My Brother and his wife, Beth, who have been featured here before have announced the birth of their first child together. Anthony Brian was born yesterday at 7 lb 5 oz. Both Baby and mommy are doing well. Now the big question, is the baby’s first words going to me “mommy” or “all-in”?
Anthony has a older brother, J.C., who, I’m sure, will look out for the new arrival.
Yes, kid poker has won another bracelet.
Here is Underbelly’s 10-step guide to becoming a better poker player. Feel free to contribute to this is you have something to add. Every once and a while I’ll update this, hopefully with some help for you.
1. Favorite Hands:
This is such a bad habit to get into. Mine use to be king-eight. I don’t know why but I always would play it. Your preferred hand should be a pair of aces, followed by a pair of kings and so on. If it’s not, than you have a flaw in your game.
2. Feeling It:
I know so many people who look at two bad cards and call a big pre-flop bet because “they were feeling it.” Poker is a game of math and numbers, not mystical forces driving the action. Use your head, not “feelings”
3. Any two cards:
Yes, Doyle says any two cards can win, and he’s right but that doesn’t mean always playing every hand. Seven-two off-suit will win once in a while but if you play it every time, you will lose far more than you win. Get that cliché’ out of your head!
4. Daniel Does It:
Yes, I know the pro’s you see on T.V do a lot of unorthodox things. I know it seems Daniel plays a lot of garbage hands and wins but you’re not Daniel. You should understand that the pro’s are doing this for reasons you can’t possibly understand and until you do, don’t try to play like them.
5. Curse of the Pocket Aces:
No, there is no curse. Usually when I see someone lose with them, it’s because they played them bad. Even if you play them correctly, there still only two out of the seven cards you have to make a five-card hand. They might be them best starting hand but the average pot is won by two-pair or better,
6. I Don’t Get Bluffed:
Everyone gets bluffed! You must learn that it will happen to you. Fear of being bluffed will cause you to lose more chips them you know.
7. Bad Poker Players.
If you think you can win because of the bad players, maybe you’re the bad player. A good player will take advantage of the bad.
8. I Knew You Had Me Beat:
I hear this all them time, “I knew you had me beat but I had to call.” Huh? If you know your beat, well save the chips on fold.
9. You Call Me With That?:
Don’t let bad players know they are bad players. I know it’s frustrating when a player does something stupid and wins but in the long run, it will be better for you. If he calls your big, pre-flop raise with a four-eight off-suit and the flop comes Eight-Eight-Four, congratulate him. Tet him how well he played. Trust me, it will be to your advantage in the long run.
10. I Have The Worse Luck:
Take responsibility for your own results. Yes, you will lose now and again because of a bad beat, or an unlucky flop. Even so, think about your play after it’s over and be honest with yourself. For instance, you go all in with kings pre-flop when you are short stacked and get called by pocket five. A five hits and you gone. Bad luck? Maybe the guy with fives wouldn’t have called you if you were not short. Why were you short? Usually people who are constantly unlucky are unlucky because of there own actions.
Mike gets his first bracelet since 2002. Glad to see it. I’ve always been a fan of Mike. I know that’s not the popular opinion.
You can read more at Poker News
One night in the first hour of a 30 player Texas Hold’em tournament, a guy I know, Fred, was dealt pocket queens. The blinds were still low and the antes had not yet started. Fred leaned back in his chair, stated, “all in” and pushed his chips forward. The table folded around and he proudly flips his ladies over for all to see before taking his winnings. Noticing my uncontrollable smile and a quick shake of my head, he said, “What? I wasn’t going to let someone draw out on me.”
I violated one of my own basic rules of poker and let someone whom I’m playing against know he played a hand bad. In an attempt to cover myself, I said, “I guess you’re right. Winning a few chips is better than losing lot.”
Of course I knew he couldn’t have played this hand much worse. Besides the fact he showed the table his cards, letting them all know they played the hand correctly, his bet was ridicules.
The first thing you must consider is what hands might call your bet? Since it’s early in the game and no one is short stacked, I would guess only pocket aces or kings, maybe ace-king. It’s much too early for jacks or lower. So another rule has been violated, never bet or raise when you are only going to be called by a hand that has you beat.
The reality is, by over betting the pot like Fred did, he had turned his queens into twos. You see, since the only hands that would call him were aces or kings, he could have had any pocket pair in his hand and the results would be the same. It doesn’t matter. When getting called by a pair high than yours, the odds of sucking out are exactly the same. So, if you’re going to push all-in with a pair of queens, you might as well do it with twos as well.
As far as his worry about being drawn out on, I have no problem with playing scared, as long as it’s the other guy.
Jerry Rex from The Gravelbourg Gazette, Gravelbourg, Canada
