There is one I’ve been thinking about doing.  It is about a Jordan post.  Now the esteemed barrister  is of the New Yawk flavor and of the trial phylum. That means confrontational and willing to work with rationalizing the facts in a case.   In the halls of jurisprudence, that a way to fame and lucre. At poker, maybe yes and maybe no.  Well, he might luck out and get all of OJ’s jury at the table but that’s too much luck.

So, I wasn’t too surprised to come across How to Win at Razz with an Exposed Queen.

Our Rumpole clone just may have enjoyed a bit too much of the plonk prior to or during the game.  He describes a skip down the yellow BRICK road with a straight face and high dungeon.   A better title might be Line in the Sand. To those used to the Jordan approach, it is great theater.  For any one contemplating a career playing RAZZ, not so.

___________________

My ring play was Stud8B and done at FT.  I am a bit ahead.  It was a bit of a struggle getting away from the tournament mindset though.  The wins would have been better had I ignored a few of the draws.

What I did manage to note is that FT studs are more studly than other sites I’ve played.  Capping was far more prevalent.   And pursuing that tack early isn’t very EV enhancing   Otherwise, it was the same mix of optimism and hand selection.   You’d of thought they were following Jordan’s RAZZ blog.  Bricks and dead cards held no decline in their optimism.

___________________

As to my MIA status, truth is I’ve been dungeon crawling on the computer more than dungeon crawling on the poker sites.

ADDENDUM:

Supposed to be 90 here today.  I’ve been out in the yard in a tee.  There is a weather watch for later today as a cold front is moving in our general direction.  But, it looks like we’re on the fringe of the fear of tornado and hail. Fingers crossed.  If my weather station quits reporting, it means the weather nymphs drew out.

No related posts.

Stud is maligned by being called an old man's game. And, yeah, I know what I am – don't rub it in. The reason Hold'em took the scene over completely is it is simple to watch. TV knows it is deceptively simple to watch. So, all the other stuff got moved to a back burner. Even the $50K HORSE played out the final table for TV in Hold'em.

Because it is popular, most players that give Stud a go come with a Hold'em bias. This is a much different game. About the only real help is what hand beats what hand. People don't quickly understand that and use the wrong skill set. Most are NL players used to pushing an advantage early and aggressively. Most think two pair is the nuts. They think counting outs is easy and can quickly know whether or not to call.

There is a ton of info on the net about stud technique. The West book is an easy read. If you are anal retentive and do math problems on lunchbreak, the Sklansky book is where to go. It is the master's course in Stud; but, is dense information overload at the git go.

Hand Strength

I mentioned an old book that said the average hand is a set of nines that was laughed at in a chat session when I mentioned it. That's because a lot of hands are won with lesser hands. But, there are a lot of hands that are much bigger. Boats, flushes, straights crop up all the time. So, the Hold'em guy is going to get his buried AA and push it long and hard without regard for what the board shows.

Limit

Coming from NLH is no advantage. Implied odds are out the door and replaced by pot odds. With the tendency at low and mid stakes to see a flop, a lot of hands have the odds to participate. The secret here isn't so much starting hand as knowing when to get out. People usually don't have a clue and well talk about that. If there is one quick thing Sklansky harps on is that aggression should happen late with a made hand. Get this idea firmly embedded in you Stud psyche.

Bricks and Tombstones

Poker terms are an interesting mix. Bricks are cards that don't help your hand. With seven cards your due, the tendency is to discount the first brick. Pot odds may let you hope to sneak on but that puts you in a position of needing help two out of the three times left. You need huge pot odds. It is the most common failing you'll see.

Tombstones are my own contribution. This is about dead cards. The info that develops as cards are exposed on four streets affect you chances at success. Even on third street, there will be information at times that turns a great starting hand into bupkus. An example is having broadway suited. Nice hand. But if two of the suit are up it get a bit iffy and if three are up you can fold. But, the average player only see what he holds. I watched three jacks up on third street and all three participate in the bring-in.

Starting Hands

You'll get more and better info by doing a Google search for Stud tutorials than I am able or willing to provide. There are really two types – strong and speculative. You don't play the spec ones from early position. You reserve them for situations where the pot odds make them workable. In many respects they are a better hand than those considered strong. Why? Hit the first brick and you've limited your potential loss.

Cheating

Not really. It is a tool called Stud Inspector. The free download lets you use it at the funny money tables. It shows the cards played and displays the odds for all the various possibilities. In some respects it is overkill. But, it is a great way to get the feel for how bricks and tombstones dramatically change things. If you multitask better than I do , you might find it very useful. I use it rarely at this point but it is great when you are getting your sea legs and you can decide on that after trying the funny money which is the place to start.

Bring-in and Completing

The game isn't about blinds it is an ante game. Most online sites have a reasonable ante. That's typically under 20% of the small bet. If it is more, then you need to find more hands to play or steal with. Stealing with any three is -EV. Completing in the typical multiway pot is also -EV.

Reads

There is a lot of info that develops playing Stud. On Full Tilt, they shuffle the downs so you don't know which two he began with. On UB they are shown in order – a big plus. You will make money with reads and that means keeping notes. We all do it differently but you want to have something going. I also have Poker Tracker for Stud that give a lot of info. It is a nice help but the software is so-so. I can't recommend it.

Executive Summary

Stud is a great game to add to your skill set. They say variety is the spice of life and, if that is so, you will benefit. The “old man's game” charges hides what can be a very profitable skill. The fish wear billboards. While drawouts are commonplace, the good player has the same chance and is doing it from a more powerful hand. It isn't hard to find loose-passive players/tables. That's a license to steal.

