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We had a little technical difficulty editing this week's show, so it won't be posted tonight. We're hopeful it'll be posted around noon on Thursday. Sorry to delay the Ante Up! fix for all you junkies. We'll get it up ASAP. Thanks!
- SCOTT
We are so overexposed to No Limit Texas Hold 'Em poker that I bet a lot of the Ante Up! Nation doesn't even realize that most of the players you think are NLHE players actually prefer other games. Jennifer Harman? She's the best Limit Hold Em player in the world, and she has her own Stud/8 table on Full Tilt. Daniel Negreanu's best game? Stud/8. Same for 2004 World Champ Greg Raymer. Mike "The Mouth" Matusow? You may think NLHE is his game, but he's an Omaha/8 junkie, and even has a bracelet in that event! Cyndy Violette? She started as a stud specialist. Ted Forrest is a Razz/Stud genius and his NLHE game has only come on just recently. Howard Lederer? He prefers Limit Hold Em, he says it's his best game.
They call Mike Caro the Mad Genius of Poker, but you probably only know him from his TV appearances and Tells books. Caro is the best 5-card Draw poker player in the history of the game. He makes Wild Bill look like a donk!
So it got me to thinking, what are the favorite games of the Ante Up! Nation? Are there any surprises? And defend you choice. We know that No Limit Hold Em is the "Cadillac of Poker" but do you agree? My favorite game now is Razz. Maybe it's because I'm a simpleton, but I like the purity of it. Stud/8 is growing on me, and of course I still prefer to play NLHE for larger stakes, but when it comes to a game that I really enjoy, it has to be Razz. There's no real deception until 6th Street, and at that point you're probably going to the end anyway. I'm a meat-and-potatoes-kinda guy.
What's the Ante Up! Nation have to say?
-- Chris
P.S. I know a lot of you are DYING TO KNOW what Sharkey looks like, so I posted a shot of him on the Photo Gallery.
I know what you might've thought when you read the title of this post, but no, I'm not bringing up my old discussion: Why play for real money when you can play for fun? This isn't that conversation.
I have to admit, I'm comfortable playing Razz, Hold Em, Stud/8 and even Omaha for cash, but I just don't feel too comfortable with O8B just yet. If I'm playing HORSE or our home game I'll play O8B because it's only for like 10 minutes, but I won't sit down and play it solely. Hell I sat down with Andy Bloch and played the game at $1-2 and came out a winner.
So, on Sunday I was waiting to leave for a family function when I logged on to FTP and played a little O8B with play money. I've been reading Bobby Baldwin's O8B chapter in Super System 2 over and over again and wanted to play some before I had to go. As I sat there someone typed in: Are you THE willhopper? And I laughed and said Yes. Turns out he was a listener with whom I have a mutual friend. So we talked and talked about poker, the show and O8B. I told him how I pretty much despised split games but now that I like Stud/8 I thought I should try to improve my O8B game. He talked about how much he liked the game and that there were TONS of fish out there. He said he was going to start playing for real money soon. I could tell he really had a lot of confidence. So today I came into the office and he had sent me an email that basically said he got his butt handed to him playing $.25-$.50 O8B. I chuckled and emailed him back, saying play money is never the same as real money. If it were, I'd be a multimillionaire!!! But I'm sure it'll just take him a few sessions to get his "legs" and adjust.
And that brings me to the reason for this post: Have any of you had that overwhelming experience when you made the jump? Would you advise against playing with play money and why? What was your first experience like playing for real money? In case you lived in a cave for the past 89 episodes, I had some very good success making the transition, winning my first-ever B&M tourney (A 30-player Turbo at Derby Lane) and I cashed in my first MTT Internet tournament, finishing 4th in a 120 player event on PokerRoom. I did well right off the bat and never really looked back, but occasionally I like to use play money because it's less stressful and I can try out different strategies or learn different games without taking a bankroll hit.
What say you?
-- Chris
I need to understand if I'm an idiot on this hand, as XFREEBIRDX says I am. Actually, what he would say later is "Your a idiot" so maybe I shouldn't hold too much credence in his evaluation. Of course, being an editor I had to correct him by typing in "Don't you mean You're an idiot, Idiot?" LOL! He essentially accused me of being a donkey and a river rat. He said it was a "good chase" (dripping with sarcasm). I was hoping to run this hand past Fatso, but he's too busy donking off all of his money in LA. If anyone out there can give me an analysis I'd appreciate it. I know it's Stud/8 and not a lot of the Ante Up! Nation plays this game, but give it a shot if you will, Thanks.
$1/$2 Ante $0.20 - Limit Seven Card Stud Hi/Lo (I removed the lines about posting antes and the folds)
Seat 1: foo flaw ($47.15)
Seat 3: willhopper ($44.40) <---- I just took down a small pot but have been projecting a tight image.
Seat 4: XFREEBIRDX ($68.55)
Seat 5: trauts ($39.35)
Seat 6: GaryBMe ($31.65)
Seat 7: BassoProfundo ($28.85)
Seat 8: MillerAtl ($34.75)
*** 3RD STREET ***
Dealt to foo flaw [5h]
Dealt to willhopper [7d 6h] [4s] <---- I have three to a 76, and three to a straight. Cardinal rule of Stud/8 is play hands that can scoop. Also, the only cards behind me that can help my low are the 5 and the A. The 6 and 4 help me avoid duplication, like in Razz.
Dealt to XFREEBIRDX [4d]
Dealt to trauts [9d]
Dealt to GaryBMe [Qc]
Dealt to BassoProfundo [Ac]
Dealt to MillerAtl [6s]
XFREEBIRDX is low with [4d]
XFREEBIRDX brings in for $0.25
BassoProfundo calls $0.25
MillerAtl calls $0.25
foo flaw folds <----This is the 5 so that's good that he's out.
willhopper calls $0.25 <----There's an ace 6 and 4 with low possibilities, so I'll proceed cautiously.
*** 4TH STREET ***
Dealt to willhopper [7d 6h 4s] [5d] <---- BINGO! I'm openended and drawing to a 76 or better.
Dealt to XFREEBIRDX [4d] [4c] <----Hmm, if he's going low this hurts him. If he has a pair under there I better get my straight or low. I don't put him on a 4 since I have one and he has two.
Dealt to BassoProfundo [Ac] [Jd] <--- Probably didn't help.
Dealt to MillerAtl [6s] [7h] <----I'm showing 45 and he'd have to be nearly perfect in the hole to be beating me. So I'll continue to play cautiously.
XFREEBIRDX bets $1 <----OK, so he's repping two pair or trips. I can beat that with any 8 or 3, which I still haven't seen so 8 outs for a straight, and a boatload for the low.
BassoProfundo folds <----I kinda expected that.
MillerAtl calls $1 <----Of course
willhopper calls $1<----Maybe I should raise? Nah, I'm not in the right position for that. If I were in Miller's spot I probably would've to force the low draw to call two bets cold.
