Professional poker player

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Got that covered. My uncle is just that.

OMG OMG OMG OMG.

I just won a $12,000 package to the $10,000 buy-in World Series of Poker Main Event! How much did I pay to win the seat? $300.

You might be seeing me on tv.

nh sir. Congrats on the ME seat! Are you going to play in it or just keep the cash?

I honestly don't understand how people put up consistent mtt results. I can't seem to find the skill set needed for mtts, but I am able to be fairly consistent in nlhe 6max ring games up to 50nl so far.

I'm gonna play it, but I'll be selling at least $3000 of my action at a markup, hopefully more like $6000. The bankroll nit in me is saying take the cash, but I'd be giving up value if I didn't play. By agreeing to wear Stars gear, I have ~$1000 in expected value, plus they bump me up to Supernova, which will help me in the future. In mid-stakes mtts, people see those red stars on your picture and tend to give you folds you wouldn't normally get.

There's a lot of skills that don't come natural that you need to be consistent with the mtts. More than anything, I think I give off a fearless vibe when deep in a tournament. My advice would be to check out Cardrunners, but really, the thing that's helped me along the most is pure experience. Just doing it over and over and seeing what works, and what doesn't.

I went really deep in the Sunday Brawl on Full Tilt this last Sunday, ended up in 11th for ~$3600. It was unfortunate, I had a coinflip for the chip lead when we were down to 12, but no joy. First was over $80k

I decided to take the low-variance route and not play the Main Event. I really want to, but I just don't have the gamble in me at this point. Instead, I'm flying down to Vegas tomorrow afternoon to play satellites and a couple preliminary events alongside some tourneys at The Venetian. Got 6 nights at The Venetian, which is my favorite place to stay.

My plan is to play satellites all day Thursday, then I'll play the $1500 Limit Hold Em Shootout on Friday.

Limit Hold Em refers to structured betting. Instead of No-Limit, where you can bet up to all the chips you have at any time, Limit poker forces you to bet and raise in specific amounts.

Shootout refers to the tournament structure. In most tournaments, called "freeze-outs", say you have 900 entrants, you'd have 100 tables with 9 players each. As people get eliminated, tables will be "broken" and the players from that table will be moved to other tables. You keep doing this until you reach the final table of 9. However, in a shootout, you again start with a table of 9 or 10 players, but instead of moving around, you keep playing at this table until one person has all the chips on the table. Once all tables are finished, the winners of each table combine to make new 9 or 10-person tables, and you do the same. For this particular tournament, there will be 1000 players, so 100 tables of 10, 10 tables of ten, then the final table.

After that I'll probably play the $550 No Limit Hold Em tourney at the Venetian on Saturday (assuming I don't go really deep in the shootout), and then on Sunday I'll play the $1500 Limit Stud Hi/Lo.

Stud Hi/Lo is a stud variant. You get two cards down and one up to start, then a betting round, another card up, another betting round, another card up, another betting round, another card up, then a betting round, and the last card down, followed by a final betting round. You'll eventually have 4 cards up and 3 down, of which you use any 5 to make your best high hand (traditional poker hands, pairs, straights, etc) and your best low hand (any 5 cards of differing rank from A-8 with the Ace being low). So, for instance, you're looking to get a "wheel" A2345 to have the best low as well as a straight, or something like A2346 with 5 spades for the 2nd best low and an ace-high flush.

I'm getting way too complicated now.

I'm going to Vegas to play teh pokers for ridiculous monies. Hope I do well, if I do, I might pop in for an update or two.

I don't blame you for not playing the main event. I'm a pretty big bankroll nit myself, so I would have probably done the same thing you decided to do. Good luck in the tournaments, and hopefully you can update us with a nice score or two.

Very interesting. I have often wondered if it would be possible to do something like this. You mentioned a couple of web-sites. Are there any books you would recommend for a new player? (My current job has a lot of short, paid breaks, which I usually spend reading.) Also, do you use any computer software to assist you in your on-line play (e.g., by calculating odds, monitoring the behaviour of opponents, etc.)? (Please do not interpret that last question as my doubting your ability.)

Anyway, let us know how you got on in Vegas.

Vegas was soooooooooooper lame. Every time I go, I just remind myself how much I hated it the last time.

Besides a sick case of run-bad, I can't stand being forced into such close-quarters with all of the various douchebags that play poker.

As for the run bad, in the WSOP event I played, my TT lost to 66 on a 668T9 board. I ran into at least ten sets in key hands, but never once got paid on a set of my own. I made nut straights, ran into backdoor flushes. I lost 4 of my 5 key coinflips. It was just really bad, and magnified because I'm one-tabling live.

As for the douchebags, where do I begin?

