Blog - December 2006
12/31/06: Happy New Year from PTP
December 31st, 2006
Good luck with whatever resolutions you’re planning on making - as for us, we’re just going to keep things status quo. In that spirit, here’s two new additions to the PTP library:
First up is a review of Angel Largay’s new book ‘No Limit Hold’em - A Complete Course.’ We’re fans, and here’s an excerpt of our fan-ness:
… This book is about one specific form of NL Hold’em; the small, capped buy-in games that he calls “low-limit no-limit” (LLNL). Intended for live action games up to the $5 big blind with a $500 max buy-in, the material translates well to similar games on the internet. This book is not for uncapped buy-ins or for tough games. The purpose of the book is to teach the skills needed to be successful at this form of the game, an area not sufficiently addressed in other current books. The material was developed through a process that included his student’s biggest problem areas and most frequent questions…
Read the whole thing >>>
Second up, a new article from Andrew entitled Proper use of Aggression in Shorthanded No Limit Hold’em. It’s a solid article, but we do wish he would make his titles a little less figurative … excerpt:
Most poker players are aware that aggression is a vital part of winning strategy in short-handed situations. But most players still don’t know exactly how to apply that knowledge. At a short-handed No Limit Hold’em cash game you are either a shark or a fish, and it’s the proper use of aggression which divides the tank.
The 6-player max No Limit Hold’em tables have exploded in popularity at the major online poker rooms over the last year. I suspect that the reason is twofold. First and foremost, there is less waiting between playing your hands – and let’s face it, we humans tend to be an impatient lot. Secondly, much looser play is warranted than in the full ring games. Those two aspects of short-handed action add up to playing a whole lot more hands. As poker players, this is really what we want to be doing anyway. So the popularity of these games should be no surprise.
Read!
Enjoy the new year!
Chris
Happy holidays from Part Time Poker
December 29th, 2006
Tis the season … for updates.
Our friends over at learn-texas-holdem.com felt the spirit of the season and gifted us an article with some solid advice on Handling Unfamiliar Opponents at the Poker Table:
Many times in no limit Holdem you will find yourself facing unfamiliar opponents. If you play in a regular home game, at a small casino, or only at very specific tables online, you may have intimate knowledge of who you are facing. Otherwise, you are likely to be up against players who are completely new to you. How do you handle these unfamiliar opponents?
You should generally start out by taking your opponent’s actions at face value, until they prove they will act otherwise. If you haven’t seen a player play yet and they bet, you should give them credit for a hand. Let another player find out if they are bluffing. You can get that information just as easily without risking any chips. Of course you may pick up something immediately in the hand that you feel gives you an instant read on someone, but if that doesn’t happen, wait for them to show you what kind of a player they are before making assumptions.
Read it!
And, here’s a review of a handy tool we think you’ll enjoy - read the Part Time Poker review of Poker Usher. Excerpt:
Poker Usher represents a new species in the manifold biotope of Texas Holdem software. It analyses your hand histories and uses the results to rate online poker tables according to their softness. The purpose of Poker Usher is to assist you in your table selection by indicating which tables are the easiest ones to beat.
The idea is kind of brilliant. Game selection is of essential importance for any poker player that wants to maximize his or her winnings. Some pros go so far as to claim that once you have grasped all the subtle poker concepts and put in your x thousand hands of practice, the single most important factor in deciding your hourly rate is your ability to find good games. On the theme “no matter if you’re the tenth best player in the world, play against the best nine and you won’t make a profit.”
So the question is, does Poker Usher succeed in its ambition? Yes – and no. Let’s have a look at the pros and cons of this little software (size on disk 18 MB).
>>> Read the whole review
Hope you’re enjoying your holidays, have a safe and happy new year.
Chris
PTP updates for 12/17/06
Now it’s warm as hell.
I never thought PTP would be more reliable than the weather in Chicago in December, but I guess it goes to show you … anyhow, on to the new:
This week, PTP profiles international poker star Marcel ‘That’s right, they’re sunglasses AND they’re upside-down’ Luske. Here’s some of the words we used:
The 53-year-old former salesman from the Netherlands captured worldwide attention in 2003, when he finished 14th at the main event of the World Series of Poker. In 2004, Marcel bettered that mark with a 10th place finish – one of the truly impressive feats in poker, considering how much the field of players has grown in recent years. Marcel, who can frequently be found singing at the table, brings such a light hearted atmosphere to the game that he is a pleasure to watch. If you visit a poker forum you will always find a lot of appreciative posts about Marcel Luske. The ESPN cameras were frequently trained on him during his World Series runs. The cameras were also on hand to see David Williams, who Marcel had taken on as a protégé, finish 2nd in the 2004 event.
