Sometimes Slowplaying Works!

I had posted recently about how dangerous it can be to slowplay and how I rarely do it.  Well, here is an example of a hand that I slowplayed, and it allowed me to completely felt my opponent.

This was a $2/$5 no-limit table.  I had not been at the table very long, so I didn’t have good reads on very many folks.  But when you are dealt pocket Kings on the button like I was, reading your opponent isn’t necessarily a critical skill.  My opponent was two off the big blind and called the $5.  It was folded all the way to me, so I raised to $20.  The blinds folded and my opponent called.

The flop could not have been more perfect.  It was King, Eight, Eight rainbow.  So I had flopped the (second) nuts.  The only hand my opponent could have that beat me was a pair of eights.  But there are hardly any hands he could have that could stand any bet from me!  So when he checked, I checked behind.

The turn was a Seven.  Still nothing I could bet at, so when my opponent checked, I checked behind again.  (Obviously I was going to be the river, regardless of what came off.)

When the river came deuce, my opponent put out $30.  I raised to $80, and he quickly went all-in (around $300).  I had him covered and called.  He proudly turned over his pocket deuces for a rivered full house, and was sad to see my Kings filled a bigger boat.  I took in a pot of over $300, and my opponent hit the rail.

Barely a few hands later, same table, even the same seat, new player.

I was third from the blinds and the first into the pot with pocket Jacks, so I raised to $15.  My only caller was the small blind.

The flop was three low cards – Six, Five, Deuce rainbow.  He checked, I bet $30, and he raised to $60.  This made me a bit cautious … I was ready to toss my hand but decided to pay for the turn and called.

The turn was a third Jack!  My opponent bet $50.  I didn’t know whether he was on a straight draw or something, so I raised it to $200 (he only had about $150 left).  My opponent thought for a long time, and spent a lot of time looking at me.  Finally he said, “So, do you have pocket Jacks?”  What am I supposed to say??  I’m sure that if I had said “yes” he would have folded.  I also knew at that point that I had an unbeatable hand.  Anyhow, I just said “No” and looked away.

He must have believed me, because he called the all-in.  The river was a Queen, and he showed his pocket Tens.  I showed my trip Jacks and took the $500+ pot.

He expressed his disappointment with the fact that I had mis-remembered my hand.  I would have offered him my heartfelt condolences, but I was too busy stacking up my chips.

Some Upcoming Poker

I'm going to be on the road playing some poker tournaments this spring; trips specifically (and solely) for poker.  I'm kind of excited about it, it's putting a toe into the water of what it would be like to actually be a poker pro and travel all over playing the major tournaments.  I've already mentioned the World Poker Open in Reno and the Poker Round-up in Pendleton.  I'm also going to Las Vegas next weekend, for a quick weekend away, actually a work-related trip of sorts and I'm not actually sure how much poker I'm going to get in.

I've also looked over the WSOP tournament schedule, and I'm definitely going to be playing some of the early ones.  I've decided I won't play the Main Event this year, but instead take the money and play four or five of the smaller buy-in tournaments; maybe more.  I actually have some plans made that conflict with the Main Event dates, so if nothing else would have, that would have been the determining factor.  On the other hand, I suppose that if I win a cheap satellite into it, I might blow off the personal trip and play the event instead.

I will be playing the $1000 buy-in that starts May 30.  It's a four-day event; they must be expecting several thousand entrants.  It will certainly be a taste of the Main Event.  And get this -- I got a "deluxe" room at the Rio for $40/night!  Can you believe it?  I know that I have a lot of Harrah's points, but even so, they must truly be hurting to give their rooms away for that cheap.

Here's a hand to chew on in the meantime.  It's a huge suck-out story.

I was in the big blind of a $2/$5 no-limit game.  Three limpers came in; the small blind completed; and I checked holding Queen/Five of Spades.

The flop came Queen of Hearts, Four of Hearts, Queen of Diamonds.  So I had flopped trips, although with a rotten kicker and a dangerous board.  I bet $12 into the $25 pot (I probably should have bet more).  But the bet had the desired effect, chasing everybody out but the button, who called.

The turn was the Six of Diamonds.  This time, I put $24 into the pot, and again the button called.  I couldn't figure out what he might have, other than a draw.

Well, if he was drawing, he got there on the river.  A third heart came.  But ... it was the Five of Hearts!  So, his heart flush (if he had it) was loser to my rivered full house.  Sweet!  I bet $60 and he raised me all-in for another $170 or so (I had him covered).  I was happy to oblige.

