eh, so I havent blogged in ages. Been pretty busy with 'stuf' etc so in an attempt to fill the void i am going to throw something together about poker happenings recently, im gonna post an article that I have written for Flush mag, and I am also gonna link to another interesting article and other stuff.
Anyway - poker. In recent times I have not played too much live as Ive been banging out the hands online, a few bangs in the Fitz resulting in another final table in their monthly game but still lacking a win in it. I played the SE monthly game which got a very disappointing 17 runners. I played a few random cash sessions from 1/2 right up to the worst value ROE game in the Fitz that ran at 2/5/10 - it was probably the best lineup at a live cash game in a dublin casino for a long long time, Id safely say I was the value but was lucky enough to get out with a bit of profit.
Enough of the past, in the next few weeks we have festival games in the SE, Fitz, Cork, Monaghan, Wexford as well as a great looking event in DTD and also the GUKPT grand final if you are so inclined. There is also the ECOOP happening on ipoker with some sheksy events in it. Then after xmas there is the IPC in Galway and I want to try and make this. Im also going to play either the Fitz or Cork (which are both on the same weekend) and maybe if I run good there I might hit DTD as Donal is planning on going and we had good craic earlier in the year when we both went for the Norwegian Poker Championships.
In other news I am going to plug my employers (Paddy Power Poker) Sole Survivor promotion - basically for next years Irish Open, if you qualify online with PPP and are the highest placing PPP online qualifier then you win 100,000 euro! I may be involved but anybody who tells me that this isnt an amazing promotion needs to have their head examined and their perception of value and a good promotion realigned.
anyway - I was asked by flush Poker Magazine to write an artilce for publication so I decided I would do one on the transition from holdem to plo. I dont know much about either game but i ran a bluff and it got through!
the article is called Tight is Right
I’m not unlike many other poker players. I first found No Limit Holdem and later heard of this magical mystery game where you got 4 cards instead of 2 and figured it must therefore be twice as easy to win money at it. I loaded it up and splashed around, I built a good relationship with the bet pot button, ran good, won a few quid thought I was the second coming only to have my lack of understanding of the game land me back on terra firma with a bang.
I’m going to bet that the above sounds familiar to many inexperienced players like me. You have found yourself to be bored of 6 max NLH, the games have gone too tight, the fish are missing, it has turned into a war of 3 betting, 4 betting light and then 5 betting to balance your range or some other similar stuff that you read on the internet forums and it just isn’t fun anymore. So you have now found a new home amongst the many other burgeoning PLO enthusiasts.
What I will impart over the coming paragraphs isn’t going to turn you into a skilled PLO player, it might not even turn you into a winning PLO player but it might help you to lose less in the early days and it will hopefully accelerate your understanding of the basic concepts and plug the bad leaks that are common to many who attempt the transition from 6 max NLH to 6 max PLO.
Stats
It is often suggested that 6 Max NLH is somewhat of a robotic game. Qurom has been reached on a range of preferred optimal and complimenting poker tracker player stats, whether they be 24/17 or 32/22.
In so far as people suggest that Holdem is solved the complete opposite is true for PLO. 23/17 isn’t better than 44/33 and neither could be argued to be better than 70/25. Each player brings a different skill set to the table. One players post flop skills may be so far ahead of the opposition that he can profitably play 70% of his hands.
Noted high stakes player Ben Grundy is one such example. He is on record of having a VPIP of 80% and a PFR of 42% over a sample of 115,000 hands. Admittedly these stats are skewed by Bens preference for shorter handed games but I think you will never find a winning holdem player with similar stats over such a large sample.
Tight is right
Whatever your preferred style of playing holdem may be, it is best to forget it when you begin playing PLO. It is commonly suggested that on average you see more flops in PLO as your starting hands present many more opportunities. This is a trap, do not immediately fall in love with seeing lots and lots of flops as a beginning player a conservative approach may be most prudent.
As you begin the journey of learning PLO I would consider playing too loose to be a mistake. Playing too loose will usually manifest itself in making many post flop mistakes as you find yourself in situations which you are not prepared for. You will pick up many bad habits and correcting these bad habits is a far greater task than it is to start out with the policy that tight is right.
This is especially true when playing from the blinds, don’t be afraid to fold you small blind in a limped pot when your 4 cards resemble a bag of spanners rather than a hand you can play profitably out of position. Count how many times you check fold an unimproved hand from the SB or BB and by the time you get to ten you will realize how big of a leak in your game this can be. If you can be a break even player from the SB and BB then you are achieving far more than most will ever achieve in this game.
When I first started playing 6 max PLO my poker tracker stats were an amazingly tight 23/8. I personally found that there were many fundamental benefits to this. I concentrated primarily on starting hand selection and it gave me a great understanding and respect for the benefit of position and also for the power of the fold button. The corollary to my tight stats was that my post flop aggression factors ran at a very high level. As my starting hands were very strong, the expectation is that they will also play well post flop and that overall this strategy should lead you towards the door that says profit.
Open your eyes
For an inexperienced player like me, starting hand selection and appreciation of position were the building blocks upon which to develop my game. The complete all around players have many weapons in their artillery but they built them over time. As I became more comfortable with my game I began to concentrate on improving two other aspects of my play, firstly I began to play a wider range of hands in position and secondly I concentrated far more on my opponent than ever before.
The button is the most profitable position on the table in 6 max games. Not because the RNG skews the strength of hands you get dealt on the button but rather it is because you have the benefit of position over all of your opponents. Their action gives you information and you can use this to win more and more pots. The idea here is that you are representing strength and this must begin preflop so always make sure to enter the pot for a raise.
One habit which I urge people to get into is that of taking notes on your opponents. You need to learn other players tendencies and use that to your advantage. These don’t have to be extensive but every little helps. When I look at my player notes I see comments like, “always leads with a set”, “plays strong draws very aggressively”, “continuation bets with a massive frequency”, “will bluff river when he misses draws” and “calls light, value bet this guy a little thinner”, these notes are worth money to me over time.
