Monday, October 25, 2004

The Demise of Online Poker

I guess it was inevitable that in time the computer boffins would try to exploit the online poker industry with the use of what has been nicknamed BOTs. BOT is short for ROBOT, a definition invented by the science fiction writer Issac Asimov (1920-1992), in a collection of short stories written in the 1940s and onwards, to describe machines capable of independent and intelligent thought.

Chess was the first game to be conquered by a computer. There are no human players, not even the grand masters, who can beat the most sophisticated programmes that exist today. Other games, such as backgammon, bridge and go quickly followed suit. Poker is the last cornerstone where a human can outwit a computer. It is only a question of time before this last bastion of intellectual warfare between two or more human beings is conquered by a machine.

There are two battles being fought here. One is the ability to create an artificial intelligence which is adaptive enough to beat even a world class poker player. The other battle is the ability to infiltrate online casinos undetected, and to use these programmes in a manner which is profitable.

The online gaming community takes this threat very seriously, and quite rightly too, as their continued existence is at stake. There is a great amount of money involved in online gambling. In the UK alone, online gambling increased six fold, to £38 million, in 2003. The largest share of the market is the US, where a larger population enjoy more widespread internet access and surplus income.

The threat comes from a lack of confidence. Are you prepared to play against an opponent which has a massive edge over yourself? I am not making an argument that a computer programme cannot be “beaten”, or that you are unable to win a hand. I am discussing long term edges. The type that if you play this same opponent over a long period of time, the result would be you would have made a loss. An opponent which has a complete database on your play. One which can adapt to varying styles of play. One which can play for 24 hours a day without requiring a break. One that doesn’t suffer tiredness, fatigue, stress or hunger. The only reason why you make any money at poker is because you are exploiting small edges over your opponents. You are outplaying them in some way. So I ask again, “Do you want to play against a computer?”

The online casinos have quickly realised the implications of a lack of confidence which could arise and rapidly escalate. Hence the development of anti-BOT software. If you download a BOT programme, the casino will detect it and take action. You could face your online account being frozen, and be unable to withdraw money from your account. A war has started. One which is very similar to the war between hackers and anti-virus developers. On one hand are the computer boffins who are attempting to make the perfect poker player. One the other side are an army of computer programmers trying to prevent the use of these programmes in cash games.

The boffins are asking themselves, “How can it be done?” when they should pause for a second and consider, “Should it be done?”

If people lose confidence in online gaming, they will leave. What at first will be a trickle, will be followed by a tidal wave of departures. Those who are too stubborn or ignorant and continue playing, will end up facing an increasing number of automated players, until they too succumb to the rise of the machines.

At present, BOTs are not very sophisticated. They can be detected both by the casino and by careful observation at the table. A tell-tale sign is your opponent making very rapid decisions, and not engaging in chat. However, more sophisticated programmes now pause, making it appear like the BOT is considering what action to take. Also, I can imagine that it is possible for a person to engage in chat and still have a BOT running as well. A good player can outwit them… for the time being.

BOTs are currently operating at $2/4 ring games and lower. This in itself is a major problem. The people playing at these limits generally are average players at best. Poker has many different levels to suit the whole spectrum of player ability and skill. Consider these levels as a food chain model in the natural world. There are a few large predators which feed off a greater quantity of smaller prey, which in turn prey on even greater numbers of smaller organisms. And so the chain continues until at the very base are microscopic plants and animals which everything else is dependant on. Just as the natural world requires a foundation, so too does the poker world. The small stake players provide a base which feeds the mid-limit games, which feed the higher staked games. Unfortunately, the BOTS are targeting micro and small stake games, and will quickly overrun them if not prevented.

Soon, BOTS will gradually move to higher limit games as their operators gain confidence in using them. Eventually, the only players left will be BOTS, one machine trying to outwit another. An industry which has enjoyed exponential growth over the last few years, faces a crisis far greater than any US legislation trying to ban it. If the control of BOTS remain unchecked, I predict that the online poker industry will not exist within the next five years. It would seem sadly ironic that that the very tools which have helped increase the popularity of poker, could also be instrumental in its rapid decline. In order to maintain some integrity, poker may have to go back to its roots in brick and mortar casinos and home games.

Sunday, October 17, 2004

Chalk and Cheese

There are many different variations of poker… 5 Card Draw, 7 Card Stud, Hold Em, Omaha, etc, and many more variations within each basic game. Examples could be the size of the blind bets, whether it’s a limited bet or big bet structure, or if the game is split into high and low pots, or just played for high. You could break this down even further. Suppose you sat at the same game, at the same limits, playing against the same people each night. Would any game be identical to another? Notwithstanding the randomness of how the cards are dealt, there are a multitude of other factors which can result in a winning or losing session. Let’s say there is a loose aggressive player at the table. Let’s call him Bill. By simply moving Bill from one seat on my right across to one seat on my left, I have to adopt a different strategy. With Bill sat on my right, I have a small advantage, as he has to act first (action always moves in a clockwise direction around a poker table). If he decides to bet, it makes my decision easier in how to respond appropriately. However, when he’s on my left, the situation is more troublesome for me. I have to anticipate whether he’s interested in the hand and if he’s prepared to raise behind me. My whole game, whilst that situation continues, has shifted drastically. And that’s only one small change!

