So summer has come to an end! Not that it makes a difference to me. I rarely see sunlight at the best of times. In fact its testament to my nocturnal life that 5 weeks in the desert and I picked up the kind of tan that, were they to sell in bottles, would likely be called factor one “grubby”.

I have tried to adopt normal waking hours, the problem is that the easiest cash games always seem to take place at 4 in the morning whereas trying to grind out a living playing the daytime crowd is a far less lucrative proposition. I assume its because the types of people who are playing in the early hours of the morning are more likely to be drunk or chasing their money but I have notice a staggering number of people who are just crap. And its always tough to write article for my poker blog. Read the rest of this entry »

Poker
Super System and Super System 2 are the “old” and “new” testament of your new found religion. Read them well. I thought that the section on Limit Hold’em, written by Jennifer Harman, was exceptional.

Harrington on Hold’em Volume 1 & 2. One of the best set of poker books I have every picked up. Well written, great examples, valuable information, can’t say enough good things about it. A MUST read, especial for the novice and intermediate player.

Ready for Grad school? Well, if you think you’re there then anything by Sklansky will do. Tough reading filled with insightful information. Get ready to pay lots of attention.

Wisdom of a Poker Champion by Doyle Brunson. Don’’t expect detailed hand analysis and play by play instruction from this book, this is not a poker book that aims to teach you how to play specific hands. This is an insight into the mind of one of the greats and the lessons he has learned away from the table as much as at it.

The Education of a Poker Player by Herbert O. Yardley. The first real poker book, this classic from a different era of poker is credited by many pro’s as their inspiration. Full of sound strategic advice sandwiched between stories from the tables that will ring true with all who have spent time playing poker.

The Psychology of Poker by Alan N. Schoonmaker. No other book does more to analyze and define the types of players you will find yourself competing against. Schoonmaker looks at what makes people play the way they do and gives advice on how to play them. This book should help you to understand your own game and importantly what it is that makes you want to play poker.

Mike Caro’s Book of Tells. This is essentially a study of body language as it relates to poker. Much of this book will seem obvious to experienced players but whatever your level there is much here that will be of use. Written simply and illustrated with photos that whilst they may be out of date are still relevant.

Personal
How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie. Even though there is no reference of Poker in this book the lessons learned are extremely valuable and can help you tremendously in both live game and tournament situations as well as in your personal life. I am sure we can all stand to use some improvement in that area as well.

The Power of Positive Thinking by Norman Vincent Peale. One of the greatest self improvement books ever written. You could learn the game all you want, but until you are ready willing and able to put into practice the lessons discussed in this book, the likelihood of long terms success in both your personal and professional life is highly limited. If you are uncomfortable with some of the religious overtones in the book ignore them, but don’t let that prevent you from reading this book. It will help you in and out of poker.

Other
One of the “tools of the trade” for the FBI, police detectives and military intelligence is the study of “gesture clusters”. Gesture clusters are a grouping or combination of motions or expressions that provide extensive valuable information to one that knows how to decipher it.

Go to your local library and get your hands on as may books regarding body language and gesture clusters as you can. Read them carefully over and over. Once you think you know them, then go out and put them into practical application. Not at the Poker table, but in real life. Start observing people at work, your coworkers. Start paying attention to their posture their movements, the more you watch, the easier this will become. Pay attention to your friends and people at bars. You would be amazed as to how much information is offered without a single exchange of words.

Once you master your power of observation, I guarantee you, your skills at the poker table will increase ten fold. At the end of the day Poker is a game of information. Without the ability to accumulate it; process it; and, act upon it, you’re just another Donkey at the table.

John “The Greek” Leontakianakos is a professional poker player with 27 years of experience.

All too often I hear the phrase that poker is poker. There is no difference on how you play in a cash no limit game then in a tournament no limit game. Anyone who makes such a statement either has not played much in the way of high stakes cash games, or they have a serious complex they need to overcome. There is a tremendous difference between the two and it will directly affect the way you play. The biggest difference between the two is the effect of the novice player.

In a high stakes cash game it is not out of the ordinary for me to pay a player a “referral fee” if he brings a fish to my table. Especially if that fish is well funded. I have paid fees in the thousands of dollars to get somebody with a bull’s eye on their forehead at a high stakes game. It is every players dream to land one of these guys regularly. In a cash game, this type “A” player will chase down a flush, a straight, two pairs to a full, all night long. He knows if he catches his hand he will be well compensated. Now and them he actually does. And he takes the pot down. He knows he is out classed and out matched so he has to place his destiny in the hands of fate. By the end of the night, the longer he plays, the more the odds catch up to him. Eventually he goes home busted as usual……again……and again…and again.

