Hand of the Week -- Cash Game - Omaha

Heres a hand from a couple days ago. I'm in a very loose Omaha/8 game. Yeah ---- its THAT game. Some of you know about THAT game.

In the BB, and pick up Ac 4c 7h 7d. Not a great hand, but theres a raise (means nothing in this game) and several callers. I call.

Flop is 7 2 2. Wow. SB (uber-loosey) bets out and I call (??) I think this is a "pull", not a "push" situation. Three other callers.

Turn is a 3. ZOUNDS !!!! Nut low and nut high. Pesky SB again leads and I call. ???? I'm thinking that I want callers. My image is so tight in this game that a raise will scare loose callers off.

River is a K. SB (finally) checks and I bet. Three callers.

So -- what do you think. A reasonable case could be made for; folding the raise pre-flop, raising on the Flop, raising the Turn, and even going for the check raise on the River. Those of you who think I played it wrong on EVERY street will not hurt my feelings.

Results to be posted later.

Barry Tanenbaum & his Website

Here's another good one you should be aware of;

www.barrytanenbaum.com

Barry T is the poker author/player/teacher who makes the most sense to me. He is a real person (corporate retiree with family and a balanced life) who has always played poker. He worked his way up from playing low stakes, thru the mid limits and now usually plays higher stakes almost every day in Las Vegas. His articles in Cardplayer (and before that on PokerPages) are excellent.

His website has great "weekly thoughts". His forum is small but has attracted a following of serious players - many are his poker students.

Casino Poker in St Louis

Three choices for you in St Louis, ranging from the Excellent to the Terrible.

# 1 EXCELLENT: --- Harrahs has a new poker room and its just a knockout. Wow, I was impressed. Nicest room in the Midwest. 21 tables, all tables and chairs look and feel great. Room decor is perfect. Separated from the main casino by lots of glass. Very quiet in the room. Lots of space between tables. Beautiful.

Games spread were 3-6, 5-10 and 30-60 Limit Holdem. 1-2 and 2-5NL with an interest list for 5-10 that got called but did not go. All tables were full on a Friday evening. Tourneys daily ranging from $25 to $200.

Dancing girls from the I-Bar have to walk thru the poker room after each show back to their dressing room. A hot sweaty spectacle, but you only have to watch it once every hour.

Some of us old guys will remember this specific location as where the old Players Island poker room was located. (sigh)

Poker room manager wants to know when we are bringing the "Ladies Poker" group back down on a Saturday morning and afternoon.


#2 VERY GOOD: --- Ameristar in St Charles is still a fine room. Expanded to 19 tables. This facility is only 3 years old, but it sure suffers in comparison to Harrahs. Seems so much louder too. Dealers were a little better.

Games spread were 5-10 Omaha/8 with a Kill; 3-6, and 4-8 (with a half kill) Limit Holdem. Several tables of 1-2 NL. Also one NL table with a curious structure of 1-2-5. Blinds are 1 -2, but the "bring in" is 5. Blinds must complete to 5 or fold. Hmmm - like playing 2-5 NL but with smaller blinds. Ameristar PLO game goes two days a week and they also have a larger Omaha/8 game one day. Daily tourneys.


#3 TERRIBLE: --- President, downtown on the Admiral. What an awful place -- but then its been that way for years. Jump off the Eads bridge instead of going here.

Hand of the Week: Tournament edition

Our buddy, the blog admin, said that I could start putting in a Hand of the Week guest blog. So, for clarification purposes, this isn't written by Abe. It might be good for the blog to put in a different playing style perspective. As you might know, I can play a little looser, and Abe is a nit...I mean he's a rock...I mean he's solid. ;)

Earlier this week, I played a satellite to get a WSOP main event seat online. The structure of this tournament was actually a lot better than the smaller S&Gs, and smaller buy-in tournaments. The tournament started with 1500 in chips and had levels of 30 min instead of 15 which gave you plenty of time to play, instead of forcing you to gamble. There were 300+ entries, and I was cruising fairly well. I started off kind of slow, because I was kind of card dead preflop. The biggest pair I had was 99. I had AK once or twice, won small pots. But I got my stack up to 7500 by flopping a set or two and picking off a few "can't call" spots on the flop.

