Twitter Updates
Instead of trying to update the blog here and there I will be updating twitter from the WSOP ME and giving updates and hopefully some pictures too. You can find me:
When I get back from the trip I'll post up some more pictures and hopefully have a few stories to tell. Ivey is at the WPT final table so I might get an interview with him (doubtful he hates to do them) plus I got all the Main Event madness going on. Fun times!
read moreLessons Learned from the Prop Bet
I'm not sure how interesting it was for the readers of my blog to follow my progress during last week's prop bet. Judging by the dearth of comments, I'm guessing it wasn't of much interest to most of you. That's fine. But what I think might help is writing out some the lessons learned from participating in the prop bet, because I think I definitely benefited from putting myself through that torture.
For those of you that follow LOST I kind of feel like Sayid did after the episode where we see him learn to become a torturer. He does what he has to do in order to save himself and his loved ones and basically tortures a bad guy commanding officer of his to get the information he needed. At the end of it all, he's changed and gets taken to outside the city by the Americans. They drop him off in the middle of the road with the American tell him, "Looks like you picked up a new skill set." He handed him a wad of cash, then left him there and drove away. I feel like that because I feel like I went through this very difficult process, gained a valuable skill (massively multi-tabling) but have been left out in the middle of nowhere (with some money) asking myself "well wth do I do now?!".
Anyways, enough of the random and vague metaphors.
The first thing I learned is that as soon as you start a prop bet, you will, without fail, go on a downswing. It'll suck and be frustrating and irritate you and every end. Life will seem dull, gray and horrible. It happened to me, it happened to Zachvac and its happened to countless others. I don't know why or how it happens, but I just know it does. If you ever decide to put yourself through something like this, just be ready for the fall-out.
One surprising thing I learned was that if you do add more and more tables, it doesn't necessarily mean you just play ABC autopilot poker. In fact, if you arm yourself with the right poker software you can definitely play a great thinking poker game. Here's what you will need:
- Holdem Manager or PokerTracker 3, with a HUD chalk full of stats
- TableNinja (or its equivalent) for assistance and shortcuts
- A good playlist for iTunes (or no music at all!)
- A great ergonomic mouse that won't kill your wrist after long days of playing
- 2 monitors, with your main monitor at least being a 24" 1920x1200 resolution monitor. Your second monitor should be the same but if its a 22" 1600x1200 that's fine too.
- Experiment while not playing with table layouts and try to get it so that you can always be able to click on a table. If you can do this you can jump to tables during short breaks and hit the fold button if there's a hand that's an obvious fold.
- Eye drops. Lots of 'em.
- Comfortable chair with arm and back support
You have to create an environment where you can focus and you get a system down that works. There's no way that I could play even 15 tables if I didn't have the dual monitor setup along with the shortcuts program. We all operate differently and you need to experiment to see what works for you. Make sure you save your table layout within the poker client so you don't have to redo it every time you start a new session.
Another important lesson is knowing when peak hours are for your time zone. For me in the Pacific Time Zone, I found that the tables were "best" starting around 11am and were good until about 10pm during the week. Thursday nights were exceptionally good, and starting from about 10am on Friday through about 8pm on Sunday games were fantastic. I think if anyone ever went "pro" for online poker they would forced to adapt their playing schedule around peak times at the sites. Clearly, you can't play 8 straight hours no matter who you are - you have to eat, you have to go to the bathroom and you need to simply close your eyes to rest. Factoring in these breaks and creating the right schedule is really important.
One very underrated thing about playing "full time" or in my case undergoing a prop bet is pacing. Setting the right pace every day and outlining your schedule a week in advance is very important. For me, once I got through the first two days of the challenge, I realized I couldn't just wing it. I set myself a daily hand requirement schedule and stuck to it. In the morning each day I outlined my time schedule to estimate when I should play and get other activities accomplished. That was one huge piece of the puzzle for me in my success.
