I moved my blog to a new home. Your browser should automatically take you there in 5 seconds. If it doesn't please go to http://www.fifthstreet.biz/ Fifthstreet Blog: 2005

50k guaranteed, Kings Casino Rozvadov, Czech Republic

Friday, December 23, 2005

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year



Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to all readers of my blog!
I know you are out there ... somewere ;-))

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Thursday, December 22, 2005

My blog on mobile devices

You don't need a computer to read my blog. Just a cellphone with WAP or a PDA with WindowsMobile or PalmOS and internet connection will do the trick.

Use this URL with your mobile devices: http://pfeeds.com/17bc

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Tuesday, December 20, 2005

Blogging via SMS

That is cool - I can send a blog entry via SMS from my cellphone. Blogging from everywere at anytime!

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Monday, December 19, 2005

First Year anniversary in January

I started playing poker in January 2005 - with my first B&M game at a Golden Nugget, Las Vegas 2/4 table.
A lot things happend since then and I enjoyed the time so far. No regrets for giving up BJ. But I told you I will start it again in a lower level.
Some regrets for sticking to sportsbetting for another season (lost a bunch of money since this NFL season was horrible for the real professionals)

A first anniversary is always something special and I plan to do something special in January. I won't tell you now as I'm still in the preparation for this and I'm not sure if it will work the way I planned it.
Just this: I will be in the U.S. again as I attend Lotusphere in Orlando end of January. Of course I will play poker ;-)) and most probably it won't be Vegas this time. As soon as my plans are fixed I will let you know ... so stay tuned!

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Thursday, December 15, 2005

Poker vs. BlackJack

There are three big similarities between BlackJack and Poker.

1. Basic Strategie & Starting Hands

BJ has a clear Basic Strategie - follow the BS or lose more money. Just that easy!
In Poker it isn't that easy but still there are the starting hands. The starting hands you choose depend on your own style but there are hands that are clearly -EV. Play hands like 72o often enough and you will lose money in the long run. Create your own Poker basic strategy with the starting hands that fit your game and you will have the best of it.

2. Card Counting and Pot Odds

To make money in BJ you have to count cards. To make money in poker you need to know pot odds. Without card counting the size of your bets is either flat (and you play a -EV game) or you have to size your bets in the blind (much more -EV). In poker you need pot odds to decide how much to bet and how much your draws are worth. If you don't know them it's just as bad as in BJ. You will fold good opportunities or play bad spots. Clearly -EV.

3. Bad Beats

Bad Beats in BJ can be cruel! You get 16 and bust, you double 11 and get an Ace. You have 20 and the dealer gets a five to his 16 ... after some years of BJ I've seen them all but it's still amazing to see all the ways a BJ dealer can beat you.
In poker you have the option to fold your hands and only invest into good opportunities - much better! Really? That's exactly what you do in card counting: betting big into good opportunities without knowing the next cards. And in poker? You think you control your destiny? Never, ever. It's the same principle as in BJ - win in the long run but be aware of the short term fluctuation.

Just happend tonight to me:

Playing Qc Jd on the button. Obeying the pot odds and bet it to the flop 8d 5s 9h and the turn Ts correctly. Betting again with a straight 8 to Queen and getting raised all-in. Hell! What does he have? Pocket Tens for Trips - I beat them. The same straight? O.K. we split. I don't find any reason not to call. He shows 5d 5c for trips. Good :-) The rivercard is a Tc! VeryBad :-((
This guy never had the pot odds top call me on the turn and no way he should have gone all-in but he did and hit one of his 7 outs. His odds were about 1:6 and he overbet 7 times but won a big pot by playing a huge -EV game.

Does this hurt? Yes awfully. Is he a winner? No!
Like the deeply dealt BJ game with DAS, resplit and surrender that just crushed you this is just a single short term event that won't affect your long term results. And still it hurts the same way.


So what's my point? BJ and poker have a lot in common. You can play it perfectly but you can't see what the next card will be. You still have a little more control about your destiny in poker but that's it. I'm amazed that most poker players (even those with good knowledge in basic concepts like pot odds) lack the knowledge about the difference of short term and long term results. Otherwise there wouldn't be so much whining about bad beats.
Being an "advantage player" in BJ really helps to understand the concepts in poker much easier. I'm happy that I learned this stuff during my BJ times and can use them to my advantage in poker.
So if you suffer a bad beat but played you A-Game don't think about it too long. Be friendly to the guy who beat you - he will contribute a bunch of money to our future winnings ;-))

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Friday, December 09, 2005

Poker cruise through Austria

Well at least a mini-trip!

Due to the weather conditions and the location of the two events I took the train for this trip. Good choice as I felt very comfortable and relaxed during my play.
First stop was the Poker Club in Kufstein again. Unfortunatly I didn't get any good cards that evening and lost two or three cruical pots. For that reason it became a short evening and I got enough sleep for ther next day.

After a three hour train ride I arrived in Bregenz for the €100 Hold'em Christmas Tournament. I played my first live tournaments in that place and as always the tournament was well organised. Arriving by train is a cool thing as the train station is next to the casino and the hotel. Hotel and casino are in the same spot and they provide good rates for the players. The tournament was designed for 90 players but they got such a great response that they added some tables and made it a 150 people tournament. After re-buys and add-ons the total prize pool was around €45.000 with a first prize of €12.000 and 18 players paid. I met several people I knew from other locations as well as some of the regular guys that play these tournaments.
At my starting table I met two guys that I knew from a GPPA tournament in Munich. At that tournament they were quite novice but they improved their game very well. The whole table was a little tight and calling was more common than raising. That allowed some nice moves and after the re-buy phase I was chipleader at that table (without doing a single rebuy). For the whole field I was somewere in the first third. I played my best game so far but was a little lucky as I won two cruical pots (and another one was split) due to luck and/or bad play from the opponent. I misssed out on a big opportunity as I folded 99 pre-flop to a huge raise and would have flopped a Full House :-((

Being the aggressor instead of being the smallstack is much more nerve wrecking. If you're the small stack you just try to get a good hand and survive the next rounds, With a big stack it's always "I have to be aggressiv ... but I won't risk too much of that great stack". Well I lost about a third in a hand that was played o.k. - unfortunately my opponet had the better kicker.
It was nice to play that long with the same guys before the table got broke.
At the new table I met the nice poker player that I met in Vegas this spring. Hopefully he is still in the tournament as I write this. I will check later.
I didn't get any great cards and despite from a raised AKs that got no callers I wasn't able to increase my stack. The blinds of 1.200/2.400 started to hurt with a 20.000 stack. Finally I received QTo in the big blind. It was folded to the chipleader in middle position who wanted to raise but missed the increased blinds and just threw in 3.600. His bet was graded as a call and the small blind called too.
Flop comes 7 10 x. Not to scary! I bet 5.000 and was called by the chipleader. Smallblind folds. As he didn't raise here I had the impression that he was on AK or something. I didn't think that he would have a pair. So my overpair with overcard should be o.k. The turn was a blank and I checked as I wanted to see him doing the betting. He bet 10.000 I went into the tank an decided to call. The river was was a J and I decided that it was time to go all-in with my last 5.000.
Imagine - that guy had called all those bets with 89o - ouch! My pair of tens dwarfed by a straight. Well, I shouldn't complain. I made the same kind of bad call early in the game with AKs just to get my all-in rewarded with a flush (otherwise I would have had just an Ace High). But it still hurts to lose against some crap. That's the advantage of the big chipleader - he can do moves that others can't afford.
Out on 54th place...

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Tuesday, December 06, 2005

Developing my playing style

I'm still working on my own style of play in tournament and cash games.

There is a lot advantage in playing a tight style. The biggest one is that it reduces variance. But the bad beats you get with those premium hands are plain awful. So what about a looser style? Bigger variance but more flexibility. I think both styles have value as long as you play the right hands with the correct value according to your style.

