More New Content Soon...

Greetings Readers,

I know it has been a terribly long time since I've posted anything, but more will be coming soon as I approach my own computer-internet-job-freetime-postholidays convergence.

Things to look forward to:

• New poker strategies
• A discussion of whether or not El Nino is affecting the United States this year.
• Photos and things I learned while building my own poker table.

Until then,

-Johnny Evil Dog

Death by Straight!

In the good old days, when I was winning consistently, I was able to collect chips in the first few hands from the tight players and spend the rest of the game pushing them around. Lately, since I’ve asked to be seated with stronger players, my success rate has plummeted. Ultimately, this is a good thing, as it will force me to become a better player. Right now, though, its terrible.

For the last three weeks, I’ve been part of about 6-7 free tournaments at local bars near my home. My starting hands and initial positions at the table have been such that I was unable to set an aggressive tone. Waiting out the bad cards and making bad calls that miss the flop, I’ve watched more aggressive players slowly erode my chip stack. When I was finally dealt a playable hand (say Ace-Queen suited), I’d bet big, only to discover that others would make a bigger hand by the river. After reviewing the notes from the games that I’ve lost recently, they all have one thing in common. My opponents made a straight to either drain me of most of my chips or put me out entirely.

Being the "sucker at the table" and eliminated early, I’ve had plenty of time for reflection. Pushing ego aside, I realized that I’m not that good at recognizing possible straights after the flop. Sure, the brain can discern the flush quickly because of the similar shapes and coloration. The straight is a different story, because the brain has to work harder to fill-in visual gaps with cards that aren’t there. If this weren't enough, I discovered that I am often too focused on the cards I have in my hand than the ones my opponent(s) might hold. I seem to always think my top pair or three-of-a-kind are good enough. Perhaps you remember what the old GI-Joe public service announcements used to say-Knowing is half the battle. If this is the case, with a little bit of training and concentration, I might be able to overcome my mental lapse and recognize possible straights when they are being used against me.

Today’s Take Home lessons:

1) Go beyond playing the cards in your hand. Always consider what your opponents might have.

2) It’s OK to slow down and think, when an opponent puts you to the test. Consider all the combinations and pair them up with your read of your opponent. You might win a few more big pots and stay a live longer as a result. Don’t worry, even the impatient players at the table will give you time to do this, especially if you’ve been making decisions quickly throughout the game.

3) Beware the straight. Learn how to recognize them quickly. Don’t make the mistakes I’ve made.

Some of you might think that these lessons are fundamentals-they are-but every now and then its good to go back and review them. Throughout these posts, I’ve been writing on the pros and cons of new techniques for so long that I’ve forgotten to play the cards correctly. This reflective post is a reminder for me, but I hope it can help you as well.

Cue the "Deep Thoughts by Jack Handey" soundtrack.

-JeD

The Perils of Overbetting the Pot.

It was well into the third hour of my local freeroll tournament. Looking around my table and the adjacent tables, I was holding steady with about 2000 chips. Thus far, I had played very conservatively. I played two hands total, receiving 10-5 offsuit five times; however, I did win the hands I played. As the five original tables of ten condensed down to two, I thought it was time to cash in on my tight table image. The blinds were 200 and 400 at the time; I would have to think about making a move soon.

A suited Ace-Jack appeared. I was in late position with many of my opponents calling the pot. I bet 1200 (big blind times 3), several people dropped out, one person rereaised, and I immediately re-raised all-in. The table gasped and one person mentioned that there was a whole lot of chips in. My opponent had me covered, but just barely. He laid his hand down and I showed.

The next hand, pocket kings. I raised a little during the pre-flop, and everyone folded. The image was working, but would it work a third time?

On the third hand, my rush continued: pocket queens – no spades. I called. I never call. The opponent on my right stayed in to see the flop, which were three spades. He checked. To induce a call, I went all in. He had a bigger stack than me and spent the greater part of five minutes deliberating. I tuned out everything and went into my unreadable poker zen.

With every passing moment, I knew that it was more and more likely he would fold. Everyone else at the table started to make comments to get me to smile. Since I was deep into my trance at the time, it didn’t work. Finally, he laid his cards down and showed me two red kings.

Three hands, three pots. I now had 6000 chips, enough to last several blinds.

Now, since we were down to five players at our table, the tournament organizer sat three more people down with us. These three people did not see my incredible rush or my recent moves. Nevertheless, when the fourth hand of my rush started, I thought I could have my way with the table no matter what my hole cards were. I showed the table that I was willing to go all-in on just about anything and win. This was hubris, pure and simple.

I was dealt suited Ace-Nine. These are cards pulled from the dreaded gray-zone of poker: high enough to look appealing, but low enough to hurt if I overvalued them. Flashing back to an old WSOP rerun, I remembered that in one tournament, no one lost with Ace-Nine. This dominated my thinking and I temporarily lost my objectivity. I’d pay for it.

Calling the blind, I saw the flop cheaply. Three others, who just sat down, also called. The flop was Js-4c-2h. I had a slim flush draw. Opponent #1 checked, opponent #2 raised to 1200 (double the big blind), and opponent #3 called. Thinking that I could squeeze one more pot out, I reraised all in. All opponents had more chips than me. If I could get two to fold, I stood a chance of going heads-up against the last one. To my amazement, both opponents #1 and #2 folded, while #3 (a beginner), called me.

We showed our cards. She flopped top pair. Neither the turn nor the river helped me at all, and opponent #3 beat me with two jacks. I busted out.

Lessons learned:

1) Watch your bets. It is important to bet high enough to look strong, but low enough to keep your opponents guessing whether or not you are setting a trap. Going all-in or making an over-the-top (6-10 times the big blind) bet looks desperate.

2) The all-in bet loses it’s potency the more you use it. My recommendation is to use it once or twice during the mid-game in big pots, but never use it just to lift your stack a fraction. Had everyone folded during the last hand, I would have added a paltry 1200 to my stack. In retrospect, the all-in was an incredibly bad move here.

3) I am dropping the Ace-nine suited from my list of good hole cards. Maybe I’ll play them again if I was in position and the flop helps me out, but after getting burned, I’m leery.

4) This weekend, I’ll be poping-in “A Bridge Too Far” into my DVD player to drive all of these lessons home.

Oh well. Freerolls are for experimentation. I learned a lot more than I expected during this one.

-JeD

Anything like this happen to you? Please add a comment.

All photos are property of The Big Sargasso and Johnny Evil Dog. All Rights Reserved. 2006.

New Look to the Big Sargasso.

In my quest to make things more professional around here, I've made the following changes:

1. Description panel upgrade. Now browsers can get an idea of what this blog is about quickly and easily.
2. Photographs/artwork. Thanks to the Imageshack picture hosting site, I now have a work-around the picture-posting problem I've been having the last few months.
3. Icons & Symbols for easy scrolling. Maybe you enjoy the quirky science connections, or maybe you look forward to my poker stories. Since this blog is an ecclectic mix of things, I'll be attaching icons right underneath the titles, so you you can go to your favorite "Big Sargasso" material as quickly as possible.
4. Ad Consolidation. Both the ads and the links have been grouped so you can go to the section(s) you want without the distraction of advertisements.

I hope you enjoy the new look. As always, your comments are welcome.

-JeD