Before this challenge, you have to realize that I was used to playing 4 or 5 tables of 6max games, which I had done for the better part of 3 months. When I last played Full Ring regularly, I think I only played 9-10 tables at a time. By the end of the challenge, I was playing 19 tables without any issues and no time outs on any table. You just have to push yourself, experiment and not get freaked out when your computer starts beeping and flashing. Stay calm, make the right decision and quickly move to the next decision to be made. I kept telling myself I do have a timebank which is automatically clicked, which helped me remember that I have time to think through my decision making process in a hand.
I am not sure if I will remain 19 tabling (or more) Full Ring moving forward, but I know I can do it. Most likely at 50nl FR I'll remain 19 tabling to keep myself in a groove. My upswing out of the downswing didn't really take off until I started doing the 19-table sessions and that allowed me to get in a lot more hands per hour. I played 30,000 hands in 30.5 hours which is just crazy. Last year I think I played 180,000 hands total, so to get 1/6th of those hands in for a year within the timeframe of a week is quite an upgrade.
Sometimes you have to push yourself in order to make leaps in your game and often times it will be very frustrating and uncomfortable. If I didn't have money on the line in my prop bet, there's no way I would have finished the challenge because I would have bitched and moaned about the break-even stretch that was just destroying my mindset. That tilt would have forced me to "take a break" and come back later rather than fight through it, which I have so often struggled to do.
I'm not sure what else there is to say but I am hoping this long entry helps a few of you learn some of the lessons it taught me.
read moreNo More Monthly Updates
By the title of this blog post suggests, I'm not going to give obligatory monthly updates anymore. One thing I observed while mass multi-tabling full ring games was the highs and lows that each session can bring. It's still amazing to me to look at a session played where I lose. Rarely did I misstep during those sessions, but would see things like me losing to two 2-outers (last session) or something like a W$SD (Won Money @ Showdown) percentage of 20% (which means opponents just kept showing up with huge hands or drawing out).
Anyways, it's not my point to make a thinly veiled brag, the point is that I see how even from session to session there's highs and lows and you can't even look at one session to the next and totally read into the results. I say that comparing 1,200 hand sessions to my 500 sessions from the past. Even small pockets of data like the weekly results and gameplay stats aren't quite enough of a barometer for me to look into. That's when I thought a monthly update comparing "Month X" to "Month Y" wasn't going to work for me anymore.
What I plan to do now is just do a running check starting from the year and moving forward. So when I look at my stats now, yes, I'm checking my month and how it's going. But at the end of February I'll be checking for two months and so on for the rest of 2010. I have a feeling this will make the swings of playing a little broader instead of thinking "AHHHH crap I'm down $XXX already this month!!" I will just see that I'm looking at a small rough stretch of a very long haul.
It's just something I am experimenting with but I really like the concept after thinking about it. So I will be giving updates on my game play at the tables, but I won't be saying things like "Well this week I have won X!" and "Wow this month has taken me for such a BE stretch..." etc etc.
Still No Word from PokerStars
PokerStars is the world's largest poker site and has more action than anyone else. I did predict about six months ago that they were prime for the plucking and that Full Tilt Poker could challenge them for the number one spot. I was met for the most part with laughter and dismissal (Zachvac), but given that Full Tilt made huge strides in narrowing the gap between themselves and Stars it looks like I was on to something.
Fast forward now to present day and the entire industry is talking about Full Tilt Poker. It's the site that gives you rakeback. It's the site that just got rid of the ratholing shortstackers. It's the site that innovated the game that the fish love, Rush Poker. For someone who has been writing articles for two years now across what has been about a dozen websites, I've never written more stories about Full Tilt Poker in my life. PokerStars is undoubtedly taking a back seat which is totally unfamiliar country for them.
Part of the problem is that the January promotions at PokerStars weren't all that impressive. The Stellar Rewards is a good system and something that gives the micro and small stakes players something to shoot for as they make their way to SuperNova. The problem is that the full ring players are making less VPPs per hand, so once again PokerStars gives you something while taking a little bit away. Another huge issue is the absolute lack of response PokerStars has had toward changing the buy-in structure and Rush Poker.
