Ask citanul anything:

[citanul]

Please use this thread to ask anything you want.

Particularly any newbie questions can go in here, and you will receive quality responses from me.

Hopefully this will relieve some clutter of questions that would otherwise be repetitive, be amusing maybe, and improve the FAQ in the long run.

enjoy,

citanul

[ClaytonN]

Hi Citanul:

I have 2k net worth, going to college in the fall. I have played 100 11's with a 14% ROI and 16 22's with a 45% ROI.

Going into college SNG's will take a backseat somewhat until I am confident I can manage them along with my studies.

Now, the question: What's the proper amount of money to invest in poker with 2k net funds? Part of me thinks it boils down to personal preference, but if it were you, would you take x amount and put it into the 11's, or put more money into 22's? 33's are not an option at the moment for me, even though it's probably only half my net worth when you factor a somewhat comfortable 30 buyins.

Basically, how much of your net worth are you risking? Are you going to risk more to make more or start small and build all over again?

[curtains]

citanul the $200s seem much tougher lately. Is this trend going to continue? Where are all the fish? HELP!! Feel free to delete /images/graemlins/smile.gif

[citanul]

Clayton,

This all depends on several things:

a) are you going to have a job or another source of income while away at college?
b) how much time will you have available to play?
c) etc.

If you're going to be playing the 11s, and not that often, for instance, it's hardly worth it at all to sacrifice time you could be spending doing schoolwork, hanging out, doing activities, etc. The time will be much better spent doing anything at all other than making a few bucks playing cards, even taking a job at the library.

If you simply must have poker in your life, and the money isn't really meaningful to you, I'd start play at the 10s and move up from there, keeping a dedicated bankroll, that way you will not impinge too much on your net worth.

citanul

[citanul]

curtains,

The 200s feel harder because you were on a hot streak before. You were winning a whole lot and now you are winning less. This is because you actually kinda stink at poker. And life.

Alternatively it's because FieryJustice is getting all the fish money before you get to it, because he is willing to play more games per day than you.

Never fear, WSOP coverage is coming, and with it, zillions of new fish.

citanul

[Colonel Kataffy]

Ok, so my friend takes me to this stupid house party the other night. While I'm there, I meet this girl that is all over me. I get her phone number and all is good. I call her up, I make a date. Then a few hours before I'm gonna meet up with her, this stupid son of a bitch basically tells me that he's into her and he's been pining over her and what not. I don't know what to do, this girl is clearly willing to sleep with me any time i want. Finally, I say F it, and I tell her i gotta go and ditch her.

How F'd up is my friend. I mean, shouldn't he have told me right off the bat. If he wanted to call "dibs" on her, isn't there some kind of obligation to do it before I make a date with her. Anyway, what should I have done? Slept with her or appease my jackass wussy friend that can't get her anyway?

[The Yugoslavian]

True friends don't cockblock unless you've found a hidden iceberg or are Orca hunting while very drunk. If this is the first time you've heard about your friends 'pining' and he's leveraging it on you as a cockblock...then you need new friends.

Yugoslav
A true friend should offer his car/house/couch/shirt off of his back to assist you in your quest for batches...

[vinyard]

I realize that your gf tolerates you being up with the 'puter on at 2 in the morning because you need to play to make a living. How pissed do you think she'll be when/if she finds out that you were actually up moderating this board and playing poker's version of Dear Abby?

[Mr_J]

This one isn't even close. Your mate is a moron, you got in there first so she's all yours. I wouldn't have ditched her.

[Colonel Kataffy]

Thanks Yugo, thats how I feel about it. He's definitley dropped in my book.

[ QUOTE ]
A true friend should offer his car/house/couch/shirt off of his back to assist you in your quest for batches...

[/ QUOTE ]

This is so true. I've done this for other guys in the past. Once I gave an out of town friend my room for the for the night so he could get lucky. I slept on the F''k'n floor. I didn't mind cause he'd do the same. This other guy is definitly a dick now as far as i'm concerned. Though i'll prolly be less pissed off about it in the morning when i'm sober.

[ChrisV]

I can't believe you folded. This is the most obvious push ever. Forget about whether or not your wussy friend is going to end up OOTM, and just slide it all in.

[LotsOfOuts69]

...And this locked thread has already been hijacked.......

[Colonel Kataffy]

[ QUOTE ]

This one isn't even close. Your mate is a moron, you got in there first so she's all yours. I wouldn't have ditched her.


[/ QUOTE ]

First, I agree he is a moron, but...yes, I was the first to make an actual move, but he was the first to know her and have his eye on her and stuff. Does this make a difference? Keep in mind, he didn't let me know this untill after i made my move.

[Mr_J]

" Keep in mind, he didn't let me know this untill after i made my move."

Then it's not your problem. That's like going into a shop and buying something, then someone else comes along and says that they were going to buy it. First in first served.

If you had known he liked her then that'd be different (for most people /images/graemlins/wink.gif), but you didn't so it's not.

[AceofSpades]

Should I pushing Ax in the SB with blinds at 75/150 and a stack of ~900?

Are there any guidelines for pushing that you could offer when play gets down to 4-6 ppl left?

[ace_in_the_hole]

I find myself pushing lots of weak aces a2-a7 in levels 4-6 with about 6-9 BB. Is this a profitable play in the 22's?

[Colonel Kataffy]

[ QUOTE ]

I find myself pushing lots of weak aces a2-a7 in levels 4-6 with about 6-9 BB. Is this a profitable play in the 22's?


[/ QUOTE ]

It depends on how many people are left to act in front of you. In the small blind--its a no brainer, utg--not so much. Inbetween is a spectrum that I have yet to master.

[microbet]

Dear Citanul,

Was starting this thread idiotic or ingenious?

- Ida Know

You wanna play pokemon sometime? /images/graemlins/confused.gif

[lacky]

nh

[fluorescenthippo]

Its like the entire OOT forum in one thread

[johnny005]

The other night I was at this party..
I got lucky with this girl I didnt really know..
I woke up the next day with this burning(down there) do you have any idea why this might be?

[Phill S]

[ QUOTE ]
The other night I was at this party..
I got lucky with this girl I didnt really know..
I woke up the next day with this burning(down there) do you have any idea why this might be?

[/ QUOTE ]

Did ya stick it in her pooper?

Yugo gay, gay wrong yada yada.

See pulp fiction for correct definition of friendship, you aint close to being friends till he is scooping up your black guy's brains.

Phill
ps, NOW its the entire OOT in one thread.
pps, nice concept btw, delete this one and start a new one methinks.

[curtains]

Yeah start new one and delete all stupid posts by people like me

[Mr_J]

What was he expecting, he didn't specify whether it had to be serious or poker related...

[Big Limpin']

Is it intentional that CITANUL = LUNATIC backwards?
This only ocurred to me after all this time.

'NIPMIL GIB

[yid3655]

Citanul

When you are playing x amount of stts at a time, whether it be 1 or 8, how much are you focusing on your opponents. Are you using the player note facility and what type of information are you looking to record that will prove helpful?

thanks /images/graemlins/wink.gif

[SCfuji]

lol lunatic. ahahahahaha.

[FoxwoodsFiend]

How many legs would a dog have if we called tails legs?

[FoxwoodsFiend]

Citanul, what have you noticed about the change in play of the Party SnGs since they started introducing the 75/150 level? I was doing very well at the SnGs before the change, and have only played about 100 since then but have found it harder to consistently place ITM. Granted, this is a small sample size as I'm now playing cash games, but I was wondering if you knew of any differences between the two structures?

[2callzU]

Hi Citanul. I think this sticky is a really good idea BTW. Anyways. I was wondering what you think of a few ideas that I have that may or may not be good for the forums. Ok....

1) Have you ever or would you consider stickying a bad beat trash can (or whatever you want to call it) where newbs and anybody else dealing with frustrating beats could vent in? This is just a thought and I'm actually not expecting too much consideration into this but I would like to hear what you think of it.

2) Have you ever considered doing a forum awards (just for fun) where you and other "veteran" 2+2ers can be nominated for ceratain categories? Like maybe do a subpoll to choose nominees for a certain category and then a poll where we actually vote the winners of the awards. This just seems like something fun that you could do. I dunno.

I would like to hear your thoughts on these ideas and I'd also like to hear any ideas that you are considering or have thought of in the past. TY.

[codewarrior]

Ask yourself, "If I were the forum moderator, would I think this post merited a sticky?"

Oh, wait...

[2callzU]

[ QUOTE ]
Ask yourself, "If I were the forum moderator, would I think this post merited a sticky?"

Oh, wait...

[/ QUOTE ] Dude wtf are you doing? Don't you see you are ruining this sticky? All of you arrogant jerks feel the need to reply and can't seem to just shut the f' up. Here man ask yourself this. "If i was the moderator and I created a sticky that I wanted to benefit this forum, would I want a bunch of idiots interfering and making me read twice as many posts as I should have to? I won't post anything else concerning this matter since you are making me contribute to the destruction of a very good sticky. I just felt somebody had to adress the issue. Sheesh.

[durron597]

Hi citanul:

I have a confidence issue where I don't play unless I am confident I will bring my A game. Thus I spend a lot of time posting when I should be just playing. Thus my ridiculously high posts/lifetime profits ratio.

Any thoughts on how to make myself less nervous in that regard despite being confident that I am a winning player (at least at lower limits)?

