Antonius versus Brunson

This is going to be the most interesting story throughout the summer. In case you haven't heard, Patrik did an interview with Card Player magazine late last year. During the interview, somebody told him that Doyle had said he would swim across the sea to play him heads up. Basically saying that he thinks Patrik is a fish. So Patrik shot back in the interview, which then got published, by saying he would play him any game for any stakes. Big mistake Patrik.
Patrik Antonius is one of the great players on the planet. He is without a doubt one of the most talented and feared players. However, he is letting Doyle pick the games and the stakes. Patrik is a no-limit hold'em and pot limit omaha player. He can play the other games well, but not to the level that Doyle can. If you saw the WPT tourney that Doyle won, he had a hell of a call against Patrik. The hand came down like this:
Three handed, Doyle is the short stack. He has a little over 4 million, and Patrik has about 6 million. The blinds are 150,000/300,000 with a 50,000 ante. The button folds and Doyle limps with 33. Patrik takes a second, then declares all-in. It appears that Doyle snap calls him with 33. Patrik has this look on his face like somebody shot his dog. He then whines about the call. He even goes so far as to say, "How can you make that call with threes?" He says it over and over and is almost indignant. Finally, Doyle quips back, "We're playing poker son, not solitare." Classic Doyle comeback. The flop and turn brick, but on the turn the board pairs, giving Patrik 6 more outs. He bricks the river and is still befuddled by the call. I'm sure there were a couple of factors that influenced the call by Doyle. The first of which is that he knew Patrik is a maniac, loose player and he was probably in a race situation. The second factor was that he was sick and tired of Patrik trying to run him over. If you have read Supersystem, you will know that if you push on Doyle, he will push back. He'll let you get away with it once or twice, but he is coming if you keep it up.
So, they are working on a heads up match. Rumors are floating around that they will be playing for a minimum of $1 million, and some have even speculated that it will be a series of 7-10 games for $1 million each. In his blog, Doyle said that it will be a cash game and not a freeze out. So that is another big plus in Doyle's corner. He plays the biggest game in the world on a regular basis and I'm sure he will not pick Omaha or Hold'em. So that is another big plus for Doyle. So it will be interesting to see if they televise this landmark event and who wins. Doyle has also stated that if Patrik beats him, he will retire from poker. He said that he will move to Montana and live the rest of his days on his 110 acre ranch. That will be a sad day. But the new guard has to take over someday. I personally think a match between Ivey and Brunson would be more fitting.
I just read tonight, that the Antonius-Brunson feud is also spilling over onto the golf course. Brunson challenged Antonius to a round of golf for $100,000 a hole. He told Patrik he has from now until the end of August to accept the challenge. The verbal sparring going on between these two is very fascinating. You should read both of their blogs. It is quite good reading.

Ironman Freerolls

I just got done playing the Ironman freerolls. I played in the Bronze Ironman and the One-a-day. In the one-a-day freeroll, not many players actually played. The total field was almost 1,000; however, about 70% of the field didn't even sit in. The same went for the bronze ironman. If you pull up the hand history, it will tell you who is sitting out. 6 of the 9 people at the table were sitting out. So it made the opening stages of both tournaments kind of hairy.
In the one-a-day, I slowly built a decent sized stack and was doing well. I sat at the same table for most of the tournament and built my stack to over 6,000. We got down to the money bubble and I just sat out for about 10 minutes waiting for all of the people who were sitting out to get blinded out. Once that was over, I got back to business as ususal. I ended up running my JJ into A10 and losing. I cashed for a whole $3....woohoo. I am never going to play this tourney again. The prize structure is not worth the time or effort. First place was about $200, and they paid out way too many places.
The Bronze Ironman went a little better. I final tabled the ironman. I was playing really well, especially for not getting many hands. I got a few premium starting hands, but got most of my chips from playing position and from 3-betting before the flop against weak opens and making timely c-bets. I don't know how many times I saw somebody open the pot, then check the flop. Suddenly they bet the turn when a rag falls. They would eventually show down a decent ace but no pair or just two big cards. You have to tell a story with your bets. Don't check the flop, then suddenly try to portray strength with a rag. I had to two barrel a guy who floated me. I had AJ suited. He limped on the button, and I raised him from the BB. He limped for 1,000, so I raised it to 3,600. The effective stacks were about 125,000. He called, the flop came K-6-6 rainbow. I bet out 6,400, he flat calls. I knew that if he had a king or pair, he would have raised me on that flop. So I bet out 12,500 on the turn, he thought about it and folded. SO I was cruising along a doing well.
Until, I ran into a LAG....lol. I had about 150,000 and raised to 28,000 with AK. The blinds were 5,000/10,000 with 1,000 ante. We were 7 handed, and he shoved for 92,000+. I called, he showed 44 and I had AK. I lost the race and was crippled. I shoved the next hand with KJ suited and lost to AJ...I hate it when you are playing well. Lose a race and then out within a hand or two. I can understand his play with 44 but I think it's a little too risky for his effective stack size. The best he could hope for was a race. I know that might sound a little too tight, but seriously. If I'm raising with 77+, or any two cards bigger than a 5. But, you have to win those races to win tournaments. I could have folded and waited for a better spot, but I knew the range of hands he had, and knew that you have to win the 60/40's and 50/50's from time to time.
So I cashed for a whopping $3 in the one-a-day and $175 in the bronze ironman. SO hopefully I'll do better in the next one. Like I said though, I am not playing in the one-a-day ever again. That was such a joke of a freeroll. Anyway, good luck at the tables.