So what about me? I tried both styles and worked with them. I tried to find out how they work for me and what kind of image they create to my opponents. Both allow interesting ways to built your play but if I'm honest to myself I'm much more an "action junkie" than the "calm and big tree in the storm". Either way I have to be careful. Playing tight I tend to loosen up after long dry periods and play too much crap. Playing loose I am risking to get "caught by the action" and overplaying my hands.

I know this habit for a long time and I was able to control the "gambler" in me quit early in my BJ times. I just became aware of this habit again and if I continue to control it I can use it to my advantage at the game of poker.

I'm not made for the crazy style of a Daniel Negreanu, Phil Ivey or Gus Hansen. All three are brilliant players but the their balance act on the edge is even too much for me.
I'm not made for the tight style of a Phil Helmuth. That's not enough action for me. And I prefer to give the bad beats than take them. It's some kind of funny to see people cry about "how one could play THAT hand" and showing that they don't understand the deeper math behind. Just knowing the basic concepts (tight, aggressive, weak, loose etc) isn't enough!

Since a long time I'm a big fan of Chris Ferguson and now I start to realize why. He is a great combination of aggression and mathematical background. Look closer to his game and you may see some strange moves that are just plain brilliant if you analyze them in detail. "Action Dan" Harrington is another great example of this type of player.

Don't understand me wrong - I'm far far away to compare myself with any of those great guys! I just took them as an example for easier illustration.
So as I defined my style what do I have to do next? I have to learn much more about the mathematics of aggresive play. In my mind there are a lot of ideas for some "crazy" moves but a lot of them are -EV and should be avoided. But several others may drive my opponents crazy and will still be +EV.

So if you met me at the table next time - be careful if you want to mess with the Shadow ;-))

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Monday, December 05, 2005

My worst call so far

Wow, that was a big mistake and I paid for it!

Shortstacked in a tournament I am waiting for a good all-in opportunity before I get blinded away.
Wham, there it is: QQ :-))

I go all-in and get called by two others. Well, that was at least a good timing for all-in. I was called by AKo and JJ.
Flop is xxK - oh my god :-(( ... turn is a Q :-)) ... and river is blank. Tripled up!

Two hands later I get KK. My stack is too big for an all-in so I make a pot size bet after several called a bet. It's folded around to one caller.
Flop is xxA and the other guy goes all-in.

What the hell am I thinking that he would have, how could I ever call that bet. Of course he had A6s and there was no help on the turn and the river.
But even if he was just bluffing ... after my pot-size bet I still would have had 2/3 of my stack. It was a big mistake from him to call my bet pre-flop. But my mistake was far worse. This time I really deserved it to get eliminated from the tournament.

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Sunday, November 27, 2005

Poker, Black Jack and Sportsbetting

The end of the year comes closer, it's cold and dark outside - a good time to reflect some things and plan for the next year.
I know the deadline for my poker experiment is still 4 months away but I collected enough data to think about how I will continue.

In the last 5 years I was betting in three different areas: black jack, poker and sportsbetting. I skipped BJ for that year to concentrate on Poker and skipped sportsbetting till the NFL started.
Now I went through my numbers and made decisions how and if to continue with that three things.

Let's start with sportsbetting:
I had a horrible season this year and stopped after the first weeks. I had a horrible season last year and I'm down overall. Even together with my o.k. results from NBA and MLB.
More worse - I don't really have the time that is needed for proper handicapping.
Sportsbetting is my weakest thing and it requires to bet great amounts per game (at least $100-200) to make it worthwile. But betting between $500-1000 per weekend needs a healthy bankroll. Unfortunatly I plan to "invest" my bankroll in other areas. For that reason I skip sportsbetting from now on (except for some recerational low-limit betting through the NFL playoffs for entertainment) until I am able to invest enough time and provide a big enough bankroll.

Next is poker:
I was losing in the beginning but my results get better and better. I still have to learn a lot and I am willing to do so as I think that this is the future game for me. I will continue in both cash games and tournaments. I don't play cash games online. I tried several times and I failed because it isn't the kind of poker I like. But I will play tournaments online and additionally I will try to win seats in some high-level live tournaments through that play. Unfortunatly at this time during the learning curve poker doesn't create the amount of money it should do. Playing 4/8 limit just covers the costs over the long run. To make some money it has to be 10/20 or better 15/30. I'm not good enough for that level right now. And I am not willling to play NL cash games at this time.

That leads to the last part - BJ:
I skipped BJ for some reasons: I was exhausted from the bad beats that can be cruel. I wanted to concentrate on poker and I wasn't willing get banned from the important places in Vegas. On the other hand BJ is that game I made the most money from in the last 5 years. So I will add it again to my game plan. I will reduce my spread from 2x25 - 2x200 to 10-120. This decrases the pressure moneywise and gets my risk on the same level like 4/8 poker. And it should decrease the risk for barrings in Vegas greatly. Now that I know which places I will play poker most times I can avoid those for BJ. In addition I have a BJ game at my homebase around the corner and I can play more often (and less expensive) than poker (just once a week).

How about the money? I won't tell numbers here but I made a good amount of money through BJ. This whole amount is my future bankroll. I devided it into three (unequal) parts for cash poker, tournament poker and BJ. I will allow myself to shift between those three if I hit a good or bad streak some time. But I will not add any extra money from my main income or any other source than gambling to that bankroll. If the bankroll (hopefully) increases I might take out some money and this will never be added again. Fot that reason my main focus at this time is to increase the bankroll to play with a lower RoR or step up to higher levels again.

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Wednesday, October 26, 2005

Can you fold a Full House?

After sleeping one night and reading an entry in an poker forum about a guy who had similar experiences I am re-thinking the way I played some hands yesterday.
Usually I would never fold a Full House because this hand wins more than it loses. And if the pot is big enough than you can afford to lose this hand from time to time.
That's the theory of pot-odds. But what's about the next stage of poker. I'm talking about combining the math with the actual situation, betting and your opponent. The basics of poker is still math and without the math you are gambling. But the math does only work in the long run. The big advantage to poker over BJ is that you can increase your odds in situations like that if you entered the next stage of a poker player...

As said before: In most cases a Full House is the winning hand. But next time look at the board for a second time before counting your money! An Ace hitting the board giving you a Full with 10's might give somebody else the Aces Nut Full House. Think again - how was the betting, what happend in the rounds before, who is your opponent. Being able to read your opponent might save you some money.
I never would fold a Full with 10's in a limit game if it cost me only a big bet. Usually pot-odds rule here. But I wouldn't re-raise. And I would consider folding against an All-In bet (or wouldn't go All-In myself) in a No-Limit game. Are you able to fold in that situation? To be true - I have no idea if I would. But in the future this option will be available.

I learned a big lesson last night. It was an expensive one but making mistakes can improve your game drastically. Just don't make them again - there are so many others still available ;-)))

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What is worse: good cards or bad cards?

After being card dead in Bregenz I had a night with great hands: Trips, Flushes, Straights, Full Houses (lots of them). All these Hand created big pots but unfortunatly I lost most of them. Losing a straight or a flush because somebody else has the nut straight or nut flush is one thing. But losing Full Houses is mean. I lost Full 9's vs. Quad 10's and Full 10's vs. Full Aces and some more I can't remember right now.
And more worse: Most of them had been rivered. And there was nothing I could do. How aggressive do you have to play a calling station to force a fold? I have no idea. At least not in Limit!

I'm not really angry or depressed. It just a little sad. I had my best month so far and now almost all of this month winnings are wiped out in one single session. I know it doesn't matter in the long run if you have a single losing session or a losing month. But it feels just better if you see a positive number at the end of each month.

Until now my first night at the Commerce was my worst night. Now I call this the worst. The people are much nicer here than in the Commerce but tonight I lost a big opportunity for a big win. Those cards usually should represent a huge win far on the positive side of Standard Deviation.

To answer the question in the headline: If you play good poker and make only minor mistakes than bad cards result in a small loss or a small win. If you have good cards they represent a big win or a big loss. At the end all evens out. So none of them is worse in the long run. But tonight (in the short run) the good cards hurt more than bad cards on any given night.