[Big Limpin']

Booze

[durron597]

[ QUOTE ]
Booze

[/ QUOTE ]

Not a bad idea, I play better with a little booze. Still working on the right amount to maximize EV.

[mlagoo]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
Booze

[/ QUOTE ]

Not a bad idea, I play better with a little booze. Still working on the right amount to maximize EV.

[/ QUOTE ]

I've found about 3 beers helps me get it allin on the bubble when I need to.

Any more than 5 or so and i start getting it allin 6 handed a bit more than I should.

I'm a lightweight.

[valenzuela]

There are three main type of hamburgers in Mc Donald.
The Big Mac.
The quarter pounder.
Whats the name of the other hamburger in english?

[Maulik]

'hamburger' its about .69

[bluewilde]

The Big 'n Tasty?

[valenzuela]

the one with lettuce and tomatoes...maybe it doesnt exists in America.

[Bluff Daddy]

I always get the .99 double cheeseburger

[wuwei]

[ QUOTE ]
the one with lettuce and tomatoes...maybe it doesnt exists in America.

[/ QUOTE ]

I believe you are referring to the Big 'n' Tasty.

[valenzuela]

ty ppl. Its called Mcnifica in spanish, intresting stuff...

[Big Limpin']

We have the "Big Xtra" up here in Canada

[gp?]

citanul, whats the largest raise you will call with a low pocket pair on the button of a 800 chip sng? or is it better to fold and not lose the chips?

[spentrent]

Why do I only go on a heater when I really need the money?

Is my Three Heater Theorem sound? It's basically this: "One who lives off his bankroll can only move up to the next stakes when he has three heaters in a row. Only then are this and the next month's bills paid. The third heater jumps the bankroll to the next level. Thus, without a backer, a Low Stakes Pro has to get really lucky to become a Slighty Less Low Stakes Pro."

[Mr_Oog]

Dear Citanul,
I find I am very often being spite called on the bubble lately (55's). What makes an opponent spite call and how can you predict this will happen? Of course they know I must be pushing a wide range of hands, but calling my push with K5o seems crazy to me.
-Mike

[citanul]

Colonel,

If it is the same friend who dragged you to the party and who is cockblocking you, he has lost all dibs rights. He had plenty of fair time to tell you that he was interested, and also plenty of fair time to approach the girl. It doesn't sound like he has ever approached the girl though.

If it's a different friend, who was not at the party, who is telling you this, he gains more weight as he didn't have a chance to tell you earlier.

However if it's the first scenario and you choose to ditch the girl anyway, you have gone way past the limits of what's necessary.

You should talk about this with your friend and see if he has ever or is ever going to actually approach the girl, and then most likely since he won't be, call her back, apologize to her for having to skip out the other day, and live happilly ever after.

citanul

[citanul]

vinyard,

I dunno, pretty f*cking pissed I'd guess?

citanul

[citanul]

Chris,

Man it's good to have you back around the boards after your hiatus.

citanul

[citanul]

Colonel,

[ QUOTE ]
First, I agree he is a moron, but...yes, I was the first to make an actual move, but he was the first to know her and have his eye on her and stuff. Does this make a difference? Keep in mind, he didn't let me know this untill after i made my move.

[/ QUOTE ]

I think this is what's important. "pining" rights only last if a) a move was immediately forthcoming b) everyone just met each other at the same time c) ex-girlfriends are involved.

it sounds like your friend is doing nothing more than saying "hey man, that chick is hot, i got dibs." which is unacceptable.

citanul

[citanul]

AceofSpades,

With 6 bets in the sb heads up with the bb, Ax is a clear push. You're actually very close, if you aren't there yet, to a spot where you should be pushing any two cards against most bb's.

Unfortunately, the quest for "what should I push 4-6 handed" is sort of infinitely varied. A lot of it depends on both your seat and your stack, in relation to the other stacks and where they are. A lot also depends on the stack/bb ratio of the other players at the table, and how loose or tight they play. This forum is filled with TONS of advice and hands. The general philosophy is that when the blinds are large relative to the stacks, push lots, call little.

citanul

[gumpzilla]

Dear bison:

When should I fold AA preflop?

[citanul]

Ida,

Only time will tell. Hopefully whatever the results, the historians will not judge me too strongly based just on this one event.

citanul

[citanul]

in the whole,

The Colonel pretty well answered this one. This depends a ton on where you're sitting, how big/small your stack actually is, and what the calling tendencies of the people behind your are. The factor that "weighs" more than most beginning players are willing to realize is the number of people left to act behind you.

citanul

[citanul]

Whisper,

Absolutely not. Sorry. But I'm pretty sure Raptor does.

citanul

[citanul]

johnny005,

This is the reason we wrap it before we tap it.

Sounds like your dick is going to fall off pretty soon, but what do I know, I'm not a doctor. I'd advise going to one, and telling them what happened.

STDs are like, forgetmenots, from dirty, dirty hos.

citanul

[citanul]

Phill,

It is possible that I should start a new one of these exactly for poker content. But hopefully people will put some poker questions in here too.

citanul

[citanul]

Limpin,

Yes. Citanul is taken from a Magic the Gathering card, and = Lunatic backwards.

I hear that gatorade, vitamins, and sleep make good hangover cures.

citanul

[citanul]

Mr J,

I was expecting pretty much exactly what I got so far.

citanul

[Slim Pickens]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
The other night I was at this party..
I got lucky with this girl I didnt really know..
I woke up the next day with this burning(down there) do you have any idea why this might be?

[/ QUOTE ]
<font color="red">johnny005,</font>

Absolutely not. Sorry. But I'm pretty sure Raptor does.

citanul

[/ QUOTE ]

fixed your reply using 100% recycled material.

[citanul]

vid,

Ideally you're paying enough attention to each opponent to know anything "important" that you should get to know. As I play in a fairly small player pool, I try to keep notes as frequently as possible. I try to take note on either if someone busts someone doing something very stupid or if someone busts doing something very stupid. I try to take notes on if they routinely fold in situations that they shouldn't and if they routinely don't push in situations they should be pushing any two, in the late game. I also try to see if they call too much in the late game, as well, that's a killer. If someone has a decently wide reraising range in the early game, I try to take note of that too.

If you're playing only one or two tables though, and you are trying to improve your game, there is really no excuse not to basically catch everything that goes on at the table. Some people can catch everything that goes on at more tables, even up to 8 I guess, but most can't.

citanul

[citanul]

Foxwoods,

The dog would still have 4 legs, unless something bad happened to it.

citanul

[citanul]

Foxwoods,

It appears to me that the standard game now at all levels has changed, but in a strange way. It appears that the first bunch of people to bust in every sng still bust in the same number of hands as they would have busted without the new blinds level. What this in general means is that the shorthanded game, the bubble, ITM, and heads up, all occur with lower blinds than previously. Additionally, a player who just simply tries to fold their way through the first bunch of levels (ie players) will have more chips in their stack on average than they did before. I think that the new level has taken something away from a player who either doesn't know how to raise less than all in or doesn't know how to play post flop. Fortunately these are things that can be worked on.

citanul

[Slim Pickens]

citanul,
In your estimation, what fraction of posters with at least 50 STT forum posts are winning SNG players?

SlimP

[citanul]

2callz,

I have previously thought about putting up a sticky for all "whiney crap" for the day or week or whatnot. It's still bouncing around, but I think that in general the forum does better with a lower amount of whiney crap, so I think that that is less likely to happen than other things.

Idea 2 down there is an interesting one. I've had an idea a little like that floating around for a bit, but I don't know if the general population really cares enough. Yugo says that I should announce the person who has had the most posts notified or something like that as sort of a "biggest whiney batch tattletale" thing, but I think that's a bad idea too.

I've been thinking of putting up at the beginning of months either an official "put your upcoming goals" post or a "put your stats from last month" post, though honestly, I'm not a big fan of challenges or goals, and I'm not that big a fan of posting stats either. (When I say I'm not a big fan I mean that I think it pretty much benefits no one.)

citanul

[citanul]

codewarrior,

When I stickied this, I was thinking there would be a much higher poker/fluff ratio. And as such, I thought it definitely warranted a sticky, as the idea was that it would be huge pile of Noob questions. As it wound up, I dunno. I'll figure that out soon I guess.

citanul

[citanul]

durron,

You could make a sign for yourself, print it out, and put it on the wall. The sign could read:

"I *insert name here* pwn the SNGs. So far this year I have made *8 gagillion dollars.*"

Where the 8 gagillion can be replaced for people who aren't me by some other, lesser number.

Seriously, whatever it takes to pump you up, you know? I'm a fan of not playing unless you think you're at the top of your game. I think that it's underrated honestly, and a lot of people are sort of "guilty" of not asking the same from theirselves.

The considerations however are things like, are you playing as your source of income? It's very likely that you can beat the games you play handilly even if you don't bring your A game. I'm not saying you should, but it's possible. Clearly you will learn and advance the most if you are playing your A game all the time and insisting on that from yourself.

But if the idea is to either force yourself to play more or to be more confident, either thing is very possible. I think that once you sit down and play some when you think you're bringing your B or C game, and realize that you're still pwning hard, you will quickly a) want to play more and b) bring the A game.

citanul

[The Yugoslavian]

[ QUOTE ]

STDs are like, forgetmenots, from dirty, dirty hos.