If I know that a guy will call behind on two streets with a draw and then bluff the river when he misses then I need to be leading two streets with my top set or flopped straight and then I need to check the river as this is my only remaining opportunity to get value from my hand – after all it would be rude of me to deprive him of the opportunity to bluff me off the nuts.
These notes or awareness of my opponents tendencies also help me to play my hands optimally. It allows me to sometimes fire the 3rd barrel on the river when my opponents post flop play has lead to him pretty much turning his hand face up as a draw. It allows me to stuff the turn when I know a player will always check call my flop continuation bet with one pair on a dry board in the hope of the turn card improving his hand. All this information is profit over time.
Learn the odds
PLO is a game of percentages. The variance in the game is far higher than holdem and the edge that you have over your opponent is often times reduced. You will rarely be a dominating 4/1 favourite as in holdem with an over pair facing an under pair. With this in mind its worth spending some time familiarizing yourself with a PLO odds calculator. Are you aware of how strong a hand like a wrap and a flush draw is against top set, or are you aware of how strong a pair, flush draw and a gutshot is against a bare pair of Aces?
If you aren’t familiar with your postflop equity in spots like this then make it a priority to put at least 10 hands a day into an odds calculator, depending on how many tables you play at once you could leave the odds calculator open in the background and put in hands shortly after you play them. Knowledge is power so use it to your advantage.
Build on strong foundations
As with everything in life fundamentals are important. You can’t build a skyscraper on a sand doon, you have to ensure that the foundations are solid and this also holds true for all forms of poker. If you are starting the journey of learning 6 max PLO then concentrate on the foundations and hopefully from there you can build your very own skyscraper.
Continuing on the PLO theme here is a link to a really interesting article by High Stakes Pro, Brian Townsend - he discusses the non linearity of post flop hand ranges.
Something else which may be of interest is this thread on 2+2 where high stakes pro Ben 'MilkyBarKid' Grundy does an 'In the Well' thread
As ever we finish with a tune!! good performance from TV On The Radio on Later. I was soo tempted to put up a Seasick Steve tune but plumped for these guys instead. Also, I took in another Jack L gig recently - I cant tell you often enough - go see this guy live - he is different gravy!
Wednesday, November 19, 2008
Monday, August 25, 2008
You need to let me get behind your backbone
Just shy of 3 weeks in South Africa, that’s 3 weeks without the laptop, 3 weeks without immediate access to the Sporting Emporium or the Fitzwilliam, 3 weeks without working in the Poker Industry, 3 weeks without multiple daily checks of poker forums. This is the closest thing I have experienced to normality for quite some time, and it felt pretty good.
So we touched down in Cape Town, and by we I mean Mike, Rob, Neassa, Colette and Siobhan. We kind of had a schedule set out for the trip and I can assure you that it didn’t include me getting locked in an Irish Pub on the first night and singing Fat Bottomed Girls on Karaoke.
Sobriety kicked in the following afternoon as we made our way to Table Mountain, its Cape Towns answer to the Devils Bit. This wasn’t Thurles though and a trip up to the top cost a handful of rand and access to the cable car. Upon arrival to the top we walked around a bit which was great, Cape Town looked the same from here as it did 20 yards over there but sure we will give it a lash anyway. We could see some bay from the other side of the mountain top which included a café/bar type place so you could relax and enjoy the scenery if you were so inclined.
After a short delay we finally got out of town the following afternoon when the Mercedes Vito we had ordered arrived in the guise of a Nissan Primastar! After much consultation and discussion we arrived at the car depot (initially it was delivered to our hotel) where they were insistent that they didn’t have a Vito and that we would have to make do with the Nissan. We relented, but just for the craic I took a picture of Mike beside the Mercedes Vito which was parked 20 yards from the front door of the office? Bizzare really!
After a false start with the satnav we finally made our way for the Stellenbosch wine district. This was a pretty cool area, rolling hills with vines as far as the eye could see. We hadn’t done a whole lot of research on which vineyard we should visit and after a short game of Russian roulette we arrived in the Morgenhof Estate, did a bit of testing, pretended to know far more about wine that we actually did, purchased some wine, checked out the cellars and made for our lodgings down the road.
Now this was class, little did we know that we had booked ourselves to stay in the Knorhoek vineyard for the night. Check out the view from my balcony the next morning. Dinner was offered and availed of. The rooms were pretty nice. We gorged ourselves on the recently purchased Morgenhof Merlot, Vintage Port and Sweet wine along with crackers, a selection of cheeses and some salami. Sure why not I suppose?
Next stop was Mossel Bay, not a lot to note here really. Messed around on a tennis court which was attached to our luxurious 5 star accommodation They forgot to deliver the chips that we ordered with our lunch in some café we stopped in. Hit on a pretty good restaurant that night called Jazzburys. You could also purchase a multifunctional rod here if you were in need of one.
Next was Plettenburg Bay. This I liked and we ended up staying 4 nights here despite originally having planned to stay only 2 although we were in danger of being shown the door when impromptu press ups took place by the side of the table we were eating our first lunch in much to the amusement of the staff, fellow diners and passers by. Siobhan wasn’t very good at pressups so she did a monkey impression instead. Plett seemed to be a self contained paradise. Some great places to eat and we found two of them in the shape of Miguels and Fu.shi. I was pretty impressed with Fu.shi and they served up some good cocktails to help us along our way.
4 of the gang with to the exclusion of Neassa and yours truly did a sky dive so everybody was on cloud nine afterwards. They have some pretty good memories from the DVD’s of the jump which were really well produced. Plett is known as being a whale haven, that’s not to say that it resembles Coppers on the Saturday night of a Mayo game in Croker, it is actually where lots of whales spend the winter. We hired some kayaks and made our way with our guide Giovanni to see the whales getting it on and doing there thing. 160 litres of sperm a shot apparently > be sure to swim with your mouth closed as they do it 20 times a day.
On the last evening we took it handy and made our way to a secluded part of the shoreline and sat drinking some beers, watching the sun set and generally just having a laugh before making out way to the local cinema to watch Wanted.. don’t bother imo. A nice pic here of the sky at sunset.
