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Thursday, December 31, 2009

Maybe This Time I'll Win

Happy New Year to all my poker buddies,
and let all your cards be live in 2010.



Maybe this time, I'll be lucky
Maybe this time, he'll stay
Maybe this time
For the first time
Love won't hurry away

He will hold me fast
I'll be home at last
Not a loser anymore
Like the last time
And the time before

Everybody loves a winner
So nobody loved me;
'Lady Peaceful,' 'Lady Happy,'
That's what I long to be
All the odds are in my favor
Something's bound to begin
It's got to happen, happen sometime
Maybe this time I'll win

I know, it's a love song from Cabaret, but the lyrics are like a poker player's prayer. 

Year 2009 Review





Sunday, December 27, 2009

Not Lucky - Lucky


Playing single table SnG Omaha H/L I flop 13 card straight draw. I didn't like the turn card, but we went all in. The river gives him High hand, and I got ugly Low hand. No luck? But I got my chips back.














In the next hand I raised preflop, and on the flop I decided to go all in again with 13 card straight draw. On the turn I'm still behind, but the river gives me flush. Lucky me.

Saturday, December 26, 2009

PRE FLOP


Single table SnG, after cut off raised pr-eflop with AK, I moved all in with my AK. I had about 2300 in chips. Chip leader also called with 2,5 offsuit and took two of us out.
PRE FLOP.

Friday, December 25, 2009

My Omaha Bluff


Card dead in PLO single table SnG. On the flop I decided to represent flush with my king so I re-poted. A guy just called so i said "he doesn't have a flush". Turn was bad card 7c, but I bet the pot again and he called. Three aces or ..? Than the river gave me the pot. We were all in and I got the chip lead.
I know, it's a lucky donkey play, but it's an equal opportunity game.

Omaha Bluff


I don't understan what goes on internet. Single table H/L tournament.  I thought I have an excellent hand and raised pot to 45. Player accross the table re-poted to 275. I called and on the turn we were all in.
Scoop, but couldn't understand the preflop bluff. Did he expect me to fold ...?

Thursday, December 24, 2009

Donkey style


It's the second hand in the single table sit n' go. After the turn card SB bets 20. I was thinking for a while where can be the fourth ace and decided to call. The third player also called. On the river SB bets 70, I call thinking it's a split pot with my King kicker, and the third guy also called. My first thought was "all three kings", but I saw pot moving my way.

Who are these donkeys? I can understand SB wanting to steal the pot, but what was in the third guy's head. He was happy with quads so ...

Tuesday, December 22, 2009

WSOP 2010 Schedule

Complete Schedule of Events

The 2010 World Series of Poker will feature a new $50,000 mixed games championship,
which will replace the $50,000 H.O.R.S.E.

Event 01 - $500 No-Limit Hold'em Casino Employees May 28 2 $500
Event 02 - $50,000 The Player's Championship May 28 5 $50,000
Event 03 - $1,000 No-Limit Hold'em May 29 4 $1,000
Event 04 - $1,500 Omaha 8 or Better May 30 3 $1,500
Event 05 - $1,500 No-Limit Hold'em May 31 3 $1,500
Event 06 - $5,000 No-Limit Hold'em Shootout Jun 01 3 $5,000
Event 07 - $2,500 2-7 Triple Draw Lowball Jun 01 3 $2,500
Event 08 - $1,500 No-Limit Hold'em Jun 02 3 $1,500
Event 09 - $1,500 Pot-Limit Hold'em Jun 03 3 $1,500
Event 10 - $10,000 Seven Card Stud Championship Jun 03 3 $10,000
Event 11 - $1,500 No-Limit Hold'em Jun 04 3 $1,500
Event 12 - $1,500 Limit Hold'em Jun 04 3 $1,500
Event 13 - $1,000 No-Limit Hold'em Jun 05 4 $1,000
Event 14 - $1,500 2-7 No-Limit Lowball Jun 05 3 $1,500
Event 15 - $10,000 Seven Card Stud 8 or Better Championship Jun 06 3 $10,000
Event 16 - $1,500 No-Limit Hold'em Six Handed Jun 07 3 $1,500
Event 17 - $5,000 No-Limit Hold'em Jun 08 3 $5,000
Event 18 - $2,000 Limit Hold'em Jun 09 3 $2,000
Event 19 - $10,000 2-7 No-Limit Lowball Championship Jun 09 3 $10,000
Event 20 - $1,500 Pot-Limit Omaha Jun 10 3 $1,500
Event 21 - $1,500 Seven Card Stud Jun 10 3 $1,500
Event 22 - $1,000 Ladies No-Limit Hold'em Jun 11 3 $1,000
Event 23 - $2,500 Limit Hold'em Six Handed Jun 11 3 $2,500
Event 24 - $1,000 No-Limit Hold'em Jun 12 4 $1,000
Event 25 - $10,000 Omaha 8 or Better Championship Jun 12 3 $10,000
Event 26 - $2,500 No-Limit Hold'em Six Handed Jun 14 3 $2,500
Event 27 - $1,500 Seven Card Stud 8 or Better Jun 14 3 $1,500
Event 28 - $2,500 Pot-Limit Omaha Jun 15 3 $2,500
Event 29 - $10,000 Limit Hold'em Championship Jun 15 3 $10,000
Event 30 - $1,500 No-Limit Hold'em Jun 16 3 $1,500
Event 31 - $1,500 H.O.R.S.E. Jun 16 3 $1,500
Event 32 - $5,000 No-Limit Hold'em Six Handed Jun 17 3 $5,000
Event 33 - $2,500 Pot-Limit Hold'em/ Pot-Limit Omaha Jun 17 3 $2,500
Event 34 - $1,000 Seniors No-Limit Hold'em Jun 18 3 $1,000
Event 35 - $10,000 No-Limit Hold'em Heads Up Championship Jun 18 3 $10,000
Event 36 - $1,000 No-Limit Hold'em Jun 19 3 $1,000
Event 37 - $3,000 H.O.R.S.E. Jun 19 3 $3,000
Event 38 - $10,000 Pot-Limit Hold'em Championship Jun 20 3 $10,000
Event 39 - $1,500 No-Limit Hold'em Shootout Jun 21 3 $1,500
Event 40 - $2,500 Seven Card Razz Jun 21 3 $2,500
Event 41 - $1,500 Pot-Limit Omaha 8 or Better Jun 22 3 $1,500
Event 42 - $1,500 No-Limit Hold'em Jun 23 3 $1,500
Event 43 - $10,000 H.O.R.S.E. Championship Jun 23 3 $10,000
Event 44 - $2,500 Mixed Hold'em Jun 24 3 $2,500
Event 45 - $1,500 No-Limit Hold'em Jun 25 3 $1,500
Event 46 - $5,000 Pot-Limit Omaha 8 or Better Jun 25 3 $5,000
Event 47 - $1,000 No-Limit Hold'em Jun 26 3 $1,000
Event 48 - $2,500 Mixed Event Jun 26 3 $2,500
Event 49 - $1,500 No-Limit Hold'em Jun 28 3 $1,500
Event 50 - $5,000 Pot-Limit Omaha Jun 28 3 $5,000
Event 51 - $3,000 No-Limit Hold'em Triple Chance Jun 29 3 $3,000
Event 52 - $25,000 No-Limit Hold'em Six Handed Jun 30 4 $25,000
Event 53 - $1,500 Limit Hold'em Shootout Jun 30 3 $1,500
Event 54 - $1,000 No-Limit Hold'em Jul 01 4 $1,000
Event 55 - $10,000 Pot-Limit Omaha Championship Jul 01 3 $10,000
Event 56 - $2,500 No-Limit Hold'em Jul 02 3 $2,500
Ante Up For Africa Jul 03 1 $5,000
$10,000 World Series of Poker Main Event Jul 05 13 $10,000
Media Event Jul 11 1 $0