[/ QUOTE ]

This right here was worth the whole price of admission.

BOW DOWN!!!

Yugoslav
Who thinks this sticky is going rather well....and that Pokemon dude should definitely look into some 3 way action with Evee and Raptor...maybe they can even hook up for some hot DDR action? /images/graemlins/wink.gif

[citanul]

For me it depends on the number of callers and my stack.

If it's looking like it's going to be a heads up pot, and it's the first hand of a SNG with no reads, I'm probably calling up to... 50ish? It's incredibly likely your opponent will give you their whole stack if you hit your hand, and hey, 50 chips ain't that many. It's also possible you win without hitting. If there's a bunch of callers I probably call a max of 75? Your mileage may vary though.

The argument to fold and not lose the chips is a reasonable one, but if you think playing the hand is +ev, you can't fold here. Passing up early game +ev spots to conserve chips isn't all it's cracked up to be.

citanul

[yid3655]

ty citanul, great reply

[citanul]

spent,

Your theory only holds if you work on a certain type of bankroll management, and if you can't play a large number of games. Not everyone needs to have to have 2 months bills paid to move up, in fact the majority don't. If what happens is you're paying your bills by playing each month, a little extra play or one heater should be nicely stored in your bankroll until they add up to enough to move up.

Your system also seems to not allow for taking shots while underrolled, which may or may not be bad.

citanul

edit: as for why you only go on heaters when you need the money, i'd posit that you probably only play well when you need the money the most. you should work on that.

[citanul]

Mr Oog,

An opponent spite calls because they get pissed off and full of spite.

You can know this is going to happen if you've been pushing too much or if they've been commenting on your amount of pushing, etc. Sometimes it's best to just take a hand off. Particularly if someone who is pissed at you is in the bb, in order to make them cool off some. Since getting called is cruddy, the whole game is to try to get called infrequently.

There is no really good way of rationalizing why someone would call you with K5 or somesuch, since it's just well, a bad play.

I tend to spite call 2+2ers for fun, with random hands I know are "ahead" even though it loses money. That's mostly because I have a deep seated hatred for all of you.

citanul

[citanul]

gump,

probably not.

bison

[citanul]

Slim,

If I had to make a random guess, I'd guess about 45% or 40%. And that's ok, it's fine for a losing player to want to improve and be posting.

citanul

[Voltron87]

Citanul-

What should I order for my lunch today? I'm getting Chinese.

[citanul]

Voltron,

Crab rangoon and General Tsao's chicken. Maybe a coke if you don't have one already.

citanul

[vinyard]

Why won't you work on your HU game? Is it that it comes easy to the noobs and not you so is it a pride thing? The time/money spent (a workday tops) to improve it would be made up in ten days. This is only partly in jest as I have a genuine curiousity about the underlying psychology. Its not like you're lazy or hate money.

BTW, this thread is becoming one of the more self-indulgent things on the internet. You should attach a date application page or something to round it out.

[citanul]

vinyard,

I've actually been working on my HU game quite a bit lately. Particularly I've been making changes to may late game play in order to better assure myself of winding up non-short stacked at the appropriate time. Along with that I've been playing a fair mix of heads up matches on stars, and a lot of heads up (with the button funky) limit on party. We'll get together for pizza, and bring a deck.

And yes, this thread, while fun, got a little less poker topics than I originally assumed it would.

citanul

[chumdawg]

Hi, Citunal. I was wondering if you could tell me more about this Magic the Gathering game. I have heard mention that several Magic players have become rather extraordinary poker players, and I wonder why that is.

A) In general, how is Magic played?

B) What skills are necessary to excel at Magic?

Thank you for your consideration of this matter.

[IHateKeithSmart]

Hey Citanul:

I actually have a serious AND poker related question RE: this forum.

I have started playing the HU SNGs at Stars some. Lurking in the HUSH forum on 2+2, it seems like it's 95% talk about 6max games.

Which forum should I post HU SNG questions on, and do you have any thread pointers for HU that are similar to the SNG FAQ? I am not schooled in HU theory, though I think I have a decent feel for the format.

Your humble forum member,
IHKS

[kevstreet]

Citanul,

I 4 table the 22s on Party w/ way too much overlap on my 17" Dell monitor. In lieu of this unfortunate situation, I've had a few mis-clicks. On a scale of 1-10, how much will it be worth it to invest in the Dell2001FP?

Any chance you know the line on Gigabet vs. Gank for the August standings bet? If so, can I tease it w/ the "Raptor Car Challenge" over/under proposition.

Thank you.

[citanul]

chumdawg,

MTG is a card game played with collectable cards. You can google it or find a wiki to tell you much more about its history, etc.

The play of the game is quite complex, but it is just like any of the other games like Pokemon card games or whatnot. It's a turn based deck game where the players create their own decks.

The skills that are necessary are being able to out-think, (out-buy, since the good cards are often expensive), out-adjust your opponents, and to not make errors. It requires keeping up to date on what cards are out there, what common strategies are (and uncommon as well) so you can make better guesses of what is in your opponent's deck before you see all the cards, and others. I never became very good or anything though. Fun game.

citanul

[citanul]

IHate,

Sadly there's no great answer to your question, and I don't think that there's a good resource really for HU play around in terms of FAQiness.

Honestly I think that the HU sngs play more like HU freezouts with non escalating blinds than they do like SNGS, in terms of individual hand analysis. It's very likely the best help you will get will be in the HUSH forum. Just because most of the hands are posted from 6max doesn't mean they won't be able to help out a HU player. It's just that 6max is a much more common format on the internet these days.

Once you have a feel for how to change your strategy just based on the fact that the blinds will/have increased as a fraction of your stack, it really is just a heads up match with no rebuys.

citanul

[mlagoo]

citanul,

if i were to look at the past posts of five users for great SNG advice, whose posts would you recommend?

[citanul]

kev,

While the 2001fp is a nice monitor, it might be less of a "good buy" for someone who is playing the 22s at the moment. There are plenty of CRT monitors that are far, far cheaper that will give you 1600x1200 or greater resolution, at least to tide you over. When you're moved up to the 55s or 109s and instead of taking 40 hours or work to pay for a 2001 it takes 10 or 5 or whatever, it'll make more sense to buy one, no?

I don't know if there is a line on Gigabet/Gank. From what I know from having played with both of them quite a bit, and from having spoken or read both of them a fair amount, I would say that Gigabet is a) a superior player b) willing to play longer harder hours for higher stakes c) clearly if it were a heads up matchup in terms of leaderboard points we were looking at, the big favorite.

The interesting thing about the bet is that it is in fact a bet for him v all of stars, not just one or 10 people. Sadly I don't know enough about sports/prop betting to know what tease means, but Raptor's car quest is over in the bad way =(

citanul

[Wes ManTooth]

Citanul,

Clearly the best poker program ever created is Poker Prophecy, nothing will ever be better then this. If you had to pick a program that would be a far, far distant second what would it be and why?

Also the best alcoholic beverage ever is Mike's Hard Lemonade. Granted I wish I could drink this ALL the time but sometimes supplies just run out, if you had to drink something else what would it be?

-ManTooth

[citanul]

mlagoo,

I might miss out here just by virtue of being non-thoughtful right now, but:

Eastbay, Lorinda, Adanthar are the biggest ones I believe for a beginning and middling player.

The next tier, who get moved down just because of their lack of recent posting (until recently) are I would say: Aleomagus, Prayingmantis, and ChrisV.

If I could give a cheating response, I would say the shadow. But that would be cheating.

citanul

apologies if i've made any really stupid glaring omissions.

[citanul]

Wes,

In general, I think that Pokertracker is a fantastic piece of software, but just not ideally suited to sit and goes. I think that amongst the most useful things I've seen are the sng power tools, and pokerstove. Hood's program, though I'm not very familiar with it, is very good as well. For certain games and certain types of players, these heads up display things are quite good.

I'm a big fan of vodka tonics when using good vodka. In terms of bottled beverages, it being summer, I'm a big fan of Bell's Oberon, an american Wheat beer, though there are other very good things to drink out there. Snakebites amongst them. My answer changes based on outdoor temperature though.

citanul

[mlagoo]

[ QUOTE ]
Also the best alcoholic beverage ever is Mike's Hard Lemonade. Granted I wish I could drink this ALL the time but sometimes supplies just run out, if you had to drink something else what would it be?

-ManTooth

[/ QUOTE ]

I'm gonna jump in here to volunteer a drink that my brother recently introduced me to.

While at the same time giving a shoutout to vodka tonics, which are also nice.

Here's the drink: Gin and Sobe Adrenaline Rush. The Sobe drink is a sort of Red Bull knock off, that tastes somewhat similar to "Surge," if you remember that soda. For whatever reason, it makes a DELICIOUS mixed drink, and I'm not even a gin fan. Also, since, as I said, it's a red bull knockoff, if you have been getting drunk on these, you will still have plenty of energy to burn up some money playing drunk SNGs at 4 am after everyone else has gone to sleep. It's glorious.