Now you have left the comfort of your cash game and decided to venture into foreign waters. It’s now July, and you are in Las Vegas. You have just flopped down $10G’s for a shot at the most prestigious bracelet of them all (the only bracelet in my opinion). You draw a weak table and are playing well. All of the sudden, the same guy you have been busting in cash games shows up at your table. You have enough information on this guy to fill a book. This must be your lucky day. The first time you played with this guy you paid for the privilege of having this fish at your table. And now here he is. All on his own coming to give you his chips. He begins playing tight. That last about 40 minutes until he gets outplayed for the third time he’ is in a pot. All of the sudden, it’s business as usual. He is following along paying off every raise.

A few moments later you find yourself involved in a pot in late position with pocket Aces. The flop comes and it’s 9, 10 A all hearts. You just made a set of bullets. The AK out of position bets, our friend calls, you raise. The AK folds, our buddy does what he does best……makes a bad call. The turn reveals a 4 of hearts. This is not what you wanted to see. At this point you could bet your house on the fact that he just made his flush……yes he needed a four flush on the board. On a good day, he was drawing on the straight but not today. You are now crippled with 65% of your chips in the pot and he has you covered. You make the best lay down of the tournament and he turns over the Kh, Jc off suit he was playing and shows you the nut flush.

Its now two hands later. You are on the button with pocket Kings. You make a play and guess who calls you. You got it. It’s him. He opens a Q J off suite the flop is 2, 7, J rainbow. Not what you wanted to see. The turn is a 6H. And the much anticipated river reveals the third Jack. Congratulations, you are out of the biggest tournament of the year on the bubble. Does it happen? If you need to ask then you need to start playing more tournaments.

Here is a situation that shows how the Novice Player can have a direct affect on how you play and assess a hand. You are in a major tournament, deep into day two. You are four positions out of the money, on the bubble. You have a decent chip stack but there are four larger stacks at your table including the chip leader.

You are third to act and are holding Ah, Kc. First position puts in a raise of 4X the BB. Second position folds. The action is on you. Here is where it starts to get tricky, and it will get much more difficult as this hand progresses. If you are up against a top ranked player that is making a move in the worst possible position on the bubble, then one can clearly assess that this player is holding a very strong hand.

Against a novice player, you have no idea. We now face our first decision. Do we fold, raise of call? If you have decided that you want to play this hand, your best decision would be to just…make the call. With all those players still to act after you, it is hard to tell what they will do. You make the call and another player calls on the button. The small and big blinds fold and the three of you go to the flop. The flop is Ac, 6s, 5s. You have flopped top pair with top kicker. The player at question, in first position, puts out a very large bet almost 2X the pot. What do you do? In a cash game this a no-brainer. In a tournament on the bubble, its not.

Now let’s assume once again that this is a top ranked conservative player. This bet would indicate that he is not giving pot odds for a call from one that is on a draw and he is more than happy to take it down right there and then. As such we can assume that the player did not make a set of Aces and is not on a draw himself. He is also showing little regard for the fact that there is an Ace on the board. With two players left to act it is extremely likely that one of you has paired the Ace. It is very likely that you two are playing
comparable hands.

A player of this caliber would not have raised pre-flop in this position, at this stage of the tournament pre-flop with A, 5 or A, 6 so the likelihood that he is playing two pair is very low. He could also have elected to play a mid pair (unlikely with 5’s or 6’s) so he may be on mid or bottom set. Another reason why he would want to take it down right there and then. With a player left to act behind you, you find yourself sandwiched between the two so you decide to call, as does the button. With a novice player you could never logically assess his starting hand based on the information you have compiled thus far. Your only hope would be that you got some type of read on the guy and can act upon it. The turn reveals a 2h that does not appear to have helped anyone. Whatever you assessment was before after the flop, remains the same after this turn card. The player in first position makes a pot sized bet. With a possible straight draw and flush draw you decide to move all in and take the pot down. The button folds.

Now if you are playing a top player you have made the assessment that you may win the pot or even chop the pot should he make the call. In this particular hand the player in first position was in fact a Novice Player. He called the all in and revealed an 8h, 9h. He hit a 7h on the river and won the hand with a 9 high straight. You are out of the tournament.

The above hand is a good example of how a good player can get in trouble quick against a Novice Player. There was very little you could have done in the above example that would have changed the outcome of the hand. Even a raise may have enticed a re-raise from the player in first position. Short of laying down the best hand, which would not have happened, you were doomed.

Most top ranked players would not have raised in the worst possible position pre-flop with that hand. They certainly would not have played that hand from that position at this stage of the tournament. Most importantly, they would not have put their tournament at risk on the bubble calling an all in bet with a gut shot draw. It is a tough predicament but one that we face constantly in tournaments these days.

John “The Greek” Leontakianakos is a professional poker player with 27 years of experience.

