Speedyfold Poker Blog

Former crowd favorite, Tiffany Michelle, developed a bit of repuation as a super bitch at the 2008 WSOP. The 3 things in summary that did it were:

1. Calling the clock on someone when their tourney life was on the line and they had a tough decision

2. Eating fries at the table with her hands

3. Waggling her finger around (pointing at her chips) and not saying a word when asked for a chip count.

Having seen a few more recent interview videos with Tiffany, it seems that perhaps she received a bit of a hard time due partly to some rather harsh editing. For example, the player in question who she called the clock on had apparently been deciding for 10-15 minutes. She also says she received quite a lot of constant ribbing at the table, that put her quite a bit on the defensive, which naturally when seen in isolation looks like giving it some attitude.

Regarding the french fries saga she says she ate them with one hand and handled chips and the cards with the other hand.

Having seen the videos it’s tough not to like her as she always seems very friendly, passionate, and well-natured. The jury is out, I’ll let you decide for yourselves, but personally I’ve re-warmed to her as a poker personality, and it will be interesting to see if she can gradually turn the image around to a more favorable one.

Love him or hate him, durrrr has talent at the poker tables. His strongest game is probably NL Holdem, where he knows how to dominate a table and how to mix things up in a often hyper-aggressive style.

Many players almost worship the ground durrrr walks on. Others fall over themselves to try to knock him. As we remember from just a few months ago, this is the sort of prime example of the latter:

sunra18: so bad and so lucky
durrrr: i try
durrrr: u obv kno we can play more tbls
durrrr: if u rly believe tht
durrrr: not trying to rub nething in but just in case u thought id
sitout or somethin
sunra18: I mean, look at how u get your money in doofie
durrrr: ok tht 1 mightv been bad, sry
sunra18: should go broke when u dont hit your miracle cards
sunra18: puke
durrrr: im omw dont worry
Dealer: David Benyamine shows a full house, Kings full of
Fives
Dealer: durrrr shows two pair, Jacks and Fives
Dealer: David Benyamine wins the pot ($383,170.50) with a
full house, Kings full of Fives
sunra18: look durr
durrrr: nh
sunra18: u dont know this game
durrrr: lol go kill urself sunra
sunra18: always in with the worst
durrrr: thts kindv @&$%
David Benyamine: ty
sunra18: dont even know how to play deep, just pot with
shia..t
sunra18: u play as ugly as u look, go back to playing
pokemon u little geek
sunra18: U even know what a girl is`?
durrrr: pls play me hu to go busto
sunra18: loser
durrrr: instead of busting to someone else
durrrr: plsplspls
sunra18: plsplspsl
sunra18: get a life fagggg
sunra18: nobody likes to get close to a gayboy like u
sunra18: I always try to take seat as far as away from u
sunra18: retarded and ugly

Yes, sure durrrr can be described as a little geekish, but you could easily say that about 90% of players who are stuck behind their computer for large proportions of the day. Winning players easily attack haters, who pick up on the quirkiness of a player or small things they say and try to go after them verbally to try to knock them down.

Broadly speaking I think durrrr is ok. He’s seems to be enjoying himself with all these prop bets etc, and I think the guy gets more of a tough time than he deserves.

Poker in days gone by had a somewhat shady reputation. Consigned to the backrooms, and hidden out of public view.

Things have come a long way since those days. Not only is poker now seen as a much more legitamate pastime or even career, it has also developed a massive media interest, and has become a massive sector in the entertainment industry.

There are very well established tour circuits, and nearly every continent now has a thriving poker scene. Spinning off from this are big commercial endorsements, not just for the big poker players themselves, but for many celebrities or models who happen to have an interest or passion for the game. From Hollywood actors, to Sportsstars, to Glamour models, a recognisable face is a great way of attracting more players to the game.

The entertainment has gone way beyond live endorsements and magazine pictures. Now poker is a mainstay on television, attracting consistantly high viewing figures. To capitalise further on this you have seen such concepts as the November Nine where the final table of the WSOP was delayed for the prime motiavation of viewing figures.

Overall it is great for the game. Not only does it establish a degree of respectabilty and bring well regulated tournaments/evens. It also means there are more fish, and therefore bigger potential profits for the better players. A somewhat pleasant spin-off as well is that pro-poker players are no longer open to the variance of the game. When you are pulling in regularly endorsement deals or media related deals your bankroll from the game is much more comfortable, even before you start playing.

With the rise of the internet easy access to a game of poker is available in a large proportion of households in the developed world. This combined with the rise in it’s standing in the entertainment and television industries, means that poker’s popularity only seems set to grow still further.

