I came across this video on YouTube tonight. Incredible! Incredible! It fits perfectly with my recent ramblings about the unjustice of the poker gods. Of course, if I were at the table, you can probably guess which hand I would have been holding!
Enjoy...
Got Middle Game?
I played a couple more $20 sit 'n go's tonight. Was knocked out of both before the money. On the first, I was short stacked with 5 players left. I made a +EV push from the small blind and the big blind called me with AA. Easy push, easy call. His aces held up. On the second, again 5 handed, and again short stacked, I pushed with JJ from the CO (didn't need ICM for that one!). Was called by the big blind with AQ. He caught an ace to knock me out.
My short-stack game has really developed over the last month. Quite frankly, I have spent almost all my free time studying short-stack play and believe I have close to mastered it (regardless of the results!). I evaluate my push/fold decisions after each game using SitNGo Wizard. I am at a point now where I am making almost 100% of my push/fold decisions correctly. By "almost" 100%, there are a few times when SNG Wizard says to push that I elect not to. For example, if I am on the BB and the small blind or button limps, SNG Wiz will recommend a push with almost any two cards. I started to do that when I first learned about this error but found I was getting trapped by the button. So I dialed back this move. But the rest are fair game. And I am hitting them near 100% correctly. So I believe my short game has gone from average to excellent in about a month's time (and I will document my strategy as part of the advanced lessons), even if the results do not show it (continuous bad beats).
I am always looking for the next part of my game that needs improvement. It occurred to me tonight that even through I have become an excellent short stack player, it would be much better if I didn't have to put those skills to the test to begin with. So, how do I avoid getting short stacked before getting into the money? Well, that is all about the middle game.
The middle game is where you build your chips so that you have enough to do battle when you get to the bubble. But to be quite frank, I suck at the middle game. That is probably why I end up on the short stack 80% of the time when 4 or 5 handed. So, my new focus will be on studying middle game play. I need to understand the key changes I need to make when entering the middle game with the end goal of accumulating chips so that I remain in the yellow or green MZones. In those zones I can continue to play poker, or I can use my chips to push around the short stacks. So that will be my focus until I master the middle game.
If you have any tips, please let me know!
My short-stack game has really developed over the last month. Quite frankly, I have spent almost all my free time studying short-stack play and believe I have close to mastered it (regardless of the results!). I evaluate my push/fold decisions after each game using SitNGo Wizard. I am at a point now where I am making almost 100% of my push/fold decisions correctly. By "almost" 100%, there are a few times when SNG Wizard says to push that I elect not to. For example, if I am on the BB and the small blind or button limps, SNG Wiz will recommend a push with almost any two cards. I started to do that when I first learned about this error but found I was getting trapped by the button. So I dialed back this move. But the rest are fair game. And I am hitting them near 100% correctly. So I believe my short game has gone from average to excellent in about a month's time (and I will document my strategy as part of the advanced lessons), even if the results do not show it (continuous bad beats).
I am always looking for the next part of my game that needs improvement. It occurred to me tonight that even through I have become an excellent short stack player, it would be much better if I didn't have to put those skills to the test to begin with. So, how do I avoid getting short stacked before getting into the money? Well, that is all about the middle game.
The middle game is where you build your chips so that you have enough to do battle when you get to the bubble. But to be quite frank, I suck at the middle game. That is probably why I end up on the short stack 80% of the time when 4 or 5 handed. So, my new focus will be on studying middle game play. I need to understand the key changes I need to make when entering the middle game with the end goal of accumulating chips so that I remain in the yellow or green MZones. In those zones I can continue to play poker, or I can use my chips to push around the short stacks. So that will be my focus until I master the middle game.
If you have any tips, please let me know!
The Poker Gods Are Forgiven
I honestly believe that if it weren't for bad beats I would cash in every sit 'n go I entered. I am playing very well and making solid decisions. Because of my preflop strategy I usually have a better hand than my opponents when getting my chips in. But that really doesn't mean much when the poker gods are messing around with the results.
Well, it was my turn for a suck out. I was the short stack on the bubble in a $20 sit and go and made a positive EV push from the small blind with a J7o. I was called by the big blind. He has an AK. I caught a 7 to win the hand and double up. He was soon knocked out and I ended up winning the sit n go. Thanks poker gods... you are now forgiven.
I played another and finished third. So my ROI for the last week is about 50%, which I am very pleased with. However, I still have a long climb to get back up to where I was . My bankroll has risen above the mark I need to move up to the next stakes, per my bankroll rules. So I will move up now and hope the poker gods stay out of it for a while longer.
Well, it was my turn for a suck out. I was the short stack on the bubble in a $20 sit and go and made a positive EV push from the small blind with a J7o. I was called by the big blind. He has an AK. I caught a 7 to win the hand and double up. He was soon knocked out and I ended up winning the sit n go. Thanks poker gods... you are now forgiven.
I played another and finished third. So my ROI for the last week is about 50%, which I am very pleased with. However, I still have a long climb to get back up to where I was . My bankroll has risen above the mark I need to move up to the next stakes, per my bankroll rules. So I will move up now and hope the poker gods stay out of it for a while longer.
The Poker Gods Really Suck
I was knocked out of my last three tournaments on bad beats. Yes, I get that they are part of the game, but it gets frustrating to continuously make excellent decisions, get my money in with the best hand, to only have the poker gods award my opponents for their mistakes. And of course, they usually wait until the river to serve up the blow.
In the last tourney I shoved with pocket aces on a KQx rainbow board against two opponents. I had raised preflop, so I didn't see them calling with KQ or something like that, so figured my AA was good. I was hoping one of them had AK, but that is unlikely seeing I have two aces. Anyway, I didn't want an AT, AJ, or JT to draw, so I shoved. It really didn't matter how I played
it. All the chips were going in. I get one caller and he turns over KJ (which is a horrific hand to call a preflop raise out of position with). Anyway, the turn is a blank and the river is another K. I am out of the tourney.
Before that we are down to 5 players and most of us are under 10 bb's. I am looking for an opportunity to get my money in the middle. I am dealt QQ in the SB. The CO shoves, it is folded around to me, and I make a solid +EV call with my QQ. My opponent turns over AQ (which was also a solid +EV shove), only leaving him 3 outs. The flop misses him, as does the turn. But you can probably guess what came on the river. I'm knocked out. I don't understand why the poker gods have to screw around with things here. Why don't they just let the best hands hold up?