I've personally emailed and PM'd four different PokerStars contacts that I know and even off the record haven't learned much of anything. All I know is that they are talking internally and trying to come up with some solutions. A huge issue for them with the shortstacking issue is that some of their "Team Online Pros" are the ratholing shortstackers, so a change to their buy-in structure would probably kill them off. Clearly, everyone knows where I stand on the issue. Playing No Limit Hold'em (the Cadillac of Poker) is not sitting at a table that has five people that buy-in for 20 big blinds who leave the table immediately if they win a pot. I don't understand why people who want to play "regular" poker and sit down and enjoy the game have to navigate through to find special tables to do this. I think those people that want to play this specialized form and theory of poker should find THEIR own tables. Regular tables should be 40 big blinds to 100 (or even 200), and let the people that want to play short play at special short tables.
As it stands now, on February 1st, is that PokerStars has made no comment about what decisions it will be making or even when a decision will come (if any is coming at all). In the meantime a flood of SuperNova+ players are moving their bankrolls to Full Tilt Poker to enjoy the 27% rakeback and from what I hear fantastic low and mid stakes games without the shortstackers. We might point to this period in the history of online poker as the time that PokerStars "timed out and folded" when the chips went all in against the competition.
read moreOnline Free Poker
If you are curious about how to win your share of $600,000 in real money by not paying anything and participating in free poker, read on. You'll be reading about how I'm planning to win it all and pay nothing down.
There is a point to the whole post though and that has to do with the MiniFTOPS tournaments running at Full Tilt Poker right now. See, I'm actually going to have a Sunday afternoon completely free for the first time ... well ... probably in all of 2009. The good news for me is that this is the same day that the MiniFTOPS Main Event $50+$5 No Limit Texas Holdem tournament will take place. It should attract well over 15,000 participants which would eclipse the guaranteed prize pool of $600,000. I've never played in a Sunday major tournament which usually costs $215 to enter. I don't fare well in tournaments and don't play particularly awesome in them either which is a pretty bad combination.
The good news is that thanks to me grinding it out at the tables this month, I'm actually going to buy in completely free. Yes, you read that right, I'm going to play for my share of $600,000 completely free without having to pay a single nickel. The catch is that I can buy in to the event for 11,000 Full Tilt Points which I have been saving since the dawn of time apparently. Now, you can spend these points in the store for things like apparel or electronics. For example for 10k-12k Full Tilt Points you can buy:
- V-Neck Windshirt
- Velour Bathrobe
- HP Thin USB Powered Speakers
- Wine accessory kit
- Professional Pool Cue
- Doormat
- Garmet Bag
- Checkpoint Friendly Compu-Brief
I have plenty of t-shirts, I can't imagine myself sporting a velour bathrobe (thank you Zapp Brannigan), I don't need speakers, I don't drink wine, I don't play billiards, I already have a doormat and I got a garmet bag. The checkpoint friendly brief thing might be handy, one day. But not today.
So, I've deemed it a-okay to spend these points to enter a tournament where I hope to play and run well, but expect to bust out slightly short of the money having wasted hours of poker on nothing. Such is the poker life, but hey, you never know maybe it's finally time I made a great run in an online poker tournament after all these years.
By the way, the title might be a tad general but I'm testing something out with the title and tags and content. I'll report back my findings to see if Online Free Poker did what I think it was going to do.
read moreWow Where Have I Been?
Can't believe it's been a week since updating my poker blog. I remember there were months where I would update twice a day! I guess without a raging inner beast to unleash, the venom behind a lot of the posts just isn't there to fuel my desire to post something.
Computer Stuff
My order from TigerDirect came in to upgrade my main PC rig. Unfortunately for me, my new Video Card is on backorder. I was told by the agent on the phone that they were due to come in and ship out on the 15th. Well today is the 20th and they are still on backorder. Sucks for me. Windows 7 will be here on Thursday but I am sure I will be so dead tired I won't have a chance to upgrade my computer for what looks like weeks. It might even be a Thanksgiving time activity. Just too busy with stuff.
