Poker pearl #56

In the May 18 issue of Card Player magazine, poker pro Robert Deppe was asked what he has done to improve his game.

I started reading a lot of hand histories from all different types of players. Many players, when they try and improve, tend to study only their own game. There's only so much you can learn when focusing on your own game. You have to see many hands from as many different types of players as possible. I try to understand why my opponents make the plays that they make, and not whether they are good or bad plays. I'm more concerned about what they were thinking in a particular situation.

Heard at the poker table

I heard this exchange between two players at the poker table last night:

Player A: "I stayed here last night until 3:00."
Player B: "Why so late?"

Player A: "The game was really, really good.:
Player B: "How'd you do?"

Player A: "I went broke, but the game was really, really good."

Let's gamble

Playing $1/3 NL hold 'em last night at the Horseshoe, a new guy joined the table. He was waiting for a seat in the $2/5 NL game. He was on the waiting list and just killing time until his seat opened up. He was on the button and straddled. That means he made a $6 bet and the action started with the small blind to his left. There were two limpers to me and I limped along with ♣A ♣J. Another player limped and the button/stradler/new player raised to $35. I was watching him and he hadn't looked at his cards!

This is an old tactic that Tunica regulars are aware of. The assumption is that if no one can come in for a raise, their hand won't be strong enough to call a big bet. Usually the bet is $50. It lets the player pick up a nice pot (four limpers times $6 is a $24 profit).

One of the limpers hemmed and hawed and called the $35! I had about $100 in front of me and moved all in. The straddler called (he still hadn't looked) and the hem-and-haw player folded. A nice $250+ pot sitting there.

You don't have to show (because it wasn't a tournament), but I think it's more fun, so I offered and he accepted. I turned my cards up and he did, too: ♣7 ♦10!

The flop was low cards, but the turn was ♦7 and he won a nice pot. I lost $100, but I still like my play. Why did he call the all in? He was just there for fun and the $100 meant nothing to him.

Working on the hours I need

The Horseshoe Casino is open again and their poker room is active.

I went to the Shoe Thursday afternoon to start earning the 40 hours I need to play in the freeroll for a WSOP Main Event seat. There were $2/5 NL tables, $4/8 Limit games, $1/5 seven-card stud, $15/30 Limit and (mostly) $1/3 NL Holdem tables. I started out at the latter.

My biggest pot was a gift from heaven. There was a young guy who was trying to push everybody else around. If he sensed weakness, he pounced. He had about $700 in front of him, so he was the guy I targeted. There was a staddle on the button for $6 and a couple of callers. I raised to $30 and only the aggressive guy called. The flop was 6-4-4. The aggressive guy led out for $18. I could see that he was thinking that I probably had high cards and this flop couldn't have hit me so he was testing the waters. Even though an $18 bet into a $70 pot is ridiculous, I just called. The turn was another low card and he now bet $65 and again I just called. The river was a blank and he bet $117 (where do they get these amounts?) and again I called. He turned over ♥A ♥Q! I was happy to show ♣K ♠K. Notice that if I had reraised him on the flop, he would have folded or at least shut down. Why bet when he would do it for me? Of course, if an ace had come it would have been a different story.

I see this scenario all the time: A guy was shortstacked and thinking about leaving. It folded to the button who bet $7. The guy moved all in from the big blind for about $20. The button called and turned over ♠A ♠K. The short-stacker showed ♠5 ♦4. A 4 came on the turn and (unnecessarily) a 5 on the river. Someone at the table announced "I guess you can't leave quite yet," and the other guy just laughed. The next hand he went all in again and this time showed ♥6 ♦9 -- "My favorite number," he said good naturedly, and he din't mean 96.

This time he lost and left. Why do you have to go broke, then leave? What's wrong with leaving with $40 in your pocket? That's a fancy meal somewhere or why not keep it in your bankroll for the next time? I don't understand that mentality, but, then, I'm a conservative old man so what do I know?

When I first arrived, I signed up for NL, limit and stud. They called my name for seven-card stud after I was up $400. I decided to protect my winnings by moving to the stud table -- big difference! A big pot at no limit could be just about anything, but a big pot at the stud table was $15. Still, I was able to put in more hours (very relaxed game and no risk - I played about six hours total) towards the 40 I need for the freeroll.

In most stud pots, whoever had the best hand bet $1 or $2 and the chaser called. Two younger guys joined the table and started betting (gasp) $5. The old lady next to me leaned over and whispered, "They going to break up the game if they keep betting like that -- five, five, five." What she meant was that the regulars don't like "wild" betting and would quit. I just nodded.


