The fable of the fruit picker

I am going to steal a bit of advice from one of my favorite bloggers...The Poker Grump.

The grump will list a quote from someone's book, magazine article, etc. A few days ago, he quoted this...

Saturday, May 30, 2009

Poker gems, #272

Tommy Angelo, in Elements of Poker, p. 81.


Poker is a fruit tree. Money is the fruit. There are two ways to get the fruit. One way is to climb a tree, get all scraped up, risk falling out, pick some fruit, and climb down. Another way is to stand on the ground and pick the low-hanging fruit. The Professional knows how to climb a tree. But he rarely has to.

Well, as an update, I am now taking this advice to heart. I am playing $5 tables, and cleaning up...small time. Varience finally caught up to me at the $20 tables, and I am at the $5 where the fruit is easier to pick

Multi table play...how I lay out my tables and why

I tried to find some advice on multi tabling, and was not really able to find much. 2plus2 has a few forums on the subject, but as usual with that nonsense, the discussions deteriorate pretty fast. But don't get me started on 2 plus2...

OK, most importantly, be sure that your options is set for "pop-up table whenever user action required". This is vital. It makes sure that you do not accidentally miss a table, have you timed out and you spend the rest of the game sitting out. DO NOT ATTEMPT TO MULTI TABLE WITHOUT THIS FUNCTION BEING TURNED ON.

Next, there are two trains of thought behind playing many tables at once. Either as sets, or continuous. Remember, I play exclusively DoN Sitand Goes. A Set of games, means... Sign up for as many games as you want to play all at once. In the past, I have played as many as 16-20 games at once. The advantage is that at one point within 1.5 and 2 hours, you are finished, and you get a chance for a break

Late stage...stop and go or all in

Here's a fun little trick to add to your arsenal.

The Stop and Go...The Stop and Go is best used during the later stages of a tournament. When hands like AK or medium pocket pairs can not be folded preflop, yet the blind structure almost makes you pot committed...ALMOST.

Let me illustrate. You are out of position (so you will be first to act after the flop). You are dealt 77. You put in a 3X raise (the 3X represents no more than 1/3 of your stack), you are called by one player (this maneuver does not work with more than 2 players). The flop comes JQ3. You did not hit, but the math of poker says that the villain probably did not hit also (you only pair up 1/3 of the time if the hand goes to the river, and you only pair up on the flop roughly 1/5 of the time). It's time to take a shot...

The Stop and Go play is to All in before the villain can act. He now has to make the decision. Doyle says that the key to winning NLHE is to be the guy that puts the other guy to a decision for all his chips. If you wait for KK or AA, in the long run you will lose.

Here is what can happen...

Bad news...The guy hit, or has a higher PP, and you lose. Hey, that's poker and you took a shot and tomorrow is another day. But, you gave yourself a better chance to win than if you All In'ed preflop and left the decision to the god of poker.

Good news...1/5 of the time, your opponent does not hit his hand, and he either has to call with a worse hand, or he must fold. Either of these is what we want to happen. Think about what your options are when the player in front of you raised preflop and followed with an all in on the flop. You know in your heart that you will fold 88 in this situation, as well as will probably fold AK, and possibly fold second pair. This manuever gives you the best chance to win with a mediocre hand.

When to not pull the trigger...

If an ace hits on the flop. More often than not (math is our friend, betting/calling patterns are our friend), a caller will hold an ace preflop. If an ace hits, check it down, give it up and live to fight another day.

A Stop and Go is a great play that will win you chips at a stage when you need to win chips (the later rounds). It is an alternative to the all in shove that many players make at this stage. Doesn't work everytime, but will increase your odds of taking a hand down over the all in preflop shove.

Bubble play for a DoN is not the same as Bubble Play in a "regular" SnG

OK, Double or Nothing tournaments will leave 6 people playing bubble play, vrs a "regular" Sit and Go tournament, which leaves 4 people.

Basic math, basic bubble play strategy tells us that the further from the Big Blind you are, the more likely you are to be called. Conversely, the closer you are to the BB, the less likely you are to be called. In simple terms, an Ace deuce is probably not worth playing if you are first to act, with 4 more people to play. But, if you are the small blind, with no one entering the pot before you, ANY ace is worth playing, and actually, worth shoving.

By the time you reach bubble play, the blinds are probably very high. They are worth winning. Winning a set of blinds guarantees you a chance to see 5 more hands before you have to play again. 5 more hands that your opponents can make a mistake and knock themselves out, or 5 more hands for you to get a premium hand. Well timed and well placed aggression can keep you alive, waiting for one of those two good things to happen.

Of course, chip stack size will have a lot to do with how you play. If you are severly short stacked (less than half of the next lowest player), you have to play aggressively (all in is your only option), and your range of hands is much larger. You have to get lucky. If you are the big stack, you can afford to sit back and wait for the smaller stacks to be in a position of having to play. The tricky position is in the middle. You always want at least one person to have a smaller stack than you. be aggresive and have well timed agression in order to achieve and maintain that advantage.

Short version of this post...DoN SnG's will have 2 extra players. Be VERY careful playing out of position, be VERY aggressive when playing in position.

2 trains of thought on playing weak hands...

This tip is for play during the first 3 rounds of play during a Double or Nothing single table sit and go...

The key to winning at the DoN's is to be tight as possible during the early rounds. Sit back and watch the hands that people play and lose big with during the early rounds are shocking. I generally do not play anything but the top 10 hands before the blinds hit 50/100. On occasion, I will play drawing hands or "position hands", but ONLY when I am in position, and a reraise following my limp/call is unlikely.

