I was at the Commerce Casino last weekend for the WPT Boot Camp's Ca$h edition. Like the tournament camp, it's a two day intensive series of lectures and live-play labs taught by a group of poker professionals. In addition to Jules and Crispin Leyser, our camp was taught by Mark Seif, Nick Brancato and Rick Fuller. Mark Seif is a well known poker player, with two WPT final table appearances to his credit and is also a commentator for the PPT. I had personally never heard of Nick Brancato, but in his short, 3 year career playing online poker he has probably seen as many hands as Doyle Brunson has played in his lifetime. Internet poker has made that possible by allowing him to not only see more hands per hour, but to be seated at multiple tables simultaneously.
In addition to the lectures and labs, there was a special component to the Ca$h camp: The ca$h challenge. I didn't really know how this was going to work until it was explained that day. They sat each of us, in turn, in front of a computer. The computer would present all of us the same sequence of 30 hands in a row. After every hand, our bankroll would be either reduced or replenished to $1000. In this way, everyone had the same experience. The sum total of money you made playing was your score. The top 6 played a 2nd challenge the next day. About half the class lost money. I made about $660. 6th place made just a bit less than twice that. I made exactly one decision that probably kept me out of the running - it cost me about $400 instead of allowing me to make about $200, a swing of $600. Still, if I was playing $5/$10 and made $600 in 30 hands, I'd be ecstatic.
I'm not sure I am going to go down the cash poker road or not. It's a different thing than tournaments, that's for sure. Cash poker is all about results over the long term. I liken it to being a day trader - but with fewer unknowns. There's no doubt at all that it can be a profitable experience. But I'm not sure it would be for me. Tournaments have an advantage in that your risk in any one tournament is limited, and each has an end. Cash poker is about statistics gathering and management. The disadvantage of tournament poker is that it's like being a major league hitter: Even the very best fail 2/3 of the time. Sometimes they knock one out of the park, but certainly not every time.
I might still decide to give it a try. I am undecided. At the moment, all my focus is on getting midnight tournament points for the upcoming Bay 101 open. As of the 24th, I'm in 7th place, and there are two shots left.
Wednesday, August 1, 2007
Aussie Rules Football on KCSM!
I remember watching AFL (back then it was actually VFL) games on ESPN back when I was in college. I missed them when they went off the air. Well, they are available on the Setanta satellite TV channel, but fortunately for me, they're also showing a match of the week on KCSM! We're picking up their digital over-the-air signal, and I believe it's on the -2 stream, but I'm not sure. Through the magic of TiVo, I don't actually know when it gets aired. I have a season pass, so I don't actually worry about such things.
Monday, July 30, 2007
Poker at the Commerce Casino
While I was at the WPT Ca$h Camp this weekend, I had a chance to play at the tables. I did two different things while I was there: I played two sessions at the $1/$2 NL ($40 buy-in cap) game, and I played 5 $34/$6 SnG tournaments. Each deserves some mention for different reasons:
First, the SnGs. These are played on a special table they call "Lightning Poker." It is the size of a normal table, but embedded in the top is one large LCD screen in the center and 10 smaller screens around the periphery. The small screens are touch sensitive and have a small slot for a special mag-stripe ID card. You take your card to the cashier's booth to cash it up, more or less just like online play. The card has a PIN to make sure it can't be used if it's lost or stolen.
While the novelty of the SnGs was cool, I didn't like them for a few important reasons:
1. The house took a $6 rake off each $40 buy-in. That's a hell of a lot. Easily triple what the same tournament rake would be online.
2. They only paid two places. The same SnGs online pay 3 places.
3. Each player starts with a paltry $500 in tournament chips. With the starting blinds at $10/$20, that makes everybody a short stack. If your first move doesn't work out (standard raise plus a continuation bet), you've probably lost half your stack. Your next hand is all-in, and if you lose that you're done. That's a pretty harsh tournament.
I wound up chopping one out of the 5 tourneys I played, for $170 (the computer doesn't know how to chop them, so once the players agree, they simply go all-in in the dark until it's over, then the winner gives the 2nd place player $34 from the $204 first prize). So net loss of $30. But I don't feel too bad about it. The first two I played I lost because of a 2-outer and 3-outer suck-out, respectively. The third I chopped, then in the 4th I lost a race and in the 5th I wound up all-in with an under-pair to an over-pair. I still think that the crowd was pretty soft, but at the same time, the conditions sort of set you up for higher variance, which doesn't favor good players.
I had two sessions of no-limit. These had a $40 buy-in cap to play $1/$2 NL. That also makes the stacks a bit shorter than they ought to be. One of the things I learned at camp was that the correct buy-in for NL cash is 100x the big blind. That said, we should be starting $1/$2 with $200 stacks. Being so short, it plays a bit more like a tournament, with normal moves resulting in people being pot committed and then all-in.
The first session was a beautiful thing. I wound up winning $20 in a half hour before breakfast. The crowd was quite soft. The second session, I also found myself up $20 and almost stood up and left with it, but decided I wasn't done. I then lost all that and another $20 behind. Bummer. So total for the weekend in cash: down $40.
I'll write more about the camp later.
First, the SnGs. These are played on a special table they call "Lightning Poker." It is the size of a normal table, but embedded in the top is one large LCD screen in the center and 10 smaller screens around the periphery. The small screens are touch sensitive and have a small slot for a special mag-stripe ID card. You take your card to the cashier's booth to cash it up, more or less just like online play. The card has a PIN to make sure it can't be used if it's lost or stolen.
While the novelty of the SnGs was cool, I didn't like them for a few important reasons:
1. The house took a $6 rake off each $40 buy-in. That's a hell of a lot. Easily triple what the same tournament rake would be online.