In a perfect world, you would win the first hand of the tournament and never look back. You would always be among the chip leaders the whole way and cruise into the final table. Now we all know the world is not perfect and sometimes you find yourself with a lot less than average stack or a “short stack”. Most players today don’t know how to play a short stack. I see way too many people just put their chips in with any old hand and essentially give up. I’m sure you’ve heard the old adage “a chip & a chair.” Well that’s a true story. In 1982, Jack Strauss was down to his last chip in the World Series of Poker’s Main Event. He didn’t give up and he came back to become a World Champion.

Here are some helpful hints to remember if you look down and find a short stack.

1. No limping allowed. Go all-in, you’re not trying to see flops, your first goal is to win the blinds and antes uncontested. Scratch and claw your stack back to respectability.
2. Table presence is very important. They are a lot less likely to call you if they’re afraid of doubling you up.
3. Be first to enter the pot. If someone else raises in front of you, throw it away unless you have a premium hand. Remember your goal is to win the blinds and antes uncontested. If someone has entered the pot already it’s much more likely they will call your all-in, you just don’t have enough chips to make them fold or they might even have a very big hand.
4. You’re looking to push with “hot & cold hands” meaning you may have the best hand pre-flop and/or will win if you’re heads up and you pair one of your cards on the flop. (ex. K-9, K-J, A-10). When you’re short stacked, take those suited connecters like 4-5 of hearts and throw them in the muck.
5. Avoid the big stacks and other short stacks unless you have a premium hand. If you move-in on a big stack, they are more likely to call you. You can’t hurt them or they may want to show the table that they have the chips and can’t be messed with especially by some small stack like you. Also avoid other short stacks. They may not know Rule # 3 and call you with any marginal hand. They, unlike you may be ready to give up and are more likely to call. (Unless you’re on the bubble, then attack the short stacks, because they will probably throw away most hands in hope of making the money…most people don’t give up on the bubble). Attack the middle stacks (that’s where you will have the most success) You can do the most damage to the middle stacks. Therefore, they are less likely to call you without a premium hand.
6. Don’t ever let the button pass you up or the blinds eat you up. Always move all-in on the button, let the small & big blind decide if you have a hand or not. (however remember the big stack/shorts stack theory, if they’re on the blinds.) And never ever let your stack go down so low that the blinds are getting the right odds to call you. Never let your chips go below 3-4 times the big blind. (ex. If the big blind is $1,000 and all you have is $2,300, there isn’t a hand that is unplayable in the big blind).
7. If you are lucky enough to get pocket aces or kings, use the same strategy and move all-in. No reason to limp and let a J-3 see a flop for free and hit 2 pair on you. Push them in and hope for a call.

And keep in mind when I won the 2004 Caribbean Poker Classic, I went into the second day ranked 112 out of 114 players left. I never panicked, never gave up and slowly worked my way back into contention and went on to win the tournament. I came back from a short stack and so could you…GOOD LUCK!

Any questions or comments feel free to email me.

Vincent “Vinny Nap” Napolitano is a professional poker player who has won the 2004 Caribbean Poker Classic, finished 5th at the 2004 Monte Carlo Millions, and a respectable 39th in the 2005 No Limit Hold’em ($5,000) WSOP. Vincent is Poker Syndicate’s official spokesperson.

At the Foxwoods WPT main event this year I found myself in a hand where pot the ability to calculate pot odds became critical.

It was during the last level of day one. I had managed to grow my chip stack to 50,000 putting me in the top 25% for the day. A comfortable position and the chip leader at the table. The blinds were 300-600 with a 75 ante. So there were 1,650 in the pot pre-flop every hand. I picked up 10h-10d on the cut off. There were two limpers in the hand already. I raised to 2,000. Both the blinds called as did the two limpers.

The flop came 10c-7s-3s.

Everyone checked around to me. Even though I hit this flop well with top set, I did not like the two spades on board and decided to price everyone out. With 8,750 in the pot I bet out 15,000. The logic in this was to take the pot down right there and then. Someone would have to call, risking 15,000 to win 23,750, thus getting roughly 1.6:1 odds.

I got one caller. The turn was a 2h, a blank. As my opponent had about 23,000 in chips left and had obviously missed the turn, I decided to put him at risk for his tournament life and pushed him all in. Even though there were plenty of chips left in the pot, he was only getting 2:1 odds to make the call. No where near what one would need on a flush draw with only one card to come. After thinking about it for two minutes, my opponent called and turned over As – 10s. He had been playing top pair, top kicker with the nut flush draw. The strength of my hand was well camouflaged as he completely misread his outs. He assumed that even if he is behind in the hand he can win by catching any 10, Ace or spade, not realizing that he was a 8:1 dog the hand and would have to hit a spade that does not pair the board to win. The river was a 9s and he took down the pot.

This hand is a classic example of how people ignore odds and percentages and continue in the hand regardless. This time he was lucky, but 7 out of eight times he will get sent to the rail with that call. As difficult as it is all one can do is play good poker and hope that the appropriate play is rewarded. When pricing your opponent out and receiving a call from a player that is significantly behind gives you a huge advantage with one card to come and is exactly the call that you want most of the time, as, in the long run, the odds will always be in your favor.

