you read enough material on poker you always get the same stuff, here are the hands you need to play, here is the postion you need to play them from and on and on.
But the truth is in many tounaments you dont get many good hands, and even fewer in the right position. So you
either have to gamble, or your pushed to gamble to survive.
Case in point. Friday night i played a 40 man tourney, largest hand i had all night was pair of tens and that
included 2 hours of a cash game after. Thats poker, i understand that and you just go with the flow, However
having said that there were two plays where i was faced with a decision to make the right play or gamble.
1…. had AQ in 8 spot. Two large bets before me, one all in. NOw all the materials tells you it takes a
better hand to call than to bet…. so i folded…… flop came and i would have won the hand.
2… i was BB had 2-4 suited… most players limped in… flop came 8 5 4 … there were two significant bets in front of me
and i folded with a pir of 4’s… i would have won the hand.
I have a friend that wins more than i do and he plays everything, he would never have folded in those places. When i play at the same table i see his moves ahead of time because he pushes everyone at the table. If they check he is betting, no matter what two cards he has. He even plays blind and he win and gets cards….
this has been going on a very long time, so the question is does he get better cards and better flops because he plays most of the hands or does he just get better cards. Now i think he plays poker 24 hours a day, but still either the materials in all
books is wrong, or he bribed ther poker gods.
I understand i am not a gambler, i look at the odds and stuff, probably to much.
gman
Replies:
Posted by: Pit Boss on December 17, 2012, 4:11 pm
Maybe this quote will make sense;
"Texas Holdem, it takes five minutes to learn and a lifetime to master" Doyle Bronson.
You can also look up the case of Lawrence Dicristina, who was not convicted of running an illegal poker game because in the 120 page decision, the judge argued that poker was a game of skill, and where skillful players win more hands over time time than just lucky ones. Here is the link to the NY daily News article. http://articles.nydailynews.com/2012-08-21/news/33307369_1_internet-poker-poker-room-poker-players-alliance
That being said, I think you made the right decision on both accounts.
In the case of the AQ: you are in late position with two big bets in front of you, this hand is unplayable in your spot. You have to assume that the early pushers have hand values that are in the range of AA, KK, QQ, JJ, AK suited, or possibly even as low as 1010, all of which have you dominated.
In the case of the 2-4 suited in BB, you limped in, but then you said you got tow big bets "in front" of you. I assume you checked the flop with your fours, in which a later player will sense weakness (and in this case you were very weak) and should bet. If there was thought that you could have won that hand, the only option was for a 1/2 to 3/4 pot bet from the BB position. This makes the later opponents assume you either have the high pair (88) or two pair on the flop. In which case the late positions only game should be a fold.
In my opinion both of these plays were correct tournament plays. By making the correct plays, you should be way ahead of your friend in the long run.
Pit Boss
Posted by: the gman on December 17, 2012, 6:43 pm
Posted by: TommyC on January 1, 2013, 1:50 am
