Party Poker Blog

"We must believe in luck. For how else can we explain the success of those we don't like?"
Jean Cocteau

Verbose is my middle name, but not in this weekend update.

Thanks for all the kind words on my uber, prior post. It's fun as hell to provide something of value to my fellow poker players, despite the time involved. That being said, I think this will be my last post for a bit - I need a hiatus to work on some Real Life projects as well as some web ones. Writing these Guinness-fueled ramblings into the BlogSpace has been a fascinating experiment - it's helped crystalize some of my thoughts on poker and its attributes. But mostly, it's been a blast to meet some very intelligent people and a chance to share the interesting poker content that I discover in my voracious reading.

So I'll still be reading, hopefully checking in, here and there. I'm not sure how long I'll be gone. At some point, I'll need to pop in here and remind you about bonus code IGGY on Party Poker. ;) Of course, no one hardly ever uses my code, so that's an even bigger joke than you know.

Speaking of Party, after my week long foray into multi NL tourneys, I ventured back to the 3.6 tables the last two evenings and am barely down, about $50, not bad considering the cards have gone ice cold. I've also been playing much more short-handed poker, something I prefer to play in person, rather than online.

With the massive influx of new players, it's often hard to decide what the hell to play. There is a veritable plethora of options for the discerning player. Not including the limit and NL ring games, we have around-the-clock SNG's and huge multi table tournaments. The O8 and Stud hi.lo games are also known for their high fish content and sadly, I've been neglecting those games completely since last summer.

Because it's something I ponder quite often, too, I enjoyed Lord G's thoughts as he attempts to determine where best to stick his money right now. Go check out Rhymes with Joker for an online pro's thought making process: Best of all, Lord G coined a wonderful phrase: "exaltation of the grinder," a concept I'd like to flesh out in a future post.

You know, touching back on the community angle of the poker blogging scene, it's been mind-blowing to see the growth. And here in spring of 2004, we've been joined by celebrities/names such as Wil Wheaton, Paul Phillips and Richard Brodie. Who woulda thunk?

But now I've got an important new poker blog announcement. Some of my long-time readers may have remembered a long time ago when I was discussing some of Izmet's concepts and the ram and jam post flop philosophy. I was floored when Izmet himself emailed me to clarify some of his thinking on said topics. And in consequent discussions, that helped deepen my understanding of certain post-flop play moves.

So now, allow me to announce Angelina Fekali, Izmet's sister, and her new poker blog. She's old-school, like Izmet, and has been beating up on the high-stakes ($20.$40) Paradise players for a loooong time. I truly expect some great things from her.
Ange's Webpit

I suppose I should pimp out the rest of the new poker bloggers since I'm on the topic. When will the madness end? A big shout-out to these new guys - make sure to visit and give em some encouragement:

Double As

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I was dissapointed from another perspective as well. It is a tradition in our game that you must raise preflop with 72o and then show it off when you bluff everyone off the flop. I only got 72o once and it was late in a tournament when my big blind was already in and the only caller was a short stack who couldn't even cover the big blind amount. No raising this time. To make it worse, my 72o actually lost!

Somebody brought Wasabi covered peanuts. Interesting taste....I recommend that you try one....one and only one.

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Here is Monte Christo's Poker Adventure

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Second, I don't claim to be any sort of decent poker player. I'll let you know that I just started playing (actually trying not to suck like a hoover) about two months ago. Before that I played on the "boat" and that's it. The boat is what submariner's call their submarine. Yeah trust me, not even great poker games can make being under the sea bearable.

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And a collaborative blog: Texas Hold 'em Poker - a Game, an Attitude
6 guys with Computers.
6 guys with Ultimate Bet Poker software.
6 guys with ATTITUDE!

And last, but not least, a new poker blog with a fine, long first post. Go visit:

Jack-Six Poker!

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Another bad habit that players have is bluffing too much. Not that bluffing is a bad thing, but in my opinion I think it should be done in moderation and only when the opportunity arises.

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Damn, we just keep growing and growing. I'll be fixing my links on the right to ensure the most up-to-date list of poker blogs. Other notable blogging efforts include:

Bullets in the Hole - first B&M experience.

Chris Halverson is out in LA and Hank will be taking him to the Bike. Looking forward to reading both of those trip reports! Esteemed sister of PokerGrub, Grubette, has a post up about her home game. Always a great read. And finally, I'm anxiously awaiting the winner of the I AM A FISH essay over at Jeremy's site.

I know I have at least one Carolina reader, so here's Carolina Poker for you.

I read once in Felicia's poker blog that she enjoys reading and thinking about poker almost as much as playing it. And I confess, I'm the same damn way. I've always been a book nut and won't embarrass myself by posting all the poker books I own, but I saw this interesting thread on RGP entitled Old School vs. New School.

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I was hoping that someone might be able to give me some pointers on a
research project regarding the evolution of poker.

I collect vintage books, and am interested in poker books that are
from the 1960s or earlier. I want to learn how poker advice has
changed over the years, how the strategy has changed, how the game has
evolved. I have about a dozen poker books from the 70s to the early
90s that are interesting to revisit, but some of the advice is plain
awful by today's standards. I am interested if it the advice was even
more simplistic as you go back even further in time.

Here are some older books that I am aware of:
- Oswald Jacoby on Poker, by Oswald Jacoby, 1940
- The Poker Game Complete, by George Sturgis Coffin, 1950
- The Education Of A Poker Player by Herbert O. Yardley,1957
- Complete Guide To Winning Poker, by Albert H. Morehead, 1967
- Advanced Concepts of Poker, by Frank R. Wallace, 1968

Are there others?

