NInes (Ughh!)

For the last few weeks the circus has been in town. Foxwoods, my home casino, has been hosting its semiannual major tournament. In the Spring, its called the Foxwoods Classic. I've been able to finally fit in a few events into my schedule. And of the three tournaments I played so far I kept running into these damn pocket nines. Unlike our smiling friend in the picture, pocket nines did not win me any first place trophies.

There are many plays in tournaments poker where you have to be bisexual (you can go either way). Pocket nines seems to present those situations more often than not. Let me give you the lowdown.

Here I am minding my own business at the $1500 buy-in event. I'm not getting any cards, but with guile and aggression I'm staying pat. We started with $7000 in chips and I have about $6200 and we are three or four hours in and playing the 200/400 level. I'm on the big blind with - you guessed it - pocket nines. The first guy to act has about $18,000 in chips and has been getting good cards. Not stepping out very much that I could tell. He raises to $1100. Less than the standard 3X, so its likely he has a good pocket pair or AK. Possibly AQ. The cutoff calls and I call. I mean I have to at least call. I could raise and see where I'm at, but that is really risky now that the standard has been set. Plus I'd be opening up the betting for more action preflop. I'd either have to go all in or put more than 50% of my chips in the middle. Just to see where I was at? I don't think so. The 80% play (see my courses for more on the 80% play) is to call.

So here comes the flop. 7H....4C....2D. So, without a nine coming out, this is about the best flop I could hope for. The problem is that my read is that this under-the-gun guy has me beat with a bigger pocket pair. I could bet out. Nothing wrong with a $1500 bet. But what am I going to do if I get raised all in for my last $3600? I gotta call and I gotta be beat. If not by the under-the-gun guy than by Mr. Cut-off. So I check and hope it gets checked around. Nope. The original raiser makes it $2600 to go. Cut-off folds. I gotta put in 50% of my stack to call. 100% just to make a min raise. Tough. Tough. Tough. What was I hoping for? You can go either way on this one. Shove or fold. Use and trust your read. My read was: he had me beat. I mucked. Later, I saw him get kind of frisky with borderline hands and I can't be sure my read was right. But he did mention to his buddy that he had pocket aces earlier and got only a little action. Could that have been this hand? We'll never know. I fought through three quarters of the field and finally succumbed when I tried to steal and was called in two places. I lost and was out.

Then in the $1000 event I got even deeper into the tournament. There was about 20% of the field left. Again I'm way below average in chips. I got about $9000 when we started with $6000. I'm under-the-gun with....right, pocket nines. Not a lot of decision here. Gotta shove. I did. The very next guy called me with queens and out the door I flew.

In tournament poker, you go as far as the cards will take you. You can't win or even make the money just by bluffing and stealing your way in. You have to win a few easy pots with the best hand. Keep the odds in your favor and everything works out in the long run. Winning at poker, tournaments and cash is all about the long run. But please, easy on the pocket nines.

Its LIVE!!!!

Its hard to believe. But after lots of careful planning, hard work - a dream is born. The dream to transmit all the knowledge of the poker pro universe to the wide world is now a reality.

Please stop by PokerSlamU.com and check it out for yourself. There are currently 11 courses with over 13 hours of instruction. Be one of the first 100 subscribers and I'll give you your second month FREE.

As we speak, instructors are busy coming up with new courses to add to the site. An additional 45 courses are in the works. You'll learn so much, you won't believe it. If you have any interest at all in becoming a good, if not great, poker player, this is the place to go. If you have any problems or are disappointed in any way. Drop me a line to my personal email ngersony (at) gmail.com.

I look forward to seeing you on the felt!

Damn Pirates!

Here I was. Playing a little 2/5 No Limit waiting for the 5/10 to open up. The guy next to me says; "I've been reading your book. Really good."

"Thanks," I said. It really is nice to hear from a satisfied reader. "Did you get the iTunes version or did you order the book through Amazon?" I continued, trying to get a sense of which form of the book is most popular.

"Well," he says sheepishly, "I've been reading it on line."

"The Kindle version?" I ask skeptically. Something wasn't right.

"Well," he says after a delay. "Actually I found a copy on line and I've been reading it off my computer."

"A pirated copy of my novel, Poker Slam?" I was truly surprised.

"Yes. But I knew you from this poker room. I decided I wasn't going to read it anymore off this site. I'm going to order the book from Amazon. Or I'll buy a copy from you if you have one on you?"

"No, but I can bring one in next time."

This was quite a shock to me. I thought pirates only went after the rich music artists and their fat cat record label. You figure those guys make so much money anyway, a few traded copies on the Internet couldn't hurt anything. But now I must admit that my view has changed.