Above: This shot (click to enlarge) was taken in the middle of the parking lot. They are using pumps to empty underground drains (because of the flooding).

Images by MOJO and taken with my point-and-shoot.

Why not me?

One of the good things about the Tunica casinos being closed due to flooding is that now they are offering specials to get the players to return.

The flyer shown above says that if I play 40 hours at the Horseshoe Casino between now and June 12, I can play in a freeroll to win a trip to the WSOP Main Event. Hey, someone has to win, why not me?

Back in the saddle

Above: The Gold Strike Casino is open for business and welcomes players back.

I drove to the Tunica casinos this afternoon to try and get some photos. Harrahs was closed and there were security people who wouldn't let me go past the main entrance (just before I got to the levee), but they said they were going to try and reopen Friday.

I then went to the Gold Strike and was surprised to see it was open. Poker? What's that?

The parking lot was only about half full, so I wasn't sure what to expect. The poker room was open, however, and there were two $1/2 NL tables going, sweet. I usually buy in for $200, but decided to only get $120 in chips and settle in.

One guy was aggressive. If the pot was limped to him, he would raise to $12 or $16 with A-6 offsuit and hands like this. He was getting lucky and had about $100 in chips and $600 in hundred dollar bills (Benjamins play the same as chips, but twenties and fifties don't).

A guy who was tired of the aggressive guy asked: "Are you going to be here all week?"

"Yes, why?" was the reply.

"No particular reason," said the first guy, but he was obviously saying if you keep playing like that, I'm going to enjoy getting your chips.

The aggressive guy caught his drift and asked, "Do you need a loan?" The second guy had only about $100 in front of him, so he was getting a dig into him, as well. My, the testosterone was flying.

This hand had me shaking my head. An old guy on the button raised to $12 and the big blind, a youngish guy with headphones, called. The flop was J-5-2. Headphones checked and the old guy bet $18. Headphones check-raised him to $45 which was called. The turn was another 2, so the board read: J-5-2-2. Headphones bet $67 and the old guy who had about $150 left moved all in and headphones called. The river was a nothing card and headphones showed 5-5 for the full house. The old man showed Q-Q. I wish everytime I hit a set, I could stack off the other player.

I had forgotten how much fun poker can be. Because I don't really play online much anymore (just small stakes stuff), it was a treat. I worked my stack up to $300 and cashed out. The only big pair I had was K-K and I had to lay that down on the flop. I never had a set. I never did anything fancy, just A-B-C poker.

Image by MOJO and taken with my P&S.

Put me in, Coach

Above: The Baseball Hall of Fame is in Cooperstown NY.

If you're a baseball fan, the National Baseball Hall of Fame is exciting. I spent this afternoon there. It's jam-packed with goodies -- something for everyone.

Cooperstown NY is out in the Tules. I was sure I was lost, even though Garmin acted like she knew what she was doing. After I arrived and confirmed I really was in the right place, I found the town charming.

The museum was packed and so I was glad I was able to visit before the summer horde of tourists arrived.

Oh, put me in, Coach - I'm ready to play today;
Put me in, Coach - I'm ready to play today;
Look at me, I can be Centerfield. -- John Fogerty

Above: Babe Ruth and Ted Williams -- it doesn't get any better than that.


Above: The Baseball Hall of Fame showcases the best of the best.


Above: One of the many displays is a locker for each of the major league teams with memorabilia, both past and present.


Above: There are flat panels with baseball action. In this one, Francisco Rodriguez (K. Rod) celebrates after earning a save.

Babe Ruth used to play here

Above: Fenway Park has been the home of the Boston Red Sox for 99 years. Can you see the fog from last night's game?

Going to a Boston Red Sox game is like a walk back in sports history. Almost all the greats of the game have played here. Other franchises have torn down their ballparks and built new ones. First there were the cookie-cutter stadiums in the Seventies and Eighties. They all looked the same from town to town. Then the fad was to build stadiums with the "retro" look such as Camden Yard and the new Busch Stadium. But the Red Sox kept Fenway Park. Why tear down an institution? It opened in 1912 and will 100-years-old next year!

I went to the game last night with a friend, Adam. We listened to the pre-game show on the radio on the trip. One hour before the game, it was raining and the tarp was on the infield. This sounded bad. The game on Tuesday (vs. Baltimore) had been rained out and the twitter feed said there was only a 40% chance that this one would be played.

Wrong! When we got there, the rain had stopped. There was still fog and it was chilly, but there would be baseball!

In the middle of the seventh inning, there was a rain delay, but they finished the game and the Sox won 1-0, yes! The whole time, I was looking around for the Sox' greatest fan, but I didn't see her or Waffles.

