It's not often an amateur poker player gets to ask a pro how to win at Hold 'Em.
So when a public relations guy asked if I wanted to interview Chad Brown -- Bluff magazine's 2006 Player of the Year, second-place finisher in NBC-TV's Heads Up Championship and 2004 California state stud poker champion -- I said I might be able to fit him into my busy schedule.
"If you had a friend who was going to start playing poker, what three pieces of advice would you give him?" I asked Brown.
"First," Brown said, and my hands began to sweat as I prepared to write these wonderful words of wisdom in my notepad, "buy my book."
Yes, Brown has a book on the market, "Act to Win in Texas Hold 'Em Poker Tournament." The title is a play on words because Brown also is an actor who has appeared in soap operas such as "Another World."
I laughed at the obvious plug, and Brown said he was dead serious.
The book is co-authored by Stephan M. Kalhamer, a German mathematician who specializes in calculating risks and probabilities and, of course, he's a poker player.
Brown claims the graphs and charts in his book provide amateur poker players & women poker players with easy-to-understand information about when and how to play certain hands and their odds of winning.
What's the main difference between his book and "Doyle Brunson's Super System," considered the bible of Hold 'Em?
"Our book is more for the intermediate player,' Brown said. "Most of the other books on the market are aimed at people who have played for years."
Actually, the first half of the book is mostly for beginners. It explains the rules of poker, the rankings of hands (yes, a flush beats a straight), the difference between limit, pot limit and no-limit games, etc. Download poker wallpapers.
The first thing that struck me as interesting was a chart ranking the probabilities of winning cards in a 10-handed game of Hold 'Em poker where all 10 players would be forced to stay in the game to the very end with their original cards.
A computer program was used to run all the variations of hands and, of course, concluded the best starting hand is pocket aces.
They will win 31 percent of the time under such conditions. A graph shows there's a very steep decline after that, with even pocket queens winning only 22 percent of the time. A non-suited AQ, which most folks would consider a pretty strong starting hand, wins only 14.9 percent of the time.
Later the book provides information on an overpair (such as a king and jack) against a pair of nines in heads-up play along with just about every other possible combination you can imagine.
If I wanted to spend a lot of time reading a book and if I had a photographic memory, it would be extremely helpful.
In fact, if I could remember any useful information when I make a big raise and the other fellow says "all-in," it would probably be helpful.
So I was still digging for secrets.
How about a second useful tip other than buying a book?
"Find a mentor who has had success playing poker," Brown said.
Like professional golfers who offer advice to amateurs, Brown seems to have had no contact with our world.
The people I go to for advice are amateurs like myself, who are playing in low-limit games.
"Use a notebook whenever you play," Brown said. "Write down information on three key hands that you would later like to review in depth with your mentor." Online poker.
There's that mentor again.
"I would want to know the position of every player, the size of their chip stacks, what the flop, turn and river were and how you bet.
"I have friends who call me on a regular basis and we go over that sort of information, and I'll ask how they think they played the hand. Most of the time they think they played the hand perfectly. Most of the time they made absolutely the wrong decision."
I was tempted to ask Brown for his cell phone number so all of you could call him each night with your top three hands.
Instead, I asked Brown if he had a mentor.
"That was probably my father," he said. "He'd put a game together and let me sit in. I started playing when I was 13." Play $500 match poker bonus.
Brown's father was a professional gambler.
And I guess Brown was sort of a Tiger Woods, beating men three times his age when he was just a kid.
"The best piece of advice my Dad ever gave me was not to start playing bad poker after losing a big hand," Brown said.
"He'd point out how good players started playing bad poker after losing a hand. I considered that unprofessional and vowed never to act like that."
Brown's book (AniMazing publishing, $29.95) does seem to offer good information on when to raise and re-raise with marginal hands, but I haven't put the information to a practical test. Play route 66 poker.
As with books on real estate and the stock market, it seems to me the only guy who comes out a sure winner is the author.
As every professional gambler knows, most amateurs are suckers.
The MGM Grand Detroit announced a "luxury" poker room as part of its grand unveiling on October 2. (Image Courtesy of MGM Grand Detroit)
Who knew Michigan was the new Vegas? With the announcement yesterday of the first ever automated poker room opening at the Four Winds Casino Resort in New Buffalo, Michigan and the revealing of the plans for a luxury poker room as part of the brand new MGM Grand Detroit, Michigan has been the hub of the poker world.