It really isn't fair that struggling artists and writers work long and hard on their art at no pay and then when they finally get it published, people just distribute a single copy over and over by way of the Internet. Now I can understand both sides of the issue. If it's there, why not grab it for free. No one is going to catch you. And its so easy. But if we continue down this road, artists will be unable to make a living and create all this great art that we love.

Anyway, I hope you think about the poor uncompensated artist when you consider downloading a pirated copy of a book, movie, song or other art form. We need to keep the artists going. Life without their products is a life much less interesting. If we could only get rid of the damn pirates, then no one would be tempted.

Play Poker for a Living?

When you really think about it; it is extraordinary that people can go to a card room, play poker and make enough money to pay the bills and live rather comfortably. They even have to pay their own health care insurance. Their tax rate, however, is a little lower.

I've been questioned about this a number of times during my radio interviews. The interviewer is often incredibly shocked. "You mean they just play poker? That's it? They make a living from it.? I don't believe it." I try to explain to him that the IRS has allowed people to put as their official occupation "Poker Player," for some time now. I'd estimate that 50,000 (plus or minus a few thousand) people in the US alone consider themselves professional poker players and list themselves that way on all official government forms. I know it sounds hard to believe, but its the truth. I, myself, derive a major source of my income through poker. You can do it because its a game of pure skill and there are a lot of unskilled players out there.

I've lately been approached my some financial Wall Street types to help them with their game. I guess its not surprising that more and more people are looking for other sources of income. We know there are a lot of Wall Streeters looking for work and there is no work to be had. It seems to me that there is an increase in the number of players looking to get better and make some extra cash playing the game. I see a little more activity in the big games then I did before the economic downturn.

So if you are thinking about taking this route, make sure you get those skills sharpened. I'm not saying you NEED to take my online courses at PokerSlamU.com. There are other ways to get the experience and the requisite abilities. You could play thousands of hands on line and that'll take time and money. And who wants to mess with those corrupt online proprietors. Those stinkin' Asolute Poker guys who let Hamilton use a software program that allowed him to see everyone's hole cards. Who needs 'em! The other way to learn is to hire a personal coach. I've seen this work, but it is expensive. The going rate is $300 - $500 per hour. Make sure the guy has documented success or really good references. There are also coaching web sites that only cost between $19 and $49 per month. They are mostly geared to the online player and are not very systematic in how they present their information. Its mostly a lot of young guns playing poker online and talking at the same time. "This is why I bet that. . .This is why I folded." etc.

But for $4.99/month, a full money back guarantee, a great FLASH interactive player that works on both your computer and your mobile phone and 50 courses that build on one another; you can't go wrong. At least check it out. You won't be sorry.

The Poker Depths

Until I became immersed in my latest project to put poker courses on line, I didn't really know the game had such depth. It doesn't make any sense. You get two cards, there are five community cards and you try to make the best five card poker hand. Simple, right?

But the more I chart out the courses and the more I research and contemplate the subject, the more amazed I become as to all the intricacies of the game. First I figured a dozen or so one hour online narrated courses would do the trick. But then it becomes obvious that 12 to 15 courses barely scratches the surface.

I realize I need a couple of preliminary courses for the beginner spelling out the rules of the game and basic knowledge. Then I'll need another 15 courses to review basic hold 'em concepts that apply to both tournament and live (cash) play. The next phase will be another 15 to 20 courses on tournament strategy. Then I'll need another 15 to 20 courses on intermediate to advanced live game concepts. On top of that there will be several courses on "Bankroll Management" and other life style issues faced by the poker pro. Before I knew it, I had over 60 courses mapped out. And that only included No Limit Hold 'em. Afterward, experts in Omaha High/Low, Stud and Pot Limit Omaha High will each contribute another 15 to 20 courses each.

What makes the subject so deep is that you have three key perspectives of the game that overlap various key situations that make for much variety. The perspectives are the three Ps of poker:

1. Probabilities - the math and numbers of the game
2. Psychology - reading opponents
3. Presence - creating your own image

Online delivery of courses is perfect for the conveyance of this type of knowledge. Its presented in a slick FLASH "movie." The user can stop and start, replay and skip around to his or her hearts content. Interactions are right on the screen. This means that experienced players can focus on the areas they are most interested in and the beginner can replay as many times as they want the critical concepts explanation until they get it and practice it for free on any of the "free play" poker sites. In essence, the user is in complete control of the experience. He or she decides how long to spend on a particular course and every other aspect of the educational process. The courses conveniently ask you if you'd like to continue where you left off when you re-enter the web site.

Also, from a quality standpoint, the courses are easy to improve, upgrade or correct. Students are good at finding mistakes and these mistakes can almost instantaneously be corrected. The courses just keep getting better and better. The explanations get clearer and clearer. If you have any interest in improving your game, I can't think of a better way to do it. If i could, I'd do it.