Tournament Information You Can Count On

One of the best events in Floirda is just around the corner. The first Day One is October 31st in Pensacola. For those of yuo who didn't do it last year, there are Day Ones throughout the state. Ten percent of each field capped at 150 players makes it to Day Two at the Palm Beach Kennel Club on December 11th. Everyone who gets that far is in the money, but the big money, of course, it at the top.  The Florida Million maintains a very good site with progress updates.  I gave myself two chances last year at $550 each and came in on the bubble on my second try, 15 in a field where 14 moved on to Day Two. Hopefully this time I'll do better. I loved the event and how it was run, and the excitement of the format and prize pool just added to the fun.

What was I thinking, arriving just 20 minutes early?  Already the alternate line was forming.  I usually refuse to be an alternate coming to the table full of big stacks and rising blinds, but this event looked just too fun to miss, so there I was in line with other poor planners. Can't complain since the Grinder's brother Eric, was 57th on the alternate list and I was 41.  The event was buzzing with media and was well-organized.  My only complaint was that the levels, while 30 minutes long (not awful), were very fast with about  5 missing. This was a turbo of sorts and I intended to play it that way.  Busted out at the 800 blind level when my QQ all in was snap-called by AK and a K appeared on the flop. Happy with my play (except for a stupid bluff for half of my chips...why do I still do this!!), and with the event.  Had a super talk with Momma Grinder who is really nice and got to meet some new people and talk with players I haven't seen in months/years.  Everyone was there with over 100 alternates and a $56K plus prize pool.

Here's how it turned out.

1. Lucian C. from Miami $11,000
2. Andre B. from Miami $10,000
3. Oneil M. from Miramar $5,267
4. Maine P. from Pembroke Pines $5,267
5. Lunique P. from Miami Gardens $5,267
6. Theo L. from Miami $2,293
7. Josh E. from Tacoma Park Maryland $1,760

tournaments the Grinder, Michael Mizrachi, Calder, Studz Poker, Florida poker tournaments

At the Hard Rock which is becoming my usual cash home for now,  my 2/5 NL table is skewed toward maniac bluffers. One is a  lawyer  who relishes bluffing people off their hand with a huge bet then showing 72. Next to him is a kid who looks 12 and told me 4 times that "this is my job" i.e. he was a professional. Yeah, sure...that's a pretty loose category these days. He told the maniac lawyer next to him that he was his new hero and they begin competing to show the biggest bluffs. There were two others who were prone to calling with air, and 2 very tight players. I thought this table might turn out to be my personal stimulus package, so I stayed rather that request a change (probably my first mistake).

 I'm UTG with pocket nines in a straddle pot. I min raise to $20. My strategy at this game with the 4 betting donators was to only play in EP if I'm willing to call a raise, but not raise much myself keeping things more manageable. ( If I was in late position, I'd play ATC if there were lots of limpers.)  After my early min, the tightest player at the table makes it $50, two guys call, it gets back to me and I call the $30 more. The pot is around $200 now.  I obviously put the tight raiser on a big pair.  The flop is 7 8 10, pretty good for my nines. I make a small bet $75, and the initial raiser asks how much I have, and he looks really nervous. I have $320. He makes it $100 more and I call. The turn is a 7 whcih to me is a good card. Now there's a potential boat  i.e. 78, and a straight, and even trips... not a great flop for aces or kings.  I make a pretty fast shove for $220 and the guy instacalls and says, "I'm not laying down kings".  The river is a deuce, so my semi-bluff was costly.  Against a better player, I think a fold would have been the expected action.  I think my major mistake was trying to bluff a player who didn't even see the lurking dangers. Or maybe he made a hero call. Or maybe I played like a fool. What do you think??