Monday, November 2, 2009

Nice river Mr. Wegas

I'm killing some time playing a small online game with the beat beat jackpot, while watching on HBO the movie  "Australia". I doubled up my money and I was thinking to cash out when I got pocket kings. There was a raise and I decided to limp and trap him hoping to double up again. On the flop, my opponent called my raise. Turn was not the card I wanted to see, but i went all in. My opponent called so fast and I knew it before I saw it. Pocket Aces .... but ther's always a river, and one for the good guys.
By the way Australia is a must see movie.

What are the odds for this hand


Sunday, November 1, 2009

Nice read Mr. Wegas

Saturday at Ho-Chunk Poker room. As usual half of the table are tight players, with two bigger stacks about $800. I'm getting no cards, and I decided to play slow. I won two pots with 9,6 my favorite hand. Once flop came 9,6,6 and I also made a flush with suited 9,6. When 8/16 limit table broke up one of the players came to our table. Night before he was hitting every hand, and every river and he cashed out over $2000. He set in the empty seat on my left with $750 but he could play only table max $300. He's one of those that like to talk to everyone at the table at once. We learned fast that he is from Chicago, and the big limit games he plays. Usually he plays limit 20/40, and .... "underground games", and… I asked him is underground game when they play in someone’s basement.

He started with a few raises by just throwing a bunch of red chips in a pot. Once we saw him showing pocket pair of eight and he made preflop raise $40. He kept repeating that he is a "limit" player. I see players like that every day, and they can't last because they depend on thy lucky card on the river. that river card was working for him last night. Can it be two nights in a row?

Than came a hand a I made a two pair on the flop, aces and eights. I checked and the big stack made a bet. When I made a bet on the river, the big shot from Chicago started to move his chips. He made a stack of about $150 and after some time mucked his hand. Looks like he thought to bluff me based on me check on the flop and the turn. The big stack paid me off with his ace.

Next hand I had A.J off suit on the button and raised $17 preflop, and got three calls. Flop was good and I made another bet $40, and only big Chicago mouth called. He checked the turn card, and I didn't want to risk betting into straight. river card was the worst possible. It made to possible straights, and the flush. Chicago guy was first to act i he fast made it $100. I start thinking about my bad luck and wondering why is this happening to me. He was leaning back in his chair, with his hands crossed on his chest. I started to recall what I red about tells from the books by Joe Navarro, and Mike Caro. Suddenly my opponent turned left and started to talk to a kid on his left. I saw a big banner "Strong is weak". Than I remembered that when I bluff, I always look a side and talk without any reason, trying to look cool, and I have to correct that.


I realized he is bluffing. I was sure he wanted to bluff previous hand, but he didn't and he can not stop himself twice in a row. Well, he may have a nine, but his body was screaming bluff. He called a time on me, and kept talking to a guy on his left. I took another ten seconds, and said All-In. He mucked his hand and said "you have better kicker". But I didn't show you my hand, how do you know? He replied "this was just probing bet. Really, with $100? He kept talking about his plays from the limit games. I said you are a "limited" player and I don't think you know what are you talking about. About 30 minutes later I got him in another hand with pocket aces. When I left he was on his fifth rebuy and $1500 down.

Action on the table was good all night. We got a new player. I didn't know him and he was wery quiet. He didn't talk at all, and with any cards he was pshing chips in the pot. I changed the seat and he was in my old seat so I sterted to think I made a bad seat change. I didn't have good cards but when I got again 9,6 of diamonds I told to a guy next to me "this pot is mine". I raised $10 preflop, called a $75 raise on the turn and rivered a flush. A new guy at the table paid me off. A few hands later I was UTG and raised suited preflop. The big blind and the quiet guy called. I floped two pair and try to trap someone. Big blind made a bet on the flop and two of us just called. The river was scary. Big blind made a $25 bet. I was just thinking about runner-runner ... when quiet guy pushed $100 out of turn. He was sitting across the table and my cards were visible. I didn't understand his move. Is he suited and hit the flush, or he is happy with 5,6 off suit? Also I couldn't put big blind on a hand. I decided just to call and see what will quiet guy do next. He just pushed his $100 back into pot. The big blind folded and it was on me to decide. $75 was not much. I had pot odds but I was not sure was he on the flush draw or he is just playing bad. Something was wrong. I don't se why woud he stay in the hand after the flop bet. I said a few time "you can't have six". I lost so many hands when I hit the flop so one more doesn't make a difference. I fliped my cards and said "I call". He just quietly mucked his hand.


