I was a little groggy for some reason and didn’t feel like I was all there coming into the Aussie Millions event. I played the $100k buy in two days prior and was annoyed with how that went.
I ran into Erick Lindgren’s quads again, holding QQ on a 6-6-2-10-6 board and paid him off for 24,000 on the river when I knew better. I finally went broke with Kh 3h on a board of Qh 9h 3s. I actually had way the best of it, as my opponent had Jh 8h. The 10 on the turn killed me.
Early in the Aussie Millions I seemed to run into several cold decks but I did an excellent job of minimizing the damage and lost less than half my stack. I was able to claw my way back over 20,000 by the dinner break and when I came back from dinner the following hand came down:
Blinds were 200-400 with a 50 ante and David Singer raised from first position to 1100. I called from middle position with 6d 4d and Marsha Waggoner called from the button. The big blind hesitated for quite a while before finally calling also.
The flop came Kd 9d 6c and the big blind immediately declared himself all in for 20,000! It was a really bizarre over bet to say the least. David folded and I starting thinking about my opponent’s range of hands and couldn’t find one that had me beat. Obviously KQ is “ahead” of me, but my hand would be a statistical favorite over KQ and the pot was laying me 25 to 20.
From a purely mathematical, pots odds perspective calling was the correct play considering my opponents range of hands, but calling was the wrong play for ME. Before I go any further, let’s look at how my hand does against the range of hands I put him on:
Kh Qs: I win 50.10%
Ad 10d: I win 50.40%
Ad 5d: I win 59.49%
That’s roughly the range of hands that I put him on based on his overbet. As it turned out, he made the bet with K9! I was 39.19% to call. I just couldn’t believe it?
It seemed like such an odd way to play the hand, but I should have known better than to guess as to what a total wildcard might do with a hand like two pair in that spot. Despite knowing that I couldn’t possibly be drawing dead against any hand in the deck here, and also that it looks like the pot is laying me the right price, I’m supposed to fold this hand.
Why did I call??? I don’t even know. The bet annoyed me, but that’s hardly a reason to make a call? I had virtually the same hand in the 100K and lost, so maybe I was due? LOL, that’s totally silly.
I just felt like gambling, and that’s just a terrible way to approach a poker hand. Obviously, I didn’t improve and I was out of the tournament when I could still be in there with 20,000 and 200-400 blinds. Just totally stupid.
It’s been a full day now and I’m still kind of shell shocked. I just can’t believe I made such a bone head play, it’s so amateurish. Oh well, there goes the whole, “playing my best at all times” approach!
At this point I really just need to put that hand behind me and focus on the rest of the month. I’ll likely play in the 5k buy in heads up tournament tomorrow and if I bust out of that I’m going to fly home for a day or two before going off to Tunica.
I was going to go watch the Australian Open today but decided to just chill in my room. This trip has not gone according to plan at all and I have no one to blame but myself for being out of the tournament. I wasn’t as prepared as I should have been, and ultimately made an impulse decision that cost me the tournament.
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So I get to Australia and find out that there is actually a 100K AUD buy in event the next day. Not only that… it’s speed poker? Weird. I don’t really like speed poker at all, as 30 seconds is often not enough time to get a really good read on an opponent, but it sounds like fun and I had nothing else to do so I figured I’d play it.
Only problem? I didn’t wire 100K over to Australia so I didn’t have the buy in. So last night I went on a borrowing mission trying to find somebody out here in Melbourne with a spare 100K lying around somewhere.
Finally, I found Ivey doing an interview and asked him if he had any extra cash, but he told me that all of his extra cash was likely going towards the baccarat table, so instead, he was able to get me a credit line with the casino so I could borrow the money from them.
Anyway, it’s 9:30am and the tournament starts in a few hours. I plan on heading to the gym first for a quick little workout and then I think the tournament starts at around noon.
Frankly, I don’t love my chances in this event as time pressure is something I’ve never handled all that well. I often spend too much time thinking about how much time I have left instead of focusing on the hand.
I’m going to do my best, and just go with my instincts. Also, for this particular event I’ll be forced to make several strategy adjustments since the calibre of play will be much better than it’s been in the last few tournaments that I’ve played.
I won’t be able to easily maneuver around the table with a strictly small ball approach. More aggression pre-flop (it’s pot limit before the flop) and a little more aggressive after the flop are adjustments that will have to be made when playing with great players.
I’ll likely be forced to guess a little bit more, playing against guys like Juanda, Lindgren, and Ivey.