There are a few hands that will pay off big if the right flop comes. They are also easy to get away from if the flop does not hit. I will occasionally play these ONLY on the button or one off the button. If the flop does not hit these hard, be smart, and check/fold only.

An ace rag suited is good for a nut flush ONLY. If a second ace hits, you are still playing top pair weak kicker. If it is checked to you (remember, betting the button or on off usually gets you position), take a stab at the pot with a pot sized bet. But if it ius reraised, know that you are beat and toss the hand.

KQs, KJs, JTs, T9s and 98s are good for flush, straight and straight flush draws only. Again, should you be lucky enough to hit top pair, take a stab at the pot with the pot size bet. BUT, any resistance, and be ready to toss.

Position play in the early rounds is key. DON't be that guy...That guy that plays ace 9 like it is ace king. These hands are fine to see a flop with, but they will bleed your stack dry if they are played aggressively.

There is another train of thought during the early rounds to just sit back and watch the "players" play. Usually during the first three rounds, a couple of players play themselves into a made hand and are gone. Best to stick to playing AA, KK, QQ, AKs aggressively and fold everything else.

So remember, position play weaker hands only. Be ready to fold and save your chips for the later rounds.

A Bright New Day

- BRIGHT NEW DAY Lyrics

MRS JOHNSTONE
OH, BRIGHT NEW DAY,
WE'RE MOVIN' AWAY

MICKEY
WHY MAM?

MRS JOHNSTONE
WE'RE STARTIN' ALL OVER AGAIN

MICKEY
LINDA.. LINDA

MRS JOHNSTONE
OH. BRIGHT NEW DAY
WE'RE GOING AWAY

SAMMY
WHERE?

MRS JOHNSTONE
WHERE NOBODY'S HEARD OF OUR NAME

SAMMY
MOVING AWAY - FROM HERE?

MRS JOHNSTONE
WHERE WE CAN BEGIN AGAIN,
FEEL WE CAN WIN AND THEN
LIVE JUST LIKE LIVIN' SHOULD BE.
GOT A NEW SITUATION,
A NEW DESTINATION
AND NO REPUTATION FOLLOWING ME


OK..Interesting results...Well, not interesting, more like sad. In the last 6 weeks since I posted, I have had a roller coaster of results. At first, I stopped posting because I was on an outrageous upswing. I had added cushions of $1,000 plus three weeks in a row, and was actually at the top of the leaderboards for my category. THEN DISASTER HIT.

March is going to be a losing month (small profit, but more than a thousand dollars short of my goal). So, it is time to look over my play. What am I doing different in March from the first six weeks of the year.

First, I stopped blogging. So, time to start blogging again. Blogs (my blog at least) serves two main purposes. It is a place to record the events of my life. But also it is a way to focus. Small steps lead to the finished goal. By focusing on the small steps, I am able to put blinders around that huge step. So, daily postings will start again. Focus, have small goals and stop looking at the big picture so much.

Next, I stopped dieting. I dropped 10 pounds in a little over a month, and gradually stopped making my weight a priority. So, starting April 1, I am back on the diet. Take care of yourself and you feel better about yourself. That positive feeling does translate into a positive attitude. That attitude does translate into a positive ability at the tables.

Finally, I stopped ongoing education. I played poker a LOT. I never touched a book, barely listened to podcasts or watched poker on TV. My game deteriorated the more I exclusively played. So, I am back to reading and listening and watching.

OK...let's put a little perspective on my position. Sure, March was not a success, BUT...here is where I stand versus where I was January first.

In the first three months, I have made $6,269.00 profit...more than $1,900 ABOVE where I needed to be to reach my goal. I am in GREAT shape to reach my goal, and the loss in March can be attributed to variance. Focus and do not be discouraged, I am on track to reach my goals.

When I determined how much I wanted to win in 2009, I wanted to buy a new computer (I DID). I also wanted to contribute $1,000 to the house in some manor...I DID. There was a terrific pre-season sale recently, and I bought 4 beautiful outdoor swivel rocker chairs, as well as new propane Fie Pit. These combined with a new stone patio extension will make a great addition to our life. Both the Fire pit and the new computer were paid for with the cushion I had built up. I am a winning player, and I have the new toys to prove it. I also wanted to consitently pay Mrs. Aces88ss her $200 a week, and I have not missed a week of that goal.

My bankroll is at $1,000
My player points are over 45,000. At 50,000, I can cash them in for $650. This will make April easier to achieve.

OK...let's start all over again

WHERE WE CAN BEGIN AGAIN,
FEEL WE CAN WIN AND THEN
LIVE JUST LIKE LIVIN' SHOULD BE.

Results week 5

This will be a pleasure to write...

EVERYTHING CLICKED this week. I finally beat the 10% ROI monkey that has been on my back. I had three great days in a row at the end, and posted a 12.5% ROI!

I posted a whopping $966 profit, adding over $650 to my cushion.

My point total far exceeded my goal, and I am now well on my way to SuperNova status. I should make that level by July, August at the latest. I plan to save my points til I can earn the $4,000 bonus.

And finally, dropped another pound. I am at 218, posting a loss of 6 pounds for the month. My health is infinitely better at the end of the month than at the beginning.

It is all coming together, and I am very optimistic. In the back of my head, I am reevaluating my goals. There is another debt that I would like to pay Mrs. Aces88ss back that I will be adding (if I can repeat my month). I AM going to start exercising TODAY! And, since my cushion for the month exceeded $1,000, this week, I am going to buy my new laptop.

It was a great week.