Sunday, October 25, 2009

Folding Top-Top


I'm playing $0.34 Step2 on UltimateBet. In a trhird hand UTG I get AK and raise to $90, and get four calls. Flop is king high so I bet $120 and only one player calls. After the turn card I made fast pot size bet $645. My opponet shows AK and mucks. Than we started  to chat.

I couldn't understand his fold just based on 34 cents buyin.
<< Result for Hand 1959723335 >>
NAVAJO GUY wins (645 chips).
NUTSKILLS: AA AK
NAVAJO GUY: what?
NAVAJO GUY: you are insane
NUTSKILLS: what did u have
NAVAJO GUY: in 34 cent game
WAGNER2000: how do you fold that
WAGNER2000: lol
NUTSKILLS: and what u think i care i go by my reads
NAVAJO GUY: read? Based on what
NUTSKILLS: u had AA or AK
WAGNER2000: weird............for lilke numbskull not nutskills
NAVAJO GUY: in 34 cent game
NAVAJO GUY: how about AJ
NUTSKILLS: whatever
NUTSKILLS: i no u had me
NUTSKILLS: or was a split im not stupid
NAVAJO GUY: It's OK, not bad just strange
WAGNER2000: lol
NUTSKILLS: :)
NUTSKILLS: thought u had me thats all
WAGNER2000: it was a good lay down none the less
NUTSKILLS: coz u raised then lyk 3 people called
NUTSKILLS: then u couldnt wait to get it allin
NUTSKILLS: so wasnt really good spot
NAVAJO GUY: in 34 cent game

P.S. NUTSKILLS finished at 5th place. I was 2nd and made Step3.

Wednesday, October 21, 2009

Nice try Mr. Wegas

This was four hour long game. It started with 420 players, but during the late registration we got another 600+, so the total was 1059 players. I don't like to play online tournaments with more than 300 players, and I can't stay late after midnight. My plan was just to kill some time so I selected this $10+1 buy in tournament.

I started with two bluffs and one good pot so I had more than double amount of starting chips. After about 20 minutes in the game, came the hand where I had a pocket nines and six limpers. On the button I decided I can't play against six of them, so went all in pre flop, and got one call. I saw the flop and the flashing neon sign before my eyes with a four letter word that starts with "F". On the river came the card that showed one more time why trip jacks can't beat set of nines. I got a $2 bounty, some chips and the hope that this may be my lucky night.

After playing for three hours there was only 60 players left. I had an average stack and average 33rd position. The rest of the game you can see on the video.

Sunday, October 11, 2009

Where is the end?

It's Sunday afternoon. I'm watching the footbal on TV and playing Steps on UB. 
Just can't win. Ten minutes ago my aces got cracked by runing nines. 
I started another Step table. After only a few hands, a bad beat ... than
I go all in.
an idiot calls with 2,3  (... but it was suited)
I flop my Ace.
it's amazing ... endless
who are these people?


Wednesday, September 30, 2009

Another one

I get the guy all in preflop, hit the flop and ... It works like a Swiss clock.

Bye, bye Aruba

Sunday I played my last Step 10 Aruba qualifier. You can check the video below. I finished 4th and got $900 prize .. but that was short of my goal. So Aruba has to wait one more year to see me at the tournament. There is no time left to qualify.  Main event starts in 3 days Saturday October 3.  Good luck to all who qualified. You can follow the tournament online at http://www.arubaclassic.com/

Monday, September 28, 2009

Aruba Step 10 Again

Since last Wednesday, there was no Step 10 game. I was waiting four days and somehow today we made the full table. Game started good, and in the first few hands I had some big pocket pairs. Than came one hour of 9,2 and J,3... I was a low stack with only 600 chips when ... but it's better if you watch the video.

Aruba Step10 Again
Uploaded by dusanjova. - Check out more gaming videos.

Saturday, September 26, 2009

Can't win them all

Check this. The same bad luck twice in seven hands.




Than all you need is to get lucky one hand, and be back in the game.


... or two hands

Ace on the river

I'm playing a qualifyer to $100 buy in Aruba satellite that leads to a main $500 buy in Aruba satellite. This qualifier is free; I'm usinig my UB points.

With pocket Aces I was all in pre flop. On the turn my first thought was "Fuck..." My second thought was "Ace." Than came the river.

Two hands later my opponet got lucky. I made a mistake trying to trap him when I checked the flop.  I went all in on the turn in a bad moment.

Next hand I got my chips back from the same opponent. This time all in on the turn was a good move.

The trap worked this time. I checked pre flop. With on the flop check-raise-all in, I won the satelitte.










What's my name? --- Mr. Wegas
What's my name? --- Mr. Wegas
I can't hear you! ----- Mr. Wegas

Thursday, September 24, 2009

Aruba Step 10 - No Cigar!

Must see for every poker player.

Here is a video from Step 10 table. I didn't have the best game, but you can still learn something about tournaments, and understand why poker players say "Better lucky, than good."


Aruba Step10
Uploaded by dusanjova. - Check out more gaming videos.

Saturday, September 19, 2009

Aruba - Step Nine - check

I just finished playing Step 9 and I advanced to final Step 10. Buy in for this step is $2,350 and the prize for top two is $8,500 package for Aruba Poker Classic that starts in two weeks. Third place gets to replay Step 10, and fourth gets cash $900. Aruba main event is the big prize, and I spent only a few dollars. It took me a few weeks to make it this far, but I'm sure in two weeks I'll be sending you a postcard from Aruba. On the picture(left) you can see the final hand. I folded my big blind when my both opponents went all in preflop. That was exactly I was waiting for.

The game was slow and a few times i was down to $1,300 from starting $2,000, but I always made it back to about $2,200. I got lucky break and made a straight on the river. We were all in and my opponent flopped two pair. The second double up came in the hand below. I became a chip leader with over $9,000.

I'm excited to be so close to a big important tournament. Right now I feel afraid to start the final game. I know it'll be slow and it requires patience. But playing these qualifiers I learned to wait for the right moment. There is only 2-3 days left to complete the Step 10, so I cannot afford any mistake. Wish me good luck.

