Curtis Mayfeild III's Poker Blog

Keeping Them in the Pot

Many times I have seen players make ridiculously large bets when they have the nuts after the flop or turn. Each time I scratch my head wondering why anyone would make such a bet. Whether it's a cash game or tournament the last thing I want to do is push my opponent out of the pot when I have the stone cold nutz. That kind of thinking has caused many a player lots of grief and left their bankrolls smaller than they should be.

For instance, the other day I was at the casino and a guy flops a set with pocket two's. There is no flush or straight draw on the board and he has two other players betting into him before it's his turn to act. What does he do? He pushes all-in and needless to say the others fold.

Posted by Curtis Mayfield III on Wednesday, August 20, 2008 - 07:51 | login or register to post comments

Play Smart and Be Prepared

Sometimes when we sit down to play poker we are not always in the correct frame of mind for the task at hand. I know there have been a few times when I sat down that I had absolutely no business sitting at the table.

Your mind is wandering and you have everything swirling through your brain except what your hole cards are and what the last bet was. Now you are at a severe disadvantage and your bankroll is even more vulnerable.

So how do you know when you are pushing your poker limits?

Here are red flags that should signal when it is not time to play poker:

Posted by Curtis Mayfield III on Wednesday, August 13, 2008 - 09:54 | login or register to post comments

Playing the Poker of My Life?

I am still running exceptionally well. I went on a really nice run last year for about a month or so. It sure feels good when the cards are falling your way for sure. I suppose the most significant thing is that all of my hands are holding up for the most part. Rarely have I gotten my chips in bad and even when I do I seem to hit the draw. Yes, this has been an incredible ride.

However, it has also been the most tormenting time of my online poker life. While enjoying the spoils of a couple of small victories I have had thousands of dollars literally ripped from my pockets due to bad beats at the Final Table and right before the Final Table for huge pots! That is the frustrating thing about the past six weeks. I have run so well it’s ridiculous but I have also gotten so unlucky it’s mind boggling.

Posted by Curtis Mayfield III on Tuesday, August 12, 2008 - 01:14 | login or register to post comments

Playing the Player

Often times after playing so much online poker you can easily lose your nack for playing the player and rely far too heavily on the cards you are dealt. When this happens the game of poker is sending us a clear signal that it is time to play live. Unless your geographic location prohibits you from getting to a casino you wouild be very wise to follow the signals the game is sending you.

Recently, I played an online tournament and afterwards I decided to go over my hand history. I got bad beat out of this particular tourney but something stood out as I was going over each hand. I had left some money on the table that I believe I would have easily won had I paid just a little more attention to how one player in particular was playing me. Instead, I took the safer route instead of going with my first read and the history I had against this player. The bottom line is that despite the detailed player notes I had on him I was unable to benefit from them and our past encounters simply because I got careless.

Posted by Curtis Mayfield III on Wednesday, August 06, 2008 - 06:20 | login or register to post comments

Bankroll Blunders

No matter what level of poker you play you must have a bankroll if you intend to play on a consistent basis.

Most of us play online and live poker on a semi-nightly basis if not every night. The swings in tournament and cash game play can be tough if you are not careful in how you manage your money.

That doesn’t necessarily mean that you will never go broke but it may help you to do it less than you would have. Here are a few things that I believe are common bankroll management mistakes that can be corrected:

• Risking more than 15% of your bankroll to take a shot at the next level. This applies to cash games only but it is a rule of thumb you should probably stick to. You do not ever want to put your bankroll at risk simply to take a shot at the next level. Be smart and remain disciplined when taking “shots” at the next level. 
• Playing at too high a tournament buy-in level for your bankroll. This is one of the most common mistakes that I see in online poker. For instance: You have a bankroll of $200 and instead of playing $5 and $10 27 player or less Sit n Go’s you play $10 and $20 Multi-Table tournaments where you have at least 180 players and the odds are against you making the final table nearly as consistently. Now, instead of making the final table 50% percent of the time, assuming you’re an above average player, you are only getting there 12% of the time. Obviously this will affect your bottom line in very short order.
• Not taking the double re-buy option when buying into a Multi-Table Re-Buy tournament. This baffles me beyond belief. You are giving up 50% of your chip equity by doing so. That is a really bad idea in this kind of tournament considering the potential returns before the buy-in is over with along with the long-term possibilities.