[valenzuela]

Well my hamburger questions was answered by other posters. Im doing my best effort to come with the stupidiest question ever, So I want ure opinion on outcomes of a ficticious ULTIMATE heads-up. For those who dunno Ultimate heads-up consists of 5 games. pot limit omaha, rockpaperscissors, checkers , tennis AND hot-dog eating competion. Who would win each competition and why? Serious answers.
My guesses, serious answers.
Matusow vs Raymer
PLO: Matusow becuase thats his best game.
RPS: Raymer, Matusow is kinda jinxed or something, Raymer .
Checkers: I would go with Raymer here, Raymer seems a smart and logical person( well at least more logical that matusow)
Tennis: While I dont want to offend fossilman, I think hes is kinda fat to play tennis but I imagine he has a powerful serve and I once heard he plays badminton... Greg.
Hot-dog: Matusow, he seems to be wild enough to outeat raymer.

Sklansky vs negreanu:
PLO: negreanu with deep stacks, sklansky with shallow stakcs. however plo is supposed to be play with deep stacks so daniel.
RPS: sklansky
Checkers: sklansky
Tennis: negreanu( just because hes younger)
hot-dog: daniel, I dont see sklansky eating more than 2 hotdogs.

[skipperbob]

[ QUOTE ]
I'm a big fan of vodka tonics when using good vodka

[/ QUOTE ]

You ever try a "SkipperBob"...3oz. of GreyGoose on the rocks w/ a splash of GreyGoose /images/graemlins/blush.gif

[mlagoo]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
I'm a big fan of vodka tonics when using good vodka

[/ QUOTE ]

You ever try a "SkipperBob"...3oz. of GreyGoose on the rocks w/ a splash of GreyGoose /images/graemlins/blush.gif

[/ QUOTE ]

lets have a grey goose v. belvedere discussion.

i vote belvedere /images/graemlins/blush.gif

edit: it occurs to me after this last reply that maybe a thread like this is a good idea, so we can post random stuff without having to venture into the scary world of OOT.

or maybe im just trying to excuse my attempt at derailing this thread.

[microbet]

I know you didn't list him, but I really like Gigabet for this competition because it's always really skinny guys like him that can eat a ton of hot dogs.

[valenzuela]

Well, maybe we ask Citanul for his inside comment of a Raptor vs Gigabet match.

[Wes ManTooth]

[ QUOTE ]
Here's the drink: Gin and Sobe Adrenaline Rush. The Sobe drink is a sort of Red Bull knock off, that tastes somewhat similar to "Surge," if you remember that soda. For whatever reason, it makes a DELICIOUS mixed drink, and I'm not even a gin fan.

[/ QUOTE ]

This sounds evil... i like it already!

[citanul]

valen,

I think that it would go like this:

Raymer v Matusow

PLO: probably 53/47 Matusow. I'm pretty sure that Raymer is a very good PLO player as well, and the edges just aren't that big between very good players.

RPS: Yeah, Matusow has shitey luck. I'd make some joke about rocks and him, but that's not nice. Raymer wins.

Checkers: Raymer

Tennis: I'd take Raymer again, he's a good racketball player from what I hear, and while the games are different, I have no info on Matusow at all.

Hot dogs: I'm agreeing with you here, Matusow seems like the do what it takes to win one guy.

SO Raymer edges out Matusow.

Neg v Sklansky

PLO: probably 55/45 Neg, on deep stacks
RPS: Sklansky would employ a perfect mixed strategy, and dominate.
Checkers: Sklansky
Tennis: Neg, for the same reasons you state.
Hot dogs: Sklansky, I'm pretty sure Neg is a vegetarian.

Sklanksy edges out Neg based on silly vegetarianism.

citanul

[Wes ManTooth]

[ QUOTE ]
Wes,

In general, I think that Pokertracker is a fantastic piece of software, but just not ideally suited to sit and goes. I think that amongst the most useful things I've seen are the sng power tools, and pokerstove. Hood's program, though I'm not very familiar with it, is very good as well. For certain games and certain types of players, these heads up display things are quite good.

I'm a big fan of vodka tonics when using good vodka. In terms of bottled beverages, it being summer, I'm a big fan of Bell's Oberon, an american Wheat beer, though there are other very good things to drink out there. Snakebites amongst them. My answer changes based on outdoor temperature though.

citanul

[/ QUOTE ]

Thanks, trying to see if you would blow-up over Poker Prophecy again. Mission failed.

[kevstreet]

Citanul,

I will be purchasing a CRT immediately. Thank you for the thoughtful response.

Kev

ps FWIW I think I'm putting my money on Gigabet vs. The Field.

[citanul]

Skipper,

That is one of my favorite drinks in fact.

What I have learned over time is that the "citanul" which is 3 oz Smirnoff w/ a splash of Smirnoff is a horrible, horrible drink.

citanul

[citanul]

mlagoo,

I'm a Hangar One fan. Skipper should be able to find a place to get some since he's in CA, others might have more problems.

citanul

[citanul]

kev,

please PM me where one can get action on this.

citanul

[valenzuela]

thanks, Ill post this on the WPT forum, u need to something while twotabling.

[benfranklin]

[ QUOTE ]


lets have a grey goose v. belvedere discussion.

i vote belvedere /images/graemlins/blush.gif

[/ QUOTE ]

Everytime I hear people discuss "premium vodka" I am reminded of the following.

In a previous life, I was on a business trip to Peoria, IL. My local contact was giving me a scenic route tour on the way to a meeting. We were driving along the Illinois River and passed a large industrial complex owned by ADM, one of the largest agri-business conglomerates in the world. This guy knew the guy who ran the plant. One of the main things they did there was bring in barge loads of grain and make it into grain alcohol.

The grain alcohol was then loaded into tanker barges, shipped down the Illinois and then the Mississippi, and loaded on a tanker ship. From there it went to Russia, where it was made into Stoli. So much for the mystique of hand-crafted imported booze.

[Tyler Durden]

Dear Citanul, what is a good way to berate fish who suck out on you in a SNG when it's four handed and they call w/ a dominated hand but get lucky and send you to the rail in 4th place? I find telling them that "I hope your children have birth defects" is most effective when I was a 70/30 favorite to double up. However, when they suckout w/ a lower pocket pair, I feel that telling them "Die of AIDS, cockbreath" really gets the message across.

Please, your thoughts? Cockbreath?

[citanul]

Tyler,

It seems like you have it about down. For an advanced seminar in fish beratement, you should consult with FieryJustice. Remember that 2+2ers suck out on you sometimes too, so it's important to berate them as well.

citanul

[Bluff Daddy]

There is no way Raymer is beating Matusow in tennis

[VBM]

Dear Citanul,

I would like to start learning good tournament play. I have read HOH 1, ordered HOH 2, read this forum as well as MTT; as i'm a n00b in this space, I was wondering if you wouldn't mind referring (either here or via PM) perhaps some poker coaches who might start me on the right track.

TIA,
--oj.

When does WSOP air on national television, and what staions are provind coverage?

Thanks

[BBD]

Citanul;
I'm fairly new here and I was just wondering if David Skalansky posts on here himself. If so, what is his nic? Does Mason Malmuth? Thanks!

[benfranklin]

[ QUOTE ]
Citanul;
I'm fairly new here and I was just wondering if David Skalansky posts on here himself. If so, what is his nic? Does Mason Malmuth? Thanks!

[/ QUOTE ]

Mat has banned both of them for spamming their alleged poker strategy books.

[citanul]

ollie,

i know nothing about poker coaching.

citanul

[citanul]

BBD,

Yes, both do.

Their user IDs are their names.

citanul

[viennagreen]

i think that "die of aids, cockbreath" would result in you having your chat suspended by party (at least, if you typed it at my table)...

the statement is very anti-gay, and definitely offensive...

it would be much more acceptable to wish upon someone cancer, birth-defect infested children, lice, genital warts, open-sores, gingivitis, or any number of other maladies.

[citanul]

The WSOP airs on ESPN, though I'm sure reruns will be on ESPN2 as well. I believe it runs on Tuesday nights, and that coverage of non-main event events has already begun.

citanul

[mlagoo]

Oh here's a good one for you.


What is your strategy for dealing with coworkers with very bad personalities?

Like, they aren't necessarily assholes... they just fail miserably at human social interaction. And, inevitably, by the end of spending 5 minutes with them, you want to throttle them.

Suggestions? Prozac?

[citanul]

m,

when they aren't around, you should pee on their office chairs if they are made of absorbant materials.

citanul

[Maulik]

grey goose is smooth, but there are better vodkas. skipper &amp; cit, try some kettel its more brash, but not bad.

[Grisgra]

I do pretty well at 10/20 shorthanded limit HE, but seem to suck mightily at wimpy little $20/2 or $30/3 Party NLHE SNGs. How is it that I can do so well at the former, but suck so badly at the latter? Am I the anti-Phil Hellmuth?

Also, I am now reading HOH1 and HOH2. HOH1 was kinda boring and I drifted off about a quarter of the way through it, but I like HOH2 a lot. If I apply everything I learn from just reading HOH2, at how high a party SNG can I plan to be a consistent winner? What if I actually drag my ass back to HOH1 and read that as well? And why is HOH1 so damned boring?

Finally, 4 players left in an SNG, all have about the same size stacks (~2000), blinds are 150/300. So my effective 'M', from HOH2, is barely '2'. But . . . it's the bubble! Do I get push-happy from the button or SB with crap like JTo or K2s, like I would if I were an actual short stack? Or do I just wait for an ace/pocket pair/another chump to bust out?

EDIT: I think I might push with K2s in the SB in this situation. But in the CO/button I'd wimp out. Is it right to wimp out here?