My knock out last night was very unusual (not the knock out, but the tourney itself). Typically at the lower levels I am only one of a couple of +ROI players. But in this one, 7 of the 9 players were +ROI, and most were +10%. I was not surprised to see the fish and the other bad player get knocked out early. It was like a feeding frenzy, each of us trying to consume their chips before they departed. The rest of us survived past the first break, which again is very unusual to get that far at all, let alone with 7 players. At the risk of sounding arrogant, I played a flawless short-stack game. I make 100% of the correct push/fold decisions (according to my post-game review in SNG Wiz). Before I got short stacked I lost a coin-toss situation. I open-pushed from the SB with TT and was called by a player with QJ (yes, my push was +EV and his call was -EV). He caught a Q to beat me. But I had more chips, so was still alive. I fought my way back up to almost 10 bb's. I shove with QQ and some moron calls me with A7. He catches an ace to beat me.
I guess the suck outs are what keeps the fish coming back, and that in turn lines the pockets of the good players with gold. Regardless, four bad beats in my last three tournaments. Zero cashes. Frustrated. On tilt. Quiting for the night.
In the last tourney I shoved with pocket aces on a KQx rainbow board against two opponents. I had raised preflop, so I didn't see them calling with KQ or something like that, so figured my AA was good. I was hoping one of them had AK, but that is unlikely seeing I have two aces. Anyway, I didn't want an AT, AJ, or JT to draw, so I shoved. It really didn't matter how I played
it. All the chips were going in. I get one caller and he turns over KJ (which is a horrific hand to call a preflop raise out of position with). Anyway, the turn is a blank and the river is another K. I am out of the tourney.Before that we are down to 5 players and most of us are under 10 bb's. I am looking for an opportunity to get my money in the middle. I am dealt QQ in the SB. The CO shoves, it is folded around to me, and I make a solid +EV call with my QQ. My opponent turns over AQ (which was also a solid +EV shove), only leaving him 3 outs. The flop misses him, as does the turn. But you can probably guess what came on the river. I'm knocked out. I don't understand why the poker gods have to screw around with things here. Why don't they just let the best hands hold up?
My knock out last night was very unusual (not the knock out, but the tourney itself). Typically at the lower levels I am only one of a couple of +ROI players. But in this one, 7 of the 9 players were +ROI, and most were +10%. I was not surprised to see the fish and the other bad player get knocked out early. It was like a feeding frenzy, each of us trying to consume their chips before they departed. The rest of us survived past the first break, which again is very unusual to get that far at all, let alone with 7 players. At the risk of sounding arrogant, I played a flawless short-stack game. I make 100% of the correct push/fold decisions (according to my post-game review in SNG Wiz). Before I got short stacked I lost a coin-toss situation. I open-pushed from the SB with TT and was called by a player with QJ (yes, my push was +EV and his call was -EV). He caught a Q to beat me. But I had more chips, so was still alive. I fought my way back up to almost 10 bb's. I shove with QQ and some moron calls me with A7. He catches an ace to beat me.
I guess the suck outs are what keeps the fish coming back, and that in turn lines the pockets of the good players with gold. Regardless, four bad beats in my last three tournaments. Zero cashes. Frustrated. On tilt. Quiting for the night.
Avoid Turbos
A few days ago I received an e-mail from a person in Italy who has been following the basic strategy outlined in my course. He was frustrated because he was using all the tools and following the strategy closely, but he was not making any money. Over the last month he was about even. I asked him to send me some hand histories so I could review his game.
I went through the first tournament and other than a bad play on the hand he was knocked out on, he was playing very well. I gave him some feedback on the first tournament, then began to examine the second. It wasn't until the second that I realized he was playing turbo speed tournaments instead of normal speed tournaments. When I asked him about that he said he was advised by "another person" to play turbos because you can do more of them in the same amount of time.
I agree with that 100%... you can play more of them in the same amount of time. That does not mean you can generate more money playing them! The variance is actually higher on turbos than normal speed tournaments. However, that isn't the point. The bigger point is this... the strategy that I outlined on SitNGoTraining.com is not intended for turbo play. It is intended for normal speed play.
In addition, he was instructed by the other person to play multiple tables at the same time to increase his profit and decrease his variance. All things being equal, yes you can increase your hourly profit and decrease your hourly variance by doing this, IF you are a top notch player. For the rest of us, multi-tabling turbos greatly decreases the amount of attention we can give to the table and we have a much shorter amount of time to examine the situation and make solid decisions.
I advised him to make two changes. First, if he is going to follow my strategy, play normal speed sit 'n go tournaments. The strategy is designed very tight in the early stages. So you must play the slowest tournaments in order to see more hands before the critical short-stack and bubble stages. In addition, I advised him to play no more than 2 tables until his ROI is consistently above 15% for 100 games (which is appropriate for the buy-in he is playing). Once he meets the ROI requirements, than he can either move up in stakes, or add more tables.
He made the change immediately and reported back that over his next 10 games he has cashed 7 times (for an ROI of 105%) and that two of the knock-outs were when he got all-in with AA and his opponent sucked out on him. Sign me up for some of those results!!! I realize the sample is too small (even 100 games is a small sample), but he made the appropriate adjustment and is reaping the reward. Good for him.
The strategy works, as long as you play the appropriate tournaments and make good decisions. You can't do that if you are multi-tabling 8 tables on turbos. At least, most people can't. And if you are one of the few that can, then you don't need my strategy!
Note: In the advanced lessons I will teach you how to identify multi-tablers and how to exploit their tendencies!
I went through the first tournament and other than a bad play on the hand he was knocked out on, he was playing very well. I gave him some feedback on the first tournament, then began to examine the second. It wasn't until the second that I realized he was playing turbo speed tournaments instead of normal speed tournaments. When I asked him about that he said he was advised by "another person" to play turbos because you can do more of them in the same amount of time.
I agree with that 100%... you can play more of them in the same amount of time. That does not mean you can generate more money playing them! The variance is actually higher on turbos than normal speed tournaments. However, that isn't the point. The bigger point is this... the strategy that I outlined on SitNGoTraining.com is not intended for turbo play. It is intended for normal speed play.
In addition, he was instructed by the other person to play multiple tables at the same time to increase his profit and decrease his variance. All things being equal, yes you can increase your hourly profit and decrease your hourly variance by doing this, IF you are a top notch player. For the rest of us, multi-tabling turbos greatly decreases the amount of attention we can give to the table and we have a much shorter amount of time to examine the situation and make solid decisions.
I advised him to make two changes. First, if he is going to follow my strategy, play normal speed sit 'n go tournaments. The strategy is designed very tight in the early stages. So you must play the slowest tournaments in order to see more hands before the critical short-stack and bubble stages. In addition, I advised him to play no more than 2 tables until his ROI is consistently above 15% for 100 games (which is appropriate for the buy-in he is playing). Once he meets the ROI requirements, than he can either move up in stakes, or add more tables.
He made the change immediately and reported back that over his next 10 games he has cashed 7 times (for an ROI of 105%) and that two of the knock-outs were when he got all-in with AA and his opponent sucked out on him. Sign me up for some of those results!!! I realize the sample is too small (even 100 games is a small sample), but he made the appropriate adjustment and is reaping the reward. Good for him.
