POKER HAND #55

RESNICK BUSTS THE BLUE ROOM: Two hands I wish I'd been there for.

Do i pick up the 5-5 in the big blind, there are about four people in the pot, but nobody had raised. I raise to five, trying to steal the pot. the kid on my left (a real blue room asshole) raised to fifteen, so of course alarm bells go off. he's limping from the big blind and then triples my raise? something is fishy. either he has A-A or K-K or he has rags. I decided that the fifteen dollar raise showed weakness, if he was making a play to isolate me with his aces why not just push all in (against which i would have folded) so everyone folds and I call.

The flop comes 9s-5-2s, giving me the middle set.

after deliberating for some time i move all in, trying to scare of a the spade draw or perhaps induce a call from a hand like A-A. he calls instantly and turns over a 9-2 off suit (wtf?). the third two falls on the turn, giving him a full house, but giving me a better full house. I take down a fifty dollar pot.

Then busting Jared Mesznik:

I was on the button, picked up A Q off. Mez raises up to six before the flop, i call. There was one other player in there to my left. Flop comes 10 J K rainbow. Guy on my left raised five, mez goes all in for around thirty, I raise all in, guy on my left folds And then I showed mez the bad news. He had the J-9 of hearts, and picked up a flush draw on the turn. No heart came I won a huge one.

POKER HAND #54

POKER AT THE PLAZA: Here was a very interesting hand between Ted Forrest and Daniel Negreanu at the Plaza.

Ted picked up the As-Kd and saw a flop with Daniel.

The flop came down 10h-Js-Jd.

Ted checked it over to Daniel, who checked behind him with the 6s-5s.

The turn was a 7s. Ted led out and bet $10,000.

Daniel had picked up the flush draw, and called the $10,000.

The river was the 5h.

Ted checked it over to Daniel, who bet $30,000 on a pair of fives.

From the texture of the play, Ted had to assume that Daniel was on a draw, and Daniel had to assume that Ted was probably playing A-Q or A-K.

Ted thought about it for a long while--thought about calling with an Ace high!

He knew that Daniel was weak, and none of the probable draws were completed.

After Ted called with the ace high, he said, "That was the only card I was worried about--the 5!"

Funny stuff.

POKER HAND #53

MOST HILARIOUS THING EVER: Our resident poker maestro Scott Goldberg provides enough fodder for my jokes for the next six months in this Brown Daily Herald article.

About three times a week in the Lower Blue Room, a group of about 25 students huddles around tables playing variations of poker, including the ever-popular Texas Hold 'Em, in sessions that last up to six hours.

While some people take time to interact with other players, the atmosphere is largely focused on "making money as opposed to just socializing," said Scott Goldberg '05.

Some players, Goldberg included, wear headphones so they can focus on the game free from distraction.

"It's just business," he said.

Across campus in the Minden Hall lounge, a group of anywhere from five to 15 upperclassmen meets a few times a week to play in what participant Jon Hasebe '05 called a more "laid-back" environment.

"We become pretty close, everyone who joins the group and who comes pretty regularly," Hasebe said. "It's just kind of to improve your game and meet new people."

These two scenes offer contrasting images of a game many say has taken off in popularity in the past year, particularly on the Brown campus. While some student poker enthusiasts enjoy the opportunity to socialize with other players, others compete strictly for the financial payoff.

Jared Mesznik '05, who started the Lower Blue Room group with four of his friends in October 2003, said more than 130 students have played or shown interest in the group, which started out meeting just one time a week for two hours each session.

On Fridays, the group's most popular day, Mesznik said around 40 people tend to show up.

Mesznik said the group features a consistent core of about 10 students, with about 20 others who "wander through" during the course of any given session. Although individual sessions tend to last up to six hours, many students opt to remain for only two or three before cycling out, he said.

Mesznik said he takes pride in the high level of play his group offers. "The best players at Brown play in my game - hands down," he said.

Some of Brown's more avid poker players say the game's popularity has increased significantly since ESPN began broadcasting the World Series of Poker in May 2003. Mesznik said he has noticed a "significant increase" in the number of players on campus. "The quality of players has gone up, as well as the number of players who just want to give it a shot," he said.

Goldberg, who participates in several games across campus, said this publicity has drawn a number of new players, while renewing interest for those who already knew the game.

"The TV definitely made poker look really cool," he said.

Despite the expansion, poker continues to be a male-dominated pastime at Brown. Goldberg said more women are beginning to show interest, but the number of female participants remains low and others are more likely to watch than take an active role in the game.

"Last year I just remember one girl playing," he said. "This year I've seen two girls play."

Goldberg said he is attracted to the social aspects of the game, although the possibility of winning money enhances his incentive to compete.

"I kind of have an addictive personality," he said.

Many of Brown's more involved players say that because of the vast amount of literature available on the game, the skill component has become more important.

"All the other forms of gambling I've been a part of are basically just luck," Goldberg said. "You need skill (in poker) to be good."

New players can improve their game by learning basic skills and reading up on techniques and strategy, said Goldberg, who himself has read several books on the game.

"(This basic knowledge) will probably make you a marginally winning player over someone who just didn't look into that," he said.

Yet the possibility of losing money is still present even for experienced players, particularly when playing Texas Hold 'Em, the game's most popular variation and the featured event in ESPN's World Series of Poker coverage.

