GSOP Event #12: Pot Limit Not a Betfair Strong Point

Grand Series of Poker VIII / Matthew Pitt / 12 March 2012 / Leave a Comment

Pot Limit Hold'em

Although I am not personally a fan of Pot Limit Hold'em I love the idea of one rebuy and one add-on formats so please Betfair Poker add some more of these to the regular schedules

It appears that in Team Betfair circles there is a big thumbs up for Pot Limit Omaha but a resounding chorus of boos and hisses for the same betting structure when applied to Texas Hold'em. Why? Divert your eyes downwards to find out.

Event #12: $100+$8 Pot Limit Hold'em 1r1a $50,000 Guaranteed

Although I am not personally a fan of Pot Limit Hold'em I love the idea of one rebuy and one add-on formats so please Betfair Poker add some more of these to the regular schedules. The reason I like them is the fact they help increase the prize pools and allow you to loosen up a tad without having to have a gigantic bankroll to rebuy a dozen times. Anyway, more on that later, let's get down to the action or should I saw lack of it.

I wish you guys could see my Holdem Manager database to see the cards I was being dealt early on, they were ridiculous to say the least. We started with Js5h, 7s5h, Qd7h, Qh5s, 3s3h, Ts6d, Jh5d, Jh4h, Tc8s, Qd2h, 8c3h, 7c2h, 6c6d, Kd2h and 6s2s! Amazing. I then picked up QdQc, raised and picked up the blinds to start the ball of crap cards rolling again.

I'd lost a coupled of 150-200 chip pots trying to get creative but it looked like another early bath was on the cards until I picked up KdKs during the 50/100 level. BobbyJ4 opened to 300 from under the gun, one player folded before tiltnogood8 three-bet to 699. Another player folded before I shoved for 1,935 in total. BobbyJ4 then re-shoved for 5,785 and when tiltnogood8 folded I found myself up against pocket queens. A ten-high board was enough to see me scoop the pot.

Although things weren't going my way I decided to add-on during the break which is why I was able to donate 8,143 chips to my opponent during the 300/600 level. The action folded to Sircall in the butoff and he made it 1,200 to play. I was on the button and three-bet to 3,480 then called off my 4,663 remaining chips when Sircall essentially shoved on me. My 8s8c were ever so slightly ahead of the Ah9h of villain but I don't win flips and didn't win this one either as the board ran out Jh-Jd-10d-Ad-Kh to bust me out in 160/297. Meh.

It appears that PLHE is not the forte of my fellow Betfair players either because only three of us made it into the money places. Toots2_x finished in 40th, Doobs faired a little better busting in 24th whilst Mulegrynet's tournament came to an abrupt end in 14th place. Still over $1,700 won so not all lost by any means. Well done everyone who cashed!

Event #12 in numbers

Total entrants: 297
Total prize pool: $72,100
Total Team Betfair entrants: 44
Total Team Betfair cashes: 3
Total Team Betfair prize money: $1,711.05

Mini-GSOP Event #12: $10+$1 Pot Limit Hold'em 1r1a $10,000 Guaranteed

This particular event was one of the worst I had played in, not because of the format or anything like that but the fact I lasted exactly 37 hands despite rebuying! Yes I suck.

I'd already won a couple of little pots (before I rebought) so was seated with 2,600 chips when I picked up jacks in middle position. The UTG+1 player min-raised and I opted to call. I should possible have raised but whatever, I called. Gairy87, on the cutoff, also called and it was three ways to the 7s-7d-2h flop. UTG+1 checked, I bet 145 into the 225 pot and Gairy87 raised to 345. Our friend folded and it was no heads-up to the 6d turn. I now checked, villain bet just 165 into 915 and I called bringing us to the Ks turn. I checked again and villain bet again, setting the price at 555. I remember saying to myself that he had to have typed that amount in deliberately but I couldn't fathom out what it meant. It wasn't a king that's for sure. I opted to call and wasn't shown a king instead I got to see 9h7h for trip sevens. Ah, that makes sense!

I topped up my stack with some more chips and got back trying to find a hand. The blinds were 50/100 when I next got involved, making it 245 to play with my Ah6h from middle position. Everyone folded to the delightfully named CalzonePizza in the small blind and he called. We shared a flop reading 3h-7h-Jd and when my doughy friend checked to me I continued with a 300 bet into 590 only to see him suddenly check-raise to 800. Now here I should probably call and re-evaluate on the turn but that isn't fun is it? No it isn't, so I put in a raise myself, this one to 2,990. Have that! CalzonePizza did not take after his namesake and fold instead he shoved for 3,242 in total with ace-jack and I obviously called and even more obviously missed my flush.

The Pizza then busted me three hands later when I got the rest of my chips in with sevens to his eights and I couldn't find a third seven on the five community cards. Another finish outside the money for me, 361/412. Time for bed for Pudding.

Like the bigger GSOP Event #12 only a select few managed to make it into the money, four in total. PapAmericano made it into the money places yet again finishing in 59th place and he was joined by robmug (51st), dukeboy10 (19th) and a big shout out to 586527 who reached the final table before being eliminated in fifth for $520.19.