That's when I saw that he actually held the Queen of Clubs/Ten of Spades!  So, basically, I was behind the entire hand until the river Five saved me.  My 7% win actually came in!  As I was dragging in the pot of a little over $500, I promised myself (again) never to whine about bad beats any more.

Slowplay Yourself Into Oblivion

I like to slowplay on occasion, just like anybody else.  But I use it much more rarely than most folks do.  If there's any draw on the board, even if I have a great hand like trips, I will bet it and take the smaller pot rather than check and give the free card that beats me to my opponent.  I'm more likely to slowplay when the flop is complete garbage, I have a monster hand, and realize that there's no way my opponent will call anything unless he can catch up.

(One hand I almost never slowplay is a straight.  It is just way too vulnerable to draw-outs.)

Here's an example from a recent hand that proves my point.  It was a $2/$5 no-limit table.  I was the "cutoff" seat with pocket Queens; the big blind had pocket Nines.  Preflop, it was folded all the way to me, so I raised it to $15.  The button called (I don't know what he had) and so did the big blind.

The flop came Ace-Nine-Deuce -- all Hearts!  Now, here is where my opponent (the big blind) lost the pot.  He had flopped a set of Nines on a draw-heavy board -- and checked!!  I can promise you, with all those hearts and the Ace overcard, I wouldn't have called a one-cent flop bet.  So the flop was checked all the way around and we went to the turn.

Guess what?  The turn was a Queen.  So now I was set-over-set against the guy.  And now that he was basically drawing dead, that's when he put in his bet.  He put $15 into a $45 pot (way too little for so many reasons).  Me, being no dummy, immediately raised the pot ($60).  The button folded; the big blind called.

The river was the Ace of Clubs.  So now we were looking at full house over full house.  The big blind bet roughly $60; I raised to $160; he went all-in for about $400 (I had him covered), so I called and took the pot.

He had nobody to blame but himself for losing a pot that should have been his.  Granted, the flop pot only held about $45, but if you'd asked him whether he would have rather won $45 or lost over $500 I can guess what his answer would have been!

Upcoming Poker Tournaments

I haven't posted anything lately, but I actually have been playing quite a bit of poker lately.  I checked out the Horseshoe Casino in Council Bluffs earlier this month, and I discovered that it was a really good room.  A lot of tables going, even early in the morning (i.e. 9 or 10am).  Being the Midwest, everybody is really friendly and nice.  And there is a very wide degree of skill levels present -- some really good players, and many appallingly poor players.

I also spent a day at the Muckleshoot Casino in Auburn recently.  They claim to be the largest poker room in Washington state, and they probably are.  I'd only been there one time before.  The skill level at this place is really very good, so if you are going to be there you sure as heck better bring your "A-game".

Finally, I played at the WPC Tournament at the "Silver Dollar" casino in Renton last week.  I think WPC stands for Washington Poker Championship, but I'm not sure.  It's a rather ostentatious title for such a small scale tourney.  But it is a fun place to play and I will probably return to the room sometime.  (I finished out of the money, busting while holding pocket Aces.  I don't want to talk about it!)

I've booked a couple of trips to some games coming up to:  The "World Poker Challenge" in Reno in early March.  This used to be a WPT event but it no longer is.  I'm playing a few of the preliminary events.  I suppose if I do well I might stay longer and play some more events, but the biggest reason I'm going is that I've only been to Reno once and I remember how loose the games were there.  I've wanted to go back for some time, so now I have an excuse.

I'm also going to the "Poker Roundup" in Pendleton, Oregon in late April.  I've blogged before about the roundup I went to last November and how much I enjoyed it.  The quality of play there is some of the best I've ever experienced.  Maybe it's not such a good idea to jump into that pool again!  But I really liked having to be on my toes the whole time I was playing.

The World Series has posted their schedule for this summer's events.  I honestly haven't decided whether I will play the Main Event again this year or not.  After all, $10,000 is a lot of money!  I guess if I satellite into it I will of course go.  Or if one of these other tournaments ends up putting some significant benjamins into my bankroll I will probably go.  But I'm thinking instead of taking the $10k I've been saving up for the Main Event and using it to buy into four or five prelim events instead.  If I score in one of those, maybe I'll do the Main Event too.

Here's a recent hand I played at a $2/$5 no-limit table.  Actually, it's a hand I didn't play, which is really the point of the post.