John “The Greek” Leontakianakos is a professional poker player with 27 years of experience. He is currently in the process of publishing a book on poker and runs his own website called JohnTheGreekPoker.

In this article I wanted to explore two sure fire methods of trapping your opponent into paying you off in No Limit Hold’em. We will first explore setting up and opponent in the beginning of the hand and then we will look at how we can set up an opponent during the middle of a hand.

Slow Playing
Allow me to start this paragraph with a much need disclaimer. “Slow playing is a very dangerous practice especially when you are not prepared to immediately get away from the hand.” Slow play, when done right is extremely successful. When choosing to slow play a big hand like AK, AA, KK, QQ he have to be prepared to sacrifice the hand if things do not go as planned. When slow playing (usually in early position) the first thing you want to occur is for someone behind you to raise so that you can re-raise and isolate one or two players. In the event that no one raised after you and you end up in the flop with more than 3 limpers, you MUST hit the flop hard. If not and there is sufficient action between the other players (raise, re-raise, etc.) then be prepared to muck the hand immediately as you are most likely behind and will continue to trail in the hand, drawing to very few outs. It is the price you have to be willing to pay in order to increase your earning potential in the hand. If you do not feel you are capable of getting away from the hand post flop, then don’t slow play the hand.

Last week at the Bellagio WPT world championship I found myself on day 1, at the table with David Williams. David is a very solid player, one I happen to admire, especially at his young age. I have played with David on several occasions and I am all two familiar with his style of play. David tends to be aggressive in the early stages of a tournament and will fire at unraised pots pre flop if he has position. Half way through day 1 I found myself in a situation that may enable me to benefit from this. I was dealt Ac-Kc in early position. I decided to simply limp with the hand and see what developed. One other player limped behind me and the action came around to David Williams, on the button. David immediately raised 6x the Big Blind. The action folded around to me. With only one other possible player in the hand I decided not tore-raise, and simply called the raise. The other player folded and David and I went head’s up to the flop.

The flop was Kh-2d-8s.

All in all, a great flop from me. I checked the action and David immediately lead out with a pot sized bet. I called. The turn was a 7s. Most likely no help to either player. I decided I would lead out, hoping that it would appear that I was making a play at the pot. I placed out a small bet of 1/3 the pot. David immediately raised. I went in the tank for a while and re-raised All-In. After a minute of thought David stated “I am either making one hell of a call or a very bad one. I call.” David turned over Ks-3d, and was left drawing to a 3. The river was a Queen and I doubled up.

This hand worked out perfect for me. Had I chosen to raise pre flop I would not have gotten any action. Now that the hand played out, it also became obvious that a re-raise preflop would have also killed the action. By slow playing pre flop and then implementing a “stop & go” strategy on the flop and turn I was able to double up with the hand.

Changing gears Mid-Hand
All two often you will see players that have raised pre flop immediately lead out with, what is referred to as, a continuation bet. Most likely, 3 out of 4 times, they have missed the flop. Yet they choose to fire away nonetheless. This is common practice as the flop may have very well missed your opponent as well and you may be able to take the pot down right there and then. After implementing a continuation bet and facing the slightest signs of resistance a player is usually prepared to abandon the hand and move on. This is exactly the situation we want to exploit.

While at the Bellagio last week, I decided to partake in a little cash game action. The biggest game I could find on Saturday afternoon was a 50-100 No Limit Hold’em game that was about to get off. I took my seat and realized that two seats to my left was our current reigning World Champion, Mr. Jamie Gold. Much to my surprise a very nice and pleasant man, that was very courteous and gracious throughout the day. I decided to take it slow in the beginning and feel out the table. I soon realized that Jamie, given the opportunity, was willing to bluff his chips away at any pot, if he thought he smelled weakness, so I waited for the right moment to set up a hand.

In one particular hand, while I was on the small Blind, Jamie had decided to straddle. Two players limped into the pot calling Jamie’s straddle. I decided to place out a large raise (big enough to make it appear that I was trying to steal the pot) and so I raised to $1,900 (19x the Big Blind). The big Blind folded and Jamie called instantly. I was holding Qh-Qd.

The flop was 10c-As-Ac.

I immediately led out with a bet of 3/4 the pot. Jamie called (had Jamie had been holding an Ace, he would have, most likely, raised the pot especially with two clubs on board). The turn was a 7d. I immediately checked. Jamie misread the check as weakness and immediately led out with a huge bet putting me all-in, in an attempt to take down the pot. I called. Jamie was playing Js-Jd. The Big Blind admitted he had laid down J-10 and Jamie was dead to the case Jack. Jamie hit the case Jack on the river and took down the pot.