The strategy works, as long as you play the appropriate tournaments and make good decisions. You can't do that if you are multi-tabling 8 tables on turbos. At least, most people can't. And if you are one of the few that can, then you don't need my strategy!
Note: In the advanced lessons I will teach you how to identify multi-tablers and how to exploit their tendencies!
Resuming Play
I wrote in my last post that I wasn't going to play again until I could explain my actions (or until I cooled down!). Well, I still can not explain my actions other than, I just wasn't thinking. Regardless, I have cooled down. So I played a couple of sit 'n go poker tournaments.
The first one was beautiful. I took an early chip lead, played the bubble perfectly, and went on to crush my opponents to win 1st place. It felt good to play so well after my prevous mistake.
The second tournament wasn't quite as glorious, but I still cashed. On the knockout hand, I was on the BB with A9. The flop comes QQx. I check, as does the button. The turn is an Ace, giving me two pair with a 9 kicker. I don't think my opponent has an ace, but I am still concerned he might be slowplaying a queen. I check, as does the button.
Final card is a harmless 5. I am pretty sure my opponent does not have an ace or a queen, so my two pair are probably good. There are no flushes or reasonable straights on the board. I only have about 7 BB's, so I shove. He beats me into the pot with pocket 5's to give him a boat on the river.
Yea, yea, I know... I let him get there.
I still cashed, but would have liked to have had a shot at heads up. But that makes 6 cashes out of my last 8. My bad beats and loosing trend has finally turned around. See my trend for the last week. I haven't played much, but the chart is now moving in the correct direction. I am about $25 away from moving up to the next buy-in level. Too tired to play any more tonight, but will try to get there tomorrow night.
No mistakes!
The first one was beautiful. I took an early chip lead, played the bubble perfectly, and went on to crush my opponents to win 1st place. It felt good to play so well after my prevous mistake.
The second tournament wasn't quite as glorious, but I still cashed. On the knockout hand, I was on the BB with A9. The flop comes QQx. I check, as does the button. The turn is an Ace, giving me two pair with a 9 kicker. I don't think my opponent has an ace, but I am still concerned he might be slowplaying a queen. I check, as does the button.
Final card is a harmless 5. I am pretty sure my opponent does not have an ace or a queen, so my two pair are probably good. There are no flushes or reasonable straights on the board. I only have about 7 BB's, so I shove. He beats me into the pot with pocket 5's to give him a boat on the river.
Yea, yea, I know... I let him get there.
I still cashed, but would have liked to have had a shot at heads up. But that makes 6 cashes out of my last 8. My bad beats and loosing trend has finally turned around. See my trend for the last week. I haven't played much, but the chart is now moving in the correct direction. I am about $25 away from moving up to the next buy-in level. Too tired to play any more tonight, but will try to get there tomorrow night.No mistakes!
Bad Decision--Bad Result
I wrote in my previous post about the need to make good decisions. And a couple of posts ago I outlined my overriding goal: No Mistakes.
Well, I thoroughly failed both of these on the bubble tonight.
I was short stacked on the SB with about 1300 in chips against 100/200 blinds. The big stack, who was playing very loose (over 50% VPIP), limps from the button. I push with QTo. The BB folds and the button calls. He turns over A2 and his ace holds up. I am knocked out on the bubble. Bad decision--bad result.
I have NO IDEA why I pushed here. There is NO valid reason for a push. However, there are a number of reasons not to push. I will outline them, more for a reminder for myself the next time I am in this situation.
First, the math. In order for this to be a positive EV push, the BB would have had to limp with over 50% of starting hands and then only called my push with about 8%. Well, 8% puts you in the range of any pocket pairs 66 or above, AJ and ATs or higher. That is a pretty tight range. Don't you think he would have raised preflop if he had one of these hands? These are MONSTER hands for someone playing + 50% VPIP.
Second, the situation. I had witnessed the big stack gambling all throughout the tournament. He was calling with much lower hands than A2. But he was catching cards and knocking people out. I should have been thinking about this. He is on a rush. He is feeling invincible. Why wouldn't he call my push. He has been winning his races and sucking out when he is behind. Why should he think any differently in this scenario?
Third, in case I didn't mention it... he is the big stack. With close to 7000 in chips, do you think he cares of he looses a hand against my 1300 stack. Nope. No reason for him to lock down at this point. I am not going to scare him into hiding.
Forth, my chip count was still high enough to fold. As a general rule, if you have more than 5 BB's, you can still fold without loosing your folding equity. QT is not a very strong hand. I should have just let it go.
Finally, due to my initial profiling and categorizing this player, I knew he was a major fish. Major fish do not typically fold in this situation. That's what makes them fish. If this were a strong winning player, I could probably get him to lay down his limp. But that just isn't going to happen very often against a fish, especially when he is the dominant chip leader.
So why did I push here? I have no idea. I know this hand will bother me for a while. It is mistakes like this that I am trying to eliminate. It would have been one thing if I had some type of read on this player that suggested he would fold. Or maybe some fancy ICM calculation that supported this action. But instead, everything about this situation screamed FOLD, FOLD, FOLD. But I still pushed.
I am banning myself from playing until I can explain my action (or at least until I cool down!).
Well, I thoroughly failed both of these on the bubble tonight.
I was short stacked on the SB with about 1300 in chips against 100/200 blinds. The big stack, who was playing very loose (over 50% VPIP), limps from the button. I push with QTo. The BB folds and the button calls. He turns over A2 and his ace holds up. I am knocked out on the bubble. Bad decision--bad result.
I have NO IDEA why I pushed here. There is NO valid reason for a push. However, there are a number of reasons not to push. I will outline them, more for a reminder for myself the next time I am in this situation.
First, the math. In order for this to be a positive EV push, the BB would have had to limp with over 50% of starting hands and then only called my push with about 8%. Well, 8% puts you in the range of any pocket pairs 66 or above, AJ and ATs or higher. That is a pretty tight range. Don't you think he would have raised preflop if he had one of these hands? These are MONSTER hands for someone playing + 50% VPIP.Second, the situation. I had witnessed the big stack gambling all throughout the tournament. He was calling with much lower hands than A2. But he was catching cards and knocking people out. I should have been thinking about this. He is on a rush. He is feeling invincible. Why wouldn't he call my push. He has been winning his races and sucking out when he is behind. Why should he think any differently in this scenario?
Third, in case I didn't mention it... he is the big stack. With close to 7000 in chips, do you think he cares of he looses a hand against my 1300 stack. Nope. No reason for him to lock down at this point. I am not going to scare him into hiding.
Forth, my chip count was still high enough to fold. As a general rule, if you have more than 5 BB's, you can still fold without loosing your folding equity. QT is not a very strong hand. I should have just let it go.