*** 5TH STREET ***
Dealt to willhopper [7d 6h 4s 5d] [Th] <----BRICK!
Dealt to XFREEBIRDX [4d 4c] [Kd] <----Probably didn't help.
Dealt to MillerAtl [6s 7h] [As]<----Now it gets interesting.
XFREEBIRDX bets $2 <----protecting his two pair/trips.
MillerAtl calls $2 <----Probably has 4 to a low now. By not raising I don't think he's there yet.
willhopper calls $2<----At this point there's almost 10 bucks in the pot so I'm getting 5-1 on my money to hit a straight and a low.
*** 6TH STREET ***
Dealt to willhopper [7d 6h 4s 5d Th] [Qh] <----DOH! What the hell?!
Dealt to XFREEBIRDX [4d 4c Kd] [8s]<----That couldn't have helped.
Dealt to MillerAtl [6s 7h As] [Td]<----He's still not there. At this point I think that earlier ace paired him.
XFREEBIRDX bets $2
MillerAtl calls $2
willhopper calls $2 <----Now I'm getting nearly 8-1 on my money.
*** 7TH STREET ***
Dealt to willhopper [7d 6h 4s 5d Th Qh] [8c]<----Made my low and my straight.
XFREEBIRDX bets $2
MillerAtl calls $2
willhopper raises to $4 <----I figure my 8 low is borderline, but it is a low, and I think Miller has to catch perfect to beat me. But I have to think my straight is good. If not I'm hoping I win at least half, so I raised just in case Miller made an 87 this might get him to fold. Probably not, but I tried.
XFREEBIRDX calls $2
MillerAtl calls $2
*** SHOW DOWN ***
willhopper shows [8c 7d 4s 5d Th Qh 6h] (a straight, Eight high - 8,7,6,5,4)
XFREEBIRDX shows [9c 4h 4d 4c Kd 8s 2c] (three of a kind, Fours)<--- He did have trips!
MillerAtl mucked [Ad Kc 6s 7h As Td 3h] - HI: a pair of Aces<----So I was right.
willhopper wins the high pot ($14.20) with a straight, Eight high
willhopper wins the low pot ($14.20) with 8,7,6,5,4
After I scooped this pot (which gave me a positive outcome for the day, woo-hoo! I went on to scoop two more too!) XFreebirdX starts saying I'm a chaser and "Keep playing that way." etc. I thought to myself, "Am I really supposed to lay down an openended 7 draw?" If I catch a 3 I have a 76543. If I catch an ace or deuce I think I have the best low and am freerolling for the 8 or 3. Maybe I am a donk like that picture. Any thoughts?
-- Chris
Last night I had one of those up-and-down nights that ended UP so that was cool. I know my posts have been long lately so I'll try to keep this brief, or at least not too long. LOL!
I started playing microlimit Stud/8 and was down about $10 when a seat at $2-4 opened (I still think I can beat it), but that was a debacle as khanwoman and C furbee can attest to (They were spying on me, LOL!). My draws never got there, and even when I'd make a 7 someone would make a better 7. I lost about $30 before I moved over to a NL Hold 'Em $.25-$.50 table. Immediately I won about $30 when I gambled with A♣9♣ with the nut flush draw. A guy pushed with K♥K♠ and I called and hit a 2♣ on the river. If I had lost that hand I would've been done for the week (a la my epiphany). A few hands later in the BB I had 7♥5♥ (it may have been diamonds but that pip is real tempermental in TypePad). No one raised and the flop came J♥7♣8♠. I checked, as did everyone else. The turn was another 7. I checked to trap and finally someone bet about $3. I made it $9 and he was the only caller. The river was a 5♣ for a full house. I bet $20-ish and he pushed the rest of his stack. I called and he turned over 7♠6♥. Then he types in "Nice catch" I said "Thank you" and he typed in "LOSER" and I said "I am a loser. But with that pot I am now a winner." He left. And C furbee was watching and he typed in "nh" Finally I win a big pot when someone from the Ante Up! Nation is watching! Earlier when I donked off my stack in Stud/8 and khan/furbee were there I was like "Damn, can't I ever drag a pot in front of the listeners?" So after about 15 minutes I went from $50 to $120.
I logged off with a nice profit and watched TV for the rest of the night. Then I got back on around midnight to see if anyone I knew was playing, but that's when I saw Andy Bloch at $1-2 HORSE. The waiting list was only 6. I played Stud/8 while I waited and was up a coupla bucks when my seat came open. I bought in for only $40 and had a lot of fun. I took down two pots from Andy in Razz and Stud/8 and he took down two pots from me in Hold 'Em (A♥Q♥ vs. 8♥8♠ and I flopped the nut flush draw too!) and O8B, but my pots were larger. LOL! He was real cool and it was a lot of fun. I left with a profit of around $11. I was going to go to sleep when I happened to glance at the $.25-$.50 NLHE tables again. It was 1:30 a.m. At one short-handed table the pots were averaging like $12 so I said "Hmmm, that looks juicy." I sat down and literally during the first orbit this hand transpired:
Full Tilt Poker Game #1854188352: Table Key Vista (6 max) - $0.25/$0.50 - No Limit Hold'em - 1:39:26 ET <----- I should be sleeping! - 2007/02/23
Seat 1: willhopper ($48.50)
Seat 2: smithroger_777 ($100.30)
Seat 3: brisavio2002 ($40)
Seat 4: HGreener ($50)
Seat 5: RJH080 ($75.45)
Seat 6: Xiadow ($47)
smithroger_777 posts the small blind of $0.25
brisavio2002 posts the big blind of $0.50
The button is in seat #1
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to willhopper [Ah Ts]
HGreener folds
RJH080 raises to $1
Xiadow folds
willhopper calls $1 <--- I have position and I noticed on the first coupla hands this RJH guy bluffed so I just called.
smithroger_777 folds
brisavio2002 calls $0.50
*** FLOP *** [Kd Ac Tc] <---- Top and bottom pair, but Broadway's possible and a flush looms.
brisavio2002 checks
RJH080 bets $3.25
willhopper raises to $13 <---- At this point I want to find out if he has the ace and how big it is.
brisavio2002 folds
RJH080 calls $9.75 <---- Hmmm
*** TURN *** [Kd Ac Tc] [3c]
RJH080 checks <---- Interesting. Is that check because he's worried? Or is he drawing? Did he hit it and now he wants me to keep betting? What to do?
willhopper bets $21 <---- I don't believe he has a flush, given his nature to bluff I think we would've either bet more on the flop, or re-raised me. But, I don't have a club, so I need to force him to a decision. There was a little more than $20 in there, did I overbet?
RJH080 calls $21 <---- DOH! What does he have? I think the call here means he has a decent club but not two. If he has the flush he wouldn't want me to make a boat so I think he would've pushed it.
*** RIVER *** [Kd Ac Tc 3c] [6s]
RJH080 checks <--- Hmmm.
willhopper checks <--- Pot is big enough, and I don't want to risk him coming over the top and then I have to make a decision.
