IHB Poker Thread

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no_vaseline_IHB

no_vaseline_IHB

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Okay, I've been outed.



Who plays, what limits, where and how often (once a week home game, 30 hours a week at the Bike), what games (NL holdem, limit holdem, stud, the 300/600 BOT game at Commerce, $100+9 online tournaments).



It's world series time again - lookout!
 
Pssh... calculating odds is the easy part with one deck, even with 2 its not that bad. After 3 the numbers get difficult to calculate easily, plus keeping track of everthing out is a bit of a challenge. I mainly do it fun, i'm a horrid player. Now dominos? I've done well a time to two - ha ha.



-bix
 
[quote author="skek" date=1213750841]<blockquote>Pssh? calculating odds is the easy part with one deck, even with 2 its not that bad.</blockquote>


So says the engineer... Hey, I know how it's done, but when I try it in-game, I provoke the eye-rolling, watch-checking impatience of the other players. Much easier and quicker to look at the guy who raised you, see the sweat beads forming on his temple, watch as he grips his water bottle a little too hard to keep it from shaking and know that he's semi-bluffing and hoping that you will fold so that he doesn't have to make his open-ended straight draw.</blockquote>


You could do that... or you could calculate the odds of what he MIGHT throw BEFORE hand. Of course you adjust accordingly.



good luck

-bix
 
Not really, and especially not really for tournaments where you wind up being short stacked real quick. There aren't many decisions to make there. Playing a NL cash game where you are 100+ bets deep there are a lot of complex decisions to be made if the game is playing straight.



I play a lot of limit games that are split pot, so knowing what hand equities you have against likely opponents holdings is a big edge. For me, I tend to fold too often (most people call too often) and now that I've added hand equities to my bag o tricks I can come up with reasons to call/fold/raise.



Poker is a gambling game of incomplete information (as opposed to chess or backgammon where all the information is out there). You have to make a lot of educated guesses. And even when you're right, you get run down a lot anyway. The object of the game is to make your opponets make mistakes when you have an equity edge and not make them yourself when you don't. That doesn't mean your winning the pot.



I held 5d5h6s2s out of the BB in an unraised pot on Saturday night. The board went down:



2d 5c Js



And I checked into a 4 way pot, intending to check raise second set (in omaha you play exactly two hole cards). The player under the gun bet. The next guy raised. The SB folded. I thought about it a while, and decided based on the player sterotyping I'd done so far that the UTG guy had a low draw (he tended to bet them) and the buttoned down player who had raised had to have top set. You're never sure, but I was 85% sure he had two jacks. I made a very squeeky and disiplined fold that was totally player specific.



The hand gets whown down, the UTG guy had A23x and the other guy had JJ87.



In Holdem I'd of never folded.
 
Calculating odds isn't that tough. You are only ever seeing a couple of situations.



Got a guterball to the nuts? 10-1.

Got a up and down straight draw or a double gut buster? 4-1.

Flush draw? 3-1.



Pair and a combo draw? That can get cute. Usually it's just better.



What I do to keep track of the pot is remember the action. Somebody bets six buck and gets four callers, that'a about $25 in the pot.
 
I used to play in Vegas alot, but was strictly 7Stud. Didn't have the nerves for the quick hitting pots in hold 'em. I mainly play home games and will do a 12-18hr session in Vegas when I go. The government has made it too difficult to cash out of Poker Stars and the like. If you guys end up organizing a little IHB home tournament, I would be interested.
 
I play NL Hold 'em on PokerStars, but only for play money. I usually enter the 45 player sit and go's...will win about 1 in 30 that I play. I have lots of fun ! Unfortunately, due to job restrictions, I wouldn't be able to play in a home game. :shut: But I would if I could !
 
[quote author="Trooper" date=1213867489]I play NL Hold 'em on PokerStars, but only for play money. I usually enter the 45 player sit and go's...will win about 1 in 30 that I play. I have lots of fun ! Unfortunately, due to job restrictions, I wouldn't be able to play in a home game. :shut: But I would if I could !</blockquote>


So are you saying that scene from "Rounders" isn't true...? hahaha
 
"You're going to clean this game up...these guys are total suckers". Heh. The coppers are NY State Troopers. Fugly purple ties I might add....







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[quote author="Trooper" date=1213867489]I play NL Hold 'em on PokerStars, but only for play money.</blockquote>


Come on, Troop! Poker for play money is like drinking decaf for the flavor.
 
I got invited to a home game in Chino once. It was 8 LAPD/LASO officers and one (nameless brand) mobile tool dealer, plus me.



Those guys were horrible. Every one of them a stone sucker. I lost $150 for my trouble. Sometimes it goes that way.
 
I'm off to Vegas for three days. The word is out..........pm me with what stakes you'll play and what games you play.



I'll host the first one.
 