Finally, due to my initial profiling and categorizing this player, I knew he was a major fish. Major fish do not typically fold in this situation. That's what makes them fish. If this were a strong winning player, I could probably get him to lay down his limp. But that just isn't going to happen very often against a fish, especially when he is the dominant chip leader.
So why did I push here? I have no idea. I know this hand will bother me for a while. It is mistakes like this that I am trying to eliminate. It would have been one thing if I had some type of read on this player that suggested he would fold. Or maybe some fancy ICM calculation that supported this action. But instead, everything about this situation screamed FOLD, FOLD, FOLD. But I still pushed.
I am banning myself from playing until I can explain my action (or at least until I cool down!).
Good Decisions--Running Well
Good decisions and good results are very different things. You can make good decisions and get bad results (like getting your money in with the best hand and someone drawing out on you). You can also make bad decisions and get good results (when you suck out on someone else!). It is important to pay attention to your results. But it is more important to examine your decisions, regardless of the result.
In my last 6 sit 'n go tournaments I have cashed 5 times (ya baby!). On the one that I didn't cash, I was knocked out on the bubble during a coin-toss situation (bad result). However, the key is to evaluate the decision, not the result.
I was the short stack with 66 on the button. The big stack limped from UTG. I had observed him fold his limp to a raise (more than once), and he wasn't playing tricky (no concern about being trapped). So I was pretty sure he wouldn't call a push here. I ignored his limp and looked at this as an ICM problem. It is a +EV situation, so I pushed. And as expected, the big stack folded. However, the small blind called (maybe that is why the big stack folded?!!!). He caught a larger pair on the turn to beat my hand.
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But again, it isn't about the result. I want to make sure the decision I made was correct. Using SNGEGT-GT, a push with 66 in this position is positive EV (again, ignoring the limp from the big stack). So I believe the decision was correct.
To double-check, I also ran the numbers in SNG Wizard, the tool I use for post-game ICM evaluations. Again, removing the UTG limper from the variable, this was a positive EV push.
In my last 6 sit 'n go tournaments I have cashed 5 times (ya baby!). On the one that I didn't cash, I was knocked out on the bubble during a coin-toss situation (bad result). However, the key is to evaluate the decision, not the result.
I was the short stack with 66 on the button. The big stack limped from UTG. I had observed him fold his limp to a raise (more than once), and he wasn't playing tricky (no concern about being trapped). So I was pretty sure he wouldn't call a push here. I ignored his limp and looked at this as an ICM problem. It is a +EV situation, so I pushed. And as expected, the big stack folded. However, the small blind called (maybe that is why the big stack folded?!!!). He caught a larger pair on the turn to beat my hand.
But again, it isn't about the result. I want to make sure the decision I made was correct. Using SNGEGT-GT, a push with 66 in this position is positive EV (again, ignoring the limp from the big stack). So I believe the decision was correct.
To double-check, I also ran the numbers in SNG Wizard, the tool I use for post-game ICM evaluations. Again, removing the UTG limper from the variable, this was a positive EV push.
However, I think it is also good to evaluate the decision from your opponents perspective, so you can think about what you would do if the same situation. If they also made a good decision, than that's just poker!
Looking at calling from the small blind with JTo in this situation is a negative EV decision. Therefore, the small blind made a mistake with this call.
The end result, I made the correct decision and the small blind made a mistake. So regardless of the result, I am happy with how I played. The key is to continue evaluating situations to ensure you are making good decisions and to make the necessary adjustments when your decisions are less than ideal.
Absolute Poker's Response
Absolute Poker has released the following statement regarding the alleged cheating at their site:
October 21, 2007
Dear AP Player:
I am the former Grand Chief of the Mohawk Territory of Kahnawake and the owner of Tokwiro Enterprises ENRG, which holds a 100% interest in Absolute Poker.
As many of our players are aware, there has been a security breach in our system that allowed unlawful access to player information that resulted in unfair play. I am writing to you today to let you know what we know so far in order to set the record straight, and to assure you of AP’s commitment to player security. I am sure that this letter will not address all of the questions and concerns you may have, nor will it extinguish the heated discussion surrounding this issue. At this point, our intention is to let you know all we can disclose and to assure you of our continued efforts to keep you informed as best we can as the investigations continue.
We deeply regret this situation has occurred. A breach in security in online poker is serious and of great concern to players and the industry worldwide, and this particular situation has been the subject of debate within the poker player community and in the media, giving rise to the creation of several websites and hundreds and hundreds of comments, opinions, and theories of what occurred – some of which are accurate, and some that are not.
Like you, I have not been happy that during the initial stage of our investigation, AP has not been more forthcoming in providing a timely or comprehensive explanation on this matter, giving rise to anger, suspicion, and concern on the part of our valued customers. I hope that our customers can appreciate that this remains an incredibly complex and sensitive issue, and I want to give you my strongest possible assurance that we will be as forthcoming as possible on how this breach occurred and what we are doing to remedy the situation.
What We Know and Actions We Have Taken
AP was notified by a customer that a possible cheating incident occurred during a recent tournament, and in response forwarded players’ hand logs. This disclosure of the hand logs prompted our customers to determine that a more serious security breach had occurred. We immediately launched an internal investigation and also requested a formal audit by Gaming Associates, an acknowledged world-wide expert in audits, interactive gaming tests, and information security.
Based upon our preliminary findings, it appears that the integrity of our poker system was compromised by a high-ranking trusted consultant employed by AP whose position gave him extraordinary access to certain security systems. As has been speculated in several online forums, this consultant devised a sophisticated scheme to manipulate internal systems to access third-party computers and accounts to view hole cards of other customers during play without their knowledge. As this consultant was aware of the details of our fraud detection process, the likelihood that the scheme would be uncovered through our normal procedures was minimized. We consider this security breach to be a horrendous and inexcusable offense.
We will pay for all losses suffered by the affected players as soon as our audit is finished and the amounts are determined. Although we are in the process of attempting to recover all the winnings of this consultant, any unrecovered losses of affected players will be paid by Absolute Poker so that all affected persons will be made whole.
Next Steps
We are still investigating whether the consultant was acting alone or in concert with others, and it appears at this time that all account holders are innocent of collusion and were unaware of any wrong-doing by the consultant, who was immediately terminated. We continue to investigate this matter aggressively, and all of these preliminary findings are subject to the audits currently underway. We have recently uncovered additional accounts used by the consultant that have not been publicly reported. So as to not compromise the investigation, we are not releasing the names of these additional accounts at this time, and will contact these affected customers individually.
The specific allegations of unlawful activity are being investigated both by AP and by the authorized authorities, including the Kahnawake Gaming Commission. We will continue to actively cooperate with these authorities in full compliance with the Regulations Concerning Interactive Gaming. In addition to our own investigation and the audit by Gaming Associates, we have also submitted to an audit by the Kahnawake Gaming Commission.