In this version, each player is dealt two cards face down. After the initial round of betting, three additional cards are dealt face-up in the middle of the table. Players combine their two cards with these "community cards" to construct the best possible five-card hand. Another round of betting ensues, followed by the fourth community card, another round of betting and the final community card. At this point, players undergo a final round of betting before revealing their cards.

Goldberg said many groups play "no limit" - bets can be of any value - which adds to the game's suspense and tension.

"It's more exciting because there are so many swings to it," he said. "You can lose all the money that's in front of you or double the money you have in front of you."

Both Goldberg and Hasebe said skilled players tend to profit in the long run, although the nature of the game leads to some short-term setbacks.

"Ever since I've been playing poker I've definitely made money off of it," Goldberg said. "But there definitely have been times when I've lost a lot."

Hasebe said his own profits vary from game to game.

"I've won more than I've lost, but I do take swings," he said. "Everyone does."

Goldberg, who picked up the game the summer after his sophomore year, said the opportunities to compete in various forms have increased along with the game's popularity.

During the summer, for example, he said he competed in online games at PartyPoker.com, one of many popular online poker sites.

These sites allow players to compete in several hands simultaneously, a situation Goldberg acknowledges is "dangerous" but potentially lucrative.

"I was putting in, like, two or three hours a day," he said. "I haven't really played online anymore, because it's kind of addictive and I want to try to get away from that."

Part of the appeal of online gambling stems from the relative inexperience of some of the competitors, he said. These novices are more likely to be found online as opposed to on campus or in more formal gambling settings.

"A lot of the players (online) aren't that good ... and they just don't know how to play the game properly," he said. "In a casino, usually the players are a little bit more experienced."

Scott, what were you thinking? I fell down laughing in the shower just thinking about this article. Amazing.

POKER HAND #52

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POKER HAND #50

RIDICULOUS HAND: Anyone who can figure out the odds of this hand happening gets a prize.I think anyone who was at the game last night will agree that this hand was simply awesome.

In a seven-handed game, Alex is in the big blind with Ryan Goldberg under the gun and his IDENTICAL TWIN (important note) brother Scott immediately to his left.

Forgive me if I get the betting wrong, but I think this is what happened.

Ryan bet 4x the pot, Scott reraises by that amount, everyone folds to Alex who goes all-in and is called by both Goldbergs. Alex flips over Aces and both Goldbergs flip over pocket Kings!

Alex was a 96% favorite pre-flop. He ended up with the nut heart flush. So the question is, what is the probabilty of these three hands showing up together?

For extra credit, what is the probability that both pairs of kings are being held by identical twins?

POKER HAND #48

A LITTLE ONLINE POKER: Though I'm not permitting myself to play in a live game until what I hope will be the Mike Matusow Championship on Thursday, I drifted over to Party Poker last night expecting to play for a few minutes.

An hour later, I had a hand of real interest.

I picked up the 10h-10d in the big blind and raised preflop.

I got two callers.

The flop came down

Ks-10h-7h.

With a flush draw and possible straight draw out there, I immediately bet out. The conventional Super System wisdom is that it's best to bet out when you have a set. I don't think that's always true--if you think you might get raised OR if you're opponent is a draw then it is of course correct to bet. Here was one of those cases.

When the guy to the left of me raised, I put him on A-K because I can't see why he would raise with a few of the hands I was afraid of--the As-Qs or god forbid the 9h-8h or even something like the Qh-Jh.

The next player folded, and the turn came Ah.

This made a possible flush for my opponent if he had two hearts. But like I said, the texture of the play on the fold led me to believe he now had two pair. The difficulty here is that it would be tough to figure out exactly what he had because with either hand, he would show strength.

Because this was online play, I had even less to go on.

While most people would bet out here, I didn't. This is a play I make a lot and it often bothers people. I don't myself know if it's correct. I know that if I bet, and he raises, I'm put to a tough call. And what I don't want to be do is pushed off my hand. I have to make a decision--are my trip tens good?

When he checked behind me, I had to think again.

Would he check top two? With a flush out there, possibly, but I checked to him, indicated that I don't have a flush. In my mind he either has the nut flush or no flush. He might check both.

What I've done here is postponed my decision. When I have to make a tough decision, I'll probably lay it down on the turn. I want to push that decision to a river where either I have one last chance to think about a big bet, or can check it down. If he was actually weak, then I wasn't going to make any more money. If he was actually strong, then I saved money.

As I said before, this flop presented several draws, but again, because of the play on the flop, I didn't think my opponent was on a draw. Now if an A or K hit the board, that would really be a scare card for me, indicating that my opponent had a full house. If a heart came off, I now had the flush, which I didn't think he had--if he had the Ace of Hearts, why didn't he bet on the turn?

The river came off Jd, and based on my read, I immediately bet out. He thought for a second, and then raised about $50 more. At this point I called and was glad to see my initial read had been almost correct--he had the Kc-7c, and had flopped top and bottom pair.

With my read dead on correct, I feel confident going into the Mike Matusow Championship.

POKER HAND #47

SOME SUPER SYSTEM: From Bobby Baldwin's discussion of limit hold 'em. God bless Super System. The title of the chapter is "How to Read Hands."

