low limit Omaha high-low game also. That'd be fun.

I think tomorrow I'm going to try to get them to spread a $5-$10 HOSE table. We'll see.

Card Dead, but Good Laydowns

2007-06-21T21:23:00.000-07:00

First, AA, this question is directed to you: WHY THE HELL DO WE PLAY POKER?!?!?!? :)

For you sports fans who don't get it, AA and I have been absolutely card DEAD in hold'em for the past 6 months. What's worse is that my good hands would get beat. For example, I'd get KK early with one caller; flop comes AQX. I bet and get re-raised. Grrrrr. Showed the kings before I folded, and he flashed his ace. I did get AKd and AJs, preflop raised, and everyone folded, so I'd win an amazing $15.

Here's the best laydown of the night. $1-$2NLH - 8 handed, I'm 3rd to act and get dealt JJ. The guy under the gun raises $10. Action to me, I re-raise to $30. All fold to this one guy, who goes all-in for his last $120. The guy next to him, who is the big stack, calls. All fold to UTG, who also calls (and has roughly $45 left). Action to me again. I go into the tank for a minute, and fold. Eventually, UTG goes all in for his last $45. The big stack calls. The first all in-er and the big stack both had AK unsuited, and UTG had QQ. I was dominated. The river came with an A, so the two split the pot. Easy laydown, but good laydown nonetheless.

I sat on 2 tables last night, and play was SUPER tight. Most of you may know that I'm a pretty tight aggressive player, so being at a tight table wasn't helping my game (especially when getting rags). I need to remember that the best way to play a table is to play the opposite of your players, take more chances, etc. There is this new straddle strategy I need to try sometime soon, though it's pretty expensive.

So, even though I donked off a couple hundred, I feel that I reinforced my confidence in being able to read situations properly. This is the beginning of the comeback, so keep posted for updates!

Be Mindful of Your Table Image

2007-03-24T01:05:00.000-07:00

So, I just got home from an 8 hour session where I'm stuck $140. Interestingly, I feel like I played great poker for 7 of the 8 hours. Recently, I read an article in CardPlayer that talked about developing and utilizing your table image. So, it took me about 3ish hours, but I developed a "rock" image... meaning uber-tight play. Every time I raised, everyone folded; and I, still trying to develop an image, would show a premium hand, and complain about how I didn't get any action.

As the night went on, my hands got progressively worse and worse, but I had learned that I could strategically raise certain people, and they would fold (by strategically, I mean that that it'd only work in certain situations). It actually worked out really well because I, being the "tight" player, could bet people off better, and often times winning hands, because they respected my bets and disliked the texture of the flops. There were even times when I had to 2 barrel and 3 barrel some hands because they would be suspicious. Eventually, they would fold and I would rake the pot. At this time of the session, I was up about $160, and really never had to showdown a hand.

Then disaster happened... our table was broken up

So, when I sat at the new table, I was still in the "raise/steal" mode. What I failed to realize, due to fatigue, I'm sure, was that most of the people at the table had no idea about the image I had built at the previous table. So, I would see situations that were similar to the raising situations at the other table, and they wouldn't work. In fact, in retrospect, I played enough pots to have actually developed a "loose aggressive" aura. It didn't help that we had an actual poker elite (for Caesars Indiana) at the table, who was pretty much dictating the action. I ended up donking off most of my stack in an effort to bluff out the pro, who was in turn trying to bluff me out as well... it's just that he had 5x more chips than I did. I lost all of my profits and about $140 to the pro, who was playing very good aggressive poker.

So the moral of this story is: Remember that your table image last only as long as the table remains together. If you move/break, you have to reset, and reestablish your image.