60 Minutes have produced an interesting investigative program on the Absoulte Poker and Ultimate Bet scandal that occured last year. Whilst this story is fairly old news for those of us in the online poker community, it is nevertheless always interesting to see it all in a televised form. The program is a little biased against online poker, as they dont really highlight enough the fact that there are very legitimate sites out there, and that in a way there is a large level of self-regulation by the poker players themselves, to keep the sites honest. The latter point itself being emphasized by the fact that the isolated corruption in the industry was exposed by the sophistication of the online players in this very case. Here is the video:

Todd Witteles comes accross well in his ever-eloquent form, however they have probably edited out any comments about industry leaders such as PokerStars, and how the poker community has substantially more faith in sites like them (and others) regarding a level playing field being provided.

The Kahnawake Cheif appears in jeans and a Fred-Perry style sportsshirt, probably not doing great wonders for nurturing much faith in the presence of a highly regulated community. Not that sartorial factors should lead to any prejudgement ever, but they certainly impact in some form on people’s perceptions.

The most important outcome of the Kahnawake gaming commission’s investigation is that the players themselves were paid back. It is up to us to remain vigilant in the cases of unusual winning patterns or unusually played hands, and not be afraid to raise concerns quickly.

We as players are the ones who keep the sites operating by playing there and providing the rake, so any concerns need to be instantly raised with and addressed by the sites to ensure their legitamacy and maintain their ultimate survival.

Online poker is here to stay, and as always through poker history, the players have a huge part in being judge and jury into the legitmacy of the game they enter

You dont need to know the game to win a tournament

JohnnyBax is a poor PL Omaha Hi-Lo player, that is certain. He lacks experience, and his game needs huge amounts of refinement and work. I am one of the few actually qualified to make this statement. Slightly arrogant I know, but nevertheless it is a fact.

However JohnnyBax is a great poker player. One of the best no quesion about it. A legend in his own time.

His recent win in the FTOPS PL Omaha Hi-Lo is testiment to the fact that you dont really need to know a game that well to win. And I am not saying JohnnyBax was lucky either. What I am saying is that his poker instincts are so good that the actual ability or experience in the specific game didnt really matter.

Recently in the 2008 WSOP we also saw a similar case. Mike Matusow freely admitted he had no clue how to play 2-7 Triple Draw. But what the man knew was how to play No Limit. His ability in terms of reads/timing, and piling on the pressure against selected opponents at the right stages of the tournament (etc) was enough to win the bracelet. A refined ability and understanding in the game was not important.

Breakthrough wins are really crucial to the success of nearly all poker players. They are wins that suddenly roll you fully to play at a much higher level than previously, and more importantly be very comfortable in doing so.

Really it is a combination of two factors: firstly the ability to play whatever buy-in you wish, as frequently as you wish. And secondly the general increase in confidence it gives a player.

To highlight the concept I thought I would discuss the breakthrough win of Hevad Khan in July 2007 where he finished 6th in the WSOP Main Event (a score worth $956,243)

Prior to July 2007 his biggest online win was $28,305, which of course is great. But it isnt high enough to suddenly start playing all the big poker tournaments around the world.

Post July 2007 his biggest online wins suddenly shoot up to a new level:

$97,856 (March 08)
$58,410 (June 08)
$125,000 (Sept 08)

Prior to July 2007 his biggest live win was $14,708

Post July 2007 his live wins have now consisted of:

1st in a Foxwoods event in March 2008 winning $108,187
1st in the Caesars Palace Classic, winning $1,000,000

As we said, it partly can be attributed to the freedom of the bankroll, and partly due to the overall confidence of the player, not losing sight of the fact that the two factors are both very much inter-twined

He is now firmly a respected pro on the circuit and a feared force in the majors online, with an endorsement deal with the site PokerStars to top it all off.

The seed of a high profile and establishment on the circuit can happen effectively in an instant, so maintain your faith, as one day it could well be you. Good luck.

The Problem with Winning in Poker

We all love to win in poker. To have a really nice tournament score. To see those dollars materialise in your online poker account. It is after all the prime motivatation to play for the vast majority of online players.

However this often creates a problem. Suddenly to have a large chunck of cash gives you a very liberal feeling when it comes to spending. Suddenly you have bought that $2000 watch that caught your eye, suddenly you are giving out $50 tips like some business tycoon or film star, and suddenly you are buying pretty much what you want whenever you want it.

Sure this feeling gradually subsides, but the fact of the matter is that in poker money won is never really there for liberal spending, unless you are retiring completely from poker, or have a really ridiculous sized score (eg WPT Main Event scale).

You might have spent $5K in tourney fees before that “significant” $18K score, and you could quite easily spend another $10K before you hit another. Variance is by its very nature unpredicatable, and really cold periods can creep up on you. That money is not profit, and it is not a “Christmas bonus”. You are dealing with a fluid operating role. That money won is very much part of that role.

