Flora and Fauna

Maybe we need one of those guidebooks to ID players. It might be more interesting/useful than some of the poker books for sale on Amazon. My one for birds doesn’t work for poker. I’ve never seen a Ruby Throated Hummer at the tables.

 Many love to display hand histories. There’s often a comment about the atrocious play encountered with appropriate comments about the phylum that opponent inhabits.

 Betting is a fickled lover. It is also what defines us at the table. The term ‘great call’ is a short step away from having ears. All you need to do is lose the hand. Luck is a transient friend. You can’t count on it in a dark alley. Do we fire the second bullet to take it down or get taken? Do we/they hold total junk or the absolute nuts?

 Here’s a hand that could have as easily been played by two first time visitors to the .02-.04 RAZZ table:

Erick Lindgren Doubles Through Daniel Negreanu

Razz:

Erick Lindgren: ( ) ()

Daniel Negreanu: ( ) ()

Lindgren completed on third street, Negreanu raised, and Lindgren called all in for 27,000. Lindgren made a 9-8 low, Negreanu bricked up and made a queen low and Lindgren doubled up to 75,000.

Bricks in RAZZ are a deadly item in a hand. Bricks are high cards and pairing situations. I’m certain that neither player would have played this hand this way at a real money table. But, one might at times.

 Yesterday, I was playing a bit of Stud as usual. There was a super agro at the table. He was completing an unusual amount of hands and always betting every street thereafter. I called with a pair of split 7’s and a ten. Never improved. Called like the worst calling station out there. Called the river. Won the hand. Great call? Maybe. Hell, I even talked a bit of trash after; I’m human. “Shit yourself on that one, Ace?” I’m not pointing this out with pride. It was a -EV play all the way. But, it worked. Make notes on that one? Other did about the other guy and they too chased and fattened the agro back up.

 ADDENDUM:

 I might not have come up with today’s blog if it wasn’t for a PokerNews article. It made me want to point you there. John Caldwell interviewed Annie Duke over the betting scandal. It is a good interview that goes beyond all our conjecture. But, as important, it speaks to the overall malaise that can occur when a government bans rather than regulates a money laden industry. Listen closely! Lots there.

This entry was posted on Saturday, June 28th, 2008 at 2:24 pm and is filed under Journal, Poker Thoughts. Responses are currently closed, but you can trackback from your own site.