*** SHOW DOWN ***
willhopper shows [Ah Ts] (two pair, Aces and Tens)
RJH080 mucks <--- YES! So I typed in "AdQc?" and he never responded. I just couldn't put him on any other hand. So I checked the hand history.
willhopper wins the pot ($68.25) with two pair, Aces and Tens
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot $71.25 | Rake $3
Board: [Kd Ac Tc 3c 6s]
Seat 1: willhopper (button) showed [Ah Ts] and won ($68.25) with two pair, Aces and Tens
Seat 5: RJH080 mucked [5c Js] - Ace King high <---- WHAT??? So he called $9.75 more to try to hit a gutshot, then picked up a VERY LOW flush draw and called $21 on the turn? Sick. I may not have bet this perfectly, but if this guy hits his Queen/Club he gets rewarded for the worst play ever. I'm not complaining, because this is how we make our money, but what the hell was he thinking? This is the type of stuff that makes people quit for months on end, not that I know people like that. 8-) Besides, I'm a different player now, and I haven't had a losing session since "The Epiphany!"
Overall it was a good session that went up, down, up and up again. And I got to play with the WSOP $50K HORSE runner-up and I came out ahead! Woo-hoo!!
-- Chris
It's time for another Ante Up! recap. This week's main topic centered around No Limit: A Search for the American Dream on the Poker Tournament Trail and an interview with the star and producer of the movie, Susan Genard. But first, there were some other things we needed to talk about.
HAVE ANOTHER ONE SCOTT: It seems our co-host had one too many at the laptop recently and spilled his barley and hops all over the keyboard. At first there were no problems, but then everything died. He later learned he should've used a hair dryer to dry the keyboard. But since Mr. Lang doesn't usually HAVE a need for a hair dryer I suggested he use his Flowbee!
AIPS STUD RECAP: We discussed the tournament and how we each fared. For results, etc. go here. One of the main points was how we each played rolled up hands. I failed miserably and Scott flourished, which could have meant the difference between him cashing and me going out 4 from the money. Rolled-up trips was a common theme this week.
ANTE UP MEETUP: Don't forget, if you are in the L.A. area, Scott and Fatso will be at the Commerce on Saturday (2/24/07) and they have a Home Game table set aside for the Ante Up! Nation. They'll meet you in the Arena Sports Bar at 5:30 and then you can take their money at the table at 6. Don't forget, Scott raises with suited connectors and Fatso hates it when you check-raise him.
WHEN GREGARIOUS = FUNNY: Turns out one of our listeners, Lou, was impressed with Scott's attempt at higher education, but he felt Scott used the word GREGARIOUS too many times. So, like Gambit did for me, Lou gave Scott a list of alternatives. Let's see if Scott can pronouce these bad boys! Hilarity ensues!
EPASSPORT: We've decided we can't possibly endorse this e-wallet. It has given the Ante Up! Nation major headaches, and the clincher was when it charged one of our listeners, Steve, NOT ROB, $15 for uncollected web funds.
LEFT VS. RIGHT: No, this isn't a political topic, per se, but rather, we find out that Scott has a lot in common with the "great" minds of this country as it pertains to telling the difference between your left and your right. So sad, so very sad.
UPC DYING? We learned that Binion's will continue to hold the Ultimate Poker Challenge at its casino, but it won't be broadcasting them. The culprit: The evil UIGEA, of course! The companies that funded the UPC's broadcast were mostly online poker sites, and you know what's going on there. Is this the beginning of the end for the WPT and WSOP on TV as well?
OMM: Our good friend Columbo gave us a Triple Draw hand a coupla weeks ago and we all agreed he was ahead going into the last draw. Although some of our strategy differed, we pretty much were on the same page. Always great to get a hand that's not hold 'em.
MAIN TOPIC: It was short notice, but the producer and star of No Limit agreed to let us interview her, and we had a lot of fun. Susan Genard is quite the poker player, but she's also accomplished in film. Check out Camden Pictures as well. She answered a lot of our questions and was very honest about the whole experience. You can buy the movie on Amazon or here. Sadly she couldn't stick around for Hand of the Week, but we managed. LOL! One of Scott's favorite parts of this movie is the fact that Susan plays Stud/8 and O8B on her run. No limit hold 'em is nowhere to be found in No Limit, and that irony is not lost on her. My favorite part was probably her conversation with an ESPN exec. I won't spoil it, but man, she wasn't happy! And, of course, the movie features interviews with more than 40 pros and personalities, including Doyle Brunson and a virtually-unknown-at-the-time Kenna James, and those interviews are very telling. It's a cool movie that already has won an award at the Australian International Film Festival and they'll be in Miami for the Underground Film Festival on March 8.
HOTW: Our hand of the week was provided by Khanwoman and it came from our AIPS Stud event. It's one of those brutal hands where you're rolled-up and can't get rid of the chaser. We had some alternative plays for her, but there really wasn't much she couldn't do until 5th street.
-- Chris
I have to admit when I first heard about Doyle's Room pulling out of the American market I got a little nervous and upset. I mean, I sat with the man at Foxwoods and asked him about "fighting the good fight" and he talked about how things were going well there and that he's now a Democrat and that he'll basically do whatever he can to fight the current administration. So then what happened? Some of my "sources" tell me it's the software provider (Tribeca) that turned yella and ran the other way. I find it hard to believe that Doyle, who used to have men with guns on the roof of his home game, is afraid of the U.S. Government here. And I don't believe that "Doyle Arrested!" rumor had anything to do with this.
But the silver lining here is that Doyle's Room still thought of the poker player first by contacting Full Tilt and arranging a way to move your funds and points over there. This says two things to me: Full TIlt told Doyle "We're not going anywhere!" and that Doyle still cares about the game first and foremost. I think it means that FTP is going to fight this to the bitter end because Doyle wouldn't want his players to go there only to have FTP close down next week.
What do you think of this latest development?
-- Chris
This past weekend my wife and I emptied the TiVo and were in search of something to watch. I suggested Rounders, and she graciously acquiesced. Jeanne rocks! During the film I remarked that what I loved most about the film were the little things that made you understand, as a poker player, that the writers, etc. knew a little bit about poker. What am I talking about? The use of Arrow KEM cards at KGB's place. ... the Caro's Tells video box ... the original Super/System book. ...Or when Mikey says "Premium hands." to Worm as he's getting out of the car enroute to the trustfund-baby game. ... Worm calling chips "Towers of checks", etc. It's these little things that mean nothing to the general public but tell us that they knew what they were doing and get us that much more involved and appreciative of the movie. I'm no Cineaste, but that's how I feel.
However, upon further review, there were some glaring errors (at least I think they were) that you pick up on as well. Here are some of the ones I saw:
♠ In the middle of the night, after Jo packs up her crap and leaves, Worm convinces Mike to go to A.C. to "check-raise stupid tourists." And how do they get there? They have some little midsize sedan. Where did this vehicle come from? We know Worm doesn't have a car cuz he just got out of prison, and only a coupla days earlier Mike had to beg Jo for the Jeep to go pick up Worm because he doesn't have a car either. So, did they rent this car? In the middle of the night in Manhattan? Unlikely. And since they have very little funds and no credit cards I'm sure they couldn't get a rental car anyway.
