Poker PhD

This is a GREAT post! I hope you not mind. I publi...

2012-01-04T04:31:46.637-08:00

This is a GREAT post! I hope you not mind. I published an excerpt on the site and linked back to your own blog for people to read the full version. Thanks for your advice.
Rakeback Poker

Thanks man, I'm loving these Rush tournies. Th...

2010-07-19T18:35:25.380-07:00

Thanks man, I'm loving these Rush tournies. The structure is fantastic.

Nice work. Congrats.

2010-07-17T03:51:04.645-07:00

Nice work. Congrats.

You could be right, it really depends on his 3-bet...

2010-03-15T19:54:38.053-07:00

You could be right, it really depends on his 3-betting range - which we unfortunately don't have in Rush. If this were regular cash NLHE and this guy had stats of something like 8/6 VPIP/PFR with a very small 3-bet percentage, then I'll 4-bet 100% of the time because I know his 3-betting range is tight enough that he's calling with his entire range.
Anyway, thanks for reading. Drop in again to discuss more strategy.

Thanks. Rush poker is a form of cash NLHE availabl...

2010-03-15T19:49:20.719-07:00

Thanks. Rush poker is a form of cash NLHE available on Full Tilt. The way it works is that as soon as you fold your hand, you're immediately taken to a new table with 8 others who were moved there and dealt a new hand right away. Everything else is the same. The big difference between Rush and regular cash is that you don't have to sit around waiting for the hand to finish after you fold, which greatly increases the number of hands you can play in a session. Very fast-paced!

What is this rush poker? I'm wary of trying i...

2010-03-15T12:09:10.986-07:00

What is this rush poker? I'm wary of trying it. What's wrong with un-rushed poker?

Cool blog man. Good luck on the felt.

Hey man, blog is very interesting, I like it. I a...

2010-03-12T04:34:16.106-08:00

Hey man, blog is very interesting, I like it.

I agree with the other guy who commented. While I understand your reasoning, and know that you were thinking beyond simply "getting cute" as it were, I think that if you get 3 bet in that situation you should be looking to play for stacks. I think a 4 bet is a better play here for a couple of reasons.

1. all the hands in his range either call or ship, none of them fold outright. (I think you are being a little wide with his range, im not sure id count AJ or AT among the hands he has here.) So lets say if when he pops to .90 you make it uh... 2.30, give or take.. that money is in the pot regardless.

2. If villian has a 10s+ here, you stack him on every undercard flop so if he has 10s js qs... its just a stack every time. Similarly with AK, its a stack. However, if he has 10s+ and you flat, you run the risk of letting him see a scarecard (which was the case here) and slowing down. If he sees a dry board with AK in his hand, that will slow him down as well.

Again, I undderstand where you were coming from, but with a guy who wants to put the 3 bet in (especially in rush) I think we should be trying to play for stacks.

Thanks for the feedback. Choosing not to 4-bet pre...

2010-02-27T20:47:45.252-08:00

Thanks for the feedback. Choosing not to 4-bet preflop is not about getting cute, it's about not wanting to fold out the weaker part of his range. Sure he can hit a set with a lower pair or spike an Ace with AK/AQ/AJ/AT but I'm a significant favourite against those hands. I'd much rather let him take a flop with those hands, giving me the potential to get more $ from him postflop, than 4-bet and have him fold many of those hands. Moreover, even if he calls my 4-bet, it will be harder to get money from him postflop when he doesn't improve. Think about it: if I 4-bet and he calls with his TT, he's going to totally shut down if he doesn't spike his set because he's going to put me on a very strong hand (AA/KK/AK). By not 4-betting I keep my range a bit wider, which enabled me to get what I did out of him on this hand.

Mr PhD, I saw that you didnt reraise with this han...

2010-02-27T19:51:01.355-08:00

Mr PhD, I saw that you didnt reraise with this hand preflop, but that might be a negative ev play for the following reason. It seems like you are giving the opp a great opportunity to flop a set or if he holds a-k, a-q, a-j, or a-t, then you are giving him a great chance to flop top pair. In either situation, you will be behind. Additionally, if we take your approach and see a flop then I dont think there are a ton of flops where you will be able to take your opp's stack. For example, on a q-t-4 rainbow flop, the 10s wont lose their stack. I think the optimum approach would be to reraise preflop instead of trying to get cute with a flop, turn and river. Just my two cents.

I do dabble in the $1.10 90-turbos on Stars as wel...

2010-02-22T21:01:24.794-08:00

I do dabble in the $1.10 90-turbos on Stars as well. Omaha 8 is fun but incredibly frustrating because of all the split pots. The split pot nature of the game makes it difficult to beat the rake at micro stakes. Anyway, check back soon and we can get deeper into strategy. I'm trying to build some traffic on this blog so feel free to spread the word.

Hey, thanks for reading. I am primarily a tourney ...

2010-02-22T20:56:44.292-08:00

Hey, thanks for reading. I am primarily a tourney player but couldn't resist trying Rush when it came out. I probably should just stop playing cash NLHE altogether and focus on my strengths but I hate the idea of giving up on cash poker.

Yikes. Those are some sick beats. I am strictly ...

2010-02-22T19:59:20.844-08:00

Yikes. Those are some sick beats. I am strictly a stars player and thus I am not playing rush poker. It sounds like rush is a more swingy game which will cause your variance to go up, which is somethign that I am trying to stay away from.

It looks like we are in the same boat. I am also ...

2010-02-22T19:54:51.844-08:00

It looks like we are in the same boat. I am also in my mid 30s with lots of little kiddies and I made my first online deposit after playing recreationally live for many years. I also will be playing about 5-10 hrs per week. I am playing .1/.25 nl holdem and some omaha h/l at similar levels. I am also going to play some sngs...probably the 1 dollar 90 man sng. good luck

-Matthew