Here in Southern California when somebody asks how long it will take them to drive from point A to Point B they will often be asked in return “at what time of the day?”
That is because the more likely you drive at a time a lot of people will be on the road, the longer the trip will take.
And if you answer your travel is on a Friday evening, you will be cautioned to try changing the trip to another time.
There is an inverse correlation to trying to make money at poker. Whenever there are more people playing poker, the easier and more likely a good player will make money.
Friday evening is one of the best times to play. The rest of the weekend comes in a close second.
Because my wife Caren works a traditional M-F work week I usually play poker Friday nights close to home. She spends Friday evening recovering from the work week with some personal “downtime”.
Then we spend Saturday & Sunday together.
Late Sunday afternoon, as she gets begins to get ready to settle down and prepare for her next work week, “Pokey the Dog” and I often take the RV and head out for a 3-4 day poker road trip.
Sunday night is usually profitable, but Monday and Tuesday afternoons and evening are tough.
The tables are filled with “regulars” and the quality of play is better then the weekends. I have put in 14 hours already this Monday and Tuesday and I am “even” for the two days of play.
Sunday night was Sycuan Casino. Monday was Viejas. Tuesday is Barona. Wednesday we head for Harrah’s in Valley Center, (Northern San Diego country)
At the most, we will be only 60 miles from home. These 3-4 day road trips give me the ability to focus and play longer periods of poker. My only breaks are to walk "Pokey the dog", study poker books, write and sleep. I feel so blessed to be able to maintain this kind of lifestyle.
Between the little bit of food comps the poker rooms’ award and a little supplemental food in the RV, we have no expenses for the trip except for gas.
Speaking of feeling blessed. I was reminded of how blessed I am to just to be able to go to a poker room and play without extraordinary effort.
In the tournament today I play with a gentleman who was blind. His wife looked at his cards and then whispered in his ear what he had and what came on the board. She told him what the bets were, and when it was his turn to act.
He had a really beautiful sweatshirt that had a picture on it of the “Fantastic Four Superhero’s” playing poker. I complimented him on it. He said he bought it at “Comic Con”. (Comic Con is an annual convention for comic book collectors).
He said he was a comic book collector and really enjoyed comic books. I didn’t quite know how to ask how he reads them? Or did she read them to him? So I left a number of unanswered questions in my mind about that one.
He was a good poker player, but I couldn’t imagine how much he missed in the game or in his comic books for that matter, because of his inability to see.
Then later that evening a young man played next to me in a cash game. He was very badly deformed, couldn’t move, with the exception of his right hand to control his power wheel chair. His mother sat next to him and held the cards so he could see them, and put in the chips for him when he prompted her.
So for the freedom I have to play poker. To be able to come and go when I want, to be able to see all the other players and the cards.
I am going to express more thanks for these things every time I am reminded of these two gentlemen.
And I resolve to give thanks for all the blessings I have that I often don’t think about, until I see someone without them.
Thursday, April 26, 2007
Play good...lose less....
I once thought I could make money by playing poker really well. I have since changed my mind.
Don’t get me wrong I am still playing poker full-time and I am still winning most weeks.
Then what do I mean?
I am coming to believe that in small no-limit games, good play alone does not really give, you an edge to win.
However, playing well does reduce the amount you lose. Then you need less luck to end up with more chips then you risked.
The other night at Palomar illustrated that so well for me. I bought in to my usual 2/3 no-limit game for $300 twice that evening. Meaning I had a risk of $600.
The first three hours I only played five hands. I got my money in or lead the betting with the best hands in all five plays. On all five I got outdrawn and lost each of them.
I then played 2 more hands where I split the pot by playing AK very strongly from early position. I was called by an AK each time. We ended up splitting the pot for no net gain for either of us.
Then these two following hands came up.
I was on the small blind with a pair of Jacks with about $400 in front of me. Under the gun had “live straddled” meaning $6 was the call.
The next very short stack put all in his $15. The button called the $15. I decided to try to end it right here and raised it to $65 into a $39 pot.
Every one folded except the button who called. I knew him to be an aggressive, creative player.
The flop came 10h,6s,7c. I bet out $75 and the button raised me to $150. I thought a lot about this and really believed he was trying to take me off the hand. He had seen me play AK strong twice that evening from early position. I believed he suspected I had a big pair or AK. I figured him on a pair. I thought about it for a long time and convinced myself he was being tricky with a weak hand. I would not have thought this way about anyone else at the table except for him.
I pushed all-in for all my remaining money. He insta-called. I turned over my jacks and he turned over trip tens. The turn and the river were both hearts! My losing pair of jacks turned into a jack high flush. He was devastated.
I scooped an $800 pot that I had just played very badly!
After playing another hour or more and losing about $200 by betting with the best hands, and again getting outdrawn, each time, this hand came up.
I was on the button with Ace & Queen. Three people had limped in. I raised it to $25. Everyone folded, with the exception of the guy who had lost the $800 pot to me.
He called my $25.
The flop came A,K,10 He pushed in his last $50 and I decided to call with my AQ even though I strongly believed, he held AK (Which it turned out he did).
The turn was a 7 and the river was a Jack giving me a straight! He was very professional. He said “nice catch” then to dealer “seat open”. He shook my hand and left for the evening.
