I have decided to no longer continue publishing this blog. It's been fun, and I appreciate everyone who contributed, but I have lost interest. If it's no longer fun, why do it, right? It will remain accessable for a week or two, but eventually it will disappear.
P.S. Jeff and Jessica... I'd really like to me you guys in person. If you see me out playing cards, please come introduce yourself! Thanks for contributing.
Tuesday, April 20, 2010
Wednesday, April 7, 2010
Poker Books
Well folks... enough people responded to my previous post to encourage me to keep the blog going a while longer. Thanks to everyone who commented.
So what is your favorite poker strategy book? (Thanks Beth for the topic suggestion!) There are many many to choose from. Tell me which ones you liked, and which ones you didn't. I'll post my thoughts on this topic soon.
So what is your favorite poker strategy book? (Thanks Beth for the topic suggestion!) There are many many to choose from. Tell me which ones you liked, and which ones you didn't. I'll post my thoughts on this topic soon.
Thursday, April 1, 2010
Maybe Not The End After All...
Well, it appears that my association with ATC poker won't be over just yet. I'm going to stick around for a while and see how the new chip-up rules work out. Don't get me wrong, I'm still tired of playing poker bingo, but maybe I'll be a little more tolerant of it if it's not so easy to buy your way back into the game after you play badly.
That leaves the question of this blog. Do I continue? I will if you all want me to, but I need to hear from you. I mean, for all I know, Jeff, Mr. Franchise, Jessica, Wayne, and Lbrako are my only readers! How many others ar elurking out there? Tell me why I should continue!
That leaves the question of this blog. Do I continue? I will if you all want me to, but I need to hear from you. I mean, for all I know, Jeff, Mr. Franchise, Jessica, Wayne, and Lbrako are my only readers! How many others ar elurking out there? Tell me why I should continue!
Saturday, March 27, 2010
This Is The End..
The end of many things...
This will be my last post into this blog (unless you all convince we otherwise..). It's become more of a chore than a pleasure. I appreciate all the support I got from a few of you.. Mr. Franchise, Lbrako, Jeff to name a few who actually shared their name with us. It was fun while it lasted, but I'm done with it now.
I'm also done with ATC poker. The bonus chip situation has gotten way out of hand. I came to this realization last night at Mellow Mushroom. I spent $12 on food and got $1500 bonus chips. Fine. Later on, people spent $12 on shots and got $4000 in bonus chips. There's something wrong with that equation. You give people all those chips and it just encourages them to play badly. Last night someone called a raise of 12xBB with Q2 offsuit. That's not poker, that's bingo. If I wanted to play bingo, I'd join a ladies church club. I want to play poker damnit... real poker, not this sham of a game that ATC is promoting.
Having said all that, I wish Slade and the rest of the ATC staff nothing but the best. They are running their business in a way that best benefits their customers (the venues). I can't fault them for that. You may see me at an ATC game from time to time (I still have some house cash to spend), but I am going in search of a game that better fits my needs.
I wish you all the best.... Walker
This will be my last post into this blog (unless you all convince we otherwise..). It's become more of a chore than a pleasure. I appreciate all the support I got from a few of you.. Mr. Franchise, Lbrako, Jeff to name a few who actually shared their name with us. It was fun while it lasted, but I'm done with it now.
I'm also done with ATC poker. The bonus chip situation has gotten way out of hand. I came to this realization last night at Mellow Mushroom. I spent $12 on food and got $1500 bonus chips. Fine. Later on, people spent $12 on shots and got $4000 in bonus chips. There's something wrong with that equation. You give people all those chips and it just encourages them to play badly. Last night someone called a raise of 12xBB with Q2 offsuit. That's not poker, that's bingo. If I wanted to play bingo, I'd join a ladies church club. I want to play poker damnit... real poker, not this sham of a game that ATC is promoting.
Having said all that, I wish Slade and the rest of the ATC staff nothing but the best. They are running their business in a way that best benefits their customers (the venues). I can't fault them for that. You may see me at an ATC game from time to time (I still have some house cash to spend), but I am going in search of a game that better fits my needs.
