A change is as good as a rest

I have been playing a few multi-table tournaments lately on sites like www.pokerstars.co.uk  and I've been doing really well. I'm not entirely sure what key things I've changed, but I've made the money in probably over 50% of them I've played recently. Unfortunately you really have to get far in one of them to make a lot of money, and that has been the biggest struggle.

Just tonight I played a $5+rebuy tournament on Pokerstars with my mate and things were looking pretty poor with only $7000 chips after the first break (the average was around $11,000), but relative to the blinds I had plenty. I moved around a lot and had really good table position for the first three hours as I stayed around and right above average. I think I played very well and mixed it up a lot, but there was a lot of poker to go.

Needless to say I got all the way down to the final two tables after being a short stack for most of the time during the last three tables. I was in 9th place out of 18 people when we combined tables. I doubled up early with 66 vs QJ suited to get to $500,000 chips (average was $800,000) and I was playing pretty tight, picking up a few hands here and there. The blinds were 20000-40000 and I was blinded back down to 300k when I was dealt AA, finally a hand I can really pick up some chips with. Unfortunately (or maybe fortunately) a short stack went allin and I raised on top, forcing the rest of the field out. He had 79 of spades and lost his last 90k to me. Take what you can get though, eh!

The next big hand came up with 14 people left. I raised from middle position with J9 of clubs and the short stack directly to my left reraised all in for an additional $160k. The pot was $480k and I had committed myself to calling. He flipped over AKo and down came the flop:

6 9 9 !! PERFECT! My roommates and I yelled and high fived and all that crap and I said these terrible words "Well he's gotta hit runner aces or kings now..." Why do I talk! Haha, you can imagine ... A .... A. He hit his 0.7% draw and doubled through me, leaving me with $245k. After screaming YES we were all just... screaming, haha. I wasn't out though, and two hands later I was dealt AKo myself in the small blind. The button raised, I went all in, and they showed QQ, woops! I didn't improve and I busted in 13th place for $250, so close!

I haven't made a final table since my big $10 rebuy win for $1,500 in 6th place, but I keep getting closer and closer, so it's only a matter of time, I'll keep you all posted!
 

The power of the float

Last night my mates and I invited five other guys over to play a small sit n go tournament in our house instead of at www.pokerstars.co.uk . 10 People started and we were paying out top three. I took some liberties in the first hour and dwindled down to $3500 (From $5000 starting chips) and decided I should start tightening up. I made a few hands on the turns and rivers and was back up to around $8200 with 5 people left when the button made a standard raise to $1200 (blinds 150-300). He was a fairly tight player that doesn't try to steal the blinds that much (fairly passive in that respect), so I knew he had a hand worth playing, I however was in the big blind and looked down at KK...

Most often I would try to play a big pot preflop with my kings and not risk having him folding after the flop if he had a hand like 55 or A10, but I've been burned enough times in my online tournaments by someone cold calling with a high pair that I decided to give it a try. I called and the UTG limper called as well. The flop came down 2 4 6 and I decided to lead into the raiser for $2200. The UTG limper shook his head and folded (later said he had 47 and didn't believe me at all, haha) and the button reraised all in. I called instantly and showed the two kings, this time it was his turn to shake his head as he showed JJ, my play had worked perfectly!

The turn gave him a flush draw but he missed on the river I had him outstacked, propping me up to 2nd place on the bubble, and later going on to win the tournament. Cold calling with a really strong hand like KK works really well late in a tournament. I know it has happened to me deep in online MTTs, because at that point the blinds are so high most of the hands end up with someone all in. The last time it happened I opened with 1010 and the SB cold called, bet into me on an 8 high flop, and I pushed, he called with QQ, so it felt good to be on the other side of the hand. However, early in a tournament dont' cold-call. At that point the blinds are low and people have plenty of play left in their stacks and it's unlikely to make a huge pot post flop, not to mention letting other limpers in the pot behind you could potentially spell diaster.
 