2. They only paid two places. The same SnGs online pay 3 places.
3. Each player starts with a paltry $500 in tournament chips. With the starting blinds at $10/$20, that makes everybody a short stack. If your first move doesn't work out (standard raise plus a continuation bet), you've probably lost half your stack. Your next hand is all-in, and if you lose that you're done. That's a pretty harsh tournament.
I wound up chopping one out of the 5 tourneys I played, for $170 (the computer doesn't know how to chop them, so once the players agree, they simply go all-in in the dark until it's over, then the winner gives the 2nd place player $34 from the $204 first prize). So net loss of $30. But I don't feel too bad about it. The first two I played I lost because of a 2-outer and 3-outer suck-out, respectively. The third I chopped, then in the 4th I lost a race and in the 5th I wound up all-in with an under-pair to an over-pair. I still think that the crowd was pretty soft, but at the same time, the conditions sort of set you up for higher variance, which doesn't favor good players.
I had two sessions of no-limit. These had a $40 buy-in cap to play $1/$2 NL. That also makes the stacks a bit shorter than they ought to be. One of the things I learned at camp was that the correct buy-in for NL cash is 100x the big blind. That said, we should be starting $1/$2 with $200 stacks. Being so short, it plays a bit more like a tournament, with normal moves resulting in people being pot committed and then all-in.
The first session was a beautiful thing. I wound up winning $20 in a half hour before breakfast. The crowd was quite soft. The second session, I also found myself up $20 and almost stood up and left with it, but decided I wasn't done. I then lost all that and another $20 behind. Bummer. So total for the weekend in cash: down $40.
I'll write more about the camp later.
Wednesday, July 25, 2007
You don't know Jack on the web!
The folks at Jellyvision, once responsible for the "You Don't Know Jack" series of quiz games have sort of moved in a more... corporate direction. Now they want to take their expertise at conversational interfaces and make demos and attract flash for marketing. Nice work if you can get it, I suppose.
But all is not lost! They are making YDKJ snippets available on the web for free - including the Daily DisOrDat. To get you in the mood, why don't you have a taste? The subject of this DisOrDat is particularly apropos.
Just so you know, I scored. Huh huh.
P.s. I tried to embed it on this page, but the flash didn't work correctly. Oh well.
But all is not lost! They are making YDKJ snippets available on the web for free - including the Daily DisOrDat. To get you in the mood, why don't you have a taste? The subject of this DisOrDat is particularly apropos.
Just so you know, I scored. Huh huh.
P.s. I tried to embed it on this page, but the flash didn't work correctly. Oh well.
Wednesday, July 18, 2007
Algorithm for evaluating poker hands
I've never actually seen the full description in one place on the net, so I thought I'd do a public service.
First, if you're playing a game with extra cards, like Hold'em or 7 stud, you first use recursion thusly: Iterate through the set of cards, removing one at a time and recurse. From the recursion results, save the best hand and return it.
Once you get down to 5 cards, you first take a histogram of the card ranks. That is, for each rank in the hand, count how often it appears. Sort the histogram by the count backwards (high values first).
If the histogram counts are 4 and 1, then the hand is quads.
If the histogram counts are 3 and a 2, then the hand is a boat.
If the histogram counts are 3, 1 and 1, then the hand is a set.
If the histogram counts are 2, 2 and 1, then the hand is two pair.
If the histogram has 4 ranks in it, then the hand is one pair.
Next, check to see if the hand is a flush. You do this by iterating through the cards to see if the suit of a card is the same as its neighbor. If not, then the hand is not a flush. Don't return a result yet, just note whether or not it's a flush.
Next, check for straights. Do this by sorting the list of cards. Then subtract the rank of the bottom card from the top card. If you get 4, it's a straight. At this point, you must also check either for the wheel or for broadway, depending on whether your sort puts the ace at the top or bottom. I would expect most folks to put the ace at the top of the sort, since it is usually a high card. So to check for the wheel, check to see if the top card is an ace and the 2nd to top card is a 5. If so, then it is the wheel.
If the hand is a straight and a flush, it's a straight-flush. Otherwise if it's one or the other, you can return that.
If we haven't matched the hand by now, it's High Card.
Once you know what the hand is, it is fairly straightforward to compare two hands of the same type. For straights, you simply compare the top card. For flushes, you iterate down through a reverse sort of the ranks until you find a higher card or run out. For the histogram-based hands, you start at the beginning of the reverse-sorted count list and compare the ranks (two pair is tricky - you must always evaluate the higher of the two pairs for each hand first - the histogram won't help, then the lower pair, then the kicker).
Checking for a low (for high/low or Razz) is a little easier. Sort the hand by rank. Iterate through the list. If any card is bigger than an 8 or is the same rank as it's neighbor, it's not a low hand.
First, if you're playing a game with extra cards, like Hold'em or 7 stud, you first use recursion thusly: Iterate through the set of cards, removing one at a time and recurse. From the recursion results, save the best hand and return it.
Once you get down to 5 cards, you first take a histogram of the card ranks. That is, for each rank in the hand, count how often it appears. Sort the histogram by the count backwards (high values first).
If the histogram counts are 4 and 1, then the hand is quads.
If the histogram counts are 3 and a 2, then the hand is a boat.
If the histogram counts are 3, 1 and 1, then the hand is a set.
If the histogram counts are 2, 2 and 1, then the hand is two pair.
If the histogram has 4 ranks in it, then the hand is one pair.
Next, check to see if the hand is a flush. You do this by iterating through the cards to see if the suit of a card is the same as its neighbor. If not, then the hand is not a flush. Don't return a result yet, just note whether or not it's a flush.