Saturday, September 12, 2009

Aruba - Step Seven - check

I'm in the step 8. After playing satellites for a few weeks I developed a strategy that will take me to Aruba. I used it yesterday and today and it was smooth sailing from step 3 to 7. Buy in for Step 3 is $1.10. I hope that magic will work in next few days and my last three steps.
This was the most important had for me. After a bunch of bad hands I min-raised preflop on the button with pocket jacks.  Chip leader went all in and I called. I doubled up and moved to a second place with 4,118 in chips.

This was the final hand. I was not in the pot, but I was happy to see my opponets go all-in when the small blind decided to make a move, and go all-in preflop with Q,8 for 2,557. Big blind didn't think for a long time with his aces.



Wish me luck. I still have to play Steps 8,9 and 10.  From each steps top two players move to a next step. 3rd and 4th get a free ticket to replay the same step.  In Step 10, top two players win Aruba Classic package $8,500.

Tuesday, September 1, 2009

First Annual 2009 Midwest Poker Classic

Two big tournaments comming this month at Running Aces Harness Park‎
located just a few miles north of Minneapolis on I-35 and Highway 97 (Exit 129).
Click for casino location map
Running Aces Monthly Tournament Listings PDF


11th Annual Trent Tucker Celebrity Poker Tournament

 Sept. 17, 2009 NL Hold'em Main Event $1,000 
Running Aces is hosting the Trent Tucker Tournament, September 17, 2009.
Satellites every Thursday until September 10th with a chance to win a seat
to play against Michael Jordan and other celebrities!
Click HERE for more information.




First Annual 2009 Midwest Poker Classic

September 23 - October 5, 2009
GameDay(s)Time(s)Total Buy-InFee
NL Hold'em Sept. 23, 2009 11:00 am$340$40
NL Hold'em Sept. 24, 2009 11:00 am$230$30
NL Hold'em Sept. 25, 2009 11:00 am$340$40
NL Hold'em Sept. 26, 2009 11:00 am$230$30
NL Hold'em Sept. 27, 2009 11:00 am$120$20
Omaha Hi-Lo Sept. 27, 2009 4:00 pm$230$30
NL Hold'em Sept. 28, 2009 11:00 am$340$40
NL Hold'em Sept. 29, 2009 11:00 am$230$30
Super Satellite Sept. 29, 2009 3:00 pm$230$30
NL Hold'em Sept. 30, 2009 11:00 am$340$40
Super Satellite Sept. 30, 2009 3:00 pm$250$30
Limit Hold'emOct. 1, 2009 11:00 am$230$30
Super SatelliteOct. 1, 20093:00 pm$250$30
NL Hold'emOct. 2, 2009 11:00 am$550$50
Super SatelliteOct. 2, 20093:00 pm$250$30
Super SatelliteOct. 3, 2009 11:00 am$250$30
Super SatelliteOct. 3, 2009 3:00 pm$250$30
NL Hold'em Championship EventOct. 4 - 5, 2009 10:00 am$1,100$100
NL Hold'em Oct. 5, 2009  2:00 pm $120 $20

Sunday, August 30, 2009

Home Game

Poker Pro MJ Bernstein's Blog
-----------------------------

Last week I was invited to a home game in a nearby suburb of Chicago. The players who rotate in this game are a group of working professionals from downtown. Although the stakes are midlevel, the atmosphere is light with most everyone just looking for a way to kick back in the evening.

I was told the game was going to begin at 8:00 so I planned to get there around 7:30. After arriving, I was greeted by our host, Ron, and then introduced to some of the other players. These days it's always interesting to hang out with people after 5 during the week. Despite losing their ties, everyone is still in uniform and recounting the days' speed bumps and victories. Those kinds of things always made me nauseous and it's definitely a life I could never go back to. Sorry if I'm offending anyone here but it's just not for me. Anyway, I met some very nice people and, after 10 minutes or so, we decided to start the game early and work more people in as they arrived.

Although there was no cap on the buy-in, everyone was coming in for 1-2K. I usually like to be at the top of the buy-in range so I bought in for 2K. A new deck of cards was tossed over to me which, after a quick but thorough inspection (or so I thought), I unwrapped and began to shuffle. I high-carded for the button -which I won- and began to deal. A player in early position immediately comes in for a raise and everyone, myself included, calls. The flop comes out JJA with two diamonds. The original player leads out and everyone folds except the BB. The turn is the 10 of clubs. The original better checks and the BB makes a pot size bet. The original raiser then check-raises 2.5x and the BB just calls. The river is a 10 of diamonds. The original raiser immediately goes all in and the BB snap calls. Any guesses as to what their cards were? The original better turns over AA for a flopped full house. The snap caller then loudly proclaims "holy $hit" as he turns over KQ of diamonds for a Royal Flush. At this point, the only thought in my head was why the hell can't this happen in a casino?! With the original bettor and the rest of the table stunned, the other player rakes in the chips while talking a mile a minute about how lucky he was. An unbelievable opening hand, right?!

After all the commotion subsided, the next hand was dealt. I look down and find two red Aces. It was already raised to me so I re-raise and saw a flop with two callers. The flop comes out JJ10. The first position player bets out and is called. I call as well. The turn is another beautiful Ace. This time the first player checks and the second player bets. I pop it a healthy amount and both players call. The river is another Ace. Life is good, eh? You will never guess what happened next. The first player moves all-in, the second player calls and I obviously can't get my chips in fast enough. I decide to open first and show the bad news to everyone. The first player begins to shake his head and starts yelling as he turns over JJ for flopped quads. Of course, nothing could have prepared us for what the other player turned over. He begins to laugh as he turns over AJ?! Another player immediately grabs the deck from the dealer and starts to peal cards.The next 10 cards off the top were Aces, Kings and Queens!

Obviously the next logical question after that was WHAT IN THE HELL IS GOING ON?! The next voice I hear is Ron's: "Steve, you dip$hit, you bought the wrong deck of cards!". It turns out we were playing with a pinochle deck which has no small cards whatsoever. None of us, especially me, bothered to look at the carton, not to mention turned over the deck. Talk about not playing with a 'full deck'. I felt way embarrassed and I'm sure I wasn't the only one.

