Brand-New, So Humor Me

[JosephAnthony]

Okay, first, a few Captain Obvious Questions that aren't covered in FAQ because they are probably too dumb. Is your number of posts (that tallies up under your name on replies) built up with replies or original posts only? And what does TPTK mean? And is there a way to show only the original post when combing the threads (as is the setup in Something Awful forums)?

After that, let me introduce myself, since 2+2 seems to have some nice members (a shock after the Something Awful forums). I am 18 and would like to get into Internet Poker. I have skimmed a couple books on poker and find Sklansky the most helpful so far (even though i have not broken page 60 of TOP). I generally feel too green to start serious poker. I have a hookup with poker books, but it is not unlimited, so if i am interested in building up a nifty library to start me off, can anyone recommend 8 books? Price is no object as i have a hook-up at a local B&N. I already own TOP and HFAP, as well as Caro's poker tells. 5 or 6 more please?
Also, are any 2+2ers going to UF? I start there in the fall, at which time i expect to start playing online poekr. So far i have only played live poker with my friends. I am currently up 170 dollars, a nifty suitcase and a blowtorch. Because my friends are retarded and refuse to play anything but winner-take-all NL HE tourneys, i have only had to pony up a total of 20 dollars for buy-ins.
Any thoughts, answers, questions, advice, or scolding for writing so much?
PS: 1.Is Dynasty a bot or a person?
2. Do any famous poker players post here?
3. How do i make it so that replies to me are emailed to me?

I sincerely appreciate anyone knowledgeable taking their time out to respond. Oh man, one more question, considering the tounrament structure described above, how could i crush a game of fish when i am a semi-fish myself and cannot read anyone at all?(neither can any of my friends)
Game i will probably Play in all summer long:NLTE Tournament, 5 dollar fantasy buy-in, second place money back, first place everything else. Tables are 7 people max, up to two full tables some time. Also, blinds rise agonizingly slow. Am i right to assume i have won 2/3 due to luck?
I will be playing these games and a small cash game only this summer.

(Last thing i SWEAR). ?Anyways, if there is a UF 2+2er or two out there, please PM me or something or tell me your AIM sn. When i get to UF i want to follow that Homer guideline to bonues whore myself up to 1000 dollars but i am not terrifically computer savvy and need advice/help. I am burning my eyes out reading the beginner questions posts all day, also, if any of you were going to recommend that.

If you have read all the way down to here, congratulations! You know my life story! please help me along my way by commenting something.

[uuDevil]

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Is your number of posts (that tallies up under your name on replies) built up with replies or original posts only?

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Both.

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And what does TPTK mean?

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Top Pair Top Kicker

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And is there a way to show only the original post when combing the threads (as is the setup in Something Awful forums)?

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I think you want to set your preferences for flat mode. Follow the "My Home" link at the top of the page -> Click the Edit link under "Main Configuration, Display Preferences."

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...can anyone recommend 8 books?

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Search (or just look at the first few pages) of the Books/Publications subforum. This question is asked frequently. Since you have TOP and HPFAP, and assuming you're interested mainly in Hold'em, how about

Small Stakes Hold'em by Ed Miller
Internet Texas Hold'em by Mathew Hilger
Middle Limit Holdem by Bob Ciaffone/Jim Brier
Harrington on Holdem, Vols. 1 and 2, by Harrington/Robertie
Inside the Poker Mind by John Feeney
Psychology of Poker by Alan Schoonmaker
Real Poker II: The Play of Hands, by Roy Cooke
Weighing the Odds in Hold'em Poker, by King Yao

I think that's actually nine. Happy reading.

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1.Is Dynasty a bot or a person?

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Is this whole post a setup for this line? I don't know him personally, but Dynasty has very few botlike qualities from what I can tell. I wouldn't mind meeting him some day.

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2. Do any famous poker players post here?

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Off and on, yes. Daniel Negreanu, Paul Phillips, and Barry Greenstein come to mind.
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3. How do i make it so that replies to me are emailed to me?

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"My Home" -> "Main Configuration, Subscribe...."

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...how could i crush a game of fish....NLTE....

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I don't play much NL so I've got nothing to say about that except read Harrington.