Next, check for straights. Do this by sorting the list of cards. Then subtract the rank of the bottom card from the top card. If you get 4, it's a straight. At this point, you must also check either for the wheel or for broadway, depending on whether your sort puts the ace at the top or bottom. I would expect most folks to put the ace at the top of the sort, since it is usually a high card. So to check for the wheel, check to see if the top card is an ace and the 2nd to top card is a 5. If so, then it is the wheel.
If the hand is a straight and a flush, it's a straight-flush. Otherwise if it's one or the other, you can return that.
If we haven't matched the hand by now, it's High Card.
Once you know what the hand is, it is fairly straightforward to compare two hands of the same type. For straights, you simply compare the top card. For flushes, you iterate down through a reverse sort of the ranks until you find a higher card or run out. For the histogram-based hands, you start at the beginning of the reverse-sorted count list and compare the ranks (two pair is tricky - you must always evaluate the higher of the two pairs for each hand first - the histogram won't help, then the lower pair, then the kicker).
Checking for a low (for high/low or Razz) is a little easier. Sort the hand by rank. Iterate through the list. If any card is bigger than an 8 or is the same rank as it's neighbor, it's not a low hand.
Saturday, July 14, 2007
MST3K mark 2
The Mystery Science Theater 3000 guys are back. They call themselves The Film Crew, and their first effort is available via Netflix's Watch Now feature.
The silhouettes are gone, but the commentary is as good as it ever was. There are also fewer skits and more taking apart of the movie.
This effort appears to be direct to video.
The silhouettes are gone, but the commentary is as good as it ever was. There are also fewer skits and more taking apart of the movie.
This effort appears to be direct to video.
Metallica IS Spinal Tap
I've always thought metallica sucked. But I never really cared so much. I sort of ignored them when they were on the radio. But ever since Metallica came out as the sock puppets for the RIAA against Napster, I've actively disliked them. Not that I'm really in favor of illegal music swapping, but the RIAA was (and is) more a part of the problem than not. It's just extra fitting that Metallica, out of everyone, would be the tools that would step up and spout the party line for them.
But this isn't about that, really.
Lately, a new Metallica track has been playing on SquiZZ. It's Metallica's take on "The Ecstasy of Gold." Now, you may not recognize that song title. It's part of the soundtrack of the movie "The Good, The Bad and The Ugly." Remember the scene where Tuco, Blondie and Angel Eyes had a 3-way shoot out in the graveyard near the end of the movie? It's that music. It's one of Ennio Morricone's finest works. And, like John Williams, Morricone is truly representative of what classical music composers historically have been. The fact that the music is the background to a movie isn't really that different from the times when the music was the background to an opera. So I give much props to Morricone's talent. His work will live as long as Mozart's.
So, again, where does Metallica come in? Remember the scene from "This Is Spinal Tap" where Nigel and Marty discuss the minor key and its relationship to classical music... only to then reveal that the complex classical-based composition they've been noodling around is called, "Lick My Love Pump." That's really the only thing missing from the Metallica to Spinal Tap connection with Morricone's tune - they didn't rename it "The Ecstasy of Taking My Meat Hammer Up Your Poop-chute."
Feh. Take that to eleven, beyotch.
P.s. Before anyone jumps down my throat, yes, I am aware that the band has used "Ecstasy" as their warm up music for years. That just drives the point home, as far as I'm concerned. I wasn't aware of it before now because you'd never catch me dead at one of their concerts.
But this isn't about that, really.
Lately, a new Metallica track has been playing on SquiZZ. It's Metallica's take on "The Ecstasy of Gold." Now, you may not recognize that song title. It's part of the soundtrack of the movie "The Good, The Bad and The Ugly." Remember the scene where Tuco, Blondie and Angel Eyes had a 3-way shoot out in the graveyard near the end of the movie? It's that music. It's one of Ennio Morricone's finest works. And, like John Williams, Morricone is truly representative of what classical music composers historically have been. The fact that the music is the background to a movie isn't really that different from the times when the music was the background to an opera. So I give much props to Morricone's talent. His work will live as long as Mozart's.
So, again, where does Metallica come in? Remember the scene from "This Is Spinal Tap" where Nigel and Marty discuss the minor key and its relationship to classical music... only to then reveal that the complex classical-based composition they've been noodling around is called, "Lick My Love Pump." That's really the only thing missing from the Metallica to Spinal Tap connection with Morricone's tune - they didn't rename it "The Ecstasy of Taking My Meat Hammer Up Your Poop-chute."
Feh. Take that to eleven, beyotch.
P.s. Before anyone jumps down my throat, yes, I am aware that the band has used "Ecstasy" as their warm up music for years. That just drives the point home, as far as I'm concerned. I wasn't aware of it before now because you'd never catch me dead at one of their concerts.
Friday, July 13, 2007
Was this a bad play?
Full Tilt Poker Game #_: $20 + $2 Sit & Go (_), Table 1 - 20/40 - No Limit Hold'em - 19:54:01 ET - 2007/07/13
Seat 1: hero (2,825)
Seat 2: (1,245)
Seat 3: (4,220)
Seat 4: (710)
Seat 2 posts the small blind of 20
Seat 3 posts the big blind of 40
The button is in seat #1
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to hero [Ah 5h]
villain calls 40
hero raises to 160
Yes, it was a loose raise, but we were 4 handed and I'd been very tight.
