The Bellagio Five Diamond World Poker Classic 2009 has arrived with a great schedule and tournaments as low as $540. From November 27 - December 16, tournaments will be running and will include Pot Limit Omaha, NL Texas Hold’em, HORSE, and Limit Hold’em (Eight or Better.) There will even be a seniors event open to anyone 50 years and older. Below is the schedule for the Five Diamond World Poker Classic 2009 held in Las Vegas at the Bellagio hotel:
November 27, 2009 NL Hold’em 12 p.m. $500 + $40
November 28, 2009 NL Hold’em 12 p.m. $1,000 + $80
November 29, 2009 NL Hold’em 12 p.m. $500 + $40
November 30, 2009 NL Hold’em 12 p.m. $1,000 + $80
December 1, 2009 Limit Omaha 8 or Better 12 p.m $1,000 + $80
December 2, 2009 NL Hold’em 12 p.m. $1,000 + $80
December 3, 2009 Pot Limit Omaha with Rebuys 12 p.m. $1,000 + $80
December 4, 2009 NL Hold’em 12 p.m $500 + $40
December 5, 2009 NL Hold’em with Rebuys 12 p.m. $1,500 + $90
December 6, 2009 Seniors NL Hold’em (3 Day) 12 p.m. $1,500 + $90
December 7, 2009 NL Hold’em 12 p.m. $1,000 + $80
December 8, 2009 HORSE (3 Day) 12 p.m. $5,000 + $180
December 9, 2009 NL Hold’em 12 p.m. $1,500 + $90
December 10, 2009 Pot Limit Omaha with Rebuys 12 p.m. $5,000 + $180
December 11, 2009 NL Hold’em with Rebuys 12 p.m. $1,000 + $80
December 12, 2009 NL Hold’em 12 p.m. $5,000 + $180
December 12, 2009 Super Satellite - NL Hold’em 5 p.m. $1,500 + $90
December 13, 2009 Super Satellite – NL Hold’em 12 p.m. $1,500 + $90
December 13, 2009 Super Satellite – NL Hold’em 5 p.m. $1,500 + $90
December 14, 2009 WPT Doyle Brunson Classic Day 1 $15,000 + $400
December 14, 2009 Super Satellite – NL Hold’em 9 p.m. $1,500 + $90
December 15, 2009 WPT Doyle Brunson Classic Day 2
December 16, 2009 WPT Doyle Brunson Classic Day 3
December 16, 2009 NL Hold’em 2 pm $500 + $40
December 17, 2009 WPT Doyle Brunson Classic Day 4
December 18, 2009 WPT Doyle Brunson Classic Day 5
December 19, 2009 TV Final Table 4 p.m.
For years PokerPages.com has provided some of the best up to date tournament and poker news, but earlier this week they announced that they will closing. Aside from the great poker coverage, PokerPages built a great database for poker players. The database allowed players to track tournament wins and had an amazing picture gallery to look up tournament players online. They also had a poker school which was geared to allow players to play for free and win sponsorship into bigger events. In a statement made by PokerPages.com management, they graciously thanked their patrons for their support:
"For many years Poker Pages has enjoyed providing the best source of poker related content, arguably the Internet's largest and most complete live poker tournament results and listings database, as well as a place to play poker for free. These services will certainly be missed, but we realize that the most appreciated benefit of our products and services has been the community created by our user base. We thank you for the many great years you allowed us to provide you with the best poker content on the Internet and wish you all the best in your future poker endeavors. It has been a pleasure and a privilege serving you over the years!"
PokerPages.com is set to close their doors on October 31, 2009. For all those players out there who would like to get their pictures, states, or other information off of the site they need to do so before that date. All the services that PokerPages has offered over the years will be sorely missed.
Joe Sebok, owner and creator of PokerRoad, has just signed on to be part of the UltimateBet team. Not only is he going to be a sponsored player on their roster, but he has taken a position within their company to be a media and operations consultant. Bringing Sebok on as a part of the company operations will enhance the site’s ability to create a site that caters to the wants and needs of the players.