The main methods I use in figuring out what a man made on the last card is reconstructing the hand from the Flop. If I can't figure out what a man could have called with on the Flop - in order to make the hand he seems to be representing on the last card - I'm going to look him up.

Suppose I have the 7s-7h.

And the flop is

10s-7c-2d.

It's checked to me, I bet, and a player to my right in middle position calls. The next card off is the 6c.

He checks again, I bet, he calls. On the end comes

8s.

Now he leads into me and I have to stop and think. Naturally it looks like he's got a Nine. But how? If he had 10-9 or 9-9, he probably would have led at the flop, considering his position. If he had 9-8, he made his hand on the fourth card, so why didn't he play it there? I don't think he would go to the last card with J-9 or 9-6, and since I have two sevens, 9-7 is an unlikely possibility. I can't get away from my hand UNLESS it's a player whom I have never seen bet anything but the nuts on the end. In that case, I know he must have slow-played his straight on the fourth card, and had his planned check-raise ruined when the Eight fell. With this amunt of doubt, I'm going to pay it off.

POKER HAND #46

NICK FREILICH WRITES IN WITH A QUICK ONE FROM D.C.: Here's a common situation where it just doesn't pay to call a bet. Nick unfortunately went all-in in the spot.

Playing hold 'em, and I bought in 3 times at $10 a pop. I thought about walking away until I picked up the Q-10 suited. Flop comes K-J-9 rainbow. I slowplay, I mean really slow. Next card is a 5. I'm still slowplaying. Next card is off is a 10. I go all in, and you can’t be much stupider, because the fool next to me, of course, has A-Q. There was nothing in the pot. Terrible move. If he DOES call he either has Q or A-Q. I'm going to fire myself after that one.

To his credit, he never takes bad beats hard and ended up on the night.

POKER HAND #45

I WANT TO THANK MY NEW CONTRIBUTORS: here at Pokerhand.blogspot.com. Thanks first to Ryan Goldberg, whose account of a HORSE tournament where he turned a straight flush in Omaha high-low thrilled us. Thanks to Jamie Galen, our science expert and pre-med contributor to the blog.

And finally I'm happy to welcome tournament maestro Scotty Nguyen. You may have seen Scotty on ESPN or on the Travel Channel's WPT series. I'm amazed that he's here contributing on the blog. I'm excited for the exciting hands that Scotty can tell us about.

For now, here's the latest Daniel Negreanu article. I can't wait for his Super/System chapter.

One of the coolest things about poker being televised now is that I can reference tournaments I've played in to come up with material for my column!

I played in the Plaza event about four months before writing this column, so having the TV backup helps me with the nitty-gritty details.

This tournament took place immediately after the World Series of Poker, where I had a poor showing in the main event but a great tournament overall. This tournament was put together at the last minute, so they didn't have a lot of time to market it. I kind of liked the contrast, though, as the tournament had a very warm, cozy feel to it because everybody knew each other. And as I wrote in a previous column, in the main event at the WSOP, I longed to see a familiar face.

A total of 68 runners started and the event would be broadcast by FoxSportsNet, which suited me just fine. The only other show that FoxSportsNet had aired up to that point was the Showdown at the Sands, and I was lucky enough to make that final table, but disappointed with a sixth-place finish.

I was determined to play my best game and basically bounce back from the brain cramp I had in the main event at the WSOP. Day one wasn't all that eventful for me, but there was one key hand that had several variables to it, and I'd like to share it with you:

With the blinds at $50-$100, I had built my original $10,000 in chips up to $10,400. My table was pretty tough (as were all of them), and I looked down at two black tens in the big blind. It was a decent hand, for sure, but not something I was all that crazy about. Paul Phillips, who's been one of the hottest players in tournament poker over the last two years, limped in from first position. At this point, I figured Paul could have anything. He's not exactly a rock from early position and likes to see cheap flops, which is a common trait of most great players.

In second position, Andy Bloch also called. I have a nickname for Andy that I find appropriate: "Calling Station." Andy is on my "unbluffable" list. He's a "math guy," so anytime the pot is laying him a decent price, he'll call you if he has any reasonable chance of winning.

On the button, Antonio Esfandiari also limped in. From what I'd seen of Antonio's play in limited experiences with him, he is very aggressive from late position and really likes to push marginal hands if he senses weakness. The small blind folded, and it was up to me. I had three options here: (1) just check and try to flop a set; (2) make a standard-sized raise and get value for my hand; or (3) make a big raise and try to pick up the pot right here. I opted for (3) for a couple of reasons:

1. It looked suspicious. Since I was up against three experienced players, I thought a big raise may set off alarm bells in their heads. Oftentimes when several people limp into a pot, one of the blinds will make a shutout raise with a trash hand, looking to pick up the dead money. Phil Hellmuth used to use this play a lot back in the "old days."

2. My hand doesn't play well out of position. If I made a standard-sized raise, chances were that all three of my opponents would call. Then when the flop came, I would be in no man's land unless I flopped a set.

So, I went ahead and overbet the pot ($450) and made it $1,000 more. Paul studied for a little bit, and I tried to get into his head: "Hmm, it looks like he is trying to figure out if it is worth trying to flop a set on me." When Paul finally called the bet, I put him on some sort of pocket pair.