I used to play a lot more when I was going to grad school and when I lived in Vegas for a few years. I mostly play the mid limit hold'em games (15/30, 20/40, 30/60, or 40/80) down in Ocean's Evelven or Commerce. I told myself I should probably try out the Bike and Hawaiian Gardens too. I play maybe once a week now. I do play more when I'm in Vegas and either play at Wynn or Bellagio. I'll be there for 4th of July weekend and will be playing at Bellagio for sure. I do play some tournies every now and again, but I'm not quite ready to rent any WSOP events yet...maybe next year.
 
I played a lot of online tourneys and Sit-n-Gos. Depending on how I am running I'll range from $25 to $100 and 2-6 tables. Slowed down a lot this year...good for me, more time to enjoy the outside.



I'm in for some friendly home games.
 
One word. Brutal.



First, it was hot. 113 in the day and no cooler than 95 when we were coming back at 3am every morning.



Second, I played in two tournaments. I finished 130th of 445 at the Monday Cesars NL deepstack event. There went six hours of my life I'll never get back. I had a pot when I woke up with pocket jacks and managed to only lose a small pot vs another player with pocket kings. I cashed in the HORSE event at the Nugget casino out of like 160. That one took 11 1/2 hours. Both tournaments I was eleminated when I made a full house. Somebody else had the overfull every time. I think I counted no less than 5 pots the whole weekend when somebody would catch a 2 outer or better (three of them were one outers) for scoops on me. Somedays it works out that way. I like to think luck breaks even over time, but I should be exceptionally lucky in real life because the longshots always come in on me when I play cards. At least it seems like that this week.



I played 10/20 Omaha 8/b at the Amazon room Sunday night and Monday night for like 11 hours total. I think I got stuck 13 bets, which considiering how bad I ran, was a blessing. My buddy played 20/40 Omaha 8/b and got stuck at the same table as Shannon Elizabeth. She is a decent card player and a decent person. Chris Moneymaker was playing 10/20 at the table behind me. The rumor is he's busto, and I believe it, even though I don't want to. After I noticed him, I immidately saw Johnny Chan come over and talk about something. I saw Chris Furgeson several times, and could almost railbird the $50K HORSE even, which was final tabling about 15 yards from where I was playing.



Phil Ivey had a charity tournament that started at 8pm in the same room as my HORSE touranment at the Nugget. Everybody who wasn't in a tournament in town was there. I mean everybody. Phil Laak and Jennifer Tilly. Howard Letterer. Robert Williamson. Ivey, Daniel Negranu, and my personal hero Mike Matusow were all at the same table. During the rebuy period, they kept moving in and calling each other, only to hold up the dealer and work out the prop bets. One hand Negranu got it in against Matusow with KhJh vs 7h6h. (I'm missing all this because I'm still playing in my tournament. I never once saw Matusow which really sucks because he really is my favorite player). The stop the action for five minutes while they negoiate the prop bets. They wind up swapping hands for the prop (meaning, if Daniel's hand wins, he has to pay Matusow) with Negranu having to fade $10K against Mike who will have to pay $25K to Daniel if his hand holds up. The dealer finally brings out the flop, with a king on the door. Ship ten dimes to Mikey! Mike had a shirt on that read "The Kiddie Game is Down the Street."



Somewhere along the line a pot breaks out with (44) vs (10 10) vs (KK) vs (AA) on a 4-10-K board. Yep, they got it all in. Yep, the aces got there with the oh-so-standard 2 outer on the river. Brutal.



They had a craps table set up and the action was intense. They were really loud. I mean REALLY LOUD. My ears rang for two days because I had my ipod cranked up to try to blot them out. Then, somebody let off $40K worth of fireworks on the roof of the parking garage. I though somebody was coming through the wall with a skip loader.



About then, Phil Ivey (who had been eleminated) came over and offered "Guys, I'm here if you need me and I'm giving lessons." This was super cool of Phil, because we were all in the money by this time (translation: everyone there could play at least a little) and the charity tournament was mostly non poker players (a lot of b list celeberties) and they were having a big party (and were treading more than a little bit on us). Phil starts talking to the guy in the seat next to me (apparently they knew each other from the Borgota) and I get to act on my holecards. I look at them, and yell "Hey PHIL! Hey! I need a lesson! What do you think?" Phil comes back. I show him 7spades2hearts. Phil stops for a second, blinks, says "I think you're on your own on that one" turns on his heel and bails. I fold, and start laughing my ass off. I can't say anything because there's still action. All hell breaks loose when the next three players proceed to get it all in. Now I'm really laughing because two guys go busto in the next hand (AA vs KK vs JJ on a J-8-2 board). I picked the right time to NOT run a bluff. Thanks for the lesson Phil!



I guess any time you can go to Vegas and get a lesson from Phil Ivey it's a good time, but it was a ton of work. Playing tournaments is the hardest thing I can do mentally. I'm usually spent for a couple of days, and this was no exeption.
 
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