One of These Days

Date: Thu, Jul 17, 2008 Professional Internet

At 9:00 am this morning my alarm went off. Forty-five minutes later I hit the snooze button for the last time and drug myself out of bed. I folded up the couch bed half-way to make more room for my computer chair. I sit down and roll my chair up to my desk. In front of me is my Macbook and next to it lies a notebook that doubles for a mouse pad. On the notebook just above my mouse is....a list. And this particular list, lists the things I would like to accomplish tomorrow.

Making lists is something I have only recently begun to do. Up until this point I just kept a mental note of everything I needed to get done. Well, the good news is my memory is not getting any worse, but unfortunately it is not getting any better either, which left me forgetting all the things I have always forgotten.

Things to do Tomorrow my list reads:
1) Jared Tendler call
2) Spend 15 minutes on Rosetta Stone
3) Swim at least 2 times
4) Change address at bank
5) 15 minute video with audio.

If I were to make a second list of the things I accomplished today it would read:
1) Jared Tendler call, check
2) Spend 15 minutes on Rosetta Stone, unlikely but still possible
3) Swim at least 2 times, three times actually double check
4) Change address at the bank, lol R U SRZ? uncheck
5) 15 minute video with audio, total hands of poker played today=0, so obviously uncheck

Tonight I will finish my mojito, perhaps fix another, look a the beauty of a full moon reflecting over the ocean and make another list. Much like the list today and the one yesterday, tomorrow's list will be more of the same. It will consist of the things I didn't do today and probably won't do tomorrow. One of these days I am going to make a list and get everything done. Then I am going to sit back and wonder why I ever made a list in the first place. Is there really anything else that must be done?

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Vegas Blog

Date: Thu, Jul 17, 2008 Professional Internet

After being super busy in Vegas and then having things to catch up on once I got back home, I finally have some time to write about the WSOP. I am currently on a plane to Santa Rosa for my last trip of the summer. I am going to see Stox to play in his member guest. Not with him though….lol. He kicked me off the team awhile ago…hahaha. I am playing with his buddy who I had a blast hanging out with last year Scott Davis. Stox didn’t really kick me off, but rather he has another friend who wanted to play and it worked out fine because Scott’s guest from last year couldn’t come so Scott and I are just going to have to win the whole thing together…lol. You heard it here first.

Vegas was amazing. My wife and I (Leatherwife) had fun pretty much non stop. We took breaks having fun by playing in the actual main event, but I’ll get to that later…lol. When we arrived in Vegas we got to meet pretty much all of the coaches the first night out at dinner. Everyone was even cooler than I hoped for which was exciting. It was great meeting Hunter and his wife. Leatherwife and I got to hang out with them some and relate married couple poker stories which was actually pretty entertaining. Hunter and his wife are awesome people and a lot of fun to be around. I also got to meet the legendary Ed Miller. It was pretty cool to get to hang out with him and I think I forgot to thank him for his great books that helped me get over the hump from a losing player to a solid winner back when I was first learning poker. But he was an extremely nice guy and definitely a lot of fun to be around.

I also got to meet “The Bryce” and our CEO here Jim and both were fun to hang around and get to know some more. Both great people. Jim didn’t look at all like I expected him to for some reason. He looks lot younger than his age. I got to hang around Bryce some and also watch him dismantle some poor guy at 30/60 HU for about an hour. I had a blast hearing his reasons for certain plays and my personal favorite was when I would ask him why he would make a certain raise or 3 bet and sometimes he would say something like, “Well, I mostly just did it for the ‘Fuck You’ factor.”….LOL. The guy is a trip!!!

Hats off to Mators. Making it that far is truly an incredible feat and he must’ve played some pretty amazing poker at the WSOP this year to do as well as he did. I am really happy for him because he is such a nice guy. We got to meet him and his fiance who seemed to be another great gal from the brief time I spent with her. I like Matt a lot because he is pretty straightforward and let’s you know what he thinks. He’s not the type that is going to pussy foot around. If he likes something he’ll tell ya and if he doesn’t he’ll also tell ya which is a quality I love. The great thing too is that there isn’t much a warming up period with him in the sense that he will reveal his true colors the minute you meet him. I love that.