I wish you all the best.... Walker
Monday, March 22, 2010
I'm Tired...
Folks... I'm tired of poker.. can you believe it? LOL
I've been getting outdrawn left and right this month, plus I've been extra-stressed from work. Consequently, I've not been playing my best game. I don't like to not play my best game. I'm going to take it easy for a while. I'll still probably play at least once a week, but I won't be playing 6 games a week like I was. Not for a while anyway.
Mr. Franchise has been having some great games recently.. take him out for me and post about it right here!
Walker
I've been getting outdrawn left and right this month, plus I've been extra-stressed from work. Consequently, I've not been playing my best game. I don't like to not play my best game. I'm going to take it easy for a while. I'll still probably play at least once a week, but I won't be playing 6 games a week like I was. Not for a while anyway.
Mr. Franchise has been having some great games recently.. take him out for me and post about it right here!
Walker
Wednesday, March 17, 2010
Betting When There Is A Player "All In"..
There are three different types of situations that present themselves when another plays has pushed "all in" and you have called, putting him at risk. How you handle these situations after the flop largely depends on what stage of the tourney you are in. Let's talk about these. By the way, I'm not a pro, nor do I mean to present myself as one. What I offer below is just my opinion on how I think things should be handled. Obviously someone else may disagree. If you do, please present your side of the story. A person that stops learning, stops living.
1. The first situation is when a player is all-in and you have called, but no one else is in the hand. There is no strategy involved here. The cards will play themselves. It's the next two situations we are here to discuss.
2. You raise preflop, a player calls, and another plays is all-in for less than the amount you raised, creating a side pot between you and the first caller. Many believe that you should check down this hand just because there is a player "all in" and eliminating him/her will move everyone closer to the money/points. I do not believe that is correct strategy. There is a pot between you and the caller that the "all-in" player cannot win. You should fight for this pot! Taking out the "all-in" player is a secondary consideration in my opinion, even at the late stages of a game. During the late stages, you need every chip you can get! If you lose to the "all in" player you can at least recoup some of your investment from the caller.
3. You raise preflop, a player pushes "all-in" over the top, another player calls, and you call. Ah now.. here we are getting to controversial issue that causes so many players confusion. The "dry" pot! Unlike the last example, this time there is no side pot between you and the caller. The pot that is just between the two of you is empty, or "dry". How do you play this hand after the flop? In my opinion, the main consideratin here is twofold: what point are you at in the game, and are you confident you have the best hand? If it's early in the game and there are 30 players left, knocking out one player doesn't really make that much difference. Go ahead and bet if you have the best hand. If it's late in th game, say, on the bubble or at the final table, knocking out a player is generally a better result for you than winning that particulat pot. Why chase out the caller just to have the "all in" player win when he would have lost if you hadn't chased the other guy away?
Let's say you raise with 10-10, and player 1 pushes all in over the top. Player 2 calls, and you call. The flop is 9-6-2 rainbow. Do you have the best hand? Probably. Should you bet? NO! For the sake of argument, let's say you push all in after this flop and the other player folds and shows AK. The "all=in" player turns over AJ. and A falls on the river. You lose, the "all-in" player just doubled up, and no-one was eliminated. Look what would have happened if you had not chased out the other player though! His AK would have beat your tens and you would still have lost the pot, but the "all-in" player would have been eliminated! Even though you lost the hand, you still moved up in points! During late stages of a tourney, you should always check it down if there is a player all in and a dry side pot. The benefit of eliminating a player outweighs the benefit of winning the main pot.
One last thought on betting when there is a player "all in". I have seen many novice players try to bluff at the pot when they missed the flop in this situation! Why would you do that? You still have to beat the "all-in" player, he isn't going anywhere! If you are going to lose the pot anyway, at least let the other players stay in so there is a chance that a player will get eliminated. Chasing everyone out of a pot on a bluff when there is a player "all-in" will peg you as a n00b for sure, and likely make you some enemies as well!