If I had to decide which one factor which has the biggest impact on the game, I would have to vote for whether it’s a live game, or one played on the internet. Whilst they share the same name and may play to the same rules, the two contrast sharply.

I feel that in order to get a richer experience, playing in a live game surpasses anything that online gaming can offer. It’s like the difference between “flying” in a flight simulator or jumping in a real aircraft and reaching for the skies. So much information, like reading body language, is lost when playing online. In addition, there is a lack of the social element often associated with playing against someone face to face. Playing live is so much fun!

So if that is the case, why do I spend so much time playing online rather than at my local casino?

Well, the first and most obvious reason would have to be that it is more convenient. Rather than travelling the 20 miles or so into Salford in the pouring rain, I can sit in my warm cosy home and play when I like at hours which best suit me.

There are also a greater selection of games and card rooms to choose from. I have started to develop into a generalized poker player, and will play any variation of poker, at almost any level. It doesn’t matter if it’s a tournament or a ring game. If I feel I have a good chance of leaving the table a winner, I’ll play it! I’ll play at micro-limits right up to a 20/40 limit structure. I’m not as worried about how much money I win or lose, as I am about getting a good return for my investment. Online casinos are an ideal place to spot soft tables just waiting to be exploited.

It also allows me to play poker against a huge player base scattered across the globe. Some of those have been WSOP champions or seasoned professionals which I will most unlikely have a chance to play against in a live game. More importantly, opportunities open up to play many more weaker opponents.

By keeping record of each hand played using PokerTracker, playing online also serves and a useful training tool in order to help prepare for a live game. It’s very easy to miss mistakes made whilst sat down at the table. By re-examining hand histories, these errors in my play become glaringly obvious. Identification of a problem is the first step towards correcting it.

Finally, there’s always some promotion going on somewhere at one of the three sites I play at. Although I rarely enter multi-table tournaments, there is also the possibility of gaining entry into major live events via super satellite tournaments. Who knows, one day it could be me playing at the WSOP!

All that being said, I can’t wait until my next live tournament next month in Blackpool. I’ve decided to play the £50 rebuy tournament on the last day of the festival being held over that week. I’ve just sent my application form off. (Membership is required 24 hours in advance of playing). I shouldn’t have too much trouble with navigating there. I’ll just keep driving West until I reach the sea!

Friday, October 08, 2004

Worlds Apart - Part Two

Monday 29th March 2004 - www.planetpoker.com

No Limit Hold Em - £20 Freezeout PJK Tournament

After my very poor performance at Salford this evening, the last thing I wanted to do was play another tournament. Sometimes though, you have to simply take punches on the chin, pick yourself up off the floor and dive back into the fray.

~~~~oOo~~~~

The internet can be very peculiar in many ways. I find it amazing how I can form friendships with people whom may live thousands of miles away if a different country, and have never met. But what is more amazing is that I have any friends at all. A close friend once summarized my personality as, “Incredibly difficult to get to know”. This comment was made after seven years of friendship, which I am glad to say is still strong today.

Two people whom I do regard as friends are Felicia and her husband Glenn. Felicia has just recently become a public relations and customer care manager for a well know casino in Laughlin, Nevada; whilst the entrepreneurial Glenn has established his own business producing boots, crutches and wheelchairs for dogs. I wish them both well in these dubious occupations.

I first became acquainted with Felicia and Glenn through a poker discussion forum, which I joined back in January 2003, and we have been in contact ever since. Felicia claims that I helped teach her how to play no limit hold em, although I’m not sure what she learned from me which she didn’t acquire from other sources.

~~~~oOo~~~~

The PJK weekly tournaments are the result of many hours of hard work by Felicia, who organised this event for a peculiar breed of poker player, who are collectively called “bloggers”. These are poker players who keep a journal, in one format or another, of their experiences whilst playing either online or live. Felicia herself keeps a journal of her poker adventures, which prove to be a very interesting read (www.felicialee.net). These private tournaments are graciously hosted by www.planetpoker.com. To generate added interest, several professional players have been approached to act as special guests, one playing each week. This particular week, the guest player was Ray Cooke, professional poker player, cardroom manager for PlanetPoker, and author of many published poker articles.

I had earlier advised interest to play in this tournament, although, if my fortunes had been different, I would have still been playing at Salford. Typically, I was home for midnight with nothing much to do, so I was kindly asked if I still wanted to participate. I jumped at the chance.

~~~~oOo~~~~

Unusually, I were more nervous about this tournament than the live game at Salford just a few hours before, for several reasons. I have played against professional players before in online tournaments, including two WSOP champions, but even so, it still gets the adrenaline flowing. I was also feeling a little out of place, as I am not a “blogger” in the strictest of terms. To many of the other players I was an unknown entity, and wanted to create a good impression. Normally, this is not very important to me whilst playing online, but generally I’m not pitted against twenty prolific writers. Additionally, I wanted to prove that I was still capable of winning tournaments, in defiance of the poor results which I have had to endure throughout the whole of March .

