Monthly Archives: August 2013
Poker Cheating: The Dangers of Anonymous Poker Tables (part I)
The number one message I have for poker players trying anonymous poker tables is do so at your own peril. Anonymous poker tables are seen as a good way for poker operators to reduce the loss rates of bad players. As a result we are seeing them pop up all over the internet on networks such as Bovada and Microgaming among others. Unfortunately, poker operators are not especially good at catching cheating at online poker. The reality is that any semi-sophisticated cheating is very difficult to detect. I don’t want to go into too many details because I do not want to educate potential cheaters. However, I can say with a high degree of confidence that cheating occurs at higher frequencies at anonymous poker tables than regular tables.
Professional Poker Players Capped Earning Potential
Being a professional poker player can be incredibly lucrative, however it is quite different than many careers or investments. Professional poker players have capped potential unlike many other industries. In almost any other industry your career will tend to trend in a consistent upward manner. Take real estate as an example. If you get a mortgage and invest in a revenue property your upside is uncapped. If you make good investments and have some luck you may soon be able to take some equity out of your existing properties. If you are successful and a bit lucky you can relatively quickly have several properties all paying for themselves and you will have turned your small capital investment into a mini real estate empire. Professional poker players simply don’t have this kind of upside potential.
3 Betting Exploitively Or GTO?
3 betting is one of the most important preflop concepts that any poker player can master. Unfortunately, many poker players are obsessed with the idea of having an unexploitable range and fail to take opportunities to 3bet exploitively. Being unexploitable sounds great in theory, but with zero sum games and a significant rake we want to focus on 3betting exploitively. Unfortunately, when we exploit our opponents weaknesses this often makes us vulnerable to being exploited ourselves – learning how to strike the right balance is critical.
Poker Superstitions
Poker superstitions are a real problem for poker players. If you are going to be serious about being a long term wining poker player you need to throw away all the superstitions that poker will naturally predispose you toward. I was watching some TV poker show the other day when an interesting conversation occurred between Eli Elezra and Tom Dwan. Basically, Phil Ivey was stuck some money at the poker table and then proceeded to leave the game. Eli and Tom Dwan were discussing what they perceived Phil Ivey’s reason was for leaving the game. Eli suggested that Phil knows when the cards are “running cold” and just walks away. Tom completely disagreed with Eli , saying that Phil would never leave a game based on a superstition like that. He argued that Phil is a top quality pro who is more than capable of playing a good game of poker even when he is stuck. His decision to leave the poker game was independent of his running bad. Tom was right!
3 Bet Fundamentals In Poker
The 3 bet is one of the most important tactics in poker. Every poker player should understand the fundamental benefits of the 3bet. There are two important concepts to understand when it comes to 3 betting profitably. The first is fold equity and the second is showdown equity. When you combine the two they are incredibly powerful. This is one of the first lessons any NLHE poker player should learn.
Professional Poker Players Life
Welcome to my first blog and my new website! I thought it would be appropriate to start off by talking about what life is like for professional poker players. The life isn’t nearly as glamorous as some would have you think, but it can be a very good living. I typically get up in the morning at a reasonable hour and grind hard at the tables for a couple of hours. If the action allows, I take a brief break to get lunch and clear my mind before returning for an afternoon session. By around 4pm, I normally have played around 1k hands, at which point I try to move on with my day and do something fun.