I also got to hang out quite a bit with a guy named Rob Hwang, but known in the poker community as “Action Bob.” Action Bob was another guy that I absolutely loved. He is a really nice guy. He is just a cool customer and can be fun hanging out with in virtually any setting. I probably drank a little too much and talked about it a few too many times while we were all out drinking, but I fucking love his name “Action Bob.” I mean how cool is that? Imagine going up to girls in a bar and introducing yourself. You’re like, “Hi. I’m Action Bob, what’s your name?” And the girls are like, “Oooooohh Action Bob eh? Nice to meet you.” Think about how much fun it sounds to meet “Action Bob, as opposed to saying, “Hi, I’m Rob.” Just doesn’t have the same ring to it imo. He lives up to his name too. We went out a few times and he is the type of guy that likes to keep the party rolling while others might be winding down. Again, that is part of why I love him because I, and Leatherwife believe it or not, are the same way. Shoot, if you’re having fun why stop? 10 years down the road you remember the fun night out, but you don’t really remember the hangover. That’s always my attitude anyway. Actgion Bob also had a great finish at the WSOP and I think cashed for around $60k! Nice work Action Bob!

I have to dedicate a paragraph to Stosh as well. Stosh was seriously the man. You would be hard pressed to find someone more fun to hang out with than Stosh. He is full of life and has a unique personality that will just crack you up all day long. There were several times at the Stoxpoker party at my suite where he had me pounding my fists on the bed or wall because I couldn’t contain myself. He was just so freaking funny. When he flipped coins with a drunken Mbolt1 who was using the Martingale method I just about lost my shit. Stosh is also as dedicated to Stoxpoker as anyone you’ll meet too. He, like me, calls the place home and truly loves the site. I hope Stosh finds it in him to blog more because you guys would really get a kick out of him. I promise you it would be one that gets popular in a hurry.

I was also very fortunate to meet Jade Lane and his girlfriend. Jade was a really solid guy and was super nice and fun to hang out with as well. It was interesting to hear from him about his experiences in Afghanistan and the ensuing mess. He offered some pretty interesting insight about that and I was really excited to hear from him about that. I admire Jade as a person, because anyone who puts their life on the line to protect guys like me who get to enjoy the fruits of their labor, are heroes to me and get my deepest respect. I may not be a fan of the war as you guys know, but I respect an honor people like Jade more than I can even describe with words. It was truly a pleasure meeting him and he is really a great guy. It wouldn’t shock me in the least to see him go on to being one of the best players in the world someday. Anyone who is that tough mentally AND has natural poker aptitude is going to go a long way in this game. I know I will certainly be rooting him on along the way.

I also got to hang out with Sunny Mehta and Geoff Herzog who were also great guys. Believe me I’m not making this shit up and just trying to say something nice about everyone. It was seriously an unreal group of great guys with great personalities and big hearts. I talked with Sunny for awhile and he was really funny and cool. Geoff was also a lot of fun to meet and just seemed like an outstanding person. He was outgoing but maybe slightly more reserved than some ( I could be way off though), but just seemed like an all around awesome guy and I was sure rooting hard for him as he made his way to day 7 I believe. He is obviously a hell of a poker player and probably an even better person. Congrats on an awesome finish Geoff!!

There was one more guy that I got to meet that just about tripped me out. Wayyy back in the day just as I was starting to learn poker, I met a guy who is a top limit holdem pro named Michael Casella. I met him in the line to a movie back when I lived in California and we started talking about poker. He was a top pro back then and I was a total donk, but he nonetheless offered to come to my house and help me after the movie and also help me set up poker tracker. He helped me via AIM with some questions I had, and the next thing I knew I was doing like 10x better at poker. He also told me to get a copy of Ed Miller’s Small Stakes Holdem and between those two things, playing poker for a living became a very real possibility. If I hadn’t met Michael it is very possible I wouldn’t be writing this blog right now. I lost touch with him about 3 years ago, but apparently Stox and Ijay talked to him at the Stoxpoker booth a few hours before the party in my room and invited him. When he walked in the door I kinda did a double take and then was like, “No fucking way.” It was great to see him again and I am glad to hear that he is doing so well with poker. He still plays the big limit games and kicks ass.

The hard thing to believe was that we had all of these people, in addition to my good friends, in the same room for the Stoxpoker party! Mbolt1 and I were joking that the amount of money won from poker in that room must’ve been insane. I’m not sure exactly what it would be, but I wouldn’t be shocked if it was $15-20M. And like I said before, they weren’t just great poker players, but great people as well. I didn’t even mention Ijay come to think of it. He was a great guy too! He struck me as extremely intelligent and very witty. He was quite the combination of wit and intelligence and a genuinely nice guy as well. Also come to think of it I met another great guy in Stoxpoker member Lanford and his girlfriend. They were both great to get to know and Lanford did a great job at the booth. They were at the Stoxpoker party as well and were just an all around great couple to get to know.