All in all we just need to be smart about what we do and how we go about doing it at the tables. Pay attention to buy-ins and structures along wit the number of potential players that will participate in a tournament. Find situations that are to your advantage and act accordingly. The same goes for cash games. Find the game that works for you. Be smart and leave your ego at home. That way your bankroll won’t have to suffer the consequences.

Best Hand Loses - AGAIN

Somedays you just cannot win. Lately, I have been playing out of my mind. I have literally cashed in over 50% of the 16 tournaments I have played in for the last ten days. I have been on runs like this before. It feels great and you certainly feel as though you can do no wrong.There is only one thing missing. Out of the nine cashes and three final tables I did not win one tournament.

To say I was a little frustrated would be an understatement. Add to the fact that each time I got my chips in the middle at the Final Table, once when I was second in chips, I lost all or the majority of my stack to a bad beats. I suppose this is one of those times where you just have to suck it up. My opponent did exactly what I had hoped he would do and he drew out on me. Not much I can do about that but I wouldn't change a thing other than different cards hitting on the river.

Posted by Curtis Mayfield III on Tuesday, July 29, 2008 - 09:30 | login or register to post comments

Poker Player Notes - Use them Wisely

Player notes are available to anyone that plays online poker. When I first started playing I did not have any good use for them at all. I didn't know enough about the game itself let alone trying to jot down how my opponents were playing at the table. After a few months and a few dollars in the wind I finally realized how much of an asset player notes could be. Typically I played the same tournaments and ring games on a nightly / daily basis. After a while you see the same people and have a fairly good idea of how they play. I began writing short blurbs about each of the players at my tables.

Posted by Curtis Mayfield III on Thursday, July 24, 2008 - 09:31 | login or register to post comments

Playing Middle Pairs

How do you play middle pairs? Everyone seems to be in the same predicament time after time. It could be early or late position with a big stack or a short one but we all have to make decisions on how to play middle pairs.

I kind of have a rule of thumb about playing poker tournaments or cash games before I begin to play my hands. Here are a few questions I like to ask myself before getting involved in a hand with middle pairs pre-flop:

1. What kind of image am I portraying to my opponents?
2. How many chips do my opponents have?
3. How many chips do I have?
4. What position am I going to be playing my hand from?
5. What was the last hand I showed down?

These questions are not just questions you should ask yourself before betting involved with middle pairs but with almost any hand. These kinds of questions help you put together your own story before getting involved in the pot. You need to understand the larger picture of what it taking place in order to effectively take advantage of the circumstances.

Posted by Curtis Mayfield III on Monday, July 21, 2008 - 13:15 | login or register to post comments

Heads Up Poker Strategy

Heads up poker strategy can be the most challenging of all poker scenarios. You are exactly where you want to be and one person stands between you and the big money. Here are a few things that can help you succeed when playing heads up against your opponent.

1. Do not go in with a preset strategy. Keep your options open.

Posted by Curtis Mayfield III on Friday, July 18, 2008 - 07:50 | login or register to post comments

2008 WSOP Final Table

What would you do with your spare time? Now that the 2008 WSOP Final Table has been set the players have nothing but time on their hands. Some will use it wisely while others will get caught up in the media hype and the fact that they already have $900,000 in their pockets. To most of these players that kind of money is more than a big pay day. It’s life changing to just about everyone that will be watching and playing in this event.

If I were in their positions I would have a few things on my to do list. Here is how I would approach the biggest Final Table of my life:

Posted by Curtis Mayfield III on Wednesday, July 16, 2008 - 01:58 | login or register to post comments