Please be assured that we have corrected the problem that allowed the system to be unfairly manipulated. We are working furiously to increase the safeguards within our systems. While we are satisfied that our systems are secured, we realize that our security systems must be continuously monitored and enhanced.
Without question, this incident has been unfortunate for all concerned, and we will emerge as a stronger company. I realize it will take some time and much more information for AP to re-earn the trust and confidence of our customers who are in doubt of our commitment to the highest levels of security, privacy and integrity. As we move to address and correct this situation, our valued customers have played a vital role in uncovering this scheme through various online forums and have become an active part of the solution.
With my full sincerity, I thank you, and I promise to keep you updated as we bring this situation to a close.
Sincerely,
Joe Norton
October 21, 2007
Dear AP Player:
I am the former Grand Chief of the Mohawk Territory of Kahnawake and the owner of Tokwiro Enterprises ENRG, which holds a 100% interest in Absolute Poker.
As many of our players are aware, there has been a security breach in our system that allowed unlawful access to player information that resulted in unfair play. I am writing to you today to let you know what we know so far in order to set the record straight, and to assure you of AP’s commitment to player security. I am sure that this letter will not address all of the questions and concerns you may have, nor will it extinguish the heated discussion surrounding this issue. At this point, our intention is to let you know all we can disclose and to assure you of our continued efforts to keep you informed as best we can as the investigations continue.
We deeply regret this situation has occurred. A breach in security in online poker is serious and of great concern to players and the industry worldwide, and this particular situation has been the subject of debate within the poker player community and in the media, giving rise to the creation of several websites and hundreds and hundreds of comments, opinions, and theories of what occurred – some of which are accurate, and some that are not.
Like you, I have not been happy that during the initial stage of our investigation, AP has not been more forthcoming in providing a timely or comprehensive explanation on this matter, giving rise to anger, suspicion, and concern on the part of our valued customers. I hope that our customers can appreciate that this remains an incredibly complex and sensitive issue, and I want to give you my strongest possible assurance that we will be as forthcoming as possible on how this breach occurred and what we are doing to remedy the situation.
What We Know and Actions We Have Taken
AP was notified by a customer that a possible cheating incident occurred during a recent tournament, and in response forwarded players’ hand logs. This disclosure of the hand logs prompted our customers to determine that a more serious security breach had occurred. We immediately launched an internal investigation and also requested a formal audit by Gaming Associates, an acknowledged world-wide expert in audits, interactive gaming tests, and information security.
Based upon our preliminary findings, it appears that the integrity of our poker system was compromised by a high-ranking trusted consultant employed by AP whose position gave him extraordinary access to certain security systems. As has been speculated in several online forums, this consultant devised a sophisticated scheme to manipulate internal systems to access third-party computers and accounts to view hole cards of other customers during play without their knowledge. As this consultant was aware of the details of our fraud detection process, the likelihood that the scheme would be uncovered through our normal procedures was minimized. We consider this security breach to be a horrendous and inexcusable offense.
We will pay for all losses suffered by the affected players as soon as our audit is finished and the amounts are determined. Although we are in the process of attempting to recover all the winnings of this consultant, any unrecovered losses of affected players will be paid by Absolute Poker so that all affected persons will be made whole.
Next Steps
We are still investigating whether the consultant was acting alone or in concert with others, and it appears at this time that all account holders are innocent of collusion and were unaware of any wrong-doing by the consultant, who was immediately terminated. We continue to investigate this matter aggressively, and all of these preliminary findings are subject to the audits currently underway. We have recently uncovered additional accounts used by the consultant that have not been publicly reported. So as to not compromise the investigation, we are not releasing the names of these additional accounts at this time, and will contact these affected customers individually.
The specific allegations of unlawful activity are being investigated both by AP and by the authorized authorities, including the Kahnawake Gaming Commission. We will continue to actively cooperate with these authorities in full compliance with the Regulations Concerning Interactive Gaming. In addition to our own investigation and the audit by Gaming Associates, we have also submitted to an audit by the Kahnawake Gaming Commission.
Please be assured that we have corrected the problem that allowed the system to be unfairly manipulated. We are working furiously to increase the safeguards within our systems. While we are satisfied that our systems are secured, we realize that our security systems must be continuously monitored and enhanced.
Without question, this incident has been unfortunate for all concerned, and we will emerge as a stronger company. I realize it will take some time and much more information for AP to re-earn the trust and confidence of our customers who are in doubt of our commitment to the highest levels of security, privacy and integrity. As we move to address and correct this situation, our valued customers have played a vital role in uncovering this scheme through various online forums and have become an active part of the solution.
With my full sincerity, I thank you, and I promise to keep you updated as we bring this situation to a close.
Sincerely,
Joe Norton
No Mistakes
I have set a new goal for myself. It is simply this...
By "no mistakes" I mean I want to get to a place where I have a flawless sit 'n go strategy and I play it perfectly. Seems like a rather arrogant goal, doesn't it! And really, the point isn't to achieve it. The real value in this is the process of attempting to achieve it. You know the saying, "It's the journey, not the destination." But in order to get there I need to put a few things in place.
First, in order to play a flawless sit 'n go strategy I must develop a flawless sit 'n go strategy! I am not there yet. I still have holes in my strategy that I am working on plugging. However, as I continue to grow and learn, my strategy will improve.
Second, I must flawlessly execute my strategy. Again, not there yet. It is one thing to have a very clear strategy. It is a different thing to follow it in the heat of battle. For me this is about discipline and trust. The discipline is about staying focused and thinking about each action before making it. Trust is to move forward with the action that you believe is correct, regardless of the result. So I am starting what will hopefully become a routine for me. Learn, apply, evaluate, adopt, and repeat.
No Mistakes.
By "no mistakes" I mean I want to get to a place where I have a flawless sit 'n go strategy and I play it perfectly. Seems like a rather arrogant goal, doesn't it! And really, the point isn't to achieve it. The real value in this is the process of attempting to achieve it. You know the saying, "It's the journey, not the destination." But in order to get there I need to put a few things in place.
First, in order to play a flawless sit 'n go strategy I must develop a flawless sit 'n go strategy! I am not there yet. I still have holes in my strategy that I am working on plugging. However, as I continue to grow and learn, my strategy will improve.
Second, I must flawlessly execute my strategy. Again, not there yet. It is one thing to have a very clear strategy. It is a different thing to follow it in the heat of battle. For me this is about discipline and trust. The discipline is about staying focused and thinking about each action before making it. Trust is to move forward with the action that you believe is correct, regardless of the result. So I am starting what will hopefully become a routine for me. Learn, apply, evaluate, adopt, and repeat.
