What a crazy last few weeks this has been in my life. I have to first give a shout out to Bryan "Devo" Devonshire for taking a look at my blog, appreciating the hand analysis stuff, but also encouraging me to write a little more about myself. He writes a great blog as well...so check it out: campfires.blogspot.com
So what about me? Well my real name is Tamara. I have been loving my new journey back into full time professional poker and have already met a lot of really cool people along the way who have been nice enough to keep in touch, read my blog, or just chat poker. Most specifically I am thinking about Bryan and Brian in Las Vegas, David in Huntington Beach, Maria and Terry in L.A., Travis in Colorado, Milton in Biloxi, "the Poker Monkey", and everybody else that I might be forgetting. Also, my two oldest poker buddies...you know who you are...I love you both.
So I have found that when it rains in this life, it often pours. My life has pretty much come apart altogether over the last several months and specifically the last few days. No need for specifics, but lets just say that when you have no stability in your life, and then you add a broken heart to the mix, it makes you think really hard about what is important in your life. I wrote this on Thanksgiving and even though it isn't really poker related, Devo encouraged me to share it on the blog. So here it is:
There are many, many drones in this world. Lost souls, dead already, driving through life in their steel coffins, each journey bringing them neither closer nor farther away from a life that they never began to live. But, it strikes me tonight, that there are also many miracles walking amongst us each and every day we breathe. Wonders, marvels, triumphs, super heroes...people who have beaten the odds, people who have fought...some winning, some losing, those for whom life has been and is a symphony, those who refuse to go quietly into that dark night. Each of these worthy of their own screen play,their own novel. So many stories that have been shared, and so many, many more that will remain untold. The prevalence of these extraordinary lives is both inspiring and frightening. So much to marvel at, so many to leave us humbled and amazed... who are we? What is my extraordinary life next to these extraordinary others? What significance do I play in a world so wonderful, so terrible, and so large?
I heard a hymn today. It wafted out of an open window along with the smell of roasting turkey..."I feel better, so much better, since I lay my burden down." Children were singing, and their sweet voices made tears well up in my eyes. Almost instictively I looked up towards heaven and felt a knot in the pit of my stomach as I realized that I had ceased to believe anything or anyone was there. Far from marvelous or awe inspiring, this chilly afternoon the empty heavens seemed just that...sad and lonely and alone. The brilliant blue sky seemed wasted in its brilliance, with no one to thank for it, and no spirit to soften its great expanse. I longed in that moment to sing praises to an unseen Being, to believe that there was order in this crazy world, to feel the quiet peace of faith, to offer thanks to someone for the breath I was so very grateful to take. I almost wished I could return to the days when doubt did not hover on my shoulder, when unanswered questions still seemed answerable. I remembered what it was like to be enveloped in the warm belief that everything happened for a reason, that my life mattered, that all of it somehow made a difference to someone.
Now I stand in the "enlightened" clarity of skepticism and I realize why we have filled our lives with motion, with haste. We do not want to stand still, even for a moment, because if we do we will have to face our own mortality, our own fraility in the face of time, the bitter realization that the wonderful things which make us individuals might just not matter at all. If there really is nothing after this life, if the heavens are empty, then what point is there in any of this? It seems to me that the absence of a purpose for living reduces every human emotion to pure selfish pursuit of pleasure. Love exists only to please ourselves, to bring happiness to the organism until the organism ceases to exist. The highest act of human sacrifice out of love for country or friend or family becomes nothing but a futile excercise in foolishness.
So here I am. I once had faith and when I did I longed for the freedom of self expression, the freedom to do anything I should please without fear of Divine judgment or reprisal. Now, free to do as Ichoose, I find that my choices seem hollow and without meaning, and I wish that I could believe again in something worth living and dying for. But I am too much of a truth seeker to permit myself false comforts or unwarranted graces. False faith would be as intolerable as forced love. And I cannot lie to myself by claiming that I see proof of something for which I have not found sufficient evidence. Still, there is the problem of love. There is the problem of morality. There is the problem of truths which seem to spread eternal through the generations of man. People love. People fight for good. People protect their children as if their future meant something...instinctually, basically, humanly. There is something within me, within us, that desires justice, that desires meaning, that desires goodness and kindness and love. There is a voice within me that cries out for truth a voice that refuses to accept the idea that none of this matters, that nothing matters. And that voice, that desire, that love...THAT is SOMETHING. It is something just as validly and as completely as the heavens are something, as truly as the skin on my bones or the sun in our sky.
How do these somethings co-exist? What are we to make of this vast universe, this gargantuan cloud of life that seems to dwarf each individual, compared to the individual thoughts from tiny human beings that can still change the world? I don't know the answer. But I feel within my heart, at the deepest level, in the core of my being...that there is something. Something. Something.
