Finally back home after a long trip back from Vegas. The trip was Las Vegas --> Los Angeles --> Sydney --> Melbourne ... three flights, some sleep, lots of waiting, some reading & a few other bits & pieces in between.
Caught up with Theos Rippis again at the airport in Las Vegas. He had a decent time in Vegas, though I didn't get to spend much time with him during the trip (somewhat ironic as we were staying in the same hotel, albeit 9 floors apart). I hadn't seen him for about 5 years & it was good to catch up, albeit too briefly. I also saw Chuck Danielsson (my first Donkcast interviewee) & Jay Rosenkrantz of Deuces Cracked at the airport. The DC guys definitely made the trip more entertaining with their gatherings, whether it was poker, bowling or anything else. Definitely something I would recommend people do if they are heading to the WSOP in the future - although it is most definitely a poker trip, breaking it up with other activities & meeting new people is a definite plus.
The trip home allowed me to finish 'Treat Your Poker Like a Business' by Dusty Schmidt, which I had purchased on the trip. I found the book to be very interesting, primarily for the 'uncool' stuff at the beginning of the book where he examines (with small sections from Jared Tendler & his wife Nicole) the other side of poker - the stuff that happens away from the table. Although it may not have been entirely applicable to my situation, the thing it did was got me thinking about what I am doing with my life, why I am doing it & what I hope to accomplish as a result. Although I can't see myself spending hours online multi-tabling, the need to consider things away from the poker table is defintely something that I need to concern myself with. The strategy section was decent, though not outstanding, however it was the early material that I was most interested in. Something else I am definitely keen to see is the remaining episodes of the PartyPoker Big Game IV, which was recorded in London in April of this year. Not only is it intersting from a poker standpoint, and in particular the performance of David 'Viffer' Peat, but it also featured 20+ hours of commentary from Dusty Schmidt (after playing in the game early in the session).
Another fascinating book that I have started to read is John Fox's 'Play Poker, Quit Work & Sleep Till Noon'. I have only read the first few chapters, but its very much a book from before the era of political correctness, being written in 1977 (I have a printing from 1981), and has some absolute gems in the first few pages. In the chapter 'Who to play with, or how to spot the weakest players' come the following statements (written as main points, followed by a discussion, explaining the reasoning behind his classification):
4 - Do try to play in the same game with beautiful women
Discussion: Beautiful women tend to play badly themselves - even for women. They also tend to attract men into their game who are unfamiliar with it. Such men might come from a smaller game, or even from a totally different game such as lowball. Even if a man comes in from a higher game and possesses a higher level of skill then (sic) the average of the table, he will usually tend to play loosely or erratically in order to 'show off' and because the stakes are trivial to him. Finally, if a beautiful woman is in the game the concentration of all the men in the game will be lessened.
9 - Do play with women, particularly younger women
Discussion: Women are usually bad limit poker players. Contrary to what any other poker books or Sunday supplements may say, if you are interested in wining moneyyou should usually try to play against them every chance you get. Besides beating them personally, you can frequently use them to gain additional advantages over your male opponents. Women find it difficult to hold their cards correctly and frequently expose them.
10 - Do play against young people
Discussion: A player under twenty-five years of age just has not had time to get enough experience. Unless he is very tight, he stands little chance. For some reason, young, bearded, long haired types who you might think would be wild or radical players are frequently super tight.
14 - Do play against tattooed opponents
Discussion: Anyone foolish enough to allow themselves into getting tattooed should be well qualified to lose to almost anybody else.
16 - Do play against chain smokers
Discussion: Considering the state of medical knowledge of this day a chain smoker is obviously either stupid or compulsive. Both of these qualities are good to have in an opponent.
Of course I have to include my personal favourite form the list ...
13 - Do play against ghetto residents
Discussion: A general lack of educational opportunities and a milieu of ignorane and superstition give ghetto residents a handicap that extends even to the poker table.
Ah ... the days before political correctness!
Showing posts with label Dusty Schmidt. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Dusty Schmidt. Show all posts
Monday, July 19, 2010
Wednesday, June 30, 2010
Some books, some poker and why walking in Las Vegas is bad!
An interesting day today. I started off with a trip to the Gamblers Book Shop (yes, as opposed to the Gamblers General Store) where I picked up a few books, including Dusty Schmidt's 'Treat Your Poker Like A Business'; Jon Turner, Eric Lynch & Jon Van Fleet's 'Winning Poker Tournaments One Hand at a Time Volume 2'; a biography of Johnny Moss as well as some others. Although its a pretty small place, it is filled with all things poker & gambling, and has pretty much anything you can think of in relation to things you find in a casino.