- Old guy to my immediate left complained after EVERY hand. "I had blah blah blah" "Every hand I play I lose, every hand I fold I would have won" "Perfect record" "Blah blah blah". He went on for 5 minutes about a hand that I had played (and lost), and I eventually had to shut him up with "thank you for the commentary sir..."

- Young guy to my immediate left is listening to music, which I can only assume is club/techno because he's club/techno dancing, IN HIS CHAIR, RIGHT THE F NEXT TO ME.

- Middle-aged guy, not even overweight really, to my immediate right, breathing something fierce out his nose. I had to deal with his intense nose-breathing on my right arm for 3 hours.

I really could go on, but it's really just more of the same. I'm really glad to be back home so I can get back to grinding online, I really don't know what I was thinking.

My net for the trip was approximately -$6000 (all tourney buy-ins and expenses). The only gambling I did was a little video poker, and that was the only thing I could beat apparently...

Before anything else, you should read The Theory of Poker.

Once you're done with that, if you're interest is no-limit hold em tournaments, you should read Harrington on Hold Em I and II (III is just a workbook).

If you want to play all the games, read Super System 2.

After you've done that, there's plenty of good books, but the real knowledge is online, much can be found on 2+2, but the more current strategy can only be found on subscription sites (I recommend cardrunners).

I do not use any additional software, although Poker Tracker is really important if you're playing cash games, and PokerACE HUD is something I probably SHOULD use, but don't.

Edit - On my Vegas trip, I read Matusow's book "Check-raising the devil" which is GREAT, but just an auto-biography. I also read Gus Hansen's book, which would be good after you've gone over HOH to get the more aggressive side of the tournament play.

vibratetogether, thanks for the suggestions. I have ordered "The Theory of Poker". I also ordered "The Mathematics of Poker" because I am a bit of a math geek

man, you're pretty good; thanks for the motivation; i been playing a little under one year, and the first year is always the hardest, but i dont mind losing because i learned A LOT.

i'm at a point now where i can consistently cash/win/come out ahead around 35-40% of my games, lose about 55% and maybe 5-10% go either way... i need to improve a bit still. if you checked my stats, you'd probably not be too impressed, but i have readily improved in just the last month or so; after much trial and error, i'm comfortable with my current style of play. i dont feel out of control anymore; i feel like i control my ability to do my best in every game. this doesnt mean controlling the game; it means not getting flustered by a bad beat; what used to upset me, i now take as a learning moment, it helps me constantly reassess my play, and the more flexible one is as a player, the better...

self control is the biggest factor for success, in my honest opinion... you cant control the cards, or the luck, or other players styles of play; the only thing one can control is one's own decision in every hand, and not to be manipulated emotionally, or by pride, or manipulative chats, into making poor decisions.

i play to win tourneys, not hands. if other people wish to win every hand; more power to them; they usually dont make it to the final tables.

im best at ring games, and single table sng.

i started entering the bigger tourneys and i am finally consistently making it to the final 100.

yesterday, i finished in 21st place and i think 97th place with 100s of players in each game; i made a booboo and didnt rebuy in that 2nd game, or else i may have well cashed in that one as well.

after close to 1 year of hard work, learning by trial and error, playing both super tight and super loose, i pretty much figured it out. the trick is constantly mixing up your game all the time, at least in the eyes of your opponents. i even believe in purposely losing a pile chips at the right time just to throw off my competition. if they cant accurately read your game, you have a better chance of fooling them in to thinking your bluffing, or bluffing when they think your a tight player and have the nuts. of course, position is essential, as well as relative odds and im not a huge chaser, so i guess i lean to playing a more conservative game, overall (or maybe not lol).

anyways, thnx again for your post; i believe this is mostly a game of skill, and of course a bit of luck helps too. obviously, im not a pro yet, but you have given much positive encouragement!

thanks!

mikegee

ps if yer ever on ub and wanna play some one on one small $ just for fun, lemme know; but it sounds like yer pretty much too busy making a living lol

Hey, thanks for the comments mikegee. I feel compelled to respond to a few things you said, and please don't take this the wrong way, the best insights for poker are brutally honest.

Your bottom line is far more important than the number of sessions you win. The only numbers that matter are big blinds won per hour or big blinds per 100 hands for cash games (alongside hourly win-rate) and ROI (return on investment) for sngs and mtts.



I understand what you're getting at, but this statement isn't entirely true. The way that you play can affect the way others play. It is very important to be aware of how you are playing, how your opponents are playing, how your opponents think you are playing, and assuming your opponents are thinking players, how they think you think they are playing (the levels of thought in poker can be sort of convoluted at higher levels).

In addition, taking certain betting lines, while not eliminating luck, can help to minimize your losses due to variance.