Needless to say, everyone's money was returned and we broke out a new deck. The rest of the night was pretty normal and I had a good time. I managed a decent profit and got home sometime around 2.

All In



I was playing today a small rebuy tournament. I'm just hanging around when this hand came. It was three way all-in on the flop. It's not funny, it's a serius hand. Do you know who had the best odds preflop? I know, because two years ago I had to calculate the odds for the similar hand. So look at the hand below and think about it. For the answer click on the picture, it may surprise you.

Thursday, August 20, 2009

12 Life Strategy Tips From Mike Caro That Really Work

From: http://www.poker1.com/absolutenm/templates/mculib_articles.aspx?articleid=90&zoneid=3

This is the original manuscript for a two-part series that was featured in Casino Player magazine about 1994. I spend a lot of time teaching life strategy, and there are many similarities between using correct tactics everyday and making winning decisions gambling.
But, remember, in gambling you can't beat many games, because the odds are fixed against you. So, you need to stick to the ones for which your skill is sufficient to win - such as poker, private wagers, gin rummy, and sometimes blackjack. Avoid roulette and craps. These are games with odds that are permanently on the casino's side. There is no way you can overcome this disadvantage, so you shouldn't play. But life's different. You're in that game, even if you sometimes wish you weren't - and your decisions always matter.
The original two-part series has been merged below and appears a single article. - Mike Caro
Caro's Most Powerful Gambling Advice Tackles Real-Life: Part I
"America's Mad Genius" Mike Caro

Suddenly you're awake. But where are you? Everywhere you look there's white. White walls hug and confine you, stretching deeper and deeper, marking the boundaries of a straight, narrow, featureless hallway. You're bewildered, but who wouldn't be? Finally you stand and look behind you. All white, everything, going back to where it all vanishes.

You push against the hard white floor, swaying and almost losing your balance because you've been asleep so long. Looking ahead, you realize the hallway is not exactly like it was behind you. Almost the same, but not quite. Way, way in the distance you can see some specks. And, reasoning that specks are better than nothing, you begin walking toward them.

It takes a long time, but then the specks grow and define themselves. They have become signs, gold in color and arrow-shaped. They hang at the end of the hallway, and you can see lettering on them. Closer and closer you walk, until you can see that there's a second hallway perpendicular to the this one. One arrow points left and reads: "Casino." The other points right and reads: "Life."

It's decisions like this that make you cry out for your mommy. Let me help. Turn right toward the real world, and I'll give you some advice as you're walking. In the future I'll provide plenty of strategy for winning at formal gambling, including some tips that will help you fare better inside the casino.

But there's something you have to understand today. Gambling games are merely formalized, simplified ways of experiencing exactly the same risks we experience in everyday life. If you're alive--as most of my readers are--you gamble. Formally or informally, you gamble.
Not surprisingly, many of the same strategies I've lectured about and analyzed with computers apply just as powerfully to everyday life as they do to formalized gambling. Somewhere down the list of my next 20 books, which I've announced but failed to deliver so far, is one called Poker Without Cards.

By the way, I absolutely never use any manipulative tactics that I teach against people I respect. Why? Because, having heard me lecture about these strategies, people would feel uncomfortable dealing with me. So, I deal with all friendly associates in a completely straightforward manner. I have to. You don't. Now here are some useful examples of gambling tips and philosophies I hope you'll successfully be able to adapt to the world around you.

1. The cards probably won't break even--not in gin rummy, not in poker, and not in real life. There's a common misconception that if you play poker long enough the cards will break even. Fat chance! Maybe, if you could play forever, never stopping, never sleeping, eventually you'd break even on luck. But not in just one lifetime! Early on you'd probably break even on, say, the number of full houses you were dealt, but it would take much longer to break even on circumstances surrounding those full houses.

You might lose more hands than you should lose on average. On the other hand, sometimes opponents might have nothing to oppose you with, and you'll win nothing. You might get many full houses when you're sitting in big-limit games, or you may receive most in smaller games. You might be against weak opponents, you might not. On and on. And the more factors you consider, the broader the range of luck, and the longer it will take for you to break even.

Does this mean some people are luckier than others for their lifetimes? You bet! But there's good news. You can still win, year after year, in gambling games requiring skill, even if you're not lucky. How? Simply by making the best decisions again and again without fail. Then, instead of being a break-even big-money player who may win $100,000 one year and lose $100,000 the next, you might win $250,000 in a lucky year and win $50,000 in an unlucky year. In this over-simplified example, the $200,000 swing from lucky year to unlucky year isn't enough to cause you to lose. At seminars, I teach that you should go to the poker table day after day on a simple mission. That mission is to make the best decisions always, and never worry about whether you're lucky or unlucky. You can't control your luck, but you can control your decisions.

Same in life. Some people spend half their lives in hospitals. Others are healthy. All your belongings might be swept up in a tornado. You might discover a million dollar painting in you attic. Stop expecting life to be equal for everyone. It won't be. Your mission is simply to make the best decisions with the "hands" you're dealt.

2. If you're a winner--in formal gambling or in life--you should never try to get even "for the night." By doing this, you're perverting your practice of making meaningful decisions while pursuing a meaningless goal. The mistake is in looking at each gambling session, or each financial venture, as a game to be won or lost. Don't! In poker, it's better to win $10,000, lose $2000, and lose $500 than to win $4,000, win $998 and win $2. In the first case, you won $7,500, but you only had one win and two losses. In the second case, you won only $5,000, but you won all three times. Oddly, most gamblers and most people in real life unconsciously feel better about the second scenario than the first. Such feelings are natural, but they're also dangerous.
If you agree with me that $7,500 is better than $5,000, then you should clearly see that it doesn't matter where the profits come from. The next two points are closely related, and they demonstrate how most people diminish their overall success.

