Poker Thoughts

Poker Thoughts How to Win At Poker The books don't discuss this much, but I have very strong opinions on this. Bottom line, if you are struggling to win, I'd STRONGLY recommend you read further. I really think it pays to be a specialist. FURTHER, it is critical to be able to play online where the specialization is really available. Ideally, you want to play a game simple enough to be able to multi-table, but where there are plenty of people that stink at it, so your edge is strong. I can only comment on NL poker, since this is my specialization. I DO think limit has far fewere opportunties, no doubt it is a complex game, but big mistakes don't result in BIG dollar losses. I want a game folks can donk off big EV to me. I think the worst NL games right now are 9-10 person NL games. I think MUCH better to specialize in HU, up to 6 person games. FURTHER good to be able to play EITHER short, middle or deep stacked (all three MUCH different games). As for HU, same thing, short, middle and deep stacked far different. Sit and Gos good. Turbo Tournies good. Big buyin tournies with donkeys qualifying (like Sunday million) good. Hyper turbos good. Double or Nothings, Triple or nothings, good also. Bottom line, if you are playing 9 person NL games, and trying to win, maybe you would be better off playing 6 deck 21 games where they cut off 2.5 decks. You might be a great player, but your game selection (given what is out there) is horrific.

Fezz... Love hearing your thoughts on poker... As a professional poker player for about 8 years now I have seen the game go from an under the radar "casino" game to "the biggest fad of all time" to the current state of immense popularity poker still has. IMO we are at a stage where the ratio of truly skilled players has caught up to the ratio of weekend warriors and total fish. Speaking primarily of online play the time has come where the sheer number of training sites, online forums, books, magazine articles, seminars, data mining, and the various software enablers (PokerTracker, PokerManager, ETC) have made the days of logging in to a sea of fish a thing of the past. Fezz is 100% dead on when he states that it pays to be a specialist. 95% plus of all the above listed poker aids concentrate on "the cadillac of poker" no limit holdem. It is simply the most popular and easiest poker game for a person to learn and hone their game to the point of being a competant player in a relatively quick amount of time. What I have found (both live and online) is that a growing number of holdem players have for various reasons (I won't list my opinions of what they all are) have looked to learn omaha (both pot limit and limit omaha hi-lo). If you log in on any weekend you will see both Stars and Tilt full of 6 handed Pot Limit Omaha games. While the short term swings can be a dizzy blur the long term results I have found to be much more profitable. These games are filled with a MUCH larger ratio of players that are completely new to the game (and it is such a different game) or simply find it much harder to improve their game to the point of being a quality omaha player. Still many continue to play even though they are losing because the aspect of getting 4 cards every hand instead of 2 makes the game more "fun" or "exciting". On a side note the higher the stakes in the Omaha games (especially Eight or Better) doesn't necessarily equate to the games being tougher as is usually the case in holdem. Last year at the Rio during the WSOP there were days where there were as many as 5 tables of 75/150 Omaha Eight or Better and I thought the games were as soft as any 5/10 game I've ever played. Many times on Stars the higher stakes games are very beatable as well. I have a ton of poker issues I would love to write about but I'm going to cut this one short as I'm simply tired right now. But before I sign off for now I would also like to add to Fezz's list of what to consider if you are "struggling to win": Rakeback: If you aren't getting it at a site that offers it you are giving up MASSIVE EV. With Stars it works a little different but if you use your FPP's wisely and take advantage of the VPP milestones you can accumulate several thousand dollars each calendar year even at relatively small stakes. Notes: If you don't take extensive notes on your opponents you are beating yourself. Hand History: If you aren't reviewing the way you (and your opponents) play certain hands (either by simple HH review or if you use PT or PM) you are hurting your future results. Player Search: Most players are too lazy to hide themselves from a table search. Almost all players are too ignorant to take advantage of this. Search the players that are sitting at your tables and take advantage of what you find. If you are at a six handed table and 3 of the players are playing 12 tables and the other 2 players other than yourself are only playing at the table you are at it gives you a certain strategy to take advantage of. Most multitablers are going to play a tighter "nutty" style where they can be bluffed and stolen from more while players only playing 1 table will be paying much more attention and less likely to play as tight. Guys there are many more things to consider... I'll delve into more specific's if there seems to be any interest here. Good luck in all your gambling endeavors.

Always willing to hear more about this stuff. I know a lot, but I don't know a lot more. Something else to consider: the future of the online game if it becomes legalized, that is, if/when the UIGEA is repealed. I am looking forward to games getting looser again, especially places that have books and poker (such as bodog).

I HATE the 9 handed game, Gotta play 6 or less As for Stars, the 'right' way to use the FPPs initially IMO is for cheap touney entries like Sunday Million where you get a lot more bang for your buck than anywhere else. Agree?

[QUOTE=Fezzik;15212]As for Stars, the 'right' way to use the FPPs initially IMO is for cheap touney entries like Sunday Million where you get a lot more bang for your buck than anywhere else. Agree?[/QUOTE] Last year I was supernova and bought roughly 7 or 8 $1000 Neiman Marcus Gift Cards. Unlike the cash rewards you didn't have to play additional to "unlock" your cash reward and I had no trouble selling them (usually dollar for dollar) to people that either I knew (a female doctor who purchases purses there) or by simply selling them to people shopping in the store as they approached the counter. You just have to find what works I guess.

Vegas Poker I moved to Las Vegas about 8 years ago. I started out playing limit holdem and Omaha 8 and play almost exclusively at the Bellagio since that is where the higher stakes games are. Then for about 2 years played only mixed games and now play only in the 30-60 with a third kill game that goes every day at the Bellagio. My conclusions are that omaha 8 if your a skilled player give you the highest earn with the lowest variance compared to other limit games. The variance in limit holdem seems to me to be about 3 times that of limit omaha 8 and mixed games about 5 to 6 times when you throw in badugi and 2-7. I would be interested in others thoughts on the above. Also about 2 years ago I took that time to start writing poker observations from playing here in vegas. Any of you that care to read them I would appreciate your comments: [url]https://rickjsportsplays.com/[/url] There are no sports plays on that site. Just my poker comments There used to be but now use blogger but kept the site. RickJ

Gift Cards same redemption level as some tournies 100 points worth $1.60 Easier to just wash out the FPP on tournies...... BUT is there a way to get 100 points up to $2? I know at 100,00VPP you can do a 1time 'buy' of $1,000 for $50,000 FPP, but just 1 time right? For newcomers: VPP are the base points FPPs are the points, but for avid players they can get 2.5 (and more) FPPs for each VPP earned.