Poker Perambulation

If you are a hunter, trails mean something different. You follow one to blow Bambi away. Come to think of it, tournament trails are pretty close.

The first thing that leaps out is that the pros are having a good tournament. Among those cashing huge with bracelets attached are Medic, Lindgren, Selbst, Matusow, and Negreanu. But, final tables are loaded with them. With the number of runners – some might say donkeys – they have to get through, that is an amazing fact.

 Over on PokerNews, I’ve pretty much followed the oddball events – Stud, HORSE, Duce to Seven. But, I’ve scanned a bit of the Hold’em too. There seem to be a lot less hand histories coming out. I’m not sure if its intentional or a change by Harrahs. Regular hand histories usually annoy me but those little tales of the final results are interesting for some reason. The lack of detail makes them more human somehow. Or maybe it’s just the lack of ambiguity.

 The thing that does stand out is that those who rile about various online flora and fauna can find those from the phylum in the guise of our pros. You see the same sick moves coming from them in early play. They then proceed to the next one that’s minutes away or just started that they buy into late. The availability of another tournament makes the WSOP more like your Full Tilt, Bodog or PokerStars lobby. It’s as viable from them at 2K a crack as it is for us at $5.

 Sad tales and sick calls are as much a part of any tournament as they are in yours and mine. It is a lovely day when we are hit over the head by the deck and can play a lot of ABC poker. On the other 360 days each year, we make doo-doo. That happens for the best along with the worst.

 Advanced play ignores the odds or works them outside the box. I’m guessing that’s what’s missing from Maxie’s game over in Chasing Chris Ferguson. In the hours or days that a tournament encompasses, being card dead means you work prospective hands that are best avoided and even out of position. It is a bummer but that’s the game. So, it is no shock when one see some of those final hand histories. You just have to use your imagination to set up the scenario that got them there.

 Even the pros don’t cash on a routine basis. Even with that said, they are a bigger factor than the folks we contest with. Few are going to outdo TonyG’s aggression or play post-flop better than Daniel. The thing that doesn’t work but is often the norm online is the passive. If there is one thing that doesn’t work in tournaments it is passive play. It is going to creep into anyone’s game because of the boredom that is also a tournament feature.

 In all this, Mike Matusow’s comments about how his play is at the top level describes the plight of tournament poker as well as it can be described. He struggles with the same demons we all do.

Mike’s Video

 Doyle remarks in his blog for today about the other side of the coin:

 On the other hand, Phil Ivey is pushing to win a bracelet so hard I think he is playing badly. He bet so much he would win an event, he is playing too many tournaments and playing very fast tying to accumulate chips at an early level. As I’ve said before, it is hard to win one of those things.

 Poker isn’t a game that lets you manufacture success at will.

ADDENDUM:

Is anyone signing up at the new poker instructional sites that are popping up like mad? People chase the profitable ideas. (Big Duh!) That lead to things like the first Internet bubble. I have the feeling that these sites are building their own bubble. Prices right now are as high as NASDAQ in that earlier period. But competition always leads to falling pricing that isn’t in those business plans. The idea seems to be to manufacture experience.

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Be sure to check out Aaron and Jennifer. They are Pokerwork’s eyes and ears at the WSOP. I may be partial but I think the coverage in our WSOP Central section on the main page is as good as you’ll find on the net.  Of course, I am partial…

This entry was posted on Friday, June 13th, 2008 at 1:02 pm and is filed under Journal, Tournaments. Responses are currently closed, but you can trackback from your own site.