Until Next Time...Be Happy!
Tamara
Tuesday, November 27, 2007
Friday, November 9, 2007
The Dangers of Over Playing Your Hand Pre-Flop
One of the biggest mistakes I see novice players make is over betting their hands pre-flop. Many newer players see the big boys on TV (and the more experienced players at their own tables) raise the pot pre-flop with hands like 5 6 suited or pocket 3s. The novice players then decide that if they get a decent starting hand (just decent...not necessarily premium) it is the correct play to re-raise pre-flop. The problem with this is that the novice players fail to realize that for a pro there is a HUGE difference between the range of hands with which they are willing to open action with a raise, and the range of hands with which they are willing to call a re-raise pre-flop. For example, last night in the $2/$5 game at the Wynn, I regularly opened the pot with a raise with small suited connectors, small pocket pairs, QJ off, etc...but twice I folded KQ suited to two bets pre-flop. Why? Because I was unwilling to invest $60 with KQ suited? No. At that point it's not about the dollar value of the second bet, it's about the fact that once a pot has been raised and re-raised, I become completely uncomfortable playing KQ because even if I flop top pair, there is a very good chance that AQ or AK is in the pot and I am out kicked. Folding to the second bet isn't a money decision at that point, it is an information decision.
This same line of reasoning illustrates how re-raising pre-flop with sub-premium hands can get the novice player into serious trouble. Take the following hand for example: A loose aggressive player who had been raising a lot of pots pre-flop, opened the betting from early position for a 3x raise of $15. A new (and in my estimation, probably beginning intermediate) player re-raised from the cut off to $55. I looked down on the button at pocket kings. Based on my experience at that table, I felt that even if I smooth called the $55 it was unlikely that more than one other person at the table would call. Therefore, I felt my positive expectation was greater by flat calling in that situation and disguising the strength of my hand rather than three betting pre-flop. I did just that, the original raiser (who was a more experienced player and probably realized what my flat call meant in that situation) mucked, and I took the flop heads up.
The flop came jack rag rag with two hearts. The re-raiser in the cut off came out firing for $90. I raised to $200. He almost instantly pushed all in for $150 more on top of my $200. At that point, his insta-push worried me a little, but I was obviously pot committed and not really thinking about mucking at that point. I called and he turned over A J off. My kings held.
My point in all of this is that by re-raising pre-flop with a sub-premium hand, he enabled me to limp behind him with a monster and keep the strength of my hand disguised. Had he simply called the original raise, I would have probably three bet to thin the field and he would have had a better idea of what I held and more information to use before getting stacked on the flop.
Until next time, if you can't be the best player at your table, may you at least be the luckiest!
This same line of reasoning illustrates how re-raising pre-flop with sub-premium hands can get the novice player into serious trouble. Take the following hand for example: A loose aggressive player who had been raising a lot of pots pre-flop, opened the betting from early position for a 3x raise of $15. A new (and in my estimation, probably beginning intermediate) player re-raised from the cut off to $55. I looked down on the button at pocket kings. Based on my experience at that table, I felt that even if I smooth called the $55 it was unlikely that more than one other person at the table would call. Therefore, I felt my positive expectation was greater by flat calling in that situation and disguising the strength of my hand rather than three betting pre-flop. I did just that, the original raiser (who was a more experienced player and probably realized what my flat call meant in that situation) mucked, and I took the flop heads up.
The flop came jack rag rag with two hearts. The re-raiser in the cut off came out firing for $90. I raised to $200. He almost instantly pushed all in for $150 more on top of my $200. At that point, his insta-push worried me a little, but I was obviously pot committed and not really thinking about mucking at that point. I called and he turned over A J off. My kings held.
My point in all of this is that by re-raising pre-flop with a sub-premium hand, he enabled me to limp behind him with a monster and keep the strength of my hand disguised. Had he simply called the original raise, I would have probably three bet to thin the field and he would have had a better idea of what I held and more information to use before getting stacked on the flop.
Until next time, if you can't be the best player at your table, may you at least be the luckiest!
Sunday, November 4, 2007
Keeping an Eye on Your Changing Table Image
When we are playing cards, we need to constantly be aware of how our table image evolves as we play and make adjustments accordingly. Happy Donkey was playing last night at the $1/$2 NL game at Santa Fe Station and the following two hands provide an excellent example of that concept:
The first hand Happy Donkey made a fabulous bluff on the turn. The cut off had opened the betting pre-flop with a raise, which HD called from the BB with Q 10. The flop came nine high with two clubs. HD checked and the cutoff made a rather standard continuation bet of $25. HD called this bet with the express purpose (as I later found out) of putting in a bluff on the turn. The turn came an ace of clubs and HD bet out $75. The cut off thought only briefly before disgustingly mucking pocket Kings face up. Happy Donkey then turned over his Queen high (with no club) bluff and scooped the pot. It was a great play and a wonderful bluff, but on the very next hand, HD made a mistake by not realizing what showing a bluff like that would do to his table image.
