I'd apologize for not having posted in over a week, but......

I don't think anyone is reading this blog.

That's better.

  I finished in the top 18% tonight in a satellite tourney.  I played some of my hands really well, I think.  Somewhat similar scenario in the end however.  I was only about 1000 below the chip average when my 2 pair lost to a set on an all-in.  Oh well... still trying to figure out where exactly i became pot-comitted.  At any rate my short-term goal is to consistently place in the top 10% again (I've been in and out of them recently).
  For a change of pace, after my tourney, I played TWO ring games and played them simultaneously.  It was actually fun because, between the two tables, I received more playable hands and it kept me more occupied.  I'll be sure and try that again soon (perhaps with four games).

My woes in the nightly freeroll continue...

I don't know what it is recently.  I got one bad beat (gutshot straight on the river), one call I shouldn't have made (but it got a little personal), and then one tonight (an all-in call with AK against a loose aggressive player who HAPPENED to be holding 88).  I play really tight for about an hour and then in literally ONE HAND, I'm out.  I'm not sure what's going on.  Maybe I get tunnel vision on good hands.  I think I just need to work on my concentration and keep reminding myself, "You can't win this tourney with one hand, but you can sure as hell can lose it." 

Random quote to think about.

"The education of a man is never completed until he dies."
- Robert E. Lee

Ace-Queen : It was the best of times, It was the the worst of times.

One of the first things I 'un-learned' when I began playing poker was the misleading value of Ace-Queen.  In a number of poker sites, it's listed as a Top 10 hand, mathematically being the sixth best.  It dominates almost any Ax hand.  But I quickly learned it's by no means a 'premium' hand. AA, KK, QQ, AK (because of the K kicker) all dominate AQ.  And in a tight game, not many players are going in with any Ax combo, so that advantage is somewhat lessened.  Furthermore, smaller pairs 22 - JJ are a coin flip because of the small likelihood you flop a pair with your AQ.  The only instance where you win is if you flop a top pair and he misses on his set.  I've found myself folding into most early and middle position raises while holding an AQ.

However, I don't consider AQ to be a crap hand either.  AQ dominates AJ, KQ, and QJ for the same reason it's dominated by premium hands. There's just a smaller number of outs with these smaller hands.  Also, AQs is good for the nut flush!

toppoker.org has some interesting statistics on AQ:

AQ v. random hand = 65% favorite
           87s, KTs = 60% favorite          
           22 = 48% favorite (coin flip)
           TT = 45% favorite
           KK = 28% favorite
           AK = 23% favorite
           AA = 7.3% favorite

So personally, I tread lightly when holding an AQ.  Seems to me like your chances are 50/50 overall, but let me know if you differ and why.

How to stack your chips ... Who knew there was a method to it?

I've always wondered how a player determines the method for stacking his/her chips. It seems to be an imperfect science.  Some players are messy w/ no rhyme or reason.  Some players are clearly anal and have all their stacks the same  height and are color coordinated. After scrapeing the web, I've found some common tendencies.

• Stacks of 20 chips are frequently used.
• These stacks of 20 are then placed in rows to form a pyramid, up to 5 wide (see below).

  O

  O  O

  O  O  O

• Keep higher denominations in the FRONT of your stack, in plain sight.  Placing them in the back can be deceiving to another player making bets based on your stack size.  They have a right to know how many chips you have.
• When you have enough chips, most players 'color up'.  This the term is used when you have a large number of chips and want to consolidate them to a higher denomination of chip.  For example, you have 100 $10 chips.  You can 'color up' to have 10 $100 chips instead.
• I have no opinion on this yet, but most internet comments infer that 'tight' players tend to stack their chips more neatly than 'loose' players.  I'm not prepared to let this solely decide how to play an opponent, but it's something to note.

Of course, who gives a crap if you only play online.

Not poker related but...

I just got my ticket for Avatar in IMAX 3-D this weekend!  Heck yeah!

Poker Terminology: At least make them THINK you know what you're talking about.

Ok, here's a few terms that are thrown around quite a bit during television tournaments.  If you use them correctly, you can sound cool too when you spit them out..

• pre-flop - the time after you've received your hole cards and before you see the first three community cards (called the flop).  A round of betting ensues before the flop.
• flop - the time when the first three community cards are dealt.  A round of betting ensues after this.
• turn - (also called fourth street) The time when the fourth community card is dealt.  A round of betting ensues after this.
• river - (also called fifth street) The time when the fifth and final community card is dealt. A round of betting ensues after this.
• ante - the amount all players must contribute to the pot before receiving their hole cards.  Antes are not required in some games.
• big blind - A forced bet for one player, in order to have money in the pot each round.  It's a set amount that rotates clockwise around the table with each hand.
• small blind - A forced bet much like the big blind but only half the amount.  The small blind is located directly to the right of the big blind.
• hole cards - The two cards you receive prior to the flop.  No one else can see these two cards.
• pocket pair - Two hole cards that are paired (i.e. Th - Td or 6s - 6c).
• playing tight - when a player only plays with 'premium' hands (ie suited face cards, pair of Aces, Kings, Queens, Jacks).  Because of this, the player may not play too many hands, compared to a 'loose' player.
• playing loose - when a player plays more hands than normal, going in with cards normally not deemed suitable for playing (ie a 6d - 2h).  There are very few ways for this hand to become a winning hand.
• On the button - The last person to act after the flop.  The player 'on the button' is located directly to the right of the small blind.
• Under the Gun - The first person to act after getting their hole cards.  This person is located to the left of the big blind.
• suited connectors - Two cards ranked sequentially and are of the same suit.  For example, Ah-Kh or 9d-8d.
• bad beat - When a player has strong cards and is statistically the favorite to win the hand, but loses due to the player with the inferior hand 'hitting' on one of the limited cards needed to beat the superior hand.
• backdoor - When a player requires the last 2 rounds (turn and river) to complete a better hand... For example,  Having 3 hearts after the flop and needing 2 hearts on the turn and river to complete your backdoor flush.