The Red Sox pitcher was Clay Buchholz. He gave up no runs. This was the second time I'd seen him pitch -- the other he pitched a no-hitter! He needs to pay me to come from Memphis each time he's scheduled to start -- my MOJO is very strong.


Above: The Green Monster is one of the most famous landmarks in professional baseball.


Above: Albert Pujols is generally considered baseball's best hitter. Not far behind is (Detroit's) Miguel Cabrera. He's not only a slugger, but hits for average. The guy is 6'4" and 240 -- big and strong.


Above: Clay Buchholz looks more composed than what you'd expect from a young pitcher. One inning, he hit two batters and the bases were loaded, but he pitched his way out of it as cool as a cucumber.

Images by MOJO and taken with my P&S.

Nature is all around us

Above: A bird feeder -- if you build it, they will come.

I'm on vacation and visiting in Connecticut. My friend Kate has bird feeders on her deck and is rewarded with woodpeckers, cat birds, humming birds, cardinals, blue jays and many more varieties. You've probably heard of a Baltimore Oriole or a Robin, but what about an Indigo Bunting? Yellow-shafted Northern Flickers are spectacular. When they fly away, their underneath is all yellow. They are in the woodpecker family.

What kind of birds you draw depends on what kind of seeds, suet, sugar water, meal worms and so forth that you put out. The type of seeds will also affect which birds come.

Kate says she is a migratory stop. Bird families stop for one week in the fall and the spring on their way north or south. She also says that what started as a hobby can become an obsession.


Above: A Downy Woodpecker eats suet.


Above: A Nuthatch takes his or her turn at the bird feeder.


Above: Red-bellied Woodpeckers are spectacular. You can tell that this one is a male because the red goes all the way to its beak.

Photos by MOJO and taken with my Canon.

The luck of the draw

Luck never gives; it only lends. ~ Swedish Proverb

One of the oldest debates in poker is to what extent are the results based on skill and to what extent luck. Proponents of legalizing online poker claim (rightfully so) that it mostly a skill-based game.

Does it really matter that it's a skill-based game? My feeling is that it should be legal regardless. The government lets you bet on horse racing. You can go to casinos and play poker legally. States not only allow you to buy lottery tickets, but encourage you to do so with ads and other means. After all this, why should the government say you can't play poker online? What's that word? Oh yeah, hypocrisy.

Bridge is even more skill-based than poker, in my opinion. Yet, there's luck in that game, too.

Playing online Sunday night, I held:
♠10 8 2 ♥2 ♦K Q 10 8 7 2 ♣K 6 3.

After two passes, left-hand opponent opened 1♥ and partner doubled. RHO passed, and you? I jumped to 3♦. I would have opened 2♦ originally, but that shows something else in our big club system.

My partner Kate bid 3♠, and you? Did you make the lazy 4♠ bid? I have terrific values for a passed hand, so I tried 4♥. Why not, it's on the house?

Kate bid 6♠ and these were the hands (rotated):


As you can see, basically the only thing that can set the slam was ♠Q 4 3 offside. Because this was the case, we went set and scored 2.73% instead of nearly a top. The board was played 56 times and only four pairs bid slam. You can see all the results if you click here.

Even in bridge, considered to be the best card game, there's luck. Later in the same session, we stayed out of slam on this deal:



The ♦A was cashed at trick one and it looked like we'd underbid. When one round of trumps revealed a 4-0 break, 12 tricks could not be made (according to Deep Finesse). You can see all the results for that board here.

Three days in July which changed the world

Above: This row of cannons is on the Yankee end of Pickett's Charge.

In Gettysburg PA, there are tour buses everywhere, and why not? The Civil War was an important event in our country's history. Visitors come from around the world to see the site of its biggest battle.

I was at the Gettysburg National Military Park yesterday. They offered a two-hour guided tour by bus, a movie with a cinematron or a tour of the museum. Which would you do? Why all three of course. They called it the Value Pack.

The battle was fought the first three days of July in 1863. Lincoln came on in November to dedicate the area as a park and cemetery. He came by train. No, he didn't write the Gettysburg address on the train on the back of an envelope. He wrote it in the White House before he came and shared it with cabinet members to get their feedback.

Across from the train station, there's a restaurant named Lincoln's Cafe, but he didn't eat there. It had too many Booths.


Above: The average age of a Civil War soldier was 22. They came from 33 states and all walks of life. Image shot from the Museum at the Gettysburg National Park.


Above: The Civil War artillery didn't shoot rifled cannons, designed to knock down fortifications. They,instead, used cannons filled with one big ball made up of shrapnel that would spread out when shot. They were designed to kill soldiers.