Seat 2 folds
Seat 3 folds
villain calls 120
*** FLOP *** [3s 5c 7d]
villain bets 550, and is all in
So he limp-called before the flop. Classic tell of a small or mid pair. At the time, I didn't pick up on it. Now he jumps for his last 550 chips, with over 300 in the pot already. I at least have a pair, and if he's bluffing with crap, then I've got him beat. If he has a better hand than my pair of 5s with an ace, then I'm still in good shape overall. I decided to risk that he was just pulling a stop-n-go with any two cards.
hero calls 550
villain shows [8s 8c]
hero shows [Ah 5h]
*** TURN *** [3s 5c 7d] [5d]
*** RIVER *** [3s 5c 7d 5d] [3d]
villain shows two pair, Eights and Fives
hero shows a full house, Fives full of Threes
hero wins the pot (1,480) with a full house, Fives full of Threes
villain stands up
At this time he starts lambasting me in the chat window as being a donkey.
I called him because he was short, and because I had something and could afford it. If I either beat him or sucked-out, then we'd get that one step closer to the money.
It wasn't the proudest call I've ever made, but I think it was, all in all, more correct than incorrect. What do you all think?
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot 1,480 | Rake 0
Board: [3s 5c 7d 5d 3d]
Seat 1: hero (button) showed [Ah 5h] and won (1,480) with a full house, Fives full of Threes
Seat 2: (small blind) folded before the Flop
Seat 3: (big blind) folded before the Flop
Seat 4: villain showed [8s 8c] and lost with two pair, Eights and Fives
I went on to go heads up with Seat 3 and win, but I got very lucky to take out the 3rd place finisher.
It's been my lucky week so far, even being Friday the 13th and all. I hope it continues.
Seat 1: hero (2,825)
Seat 2: (1,245)
Seat 3: (4,220)
Seat 4: (710)
Seat 2 posts the small blind of 20
Seat 3 posts the big blind of 40
The button is in seat #1
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to hero [Ah 5h]
villain calls 40
hero raises to 160
Yes, it was a loose raise, but we were 4 handed and I'd been very tight.
Seat 2 folds
Seat 3 folds
villain calls 120
*** FLOP *** [3s 5c 7d]
villain bets 550, and is all in
So he limp-called before the flop. Classic tell of a small or mid pair. At the time, I didn't pick up on it. Now he jumps for his last 550 chips, with over 300 in the pot already. I at least have a pair, and if he's bluffing with crap, then I've got him beat. If he has a better hand than my pair of 5s with an ace, then I'm still in good shape overall. I decided to risk that he was just pulling a stop-n-go with any two cards.
hero calls 550
villain shows [8s 8c]
hero shows [Ah 5h]
*** TURN *** [3s 5c 7d] [5d]
*** RIVER *** [3s 5c 7d 5d] [3d]
villain shows two pair, Eights and Fives
hero shows a full house, Fives full of Threes
hero wins the pot (1,480) with a full house, Fives full of Threes
villain stands up
At this time he starts lambasting me in the chat window as being a donkey.
I called him because he was short, and because I had something and could afford it. If I either beat him or sucked-out, then we'd get that one step closer to the money.
It wasn't the proudest call I've ever made, but I think it was, all in all, more correct than incorrect. What do you all think?
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot 1,480 | Rake 0
Board: [3s 5c 7d 5d 3d]
Seat 1: hero (button) showed [Ah 5h] and won (1,480) with a full house, Fives full of Threes
Seat 2: (small blind) folded before the Flop
Seat 3: (big blind) folded before the Flop
Seat 4: villain showed [8s 8c] and lost with two pair, Eights and Fives
I went on to go heads up with Seat 3 and win, but I got very lucky to take out the 3rd place finisher.
It's been my lucky week so far, even being Friday the 13th and all. I hope it continues.
A solution to the GPS-less iPhone
I am embarrassed I didn't think of this myself.
One shortcoming of the iPhone is that the google maps app - though it is without a doubt amazing - doesn't have any positional information. That is, the map doesn't know where you are. There's just no room in the iPhone (or juice in the battery) for a GPS chipset.
But who says the GPS has to be built in?
All credit goes to Craigy on MacRumors for the idea. And it's a fantastic one. If you simply kept a bluetooth GPS box in your car, then your iPhone could use it to provide a "You are here" pin in the google maps app, and could automatically step through the turn-by-turn directions as you go. It could even give you ETAs (with real-time traffic, of course).
Yes, it would be better to have GPS built-in, but Apple could create a whole market for iPhone GPS add-ons. And, conceivably, they don't actually have to be bluetooth tethered. There's no reason you couldn't simply connect up a GPS add-on to the dock connector.
But in any event, it's going to require a lot of software support from Apple.
We'll see.
One shortcoming of the iPhone is that the google maps app - though it is without a doubt amazing - doesn't have any positional information. That is, the map doesn't know where you are. There's just no room in the iPhone (or juice in the battery) for a GPS chipset.
But who says the GPS has to be built in?
All credit goes to Craigy on MacRumors for the idea. And it's a fantastic one. If you simply kept a bluetooth GPS box in your car, then your iPhone could use it to provide a "You are here" pin in the google maps app, and could automatically step through the turn-by-turn directions as you go. It could even give you ETAs (with real-time traffic, of course).
Yes, it would be better to have GPS built-in, but Apple could create a whole market for iPhone GPS add-ons. And, conceivably, they don't actually have to be bluetooth tethered. There's no reason you couldn't simply connect up a GPS add-on to the dock connector.
But in any event, it's going to require a lot of software support from Apple.
We'll see.
Heads-up position
I haven't played much poker since the victory on Monday. It's as if I don't want to spoil the victory, in a way. But last night I did sit down to a $20 heads-up match at FTP. I won it in 3 hands. I managed to catch on the other two hands and that allowed me to appear to be quite aggressive to my opponent, which probably had a lot to do with the outcome, but in any event, the last hand was a great lesson in heads-up position.