As for Andy, he could call here with a wide variety of hands now that he was getting pot odds. Antonio folded on the button and three of us took the flop: K Q 8. Well, that totally missed my hand, and I planned on giving it up to a bet; I checked.

After studying for a few seconds, Paul bet $2,500. Oh well, it was time to abort this mission and move on to the next hand … or was it?

Andy folded and the action was back to me. Something smelled a little fishy about the bet, but I couldn't put my finger on it right away. It was time to look for clues: "He limped in from the one hole and called a $1,000 raise. Would he do that with K-Q? I don't think so," I thought. "How about A-Q? Nope, I doubt it. A-K? Possibly."

Before the flop, I had Paul on a pocket pair, so the hand to really worry about was three eights. Sure, he could also have K-K or Q-Q, but 8-8 was the most likely of the three.

I needed more clues. What else was odd about this bet? Aha, the decoy play! It was very possible that Paul had put me on a straight steal before the flop and was using the decoy play to bluff out Andy. Confused yet? Let me explain: If Paul sensed that I may have been bluffing, he could put extra pressure on Andy by betting the flop. Not only did Andy have to worry about Paul's hand, but he also had to worry about the initial raiser, which was me in this case.

OK, now we seem to be getting closer to solving the mystery, but was there more? Yes, there most certainly was. If Paul actually had A-K or A-Q, my guess was that he would have checked to Andy on the flop, looking to trap him. It was not a monster clue, but it still helped a little bit with my final conclusion.

Before I proceeded any further, I had to put myself in Paul's shoes. If I'm Paul and I have a small pocket pair, I'm thinking, "Daniel may have two jacks here and will have to fold, or he may just have two napkins. Andy could easily have 7-7 or 9-9." Paul, you are a smart guy! "There is $3,750 in the pot, and if I'm right, I can probably pick it up for $2,500, which is a decent price."

So, now the question was, how should I proceed? I now had Paul on either a set of eights or a small pair. I had $9,300 left, so could I raise him $6,800 more and possibly get him to lay down a pair of queens? "Hmm … no, that's unnecessary, and too risky," I thought. "Why don't I just call here and see what develops on the turn."

So, that's what I did. My call had to force Paul to put on the brakes if he was bluffing. After all, I very easily could have A-A, K-K, Q-Q, K-Q, or 8-8 here. The turn card was the 6, and we both checked. The river brought the 4, and again we both checked.

I turned up my two tens and later saw on TV that Paul did have a small pair — the smallest of the small: 2-2. Winning that pot gave me a boost to end an uneventful day one, and I had built my chip count up to $17,925, which was good for 18th place among 36 remaining players.

In the next issue, I'll bring you day two action from the Plaza.

POKER HAND #44

PLAYING AGAINST TWINS: In what can only be described as the authoritative account of playing no limit Texas hold 'em against identical twins, I turn it over to Gideon Friedman, winner of the Phil Hellmuth Jr. Invitational and boyfriend to Rachael Bedard, the winner of the Annie Duke Classic.

A raucous no limit game featuring not one, but two Galens took place at 183 Angell last night. There is little that can match the madness of playing against two Galens at once and their insanity finally drove me out of the game. I'll highlight three hands that best illustrate the two-headed beast I was up against.

1:30am - I limp in with Ac-Kh in the big blind. I limp to avoid going up against only Galens as the other players were fairly tight at this point. The flop comes Qs Jd 5c. I bet $3 hoping someone hit a Q or J but everyone folds to Jeremy Galen who raises $5. I go all in for $27 more and he calls. He has As-10s, cards I am more than happy to see. The turn is a 10 giving me the straight and the river is a blank.

A fairly straightforward play by me and I only mention it because the lesson I learned would come back to ruin me. I felt I had picked up on a situation in which an experienced player can take advantage of an amateur player without a large risk of being burned by a joker. I think many players find it difficult or frustrating to play against less experienced players as they don't play by the "rules" of poker strategy and often benefit from this. Poker is more like tennis where good players end up playing down to their opponents level than basketball where your level of play is mostly independent of your opponent. Of course this can be taken to extremes (Phil Hellmuth and his merry band of Brown students who watch him and believe every hand they lose is due to an inferior players lack of ability). Back to the play, with a Q and a J on the board, I figured he hit one and, though he would be ahead, I could make him commit to the pot without losing too many chips and if I hit my card (especially the 10) he would call anything, being pot committed. As it turned out,
he had even less and as a very loose player with delusions of grandeur, he couldn't walk away from an inside nut straight draw.

2:30 a.m. Now I proceed to follow my lesson down the drain. I am the big stack when I suffer a Galen induced brain-freeze. I pick up K-4 and call a small bet by an indistinguishable Galen. The flop comes K-Q-2 rainbow and with just myself and the Galens and no idea of what I am getting myself into, I raise $3. Jeremy reraises to 10 and Jamie calls. Because they are identical twins and always call each others bets, it is difficult to put them on two different hands, so, using the lesson I learned in the above hand, I put them collectively on A-blank. I call the bet and the turn is a 4. Jamie raises 10, I call, Jeremy raises another 10 and at this point, we all know there will be no folding. I like to believe I momentarily became a Galen for this hand, thus excusing my awful play. The river is a 2, Jamie goes all in for his last $14, we both call. Jeremy flips the K-Q, I quietly slip my cards under the deck and Jamie, oh Jamie, shows a 2 for the set and the huge pot. Jamie had A-2 suited, so my read on one Galen was right, but having a second one at the table threw everything off.