Sure exurberance goes hand in hand with poker, and we all know it is a requirement to buy those diamond studded jeans from the shopping mall at Caesars, the moment you have anything half resembling a decent win

So how do you deal with it without spoiling the obvious fun and pleasure. Really the best way is to wait a few days in a period of reflection until the money properly sinks in. Then decide what you want your operating role to increase to. Look if you have enough to be fully rolled for a level up. Also assess if there are any imporant financial things outside of poker that need to be sorted. Then after this period, have a look at what’s left, and if there is anything then its time for the spending spree.

No matter how long you have been playing poker it is difficult not to be occassionally annoyed by some of the inane comments, language, moans, and opinions of your fellow poker players at the online poker tables.

I think quite a large percentage of these chat annoyances come from noobs to the game. Others of course come from just general idiots. You’re always going to get a few of those.

So, to limit the lame witterings of the majority (the noobs) I have devised a potential solution. All new members of a poker site should get a 3 month period of chat probation. They will be restricted from chatting at all tables, apart from perhaps play money tables and freerolls.

That way at least the chat will be restricted to those who’ve put in a little service, and maybe know a few fundamentals of the game. Hopefully by the end of the 3 months they will by more cultured and versed. Perhaps it will limit the general “rigged” type comments when someone loses a 60/40. Perhaps some will take their beats like a man. Perhaps the tables will be full of insightful and interesing discussions. Hmmmm, but then again, hell might freeze over tomorrow also.

Tipping the dealer at cash poker tables is a concept which is fairly alien to many players in countries outside of the USA. In any regular European casino you can merrily go about your business without even the slightest thought of tipping. Most casinos go to the extent of not even allowing it, even if you were that way generously inclined.

Most casinos and card rooms in all countries will charge a fee in terms of a percentage rake, or in terms of an hourly charge, or in terms of a set fee per hand. That is where the line usually stops, and your main job as a player is to stay ahead of the rake/charge and carve out a profit on top. However in the States tipping becomes almost an extra “hidden” fee on top. An extra tier of juice so to speak.

This is great for the dealers, who can potentially earn good amounts at the right tables, however it is slightly less good for the player. From my perspective I have never really liked the idea of tipping in any casino based or card room based game. When you’re lucky you give up some winnings, but when you are unlucky no-one is going to give those earlier tips back. There is a sort of underlying injustice there. That injustice is probably most obviously seen in a fixed-edge game like roulette. The house has a very specific fixed edge in their favor. The longer you play the more you can expect to gradually lose. So to tip a “winning” spin with the odds always set at negative expected value seems borderline crazy, yet amazingly almost compulsary in the USA. Where it is less easy to define the odds against you at a cash poker table against your piers, it is still equally absurd to be expected to do it.

Sometimes social conventions become established which have no sensible place in existing. This is certainly one of those instances.

Are WSOP Events Speed Tourneys?

WSOP Tourney

If we take a standard $1500 NLHE Event as a comparison.

Starting Chips = 3000, Blind Levels = 60 mins

1 $0 Ante $25-$50 Blinds
2 $0 Ante $50-$100 Blinds
3 $0 Ante $100-$200 Blinds
4 $25 Ante $100-$200 Blinds
5 $25 Ante $150-$300 Blinds
6 $50 Ante $200-$400 Blinds
7 $75 Ante $300-$600 Blinds
8 $100 Ante $400-$800 Blinds

Standard Online Tourney Structure

3000 Chips, 15 min levels (eg $11 NLHE $20K Guaranteed at 19:00 ET on PokerStars)

1. $0 Ante 10/20 Blinds
2. $0 Ante 15/30 Blinds
3. $0 Ante 25/50 Blinds
4. $0 Ante 50/100 Blinds
5. $0 Ante 75/150 Blinds
6. $0 Ante 100/200 Blinds
7. $25 Ante 125/250 Blinds
8. $25 Ante 150/300 Blinds

A reasonable translation between live and online events is to multiply by 3 to translate online into the equivalent live blind speed (due to standard things like shuffling time, physical chip counting, manual split pots, longer time banks for thinking, etc etc)

So, on this basis, the WSOP is running at equivalent of 20 mins “online blinds”

Both are 3000 starting stack, so we just need to look at the cost of a rotation as the tournament progresses. So if we look at a point 2 “online hours” deep we will be at Level 8 online, and Level 6 in the WSOP. This leads us to:

Online Cost of Rotation = 9×25 + 150 + 300 = 675 chips
Live Cost of Rotation = 9×50 + 200 + 400 = 1050 chips

Which means that the WSOP is a faster structure than a standard online tourney. Welcome to the World Series of (Speed) Poker!