Sleep With the Fishes, Dine on the Whales

I love tells and reading people. I invite myself to get snapped off by a lot of reverse tells by broadcasting my reads on here, I imagine. If you are smart another to do that, and remember what I fall for enjoy the pots. I once told somebody two of my favorites and coincidentally I got snapped off twice later that session by somebody else employing them both as fake tells. That was fun. That's what I get for teaching a poker school . Granted no tell, false tell, or reverse tell is 100%, but just odd to have them go just opposite the day I was coaching their importance... was a little bit humbling. There is an article that trys to tie into poker tells and eye movements but I'm not so sure of the worth of it. Read it here . I suspect in games like Razz, Stud there may be some significance to it, but even then the research doesn't show a concrete connection. Basically, they have shown that if a person is thinking about a number if it is bigger than their previous number...

Back to Survivor where we were breaking down the gameplay and logic behind this weeks moves. Very similar to poker where two players who have a lot of experience vs each other and a bet sometimes isn't what it's meant to represent, and sometimes it is. This multi-leveling of thinking plays out on Survivor as though it is poker strategy reality TV. Russell told Tyson that he had capitulated and he was going to vote for one of his allies just to survive another week. This appealed to Tyson because their team won a challenge and as reward they'd get to eat hotdogs and watch the other teams elimination discussion. Tyson said he'd consider voting for Russell's ally just to skip the whole revote and get the evening over with--which borders on being so stupid as a viewer you almost didn't believe it. The producers of survivor have a great ability to always present a player as arrogant or prideful right before they get blindsided. Tyson has always been one of the m...

Boston Rob, noted for his attempt to become a professional poker player, and has become a Gulf Coast rounder of sorts (he's at most of the tournaments locally driving in from Florida) kind of got blind sided by an ally's lack of foresight on Survivor. I realize most of you may not watch the show, but I found it an intellectual battle of wits with Rob and his rival Russell going one level over the other. It was a bit like poker strategy where you start asking yourself why would he bet a hand like that, only if he wants me to call, but if he knows I'll think that, he wouldn't do that... Survivor used to be predictable where they would frame every elimination by making one outcome, the wrong outcome, look most likely. So after a while you'd expect the opposite to always happen. And to a degree they still do that, but evey once in a while they surprise you by the most predictable outcome actually happening or presenting two outcomes as equally viable. In this week...

She laughs... a fake laugh you know when wait-people put in the absolute minimum effort after just a terrible showing to be nice because of the tip possibility, even though it’s pretty unfathomable anybody would tip, and she was failing even at this. She tells us of how overworked she is and I look around the now empty restaurant, the herd of staff looking like buffalo on the plains 400 years ago in one massive grazing entity, stepping over sweet and low packages as though the were cowpies, I give her you got to be kidding look. I might not yet be at the poker game but this was one bluff I wasn't falling for but apparently she was bluffing herself. We need more folks like here playing online poker that's for sure. She's pretty oblivious even for the bovine . Perfect match for an online poker fish. She isn't even self-aware how is she going to know your cards if she can barely read her own. I say, "I'll clear out only if you can get the rest of the games, y...

I ask the waitress about the Richmond game again. She says, "I don't know if I can put it on. They might be watching those TVs." I look around the desolate sports bar, see some pieces of sweet n lo tumbleweed and little else, and then see the couple that asked for the Vandy game a full 30 minutes after I got there and requested the Richmond game. We are in a room with 20 tvs and three big screen tvs and there are three of us. I'm dumbfounded. Is it possible this girl isn't playing with a full deck is she trying to play Texas Hold'em with no cards in the hole? She'd always be playing the board and thinking she'd won. "You mean they might be watching all 20 tvs... If I ask them if I can watch on one of these screens do you think you'd be able to handle that?" She looked blankly, actually that was her standby face, it was always on blankly, so she simply stood there with her normal face apparently thinking. "Well, it's goin...

The place is now empty. Now, it's just me waiting for a friend in one section of the restaurant. The other games start to tip and still just the one feed. A couple walk in after me, and they request the Vanderbilt game. As much as I like the spiders postseason chances I can't help but think they had a bad matchup and this definitely a game I wouldn't have done any sports betting on. Which is on the local feed. I watch the manager struggle with the satellite as it keeps saying the game isn't available in her region (because it's on the local channel). Anybody with direct TV and a sports package, or who has been to a bar with a sports package, knows this pretty quickly. Apparently, if you manage a bar with a sports package this is not apparent. So, I decide to help her and try to explain why the feed is off and she not so subltely tells me to F off without saying it. I was so shocked by the reaction I didn't even bother to confirm the Richmond game was ...