When you're heads-up, the button is the small blind and acts first before the flop, and last after. That little change-up is something quite special in heads-up play.
Full Tilt Poker Game #_: $20 + $1 Heads Up Sit & Go (_), Table 1 - 10/20 - No Limit Hold'em - 20:19:53 ET - 2007/07/12
Seat 1: victim (1,320)
Seat 2: hero (1,680)
hero posts the small blind of 10
victim posts the big blind of 20
The button is in seat #2
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to hero [Td Ad]
hero raises to 60
victim raises to 120
So he has indicated that he has something. A re-raise normally would tell me that it's a big pocket pair, but heads-up it could be any pair or even a big ace. The minimum raise is often a monster hand tell, but before the flop it's not all that meaningful, particularly heads-up. As we'll see shortly, all he did was make it really cheap for me to call. He saw that I was an aggressive player the other two hands. He might have pressed here to try and take the play away from me. But no.
hero calls 60
*** FLOP *** [2s 3c Ts]
victim bets 200
Here's where position comes in. If we were out of position, I would have made this bet and he would have had to evaluate whether or not I was full of crap. He might have just called a bet given what his hand is.
As for me, I've flopped top pair with an ace. I am only beat by a pocket set or a bigger pair. If he has one of those, so be it.
hero raises to 1,560, and is all in
victim calls 1,000, and is all in
hero shows [Td Ad]
victim shows [9c 9h]
That was a bad call. I raised before the flop and called a re-raise. What hand could he have put me on that 9s would beat? A smaller pair (but not 2s or 3s)? There have only been two other hands. Could he really have believed that I made that big a move with nothing?
Uncalled bet of 360 returned to hero
*** TURN *** [2s 3c Ts] [Kd]
See? If he'd have been in position on me and if I had made the continuation bet and he'd have called it, the king would have been a scare card. He could have represented it and probably taken the pot away from me. That's exactly why I went all-in on the flop. I had what was likely the best hand and didn't want to see any more cards.
*** RIVER *** [2s 3c Ts Kd] [3d]
hero shows two pair, Tens and Threes
victim shows two pair, Nines and Threes
hero wins the pot (2,640) with two pair, Tens and Threes
victim stands up
hero stands up
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot 2,640 | Rake 0
Board: [2s 3c Ts Kd 3d]
Seat 1: victim (big blind) showed [9c 9h] and lost with two pair, Nines and Threes
Seat 2: hero (small blind) showed [Td Ad] and won (2,640) with two pair, Tens and Threes
When you're heads-up, the button is the small blind and acts first before the flop, and last after. That little change-up is something quite special in heads-up play.
Full Tilt Poker Game #_: $20 + $1 Heads Up Sit & Go (_), Table 1 - 10/20 - No Limit Hold'em - 20:19:53 ET - 2007/07/12
Seat 1: victim (1,320)
Seat 2: hero (1,680)
hero posts the small blind of 10
victim posts the big blind of 20
The button is in seat #2
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to hero [Td Ad]
hero raises to 60
victim raises to 120
So he has indicated that he has something. A re-raise normally would tell me that it's a big pocket pair, but heads-up it could be any pair or even a big ace. The minimum raise is often a monster hand tell, but before the flop it's not all that meaningful, particularly heads-up. As we'll see shortly, all he did was make it really cheap for me to call. He saw that I was an aggressive player the other two hands. He might have pressed here to try and take the play away from me. But no.
hero calls 60
*** FLOP *** [2s 3c Ts]
victim bets 200
Here's where position comes in. If we were out of position, I would have made this bet and he would have had to evaluate whether or not I was full of crap. He might have just called a bet given what his hand is.
As for me, I've flopped top pair with an ace. I am only beat by a pocket set or a bigger pair. If he has one of those, so be it.
hero raises to 1,560, and is all in
victim calls 1,000, and is all in
hero shows [Td Ad]
victim shows [9c 9h]
That was a bad call. I raised before the flop and called a re-raise. What hand could he have put me on that 9s would beat? A smaller pair (but not 2s or 3s)? There have only been two other hands. Could he really have believed that I made that big a move with nothing?
Uncalled bet of 360 returned to hero
*** TURN *** [2s 3c Ts] [Kd]
See? If he'd have been in position on me and if I had made the continuation bet and he'd have called it, the king would have been a scare card. He could have represented it and probably taken the pot away from me. That's exactly why I went all-in on the flop. I had what was likely the best hand and didn't want to see any more cards.
*** RIVER *** [2s 3c Ts Kd] [3d]
hero shows two pair, Tens and Threes
victim shows two pair, Nines and Threes
hero wins the pot (2,640) with two pair, Tens and Threes
victim stands up
hero stands up
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot 2,640 | Rake 0
Board: [2s 3c Ts Kd 3d]
Seat 1: victim (big blind) showed [9c 9h] and lost with two pair, Nines and Threes
Seat 2: hero (small blind) showed [Td Ad] and won (2,640) with two pair, Tens and Threes
Tuesday, July 10, 2007
WPT Ca$h camp
I'll be at the WPT Ca$h camp at the Commerce casino at the end of the month.
Why?
You'll recall that I went to the 2 day "normal" tournament camp in January (thanks to my lovely wife Scarlet), and got some good validation and help tuning my game. I also met Crispin, who helped tune my game further.
Scarlet and I went to Reno a couple weeks ago and while I didn't have any tournament success, I actually was up in the cash games. But that was, for the most part, playing $3/$6 and $4/$8. I made $25 playing no-limit during one session, but I was out of my comfort zone. I know I can succeed at cash games, but my aggressive tournament style is not correct for cash play, and knowing that I am not where I need to be in the cash game keeps me uncomfortable because of the higher risks.