Trust Your Instincts, but Think About Big Hands Also

2007-03-05T08:13:00.000-08:00

2 very interesting situations came up this weekend. I was playing $1-2NLH last Saturday evening when a couple sat down at our table. I had seen the guy before, though I hadn't seen his wife. It turns out that the wife is a much stronger player than the husband. I was sitting in seat 7, the husband took seat 8, and the wife took seat 9. So, as the night wore on, I saw seat 8 make some absolutely horrendous calls, say a call with TT (black) on a board with 23577, four diaminds to a raise and reraise. He actually lost his whole stack (~$200) about 20-30 hands before this hand. He went and re-bought for $80, and is down to $75 or so when:

$1-2NLH
SB - $300ish
BB - $325
UTG (Hero) - $350
UTG+1 (Villain) - $75
UTG+2 - $500
UTG+4 - $200ish

Hero is dealt KK

Blinds post. Hero raises to $15. Villain calls, UTG+2 calls, UTG+4 calls. The rest fold. Pot is $63.

Flop: 2 3 9 rainbow.

Hero bets $35. Villain raises all in for $60. Pot is now $158.

I thought, "...well I guess this guy hit bingo..." I guess I had been raising a lot of pots because I my raises were getting a lot of action. At any rate, I was getting 6 to 1 pot odds to call. So I went into the tank and thought about what I could beat.

I can beat QQ-TT, 88-44, and most suited connector combinations. All I'm really scared of is AA, 99, 33, and 22.

Next question; what would this guy call me with? Well, he's looking for an opportunity to double up, and doesn't know how to fold a lousy hand, so he could have top pair with a good kicker, 2 pair (23, probably not 29 or 39), or a set. So, overall, I looked like I was in good shape.

But, there was something about the hand that made me wonder. This dude is on tilt, and he's a bad player, and I don't think he'd slow down if he hit a set. Something didn't seem right. So I did the math if my worst fears were correct. If he had 2 pair, I was a 4 to 1 dog, but I was getting 6 to 1 on my money. If he had a set, which is what I felt like he had, I was drawing to 2 outs, so like a 25 to 1 dog or something.

I folded, and showed my KK. He showed me his 88 and raked the pot. Wow. After "color commentary" from the "poker pros" at the table, I still felt like, and still believe today that I did the correct thing in that I followed my instincts. However, I made my decision based more on my feel of the situation, rather than the concrete facts of the situation. Probably 90% feel. So, had I sat back and thought about the whole situation, I would have probably focused more on the hands that I was beating and insta-called. Bad play for me.

I ended up winning it all back and then some from him before that dude busted out.

Hand number 2. Consequently, the hand I hang my hat for the session. The table I was at had broke up, and I was placed at a new table. I didn't know much about the players before this hand came up:

BB (Hero) - $400ish
UTG - $1500
UTG+2 - $500

Hero is dealt KK (no diamonds)

Blinds post, all players limp. Hero raises to $15. UTG calls, UTG+1 folds, UTG+2 raises to $35. All fold to Hero, who calls, UTG calls. Pot is $125.

Flop: J 7 8, 2 diamonds

Hero bets $35. UTG calls. UTG+2 raises to $135. Action to Hero.

So, again I go into the tank. Preflop, I raised, UTG+2 reraised. So, that makes me think, AA-JJ, AK-AJ suited/off-suit. The flop comes, and I take the lead again, and UTG+2 reraises again. So, I think, maybe he's protecting his AA, maybe he hit a set and is protecting against the flush. Not sure, though the reraise tells me that I'm most certainly beat. Add that to the fact that I'm sandwiched between two players, and I reluctantly fold. UTG eventually folds, and the villain show the set. Wow, great laydown for me!

His story was just too compelling for me to think I was ahead. So I was 1 for 2 in big plays that day. Not so bad, I think.

Be Strong Enough to Fold KK

2007-02-28T06:58:00.000-08:00

Quick update folks. I've played a few home games and a few times at the boat since we last spoke. No real interesting plays to note, though that is something noteworthy. The value of being able to play straight poker is huge.