The play had worked out beautifully. He took the bait when I put the breaks on, on the turn, and tried to take down the pot, giving me the exact showdown I wanted. He assumed what most players would have assumed, that I had completely missed the flop and was going to lay down the hand at the first sign of resistance.

Unfortunately, even though I was a 97% favorite going to the river, I got cracked. At the end of the day, your hand still needs to hold up, no matter how brilliant your play was.

John “The Greek” Leontakianakos is a professional poker player with 27 years of experience. He is currently in the process of publishing a book on poker and runs his own website called JohnTheGreekPoker.

One of the things that separate poker from other games of chance is our ability to select the odds under which we are willing to wager money. One can encourage action by providing the appropriate odds for a call, as one can also discourage action by “pricing someone out” of a pot. However there seems to be a great misconception as to what “True Odds” are and how they are calculated.

Let look at one hand for example and see if we agree on how many outs a particular player has. The player is holding Kh-Qh.

The flop is Jh-10h-3d.

If you asked three different players this question you will most likely get three different answers.

1. One answer would be 8 outs on the open ended straight draw, plus 9 outs on the flush draw would equal 17.
2. Another would answer the same as above but may also include the 3 Kings and 3 Queens as possible outs for a total of 23.
3. The more skilled players would disregard the over cards and deduct the cards suited in hearts from the outs available for the straight draw and would answer 15.

My answer is a little different. Assuming this is a full table, we have 20 cards that have been dealt out. We also have utilized a burn card and three cards that appear on the board. Thus, 24 of the 52 cards in the deck have already been utilized. So 46% of the cards in the deck are out. It is also logical to assume that 46% of your possible outs are also out. As such you probably have 8 “realistic” outs remaining to improve your hand.

So in conclusion, you have about a 28% chance of catching one of your outs in the remaining 28 cards. So proper pot odds to make the call and continue on to the turn would be something in the neighborhood of 3.5:1. 4:1 is really what you want in order to make this a profitable venture. If you continuously call in this scenario with pot odds of 4:1 or greater, you will do very well in the long run.

Pot odds calculations for a cash game specialist are extremely important, as the odds will always catch up to you over time. Thus, getting the right price when continuing in a hand is critical to one’s long term survival in the game. With that said there are some simple ways to calculate odds without requiring a degree from MIT. Lets look at one example.

You are playing Kh-Qh.

The flop is 10h-4h-2s.

Your opponent bets out. A conservative player. You are convinced that if you hit your flush you will win the hand. What odds to you need to continue with the hand? Well, lets keep it very simple. One out of every four cards is a heart. So, theoretically, you have a 25% chance of catching one. As you have two cards to come in all reality you have a 2:1 chance that one will be a heart. If we can keep our pot odds at about 3:1 we are getting a good price to make the call and continue with the hand.

Where people get confused in hand like this is when their opponent puts out a pot sized bet on the flop and they are assuming that with 2 cards to come they are getting good odds to call at 2:1. That is not the case. If you miss on the turn, you opponent, who is obviously already trying to price you out, will bet again, in which case, after having made the call on the flop with 2:1 you will need 4:1 odds to make the call on the turn, which is very doubtful. So try to keep you odds calculations simple and your decisions even simpler. At 2:1 I do not make the call on the flop. No use rabbit hunting to see if you would have hit. It is of no relevance what cards follow. The only relevance is that you are getting appropriate odds to make the call.

The same holds true when you are dictating the action. Lets look at one example when you want to encourage action. You are playing Ah-Jh.

The flop is Jc-7h-2h.

This is an excellent flop for you. On a good day you opponent would be suited in hearts with the King of hearts in hand. You have hit top pair and have the nut flush draw. You definitely want to bet out here but you do not want to discourage callers, nor do you want to put out a highly suspicious bet. I recommend you bet about half the pot. This gives your opponent 3:1 odds, which are sufficient for him to continue on drawing to a better hand.

In the following example the opposite holds true. You are playing Jc-10c.

The flop is Jh-10d-8h.

You have hit this flop hard with top two pair. But, this is a very dangerous flop for you. There are several other hands that would have called your action pre-flop that may have improved as well, not to mention all of the possible draws that this flop represents. As such pot odds become your prime consideration. You want to fire at this pot and discourage callers, especially multiple callers. I would bet at least 1.5 times the pot in this scenario. Offering less that 2:1 odds should be enough to discourage calls from players desiring to draw to a better hand. The hand that might call that bet would be someone perhaps playing A-J. With top pair top kicker they may want to continue in the hand and this is clearly the call that you want as you have that hand completely dominated.

Another situation I would like to discuss is multi-player hands. You find yourself pre-flop in late position. 4 people limp ahead of you and the blinds don’t look all that interested. You are getting over 5 to 1 to simply call here and there are very few hands you can have that are worst than 5:1 pre flop. So you make the call, as does the small blind. The flop comes and you get a small piece of it. There is a bet from early position with two callers and once again you are getting ample odds to continue with the hand. So you go ahead and call.