Not bad for an older guy

Today has been a pretty good day on the whole but I feel a little jaded now. I woke this morning at 6a.m after a late night last night trying to get back a silly little $200 loss. But anyway I finally went to bed at around 1a.m about $250 down for the day but made around $400 this morning.

Then it was back to the poker and more $0.50-$1.00 games. I need to pay more attention to my game selection policies or should I say the tables that I hang around on after the weaker fish have gone. I stayed on two tables today with six regs and two short stackers on them that I clearly should have been swerving and leaving. This just gets down to value and making money from Texas Hold Em depends on the little things that you do and these days I tend not to do them as often as I should do.

But things went my way today and one example shows how well the day went. It gets folded around to a fish who makes it $3.50 from the cut-off with an $89 stack. I have 7c-6c and call. The flop comes 5h-Jd-3c giving me a gutshot draw. They make a c-bet for around $5 and I smell weakness and get it wrong by raising to $16 and they snap call. Now I know that they have an overpair and so am looking to catch runner runner or my straight. The turn card is the Qs and they check and I check behind and the river card fills my straight with the 4d. They bet half pot and I raise them all in and they call showing pocket queens……nice!

Things like that have been happening a lot lately but you have kind of caught me at a good time with this blog because I have just come through what has been a very bad run by my standards. I have also just gone through the $40k mark in my $100-$100k challenge and so I am very happy with where my poker is at this time.

Carl “The Dean” Sampson plays as www.pokerstars.co.uk

Playing the game correctly is tough

In online poker then you absolutely must select the proper strategy to use against individual opponents. My strategy roughly falls into two broad categories. I play No Limit Texas Hold Em full ring and in an average game then there will clearly be players of all different categories. For example you may see the full ring regular that could be playing on anything from between four and twelve tables depending on their ability to be able to handle many tables at once.

These opponents tend to play solidly and if they get involved in a big pot then they will tend to have a big hand to go with it. Their method of operation will tend to mean that they always buy in for 100bb and they will play conventionally when out of position and open up their ranges from later position just like any other normal player.

So if a player who is playing eight tables raises from early position then rest assured that they have a strong hand. So three betting to isolate them may not be a good idea because you will be isolating a likely premium hand. At the end of the day you are trying to match hand strength versus your opponents hand strength. In actual fact though you are not just looking to do that but to also match up against their likely hand strength as well or lack of.

So if a regular raises from UTG+1 in full ring then they are likely to have a premium hand. So three betting with 7-6s on the button does not really look such a good idea anymore does it? This is because you are isolating a better opponent with a stronger hand and also someone who could four bet you and take you from the hand completely. For example if the stakes are NL100 then someone raising to $3.50 and you three betting means that your raise will be to at least $10 and that is 10% of the stack size that you bought in for. In fact if you only have $100 then it is exactly 10% and there will be many regs.

But contrast that to a fish who limps and you have the same 7-6s. Now you can raise because the situation is different. Firstly you are up against a fish and not a reg and secondly their hand strength is likely not as strong. If you can isolate against them then they will not play their hands as strongly as a regular grinder would. So you can see here how strategies that you employ in online poker should differ.

Come and play poker with Carl at www.pokerstars.co.uk

Exploding the big stack myth

If another big stack has signalled their intention to attack you then it is in your own best interests to figure out an acceptable defence that will tell them that you mean business without it leading to world war 3 or in this case the total decimation of your stack. The only time that it may be in your interests to not go up against a big stack is if you are the one who will be starting the aggression. Just like in politics, other players will know when you are being out of line.

So should we avoid another big stack when it is merely poker chips and money that in poker tournaments? Once we make the connection then we understand that the conventional thought of avoiding big stacks is blatantly wrong just like much of the perceived wisdom in poker books is wrong. It is wrong because much of it fails to make this game theory connection with other fields.

Let’s say that you have studied poker so well and worked so hard on your game that you are now the poker equivalent of Manchester United (bear with me here). Would Alex Ferguson send his team out into a third round FA Cup tie at home to Grimsby Town with a game plan of sitting back and hitting Grimsby on the counter attack?

