There are formulas in art and poker that will get you good results. Brilliance, however, often goes its own way without all the variables accounted for and balanced, even if they can never truly disappear if the equation is to work. In Isolde, which I attended last night at the Theater for a New Audience in…
After leading into a paired, two diamond board holding trips decent kicker, I am min raised. With A10, I’m above the dividing line for winning and losing in a limped pot, so I’m going for max value against a perceived Ace rag. I can’t be certain because this fellow limped AJ earlier, but that is…
It’s later in the evening at one of the worst tables I’ve ever sat at in the local games, definitely tougher than the average 5/10 game. I am on the move list, but the truth is, I want to be here. I’m stubborn. The long run includes situations that will be both worse and more…
Gargamel, wolf in wolf’s clothing, is taking his time. Playing great poker doesn’t just take time, it eats time. Poker devours thought, patience, intelligence, guts, math, instinct, discipline. The table tonight, however, is not accustomed to this slow burn and it is breaking up the rhythm of their evening. It’s uncomfortable. Players fidget. This is…
A big win Monday wiped out a week of runbad and more. What was the key? While I know that it’s important to get into the big game early and not arrive fashionably late with the other sharks, rousing myself to action can be an issue. It’s easy to lie to myself and say that the games…
Occasionally I go to a third main casino within my pokerosphere, one which has the oldest poker history in my area. It’s also easily the sleaziest. In addition to the known hazards of crime, collusion, disgusting people (the revolting mystery of Mr. Foam Lips, anyone?), and chips coated with years of human grease, an…
The home game last night at last was ready to introduce Big O, or five card Omaha high low split. It quickly replaced plo and hold’em, as the players complained about the lack of action in PLO. Always a problem! Unfortunately for me, all my experience in PLO8 came to naught when I was too…
The pool of winners and losers overlap in many ways, but one of the many traits with which weaker players mark themselves is their instantaneous and natural use of the possessive adjective. It’s not universal by any means- not that readers of this obscure blog will tend to think in black and white- but the…
The smallest game in the room, the entry point for poker, is often the most deadly, dull, and uninviting. It has the highest proportional rake, the least challenging play, the smallest amount of available money, and most lethally, the most boring people. Tuesday is a slow night in many casinos. I got stuck at three…