The next morning we were scheduled to make our way to our Safari/Game Reserve which was Kariega. It was a bit of a drive but we made it in time for lunch with the assistance of a tail wind. This place was pure class. We had our own villa with a pool, chef, host, waiter, game ranger, pool, bar – pretty much food and drink on demand. Having arrived on the first day and unloaded the van we sat by the pool downing beer whilst we waited to be summoned for lunch. Where did it all go wrong?
Our game ranger was Albert, a pretty relaxed dude from Zimbabwe who told us he was getting married the following week and he told us about the ritual or routine or whatever you call it. Basically, he pays the brides old man off to approve of the marriage. Traditionally he gifts him a couple of cows based on various things including how much she has cost him growing up, whether or not she went to university etc. Tradition is fucked though and money speaks all languages so keep your cows and il take the cash instead seems to be the order of the day. If they elope without payment of this dowry all future bad luck will be attributed to this non payment. Its probably best pay up and not be blamed for everything that happens. (ive not checked but I always thought that a dowry was given by the father of the bride to the groom – sure it is the southern hemisphere and they do everything backwards down there, the toilet even flushes the other way around)
The routine here went something like this.. Eat > Game Drive > Eat > Drink > Game Drive> Eat > Drink> Sleep > rinse and repeat. We spotted Lion, Rhino, Buffalo, Elephant, Zebra, Giraffe and many others including the Impala – who could forget those fuckers, there everywhere. The Warthogs appear to be right lads altogether, very shy. It was pretty funny when a Buffalo decided to take a closer look at our van and started sniffing the side, it was funny watching the girls scatter to the other side of the van with an impressive level of acceleration! Our host was a bit of a pain. Oh shame! A great experience overall.
Sad to be leaving our lodgings in Kariega we now made our way for Port Alfred which is home to the 43 flight school. Colette had a friend who was training to be a pilot here and it happened to be his last day of training and he took her and her sis (Siobhan) up in the sky for a flight around town.
That night in PA was one of our best of the trip. Having downed a nice steak we made our way to the upstairs bar where we met up with other Irish people who were training to be pilots over there and it turned into a right night. Fully loaded and ready for bed around 11.30 we did the sensible thing and beat a path to the local night club, The Snorting Grunter, hows about that for the name of a nightclub then? The taxi driver tried to warn us against going in! Sure were grand the lads are following down afterwards.
Well drunk and deprived of some of our senses 6 white people dancing to some RnB must have looked funny in a club full of black people but sure we will give it a lash. Eventually the others arrived and we took to downing Jaegerbombs, at a cost of about e1.70 per bomb it was effectively paying us to make a mess of ourselves by drinking these things. Ugh, Vodka and Red bull for an energy kick and Morgans Spiced and Coke when one felt like slipping into a reflective mood at the bar. But of course, where else would you be discussing life and all it contains?
The following day our guest house resembled a small hospital with one of us sicker than the next. A quick trip to KFC for some hangover food and a trip to the sand doons did nothing to restore any sense of normality in our aching systems. We did have a chance to go to the worst kip of a restaurant on the trip when we visited the highly recommended Boardwalk. The soup was fantastic but the rest was woeful.
The following day we drove back down the coast to Port Elizabeth, dumped the van and spun back to Cape Town via kulula airways. This time around I think we all found Cape Town to be a more pleasurable experience. We were staying down at the Q&A Waterfront which is the main touristy district with shops, cafes, restaurants, bars and the like. We struck gold when we found 221 Restaurant, previously known as Mortons on the Wharf this place was an absolute gem. I had been told about it by the taxi driver who dropped me to the airport the morning I departed Dublin. Apparently if you listen to enough shite from them you will eventually hear something that’s worth hearing and will benefit you.
The following day Colette, Siobhan and myself made took a day trip to the Cape of Good Hope. Some pretty cool scenery down here and we ate lunch in a restaurant that without doubt must offer the best table view of anywhere in the world. If somebody can tell me that they have had lunch with a better view than this I will be shocked.
The following day we took a trip of the Townships in the morning. They are mad, families living in a room the size of a modest bathroom in a house in the western world. We stopped into the local witch doctor and the local B&B – yeah a B&B in a township, ud want ur head examined but apparently it appears in the latest version of the Lonely Planet guide. Different strokes for different folks I suppose. We also drove by street vendors selling sheep heads and beef livers amongst other things. Overall it was pretty mad to have been through these neighborhoods, some bizarre sights.
In the afternoon we took a trip to Robben Island where Mandela and many other political prisoners were housed up for years, it was also a leper colony as well as a conventional prison. The tour guides on the island are former political prisoners so you are really getting a first hand account of the way it used to be. The tour guide told us of there affection towards the Irish as the medical staff who worked on the Island were largely Irish and compassionate towards the affected. This place is a few k from Cape Town and the view back to the mainland is a nice one.
That was about it, we relaxed for a day before making our way back to Ireland. Overall it was a great place to visit. Some things stick out from the trip. There is no unemployment benefit in SA. Kids up to 12 and pensioners over 65 get an allowance, other than that its sink or swim. Get a job, make your own industry such as being a market vendor or else turn to crime. This explains why the level of crime in SA is so high.
Those that bother over there seem to engineer some form of employment for themselves. Two funny things that happened on the trip occurred both times we stopped for diesel. When you pull in each pump is assigned an assistant who will fill the tank and proceed to wash the windscreen etc. At the first filling station we gave the girl a 20 rand tip which we discovered was large by local standards as apparently the norm is 1 or 2 rand. She started to smile and run around the forecourt telling everybody about the large tip she had received. As Mike remarked there was so much smiling taking place that all you could see was white teeth.
When we were dropping back the van to the airport we filled it again and having given your man all the change we could muster (13 rand) he was most thankful as he was making bowing gestures at the side of the car when Mike hopped out and asked him if he drank? Don’t we all? Mike opens the boot where we have 20 cans of Castle beer, he reaches in and pulls a 6 pack and hands it to him. He ran off with delight, think of how he felt when he was called back only to be given another 14 cans. White teeth all around again!