Related posts:

1. Stud and Lobby Reads
2. Stud Eight Player Born Every Minute
3. WCOOP Stud

The two with potential folded.  I look like some donk on a low draw.  It isn't uncommon for agros to bet a low hand draw.  So, we managed to cap 4th street.  The pot ended up being $7 and would have been more if the one guy had more to contribute.

Really nothing here earth shaking to see here; so move along.   But… Damn… it was fun while it lasted and set a nice tone for a nice win.

Related posts:

1. Boring?
2. Why Not?
3. Pictures

This is a short and rather basic look at opponents. I’m using it for stud. It is an ideal game to use this added read.

In stud you need to follow the cards exposed during play. It has a big effect on the value of the hand you are holding. You get good reads when you see people playing cards that have one or two mates showing. At my tables, I’ve seen three up aces and all three will join the hand. Stud is a game where you can take notes to your advantage.

If you ignore the exposed cards you are at a disadvantage against those who are keeping track. That’s why you want to take a gander at the lobby. There are a number of folks who multi-table stud. You have to assume they aren’t using software that can track the ups. There is one application that does but it doesn’t multi-table.

You can see that it would take a idiot savant to be able to multi-table stud effectively. With that discountable, we’re left with a fellow play a rote form of poker. You can see them grinding that out in the flop games to their benefit. In both they are playing a pattern with tendencies. But, it stud they lose a lot more because the known cards played affect the odds. When one or more cards that would help your hand have been folded and you aren’t aware of it, the odds moved across the table.

It is easier to identify that player’s tendencies and rely on such a read having greater reliability when he’s multi-tabling. So, browse the lobby to find those who make it a habit. Even if he isn’t doing it at the moment, he’s more likely to be a rote player that doesn’t change gears or quickly reverts to his basic plan. He’s likely to have a weaker understanding of odds.

So, browse the lobby. When you see a multi-tabler, drop into that session and bring up note taking. Even if he won’t be at your table today, you may see him tomorrow and start with a bit of help you wouldn’t have otherwise.

Related posts:

1. Becoming A Stud
2. WCOOP Stud
3. Stud Eight Player Born Every Minute

It was done by a poster over on 2×2.  Who'd of thought someone over on 2×2 could be original?   Amazing.  Call one of their moderators to ax it.  That has to be addressed in their rules.  Mason should sue on behalf of Poe.

Related posts:

1. Pols – Poker – Sugarloafs
2. Poker Things

You need 100K just to sit.  At the eighth episode the money on the table is approaching three-million.  

I've been downloading the Million Dollar Cash Game that ran in London recently.  I got it
from a torrent site specializing in poker.  It currently has eight of the episodes available.
The first couple are a bit of a dog but the play does pick up.

The starting players are:

• Patrick Antonius

• Eli Elezra

• Gus Hanson

• David Benyamine

• Tom Dwan

• Howard Letterer

• Phil Ivey

• Chris Ferguson

The replacements include:

• Mike Matusow 

• Andy Block 

• Phil Hellmuth

The first couple of shows are a bit plebian but it does heat up and get interesting.

I won't include much in spoilers other than to mention that Dwan's propensity for implied odds hands isn't well rewarded to date.

Gary Jones and David Tuchman are the excellent commentators.

No related posts.

I got directed to a blog called  Glen Beck Reality Check.  I'll recommend the read but am forced to admit I had zero idea of who Glen Beck is.  That hardly your normal, lock stepping conservative.  I don't watch those other conservative pundits either. Rush give me a bad rush.  My news comes on the Internet  in a seven-degrees of separation manner.  It miss a lot and finds a fair amount.

The cash for clunkers program did nothing to help out the car industry as a whole. In fact, GM and Chrysler (you know, the ones that got our tax money?) actually reported LOSSES for that month. And now, those of us that have semi crappy cars are seeing our cars go up in value.
For example. My wife’s car for putting around town is a big ol’ Dodge Ram V8 (the perfect example of a clunker). It leaks every fluid imaginable, but turns over EVERY time (those old better made cars will do that). Anyways, I’ve been checking up on the Blue book price, and its jumped about 800 dollars.

That quote comes from a local, conservative blog that won't interest the readers here but is a more global view and plays to one of my favorite terms.  That is the “unintended consequences” that are the cornerstone of current politics.  It really supports the ol' “Be careful what you wish for” saw. 

Today possibly good and heart felt idea can reverse and as the blog pointed above to show: it is almost impossible to undo mistakes in our government.

I do wonder time and again if anything I say has relevance.  I'm the old guy that would only see Beyonce as an attractive black women walking down the street.  I am so behind the times it is a joke.  So when I think the joke is the world today, it is as far from mainstream as I am.

ADDENDUM:

Not much poker talk here of late.  As a group, we do brag about our downturn.  I guess I missed an opportunity.  It has been funny.  I've been having repeating session where I'm seeing very few bets.  My VP$IP at times is running single digit.  I intersperse that 60% ones where I get premium starting hand that go nowhere.

Related posts:

1. Unintended Consequences

                      XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Had to throw in a bit of suspense.  Don’t look at the bottom of the browser; just click.  You will fall into an interesting Web of Deceit.

The post reminds me of some that Shirley Rosario used to do.  You see thought processes evolve.  Good stuff!

Related posts:

1. Post Frontier
2. Poker Post — So many ways

That is as in Quadruple and change.  I guess bitching about the way it is going works.  That also included quads, boats, straights, you name it.  $23 off a $5 buyin limit table in about 70 hands.

On the quads a guy bet all the way and there were 3 of us in the pot at the end when I finally raised.  I had the trip kings on 4th street and rivered the fourth.  Had flush A-high in 5.  Rivered the 6th club which was an Ace to make the bet easier against the guy with an A with three hearts. 

Time, I guess, after this brag to give back that and more...

Seems somehow worth the risk.

No related posts.