Work Stuff
Work is going well. I am still doing a ton of writing for various poker sites and that's decent income and I'm very grateful for all the work I've gotten. It's afforded me a lot and I definitely hope to keep it up as time moves on. Right now my business (I actually own/operate a small interactive website design/development studio) is picking up and I actually agreed to work in-house at a large ad agency here in Orange County for the next few weeks. The pay is good and more than anything doing it for the contact and ideally building a relationship that could bring in some good projects for 2010.
Poker Stuff - Putting the LAG in ... uh ... LAGuna
Okay I don't really live in Laguna Beach, but I am very close at about 5 miles away. The wife and I get down there to the beach to eat and walk on the boardwalk quite often. Our pug, Mr. Duke, loves it down there. Anyways, I didn't mean to mention that, just wanted to write about totally re-vamping my game.
The last few months I went back to full ring, played like the nittiest nit who ever nitted up online poker and carved out a good solid win-rate for 100nl games. The advantage was playing a relatively low-variance style and winning modestly. All was good.
Sadly, the 100nl FR experience started to dim. I wasn't getting paid off when I had the nuts and coolers wiped me of the small pots I would win, which sadly, didn't come in often enough. Between the coolers and static play, I decided to move back to 6max this month full time. Clearly the move was a good one as I've really re-fueled my love for playing the game (hahaha, just WAIT for my next downswing to rue the day I said that!). I've gotten back in touch with Clean from Stox Poker and we've resumed official coaching. What's he telling me to do?
Well, I was playing 6max at 16/13 which is clearly way too nitty to be surviving full time as a 6max player. There's just too many spots to be missing playing like that, so we put into practice a real method for opening up my game. So far - so GOOD as I've been playing a lot looser (I'll post some numbers after I play 8-10k hands at this style) and picking my aggression spots very well. It's more fun to play this style, a lot scarier, but I am definitely seeing a difference in the way I'm approached and played back at while in a hand. Interesting.
Final Thoughts
Not much else. I'm f'ing drained from work haha. See you all next time.
read moreAnswers for Nick (and you too)
I have a good online friend, Nick, who plays small stakes Sit n Gos and was really successful last year in building a bankroll. Unfortunately this year has been terrible for him results-wise and he's very frustrated about his current poker state. He asked me some good questions and I'm posting his email and my responses (with his permission). It should make for a great read for microstakes players. Enjoy.
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With pure unadulterated discipline is it possible to play consistently x hours per day and x tables per session and come up in the black every month. Factoring things such as natural variance, bad beats and emotional tilt, if someone plays the best style according to the information they know that works, is it possible to do so?
It's possible for good players at a level they've proved they can beat. If you can reliably know that you can beat a level, you can grind it out for an income so long as you've buffered potential downswings in your bankroll. I write a bit about this in my last post, about specifically about how many hands does it take to know you're beating a level consistently. I made the case that for a low variance style and a low variance game, it doesn't take many hands, maybe 30,000 or 40,000 (pulling that number out of the air). For a high variance style and a high variance game (say, Heads Up PLO) it takes a ton more hands, like 200,000 (or more!). There are other factors to consider, like a potentially dwindling player pool for online poker at some sites and players generally being better than they were 2 years ago. For the most part though you'll see guys at 100nl play their 30-50k hands a month and see the same "x" amount of guys in the black. The amount of "full timers" that are actually above the 2BB/100 would shock you. I'd say it's less than 20% of the full timers are that profitable. A lot of people win marginally and add in rakeback/rewards and that's their income. The big winners are the ones that seem to play less but more focused and profitable poker.
Why is it the best players online multiple table, is it because they know poker has now become more of a cash transaction game and are purely relying on the luck of maths?
Playing online poker on one table is easy, especially with a HUD. There's not much to pay attention to, at least, not TOO much to lower your maximum abilities. It absolutely is not "the luck of maths" because if that was the case we'd all even out in the long run (actually we'd all lose because of the rake). So good players use their skill and win. Since they are able to, they can add tables until that maximum threshold is reached. Sometimes players go above that threshold because the more tables, the bigger rakeback or rewards, and thus more bottom line money. At the end of the day, the only reason that people add tables is to increase their take-home $$/hour (or session).