The food and cost of it was a generally high standard. Starter, Main, Desert, Coffee, Wine and maybe a cocktail or two with a beer or something would come to 300 rand each or c. 27 euro. If you ever happen to make your way to Cape Town then be sure to call at 221 and sample the Cognac Peppered Fillet Steak – it would give a dog a bone, top class!
Poker content – getting dogged since I came home, flopping sets is proving to be –EV, I Cant seem to get a hold.
So we touched down in Cape Town, and by we I mean Mike, Rob, Neassa, Colette and Siobhan. We kind of had a schedule set out for the trip and I can assure you that it didn’t include me getting locked in an Irish Pub on the first night and singing Fat Bottomed Girls on Karaoke.
Sobriety kicked in the following afternoon as we made our way to Table Mountain, its Cape Towns answer to the Devils Bit. This wasn’t Thurles though and a trip up to the top cost a handful of rand and access to the cable car. Upon arrival to the top we walked around a bit which was great, Cape Town looked the same from here as it did 20 yards over there but sure we will give it a lash anyway. We could see some bay from the other side of the mountain top which included a café/bar type place so you could relax and enjoy the scenery if you were so inclined.
After a short delay we finally got out of town the following afternoon when the Mercedes Vito we had ordered arrived in the guise of a Nissan Primastar! After much consultation and discussion we arrived at the car depot (initially it was delivered to our hotel) where they were insistent that they didn’t have a Vito and that we would have to make do with the Nissan. We relented, but just for the craic I took a picture of Mike beside the Mercedes Vito which was parked 20 yards from the front door of the office? Bizzare really!
After a false start with the satnav we finally made our way for the Stellenbosch wine district. This was a pretty cool area, rolling hills with vines as far as the eye could see. We hadn’t done a whole lot of research on which vineyard we should visit and after a short game of Russian roulette we arrived in the Morgenhof Estate, did a bit of testing, pretended to know far more about wine that we actually did, purchased some wine, checked out the cellars and made for our lodgings down the road.
Now this was class, little did we know that we had booked ourselves to stay in the Knorhoek vineyard for the night. Check out the view from my balcony the next morning. Dinner was offered and availed of. The rooms were pretty nice. We gorged ourselves on the recently purchased Morgenhof Merlot, Vintage Port and Sweet wine along with crackers, a selection of cheeses and some salami. Sure why not I suppose?
Next stop was Mossel Bay, not a lot to note here really. Messed around on a tennis court which was attached to our luxurious 5 star accommodation They forgot to deliver the chips that we ordered with our lunch in some café we stopped in. Hit on a pretty good restaurant that night called Jazzburys. You could also purchase a multifunctional rod here if you were in need of one.
Next was Plettenburg Bay. This I liked and we ended up staying 4 nights here despite originally having planned to stay only 2 although we were in danger of being shown the door when impromptu press ups took place by the side of the table we were eating our first lunch in much to the amusement of the staff, fellow diners and passers by. Siobhan wasn’t very good at pressups so she did a monkey impression instead. Plett seemed to be a self contained paradise. Some great places to eat and we found two of them in the shape of Miguels and Fu.shi. I was pretty impressed with Fu.shi and they served up some good cocktails to help us along our way.
4 of the gang with to the exclusion of Neassa and yours truly did a sky dive so everybody was on cloud nine afterwards. They have some pretty good memories from the DVD’s of the jump which were really well produced. Plett is known as being a whale haven, that’s not to say that it resembles Coppers on the Saturday night of a Mayo game in Croker, it is actually where lots of whales spend the winter. We hired some kayaks and made our way with our guide Giovanni to see the whales getting it on and doing there thing. 160 litres of sperm a shot apparently > be sure to swim with your mouth closed as they do it 20 times a day.
On the last evening we took it handy and made our way to a secluded part of the shoreline and sat drinking some beers, watching the sun set and generally just having a laugh before making out way to the local cinema to watch Wanted.. don’t bother imo. A nice pic here of the sky at sunset.
The next morning we were scheduled to make our way to our Safari/Game Reserve which was Kariega. It was a bit of a drive but we made it in time for lunch with the assistance of a tail wind. This place was pure class. We had our own villa with a pool, chef, host, waiter, game ranger, pool, bar – pretty much food and drink on demand. Having arrived on the first day and unloaded the van we sat by the pool downing beer whilst we waited to be summoned for lunch. Where did it all go wrong?
Our game ranger was Albert, a pretty relaxed dude from Zimbabwe who told us he was getting married the following week and he told us about the ritual or routine or whatever you call it. Basically, he pays the brides old man off to approve of the marriage. Traditionally he gifts him a couple of cows based on various things including how much she has cost him growing up, whether or not she went to university etc. Tradition is fucked though and money speaks all languages so keep your cows and il take the cash instead seems to be the order of the day. If they elope without payment of this dowry all future bad luck will be attributed to this non payment. Its probably best pay up and not be blamed for everything that happens. (ive not checked but I always thought that a dowry was given by the father of the bride to the groom – sure it is the southern hemisphere and they do everything backwards down there, the toilet even flushes the other way around)
The routine here went something like this.. Eat > Game Drive > Eat > Drink > Game Drive> Eat > Drink> Sleep > rinse and repeat. We spotted Lion, Rhino, Buffalo, Elephant, Zebra, Giraffe and many others including the Impala – who could forget those fuckers, there everywhere. The Warthogs appear to be right lads altogether, very shy. It was pretty funny when a Buffalo decided to take a closer look at our van and started sniffing the side, it was funny watching the girls scatter to the other side of the van with an impressive level of acceleration! Our host was a bit of a pain. Oh shame! A great experience overall.
Sad to be leaving our lodgings in Kariega we now made our way for Port Alfred which is home to the 43 flight school. Colette had a friend who was training to be a pilot here and it happened to be his last day of training and he took her and her sis (Siobhan) up in the sky for a flight around town.