- Learn--I have been and will continue to read, watch, and listen to anything I can find about sit 'n go strategy. Through this process, as well as my own experience, I will identify leaks in my strategy.
- Try--I will set a goal for each sit 'n go session to work on a specific area of my strategy, and execute it flawlessly.
- Evaluate--After each session I will evaluate my play to identify mistakes or to identify additional leaks in my strategy. I have found it is much easier to see the mistakes during post-game evaluation than while in the heat of battle.
- Adopt--Through the first three steps I will continue to identify leaks in my game and will adjust my strategy to eliminate them. I will also document them on this blog for your information and so I can document my journey.
- Repeat--This will be a continuous process until I reach a point where I have developed a flawless sit 'n go strategy and I am executing it without any mistakes.
Think it is possible to develop a flawless sit 'n go poker strategy and execute it without making any mistakes? I do. Let's get started.
Progress Report: Down To $200
It has been almost a month since I sent a progress report. I think it would be good for me to post more regular updates. That way I can better document my journey (more for my own benefit than yours!).
As a reminder, I created a new account on Full Tilt Poker and I am using it to build a poker bankroll starting with $50. My intention with this blog is to document my journey in the hopes that others will learn from the process.
In a nutshell, I have lost about 2/3rds of my bankroll (but only about 1/3rd of my profit). Not a good result you say? Actually, I am pleased with the result! I will explain below, but first my stats:
As a reminder, I created a new account on Full Tilt Poker and I am using it to build a poker bankroll starting with $50. My intention with this blog is to document my journey in the hopes that others will learn from the process.
In a nutshell, I have lost about 2/3rds of my bankroll (but only about 1/3rd of my profit). Not a good result you say? Actually, I am pleased with the result! I will explain below, but first my stats:- Games Played: 424
- Current ROI: 11%
- Current Profit: $190
Over the last 4 weeks I have experienced the worst run of cards I can remember. I spent some time last week reviewing my hand histories. I did find one leak in my game which I will talk about shortly. However, if I separate the hands related to the leak, about 80% of the hands where I was knocked out of a tournament were the result of a bad beat. By bad beat I mean that I was able to get my money in with the best hand and my opponent drew out to make a better hand by the river. Over the last month this has happened over and over again, and at a rate that is unusual mathematically.
Looking at the math, there is no starting hand that you are a 100% favorite to win by the river. AA is about an 80% favorite against another pocket pair, assuming two players. But being an 80% favorite means that you will loose the hand about 20% of the time, or 1 in 5 times. So I can expect to get beat pushing with AA. However, I have lost my all-ins with AA about 60% of the time over the last month. The good news is that the odds will play out over time. In theory if I am getting an unusual number of beats against the odds, I must be due for an unusual number of wins against the odds, because the odds must prove out and balance out over time. So that is why I am excited about the lost money--I am ready to be on the other side!
I guess the key message in this post is once again about the importance of bankroll management. I can honestly say I have become accustomed to the bad beats. They no longer tilt me. I almost expect my opponent to suck out on me. And when it happens, I review my play to ensure it was the "correct" play and then move on to the next game. But again, the key has been bankroll management. Even if my play was perfect, I still quit for the day if I loose 3 in a row. And I still adjust my buy-in based on my 25x rule. As a result, even through I have experienced an unusual number of bad beats over the last month, I have not gone broke, and I won't, as long as I keep following the rules and giving enough time for the odds to play out.
As far as the leak... I wrote about it a few posts back: calling off all my chips with top pair. I wrote about what I was observing with other players, but I had the same leak. It is a very different thing to push your chips in the middle with top pair compared to calling off all your chips with top pair. When you push all your chips in you have two ways to win: 1) everyone will fold to you, or 2) you have the best hand by the river. However, when you call off all your chips you lose the first option. I started running into this at the $20 buy-in level, where there are a few more good players. In each of the situations where I called a push with top pair (against a solid player), my opponent had at least 2 pair, and of course his hand held up by the river (no suck outs for me!). So I have stopped doing that and the results are improving (or at least my knock outs are not associated with calling with top pair!).
As to my $200 balance... I actually spent $100 of my previous $600 balance to purchase the Game Theory version of Sit n Go End Game Tools (SNGEGT-GT). I originally purchase the standard version ($50) which allows you to run ICM calculations while playing live. After testing it for a couple of weeks I upgraded to the GT version (Game Theory) for another $50. I paid for the licenses through a Full Tilt money transfer, so that accounts for $100 in the reduction of my balance. I will write a separate post on the GT version. But will say here quickly that I really like it.
OK, enough rambling for now. Again, I will start posting regular updates on my progress, including details about the things that I am learning as I pursue my quest to turn $50 into $5000 playing single table sit 'n go poker tournaments online.
Good luck at the tables!
Absolute Poker Cheating Scandal
I have been watching a story develop over the last couple of weeks regarding an alleged scandal with Absolute Poker. Apparently one of the players was been able to see other players' hole cards.
I have not looked in detail at the evidence myself, so I am reserving judgement. However, there seems to be sufficient information to raise a concern. I am also reading that the Kahnawake Gaming Commission intends to investigate via an independent audit. Therefore, I wanted my make my readers aware of this in case you play at Absolute Poker.
I will provide a few links to sites that talk about the problem. Consider yourself warned!
I have not looked in detail at the evidence myself, so I am reserving judgement. However, there seems to be sufficient information to raise a concern. I am also reading that the Kahnawake Gaming Commission intends to investigate via an independent audit. Therefore, I wanted my make my readers aware of this in case you play at Absolute Poker.
I will provide a few links to sites that talk about the problem. Consider yourself warned!
The hand history was uploaded to PokerXFactor and then recorded and posted on YouTube. Watch the play of POTRIPPER (bottom center).
For parts 2, 3, and 4 of the recording, see YouTube.
As a side note, Absolute Poker is affiliated in some way with UltimateBet, but I have not seen any comments about issues at UltimateBet. Absolute Poker has not yet responded to the allegations. If they issue a public statement I will update this posting.
10/20/2008 Update--Management from Absolute Poker has sent an e-mail to its players acknowledging that its security was breached for a limited time.
07/27/2008 Update--See press release.
Collusion?
I witnessed some very suspicious play on a $10 sit 'n go this evening. The first hand that seemed strange to me was between RogerFox and KChong.
We're on the bubble. The blinds were 250/500. RogerFox had about 2500 in chips and was the BB. KChong had about 4600 and was on the button. KChong called the blind for 500, the SB folded, and RogerFox min-raised to 1000. KChong folded. It seemed strange that he wouldn't call a min-raise as the chip leader in position. But I passed this off as tight play.
