LiquidSilence

It's been quite a while since I posted anything poker related so I thought I would take a minute to recount the story of my visit this past weekend to Harrah's (or Harrah's Harrahs as my group calls it, but that's another story).

First off, this won't be a bad beat story even though I've been known to tell a few.  But, it's not about a great session either.  In fact, it was a busto session.  The story, though, is about the 2 seat.

I arrived at Harrah's at about 4pm on Sunday and they were just opening a new $1/$2 No Limit table so I sat right down.  Within the first 6 hands I watched the guy in the 2 seat call every single bet he faced and get felted for $200.  Within another 3 orbits I saw the exact same thing again.  He never folded once.  He won about 2 hands.  He was busted when he shipped it with one-pair-no-kicker against 2 pair.  Unfortunately for me and the rest of the table, he chose not to reload again.

Taking his place was a young kid with a haircut that I guess is in style these days and a Hollister t-shirt.  He couldn't be worse than the last guy, right?  He wasn't.  As a table we played for a couple of hours with nothing really out of the ordinary happening.  The guy in the 3 seat was being pretty aggressive, but with $1 and $2 blinds and no starting hands, I didn't really feel the need to take a stand.  Instead, I thought I'd wait for a hand and chip up.

The 3 seat opened under the gun for $10.  This was his fourth opening raise within the last ten hands, so it was no surprise that a couple of middle position players called.  As the 10-seat, I looked down at on the button.  I decided to call and play it cautiously.  The BB (Hollister) called as well and we took a flop 5 ways.



OK, I'm starting to like my hand even though it's possible I'm out-kicked.  Hollister checks to the pre-flop raiser.  The 3-seat puts out a rather weak $15 continuation bet into a pot that's already at $50.  Both of the middle position players flat call.  I might make a raise here with a mediocre hand, but I think there's a good chance my A8 is good and this is a totally non-threatening board with multiple players putting money into the pot.  I don't want to lose any customers so I flat call from the button.  The BB closes the action with a call and we get the turn.



Jackpot.  The nuts.  Surprisingly, Hollister leads out for $10.  WTF?  $10?  There's $125 in the pot and he bets $10?  Oh hells, yes.  That's either a strong Ace he's trying to get some more value out of or a really weak Ace and he's hoping to control the bet size.

The 3 seat raises to $30.  Both middle position players insta-muck to the raise.  I'm definitely just calling here.  I'm hoping I can get the kid to put in another $20 before I get some more money from the 3-seat on the river.  Instead, Hollister snap-shoves for $152 total.  The 3-seat tanks and folds.  I can't call fast enough.

Hollister shows for a flopped full house that is now dead to a chop.  He doesn't seem to pay any attention when I table A8 and get ready to drag the roughly $450 pot.  The river...



Hollister audibly groans!  He thinks he's just been counterfeited by the river.  He doesn't even realize he just hit a 2-outer to keep his stack.  The guy in the 5 seat explains it to him.  He doesn't seem to understand.

I guess it could technically be a bad beat, but what struck me more than my atrocious luck on the river was the reaction of the 2-seat.  He was genuinely oblivious.  I should have been stacking his money, but instead he would continue to play.  And he would keep playing longer than me.

Some time later I flopped an open-ended straight flush draw against what I was pretty certain was an overpair.  I called a flop and turn bet and then made top pair (Jacks) on the river forcing me to payoff the value bet from KK.  My stack was now in pretty bad shape.  I had about $70 on the table and another $200 in my pocket, but I didn't feel like reloading.

By this time, Hollister had moved to the 5 seat.  Just in time for my last hand.  It went something like this...

The 4-seat (Some LAG) limped UTG.  Hollister called.  The 7-seat (a solid player) limped.  I came along from the cutoff with KdQd.  Both blinds called/checked and away we went.