So Funny

It's so funny, everytime I have written about the success I have had, variance has started the very next game I played. Yesterday was no different. I had been running well for about a week. I decided to blog about my successes so far, and wouldn't you know it. I got cold decked in a couple of tourneys, and just couldn't win the others. I was getting short and pushed with AK, wouldn't you know it, the SB wakes up with AA. 4 handed and I run into AA. The sheer likelihood that somebody has AA when you have AK is pretty unlikely, much more so when you are 4 handed. But those are the breaks.
In the other tourneys, I lost QQ vs. 88, KK vs. QJ off, AA vs. K10 suited, and QQ vs. A5. So I kept getting my money in good, it just wasn't holding up. Unlike the last downswing, I decided to call it a night and not press my luck. Last time I dropped a little more than 10 buy-ins. I'm only down about 3 right now. So I'm going to get back at it tonight and see what happens. Hopefully all will go well.

New Books

I just ordered some new books through Amazon. I have read so many books, and I know that a lot of people would say that it's not constructive, or maybe even counterintuitive. However, one of the things I take from each book is something that will add to the style I play. I also try to understand the way some other people approach the game. My philosophy is that if I understand how other players approach the game, then it will be easier for me to understand why they play the way they do.

So I bought some books on various topics. I pre-ordered Daniel Negreanu's new book Power Hold'em. I have a feeling this will be the new version of Supersystem. He has gathered some young guns and some very prestigious pros to help write the book. I have enjoyed reading his articles, his blog, and have utilized a lot of advice he has given. In fact, because of Negreanu I play a lot of small ball poker. To me, Negreanu is definitely in the top 5 of the best poker players on the planet. Of course, Phil Ivey, Doyle Brunson, and Allen Cunningham are in that list as well. You may not agree, but I would put Joseph Hachem in the top 5 right now as well. I love the way he approaches the game and his style. He will be one of the greats in no time.

I bought a couple of books on tournament strategy. I got Gus Hansen's book Every Hand Revealed. I think this will be the most interesting read of all the books. Gus details every single hand he played and why he played from the 2007 Aussie Millions. He won the tourney and this book will give a great insight into one of the great poker minds. The funny thing about Gus is that everybody has him pegged as super loose/aggressive. However, what they don't realize is that he is a mathematical wizard and strategist. Everything he does he has a reason for doing. He has won 3 WPT titles and the Aussie Millions. I think he knows what he is doing. Not only that, but he is also a backgammon master. The other tournament book I got was the classic Sklansky on Tournament Hold'em. I have heard that this is the ultimate tournament book. So again, it will be a great book to read. Especially since I will be playing a lot more tournaments.

I bought a couple of books that relate to cash games as well. I loved the Harrington on Hold'em series. So, I decided to buy his series on cash games. It's a new series of books, so I am very interested to see what he has to say. Harrington is a great player, especially in tournaments. So I am intersted to see how he approaches a cash game and how it differs from his tournament strategy.

Finally, I bought the book How to Think Like a Poker Pro. I have read a couple of different reviews on the book and love the psychological aspect of the game. I feel that if you can get a good grasp on the psychology, especially your personal psychology, you will have a huge advantage over your opponents. Controlling your emotions and keeping yourself calm in a difficult situation is a big key to success. So I am interested to read this book and see what other peoples thoughts on the subject are.