[durron597]

Hi citanul

(x-post from mh nl/pl forum)

Is this the worst fold ever? (http://forumserver.twoplustwo.com/showthreaded.php?Cat=&amp;Number=2987207&amp;page=0&amp;view=c ollapsed&amp;sb=5&amp;o=&amp;vc=1)

-durron597

[Isura]

Dear citanul,

I would like your opinions on what direction I should go with my poker. Rate me as a luckbox.

6s - about 200 games, I won more than I lost.
11s - 305 games, 37% ROI, 44% ITM
22s - 143 games, 46% ROI, 45% ITM

I have a 5k bankroll from sngs and limit before that.

1) Should I just move up to the 33s? Are they much tougher than the 22s? Or, should I stay longer at the 22s since my sample size is not very good, and I have a lot more to learn.
2) Should I learn to 8-table at the 22s instead of move up and 4-table the 33s? It will cost me about 1k to get a full setup for 8-tabling, is this too much to take out of my bankroll?
3) Should I move up to the 33s, THEN learn to 8-table once I've established a decent winrate?
4) Just go ahead and play the 55s since I have almost 100 buyins for it, and it's not much different?
5) Go back to the 11s, since I'm still a clueless noob?
6) Take chunks out of my bankroll to play the big weakly MTTs on Stars and Party, and try to luckbox my way into a final table and hence increase my bankroll by a large scaling factor. During the weeks, ignore sngs and just do whatever I feel like, and hence risk having my bankroll decimated?

Thanks for the help.

[citanul]

Grisgara,

profitability at 6max does not commute with profitablity with the sngs. they're in no way related, so you shouldn't be surprised when the two don't imply each other. the sngs are a different kind of thing that basically all other kinds of poker. and they take a good amount of patience to learn.

i haven't really gotten into HOH2 so far, but i can briefly say a few things:

i doubt that understanding of the topics in teh HOH books will make you a great sng player at party at any stakes at all. whereas a knowledge that could be gained on this forum in a week would allow same.

i'm guessing that hoh1 is boring because a lot of it is intuitive and stuff you know already, and or, you aren't that interested in nl tournaments, especially since you are playing comparitively low stakes and not winning at them relative to your normal game. also, many people want nl tournaments to be sexy and flashy, where harrington's methods, which are successful, are not.

i haven't read hoh2 yet so i can't comment on M's oranything like that. but in your situation, it seems like you know what to do. yes you should be pushing hands like those in those spots i think.and not pushing those other ones in the other spots.

citanul

[Isura]

[ QUOTE ]
There is no way Raymer is beating Matusow in tennis

[/ QUOTE ]

For some reason, this made me laugh out load for a long time.

[skipperbob]

[ QUOTE ]
What is your strategy for dealing with coworkers with very bad personalities?

Like, they aren't necessarily assholes... they just fail miserably at human social interaction. And, inevitably, by the end of spending 5 minutes with them, you want to throttle them.

[/ QUOTE ]

Do you work with Yugo? /images/graemlins/tongue.gif

[gumpzilla]

[ QUOTE ]

For some reason, this made me laugh out load for a long time.

[/ QUOTE ]

I think you should consider seeing a urologist immediately.

[citanul]

isura,

i have general disdain for the 33s, which means i have to advise you to move to the 55s. i advise moving up before moving to more tables, as you will improve you lay the fasteset that way. at minimum, move to the 33s.

citanul

[Grisgra]

Why does everyone either spell my name as "Grisga" or "Grisgara" when it's actually just plain ole "Grisgra"?

[citanul]

durron,

while that is a very bad fold, i don't think it's close to the worst fold ever.

citanul

[bluef0x]

Hello,

I mostly play 11s because my ROI over 100 22's was something like 7% while ROI over 65 11's is 30% with ITM of 47% (I just started playing SnG's)

However, my finish distrubution is this:
11%/17%/19%/16%/5%/8%/14%/6%/1%/2%

Now, I've heard you want an even amount of 1st and 3rds and less 2nd places (ideally) but is this distrubution "ugly?" Could you take a guess at some leaks with a common ITM distrubution of mine? What are some ways to improve my ROI?

[citanul]

grisgara,

i don't know.

citanul

[durron597]

[ QUOTE ]
durron,

while that is a very bad fold, i don't think it's close to the worst fold ever.

citanul

[/ QUOTE ]

Folding off $12,000 getting 8:1 has got to be up there though /images/graemlins/shocked.gif.

[citanul]

blue,

play more. your sample size is minute.

you're wining, right?

the ideal place distribution is much more like 1&gt;2&gt;3&gt;4 or well, 1st 100%. don't read too much into your stats yet, but do make sure taht you aren't always getting into the money short stacked. that's the most common reason for having 3&gt;2&gt;1, playing too passively both on the bubble and in the money.

over time your itm% will go down, but hopefully you will be a better late game player and make a good ROI too.

citanul

[citanul]

durron,

yes, it is. however we don't know what his cards were.

citanul

[Tyler Durden]

[ QUOTE ]
i think that "die of aids, cockbreath" would result in you having your chat suspended by party (at least, if you typed it at my table)...

the statement is very anti-gay, and definitely offensive...

it would be much more acceptable to wish upon someone cancer, birth-defect infested children, lice, genital warts, open-sores, gingivitis, or any number of other maladies.

[/ QUOTE ]

Sorry vienna, you're wrong as usual. It's only anti-gay if you ASSume that I am talking to a male. I could be talking to a female who is heterosexually sporting cockbreath. Remember, you never know the gender of your online opponents.

[Degen]

HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!!!!!!

Oh what a turn of events.

Hey Cit! If I spend an hour and put together a Shadow-Type list of all the times you issued a virtual bitch-slap to some n00b who asked a stupid question, will you sticky that too???


lol


This post is funny.

[citanul]

Degen,

No, but I'd add it to my list of favorite threads.

I'm no longer allowed to virtual bitch slap anyone.

citanul

[Isura]

[ QUOTE ]
isura,

i have general disdain for the 33s, which means i have to advise you to move to the 55s. i advise moving up before moving to more tables, as you will improve you lay the fasteset that way. at minimum, move to the 33s.

citanul

[/ QUOTE ]

citanul,

What is the reason for you disdain of the 33s? Are games unusually tough?

Hello! I have been 4-tabling 50 dollars sngs at empirepoker for a long time now. But now i wanna take it one step further, and try to play at 8 tables. Are they any problems i should know about when i'm signing up at another party skin? And am i risking to get my accounts frozen or something like that, if they find out that iam 8 tabling?

Any tips and ideas in this subject are welcome.
And yes my english sucks so bare with me.

[citanul]

isura,

i disdain them for several reasons, including that they are abnormally tough in relation to the stakes jump between the 22s and 33s. i find the relative gap up to the 55s to be smaller.

citanul

[viennagreen]

yes, you're right--- it is only anti-gay if I ASSume that you're talking to a male.

given that poker players are predominately male, i think that this is an okay assumption

even if that assumption is wrong, however, it is still in very poor taste... a remark like that is just as bad as any racist one in my book... and i doubt whether party poker would buy your "i thought that they were a female" defense.

are you actually defending a remark like that? or arguing just for the sake of an argument?

[axeshigh]

Citanul,

I've started playing at the 10s 2 months ago, played around 100 and made enough to move up to the 30s. I don't think they are so much different from the 10s and I've been beating them nicely for 22% ROI over 800 or so. I'm in a comfort zone at the 30s but I keep wondering if I should move up to the 50s. I thought that given that they are longer and have better players I could probably not beat them for that much more than the 30s. However, since the 109s are 3x higher stakes than the 30s, if I could use the 50s as a stepping stone to the 109s I could make more than I do at the 30s by a significant margin with only half the ROI.

Another thing I was wondering is that I should maybe buy another monitor learn to 8-table the 30s before moving up. I am currently 4-tabling. This seems like it may be more productive than moving up.

Since it would take me a long time to figure out which of these is a better option by playing them out, I'm asking if you have any particular advice or moving up stories to share.

Thanks!

[citanul]

axes,

in terms of moving up, it really does depend on your goals. if you goal is to make as much money as humanly possible, and it seems that it is, you proceed differently than otherwise.

i would not recommend moving to more tables and then moving up and playing more tables at higher stakes.

you seem to have interesting confusions in your head where you don't want to play the 50s but do want to play the 100s. if you can't beat the 50s for more than you beat the 30s, dollar wise, there is no way you can beat the 100s for more than you can beat the 30s dollar wise unless you're in a strange little band of ROI there that will also inspire sickening variance. if you have a goal of getting to the 100s, go through the 100s and see how you do.

you should at least take a shot at the 50s. for now.

with respect to the second monitor: well, if you're into 2001fps, you should buy one now if you've got the money and you're goign to want one any time soonish, since well, they are on a good sale. what can i say.

so in general, i advise moving up before adding more tables, as when you add more tables, you will start learning less per game, which makes moving up harder. if the goal is to make piles o loot, playing higher stakes is where it's at. however, if you're fine with 50 bucks an hour or so, you could apparently do this playing the 30s, so hey, who's going to argue with that?

citanul

[axeshigh]

[ QUOTE ]


you seem to have interesting confusions in your head where you don't want to play the 50s but do want to play the 100s.

with respect to the second monitor: well, if you're into 2001fps, you should buy one now if you've got the money and you're goign to want one any time soonish, since well, they are on a good sale. what can i say.