I've been watching the Poker After Dark series lately and I've noticed that for the most part, they play straight poker. Some play a little faster, some play a little slower, but usually they play good, fundamental poker, rather than always trying to set elaborate "traps" for people. Maybe this is because the players they're playing against are also world class and can see these traps, but I think that TV glorifies all of the trap plays even more so than I once thought. So, what I do is DVR the whole week's shows, and watch them all at once so you can see most of the plays (by the way, the fact that they try to pretend that they play every night is laughable). What I found is a "formula" for good poker play:

Position + Premium-to-Very-Good Starting Hand + Situation Read = Success

It's easy to notice that even the "world's most aggressive" players play straight poker for the most part. It's just that these aggressive players have an uncanny ability to read and exploit the situation. Most know what hands are good starting hands. Of these people, maybe 1/3 to 1/2 realize the importance of position. From that percentage who know both, maybe 2-3% of these people have the ability to read the situation properly. The ones who have all three qualities are dangerous players, and consequently, the ones who are very good at it are the pros.

So, what's the tidbit for today? Simple. Make poker an objective game. Do not get "emotionally attached" to certain hands because they are "supposed to win." Know and keep in mind that certain hands have a certain win percentage. Know also that your position is very important, and sometimes is more important than the cards you hold. Finally, know the situation that was created or that you created, and exploit it.

Here's an example. I saw this too many times last night at the 2-4-4-8 table (yeah, yeah, I know, but I was only sitting there to try to hit the $201K bad beat jackpot).

6 players see the flop. One player inevitably has KK, QQ, or JJ (not me this time, I promise). Flop comes 3-4-5 (2 flush cards).

Look at the situation objectively. First, think about the game you're playing. 2-4-4-8 is a loose game, where the players skill level is relatively low compared to the other limits. Also, the bad beat is up to $201K, so you know that people will be calling with ANYTHING, suited connectors as low as 2-3, pocket pairs as low as 2-2, just to see if they can hit bingo.

1 player bets, and 3 fold, 1 calls to the one holding a pocket pair who raises. All call.

Ok, so the player took a stab, and got 2 callers, with no raises. They must have draws, as they didn't raise. What draws? Who knows, but, whatever they are, they'll beat the pocket pair if they hit. There are many danger cards for the player.

3 to the turn. Turn comes 6 and completes the 3-flush. A bet and a raise to the guy with the pocket pair, who calls. The initial bettor calls.

Ok here's where the person with the pocket pair should have folded. The danger card came, there was a bet, and a raise, and he calls.

The river comes blank, and the 1st position guy bets, 2nd position guy raises, pocket pair guy re-raises (I can only guess in an attempt to trap), and the 1st position guy caps it. All call.

When one shows the flush, and the other shows the straight, the guy with KK is bewildered, and gets mad because his "KK got cracked." He got too attached to a hand that was "supposed to win." If he looked at the situation objectively and took in all of the factors he would have known that he had the worst hand at the turn.

Another classic case is when one has KK and raises, and only gets called by tight/passive players. If the flop comes with an A, be ready to throw your hand away to aggression. The situation YOU created with the raise enticed known tight players to play, so be expecting your caller(s) to have an A.

Bottom line: Read your situation, exploit your situation, and be a strong enough player to know when you're beat.

...because Stone Cold said so!

Moving Up in Limits

2007-02-06T08:55:00.000-08:00

I've been playing since my last post, but I haven't been doing a good job of blogging the experiences.

I've played 2 tournaments, one at work and one held by AA. I did ok, 4/11 in the work one, and 1/19 in AA's. Not much real poker being played in the one at work, just the proverbial "let's see if the cards hold up," which is fine, some of the players had never played poker before, so it was probably a good learning experience for them. AA's tournament was a pretty decent one. I was catching cards and playing some decent trap poker. Knowing opponent's tendencies really makes a difference, and since I had played many of these people before, I was able to steal in spots where I normally wouldn't be able to steal because of image, etc.

So, on to the subject of this post: moving up in limits.