Then with about 150 players left, I got moved to a table. w/ 7500 I was third in chips at the table, and both chip leaders were doing the "chip leader" tournament thing. You know, steal the weak blinds, and don't risk a bunch of chips playing a big pot. They were pretty much staying out of each other's way, and were fairly tight. The chip leader, who had 12000, had a weird thing about him though. Any time a short stack went all in, and the chip leader had any of his chippies in the pot, he would call with less than strong holdings, Ace-baby, small pocket pair coinflip, that sort of thing. He'd won both of them. Other than that, his play was fundamentally solid. Tangling with him wasn't really a big problem since I had position on him and the other chip leader was on the other side of the table. After a round or two this hand came up:

With the blinds at 100/200, I was in the cutoff with two kings. Everyone folded to a short stack in middle position who raised to 600. He might've had a real hand, or just stealing the blinds. I didn't really know. The chip leader flat called. It felt like AK or a hand with two unpaired big cards, because usually with a pair bigger than 88 he would re-raise the short stack there. I didn't put it past him to flat call there with a big pair though. And the short stack didn't have enough money for him to have some suited connector. Before that, I had planned on flat calling the short stack and getting the chips in on the flop if it came with no ace, and he continuation bet. But with the third player in, raising was obvious. I re-raised to 2500 total (the short stack had 2700). He moved in quickly. Then, the chip leader did something surprising, he moved in behind after thinking for a few seconds. I began to think that that would be a clever play for AK, because it would isolate the all-in player, and play for the extra dead money. But of course, he could've also had aces, kings, queens, maybe jacks? Plus, he had a predisposition to protecting his children. Usually in that spot, (call a bet, re-raise when someone raises the original bet) a tight player has aces. If I folded, I would've had about 5000 left to play with (about avg. chips) at a table where I had decent control. Or, I could play a three way all in pot against possible aces where the best shape I could be in against two hands is about 70%.

I call. the short stack has 99, the chip leader has AA. Wonderful. An ace and a nine flop. Just the spot I like being in on the turn, drawing dead. I heard Men the Master in my head saying, "You play pokah very well. Nice hand sah!" I've folded kings once before the flop (and was wrong), but I think this was probably the best spot I could think of to do it again. Maybe overzealous with KK? Anyone have thoughts?

Nice Hand Sir. Well Played!

This won't make any "Hand of the Week" list, and I'm too embarassed to post it on 2+2.

Ameristar St Louis - Limit Holdem - 4-8 with a half kill to 6-12. There are "betting lines" on the tables. I had asked the floor about these and he said they are only enforced in NL games.

Its late (actually early am) I'm tired and have been here too long. A terrible player wins two hands in a row and now has the kill button and is also on the button. I decide to play one more round. Lady to my right posts the SB of 2 and I put in the BB of 4. Killer posts the kill blind of 6 on the button.

Preflop - I have 9 7 suited. All fold to the killer, SB puts in 4 more to complete to 6, I put in 2 more to complete to 6. THEN - the dealer asks the kill about his option. Well ---- haven't seen it played like this for a while. He checks.

Flop is 9 7 3 rainbow. SB checks, I check (wanting to checkraise?) and the button checks.

Turn is a 5. I hear someone say check and I bet 12. Dealer and SB both say that she had not acted yet. I had bet out of turn. (This is an old obvious angle shot that has been overused for years) I apologize and say I had not done that on purpose. The dealer pushes my bet back over the betting line towards me. SB now goes into the tank and thinks. I think too; What should I do if she checks? What should I do if she bets? About this time the button folds. Then the SB says "I call" and puts 12 in. Before I realize what had happened, the dealer scoops her bet chips and my bet chips into the pot and puts out the river.

Wait ---- this gets worse.

River comes a 6. Board reads; 9 7 3 5 6. I look at it and see my top two pair are now beat by any 8 for a straight. SB is still first to act. She doesn't bet or check, she says; "I have a straight". Hmmmm. I say; "Well, I check then too." She shows 7 4 for a small straight that I had not even seen. I table my cards ------and----and----my hand is 8 7 instead of 9 7. I have the higher straight.