Poker Hands.. Whatcha got?

One of the first things you need to know before you start playing poker is the hierarchy of winning hands.  In a 52 card deck, there are 4 suits (aces, hearts, spades, and clubs).  Each suit has 13 cards - 2 thru 10, then Jack, Queen, King, and Ace. So 13 x 4 = 52. 

Starting out, you'll get 2 cards (called hole cards) that can be matched with the 5 community cards to make the best hand. You want to have the best hand possible and bet accordingly to win the pot.  So which ones are better? Below is the list of poker hands, from weakest to strongest. First, note the shorthand that's used to reference specific cards. 

As=Ace of Spades
Td=Ten of Diamonds
5c=5 of clubs
Jh=Jack of hearts

Ok..as Letterman would say... starting at :

10.  High Card - The highest ranked card you hold.  If you don't have any of the other hands listed below, the player who wins the pot is decided by who has the highest card.  If you both have the same card (say, a Jack), it then goes to your second hole card.  Unless you're going heads-up against one other person, I wouldn't want to stake any bets on high cards.

 9.  1 Pair - Any 2 cards of the same rank (ie 2 Aces, 2 Tens, or 2 Fours, etc.).

 8.  2 Pair - 2 SEPARATE Pairs (2 Aces AND 2 Tens).

 7. 3 of a Kind (also called 'a set' or trips) - 3 of any card of the same rank (ie 3 Aces, 3 Tens, or 3 Fours).

 6. Straight - 5 cards in sequence, but NOT in the same suit (4c-5d-6h-7d-8s).

 5. Flush - 5 cards of the same suit, but NOT in sequence (3s-5s-9s-Js-Ks)

 4. Full House - A 3 of a kind PLUS 1 pair (4s-4d-9h-9s-9c)

 3. 4 of a Kind (also called 'quads') - 4 of any card (that'd be all of the Aces, Tens, or Fours).

 2. Straight Flush - 5 cards in sequence and in the same suit. (3h-4h-5h-6h-7h)

 1. Royal Flush - A, K, Q, J, T in any ONE suit.

As you can see, the more valued hands are much tougher to obtain.  Hitting 1 pair from 2 unpaired hole cards, plus the community cards is much more likely than obtaining 4 of the same rank (a 4 of a kind).  I'll go into the odds of hitting each of these hands in a later post, but this is one of first things you need to learn before playing.  You have to know 'when to hold'em and when to fold'em'.  Later!

My journey begins today ....

Okay.  That's not actually true.  My journey really began a little over a month ago, on November 4th, 2009.  That's when I decided to download 'Full Tilt Poker's (FTP) software.  And actually, it goes back further... so let's 'set the table'...

It was sometime in October.  I was channel surfing at a high rate of speed, clocking about 90 mph thru the '100s'.  I figured ESPN was broadcasting a second rate college football game, or perhaps baseball.  I zipped past channel 140 but something caught my eye.  I went back and found that the 'World Series of Poker' was playing.  It's this HUGE tournament where more than 60,000 people from 115 countries pay $10,000 each just to play.  Now, I've played poker before.  But that's about all I can say.  I didn't understand all the betting and when it was supposed to happen.  I didn't even know which hands were better.  But something made sit there and watch that night.  I've found that, in my old age, I guess I want to learn how things work.

So, I watched.  And watched.  And watched.  For 1-2 hours every Tuesday night.  I started picking up the terminology.  I started to see how players bet with certain hands.  I quickly saw that something I formerly viewed as 'something to do with the guys' could be much more complicated.  Could I do this?  It looked fun, but I didn't know.  At any rate, I kept seeing commercials for all these online poker sites.  All of them stated that it wasn't for real money (which is only HALF true, since you can either use 'play money' or 'real money' - go figure).  So I decided to take the leap.  I joined both FullTiltPoker.net and PokerStars.net.  Of the two, I've felt more comfortable with FTP so far.  Don't ask me why.  As I gain more experience, I'll try other sites (based on the promotions they offer, which will be a future topic).

So there you go.  I've picked some initial topics I'd like to discuss and will be posting them over the next few days.  Feel free to add your 2 cents!  As my viewership grows (certainly my intention), I hope to learn as much as you guys will.  So, until then, shuffle up and deal!