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Monday, October 24, 2005

Blogspam

I know email-Spam for a long time. I just configured our company mailserver to avoid most of the spam - and so far it works fine. Have you ever subscribed to a chatlist for AIM (AOL Instant Messenger)? Don't do it or you will encounter Chat-Spam. It seems every electronic publishing medium will be abused by spammers.

So it shouldn't really surprise anybody that there is blogspam, too. Since a while whenever I post a new blog entry I get one or two instant responses. They want to sell me something or advertise some obscure website. Those answers are generated by computers that get triggered by the arrival of a new entry.
I usually love all this computer stuff and what can be done with them but there are things that are just awful...

Blogger provides a solution for this. Unfortunatly this creates a little more work for those who want to respond to an entry. You now have to type-in a random text before you can publish your response. I'm sorry for that hassle but this is the only way I can avoid this awfull spam. If you prefer you may write any comment about an entry in Shadow's German Poker Forum. If you don't speak german just write in english (and of course we will keep your thread in english then).

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Sunday, October 23, 2005

Blogger Championships on PokerStars

Result of the Blogger Championship @ PokerStars: Went out 593th of 1473 players.

Took a bad hit early in the tournament with KK. Played them aggressively but got called by one other player. The flop and the turn weren't scary at all. He didn't had anything until the river. The Ace there improved his AQ and I lost about half of my chips. I managed to survive the first hour (were we lost only about 400 people). After the break it was time for a move as I had only 1200 vs. 150/300 Blinds. Got two great hands: First 9-9. Went all in and got called by AQ. The 9's held and I doubled. Second hand QQ. Went All-In again and busted AK. Two hands later I got Q's again. Called a short stacked All-In bet, just to run into Pocket Aces. Again down to 1200 I was moved three times without getting dealt a single hand. It was amazing how fast we lost players now. About 5-10 a minute. I called with A5 of spades and the flop put me on a nice flush draw with two more spades. I decided that it was time for a decision as we had a nice pot due to several callers. Went All-In and it was folded around - except for JJ. To bad - my draw didn't complete and I was out of the tournament.

There are a lot of people around who may tell you that playing a tournament is similar to playing cash game. It isn't!
Harrington on Hold'em Part 1 and Harrington on Hold'em Part 2 helped me a lot to improve my game. There is a big difference if you play with a big, average or short stack. You have to play hands in different ways as well as you have to use different betting patterns. After reading Harrington's books I realized that I wasn't playing poker but shooting craps in my first tournaments.

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Card Dead in Bregenz

Well, let's start with the ups before I tell you about the downs.
Bregenz was my first tournament after I started playing poker and I had good memories and was in a good mood on my drive to the Casino.
The tournament had a 40 player max and was a smaller event than that in March. They have this small one again on Nov. 19th and two bigger events in early December and beginning of 2006.
Again the two organisers Joe Fuchshofer & Edgar Stuchly ran the tournament very well. No big trouble and small incidents were handeld very professionally. They offer free juices, water and snacks during the tournament. After about 3 hours there was a break and they offered a full meal in the restaurant. A computer displays the current blind level, remaining players and average Stack.

The EUR 100,- buy-in with rebuys and one add on after the first hour created a prize pool of little over EUR 10.000,- (1st got about 3.500,- and 6th about 500,-). First 3 level were 20 minutes each. After that 25 minutes. 2000 chips with blinds of 25/50 in the first level. Add-On got you 4000 chips.

They had a lot of "newbies" there so I thought it could be a good tourney. Unfortunatly I was sent to the most difficult table: Three or four players that are tournament regulars. One of them even cashed more than once at this years WSOP. I don't like him and his style but he definitly is a difficult opponenent. To make things worse I was card dead from the beginning. Execpt for two or three All-In-Semi-Bluffs that went well I had seven hands that had been really playable. And I'm not talking about tight play - I'm talking about hands that could be played only by a maniac (e.g. 7,2 or 9,3 unsuited of course). Four of them went well: Two times queens held against weaker opponents, one time I didn't had two show JJ's on the river. The last I can't remember right now. The three others became crucial for my result: First I overplayed AJs. I had to go All-In after the flop with a straight draw but run into AA's. No nine on the river and I had to rebuy early in the tournament. After about 3 hours into the tournament I was down to 2.600 (average was 7.000) but managed to get back to average due some well timed all-in-bluffs with semi-valuable cards (e.g. K9s). I could even follow the average up to 10.000 were I reached my peek. With Blinds of 400/800 my stack started to decrease fastly. Down to 5.000 a good situation came up: It was folded around to my small blind. The big blind was the short stack with 2.600 at our table and I raised all-in with 10,10. I was sure he would call and he did. I expected him calling with a medicore hand and was reliefed to see 2,2. Unfortunatly the turn brought a 3rd two and no help on turn and river. Crippled after that bad beat I was able to steal some blinds and be back to around 5.000. With blinds of 800/1600 it was now time for a big move again. Average stake was about 16.000 at this time. Again I got a playable card at the right time: A,10s I went all-in and got one caller. Unfortunatly I ran into AQs and the Queen-Kicker held and I was out on 16th place.

Am I disapointed? Yes, somewhat. I felt good before the tournament and there was a lot of fresh fish. With average to good cards it should have been easy to get into the money. But with the awful flow of cards I should be happy that I managed to make 16th place. I even survived the "WSOP"-Guy who was chipleader during the first 90 minutes.
I told you in an earlier blog that I feel that my cash game has improved. This tournament showed me that my tournament game has improved as well. Two or three months ago I would have been out much earlier...

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Thursday, October 20, 2005

Preparation is the key for success

Does it matter if you're in a good mood while playing? Sure it does!

During my blackjack times I tried to find a good balance between playing time and free time. In Vegas I played about 3 sessions (1 hour each) before I took a break (a nap, something to eat, other relaxing things). And I played about 6-8 sessions per day. Cardcounting is mainly mechanics but you're playing better if you feel better. Less mistakes, better coverplay, good focus on opportunities.

In poker I started to play sessions of 12-18 hours. It was fun but I'm now sure this is a big mistake. In poker it is much more important than in blackjack to be focused. Less mechanics and more borderline decisions. Nowadays I stop if I start getting tired, feel bad or hungry. Usually this happens at least after 6 hours.
And more important I try to start the game in a good mood. In the past my local game went like this: Work the whole day, take the 1-hour drive, start the game ... and lose (often), drive home late night.
After I realized that I could get a train ticket and a hotel room for the same cost like using the car I changed this behavior. I still work the whole day (can't change this). But now I have a relaxed train ride (only a little longer than by car). Check in to the hotel and take a nap, take a shower, relax a little. The result: I feel better, I'm more focused and I play much better. Nice addition: I have W-LAN acces for free. So I can write that blog entry directly after the game. :-)

Todays game was nice - in addition to the regulars we had some "guests" that could easily be found at any PartyPoker table ... took full advantage of that opportunity ;-))

For those who are interested how am I doing since I started playing poker: I have to confess that I'm still down. Had several bad sessions in the past (some bad beats and several bad plays). There was a time I seriously considered quitting poker. But I felt that I improve more and more so I added a chart to my calculations. I compared the overall result to the results of the last nine, six and three months. And I was right. My results got better and better. And no I won't quit in the near future. So stay tuned for more blogging from Shadow.

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Thursday, October 06, 2005

That's cool...

... PokerStars is holding a Freeroll Tournament with great prizes for any Blogger on the web. Just register your Blog at Pokerstars and paste the code that you get on your Blog:

Poker Championship

I have registered to play in the
Online Poker Blogger Championship!

This event is powered by PokerStars.

Registration code: 1203122



That's it - and you're almost in.

Addition on Oct. 11th:
Yes, I'm in - 11 days before the start they have more than 1100 players. So I would estimate that it will be over 2000 before the start. This may become a long tournament. The prizes are cool and with that number of players you might get a feeling of how it might be to play something like a WSOP event.