cash games bluffing, bluffing idiots, reading the poker table, Hard Rock

Played a cash game at the Hard Rock yesterday.  The table was pretty standard: 3 very good players, 2 ATMs, everyone else.  I bought in for $400 at a 2/5 game  and in an hour and a half was up to $1,200. Then I was dealt 22, the pot was raised in early position by an excellent player to $20, I called along with two other players, with me last to act.  The flop of K29 looked good.  The initial raiser bets $60, two fold, I min raise to $120....he 4-bets to $420. The conversation begins. My first thought is he has AK, but this player is too good to fall in love with just one pair. He snap folded pocket AA  to a straight board earlier. All I could beat was AK or AA, neither of which he was likely to play back with, BUT I min raised, so he might put me on the AK. MISTAKE ONE: I should have raised more...like $250. We would have had a more informative conversation.  Every poker instinct I possess was saying pocket nines...a bigger set. I move all in for $1,000.....I have him covered by $100.  He tanks. Now I know he has 99 and he's worried that i have kings since I played AA like this earlier and he would remember.  He calls and I'm down to $100. That doesn't bother me as much as the fact that I should have folded only because of this player, his skill, and the fact that he respects my game.  When you play a lot you develop good instincts. I guess I have to play more to learn to listen to mine!  I built my stack back to $300, $100 under my buyin and left thinkng about my bad shove.

poker, hard rock, cash games, poker instincts, poker strategy

Since the no limit cash games in Florida have been uncapped, I'm back at the tables.  One of the never-ending fascinations of no limit is that it's a four chapter story told by bet size, frequently by liars. Your task becomes not only interpreting what the bet means, but whether the bettor is telling the truth. Are we facing an honest person, a liar, or maybe a idiot? I think about 5 years ago, in cash games bets  generally meant what they appeared to mean. But that's no longer true. What makes the game (tournament or cash) even more fascinating is the ever-changing nature of the table.  I played for five hours at a cash game at the Hard Rock yesterday, and we had three totally different tables with extremely different styles. Noticing this quickly and adapting accordingly is an ongoing challenge. Also contributing to the constantly changing environment is stack sizes.  Once I think deeply about a session, I always wish I could replay it, but that can never happen.

poker, cash games, poker strategy, Florida poker scene

A  $15-$30 limit hold’em game ($5-$15 blinds), will  be  spread every Wednesday starting at 7 p.m. at the Isle in Pompano. It can easily morph into a mixed game, 8-game, H.O.R.S.E., H.O.S.E. or higher limit game if players want.  To sweeten the pot, the Isle has agreed to rake only 5 percent – unheard of in Florida.

cash games, tournaments limit poker, Florida limit poker, Isle of Capri casino, Poker Pro magazine

Played the second Day One (of three) at the Isle of Capri yesterday, and imagine my surprise to arrive at my table to find Mike Matusow, Chino Rheem and two Mizrachis. Was this the table from hell? Was I the only non-pro?  As it turned out, Matusow was seat 10 and I was in 9...the other guys were just hanging with Mike, but seated at other tables.  I really wanted to be focused for this event, The Florida State Poker Championship, and the chaos wasn't helping.  I generally have the table figured out and am relaxed and in sync within one round, but with all of the attention to our table, people taking pictures, asking for autographs, etc., it was difficult.

There's definitely a reason Matusow is called the Mouth.  He pretty much took over the table talk-wise, and at first I tried to resist, headserts blaring some 50 Cent, whatever I could do to manage the mayhem, but finaly had to go with the flow. Matusow is in town to give a seminar today on deepstack play, and I really felt like I got a private coaching session. As often happens with table neighbors, Mike shared his every thought, many privately with me. I appreciated his tips regarding my game and was super-impressed with the way he breaks down a hand. His managed control of betting had an influence on our table and got people in line with the blinds, so rather than betting $700 pre on a 50 BB level, people were making it a more reasonable $150, maybe $200.  Mike said the biggest mistake he saw at the table was players not understanding bet sizing. The two guys who were willing shovers were quickly gone which was crazy at a format this good.