♠ Mike is penniless when he goes to his professor for money. "If it must be tonight, then ten is the best I can do." the prof says. So he writes him a check. Obviously he doesn't go to a bank because, again, it's the middle of the night. So where does he go? To one of those sleezy all-night "Checks Cashed Here" joints. You don't really think an establishment like that would cash a $10K check and not charge a fee right? They don't just stay open to make even-money exchanges. So, if he has ZERO dollars on him after that State Police debacle, how does he buy in vs. KGB for an even $10K? Which leads me to my next point.
♠ There's a subtle line from Mike after he beats KGB for the first $10K and returns to the table. He says "Feel free to re-buy at any point." Without the presence of this line my next fault in the movie isn't as concrete. After he leaves the joint he has about $60K. But during the clips, KGB's lines make you believe that Mikey was down to almost nothing when he discovers the world's worst tell. "You must be kicking yourself ... for not walking out when you could. Bad judgment." Are we to believe that not only did he come back from being down to almost nothing, but then Teddy bought in again for another $20K? We really should've seen this transaction. It feels incomplete to me. But again, this isn't an error, per se, but still that aforementioned subtle line has to cover a lot of chips.
♠ The State Trooper scene wreaks for a few reasons: I really find it hard to believe that hard-working cops in Upstate New York are playing $20-$40 stud. Even if these guys were making $1K a week, which you know state cops in the late '90s wouldn't be making that kind of cash, the buy-in for the game would be their entire paycheck (and don't even get me started on taxes). Do they really think we believe these jokers are playing $40 a bet? Also, I find it hard to believe they would kick the hell out of these guys the way they did and then take their money. They are, after all, cops (and it's not LA). And in this scene, why don't they burn cards? I never see anyone burn in the stud hands during this movie, yet we all know you should do it. Some people don't know this fact, but when you're playing for thousands of dollars, I'm sure they'd be burning.
♠ Speaking of stud hands, the judges game cracks me up: When they ask Mike to tell them what they are holding he says: "Well, you were looking for that third three, but you forgot that Professor Green folded it on Fourth Street, and now you're representing that you have it." Why is this a mistake? Mike came in and they were already on Sixth Street. He couldn't possibly know what happened on Fourth Street. This may be a product of poor editing, but nonetheless, the statement rings false.
♠ In the golf pros game, the guy does one of those "I call your bet ... and raise you the pot limit kiddo." And we all know what's wrong with that statement. Mike would say no string-raising.
♠ As he said on our show, Johhny Chan would never ask some blond punk if he "had it" at the table.
♠ When Worm cashes out at the Chesterfield Club, there's NO WAY Petra lets Worm, a convicted felon, leave with the $2,000 credit on top of the $8K "white meat." And, she'd never let the juice run on Mike because Worm says so. She'd need to hear it from Mike.
♠ And finally, Knish's truck. What the hell is this truck anyway? Is it a floating job that Mike can pick up and leave whenever he needs it? And if so, do these stores that he delivers to go without supplies when Mikey decides to change his mind and not deliver anymore? And who's he delivering for? And who's job did he just steal out of the thin air like that? Knish plays poker for a living, so why does he have a truck that's just sitting there that Mike can use to fill this made-up job delivering goods for some made-up company to stores that never had his services to begin with? Very odd.
These are just the poker/life mistakes I found, but for a list of overall goofs go here.
But I still LOVE the movie! What did you find right/wrong with Rounders?
-- Chris
As promised, I am reporting back after playing in Gambit's home game. Mark rolled out his new chips and new table for the occasion, and it's a sweet setup. I'm glad he got rid of the St. Andrews putting green because my arm used to get real tired dealing stud to players sitting in Sarasota and Citrus counties. LOL! And in honor of the new chips, Mark and the gang agreed to up the cash-game limits ($1-2 from $.50-$1) and buy-in ($40 from $20) and the tournament buy-in increased, too ($20+$5 bounties from $15+$5). We got started around 8 p.m. and played shorthanded until Pat Booth and another player arrived. Pat had a nice night, and I never called him grandma! (LOL!) But before he got there I was having a solid night, racing out to a profit of about $25 after about 35-40 minutes. I lost a few hands and chased too many in Omaha/8 (I never make a hand in that game it seems) and by the time the tournament rolled around at 10:30 I had a profit of exactly $10. Shorthanded play seems to be my specialty, or at least I should learn to just fold O8B hands that aren't drawing to the nuts when we're 8-handed. But I still made a profit so I wasn't too disappointed in the fact that I gave some of my winnings back. However, if I didn't win any money in the tournament I would have posted my first losing session in Gambit's game, so I really was focused in the NLHE tournament.
I had yet to cash in Gambit's tourney, going out 5th twice, so needless to say I was itching for a good performance. I drew Seat 4, and Gambit was on my left. I really liked my spot at this table, but let me tell you, having Gambit on my left isn't easy. He makes me sweat every button raise, and this is a product of past tournaments because he has seen me make moves to steal his blinds. So he doesn't ever want to believe me when I bring it in for 3X BB. Anyway, fairly early on I picked up A♣5♣ in the SB and a fairly aggressive player had limped in MP. The blinds were still 25-25 and I had about my original buy-in of 1,500. Gambit checked and the flop came A♥J♣7♣. I had top pair and the nut-flush draw. I checked, Gambit checked and the semi-aggressive player bet 100 into a 75-unit pot. I raised to 300 and Gambit folded. The MP called and the turn was a Q♠. I bet out 300 again and he called. The river was a 5♥, giving me aces-up. At this point I think I should've just bet 300 again, but instead I went all-in, thinking he was married to his pocket pair or queens and he mucked, disgusted. He admited he had a club draw, including the Q♣, and I assured him he didn't want to get there. If only the K♣ had come on the river! So this little cushion allowed me to be patient since the blind structure is nice and slow. I was fairly happy with my reading ability, more than once putting Gambit on EXACTLY the two cards he had, and he even remarked "That's why you have a poker podcast!"
I stayed quiet for a bit, but then the hand that propelled my into the stratosphere and allowed me to play the way I like was a hand that I needed a lot of luck on and I honestly felt terrible about it. A very solid player raised UTG to 300 (the blinds were 50-100 I think) and I looked down at Q♠Q♥. I had about 1,800 in chips and I figured the right reraise here is 3X his raise, but if I am willing to bet 900 here, leaving me just 900 and committing 50% of my stack, I figured why not push? I'm only beat by two hands. So I decided to push and give 10-10 or an AK or AQ something to think about. It folded around to the raiser and he called with K♠K♥! D'oh! Another tournament debacle! He even had my suits covered. The flop came all rags and I was getting ready to pay him off when the sweetest Q♣ I have ever seen peeled off on the turn. I SUCKED OUT! I really felt so bad, almost embarrassed. He was pretty upset, and I had knocked him out of the last tournament we had played together so I'm sure that made it sting even more.