I was in middle position (the so-called "Hijack" seat) with a nice starting hand, Ace of Clubs/King of Diamonds.  It was folded to me, so I opened for a raise of $15.  The next player (in the "Cutoff" seat) flat-called.  As he was basically a calling-station, this didn't really trouble me at all.  The button folded.  The small blind, a decent player, put in a re-raise of $20, making it $35 to go.  The big blind, another decent player who was short-stacked at the table, then re-raised again, all-in!  This was a total of about $130, or nearly $100 on top of the small blind's raise.

Something bizarre was going on here, and I wasn't feeling very comfortable.  The odds say that I should call any raise with Ace/King unless one of my opponents holds either Aces or Kings.  And I usually will do just that (not knowing, of course, whether I really am up against that or not).  But I was getting a nasty vibe from all this, which I attribute to my read of the players involved.  Rather than call the extra $115 or so, I folded.  The next player folded too, but the small blind called.

The flop came Queen of Clubs, Eight of Hearts, Queen of Diamonds.  The Six of Spades came on the turn, and the Two of Hearts on the river.  The small blind showed his pocket tens, which beat the big blind's pocket nines.  My Ace/King would have come in third.  The small blind dragged a pot of nearly $300.

The point of the story is that too many people (in my opinion) overvalue Ace/King as a starting hand.  Unless you draw something that helps it improve, you've got a poor hand that can be beat with a pair of deuces.  Beware!

Yep, haven't posted lately ...

I just got back from Hawaii (holiday vacation), where they don't have any casinos.  And the condo I was renting had a broken Internet modem, so I couldn't get any Internet poker action.  So that's one reason I haven't posted lately.

But I do have a hand from long ago I'll post, along with a rather minor interesting experience:  I found Tom McEvoy's email address on the CardPlayer website, so I sent him an email asking if he was truly at the Pendleton Poker Round-up last fall.  And he wrote back!  He said that he was indeed there, and that if I had brought my book to him he'd have signed it for me.  I thought it was pretty nice that he wrote me back.

So here's the hand.  I think it was maybe one of the best hands I've ever played.  It's $2/$5 no-limit, and I'm on the button.

Everybody folds to the cutoff, who just calls the big blind.  I look down and see Jack of Diamonds/Ten of Clubs, and limp as well.  The small blind completes; the big blind checks; and it's four to the flop.

Flop comes Eight of Diamonds, Three of Diamonds, Nine of Clubs.  So, I have a really nice open-end straight draw, and an inconsequential backdoor flush draw.  At this point, I'm willing to call a bet if the pot odds are in favor.  So my call would have to be less than about a third of the pot (not counting other callers, if any).

Everybody checks to me, so I'm thinking I might have the best hand after all (especially with such a rotten flop).  I bet half the pot, $10, as a semi-bluff.  My goal is to chase away some of the players -- maybe all of them -- but if anybody calls, I have decent outs.  The small blind calls; the big blind folds; and the cutoff calls, so I only chased out one player.

The turn is the Ace of Clubs.  Somebody on a club flush draw picked up some outs, but I can't imagine anybody staying in with just that.  Nevertheless, anybody with an Ace pulled ahead of me here.  The two remaining players check to the raiser (me), but I don't fall for the bait and check behind.  Basically, my big flop bet bought me a free card.

The river brings the Seven of Spades, completing my straight (which is the nut hand).  Now the small blind comes alive with a big $50 bet (the size of the pot).  The cutoff folds, and it's to me.  How do I get the most value for this hand, anyhow?  I raise it $90 to $140, and get a quick call.  I show my straight, he shows his three eights, and I drag a $300+ pot.

I understand his call, because my straight was so well-hidden that it was pretty much impossible to see.  But I don't like his initial river bet.  I think it was too big as value bets go (which is what he should be trying for here).  It will chase away potential callers with inferior hands, and only be called by hands that will beat his, like mine.  I also think it was a mistake for him to slow-play his flopped set with such a coordinated, draw-heavy board.

But I am pleased in how I played this hand!

Bizarre Clonie Gowan Story

Clonie Gowan, in case you aren't aware, is a professional poker player.  She was also -- up until about two months ago -- a member of "Team Full Tilt", a select group of about a dozen poker players affiliated with the poker website FullTiltPoker.net.

Something odd has happened.  I noticed recently that Clonie's image no longer is amoung the group of players that appear at the end of every "Full Tilt" television commercial.  A visit to the website shows that she has been airbrushed out of every photo and removed from every listing of players.  She's apparently been dispatched down the memory hole, with a degree of efficiency that would make a Bellagio chip-runner jealous.