I didn't play my usual game, but one of the great things about poker is, it's never the same. One must constantly adapt, and this was a really different table for me.  I probably wasn't aggressive enough, folded to three bets too much, and in my defense, hit very few hands. That said, I made it to Day Two (tomorrow), although not with a very good stack, although many of the other players who made it until the 10 p.m. cutoff were in the same boat.  We're starting tomorrow at the 800 BB level, and I've come back from short stacks to cash before. Hopefully tomorrow will be one of those days.

Florida State Poker Championship, Mike Matusow, the Mouth, tournament poker

I'm not complaining, but coming in 12th out of 159 (17 paid due to the guarantee), wasn't what I hoped for after 8 hours.

I think my 4 handed online addiction is paying off. In that game since you're always the small or big blind, the gun or the button, you learn a lot about each position and also get lots of action. Most hands are pretty playable 4 handed so you have lots of opportunities to make mistakes and capitalize on opportunities. I definitely think my hand-reading skills have improved, although it's weird how even when you're pretty sure what someone has, you can still make a bad play. That's a leak I'm working on.

For some reason, the weakest floor person at the Hard Rock seems to be the one in charge of the final table during these guaranteed games. After you've played eight or nine hours to make a final, you want someone who can run the game competently and who can be at the minimum, pleasant.  During a table move I lost a 5K chip. I went back to my old table and everyone helped look for it, and I brought it to the attention of the person running the last tables, but finally gave up.  In about 10 minutes, everyone from my old table was shouting....."we found your chip, it was under the whatever", and the TD got it but said she couldn't give it to me. Needless to say, craziness ensued.  Finally she threw the chip on the table at my new spot, and I think I fogot to say "thank you".

With cash games on the way, I hope the rooms here improve by educating their dealers on the right and consistent policies, and by having staff who can professionally run the games. And a little of the Vegas customer service wouldn't hurt.

General

Finally able to find 4 days to head to Vegas for some cash poker. In Florida, I play only tournaments because of the $100 cap on cash games.  Consequently, I have far less cash time than I'd like.  I used to do well playing cash, but found on this trip that the players have really improved. There are far less clueless players than there used to be. I learned a few new lessons, and re-learned some old ones. That's the problem with playing so infrequently, and the lessons are always expensive.  The main thing I learned on this trip (twice unfortunately), is that when a player shoves, especially when you have him/her covered, they have the nuts. That seems pretty obvious, but I lost a big hand when I had a set on the flop and the only thing that could beat me was a straight (which I saw, but was such a weird one that I refused to believe it was out there). My mistake was that I didn't raise pre with my pair and I allowed the blind in with anything.

The other thing I did wrong was play  tired and I made a donkey call with JJ. I do know that a pair isn't much in a good game, and once again, I failed to raise enough pre, min-raising when I always would raise at least 3x in this spot.  I generally view cash like the early stages of a tournament when the stacks are deep, and I would have insta-folded my JJ in a tournament at the first level against a shove. Just tired, and stupid.

 Other than that, held my own in some pretty tough games. As always, the poker room is the best place in a casino. Relatively chaos-free, smokeless, coffee always on, friendly....I could live in a poker room if only I had the bankroll.  Can't wait to go back while I remember the main lesson of not calling big shoves.

poker, learnng about poker, poker rooms, cash poker vs. tournament poker

I've had an unusual percentage of  tournament cashes lately, most recently 6th at the Hard Rock's 25k Guarantee Friday game (210 players).  Could it be that poker is actually a game of skill!?  I don't think it's just that I happen to be getting better cards, or that I'm on a lucky streak. I think it's that I'm playing better.  At the end of the year, I listed all of my leaks and vowed to fix them one at a time, and I think it's paying off. Generally when I leave a game, I can think of many things I did wrong, and usually it was in the hand just before the hand that knocked me out.  This time, I really think I played optimally, that is to the best of my current ability. Over the course of our poker lives, I think we all have a similar distribution of good and bad cards, lucky suckouts and bad beats.  It's how we play them, and I'm seeing that pay off in 7 cashes in the past month.

Poker Stars, Hard Rock poker, luck vs. skill, Atlantic City poker