This blog has gotten pretty darn long I guess huh? I intended to talk a little more about what I actually did while I was there, but honestly, I’ve been to a ton of nice restaurants as well as nice golf courses/hotels so talking about that stuff is not that big a deal. What is a big deal and something money can not buy, is good people. And I just wanted to talk a lot about all of the wonderful people I met and friendships I made because that is what is really important. If you make a lot of money and then go to enjoy the success and all you see around you are a bunch of assholes, then there is really nothing to celebrate anyway. That being said I do have some pretty cool pics of where I stayed that I would like to share. The room was pretty baller and I hope you guys enjoy them. I do want to send out a special thank you to Pokerstars. The treatment they gave me was absolutely first class all the way around. Their VIP rep Scotty is absolutely the best. He took care of us really well this week as he usually does, but this week Stars really went above and beyond. Putting me up in a $3k a night room is pretty amazing so way to go Stars!!

All of these pics are thumbnails and if you click on them they become full sized....

Me already hammered before we got on the helicopter:

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A Pic of my buddy Mike, his girlfriend and me on the helicopter:

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A view from my suite at the Palms:

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Me messing around on the stripper pole in our shower while drunk off my ass:

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Jared Tendler upon realizing that he just ordered the biggest chocolate cake ever at Capital City Grill:

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Nick, Jared and I at the Poker Stars party at Rain:

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“Action Bob” playing 2 Wheel of Fortune slots at once. They don’t call him “Action Bob” for nothing:

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Myself, Digs, Kyle, Jared and Mbolt1 getting ready to take tequila shots:

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Kyle, Digs, Ed, Jade, Sunny, Stosh and Me at the Stoxpoker party at my suite right before they headed to the blackjack tables:

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Same pic I guess, but just add Mbolt1’s girlfriend Jessica, Mbolt1 and Geoff:

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Another pic that is about the same, but with some pretty cool lighting. Notice the stripper pole shower behind the bar:

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Another shot of the stripper pole. Sorry it just never gets old:

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Me at the WSOP in the amazon room. I am in the far back with the white Poker Stars cap:

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I hope you guys enjoyed the blog. I have never spent so much time on a blog so I hope it was worthwhile.

Discuss this blog here:

http://www.stoxpoker.com/forums/showthread.php?p=95897#post95897

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Cell Phone Driver Tilt

Date: Wed, Jul 16, 2008 Professional Internet

I swear I am going to post my Vegas blog soon, maybe tomorrow, but for now I have a quick rant I want to go on. Basically I have been noticing over the past few years how piss poor people drive while on a cell phone (non hands free devices) . It is like really freaking bad. This week I almost got hit twice by drivers on a cell phone and so I am starting to reach my boiling point in regards to it. The govt. really has to start taking some drastic measures about this and the sooner the better. The one thing that ticks me off the most is that doing the PC thing is so important. For example if you drink and drive you will go to jail. But talk on a cell phone and drive and you get like a $25 ticket…lol. I’m sorry, but it is no safer to drive on a cell phone than it is to drive after having a few drinks. Obviously it is much more unsafe if a driver is totally wasted than sober and talking on a cell phone, but most people that get a DUI are maybe 2-3 beers more than the legal limit. And I will put my life on it that I can drive better on 5 beers (which puts me above the .08 legal limit) than anyone talking on a cell phone. Yet somehow they jail the guy driving on 5 beers and charge the guy on the cell phone $25!!!!! How can this be?

The obvious reason is that it is PC to go after the drunk drivers and since practically everyone drives while on a cell phone, no one wants to give that up completely and so nothing gets done. I promise you that for every Mother who gets in front of the camera and sobs about their son/daughter who got hit by a drunk driver (which breaks me up to think of these mothers that lost their son’s to a drunk driver) there could also be just as many mothers if not more, that could sob about their son/daughter getting hit by a cell phone driver. It’s just that it doesn’t seem as morally wrong to talk on the phone while driving, as driving drunk. But the danger to the road is the same. Many studies in fact have indicated that your driving is MORE impaired while on a cell phone than driving drunk! The only goal of the road should be to make the road safe. Who cares if the driver is driving worse because he is drunk or on a cell phone? The bottom line is he’s driving worse. End of story. WHAT is making him drive worse is irrelevant. Yet somehow one that you did wrong charges you $25 and the other sends you to jail? It makes no logical sense. I say if you’re going to jail a drunk driver then the law should be to jail a cell phone driver as well. There should be no more of this enforcing of laws to fit retarded public perception. I think that driving while drinking is a really selfish and inconsiderate thing to do and would not seek to make the punishment any less significant than it already is, but they need to do the same to cell phones then.