That night in PA was one of our best of the trip. Having downed a nice steak we made our way to the upstairs bar where we met up with other Irish people who were training to be pilots over there and it turned into a right night. Fully loaded and ready for bed around 11.30 we did the sensible thing and beat a path to the local night club, The Snorting Grunter, hows about that for the name of a nightclub then? The taxi driver tried to warn us against going in! Sure were grand the lads are following down afterwards.
Well drunk and deprived of some of our senses 6 white people dancing to some RnB must have looked funny in a club full of black people but sure we will give it a lash. Eventually the others arrived and we took to downing Jaegerbombs, at a cost of about e1.70 per bomb it was effectively paying us to make a mess of ourselves by drinking these things. Ugh, Vodka and Red bull for an energy kick and Morgans Spiced and Coke when one felt like slipping into a reflective mood at the bar. But of course, where else would you be discussing life and all it contains?
The following day our guest house resembled a small hospital with one of us sicker than the next. A quick trip to KFC for some hangover food and a trip to the sand doons did nothing to restore any sense of normality in our aching systems. We did have a chance to go to the worst kip of a restaurant on the trip when we visited the highly recommended Boardwalk. The soup was fantastic but the rest was woeful.
The following day we drove back down the coast to Port Elizabeth, dumped the van and spun back to Cape Town via kulula airways. This time around I think we all found Cape Town to be a more pleasurable experience. We were staying down at the Q&A Waterfront which is the main touristy district with shops, cafes, restaurants, bars and the like. We struck gold when we found 221 Restaurant, previously known as Mortons on the Wharf this place was an absolute gem. I had been told about it by the taxi driver who dropped me to the airport the morning I departed Dublin. Apparently if you listen to enough shite from them you will eventually hear something that’s worth hearing and will benefit you.
The following day Colette, Siobhan and myself made took a day trip to the Cape of Good Hope. Some pretty cool scenery down here and we ate lunch in a restaurant that without doubt must offer the best table view of anywhere in the world. If somebody can tell me that they have had lunch with a better view than this I will be shocked.
The following day we took a trip of the Townships in the morning. They are mad, families living in a room the size of a modest bathroom in a house in the western world. We stopped into the local witch doctor and the local B&B – yeah a B&B in a township, ud want ur head examined but apparently it appears in the latest version of the Lonely Planet guide. Different strokes for different folks I suppose. We also drove by street vendors selling sheep heads and beef livers amongst other things. Overall it was pretty mad to have been through these neighborhoods, some bizarre sights.
In the afternoon we took a trip to Robben Island where Mandela and many other political prisoners were housed up for years, it was also a leper colony as well as a conventional prison. The tour guides on the island are former political prisoners so you are really getting a first hand account of the way it used to be. The tour guide told us of there affection towards the Irish as the medical staff who worked on the Island were largely Irish and compassionate towards the affected. This place is a few k from Cape Town and the view back to the mainland is a nice one.
That was about it, we relaxed for a day before making our way back to Ireland. Overall it was a great place to visit. Some things stick out from the trip. There is no unemployment benefit in SA. Kids up to 12 and pensioners over 65 get an allowance, other than that its sink or swim. Get a job, make your own industry such as being a market vendor or else turn to crime. This explains why the level of crime in SA is so high.
Those that bother over there seem to engineer some form of employment for themselves. Two funny things that happened on the trip occurred both times we stopped for diesel. When you pull in each pump is assigned an assistant who will fill the tank and proceed to wash the windscreen etc. At the first filling station we gave the girl a 20 rand tip which we discovered was large by local standards as apparently the norm is 1 or 2 rand. She started to smile and run around the forecourt telling everybody about the large tip she had received. As Mike remarked there was so much smiling taking place that all you could see was white teeth.
When we were dropping back the van to the airport we filled it again and having given your man all the change we could muster (13 rand) he was most thankful as he was making bowing gestures at the side of the car when Mike hopped out and asked him if he drank? Don’t we all? Mike opens the boot where we have 20 cans of Castle beer, he reaches in and pulls a 6 pack and hands it to him. He ran off with delight, think of how he felt when he was called back only to be given another 14 cans. White teeth all around again!
The food and cost of it was a generally high standard. Starter, Main, Desert, Coffee, Wine and maybe a cocktail or two with a beer or something would come to 300 rand each or c. 27 euro. If you ever happen to make your way to Cape Town then be sure to call at 221 and sample the Cognac Peppered Fillet Steak – it would give a dog a bone, top class!
Poker content – getting dogged since I came home, flopping sets is proving to be –EV, I Cant seem to get a hold.
Saturday, July 26, 2008
A woman of middle age, licks and thumbs another page.
Well its been a while. When I was in Vegas I did my blogging on www.paddypowerpoker.com/blog so some of you may have picked it up there. Vegas went fine, another winning trip for me with some good cash sessions and and a near miss in the only donkament I played where I came 7th of 142 in a Bellagio $1080 for $3,500.
The prize payout is so sick with $51k for first. With 12 players remaining I played a pot for 25% of the chips in play where my AJ got turned by A10 in a huge pot. That left me with a few blinds which I pushed my way into 7th with before my AQ fell foul of Eric Larcheveque’s KK. He went on to win and from 3 tables out he was my only worry. The value in these events is phenomenal with people playing so so bad. At one stage my table included Neil Channing and James Akenhead but that was as bad as it got as they were two of the toughest marks in an otherwise soft field.
Back from Vegas I played the Sporting Emporiums 400+40 game and I donked off a final table stack with 18 players left. I’ve given the SE some stick before but they now have a fine menu in there and the food for the tournament was savage.
Just this last week I went to London for the filming of the Poker Million in the Sky Sports studios. Was pretty cool to sit in the green room and watch two heats where you can see the hole cards and also listen to Jesse and Roy in the commentary box.
