Tampa Bay Poker Group

Recently joining SpadeClub has been an experience, but I'm not sure it's for everyone, and I'm sure it's not for me. Playing with points, instead of dollars, makes it very hard to take the game seriously. It makes it very hard to think out decisions, play correct poker, correct position, reading betting patterns, opponents, using all the mechanics and tools of trade of the game I love and hate.

OK, so it's not completely misleading, but it is possible to think that they are talking about the speed of your play.  The single most important thing about Rush poker is NOT to rush at all.  You want to play the most patient poker of your life.  This doesn't mean not playing any hands at all, to the contrary.  Once you are up a few bucks, you can try to hit straights and flushes knowing that many opponents are playing exactly how I outline here.

These are NOT hard and fast rules, but I find most of the time I do poorly on Rush poker it's because I broke one or many of the below suggestions.  These suggestions are only if there is no raise in front of you already.  You basically want to play as few hands as possible where sometime raises in front except to set mine.  Even then, set over set is possible and since you can see 300 hands/hour playing Rush Pokler , why bother risking what's unnecessary?

So I'm running bad. Really bad. It seems any game whether ring, sng, mtt.. whether hold 'em, omaha, or Monopoly Deal. I just can't win. Anything. Ever. Yeah I'm still steaming, and ready to take some time off from the game. I've passed over the idea presented by the "real" poker pro's, or Tampa's Angry Jacks poker pro's alike, but without giving it too much thought. Until now anway. Too addicted? Perhaps. Too stubborn?

Interesting read. Partial script taken from: "Easy Money" by David Apostolico, Card Player Magazine, May 7, 2008.

"...What happens, however, when you are the one on a rush? We tend to be aware of going on tilt when things go badly, but players can also go on tilt when things are coming too easily. Even a hardened player can start to feel an air of invincibility when sitting behind a mountain of chips.

Calling a raise preflop generally means facing a C bet. Whether you've hit the flop or not, and whether the PF raiser hit the flop or not, the C bet is often.. check that LIKELY.. going to be there. Consideration must be given to the size of the bet in relation to the pot, to decide whether to continue or fold, and whether or not you feel the PF raiser is capable of slowing down on the turn. Point is, expect it. Now what.

Here's what I've found has worked with good success, both online and live, AJ games excluded (since no one slows down, ever! lol):

Of interest, has anyone else found themselves more 'in tune' with opponents and their hands after you fold? Why is this? Fold, then catch the BB exhale and raise. Or the 'hand over the mouth' and/or holding breath bet on the river. Or the stare and bet. Or the overcall. Or the player who looks at his cards and immediately his chips. So why don't we always catch this info. while IN the hand?

Perhaps we spend too much time planning our next move, instead of observing?

Big Slick is called Big Slick for a reason.
Yes its a monster drawing hand but it is a drawing hand all the same.
If you hit either an Ace or a King on the flop then you've got yourself top pair with the best kicker. You might get lucky as is connected to get the nuts straight, if its suited you have got the table crippled if you draw that flush. It's worth noting A-K suited is 5th best starting hand but A-K off is 9th best.

But this is the thing - when you haven't seen any cards what have you got really ? An Ace high ... with a King kicker, just about any starting hand could beat it.

Top players know AK is a great drawing hand but they also know its can be a killer if it just doesn't work out. In the hands of a new player it has 4king bustout written all over it, quite simply they fall in love with it.

Now here is the next problem with playing AK - OK it's a drawing hand so your thinking - don't play it too hard until you see the flop and then you can work out how your doing ... Wrong.

Ever been driving down the street and see some idiot swerve across four lanes of rush-hour traffic to avoid missing turn?  Of course you have, it happens every day.  A common response to that occurrence is probably, "Wow, what an idiot!" or "What is that guy thinking?"  The fact is that the majority of people you come into contact with in on a daily basis are the person who doesn't think twice about making the desparation lane change in order to save the hassle of turning down the next street or making a U-turn. 

Now think about all the times you've been sitting down at a poker table (live or online) and someone makes a play that baffles you beyond belief.  I'm willing to guess most of you have that reaction several times per poker session.  I know I do, especially when I am the victim of the dreaded donkey punch.  The question is, after playing hundreds, thousands and maybe even millions of hands of poker, why should I, or you, be surprised by the irrational play of your opponent?  The answer is, you shouldn't be surprised.  However, as rational people, we condition ourselves to believe that the person sitting across from you at the table is also rational and capable of making intelligent decisions.  Hell, it's human nature to want to give someone you nothing about the benefit of the doubt.  A wise man (Coach) always says, "You can't expect people to think rationally."  (Or something along those lines).     

As an example, let's take a look at a hand I played in the Daily Double.  (Note:  the point of this is not to bemoan my bad luck, tell a bad beat story, accuse anyone of cheating, or allege that Full Tilt is rigged.) 

I don't get to play live much anymore after adjusting to life with twins. I wish I did and I know some day, some time, I will be able to make a weekly game. My wife is/was excellent about it, but with twins as infants? When you're actually witness to it, you realize that it's not fair to leave the other person alone for any extended period of time. What does this have to do with poker? Well unfortunately heading out to north Tampa for a poker game has been replaced with online poker.

I play on Full Tilt and I have to say that I really do see more frequent bad beats than I ever did live. I have no real measurements. I know that I see a TON more hands online than live. However, the sheer amount isn't even enough to qualify it. It's the severity level that makes them unique. I'm talking from runner runner two outers to the infamous 3 outer on the turn and sometimes the 6 outer on the river. They beat your set, knock your pocket pair down to nothing and leave you broke and penniless along the way.

Of course, we all know that we WANT these morons calling us, but at the same time, miracle cards come so frequently that it's staggering and surprising.

Sure, it's not rigged against ME, per se - but I am a believer in the theory that there are simply more action hands dealt from the deck. They are still random hands being shuffled randomly - you just need to watch your step even more than you ever might have to in a live poker room.

Good luck at the tables ... join us on Wednesdays for our AJOPC (Angry Jacks Online Poker Challenge) on Full Tilt.

Player of the Year at WSOP Picked -

The Player of the Year at the World Series of Poker for 2008 is 3rd place finisher in the $50,000 H.O.R.S.E. event Erick Lindgren. Lindgren has been known as one of the best poker players in the world to have never won a bracelt at the World Series of Poker, but he changed that this year with a victory and five cashes, including coming very close to winning the famous H.O.R.S.E...