After a terrible butt whomping by St. Marys and one of my worst experiences ever at a restaurant/sports bar ,the pathetic and apathetic, Fox and Hound sports bar in Elmwood, I play some poker. Got hot early and then whittled away most of my winnings. Wish I'd hit and run, I wish they'd teach that in poker school . I'll get to my poker later but first that terrible day. The day of course started out pretty miserably. Arrive to the bar in plenty of time to watch the Richmond-St. Marys tilt but of course in the drive over miss most the tight endings of the Nova and BYU games. Actually, I didn't miss them in the drive over, I got there in time, but what I didn't realize was that, I got to a place billed as a sports bar, that had 20 big screens and plenty of small screens but only one March Madness game was on the big screens. Welcome to the twilight zone, where logic has no logic, time stands still even as a game speeds by unwatched, and people are somehow underqual...

Nova trapping and Bobby Mo not having too much trouble with it as yet. I remember last year Nova looked TURRIBLE in their first round game for much of it, regathered and then marched to the final four. So this can be fleeting.

Bobby Mo, Robert Morris, up on Villanova. I like it. Villanova not starting two of their studs. I like it even more. Course if this result was to stand (mid-way through the first half so still unlikely), after the first game I will already have no chance at a perfect bracket. BYU is legit. Got to root for the mids against a major. Since Richmond already beat Florida this year we couldn't draw them but they seem a vulnerable 10 seed.

Haven't played any poker since I last blogged which was what two days ago? I had the mouse over my favorite online poker site at about midnight last night and decided I was too tired to log on and crush people, soul read, and write random non-sequiter in chat. I get punch drunk when I'm tired and I'm not above just rambling aimlessly until I get a response. Recently my favorite introduction to inanity is the following: "That was a bad beat, but I'll tell you about a bad beat, a bad beat called my life" "Anybody want to hear?" "I'll take that silence as enthusiastic confirmation..." Then I'll just go on in mind-numbing fashion like... "It all started a long time ago when I was born with an extra toe..." "NH. You are probably wondering why not just lop it off? It's just an extra toe?" "Well, my dad was shoe maker and he took it as challenge, so rather than let the oral surgeon that delivered me trim th...

The A10 apparently was the league to screw over this year, but don't let that get in the way of profitable sports betting . Richmond also underseeded as a 7 when probably had the resume to be a five or if I'm not being too much of a homer, definitely a 6. They play St. Marys in the first round... and St. Marys may be a favorite according to Vegas. Remember what I said about lower seeds that were favorites? Bad news for the Spiders, who match up poorly with the West Coast team. The early start all the way in Providence Rhode Island is an underlooked advantage, with it feeling like 11 am to St. Marys. So expect this line to be close. I also like that the Spiders lost the A10 championship narrowly. They looked sluggish all game vs. Temple and the OT vs. Xavier the night before seem to have worn them out. They'll be approaching St. Marys with an aggressive mindset. Xavier is the third team from the A10 and because of the ineptitude of the committee gets a first round ga...

Here's some thoughts on the NCAA tournament. I'll include some tidbits for sports bettors to distort, but if you like sports betting there is no better time than the NCAA tournament. Of late this had changed, but for a good 15 years there were some easy rules to win money in the NCAAs. Used to be that in the first round take all dogs and you'll win at a surprising clip, enough to beat the juice and profit. Second round the lines schew the other way load up on the favorites. The profit is smaller than the first round but still enough to return a winning two days. Nowadays, perhaps because of more savvy bettors, and Vegas taking into account the trends, the favorites have had a little more success in the first round (pendulum going too far) and the lines in the second round are tighter. Good news, bad news there. Good news if you got a feeling about a team and a line don't worry about the old trends go with your gut. If you want to bet a game but know nothing abo...

I later got into a hand with a guy that was steaming and he was just firing bets into the pot. I had top pair (jack maybe with a weak kicker). The draws missed and he put out a big bet. I had already seen him bet draws, and bluff when they missed. I had better than a bluff catcher but then I saw him staring off into the distance, head up, looking like he didn't want to scare me away. I folded but I really wish I knew what he held. My chip stack went up and down. I would have made a nice profit on a hand with top pair king kicker, then this idiot stuck around for a gut shot draw wheel draw, hit it and didn't even bet it. Okay, he was an idiot but... I got a great disdain for people that chase these improbable draws, hit them, and never bet their made hands to give them anywhere close to the value to draw. One of the problems I think I'd have with Omaha is knowing what I should be to make chasing the right play if I catch. I'm a guy that would need some Omaha Tip...

I promise I'll get to the cash game... not that anybody is on the edge of their seats to read a hand history for a standard 1-2 cash game. I realize that, but I keep thinking of more hands from the tournament. True the cash games are usaully sprinkled with more colorful characters like the degens from the rest of the casino treating it like a blackjack table. These are the sort that play online casino during their work hours, and skip over to Harrahs with a little drool in the mouth and can't wrench themselves away from a one armed bandit. Not that I have anything against people that play online casino or play in a live casino, it's fun, but generally they are easier targets in poker. Here's where the kid's strategy I mentioned in the previous post, the min-raise could have helped me in a spot or two. Once in early position I held Aq suited, I fired out a 3x raise when blinds were 300-600. I wanted to take it down and there were some tight players in late po...