I was playing $1-$2NLH at Caesars this past weekend, and was amazed and frustrated at the same time by the amount of strange plays being made at the table. No one uses extraction plays when they have the nuts (good for me), a host of donkey calls, and a handful of bizarre bluffs. I guess it all gets back to the strategy you incorporate into your game. 2 examples:

This is my 2nd or 3rd hand at the table. Table limit is $300.

Hero: $194
Villain: $400ish

Hero: KcQs.

SB posts $1, BB posts $2. Villain calls. Hero raises to $15. 8 players fold. Villain calls. Pot is ($33).

Flop: Jh Jd Ts

Villain bets $20. Hero calls. Pot is $73.

Turn: 9c

Villain bets $15. Hero calls. Pot is $103

River: Jc

Villain bets $20. Hero raises to $60. Villain folds and shows a Td.

He folded a boat and told me he put me on a jack. I was bewildered.

Good for me!

The other hand I don't remember as distinctly (stack sizes), but I was BB and looked down at KK. The button called and I raised to $15 (which was in my normal raise range). All fold to the button, who goes into the think tank. He then calls. Flop comes blanks; no cards higher than 7, rainbow. I bet $25. Villain moves all in. ALL IN?!?!!?!? So I go into the tank. I can only beat QQ-88 (and any non-board pairs), bluffs, and single pairs. I have this sinking feeling that he called with a pair to my raise and got lucky. So I say, "I can't beat your trips," show my KK, and fold. He then shows his neighbor his cards, and from what I could guess, he had a set of 7s, as he said "Kings don't always hold up" or some nonsense. I was thinking "well at least they don't know how to extract."

Pretty good outcome right? So why talk about moving up in limits? The obvious reasons are for more money, and to improve my play. But more importantly, to play actual POKER. I talked about my good hands, but I still took a loss on the night because they didn't know when to fold. My AK, AQ, AJs were thumped by donk hands, like 6-2, because the player thought that "this was the hand to go all-in." In higher limit games, like $2-$5, you have a better feel that players aren't going to get desperate and put their chips in with any 2 cards. It is a cash game after all, not a tournament.

As an aside: I have come to HATE the any-amount live straddle from any position.

Be Aggressive and Know Your Opponents

2007-01-05T06:41:00.000-08:00

Ok, now I admit that it has been at least 2 months since I've played what I consider to be *serious* poker, as the holidays, trips to the Philippines, and cruises have seemed to get in the way. Now that I'm getting back into the swing of things, I remember one of the most fundamental tenants of poker that one needs to be successful, especially in weak games. BE AGGRESSIVE! If you're playing in a pot, you should be raising. If your hand is not good enough to raise, then it's usually not good enough to call (with exceptions of course). I saw way too many pots where 8 people limped in and saw a flop. #1. That's not poker, that's bingo. #2., and more importantly, you have NO idea where you stand in the hand. The flop is almost meaningless since you can't put anyone on a hand. Worst that can happen is that the flop actually hits you with middle pair or something and someone busts you with a hidden pocket overpair. You'll have no idea. So, when you're sitting at the tables or online, keep this in mind: No one limps in when I'm in the pot. They'll have to pay to play!

One last thing I want to mention is something I'm getting better at every time I sit; pay attention and know your opponent. Not just what they play, but their skill level also.

My rule of thumb is: Don't give anyone credit for a move you've never seen them do.

With this, there is also an inverse rule: Don't make a move that your opponent will not recognize.

My friend AA says "You can't sing to a man with no ears." This is very true; especially in lower limits and tournaments. My theory is that the reason Carlos Mortensen was the last pro to win the WSOP Main Event is due to the fact that professional high-end moves are nullified by an amateur's ignorance of the move and inability to recognize it. Then, it's just a math game... here's what I mean.