3 a.m. - I announce that this will be my final hand and I promptly pick
up A-K under the gun. With two big-stacked Galens yet to act, I go all-in for $42, hoping to get called by just one of them. I like my chances against one Galen, and even more against one of the two non-Galens at the table, two very good players from Harvard, Dan and Francis, as they may call with AQ, QQ, JJ, etc... I get called by Dan, the next to act and then, as predicted, by Jeremy. Dan flips over the A-J, the hand you dream about going all-in against with AK and Jeremy proudly displays his 4h-2h. I was unhappy to get two callers, especially when the second was a Galen because this is the type of garbage I imagined he would call with and it just increased the chances that I would lose. As if you hadn't guessed, a 4 comes on the turn giving Jeremy the $125+ pot and sending me home empty-handed.

Playing with identical twins is very complicated and is a situation I have found myself in countless times. Unfortunately, there is little work has been dedicated to the subject, one I hope will receive further attention in the future.

Ahahahahahahahahaha.

POKER HAND #41

SCOTT RETALIATES: with a description of his play in Hasebe's game this past Saturday. I was there, and recorded my break even session recently. I turn it over to Scott:

If I can take anything away from Saturday's poker game in Minden, run by Hasebe, it is not to drink beers when playing poker. I lost my first $20 right away, trying to outplay a kid who I had never played with. Then, I saw some good cards and with some discipline built my stack up to $40. Yet I pissed it all away when I moved over the top of a bet with top two pair but was quickly called by the straight. It was one of the worst plays I can recall making. But I do like this one way I played K-K. After looking down at this hand, I decided to play it a little differently than I normally do, not so aggressively.

There is one limper to me, when I raise a $1 with K-K on one of the blinds, just to get some money in. The flop comes Q-3-6. So I bet out a small amount, it might have even been wise to check here, and get raised by the limper. So he is obviously representing the Q here. So instead of reraising I just call, hoping to trap later. THe turn comes an A. This scares me a bit because he could have A-Q, but since he didnt raise preflop I cant put him on this hand. So I check and he bets out $4. Now I should have just checked here and then bet on the river, because he probably has like K-Q or Q-J, but I raise him all-in. He quickly folds, but at least I conveyed to the table that I was very aggressive.

POKER HAND #40

NOT TO BE OUTDONE: Scott's brother Ryan, also a poker maestro in his own right, chimes in with an EXTREMELY interesting hand.

In a single-table $30+3 buy-in NL tournament on Party Poker last night, the following hand came up in the early stages of the tournament, at the first level with blinds at 10/15. The end result seemed to have justified my play, though I believe that I misplayed the hand (though playing it the 'right' way would have possibly resulted in me going broke).

In late position, I held 7h-6h, a lovely suited connector. Under the gun, a fairly tight player, it seemed, raised the blind to 70. It is nearly impossible to put players online on hands preflop, in limit or no-limit, but I expected that since he had played very, very few pots he could have any hand from J-J to A-A. I had run my stack up to about 1,000 from the initial 800, so I called the 70 with my suited connector, hoping some players behind me jumped in to give my hand some expected value. Instead, it went heads-up to the flop.

The flop came 7d-5h-4h. I'm not sure if I have ever seen a flop that gave my hand so many outs. I held top pair, with a flush and straight possibilities, with another 7 or 6 giving me the best hand. I quickly guessed I had about 20 outs. My opponent made an under-sized bet of 70. My estimation was that he held an overpair on that board, but that $70 bet screamed weakness. My thought process on how to play that hand went as followed:

1) I should move-in on the flop. I may have the best hand here, and if not, I am actually a significant favorite (7-5) over any big overpair. But the problem I assumed with this play was that since I was a favorite to hit my hand, since I did assume he had an overpair, I would actually want to win more from this hand than the about 200 that was in the pot. In cases where I have a flush/straight draw, and
don't want to get action, I would try to move a player off his hand (hoping he might have 9-9 thru J-J in this case and would lay it down). If I were to hit a non-heart straight, I might be able to get some more money. However, if I hit my flush or another 7, I might not get more money from this guy.

2) Make a raise, maybe up to 150-180. This might have induced my opponent to call, and then if I make a straight or flush on the turn or river, he may only put me on top pair and give me action. This play, in normal circumstances where I was on a good draw, would be good if I wanted to take it down right there, yet allow myself to
release my hand if I get played back it. This may have been the best move here.

3) Simply call. Knowing that I had many outs, I thought I could hit my hand on the turn, and if not, I would probably be bet into and would call knowing I still was about even-money to win the hand on the river.

I decided for option 3, though I do believe I probably should have raised the flop. The difficulty with that play, though, is if I raise and he re-raises me all-in, I believe I have to call here, since I'm a favorite. So if I expected that course of action, why not move in? Yet it was early in the tournament, and I wanted to extract more money from this loaded draw.