After the cheating scandal that surrounded UltimteBet, Sebok took his time deciding on joining the company. For several months UlimateBet had been perusing Sebok to join their ranks, but Sebok took his time to consider what the company stood for. The company took the investigations seriously and sought to expose the cheaters which showed that they were determined to handle the situation. For Sebok, the willingness of the company to make a stance helped him to consider the offer. At last, Sebok decided that joining with UltimateBet would be a great opportunity on both sides.
PokerRoad fans need not fret over this new venture, as Sebok is adamant about keeping his attention on the quality of his company and site. The deal with UltimateBet doesn’t include a merge with PokerRoad, so fans can look forward to the great game content that they are used to.
It is really easy as a poker player to get used to making a certain amount when you sit down at the poker table. For example, when I play 2/5 NL Hold’em I am used to profiting about $500 per session, so when I get into the game I have expectations that I need to make that much in profit. However, poker isn’t a game of certainties and no one should go into the game expecting to make any amount. Each game has different players, different cards, and a different set of circumstances that change the amount you can expect to attain from a game. For this reason, you can’t expect to double up every time you have a winning session, nor should you be content with that amount of profit.
There have been times when I’ve sat in a horrible game and I’m only showing $100 profit for the night. Instead of getting up and being content that I’ve made any profit at all, I’m thinking to myself, “If only I can catch a good hand and get up to $300 profit I’ll leave.” This is a big mistake on my part because I’m putting all the emphasis on the amount of money I want to win instead of the fabric of the game. Lets put this into real life perspective. Consider that I had been sitting at that horrible game for 8 hours, and I am showing $100 profit for the night. That means that I have made $12.50 an hour. If you are living in the United States where there are record high unemployment rates, and many people are forced to work for minimum wage then $100 in your pocket is nothing to scoff at.
If you are sitting in a bad game and are up a little bit, don’t be ashamed of a small win. It is ok to take your small win and go back the next day. The same is true if the cards just aren’t going your way.
Sometimes there are nights where it seems like you are always getting second best. If you are up a little bit in the game, take your win and run! There will always be another game and another day to play.
The same rule applies for winning nights as well. If you are on a really good game and are crushing the table you shouldn’t sell yourself short by just being happy with a double up. In these circumstances you want to maximize your profits and stick it out while the game is still good. If you set a goal before you ever sit on the table, you are missing out on easy money. When you start feeling like the game is going bad then get up. These are the sessions that will really spruce up your bankroll.
When playing poker as a living or playing to build a bankroll, these decisions are critical for the longevity of your position. It is a losing proposition to think, “I have to make this much today,” or “I have to make this much this week.” There are no guarantees in poker, so you shouldn’t set yourself up for failure by setting a predisposed goal when you sit down at the table. Let the conditions of the table and how you are playing decide when you should and shouldn’t get up from the table.
It has been a long day of poker, and you’re up $236. You get ready to rack up your chips, but decide that you’re going to play the extra $36 because that money seems insignificant at the moment. If you lose the $36 it was no big deal, but if you get up to $300 it was well worth it. More often than not you will lose the $36 and cash out at $200. However, that extra $36 could have been used for gas money for the week. Over the course of a week, a month, or a year that extra $36 really adds up.
The other common mistake is that players will be up $295 and won’t get up until they get over $300. There is some strange thought process that makes us want to cash out at an even number. This thought process can get a player in trouble. It is kind of like running a marathon, when the end is in sight runners will start to sprint to the finish line, but they don’t realize they are still quite far from the finish line and wear themselves out right at the end. Then the runners that are pacing themselves end up finishing first. When you are sitting at $295 and trying to get to $300 you will have to invest a fair amount just to get to your $300 goal. You are so close, yet so far away that it is more profitable to just get up at the $295. More often than not, you will make up the $5 later in the week anyways.
I recently conducted an experiment to see how much money I would actually be up if I had just cashed out when I was ready to go instead of cashing out at an even amount. Over the course of a week these odd end cashes amounted to $277. At the end of the month this had accumulated to over $600. This extra money could be used to offset any losses, or it could be used to add to brankroll and living expenses.