The flop:

The LAG in the 4 seat bets $10.  Hollister and the 7-seat call.  I've got just one option.  Ship it for $65.  LAG doesn't think long before calling.  Hollister calls.  And then the 7-seat drops the hammer.  $165 to go!  The LAG calls off his last $80 or so and Hollister pushes in a stack of reds with an okie-dokie easiness.  Clearly KQ is no good and I know I'm headed for the exit unless I can improve.  The turn:


Hollister checks.  7-seat bets $150.  The kid wastes no time calling again, leaving himself about $23 behind.  The river



Hollister shrieks with joy and tables !  The dealer asks him if he'd like to bet and reminds him to protect his hand.  He pushes in his last $23.  The 7-seat mucks!  I fold as well and disgustedly, the LAG flips his cards into the muck!  I guess they both had AK.  Again, though, it was the kid's reaction that surprised me the most.  When the 3rd heart hit pairing the board, he was certain that his flush was good.  It never crossed his mind that with all that action someone could have had TT, JJ, QQ.  What's more surprising was that he was right.

I hope he's there the next time I play.

To spice things up a bit in our regular home game Greg (a friend and regular player) and I have taken to playing “props”.  Props or “proposition” bets are side bets that are not (necessarily) directly related to the game.  Also, not every player at the table is involved… usually it’s just Greg & Me.  The bets we make are loosely based on a discussion of props that I read a while back on Daniel Negreanu’s blog.  We’ve adjusted them to better fit our game and stakes.  And, we mostly only play Texas Hold ‘Em, so we don’t have props for any of the other games.

There are a number of different props that we bet on.  First off, we each pick a suit.  If the flop (for any hand, even one in which the prop players are not involved) comes out with 3 cards of your suit you win.  In our case, this pays 2 bets.   The amount of the betting unit is agreed upon prior to the game.

If the flop comes 3-to-a-straight-flush in your suit, that pays 4 bets regardless of the rank of cards.

Also, prior to starting the match each player chooses one or more “props”.  Your prop is a series of 3 cards (e.g., 2-3-5, 9-T-J, etc.).  If the flop is your prop (regardless of suit) you win 3 bets.  If the flop is your prop AND your suit, that pays 10 bets.  Among your props, one is designated as the “Big Boy” meaning it pays more than the others.  Hitting your Big Boy pays 4 bets; if it’s all your suit it pays 12 bets.  Since we’re beginners at this whole props thing, we usually pick just one prop and one Big Boy to simplify things.

We also play “Jacks”.  This means that if the Jack in your suit comes on the flop the prop is paid according to where the Jack is located and whether or not there are other cards of your suit.  In order to get paid on a Jack, there must be at least one other card of your suit on the flop.  If the Jack is the only card of your suit, it’s a “Stiff” Jack and you owe the other player(s).  If the Jack comes in the middle of the flop, that pays 2 bets.  If the Jack is on the side, that pays 1 bet.  And remember, YOU pay if there are no other cards of your suit to accompany your Jack.

If the Ace, King, or Queen of your suit comes in the middle of the flop, that pays 1 bet… nothing if it’s on the side.

If the flop has any combination of AK, AQ, KQ in your suit, that pays 2 bets.

I have a sheet we use to keep track of the bets so we can settle up at the end of the game.  In order to get paid for anything, you have to call it when you see it.  So, you could say “I see my Ace of Spades in the middle and your Stiff Jack on the side… that’s 2 for me and I’m on for doubles”.  Doubles?  Anytime you hit a prop you call it and say you’re on for doubles.  If you hit any of your props on the next flop, it counts for double.  Then, you’d call that prop and say “I’m on for Triples!”  Likewise if you hit the next flop, your props pay Triple.  We stop at Triples, so if you hit a prop at Triples, you’re still on for Triples on the next flop. Whenever you miss a flop you're reset and the next prop you hit pays 1x.

Remember, these props are only on the flop (the first three community cards); the Turn and River cards have no impact on these side bets.