Above: When I think about the North, I think of President Lincoln. When I think of the South, I don't think about Jefferson Davis, but rather Robert E. Lee. These images are from the movie at the park.


Above: More than 2 million visitors come to Gettysburg each year to tour the battlefield and the museum. Some have their photo taken with this image of Abraham Lincoln.

Images by MOJO and taken with my Canon (Nos. 1, 3 and 5) and with my P&S.

A little bit of Ireland comes to Memphis

Whenever Public Television has its fundraiser, they pull out all the stops to try to get people to donate. The group that they highlight who is my favorite is Celtic Woman. The group brought its Songs From the Heart tour to Memphis Monday and Tuesday nights.

I saw the Tuesday show and it didn't disappoint. Their voices were amazing and they had a nice selection of traditional Celtic tunes and contemporary music. The choreography was uber-tight right down to the arm movements of the back-up singers. The group related well to the audience. They mentioned that they came to Memphis on their first U.S. tour and have come back each year since. Naturally, the crowd loved hearing that. The staging/lighting was awesome. They had two drummers and the percussion was strong.

The group played for one hour, took a 25 minute intermission, then played for another hour. The individual members took turns being in the spotlight. A typical song would start out with one singer by herself, then a second would come onstage and take over the singing. Then the third would appear and join in.

Celtic Woman had a fiddler who was terrific (see image below). She played with the singers, but had the spotlight to herself on some numbers. Two words: high energy.

On one song, a bagpiper came from out of the audience playing "Amazing Grace." He moved to the stage and the singers joined him. The crowd went wild. The audience also liked "You Raise Me Up" and "Danny Boy."


The Celtic Woman group consists of three singers, a fiddler, six back-up singers (three male, three female), two drummers, a pianist, a bag piper, and a three-man band that played various instruments. One of the founders of the group was David Downes, a former music director for Riverdance. His concept was to appeal to the American taste for Celtic music under the structure of an all-women group. You can read what Wikipedia says here.


Above: Whether she's called a violinist or a fiddler doesn't change the fact that Mairead Nesbitt was a crowd favorite. Attractive, bouncy and talented -- what's not to like?


Above: The Orpheum Theater, located at the corner of Main Street and Beale, hosts Broadway shows, concerts and films. It seats only 2500, and, consequently, there's not a bad seat in the house.

Images by MOJO and taken with my P&S.

How to get 18% interest on your money

During the December holidays of 2009, I sent $100 to Poker Stars. They were having some freebie tournaments for bloggers -- sounded good to me. Even though it's a great poker operation, I never really played there much.

Today, I got my cash-out check from them. My $100 has grown to $118, a very nice 18% return on my money -- I'm rich!

I have a similar amount on Full Tilt and Ultimate Bet. I'm optimistic about FT, but UB not so much.

Getting my money's worth

When the game tipped off (see above), nobody could have guessed that it would take three overtime periods to determine a winner.

The Memphis Grizzlies played their fourth game in the playoff series against the Oklahoma City Thunder last night. The Thunder prevailed 133-123 to even the series at two games apiece.

The game began at 8:30 p.m. and didn't end until after 12:30 a.m. Because it was so exciting, it didn't seem like a four-hour game. (A typical game lasts 2 hours 30 minutes or slightly less.)

The Grizzlies gave a tee shirt and a yellow towel to each spectator who came to the sold-out FedEx Forum. The place was rocking and towels were waving.

I paid $57 for my ticket -- worth every penny.

You can read what the USA Today said about the game if you go here.






Photos by MOJO and taken with my point-and-shoot.

A perfectly good guitar

Oh it breaks my heart to see those stars
Smashing a perfectly good guitar. -- John Hiatt

Gibson (along with Fender) may be the most famous maker of guitars. Their electric guitar factory is in downtown Memphis, across the street from the FedEx Forum, and I took a tour Thursday. (They have another factory that makes acoustic guitars -- Bozeman MT.)

The tours are every hour on the hour and cost $10 and last about 50 minutes. Visitors go from station to station (I believe there were 26 of them) and I found it interesting. Don't go on a weekend -- during the week visitors actually see luthiers working. They provide safety glasses, something tour group members are required to use.

Electric guitars are made out of various types of wood. Maple is the most common, but there is also rosewood from India and teak from Fiji. Mahogany is also used.

Unfortunately, photography in the factory itself was prohibited -- boo!

Factoid: The Les Paul Standard is Gibson's biggest selling guitar.


Above: The factory makes about 50-60 guitars each day. They ship them from the plant, but you can also buy guitars in the shop shown above.