The morning heat had a cool lineup that included Soren Kongsgaard, Andrew Feldman (whom not a lot may know but believe me when I tell you that he is a really exceptional player), Ryan Fronda and a few others whom I didn’t know too well. This heat is going to make great TV with some really exciting play in it. Fronda eventually won having had all his money in 3 handed with J9 v Kongsgaard JJ and he dogged really well. The moral of this heat was that getting your money in ahead was a poor strategy.
The afternoon included Paddy Power Pokers very own Ciaran ‘Big C’ O’Leary who was trying his luck against Jeff Kimber, Jennifer Tilly, Richard ‘Chufty’ Ashby, Marios Hogten and Paddy O’Connor. Ciaran came out on top when defeating the very imp-ressive Marios Hogten in heads up battle having came from behind against Chufty in a significant pot when 4 handed which sent Chufty to the rail.
Other news on the Poke Million front is that Liam Flood has also won his heat and makes yet another appearance in the Semi finals. Liam was desperately unlucky in the final last year when Joe Beevers 2 outered him, if there is justice he will at least secure his place in the final this year again.
Afterwards we had some good craic which started when Mad Marty Wilson who was acting as the TD ushered us all to the front of the studios and told us that he had a bus coming to collect us to take us back into London city centre. We were delighted when the bus arrived and Marty asked opened the front door and enquired if the Bus drivers name was Victor? Were on a winner lads, jump in and off we go. 16 of us jump in, the bus turns and makes its way for the exit with Marty in the front having a right old time with Victor.
After a couple of minutes it transpires that somebody else had a bus booked that evening also, and guess what, their bus drivers name was Victor also. What are the chances? Two busses, picking up from the same point and both busdrivers have the same name, and best of all, we were on the wrong bus. At the top of the road we meet our intended bus going the other way so we double back amid great laughter and finally proceed to the Hilton Paddington hotel.
Upon arrival we proceed to the top floor restauraunt where we were treated to a lovely meal by the competition hosts Ladbrokes. For the meal I had the pleasure of sitting next to Jennifer Tilly and Phil Laak. I have to say, she gets plenty of stick from different quarters but she is a most pleasant person and is really really grounded. We have good craic over dinner with Jesse May and Big C in flying form also.
Somehow TJ Cloutier gets mentioned in conversation and with that I mention the now infamous TJ Cookier thread when Phil burst out in laughter and exclaims it is one of the best threads he has ever seen on 2+2, he proceeds to reel off his other favourite thread and proclaims the awesomeness of the 2+2 photoshop threads even chuckling at some of the creations he had been part of.
He then went on to tell us of the WSOP main event disguise and that how ESPN copped after maybe 30 minutes or so that it was him. He said how people commented on if he had won millions in some tournament of if he had previously robbed a bank or something. Then he tells of some bird who arrives who believes that the cameras are there for her as she is an aspiring poker player who is trying to make a big name for herself. Phil stayed quiet and had an inner chuckle at the speculation as to why the cameras were so busy around his table.
A good trip to London all around and Im looking forward to going back for the Semi Finals and hopefully Final in December.
The prize payout is so sick with $51k for first. With 12 players remaining I played a pot for 25% of the chips in play where my AJ got turned by A10 in a huge pot. That left me with a few blinds which I pushed my way into 7th with before my AQ fell foul of Eric Larcheveque’s KK. He went on to win and from 3 tables out he was my only worry. The value in these events is phenomenal with people playing so so bad. At one stage my table included Neil Channing and James Akenhead but that was as bad as it got as they were two of the toughest marks in an otherwise soft field.
Back from Vegas I played the Sporting Emporiums 400+40 game and I donked off a final table stack with 18 players left. I’ve given the SE some stick before but they now have a fine menu in there and the food for the tournament was savage.
Just this last week I went to London for the filming of the Poker Million in the Sky Sports studios. Was pretty cool to sit in the green room and watch two heats where you can see the hole cards and also listen to Jesse and Roy in the commentary box.
The morning heat had a cool lineup that included Soren Kongsgaard, Andrew Feldman (whom not a lot may know but believe me when I tell you that he is a really exceptional player), Ryan Fronda and a few others whom I didn’t know too well. This heat is going to make great TV with some really exciting play in it. Fronda eventually won having had all his money in 3 handed with J9 v Kongsgaard JJ and he dogged really well. The moral of this heat was that getting your money in ahead was a poor strategy.
The afternoon included Paddy Power Pokers very own Ciaran ‘Big C’ O’Leary who was trying his luck against Jeff Kimber, Jennifer Tilly, Richard ‘Chufty’ Ashby, Marios Hogten and Paddy O’Connor. Ciaran came out on top when defeating the very imp-ressive Marios Hogten in heads up battle having came from behind against Chufty in a significant pot when 4 handed which sent Chufty to the rail.
Other news on the Poke Million front is that Liam Flood has also won his heat and makes yet another appearance in the Semi finals. Liam was desperately unlucky in the final last year when Joe Beevers 2 outered him, if there is justice he will at least secure his place in the final this year again.
Afterwards we had some good craic which started when Mad Marty Wilson who was acting as the TD ushered us all to the front of the studios and told us that he had a bus coming to collect us to take us back into London city centre. We were delighted when the bus arrived and Marty asked opened the front door and enquired if the Bus drivers name was Victor? Were on a winner lads, jump in and off we go. 16 of us jump in, the bus turns and makes its way for the exit with Marty in the front having a right old time with Victor.
After a couple of minutes it transpires that somebody else had a bus booked that evening also, and guess what, their bus drivers name was Victor also. What are the chances? Two busses, picking up from the same point and both busdrivers have the same name, and best of all, we were on the wrong bus. At the top of the road we meet our intended bus going the other way so we double back amid great laughter and finally proceed to the Hilton Paddington hotel.
Upon arrival we proceed to the top floor restauraunt where we were treated to a lovely meal by the competition hosts Ladbrokes. For the meal I had the pleasure of sitting next to Jennifer Tilly and Phil Laak. I have to say, she gets plenty of stick from different quarters but she is a most pleasant person and is really really grounded. We have good craic over dinner with Jesse May and Big C in flying form also.