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Friday, September 30, 2005

2 days of local poker

...well almost local ;-)

First I had my usual poker day in Kufstein and on the next day I made a visit to the Concord Card Casino in Linz.
It's now about half a year that I was there the last time. Luckily my girlfriend was on a business-trip to Linz and I had no travel cost this time.

The last times I was there they barely could fill one table of 4/8 Hold'em (that often broke after 3 hours) but were running hot with 7-Card-Stud. Seems times have changed!
The didn't get 7-Card-Stud running but had two tables of 4/8 available. Of course both became shorthanded after 3 hours but the game continued on one table for 4 more hours. Meanwhile they started a 10/20 Hold'em (which is still above my limit). But it looks like Hold'em starts to build up slowly everywere. That's good news!

The game itself was a rollercoaster. Still a lot of aggressive play that resulted in huge pots. I like big pots as they allow to play a liitle more loose pre-flop. In addition you can push the action on valuable draws. The downside is the increase in the swings. With a $200 Buy-in I went from there down to $60 up to $250, back to $60 and cashed $295 after 7 hours of play.
Didn't get great hands but some decent ones that cashed in big pots. One time I missed a really huge pot after not getting my 9-outer with the Nuts-Ace for a flush. I tried to fool the last opponent on the river with a bet but it didn't work out as he had a straight and wasn't willing to fold such a big pot. Good for him (he was one of the rare decent players in that place) but bad for me :-((
I was quite succesfull with sets this time. Just one bad beat here: Bet pocket 6's, flopped a set and raised them through a blank board - just to get rivered by a set of Jacks - oh well.

No reason to complain. Compared to my beginner time (hell that sound like a long time ago but in fact it was January) I play now with more risk involved. I still consider my play tight. But beside of beeing aggressive I can adjust and change my style. That allows to play marginal pocket hands from time to time, especially with cheap flops. I got pocket Aces cracked an I won with pocket Aces. I lost with a full to a higher full the day before but cracked a full with quad Queens. Everything is possible - as long if the value is right. Pot-odds rule!

I can't understand people complaining and whining about bad cards and bad beats all the time. You play a half drunken guy who plays every hand and that can't be bluffed from his hand - fine! You can be sure to catch some bad beats but he will pay for his play sooner or later. If you lose your hand to a decent player (or at least a decent hand) no reason to complain either. If you had the right pot-odds it was o.k. to play the hand (regardless of the result). If not - than you made a mistake.

The typical cry baby story from yesterday: Hero gets J3o being the big blind. No raise. Flop comes JJx. UTG bets. Hero raises. Some calling and some folding. Turn comes an Ace. Hero checks to see what happens. The other players check too. River is a blank again. Hero bets, it's folded except for one player. Cry-Baby calls and is shocked to see a set of J's. He was holding Ax for two pairs (AAJJ). "Oh well, how can you win against people playing and raising J3o!" More funny a little later he tried the same with K2 (except he was the button and not the big blind)...

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Tuesday, September 20, 2005

California 2005 trip report

O.K. folks - here's my trip report. Beware - it's a long one an it has little poker content as this was a vacation with some side action in poker!

It started like expected: The Condor flight was a real pain. The flight was delayed for more than one hour and the didn't tell us until shortly before boarding. So we waited and waited... Service was as medicore as expected. But it was a free flight on freemiles so I really can't complain. The only thing I know is that I never would pay to fly with Condor! What I like at Condor is their monitors: They provide a real-camera view from the front during take-off and landing. Especially the arrival at McCarren (from the west) was a great experience.

As we stayed in Vegas for only two days we didn't had a rental car and had to take a cab. And of course the cabby tried to talk me into the tunnel route. The have a new trick now: They tell you there is a big convention (there's allways a convention) and they aren't allowed to take Swenson/Paradiese except on special request. And he won't take the highway as he would use Frank Sinatra Drive. Well, sounds great - but unfortunatly Frank Sinatra Drive (which is the former south end of Industrial Rd.) can only be reached via the tunnel ;-)) Even Tropicana to Industrial would have been bettter than his suggestion. I requested the Swenson/Paradiese road and it was my lucky day (as the cabby said). There was no traffic at all on that route. The cabby wasn't happy about the $1 tip (they expect much more) but I don't like to tip long-haulers at all. On the way back we had no problems. That cabby was a nice guy (we talked about poker as he plays himself) who took us to McCarren via the Strip (which was fine at that time of the day). I don't think he was the typical long-hauler but more important: Most cabbys don't try to long-haul you on the way back as they think you may be more aware of it.

We had a nice comped suite at the Venetian. Great rooms and great location! Breakfast at Starbucks in front of Fashion Show Mall, poker at the Wynn and a great Pool area for my girlfriend.

As we arrived late afternoon we had some dinner and a short stroll on the strip before I went to the midnight tourney at the Imperial Palace. I must admit I was really lucky in that one - beside playing good poker of course ;-)) No rebuy needed for me at this tourney. About half to the tourney I got my lucky minute and busted to people on the river with just 4 outs left (making a needed straight). If I had lost that one I doubt that I would have made the finals. In addition this play made me chipleader until we arrived at the final table. We went down to 5 people (4 got paid) and it became a roller coster. I went from chipleader down to almost broke, back again into business, down again ... and so on. The same happend to the other four. It took us about one hour from there to burst the bubble. I finished third - great start for the trip :-)

Next day - 10am morning tournament at the Aladdin. Did I say I was a little lucky the night before? Well, I was unlucky this morning. At first two Queens lost vs. a rivered second King and later AK with a flop of AKx lost vs. pocket Aces.
The cash game at the Wynn wasn't great either. Well, the game was good but I ended with a small loss after 5 hours of play.

I cashed some of my poker comps for a nice dinner at the Terrace Point Cafe with my girlfriend. Food was good but I was somewhat dissapointed about the way they handled the comp. At the poker room you don't get a comp slip - they just authorize your players card for the amount and place. There is a $20 max. per purchase - so don't try to get a Ferrari with your comp-balance ;-)). But the waitress at the coffee shop told me that this was a comp for only one person (and it couldn't be used for alcoholic beverages either). So I wasn't able to use the full $20 amount. It's fine if it's done that way if they tell you that upfront. So be carefull and tell them to authorize your card for the correct amount of people in your party!

After dinner we had a great time at David Copperfield's show (sitting almost in the front row). He's a little bit older now (no magic here) and he is still great. The only complain would be the fact that he needs to brush up his programm somewhat. If you know him for longer you can feel that he rushes somewhat through the show. His jokes are still great but you can feel that he tells them twice a day for a long time. But for me he is still the greatest magician I ever saw!




Next day we went to Oakland for the second part of our trip. If your only interested in poker than skip this and go to the last paragraphs as there will be no poker in that section.
We were lucky with our rental car. Rented 2nd smallest and got a Chrysler Voyager. Nice Hotel in the middle of San Francisco. But don't be fooled by low room rates here. The room at the Ramada Plaza was fine but you have to pay $20 / per night for parking space :-(( We found a less expensive parking lot nearby ($6 weekend and $11 weekday) but this had a downside: The rate was from 5am to 5am. So I had to wake up at 5am every morning (for 4 days) to get a new ticket.
The first night was awful for me as I had a severe headache and stomach problems (probably due to some bad food I ate the evening before). And the next night: Firealarm at 4am. Nothing severe or even a false alarm but I was happy that we got more sleep the next nights. What I liked at this place was the built-in Starbucks next to the lobby. Yes I am Starbucks addicted.









I showed my girlfriend the interesting parts of San Francisco (Fishermans Wharf, Lombard Street, the Victorian Houses, Golden Gate, Alcatraz etc.). It was quite cold for that time of the year but the weather was sunny so we had a great time. Oh, and of course some shopping. Finally I got a new Apple iPod. I don't think I will use the iPod at the Poker tables but it's a cool piece anyway.
We spent the next 4 days at a dance camp in the Redwoods.