I know this will never in a million years happen. It is always going to be easy to strengthen DUI laws because no one is going to say, “Hey, take it easy on the drunk guy driving into the telephone pole.” But can anyone explain to me why the sole goal of the highway should be anything other than to make it as safe as possible? Should it matter what you did to make it unsafe if they were both equally unsafe? Someone explain to me the logic in this. And why do we continue to ignore data that so obviously indicates that driving while on a cell phone is just as bad as driving drunk?

Discuss this blog here:

http://www.stoxpoker.com/forums/showthread.php?p=95645#post95645

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Stoxtrader blog July 14th - WSOP, Polaris, NL videos

Date: Mon, Jul 14, 2008 Professional Internet

Discuss this video here

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Step 1) Retire Step 2) Profit

Date: Sun, Jul 13, 2008 Professional Internet

As I've mentioned from time to time I still do enjoy playing some poker on a recreational basis. That being said, I'm still more than happy to settle into an 8 hour session and recreationally shank an opponent for 150BB if they play poorly enough. You can't just let that money go to waste.

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Matt Blogs the WSOP: The Run Ends

Date: Sun, Jul 13, 2008 Professional Internet

Well, I'm finally out in 78th place on Day Six of the main event. I made every play I saw. I went with my read every time, whether it meant calling, raising, or folding. I focused every day. I left it all on the felt. (And yes, I got good cards. You have to, to make it that far.)

I'm heading home now. Thanks to everyone who's been sweating me the past few days. In case you're interested, the people to root for (assuming they're still in) are right coasters Paul Snead and Victor Ramdin, and Stoxpoker guest coach Garrett Beckman. Good luck, boys. Wish I was still out there with you.

I promise some longer posts soon.

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Was bored. Went on to Facebook.

Date: Sun, Jul 13, 2008 Professional Internet

Started a Stoxpoker group. That's pretty much it really.
http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=31794549024

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Matt Blogs the WSOP: Another Main Event Update

Date: Sun, Jul 13, 2008 Professional Internet

I had a bad last level today, highlighted by a 1 million chip loss in a blind-on-blind pot with top pair vs. better top pair, and augmented by an 800k coin flip defeat. Also today, I lost a million chip pot as a 2.5-1 favorite, and a half million chip pot with 77 vs. 44 vs. 22. Despite all this, I also busted two different players, both times by flopping two small pair, and I was fortunate enough to get AA vs. QQ, so I'm still in this thing. I'm down to 766k, which is the smallest stack relative to the blinds that I've had in the entire event. That said, I still have 25 blinds, which at this stage of almost any other tournament would make me an average or even above stack. Besides, I'm better with a smaller stack anyway. Today wasn't so good, but I'm thrilled to be in a position to have a shot. Tomorrow is a brand new day at the office. Wish me luck.

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Living The Life As A Poker Wife

Date: Sat, Jul 12, 2008 Professional Internet

This blog entry is a special entry by Dusty's wife who has been nicknamed "Leatherwife." I hope you guys enjoy....

After a great week in Vegas, I walked away from the group of Stoxpoker coaches and their wives/girlfriends feeling as though I'm not alone in this strange world of online poker. It resolidified the fact that being married to an online poker player is one of the most unique and misunderstood experiences a woman could ever have. We deal with intense and unusual work-related stresses; we have to keep crazy hours to spend time together; and we have to struggle with difficult questions from friends and family members who don't understand online poker.

I'll be the first to admit, I didn't believe that Dusty played poker "for a living" for about two months of us dating. Of course I knew he played all the time, but I assumed his parents were paying his bills or he was a trust fund kid or something. Once online poker was explained to me in great detail (and I was given a good look at his Poker Tracker stats) I believed him. I then understood variance, BB/100, et cetera, and the numbers put my mind at ease. Most women are not going to take the "don't worry about it, it's fine, I got it covered" shpiel for very long. Sharing Poker Tracker stats with your wife/girlfriend is a huge moment and you probably won't hear many complaints after that.