Well, for the last twenty-four hours it has been, then it'll go back to being the place where that rapper movie was filmed and where car's used to be made. Play online poker.
The new MGM Grand Detroit is expected to open on October 2 and will be Detroit's most luxurious hotel and casino with 400 rooms as well as a number of regular and VIP suites. Offerings for guests and visitors alike include a full-service spa, nightclub and world-class dining. Women poker.
The new poker room will be well-appointed with eight whole tables, but no word on game offerings or anything else that might get us excited about playing poker in Detroit. Except maybe the 42-inch flatscreen TVs in every room, that'll get us every time. Play route 66 poker.
In a city that can't seem to give away real estate because of a depressed economy, a luxury hotel and casino might seem like an odd choice. However, the hotel and casino will provide 3,000 much needed jobs and will be a huge step toward making Detroit a destination conference city that could attract more businesses. Play $500 match poker bonus.
London's Loose Cannon Club and National Poker League to Host First Poker Tournament on International Televised Tour
The Las Vegas-based National Poker League hosts the first in a series of international televised poker tournaments starting this Sunday in the form of the UK Open at London's lavish Loose Cannon club.
The NPL World Circuit Tour will also feature stops in the Philippines, Australia, and the United States, resulting in 26 episodes for TV broadcast throughout major markets in the U.S., Canada, Europe, Asia, and Latin America. Download poker wallpapers.
The UK Open begins on August 12 and offers several tiers of preliminary buy-ins leading up to the final table, which will be played out on August 18.
Sam Riddle, President of NPL’s television division said, ‘We are extremely pleased that the Loose Cannon Club has partnered with the NPL to host our first international televised poker tournament in Europe. We will be filming throughout the qualifying rounds and producing six one-hour episodes of the UK Open.’ Play route 66 poker.
Event 5: Thursday, August 16 - Super Satellite for Main Event
Main event: Friday, August 17 - No-limit hold’em - £2,500 + £100
Players confirmed for the event include Tony G, Mel Judah, Noah Boeken, Marc Goodwin, woman poker champ Jennifer Tilly, Marcel Luske, Max Pescatori, Dave Colclough, and Todd Brunson.
The Loose Cannon Club is a licensed private card club located at 13-16 Allhallows Lane, London. UK Open players will be granted ‘guest membership’ for the tournament, provided the 48 hour preregistration process is observed. Pre–registration is available at www.nplworldpoker.com. More information on the event can be found at www.loosecannonclub.com. Stay tuned to our poker blog for latest updates.
If a California petition drive is successful, a proposal to set up a state-owned Internet poker site will be on the ballot in February.
Online player Tony Sandstrom has introduced an initiative that would see California profit from a system that would operate much like the state-run lottery. Play route 66 poker.
Under Sandstrom's proposal, the site would collect a rake from poker games, 45% of which would go to the teachers' pensions in the state with an additional 45% going to veterans' homes, mental health programs for military personal and to purchase hearing aids and artificial limbs for veterans. The remaining 10% would fund gambling addiction programs. Play $500 match poker bonus.
Sandstrom has also added room for some net revenue money to be directed to cities and counties to fix roads.
The system would be similar to Sweden's Svenska Spel, which raked $700 million in profits last year.
This proposal - which banks on gathering voter support from bands running Indian casinos, which could see a revenue sharing deal; teachers' unions; and military groups - would order the state to establish the site within 150 days of its adoption. It also lays out game rules and bars players & women poker players under the age of 21.
California is said to be the world's online poker capital, and some experts are saying the state should profit from it by legalizing and taxing the game.
"It's silly for the state not to get into the business," I. Nelson Rose, an attorney and gambling expert told InsideBayArea.com. "Billions of dollars are being spent on the game here, and the state isn't getting one penny."
Rose did, however, go on to say that while California will ultimately legalize online poker, he wasn't sure whether Sandstrom's proposal would make it happen. For the ballot to qualify, the proposal requires 430,000 signatures by the end of the year.
Annual Reader's Choice Awards voting open at Bluff
Top poker magazine Bluff opened voting this week for the 2007 Bluff Magazine Annual Readers Choice Awards.