Mini-GSOP Event #12 in numbers

Total entrants: 412
Total prize pool: $10,000
Total Team Betfair entrants: 52
Total Team Betfair cashes: 4
Total Team Betfair prize money: $675.23

So by the time the dust had settled on the 12th events the figures looked a little something like this. In the GSOP Betfair players have cashed a total of 307 times winning $415,046.38 in the process whilst the mini-GSOPers have cashed 338 times for combined winnings of $32,216.73.

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Can We Assume No-Limit Hold'em Always "Plays Bigger" Than Limit?

Poker Strategy / Short-Stacked Shamus / 01 September 2011 / Leave a Comment

Back during the World Series of Poker I recall a certain "WSOP Hand of the Day" between Matt Matros and Jonathan Lane that came up during Event #52, the $2,500 Mixed Hold'em (Limit/No-Limit) tournament eventually won by Matros. The pair were heads-up for the bracelet, and after Lane had won a sequence of LHE hands to take the lead, Matros retook the advantage and after winning this particular NLHE hand soon cruised to victory.

I've had the chance to help cover a few of these Mixed Hold'em events at the WSOP over the years for PokerNews, including a couple of memorable ones in which Gavin Smith won his first bracelet (in the $2,500 Mixed HE event in 2010) and Erick Lindgren his first (in the $5K version of the Mixed HE in 2008).

In these tournaments, players alternate between a half-hour of fixed-limit hold'em and a half-hour of no-limit holdem. When talking about that Matros-Lane hand I mentioned how often in these events -- especially during the latter stages -- LHE "plays bigger" than NLHE, thereby resulting in larger chip swings. That observation was somewhat anecdotal; that is to say, I was thinking of what frequently had happened in the tournaments I'd seen, and not of any sort of mathematical breakdown of why that might be the case.

Obviously with these WSOP mixed HE events the schedule of blind increases directly affects how "big" LHE and NLHE play, relatively speaking. But the issue got me thinking... how do LHE and NLHE compare when we're talking about regular cash games? In other words, what are the relative "swings" players experience when playing LHE as opposed to NLHE?

On the surface, it might appear a simple question to answer. Perhaps thinking about how we can only win a few bets per hand in LHE while we can double-up or lose our entire stack in a single NLHE hand, for many of us our instinctive response would be to say no-limit clearly "plays bigger." In fact, it is a commonly-held assumption that players who wish to avoid big swings are encouraged to stick with LHE rather than try NLHE, since in the fixed-limit game they stand to win or lose much less on average.

But is that actually the case? Like I say, watching these mixed hold'em tourneys has gotten me wondering -- when it comes to comparing entire sessions or longer-term segments of play, is it possible that LHE sometimes plays as "big" or even bigger than NLHE?

In The Math of Hold'em, authors Collin Moshman and Douglas Zare devote a series of sections to "Statistics and Variance" in which they explain concepts like "standard deviation" and their application to bankroll management. There the authors note how when it comes to online poker, in limit hold'em "your standard deviation is typically about 15 big bets per 100 hands for full ring, [and] about 17 big bets per 100 hands 6-max."

Adding the disclaimer that all of these figures are obviously going to be affected by how loose or aggressive you and/or your opponents are, Moshman and Zare go on to note that when playing NLHE online "your standard deviation is typically about 85 big blinds per 100 [hands] for full ring, and about 95 big blinds per 100 for short-handed." (The authors note also how the relative deepness of the stacks are going to affect things in NLHE, too, but to keep things simple we'll set that aside.)

So let's say I'm a "typical" player and I am trying to choose whether to sit down at an LHE or NLHE table. I have $100 with which to play, and I'm going to take a seat at either a $0.50/$1 NLHE table or $2/$4 LHE table. And while I expect to win, I also don't want to lose my money too quickly, so I'm trying to pick the game that poses the least risk to my hundy.

I'm thinking here of what players often buy in for at these particular limits when playing online. I know, for example, that in Internet Texas Hold'em, Matthew Hilger (interviewed here) says with regard to LHE that "I prefer to sit down with at least forty times the big bet to minimize the chance that I might have to add chips later." Thus I wouldn't really be following Hilger's advice by sitting down with my 25 big bets here. But just eyeballing the games I think many would probably think of $0.50/$1 NLHE and $2/$4 LHE as being in the same neighborhood, stakes-wise.

Looking back at Moshman and Zare's figures, then, let's do some math. If during 100 hands of LHE I experience "standard deviation," I'd expect to win or lose as much as $60 (full ring) or $68 (6-max.). Meanwhile, if during the first 100 hands of NLHE I remained within the expected range, I'd be looking at winning or losing as much as $85 (full ring) or $95 (6-max.).

One can win or lose more, of course. As I mentioned, the authors do note that the relative looseness/tightness of a game can affect the standard deviation -- by as much as 15% in either direction in LHE games and 30% in NLHE games, they say. That means that if I happen to draw a loose LHE game, it could in fact "play bigger" than would a tight NLHE game.