On the very next hand, HD was dealt 3 4 clubs in the SB and called into an unraised pot pre-flop. The flop came 2 2 K two clubs and HD led out with a pot sized bet of $15. He was min-raised to $30 by a player in middle position and the rest of the table folded. A blank came off on the turn and when HD checked, the other player bet the pot for $75. Happy Donkey had to lay down his flush draw.
We later talked about this play and went over the various reasons why one would want to bet out with a flush draw. Certainly, when the board is paired (as it was) on the flop, leading out with the flush draw can be a good play because it is very difficult for anyone without a deuce to call you. Even Kings with medium to bad kickers will usually lay it down in that situation. So betting out the flush draw, rather than calling, gives you an extra way to win the pot. HOWEVER, because HD had just showed a big bluff the hand before, it was extremely unlikely that he was going to receive much credit for his bet on the flop. This would have made betting out brilliant had he actually had the deuce, but since he only had a draw, betting out after showing the bluff just made it much more likely that his bet would be raised. He would have been better, had he considered his current table image, to check/call the draw. Had he done so, the bet on the flop would have been smaller, there might have been more callers, and he might have ended up having the odds to call for his flush again on the turn. Instead, he had to lay it down.
Until next time...remember... your table image suffers dramatically if you wear shades at games with buy-ins under $1000!
The first hand Happy Donkey made a fabulous bluff on the turn. The cut off had opened the betting pre-flop with a raise, which HD called from the BB with Q 10. The flop came nine high with two clubs. HD checked and the cutoff made a rather standard continuation bet of $25. HD called this bet with the express purpose (as I later found out) of putting in a bluff on the turn. The turn came an ace of clubs and HD bet out $75. The cut off thought only briefly before disgustingly mucking pocket Kings face up. Happy Donkey then turned over his Queen high (with no club) bluff and scooped the pot. It was a great play and a wonderful bluff, but on the very next hand, HD made a mistake by not realizing what showing a bluff like that would do to his table image.
On the very next hand, HD was dealt 3 4 clubs in the SB and called into an unraised pot pre-flop. The flop came 2 2 K two clubs and HD led out with a pot sized bet of $15. He was min-raised to $30 by a player in middle position and the rest of the table folded. A blank came off on the turn and when HD checked, the other player bet the pot for $75. Happy Donkey had to lay down his flush draw.
We later talked about this play and went over the various reasons why one would want to bet out with a flush draw. Certainly, when the board is paired (as it was) on the flop, leading out with the flush draw can be a good play because it is very difficult for anyone without a deuce to call you. Even Kings with medium to bad kickers will usually lay it down in that situation. So betting out the flush draw, rather than calling, gives you an extra way to win the pot. HOWEVER, because HD had just showed a big bluff the hand before, it was extremely unlikely that he was going to receive much credit for his bet on the flop. This would have made betting out brilliant had he actually had the deuce, but since he only had a draw, betting out after showing the bluff just made it much more likely that his bet would be raised. He would have been better, had he considered his current table image, to check/call the draw. Had he done so, the bet on the flop would have been smaller, there might have been more callers, and he might have ended up having the odds to call for his flush again on the turn. Instead, he had to lay it down.
Until next time...remember... your table image suffers dramatically if you wear shades at games with buy-ins under $1000!
Thursday, November 1, 2007
Value Betting on the River
Yesterday (Halloween), Happy Donkey and I were playing at MGM in the $1/$2 game. We were basically killing time waiting for more friends to arrive before heading into the club. We were the only people in costume at the poker room. My costume was definitely "club attire" so you can imagine the kind of reaction that provoked. It was definitely an interesting (and profitable) experience.
Anyway, on to business. In the middle of our short session, the following hand transpired: There were about seven limpers into the pot, when I looked down in my BB and found pocket Jacks. I was definitely not interested in taking a flop seven handed with jacks so I decided to put in a decent size raise and try to thin the field. I made it $17 to go. Happy Donkey thought for a moment from UTG and then called. This started the usual "avalanche" and we ended up taking the flop six handed anyway. I had made up my mind that if I flopped an over pair I would push, but the flop came A A 9, two clubs. Obviously I checked. Happy Donkey then bet $35 into a pot that was about $104. Since we have spoken recently about sometimes betting out your huge hands instead of slow playing them, in order to mix things up, when he bet, I put him on the ace. He got one caller from middle position, everyone else mucked to me, and I, of course, also mucked.