Categories this year include: Most Entertaining Player to Watch, Favorite Pro Poker Player, Best Poker Broadcast, Best Live Poker Tournament, Best All-Around Online and Live Poker Room, and Best WPT/WSOP Satellite.
"The first Bluff Magazine reader's choice awards were a tremendous success and gave the readers clout and a say in shaping the future of poker," says Bluff's co-president Eric Morris. Play online poker.
"We've expanded the categories this year based on readers' input including 'Best Poker Blog' which will make this year's voting that much more compelling for the poker fan." Download poker wallpapers.
RicardoDB had a long to-do list Saturday and, even though he'd qualified for a freeroll through PokerListings.com and Full Tilt Poker, the 24-year-old online rounder from São Paulo, Brazil, decided he was too busy to compete.
But, poker fan that he is, the student and part-time player couldn't resist taking a peek at the action 15 minutes into the tournament.
He jumped into the fray after noting everyone at his table had $1,500 in starting chips. After stealing enough blinds to boost his stack to more than $10,000, RicardoDB had long forgotten his weekend errands.
Nearing the final table, he got lucky on a few hands to pick up more than $100k in chips, easily besting his nearest competition's $60,000. Download poker wallpapers.
"Then I just played aggressive, stealing blinds and pushing the short stacks with strong hands," RicardoDB told PokerListings.com. "When I got heads up I played more aggressive and got a few hands. We played like four or five hands heads up and I won it."
For shirking his other chores, Ricardo won $750 courtesy of PokerListings.com and Full Tilt Poker, a site he visits daily and says is the best poker room online.
Not bad for someone who is still a casual player after picking up the game three years ago.
"I used to play for fun with some friends and I see that I could make a lot of money playing poker, especially online, with a tiny investment," Ricardo says of his experience. Play route 66 poker.
The winnings from his investment - which was, of course, nothing - in Saturday's freeroll will go back into his bankroll to accompany prize money from RicardoDB's best-ever cash: $1,350 from the $400k guaranteed tournament at Full Tilt. Women poker.
The weekend free-for-all saw 369 qualifiers come out to play, with 10 people finishing in-the-money. Stay tuned to our poker blog for latest updates.
The final table results are as follows: Place Player Prize 1. RicardoDB $750 2. zxcbnm $480 3. boomdog64 $360 4. Andrew5979 $277.50 5. CDoubleU $210 6. pcope5316 $150 7. nrharpe $97 8. meisterdog $75 9. GatorNation96 $60 10. RODDOG23 $37.50
The $3,000 freerolls are exclusive to PokerListings.com and run each week at Full Tilt Poker. The events will take place until Sept. 8, for just 150 points.
One of the Most Highly Ranked Online Players Talks Strategy
No top-10 list would be complete without the screen name of online poker superstar “Andy McLEOD” on it. The Card Player Online Player of the Year (OPOY) standings are no different, with him currently sitting in the No. 3 spot with 3,932 points. Andy McLEOD (his name on PokerStars), who also plays under the screen names TheFatFISH (Full Tilt), Mike HUSSEY (Bodog), Brad JOHNSON (UltimateBet), and JAMESCLEMENT (Absolute Poker), has taken down six OPOY-qualified tournaments so far this year, and has made six OPOY-qualified final tables, in addition. His total winnings from OPOY events alone come to more than $350,000 for 2007.
Despite all of his success so far in online poker, he's still managed to remain relatively low-profile. His real name is known by very few (we know it, but we're not tellin'), and he'd like to keep it that way. Card Player recently convinced this incredibly good, incredibly mysterious player to do a strategy-only interview.
Shawn Patrick Green: What are your thoughts on the continuation bet? Is it overused?
“Andy McLEOD”: I think it's about knowing how to proceed thereafter if you don't take the pot down on the flop; Likely the sickest online tournament player, Imper1um [Sorel Mizzi], still continuation bets almost every time. But he gets great reads on his opponents and doesn't just give up if his bet doesn't take down the pot, which it won't a lot of the time, especially since people are becoming increasingly more aggressive and more and more players & women poker players are learning how to float [call with nothing as a setup to a bluff on a later street], and so on.
At lower stakes I imagine the continuation bet will still be effective, especially if it is a strong one, but at higher stakes you definitely see some people overusing the continuation bet because they seem to give up the pot whenever it doesn't succeed on the flop.