Shortly after that I cashed out a little over $850 resulting in a profit of about $350.
So the net result of that evening was, I played great poker, getting my money in with the best hands seven times and lost them all. I broke even twice with great hands and good play.
All my profit came from two hands where I won, only because I got very lucky with low probabilities holdings that somehow turned into winners at the river.
So what do you think? Am I right?
Playing well does not give you an edge to win. Play poker well and lose less. Then get lucky and you can make some real money at this game.
P.S. I may have to re-think my reason for why people play poker. Two earlier blogs indicated other reasons, then easy money & greedy thinking. My observation last night challenged my thinking.
I arrived right at 6 p.m. to enter a Sunday night tournament that if you placed in the top would win you an entry into a tournament into June.
The June tournament winner would be awarded a $10,000 entry into the World Series of Poker in Vegas in July along with expense money for the trip.
220 people were already signed up for the tournament. Fifty more of us were unable to get in who wanted to play it, but had arrived too late.
Casino and poker rooms use tournaments to lure players in with the hope that when they “bust out” of the tournament they will sit down and play at the cash games. Yet, three hours after the tournament began the room was having trouble keep eight cash games going.
That clearly indicated many people came for the tournament for the slim, unlikely possibility, they would place in the top twenty. Then win the June one. And somehow make it through 7,000 other players in Las Vegas, to be on TV for fame and fortune.
Hmm, maybe there are a lot more players who believe Poker is a way for easy money and are motivated by their greed then I thought. (I may have to revisit this thought a few more times.)
Don’t get me wrong I am still playing poker full-time and I am still winning most weeks.
Then what do I mean?
I am coming to believe that in small no-limit games, good play alone does not really give, you an edge to win.
However, playing well does reduce the amount you lose. Then you need less luck to end up with more chips then you risked.
The other night at Palomar illustrated that so well for me. I bought in to my usual 2/3 no-limit game for $300 twice that evening. Meaning I had a risk of $600.
The first three hours I only played five hands. I got my money in or lead the betting with the best hands in all five plays. On all five I got outdrawn and lost each of them.
I then played 2 more hands where I split the pot by playing AK very strongly from early position. I was called by an AK each time. We ended up splitting the pot for no net gain for either of us.
Then these two following hands came up.
I was on the small blind with a pair of Jacks with about $400 in front of me. Under the gun had “live straddled” meaning $6 was the call.
The next very short stack put all in his $15. The button called the $15. I decided to try to end it right here and raised it to $65 into a $39 pot.
Every one folded except the button who called. I knew him to be an aggressive, creative player.
The flop came 10h,6s,7c. I bet out $75 and the button raised me to $150. I thought a lot about this and really believed he was trying to take me off the hand. He had seen me play AK strong twice that evening from early position. I believed he suspected I had a big pair or AK. I figured him on a pair. I thought about it for a long time and convinced myself he was being tricky with a weak hand. I would not have thought this way about anyone else at the table except for him.
I pushed all-in for all my remaining money. He insta-called. I turned over my jacks and he turned over trip tens. The turn and the river were both hearts! My losing pair of jacks turned into a jack high flush. He was devastated.
I scooped an $800 pot that I had just played very badly!
After playing another hour or more and losing about $200 by betting with the best hands, and again getting outdrawn, each time, this hand came up.
I was on the button with Ace & Queen. Three people had limped in. I raised it to $25. Everyone folded, with the exception of the guy who had lost the $800 pot to me.
He called my $25.
The flop came A,K,10 He pushed in his last $50 and I decided to call with my AQ even though I strongly believed, he held AK (Which it turned out he did).
The turn was a 7 and the river was a Jack giving me a straight! He was very professional. He said “nice catch” then to dealer “seat open”. He shook my hand and left for the evening.
Shortly after that I cashed out a little over $850 resulting in a profit of about $350.
So the net result of that evening was, I played great poker, getting my money in with the best hands seven times and lost them all. I broke even twice with great hands and good play.
All my profit came from two hands where I won, only because I got very lucky with low probabilities holdings that somehow turned into winners at the river.
So what do you think? Am I right?
Playing well does not give you an edge to win. Play poker well and lose less. Then get lucky and you can make some real money at this game.
P.S. I may have to re-think my reason for why people play poker. Two earlier blogs indicated other reasons, then easy money & greedy thinking. My observation last night challenged my thinking.
I arrived right at 6 p.m. to enter a Sunday night tournament that if you placed in the top would win you an entry into a tournament into June.
The June tournament winner would be awarded a $10,000 entry into the World Series of Poker in Vegas in July along with expense money for the trip.
220 people were already signed up for the tournament. Fifty more of us were unable to get in who wanted to play it, but had arrived too late.
Casino and poker rooms use tournaments to lure players in with the hope that when they “bust out” of the tournament they will sit down and play at the cash games. Yet, three hours after the tournament began the room was having trouble keep eight cash games going.
That clearly indicated many people came for the tournament for the slim, unlikely possibility, they would place in the top twenty. Then win the June one. And somehow make it through 7,000 other players in Las Vegas, to be on TV for fame and fortune.
Hmm, maybe there are a lot more players who believe Poker is a way for easy money and are motivated by their greed then I thought. (I may have to revisit this thought a few more times.)
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