One of the most confusing concepts the aspiring poker player will encounter is the notion of an overall Strategy. Perhaps surprisingly, it is counter-intuitive to many that a relational game of information can have a strategy that is not merely reactionary and essentially reciprocal. For instance, even very smart people balk at the concept, as…
While I was sweating out my tournament blogging gig back in November, I received an email from Tadas Peckaitis, online low stakes poker coach. He had apparently stumbled onto my blog and was wondering if there was anything we could do to promote each other’s work. (It’s worth noting that he seems to be an…
In all my endeavors I have been a good but imperfect teacher, and so far, my experience in poker coaching is bearing this out. Most of my students have reacted favorably to their work with me, and many are seeing positive changes in their thinking and on the felt. The exceptions are interesting and worth…
New post from Gargamel, where he thinks through seemingly reciprocal spots. – P. Today I’m going to talk about hero folding and being able to put your opponent on a very narrow range of hands or even a single hand. First, what is a cooler? My definition of a cooler is a hand in which you…
Hand histories are both overrated and underrated, but if done correctly, can be entirely useful for the writer, reader, and all participants. Critics of hand histories or of poker forums, such as Matt Berkey, and no doubt others, have suggested, correctly, that concepts and questions are more important, but what that side of the argument can miss is a…
Differing from the first installment of this slightly dull series of posts, aimed specifically at the die-hards (including myself) and the cubicle grinders who read my pieces on smartphones between hands or on the toilet at work, these spots were part of two adjacent but brutal sessions where very little went my way in terms of results.…
Over the course of two consecutive sessions, both entirely profitable and generally satisfactory, I was involved in hands that had me second guessing myself then and now. What makes them worth commenting on is, oddly, even if I was right to act as I did, I’m wishing, in a combination of poker degeneracy and intellectual curiosity, that…
In “celebration” of two years of playing for a living, if not exactly “professionally,” I am going to offer a reflection on the game. I’ve been thinking on the subject of those struggling to win, getting stuck (both ways) at 1/2 and feeling frustrated in general by poker. We’ve all been there, but some of us…
I was watching Live at the Bike last night, where LA grinder and LATB commentator JJ de la Garza was gettin’ busy. He’s a sharp looking guy, appropriately and comfortably dressed for the poker battle. His hair is tied up in a knot, poker samurai style. JJ seems a bit hot-blooded, antsy. He looks like he works out…