If you are one of those players, like I am, who has trouble figuring out what percentage of my bankroll should go towards extra things, this is a good way to figure it out. If you are ready to cash out from the table and you have $274 in profit, take $200 and put it towards your bankroll or bills, and take the $74 to put towards your extra spending money. This is a great incentive to get you to get up from the table when you are ready to go, and it gives you a way to keep the things that you want from affecting your bankroll.
A lot of poker players are a little OCD about cashing out at an even number. A friend of mine has this problem and after realizing how much money he was giving away by not cashing out at an odd number he started stacking his chips in a way he wouldn’t be able to have an accurate count on his chips. He would have an idea of how much he had, but he wasn’t able to have a precise count by just looking at his chips. When he was ready to cash out of the game, he would just rack up and take off with his extra profit. After a year of doing this he was able to take that extra money from his cashouts and put it towards a new car.
The old adage, “A penny saved is a penny earned,” is definitely applicable in this situation. The difference is that $20 saved can potentially be $1,000 or more earned down the road. Try the experiment yourself and see if it works out for you. If you are having a losing week or month, you might be pleasantly surprised to see that the odd cash outs helped to offset your losses. If you are having a winning week or month, you might be delighted to have an extra $600 to buy something you’ve been wanting.
I was recently sitting say anything in the event that the players didn’t catch it. After another minute of consideration the opponent called the $500, and after a weak bet from Tim on the river, went all in to take the pot down. Tim was fuming and proceeded to at a 5/10 live game in Las Vegas. For the sake of this story, I have given some of the players fake names to make it easier to understand. Player Tim had gotten into a bit of an argument with Jill and her boyfriend about the mandatory straddle that was in place when the couple sat down. Jill didn’t want to do it, but the couple wouldn’t take the open seats on the other tables. A few hands later Tim was involved in a hand with someone across the table. Tim was a pretty aggressive player who was known to raise with any two cards. Preflop Tim raised $50. He had one caller to the flop. The flop came out 6s 7d 6h. Tim bets $100 and his opponent says, “You don’t want to lose all of your money on this hand. I call.” The turn comes a 7c. Tim bets $500, and his opponent goes into the think tank. It seemed pretty obvious to me that Tim was bluffing, but his opponent was really struggling with the decision. He began to run through the hand out loud and then stated, “I shouldn’t call this because I really think you have a 7.” From this Jill, who was not in the hand said, “Well there is only one way to find out.” EEeeeks! I immediately knew her comment was out of line, but didn’t chew Jill out for opening her mouth and influencing his opponent in the hand.
Of course, Tim was right to be upset because in the end Tim’s opponent confessed that he was thinking of folding on the turn. Jill’s comment influenced Tim’s opponent to make a decision that he probably wouldn’t have made on his own. Jill’s comment also influenced Tim’s play. Had Jill not said anything, Tim could have made a better betting decision on the river. However, the comment put Tim on tilt and caused him to be distracted from the hand. The moral of the story is: If you are not in a hand and there is one in progress don’t say anything regarding the hand or its players until the hand is over. I regularly run into the situation where a flop comes out 6 6 2 and someone says, “Oh man! I threw away a 6.” As disappointing as that might be, it is not ok to announce this to the table because it inhibits an involved player’s ability to bluff at the pot. It could also induce someone to call a bet, knowing the chances of a 6 in hand is slimmer, though in actuality they are calling into a set. For this reason, it is bad etiquette to comment on a hand when you are not involved and/or if it is a multi-way pot. When the chips are being pushed to the winner, it might be ok to open up about your hand or add commentary. Just remember that comments that you make about a hand might influence someone’s decision in the end, and you wouldn’t like it if you lost money because another player influenced your opponent.