So unlike last time, I am not really seeking validation of where my game is. Rather, I know my game is not where it needs to be and I need to tweak it a little, get more comfortable, and then I'll know I'm one of the sharks rather than one of the minnows.
Why?
You'll recall that I went to the 2 day "normal" tournament camp in January (thanks to my lovely wife Scarlet), and got some good validation and help tuning my game. I also met Crispin, who helped tune my game further.
Scarlet and I went to Reno a couple weeks ago and while I didn't have any tournament success, I actually was up in the cash games. But that was, for the most part, playing $3/$6 and $4/$8. I made $25 playing no-limit during one session, but I was out of my comfort zone. I know I can succeed at cash games, but my aggressive tournament style is not correct for cash play, and knowing that I am not where I need to be in the cash game keeps me uncomfortable because of the higher risks.
So unlike last time, I am not really seeking validation of where my game is. Rather, I know my game is not where it needs to be and I need to tweak it a little, get more comfortable, and then I'll know I'm one of the sharks rather than one of the minnows.
Monday, July 9, 2007
Victory!
I won this morning's Bay 101 Midnight tournament!
I credit this win almost completely to Crispin helping me tune my game. I played conservative poker for most of it. A key lesson I've learned from my last few failures is that when you get close to the bubble, tighten up. You don't want to spend all that time playing for 11th place. That play took quite a bit of patience, since I was a relatively short stack going into hand-for-hand play. I folded AJo and pocket 5s while we were at 11. Once we were safely in the money, I opened up a tiny bit and managed to get lucky in a couple of key hands and double into the chip lead. Once there, I just waited for good spots to punish the blinds and short stacks. I lost a bunch of match-ups, but for the most part they were situations where the big blind was all-in and it was one more chip to call - you throw down with 27o in those situations.
So all in all, $120 turned into $2990 (minus a $50 toke for the dealers).
Since the last time I won at Bay 101, they seem to have stopped giving away jackets and winner chips. Bummer!
But I got 290 more points towards the Bay 101 open in August. That should put me in fifth place overall at the moment.
I credit this win almost completely to Crispin helping me tune my game. I played conservative poker for most of it. A key lesson I've learned from my last few failures is that when you get close to the bubble, tighten up. You don't want to spend all that time playing for 11th place. That play took quite a bit of patience, since I was a relatively short stack going into hand-for-hand play. I folded AJo and pocket 5s while we were at 11. Once we were safely in the money, I opened up a tiny bit and managed to get lucky in a couple of key hands and double into the chip lead. Once there, I just waited for good spots to punish the blinds and short stacks. I lost a bunch of match-ups, but for the most part they were situations where the big blind was all-in and it was one more chip to call - you throw down with 27o in those situations.
So all in all, $120 turned into $2990 (minus a $50 toke for the dealers).
Since the last time I won at Bay 101, they seem to have stopped giving away jackets and winner chips. Bummer!
But I got 290 more points towards the Bay 101 open in August. That should put me in fifth place overall at the moment.
Tuesday, July 3, 2007
Little things in iPhone
Here's a to-do for Steve and his team:
1. A mechanism to add additional root certificates to the X509 key store for Safari. Lots of folks use them for intranet stuff.
2. LEAP authentication for wireless. It's what we do where I work. The mac can do it, so should the iPhone.
3. Flash. You're just not going to get your way on this one, Steve. Promise.
4. Voice dialing.
5. Internet IM.
6. custom ringtones from iTunes.
7. A2DP - also known as high quality stereo over bluetooth. Rumored to already be on the way.
1. A mechanism to add additional root certificates to the X509 key store for Safari. Lots of folks use them for intranet stuff.
2. LEAP authentication for wireless. It's what we do where I work. The mac can do it, so should the iPhone.
3. Flash. You're just not going to get your way on this one, Steve. Promise.
4. Voice dialing.
5. Internet IM.
6. custom ringtones from iTunes.
7. A2DP - also known as high quality stereo over bluetooth. Rumored to already be on the way.
Saturday, June 30, 2007
Comprehensive iPhone report
Ok. Now that I've had 12 hours with the phone (though to be fair, for most of that time I was asleep), and am on a real keyboard (the built-in keyboard is very smart, but I'm much faster with a full sized one where I can use all 10 fingers), I can make a full report.
You cannot (yet) assign an iTunes song as a ring-tone. That's kind of a bummer, but it's so obvious that I do expect them to fill that gap with a software update later.
Turning the phone sideways for landscape mode is very cool, but it only works in selected apps. It works in the browser and in iPod (though videos always play landscape). Where it does work you can flip it left or right (that is, with the home button on the right or left side of the screen) and it works. You cannot flip the to upside-down portrait mode (it stays upside-down).
I've browsed a number of websites and, for the most part, they all worked just as well as they did on my desktop machine unless they required flash or java. I'm unconvinced that Apple is going to completely have its way about a plugin-less web. I think they're going to have to buckle under and support one of the two (and I'm pretty sure the obvious choice would be flash).
The phone functionality is very nice, and visual voicemail is the topper. My only complaint is that the speakerphone is very, very weak and there is no voice dialing capability.
Voice dialing is sort of a double-edged sword. It was never very reliable for me on my RAZR, but it was much safer for driving. The iPhone is going to be a lot more trouble for drivers not only because of the lack of voice dialing, but because the touch surface is, obviously, completely lacking in tactile feedback (that is, you have no choice but to look at the screen to know where to touch). Fortunately, I have a GPS with a built-in speakerphone, and thus I can at least interact with a touch screen that will be positioned near the windshield.