All of which is to say, that while it looks like NLHE typically is going to be a game in which one experiences somewhat larger swings than in LHE, the difference isn't necessarily as enormous as one might expect. In fact, it looks here as though the chances that I'll burn through my $100 -- or, perhaps, double it -- aren't hugely different whether I play $0.50/$1 NLHE or $2/$4 LHE.

That's, assuming, of course, I'm equally proficient in both games. And that my opponents are as well. And, well, a lot of other things, too.

Even so, I think we can still take away another lesson here -- in fact, one about avoiding another assumption, namely, the one that says by sticking with LHE we'll avoid the big swings of NLHE.

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Ligue 1 Betting: No limit to Paris St-Germain's ambition

French Football / Michael Lintorn / 19 July 2011 / Leave a Comment

Lazio forward Mauro Zarate has been linked with a move to Paris St-Germain

"There is little doubt that they are the team that have got everyone talking, with a massive 80 per cent of the money staked so far heading in their direction."

With Alex, Jeremy Menez and Mauro Zarate among the latest names rumoured to be attracting the interest of Paris St-Germain, it is no shock that they are being backed heavily for the Ligue 1 title.

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The perceived sleeping giants of French football remain only third favourites in a very open market at [4.4] but there is little doubt that they are the team that have got everyone talking, with a massive 80 per cent of the money staked so far heading in the direction of Antoine Kombouare's men.

Rennes goalkeeper Nicolas Douchez, who was an integral part of the division's stingiest defence last term, and prolific Lorient striker Kevin Gameiro have arrived already yet appear set to be the first signings of many rather than the final pieces to the jigsaw.

Barely a day has passed or will pass this summer without a big name being linked with a move to the capital club and their decision to hire Inter boss Leonardo as general manager having once worked in a similar role at Milan is an indication of their aim to ultimately compete for the best players around.

Of course, for now, they aren't quite an attractive enough proposition for the most illustrious steeds aboard the transfer merry-go-round and are instead in a similar position to fellow rich kids Malaga, trying to purchase the second level of stars in an attempt to improve enough to appeal to the elite.

QPR playmaker Adel Taarabt falls in that group and has been the subject of a £15 million bid, while other alleged targets include France international Marvin Martin, Chelsea defender Alex, Tottenham midfielder Wilson Palacios, Roma creator Jeremy Menez and Lazio forward Mauro Zarate.

Regardless of who joins in this window, Paris St-Germain's new-look squad will have to wait at least a year for the chance to test themselves in the Champions League after finishing fourth last season, however their newfound wealth is likely to render them major contenders to win the Europa League.

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Pot Limit Omayha!

Pud's Poker Progress / Matt Carey / 02 May 2011 / Leave a Comment

Before you start leaving comments saying how I have misspelled Pot Limit Omaha I'll let you know that it was completely intentional. With it being the month of May and me wanting to learn how to play Omaha I thought why not Christen it Omayha month for me on Betfair Poker? I know it is cheesy but whatever.

Lifetime I have probably only played around 6,000 hands of Omahahahaha and although I am up a little bit of cash during this time I also think a large chunk of that is down to good old Lady Luck shining down on me from wherever it is she shines from. The game is exciting, can be extremely profitable but we all know what a variance monster it can be too, something that has always put me off from playing the game on a more regular basis.

Long-term readers will know about my constant battle with the mental game of poker and until recently I have not been able to do anything about it but thanks to the book by the same name, written by Jared Tendler and Barry carter I feel I am now ready to take on the challenges that playing Pot Limit Omaha will throw at me. A review of the book is coming up this week so I will not give too much away until then but I honestly feel like I can take PLO by the horns and not give a monkeys about the variance in the game. It should be a good challenge anyway.

I am not setting any monetary or volume based goals for the month of May, instead I am going to set myself the following targets. Firstly, I am going to attempt to play the best I possibly can each time I sit down at the virtual felt. All too often I play poker just because I can, sometimes on auto-pilot, but this month I will endeavour to give 100% every time I pick my seat.

Secondly, I am aiming to spend at least half of my playing time studying the game either through the hands I have played or through various forums and books. Although I know the basics of PLO I am also a novice at the game and there is so much I do not know. For example, I know the vast majority of odds and probabilities for No Limit Hold'em but I am completely lost from time to time when playing PLO. This knowledge comes with time but you can also speed matters along by studying the game.

Thirdly, I am aiming to blog at least twice a week with my progress, or potentially lack of it, so that players who are wanting to delve into this amazingly crazy game can see how PLO treats newcomers! I'll be playing mainly five-handed PLO with blinds of $0.10 on Betfair Poker under the alias Y0rk5h1r3Pud so if you see me on there say hi and try not to take my hard-earned monies!

Until next time thanks for reading and best of luck at the tables!

Join Betfair Poker Now and you could take on the fish that is Yorkshire Pudding! Whilst you are busy winning his bankroll you could be clearing a sign-up bonus of between $50 and $2,500 and earning up to 40% valueback! Amazing IMO!

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