High Stakes Poker!

Great first post. I think you will fit in nicely.

SCOON

Overly Wordy Analysis as Usual

Schatzdog said:

Just watched the latest episode on YouTube. What did you guys think of Booth's move on Ivey with 42s? Did you think that was quality or suicide? I'm still trying to decide myself, but leaning more towards suicide at this point.

Click to expand...

Booth knew what probable types of hands he was up against and figured that Ivey couldn't call. Booth had like a million dollars on the table and was risking "only" 1/10 of his stack on a (fairly) risky play--but Ivey had to call off all his chips--100 000 dollars!--with only one pair! A consummate cash game player like Ivey (who's most assuredly the better player) is going to look for a better spot to call off all his chips. (Remember, the stacks here are very very deep, contrasted to a typical tournament hand you'll see on TV in which Ivey would likely call in this spot.)

Also taken into account is Ivey's own table image: he's playing quite conservatively. This surprised the hell out of me at first! It wasn't until later that I considered that he is new to the table. He's probably still in the feeler stage at--as the announcers put it--the toughest high stakes hold'em cash game ever assembled. I bet he'll open up later if he stays long enough (hell he knows there's a ton of money out there and I know that he believes he has the edge... I bet he'll be there as long as he can). Booth was quite aware of Ivey's conservative table image. Booth established himself as dominant in both aggression and chip position, and, too, he bested the alpha-dog (Ivey) in a biggish pot by making him run away with his tail between his legs.

That all said (huff puff), the play definitely has +EV. Remember there was a decent sized pot to win, added to that the benefits of future play... Never mind that Ivey could have easily had a hand nowhere near as huge as KK!!

(Notice too that Booth DIDN'T show the 4high bluff. He's making everyone at that table think, "Did he really have that?" If he shows the bluff, it's too obvious that he's just advertising. They'll have to pay to see his cards.)

--
Alhazred (exclusively at ub)

My Lil' Ol' Overly-Wordy Small-Stakes Poker Blog:
www.myspace.com/ubetalhazred

Alhazred said:

Booth knew what ... // snip: Novel // ...

Click to expand...

:deal:

I'm sorry I can't help myself sometimes. Really I was zooming in to comment on ESPN being better than GSN. Gag.

--
Alhazred (exclusively at ub)

My Lil' Ol' Overly-Wordy Small-Stakes Poker Blog:
www.myspace.com/ubetalhazred

I can't figure out how to edit my posts cause I'm a moron, so I'll just have to say it here: Everything I wrote about the 42s vs KK hand is based on super-faulty memory. I just watched the hand on youtube and I must say, it happened much different than I remembered:

Williams raises to $1800 w J9.
Booth Re-Raises to $5800 w 42s (NEW to the table w $1 mill, and according to the other players' reactions when he sat down, his table image preceded him).
Ivey Re-Re-Raises to $14000 w KK (and has somewhere around $300k)
Williams folds
Booth calls $8200 more (perfectly reasonable call in position with deep stacks)

Flop (763) w 2 diamonds

Ivey leads about half pot $23000 into $54000
Booth pushes allin.
Ivey folds.

He's representing at least AA here... What else? Ivey has to put him on a big bluff to call, because the next best hand he can beat, QQ, just doesn't seem likely. Given Booth's rep he could've raised with any 2. Hell, he did. Ivey thinks big hand or no hand (or a flush draw like AK of diamonds), I guess. Opts for the safe route?

I dunno, I'm befuddled with both plays. No idea here. Booth risked something like $280k to win $75k, and if he's called he still has a few outs. Probably still +EV cause Ivey doesn't have to have AA or KK here.

Alhazred said:

I can't figure out how to edit my posts cause I'm a moron, so I'll just have to say it here: Everything I wrote about the 42s vs KK hand is based on super-faulty memory. I just watched the hand on youtube and I must say, it happened much different than I remembered:

Williams raises to $1800 w J9.
Booth Re-Raises to $5800 w 42s (NEW to the table w $1 mill, and according to the other players' reactions when he sat down, his table image preceded him).
Ivey Re-Re-Raises to $14000 w KK (and has somewhere around $300k)
Williams folds
Booth calls $8200 more (perfectly reasonable call in position with deep stacks)

Flop (763) w 2 diamonds

Ivey leads about half pot $23000 into $54000
Booth pushes allin.
Ivey folds.

He's representing at least AA here... What else? Ivey has to put him on a big bluff to call, because the next best hand he can beat, QQ, just doesn't seem likely. Given Booth's rep he could've raised with any 2. Hell, he did. Ivey thinks big hand or no hand (or a flush draw like AK of diamonds), I guess. Opts for the safe route?

I dunno, I'm befuddled with both plays. No idea here. Booth risked something like $280k to win $75k, and if he's called he still has a few outs. Probably still +EV cause Ivey doesn't have to have AA or KK here.

Click to expand...

The set was way too probably there. Booth could easily had any set there, 77s, 66s, 33s, open-ended straight flush draw (all which Ivey would want to fold to for that kind of money). Ivey could do nothing but fold there, unless he had an absolutely good read on Booth, which he didn't. Nothing he could do.

With Booth's play, preflop, he had already decided that if there was a flop like a 7,6,3, he was going to raise and raise big no matter what Ivey did. He set his mind up that if ther flop didn't bring a A, K, or Q, that he was going to take the pot away from Ivey with a bluff. Nothing to it, big stack play you might say, but it was a situational play. If the flop was 3 big cards like an A, K, K, or something then Booth doesn't make the play. The flop just was perfect for Booth to make that move at, he knew Ivey had at least a QQ which meant Ivey wouldn't call the big push over the top on that flop. Hindsight, awesome play, but I wouldn't recommend it in every situation.

Alhazred said:

Comparing High Stakes Poker on GSN to any poker on ESPN is like comparing sex with a new girlfriend to the random clips of porn I have on my D drive. If you want poker in all its nuances, all its highs and lows, all its slow parts and fast parts, go to GSN. If you want hasty moneyshots followed by people crying, go to ESPN. How's that for an analogy off the top of my head?

Click to expand...

I like you analogy but I can't work out which is supposed to be which, and whether hasty moneyshots followed by crying is supposed to be your girlfriend or the porn.

Bombjack said:

I like you analogy but I can't work out which is supposed to be which, and whether hasty moneyshots followed by crying is supposed to be your girlfriend or the porn.

Click to expand...

GSN-> sex, ESPN -> porn... moneyshots with people crying -> priceless

--
Alhazred
www.myspace.com/ubetalhazred

The last 2 weeks' episodes haven't appeared on YouTube. What's going on? I need my fix.