As soon as I was comfortable with the fact that my boyfriend played poker for a living, we got engaged. Then the whole world wants to know what your fiancée does for a living. I meekly answered, "He plays poker… online." Now I know when you do tell them, you have to say it with confidence. You would not believe all of the blank stares, rolling eyes, and boisterous laughter I got as a response. What I've learned over the years is to pick your battles and pick your audiences. I can now anticipate almost every response to telling certain people what your husband does for a living.

There are some people that will NEVER see poker as a "real job" no matter how much someone might make. I have found that, in general, there is a generation gap and a gender gap in how this career is perceived. Honestly, I just tell older people that he works for some online company- it saves me the social tilt of defending Dusty to a brick wall.

The other responses I can anticipate are VERY gender biased: men love it, women hate it. Men are the first ones to be supportive, positive, even jealous that my husband can play poker for a living. The women think a number of negative things about Dusty and I. Most of them even have the balls to ask questions outside of any normal social grace. I have pretty thick skin and very understanding friends but when I have spoken to other poker wives, they really struggle with their friendships and how to answer tough questions.

I thought I would compile the Top 10 phrases Poker Wives should have in their back pocket to answer tough questions. Here are some reasonable answers to common questions that I, and other poker wives, hear EVERYDAY:

1. "No, my husband is NOT a professional GAMBLER, nor a criminal for playing online."
People make it sound like he's a total "degen" and plays slot machines for a living. I understand that all of your buddies logged onto Stars, donked-off a grand and "know that online poker is rigged." It's not rigged, and thanks for the car payment.

2. "Yes, it is still considered rude to ask someone how much their husband makes, even though its 'just poker.'"
I mean seriously, no one would ask this question of anyone else, from a doctor to a ditch digger to a poker player. It's just plain tacky… besides, if I told you, you wouldn't believe me.

3. "Yes, poker is his only job. My husband pays all the bills and I don't have to work. 'Nuf said."
If you're amongst close friends, I just explain that he makes about a dollar a hand and plays more than 1 million hands a year. Also, that it's been his only job for about 4 years. They can take that for what it's worth. More often than not, it's an amount beyond what anyone is willing to believe, they'll probably think you're a liar either way. Now that I think about it, this is a no-win situation.

4. "No, my husband has not been on TV."
But he does take money off of Negreanu and Matusow all the time ;) And he does not have to fly to Vegas for "donkaments" every week. He plays online, at home, in his boxers.

5. "No, I'm not worried we will end up on the streets."
My husband isn't some luck sack that won one tournament or hit it big in Vegas. Financially, we have a comfortable supply of hookers and blow and still manage to pay the bills.

6. "No, sleeping-in 'til noon is not 'lazy.'"
If your husband was up playing ten tables until 4am, he can wake-up whenever the hell he wants.

7. "Yes, my husband is very social."
But he often has to play Friday and Saturday nights because of all the weekend fish and their positive EV. The weekends he does take-off work certainly make-up for it… date night for us includes penthouses at the Palms and the best restaurants in the world.

8. "No, my husband doesn't look like a poker player."
He does not own an extensive collection of Hawaiian shirts and gold chains. Nor is he some greasy Sam Farha looking guy. He's actually pretty hot.

9. "No, playing online poker is not like playing videogames for a living."
Last I checked, your buddy isn't a millionaire from smoking weed and playing Halo in his basement all day. If that were the case, I'd know a lot more millionaires.

10. "No, my husband will not give your husband private lessons."
Although he can become a member at Stoxpoker.com. The funniest thing is when women finally believe how much your husband makes playing poker, they act like they can send their husband Brad over to your house for a couple hours and they'll be millionaires, too. LOL

For the ladies, I offer you this advice: If you have friends that cannot follow these basic etiquette guidelines, I say cut your losses and suggest that they die in a grease fire. :)

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http://www.stoxpoker.com/forums/showthread.php?p=94484#post94484

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Matt Blogs the WSOP: Main Event Update

Date: Sat, Jul 12, 2008 Professional Internet

They finally gave us some downtime in this tournament, so I'll post a quick update here. As most everyone reading this probably knows, I've made it to Day Five. There are 189 people left, average stack is around 725,000, and I have 1,126,000. I'm pleased with my position, but there are a ton of great players left in the field, and I have very far to go before I can even sniff the big money. I've run really good so far. I can't believe the number of times I've been dealt aces or kings in my last two tournaments.

A few corrections for those who read about some hands in the updates. As far as I know, they wrote about three hands that I played, so it's about right that I need to correct the write-ups for two of them.

On the AJ hand where I called 210k on the river, my opponent did not have A8 for second pair. He had AT for ace-high.