Let's say that there are 200 players that we can consider to be "high-end professionals." In last year's Main Event (2006), there were like 8700 people. So, to win the WSOP, a pro would have to bust out about 50-60 people (fuzzy math, but it illustrates my point). Let's say that 1/2 those people have NO BUSINESS being in the tournament. That means of the 50-60 people the pro has to bust out, 25-30 of them will have to be beat on pure luck. Over that long a stretch, you're talking about A LOT of luck. So, naturally, the larger the tournament is, the more it favors the donks, because there are just so many more chances for the donks to come out ahead. Another way to look at it is this: Say that you are in a shooting competition. I give myself 200 bullets to hit a target dead center, and I give you 8500 bullets to hit dead center. You are likely to win because you have the advantage of numbers.

Back to the point, don't pull a move that you don't think your opponents will recognize. To more experienced poker players, a check-raise means trouble. To inexperienced players, it simply looks like you missed a bet. If your opponent has never bluffed (over time), it's likely that they'll be more prone to be bluffable. You get the picture.

Lastly, playing a table simply to try to qualify for the "Bad Beat Jackpot" is not a good enough reason to play the table. I hate limit.

Poker on the Caribbean

2006-12-24T19:41:00.000-08:00

I've just spend an amazing week on the Explorer of the Seas! They have an onboard casino, complete with matching poker tables... well they're ex-blackjack tables converted to "poker tables." As an aside, the poker tables/limits were the ONLY underwhelming feature of the Explorer; all else was out of this world!

So, as any usual blackjack table, there were 7 available seats per table. Explorer designates 2 tables for poker. The only available game is a 5-10 limit hold'em game. One table was full, and there was nobody on their waiting list. So, I joined the waiting list, and in no time, we filled a table. Sweet. Most people sat, as I did, with around $100. One guy sat with $700, and another guy, the guy to my left, sat with $300.

And then came the obligatory trash talking and limit dropping before the cards were dealt. Here's an example of what I'm talking about. I usually try to make a little small talk... this time I said "You guys play alot?" I got a lot of "I play a lot online, won about $X hundred dollars... yada yada yada." To me, this translates to "I've never/rarely played live poker, and I'm really not that great." Then you get the one guy who looks at everyone and seems to get intimidated by all of the talk. Not trying to make it sound like Rounders, but this is how I find the donks.

My rule of thumb held up again today.

Now, some were newbies who knew they were newbies and introduced themselves as/and warned the table of there presence as newbies. No problem. I have a lot of sympathy for newbies, as it was not too long ago that I was a total n00b. As usual, they were better than the trash-talkers :)

Ok, so this is the usual lowest-limit-possible-no-foldem-holdem game. The guy who sat with $700 is trying to muscle people with his big stack, which is what you're supposed to do. Unfortunately, he doesn't realize that it's no-foldem-holdem, and consequently gets thumped a few times and now is playing very conservatively. Everyone is playing I-have-the-goods-and-bet or I-don't-have-the-goods-and fold poker, which would make it particularly easy bluff EXCEPT for the fellow sitting to my left who plays LITERALLY every hand. In 50ish hands, he played EVERY SINGLE hand, even if it was raised, and ALWAYS paid to see the turn. Yeah, one of those; and he begged for them to raise the limits to $10-20. I was like "Yea raise the limits and I'll take your money more quickly."

So, I'll tell you about the hand that defined the night in my eyes. First, the villain is the guy to my left who plays every hand.

- Players and Stacks -
BB - $85
Villain/SB - $115
Hero/Button - $80

SB has been "beating up" on the n00bs and I guess is feeling pretty good about himself. The past few hands, though, he'd been playing donk cards, not catching cards, and trying to represent it. This behavior is fine except he also doesn't realize that this is no-foldem-holdem, and gets thumped.

Anyway, SB and BB post. 4 folds. Action is to me/hero and I look down at AKspades. I raise to $10, SB reraises to $15, BB and Hero call. Pot is now $45.

Flop comes: J 4 5, 1 spade

SB checks to me, which is strange, because SB bets/raises EVERY street. I bet $5, he calls. Pot is $55.

Turn comes 3, giving me a gutshot. SB checks, I bet $10. SB calls. I start to think "Is he slowplaying me?"