Well, that pot made me a massive chipleader and I started putting the heat on everyone, knocking players out one by one. As it got close to the money, everyone tightened up and I used my stack to expose that, picking up blinds and small pots. And that's when one hand came up that I'll never forget. Remember when I mentioned Gambit HATES to fold to my button raises? Well this was a doozy. I actually had slipped a little from the massive lead I had and at one point surrendered the chip lead, so this hand couldn't have come at a better time. Again, we were close to the money and people had tightened up. I looked down at 5♦ 3♦. With the blinds 100-200 I raised on the button to 600. Again Gambit made me sweat and if he had re-raised I probably would've mucked, but he just called. The BB folded, so I was happy about that. The flop came 7-8-9 rainbow and he checked. I checked behind and here's why: I had a gutshot and figured if I pushed he might've hit that 9, calling my preflop raise with a K9-type of hand. So I took the free card, knowing if I hit the 6 he would bet out and I'd probably get the rest of his stack (unless he had a 10, which was possible, but I didn't put him on that). Another thought that ran through my head was Gambit had done well in the cash game, so if he lost his buy-in here he might not be too disappointed, so he might call an all-in with top pair, hoping to double-up. So, I saw the turn, which was a 4♥, putting two hearts up there, too. He bet, but it was 600 into a 1,400 pot and I didn't think that was a terribly confident bet. So I decided if I called, it would look like I was on a flush draw. Essentially, I felt like I had a ton of outs: Any heart (for bluffing), any 6 (for my straight) and any really high card (after all I did raise preflop so I could represent it). So I looked at it like I was getting 3.5-to-1 on my money to hit a bunch of outs. When the A♥ hit the river I got all of my perfect bluffing cards giftwrapped in one. He checked and I knew I had him. I needed to find a number that would cut deeply into his stack, but look like I wanted to get paid off. I counted out 1,000 chips and slid them out. Mark thought long and hard and eventually folded. I turned over the 5♦ 3♦ and everyone was in shock. I'm sure Gambit saw those two cards in his nightmares last night (or this morning as the case was). Sorry Gambit. This play paid off later because people thought I was always bluffing after that so they were calling my raises and then folding under the heat when I would bet out with a pair.
There were seven players in the tournament, and I knocked out every player but one (Gambit knocked out Pat), and when my KQ made a pair of queens on the river I knocked out the bubble boy to put me and Gambit in the money. Ultimately I eliminated Gambit in third place when my J♠7♠ turned a flush and beat Gambit's top pair. When we got heads-up I had at least a 6-to-1 chip lead and on the first hand I picked up K♠10♠. I pushed and he instacalled with K♥7♥. The flop: 9♥3♠10♣. So he needed runner-runner straight or flush cards (or running sevens) and when the 8♥ came he picked up nine outs, but the river was a Q♣ (see photo, I have my "got razz?" shirt on!) and I had my first victory in the Gambit Invitational. I have to admit, I hadn't won a SNG in ages (of course I don't play in them at all either, but when I did play I hadn't done well) so this felt pretty sweet.
As you can see by the time stamp on the photo it was 1:31 a.m. so I was a little tired and loopy. I was so happy, and when I saw all of the chips and the final cards on the table, I just HAD to have the traditional WSOP photo taken! Gambit picked up his robotic dog and took a snapshot (OK, it wasn't a robotic dog, it was his PDA). Since my latest epiphany means I likely won't ever do this for real at the WSOP in Vegas, I have to take advantage of these opportunities whenever I can! LOL!
All told, I knocked out 5 players ($25 in bounties), won the tournament ($80 - $20 buy-in = $60) and I made $10 in the cash game for a total of $95. I had a lot of fun. Not sure when the next home game is, but this certainly feels good, and if I combine it with my Derby Lane performance last week, I have completely erased the debacle on Full Tilt and have turned a profit. Not too bad.
-- Chris
Hey there,
If you played in AIPS Stud last night and visited the Chat Room you may have learned that Ante Up! was voted the No. 1 podcast by the Chicago Poker Club. Here's the link. I'd like to thank CPC and, of course, J_Chitown (ChicagoJason) for this honor. Knowing that shows like Bluff, Rounders and The Circuit are out there, it's a real feather in our cap to notch this accolade!
As for the stud tournament last night, I was happy with my performance, and I walked on the edge a few times. I got eliminated in 20th place by eventual champ C Furbee (Congrats buddy!) when my queens-up lost to his Aces-up on the river. D'oh! I was very impressed with the overall turnout (90) and with a lot of the play, including Blazman, who was soliciting advice THAT MORNING on how to play stud. Very impressive, and he's the frontrunner for POY!!! One other impressive stat: The five guys from our homegame who played last night all finished in the Top 25.... not too shabby!
Tonight is Gambit's homegame so I'm really looking forward to playing on his new table with his new clay chips! Plus, they are upping the limits, so that's cool. I'll report sometime during the weekend how it goes.
-- Chris
Congratulations to C Furbee, who wins the second AIPS II banana as champion of the Stud event, which drew 90 entrants.
C furbee took down the title with Queens full of Aces against MrShock's 7-7. And props to Blazman, last event's champion, who finished 3rd. Is he this year's heffmike?
Bounties go to:
Blazman (Scott, 7th place)
C furbee (Chris, 20th place)
Ersatz Santiag0 (Fasso, 25th place, Columbo, 36th place)
NEXT EVENT: PL Omaha Hi, Saturday, March 10th, Noon Eastern
Click here for the Player of the Year standings. (Special thanks to Ante Up! scorekeeper Gambit for compiling them and the first bananahead of the year Blazman for hosting the results).
Click here for the schedule and all the info on AIPS II events. We'll update it as we set dates for future events, and recognize champions. (This link is also permanently posted on the right-hand side of the blog with all the other important links).
- SCOTT
Our main topic for Show #88 was GREAT POKER LINES, but before we could get into that, Scott just HAD to tell everyone about his plush Orlando Timeshare that he mooches off his parents. And, apparently, he thinks golfers make great poker players (How quickly he forgets Rounders!) He did take time out to swallow a dictionary this past weekend, however.
CHRIS' EPIPHANY: I have come to the conclusion that I'm never going to be a Daniel Negreanu. I had aspirations of becoming a pro at this game some day (or at least a semipro), but I now realize it should be ONLY a hobby. So I've decided my entertainment is worth $50 a week, and if I lose it, then that's it for the week. If I win, the bankroll will continue to grow. But I'll never put an average of more than $50 a week at stake. That means, if I want to play in the home game (and the buy-in is almost always $100 for me) then I can't play the week before (giving me $100 to play with). This self-realization has taught me that when the bad beats/suckouts come, it's not going to make a difference in my day-to-day life. If I lose my buy-in at the home game, at least I was entertained for a few hours and got to spend time with my goombas. My discipline will not be swayed. If I make enough money that at the end of the year I want to sock it away for something nice for me or my family, I'll spend it, knowing that I always only need $50 that week for my entertainment. Maybe I'll use my winnings to enter a big event such as the WSOP or WPT. Who knows?