Of course he wouldn’t and the reasons that he wouldn’t are obvious. Their overwhelming superiority over the opposition means that this is not the optimal strategy. Better to go at them and be 3-0 up with twenty minutes to go and then rest players for the next match. Despite the fact that Ferguson knows nothing about the Grimsby players he knows their relative ability because he is aware of what league they are in.

But change the opposition to a mid-week Champions League clash against Barcelona and he is not going to play the same gung ho style because he knows that not only will it not succeed but it could seriously backfire on them against opposition that are their equals.

Carl “The Dean” Sampson plays poker at www.pokerstars.co.uk

Moving my game forward

I remember the first coaching session that I had at NLHE and my coach who was successfully beating NL100 and NL200 said to me… “Carl, why are you raising from the button with 8d-4c?”

He had a point because looking back then this “any two cards can win” rubbish belongs in the realm of novice poker and players that frequent poker tournaments. In cash games and especially multi-tabling cash games then I had to start thinking about equity and fast.

I was coached on equity and how to identify the equity with regards to certain types of hands. Equity comes in different shapes and sizes and is pot equity and fold equity. A hand like 9-2o for example has a very slight equity edge over 8s-7s but the suited connector fares better against stronger hands. This is the first big lesson of equity because the 9-2o is around 50.02% against the suited connector of 8-7s but is an 87-13 dog against a hand like pocket queens.

However despite being a slight underdog to the 9-2o hand when heads up, the suited connector does much better and is a 79-21 dog. This is what equity does because the suited connector wins far more big pots than the 9-2o hand and this is where it catches up and passes the inferior holding. The suited connector can make the nut straight and a flush while the 9-2o hand is going to find itself in an awful lot of unprofitable spots.

I have recently been playing my poker at http://www.pokerstars.com/poker/promotions/rafa-nadal/

The British Poker Awards are back!

There are many ways to cast your votes again this year but there are two categories you are not allowed to have your say in unless you are Jesse May - the much loved American poker commentator and player or one of the five other members of this year's Judging panel. which include Bluff Europe, Poker Channel Europe, Poker Listings, Poker News or PokerStrategy.com.  These categories are Player of the Year and Best International Player.  While the three other awards you have to leave to 'Pro's Choice' are Best Card Room, Best Card Room Manager and Best Tournament Director.

But there are eleven other opportunites to have your voice heard as voting is going on.  The first thing you'll probably notice when you check in to cast your votes is Neil Channing's face - not a bad way to go really as he was voted the Best Cash Player in the inaugural British Poker Awards.  Neil is part of a video clip highlighting the 2010 event.  James Akenhead is there as the Best Tournament Player as well, while Sam Trickett was voted Best New Player.  The online side of the game saw awards go to Chris Moorman as Best Online Player while Best UK Poker Forum went to the Hendon Mob.  Best Contribution to Poker went to Vicky Coren and The Player of the Year honours went to Praz Bansi.
 
The 2011 awards saw some some players receiving second awards.  Vicky Coren was awarded Best Social Media User, Neil Channing got Best Blogger, Chris Moorman repeated as Best Online Player and Sam Trickett took Best Cash Player.  The faces changed for the other big categories with Jason Mercier awarded Best International Player, Kara Scott was recognized as Poker Personality of the Year and Jake Cody scooped as Best Tournament Player AND Player of the Year.

This year Sam Trickett is up for Best Cash Player again as well as Best Tournament Player, Chris Moorman is back as a Best Online Player nominee (can he three-peat?) and Neil, Kara and Vicky are also on one nominee list or another for their contributions to the game.

The awards ceremony takes place on 17th September aboard the Yacht H.M.S. President - for a very reasonable £21.85 including fees you can buy a general admission ticket which gives you an invite to the VIP player's cocktail party with live music and entertainment as well as your seat at the ceremony.  The historic yacht is docked on the Embankment in the City of London, so no anti-nausea medication required unless your favorite player loses.

Carl "The Dean" Sampson plays poker at www.pokerstars.co.uk