3. Never make anything worse. Sure, it sounds obvious? But guess what? I've never met anyone who didn't make things worse sometimes, including myself. People get angry, and they make things worse. They lose at business or at romance, and they make things worse. It's because they're feeling so miserable that those extra losses don't seem to register. In gambling, I call this dangerous practice crossing the threshold of misery. Here's how it works.

A player sits down at blackjack thinking that the worst that can happen is he'll lose $500. Everything goes wrong and suddenly he's losing $1,000. He has now crossed the threshold of misery and maximized his ability to register pain. Losing $1,114 doesn't feel any worse than losing $1,000. That extra $114 doesn't matter, and so he concentrates less and plays worse. It happens all the time in life. Romance does this to you. Unexpected misfortune does this to you. Decisions that would normally matter (like that extra $114 in blackjack) don't seem to matter by comparison. But these decisions all add up. In life people who are heartbroken sometimes make the worst business decisions imaginable. Those decisions don't seem to matter much compared to the heartbreak. And those decisions all add up, and eventually they will matter.

In poker, many lifelong losing players would actually be lifelong winners if they simply never made things worse. Worse out of anger, worse out of exasperation, worse out of apathy, worse out of self-pity, worse out of temper. If it doesn't matter now, it will matter tomorrow. So from now on, promise yourself you will never make things worse. You will never make things worse.

4. What you've already invested doesn't matter. Too many poker players damage their bankrolls by calculating how much they personally "invested" in the pot before making their decision about whether to bet or fold. Don't do that. The pot, all that money you're competing for, is simply there. It doesn't matter where it came from or how much of it you invested. It wouldn't matter whether it had originally been all yours or whether the players just happened to find it forgotten on the table. The pot belongs to no one right now.

Same in life. It doesn't matter how much money, how much time, how much effort you have invested in a project. Say you purchased land for $50,000. One morning you wake up and it's only worth $25,000. That same day, someone offers you $40,000. You should accept this offer, because you're not losing $10,000, you're gaining $15,000. That's because what the land used to be worth doesn't matter, and what you've invested doesn't matter. You don't need to win on this investment. The trick is to make winning decisions again and again and let lifelong success take care of itself. Ignoring taxes, write-offs or anything else that will complicate this example, the land is worth $25,000 now. You can get $40,000 by selling. Selling is the right decision, and it has value--in this case, $15,000.

5. Never seek sympathy. I teach gamblers never to complain about bad luck. First of all, nobody really cares. Their own exaggerated memories of personal bad luck dwarf whatever you're complaining about. And if you complain to opponents--such as in a poker game--they're inspired because you're unlucky. They'll think you're not a force to be reckoned with, they'll play better, and they'll cost you money.
It's the same in life. There's absolutely no reason to tell tales of misfortune. You'll inspire life's opponents, and you'll lose esteem among life's allies. So, if your luck is bad, keep it to yourself.

6. Keep your hand secret. If you habitually exposed your poker hand before the showdown, opponents would know what you had, and they'd know for certain whether to play against you, whether to raise you, whether to pass. It would be stupid to play poker that way, but people do that everyday in real life. How? They don't keep secrets. Listen: Never volunteer personal information to anyone who isn't a friend, unless you know specifically that you have something to gain by volunteering the information. Sound heartless? Well, OK, it's all right to volunteer useful information if it can't harm you. It's also all right to give information sometimes if you're getting information in return.

But think back. I'll bet for every time you regretted keeping secrets, there are many more times you regretted telling secrets. People simply give away too much information, and it eventually haunts them. Secrets can seem insignificant at the time they're shared, but later the sharing turns out to be an important mistake.

Like it or not, successful people keep secrets much better than unsuccessful people, just as successful poker players conceal their hands better than unsuccessful players. Repeating: It's a fact that people who succeed keep secrets. Never reveal important information about yourself unless you have a specific reason for doing so. Starting now, practice telling yourself mentally why you're giving information before you give information.

People talk about their lives and their opinions, giving information that may later be damaging. They do this because they want to seem friendly. But, there's a special way you can be just as friendly and, instead of putting yourself in jeopardy, gain an advantage. How? Instead of giving information about yourself, use the same time to ask other people about themselves. If you're talking to a potential competitor, don't volunteer information; ask for opinions. I do this at the poker table. After a hand, I ask an opponent how he would have played. Usually, the player is flattered and offers a sincere answer, such as he would have bluffed. I remember that answer, and weeks later--long after the opponent has forgotten our conversation--I call and win the pot.

It's the same in real life. You remember the information, and you use it later.
By the way, when I consult with businesses, there seems to be one recurring problem that comes up again and again. How can supervisors best smooth up relationships between themselves and employees who don't like them. The answer is simple. Ask the employees for their opinions. In life, you can patch up most relationships simply by softly asking a person: "What do you think?", "What would you do in this situation?", "How would you handle this?" People are universally flattered when you ask for opinions. It works with enemies, it works with employees, it works with children. Trust me, and try it. And it's consistent with the powerful poker technique of concealing your own hand while learning as much as you can about your opponents.

One of life's most important goals is to gain as much useful information from others as possible, while guarding your own secrets wisely.

7. Don't humiliate your opponents. Always allow opponents to save face, no matter how tempting it is to gloat. When you make it painful for opponents to lose, they play better, but you want opponents to play worse . Additionally, life is complicated enough without motivating people to get even with you. So, always give those you conquer a chance to save face--unless you'll never have to confront them again.
In poker, it's the same--unless your opponent is permanently broke after losing this pot, don't humiliate him. Angry players often return to harm you. Don't gloat; win graciously.

8. Don't even the score. This one's hard on your ego, but listen anyway. In life you don't need to get even with the person who did you wrong. Similarly, you don't need to get even with the person who bluffed you in poker. You shouldn't care where your next opportunity to gain comes from. You don't have to get even or break even with anyone. Play the opportunities as they arise. Success stacks up the same, no matter where it comes from. Some people are so busy getting even, they never have time to get ahead.

In gambling and in life, a few people are going to get the better of you. So what? If you won a bet on a basketball game, would you be upset that the other team's center scored more points than your team's center? Of course not! You won the bet, so what do you care? Same in life. If you win overall, don't fret over a few lost skirmishes, and never waste energy trying to get even with those who beat you.