Dealer pushes me the pot. I play goot. Time to stack chips. Snort


Ha - Ha - Ha. Lessons to be learned from this mess:

1. Don't play when you are tired.
2. Why - if you are about to leave, would you optionally choose to post your BB into a kill pot?
3. Know the rules. I had not inquired about their betting sequence rules with the Kill. This can vary by cardroom.
4. Just bet out on the flop with 2-pair. Checkraise does not work in this situation.
5. Wait for your turn to bet. Make sure that others take their betting action in turn. Make sure that the dealer enforces this.
6. One little error or problem or confusion in a hand sometimes leads to others.
7. If you are confused about the way something is happening in a hand, others may be too.
8. Know what your holecards really are.

Casino Poker in Tunica

Tunica !!! Now we're talking --- lets go. WOO-HOO I'm ready right now.

HORSESHOE: Best poker action, nicest poker room - and located right by the best buffet in town. 16 or 18 tables. New facility - all nice tables, chairs etc. Excellent dealers and mgmt staff. 4-8 holdem is lowest level, then 10-20 and 20-40. NL is 2-5. PLO plays big. And usually an Omaha/8 game (4-8 with Kill) and 1-5 Seven card stud. Food comps are plentiful, tableside food service if you like and all drinks free. Be sure to tip the waitresses. Hotel rooms are ok and you can sometimes get a poker rate ($25/$35) by calling ahead. 800-303-7463 ext 5543, ask for Anita.

GOLD STRIKE: Right next to Horseshoe --75 steps away. Second best poker room in town --- some like it better than Shoe. Another 18 tables with a lower key feel. Usually no big stakes games, but lots of 3-6, 4-8, 1-2 NL and Omaha/8. Recently moving over from the Shoe; Ken Lambert is the Director of Poker Operations, and John Grooms is the Tournament Director. This room is also quick to comp food to buffet, Atrium Restaurant or food court. Drinks are free and plentiful. Hotel rooms are a bargain if you get the Poker Room rate. Usually $25/$35 but higher during large Tourneys - January and June. Call in advance to 888-245-7529, ask for the Poker room, then ask for Carole or Sonya. They will get some info from you and see if they have Poker rate rooms available. I usually stay here. Rooms are nicer, plus an indoor pool, hot tub, exercise area.

GRAND: Casino complex is off by itself. Very plush casino area. Poker room is upstairs and is nothing special. Large number of tables and a mix of low and mid limit games. Buffet is often yucky. Poker rate Hotel rooms are often available, but the Hotel buildings are separated from the casino. Not walkable, but they do have a very frequent shuttle.

SAMS TOWN: Blah - not much to recommend here. Used to have 2-4 holdem and also smoking at the table.

HOLLYWOOD: Small, dark, very noisy.

SHERATON, BALLYS, FITZGERALDS, and RESORTS: No poker


Other Tunica Attractions---- What? You kidding? Actually there are several, but you have to take me along with you.

Driving directions--- About 6 hours gate to gate. I-55 south (take the I-255 bypass around St Louis) then stay on I-55 all the way thru Missouri into Arkansas. You will merge with I-40 east, but you want to keep in the lanes for I-55 south to Jackson, Miss. When you go over the bridge into Memphis, be alert. The I-55 exit comes up very quick. Stay on this bypass around Memphis for a few miles. You then want to exit on Route 61 south to Vicksburg. The "Tunica" casinos are about 15 miles south.

Large Tournaments in Springfield

None scheduled for June or July.

Activity should pick up after the State Fair, summer is over and school starts.

Still talking with a couple groups that want to have large multi-table tourneys, and the "fund-raiser" groups will want to have another event or so starting in the fall.

Potential dealers and players - stay in touch, and don't give up. We will be busy starting in Sept.

Casino Poker in Iowa

I have only played the four easternmost of the poker rooms in Iowa;

Davenport -- (pronounced Dammmmport by us Quad City boys) Used to have a President casino that had poker before most anyone else. Busloads of people came in from the Chicago area on weekends. Room was always crowded and the games were wild. Note--- Davenport casino currently does NOT have poker.

Bettendorf -- Isle of Capri (aka: Pile of Debris) Has a brand new poker room. 9 tables, with all new tables and chairs. Chips a little old and dirty though. Standard games spread; 3-6, 4-8, and 1-2 NL. One oddball game-- 5-10 limit mix game. Omaha/8 and Holdem mix. Both with a Kill and TWO Kill buttons in play. Thats right, you could be holding BOTH Kill buttons. Tournaments almost daily. Good management and friendly skillful dealers. If you go, be sure to see all the sights and attractions that Bettendorf has to offer.