The turn came a blank, a 2. The person bet 70 again, another weak bet. I decided to try and move-in and make a raise now wouldn't be a prudent play, so I called again. The pot had close to 400 in it now. The turn was another blank, a 10. My opponent now checked; my options here were to make a play at the pot (assuming he had an overpair and might fold) or check. I decided that he might have A-K here, possibly
even a flush draw, and to bet would only force him to fold. Instead of putting myself to a check-raise, I checked behind. He showed the Ac-As for the winning hand.

After this long story, I want to know how others would have played this hand? What should I have done differently?

Ryan, you made the right read and correct to think that you were the favorite, though I would fear the Ah-Kh after that $70 bet. That's one reason I wouldn't move in, because my outs to a flush might be dead.

But there's also another reason. That bet of $70 is so scared, if you moved in on him, he'd probably call. And even though you're the favorite, that's not the best tournament strategy.

The fact that this is an online game makes it so tough. If you knew what kind of player he was, you could properly decide whether he would make a good laydown there. But the fact that people routinely never laydown Aces when they ought to me means he likely would have called your all-in. Although your draw is the favorite there, calling is correct. If you hit his draw, he probably won't be sophisticated enough to lay it down.

Since you're not going to pick up the pot, and you don't have to pay very much to see if you hit the draw, why not just call?

He's the one who made the bad play. Instead of betting $70, he should have moved all his chips in. You would have been forced to a call, and he would have won a huge pot instead of a small one.

POKER HAND #39

SCOTT GOLDBERG: Mr. Goldberg is perhaps my favorite opponent, and after he tells you about his experience as the chip leader at the Phil Ivey Classic, you may see why.

Let me begin by saying that Alex tends to glorify my play way too much. He usually uses adjectives like impressive to describe my play, but I think words like impulsive would be more fitting. But nevertheless, at the Phil Ivey classic I played tight and aggressive poker. Seeing good cards allowed me to play this way while making a good deal of money. Some times I will play looser, but against loose-passive players I only get involved with the best hands. I think I only showed down the worst hand once, so here are three hands which were somewhat critical.

First, I pick up 6-6 under the gun. I limped with this hand hoping to get in for cheap. Sometimes I will raise with this hand, and almost any pair, but Alex had been raising almost every pot he entered. Fortunately, it was limped around. The flop came down 6-9-3. Even with straight possibilities out there, I decide to check. Taking my chances that I wont be drawn out, I choose to disguise my hand.

Gideon is last to act and bets, I just call. The turn comes an A. I bet out hoping to represent the A and maybe even get played back at. Gideon calls the $4. The river card is the ultimate money shot - 6. I have crippled the deck with my quads. So I bet out $10. It was a slight overbet that I hoped Gideon would see as weak and raise. But he didn't call and it probably would have been better to bet small, like $5.

Second, I pick up J-J. Nick Horton raises preflop, like $3, Alex calls and I raise it up on the big blind to $10. With this hand, I like to take it down then. Both Nick and Alex fold. I was even more relieved to see that once the cards were chased I would have been beat by both of their hands. I think this play demonstrates how you want to play a hand like JJ or QQ with a few callers. You wish to shut out others and potentially take it down then or go heads up with just one other person.

Lastly, sometimes you just have to get lucky. Early in the night, Alex raises up to $6 with 9-9 and I look down at A-K. He had been betting big with junk thus far, and so I pushed all my chips in. We both had about $20. He quickly calls and I am a little pissed to see he is actually favored here. The flop comes 3-4-8 putting me deeper in the hole. The turn comes a 2, giving me four more outs. On the river, I'm looking for an A,K, or a 5. As the river card is slowly dealt out, I see that it is a miracle, a 5. I am elated, but know that I have just sucked out Alex on a very fine play he made preflop. I like Alex's play there a lot, he was representing junk with the big raise and got a call from an inferior hand, my A-K.

It's one thing if an A or K hits the flop, but the fact that you hit the wheel with the A-K was just a little too much for me on that night.

POKER HAND #38

POKER POEM: Here's a poem I wrote about poker for my poetry class.

Nines (Villanelle)
(Alex Carnevale)

Should have been an actuary.

—Doyle Brunson

The other life, the one without mistakes.
Before three boys stored a gravestone in a closet,
The odds were worse than bad I’d lose my stake.

Three nines, the thought of paperclips coming down
in sheets. One of those boys was deaf or dumb
The odds? worse than bad I’d lose my stake.

Before I walked the tides of earth like a king,
fore I knew ace-nine to be nothing to wager on
The odds were worse than bad I’d lose my stake.

Bill Evans tapping keys, my eyeballs feeling rounder
in their orbits. One plays cards because of what else
The other life, the one without mistakes.

What did the gravestone read? What couldn’t I see?
My hands speckled with iron, I bore witness at the table
The odds were worse than worst I’d lose my stake.

Start anew with decks of unshuffled nines, no desk job.
I’d play deep into the night, come home to her corneas
The other life. The one without mistakes.
in which home to me comes the biggest take

after Lou Lipsitz

POKER HAND #37

GAME TONIGHT: I sat in a no-limit game for two hours tonight.

My first big hand was the A-A. I went all-in (surprise!) and got called by someone with the A-5. He complained that that was a weird play with Aces. I complained that was a weird play with the A-5.

That gave me a few chips. I wasn't really feeling it though.

I mixed it up and got a little loose, but didn't get any kind of a rush going.