Following the shop visit, I headed downtown, intending to play the 2pm satellite at Binions for the main event there. Of course I managed to miss the bus down Fremont Street by about a minute (the bus I was getting off pulled up at the stop just as the bus I wanted to catch left the stop on the cross street), so I decided in my infinite wisdom to walk down Fremont Street ... which sounded like a good idea at the time ... but of course this was before I realised it was about 1.50 in the afternoon in a desert! Anyway, long story short ... I managed to get to Binions at around 2.30, with a stopover at 7-11 for a drink, and *somewhat* sweaty! Of course this was not the best state (or time) to play a 2pm tournament, so after grabbing a seat to cool down, I took a seat at the $2/4 limit holdem table in the Binions Poker Room, planning to stay there until 5pm, when there was another Main Event satellite running. The limit holdem session went a bit better than expected & I managed to pick up over $100 in a little over 2 hours! Yep, the standard 13 big bets per hour ... just like Sklansky says! Anyway, this profitable session meant that the satellite was effectively a freeroll. The tournament had 68 runners, which meant there were 6 seats up for grabs, with some cash for 7th place. My tournament was going pretty well until my final hand. Although in hindsight I played the hand badly, I'm not too unhappy with the play given the structure of the tournament. I started the hand with 9600 playing 300/600 blinds. With 20 minute levels & blinds about to go up to 500/1000 there was a raise from early position to 1700. I looked down at AKo in the small blind & decided to re-raise to 4500. In hindsight I probably should have just shoved my 9600 in the middle, but I was looking to double up rather than simply picking up the blinds & the raise. I thought that the fact that I had put about half my stack in would be a sign to my opponent that I was not folding & expected my opponent to either re-raise (he had my covered by about 1500 or so) or fold. Of course this thought was completely wrong & my opponent decided that calling the 2500 extra would be a good play, so we went to the flop. I had mentally committed to the hand & the flop itself was (in theory) a pretty decent one for my hand - 585. Being a paired board, with such a low card being paired, meant that it was likely I had the best hand. The fact that he didn't re-raise suggested that he didn't have a pocket pair (unless I was already crushed with AA, but even that wouldn't make too much sense with the blinds going up so quickly) & it that was the case, he needed either a 5 or 8 to be in front of me ... and even if he did have an 8 I still had 2 overcards with 2 cards to come (not the best shape, but still with a reasonable chance. Of course my opponent had the good old 9d8d for top pair. A standard flat call pre-flop obviously ... and of course the dealer put another 8 out on the turn, removing any hope I had of winning the pot & sending me on my way from the 'place that made poker famous' in around 40th place.
Next on the agenda: Being a tourist with the exhibitions at the MGM & Luxor still to see! Maybe some poker as well ... for a change! Of course this is before the weekend of UFC!!
Following the shop visit, I headed downtown, intending to play the 2pm satellite at Binions for the main event there. Of course I managed to miss the bus down Fremont Street by about a minute (the bus I was getting off pulled up at the stop just as the bus I wanted to catch left the stop on the cross street), so I decided in my infinite wisdom to walk down Fremont Street ... which sounded like a good idea at the time ... but of course this was before I realised it was about 1.50 in the afternoon in a desert! Anyway, long story short ... I managed to get to Binions at around 2.30, with a stopover at 7-11 for a drink, and *somewhat* sweaty! Of course this was not the best state (or time) to play a 2pm tournament, so after grabbing a seat to cool down, I took a seat at the $2/4 limit holdem table in the Binions Poker Room, planning to stay there until 5pm, when there was another Main Event satellite running. The limit holdem session went a bit better than expected & I managed to pick up over $100 in a little over 2 hours! Yep, the standard 13 big bets per hour ... just like Sklansky says! Anyway, this profitable session meant that the satellite was effectively a freeroll. The tournament had 68 runners, which meant there were 6 seats up for grabs, with some cash for 7th place. My tournament was going pretty well until my final hand. Although in hindsight I played the hand badly, I'm not too unhappy with the play given the structure of the tournament. I started the hand with 9600 playing 300/600 blinds. With 20 minute levels & blinds about to go up to 500/1000 there was a raise from early position to 1700. I looked down at AKo in the small blind & decided to re-raise to 4500. In hindsight I probably should have just shoved my 9600 in the middle, but I was looking to double up rather than simply picking up the blinds & the raise. I thought that the fact that I had put about half my stack in would be a sign to my opponent that I was not folding & expected my opponent to either re-raise (he had my covered by about 1500 or so) or fold. Of course this thought was completely wrong & my opponent decided that calling the 2500 extra would be a good play, so we went to the flop. I had mentally committed to the hand & the flop itself was (in theory) a pretty decent one for my hand - 585. Being a paired board, with such a low card being paired, meant that it was likely I had the best hand. The fact that he didn't re-raise suggested that he didn't have a pocket pair (unless I was already crushed with AA, but even that wouldn't make too much sense with the blinds going up so quickly) & it that was the case, he needed either a 5 or 8 to be in front of me ... and even if he did have an 8 I still had 2 overcards with 2 cards to come (not the best shape, but still with a reasonable chance. Of course my opponent had the good old 9d8d for top pair. A standard flat call pre-flop obviously ... and of course the dealer put another 8 out on the turn, removing any hope I had of winning the pot & sending me on my way from the 'place that made poker famous' in around 40th place.
Next on the agenda: Being a tourist with the exhibitions at the MGM & Luxor still to see! Maybe some poker as well ... for a change! Of course this is before the weekend of UFC!!
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