For those how don't know - my girlfriend and I love to dance to swing music and this camp had great teachers. Unfortunatly the weather was still cold and the wooden chambers in the YMCA camp weren't highclass (especially if you went to the Venetian before). It was a great dance camp but we enjoyed the nice hotel room we got in Mariposa after the camp. From there we visited Yosemite National Park. If you go to Yosemite I reccomend to take the drive to Glacier Point. One of the greates views in the world.





At Glacier point we met another couple from Germany and they told us that they saw a bear in the woods about half an hour ago. I would have been as scared as they had been. But I'm a bit jealous too. I allways wished to see a bear in free nature. All we saw was the raccoons in the camp. BTW - If you go to Yosemite I suggest to stay in Oakhurst (Southgate) instead of Mariposa (Westgate). I avoided Oakurst because there was nothing there on my last visit - but that really changed. Oakhurst is now a little city with a nice infrastructure. And even Starbucks and TacoBell is there ;-)



Now let's continue with poker. I didn't play in the San Francisco area as I was to tired for the almost 40 miles ride to the possible places from our location. But I booked a hotel in Los Angels close to the Commerce and the Bike for our last two days of the trip. You may remember from older blog entries that I don't like the Commerce but I had to go there again. I was frustrated by my big loss from the last visit but I realized two things: I got frustrated due to bad beats. I just had an awful night there on my last trip. And there is no reason to get frustrated by bad beats (even or especially if you play with stubborn californian poker players). And second: a big part of my loss went to a good asian player just because I played bad poker due to my frustration.
This time was better and I went home with a nice win after three hours. I busted some californian wannabees that left frustrated upon their "bad luck". One of the best hands: two nines that beat two eights. The other guy had A8s and got his second eight on the flop. The rest of the board was some low cards (no flush or straight possible) and I was sure he didn't had a high pair (due to the way he played his cards). He was shocked to see the pocket nines at the showdown. Nice big pot as several chased their straight or flush draws. Risky but worth the reward. The other one: A flopped full house with some pocket crap (in the big blind). Again several chasers and a big pot. A nut flush on the river completed a great night.
I went to the Commerce for the second night too as it was the shorter ride (compared to the Bike). It was already 2am and we had to checkout at 11am and drive to the airport. It became another nice night. Not the same big win than the night before but still a decent win.
Do I like the Commerce more after that? Not really. I don't like the people there. I like aggressive play (as it creates big pots) but I dislike aggressive people. And a lot of people at the Commerce are aggressive. Lots of bad language against dealers or other players. "What's the best way to win against a dealer - kill a dealer" - That is not funny in any way! And I don't like the semi-collusion I saw: Two players that choped the pot if they were heads up as they don't wanted to play against each other. Nothing wrong with the fact to be friends (and they didn't hide it) but that leaves a lot of possibilities for REAL collusion. But I can now appreciate the bad quality of the players at the Commerce.

At the end this trip was small success and I feel that my poker play gets better and better. You remember: I said that I will take one year of time to show that I can play a +EV game. I am still down but I am still confident I will make it.

Finally we had met a person that I wished to met for several years but missed everytime: Fayard Nicholas (the older of the Nicholas Brothers). For those who don't know - the Nicholas Brothers had been a tap dance duo in the 30's. They are well known for their acrobatic tap performances with a lot of splits etc. They are not that well known as Fred Astaire or Gene Kelly due to the fact that they are black. But in my opinion they are equal or even better tap dancers. Fayard now is in his 90's (his brother died a few years ago). Meeting him in Los Angeles was such a great experience. He is such a nice guy. He can't dance anymore but you can feel how much he enjoys life and loves to watch other people dancing. There are things you will never forget in your life ... and this is one of those things for me.

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Wednesday, September 14, 2005

Sorry for being lazy

Sorry to all that are interested in my "adventures" on my recent trip.
We did so much in these days (beside Poker) that I was either too busy or too tired to write a new blog.

I will write a complete trip report when I am back!

So far have fun with that: Where is Shadow?

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Monday, August 29, 2005

Too much work

I had a tough time in the last weeks. Way too much work. I skipped the $100 Hold'em tournament in Bregenz as well as my usual trip to Kufstein. More worse - I got ill that weekend. Only a few days before my trip to the US.

But I feel better now. My vacation time started today and I will fly to Vegas on Wednesday.
It will be a short stay in Vegas (only two days) and then we will continue for "real" vacation to San Francisco area and Los Angeles. I'm with my girlfriend but we agreed on the following plan:

  • Heavy Poker play in Vegas. She will be at the pool or go shopping - I prefer her doing the first one ;-))
  • One night of Poker in San Francisco - most likely Bay101
  • One or two night of Poker in L.A. Either at the Bike or (despite my bad memories) at the Commerce.

Not too much Poker for a 3-week trip but better than nothing.

Due to some comps from my BJ times we stay in a real great place not far away from the Wynn. I will play the Wynn for cash game and most probably the Aladdin and the IP for tournament. I would have preferred the Orleans over the IP but we won't have a rental car for those two days.
In addition to my Poker times we will go to David Copperfield. For two years now I missed him everytime I was in Vegas (he was on-tour) so I'm happy that we got tickets almost in the front row. This will be a great evening :-))

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Saturday, August 06, 2005

Too many events

After a dry time without any interesting events there had been too many events this week.
Originally I had planned to play the Black Jack tournaments in Stuttgart and Baden-Baden but due to much workload I skipped Stuttgart and decided to attend the Black Jack tournament in Kitzbuehl instead of Baden-Baden on the same day.
But two days before I received an email from Horst Koch from the GPPA that he helds a Poker tournament just around the corner in Munich (with a Las Vegas flight as a first prize). So I changed my plans again and went to this tournament. It was much fun as the crowd on these tournaments is always easy going.
Unfortunatly I had a horrible evening and on the first three preliminaries I didn't catch any good cards. On the last try I had a monster run dominating the table. One key hand went like this: I was slowplaying a flopped straight (Queen High) with success as I got one all-in on the turn. I was releaved to see that my opponent only had two pairs...just to see an 8 on the river to make him a full house. :-( Fortunatly on a second look this 8 improved my straight to a straight flush :-)) So much about slowplaying and bad beats.
I went to the final but lasted just one hand. I raised wit A9s. Flop of diamonds with an Ace. Everybody checked to me (I was the button) and I was only called (some folds) with a decent bet, so I was sure that no one held a flush. It was checked on the turn again and I bet some more and everybody went out except one caller. The river brought a 9 to make me two pair. The other guy checked again, I went all in, he called all-in and showed me his rivered straight. Out on 8th place...

At least I had fun, met some nice people and hope to see some of them again at the 4/8 cash game in Kufstein.

On a side note: There had been a €200,- Pot-Limit Texas Hold'em (with Rebuys) in Baden-Baden last week and from all I heard this was a great event. They will have it again on Oct. 28th and I will be there and play my first pot-limit tournament.

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Monday, July 18, 2005

The new WSOP Champion

The WSOP 2005 is history and we have a new champion: Joseph Hachem.
Personally I had preferred that a big name pro wins this event but it could have been worse. Hachem definitly isn't a "Moneymaker". He claims to be a pro, has about 10 years experience and even made a 10th place in another WSOP event this year. He isn't like Raymer either (who definitely was a great ambassador for poker). He's a different type and who he really is will develop through the next year. Raymer was a "no-name" for the public as he won - like Hachem is now. But I think Hachem can be a good amassador too.



Maybe we got the best of it: A new "Moneymaker" would have given us another boost for the public but would have diminished the WSOP to a real lottery (decreasing the value of this great event). A "big name pro" as a winner would have been great in terms of history but wouldn't attract "Joe Public" too much.
Hachem's win can achieve both goals. More publicity for poker and still value and attraction in the WSOP as the greatest poker event in the world.

So what comes next year? 10.000 participants? We will see. But some things are more clear right now: It will be at the Rio again - not at the Caesars. The final table will be at the Rio too. Binions and the WSOP is now history. And the Shadow will be there (either as player or as visitor). See you at WSOP 2006...