As for the main event, I’m scheduled to play on the first day. If I happen to bust out, I could either leave here early and go to Tunica????? or decide to stay on a few more days to watch the Australian Open. Something tells me I won’t be changing my flight regardless of how well I fare in the tournament.]]>
I worked out my legs the day before the tournament and followed that up with a late night massage. I took in four episodes of 24, season 4, before bed and got to sleep at about 2:40am. President Logan drives me crazy! I was seriously mad at him, lol. (24 joke, if you don
2) Video blog should be up soon. You can find it at www.fullcontactpoker.com.
3) My flight on American was cancelled AGAIN! So sick. So now I’m on a layover in Atlanta on my way to Nassau. I will likely be playing day two so that I can rest tomorrow.
4) High Stakes Poker. They gave me the ok to mention that in show #2, Gabe Kaplan and I will be switching seats with him playing over me, and me going in the booth to do commentary. Those episodes will run on Jan 22nd and Jan. 29th.]]>
I’ve done it before as a teenager a few times, mainly in the summer months. My father used to tell me that it’s good for your hair and it helps make it thicker. Later I heard from hair people (is that weird to say, hair people?) that there was no truth to that. You have to be a little kooky to just shave your head for the sake of shaving your head, and luckily for me, I’m often a weird dude that does bizarre things for no apparent reason. I’ve felt like doing this for a while now actually. I let my hair grow really long for most of the year and I’m kind of getting sick of it. I’ve developed a nice little mullet- been watching more hockey too, coincidence? I think not- and I end up wearing a hat most of the time anyway. There’s a little more to it than that I guess. It represents something to me. A fresh start. A new year and a new, re-energized focus on getting back on top of the poker world. This year I’m trying to prepare from day one. Today, I went shopping for a few things that will help me on my upcoming monster road trip. My first stop was Whole Foods to pick up some energy food that I could take with me on the road. That way, when I get to stops like Tunica or Atlantic City I won’t have to settle with lard soaked carrots and bacon bread. I bought some soy protein packets, four quarts of soy milk that I can fit into my bag and won’t spoil until opened, some vegan energy bars, soups, tea, protein shake mix, and a few other goodies. When I was leaving Whole Foods this big black dude looked me up and said, “Hey man, I know you. You are awesome on TV. I can’t play, but I like to watch you guys play.” When I looked up at the black dude, I realized it was… Jimmy Walker! Yes, that Jimmy Walker of Good Times fame… DYNOMITE! I recognized him because I’ve actually seen him perform at the Comedy Stop a few times. After getting to my car, I headed to Banana Republic. There, I bought some essentials, 10 white T-Shirts and boxers. Then went next door to the sports store and bought 10 pairs of white sports socks. When I think white I just think clean and fresh which goes with the whole motto. Then, since I decided that I’d be working out in January, I bought a couple pairs of running shoes. Is it me, or do running shoes look more and more like cars these days? With their super shock support system and this and that. What happened to a good old running shoe? Oh no, did I just write that? I sound like one of those old bitter dudes with the, “Back in my day, you could buy a loaf of bread for 8 cents. 8 cents Mori! Today, forget about it, it’s crazy these prices.” Ok, so know I got the white shoes, the white socks, the boxers, and the brand new white T-Shirts. I got my season 5 of 24 (watched 16 hours season 4 last night), bought season 1 of the Wire, Prison Break, and The Office. I wrote several Card Player columns, wrote a newspaper column, and even answered all my e-mails. Dude, I even organized all the cupboards in the kitchen, I’m en fuego with the positive production! Tomorrow morning I’m flying to Los Angeles for the day to do some work for the GSN hit High Stakes Poker. Seriously, if you ask a poker player what their favorite poker show on television is, would any of them say anything but High Stakes Poker? Now, here’s the deal. When I get back on Wednesday, I’m going to get er’ done. Off with the hair, all of it. The great news? For the low, low price of $14.95 you can watch the PPV of this historic event. Ok, that part was a joke. What’s not a joke, is that I’m considering having my haircut during a video blog. We may even do a temporary Mohawk, maybe shave off all the top to see what I’m going to look like in 15 years, or maybe some other bizarre pattern. Who knows, I’ll let my wife decide where we go with it. This is only a one time deal. I figure it’ll take 4-6 weeks to grow back, and since I’m going to be on the road for all of January playing tournaments, I’m going to have a hat on anyway. ]]>
I’m currently in Grand Rapids with Lori and her family celebrating the holidays. We did Christmas at my mother’s place with friends. 12 people there, and my mother cooked enough to feed 60 people easily- no kidding.