SPG: Well, I think it's hard for some people ( i.e., me) to get away from making a continuation continuation bet on the turn a lot of the time. It is especially hard to get a read from someone online compared to live poker, so how do you know when to let it go by the turn?
AM: I find that it's all about your opponent and his perception of you. If you know you're playing against a tricky opponent and you have a loose table image, then they'll be likely to be floating you on a high number of flops, so this could be a good opportunity to double barrel. It also depends a lot on the texture of the board, of course. For example, if you make a continuation bet on an ace-7-3 flop and your opponent doesn't go away, this would be a horrible spot to double barrel; your opponent is likely to either have an ace (not many people will fold top pair) or a set, or something that will not go away to more pressure on the turn. On the other hand, if the board is something like 10-5-2 and you make the continuation bet and are called, then a double barrel may be more successful here because many players will call with a small pocket pair or such hoping or assuming that you have overcards and will slow down when faced with resistance. Some people will also be able to get off of a 10. Play route 66 poker.
Also, if you have a very aggressive table image, then double barrels will be very unlikely to have a good success rate, since people will realize that you are trying to run them over and will start calling you down light.
SPG: Have you ever folded kings preflop?
AM: I don't think I ever have, but I see countless posts on the forums [recounting hands] where I feel like I definitely would — and, conversely, plenty where kings shouldn’t even be considered to be folded — so, I'm sure I will some time soon.
SPG: I'm still waiting for my magic moment, too. What about pocket jacks? What would it take to get you to fold those preflop? Pocket jacks are a dangerous holding for many players both preflop and postflop. They can't seem to lay jacks down and the hand loses them money when it's supposed to be an overall winner. Play $500 match poker bonus.
AM: It's definitely a tricky hand to play. There are some situations where it's easy to get off the hand preflop. For example, suppose you raise from under the gun with jacks, get reraised, and then another guy comes back over the top. If they all have healthy stacks you can pretty confidently throw it in the muck, but there are some really tough spots that people encounter frequently. Probably the best example is when a player raises from under the gun or early position and you wake up with jacks. For argument's sake we can take the stacks to be 25 big blinds. An under-the-gun player makes it three big blinds, if you reraise to nine or so, virtually committing yourself to the pot, and when the under-the-gun player comes back over the top, you have to assume his range (likely something like queens or better) is killing your hand. So, flat-calling seems to be the most appropriate choice, but then it gets really tough when the board comes all low. Sometimes you can't avoid going broke; it's infuriating, but what can you do? Just try to keep the pot as small as possible.
SPG: What's your strategy early on in big-field tournaments like the Sunday Million, for instance?
AM: For me, being able to chip up at the beginning of poker tournaments is almost the most crucial aspect. I can't play my style if I don't have a healthy stack to work with. So, I do all that I can to get a good stack early, I'll play my draws fast and be willing to get it in with a flush draw and one overcard for the chance to double up. That being said, I'm selective with the hands I play, and I value position above all else. I'll still be folding ace-jack offsuit under the gun, and be fundamentally solid, but once I hit a flop in some way I'm going to get aggro.
The Sunday Million, specifically, is obviously a huge tournament that everyone aspires to do well in, so I'll be slightly more reluctant to go broke at the beginning on a draw as I will in a $100 freezeout or something like that, but I'll still play similarly aggressive.
SPG: Gary “GB2005” Bogdanski says that under the gun is the new button [laughing]. Do you agree?
AM: [Laughs] It is for many players. In fact, it's pretty true for me [laughing]. There's definitely more and more under the gun stealing going on at high stakes, but to be honest, I think it just sounds appealing. People still and always will raise the button light, much lighter than they will open under the gun. Download poker wallpapers.
SPG: One more thing: What was the one thing that you've learned over the years that you believe truly took your game to the next level, whether it be a move, a core principle, or whatever.
AM: Probably the biggest thing for me was gaining an appreciation for table image. I've always been naturally aggressive, and in the beginning, I would just think I could run over every table that I played on, and pretty much spew chips all over the place. People would call me down so light that I would be so angry, just thinking to myself "How can you call me down with that?," when, in reality, the only player making a mistake was me. It's all about adapting to your table image, and once I realized that, I starting playing 10 times better.
It's not often an amateur poker player gets to ask a pro how to win at Hold 'Em.