[/ QUOTE ]

I realize that was a bit confusing and I guess I really am a bit confused /images/graemlins/confused.gif. What I meant though is that there seems to be a price to moving up to the 50s, which is getting used to the 1000 chip game, and when that is taken care of, I see no reason not to move up again.

As far as a second monitor goes, I'm playing on a viewsonic right now which I like a lot, except I'm not crazy about the little penguins, so I'd have to get another one of the same for symmetry's sake /images/graemlins/tongue.gif

Thanks for the tips!

[Maulik]

When I go to the bar with “acquaintances” people who think I’m their friends I get very bored. Is this a result of these people being boring or me being unsocial? How can this be resolved?

[citanul]

Maulik,

This is most likely a result of them being boring, at least to you.

You should either:

a) drink more
b) make them drink more and amuse yourself at their plight
c) go to more interesting venues
d) bring more hot womenz
e) not hang out with these people, and instead hang out with people you like

There's nothing horrible about this, you're just not interested in those people, whatever.

citanul

edit:

I forgot to add:

your health and happiness mileage will vary greatly based on which of my options you take. it's pretty clear which ways with which choices.

[flyingmoose]

I'll take a shot at a dumb question while I have the chance.

I want to open rakeback accounts under family member names, because I over bonus whored before I started making real money playing this game.

Who would be responsible for the tax burden in such a circumstance? Would I simply have to have my family members claim my income and reimburse them?

[nate_king1]

How many SNGs do grinders do on average monthly? You?

I was think that person who does this on the side but for profite does around 500-1000. A person who plays for a living can do 2000?

[citanul]

moose,

to my knowledge the poker sites don't report the income, only the players do. so until/unless the poker sites do start filing, the family member will not be responsible for the tax liability.

citanul

[citanul]

nate,

i think most "grinders" play less than you think.

i think that many players play 5 days a week and usually under 50 games a day. this puts them at &lt;1000ish games on the month. i would think that 50 is actually quite a few more than the most played per day for most people. that isn't to say that some players don't play a ton, but i think that these numbers are reasonable.

i don't think that most people are 8 tabling yet, honestly, so as a person who plays "on the side" i don't think you're going to see many people who play anything close to 1k a month.

personally i play 5 days a week (max), and i don't play only sngs. i play about 30-40 a day most days. sometimes a few more, sometimes a few less. the most i've ever played in one day was 86, and i felt like death. (i have one monitor.)

citanul

[nate_king1]

How long have you been playing SNGs, how long have you been playing poker(seriously). Books?

[citanul]

nate,

I've been playing SNGs for about a year. I started playing poker about 6 years ago, and wasn't serious about it for a long time after that. I only started playing in bulk and thinking about what I was doing about a year ago. I guess it's really about 10 months or so actually.

I dunno, when's that post that the shadow dug up about me and heads up matches from /images/graemlins/smile.gif?

I read lots of books, yes. Some are helpful, some not as much.

citanul

[Luminous Mist]

Dear citanul,

I am currently a pretty big wuss when it comes to women. I have been in one long relationship and haven't felt like I recovered. The sexual experience I had in that relationship was about all I've ever had. I (like it would seem everyone in OOT) have trouble figuring out exactly how to approach girls or where to seek them. I think there is a ton of societal pressure mainly having to do with sex and sexual tension that messes up my 'flow' more than anything. Perhaps I have found a helpful activity for this problem:

A couple friends of mine from work have tossed around the idea of going to Amsterdam and basically spending an entire week in complete debauchery (prostitutes, drugs, Heineken brewery).

As for drugs and booze, it would be unlikely that I overdo it or partake in 'harder' potentially dangerous in one use drugs.

As for the prostitutes, as I understand it, prostitution is completely legal in Amsterdam (prostitutes even file taxes and stuff) and are probably among the 'safest' in the world. There are also basically bajillions of them so one could get with a different favorite type every night. Also, having multiple chicks at once and all sorts of other things could be taken care of easily.

Such a trip could possibly go a long way into alleviating many of the sexual hangups I have and release me from society's mindfucktrap I'm currently in.

So,

A) Is this even a good idea?
B) Will it help me feel more confident about having sex in future relationships?
C) In your professional opinion, would it help me then approach women in my day to day life, since I wouldn't have a huge 'sexual pressure' cloud hanging over my head?
D) Will it pretty much be the highlight of my life up until now?
E) Would you want to accompany us? We could 4 table on lappys in between the weed and batches, /images/graemlins/smile.gif.

Luminous

[citanul]

Luminous,

Before I get to the questions, I wanted to ramble a little bit, so here goes. I think that the nervousness associated with just going up and talking to girls and the like is not incredibly linked to the various societal hangups that exist about sex in American culture. I think that those things might cause people to have issues like, initiating physical relations, and talking about them, and particularly cause problems with partners telling each other what they want, how they want it, etc. Basically I think that people fear being labeled a pervert or worse, especially if the person they are "getting with" is in their circle of friends, even for something as simple as saying "hey honey, could we do it doggy style tonight?"

I think that the hangup that many people, particularly say, men between the ages of 16 and oh, I dunno, death, have a problem dealing with is just getting to go up and initiate conversation with a girl. Particularly a girl they don't know, or an attractive girl, or a girl they might get rejected by, or whatever. Doesn't really matter. They fear embarassment. No one wants to be told they're undesirable, and even worse possibly, no one wants to go up to some girl that they are attracted to and then totally put their foot in their mouth. Better in their minds to just sit back and say/do nothing so that they can keep the concept alive in their heads that they *could* walk up that same girl and be totally debonaire, suave, etc, if they wanted to. But, but, but...

Anyway, onto your questions:

A) Is it a good idea?
- Hell yeah! Why not? There's great stuff to be seen and done around Amsterdam, even if you throw out all your other plans so far. Clearly you'd have fun if you did the things that you and your friends have been planning, so what could possibly be a bad idea about it? Seems like a good way to go through a week or so, though I'd probably try to hit some of the historical/cultural sights between blowjobs and threesomes.

B) C) Will it help me in the future?
- While it might help you feel more confident asking someone to do something for you in the bedroom, I very much doubt that it would help you initiating conversations and relationships. For both clauses of this sentence, I mean, just remember, other girls who aren't prostitutes, ..., they aren't prostitutes! The rules are different, and you won't be able to trick your brain into not noticing. So yeah, you might get more physically confident in your ability to have sex and to pleasure a woman and all that, but it's a whole different ballgame when there's a girl who isn't being paid to work with/for you.

D) Life Highlight?
- Almost definitely. Especially if you bring a lot of money and do some good planning. Bring money that you intend to burn through. I mean come on man, 2 chicks at once!

E) Me Accompany?
- Very possibly. When are you planning on going?

citanul

[bjb23]

citanul... are you ever going to tell me the reason why you hate the 30s or will it forever remain a secret? /images/graemlins/confused.gif

bj

[Luminous Mist]

citanul,

Well, I think that the way society portrays and embeds sex into people's minds has a lot to do with the insecurities men face when engaging prospective mates. I think the rejection in a fairly deep (freudian if you're into that sorta thinking) way has to do with the pressure the male feels to 'conquer' and successfully mate with the female he is pursuing.

As far as myself, I haven't (at least yet) had a problem communicating in a sexual setting. This does not mean that my partner hasn't had trouble doing so. Nevertheless, more confidence in this area would be great and can't really ever be a bad thing, /images/graemlins/wink.gif. The main benefit would be to foster confidence to get to that point, /images/graemlins/cool.gif. At a very basic level having a week long romp of successful, can't-miss sex (yes, along with museums or whatever in between....I'm not 'Luminous' b/c I just smoke weed and have sex 24/7) will help rebuild the sense of male worth as a successful member of the species. I do not have a problem interacting with men and/or women who I wouldn't have sex with...it's just the ones who I could imagine myself having sex with that cause all the problems, /images/graemlins/frown.gif.

Oh, one other thing. As an analytical person, I find one of my biggest challenges in life to exist in the 'now.' Such an escape to Amsterdam would *force* me to do so in a fairly memorable and vivid way. Ultimately, such activity could allow me to improve my ability to connect with my surroundings and inner-self in the moment rather than be disconnected and adrift in an esoteric haze.

As you have expressed interest, I will be sure to keep you posted on when we would plan on going. This was just discussed today and hasn't been hashed out fully yet.

Luminous

[citanul]

bjb,

as a short reasoning, here goes.

1) I run bad at the 30s.
2) The "best" players of the 800 chip games tend to go to them, and I find them on average to be sillily tight. this could be selective memory though.
3) I find the move from 20-&gt;30 to make less sense in a bunch of ways than the move from 800 chip game -&gt; 1000 chip game, and personally think that going from the 20s to the 50s, if possible, is the way to do it.
4) I think that if there is some nuance or whatnot to beating the 30s as opposed to beating the 20s, it isn't worth learning.

but that's just me.

citanul

[Vasquez]

Whats your biggest downswing been? And how did you become the moderator?

-Vas

[citanul]

Vas,

My biggest OOTM run was 21 games between the 100s and 200s.

My biggest downswing from peak to valley was between 5k and 6k.