The turn came a red five. This time Happy Donkey checked. Again I love this move. Makes it look like he was bluffing or betting a flush draw on the flop and now he is backing off. The other player bet $80 and Happy Donkey just called. At this point, I will reveal what HD had: A 9. He had flopped big full. In light of the strength of his hand and the relatively few hands that the other player could be betting with, I don't like his flat call on the turn. If the other player has a flush draw, he needs to min raise the turn in order to get more money from him, since if he misses his flush he is not going to bet or call on the river. If the other player has an ace (even one with a bad kicker) it will be difficult for him to lay it down to only a min raise and if the other player DOES have a decent kicker, a raise on the turn might just get him to push. But, as I said, HD flat called.
The river came off a red deuce and again HD checked. In my opinion, this is not the best play. At this point, the other player should also have narrowed HD down to having either an ace or a flush draw. The player would then know that if HD missed his flush draw, he will not pay off a river bet, so the other player is unlikely to bet the river unless he has a smaller full house. An AQ or AK would probably have raised pre-flop and even an AJ might be uncomfortable betting the river in that position. On the other hand, if HD bets out something reasonable (like $100), it is going to be almost impossible for another ace to fold.
As it was, the other player did have an ace...with a six kicker. After HD checked the river, the other player checked behind him. I believe that HD probably lost out on between $80 and $180 of potential profits by not optimizing his play on the turn and the river.
This illustration reminds me of something that I have been thinking a lot about lately and trying to improve within my own game as well: A chip that you don't extract when you have a winning hand is just as much of a loss as a chip you lose when you have a losing hand. I really need to be vigilant that I am making the most of my opportunities when I have big hands. I am very much coming to believe, "When in doubt...bet." Slow playing is valuable as a tool in our poker arsenals, but, in my opinion, it is overused by many people in about the same way that AK is overplayed.
Until next time, may all your opponents try to bluff at you when you have the nuts!
Anyway, on to business. In the middle of our short session, the following hand transpired: There were about seven limpers into the pot, when I looked down in my BB and found pocket Jacks. I was definitely not interested in taking a flop seven handed with jacks so I decided to put in a decent size raise and try to thin the field. I made it $17 to go. Happy Donkey thought for a moment from UTG and then called. This started the usual "avalanche" and we ended up taking the flop six handed anyway. I had made up my mind that if I flopped an over pair I would push, but the flop came A A 9, two clubs. Obviously I checked. Happy Donkey then bet $35 into a pot that was about $104. Since we have spoken recently about sometimes betting out your huge hands instead of slow playing them, in order to mix things up, when he bet, I put him on the ace. He got one caller from middle position, everyone else mucked to me, and I, of course, also mucked.
The turn came a red five. This time Happy Donkey checked. Again I love this move. Makes it look like he was bluffing or betting a flush draw on the flop and now he is backing off. The other player bet $80 and Happy Donkey just called. At this point, I will reveal what HD had: A 9. He had flopped big full. In light of the strength of his hand and the relatively few hands that the other player could be betting with, I don't like his flat call on the turn. If the other player has a flush draw, he needs to min raise the turn in order to get more money from him, since if he misses his flush he is not going to bet or call on the river. If the other player has an ace (even one with a bad kicker) it will be difficult for him to lay it down to only a min raise and if the other player DOES have a decent kicker, a raise on the turn might just get him to push. But, as I said, HD flat called.
The river came off a red deuce and again HD checked. In my opinion, this is not the best play. At this point, the other player should also have narrowed HD down to having either an ace or a flush draw. The player would then know that if HD missed his flush draw, he will not pay off a river bet, so the other player is unlikely to bet the river unless he has a smaller full house. An AQ or AK would probably have raised pre-flop and even an AJ might be uncomfortable betting the river in that position. On the other hand, if HD bets out something reasonable (like $100), it is going to be almost impossible for another ace to fold.
As it was, the other player did have an ace...with a six kicker. After HD checked the river, the other player checked behind him. I believe that HD probably lost out on between $80 and $180 of potential profits by not optimizing his play on the turn and the river.
This illustration reminds me of something that I have been thinking a lot about lately and trying to improve within my own game as well: A chip that you don't extract when you have a winning hand is just as much of a loss as a chip you lose when you have a losing hand. I really need to be vigilant that I am making the most of my opportunities when I have big hands. I am very much coming to believe, "When in doubt...bet." Slow playing is valuable as a tool in our poker arsenals, but, in my opinion, it is overused by many people in about the same way that AK is overplayed.
Until next time, may all your opponents try to bluff at you when you have the nuts!
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