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Heads-Up at the Final Table

Fri, 03 Jul 2009 19:40:07 +0100

Last night I won an online poker tournament and took down a very nice cash for my efforts. It was grueling as usual once we got to the money and things didn't look good at times but I was able to survive and eventually overcome a couple of set backs at the Final Table. Once we got down to the last three players I had successfully built my stack to become second in chips with only four players left.

The thing that I noticed about the chip leader is that he never changed gears. He did the exact same thing each and every time he was involved in a hand even before he became chip leader. I was confident that it would be him and I going at it Heads-Up and I was prepared for the challenge. After a couple of more hands he busted the third player and he had a three to one chip lead on me. The blinds were manageable and I still had plenty of chips so I wasn't overly concerned.

Many players try to devise a strategy for playing Heads-Up and that is their first mistake. Until you understand what your opponent is trying to do to you it is impossible to determine the optimum strategy to counter. Knowing that my opponent was going to min raise and then make a three times bet each and every hand he was involved in was like handing over the keys to his home. I simply waited on good hands and allowed him to win all of the small pots. I realized early on that any time I had a hand I was going to get paid off because he simply would not fold.

After three hands I doubled up after flopping a flush and he had hit top pair. Now, I was almost even in chips and salivating at the opportunity that was available due to his reckless aggression. I quickly finished him off when I hit two pair and again he hit top pair. There was a flush draw on the board and he pushed and I called. No help on the turn or river and the winner is yours truly.

The moral of the story is to be patient at the Final Table because most likely you are not going to win it all in one hand. Allow your opponent to show you what his strategy is and counter it accordingly. Had I been trying to run him over with any Ace or small pairs he would have easily booted me from the tournament with very little effort. By waiting and playing tight while allowing him to THINK that he was the aggressor I was easily able to trap and eliminate my opponent in short order.

Family Fun Poker #2: A 10-Year-Old Kicked My...

Wed, 01 Jul 2009 03:29:56 +0100

A 10-year-old just kicked my ass in poker. Worse than the fact that she is young, is the fact that she’s my cousin, and I’m the one that taught her how to play.

Still on my Michigan “Vacation”, I’ve been spending a lot of time with my cousins. My aunt is planning a trip to a casino soon, so I was helping her bone up on her Blackjack. Slowly, my cousins started to join in, too. Pretty soon, my aunt was gone, all four girl cousins were there (ages 16, 15, 13 & 10) and we were playing Hold’em. I was thrilled to be the one to teach them the game!

I started by walking them through the rankings of cards: High Card, Pair, Two Pair, etc. Then we played five hands with cards face up, walking them through what would be best based on the situation. Then we played two hands where we had hid our cards until the end – and then we played for “keeps” with pennies. It was awesome.

Playing poker requires keeping accurate records of your sessions

Tue, 30 Jun 2009 00:07:39 +0100

A lot of people ask me why I keep track of so many hands on my iPhone when I am playing live. The reason for this is because I like to take notes and know my opponents tendencies. Also, I keep track of my wins and losses so that I can continue to execute tight bankroll management. Most importantly you want to keep accurate records of your poker expenses for tax purposes. At the end of the year you will need to prepare your taxes and any winning you have can be considered a capital gain and therefore is taxable.

Many players seem to think that they can play poker tournaments and cash games with immunity from paying taxes. The minute you win more than $1199 those dollars become taxable and the casino must account for the payout. This is why they ask you to sign a form whenever you win $1200 and more so that it can be reported. True, you will not have to pay taxes on the money right away but the government does have a document confirming that you won the money and you will be called on it if you do not report the income. It's always a good idea to keep accurate records of your gambling wins and losses just in case you are ever audited too. You will need those records should you find yourself in that situation.

So take a moment to write down your winnings from each session along with your losses and keep them in a safe place. You can transfer them to the spreadsheet of your choice later.

Family Fun Poker #1

Sat, 27 Jun 2009 14:12:03 +0100

I swear.

Lately, I promise you, it’s been my favorite way to play poker. Since I’ve been in Michigan, I’ve done it three times, and I’m sure I’ll do it more. You can play with robots, people across the country, region, or even in the very same restaurant. That’s right: Buzztime’s Texas Hold’em is my new addiction.