Anyway, this is going to have to be a quick one as we are about to head out to dinner, but I thought I’d give you a quick run down on the last event I played and what’s coming in January.
I’m disappointed in the 3rd place finish, but whatever, it wasn’t horrible or anything. I made a bad call of 900k in one hand that was silly, but aside from that, when we got three handed I fell dead and my opponents seemed to hit every flop. Either that, or I was getting bluffed big time but I highly doubt that.
This isn’t a good excuse at all, it’s kind of silly actually, but it is true so I may as well share… I couldn’t count my chips! Seriously, I was having so much trouble figuring out how much I had and how much my opponents had because we had so many denominations that made it confusing: 100k, 25k, 10k, and 5k chips. I had so many of the small denomination chips that I really think caused me to lose track of where I stood, and when I finally realized it I was forced to push with K-10.
Oh well, that’s just the way things go at WPT final tables. Sometimes you get lucky, sometimes you don’t. If often becomes a lot more about who catches cards at the end in a WPT event as you don’t get a ton of time to maneuver with the fast moving blinds. I’m ok with it, though, as it’s fair for everybody. I know that I’ll get there more often than other players so I’ll get more chances to roll the dice and get lucky. I’ve been pretty lucky overall with two firsts, a second, and two thirds along with a seventh place finish.
In a recent interview I did Phil Gordon asked me about the WPT final tables (he doesn’t like them) and I thought I made my position pretty clear. That’s the way it’s always been, and nobody complained in the beginning when Howard Lederer designed the final table structure for the events. They wanted a 4-6 hour final table, and that’s what they got. When you buy in to a WPT event, the structure is available for all to see. There is more play leading up to the final table than most any other tournament in the world. When you get there, though, it’s going to be fast action poker.
Looking ahead to January it’s the busiest month of the year for me as I won’t be in Vegas at all. On January 2nd I fly to LA for the day to do some voice over work for season three of High Stakes Poker. Then the next day I fly to Bahamas for the WPT event there. Straight from there, I take the longest flight in the world to Australia. From Australia, I’m headed straight towards Tunica for their WPT event. From there, it’s off to Atlantic City for the WPT Borgata event.
Once I return home on February 1st, I’m scheduled to play on Poker after Dark, a new show on NBC that airs late night. Busy, busy, busy, but I’m looking forward to it. I made the same trip last year, cashing only once, a win in Tunica, but this year I’m coming in even stronger after two consecutive money finishes on the WPT in 600 player fields. A 27th in Foxwoods followed by the 3rd place finish at Bellagio.
I’m expecting to have a monster year in 07′. My goal is to play the WSOP and as many of the $10,000 events as possible and try to break my record set in 04′ with close to 9,000 Card Player of the Year points. I won’t play small tournaments to try and do that, though, outside of the WSOP.
I’ve developed a new, not really new actually, but more advanced way yo play in deep stack events like the WPT that I think will allow me to be a lot more consistent. It’s high risk in certain areas, but low risk in others.
I’m also writing a book that should explain in detail how “small ball” really works. I want to make sure it’s a solid book, so it’s taking me a little longer than I would have hoped, but when it’s finished, I think you’ll really learn a lot from it.
The other book I wrote is out now and you can find it at www.fullcontactpoker.com. It’s a different fomat than the “big book” and it should be a much easier read. Essentially it’s a tips book, with 50 tips that should help your Hold’em game.
What else… oh yeah, I’m once again going to try and stick to a New Year’s Resolution that I’ve never been able to stick to past January: getting my body in shape by working out on a regular basis. If I want to do better in tournaments, I am certain that a healthy body will help me stay more focused for longer periods of time.
Other resolutions:
-always bring my headphones to tournaments
-wake up at least two hours prior to a tournament start time
-no drinking alcohol the day before a tournament
-bringing soy protein with me on the road
-get more organized
-play more video games
-read more
-finish my writing responsiblities ON TIME
-learn a few more languages
-end world hunger, lol. just kidding.
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2.Most Bracelets at the WSOP
3.Win the $50,000 HORSE
4.Win the $10,000 Main Event at the WSOP
5.Win the $25,000 WPT Championship
6.Win the NBC National Heads Up Championship
7.Win the WSOP Player of the Year multiple times
8.Win the WPT Player of the Year multiple times
9.Win the CardPlayer of the Year Award and break my points record set in 2004
10.Most WPT wins
11.All-Time Money List WPT
12.Most WPT Player Points
13.Most WPT Final Tables
14.All-Time Money winner in Bellagio events
I’m sure other things will pop up on that list, but that’s what I have for now. Today’s final table can help me achieve several of my goals, 10-14.