Somehow TJ Cloutier gets mentioned in conversation and with that I mention the now infamous TJ Cookier thread when Phil burst out in laughter and exclaims it is one of the best threads he has ever seen on 2+2, he proceeds to reel off his other favourite thread and proclaims the awesomeness of the 2+2 photoshop threads even chuckling at some of the creations he had been part of.
He then went on to tell us of the WSOP main event disguise and that how ESPN copped after maybe 30 minutes or so that it was him. He said how people commented on if he had won millions in some tournament of if he had previously robbed a bank or something. Then he tells of some bird who arrives who believes that the cameras are there for her as she is an aspiring poker player who is trying to make a big name for herself. Phil stayed quiet and had an inner chuckle at the speculation as to why the cameras were so busy around his table.
A good trip to London all around and Im looking forward to going back for the Semi Finals and hopefully Final in December.
Tuesday, June 10, 2008
Im all right jack keep your hands off of my stack
The sickest of them all, no, I'm not talking about jbravado here for he is now a reformed man, im talking about Archie Karas. I first heard of Archie when one of my work colleagues sent me a link to a Tom Sexton article in Pokernews. It was ill, what I didnt realise until yesterday evening was that the article in question was only Part 1 of a 10 part series.
As a taster here is a quick interview with Archie from Vegas just a few days ago.
And here are the series of 10 articles about him, if you have a spare 30 mins than I would think that you could do worse than read them
Part 1 - Archie Karas, the worlds biggest gambler
Part 2 - The story of shooting Pool
Part 3 - Poker Stories
Part 4 - More Poker
Part 5 - Transporting Millions
Part 6 - Shooting Dice
Part 7 - The Downside
Part 8 - Mini Streaks
Part 9 - According to Jack
Part 10 - The Comeback
As a taster here is a quick interview with Archie from Vegas just a few days ago.
And here are the series of 10 articles about him, if you have a spare 30 mins than I would think that you could do worse than read them
Part 1 - Archie Karas, the worlds biggest gambler
Part 2 - The story of shooting Pool
Part 3 - Poker Stories
Part 4 - More Poker
Part 5 - Transporting Millions
Part 6 - Shooting Dice
Part 7 - The Downside
Part 8 - Mini Streaks
Part 9 - According to Jack
Part 10 - The Comeback
Thursday, June 5, 2008
The more I know - the less I understand
So im off to Vegas on June 25th for 13 nights, pretty nice and im looking forward to it. Playing a bit live lately and ive had 5/5 winning nights of varying proportions.
Anyway I just read the below post on 2+2, im not sure if this guy wrote it himself or scalped it from elsewhere. One way or another its a pretty good read so I decided to throw it up here.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Here's your problem. You don't have the fortitude, nor bankroll, nor temperment, to be a casino. A casino is a big ol' building, where people's dreams might possibly come true. Especially if you own the building.
Casinos get rich, expand a whole city, and get richer, by offering bets where the casino has a two or three percent advantage. But the bets have to be offered, have to be wagered, a million times. Roulette, for instance: red or black, odd or even, high or low, the house has a 5.25% advantage on all but one bet on the layout.
Will the customer occasionally have a streak? Of course. A full third of the customers that evening will actually have a winning night. The casino doesn't care. You, of course, would be willing to walk in front of a truck. Will one drunken guy actually make several thousand dollars, having started with twenty bucks? Of course. The casino doesn't care. You, by the way, will not even walk out looking for the truck, you will put a bullet in your brain, right there at the table. The casino is right, and you are not right. "correct mathmatically" might be a better term than "right".
You think, apparently, that when you have a winning hand, and the 'customer' is drawing to a flush on the river, You've Got Him Nailed. You don't. You have only created a situation where you have four times the advantage that a casino has. You have a situation where it's 80-20 that you're going to win.
Now I want you to work really, really hard on this, because you haven't yet. If it's 80-20 for you, how many times out of a hundred can we predict that the 'customer' will hit his flush? The answer is twenty times out of a hundred. ('Grab that man. Don't let him dash toward the highway'.)
Can the 'customer' have a streak of winners? You bet he can. ('Grab that revolver'). He might hit several in a row.
Why do you care? (Because you're an idiot). No, it's because you haven't given it the appropriate amount of thought, and because you're not bankrolled well, and because you care about the outcome, and you should not care.
You should have enough in your bankroll that you can offer the 'customer' his flush draw about a hundred times a day. You want him (assuming he's dumb enough: but you're right, there are millions of 'em) to call your bet, and shoot for his flush draw. 80-20 in your favor, if he's betting on the river, 60-40 in your favor if he's betting on the turn (and, you get to charge him MORE for the river, if he's not all in).
If he wins his bet, and you're smart enough to be a casino, you should comp him: buy him a few drinks, compliment that ugly date he brought with him, buy him dinner if you have to, but keep him right there, making his bet over, and over, again.
But not you: you are involved. You are worried. You are so upset that he won one, or ten, of those bets. But the fact is, if that happens a thousand times (that bet where you are 80-20), you will be a rich man. You should be grateful, when you have put the 'customer' in a postion where you offer an 80-20 proposition, and he takes you up on it.
Here's what you should do: change your attitude. Play standard poker. Lose your emotion. You don't care about this bet, or the next one. You just want the guy to keep playing, if he's going to keep playing at the odds you're offering. Charge him for his longshot bet. He'll pay? He'll go for it? OUTSTANDING.......
Grind it out. (They call it that, for a reason). Lose your personal involvement with one hand, or one session. If you're playing right, the money, in smaller amounts, will roll in. (Not in larger amounts: you're not entitled to larger amounts. When your opponent bets his flush draw and loses, you didn't win the whole amount. You won the whole amount LESS the fact that one out of five times you're going to lose, and thus give some back. But believe me, there will be plenty left over.)
Quit caring about your results. Play standard poker. If you're doing it right, the money will roll in.
Play standard poker. If you're doing it right, you're offering the customer bets where your advantage is four times that which built Las Vegas. Do it all day long. All week long. All year long. Grind it out.