ABSOLUTE POKER IS JAVA-RIFFIC! We haven't tested this yet, but Absolute Poker is offering a Java Client now, which means Mac geeks like me can play there. Here's a link to the story. Scott wants to put a bounty out on my head because I'm going to sign up there someday with a screen name that NO ONE will know. Good luck finding me!
CARDPLAYER VS. BLUFF: You can get the idea of what we talked about by going here. Suffice it to say we think both sides were wrong in their own way.
WSOP CHIPS FOUND! Six months later, the investigation into where the extra $2M in chips went during the 2006 WSOP main event has been half solved. Apparently Kevin O'Donnell was the beneficiary of $1M in chips after an unfortunate color-up incident. He never said anything, and ultimately Allen Cunningham got those from him. The big question we discussed was, if you came back and noticed the discrepency, would you pipe up? Now, where's that other million?
AIPS STUD: The second event in our series is Thursday (2/15) night at 9 ET on Full Tilt Poker. It's $5+.50 and the password is anteup. Can Chris make it to the second break?
OMM: Columbo dips into the wonderful world of Triple Draw again, and this time he has a made 86 but his oppopnent stood pat after just one draw. What to do? He also called in from England to give us a lesson on why you don't limp with AA. Thanks for the call Columbo! Don't forget, Columbo's blog is now linked over on the right-hand side of the blog.
TARGET ON YOUR BACK: Mike from Joyzey called to say he thought it would be interesting to talk about what it's like to have players gunning for you at the table because of who you are, and then once you lose some to a player, do you have a vendetta against that person to the point of detriment?
MAIN TOPIC: After watching a rerun of the Friends episode with all the poker, I was inspired to ask the Ante Up! Nation what some of your favorite poker lines were. We also compiled some of our own and had a lot of fun with it. To read the original post go here.
HAND OF THE WEEK: I enjoyed a fine session of Limit "No Fold Em" Hold Em at Derby Lane this past Saturday, and I made a steel wheel to boot. But then I got to wondering if I played it wrong. Since I didn't have time to ask Scott, who was off playing shuffleboard in an Orlando retirement community, I decided to ask him about it on the show. Of course he says I screwed it up! Here is the original post on the hand.
-- Chris
We here at Ante Up! get countless emails (OK, like 4) about music and poker. We are always being asked what songs we like to play poker to or what songs we recommend. When we go to Scott's house for the home game he always has some digital music channel playing (it's usually crap, but I'm not there to listen to music). Some songs people always think of is O.A.R.'s Crazy Game of Poker or Kenny Rogers' The Gambler. We may even do a show on this someday, but for now this is all I have to offer. Today an album is being released called Ricky Jay Plays Poker, and it includes Ramblin' Gamblin' Man by Bob Dylan and Turn the Cards Slowly by Patsy Cline. Click the link to check out the details. It may not be what you had in mind, but it's a start.
-- Chris
There's a rumor going around on the forums that Doyle Brunson was arrested at the Commerce over the weekend in L.A. It appears to be just a rumor, but here is where it originated. I really don't have much on this. I suppose I could call some of the pros that have been on the show or that I met in Foxwoods (WHY OH WHY DIDN'T I GET DOYLE'S NUMBER WHEN I HAD LUNCH WITH HIM?!?!), but I'm not sure they would know or comment anyway. If anyone hears more on this please post it here. If it's true, and then if it's related to Doyle's Room, this won't be good. But again, I have a feeling it's all rumor anyway.
UPDATE: So I went on MySpace thinking maybe I could get a hold of the man himself, and of course we all know it's probably not him on there just someone who has the authority to run his page. But here's his response to my email.
I love when people wake me up to stories like that.
No, i'm not in jail, i am fine.
Now i am going to rustle up some lunch.
Thanks for the concern, now go play some poker.
Tex Dolly-
What makes this interesting is the link that Gary provides in the comments mentions he was asleep and they were going to his house to wake him up to make sure he was OK. Also, whenever I have corresponded with Doyle's MySpace page they always signed it DB. This time it was signed Tex Dolly. Pretty funny. Was it him? Hmmmm..
-- Chris
After that online debacle the other night, I started questioning myself all over again. After all, I had only returned to online poker for about a month when that terrible night happened. But I quickly realized I did nothing wrong on the hands in question, and it was just one of those things (I hadn't had a losing session until then either). Plus, it wasn't like I lost a fortune, it was just so unexpected, like that straight-flush hand back in September. But I have to learn to accept hands like that and move on, otherwise I'll never be able to play this game. In the coming days (perhaps on the show) I'll reveal the epiphany I've had regarding me and poker, but for now I want to tell you about the 90 minutes I spent at Derby Lane on Saturday.
My wife and I had a tax appointment at 3:30 in Clearwater on Saturday, so there was no way I could play in the 1 p.m. tournament. I had some things to take care of in the morning so I thought I'd go to Derby Lane for a bit to get away from the computer and play with actual carbon-based lifeforms. Scott had the resolution to get more involved in the community, so I thought I'd start playing a little more at the B&M rooms, too (this will fit into my epiphany BTW). I always feel more comfortable there and I've had just two losing sessions in cash games at Derby Lane in more than 3 years. Plus, there are millions of people who'd kill to have a cardroom literally 10 minutes from their house (regardless of the $2 limits and ridiculous tournament rakes). So I feel I should take more advantage of it, especially if online play goes away someday.
I got there at 12:30 (the room opens at noon) and I knew I only had until 2-ish to play. I asked what games they were spreading: 7-Stud, O8B and Hold Em (as if there'd be anything else). But they only had seats open for Stud and Hold Em. And I know what you might be thinking: No Fold Em Hold Em? Run screaming the other way! And that's generally true. So I asked if there was any interest in Double Flop or Stud/8, but I was the first to ask so she put me on a list of interest. They were starting a new Hold Em table so I decided to play there until something opened in O8B or DF (there would be no Stud/8).