9. Act last. Almost no one realizes the importance of acting last. At my poker seminars, I teach how important it is to understand your position at the table. Players must act in turn, and those who act after you have an advantage because they get to see what you do before they make their decisions. So, I teach that you should use psychology and make friends with players who act after you. They'll then be less motivated to exploit their advantages. This works in life, too. Befriend those who have an advantage, so they will be less motivated to make it difficult on you. That's important, and I'll repeat it: In life, make friends with those who could do you the most damage.

And there's more. You should usually strive to gain advantage by acting last. If you're sure that everyone will have an equal chance to act, it's better--with few exceptions--to wait to see what your opponents do, then adapt your strategy accordingly. In poker, we call it a positional advantage. Let's call it the same thing in real life.

10. Save your fancy moves for when you're running good. In skillful gambling, when your luck is running bad, opponents often become inspired and play better. You're no longer a force to be reckoned with in their minds. Most of your fancy plays won't work because you've lost the intimidation factor, which is fundamental to many aggressive strategies. At these times, you should become a more timid player. In life, do the same thing. Sometimes in conversations or in business, things aren't really clicking and you're losing ground. You can feel it happening. Play defensively. Your image is wrong for asserting yourself, so--if possible--just lurk and don't take a stand yet. Many people desperately try to prove themselves when they are at a disadvantage, but they ought to just sit silently. As a bonus, this silence often seems like strength to others. Repeating: When you're at a disadvantage, or you're just not in sync, don't try to prove yourself immediately. Wait it out. Sooner or later an opportunity will come, and then you can be profound or assertive.

11. Cheer for your friends. I want to warn you about envy. Many people don't want their friends to succeed. In gambling, I never feel envious of friends who are winning more than I am. I want my friends to succeed so they can share their secrets, so they can tip me off to better games in the future, so they introduce me to rich novices looking for a game--all sorts of benefits. If your enemies win, you don't get any of these advantages. It's the same in life. You should want your friends to succeed always. The more friends you have succeeding, the more opportunities you'll have. It's just plain crazy, but common, to be jealous of your friends' successes.

12. Don't fret over each injustice. In gambling and in life, there's always injustice. Bet on it! Poker's worst starting hands often win. And bad players sometimes get lucky. In life, the same. In fact, there's so much injustice that we couldn't possibly devote ourselves to setting things right.

Next year there will probably be 246 unbelievably unjust things that will happen to you personally. Cashiers will hand you too little change. People will spread falsehoods about you. Someone will misunderstand what you say. Crooks will scam you. On and on. And we're guessing that this will happen 246 times next year. If it only happens 230 times, you're having a good year! So, you can either just going on to the next thing, or you can damage you chances of success by dwelling on each injustice, talking about it, fuming over it. All that fusing, all that fuming, all that waste of mental energy really doesn't make sense. Why should you get aggravated, especially if you're having a good year? So, simply, learn to overlook injustices unless you're prepared to act on them. Yes, It's noble to act against injustice, but it's wasteful to dwell on personal injustices you're not willing to act on.

I'd be honored if you tried out some of the strategies we've talked about the last two months. Let me know if they work for you.

Isn't Omaha Hi/Low fun

Smal stakes Hi/Low game. On the turn it's three way all in. All I get is low side pot.
Three hands later I'm all in preflop ready to go bed, but somehow I skoop the main pot. Well, I'm back in the game.
Five minutes later we are all in on the turn, and I'm on my way to bed.

Wednesday, August 19, 2009

George Will Is Logical On Online Poker


Raising the Stakes on Online Poker
George Will
Monday, August 17, 2009

Howard Lederer, aka "the Professor," is a professional poker player, not a gambler. If Congress will acknowledge this distinction, it will rectify one of its recent mistakes.

In 2006, Congress, cloaking cunning with moralizing, effectively outlawed Internet gambling by making it illegal for banks or credit-card companies to process payments to online gambling operations. This was more than moral pork for social conservatives. It also blocked online competitors from poaching gamblers from the nation's most aggressive promoters of gambling -- state governments. They are increasingly addicted to revenues raised by lotteries -- the 42 states that have lotteries spent $520 million in 2007 promoting them -- and from taxation of other legal gambling. The law exempted Internet state lotteries and two powerful and vocal interests -- online betting on horse racing and some fantasy sports betting online.

Having turned gambling, which once was treated as a sin, into a social policy, government looks unusually silly criminalizing online forms of it.

Granted, some people gamble excessively (although not nearly as many people as eat excessively). Granted, gambling becomes addictive to a small minority (although it is not nearly as addictive as smoking and drinking).

Granted, gambling is morally dubious when it is only the unproductive pursuit of wealth without work (although gambling is productive of pleasure for tens of millions of Americans for whom it is a frequent pastime). But never mind whether government should try to tightly circumscribe a ubiquitous human activity that generally harms nobody.

That is beside the point Lederer and the Poker Players Alliance are toiling to make, which is that by sweeping online poker into its proscription of online gambling, Congress committed a category mistake.

Congress, Lederer thinks, should revisit the work of John von Neumann (1903-57), the Hungarian-born mathematician who, after working for the Manhattan Project on implosion design for the atomic bomb, became a defense intellectual specializing in the relevance of game theory to strategic thinking. Chess involves logic; roulette involves probability theory. Poker involves logic, probability and something pertinent to military and diplomatic strategy -- bluffing.

"Theory of Parlor Games" (1928) and, with Oskar Morgenstern, "Theory of Games and Economic Behavior" (1944) established the field of game theory. Another of today's leading professional poker players, Chris Ferguson, is the son of a mother who is a mathematician and a father who teaches game theory at UCLA.

When you play chess, Lederer says, there is symmetry of information:

Both players have all the information provided by the location of the pieces on the board, and both are equally ignorant of the opponent's intentions. A computer can be programmed to "play" a powerful game of chess, but not of poker, wherein your opponents' cards are concealed.

Lederer is confident that a brain scan of someone playing poker would reveal a lit-up frontal lobe, but the lobe of someone watching television would show up cool blue. A poker player -- unlike someone playing roulette, a lottery or "video poker" (which Lederer says is a misnomer; it is a game of chance governed by a machine) -- is trying to apply skill, acquired by experience, to increase the probability of winning each hand.