On that note, time to shower and get ready for interviews… ]]>
I was up over 600,000 for quite a while and was cruising right along. After taking a hit from David Oppenhiem things started to get rocky.
With the blinds at 4000-8000 and a 1000 ante I came in for a STANDARD raise of 20,000 with 4d 5d. Lee Markholt, one of the best no limit hold’em players in the world called the raise, as did David from the big blind.
The flop came Jc 5c 4s. Now I had a few ways to play this. I could check the flop, that way if a club hit the turn I could protect my chips, or I could try to win it right on the flop.
I decided that it was a dangerous flop and if Lee, who had a lot of chips were to raise me on the flop I could get away from it. David, on the other hand, only had about 140,000 left, so if I bet I’d be pretty committed to that call. I bet 55,000 and Lee folded (later telling me he had KJ).
David went all in and I was pretty much forced to call. There was a chance that I was in a coin flip situation as David could have a hand like Ac Jd or something to that effect. He actually had the 6c 8c and I didn’t fill up.
Later, in a limped pot I was in the big blind with 6-8. The flop came 6d 7h 8h. That’s a dangerous flop and while I thought about checking it, I decided to attack the pot and go after what was there. I bet 24,000. Cindy Violette called as did the small blind.
The turn was an ace which looked like a great card for me. It was highly unlikely that anyone called on that flop with A-8, A-7, or A-6. With all of the potential draws out there, I felt like I had to bet it one more time. This time I bet 80,000. Cindy folded, but the small blind called.
At that point I was a little worried about 4-5, or maybe a set or a better two pair. I had no plans on betting the river unless I made a full house. The river was a 9, which looked like an awful card for me. The small blind checked, as did I.
A few hands later I realized that I should have bluffed the river. Bizarre, I know, that with two pair I should have to bluff, but it was very possibly that the SB made two pair on the river that would beat mine. With a four card straight on board, and me betting all the way, there was a good chance I could get him to lay it down.
That’s not what he had though. He actually turned over a monster hand, Ah 6h. He flopped bottom pair and a flush draw, then on the turn made aces up. Oh well.
After those two pots I was just doing my thing, pecking away at some small pots and picking up any crumbs others didn’t really want.
Now I think I’m in 31st out of 33 players, but I’m not too worried about that. I have lots of chips, with 174,000 and blinds at only 6,000-12,000, kudos to a great structure! You listening Foxwoods? LOL.
It’s been great. Each day we play from noon to 9:00pm with no dinner break in between. The tournament is being run smoothly and there is lots of play.
Today will lilely be a longer day as we need to get down to the final six. While others may look at my position and think that I “need to double up” or that I’m on “life support” I just don’t see it that way. I have no plans to “double up” at all. The only major adjustment that I’ll be forced to make is pre-flop.
1) I’m no longer in a position where I can see flops with suited connectors, and 2) I may be forced to come over the top before the flop with some of my stronger hands.
To this point, I’ve re-raised pre-flop precisely one time, and that was with AA out of position. When I’m able to play that way I’m extremely tough to beat. Unfortunately, as the blinds increase and my stack gets a little short, I no longer have the luxury to flat call with JJ, QQ, and AK. Since the dead money will increase my stack significantly, I’ll now be forced to play “super satellite poker” a little bit. I hate playing that way, but I know how to do it when I get short stacked.
One of the biggest mistakes people make when they play tournaments is focusing on where they sit in relation to the average stack, instead of worring how they are sitting in relation to the blinds and antes. That’s what matters, especially with a slow moving structure long levels.
I’m still insanely confident. Almost TOO confident actually. I was joking earlier in the day that I plan on playing about 5 tournaments in January but I judt don’t see myself ever getting knocked out of a tournament until sometime in February!
This is the second straight 600 player field where I’m down to the ntty gritty, and I expect more of the same in 2007. I’m back, and in a big, big way. I expect to dominate in 07′, and finishing off 06′ with a $2 millon win would be a nice lead in.
In 2003, before my sick year in 04′, I did well in a December tournament at the Sands in AC. This run feels very similar, only I’m a much better player now than I was in 03′.
Anyway, it’s 10:20am and I need to hit the shower. I’ve been waking up at 8:00am each day and I really like it. Sure I get a little tired late in the evening, but when I get there at noon I feel totally awake.
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