This is for the poker players

I play every other day on Pokerstars
This video is from the tv show "the shark cage" a Pokerstars program.

We have Ronnie Bardah, a World Series of Poker bracelet winner, in a hand against miss Finland.
He is a professional poker player and she is a pure amateur

The premise of the program is if you have the best hand in a game and you are bluffed and lose you spend time in a cage. You miss a set of blinds so you have less chance to win chips.

a reply to: SecretKnowledge

Bit of a blind tunnel bluff.

If she was experienced it's ok play on the river as she's representing the full house. Lots of people play low connectors so a good represent - but also probably the only option if you are checked to on that river - FH ain't going to check.

She's got no experience so there's no way she can put him on a hand.

Great TV - I'll watch it with the sound up and maybe have another opinion.

How about a poker conspiracy:

Poker books - When I first started I was told to read Harrington's books and Sklansky's too. I spent hundreds on them and my play was even. Break even is # hot. Then I realised EVERYONE is playing like these books tell them too - that's why they only break even!

There's no poker book out there that tells you how to win - they tell you how to play so the pros can take advantage of your plays!

a reply to: SecretKnowledge

Reminds me of this hand actually...



Two low connectors, two LAG players and one big outcome.

BOOM!

EDIT: Actually it was low pairs wasn't it - now I see the video I recall.

a reply to: SecretKnowledge

I can give you some tips to play.

- When someone is playing you, he shows himself and that`s great, it`s exactly what you want

- So what I always do is something which you have heard as being the best tactic by the professionals, namely tight/aggressive. Basically it`s being cautious and at the right moments be real aggressive

- If you want to come far in big tournaments, you want to play as little hands as you have to...suck outs can always happen, so playing less hands minimises the risks about that, but you also don`t want to become low stack (being high stack isn`t that important as long as you don`t become low stack to get far)

- You just play looking to be reasonable obvious to read till someone takes the bait and starts to try and over-bluff you (at least that is what he thinks he does), so letting him steel some blinds or small raises from you. Most will get over-confident in think they can over-bluff you...exactly what you want, just wait till you have a strong hand and let him dig his own grave, keep playing the same as if you have with a weak hand and make him do the big bluff raise(s) till he has a lot of his chips in the pot and than you go all-in (he`s pot-committed by then)

- All-in seems to be risky, but better to do a few of them than to play lots of hands

- With most on the table being scared about the sudden aggressive all-ins of you, you can easily steal pots not to become low stack (low stack is a bad position and should be avoided because of the desperate hands you have to play), but do it sparsely so not to let others become aware of it too much, so don`t become over-confident when it goes well with stealing

- Most are always calculating and when you become a too big of risk they will avoid playing you. I never cared about getting two pocket rockets, not having to play and just getting the blinds will avoid running into suck outs

- Long story short, the less you play in a tournament the better it is to come really far, the only thing you have to avoid is becoming low stack, and close to the final table players become more cautiously so being more aggressive will pay off then

a reply to: BornAgainAlien

Thanks for those tips!! I like to play the daily 11:00am tourny's at my local Indian Casino. In attendance are usually elderly retireees, drunk, medicated and know only the basics.....low hanging fruit! I don't think I would do very well against real players.

I read Krieger and Bykofsky's book and that style of play suits me pretty well.

a reply to: SecretKnowledge

I don't know how Bardah puts her on a better hand. They both limp in and she checks the first opportunity after the flop. After he bets she doubles him up and they go to the next card. Her re-raise wasn't huge and I don't put her on 3 Q's or 3 5's with that amount of money being laid down. Bardah gets his third 4 and she keeps pumping in money.

I don't lay that down and I don't end up in the cage. He must have been rattled by the sexy Finnish looks...

a reply to: noeltrotsky

Yea but most amateurs, especially girls like this, would give themselves away. She held herself well. Very hard to get a read off her there. You're right that the only giveaway was the play in the beginning of the hand but I think he lost sight of that after she check-raised him. He was more worried about getting outplayed by this hottie. Great hand regardless and well-played by the Finnish girl.

a reply to: SecretKnowledge

There's an old 'saw'. You can't bluff a bad player. You can a good one..

a reply to: BornAgainAlien

You sound like 'Steady Dan Harrington'

As a LAG myself I would like to meet you at the table

a reply to: BornAgainAlien

Er, thanks for the tips.

If you fancy a game of heads up cash, pm me.

a reply to: and14263

Yeah when i first seen that video i was thinking "its gonna be a 6 on the river, sick"

a reply to: SecretKnowledge

What stakes/games you playing? Just heads up?

I used to play FL $5-10, NL 10c-20c or 25c-50c... It's got to the point where I don't have enough time or motivation anymore so I just play large MTTs for fun - Sunday Million on Stars etc.

a reply to: and14263

Ah just low stakes at the moment, FL $1-2, £2-4, NL 10c-20c, SnG's $8, $15. Im unemployed so im just keeping my bankroll at a level where i can pass the hours and play the Sunday Bigs, as you know all the prize money is doubled up on Sundays.
I just play heads up when i ask the odd person who i think might like to play me

a reply to: SecretKnowledge

FL £1-2 can add up though. That's how I first started, FL$1-2. I was playing tight and breaking even/winning a couple of dollars max. That was probably around 2002. Then in 2004 Jennifer Harman wrote her section in Super System on FL and it blew me away just how effective it was - I basically never used my call button, and come to think of it the fold button was almost redundant too!

I wish you the best of luck in what is a very, very hard game. I think bank roll management has changed, I would add a zero to the end of any NL bank roll recommendation nowadays. I'm not saying the game can't be profitable but I don't think I'm psychologically able to cope with the downswings that come with the modern game.

GL

a reply to: and14263

im only playing about 4 years now. Yeah FL $1-$2 can be decent alright, FL £2-£4 you can make a wage out of.
I havnt read one poker book i havnt the patience to read any book.

You have to be prepared to put the hours in and grind it out. Being unemployed i have a lot of time on my hands.

Im getting more into heads up play lately, Pokerstars have a new game out, Spin and Go. Its a 3 handed hyper turbo NLH game, at different buy-ins. From playing that ive learned im quite good at heads up.
Have you played it, Spin and Go?

a reply to: SecretKnowledge

Heads up is boring, too much of a lottery, no matter which strategy it`s all about the cards you get.

a reply to: SecretKnowledge

If you're playing heads up you're confident of your abilities. That's good. The best players play heads up.