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If you have read all the way down to here, congratulations! You know my life story! please help me along my way by commenting something.

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Fortunately for me, you're only 18. You might want to make multiple posts next time, with 1 or at most a few simple related questions per post-- most people would rather answer a quick question.

Good luck and welcome to the forum.

[JosephAnthony]

thank you very much that was very helpful.

[Pov]

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2. Do any famous poker players post here?

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Off and on, yes. Daniel Negreanu, Paul Phillips, and Barry Greenstein come to mind.


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Let's not forget David Sklansky and Greg Raymer. Raymer has over 2000 posts. If you want to search for their posts, the ones I know off hand - many of them just use their name:

Greg (FossilMan)
David Sklansky
Paul Phillips
Daniel Negreanu
barryg1

I think Daniel used to post under a different handle because his current one has very few (but they're interesting). I know I've seen posts from Jennifer Harmon and Annie Duke in the past as well, but frequently these people are just driven away by hordes of trolls. Raymer and Sklansky are the only fairly regular posters of the group though Phillips actually has quite a few posts these days as well. Apologies to Mason Malmuth, Ray Zee, Ed Miller and many others - the big names who don't get the TV pub.

[SheridanCat]

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so if i am interested in building up a nifty library to start me off, can anyone recommend 8 books?


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Ed Miller: Getting Started In Hold'em
Ed Miller: Small Stakes Hold'em
John Feeney: Inside The Poker Mind
Bob Ciaffone: Improve Your Poker
Larry Phillips: Zen And the Art of Poker

You have the other key books. If you want to learn stud or hi/lo games, there are others to consider as well.

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I am currently up 170 dollars, a nifty suitcase and a blowtorch.


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Don't be results oriented. But I would like to have a blowtorch in my bankroll - that'd be pretty cool. [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]

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1.Is Dynasty a bot or a person?


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Heh. He's a person. If you haven't read his 3 years in Vegas / 4 years in Vegas posts, they're excellent and entertaining.

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2. Do any famous poker players post here?


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Some do occasionally. You'll find Daniel Negreanu, Barry Greenstein, and others have posted here. However, keep in mind that the best advice you're going to find, is likely coming from the not-so-famous.

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3. How do i make it so that replies to me are emailed to me?


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Go to "My Home" and check the configuration options at the bottom.

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Also, blinds rise agonizingly slow. Am i right to assume i have won 2/3 due to luck?


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If you're more skilled than your opponents, you want slow blinds since that allows you to, theoretically, outplay them before getting into crapshoot territory. The payout structure is super top-heavy, I'd expect something like 50%/30%/20% or something thereabouts for 14 people. Maybe even pay 4th the buyin.

Good luck,

T

[JosephAnthony]

Sheridancat you seem like you could give me some useful overall strategy really briefly.
The "tourneys" i play in, example of one:
-8 people buy-in for 5 dollars. 2nd place gets their 5 back, first gets 75. Thus, super top-heavy.
5 dollar buy-in gets you 300 "dollars" in chips, and blinds are 5/10 to start out with.

Last tourney i won, i was heads-up with Franchesco (second-best player there.) He kept giving me fits because we each had about 1200, and blinds were only 20/40 (i told you they rose slowly). Anyways, he kept going all-in before the flop, about 60% of the time. I figured i would bust him out with a big hand, but then he started folding his garbage hands! Even though i had the chip lead, i felt like i was being pushed around.

Last/winning hand:

He finally made a small raise pre-flop (100 fantasy dollars). I called it with J,10 s. The flop came Qs-3h-6s.
I figured i had a good flush draw and a bad straight draw, so i set him all-in, thinking, he'll probably call me, because he is trying to trap me with a pocket pair he had.

He called, and when he flipped, he had Q-10clubs, so all he had was TP. Fourth street was 7s for a flush by moi, so i won.

Was i right to bet this? My figuring was i had about 20% chance of hitting the flush, giving me 4-1 underdog status. However, considering i stood to win 75 dolars if i hit it, and only 5 if i didn't, i somehow concluded to myself that i had 15-1 "pot odds". Is this thinking wrong because it was heads-up? Or because of the silly tournament set-up?

