Curtis Mayfield III's Poker Blog

On a Rush at the poker tables

Lately, things have been going extremely well for me. I have been to no less than seven Final Tables this month alone and we still have a few days left. Granted that most of these tournaments I have been playing are turbos but I have figured out how to "get there" after wondering why people bother for so long. I still prefer the standard format poker tournament but I no longer have the trepidation that I once associated with playing in Turbo tournaments.

I have had some nice cashes this month and took down two second places online. Live tournaments have not been so kind. I got out drawn in the last two that I played after getting my chips in post flop with the best hand. That's about all you can do and I don't regret it one bit. Sooner or later the live tournaments will come around as well so I am not sweating it. I have made a few changes in my game but nothing major. Just the standard tweeks that we all make from time to time when we feel the need. Overall, I am extremely happy with my game and look forward to doing well throughout the summer and the rest of the year. Don't be surprised to hear that I won a seat in the Main Event either. I came 2 seats away twice so far in freeroll satellites so there is hope for me yet.

2009 WSOP is just days away

It's that time of the year again. The World Series of Poker 2009 will be starting in just a few more days. Hard to believe that it's here already. This is the time of year when every poker player of every skill level come to Las Vegas to battle it out face to face. There will be some surprises and there will certainly be plenty of disappointments. I suppose the economy will play a bit of a role again in this years WSOP as I suspect that there will not be as many players in it as last. However, with all of the satellites available I am sure that it will still have its share of entries in all of the tournaments.

Enduring a Bad Run

Inevitably we all run bad from time to time. It is simply the nature of playing poker on a regular basis. No matter how well you play or how sophisticated your game is you will eventually run bad. Sometimes a bad run can go for a few days. Other times a bad run can go for a few weeks. In the worst of times a bad run can run for months at a time with no end in sight.

So, how do you stop a bad run? You don't because we cannot control variance. However, we can control how we endure bad runs of cards when variance is unbalanced and against us for extended periods of time. One of the first things any poker player needs to be capable of doing is to recognize when they are running bad. Believe it or not many players will simply deny the fact that the cards are not falling their way and blame their opponent or the dealers. Sure, there are times when a poor play will succeed but you want your opponent to make these plays against you because that is how you make your profit. Suck outs and draw outs happen but when they happen in larger percentages than normal make a mental note of it and step away from the table(s).

Turbo Poker Tournament Strategy

Turbo poker tournaments are extremely popular. One of the biggest reasons is because they are fast and don't take a lot of time to finish. When I first began player online poker a few years ago I would not go near these kinds of tournaments because they were simply too volatile for my taste. However, as the years have gone by I have learned that they do have a place in the realm of online poker and that you can thrive in this format if you just follow a few simple rules.



Recently I won an entry into a Super Satellite for the WSOP Main Event via a Turbo tournament. I beat out 223 other players for one of the two seats being given for the tournament. I have found that my approach to playing in Turbo poker tournaments is optimal for a number of reasons. I will give you a few and explain just how I go about it.

Omaha Poker becoming more Popular

If you hadn't noticed Omaha has become the latest craze in the poker world. More and more poker players are starting to play the game. I remember five years ago how their was so much dead money in the Omaha games because very few players knew how to play. Now the Omaha cash games are some of the biggest and most popular games being played online. Even the Tom Dwan challenge is played in a form of Omaha.

So why has Omaha become so popular?

I believe it is because players are finding out how exciting it can be. Omaha is a draw oriented game and unless you have the absolute nuts you are almost never out of the hand. I think when poker really caught on after 2003 that many people thought Omaha was difficult to learn, especially Omaha Hi / Lo. Now players seem to have overcome the learning curve on the game and players continue to flock to the cash games both online and live for the action. Also, there are many more books available teaching the game than before.

Barney Frank Introduces NEW Internet Gambling Bill to US Congress

Today marks a pivotal day for online poker players in the United States. Rep. Barney Frank will be introducing a bill to legalize online gambling in the US. This bill would allow the US to regulate and tax online poker players and allow anyone that cares to play online to do so without penalty. The interesting thing about his approach to solving this dilemma is that he did not piggy back it onto another bill unlike the clowns that did so with the UIGEA.

Rep. Franks is submitting this as a stand-alone bill and that speaks volumes as to his belief that it can pass without the smoke and mirrors that so many have used over the years when it comes to online poker and other ventures.

Use Probe Bets to find out where you are at

How many times have you heard players say that  people miss the flop 72 percent of the time. Well, it's true and if it is true for you then it is true for your opponent. However, that does not mean that you automatically give up on the hand. Playing poker and employing the correct table strategies for your poker game are all pieces of the puzzle that we all must put together.

Using the tools of the game as part of our poker strategy enables us to read and react to situations to maximize our opportunities to profit.



The probe bet is one of those tools. Too often you see weak players raise before the flop and then simply check their hand after missing on the flop. The problem with this is that the raise is intended to narrow down the number of players in the pot. So, now you are talking no more than four and more likely two or three players in the pot. Knowing this it is also likely that with two or three players in the pot and a bet of around one-third of the pot you will find out immediately if your opponent(s) has anything.

Are you Playing Afraid?

Are you afraid to play to win? Are you afraid to put your tournament on the line and your opponent to the test in order to gain the chips you need at crucial points in the tournament? If so, then you should step away from the table and never come back. There simply is no place in the game of poker for fear.

On the contrary, what wins makes a successful poker player is their fearlessness. Notice that I did not say recklessness. You must be willing to put your tournament on the line when you feel you have the right read on the situation.



Recently I competed in a poker tournament tour called the Heartland Poker Tour. I went deep into Day 1 before I got knocked out. However, the experience was a good one nonetheless and as usual I learned a lot about my own game as well as from the poker players I sat with.

Aggression is Everything in Poker

I just came back from playing the Main Event at the Heartland Poker Tour. I did well but still did not make it to Day 2 of the tourney after going deep on Day 1. Before I got knocked out I took notice of one player that seemed to be losing every time he entered the pot. One of the other players leaned over and said to me, "This guy better get aggressive or he is going to be outta here..."

He was right. The player didn't last beyond the first couple of hours. The reason was because he failed to use any aggression toward the other players at all. You could literally tell when he did not hit the flop because he would check. Even when he did hit the flop and bet out he was betting too weakly to protect his hands and people began coming over the top of him after a while and taking his pots. It was as if we could all see right through him. Rarely do I ever feel bad for another poker player but it was quite clear that this gentlemen was in over his head.

Play Live Poker as Often as you can

Many of my poker friends are primarily online poker players. Although they do well in this environment each of them is better served the more often we go and play live tournaments and cash games. Don't get me wrong though. They are all very successful online players and do quite well but nothing beats playing live poker.

Today I played in the Heartland Poker Tour Main Event and went deep into day one before busting out. Early on in the tournament I was able to double and then triple up because players tried to play the same game as they do online by shoving with big pairs after the flop and not being able or wanting to play small pot poker. The thing about live tournament play is that when the stacks are as deep as they were today at 15k to start and forty minute levels you must be able to play post-flop. This is where many online poker players fall short because of the difference in structure and not being able to trust their read on their opponent and the hand.