Since I have a GPS in the car, I'm not sure I'll have too much use for Google Maps. But the one improvement is that it can display real-time traffic information. Adding that to my GPS would cost me about $10/mo, plus buying a traffic dongle.
Typing complex passwords in with the keyboard can be amusing.
I guess having youtube built-in sort of makes up for the lack of games (at the moment). Unfortunately, most of the web based games I play with require flash. The big thing I occasionally count on from my phone is entertainment when I have to wait for something. While I was in line for the iPhone, I played Tetris and Bejeweled. Now, if I have to wait in line for something, I can surf the web.
One big blow is that I have not yet found a way to turn on the ability to use the phone as a hard disk. This used to be the big reason I had an iPod - I could always plug it into a machine and use it to sneaker-net files around. So far as I can tell, that ability is absent on iPhone.
Another was that the iPhone will not act as a dialup modem for a laptop. In fact, though you can discover the iPhone via bluetooth, there's nothing at all you can do with it. It appears only to be able to use bluetooth to set up a handsfree connection, at least right now. Given that you can, theoretically, move up to 7 GB of data across to the phone, syncing over bluetooth would probably be too much to ask. And since it is so Internet connected, you can, for example, use e-mail to move pictures out of the camera.
Another missing point is that the WiFi capability is limited to accessing the Internet. You can't use it to print or browse local shares for files or anything of the sort. Of course, if you have web sites on your intranet, they are accessible.
The biggest difference of all, though, is that this phone is very likely to receive software updates as we go along. No other phone I've ever owned got a software update ever, even if the same model often got updated firmware in the retail channel. So maybe some of these deficiencies will be addressed later on.
You cannot (yet) assign an iTunes song as a ring-tone. That's kind of a bummer, but it's so obvious that I do expect them to fill that gap with a software update later.
Turning the phone sideways for landscape mode is very cool, but it only works in selected apps. It works in the browser and in iPod (though videos always play landscape). Where it does work you can flip it left or right (that is, with the home button on the right or left side of the screen) and it works. You cannot flip the to upside-down portrait mode (it stays upside-down).
I've browsed a number of websites and, for the most part, they all worked just as well as they did on my desktop machine unless they required flash or java. I'm unconvinced that Apple is going to completely have its way about a plugin-less web. I think they're going to have to buckle under and support one of the two (and I'm pretty sure the obvious choice would be flash).
The phone functionality is very nice, and visual voicemail is the topper. My only complaint is that the speakerphone is very, very weak and there is no voice dialing capability.
Voice dialing is sort of a double-edged sword. It was never very reliable for me on my RAZR, but it was much safer for driving. The iPhone is going to be a lot more trouble for drivers not only because of the lack of voice dialing, but because the touch surface is, obviously, completely lacking in tactile feedback (that is, you have no choice but to look at the screen to know where to touch). Fortunately, I have a GPS with a built-in speakerphone, and thus I can at least interact with a touch screen that will be positioned near the windshield.
Since I have a GPS in the car, I'm not sure I'll have too much use for Google Maps. But the one improvement is that it can display real-time traffic information. Adding that to my GPS would cost me about $10/mo, plus buying a traffic dongle.
Typing complex passwords in with the keyboard can be amusing.
I guess having youtube built-in sort of makes up for the lack of games (at the moment). Unfortunately, most of the web based games I play with require flash. The big thing I occasionally count on from my phone is entertainment when I have to wait for something. While I was in line for the iPhone, I played Tetris and Bejeweled. Now, if I have to wait in line for something, I can surf the web.
One big blow is that I have not yet found a way to turn on the ability to use the phone as a hard disk. This used to be the big reason I had an iPod - I could always plug it into a machine and use it to sneaker-net files around. So far as I can tell, that ability is absent on iPhone.
Another was that the iPhone will not act as a dialup modem for a laptop. In fact, though you can discover the iPhone via bluetooth, there's nothing at all you can do with it. It appears only to be able to use bluetooth to set up a handsfree connection, at least right now. Given that you can, theoretically, move up to 7 GB of data across to the phone, syncing over bluetooth would probably be too much to ask. And since it is so Internet connected, you can, for example, use e-mail to move pictures out of the camera.
Another missing point is that the WiFi capability is limited to accessing the Internet. You can't use it to print or browse local shares for files or anything of the sort. Of course, if you have web sites on your intranet, they are accessible.
The biggest difference of all, though, is that this phone is very likely to receive software updates as we go along. No other phone I've ever owned got a software update ever, even if the same model often got updated firmware in the retail channel. So maybe some of these deficiencies will be addressed later on.
Friday, June 29, 2007
Got my iPhone!
I am blogging this post from my new iPhone.
I stood in line for a couple hours at fhe AT&T store in Santa Clara. The line moved very slowly once 6 PM rolled around. I think that had a lot to do with the fact that they were trying to upsell accessories and DSL, and their computers were bogging down. It's a little weird using the keyboard, but I'm sure I can get used to it.
I'm going to stop here and switch to a real keyboard now.
I stood in line for a couple hours at fhe AT&T store in Santa Clara. The line moved very slowly once 6 PM rolled around. I think that had a lot to do with the fact that they were trying to upsell accessories and DSL, and their computers were bogging down. It's a little weird using the keyboard, but I'm sure I can get used to it.
I'm going to stop here and switch to a real keyboard now.
Tuesday, June 26, 2007
iPhone bound!
Well, enough details have now come out about the iPhone and its pricing that I think I've turned the corner.
The iPhone will work with existing Cingular/AT&T customer plans, and will add $20/mo. But currently, I am already paying about $20 per month extra for unlimited data on my current piece of crap phone, so presumably I'll be able to trade in that $20 charge for the iPhone and wind up with the same bill I have now.