Feedback appreciated.

[Pov]

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He finally made a small raise pre-flop (100 fantasy dollars). I called it with J,10 s. The flop came Qs-3h-6s.
I figured i had a good flush draw and a bad straight draw, so i set him all-in, thinking, he'll probably call me, because he is trying to trap me with a pocket pair he had.

He called, and when he flipped, he had Q-10clubs, so all he had was TP. Fourth street was 7s for a flush by moi, so i won.

Was i right to bet this? My figuring was i had about 20% chance of hitting the flush, giving me 4-1 underdog status. However, considering i stood to win 75 dolars if i hit it, and only 5 if i didn't, i somehow concluded to myself that i had 15-1 "pot odds". Is this thinking wrong because it was heads-up? Or because of the silly tournament set-up?

Feedback appreciated.

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Let me start by saying don't take this too hard if your ego bruises easily . . . I'm not trying to be mean, just honest.

There is definitely some incorrect thinking here. At blinds of 20/40 I'm assuming you had something like 1400 chips - I like the call with JTs - it has a lot of potential and his raise really is giving you a great price to call. This means the pot stands at 200 chips.

Okay, the flop comes up and you flop nothing. Now, there's a great chance he also has nothing so I'm not saying to give up on the hand and in fact betting is a great idea. The equity your flush draw gives you combined with your fold equity makes a decent bet a fairly standard play here. By a standard bet I mean wagering between 50% and 150% of the pot. However, betting 1000 chips (I'm guessing here) into a 200 chip pot is an enormous mistake. You've risked 1000 chips to win 200 and you're virtually guaranteed to be a significant underdog if called.

When you say "thinking, he'll probably call me" you have jumped the shark. The reason to bet this hand is because you think there is a strong chance he will fold. This combined with the decent chance of eventually making the best hand if he does call is what makes the play profitable. Another quote "all he had was TP" seems to indicate a large misunderstanding of heads up play. Any pair on the flop is a strong hand. Top pair is a fantastic hand here. Your opponent really got the best of you.

Math problems: You're a 1.86:1 dog to make your flush. Including your chances for runner runner J's and straights (that he doesn't make also), your opponent is going to win about 61% of the time. The fact you thought your opponent would call and that you're only 20% to win if he does just makes this worse.

There is a time for all-in steal plays - it's when the blinds are large and represent a significant portion of your stack and you get to that "pot committed" stage. That occurs about when your stack gets to 5-10 BB's. Here your stack must have been at least 30. You have more than enough time to wait for a more favorable flop.

Your prize structure should affect your overall tournament strategy significantly since this is essentially a winner take all. You should look to make big scores and build a big stack since you can't back your way into any money. Now that you're heads up with the lead it's a whole different ball game. You basically wagered $70 on a hand you knew had almost no chance of being best.

[JosephAnthony]

My last question, say i'm heads-up against a player in this type of tournament, yet i have a huge advantage (let's say 3-1 chips), what is the right way to play this safely? I realize this might take a while, i'm not asking anyone to, but just in a sentence or two, what is the right mindset/strategy? (I have been in this situation twice already and simply lucked out)

[SheridanCat]

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My last question, say i'm heads-up against a player in this type of tournament, yet i have a huge advantage (let's say 3-1 chips), what is the right way to play this safely?

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I'm not much of a tournament player, but I think Pov did a great analysis of your earlier question.

As for this situation, the size of the blinds matter a great deal. Pov alluded to this when he mentioned having 5-10 BBs in your stack. Once you have under 10 BBs you're starting to get desperate. At 5 BBs, you're just looking for an ace to get in with.

If you have a large stack compared to the BB, you have time to wait and see what develops. You can fold hands that are bad for you and press the good hands. You can't get passive since you have to keep the pressure on the small stack, but you can afford to fold mediocre hands. Remember that you're forcing him to make decisions for his entire stack every time you bet or raise.

What you really want is a headsup opponent who will just complete the SB and let you see free flops. You see this a lot in the low buy-in SNGs online.

If the blinds are big compared to stack sizes, well, you're often going to put your money in preflop and pray.

Regards,

T

[r2b2]

UF graduate here, Go Gators. [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img] [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]