Howard Burroughs
04-01-2003, 02:40 AM
Thanks Mason, David and Doug for having the Bellagio seminar.
A few tidbits from the seminar:
It started off with David Sklansky giving his refinements to "The System". The System itself is discussed in Tournament Poker For Advanced Players. That part of the book was originally included for purely entertainment & illustration purposes only. But just like the Reese's Cup chocolate candy, it has taken on a life of it's own.
The 2+2 empire was nice enough to pass out sheets detailing the necessary fine tuning of the System. Though the System is designed for beginners, it can be used when you find yourself at a no-limit table with the likes of TJ and Phil Hellmuth, notes Sklansky. You know, when you feel outclassed.
These refinements will be in Sklansky's next Card Player article, btw. Here's most of what was on the sheet......
"The System"
Key number adjustments:
Divide the total amount of the blinds into the amount of your stack. If the blinds were $100 & $200, and your stack was $60,000, that would give you a result of 20. An important result because it is the odds you are laying to pick up the blinds. 6,000 to 300 is 20 to 1.
IMPORTANT EXCEPTION: If no one still in the hand has as many chips as you, use the biggest stack among them. That should be obvious, since your risk is no longer your whole stack.
After you have done the division problem, multiply your result by the number of players, including the blinds, yet to act. So if you were one to the right of the button in the previous example, you would multiply by three and get a key number of 60.
When there have been no players coming in, in front of you, you are done with the calculation (When someone has already raised in front of you, reraise all in with aces, kings, or ace-king suited. Otherwise fold). If there are limpers in front of you, multiply the key number by the number of limpers, plus one. In our example, if there were two limpers the key number would now be 180.
Here's how to use the key number to decide whether to move in:
If the key number is...........
400 or more - Move in with two aces.
Between 200 & 400 - move in with AA or KK.
150 & 200 - AA,KK QQ or AK.
100 & 150 - AA, KK, QQ, JJ, TT, AK, AQ or KQ.
80 & 100 - Any pair, AK, AQ, KQ, any ace suited and any no gap suited connector down to 54.
60 & 80 - Any pair, any ace, KQ, any king suited and any suited connector with no gap or one gap.
40 & 60 - All of the above, plus any king.
20 & 40 - All of the above, plus any two suited cards.
Below 20 - Raise with any two cards.
***********************************
You are first in, in a typical mid-limit hold'em game. You open raise with AJ.
You are three bet by a player that you know can only have AA, KK, QQ or AK.
Just the two of you see the flop of A 6 2 (suits not a factor)
Given those parameters, what's the likelihood you have the best hand?
Sklansky utilized the Ballroom #9 chalkboard (just like in the drawing in Super System) to enlighten the crowd with hold'em mathematics 101.
Given the cards on board, the cards in your hand and what you know about the 3-better's pre-flop reraising requirements...............
There is one way he can have pocket aces, 6 ways for KK, 6 ways for QQ and 8 ways for AK.
Drum roll please..... Which makes you a 12 to 9 favorite to have the
current best hand.
*******************************
Doug Dalton added a little levity o the afternoon when he said, "All that instruction you are getting is fine, but the best poker advice you can ever get is to follow the "5-hat rule". Any time you see a poker game where there are 5 or more players wearing baseball caps, stay away from that game!".
There was a lot of great Q & A but I'm a night owl and 11:00 am is a tad too early for my brain to be functioning. If anyone wants to jump in and elaborate on your favorite part of the seminar, please do.
There were plenty of great refreshments (yum-cookies!) in the back of the room and Mason was passing out lots of free 2+2 books (no, this is not an April fools joke) towards the front of the room.
Sklansky & Malmuth made sure to emphasise how most players put too much emphasis on pre-flop play. Sklansky drove the point home when he said, "What happens after the flop comes is what really separates the men from the boys!".
Those words had me so pumped up to play poker, I went right to the poker room (where I ran into legendary 2+2er Pokerbabe) to work on my post flop game.