I would love to get some opinions about the evolution of poker theory
and advice. Did anyone contribute groundbreaking insight to the pool
of poker knowledge prior to 1950? In more recent years, can you point
to major leaps in the development of poker, such as the application of
mathematics or computers or psychology?

In your opinion, is there a year when old school stopped, and new
school began? If so, can you point to a transformational event or
work? And, is there still a major leap in our future?

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Interesting stuff, imho. Several people chimed in with other archaic poker books and Carson gave his two cents on how differently poker was written about, pre-Sklansky & Malmuth. Side note, I own a first edition of Yardley's book, and still occasionally flip thru the Frank Wallace book for fun. Damn, I love books.

I also discovered this wonderful thread picking on Mason Malmuth. Enjoy:

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Poker predictions can be risky, even for pundits. I pulled out a volume of essays (Poker Essays, Volume II, 1996), by poker guru Mason Malmuth and found the following fascinating predictions.

1) "There will be a decrease in the number of major tournaments."
According to Malmuth, these events "tend to burn players out both mentally and financially."

2) "No-limit hold'em will be a game that a few old-timers will remember."
Gee, isn't this the game that's sweeping the TV ratings? The one everyone wants to play so badly that cardroom managers are forced to turn people away unless they sign up early for the no-limit tournaments?

3) "The rake will continue to rise and stifle the growth of poker and will cost cardrooms money in the long run."
Hmmm. Cardrooms are adding tables; casinos without poker rooms are scurrying to include them, and millions of people around the world are all fired up about poker through the magic of TV. Just about everybody is suddenly crazy about poker. (Must be the dreaded rake backlash hasn't had a chance to set in yet.)

4) "Limit Omaha, played for high-only, will slowly disappear."
Really? I think the jury is still out on this one - at the very least. I've heard only this week that the Orleans, among others, has an active interest list in this game. It's been going strong at Sunset Station for the last several years, and at plenty of other places too. Most importantly, it's available all over the Internet. That means anyone with a computer can play it - here, there, and everywhere - even in Iceland.

I guess predictions are rather tricky. Or maybe they're just a matter of timing.

(This post is an excerpt from my editorial column "From Kathy's Desk," in Players Choice Magazine, out Thursday - Other material in that column deals with Malmuth's essays opining limit hold'em to be a far more complicated game than no-limit hold'em.)

Kathy Watterson, Poker Editor, Players Choice Magazine

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I guess Mason has a propensity to rip other poker books (gasp!) in the reviews section in his site. Apparently, he gave a very negative review to Lou Krieger's new Omaha book, knowing full well that Lou would never respond in kind. To which someone had this to say:

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Having Mason Malmuth criticize your prose style is like having a
Kennedy criticize your sobriety.

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Hey, it's funny cause it's true.

A few relevant poker news tidbits for you. First off the bat is this encouraging and realistic look at the efforts of the US to shut down online gambling from CNN/Money.

Don't bet against online gambling
CNN/Money

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Talk about betting on a long-shot. Members of Congress, sports organizations such as the NCAA and some federal prosecutors believe they can hold back the growth of Internet gambling.

This is another example where the house is almost sure to come out the winner in the long run.

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This is a humorous look at the 'Dogs Playing Poker' prints from Up and Coming magazine. Note to self - check Ebay for these.

Want High Art? Try 'Dogs Playing Poker'

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Who realized how easy it was to cheat a Collie at cards? Consider Coolidge's nihilistic masterpiece, "A Friend in Need." This painting has it all. Pathos, humor, intrigue, poker chips and beer. Two bulldogs in the center of the painting are in cahoots. The brown Bulldog is holding three aces. The grey Bulldog smoking the cigar is sneaking the ace of clubs to the brown Bulldog with his left hindpaw. Three St. Bernards look suspiciously at the grey Bulldog. The Great Dane smoking the pipe casts a gimlet eye on the Bulldogs. At the end of the table, the Collie doesn't suspect a thing. The Collie is leaning back in his chair sporting a big old doggy grin. His half empty glass of beer accounts for his inattentive behavior. Everyone knows that Collies can't hold their liquor.

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And the obligatory poker is hot, yadda, yadda, yadda.
Poker's popularity easy to see at Foxwoods event

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"Poker is the only sport where anyone can enter and rub elbows with the pros," Raymond said. "This makes it unique from other sports. You or I can’t enter a golf tournament and compete against Tiger Woods. In poker, amateurs compete with pros all the time, and that’s why it’s popular on TV.

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Ditto:

Hold 'Em and Beat 'Em

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Moneymaker shocked the world when he sat down at a Vegas no limit hold 'em table with 838 of the very best poker players in the world and won. The 27-year-old from Tennessee began his run to fortune by winning a $25 online poker tournament and a seat at the WSOP. Less than one year later, Moneymaker was sitting with the all-time leading money winner, Johnny Chan, to his right and "The Tiger Woods of Poker," Phil Ivey, to his left.

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And one last site to complete your day. This is an old site that I've been meaning to link up. It contains plenty of solid advice and interesting commentary. Worth a read.

Poker Page of "Dick in Phoenix"

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The theme of this page is to share my own experiences and help other players in the lowest limit casino poker games, from 1-3 up through 6-12. This is not just for "beginners," but for those thoughtful players who for some reason (bankroll, geography, or conservatism) are currently playing low limits.

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Alrighty then, that oughta do it. Hope you're enjoying a superb weekend, loose tables and lucky river cards. Again, thanks to anyone who read this site and took the time to say that they enjoyed it.

Link of the Day:
How's It Hangin', Neighbor?
This series of candid photos prove the old adage, "Where there's smoke, there's a naked mixed-race couple too busy watching the fire to see some guy with the digital camera until it's too late."