Naturally, there's a lawsuit involved.  Clonie is suing Full Tilt's parent company (along with some of the owners individually) for $40 million.  She claims that when the website was founded, she was promised 2% ownership of the company.  Apparently there's nothing in writing to prove this.  But she says some weeks ago, Howard Lederer (the purported CEO) offered her $250,000 to walk away.  She thinks she deserves more; hence the lawsuit.

Now, I'm not a lawyer.  But I do know quite a bit about contract law, so I can make a couple of conclusions about this situation.

1. The fact that this alleged ownership interest lacked a written agreement isn't terribly relevant.  An oral contract is just as binding as a written one in most cases (there are plenty of exceptions.  Real estate transactions, for example.).  Having something in writing is helpful, of course, but not usually a requirement for an action to proceed.

2. On the other hand, in order for a contract to be binding, it must involve an activity that is legal.  In other words, if you hire Vinnie the Blade to knock off your ex-girlfriend, and he doesn't, you can't sue him in court for breach of contract, because the basis of the contract was not a legal activity.  Is running an online poker room legal in the United States?  It's not entirely clear whether it is or not.

Regardless, I'm sure that Full Tilt isn't eager to see this action make its way to a courtroom.  It would pretty much oblige them to open up their books and show a lot of details about where the money come from -- and goes -- that they'd just as soon keep private.

If Clonie is seeking $40 meg for 2% of the company, she's basically saying the firm as a whole is worth $2B.  That's difficult to accept, at least for me.  If you'd value the company at between one to one-and-a-half times annual revenue (pretty generous for these types of enterprises that are public), a back of the envelope guesstimate (by me) would give Full Tilt a value of maybe one-tenth or one-twentieth Clonie's number.

My prediction is that the two sides will settle for a low, seven-figure number that will remain secret; Clonie will fade away, and we'll never hear any more about the matter.

But the whole thing is bizarre.

I've always thought that Clonie Gowan was an odd fit for that organization.  Frankly, she's not that good of a poker player.  And her vocabulary includes the kind of words you'd only find at the dockyard ... or in the Illinois Governor's office.  She actually holds the record for the most bleeped player on the TV show "Poker After Dark".

Think about it:  Here are some of the other members of Team Full Tilt:

 * Former World champion Chris "Jesus" Ferguson

 * Eight-time bracelet winner Erik Seidel (8 bracelets!  Only three human beings have more.)

 * Jennifer Harman, perhaps the best female player in the world

 * Phil Ivey, widely considered poker's very best player overall

 * Erick Lindgren, who's been both WPT and WSOP "Player of the Year"

 * Widely respected cash game player Patrik Antonius

 * Etc. etc. etc.

And ... um ... Clonie Gowan?  I mean, how does she fit in with this group, after all?

Not to mention the fact that she basically confessed on an episode of "Poker After Dark" to having cheated in a game.  She said she noticed the deck they were playing with had too many Aces ... but she waited until the pot was pushed to her before she notified the floorman.

Believe it or not, there's a code of honor among poker players.  Handshake agreements fall under that code ... but so does respecting the integrity of the game that you're in.  Every player has the obligation to do what's best for poker at all times; Clonie didn't live up to that requirement.

That doesn't mean she doesn't deserve to be compensated for her work on behalf of Full Tilt.  But if she's that kind of player, it just might indicate why she's no longer part of their team.

Why I Hate Ace-Jack

I’ve posted before about Ace-Jack, and how it really is a pretty bad hand to come into a pot with. I frequently fold it pre-flop if there’s any action early on, and I always fold it from early position. But some folks don’t, and they end up having to deal with consequences that I’m able to avoid.

I was in early position at a $2/$5 no-limit game with Ace/King offsuit. The first player folded; I raised to $15, and got two callers – a loose, middle-position player, and the guy on the button. The flop came Ace-Ace-Three rainbow. I checked, hoping for the chance at a check-raise … but unfortunately the other two guys also checked behind me. The turn brought a deuce. Although this meant a straight was in the offing, I thought that was extremely unlikely. After all, who is going to call a raise pre-flop with a five-four?

I bet $20; the button called and the other player folded. The river was a nine (no flush draws), so I put in a $60 bet. My opponent called and proudly showed the Ace-Jack. I turned over my Ace-King and dragged the pot.