Click to Download the Prop Sheet

Here’s the latest version of the sheet I’m using to keep track.  It lists the possible props (that we play) in the column on the left along with their payouts and a checkbox to indicate whether they’re “On”… We don’t always

play all the props on the sheet; it just depends on the mood.  On the right side of the sheet there’s a section for each suit.  After a player picks a suit, you write his/her name next to the suit they’ve chosen and then list their Prop(s) and Big Boy in the spaces below their name.  The big box to the right with the suit in the background is used as the tally area to keep track of how many bets that player is owed.  At the end of the game, a net is calculated for every player in the game and then everyone settles up.

This works pretty good for us, but I’m open to any suggestions or recommendations, just post them in the comments section.  Or, if you have question, send those as well.



A few months back, I exchanged some emails with one of my poker friends.  The subject of the emails was NBC's Poker After Dark television show and specifically a few episodes titled "Dream Table".  First of all, if you haven't seen Poker After Dark, you really need to set your DVR to record it.  It comes on at some ungodly hour in the morning so I never see it during the original broadcast.  However, this is definitely one of the best poker shows on television.  There's not a lot of senseless babble about the hands that are played and over-analyzing by talking heads.  It's sparse on post-production and I think Ali Nejad does a great job of calling the action without distracting from it.

Usually the format is 6 pros.  Each player buys in for $20,000 and the winner takes all.  That's right... $120,000 for first place and $0 for second place.  It makes for some interesting action with people willing to take chances that they might not otherwise take based on the payout structure.  But, so far there have been three episodes with a "Dream Table" theme.  In these episodes an amateur online qualifier chooses the 5 pros he (it's been 3 guys so far) wants to play against.  I love the idea.

This got us talking about who we would choose for our own personal Dream Table.  I've given it a bit of thought and for me I think it boils down to one thing: the best.  I could choose 50 pro players that I'd have a great time playing with/against, but if I got one shot to sit down to a 6-handed game with 5 pros I'd want to make sure they were 5 of the absolute best.  I mean let's face it... I stand little chance of winning a table composed of 5 randomly selected pros.  So, I'd have nothing to lose by choosing the absolute best.  In fact, if I managed to run good and win the thing I'd have a story to tell the grandkids.

So that being said, here's my list with just a little bit of explanation for each.

#5 Chris Ferguson

A tournament specialist that's impossible to read.  Chris has an impressive 5 World Series of Poker bracelets.  He's a game theory master with a PhD in Computer Science.  That's a pretty solid resume.

#4 Johnny Chan

The Orient Express.  Tied for 2nd place all-time on the WSOP bracelet list with 10.  There for a while, I thought Johnny hadn't adapted all that well to the lightning pace of changes in the game.  However, results speak for themselves.  I honestly get chills thinking about his record from 1987 - 1989.  1st Place 1987, 1st Place 1988, 2nd Place 1989.  That's a feat that I don't think will ever be matched.

#3 Doyle Brunson

Another two-time Main Event winner.  Doyle is the godfather of Texas Hold 'Em.  He's very capable of making tough decisions and one of the best at applying pressure to an opponent in just the right spots.  Tied with Chan in the all-time WSOP bracelet list with 10, there's no denying that Doyle would be an intimidating opponent.

#2 Phil Ivey

"No Home Jerome".  I think Ivey is the best player in the game today.  He's fearless, pouncing on the slightest hint of weakness in his opponent.  He's the master of playing the player rather than the hand.  He's more than willing to gamble when he thinks he has the best of it.  He plays regularly at stakes most of us could only ever dream of.

#1 Phil Hellmuth

 Here's a case where the results truly speak for themselves.  A brief list of Phil's accomplishments:

• 1989 WSOP Main Event Champion
• 11 WSOP Gold Bracelets
• 77 WSOP Money Finishes
• 3 WPT Final Table Appearances

I'm not always a huge fan of his behavior at the poker table sometimes, but I do believe that it's attributable to just how passionate he is about the game.

So there you have it... my "Dream Table".  Sitting down with that group would be an amazing honor to me... just imagine the stories they'd have to tell.  But, if I somehow managed to catch a heater and outlast that field?  Now that would be something!