Catfish Bend -- Burlington (sometimes Fort Madison) Other than the clever casino name and chips with a catfish on them, theres NO reason to go here. In fact -- WHY are you even in this part of the country?

Tama -- Meskwaki Indian (on Route 30, between Iowa City and DesMoines) Kind of run down facility and-down market clientele. Mainly catering now to locals and bus trip seniors. Old crummy tables and chairs, but new chips. Distracted management and D+ dealers. Standard low limit games. Their oddball game was Omaha/8 played 2-10 SPREAD limit with a Kill. Wow --- talk about a locals advantage game.

Quick History Lesson--Meskwaki (Fox) Indians were from the East and were forced west into Michigan/Wisc in late 1600's. In early 1700's they fought a long war with France (The Fox Wars) and the French tried to exterminate them. Remaining Fox Indians fell in with the Sauk and had main settlement in whats now Rock Island. (Westernmost battle of US Revolutionary War fought here---George Rogers Clark sent men to burn village. Also westernmost battle of War of 1812 fought here - Sauk & Fox attack US troops under Zachary Taylor, who retreats downriver) In the early 1800's the USA took its turn to try to kill off the Sauk and Fox. William Clark (of Lewis&Clark and also the little bro of G.R.) started the Black Hawk War. Pres Andrew Jackson decreed all Indians to be removed west of Mississippi River. Sauk and Fox under Black Hawk resisted and most were killed. Sauk and Fox were eventually relocated to Kansas. Some Fox were never caught and never left central Iowa. Some others received their annual payment in Kansas and brought a few hundred $ to Iowa. They bought 40 acres for their "Settlement". This was added to over the years and now they have over 7000 acres and a big casino.

Now - where were we? Ah yes, Casino Poker in Iowa. I have not yet been to the following:

Iowa City --is getting a new casino with poker --- a few miles south of town.

Altoona --just outside of DesMoines has a facility with poker.

Council Bluffs -- Horseshoe Casino and poker room is getting good reviews.

Casino Poker in Illinois

Your three bad choices just got reduced to only two.

Joliet (Empress/Argosy/whatever) casino just closed their poker room. This is the second time they have opened and closed a poker room in this facility. Its no big deal and not a big loss.

Aurora (Hollywood) is still open which is a real shame. Its one of the worst rooms I have ever played. Bad management, poor dealers, stinky players, a poor facility, and very expensive. Huge rake (5 or 6!) plus no comps, pay for parking,and an admission fee. But the "BEST" part is that they close the room on Friday nights and don't reopen until Sunday eve. More money to be made on weekend slot players. Poker players should get out of the way.

Metropolis (Harrahs) has reopened their poker room for the third time. They had one when the facility was a Resorts property and closed it. Players Island opened and closed a poker room there too. Now Harrahs tries. This is a small boat with a rural feel and clientele. Maybe go there if you're a SIU student or on a visit to Paducah. Otherwise, not worth a trip.


What accounts for the terrible status of casino poker In Illinois? Well ---- its the State Government's fault. Its a purposeful policy, not an accident. Each of the 9 "boats" is taxed very highly, and is restricted to 1200 "Gaming Positions". That means if they open a poker table they have to shut down 10 slot machines. And -- they make a lot more on the slot machines.

So the State is going to protect you from evil gambling (but OTB and Lotto are ok)

We poker players make a rational choice by going to Missouri, Indiana, Iowa, etc for casino poker.

Troutblogs

Many of the poker related web-logs are listed at;

www.troutblogs.com

Theres 100 + of them and the content quality runs the full spectrum. Felicia Lee usually has some good stuff.

Now --- about that name---. The 2+2 Internet Forum was very unruly when first started a few years ago. Got nicknamed; "The Zoo". So, we Zoo members needed some way to identify each other on online poker sites. The catchphrase became; "There is a brown trout in my closet". This was later shortened to just "brown trout" and was picked up by other 2+2 posters. Its now sorta like a gang sign or a frat handshake.

Where is Phil Tanner ?

Where IS Phil Tanner?