The son of an English teacher at St. Paul's School in New Hampshire, Lederer decided to spend a year studying chess before matriculating at Columbia University. Instead, he discovered poker. He started at Columbia but left, reasoning that he had found his vocation. He has won about $5 million.

But what is his stake in decriminalizing online poker? After all, he plays much more on green felt-covered tables than online. His interest is threefold. First, his libertarian temperament -- he lives in Las Vegas, where almost anything goes -- is offended by mother-hen government. Second, he wants as many people as possible to have access to poker's delights.

Third, the more poker players there are, the larger will be the ranks of competitors, and the television audiences, for professional poker competitions. Hence the larger will be the potential winnings. This year, Lederer says, there were 6,494 competitors in the World Series of Poker Main Event, down about 1,000 from 2006, largely because more players used to win their $10,000 entry fee in online tournaments.

It is a poker skill to know when to hold 'em and when to fold 'em.

Congress probably should fold its interference with Internet gambling, and certainly should get its 10 thumbs off Americans' freedom to exercise their poker skills online.

Mike Caro On Stupid Poker Rule


Question 4: Any rules at the WSOP that annoy you?

Yes, but it's not the fault of the WSOP. All major tournaments have adopted this same new rule and it's driving me crazy, or crazier, whatever.

It actually came up in an event I played this year at the Series. I was heads-up, giggling and mumbling about the cards showing on the board, attempting to get a read on my opponent, who had bet on the previous round and again now. There was something like A-4-Q-K-10 showing at the river and I had a pair of queens. I was saying, "Wouldn't you be concerned about the jack if you actually had a big pair?" As I'm speaking these words, I'm gauging my opponent's reaction.

The dealer then informed me that you can't speculate aloud about a hand. I didn't know that. I knew there was an absurd rule stating that you can't tell the truth about your hand-meaning if I say: "All I can tell you for sure is that I don't have a pair of aces", then I must have a pair of aces or I'm in violation of the rule.

I think not being able to speculate about a hand heads-up is even worse, and certainly not good for either the soul of poker or televised play-by-play drama. Humor me. Change these rules, please. By the way, I called and won the pot.

I believe there's a place on this planet for a game where you have flushes, full houses, and pairs, but can't speculate aloud about your hands. That's perfectly okay with me. But please don't call it poker, because that name is already taken.

From Poker Player

Saturday, August 15, 2009

Bad Beat Aruba Step3

Aruba Step5 Out In Seven Hands

On My Way To Aruba Step4



After winning in step one I had easy sail and won Step2 and Step3. There is no video due to technical problems. My software was recording only the chat window and not the table. I was bussy playing, and didn't notice the problem till I started editing the video. I don't understant this error, but since I rebooted the computer and did a few tests it all works fine.

I played Step4 first time two days ago and finished sixth. Than I decided to buy in Step4 $3.23. I finished seventh, so I decided to buy in Step3 $1.10 finished second and here I am again in Step4.

Friday, August 14, 2009

The Worst Poker Book - Farha on Omaha




READERS REVIEW

1.0 out of 5 stars Gotta be better books, October 31, 2007
By C. Sperlazza "SammyStoleMyMoney" (USA) - See all my reviews(REAL NAME) Have been reading this book for a few days and it is one most people could do without. From blatant errors of just about every kind...textual mistakes to simple pot odd mistakes, it makes me wonder if Sam Farha had anything to do with even writing this book. It is time to wonder about who is actually writing these poker books. Pot odds mistakes? Telling you it is good expected value to walk away from a favored drawing hand because it is the last hand of the night? I mean give me a break...spend your money on the Farha Bobblehead Doll instead of the book because it may actually help your poker more.
2.0 out of 5 stars Skip it, November 16, 2007
By David Nicoson (Indianapolis, IN USA) - See all my reviews(REAL NAME) This book doesn't deliver. I suspect that the contribution of each author is inversely proportional to the size of text used for his name on the cover. The authors devote excessive space to structured limit Omaha high. That's a very unusual (and awful) game. Although the basic advice in this section isn't too far off, the conceptual arguments have some fundamental flaws. The pot-limit section contradicts itself with respect to the importance of hand selection within the first two pages. Farha relates the story of an elaborate bluff that's a little bit interesting but in the end comes off as a brag. There are better books on this subject. Try Doyle Brunson's Super System II or Pot-Limit & No-Limit Poker.
1.0 out of 5 stars The worst Omaha book out there., February 27, 2008
By True Grinder - See all my reviewsWow, I was really disappointed in this book. I've seen Sammy play Omaha, and all I can figure is that he didn't write this book. Ghostwriters are big in the publishing business, but I wonder if Sammy read this book before it was released. If you want a book that will help you (and that doesn't waste space covering limit high Omaha, which no one plays anymore), then buy Jeff Hwang's book. Sorry, Sammy, I like you. But I've already given your book to Goodwill.

http://www.amazon.com/Farha-Omaha-Strategy-Beating-Tournaments/dp/1600780202


Monday, August 10, 2009

I'm On My Way To Aruba Step1

I played a satellite for Aruba Classic and I'm in Step2. Watch me destroying my opponents in Step1. Come back and check my progress on the way to Aruba.
You can qualify for Aruba Classic tournament for free, by playing "10 Steps" on Ultimate Bet.

Thursday, August 6, 2009

Wisconsin Players Take Heartland Poker Tour

Heartland Poker Tour event at Majestic Star Casino Gary, Indiana August 3, 2009

Total Prize Pool: $436,224
1184 players in Qualifiers; 457 players in the Main Event

Top two prizes went to Wisconsin players.
1. Robert "Pato Bob" Whalen - Cudahy, WI $129,967
2. Zachary Sheline - Middleton, WI $64,984

Click here for the complete list.

Congratulations guys.

Heartland Poker Tour

Jack on the river.


I'm playing two small tournament on UB. I bust out from both at the same moment, and the same way. I decide to go all in just for the size of the pot. I get my card, and than Jack on the river beats me. I made $4.23