So that is what I will be up to over the next few weeks. I'm going to try to up the number of tourneys I play and try to get into the FTOPS. Other than that, it's business as usual. Good luck at the tables.

Hell of a Run

I don't want to jinx myself, but I am on one hell of a run right now. I have cashed in a little over 60% of the sit and go's I've played in, and have run well at the cash tables. I have 4 days completed so far in the new Ironman challenge, only 16 more days for the silver level, and 21 more days for the gold level. I'll just have to make sure I stay on top of my points and get enough everyday I can. About a week ago, I had a horrible night and dropped a little over 10 buy-ins. However, over the past few days, I have won all the buy-ins back plus some. I have added quite a bit to my bankroll, and if I really wanted to, I could probably jump stakes again. However, I am going to stay at the current level, in case variance strikes over the next few days. It's inevitable and it will happen sometime. No matter how good you are, or think you are, variance will get you.
I am going to take a couple of shots at some FTOPS satelites and see if I can win entry. Hopefully all will go well. I will also be playing more token and tournament satelites. One of my goals in poker has been to play in the FTOPS series. Now that my bankroll is getting healthy, I am going to take some shots at winning an entry. I think if I get into the FTOPS I will do well.
A brief note about the tournaments I just played in. I played 4 sit and go's and cashed in three of them. In fact, I won all three. The one I didn't cash in, I went out 7th, and it was pretty horrible too. I had AA and came in for a raise of 340 with the blinds at 60/120. The button called, and the flop came J-10-9 with three spades. I only had about 1500 left, and led out for 600 into a pot of 860. The button shoved in, and I took my time. I only had 900 left, so I really couldn't fold at this point. I called, and he showed 77, but he had the 7 of spades. I had A of hearts and the A of clubs....of course a spade hit the river and I was gone. What can you do.
In the other tourneys though, I played brilliantly. I was short stacked when we got to 5 handed in two of the tourneys. Mainly because the tables were playing incredibly insane. It's unbelievable how bad some of the players online are. But I'm not going to say anything to them, because I want them to continue to play badly. If they improve their game, it will only make the games tougher. I would rather play against LAG's than very solid TAG's. I made a couple of moves late in the tourneys to get my hands on some chips, and stole the blinds when I could. I made a great play against a late position raiser. I was in the BB with 97 suited, and the button raised. He was extremely loose and had a very specific betting pattern that I discovered. He would minimum raise with trash and very marginal hands. He would raise 3 times with a decent ace, two big suited cards, and pairs. And he would raise 4 times the blind with premium hands. At least that was my observation. So anyway, I called his min raise, and the flop came J-6-3. I checked it to him with no pair and no draw. He bet the pot on the flop. Another observation I had on him, was that his c-bets were always the pot. I saw him bet half the pot with a big hand, but now he is c-betting the size of the pot. So I check-raised him from 400 to 1100. He folded...I think it was a good play against an overly aggressive player. The key is to stay alert to your opponents, and watch for any patterns you might find.
That is a huge key to success in poker. Noting players tendencies and patterns. Betting patterns are an incredible tell. That is why I don't adjust my bets and raises by much. I never minimum raise with aces and I am very rarely the first open limper. I change my raises by position, that is all. I do not change the size of my raise by strength of hand. If I'm in early position, I will raise from 2.5-2.7X's the BB. If I'm in middle position, I will raise from 2.7-3X's the BB. From late position I will raise from 2.7-3.5X's the blind. The only reason I vary my raise by position is because of position. When I am in early position, I am usually opening with some pretty strong hands. If I raise 3-4 times the blind from early, I usually won't get any action. However, if I open for a smaller raise, I tend to get a little more action. I don't mind that because I'm starting with a better hand than the callers, and can play after the flop. From middle position I make a little bigger raise because of fewer opponents behind me and to get a little more money in the pot. Pretty much the same reason from late position, only now I have the added strength of being able to act on my hand last after the flop. So with the added strength of having position on my opponents, and more money in the pot, it makes raising from late position even more powerful.
One thing you have to take note of, is the players who have acted in front of you and what they have done. If there is an open limper with a couple of callers, I will try to evaluate the strength of my hand in relation to the limpers. I don't like raising limpers from middle position, because of a couple reasons. First, a late player or one of the blinds may make a play at you and you won't get to see a flop. Second, if you raise from middle position with a marginal hand, players that call your raise are likely to be starting with the better hand. In my opinion, it is better to limp along with the others with a hand that plays well hot and cold, and is unlikely to be dominated. Just my thought.