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Friday, July 15, 2005

That wasn't like expected

Didn't I say something about that I may regret that I missed Matusow in my list. Well but at least I had a fair shot.
I'm really sad about the way we lost Ramer in that tournament. But I like the way he handled it! I reccommend to take a look at the video from the press conference (http://www.cardplayer.com).
Matusow impressed me too: In another Video he had very kind words for Raymer and was sorry about the way he was eliminated. This is remarkable if you remember the incident between those two at the 2004 final table.

Tonight I will follow the audio broadcast from the final table (made by Negreanu, Lindgren, Harman, Hellmuth, Shulman at cardplayer.com). I think the comments from those guys (and the girl) will be quite interesting. I hope the others 8 players will catch the chipleader Aaron Kanter. He's the guy who hit Raymer hard with his lucky 2h on the river. From what I saw so far this guy has more luck than skill. Matusow, Barch or Black - those guys have the best position (and skill) to make it, IMO.

Now to something completely different: I just realized that I can publish my blog entries by emailing them - this is a real cool feature. If I now figure out how to send emails with my cellphone or PDA I will be ab le to blog even without my computer. I love those technical gimmicks :-)

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Thursday, July 14, 2005

NFL is close to start

Well, it's still about 6 weeks but pre-season starts in two weeks and this is the time for me to prepare for my sportsbetting.
I know this is mainly a poker blog - but betting the NFL is an important thing to me so I like to share my success here with you too.
As said in the very beginning I stopped betting the NBA or MLB but American Football is my favorite sport (and the one I have the most betting experience). So I will try tro win some money from betting here.

I have two favorite teams: Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Miami Dolphins. I like the New England Partiots and last season was very impressed by the Pittsburgh Steelers. I don't like the Oakland Raiders and some others.

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Tuesday, July 12, 2005

Betting on the WSOP

Well, as a sports bettor I couldn't resist to bet a little on the future WSOP winner.

What I did is that I made small bets on 60 pros to win the WSOP.
Before the WSOP startet this was about 1% of the field or a 100-1 shot.
As my best bet paid about 1500-1 which makes it 25-1 (= 1500-60) for the whole bunch of wagers this wasn't really +EV if you make every player equal. But I think the pros (as a group) have an advantage over the amateurs. And even with a lot of single eliminations I should go well with the group as a whole. And I think this group should be at least a 4-1 favorite over the rest of the field.

You may imagine that I was scared as hell seeing to lose so many pros on the first three first days.
But cream is always raising to the top and the rest of the "pro bunch" made a good stand in day two and three.

Right now at the end of day three I still have 6 pros running for me compared to the whole field of around 185. My pros are now around 3% of the field (compared to 1% in the beginning). So I now need 33-1 odds to make it +EV. My best "horses" are 12-1 (750-60). If I still believe that the pros are a 4 times fav over the amateurs I now really have +EV.
Much better: Some of my best wagers are on the top of the leaderboard. It is still 4 more days to go and things can change fast - but at this time I feel good with my wagers:

Chipcounts

$1.064.000
Greg Raymer 718-1
$722.000
Phil Ivey 290-1
$541.000
Howard Lederer 318-1
$380.000
Kim Hua 650-1
$230.000
John Juanda 379-1
$176.000
Lee Watkinson 750-1

Update on July 14:
Ivey and Ramyer are still in (Top 5) with 27 players left. Those two represent now more than 7% of the enire field. The only thing I regret now is that I forgot to add Matusow to my list. This might become a big mistake...

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Thursday, July 07, 2005

Terrible things happend today...again

"I am doing all right. I will not live my life in fear.
We need to be strong and united during this time. This is what humanness is all about.
We need to bring out the positives now and work on solidarity."

Email received from a friend in New York, sent after September 11th 2001

Originally I wanted to share some poker thoughts that came to my mind. But after I heard about the things that happend in London I decided to delay this for some time.

We all knew that this would happen. The only thing is we didn't knew when and were...

Terrorism comes closer to my country. We had Madrid and now it is London. Despite Madrid which is just a foreign city for me I know some people in London. I was lucky to hear from them that they are fine.

This is a "small" incident compared to what happend in New York but every of these terrorist attacks is awful and heartbreaking regardless how many people are injured or killed. My thoughts and prayers are with those who lost a member of their family or a friend...

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Tuesday, June 28, 2005

Shadow's Hold'em Challenge @ FullTilt

Every reader of this blog is invited!

Buy-In $10+1
July 5th at 2pm EST
(9 player minimum requirement otherwise the tourney is voided)

Guaranteed prize money with 9 players:

1. place: $45
2. place: $27
3. place: $18

You will find the tournament in the "Private Section" with the number 860682.
As the tourney is for all readers of this blog - here's the password: shcj05-0
(0 = Zero!)

If it's a success we will do this more often.

If you don't have an account at FullTilt you can make me happy by signing up with the link on the left side! ;-))

Shadow aka ShadowBJ21 @ FullTilt

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Monday, June 27, 2005

My first live limit tournament

Played my first live limit tournament and I liked it - despite the fact that I didn't made it into the money.
I was able to keep an average stack around the first 2 hours until the break. I played exactly four hands in that time. Won two (a big pot and a small one) and lost two (a big one and a small one). The big loss was JJ vs. QQ. The small loss resulted in a fold on the turn. Good fold as I was running into Quad-Aces.
At the break I checked the other tables and as expected there were a lot of short stacks around (even 4 eliminations so far).
I played very tight in the early stages but hoped for some more premium hands. But with an average stack it was still o.k.
After the break it was time to add some more action to to my play as the blinds started to hurt a little (I hadn't played suited connectors, low pairs etc. in the first levels). Unfortunatly I wasn't able to catch anything playable for the next 90 minutes.
After they broke another table there was some confusion due to the fact that 2 players next to the button on our table got busted in the same round (and two new players came in just before the other table broke). They told me to move to another table at a positiion were I had to pay the big blind one round later. As I already paid my blind on this table I complained and was allowed to keep my seat. Bad mistake!
The next round I was dealt AJs with an J43 on the flop. I was up to only one opponent which was a decent player but made a lot of fancy plays with his big stack. I was sure he hadn't anything on the flop. The turn was blank and I had to go all-in to make a bet. As it turned out I was partially right. He hadn't much at this time (56s) but the 7 of spades on the river ended my night giving him a straight flush.
Too bad, that pot would have more than doubled my stake and I was sure I would have made it to the money as people continued to drop out quite fast.

Limit tournaments are slow in the beginning and you need patience. But they also need a lot more skill than no-limit tornaments.

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Thursday, June 23, 2005

Running dry

I am on an amazing bad streak since May. I evaluated and re-evaluated my play but I always end at the same conclusion:

I still have to learn a lot and I still make to many mistakes. But beside that my results are worse due to the fact that I get awful bad cards for a long time.
I had similar times in BJ and I know these bad streaks can last for months. But it's hard if you try to build up your poker bankroll.

Yesterday was such a typical day: The first almost two hours I would have gotten the same results if I just had been sitting at the bar and just payed my blinds. No hands at all. Note even those dangerous J,8s or such stuff. But 7,2 or 6,3 (unsuited of course). After that I lost 3 major pots by a coinflip. Queen Kicker vs. King Kicker and similar stuff. Then I went on a very small rush to get at least some money back. At the end the table went shorthanded and the pot sizes became small.

My result was o.k. for such a horrible night but I was still down.

Well at least it looks like there may be a possibility to play once a week from now on (if you are in the Munich, Rosenheim, Austria Area check the german formum for more information about the venue).

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Tuesday, June 21, 2005

My first straight flush and a strange hand

I played an internet tournament yesterday and made my first straight flush (8 to Q of spades). This was like you read it in the book. I already had Q,9 being the big blind. The flop brought 10,J,x. It was checked around, the turn was blank and some bets were made. With probably enough outs for a straight or flush I had sufficient pot odds to make the call. River: 8 of spades :-))) Nice medium size bet, got one caller and took the pot. Now that was great!