If you’ve played tournaments, you’ve probably run into the situation where you are short stacked and have to make a move soon. In these situations, you are looking for any two big cards or a pocket pair. I’ve been in this situation a million times, just praying that my next hand will bring me pocket aces. Instead, I will look down at pocket 3’s and have to make a decision. My first instinct is always to push in. My thinking is, “Hey, at least I have a pair. If I get called, hopefully my opponent won’t hit his cards.” This is the wrong line of thinking, and I’ll tell you why…
In an all in situation for your tournament life, pocket pairs should be off limits. Excluding the situation where you are on the button and it folds around to you, and even then this play is subject to debate. I don’t like the play of going all in with your small pocket pairs because at best you are going to be in a 50/50 situation. Granted, when you are short stacked, you don’t always have the luxury of waiting for a better spot than 50/50, but I don’t view this as the best 50/50 situation to be in. By this I mean that your small pocket pair is extremely vulnerable. Technically you might be 50/50 against over cards, but in reality they have a better chance of their hand holding up. If you are called, it is most likely going to be by over cards or a bigger pocket pair. If you are called by over cards your opponent might be behind, but they have 6 outs against you preflop to hit a higher pair. This could increase to several more post flop, taking into account their draws.
Remember, your chances of hitting a set on the flop are roughly 11.76% on the flop, so you have to hope that your pocket pair holds up. For me, a better 50/50 situation is going all in with live cards or suited connectors if I don’t run into a big hand. Theoretically, with live cards you have just as good of a chance to win the hand by hitting a pair as your opponent does when they have a higher non-pocket paired hand. This being the case, why not put your money in with K 7 suited which gives you the chance to hit a K, 7, and gives you an opportunity at a flush draw. This hand has more possibilities than a pocket pair has. The reality of going all in is that at some point you are going to be called, and you will have to run the hand out. This being the case, I prefer to get my chips in with the hand that has the highest possibilities after the flop.
Small ball poker is a method that has been made famous by poker pro Daniel Negreanu. I first became interested in the theory because I was having trouble with managing my chip stack in tournaments. In the beginning rounds I would bet my big hands substantially, and somehow people would still draw out on me. In the later rounds, I was having trouble compensating for the growing blinds, and I would tighten up the range of hands I would play when I was supposed to be opening them up. The problem for me was not that I didn’t realize what I was doing wrong, but it was hard to come up with a way to change my habits and implement a new playing style for tournaments. The small ball method seemed to be a great way to alleviate my problems without totally changing my playing style.
Small ball poker is designed to minimize your investments while still putting pressure on your opponent. It allows a player to have better control of the pot and the pot size, as to not risk as much of their chip stack and be pot committed. The general rule of thumb is to raise 2.5 times the big blind. The trick is to keep it consistent so that your opponent can never put you on a hand. In tournaments, the raise of 2.5 times the BB is going to give you the same results as raising 3 times the BB. Why not save some chips when you are going to be called anyway? This theory carries over to post flop play as well. There are often situations where one has to put in a bet to find out where their opponent is in the hand. Most of the time, the tendency is to put in a sizable bet that gathers information and leaves your opponent to make a decision on whether to invest more into the pot. This often leads to bigger bets than what is needed. Small ball teaches a player to minimize the bet in a way that you can gather the same amount of information without investing as much. Overall, small ball allows you to better control the pot.
Since tournament play requires a player to maintain and grow their chip stack, any bet is viewed as a threat. This is the reason why small ball works so well. A minimal bet to you, is still considered a risk to another player. As long as you don’t price someone in, these minimal bets will allow you to accomplish the same thing as large bets will.
In Part II, I will share with you my experience of implementing this small ball tactic in tournament play.
I’ve previously written about avoiding bad games, and finding profitable cash games where you can gain maximum value. Though this is the ideal situation, it is not always the case that you will be able to find an action packed game every time you want to play. For this reason, I wanted to write an article on things you can do to change the structure of a dull game. One thing that can be done is to get more aggressive with your play. This is always a good rule of thumb when playing in any situation. If the players are passive, you become aggressive. However, I find that in cash games, noticeable action comes from preflop play. By this I mean that games tend to be better when there is preflop raising. This means that players are more willing to take chances and gamble. They are not just going to play the nuts. This also creates more action post flop and creates bigger pots. The goal is always to be in situations where you are going to get paid for your big hands. So when you are trying to induce action by become more aggressive and loose, try raising all your marginal to high hands 3-4 times the big blind. At first you might just end up taking down the first few pots with your preflop and post flop aggression. Soon after, people will start to catch on and call you preflop. Hopefully this will help to move the game towards more action. The only problem with this method is it will give you a loose image at the table. For some people this fits with their method of play. For others, they prefer to contain a tight image so they can easily bluff people out of big pots.