River comes: 2

SB checks again, I bet $10, he calls. Shows KJos and says "I missed my straight." I show the big slick, rake the pot and he goes on tilt. He's like, you called me with an ace high? How the hell can you make that call with ace high? And consequently he busted out soon after. And I wanted to be the one to take his money :P

Introductions

2006-12-07T08:12:00.000-08:00

Hi all!

Let me introduce myself. My name is JP, and I'm an amateur poker player ever striving to become "pro." I've always found it funny that some of the self-proclaimed "pros" in the casino still have day jobs and only come into the poker room to make spending money. Others that I've come across do not have the bankroll to legitimately call themselves "pro" in my eyes. I'll explain in a minute, just let me finish my introduction.

I live in Louisville, KY, and play 3-5 days a week at Caesars Indiana. I also play on FullTilt and Poker Stars. I'm one of the "Moneymaker-boomers," meaning that I didn't start playing poker 'til I saw the 2003 WSOP on ESPN. I did, however, start playing soon after that aired, mostly in home games and freerolls (both live and Internet). I started playing for real money about a year ago online, and started playing in casinos about 4-5 months ago. Started at the $4-8 limit holdem game, then jumped to the $1-2NL holdem table. Recently, I've been frequenting the $2-5NL holdem, though they only run that a few times a week (while I'm there, that is). $2-5NL is the biggest regular game we have, and where the best NL players play. Sometimes, when the "crazy Russians" come to the casino, they start up a $5-10NL game, but that's not too often. Consequently, I've never played that game. I've also sat on the $1-2 and the $1-2-5 PLO. We have a huge PLO game ($30-60 I think Edit: AA said it is $25-50 with a $100 mandatory straddle) that I'll sit on one day... just not today.

I'm starting this blog for a number of reasons. First, I think it'd be a great log/journal/whatever for me in the event that I do turn pro, I can look back and say "Man, remember when I couldn't beat Caesar's $2-5 game?" Next, for all the players that are in my position right now, this blog may play a role in their/your transition to the big leagues. If so, then I'll gladly advertise your sponsors... for a nominal fee of course :) And finally (at least for the purposes of this article), to help me remember my mistakes so I don't make them again!!!

So, about these "pro" players who don't have a bankroll. My friend, AA (I'll be referring to AA a lot throughout the whole blog) and I met a really nice guy at our recent WSOP Circuit event who had allegedly just turned pro a few months before and was wearing a WSOP Circuit ring. He said that he had been to a few events before this one and so I asked him "Hey, I'd like to go pro one day, how much of a bankroll did you start out with when you made the jump?" He said that all he had $900. This struck me as odd, but whatever. So AA asked him "What limits do you play?" referring to cash games. He told us "Oh, I don't play cash games." I chimed in "Oh, just satellites?" "No," he said, "I just buy-in to the tournaments straight. Yeah it was kinda hard until I won the $500NL event because the room is $70/night and I've been here for like 15 days. If I didn't hit that, I would have just gone home."

Wow. After a few calculations, AA and I figured out that he had spent at least $140 of his $900 bankroll on the hotel room. He said that he played the first event, which was $200 (since he doesn't play satellites), leaving him with $560. The next day was the $500, which he won. Had he not won, he would have an amazing $60 to get back home to wherever home was. That's assuming that he didn't eat, though he may have been living on comps.

How many "pros" are like that? Most pros use the "6 months expenses" benchmark as the necessary bankroll to become pro. I would say that you'd need to have the 6 months expenses PLUS additional bank to actually play your table games. My definition of being "pro" is that poker is your primary source of income, and that you have enough bankroll that you can survive a long stretch without a win. That guy didn't even have enough to make it through two tournaments if he lost. He may be a good poker player, but I don't think he's a pro just yet (winning the $500 did add about $50K to his bankroll though). Crazy? Yes.

Maybe he's just not good at bankroll management.. or maybe he's filthy rich outside of poker. :)

...but he has a WSOP ring.. and I don't!