Two hands later KChong is on the BB and RogerFox is on the button. After posting the blinds, KChong has about 500 more than RogerFox in chips. UTG folded and RogerFox called 500. I folded in the SB and KChong checked. The flop comes A65. KChong checks, as does RogerFox. The turn is a Q. They both check. The river is a Q. They both check. KChong turns over A7 (he flopped a pair of aces) and RogerFox turns over KQ (he had trips by the river). Yet neither of them bet? Now I started to get suspicious.
One of the neat features of Sharkscope.com is the ability to compare stats between two players. The purpose is to help you identify collusion. The report will show you their ROI playing together and their ROI apart. Here is the report for these two:
There are so many players at the $10 level that it is unusual to play against the same players twice. However, if you examine the numbers on the report, KChong has only played 10 sit 'n go's. And of the 10, he has played at the same table as RogerFox 5 times. That is 50%! Also note that when they have played apart their combined average ROI is -55%. However, when they are at the same table their combined ROI is 47%. Amazing how RogerFox's ROI skyrockets to 96% when KChong is sitting at the table. Coincidence? Maybe. I continued to watch their play.
Throughout the balance of the bubble, when one of them would raise, the other would fold. Not once did the two of them get into a confrontation. However, that isn't unusual on the bubble. Everyone is avoiding a confrontation! Right?
KChong ended up pushing with AQ and was called by the 4th player at the table, NiuHusky, who had 99. KChong sucked out and NiuHusky was knocked out (if anyone reading this knows NiuHusky, please send him a link to this post).
It is now me against the "alleged" colluders (is that a word?), which didn't really seem that fair. I only get two cards to work with and they get four! Oh well, I am up for the challenge!
KChong is now the chip leader with 6395. I am in second with 4680, and RogerFox has 2425. The first hand after the bubble RogerFox pushes. I push with A8s. KChong folds (which was a bad move if they were colluding). RogerFox turns over JT and my hand holds up. I go on to beat KChong heads-up to win the tournament.
I hope I am wrong about what I observed (and I apologise to KChong and RogerFox if that is the case). It is a shame that people have to cheat to win a poker, especially when a winning strategy is free for them to learn (shameless plug!). However, we all know it happens. The key is to watch closely to everything at the table. And if you suspect collusion, be sure to report it to the proper authorities, as I will do now.
We're on the bubble. The blinds were 250/500. RogerFox had about 2500 in chips and was the BB. KChong had about 4600 and was on the button. KChong called the blind for 500, the SB folded, and RogerFox min-raised to 1000. KChong folded. It seemed strange that he wouldn't call a min-raise as the chip leader in position. But I passed this off as tight play.
Two hands later KChong is on the BB and RogerFox is on the button. After posting the blinds, KChong has about 500 more than RogerFox in chips. UTG folded and RogerFox called 500. I folded in the SB and KChong checked. The flop comes A65. KChong checks, as does RogerFox. The turn is a Q. They both check. The river is a Q. They both check. KChong turns over A7 (he flopped a pair of aces) and RogerFox turns over KQ (he had trips by the river). Yet neither of them bet? Now I started to get suspicious.
One of the neat features of Sharkscope.com is the ability to compare stats between two players. The purpose is to help you identify collusion. The report will show you their ROI playing together and their ROI apart. Here is the report for these two:
There are so many players at the $10 level that it is unusual to play against the same players twice. However, if you examine the numbers on the report, KChong has only played 10 sit 'n go's. And of the 10, he has played at the same table as RogerFox 5 times. That is 50%! Also note that when they have played apart their combined average ROI is -55%. However, when they are at the same table their combined ROI is 47%. Amazing how RogerFox's ROI skyrockets to 96% when KChong is sitting at the table. Coincidence? Maybe. I continued to watch their play.
Throughout the balance of the bubble, when one of them would raise, the other would fold. Not once did the two of them get into a confrontation. However, that isn't unusual on the bubble. Everyone is avoiding a confrontation! Right?
KChong ended up pushing with AQ and was called by the 4th player at the table, NiuHusky, who had 99. KChong sucked out and NiuHusky was knocked out (if anyone reading this knows NiuHusky, please send him a link to this post).
It is now me against the "alleged" colluders (is that a word?), which didn't really seem that fair. I only get two cards to work with and they get four! Oh well, I am up for the challenge!
KChong is now the chip leader with 6395. I am in second with 4680, and RogerFox has 2425. The first hand after the bubble RogerFox pushes. I push with A8s. KChong folds (which was a bad move if they were colluding). RogerFox turns over JT and my hand holds up. I go on to beat KChong heads-up to win the tournament.
I hope I am wrong about what I observed (and I apologise to KChong and RogerFox if that is the case). It is a shame that people have to cheat to win a poker, especially when a winning strategy is free for them to learn (shameless plug!). However, we all know it happens. The key is to watch closely to everything at the table. And if you suspect collusion, be sure to report it to the proper authorities, as I will do now.
Nice Pair?
I saw an interesting hand on a sit 'n go last night on Full Tilt Poker. It was the very first hand. The UTG limps and the UTG+1 puts in a pot sized raise. The player in the CO cold calls the raise with AQs. The blinds fold as does the UTG player.
The flop comes Q T rag, two hearts. The UTG checks, CO bets half the pot. UTG pushes all in and CO calls.
The result of the hand does not matter. I want to examine the CO's play.
I had already pulled the stats of the players at the table and could see that the UTG player was a winning player. Winning players usually only rasie from early position, early in a sit 'n go with a premium hand. So I would put this player on a big pair or maybe AK. It is unlikely the player has QQ because a Q came on the flop and CO holds one in his hand.
The bet on the flop by CO is OK, but I would have preferred a larger bet to price out draws. Regardless, he had top pair with the best kicker. However, once UTG pushed, CO should have suspected his top pair was no good. UTG would not have pushed with a pair smaller than QQ, nor would he have pushed with AK or a straight or flush draw, at least not typically. So that leaves him with AA or KK as possible holdings.
As a general rule, against a winning player, do not call off all your chips with top pair. I see so many people get knocked out of a tournament with top pair early in a sit 'n go. It is a totally different thing if you are late in the tournament with short stacks. Now you must gamble a little to stay alive. However, early in a sit 'n go, you have plenty of time to recover if you lay down your top pair in a situation like this.
The key to making the money in single table sit 'n go's is patience, patience, patience. Don't get your chips in early simply with a pair. If you experience resistance or a push from a winning opponent, it is better to lay down top pair and wait for a better opportunity to get your money in.
The flop comes Q T rag, two hearts. The UTG checks, CO bets half the pot. UTG pushes all in and CO calls.
The result of the hand does not matter. I want to examine the CO's play.
I had already pulled the stats of the players at the table and could see that the UTG player was a winning player. Winning players usually only rasie from early position, early in a sit 'n go with a premium hand. So I would put this player on a big pair or maybe AK. It is unlikely the player has QQ because a Q came on the flop and CO holds one in his hand.