On the 33 hand, it didn't "appear" that my opponent slowrolled. He slowrolled. I turned over my hand, he said, "that wins" and then said a few seconds later said, "oh wait." That's the definition of slowrolling. I never get pissed at anyone at a poker table, but when you slowroll me in a 650k pot in the main event of the WSOP, you go on my permanent shit list.

Anyway, it's back to work tomorrow. My Day Four opponents were, by miles, the toughest opponents I've faced so far. I only expect it to get worse from here. Wish me luck.

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Matt And Stoxpoker Members WSOP Main Event Update

Date: Fri, Jul 11, 2008 Professional Internet

Garret "Gbecks" Beckman has $1.3M chips and is in 39th chip position.

Matt is out in 78th place and cashed for $77,200. Very nice run Matt!

Stoxpoker member Geoff "Zobags" Herzog (and co-author with Stoxtrader of Winning In Tough Hold'em Games) went out in 92nd place and cashed for $51,466.

Robert "Action Bob" Hwang went out in 94th place and cashed for $51,466.

Updated at 5:22 PM EST on 7/13/08.

Please wish Matt and Garret luck and discuss in this thread.

Nice work by all 4 of you!

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My Comedic Bust-out to the Main Event

Date: Fri, Jul 11, 2008 Professional Internet

First Stoxpoker's very own Matt Matros is really owning right now, last I checked he was one of the chip leaders with over $800k. As we all know Matt is a super-talented MTTer, and he really has the chips and game to take this very far. So good luck Matt!

------------------------------------------------------------

Alright so I busted out 720 or so, around 50 away from the money. Alas... Here's a brief smittering of how the day went.

Started with around $103k. I was playing well and winning a lot of small pots before I made my only serious mistake of the tournament. Blinds are 800-1600-200, I've been very active, and I make a higher-than-normal raise to $5200 with 7 7 from the CO. Hyper-LAG button repops to $13k or so. I give him about 0 credit for a hand and go for my first light 4-bet of the tourny.

The decision to 4-bet here was actually a decent one, I think, the problem was that I messed up my bet size and only reraised him another $9k or so! Obviously he has to call with any two. We hit a flop of

6 T J

I c-bet around half the pot, he goes all-in, and I fold. Wow not good on my part... He flipped T8o so clearly he would have folded to a properly-sized preflop 4-bet. Props to that guy for pulling the trigger after the flop, not sure I would have been able to do that...

I won a lot of the chips back a little later in a pretty strange hand. I'm in MP1 with 7 7 and raise to $5400 during 1000-2000, LAG button calls. Flop is 5 6 K. I bet $13500. He says "raise" but only puts out $15k total. It's ruled he has to make is $27k, and I decide to go with it and move all-in. Despite being very pot-committed he folds pretty quick.

Later during $1200-$2400 I 3-bet an MP raiser with KQo, he calls, and we go to a flop with a big-ass pot. Flop is A 6 A, check check. Turn is a 4, he checks and I bet half the pot. He tanks and folds, hurray!

Two orbits later I 3-bet him again with AQo and he shoves. I'm getting 3:1 so I begrudingly call. He has AKo and takes it.

Then we go on a dinner break, and I thought I had around $55k. I come back after dinner and only have $45k, at the time I just thought I had mis-counted. But right before I busted another guy at my table claimed he was missing an orange chip, so even though we were probably both wrong, I really regret not asking security just to make sure.

Anyway with blinds of $1500-$3000-$400 I have enough chips for around 6 orbits, and I know I need to make a move my first reasonable opportunity. Problem is I get 82o like 6 straight hands, so I'm waiting to either: (a) pick up any real hand and go with it, (b) make a late-position all-in with any non-trash hand, or (c) the stop 'n go...

When I can't do (a) or (b) after an orbit, the BB hits me again and I decide I'll stop 'n go (call pre-flop and shove any flop) if I have any semi-decent hand. A low ace qualifies so I call pre-flop and pretend to think for 10 seconds or so on a 6 J Q flop. Instead of saying all-in, which I thought might be a little transparent, I just said "20" and moved $20k to the center, thinking this might look a little stronger even though I'd have almost nothing left afterward.

Unfortunately the raiser announced all-in. So now I have like $7500 left and have to decide whether to call with a naked ace getting like 80-1 or whatever. The whole table's looking like "what's going on" when I pause with my tiny remaining stack, so I tell them what's going on. A bunch of guys laugh (not meanly, it really was a pretty funny situation), but not the guy who had put me all-in. Obviously I have to call since I'm over 10% to hit my usually-good ace by the river, and when I announce "call" the horror on my opponent's face is so extreme that I honestly think my ace-high might be the best hand against KTs or something.