The reason for all this, I’ve suffered serious and I mean serious variance in my sng’s and I’m unsure if I made the right decision in playing them. Maybe its emotions talking but I am at the point where I do need to be drawing some form of income from the game, the hours are going in, the heart is there, yet the results are not. I remember playing abc @ 10nl and overall being up, not much but up nonetheless in the long run.
Ya, I am actually at a bit of a crossroads myself too about bringing in income from playing poker. Unfortunately here in the United States it's nothing we can solidly rely on. I would recommend you take a page out of BelgoSuisse's book. He's a poker mind I hold in the highest regard, and he played Sit & Gos regularly until he took an extremely nasty slide. It's why players like him, me, Chuckts, and others simply couldn't stay with SNGs - the results were too unpredictable and the wild swings you go on as a full time SNG grinder are too great for many to handle (myself included). Full ring no limit Texas Hold'em is a low variance game. Playing a nitty style is a low variance style. Low Variance = Greater Chance of Expectations Being Met. At 10nl and 25nl you don't even have to play ABC poker to be a marginal winner. At 50nl you should be an ABC Poker master and still win nicely and be able to start to handle things like 3betting with position. At 100nl ABC poker will keep you at least breakeven, but monsters like me will exploit you to no end. Ideally by the time you are at 100nl you'll have the experience to handle all of it, but that's just my cash game perspective. From what I understand at $33 SNGs and above, the play is extremely robotic. Mistakes from your opponents are rare. We win money when our opponents make more (and bigger) mistakes when we do. Since a lot of SNGs are ICM and math based, the edge we have in mistakes being made is very thin.
I’m a little all over the shop and really REALLY want to sit at a game type, play the situation accordingly and know that whilst I will cop horrendous beats, in the long run, I will be up. Long run being far more important than anything else.
It's always a tough thing to juggle "short term variance" vs "leaks in your game" and figure out which is which. That's where your internet friends come in and why having a support group of poker analysts is something that the profitable people are able to do.
End of the day, I’m putting in the hours and work and want to start seeing some fruits of my labour come through.
Winning is a by-product of playing well. Your job is to play well. I know you want to win. Your opponents want to win too. The only way you can win is if you play optimally and make fewer (and smaller) mistakes than they do.
I trust, value and respect your opinion hence me sitting here at 9am asking you. For me its time to get serious, make some big personal adjustments and stick to them.
We've had similar conversations to this before, specifically with moves for you to cash games and getting to a point where you can draw from poker a small income. In the end though, a few times over, those things have gone by the wayside. Failure is a part of success and not seeing immediate results and then quitting is the sign of a player that doesn't have the chops to last in the long run. After seeing a lot of small and mid-stakes pros now, I can tell you that "poker skill" is probably 50% of what it takes to be a long term winner. Fortitude, a thirst for knowledge and a level head are the other 50%. Do you think you've demonstrated what it takes?
My mate/neighbour (Dr.G) I’ve spoken of in my blog said my problem this year, is I’ve ‘chopped and changed’ way to many times which is so true, I’m either grinding sng don’s 1 day or playing 1 table of 100nl the other day. We’re at August 13th and I am actually down like $X for the year, that’s just wrong on so many levels.
Maybe it's right on so many levels (literally). There's a big danger in life when you become a "jack of all trades" - you are versed in many trades but a master of none. Big winners or highly successful people in any field aren't people that can do everything, they are people that do something specific better than anyone else. The best baseball player on Earth is paid $20 million USD because he's the best BASEBALL player, not the best athlete in the world. You have to think of poker as something as vague as "sports" and something like NLHE Cash Games or PLO SNGs as as specific sport to specialize in and absolutely master to the best of your abilities. That's my 2 cents, I hope it helps.
read moreAbout Me
My name is Sean Gibson and I am a poker journalist and part time poker player. I work full time at PokerNewsDaily.com where I host a daily news show called "The Daily Deal" and also handle the bulk of the live player interviews. In terms of poker you will find me playing $1/$3 No Limit Hold'em in Vegas or in Los Angeles (or San Diego) and online playing small stakes games.
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