One key hand that would have made or broken me was this one: I picked up the 9-9 under the gun and made it $5 to go. Standard preflop raise. I got called in two places, and was put between them. They were both very loose players so this was not the best spot for me to begin with. Flop came down 10s-3h-3s. The small blind immmediately went all-in.

That put me in the tank. He had just lost $60, and was probably on tilt. Nevertheless, he had me covered. If he had a 3, I was dead. If he had a 10, I was also dead.

I considered a flush draw, which is the only other probable hand. It's just that I raised preflop...He could have the A-3 or the A-10. Both hands had me at hello.

I folded rather quickly. He showed me the 7s-4s. Even more of a maniac that I thought.

If I knew what he had, I would have still perhaps folded. He was putting my entire stack in jeopardy, which is always a nice play.

Overall, I played rather tight. I busted the late great Scott Goldberg with the K-K.

A typically tight Alex Carnevale play usually consists of throwing away top pair. The flop came down 7-6-3. I had the J-7 of diamonds (I had limped with it to see a flop.) Even thought this was a great flop for me, this tight player named Jeff bet out and I had to give him credit for something. It was a sizable bet, but with more players left to act, I quickly folded. The most likely hand he has is the A-7. If he has it, I'm twisting in the wind. I don't see how he could bet a 7 with a lower kicker into me like that. Worst case scenario, he has the 7-6 and I'm hurting just the same.

So I laid it down.

POKER HAND #36

HERE'S SOME THOUGHTS: On two subtle hold 'em plays.

The first is check-raising as a bluff. I love this play.

I've noticed people check-raising less in general. Slow-playing is kind of going out of fashion. Still, tight players hate to be trapped, me included.

Gideon Friedman, winner of the Phil Hellmuth Jr. Invitational, has used this play to great effect. The checkraise is a great tool to use against aggressive players like myself and Jamie Galen.

The only time I really want to trap somebody is when I believe they would not call a bet.

Say you pick up the Ks-9s in the big blind. There's not really any point in raising if a few people have limped in and there's not much money in the pot. (With bigger blinds, this is obviously a different situation.)

I'll check in the big blind everytime with that hand and see what comes on the flop. I don't want to get reraised there.

The flop comes down K-6-5 rainbow. In that situation, who is going to call my bet? If I get called, the only hand I can beat is a K with a smaller kicker. And I know my opponents well enough to where I don't know that they would limp with the K-8 or K-7.

If I get called, I'm probably up against the 6-5, in which case I'm a pretty huge underdog. I could be up against a lower pocket pair, but in that case I'm a huge favorite and don't really need to bet.

If I check the King in that spot, a J can come off on the next card, making one of my opponents a pair if they saw a free card with the Q-J or J-10.

In that case, I'm set up to win a really big pot, where before the best I could do was lose a big pot or win a small one.

Over time, I've found this play to be an effective one, not that it's very complex.

If I check and someone else bets, I will easily raise in that spot. It's just plain a huge mistake not to raise there. It's worth an extra $5 or $10 just to find out what your opponent has--especially when your stack is in jeopardy.

Just look how your opponent is going to have to play a variety of hands in that spot. (I'm assuming he's a tight-aggressive player, like most of the folks I play with, and would give it some thought.)

They quite clearly don't have A-K here. Say they have something like the K-10. If I raise them in that spot, that's going to really put them to the test. If bet and got raised playing the K-10, I'm going to fold it. So you're making some hands that might beat you fold.

Now say the guy has something like J-J. He can't possibly reraise you in that spot. You just showed him that you were super-strong. He will probably think about it. With so much invested in the pot already, he will probably just smooth-call. A K-10 might smooth-call as well.

If he has the A-A, he's going to move all-in. If he has the 6-5 he's going to move all-in. And instead of potentially having to pay this hand off at the river, you've just got away from it the cheapest way you know how. He won't move all-in with a worse hand than yours. Not even I would do that, and I like to gamble.

This play can also save you a bet if you are beat. I don't know how many times that situation has happened to me. The guy bet, and I raised. He smooth-called. Depending on the preflop play, I can usually figure out what kind of a hand he's on.

And once you know what your opponent has, you're at a tremendous advantage. If you think he's trapping you, you'll probably right. And no matter what comes off on the river, he'll probably check it to you, expecting you to bet.

Because you know what he has, you now know exactly what to do. He hasn't just given you one free card, he's given you two. He's given you exactly two chances to make your hand.

If you spike a 9, you're in a great position. You've got him right where you want him. You can bet on the turn, and he'll probably raise you. Or if you don't hit your card, you get another free one because you can see the river.

If you don't make your hand, you can easily fold it without putting more money in the pot.

If you do, you'll win a huge one.

POKER HAND #35

PHIL IVEY CLASSIC: Thanks to all who played in the Phil Ivey Classic.

The Poker Hand of the Day Player of the Night Award goes to Scott Goldberg.

Scott played impressively, making great reads all night. I remember I flopped top two pair and Scott immediately picked up that I was strong. Good thing too, because if he felt I was weak, he would have moved in.

Scott's tight aggressive style won him a tidy profit on the night.

I myself had to rebuy twice. Down to my last ten dollars, a crucial hand put me on the path to break even, and I actually ended up $12 up.