Actually the guy had T's, and since he had been getting a little short himself and it was very close to the bubble, I think he had just decided to go with it almost no matter what, while strongly preferring to just win without a showdown. The turn and river were low and it was bye-bye SNGMan.

So overall I think I played a very good game, and if you only make one real mistake after 3 days of constant play, I don't think that's so bad. Looking back, I also realize that the hands I got in the most trouble were ones when I made debateable pre-flop reraises. The AK 4-bet on day 1, the 7 7 4-bet and AQo 3-bet on day 3, and a few more. Raise or fold pre-flop is a solid style, but I want to begin experimenting more with a smallball style of smooth-calling some of these raises when I've got position.

Alright, back to sit 'n goes :)

http://www.stoxpoker.com/forums/showthread.php?p=94378#post94378

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For What it is Worth

Date: Fri, Jul 11, 2008 Professional Internet

US-95 takes you away from the crowds, the glitz, the glamor and the temptation of the Las Vegas Strip. It leads to another town somewhere on the other side of nowhere. If you head northbound you will notice a billboard on the right side of the road. It states, “With our thoughts we create the world.” I passed this billboard maybe 25 times last week. Each time I could not help but think what a unique and interesting thought Las Vegas is. But then again maybe it isn’t. Maybe it is the same as any other thought. Or maybe, it is just a manifestation of emotion, of logic…of something. Something that each year draws thousands of people to this desert town to purse…..whatever they are pursuing. It is a town built on fantasies and harsh realities. For a long time its renewable resource was math or the lack thereof. Now it is much more than that. It sells the dream that, you too, can have it all.

After a week I am tired. I have had it all, all that I can take. Under slept, over stimulated, and over fed. Your standard Las Vegas experience if you will. It is time to go home. Although I enjoy these trips they take a lot out of me. Due to flight delays I wasn’t able to make it back to Puerto Rico. I only got as far as Birmingham. When I arrived I slept for 12 hours, got up at 2:00PM ate a sandwich, napped till seven, got up watched a movie, and went to bed at 11:00. I did not wake up until 1:30 the next day. They say your body cannot make up for lost sleep. Well, I damn sure tried. If you read other players blogs you will notice that a lot of them get sick during an extended stay in Vegas. I can totally relate.

Tonight I board a plane and will again attempt to reach Puerto Rico. I can’t wait to get home and resume a routine and some sense of normalcy.

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The Second Man vs Machine Poker Championship

Date: Fri, Jul 11, 2008 Professional Internet

On July 3-6 a lineup of elite players from Stoxpoker.com, an internet poker training site, went head to head with the latest version of Polaris, a poker AI designed by the University of Alberta’s Computer Poker Research Group.

The match was held at the 2008 Gaming Life Expo, just next door to this year’s World Series of Poker in Las Vegas. The format for the tournament was 6 matches of one on one limit hold’em. Each match consisted of two humans playing against the computer in separate locations, and the contest used a “duplicate” format wherein the set of cards dealt during the match would be the same at both teammates’ tables. At one location a human would play one side of the cards, and in the other location his teammate would play the opposite side of the cards. After 500 hands the winner was determined by
whether the humans or the AI had the highest net score. This duplicate format greatly helped to reduce the short-term element of luck and make the matches a much truer contest of skill.

After the first five matches the tournament was tied at 2 wins for the humans, 2 for Polaris, and 1 tie (according to the rules of the tournament a win of less than 25 “small bets,” the betting unit on the early streets in limit hold’em, would be declared as a tie). That meant that the last match of the tournament would also be the tie-breaker, and to add to the dramatic element Polaris’ last set of opponents was arguably the strongest. Polaris won the match in convincing fashion, winning both sides of the duplicate match for a net win of 90 small bets. This gave Polaris a final record of 3-2-1, and provided the CPRG with their first win over human opponents. The CPRG had created a similar event last year against professionals Phil Laak and Ali Eslami where Polaris finished with a final record of 1 win, 2 losses, and 1 tie.