I became moderator by showing that I was interested in the position by developing the FAQ, by discussing it with Mat Sklansky, and by the recommendations of several other posters. The final conversation went much in the lines of "him: so you think you'd like to try out being a moderator? me: sure."

citanul

[11t]

"Also the best alcoholic beverage ever is Mike's Hard Lemonade"

I know people that have picked fights for seeing guys drinking Mike's Hard Lemonade at parties. Not to say they are justified, however I have never seen one of the Mike's drinkers fight back.

Drink b33r.

[mike28]

In regards to ICM,

What's the best way to get started into becoming an ICM freak like Raptopr? I have a basic understanding of what it is, but have no idea how to truely apply it in a SnG.

[citanul]

11t,

So what yo'ure saying is that beer drinkers randomly assault people for idiotic/no reasons?

Yeah, that's a great advertisement for why you should drink beer.

"Drink beer! One day someone will totally [censored] you up for being an [censored]!"

citanul

[citanul]

Mike,

Read the FAQ.

When someone says they are "applying ICM to SNGs" it is two things basically:

1) understanding that in terms of theoretical $/game, your personal worth in the game increases as you get later in the game, meaning that busting early is a killer, while playing tight to stay alive longer is great!

2) understanding that pushing is correct in tons of spots in the late game, way more than most people understand, and that calling is very rarely correct.

To learn about these things, you sit around playing with ICM or with the power tools or anything like that for a while, and learn. Or you read lots of posts on the subject.

OR, one of the things that people should do i think as just a primer exercise, is to write down a block of hands that you think people call all ins with in situations, and then figure out what % of total hands that is. Then, figure out with those assumptions, how often someone behind you will wake up with one of those hands if you go all in with x people behind you left to act.

Then, get pokerstove, and see how different hands run against those hands, like say, random hand, good hand, great hand, etc. Then notice how not horrible a lot of pushes will be just based on this "watered down ICM."

Step x here is "Profit."

citanul

[raptor517]

[ QUOTE ]
E) Me Accompany?
- Very possibly. When are you planning on going?


[/ QUOTE ]

if anyone on this forum goes to amsterdam without me, i will murder you. holla

[citanul]

raptor,

you know i wouldn't do that.

i wouldn't go anywhere without you, babe.

citanul

[raptor517]

[ QUOTE ]
raptor,

you know i wouldn't do that.

i wouldn't go anywhere without you, babe.

citanul

[/ QUOTE ]

i love you too sweetcakes. holla

[valenzuela]

this is actually a serious question...how do I ask a girl to dance with me on a party without being totally drunk??

[astarck]

I don't know if this has been asked before in this thread or not (I'm too lazy to go through and read tons of pages of "newbie" questions).

Why does this thread continue to be stickied/unsticked? Why not just leave it up for a while and then take it down?

EDIT - I may have answered my own question just now. Was it taken down because it got too long? I now see there are two of these threads. I initially though just one.

[raptor517]

[ QUOTE ]
this is actually a serious question...how do I ask a girl to dance with me on a party without being totally drunk??

[/ QUOTE ]

go up to her, and ask her to dance. are u scared to shove all in with 36 on the bubble? NOOOO!!!!! so dont be scared to go up to a silly girl and ask her to dance. so what if she says no, there is like 100 other girls at the dance just WAITING for some guy to come ask them to dance. i dont think i have EVER been turned down for a dance. get them nuts under ya and go up to her. holla

[maddog2030]

[ QUOTE ]
EDIT - I may have answered my own question just now. Was it taken down because it got too long? I now see there are two of these threads. I initially though just one.

[/ QUOTE ]

Because this one became a joke thread, and the other is for where real newb questions should be asked.

[microbet]

If you can't figure it out, don't worry. In 20 years you'll be mystified how something like that was ever so difficult or important.

[11t]

What is the answer to life, God, the universe and everything?

[raptor517]

[ QUOTE ]
What is the answer to life, God, the universe and everything?

[/ QUOTE ]

procreate. keep the mystery alive. holla

[raptor517]

[ QUOTE ]
If you can't figure it out, don't worry. In 20 years you'll be mystified how something like that was ever so difficult or important.

[/ QUOTE ]

only if yer married micro. 20 years from now some of us are still in our 30s. bwahahhahahahha. holla

42. Duh.

[microbet]

I know it's not saying much, but I'm less than 20 years older than you.

[valenzuela]

yeah but pushing 36o is done on the internet, anyway Ill try it on my next party.

When you use pokerstove and You have AA vs a guy that is on a range of cards say AA, KK,QQ,JJ, AK, AQ ect. Does pokerstove calculate your winning precentage based on the number of ways to hold each hand given your holdings?
For example Since I have an AA does pokerstove know there is only 1 other way to have AA and 6 ways to have KK ect.

[11t]

People who drink beer do randomly assault people.

Bar fights man.

I was just joking around though, but Mike's Hard Lemonade is still a drink for little girly men.

[raptor517]

[ QUOTE ]
yeah but pushing 36o is done on the internet, anyway Ill try it on my next party.

[/ QUOTE ]

you wouldnt play proper sng strategy if you were in a live setting? /images/graemlins/wink.gif just ask the damn girl for a dance. girls love that, even if the guy is retarded. girls like everything more than guys, dancing and sex included. they just cant lead on to it. holla

[raptor517]

[ QUOTE ]
People who drink beer do randomly assault people.

Bar fights man.

I was just joking around though, but Mike's Hard Lemonade is still a drink for little girly men.

[/ QUOTE ]

im too young to ENJOY beer, but i do rather like the taste of a corona with lime. i also enjoy when yer playing craps and they keep harassing you trying to get you drunk. i like. holla

[mike28]

[ QUOTE ]
Mike,

Read the FAQ.

When someone says they are "applying ICM to SNGs" it is two things basically:

1) understanding that in terms of theoretical $/game, your personal worth in the game increases as you get later in the game, meaning that busting early is a killer, while playing tight to stay alive longer is great!

2) understanding that pushing is correct in tons of spots in the late game, way more than most people understand, and that calling is very rarely correct.

To learn about these things, you sit around playing with ICM or with the power tools or anything like that for a while, and learn. Or you read lots of posts on the subject.

OR, one of the things that people should do i think as just a primer exercise, is to write down a block of hands that you think people call all ins with in situations, and then figure out what % of total hands that is. Then, figure out with those assumptions, how often someone behind you will wake up with one of those hands if you go all in with x people behind you left to act.

Then, get pokerstove, and see how different hands run against those hands, like say, random hand, good hand, great hand, etc. Then notice how not horrible a lot of pushes will be just based on this "watered down ICM."

Step x here is "Profit."

citanul

[/ QUOTE ]

I read the FAQ post, and I understand that you should push often and call rarely late game. It's the pushing that's spurring my mind. I hit the obvious pushes, but lately I've noticed that I'll blind down sometimes even to level 5, then be forced to make a desperation push. Degen has been working with me, and his usually mantra is "You waited too long to make your move"

He's right, so I auto assume I'm missing some pushes.

After assigning calling ranges to the donks, what do you do then? Do you have a set % of hands you'll shove into them? Is each hand evaulated seperately?

Ax folded to the SB is a a no brainer, but junk like k7o on the button with 6BBS throws me for a loop.

[11t]

Step 1. Talk to her

Step 2. Tell her she has pretty eyes or that you like something about her.

Step 3. Ask her for a dance.

Step 4. Bust a move.

[11t]

I'd suggest tryiing out a beer called Blue Moon. It is from belgium and slightly expensive (micro-brew).

It is delicious.

[valenzuela]

lol, thanks.

[microbet]

Damn, you're busting out with wisdom all over the place in last few minutes.

In 20 years that might not seem so important either and you might come close to enjoying the taste of beer.

The one about women liking everything more than men was golden.

[The Yugoslavian]

[ QUOTE ]
Damn, you're busting out with wisdom all over the place in last few minutes.

[/ QUOTE ]

Raptor is smarter and more mature than he looks/acts /images/graemlins/grin.gif. This is what I will hereby refer to as the 'Raptor Paradox.'

Not that that's saying much, /images/graemlins/wink.gif.

Women enjoy everything but are way too insecure and afraid to admit it and in some cases realize it....which really is too bad. Men are just complete Aholes most of the time...many/most should simply be taken out to some island and shot. But that really is neither here nor there.

Yugoslav

[valenzuela]

Should YOU be taken to an island and shot?

[The Yugoslavian]

[ QUOTE ]
Should YOU be taken to an island and shot?

[/ QUOTE ]

Most likely, /images/graemlins/frown.gif.

I'm pretty worthless and as of the moment I'm not doing anybody any good. Maybe I should just be the guy who takes everyone to the island, /images/graemlins/wink.gif.

Yugoslav

[microbet]

http://www.radekaphotography.com/images/Noose-large.jpg

This is Yugo's room. He can take care of himself.



____________________
Ok, Yugo, you can never kill yourself or I'll feel like a jerk.

[astarck]

I guess that's what I get for not actually reading the thread.

[Unarmed]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
Should YOU be taken to an island and shot?

[/ QUOTE ]

Most likely, /images/graemlins/frown.gif.

I'm pretty worthless and as of the moment I'm not doing anybody any good. Maybe I should just be the guy who takes everyone to the island, /images/graemlins/wink.gif.

Yugoslav

[/ QUOTE ]

Don't say that Yugo.
You have a great avatar... thats something!