I'm assuming that you are playing the micro mtts, where the "maniacs" don't do so well, we call them dumb lags (loose-aggressive). It is important to understand that the people who make real money in mtts are what we call smart lags. They keep up the pretense of being maniacs, but make very good decisions at each point in a hand. Your statement suggests a thought process that many people have regarding tournament poker, that playing ABC tag (tight-aggressive) wins the money. You probably won't lose much, but you're never going to win anything playing like that.



You should really focus on a single poker discipline and only venture out when you are doing very well at your chosen discipline. The difference between the different disciplines is enormous. You can become all-around later, once you've become successful at one thing.

Another point, there is little to no money in ring games (9-handed) unless you can play a gazillion tables at a time. You should be looking at 6-max or heads-up if you want to play cash games for a profit.



You're gonna have to be more specific. "Bigger" as in field size, or buy-in?

Also, making it to the final 100 is a fairly arbitrary achievement. In mtts, all the money is concentrated at the very top, so making it deep only to min-cash is not going to win you any money.



Again, while the min-cashes help you along, the only scores that really matter in an mtt are top 3 (unless it's a huuuuuuuge tournament).



This statement is perplexing. Of course you should always rebuy for the max, assuming you have an edge, but not taking a rebuy (or perhaps you mean you missed the add-on) is something that happens very early in the tournament, and while it has an impact, it's rarely going to make the difference.



This is only true at the highest echelons of the poker world. I get the impression you are playing the micros, where this play-style is far from optimal. Most of your opponents will be stuck on the first level (their cards), and barely going into the second level (your cards), so you really don't have to mix it up. Better to stick to whatever play style is optimal for the table you are playing at (generally tighter against laggy tables, looser at taggy and/or passive tables).



Don't do this in a tournament or sng ever. If you're playing a cash game and plan to be there for a long time, acting the maniac and showing some bluffs early can be a good thing, but not always.



You're getting ahead of yourself, most of your opponents are barely paying attention to what you do, they're just playing their cards.



It sounds like you're just spitting out poker terms without a proper understanding of their implementation and importance. If you have a vague understanding of these concepts, you will develop some bad habits that are not easily unlearned.



I don't play on UB anymore, while you're probably in the clear at the micros, I simply do not trust them at anything above medium-stakes. I dabble on bodog and cake (pretty much sundays-only at this point), but almost all of my play is on stars and ftp.

I hope I don't come off as rude, if you have any questions, I'll be happy to answer them as best I can.

thanks man; i really rarely absolutely agree with anyone, but in this case im gonna make an exception; i guess im still learning the ropes, and my game needs some work still; i hope i didnt come across as thinking i got it all figured out; i surely dont; the less i know, the more i can learn.

your tips are awesome; its the first time a pro gave me an honest assesment of my technics; i think maybe i'm still in the beginning stage, and i have a bit more losing ahead of me lol (probably a lot more hehe) my goal is to maybe try going pro in the future, because i want to be more independent in life, and working for the man is getting old. or rather, im getting old, and im lucky to be pretty smart, yet im not experienced enuf in playing yet to say im a net winner.

seriosuly, i wasn't mining you for tips; but i totally appreciate your honest advice.
you r a busy pro and ya didnt even have to take the time to answer me; or, ya could have eaten me alive with critisism as many very good players tend to do. for that i thank you. you dont have to be nice and ne honest and give me great advice but you did. i didnt yet digest everything ya said, but i surely will. maybe i dont have what it takes. i dont think many players actually do. i think so much of poker is relative; who you're playing, the stakes, reading players, patience, perseverance, guts, risk taking, bluffing, odds; its a lot to absorb and learn and get better at. its frankly daunting.

but i once again do thank you for your advice and honest critique; i think maybe your advice is the best i ever heard. sorry if i sound ass kisy, im not trying to be that way; its just i value honesty and appreciate you taking the time to be cool and help out a novice.

thanks man! count me as a fan. i wish ya the best of luck!

mike

This is key.

So many poker players are stuck where they are because they are unwilling to be open to the idea that they might be wrong about some things. Best to take an approach where you trust your current set of knowledge, while accepting that you could be wrong. If new information or a new insight leads you in a new direction, best to be open to that.

I definitely suggest cardrunners or pokerxfactor if you want to bring your game to the next level.

sorry for the delayed reply...

very cool; i like this advice best; the less one admits to know, the more one can learn!

i think its awesome phil ivey made the final table; i'm rooting for him; he's pretty damned good...

Vibratetogether, big question for you: how are you transferring money? I've researched heavily into gambling on sports, and found that it seems difficult to move money back and forth around U.S. anti-gambling laws. All but bank wire transfers only allow a few thousand dollars at a time tops. I also have some tax questions surrounding the subject; think you may be able to help? Thanks!