About an hour later this remarkable hand happend:
Short stacked with AQo I had somebody going all-in. As this was my best hand for a while I gave it a shot and went all-in, too. Two more went all-in for a total of four people (one had us covered slightly - so technically he wasn't all-in). The guy who went all-in first showed 88 (all that happend pre-flop!) the other two showed AQo (uups). Looked like 88 would take down a monster pot. But no, poker is a real beast. We made it to a three way tie by rivering an A high straight. The poor 88 got busted. This guy was really #$%&. And I can understand him. Never seen that before.

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Tuesday, June 07, 2005

Fun with Poker and a new casino

Just came back from a strange weekend full of poker. The first two days were "business like usual". Breaking almost even with some 3/6 and 5/10 Hold'em. Nothing special. But on the last they I played a 17 hour game with more fun I ever had before. It was just a nice crowd that played together in that 2/4 game. Full table in the beginning, short handed for the last 10 hours. I suffered some bad beats in the first hours and would have quit on any other occasion. But this crowd was just hillarious.

Beside the great fun it was a great learning experience. Not that it was all really good and experinced players. But it was a bunch of players that were aware of things that happend around. So instead of just folding, calling and raising by the book you could really "play" with them (and sometimes they played with me of course). I know the money is were you play those without any good sense for the game. But playing with this crowd was a mental challenge. Can you imagine ... a 2/4 game with people that can be challenged? I lost some money due to the bad beats but this was of course the cheapest lesson in some different aspects of the game of poker.

Later in the evening we got joined by a guy who never looked at his cards before the flop (sometimes later) and raised (or made live straddles) every time. This guy was hard to play as he was extremely lucky. But after we adjusted our play somewhat we could take his money quite fast. Another medicore player who tried to play by the book (but made several mistakes) quit frustrated after losing his money.

It was an interesting experience to sit on the other end of the table and try some crazy things (compared to the book). I definitly got a better understanding of crazy play now. The point is that most crazy players are just maniacs (they play without any real sense). But there are a lot of crazy players (to name two top players: Gus Hansen and Daniel Negreanu) that have a deep knowledge of the game and know exactly what they do. Those people are really hard to play. I don't think you can play them plain by the book - you have to adjust. General rule: The looser the table the tighter your play should be. On the other hand play more loose if you play tight players.

It all comes down to the fact that the books are only the basics. But from that point you have to adjust to your own style and the other players.
It's like dancing. You have to learn the proper steps and rules first but to become a real great dancer there is a point were you have to throw away (some) of those rules and build it your own way. But don't throw the rules too early or you will fail without doubt.
Another similarity to dancing: If you learned it once you will be able to do it even if you didn't do it for a long time. But to stay top notch you have to practice as often as possible!

The next day I visited the new casino in Bad Wiessee (near Munich). It's a nice and modern place. Much nicer than the old one from the 60's. Big panoramic windows with a great view over Lake Tegernsee.
They now offer Poker - but only Stud with a €5-25 spread-limit.
They have quadrupled the number of slot machines and created a nice slot place that gives you some kind of "Little Vegas" feeling.

They doubled the number of BJ tables and of course I took a look at the game (and had some money with me to play). But I never played a single hand. Why? Well, I had no interest in it. I watched the game for a while (btw, it's still hand shuffled) and saw a lot of those bad beats I experienced myself in the past. I know there are bad beats at poker too but they don' feel that frustrating. Imagine this is a €10 min. game. So by playing just the minimum you are betting €300 per hour. Ever experienced bad streaks that lasted half an hour or longer? No? Then you haven't played enough BJ in your life. Counting cards at that level you play sometimes €200 per single hand.
Compare this to Poker. Let's take a 10/20 Split-Limit Hold'em which should be equally to that BJ game. With 30 hands per hour you have to post 3 big and three small blinds per hour. So the minimum risk is €90 instead of €300. Take the other extrem with raises to the cap in every round you may risk up to €240. The big difference: By playing a good game of poker you have a big opportunity to win this pot (otherwise you wouldn't be involved). In the game of BJ you know (due to card counting) that you have positive expectation but you still have to make a "blind post" before you see the first card. Even worse: You can win just the posted amount (or a little more in case of a BJ). In Poker you will quite often make much more in a single pot due to the fact that you don't just play heads up or at least have several people that added money pre-flop, on the flop and the turn.

As said in older blog entries I think it still will be fun to play BJ in places like Vegas were you can earn great comps (but I still consider craps equal but more fun). But I don't think I get much from BJ without comps or good promotions in the future...

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Sunday, May 22, 2005

Back to Earth from Poker Heaven

My first session after I'm back from Vegas. Well, it's somewhat difficult to go back to earth after you played in heaven.

My session lasted 13 hours (plus a three hour train trip in each direction). I was on the road for 21 hours. That was tough.
After 10 hours in the great seats of the Wynn I only felt tired. After 13 hours here (and the place isn't that bad) I felt like after an interkontinental flight from Germany to L.A. Those resizable and comfortable chairs at the Wynn may sound just like a nice gimmick. But if you play long sessions you really feel the difference - especially if you're a guy of my size.

Overall it doesn't run too well currently. I was up a little after 2 hours but didn't catch any good cards for about half of the night. Went down and recovered (but not completely) in the early morning. Nothing compared to the guy who accumulated 8 racks (each $100) in about 6 hours on 4/8. Not a really good player - but very very lucky. Caught a lot of quads, trips, full houses, straights, flushes against other high combinations (so he had big pots all the time).

So is there anything wrong with my play? I'm not sure. My numbers say that I'm well into one standard deviation. If I get good cards in a reasonable frequency I win and dominate tables. If I don't get them - I'm lost. I know this is supposed to happen ... but at this time I'm not sure if I just have a bad series or if I don't play enough hands. This night I saw some remarkable bad beats: Getting A,9o and folding it as there had been tree (!) raises in front of me. With three players I decided that the pot wasn't big enough to invest 3 more bets here (I was BB). The flop came A,9,3 :-((( This kind of weired things happend very often this night. I don't mind if I would have flopped quad 7's with a folded 7,2 (happend this night too) but it's really hard to see those A,9 things happen.
But well, I see what happens after you play this kind of game more loose. I saw big winning stacks shrinking very fast to zero. So I'm not that unhappy that I can usually handle sessions of this length with $300 or less but winning some in a row would be nicer. ;-))

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Sunday, May 08, 2005

It's not over before its over...!

Well this is not really poker related but the end of my trip got a nice twist:

Waiting at the gate for my flight as they asked for volunteers because the flight was overbooked. I was offered a flight via Frankfurt which resulted in a 6 hour longer trip. Due to the compensation I received I reduced the cost of my flight-ticket to $80 (!). In addition I was booked on business class...Now that's positive standard deviation. Or just plain luck :-)))

So I'm currently sitting at Frankfurt Airport writing this last chapter of the first poker trip to Vegas. And in about 2.5 hours I will be at home again.

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Saturday, May 07, 2005

The last hours... :-((

No more Poker ... I decided for an easy going last day.

So here's my summary:
Time played: 46 hours 25 minutes (more than expected)
Game 4/8 Hold'em
Result: -84,62 BB (worse than expected, 45 of these are from the Commerce!)

Tournaments: 6 (less than planned) in 12 hours
Placed in the money: One time at 11th place
Average Buy-In: $69,16
Result: -4,12 Buy-Ins

I have to analyze these results when I'm back but my impression is that they are well into normal standard deviation. But of course I would have been happier if I went back with a win.

Missed opportunities:
Played in the same room with Daniel Negreanu twice but wasn't able to ask him for a chip signing as he was busy both time. (First was a photo shooting and the second time he was playing a 300/600 Mixed game with some friends).

If I go with the girlfriend next time I think I will take her to the Wynn. Poker room rate is $129 weekdays and $199 weekend. I have to see those rooms at least once!

Here are some photos (of course from the Wynn). Added 3 more in older blog entries below:









I have another three hours to kill before I have to head to the Airport. But I don't expect to get bored in L.A. ;-))

Have a good time and good cards (you need them - regardless how good you are).