Anyway I just read the below post on 2+2, im not sure if this guy wrote it himself or scalped it from elsewhere. One way or another its a pretty good read so I decided to throw it up here.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Here's your problem. You don't have the fortitude, nor bankroll, nor temperment, to be a casino. A casino is a big ol' building, where people's dreams might possibly come true. Especially if you own the building.
Casinos get rich, expand a whole city, and get richer, by offering bets where the casino has a two or three percent advantage. But the bets have to be offered, have to be wagered, a million times. Roulette, for instance: red or black, odd or even, high or low, the house has a 5.25% advantage on all but one bet on the layout.
Will the customer occasionally have a streak? Of course. A full third of the customers that evening will actually have a winning night. The casino doesn't care. You, of course, would be willing to walk in front of a truck. Will one drunken guy actually make several thousand dollars, having started with twenty bucks? Of course. The casino doesn't care. You, by the way, will not even walk out looking for the truck, you will put a bullet in your brain, right there at the table. The casino is right, and you are not right. "correct mathmatically" might be a better term than "right".
You think, apparently, that when you have a winning hand, and the 'customer' is drawing to a flush on the river, You've Got Him Nailed. You don't. You have only created a situation where you have four times the advantage that a casino has. You have a situation where it's 80-20 that you're going to win.
Now I want you to work really, really hard on this, because you haven't yet. If it's 80-20 for you, how many times out of a hundred can we predict that the 'customer' will hit his flush? The answer is twenty times out of a hundred. ('Grab that man. Don't let him dash toward the highway'.)
Can the 'customer' have a streak of winners? You bet he can. ('Grab that revolver'). He might hit several in a row.
Why do you care? (Because you're an idiot). No, it's because you haven't given it the appropriate amount of thought, and because you're not bankrolled well, and because you care about the outcome, and you should not care.
You should have enough in your bankroll that you can offer the 'customer' his flush draw about a hundred times a day. You want him (assuming he's dumb enough: but you're right, there are millions of 'em) to call your bet, and shoot for his flush draw. 80-20 in your favor, if he's betting on the river, 60-40 in your favor if he's betting on the turn (and, you get to charge him MORE for the river, if he's not all in).
If he wins his bet, and you're smart enough to be a casino, you should comp him: buy him a few drinks, compliment that ugly date he brought with him, buy him dinner if you have to, but keep him right there, making his bet over, and over, again.
But not you: you are involved. You are worried. You are so upset that he won one, or ten, of those bets. But the fact is, if that happens a thousand times (that bet where you are 80-20), you will be a rich man. You should be grateful, when you have put the 'customer' in a postion where you offer an 80-20 proposition, and he takes you up on it.
Here's what you should do: change your attitude. Play standard poker. Lose your emotion. You don't care about this bet, or the next one. You just want the guy to keep playing, if he's going to keep playing at the odds you're offering. Charge him for his longshot bet. He'll pay? He'll go for it? OUTSTANDING.......
Grind it out. (They call it that, for a reason). Lose your personal involvement with one hand, or one session. If you're playing right, the money, in smaller amounts, will roll in. (Not in larger amounts: you're not entitled to larger amounts. When your opponent bets his flush draw and loses, you didn't win the whole amount. You won the whole amount LESS the fact that one out of five times you're going to lose, and thus give some back. But believe me, there will be plenty left over.)
Quit caring about your results. Play standard poker. If you're doing it right, the money will roll in.
Play standard poker. If you're doing it right, you're offering the customer bets where your advantage is four times that which built Las Vegas. Do it all day long. All week long. All year long. Grind it out.
Monday, May 26, 2008
Let's make some music, make some money, find some models for wives
bleh, ok as I stated in my well id love to play in one of those 6 handed shoot out games on TV, something like the poker million or the party poker open etc. Anyway, i cant play in these unless I actually try to qualify so I gave my first shot at the Ladbrokes Poker Million yesterday evening in the $1500 + $100 weekly grand final. I through $300 onto Laddies yesterday afternoon and spun it into $1,200 playing PLO. So the game is starting in 30mins so i lodge the balance of $400 and play away.
21 players start and there is a package for first while 2nd, 3rd and 4th get $5,500, $3,600 and $2,100 respectively. Needless to say I finish 5th when my AA was no match for QJ on a J72 board with all the money going in on the flop. Pretty disappointed to go out on the bubble and if I win that hand I have real shot at a ticket.
The good news was that the ticket was won by Eoin O'Dea, it would make for an interesting heat if he gets drawn against his old man in the heats.... Other good news was that Chub finished 6th in the ECOOP event for a $20k score - very sweet weekend indded for him.
In other news the Irish Open 2008 has started to be put up on you tube, obviously 6:20 into the below clip is the highlight of the whole show.
This is a pretty classic song from a band i've highlighted here before
21 players start and there is a package for first while 2nd, 3rd and 4th get $5,500, $3,600 and $2,100 respectively. Needless to say I finish 5th when my AA was no match for QJ on a J72 board with all the money going in on the flop. Pretty disappointed to go out on the bubble and if I win that hand I have real shot at a ticket.
The good news was that the ticket was won by Eoin O'Dea, it would make for an interesting heat if he gets drawn against his old man in the heats.... Other good news was that Chub finished 6th in the ECOOP event for a $20k score - very sweet weekend indded for him.
In other news the Irish Open 2008 has started to be put up on you tube, obviously 6:20 into the below clip is the highlight of the whole show.
This is a pretty classic song from a band i've highlighted here before
Wednesday, May 21, 2008
If only i had thought of the right words
but hey, a picture paints a thousand words so here are some random shots from the IO.
Heads Up Neil Channing and Donal Norton
Doyle Brunson
Isaac 'WestmenloAA' Baron
Mike 'Timex' McDonald
Sorel 'Imper1um' Mizzi
Heads Up Neil Channing and Donal Norton
Doyle Brunson
Isaac 'WestmenloAA' Baron
Mike 'Timex' McDonald
Sorel 'Imper1um' Mizzi
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