As an aside, have I reached the point yet where I can stop posting strategy posts and focus on non-poker topics? If not please let me know. /images/graemlins/grin.gif

[raptor517]

[ QUOTE ]
As an aside, have I reached the point yet where I can stop posting strategy posts and focus on non-poker topics? If not please let me know.

[/ QUOTE ]

hahahhahahahhahahahhaa. holla

[pearljam]

Dear citanul,

Everytime I get AK in the early stages of the tournamtn I raise 4-5xbb and get 1-3 callers, then check fold a 3 low cards flop, I feel like im getting the pot stolen from me repeatedly, am I doing the right thing?

[raptor517]

[ QUOTE ]
Dear citanul,

Everytime I get AK in the early stages of the tournamtn I raise 4-5xbb and get 1-3 callers, then check fold a 3 low cards flop, I feel like im getting the pot stolen from me repeatedly, am I doing the right thing?

[/ QUOTE ]

i predict an 'it depends' answer. sometimes u keep betting, sometimes u check fold. sometimes u check call. lotsa variations. ull never get a good answer asking a question like that. post some hands! /images/graemlins/wink.gif holla

[The Yugoslavian]

[ QUOTE ]
http://www.radekaphotography.com/images/Noose-large.jpg

This is Yugo's room. He can take care of himself.



____________________
Ok, Yugo, you can never kill yourself or I'll feel like a jerk.

[/ QUOTE ]

Just get rid of one of the windows....put a desk with two computers on it and that's my room!! /images/graemlins/grin.gif

I highly doubt I will ever kill myself intentionally...although, who knows?! /images/graemlins/blush.gif

Yugoslav

[The Yugoslavian]

[ QUOTE ]

Don't say that Yugo.
You have a great avatar... thats something!


[/ QUOTE ]

Yes, this is true. Despite the not greatest feedback I've gotten on my current one...my avatar have Pwn3d (and pwn3d hard...except for the ones Suitedsixes had me use....those were ghey).

[ QUOTE ]

As an aside, have I reached the point yet where I can stop posting strategy posts and focus on non-poker topics? If not please let me know. /images/graemlins/grin.gif

[/ QUOTE ]

Meh, sure, why not? They make baby jesus laugh and laugh and laugh*, /images/graemlins/smile.gif.

Yugoslav
* if done correctly of course

[mike28]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]

Don't say that Yugo.
You have a great avatar... thats something!


[/ QUOTE ]

Yes, this is true. Despite the not greatest feedback I've gotten on my current one...my avatar have Pwn3d (and pwn3d hard...except for the ones Suitedsixes had me use....those were ghey).

[ QUOTE ]

As an aside, have I reached the point yet where I can stop posting strategy posts and focus on non-poker topics? If not please let me know. /images/graemlins/grin.gif

[/ QUOTE ]

Meh, sure, why not? They make baby jesus laugh and laugh and laugh*, /images/graemlins/smile.gif.

Yugoslav
* if done correctly of course

[/ QUOTE ]

Who is that?

I have 30 mins before the mtt takes off so, umm...yeah...

[willbb99]

Hi Citanul,

I was wondering if you knew of any software like pokertracker of pokeroffice that is compatible with Pacific Poker. They do not send out detailed hand histories like most other places. I hate that about it but I can't give up playing there due to the abnormally large amount of fish. Thanks.

will

[rbear]

i think i've found a leak in my game... any thoughts... going over a few hand histories has shown me various occasions where i get busted A) bluffing at a pot and getting busted
or B) calling what i feel is an obvious bluff

what are your thoughts about this?... i'm beginning to think that feelings of superiority coming from straight up busting people or pushing them off better hands is not worth the decrease in bankroll....

[rbear]

i believe those tables are run on the same tables as party, euro, and all empire based tables.... switch to party, same fish, better hand history

[FieryJustice]

Citanul,
I was wondering why everyone here gets to win a big mtt but me...How am i supposed to get a 3 mil bankroll playing just $215 sngs??? Also, why do people type "wahhhhhhh!!!!" in the chat box after i tell someone "nice fish?" All I am doing is telling these people how skillful they are...i'm not crying. I simply envy these peoples skills. Also, I was wondering why some posters greatly overvalue other posters advice only because they have 1,000,000 posts? I guess thats all I am wondering right now. Thank you. /images/graemlins/smile.gif


Oh yeah...let curtains know that I have been sucking all the money out of the $215s lately...Soon, it will be all good people left and he just might need to move down to the $109s because i'm sure even he cant win with 3 outers forever.

[tom441lbk]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
this is actually a serious question...how do I ask a girl to dance with me on a party without being totally drunk??

[/ QUOTE ]

go up to her, and ask her to dance. are u scared to shove all in with 36 on the bubble? NOOOO!!!!! so dont be scared to go up to a silly girl and ask her to dance. so what if she says no, there is like 100 other girls at the dance just WAITING for some guy to come ask them to dance. i dont think i have EVER been turned down for a dance. get them nuts under ya and go up to her. holla

[/ QUOTE ]

yeah, usually takes a real batch to say no

[11t]

Thank you for sweating me

[SuitedSixes]

Dear Citanul-

From your lofty perch can you tell who Luminous Myst actually is?

[SuitedSixes]

Valenzuela-

Here's how I met my wife. YMMV

Por un beso.
Yo no se que te daria por un beso.
El cielo?
No.
La Luna?
No.
El mundo?
Si, todo el mundo por un beso.

I was intoxicated at the time, and when I met to pick her up for our first date, I didn't remember what she looked like. She was/is hot. She is also a psycho, and has sucked the life out of me. But don't let that stop you from taking a shot because she wasn't always that way. It wasn't until I spilled the baby batter, but maybe if there had been something good on TV that night things would be different. But I digress . . .

[SuitedSixes]

Dear Citanul,

I play poker 40+ hours a week to pay my bills. It is Saturday night, I do not have any parenting responsibilities and I have made my weekly "nut." I wanted to do something fun, and all I could think of was to go to the casino to play poker. How messed up is that?

I thought of going here (http://www.angelsheaven.com) but I was afraid it was really a whore house.

[citanul]

rbear,

It's OK to bust either calling or bluffing. In what way is it any different than calling or betting when you have 2 pair and it turns out the guy has a straight?

What you need to do is be sure that you're not busting too high a percentage of the time you are doing these things. If you're right way more often than you are wrong, you're clearly making money off these plays. So while going through the hand histories to see what you busted on, you also have to go look for all the spots you stacked someone in the other direction. Clearly the results for spots where you bluffed and were called are not going to be that good, so you have to look for spots where you made similar bluffs and weren't called.

citanul

[citanul]

Fiery,

Not everyone has won a big multi. So the answer to your question is that when I get to win a larger one than the largest I've won, then you will get to win one. Of course, that means I have to play one. You might want to consider staking me in a bunch so that you can get the citanul having to win one requirement out of the way. If this isn't the problem, it could very easilly be that you stink at MTTs. Thus, the only way you're going to get a 3 million dollar bankroll is by playing higher stakes sngs instead of just the 215s.

People bitch at you when you say "nice fish" because:

a) you should know better
b) "nice fish" has no connotation of skill at all
c) you're usually a jackass at the tables, who chats nothing except whining.

Whose advice do you think gets overvalued because of their high post counts?

I've already told curtains that the likely reason he's doing worse at the 215s is because he stinks at poker, and life, so I think we're covered on that front.

citanul

[citanul]

Suited,

I'm afraid I'm going to need some background here. Why would Luminous be someone else?

citanul

[citanul]

Suited,

Yes, that is very [censored] up.

Get a hobby or something. Maybe some friends.

citanul

[bones]

What name(s) do you use on Party/Empire skins?

[citanul]

bones,

I'm not going to tell you that.

citanul

[Ogre]

Why can't the STT forum be split up between high and low limits?

[citanul]

ogre,

because that would be stupid.

citanul

[Nick B.]

Citanul,
On a scale of 1-10(10best), how do you think the "dreamy" vegas package for reaching 100k points on Empire will be.

Also, I wish Party would have randomized sng seats like pokerstars does. Do you think that will ever happen?

[citanul]

Nick,

I'm thinking like a 4. People with money dream big.

I don't think they ever will, no, which sadly leads to lots of seat hopping and posturing and crap.

citanul

[Ogre]

[ QUOTE ]
ogre,

because that would be stupid.

citanul

[/ QUOTE ]

Why do the other forums do it then?

[Nick B.]

[ QUOTE ]


Why do the other forums do it then?

[/ QUOTE ]

There would simply not be enough higher stakes posts to keep the upper end going.

[citanul]

Also, the higher stakes players offer a large amount of the advice for the lower stakes games.

Another reason, there's a lot more of them other players than sng players.

citanul

[glengarry]

General impression question for frequent players. I used to play a lot of SNG until about 1 year ago. I recently played 10-15 games. That's no sample size but I wonder if my impression is correct: has the overall level of play increased dramatically?

I used to play $20-100 and it seemed like there were 5-6 completely ingnorant players at every table, 70-80% I could make top 4. I recently played some $20 for fun, and saw a lot more basically okay play, the worst players not as bad, the average player improved, 7-8 players who had some real (but unequal) chance to win $. Just curious.

Oh, one thing does seem relatively constant: the house seems to be doing just as well as before.