The History of the CPRG and Polaris

The Computer Poker Research Group is a not-for-profit research group founded by Darse Billings and Jonathan Schaeffer over ten years ago, well before the “poker boom.” Over the years the group has created numerous poker AIs of increasing sophistication. In recent years a number of universities have begun competing against one another by pitting poker AIs against one another in competitions such as the AAAI Computer Poker Competition. One goal of the CPRG is “to create a poker program that plays better than any human being”. Life at the CPRG has not been just about fun and games, however. Many of the techniques involved in solving large games with unknown elements, such as poker, can be adapted to help humans make informed decisions with the help of AIs in many other fields. A variant of one of the algorithms developed for Polaris, for example, has been shown to be useful for laying out sensors in smart buildings in order to identify patterns of use and to improve efficiency. In addition, several members of the CPRG have been drafted into the lucrative online poker industry in order to help online poker rooms maintain security.

The first version of Polaris played against Phil Laak and Ali Eslami last year in Vancouver during the 2007 AAAI conference, suffering a narrow defeat after four matches. This year’s model represented some substantial improvements over its predecessor. According to professor Michael Bowling, "There are two really big changes in Polaris from last year. First of all, our poker model is much expanded over last year’s. The poker AI now has far fewer holes in its play that humans can exploit. And secondly, we have added an element of learning, where Polaris identifies which common poker strategy a human is using and switches its own strategy to counter them. This complicated the human players’ ability to compare notes, since Polaris often chose a different strategy to use against each of the humans it played."

2008 Man vs Machine Poker Championship Participants

The 2008 Man vs Machine Poker Championship consisted of 6 matches played by 7 elite professionals spread across 4 teams. Below is a short biography on each participant.

Nick Grudzien: Nick Grudzien left a lucrative Wall Street position in 2005 to pursue a career as a professional poker player full-time. He has since become one of the longest-lasting marquee players in online poker, with well over $1M in cash-game winnings in both limit and no-limit hold’em. In 2006 Nick founded stoxpoker.com, a website which provides economical poker coaching through access to instructional videos and recordings of real online play by some of the world’s top pros.

Matt Hawrilenko: Matt Hawrilenko is one of the world’s most formidable heads-up limit hold’em players, having won well over $1M last year playing online poker. He can be frequently found waiting for challengers under his alias “Hoss_TBF” at online poker’s largest cash games. Matt is very familiar with the mathematical and theoretical aspects of poker and advocates playing a balanced, difficult to exploit style.

IJay Palansky: IJay Palansky retired from a career as a litigator in a major law firm to pursue his career as a professional poker player. IJay specializes in limit hold’em, and has won over $1M playing short-handed online cash games. IJay is well known for his aggressive style , often driving his opponents to frustration by forcing them to continually play in unordinarily large pots.

Kyle Hendon: Kyle Hendon is a shorthanded no-limit hold’em specialist with well over $1M in lifetime cash-game winnings. While Kyle may be better known for his no-limit hold’em play he has strong roots in limit hold’em and can field a very competitive one on one game.

Mark Newhouse: Mark Newhouse boasts over $1.7M in lifetime tournament winnings, including the 2006 Borgata Open WPT Championship Event. In addition, Mark is a limit hold’em specialist who has spent a fair amount of time playing in online poker’s largest cash games.

Victor Acosta: Victor Acosta has been playing poker professionally for over six years, and is currently a specialist in high-stakes one on one limit hold’em cash games. In addition to his poker career he is also a 5th year grad student at UC Berkeley, studying atomic physics.

Richey McRoberts: Rich McRoberts graduated with a BS in finance in 2004 and moved straight to a career as a professional poker player. His poker career has become specialized in online one on one limit hold’em.

Bryce Paradis: Bryce Paradis is another heads-up limit hold’em specialist with over $2.5M in lifetime cash-game winnings. Bryce retired from poker at the age of 23 to pursue interests in real estate, but is still actively involved in the poker community through his coaching at stoxpoker.com and his work with the Computer Poker Research Group. As Bryce has been directly involved in the development of Polaris his match against the AI (which resulted in a tie) has been counted as an exhibition match.

Match Results and Information

The results of each match, as well as logs of the hands played, highlights, photographs and additional information can be found at http://www.stoxpoker.com/man_vs_machine.html .

About The Sponsors

Stoxpoker.com is an online poker training website which aims to help subscribers play better poker through instructional videos, and is the sponsor of the 2008 Man vs Machine Poker Championship. Stoxpoker features nearly 500 videos where the actual online play of elite professionals is recorded and combined with instructor’s commentary to provide amateur players with insight into the mind of a professional player.

We would also like to thank Poker Academy for providing the poker room software on which the tournament was run.

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