In poker as with many other games of skill the strategy that works against one opponent may not work against another. More generally the strategy that works against one style of play may not work against another. This leads to an interesting effect whereby we can sometimes see "waves" of strategy.

When I started playing poker fairly seriously I read lots of books. Most were at least a few years old and almost universally recommended tight aggressive play. It's still a good way to play. However increasingly we're seeing a new generation of players who are doing well with looser aggressive play. It seems that when everyone at the table is playing tight aggressive there's an advantage in being looser.

So what happens when everyone at the table is playing loosish aggressive? Where will the spin of the strategy wheel take us next time? Two years from now will we all be playing loose passive?

I hope not.



Photo Credit: kk+ (Creative Commons)

Labels: general, strategy

I've just been reading an interview with Bill Edler in Bluff Magazine. In it he comments that there is "tons more" luck in tournament poker than in cash games.

As a great tourney fan I was all ready to get offended by this. Tournament and cash games need different skills, but they're both just as skillful. Then I got to this line:

"Until science significantly elongates human life, tournament players will never reach the long run."

I've got to admit, he has a point.

Poker is a mix of luck and skill. In the short run anyone can get lucky. Ace-two off can beat pocket rockets. But in the long run skill wins.

If you play cash games you can just keep on playing, hand after hand, repeating similar situations again and again. You can reach a pretty long run view of the game in which your skill level really matters.

It's more difficult to do that in tournaments. There just aren't as many around. It's rare if not impossible for a player to bust out of one tournament then immediately play in another. Then another. Then another.

Even if they do, they will be starting from the early stages again. Tournament play requires different skills throughout the different stages - play at the final table is very different to play at the first blind levels. Even people who play nothing but tourneys are unlikely to see enough final tables to count as the "long run".

So what do I do now with that insight? Does it mean I should give up tournaments as pure gambling?

No. What it means to me is that I should play more tournaments in order to get as close as possible to the "long run".

Photo Credit: dicemanic (Creative Commons)

Labels: general, poker

I said I was out of practice and last night at the Nuts proved it - my game didn't last long.

By the second blind level my stack was already running dangerously short. I was dealt A-10 in late position. Everyone folded round to me and I made a standard bet. Dealer called and big blind checked, leaving three of us in the pot. Flop was rags and big blind made a small bet which we both called. Turn came down an Ace, big blind bet about half the pot.

With my short stack I wasn't going to call - it was fold or all-in. I put the big blind on either Ace-rags or a total bluff so pushed all in.

Turned out he'd slow played A-K. No help from the river so I was out.

Sigh. Still, at least I have the satisfaction of being able to say I told me so :-)


Photo Credit: clspeace (Creative Commons)

Labels: general, hands

For various reasons I haven't played much poker over the last few weeks. This evening I'm going down the The Nuts so I thought I'd get in a bit of practice online at PKR.

Oh boy. I was a braying fish.

I lost at every table I tried. I can't even blame lady luck - I just played badly. Fortunately I follow the poker prime directive, so no serious harm has been done to my bankroll. Just my pride.

Still, let's look for the positive reframe. If being out of practice means I play badly then it follows that the practice must have been working. My game must be improving overall. Four months ago I'd have lost far more and wouldn't even have known why.

Which is a good incentive to keep practising and keep learning.

Labels: general, improving my game

This poker hand must have required a very fresh cup of really strong tea:

Labels: hands, video