What happens in this hand and how this hand plays out is not important. What is important is that you don’t find yourself getting into the routine of calling every hand based on the sheer justification that you have the odds to make the call. In the above example, with 4 limpers and disinterested players on the blinds I prefer to raise and take the pot down. In the event I get a caller, I will continue my aggression post flop and see where that takes me. At the very least I will be guilty of playing poker and making a play at the pot rather than becoming a calculating calling station.

One last bit of caution I would like to point out is that you should not assume that because you have made a substantial raise at a pot and have clearly priced your opponent out, that they are going to lay the hand down. They will call and call and call you and you will hear every possible justification for the bad call. “I had a feeling” is my favorite. “It’s the best hand I’ve seen in an hour” is another classic. “I did not put you on that strong a hand. I thought you were making a play at the pot.” You will hear this one more times than you care to, especially whey they crack you. And the all time classic excuse “It’s my favorite hand”. So you get called and you get cracked. This is when pot odds become critically important because over time the odds always balance out and if you continue with this course of discipline you will find yourself well ahead of the game as the proverbial calling stations playing their favorite hand regardless of the odds, will find themselves driving a cab for a living.

John “The Greek” Leontakianakos is a professional poker player with 27 years of experience. He is currently in the process of publishing a book on poker and runs his own website called JohnTheGreekPoker.

The month of December is always a very difficult time for us in the business world. Everyone is running around trying to close out the fiscal year, finalize last minute details and push to a close any last minute transactions that still linger. This December was no different as I found myself at my desk for the 10th straight 14-hour day, trying to keep up in hopes of enjoying the Holidays and getting back to the tables for a much needed break.

As I turned on my computer one morning my jaw dropped at a story that I found in my inbox. The story was an interview with Doyle Brunson on the recent death of Chip Reese. A sudden numbness came over me, as time appeared to stand still for a moment. Trapped in a state of disbelief facing my own mortality, I soon realized that a big part of and what I have grown to be also died with Chip that day.

Chip was far more than a poker player. He was the standard by which all other modern day players will be measured. To have your name mentioned in the same sentence as his is the greatest compliment a cash game player can ever hope for.

Chip though, represented far more than just success at the tables. He was the epitome of what a player should be. His reading ability was second to none. He could dissect you from across the table like a skilled surgeon with a scalpel peeling back one layer at a time until there was nothing left. His ability to avoid danger was uncanny. He reminded me a lot of Rocky Marciano. It did not matter how bad you cracked him or how good you thought you were. He was there for the long haul and just kept firing. Few men have sat at the felt with his endurance and discipline.

His greatest trait of all though had to be his demeanor. I cannot find a single witness that can attest to witnessing him raise his voice or lose his temper. There is an old Russian proverb that states, “a hammer breaks glass, yet it forges steal,” never had this saying been as true as in the case of Chip Reese. In all his years at the tables he faced every bad beat imaginable, even one at my hands, and he became stronger with each beat. The great ones always persevere and get stronger with time, as the weak fall apart and dwell on their misfortune.

As I sat dwelling on the moment, thoughts of one of my first trips to Las Vegas came to mind. I remember the first high stakes stud game I had sat at. Young, cocky and immature as can be, in my early twenties, yet experienced and disciplined as much as any seasoned veteran. I found myself at the table, expecting to run over the competition and claim my prize. However, I had not counted on being outskilled and outclassed.

One specific opponent was giving me a lot of trouble. I threw everything at him I had. I played tight; I played loose; I tried trapping him; bluffing him; running him over. Nothing seemed to work. When I had the hand, he always got out of the way. If I slow played the hand, he would simply check – fold and move on. Whenever I was bluffing he called.

Frustration began to get the better of me and I started chasing hands. Pot odds and mathematics went out the window along with my composure as I chased my opponent down every chance I had. In once instance I hit a one-outer on him on the river cracking his full house. As satisfying as it was to take his money I realized that it was at the expense of the respect I could have earned instead. Bad beat and all, he never even flinched. He simply mucked his cards like any other hand and moved on. I thought at the very least I would tilt him. On the contrary, I was almost tilting at the lack of reaction I got from him.

After about 8 hours of this I decided that it might be in my best interest to stay away and limit my hands with him. I could not understand what was happening, or how for that matter. No one to date had played against me like that. As I avoided my arch nemesis that day, I began to settle down at the table and find my game again. As time went on the chips kept coming. I ended the session with a significant profit and exited the room, early morning the following day.

As I walked out the player that gave me all that trouble was coincidently walking out with me. I looked at him and complimented him on the game. He simply nodded and wished me good night as he left.

Later on that day I ran into a few of the guys from last night’s game having a late afternoon breakfast. They were all too quick to comment on the Bad Beat I put on that guy last night. The guy I could never catch up to in that game. The one that had earned my respect; even though I was a decade or two away from earning his. That guy was Chip Reese.