We got started at 12:40 and I won the first hand with AQ as only the blind called my raise (remember, there's only a BB at these cash tables in FL, no small blind). He folded when the flop came all rags and I bet out. So I was like, "Sweet! Maybe these guys will be tight and I'll run all over them!" LOL! That was the last of the folding to a postflop bet by everyone -- except me. And that was fine, because when they got real loose I got real tight and it paid off. I had bought in for $50 and never went under the initial buy-in. About 10 hands later, after taking a couple of small pots I looked down at A♣2♣ on the button. Just about everyone called preflop so I just called. The flop came 3♣4♣J♠. UTG bet out and everyone called. I thought about just calling, but if a club peeled off on the turn I figured they would know I was going for the flush and then I would lose them, so I had to get my extra bet in now to build a pot when it didn't look as fishy. (Scott says I don't get limit so maybe I played it wrong?) I made it $4 and everyone called. Now there was about $26 in the pot, and of course you know what I was thinking: Please, oh please, put the 5♣ up there. And when it showed up on the turn I didn't even blink an eye. Probably because even if this pot got capped all the way around for the rest of the hand it still would total half of the amount of an average NL pot in our home game. So I had the steel wheel, A♣2♣3♣4♣5♣, but I didn't have the nuts!! Someone could have the 6♣7♣! I dismissed that idea and just tried to make sure I maximized my money here. That's when the UTG bet out! I said to myself "If there is a poker god this guy has K♣9♣." So he got two callers, and when it got to me I figured if I made it $4 everyone would have to call one more bet with at least $34 already in there. I still sat there in the exact same position I was in when I turned the monster, never moving a muscle, and I made it $4. The UTG just called, as did everyone else. The river was a blank, and it was the one time in my life I was begging for the board to pair. But my prayers were answered with that 5♣ so I couldn't exactly ask for everything now could I? LOL! The UTG bet out again and he got one caller, then I made it $4 and the UTG made it $6! The other guy folded(?) and I woke up from my stoic posture and said "Cap it!" UTG called and proudly turned over K♣7♣. I slapped the A♣2♣ down and the dealer practically freaked: Straight flush!! Straight flush!! (Even after he left our table I could hear him telling the players at the next table "I just dealt a guy a straight flush at the other table!) He shipped me the $50+ pot and the old man who was UTG called me a son of a b, but in a playful manner. The lady next to the dealer told him she folded the 6♣7♣ and then the dealer told me that. I said, "No she didn't because the old man had the 7♣." She then said, "Oh, I meant last hand." I looked for meaning in that, but couldn't find any, so I just shrugged. I'm just happy the 6♣ didn't come on the river, otherwise I'd still be in jail waiting to make bail. LOL!
Before I knew it the time had reached 2:10 p.m. and I had to split. If I had more time I think I would've kept on killing that game, regardless of the No Fold Em Hold Em mentality. Tight is right in that structure as far as I'm concerned. I never had a showdown that I didn't win and I never saw the turn unless I had a made/powerful hand. There were actually a few hands that I folded preflop that would've won, too, but that didn't make me loosen up at all. I just played what I felt would succeed at this table/structure: suited aces, suited connectors and any two Broadway cards. If I could get in for one bet with a small pair I did, but I never flopped a set (the highest pair I was dealt was 99 and I had AK once). There was one hand where I had 2♠2♣ and the flop came K♠Q♠J♠. One guy bet out and another raised so I folded. When a 2 came on the turn I figured I still would have the worst hand had I stayed in. Turned out one guy had a king and the other guy had just the A♠. Neither improved and I would've won that pot with my set. But I'm not complaining. All in all it was a fine way to spend 90 minutes. Everyone at the table was nice, they weren't very good (which made them nicer, LOL) and when I left I had more than doubled my buy-in (add back in the tips and rake and I won about $80-$90, almost $1 a minute!!!). They never did get a Double Flop game going, and I never took my seat for O8B.
I do have one cute story I'd like to add, and then I have a question: When I was at Foxwoods this last time, I got a cool card protector, it's a silver dealer button like they used at the tables for the WPT's main event. So I brought it with me to Derby Lane. About two hands after my straight flush, this guy to my right said "That looks familiar." So I tossed the button to him and he said: "I have one of these. I got it from one of the players when I went there." I smiled and he tossed it back to me. Then he leaned over to the guy on his right and said "That guy played in a WPT main event!" After that everyone at the table was looking at me, etc. From that moment on it was like I had the most respect of anyone in the room. If I was in a pot in position, they generally checked to me. If I raised preflop not as many people stayed in, etc., or at least it felt that way (maybe I just have a big head? LOL!). Here's my question, and it's two-tiered: Would you have corrected the guy and said, "No I didn't play in the main event, I just got this from someone." or would you let them go on being intimidated? And my second part of this question is, if you choose the latter, are you worried they will be gunning for you? In this case they didn't gun for me, they "respected" me, but I could see it going the other way. What do you think?
-- Chris
BLOGS: Given that we are not the only poker blog in town, a lot of you expressed an interest in having all of the Ante Up! Nation's blogs located in one spot. So, thanks to Khanwoman for compiling the majority of them (I added a few I could think of as well) we now have a succinct list of Ante Up! blogs located on the right-hand side of the page. If more surface just email me and I'll add them. The one prerequisite is that it has to have poker content. Enjoy!
OUR FEED: It looks as though our RSS feed has finally been fixed. There was something wrong on our end but I have been assured it is okay now. I went on iTunes and Show 87 loaded. So, I hope you all can get it. Let me know if you're still having problems.
PHOTOS: In case you didn't see it in the post below, I added two shots to the gallery. One is of Gambit with us at the studio and the other is of Gambit's son giving you the staredown of a lifetime at the poker table.
-- Chris
I played on FTP last night and decided to finally play at a respectable $2-4 Stud/8 table. I had been doing very well at the lower limits and felt it was time to move up to what I am used to playing in the home game. I'm always skeptical about playing these limits online because anything can happen, but I have been dodging bad beats in Stud/8 because it's less volatile than say, hold 'em.
I was dealt (A♥2♥)4♥. The upcards here were fairly inconsequential so I'll just tell you what remained. There was a 3♣ (bring-in) I completed and a 9♠ called. So did the 3♣. On fourth street I picked up the 5♥ while the rest of the boards looked like this: 3♣K♥ and 9♠10♣. So, a GREAT card for me as I have four to the steel wheel, there's only one heart out that I can see and the only real downer is that there's a five gone. So the King checks and I bet $2. The 9♠10♣ raises to $4 and the king calls. I re-raise and the 9-10 caps it. The King and I both call. There's about $30 in the pot now. On fifth street I get the 6♥ while the rest of the boards looked like this: 3♣K♥4d(the diamond pip isn't working today) and 9♠10♣4♠. So I have an Ace-high flush, a made 6-low and I'm drawing to the perfect steel wheel. Again the King checks and I bet out. It gets capped again!!! So the pot is nearly $80!! Here are the boards after 6th street: Me: 4♥5♥6♥J♥; 3♣K♥4d7d; 9♠10♣4♠2♣. So I actually improved to an AJ flush, and with no pair or aces showing the king is first to act. He checks, I bet and it gets capped again!!! The pot is nearly $130!! The river comes a 7♠ for me. So I have a made 65-low and an AJ flush. But now the king bets out. At this point I have to wonder how he could do that since I have four hearts showing. He must have a good low, but could he have a wheel? So I just call, but I get whipsawwed as the betting gets reraised and then capped behind me, so of course I call, thinking I'm scooping or splitting. The pot was around $180, and this is $2-4!