I picked up the 5s-3h on the button and raised preflop. I got called in two places.

The flop came down K-K-9. I immediately bet out $7 and got called in one place by my man Hasebe.

A blank came off on the turn. I immediately bet out $12 and Hasebe went in the tank. He had a 9. Frankly, I can't even believe he would think about calling in this spot. He has to put me on a total bluff to call. And unfortunately I had raised preflop so he was not able to make the read.

Thank God, as that saved my night. I told him I had the A-K, but I was lying. My bad.

I made some bad plays early on that got me in the hole to begin with. After that, I tightened up and waited for the hands to come. They did come, but in some cases I didn't make that much money with them. I picked up the 7-7 five times and lost every pot I played with them.

Another critical hand also involved Hasebe.

I picked up the A-Q in the big blind and raised preflop. I was called in the small blind, & by Hasebe who was acting several people after me.

The flop came down Q-5-3, rainbow. With no flush draw out there, I quickly assumed I was best.

Nick Horton, in the small blind, bet out $5 or something similar. With Hasebe yet to act, I smooth-called. I guess he might be able to think I have some kind of a draw there. I don't raise in that spot because I'm likely only to get called by either Nick or Hasebe if I'm beat or if my opponent has a queen with a worse kicker. That's not that many hands, and in the latter situation or any other situation, I'm a huge favorite.

That's why the smooth-call. And I didn't even think about it. It's only correct to raise in that spot if you think there are some draws out there. With the common card nature of hold 'em, if there wasn't a draw out against me, I was a huge favorite and should try to get action instead of pushing it out of the pot.

Action I got, as Hasebe immediately moved all-in over the top for $15 more. I might have folded the K-Q to that strong bet, but not the A-Q. Nick folded and I quickly called. No ten came down and I made some bling.

One of my favorite hands on the night, I wasn't even involved in.

Ben Resnick was playing a pot with his nemesis, Jamie Galen. During the Phil Hellmuth Jr. Invitational, after I was eliminated, Resnick was the short stack. In anticipation of him busting out, Jamie laid down Resnick's buy-in (the prize for third) in front of him. Naturally Resnick took Jamie out and lost to Gideon Friedman heads-up for the title in a lengthy war.

Resnick was looking to score a moral victory over the young talent Galen. Galen picked up the A-3 and called a small preflop raise. The flop came down Q-A-3. Great flop for Galen. He bet out and got called by Resnick. The turn came a Q.

Resnick immediately went all-in. Galen was put to a tough call. If Resnick had a Queen, he was in a bad place. Resnick turned to Galen and said, "I have a full house, queens over aces." Jamie thought a while longer and called all-in. Resnick showed him the A-Q for the full boat, Queens over aces. Afterwards, Galen said, I did have two pair. But after that Q fell, you had nothing. Tough stuff.

POKER HAND #34

RESULTS OF THE PHIL HELLMUTH JR. INVITATIONAL: Gideon Friedman won the Phil Hellmuth Jr. Invitation on Friday, defeating Benjamin Resnick for the title after about a half-hour of heads-up play.

In the big blind (dealer) Friedman picked up the 9-9. After some raising, the flop came down Q-Q-7, two diamonds. Resnick immediately moved all-in, knowing it would be tough for Gideon to call without the Q or the 7.

I told Gideon that I would most certainly call. He noticed Resnick's leg shaking a bit and decided to go for broke. He called, and Resnick showed him that he was well ahead in the hand, as his opponent had the A-10 offsuit.

The turn came a 9 to give Friedman the nuts, and the river gave him quad 9's, though it's not like he needed them.

Congratulations is in order to Mr. Friedman, who played near perfect poker. He also eliminated yours truly, who placed 4th.

I'd been short-stacked all day, getting no cards, playing perhaps a little too tight. I made a move with six players left, going all-in with the 7-7. Resnick showed me the J-J, but a 7 on the river saved me from near certain elimination.

Previous to that I'd made a laydown that would have likely tripled my chip stack if I'd read the situation right. I picked up the A-8 in the big blind. The flop came down A-7-4. I bet out, and got raised by Jamie Galen, for whom loose does not properly describe him.

Resnick, acting next, smooth-callled. That should have set off a radar, but I hadn't played enough with Ben to know. With the A-K or something similar he probably would have raised to make sure he played heads-up with the jackal.

I folded my A-8, and looked like an idiot when the 8 came off on the turn. But I already had Resnick before that, who called with the A-6. I don't like that call on his part, as raising would have definitely pushed me with the best hand out, but you can't question the results. A bad laydown, I guess, as I had Galen soundly beat. Who knows.

After I'd won the showdown with the 7-7, I was looking to double up again. I called out of the small blind with the 8s-7s. Gideon checked in the big blind and the flops came down 5-6-2. I had flopped an open-ended straight down.

The next card off was the 9, giving me the absolute stone cold nuts. I checked, Gideon bet, another player folded, and I smooth-called a 3 dollar bet, attempting a trap.

The river was a 2, which paired the board but I didn't feel helped anybody. I pushed all my money in and Gideon called, showing me the 5-2 for the full house.

Sheesh.

The final results were:

1st place: Gideon Friedman
2nd place: Benjamin Resnick
3rd place: Benjamin Galen
4th place: Alex Carnevale

Thanks to all those who played.