To change a stagnant game, I prefer to use the straddle method. If you sit down at a game and realize that it is slow and unprofitable, most other players will realize it too. In this case, try to get the table to agree to a mandatory straddle. Usually I try to get the table to agree to a mandatory straddle for one round. If the players all agree to it, one round usually turns into 3 or more rounds of straddle. This really puts the game into action because players realize that there is more money in the pot per person on a limped pot, and the chips are worth fighting for. If the chips are worth fighting for, there will be action on the flop, turn, and/or river. This method is preferable to me because it costs me little to invest an extra big blind per round, it does not affect my image, it makes the other players invest in a better game for the table, and it gives players a reason to take action post flop. Instead of the table collectively aiding in a game that has no action, everyone gets involve to create action on the table.
If you cannot get the table to agree to a mandatory straddle, then the next best thing is to straddle yourself. This will at least build the pot so if there are limpers, the pot becomes big enough that action will occur post flop. Usually the right way to play straddles is to raise your straddle when you have the option, however, be careful with this when you are only trying to invoke action on your table. For one, if you are aggressive with your straddle, you might be investing more money than you should if someone wakes up with a big hand. If you are aggressive every round, someone will probably take notice and check reraise you. Notice, that this method for straddling is not to push people around at the table, it is to induce action and build pots. Therefore, you have to be careful about investing more money than it is worth
There have been several times in my poker career where I am in the small blind and look down at 4 6 of hearts and say, “I hope I can see a flop.” Inevitably, someone will raise and I end up folding the hand, wishing I could have seen a flop.
Lets imagine, that we are playing 2/5 No Limit Texas Hold’em. In this scenario, we are the small blind with a hand like 4 6 of hearts, facing a raise of $25 dollars. There are 6 callers and the action is on us. What are we going to do?
Though 4 6 of hearts is not the best hand we can hope for, our cards are live with that many callers ahead of you. Since we are in the small blind, the pot is laying us $23 to $150, or roughly 6 to 1. There are several possibilities that we have with your hand, so there is no reason not to see a flop. We decide to call the $23 and the flop comes 2h 5d 7h. Not only do you have a heart draw, but you also have a double gut shot. That gives you 15 drawing outs to hit a flush or a straight, and probably four more outs to go runner-runner 44 or 66, giving us a total of 19. This would be a great opportunity to raise $75 to see where you are at.
As the scenario plays out, everyone folds except the original raiser who just calls. There is a wide range of hands we can put our opponent on, so lets try and narrow down the choices. A big pocket pair, 9-9 to Q-Q is most likely. Q-Q become questionable, but if he had a pair like AA or KK he defiantly would have reraised on the flop. He could possibly have a bigger flush draw, like AK suited to QJ suited, so with our flush we will have to play accordingly. As well he may have that same range of hands but unsuited, looking to turn an over card. From this point on, it is important to use any scare card to bet on in order to get your opponent off their hand.
This means if you put your opponent on an medium to medium large pocket pair, you bet at the turn if an A, K, or Q comes, and if you put them on a big pocket pair or overcards, you bet any small connecting card. So in this case we could also bet a 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, or 8. If you do hit your straight you bet in order to gain the maximum value out of the hand. If you hit the flush, and still put your opponent on a possible higher flush, you will have to use your reads to evaluate if you have the best hand.
The key to playing a raise out of the blinds, is the deception you gain from the hand. Most people put you on garbage to begin with, so you have more opportunities to bluff at boards you expect no one has hit.