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The Commerce ... it's huge and it's ugly

The Vegas part of the trip ended with another nice win at the Wynn.
Had a short 2 hour session before my flight and got a nice 4/8 table.

Comment of my neighbor: "This is a tough table". Mmmh...I thought it was an easy one. Easy to dominate. Different perspectives.

As I wasn't willing to pay the $129,- per night at the Commerce I found a much cheaper and good hotel (with free internet) nearby.
Good choice! The commerce is a cultural shock if you're used to Las Vegas poker. The place is huge! The biggest poker rooms in Vegas (Bellagio, MGM, Wynn, Orleans) have around 30 Tables. The Commerce has 5(!) times of that. About 150 Tables. But the place is an ugly dump. I never saw so much morons on one place together. "I play always low unsuited cards...they hit more often on the river. You can only lose with high cards. Believe me! I've seen this so often", "No, I'm not drunk I just had my fourth Heinecken in one hour...raise...I've only sh*** but I raise. See my 7,2 hit on the river". Wow, I hate this place. And to top this I had a horrible night. QQ lost, KK lost, some others failed...and at the end I lost a big pot with KJ. Me and to others at the end of a huge pot. I beat one with a pair of Jacks and the King. But the 3rd one had AJ for the better kicker. The only good thing: The guy I lost too was one of the few good players. He deserved it...as well as I :-((

I learned an important (but expensive lesson) that night: Never play were you don't feel comfortable. This place may be a cash cow (if you can stand the swings) but I don't feel comfortable at this dump. While BJ is a game of pure math you can play this without faults even if you don't feel good. Poker is different. There is a lot of math involved but you have to deal with the unknown. You have to make decisions that will be influenced from the way you feel. If you don't feel good you will play badly. That's one more reason why I prefer places like the Wynn - even if my longterm winrate is lower.
BTW - Moron lost all of his big stack he accumulated in just an hour and left...enter next moron...

So I decided to go to the Bycicle Casino in Bell Gardens on the next day. They have a noon Tournament which I wanted to enter. The "Bike" is much nicer than the Commerce. I didn't play for cash there as the tournament took 5 hours and I was exhausted and needed a break...but the overall impression was much better.

The tournament was very interesting. Most memorable hands: I hit my second Jack (had AJ) on the river while being all-in and beat a pair of sixes early in the tournament. At the end I was short-stacked and had barely enough for my big-blind in the next round (2000/4000 blinds and 500 ante - that's tough!) as I got pocket queens. Went all in, got two callers and got a third queen on the flop. Strrrrike! :-) At this time we all were in the money but I wanted to end better than 16th place. And I did. And it could have been better. Some rounds later I was the big blind (and again had just enough left for the small blind) and was dealt AK. All-In. One caller with A4s. I was clear favorite until the river...were the dreaded 4 hit the board. Out on 11th place. Too bad I missed the final table for just one place. But still made $130 for $60 buy-in and 5 hours of play. 1st place paid about $1.700.

I was too exhausted to play a round of cash game and went for some shopping time to Santa Monica. I had a great time and decided not to go back to the Bike that night. I took my time and went back to the hotel by midnight.

Maybe I will play tomorrow morning before my flight (if I'm up early enough).

This week went so fast - but I had a great time. I'm down so far but I learned a lot. And I can't wait for the next trip.

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Thursday, May 05, 2005

I love those internet kids!

The original plan was to go to the Wynn on afternoon and change to the MGM by night. In reality I started the Wynn at 2pm and never left it before midnight. The time went so fast it was unreal. This table was fun. Not only by the people itself (we had some good laughs) but also from the winning perspective.
Now it was like it was supposed to be and I got some good cards from time to time. Pocket J's that made a set on the flop, Pocket Q's, some good AK's were you hit something etc. Even 5,2 (on the big blind) that made a full house on the flop. The table was full of those internet kids (sunglasses and iPod are so cool on a 4/8 game!) that went into calling stations whenever you bet a good hand. Later it got even better with an "action" player ("We have a live straddle"), that could be check raised an re-raised.

Most impressive pot was one I wasn't involved (had only crap): Seven of nine went to the flop (with raising each other to the cap), getting a flop like 7,5,9. Raising and reraising again on the turn and river (getting some higher cards there with still three or four players at the end). So you expect somthing like big pocket pairs? No way - the winning hands was a pair of nines...

Now that was ten hours of fun with a decent win. At the end the table dryed down somewhat. I was the only one left from the beginning - all other seats had changed at least once durning that time. So I called it a night and cashed my poker comps. Thanks to the "unlimited" $1 per hour on the card I accumulated a nice $26 amount that went back to the Wynn at their coffee shop. Nice place and good food.

Usually you get a good game in the late night and early morning hours but at the Wynn this seems to be the toughest time of the day (at least now). Lot's of "sharks" that wait to get some money from the drunk and tired tourists. Saw the same faces again from yesterday. Late afternoon and early night is much better here.

Now I'm off to my last session in Vegas. Flying to Los Angeles to check out to Commerce and the Bike.

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Wednesday, May 04, 2005

Longest session so far

I'm really tired but I promised to write a daily entry if possible! Just came back from the Wynn and my longest session ever played. Started at 10:30pm and went until 6:15am the next morning. Wow, that was strange. How the type of players changes as the night is getting older and the day is dawning - amazing.
But a good place to practice. I realized that I started to play way too passive. I still get not much playable hands but I added some nice aggression to them - with surprisingly good results.
As I had another short (2h) session at the Wynn on afternoon I still stick to my opinion: the Wynn is the much nicer poker room. For me it's No. 1 before the MGM. Even with the cocktail waitresses that are still as confused as pretty.
The major downside: There's a lot of poker dealers from other casinos playing there. Not all of them are good players. But some are! So beware!

Earlier the day I played the Aladdin and the Orleans tournament again. Went better than the day before but still out of the money.
A short trip to PiYee-Press (bj21.com & ssb.com) completed my day. I picked up my copy of "Weighing the Odds in Hold'em Poker" (I wished I would have been able to read it before my trip) and met Chris Kelly (a really nice guy who is responsible for the bj21.com and ssb.com Websites).

Will go to bed now and hope a short nap is enough as I want to use as much as possible from the day that already had started.

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Tuesday, May 03, 2005

More bad beats and a nice meeting

Nothing special at the Aladdin tournament. At least not for me :-(
But it's a nice tournament and I play it again the next day. The poker room is nice too - but has tough competition with MGM and Wynn in the future.

After the tournament I went to the MGM again for a 4 hour session with several bad beats. Worst came at the last hand - making a flush with AKs that got beaten by a Full House on the River.

Back to the Aladdin for a meeting with one of the posters in Shadow's german forum (let's call him John Doe as I respect his wish for privacy). We went to the spice market buffet and had some nice conversation about poker and BJ. He's a real nice guy and we had a lot of fun. So we decided to go over to the Orleans for the 7pm tournament.
Wow - that is a big one. $45 Buy-in with unlimited re-buy for the first hour ($20). A total of 213 players made a price pool of over $17.000! (Paying more than $4.000 for first place down to $300 for 15th place).
Got some nice hands (and a big stake) to the break after the first hour. Decided to cool down after the break and play only premium hands. Guess - I got QQ a little later. Raised it - everyone folded and the button went all-in. As I had covered her but had to invest a decent amount of my stake (about 2/3) I thought about it but finally decided that you have to call this with 3rd best hand pre-flop. Unfortunatly I ran into the best hand - AA that improved to a set on the turn.
I never really recoverd form that bad beat. After the blinds went up fast I had to go all-in about half an hour later with AKs. Was a good spot as I got about five callers (3 of them all-in). A decent pot that provided a great position for the winner. Unfortunatly it wasn't me as my AK never improved and I was beaten by a set of 10's.
While I started to play the 4/8 game John Doe was still in the tournament and ended up in the money.

The 4/8 game at the Orleans is somewhat strange - the have 1/2 blinds and a half kill. I don't really like it. More worse: The poker room is big but really loud. Great tournament but not a nice place for cash games.

Going to bed - more to come tomorrow.

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