Read it!
Last week john returned, and this week we’ve got another recidivist: Vinny’s back with a new column entitled The Heartbreak of Holdem. Want to try before you buy? Well, we don’t sell articles, so that’s not really possible, but if you consider your time a form of currency, I guess the expression works…
Sometimes I wonder just why in the hell do I play low-limit Hold ‘Em in the first place. Then, when a miracle draw, hand, game, tourney or night happens, I remember. Cause actually winning at that game gives me a sense of wonderful accomplishment, a personal glow of well-being that makes life seem like a beautiful place to be. It’s those “other” nights when I begin to question what little sanity I have left.
My friends think it’s just funnier than hell. Here I do my best to write a Hold ‘Em column, which amazingly enough quite a few people seem to read, yet “Mr. Big Time” (as I have been laughingly called) gets his ass kicked about two out of every three games I play in, and only win one out of every five or six tourneys I get in. If there is a drunken, obnoxious suck-out artist anywhere on the planet, they always seem to end up one seat to my left wherever I end up playing.
Read it all!
Chris
12-10-06: New on PTP this week
Some solid additions to the PTP library this second week o’ December:
If you’ve been an active online poker citizen during the last few years, you’ve no doubt seen / heard of Andrew Kasch’s e-book ‘How To Shake the Online Poker Money Tree.’ Find out if it’s worth the investment with our review of the online poker e-book.
If you’ve been an active PTP citizen during the last few years (yes, it’s coming up on three years now), you’ve no doubt read / enjoyed John Darr’s contributions to our strategy sections. This week, John’s back, baby! - with the first part of a two-part series entitled ‘Calling With Queen High.’ Here’s a bit for the whetting of your whistle:
I believe when someone plays poker at a higher level than his opponents, when he has a substantial Edge, his opponents see him as lucky, fearless or just plain stupid. In poker we’re always looking for edges and if you can dress up an Edge as donk-luck, well that’s a huge Edge.
But there’s just one problem, one itty bitty secret about the Edges – you can fall off them. What the hell does it mean to fall off an Edge? One way is to overestimate your ability or think you have the same Edge against every player. It’s easy not to notice when players make adjustments to you and you lose your advantage.
Example: on the river you’re up against a player whose bluff you’ve picked off six of the last seven times. Now he’s pushed a large bet at you on a scary board, AGAIN! and you have a decent, not great holding, like bottom two-pair. But this bet is significantly larger - he’s bought up to you each time you’ve picked him off. You think you own him, normally you fold to such a large bet in a really marginal situation, but you’re on that Edge. You make the call but he’s holding the nuts. You got him six out of eight times and go home broke.
When a player falls off the Edge he lands at the bottom where there’s nothing but kicks in the ass, piles of shit and ego-bruising doubt. Humpty Dumpty got off easy. He fell off an Edge and simply cracked. Poker players fall off and go broke.
Read it!
Take it easy.
Chris
New on PTP for 12-02-06
December 3rd, 2006
It’s cold as hell. Here’s what we’ve got this week:
Looking to fine tune your shorthanded no limit game? Check out this collection of shorthanded no limit hand quizzes designed to help illustrate some of the key concepts involved in shorthanded no limit play. Come up with your own answers and then compare them to our takes on the hands.
Looking to develop a sneakier skill? Check out Vinny’s column this week entitled Oh What a Tangled Web We Weave, where he lays out the steps for committing one of the sneakier scams he’s ever had pulled on him at a poker table. Here’s an excerpt:
Pretty much every poker player is fully aware of what a bluff is. Almost everybody has tried one or two, and either gotten away with it, or got busted. On the other hand, just about everybody has been a victim of, or busted somebody else in the act of bluffing. Yet when you get down to brass tacks, setting up and carrying through a good bluff is basically creating a deception. It is with the deception aspect in mind, that I am sharing a “bluff” that I was once the victim of, and since that game (about a million hands ago) have also used a time or two.
At the outset, I must warn you. Though this particular bluffing scenario is legal, it is a dirty, low-down sneaky move that can only be used once in any given game or tournament, and will sometimes make people seriously mad. So I caution you to only use this particular “trap,” if you have, (in the immortal words of inveterate and legendary gambler Doc Holliday) “a good partner, a comfortable saddle, and one hell of a fast horse.”
Read it all here.
Enjoy the week,
Chris