I can’t tell you how many times I have seen my friends grinding it out at the 5/10 tables, and I notice that they are playing against 8 other players that play poker for a living and there is no action. I’ve been victim to sitting down at games that were no good, just waiting for the action to liven up. This is not the strategy for a winning poker player. To be a winning player, you not only have to be a good player, but you also have to know how to gain maximum value out of your hands. Part of this is knowing when a game is profitable or not. If you are catching cards all night, but no one is giving you action, then that is not the best game for you to be sitting at. For example, I was sitting on a particularly dull game one night and got pocket Aces three times in two rounds. In this 5/10 game I only raised it $40 (which was the standard raise in this game), and it was folded around each time. Needless to say, my profit on that particular table was hardly enough to cover my dinner for the night.
If you live in a place that is scarce on live games, don’t feel like you have to play a game that is not profitable. Instead, go home and play online. If you are playing online, there is no excuse for you to be playing in a bad game because there are plenty of tables to choose from. If you are playing at a casino, check out the other tables and ask to be transferred into a game with more action.
In Las Vegas there are tons of tournaments running every day with different structures, buy-ins, and starting chip counts. Cities across the world are starting to increase their tournaments as well, and it can sometimes be hard to evaluate which tournaments are best to play in.
There are several factors to take into consideration when finding a tournament to play in. For starters, players need to find tournaments that are easy on their bankrolls. Some poker pros recommend that you do not play a tournament that is more that 5% of your bankroll. Once you find tournaments that are in your budget, you should look at what the starting chip stacks are. Some tournaments offer 1500 in chips, while there are deep stack tournaments that will give 20,000 chips or more. Some players like to have a lot of chips so they have time to sit and wait for better hands. Other players like to have smaller chip counts so the tournament doesn’t take as long.
Players should then look at structure. If a tournament has a bad structure then there is no point in playing it. Most tournaments publish a structure sheet which can be looked at prior to registration. Another element that players often forget to research is the player count and registration. If a reoccurring tournament has the best buy-in and structure, but they are not getting very many players, then it might not be worth your time to play.
After taking these factors into consideration it should lead you to a more profitable tournament experience.
Even when you know intellectually that you need a few days away from the table iIt is never easy to convince yourself that it is time to take a break from poker in order to preserve your bankroll. However, if you come to the conclusion that it is time for you to take a break from poker, there are several things that you can do with your time to be productive.
Look at this time off as an opportunity to study and reevaluate your game. There are tons of resources out there and new concepts and theories are being published every day. Poker players should always be trying to stay ahead of the game, and this is your opportunity to get caught up.
Also, it is a good time to think about what has been going wrong in your recent losing sessions. Maybe it is time that you change up your game.
When you return from your break, you should think about playing at another casino or another limit. If you are a cash game player, maybe you should play some small tournaments for a change of pace. If you are a tournament player, try playing another game like Omaha.
Since the industry is constantly changing, poker players should always be reevaluating their game and preparing new business plans that fit the games that are played.
It is often hard to evaluate how long to take a break for. I recommend taking a break for at least a week. This will give you time to relax, distress, and find time to study your game. For serious poker players, poker can become our lives and we forget how to have fun without cards being involved. Make time to have some fun with friends or family during this time off and force yourself to stay away from playing poker even for fun.
Once you feel the stigma of your losing streak fading away, it is time to head back to the tables.
Every poker player goes through those sessions of bad beats, poor concentration, or inability to play well. This is a part of the game and it is imperative that a poker player protects their bankroll from bad runs. Sometimes, it is necessary for poker players to ask themselves if it is time that they go on a break. Most of the time it is hard to for a poker player to convenes themselves that they need to take a “forced vacation,” and it is even harder to know if that is the best decision.
Here are a few questions to ask yourself if you are on a bad run:
1. Am I chasing cards just to get even?
2. Am I bluffing more than normal because I’m trying to get even?
3. Am I being impatient?
4. Have my cards been running bad the last 4 out of 5 sessions?
5. Am I worried about my bankroll because of my last few sessions?
6. Are my reads off more than 50% of the time?
If you answered “yes” to more than two of these questions, it is time to take a break. Perhaps your cards are running bad; maybe it is mental fatigue, but it is important to get your head on straight to you can get over your bad run.
So perhaps it's time to take a break but you can't live without poker? Tomorrow I'll look at ways to convince your poker addicted brain that you do need to step away from the table.
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