The bet on the flop by CO is OK, but I would have preferred a larger bet to price out draws. Regardless, he had top pair with the best kicker. However, once UTG pushed, CO should have suspected his top pair was no good. UTG would not have pushed with a pair smaller than QQ, nor would he have pushed with AK or a straight or flush draw, at least not typically. So that leaves him with AA or KK as possible holdings.
As a general rule, against a winning player, do not call off all your chips with top pair. I see so many people get knocked out of a tournament with top pair early in a sit 'n go. It is a totally different thing if you are late in the tournament with short stacks. Now you must gamble a little to stay alive. However, early in a sit 'n go, you have plenty of time to recover if you lay down your top pair in a situation like this.
The key to making the money in single table sit 'n go's is patience, patience, patience. Don't get your chips in early simply with a pair. If you experience resistance or a push from a winning opponent, it is better to lay down top pair and wait for a better opportunity to get your money in.
Sit And Go End Game Tools (SNGEGT)
In my Heads Up Lesson, I talk about a tool called SitNGoWizard which I use for post-game ICM push/fold calculations. It is a great tool to learn the proper response during all-in situations. However, as I said, it is a post-game evaluation tool. It does not help you make decisions while you play (with the exception of the knowledge gained during your post-game evaluations!).
I came across another ICM calculator a couple of weeks ago. It is called Sit And Go End Game Tools, or SNGEGT for short. You can perform the same post-game evaluations with this tool. In addition, the tool allows you to perform ICM calculations during a sit 'n go tournament.
I came across another ICM calculator a couple of weeks ago. It is called Sit And Go End Game Tools, or SNGEGT for short. You can perform the same post-game evaluations with this tool. In addition, the tool allows you to perform ICM calculations during a sit 'n go tournament.
The interface to the tool is a little funky. In order to get it to perform the calculations during play you must do one of two things: 1) select the table number and click compute, or 2) click on SNGEGT and then click with your ctrl key on the table. Once you get the hang of it, calculations are quick and painless. Basically, the tool will spit out a positive or negative EV difference number (the difference between EV for folding vs EV for pushing/calling). In theory, if the number is positive, you are "correct" in pushing or calling; if the number is negative, you are "incorrect" to do so.
So far I have only tested it with 9-player sit 'n go's. It does not work for multi-table tournaments, just sit 'n go's. And it will only perform calculations in all-in situations. On the last point, if someone before you limps or raises less than all-in, it will not perform the ICM calculations (which it shouldn't).
One more comment on the calculations. Just because the math says you are correct to push or call doesn't mean that you should. Likewise, just because the EV difference is negative doesn't mean that you shouldn't push or call. This is just a tool to help you with the math. Ultimately you should make your decisions on the specific situation at hand. I will cover this in detail in my Advanced Studies.
You can download the tool and evaluate it for free. However, the evaluation copy does not actually perform the EV calculations during play. It will just show you whether or not it can correctly read the table that you are playing at.
As to whether it is ethical to use a tool like this during actual sit 'n go poker tournament play... I will leave that discussion for another post!
Something Fishy 2
I witnessed an interesting hand this evening between a tight-solid player and one of the fish at the table. As I always do when not in a hand, I was watching closely trying to put each of the players on a hand.
We were about half way through a single table sit 'n go tournament on Full Tilt. Blinds are 50 and 100. Both the fish and the tight player were still in the green zone. The fish min-raised from middle position. Everyone folded around to the tight-solid player on the big blind who called.
The flop came Qs 7h 5s. The tight player checks and the fish bets half the pot. The tight player thinks for a moment and then calls.
The turn comes a [Qs 7h 5s] 6s, possibly filling flush or straight draws. The tight player checks again and the fish bets about half the pot. The tight player immediately pushes all-in. The fish insta-calls. The fish shows Ah Qh for top pair and the tight-solid player shows 9h Ts for queen high with a flush and gut-shot straight draws. The river is a blank and the fish wins with his pair of queens.
Not really that interesting of a hand. The best hand before the flop and throughout held up. That is the way it should work! However, what is interesting to me was the comment posted by the tight player to the fish after the completion of the hand:
"How can you call a push with a flush and straight on the board?" he asked. The fish typed back, "Oops, I missed that!"
Now, whether the fish actually missed it or not is debatable. However, the point I want to make is regarding the play by the tight-solid player. He set this hand up to tell a perfect story. He was screaming, "I am on a draw" but the fish didn't hear it. When the turn card came he screamed, "I made my draw" but the fish didn't hear it, or didn't care! After he lost the pot the tight player criticized the fish for not getting it. However, that wasn't the actual problem. The problem was this... the tight player was trying to tell a story to someone that was not listening. That was the tight players mistake, not a mistake made by the fish!
I have said this in the past and I will say it again... you can't bluff a fish. If the fish isn't trying to figure out what is in your hand, if they are just playing their own hand, your "story" isn't going to make it to their ears. Even if it does, it might not be interpreted correctly. Bottom line: Don't try to tell stories to those that are not listening. Against bad players, play straight-up poker.
We were about half way through a single table sit 'n go tournament on Full Tilt. Blinds are 50 and 100. Both the fish and the tight player were still in the green zone. The fish min-raised from middle position. Everyone folded around to the tight-solid player on the big blind who called.
The flop came Qs 7h 5s. The tight player checks and the fish bets half the pot. The tight player thinks for a moment and then calls.
The turn comes a [Qs 7h 5s] 6s, possibly filling flush or straight draws. The tight player checks again and the fish bets about half the pot. The tight player immediately pushes all-in. The fish insta-calls. The fish shows Ah Qh for top pair and the tight-solid player shows 9h Ts for queen high with a flush and gut-shot straight draws. The river is a blank and the fish wins with his pair of queens.
Not really that interesting of a hand. The best hand before the flop and throughout held up. That is the way it should work! However, what is interesting to me was the comment posted by the tight player to the fish after the completion of the hand:
"How can you call a push with a flush and straight on the board?" he asked. The fish typed back, "Oops, I missed that!"
Now, whether the fish actually missed it or not is debatable. However, the point I want to make is regarding the play by the tight-solid player. He set this hand up to tell a perfect story. He was screaming, "I am on a draw" but the fish didn't hear it. When the turn card came he screamed, "I made my draw" but the fish didn't hear it, or didn't care! After he lost the pot the tight player criticized the fish for not getting it. However, that wasn't the actual problem. The problem was this... the tight player was trying to tell a story to someone that was not listening. That was the tight players mistake, not a mistake made by the fish!
I have said this in the past and I will say it again... you can't bluff a fish. If the fish isn't trying to figure out what is in your hand, if they are just playing their own hand, your "story" isn't going to make it to their ears. Even if it does, it might not be interpreted correctly. Bottom line: Don't try to tell stories to those that are not listening. Against bad players, play straight-up poker.
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