Why do people keep asking me this? I don't know. I'm not in charge of him.

Seriously. Phil is living in St Charles, MO. Located conveniently close (5 minute walk) to the nice historic downtown .

And (big surprise) he's also close enough to Ameristar -- 5 minutes driving. In a pinch, he can make it to Harrahs in 7 minutes. He is still a force in the PLO game and is playing more Omaha/8 and NL Holdem too.

Hint to Phil: Your life is good right now, don't buy a restaurant or get engaged.

We may never see Phil here in Springfield again. Especially since he got beat up so bad in that Omaha game. Lost 14 out of 16 weeks and left town - thought we were ruining his reputation.

WSOP - My July in Las Vegas

7 days in Las Vegas this year starting July 16th.

Did my usual "cheapo-vegas" search and got bargain flights out of Peoria, Priceline bid rental car, and 4 nights comped at hotel.

Looking forward to;

--3rd annual "PokerBabe" golf outing
--Wednesday Poker Discussion Group
--2+2 get togethers and "mini-MagooFest"
--Scamming buffet comps from poker rooms at Mirage, Bellagio, Wynn, and Aladdin
--WSOP site at Rio
--New poker rooms/casinos to see and play in (Caesars, Venetian, RedRock, Hooters, Silverton, South Coast, LV Hilton, TI, Paris) ---- whew!
--A few serious poker sessions; Mirage, Bellagio, Wynn are favorites. Will certainly try the Venetian too.

Highlight of last year's trip was going to the Stardust's Magic Show with Marvin Brown.
Man--how ya gonna top that?

A Kathy Hudson Story

I met Kathy in 1998. She had just moved back to town after the ownership change at Binions Horseshoe in Las Vegas.

From the mid '80s, Kathy had dealt poker, been a shift supervisor, dealt and run tournaments. "In the old days" she had daily encounters with Moss, Ungar, Slim, Brunson, Pearson, etc etc. She helped run the WSOP and she herself ran tournaments in California, Tunica, AC, and Europe.

Read about Kathy in the Poker Dealer Hall of Fame. Go to; www.Razzo.com and see the bios in the Poker Dealer Hall of Fame.

Kathy has explained so much about poker to me. Also she has introduced me to some of her old buddies: Hellmuth, Chan, Scotty, Hamilton, Harrington, and many others. But ---- I introduced her to John Werthwein, so we're even.

The 2 + 2 Website

The best poker information on the internet (and maybe anywhere) is found at:

www.twoplustwo.com

The website is a part of Two Plus Two Publishing which is owned by Mason Malmuth. 2+2 handles all the books by David Sklansky, the combination works of Sklansky/Malmuth, and several other poker authors. In the last two years, they have published the three Dan Harrington books on Tournaments and the three books by Ed Miller which have become the new classics for Introduction to Holdem, Limit Holdem, and No Limit cash game Holdem.

The 2 + 2 website contains a discussion forum divided up into many sections to fit particular poker interests such as; small stakes, internet, tournaments, etc. This is known as a serious set of discussion forums. Many excellent poker players and thinkers post here along with poker authors. It is a "moderated" forum and any spam or abusive posting is quickly deleted.

The newest feature is the "2+2 Internet Magazine". Several new poker related essays (articles) are posted each month and there is a separate forum just to discuss them.

I have been reading and posting on the 2 + 2 site since 1998 and recommend it to anyone wanting to increase their poker knowledge.

Hint -- or easiest use of 2+2 forums. Go to the "My Home" section and under the "Main Configuration", click on "Edit - Display Preferences". Under the Default Display Mode, select "Flat Mode" and under the Default View, select "Collapsed Topics".

Thanks, Kurosh !

Kurosh did all the work. He researched the various blog sites and picked this one. He set up his blog and reading it got me interested.

Take a peek; www.kuroshd.blogspot.com His blog is a little more dark, serious and introspective than this one.

Ahh - the things you can learn from a college guy 1/3 your age.

First Blog Post

Welcome to the Blogosphere. "We've been expecting you."

As usual, I'm a year or two behind the technology. But the "blog phenomenon" seems to have really taken off in the last few months. So lets give it a try.

This one will contain lots of different poker related information. Resources, recommendations, stories, links, gossip, etc. Your comments and contributions are welcome.