Well that's my (long-winded) take on betting when a player is "all in". What do you all think? Agree? Disagree? Did I miss something? Let me hear from you!
1. The first situation is when a player is all-in and you have called, but no one else is in the hand. There is no strategy involved here. The cards will play themselves. It's the next two situations we are here to discuss.
2. You raise preflop, a player calls, and another plays is all-in for less than the amount you raised, creating a side pot between you and the first caller. Many believe that you should check down this hand just because there is a player "all in" and eliminating him/her will move everyone closer to the money/points. I do not believe that is correct strategy. There is a pot between you and the caller that the "all-in" player cannot win. You should fight for this pot! Taking out the "all-in" player is a secondary consideration in my opinion, even at the late stages of a game. During the late stages, you need every chip you can get! If you lose to the "all in" player you can at least recoup some of your investment from the caller.
3. You raise preflop, a player pushes "all-in" over the top, another player calls, and you call. Ah now.. here we are getting to controversial issue that causes so many players confusion. The "dry" pot! Unlike the last example, this time there is no side pot between you and the caller. The pot that is just between the two of you is empty, or "dry". How do you play this hand after the flop? In my opinion, the main consideratin here is twofold: what point are you at in the game, and are you confident you have the best hand? If it's early in the game and there are 30 players left, knocking out one player doesn't really make that much difference. Go ahead and bet if you have the best hand. If it's late in th game, say, on the bubble or at the final table, knocking out a player is generally a better result for you than winning that particulat pot. Why chase out the caller just to have the "all in" player win when he would have lost if you hadn't chased the other guy away?
Let's say you raise with 10-10, and player 1 pushes all in over the top. Player 2 calls, and you call. The flop is 9-6-2 rainbow. Do you have the best hand? Probably. Should you bet? NO! For the sake of argument, let's say you push all in after this flop and the other player folds and shows AK. The "all=in" player turns over AJ. and A falls on the river. You lose, the "all-in" player just doubled up, and no-one was eliminated. Look what would have happened if you had not chased out the other player though! His AK would have beat your tens and you would still have lost the pot, but the "all-in" player would have been eliminated! Even though you lost the hand, you still moved up in points! During late stages of a tourney, you should always check it down if there is a player all in and a dry side pot. The benefit of eliminating a player outweighs the benefit of winning the main pot.
One last thought on betting when there is a player "all in". I have seen many novice players try to bluff at the pot when they missed the flop in this situation! Why would you do that? You still have to beat the "all-in" player, he isn't going anywhere! If you are going to lose the pot anyway, at least let the other players stay in so there is a chance that a player will get eliminated. Chasing everyone out of a pot on a bluff when there is a player "all-in" will peg you as a n00b for sure, and likely make you some enemies as well!
Well that's my (long-winded) take on betting when a player is "all in". What do you all think? Agree? Disagree? Did I miss something? Let me hear from you!
Monday, March 15, 2010
Attention Lbrako!!!
Slade asks the question in today's email concerning Lbrako.. "Can't anyone stop him?" ..
I have to admit, since he started playing with us in January he has done exceptionally well. On top of that, he's a really great guy. Welcome to the league!
Larry my friend, we're coming for you! You can't just waltz in here and steal all our glory without getting a fight in return! You're going down, sir! Come to Key West tonight and receive the first tast of your medicine. It will be bitter, but you'll get used to it.
All kidding aside... it's great to have a talented player who is also a nice guy to play against. Larry, I hope to see you at all my games.
Walker
I have to admit, since he started playing with us in January he has done exceptionally well. On top of that, he's a really great guy. Welcome to the league!
Larry my friend, we're coming for you! You can't just waltz in here and steal all our glory without getting a fight in return! You're going down, sir! Come to Key West tonight and receive the first tast of your medicine. It will be bitter, but you'll get used to it.
All kidding aside... it's great to have a talented player who is also a nice guy to play against. Larry, I hope to see you at all my games.
Walker
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