So I played some cash after my bust out. I cooled off enough after the tournament because of a long list to get onto the table. I reflected and thought I had done a couple of things wrong. One I was being aggressive enough in general and while playing cautious with those short stacks is not a bad idea I think I nitted it up a little too much. I drew inspiration from a kid I played with almost from the start to my bust-out making the same table changes all along. Watching him was a bit like a personal poker school . He tried a strategy which I had employed in the past there and he had a lot of success with it. He actually took it further, I've been 2.5 x bets or 2.25 raising in the past where he was straight up 2xing it. Min-raises everywhere. Weird thing was he never got pounded by anybody. In the past I felt like those small raises have drawn a lot of late position raises or shoves on me and I've since reverted back to 3x for almost any hand until the blinds get up the...

What to say, been a busy week but finally got some live poker in. Went to Harrahs on wednesday and got dowwn to about two tables left (pay final table and they did an even chop hooking up the short stack). I shoved an unopened pot from the cut-off with J9 suited with five bbs. Older nit reg shoved a large stack over the top from the button. Uh-oh. Fortunately I was up against AK. Unfortunately, I got no help nor any sweat from added draws on the flop. My day started off like it was going to be a great one. On the first hand, I got there on time so it was the first hand in the tournament for once, I considered raising from EP with Q10 which is normally an auto-fold for me. Something told me to fire, I didn't. Flop brought two 10s and was bet twice and called for a nice pot. Next hand I had pocket 6s. I limp. Flop came 667. Two spades. Oh really. Check, check, check, check, check. Turn is the 8 spades (please, hit one of these guys). Checked to lag who bets it. Couple...

Played a couple of the online Sunday poker tournaments and was a mixed bag for me. Satellited into one on my second try and bought straight into the other. I like Texas Hold'em, even better if I get a discount. Those hyper turbo satellites are fun by the way. You basically just got to double up once or twice and you can coast to the payout. I will be playing those kind of games again. Online poker is fun. Once the poker tournament started I got trapped with pocket aces due to stack sizes. Online poker is not fun. There was raiser in front of me, I repopped it from Early/middle postion. Big Blind called. Raiser called. Flop came KQx two to a flush. I don't like that board at all. Checked to me. I make a pot sized bet for half the chips of each of my opponents we were all about equal in chips. BB shoved, other guy folded. KQ methinks. Yes obviously he does. I call, he shows them, I don't hit any of my outs. Not so bad. Why do I like to play online poker ? I...

Recently, I played some sit 'n gos. In those massive online poker tournaments after a great start, I've just been min-cashing or bubbling and didn't have the time to stay up all night. So I played two 90 men Texas Hold'Em sit 'n gos and a 27 man sit 'n go. I went three for three with Ws, yes first place in all three. So much for not staying up all night as some of those final tables and heads up play took forever. I know it's poor form to brag but it was so tasty I wanted to share. Course it was for small stakes as that's all I'm risking on online poker for now but the bankroll is growing. I've come and gone online usually playing well at the start and then getting frustrated and less patient. I keep reading about how many reloads this young whiz kids had to go through before they got "it." There are those few that have deposited only once but I already know I'm no poker prodigy so I'm not using them as models. Just feels lik...

Hmmm ... You've heard of people called shady because they are well shady. You've heard of the dark-side too I imagine. Well, it turns out people in the dark make moral transgressions more readily than people in well lit places. That means stealing, lying, and cheating. Seems like if I were a casino I might want the joint more well lit. Though, I guess the other side of things is people might be willing to gamble money they shouldn't if they feel like they maintained the anonymity darkness offers. And it is the anonymity that plays with people's psyche more than anything else. Turns out subsequent studies have shown people in hoods are more likely to steal, people in sunglasses are more likely to be greedy and lie, and people in masks are far more likely to do worse. What's that mean in relation for poker? Well if you play poker on a mac or on a pc you already have some degree of anonymity, but in live poker there are some considerations to be made. I thin...

We are getting together our second edition of the magazine and we are pretty pumped with some of the stories that will be in there. We have added stories from some of the bloggers on the site and think they'll contribute some valuable perspectives and content. If you don't see your favorite blogger this go round they'll probably be in the next issue. So look for that magazine in one of our 120something distribution points, and at every Casino on the Gulf Coast (well, except for one--we still like you though). If you want to read to the magazine and your local poker room is out, don't be afraid to ask them where it is. Several places we had to send them more issues after the first batch. We have expanded our online poker section as well as some of our live tournament coverage. We are happy with the growth of the magazine and though we have no misconceptions of being Cardplayer magazine or Bluff any time soon we think we offer a product that is distinct and fills a ...