I've also talked about the insistence on having the iPhone act as an EDGE modem for my computer, but I'm beginning to think that if the mobile version of Safari is all it's cracked up to be, I'll probably find myself using that less rather than more. For example, occasionally Mark and I perform Thawte notarizations, and in the past I have brought my laptop with me to Coffee Society in order to do the notarizations in real time. But so far as I can tell, there's no reason I couldn't do the same thing with just an iPhone.
I'm pretty sure the phone will be able to visit sites on the corporate intranet as well. I won't be able to bring up a terminal window, but then if I am in a position to be able to use my laptop to do that, I'm very likely somewhere where broadband is available one way or the other.
The iPhone will work with existing Cingular/AT&T customer plans, and will add $20/mo. But currently, I am already paying about $20 per month extra for unlimited data on my current piece of crap phone, so presumably I'll be able to trade in that $20 charge for the iPhone and wind up with the same bill I have now.
I've also talked about the insistence on having the iPhone act as an EDGE modem for my computer, but I'm beginning to think that if the mobile version of Safari is all it's cracked up to be, I'll probably find myself using that less rather than more. For example, occasionally Mark and I perform Thawte notarizations, and in the past I have brought my laptop with me to Coffee Society in order to do the notarizations in real time. But so far as I can tell, there's no reason I couldn't do the same thing with just an iPhone.
I'm pretty sure the phone will be able to visit sites on the corporate intranet as well. I won't be able to bring up a terminal window, but then if I am in a position to be able to use my laptop to do that, I'm very likely somewhere where broadband is available one way or the other.
Monday, June 25, 2007
Close, but no cigar
I tried the midnight tourney again and finished 11th, 2 out of the money. That sucks worse than last week where I was out during the first hour. At least then I got to go back to bed.
I seem to get the wooden medal a lot lately. I guess that means my game is pretty strong, but it sure is hard not getting rewarded for it.
I seem to get the wooden medal a lot lately. I guess that means my game is pretty strong, but it sure is hard not getting rewarded for it.
Saturday, June 23, 2007
Profitable at P*!
Tonight I cashed out $75.60 from PokerStars, having put $25 in. According to SharkScope, that puts me only $28 down lifetime at P*, and according to my poker log, I've actually got a net profit this year of over $150 at P*. I've got a sort of cycle going where I'll cash in for $25, then play a couple of $13 and $6 SNGs until I get over their magic $75 check minimum and then cash out. So far this year using this system I've only been felted once.
FTP, on the other hand, has been a big bust. I like their software better, but having to get up to $300 to cash out, and then having to wait a month for the check, and just having so much less success, I may just have to give up and switch to P*. I can't deny the difference in performance, that's for sure.
FTP, on the other hand, has been a big bust. I like their software better, but having to get up to $300 to cash out, and then having to wait a month for the check, and just having so much less success, I may just have to give up and switch to P*. I can't deny the difference in performance, that's for sure.
Picking up tells
I played in the Saturday morning tourney at Bay 101. I made my exit near the end of the 2nd hour when I went all-in as a continuation bet and unfortunately ran into a pocket set. I don't feel too bad about making that play, I just ran into a wall. Oh well.
More interesting was an opportunity I had to try and use some of the techniques from "Read 'Em And Reap," a book that Crispin suggested. At one point I called a raise with T9s and the flop came T67 rainbow. The only other fellow in the pot led out with a really big bet. Was he bluffing? Did he have 89? AT? Was my top pair good? I had a bad kicker, but I felt that with top pair and the inside straight draw the decision could go either way. So I decided to pause and try and see if I could get a read on him. I noticed that he was seated neutrally enough and was looking at the pot without much of an expression.... but he had one of his hands on his cards. That told me what I needed to know. I tossed my top pair and straight draw into the muck face-up hoping that he would return the favor. He did.... showing pocket 6s. Whew!
There was another hand that was a bit easier. I was on the button. UTG raised, 2nd to act went all-in, then the cut-off went all-in. I looked down at pocket 5s. I agonized for a minute or so, but the decided out loud that I couldn't play it 4 handed. The UTG had everybody covered and called. He had pocket aces. The 2nd seat had pocket 7s, the third seat had QJs. The flop was nothing, but then the turn came a 5! I let out a loud groan and rolled my eyes... but then the river came an Ace! Whew!
More interesting was an opportunity I had to try and use some of the techniques from "Read 'Em And Reap," a book that Crispin suggested. At one point I called a raise with T9s and the flop came T67 rainbow. The only other fellow in the pot led out with a really big bet. Was he bluffing? Did he have 89? AT? Was my top pair good? I had a bad kicker, but I felt that with top pair and the inside straight draw the decision could go either way. So I decided to pause and try and see if I could get a read on him. I noticed that he was seated neutrally enough and was looking at the pot without much of an expression.... but he had one of his hands on his cards. That told me what I needed to know. I tossed my top pair and straight draw into the muck face-up hoping that he would return the favor. He did.... showing pocket 6s. Whew!
There was another hand that was a bit easier. I was on the button. UTG raised, 2nd to act went all-in, then the cut-off went all-in. I looked down at pocket 5s. I agonized for a minute or so, but the decided out loud that I couldn't play it 4 handed. The UTG had everybody covered and called. He had pocket aces. The 2nd seat had pocket 7s, the third seat had QJs. The flop was nothing, but then the turn came a 5! I let out a loud groan and rolled my eyes... but then the river came an Ace! Whew!
Wednesday, June 20, 2007
FTP final table
Getting to the final table at Full Tilt Poker is kind of cool - they change the table background to one clearly inspired by "Who Wants to Be A Millionaire?"
Alas, I only made it to 9th... but I needed to make 7th to cash. :(
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