If there is one thing I love more than poker, it’s got to be chicken wings. I could eat wings all day, every day. Especially if they’re boneless! So, obviously, that opens me up to be addicted to Buffalo Wild Wings – and I am!
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Transformers Premiere & The Kid Who Wouldn't Shut Up.

Wed, 24 Jun 2009 19:40:00 +0100
The night was bound to be perfect.

I’ve been in Michigan for about 10 days now and two of my good friends, Greg & Rhen, were going to the midnight premiere showing of Transformers. Excited, I bought the three of us tickets two days in advance while they were at work. For 48 hours we talked about going to the premiere and how great it was going to be. The show didn’t start until 12:05am, but we knew we wanted to get there early. Arriving to the theatre at about 9:30pm, we checked to see how long the line to get in was. After making sure we were in the right area, and seeing that nobody was there yet, we decided to go to Buffalo Wild Wings for a quick dinner before heading back over to the theatre to wait. Once we got in line, we would take turns going and getting sodas, using the restroom, etc.
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Do you suffer from Poker Burnout?

Wed, 24 Jun 2009 02:00:23 +0100
Maybe the reason your bankroll is dwindling so quickly is because you don't have a life. A life outside of poker that is. I know we all love the game of poker and the rush that you get from winning a tournament or a big hand in a cash game. However, poker does require us to take breaks from time to time and that is where many of us, myself included, sometimes get caught up in the day to day of the game.
The fact of the matter is that no matter how well you are running or how poorly you are running you need to take a break from the game. You need to have other interests outside of poker. Even the professional poker players will tell you that they enjoy doing other things outside of poker. They almost have to considering the thousands of miles of travel and the overall hours it takes to play in both poker tournaments or cash games. You get worn out fairly quickly if your not careful.
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Play more hands early in Poker Tournaments

Mon, 22 Jun 2009 17:52:42 +0100
I know a lot of poker players that constantly talk about surviving the early rounds of a poker tournament. True, you do need to survive but you do not need to play like a rock either. Many players conform to the notion that you must play extremely tight early in poker tournaments. Most times this makes you extremely predictable and cuts down your action because player know you are playing premium cards.

I don't know about you but when I have big premium hands I want big premium action to go along with them. By playing too tight you decrease your opportunities to move forward in the poker tournament. There are only so many hands that any of us is going to be dealt but you have to mix it up if you are going to accumulate chips.
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Iowa's Hidden Treasure

Fri, 19 Jun 2009 01:55:57 +0100
How it happened, I have no idea. But there I was, in some random town in Iowa, just before the Illinois border. I knew I was going to stop at the world famous Iowa 80 Truck Stop before filling up on gas. It was getting late, and I had to make it through Illinois and Indiana without stopping and get to Michigan ASAP. However, hunger stung my stomach, and I pulled off on a random exit to find food. That’s when I saw it.

It was a small restaurant, and didn’t look like much. To say it was a “hole in the wall” would be an understatement, however, those restaurants, as far as I’m concerned, are the best.
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Poker Tournament Selection is key

Thu, 18 Jun 2009 01:07:08 +0100
Far too often I see poker players that do not take a whole lot of time to determine their odds of doing well in a particular poker tournament. This may sound a bit over analytical but we should all pay attention to a few things before we enter a poker tournament. First, Tournament Structure should be high on your list of things to examine before plunking down your hard earned dollars. Obviously, if you are not a regular you will not know much about the players at a particular venue. However, the buy-in amount and tournament structure can give you a fairly good idea of what kind of competition you will face along with the venue itself.
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Across The Country - Casino #1

Tue, 16 Jun 2009 16:42:52 +0100
So I’ve been in just about every kind of casino out there: Big & Small; Simple & Flashy; Ritzy & Ghetto; Legal & Illegal – you get the point. I only have a few very simple criteria that I look at when I’m at the casino – and this weekend I was at one that had NONE!

As I mentioned previously, I’m kind of on a “road trip” of sorts. I’m going back to my hometown, for one, which is never a good idea when you grew up in a small town and you’re a writer. Sure, they’ll LOVE when you say, “I’m self-employed” but when you explain that you’re a poker writer, they just won’t get it. Knowing that I was going to have to explain myself more times then I want to in these next few days, and knowing that I needed a quick vacation before starting my “real” vacation, I hit up some casinos as I drove across country.
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