Running Like God
Posted by: March 21st | CommentsI started easing into my $50 challenge a little over a week ago. If you haven’t read my post announcing the challenge I’ll give you a quick rundown. I’m starting with a $50 bankroll on Ultimate Bet and trying to grind it up to $1,000. I admit that I’m using very aggressive bankroll management, but I’m perfectly willing to drop down to lower stakes if I’m at risk of losing the challenge.
I’ve been grinding mostly the .05/.10 HUNL games so far. I currently have my $50 starting roll up to $212.80, which is obviously awesome. Of course I’m not assuming that my current winrate is anywhere near attainable long term, but it’s still nice to see. I’m running at 51BB/100 (lol) over the last 1600 hands. We’ll see when the poker god’s start pissing all over me.
Here’s my graph and stats.
HEM Graph
HEM Stats
The most noticeable difference between .05/.10 and higher up in the low stakes is that you can value bet full pot on every street and still get called down quite often. This means you can take down big pots with your strong hands. That doesn’t mean that the player’s aren’t paying attention though, you still need to get caught with a bluff once in awhile… but once you do, it’s on!
I’ll update on this every 1,000 hands from here until I hit the goal or go busto. If you have any questions about the stats please ask.
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Calculatem Pro Review
Posted by: March 18th | CommentsI’ve never used a poker odds calculator while I play, however, some people that have a hard time calculating odds while at the tables may find this useful. I will be reviewing the software sometime in the near future. If I think it’s good I’ll make a video of it in action and add it to this post. Below is the sales copy from the company.
Calculatem Pro
From the makers of the hottest selling poker odds calculator comes Calculatem Pro – the most powerful Texas Holdem odds calculator on the market. Calculatem Pro has revolutionized the world of Texas Holdem poker calculators with its superior features and precise customization. It uses the latest, most sophisticated technology and algorithms to instantly calculate hand AND pot odds – bringing you the most accurate advice in a sleek, easy-to-use interface. Calculatem Pro is a “must-have” for any Texas Holdem poker player serious about winning at the tables!
*** Review on 4/22 ***
Calculatem Pro Review
I was going to post a video of this program in action, however, after some review I’ve decided… not to bother. The program might have some value to a limit hold’em player that has serious trouble estimating pot odds. However, there’s really no reason a no limit hold’em player should pay the high fee for a yearly license to this software.
Your money here is much better spent on some poker books, Holdem Manager, or an infusion to your bankroll.
Bottom Line
Overpriced unnecessary software. I guess I’m a shitty affiliate… what can i say? I say it like I see it.
Poker and Gambling
Posted by: February 6th | CommentsWhen I tell people that I play poker, they assume that I’m a gambler. Although I enjoy a gambling trip to Vegas as much as (more than) the next person, that’s not what poker is about. Not for me, anyway.
I actually just had my first losing month. It hurt. At the beginning of the month I ended up having a real bad run of cards at a stake higher than I usually play. That set me up to tilt off another… 7 to 10 buy ins at my regular stake. At one point I got so fed up with losing due to another bad river card that I just couldn’t play anymore. I took a couple of days off.
During my little vacation I reflected on my poor results over the last two weeks. I realized that I was expecting to lose and my play was suffering from it. I made crazy moves thinking that the only way I could win a pot was to bluff my opponent off the best hand. I made super light call downs thinking, “He can’t have it again!”. I just let it get to me, and it cost me.
From experience I know that even when I’m running bad I should still make a slight profit, provided I put in enough hands. If I maintain proper table selection and make the plays that I know to be correct, I’m still going to win. In January I didn’t do any of that. I was frustrated and I turned to gambling.
Poker doesn’t have to be a gamble. Once you pay your dues and establish a solid bankroll, you can play poker and earn a good hourly rate for your play. You’ll still have losing days and the occasional losing week, however, provided that you play your best and keep your emotions in check, you’ll end up on top.
So, when you feel control slipping away from you, do yourself a favor and quite playing until you get yourself back in check. Do whatever it takes, fly to Vegas and blow some cash on the Blackjack tables, whatever you do will end up saving you money in the long run. And that is really what this game is all about – maximizing your long term returns by playing better than your opponents.
Calling All-ins with Draws
Posted by: February 1st | CommentsOne problem in poker can be solved using a relatively simple calculation that ensures the correct play. That problem is whether or not to call an all-in bet when all you have is a strong draw, generally to a straight or a flush. To get started learning this skill, you need to learn to identify the important variables.
- The current pot odds.
- The odds against making your draw by the river.
- Whether or not there is a possibility that you will still lose even if you hit your draw
Once you know these three things you simply call if the pot odds are greater than the odds against you making your draw, and fold if the pot odds are less than the odds against you making your draw. If there is a reasonable chance that your opponent will still win if you hit your draw, you must adjust for that possibility.
Example: You have AhTh on a board of Kh9h2s. You have the nut flush draw as well as a backdoor straight draw and a draw to top pair. You have 9 outs for the flush, we’ll call it 1 out for the straight, and 3 outs for top pair. A total of 13 outs. One problem. Your top pair outs may not be good. To be conservative, you can ignore the top pair outs, or just discount them if you have a strong read that your aces can win at showdown (discount by counting your 3 ace outs as something less than 3, depending on the range you give your opponent).
Your opponent check raises you all in on the flop. The pot, including his all in bet, is $12 and we have $8 remaining to call. The pot odds here are 1.5 to 1.
Given his play, we must accept the possibility that he already has a pair of aces beat, so we completely discount the three remaining aces as outs. Now we have 9 outs to the nuts and 1 out to the backdoor straight, giving us a total of 10 good outs. Ten outs means we are getting odds of 1.3 to 1 to hit by the river.
Since the pot odds in this example are greater (1.5 to 1) than the odds against us hitting our draw (1.3 to 1), we will show a profit every time we make this call.
You can use the Excel spreadsheet included in the Starter Pack to automatically perform this process for you. You will simply need to enter the number of good outs you have, whether the decision is being made on the flop or turn, and the size of the pot and amount to call.
The spreadsheet handles all of the odds calculations for you and works great for making quick and accurate decisions during live play. If you haven’t registered with us, click here to register and receive the Starter Pack for free!