I ran into him a couple of more times in my lifetime and, even till this day, he never ceased to amaze me. It did not take one long to realize that Chip was at a level all on his own. A level that would take decades of work and discipline for some of us to reach, and a lifetime of effort to attempt to maintain, what to him, seemed so effortless and came so naturally.

As much as we all feel his loss, the biggest loser of all on this is the game of poker. Not because it lost its greatest player of modern times, but because all of the young guns of today lost the best role model that they could ever hope to mimic. A true class act. Chip won his fair share of cash and major tournaments but all that is insignificant in what truly would have mattered to him.

The greatest victory of Chips Reese’s career was the respect of his peers. The people that played with him, and knew him. Those that feared his play and admired him. His fellow poker players that he always had respect for. Even in death, that has survived.

Farewell brother.
John “The Greek” Leontakianakos is a professional poker player with 27 years of experience. He is currently in the process of publishing a book on poker and runs his own website called JohnTheGreekPoker.

All too often you will be watching a major televised tournament and witness two players getting it All In on a proverbial coin flip. This is something I have always had difficulty understanding. You make a $10,000 investment to enter the tournament. You devote a week of your life to it. You grind it out for forty hours of play. And then, you push it All In with a hand like Ace-King, hoping your opponent only has an under pair, so that you could flip a coin and see who wins.

This is a practice I often try to avoid, whenever possible. At the tables, I usually have a conservative image, especially in major tournaments, and, players that have been paying attention are aware of the fact that I have a hand, especially when raising pre flop. What I have found is that most players today have trouble getting away from hands like A-K or A-Q, and the new bread of internet players have difficulty getting from any Ace for that matter.

In a recent tournament I found myself nearing the bubble. Our table had not broken all day, in fact, as luck would have it, it was a pretty good table. A couple of novice players, a couple of real tight players and the rest were pros. We got into a discussion at the table regarding playing A-K pre-flop. Coincidently, 6 players at our table, all 6 to be eliminated had called All-In bets pre flop with A-K and lost. When the seventh guy got knocked out in the exact same fashion, the whole table broke out in laughter.

The very next hand, I picked up QQ on the Big Blind. There was a small raise from mid-position, and then a massive re-raise from the button. I decided I am not going to lay the hand down and pushed All In. The player from mid-position folded instantly and the button went into the tank. Seven minutes later he hesitantly called. The table broke out in laughter once again with players rolling on the floor as the player turned over AK off-suite. After we had just spent twenty minutes talking about it, he still could not lay the hand down. The flop was all rags, as was the turn, and the river brought an Ace sending me to the rail.

It was once said that in order to win a major tournament you have to be able to win with A-K as well as have your hands hold up against A-K. At the end of the day, A-K is still just Ace high and a drawing hand. It is much easier in poker to end up with a pair if you start the hand with one. Don’t get me wrong, A-K is a very desirable hand, but do you really want to put everything at risk on a draw, when best case scenario, you are in a coin flip situation.

When faced with a difficult decision with an A-K pre-flop, especially in early and mid-stages of a tournament, I tend to implement what is commonly referred to as a “Stop & Go”. A Stop and Go is a simple strategy that will enable you to see the flop risking the minimum number of chips and, thus, permitting yourself the opportunity to make a more informed decision with regard to your tournament future.

Lets look at a few examples from the tables.

Example 1

In mid stage of a tournament I picked up A-K of hearts in mid-position. The blinds were 1000-2000. I had roughly 50,000 in chips. The action folded around to me and I raised to 7000. The action continued to fold around to the small blind, who re-raised to 17000. This is where we would go into the tank and re-visit our read on this player. This player had been playing solid thus far. He was a little tight but not excessively. In a previous hand a few hours ago he had re-raised a hand. I move over top and he folded showing me pocket 10’s. It was obvious he wasn’t making a move and had a hand. My consideration at this point would be to determine if I am facing a hand like AA or KK. Against AA I am an 87% dog going to the flop and against KK a 65% dog. Now a lot of players in my situation when facing a call representing a percentage of over 30% of their chips would rather move all in or fold. I decided to call the re-raise.

The flop came Ac-10h-3h.

This was a perfect flop for me. I not only hit top pair, I also picked up the nut flush draw, which may come in real handy especially if I misread my opponent and he is playing pocket Aces. My opponent bet out 24000 and I push All In for my remaining 33000 chips. With the obvious pot odds my opponent had no choice but to call. My Aces held up over his Pocket Kings and I doubled up.

A few hours later I picked up AK in early position. I raised 3x the Big Blind. One conservative player from late position min-raised me. A suspicious bet to say the least. I called the raise.

The flop was 10d-9d-3c.

As checking would provide me no information, I placed a small feeler bet of about half the pot. My opponent immediately moved All In. He had been playing pocket aces and had the Ace of diamonds for added insurance.

