Party Poker Blog

Andy Glazer & Phil Helmuth Poker Blogs

"How long does it take to learn poker, Dad?"
"All your life, son."
David Spanier

TGIF!

Mister Decker alerted me to the nightly $3 no-limit satellites (to the $200 NL tourneys) on PokerStars. They have unlimited rebuys for the first hour and an add-on at the first break. Suffice to say, even with the rebuys, the play is still tougher than PartyPoker. Perhaps the superior software attracts better/discerning players. But anyway, I sat with Royal last evening and gave it a whirl. Cost me $6 to have three hours of fun before choking with a big stack. I finished 90th or so outta 500 players, if I remember correctly.

Better lucky than good:

*** FLOP *** [3d 7h 8c]
Iggy: raises 53450 to 57450 and is all-in
shen: folds
jfddds: calls 31702 and is all-in
*** TURN *** [3d 7h 8c] [3c]
viko said, "wow"
*** RIVER *** [3d 7h 8c 3c] [2c]
jfddds said, "ouch"
*** SHOW DOWN ***
jfddds: shows [7c 7s] (a full house, Sevens full of Threes)
Iggy: shows [8d 8s] (a full house, Eights full of Threes) Iggy collected 86204 from pot

---

It's been very interesting the way my poker perspective has shifted now that I'm no-limit tourneying versus the limit grinding. Starting hand values shift, postional advantage becomes more important, playing aggressive becomes paramount. I feel that I have a lot to offer in the way of insight to limit grinding. Limit is so mechanical to me whereas no-limit is much more instinctual. I'm not sure I can be so cogent in my writing with no-limit tournament playing. Obviously, tight play is rewarded in both games but the luck factor in any single hand in a tournament makes a huge difference. I understand that tournament play is -EV, but I'm willing to give up the dough for the potential big score. The overlay is the thing. Parlaying $6 into the $200 NL tourney is sweet.

Plus, I'm slacking on taking player notes while in tourney mode. The players and tables are so damn random that I can't see any short-term benefits for doing so. Am I doing myself a disservice? Probably.

In this vein, I recently saw this post about “Poker Essays” by Mason Malmuth. The poster was asking about Malmuth's obvious lack of ability to predict the future and also the timeless question of what is more difficult to play, limit or no-limit? Quotes from Malmuth's book below:

--
“… it appears to the uneducated eye that tournaments are the wave of the
future.”

“I suspect that as the years go by there will be fewer and fewer major
tournaments…”

“…the great poker tournament boom is, … past its peak.”

“It’s not easy to figure out what the best limit strategy is, while in
no-limit hold’em, its much more obvious.”
--

I understand Mason's point with the last comment, I'm just not sure I concur 100%. Better minds than mine have debated the finer points and relative strategy of both games. Go read the RGP archive to unearth some of these gems. Or hell, I'll post some tomorrow.

Continuing with message board posts, inthacup, 2+2 veteran poster, is on a quest:
--
I'm going to be posting a journal-style record of my play over the next few days/weeks. I think it'll be something fun to do and a good way to analyze my play.

My goal is to make $10,000 playing $100+9s. I only recently starting playing 100+9s and I think it will be a good way to plug some leaks and make some necessary adjustments.
--

I hope he follows up and makes a habit of posting his results.

Speaking of which, David Ross, where the hell are you??
Update - thanks to PokerGrub, here's David's latest post. Thanks a ton, Grubby!!
Playing online for a living

Thanks to Cards Speak for pointing out Daniel Rentzer's post, "How PokerStars changed my life." This a wonderful story of a guy who took a shot and it paid off. Go read for some inspiration.

I'd be remiss if I didn't pimp Poker Grub Vegas trip reports! Go read Part 3 & 4! Funny stuff. Also, I noticed that BoyGenius stated he signed up on Empire with a female moniker. I'm curious to see if he notices any differences in table image.

Some hip poker links:

Motley Fool has an interesting take on investing and the World Poker Tour.
According to Lakes Entertainment (Nasdaq: LACO), 5 million people tune in to the Travel Channel to watch the World Poker Tour (WPT) every week -- and that's just to watch re-runs.

But how do you -- the investor -- bet on the World Poker Tour?
You might want to take a look at Lakes Entertainment, which owns 80% of the WPT. On the ratings success of the WPT, Lakes' stock has more than tripled off its May lows near $5. At $17 per share, Lakes is currently trading at a slight premium to book value.
Betting the World Poker Tour

Damn, this is some impressive poker coverage. Check out Poker Pundit, Andy Glazer, winning his second title at the Aussie Millions. I sure wish they had this type of content for major tournaments here in the USA.
PokerNetwork

Television alters poker, will improve it
Akron Beacon Journal has a take on the World Poker Tour with quotes from Annie Duke, Chris (Jesus) Ferguson, and even Lou Diamond Phillips.
--
TV poker "is definitely going to raise the level of play,'' Ferguson said. "More people will come into the game, with a better sense of strategy from the TV games, so that in a couple of years, the number of very, very good players could double."
--

Yeah, right. We can see how the level of play on Party has become more difficult.

Yikes, web-site gambling advertising targeted by the Feds.
The Department of Justice has issued a subpoena to Clear Channel Communications and other media companies regarding advertising by illegal Internet gambling sites. I hate Clear Channel.

I discovered two new poker blogs.

Actually, I don't think Tyson is a blog, per se, but I'll link to him anyway. Prolly not worth reading, now that I dig around. Poker site "reviews" piss me off.

Knowing when to Hold 'Em is a new blog who actually complimented my blog. That alone will get you mass pimpage. He is currently tackling the 50.1 tables at Party Poker and UB and wrote up a nice comparison between the two.

Also, updated the blog links on the right. Keeps getting longer and longer.

Stick and Move took my advice and now has this to say about PokerTracker.
--
And incidentally, how the hell did I survive without Poker Tracker? I've gone from living without it to loading hands obsessively. I can't believe no one made me buy it before, but if you're reading this and you play online poker and you don't use it (And I'm sure I was the last one to get the damn thing), you're doing yourself a disservice.
--

One last note, I did some digging and have discovered that bonus whoring is still possible (albeit more difficult) at Party/Empire. It's not too hard to eliminate cookies, after all. So think about that second ID on Empire (IGGY1 bonus code, damnit!). It will be worth your bankrolls while.

Two+Two's message board software still sucks.
David, please fire Mat. Nepotism be damned.

So thanks for reading and good luck at da tables tonight!

Link of the Day:
Turn Ons: Movies, Long Walks, Parole
Very Special Women in Prison is a dating service for patient men and penitent women. "I'm willing to relocate if possible," says one inmate. "Good morals are my turn on."