Above: The main entry of the Gibson Factory in Memphis where tour groups form. Do you see the large black image of Lucille (B.B. King's guitar)?


Above: You can pick up these guitars and check them out.

Images by MOJO and taken with my P&S. Click to enlarge.

Water, water everywhere

The Mississippi River keeps rising. Part of I-40 in Arkansas is closed. Memphians are preparing sand bags. The extreme end of Beale Street has water lapping near it.

This was the headline today in the USA Today:

"Stretch of Mississippi River closed as Memphis braces for near-record flood"

By closed, they mean it's closed to river barge traffic. They went on to say: "This morning in Memphis, the river reached the 'major flood stage,' rising to 46.1 feet and eclipsing the 45.8-foot level of the 1927 flood. As a result, officials closed the popular Mud Island River Park."

Yesterday, I went to what's called Mud Island River Park to see for myself. Yesterday I could go there, but today, the park is closed.

You can read about what USA Today said here and what the Memphis Commercial-Appeal said here.

The river is expected to crest next Wednesday at 48+ feet above gauge zero.


Above: Many trees on Mud Island are submerged where the Mississippi River is outside its banks.


Above: To get to Mud Island Park, I took the monorail.


Above: Even though Memphis is on a bluff, some businesses are placing sand bags to protect their facilities on a just-in-case basis (more symbolic than practical).

Images by MOJO and taken with my P&S.

The sun was shining today

Can you tell what's shown above? If you said it must be a Hard Rock Cafe, that would be a good guess, but wrong.

I went to Sun Studio today for a tour. It's an unimpressive looking place that has an impressive pedigree. Elvis Presley, Jerry Lee Lewis, Johnny Cash, Carl Perkins and Roy Orbison are just a few of the white singers who got their start there. B.B. King, Rufus Thomas, Ike Turner and Howlin' Wolf are black artists who recorded there. No wonder it claims to be the birthplace of Rock 'n Roll.


Above: Sun is actually the name of a record label. This place was originally called the Memphis Recording Service and Sam Phillips recorded singers and sold the music to companies such as Chess Records. Later Phillips decided to sell them himself and created Sun Records. One year he traveled 60,000 miles in his car to visit radio stations to promote his artists. Despite the early success, he eventually went bankrupt. Phillips had Elvis Presley signed to a three-year contract, but sold it (to RCA Records) for $35,000. That was a lot of money back then, and he needed it to keep his business afloat.


Above: The recording methods were very crude by today's standards. Note the reel-to-reel tape recorder and the stand-up bass. The photo is of B.B. King. The electric guitar belonged to Johnny Cash.


If you entered the recording studio back in the Fifties, you would see this desk shown above. Notice the manual typewriter. Notice the fans and the old-fashioned phone.


Above: Various artist have recorded there since its heyday, if only to pay homage. U2 is probably the most famous. They recorded "When love comes to town" there as a duet with BB King. The photo isn't U2, it's some other guy.

Images by MOJO and taken with my P&S.

MOJO hangs it up

I left for work a little early this morning -- I didn't want to be late on my last day. Is that crazy? I mean what are they going to do, fire me?

There was the obligatory party in the afternoon. There was cake and punch and congratulatory cards. There were hugs and handshakes. There was also a fancy flat panel Sony Bravia TV, nice.

Rockin' on the river

Above: If you click to enlarge, you can see one of the large stages (on the far left). If you look very far to the right, you can barely see another stage. The image is looking north and west and you can see the new bridge (I-40) in the background.

The Beale Street Music Festival (see here or here or here) is all about music, BBQ and more. If you're young, there's plenty of beer and maybe sex, if you get lucky. For many, it's about going with friends, kicking back and having fun for three days.

There are 60 bands performing on four stages. Tom Lee Park, where Beale Street meets the Mississippi River, is the venue. The park parallels the Mississippi River for more than one mile and is 30 acres. The giant stages are spread out so groups perform at the same time. You don't like the Stone Temple Pilots? Well, mosey on to the next stage -- it might have a group you like better. Other highlights of the weekend include Godsmack, Hinder, the New Pornographers, John Melankamp and more.

I went Friday and Saturday and the weather couldn't have been better. Today, it's supposed to rain -- I think I'll take a pass.

Seen on a tee shirt: "I got Beale-faced on shit Street."


All up and down the strip, there are food and beverage establishments. Have you ever eaten a walking taco? I don't even know what one is, but one place was selling them. I saw freshly-fried Saratoga chips and they looked yummy.


None of the eating or business places take credit cards. No problem -- there are ATMs everywhere.


Looking south towards the old bridge (I-55): The sun begins to set on the Mississippi River.

Photos by MOJO and taken with my P&S.