Thanks 2+2. Thanks Bellagio.
Best of Luck
Howard
A few tidbits from the seminar:
It started off with David Sklansky giving his refinements to "The System". The System itself is discussed in Tournament Poker For Advanced Players. That part of the book was originally included for purely entertainment & illustration purposes only. But just like the Reese's Cup chocolate candy, it has taken on a life of it's own.
The 2+2 empire was nice enough to pass out sheets detailing the necessary fine tuning of the System. Though the System is designed for beginners, it can be used when you find yourself at a no-limit table with the likes of TJ and Phil Hellmuth, notes Sklansky. You know, when you feel outclassed.
These refinements will be in Sklansky's next Card Player article, btw. Here's most of what was on the sheet......
"The System"
Key number adjustments:
Divide the total amount of the blinds into the amount of your stack. If the blinds were $100 & $200, and your stack was $60,000, that would give you a result of 20. An important result because it is the odds you are laying to pick up the blinds. 6,000 to 300 is 20 to 1.
IMPORTANT EXCEPTION: If no one still in the hand has as many chips as you, use the biggest stack among them. That should be obvious, since your risk is no longer your whole stack.
After you have done the division problem, multiply your result by the number of players, including the blinds, yet to act. So if you were one to the right of the button in the previous example, you would multiply by three and get a key number of 60.
When there have been no players coming in, in front of you, you are done with the calculation (When someone has already raised in front of you, reraise all in with aces, kings, or ace-king suited. Otherwise fold). If there are limpers in front of you, multiply the key number by the number of limpers, plus one. In our example, if there were two limpers the key number would now be 180.
Here's how to use the key number to decide whether to move in:
If the key number is...........
400 or more - Move in with two aces.
Between 200 & 400 - move in with AA or KK.
150 & 200 - AA,KK QQ or AK.
100 & 150 - AA, KK, QQ, JJ, TT, AK, AQ or KQ.
80 & 100 - Any pair, AK, AQ, KQ, any ace suited and any no gap suited connector down to 54.
60 & 80 - Any pair, any ace, KQ, any king suited and any suited connector with no gap or one gap.
40 & 60 - All of the above, plus any king.
20 & 40 - All of the above, plus any two suited cards.
Below 20 - Raise with any two cards.
***********************************
You are first in, in a typical mid-limit hold'em game. You open raise with AJ.
You are three bet by a player that you know can only have AA, KK, QQ or AK.
Just the two of you see the flop of A 6 2 (suits not a factor)
Given those parameters, what's the likelihood you have the best hand?
Sklansky utilized the Ballroom #9 chalkboard (just like in the drawing in Super System) to enlighten the crowd with hold'em mathematics 101.
Given the cards on board, the cards in your hand and what you know about the 3-better's pre-flop reraising requirements...............
There is one way he can have pocket aces, 6 ways for KK, 6 ways for QQ and 8 ways for AK.
Drum roll please..... Which makes you a 12 to 9 favorite to have the
current best hand.
*******************************
Doug Dalton added a little levity o the afternoon when he said, "All that instruction you are getting is fine, but the best poker advice you can ever get is to follow the "5-hat rule". Any time you see a poker game where there are 5 or more players wearing baseball caps, stay away from that game!".
There was a lot of great Q & A but I'm a night owl and 11:00 am is a tad too early for my brain to be functioning. If anyone wants to jump in and elaborate on your favorite part of the seminar, please do.
There were plenty of great refreshments (yum-cookies!) in the back of the room and Mason was passing out lots of free 2+2 books (no, this is not an April fools joke) towards the front of the room.
Sklansky & Malmuth made sure to emphasise how most players put too much emphasis on pre-flop play. Sklansky drove the point home when he said, "What happens after the flop comes is what really separates the men from the boys!".
Those words had me so pumped up to play poker, I went right to the poker room (where I ran into legendary 2+2er Pokerbabe) to work on my post flop game.
Thanks 2+2. Thanks Bellagio.
Best of Luck
Howard