Speedyfold Poker Blog

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 Poker Pro Team at Full Tilt has excellent variety and depth. It consists of 14 top class players. They are

Howard Lederer
Phil Ivey
Chris Ferguson
John Juanda
Erick Lindgren
Erik Seidel
Clonie Gpwen
Andy Bloch
Mike Matusow
Gus Hansen
Allen Cunninghan
Patrick Antonius

These players have a deal for the full, widescale, promotion of the Full Tilt site. This includes being staked by Full Tilt for most major live events (eg WSOPE), and most major online events on Full Tilt (eg $25K Heads-up event). The players get to keep the winnings in all events, both live and online, if they cash. At the live tournaments the players have to wear the Full Tilt logo on their clothing. They also have a commitment to appear in Full Tilt videos, and on any Full Tilt promotional merchandise. Effectively their image rights are owned by Full Tilt. For any side projects they need to get express permission from Full Tilt themselves.

These players, and their portrayal in all forms of media, represent the brand of Full Tilt, so the site is protective over how that brand may be represented in side projects. This is highlighted most recently with the sale of the Gus Hansen endorsed site theplayr. With the sale of the site all Gus Hansen material had to be removed, as Full Tilt own exclusivity over the Gus Hansen image and brand.

Various members of their team take on different roles. Some are more involved heavily in merchandasing and Point of Sale material. Others are heavily evolved online at the tables. Howard Lederer, as his “professor” nickname may suggest, leads a lot of the poker tutorial based discussions and videos. Various of the players write articles or blogs for the site.

All in all it is a good, mutually beneficial, deal for both parties.

And with 34 WSOP bracelets between them, they sure know a bit about poker too

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.

Well, close but no cigar, as they say

Out of a field of 6844 players, my closest to the final table (out of my 40 horses) were:

Victor Ramdin - who finished 64th
Mark Vos - who finished 80th
Jeff Madsen - who finished 112th

I guess there’s always next year

Out of my 40 main event horses, I have lost 13 to my knowledge. Which is great. Maybe there are a few I’ve missed, but quite a few are looking good, especially Mark Vos and Jon Turner, who are amongst the leaders.

The 13 bust-outs so far are:

Chris Ferguson
Andy Black
Bo Sehlstedt
Dario Minieri
Kevin Saul
Humberto Brenes
John Gale
Kristy Gazes
Marc Goodwin
Sammy Farha
Steve Paul-Ambrose
Vanessa Selbst
Young Phan

Fingers crossed for the remaining 27 horses

I am not much of a betting guy really, but come the time of the WSOP Main Event it seems criminal not to have a few fun bets on a range of players.

So, welcome to my elite stable of horses ;)  Hopefully some of these make it through to the final table.  I have naturally avoided the biggest names, as getting odds of 22 to 1 on Phil Ivey is ludicrously poor value.  This is poker, not AC Milan vs Accrington Stanley, or Gary Kasparov vs Jim from the meat-packing factory.   In poker we deal in edges, not 99.9% certainties.

All of my stable of players have odds of between 250-1 to 150-1 to make the final table

Chris Ferguson $2 @ 150-1
Andy Black $2 @ 185-1
Bo Sehlstedt $6 @ 185-1
Carl Olsen $2 @ 185-1
Cliff Jospehy $2 @ 185-1
Dario Mineiri $2 @ 185-1
David Singer $2 @ 185-1
Eric “Sheets” Haber $2 @ 185-1
Jeff Madsen $2 @ 185-1
Joe Beevers $4 @ 185-1
Jon Turner $2 @ 185-1
Kevin Saul $2 @ 185-1
Kirill Gerasimov $2 @ 185-1
Liz Liu $2 @185-1
Neil “Bad Beat” Channing $2 @ 185-1
Alex Kravchenko $2 @ 250-1
Bertrand “Elky” Grospellier $2 @ 250-1
Cory Carrol $2 @ 250-1
Eddy Scharf $5 @ 250-1
Greg Mueller $2 @ 250-1
Humberto Brenes $5 @ 250-1
Jason Strasser $2 @ 250-1
John Tabatabai $2 @ 250-1
John Gale $4 @ 250-1
Kristy Gazes $2 @ 250-1
Marc Goodwin $4 @ 250-1
Maria Ho $2 @ 250-1
MarK Vos $4 @ 250-1
Nenad Medic $2 @ 250-1
Nick Goodall $2 @ 250-1
Richard Tatlovich @ $2 250-1
Sam Farha $2 @ 250-1
Steve Bilirakis $2 @ 250-1
Steve Paul-Ambrose $2 @ 250-1
Steve Zolotow $2 @ 250-1
Stig Rasmussen $2 @ 250-1
Thomas Wahlroos $2 @ 250-1
Vanessa Selbst $2 @ 250-1
Victor Ramdin $2 @ 250-1
Young Phan $2 @ 250-1

I’ll keep you updated, and we’ll see how I do

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.

An update on my cash game challenge on Sun Poker. I’m currently getting battered. I’ve played a few sessions too tired (literally one eye open), and had cold decks on other sessions. Nothing major too worry about. The usual poker swings. I know one slight leak that I identified several years ago, and that is in Omaha I tend to play a little too loose when I buy-in for the minimum, but play a lot more solid poker with a larger stack. Time to replug that leak nice and early ready for the rest of the challenge

Current Balance = $184.96. Total Challenge Profit = $15.04 down. Total hands played = 733