Another situation where a “Stop & Go” can be implemented is when one is playing large pocket pairs. It is all too easy to get yourself in trouble with hands like 10-10, J-J, Q-Q. With a hand like J-J against A-Q off-suite you are only a 53%-47% favorite. With 10-10, even against a weak hand like K-J off-suite, you are only a 54%-46% favorite.

Another obstacle we all need to face as a result of the online poker boom is the Ace-Rag scenario. Internet players have a bad habit of playing any Ace as if it’s a Joker. Many of your beats from this type of player will come from hands like A-3 off-suite; A-9 off-suite, etc. Another issue with this type of player is that they have little regard for pot odds and getting priced out of a pot, especially pre-flop. Bottom line – they simply don’t care. So, if you are seeking to sustain in today’s poker circles, this is one type of player you need to be aware of and know how to deal with. Lets take a look at some examples.

Example 2

You are in the Big Blind with Jc-Jh. The action folds around to the button, who raises 5 times the big blind. Now you can re-raise here, and most players would. If you are facing the type of player I described earlier, you may as well push All In here, as that is where you will end up pre-flop. If you are not willing to put your tournament at risk with this hand, facing this type of Player, then you simply call. By implementing a Stop & Go here, you have limited your loss to the amount of the raise you called and have an opportunity to re-evaluate after the flop.

The Flop is Ah-Qh-10d.

This is about as bad a flop as you can hope to see against this type of player. You opponent was playing As-9h. Not only did he hit top pair but he also has back door possibilities in the event he is behind. He is not going anywhere so you might as well get away from the hand.

Example 3

Early on in the article I describe a situation during a tournament where I had the good fortune to pick up Q-Q on the Big Blind. The tournament was a $1,100 satellite for the Bellagio $25,000 championship. We were about 7 players away from the bubble. Unlike a conventional bubble at a regular tournament, in a satellite event everyone that makes the bubble wins a seat and gets paid. So in all reality, the bubble is a first place finish.

The player that re-raised me from the button was a fairly conservative and somewhat novice player. He had avoided confrontations most of the day and when faced with significant resistance, or put to the test, he usually got away from the hand. Not what I would classify as reckless, in the least. I had to make a choice pre-flop when facing a re-raise from him. I chose to put him immediately to the test for all his chips. Well for a nervous player like this a hand like A-K is a godsend, as it enables him to make the call and not worry about getting outplayed by a superior player after the flop. Not to mention that, should he be facing an under-pair, he has plenty of outs.

Had I decided to implement a “Stop & Go” I would have simply called the re-raise.

The flop came 4d-7h-9s.

At this point I would have had the opportunity to fire out first and take the pot down. Even if he chose to call the bet on the flop, the turn was another rag, and he would have found himself having to make a very difficult decision with only one card to come. Against a “nervous” novice player, a “Stop & Go” strategy is always best.

John “The Greek” Leontakianakos is a professional poker player with 27 years of experience. He is currently in the process of publishing a book on poker and runs his own website called JohnTheGreekPoker.

I recently decided to take a shot at the WPT Event taking place at the Borgata Hotel in Atlantic City. The Borgata has opened a brand new poker room that leaves little to be desired. The high stakes section alone has over 40 tables with plenty of action to be had at all levels and variants. This was a welcomed site as I needed to earn my buy in for the main event.

I found an opening at a 10-25 no limit table. The buy in is unlimited yet I chose to buy in for close to the minimum. As I did not know most of the players there and they had no clue who I was, it was inevitable they would put me on scared money. I took my time cherry picking hand to enter a pot with and always entered on a raise. I took the first few pots down with little resistance as I had established a very tight table image up until this point.

On one specific occasion I found myself holding pocket Jacks under the gun and decided to limp in. Two others limped in from late position and the two blinds followed us to the flop. The flop as A-J-3. I put out a bet of 150 got one caller and the button raised to 450. The small blind folded, the BB called as did I. The turn was a 7. I led out with a bet of 700. No sooner was did I release my chips, I was immediately asked how much I got left behind. When the action got to the Button he immediately raised an additional $6,000 putting me all in. Everyone else folded around and I immediately called.

The Button had bought in for $50,000 and had been muscling the table all day. When he saw me buy in with a little over the minimum he immediately assumed I would be on scared money and he could bully me off of the hand. The called shocked him, as did my set of Jacks that clearly dominated the A-2 off suite he was playing from the button.

I took $13,000 net profit off the table in an hour and 40 minutes and bought in to the WPT main event. The moral of the story is, in a cash game you can sometimes accumulate a large profit faster with a small stack than with a big stack as your competition will make a critical error and underestimate you wherewithal.

John “The Greek” Leontakianakos is a professional poker player with 27 years of experience. He is currently in the process of publishing a book on poker and runs his own website called JohnTheGreekPoker.