Here were our final boards:
Me: A♥2♥4♥5♥6♥J♥7♠; (A2456-low, AJ flush for high) Ad,2d3♣K♥4d7d;5♣ (A2345 for low) and 9♠10♣4♠2♣A♠K♠8♠. (AK flush for high). Yep, I didn't even split. I lost nearly $60 on one hand that I was clearly the favorite to scoop. Want to know what makes this sting even more? Both guys said to each other that they got the aces on the river. Can you imagine? This decimated my bankroll to say the least. Could I have played this hand any differently? Could I have lost less? I was so shocked that I went over to play some no limit and I got sucked out over there for another $30 when my KK lost to A2 on the river. Not a good night.
-- Chris
PS: I added two photos to the gallery: One of Gambit's visit to the studio and the other of his son at the poker table.
I know this isn't exactly poker, but Anna Nicole Smith collapsed and died at one of our casinos, the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Hollywood, Fla. Unbelieveable! First her son, now her. What's going to happen to that little girl? This is very sad. I wasn't exactly a fan, but what a tragic end to her life. Apparently she spent a lot of time in that casino. Here is a very shocking image and story.
-- Chris
One of our listeners alerted us to this ongoing saga between CardPlayer and Bluff. Allegedly the CardPlayer crew caught a Bluff reporter copying live results off CardPlayer's Web site and then posted the results on the Bluff site. But instead of taking the high road and handling this mano e mano, CardPlayer decided to put out this video for all of the world to see.
As a journalist since 1989, I condemn anyone stealing anyone else's work, though I'm not exactly sure this could be construed as plagiarism, even if it did happen. But what really struck me as petty was CardPlayer's handling of this situation by putting out this childish, sophomoric video. I contacted Eric Morris, publisher of Bluff, and asked him for a comment. Here's what he wrote: "We are definitely aware of what happened and I can 100% tell you that our reporter did not copy and paste anything. Rich Belsky is a sleezy journalist (can't even call him that) who has no ethics."
He also sent me these links: Link 1, Link 2, Link 3. He ended his email with this: "To be honest Barry (Shulman), Belsky and CP absolutely disgust me!"
I emailed Rich Belsky telling him what I thought and said I would post this; he hasn't responded. So, what do you think? Was the Bluff reporter stealing? Was CP in the wrong for the video they posted, which, according to WPT rules, shouldn't have been allowed in the first place. Interesting stuff, no?
-- Chris
UPDATE: Chris is still working with the IT/Web people to fix the feed problem.
MAIN TOPIC
Gambit, a longtime listener, Ante Up scorekeeper, Ante Up home gamer and HumanSuperComputer, joined us to talk about how to juggle a family and poker. Gambit has a little one and a teen at home, while Chris has teens that come and go, as he says. Scott, well, he has a wife and a cat. Some of the things we discussed:
OTHER TOPICS
HOW CHRIS SPENDS HIS TIME: Chris' knowledge of poker minutia was ridiculed at the Ante Up home game, but was rewarded when we later found out, to our dismay, that he was actually right for once. When a 2,3,4,5 or 7 is dealt face up in Triple Draw 2-7 Lowball, the player keeps the card.
LOCAL ROOMS: Scott ranted about how crazy it is that players don't pay attention during live SNGs (mostly because he's bitter he didn't cash at Tampa Bay Downs). The next night, he hit Derby Lane, taking 14th in the Stud Hi/Lo tournament (no, no money) but enjoyed playing a little live stud8 with listener Scott Lewis from Toronto, one of a gang of Toronto co-workers who are part of the Ante Up! nation.
LA MEETUP: Details of Fasso/Scott's meetup with listeners from the Los Angeles area were revealed. Full details on the Feb. 24 "home game" at Commerce are posted in a previous blog entry.
AIPS STUDS: Don't forget AIPS II's next event, Stud, on Feb. 15. All the details are on the link at the right.
MYWEBATM: We debated the virtues of the new MyWebATM payment processor. Bottom line: Fees are likely here to stay. Get used to it, or learn to play poker someone other than online.
CRAZY STRUCTURES: Chris's stepson stumbled into an, um, original tournament structure. No blinds, but everyone antes. And the antes get big quick. Scott, the eternal gambler, said he'd be intrigued because he enjoys looking for angles.
CALLERS: Another Buckeye called in, suggesting that we go back and revisit some previous topics now that we appear to know what we're doing and have a longer podcast. So let us know what topics you'd like to see us revisit. (And pot odds is off the menu. :) )
OMM: Columbo went against all of our advice and bet out on the end with his two-pair, basing his decision on the fact that when you think you have the best hand, you should bet. He was right, and took down a nice pot.
GARY WISE: Our new roving tournament reporter gave us all the action from Borgata in A.C., and you don't want to miss a nutty hand that happened at the final table.
HAND OF THE WEEK
Scott was allowed back in the studio this week, and did an absolutely remarkable job. (Thanks, Mom!) We dissected a hand from Nikademus, who checked his BB hand of A-4 and went to a flop with 6 callers in a no-limit game. He flopped top pair and a gutshot, and Chris wanted to go in a different direction than Gambit, Scott and Nikademus wanted to. In the end, Nik folded to an all-in when the board ended up A-2-3-4-5, three diamonds, and the sneaky winner took it down with a set of 2s (of course, though, he was playing the board like everyone else).
For some reason our show didn't upload to our podcast carriers yesterday. Not to worry, you can still listen to the show by clicking over on the right hand side where it says "To listen to the latest Ante Up! episode ..." or you can just click here. There is one other way you can hear the show, and that's to load this address into your search engine: http://pod.sptimes.com/anteup087.mp3. This address will remain the same for every show, and only the number will change. So if there's ever a problem like this again, you can just type in that address and change the corresponding number. So next week's show will be named: http://pod.sptimes.com/anteup088.mp3, and so on. I'll update this when the feed is finally corrected.
-- Chris
UPDATE: I talked with IT/Web and we got this problem fixed initially, but apparently the feed is getting deleted on our end for some reason.
It's official:
The Los Angeles AnteUp MeetUp will be Saturday, Feb. 24, at Commerce Casino.
After searching in vain for an acceptable place for dinner for the meetup, we bagged that idea and went with a cool thing Commerce offers called "Home Game." We'll have our own poker table(s) with dealer, and get free snacks, soda and water. Not a bad deal, since it's free (just have to pay the normal rake). Plus, with Commerce's tableside dining, we can kill two pots with one stone. Not sure yet if we can call any game, or change games during the night, but I know at least we can play hold'em. We'll post more details here as they develop.
Plan to meet Fasso and me in the Arena Sports Bar & Grill at 5:30 p.m. Shortly before 6, we'll move as one big Nation to the hotel/casino lobby near the Chariot Statue, where a casino host will meet us and escort us to the table.
Please RSVP by posting your name and what game/limits you prefer here by Feb. 17, so we can give the good people at Commerce an accurate headcount.
It'll be a busy night at the Commerce, since it's the first day of the Main Event of the World Poker Tour's L.A. Poker Classic. Also, if you're around Commerce on Friday, swing by and watch Fasso and I