~~~~oOo~~~~

The tournament was due to start at 9pm EST which is a 2am start over here in the UK. Whilst I don’t normally play poker at such early hours in the morning, I will make exceptions every now and again, if there is something special going on. I logged on and was seated at my table. Aside from myself there was another Brit already seated called McKormick. We sat and chatted and waited for the tournament to start……… and waited……..and waited. No-one else had bothered to log on. Then we slowly realised that we had just switched to summer time and the states don’t move their clocks forward for another week! So in actual fact, the tournament started even later than I originally anticipated. Time for some strong coffee and a good book……..

~~~~oOo~~~~

When the tournament finally started, I found myself seated to the left of Roy Cooke. Out of all the seats, this was probably the best place, as you can see what actions the strong player is going to take first, before acting accordingly. As for individual hands played, I can never recall with online play as the action is always too fast for me to remember. But suffice to say that for once, I played to the best of my abilities, resulting in a second place finish and $99.75 credited to my account. Now that is music to my ears………..

PJK Tournament Results 28/3/04
1 gpoker $199.50
2 EOS $99.75
3 Mean_Gene $59.85
4 tpfelt $39.89
5 Paulburbon $0.00
6 Antifuse $0.00
7 MaudieB $0.00
8 Lucas67 $0.00
9 Mckormick $0.00
10 RoyCooke $0.00
11 thechainsa $0.00
12 RicksCafe $0.00
13 PaulyMcG $0.00
14 hdouble $0.00
15 oysifly $0.00
16 Iceyburnz $0.00
17 nevins $0.00
18 stinkypant $0.00
19 DontPokeMe $0.00
20 AlCantHang $0.00
21 DOMIT $0.00

Wednesday, October 06, 2004

Worlds Apart - Part One

Sunday 28th March 2004 - Salford Casino, Manchester, UK

Pot Limit Hold Em - £10 Rebuy Tournament


As a young child I would often just simply sit in the living room and play my parents records on the record player. This was before cassette tapes had become popular and a long time before CDs and DVDs had ever been invented. My inquisitive nature always managed to get the better of me. Without prompting, sitting for hours at a time, I would drag record after record out, until I made quite an unsightly stack of them on the floor. It is from these deep-rooted childhood memories that my love of music was fashioned. In particularly, my mother was very partial to classical music. This is how I became familiar to the works of Beethoven, Mozart, Grieg, Handel and countless others. Sadly, I rarely listen to classical music these days, even less remember the composer or the title of the movement.

It’s strange how one event can send a person back in time 25 years or so. I happened by chance to turn on the television, which in itself is a rare occurrence these days. I recognised the movement immediately as “Jupiter, the Bringer of Jollity” by Gustav Holst. In an instant, I was transported back to my boyhood, listening to Holst whilst making shapes out of the clouds that floated by the window outside. BBC2 were broadcasting in it’s entirety “The Planets” suite as a celebration of Holst’s masterpiece, accompanied with images from around the world. I loved every minute of it!

~~~~oOo~~~~

Sunday night as usual is a poker night! I made my way to the car clutching a dusted off cassette of “The Planets” so I had something to listen to aside from the usual drivel which is tolerated on the journey to the casino. Appropriately, “Mars, the Bringer of War” was the first movement blasting at full volume from the speakers, as I psyched myself up for the oncoming battle.

My poker results have not been good lately, March being the first month in a long time where I will actually record a loss. I do not consider that I have been particularly unlucky, nor do I agree with the postulation that some poker players make that the cards are not random enough. The cards have fallen the same way they always do. Instead, I blame my poor performance ultimately on myself. It only takes one factor in a player’s life to change, to make a small behavioural difference. This can lead to making decisions contrary to how a hand would normally be played, tipping the scales from profit to loss. Work has been very stressful for me in these last couple of months, as I have been dealing with some very large contracts for the UK and abroad. I believe that it is this constant pressure has markedly affected the way I play poker. I look at moments like being in a slump, not as a bad thing as such, but more as a time for pause and reflection, and have ordered several books on pot-limit and no limit strategy, and can’t wait to get my teeth stuck into them.

I made my grand entrance into the casino car park to the flamboyant Andante maestoso of “Jupiter”, which may be more familiar to many as “I Vow To Thee My Country”, or for Rugby fans as “World In Union”.

~~~~oOo~~~~

I wanted to experiment a little by wearing sunglasses whilst playing the tournament. I was considering my previous tournament with the guy watching me reading tells that another player was broadcasting. This time I wanted to disguise who I was looking at. Due to the weakness of my eyesight, which may explain a little why my navigational skills are so poor, I had a pair of glasses specially made. Despite being incredibly myopic, I don’t have to wear jam-jar bottoms for glasses. This pair are cut ultra-thin and as dark as they can possibly be for prescription lenses. Needless to say, they are very expensive. I decided to wear them at the bar prior to the match to acclimatise myself before the game began. In spite of my best Roy Orbison impression, I swiftly realised that I could see absolutely nothing. The card room is well-lit compared to the bar, so I opted to leave my sunglasses on, pretending to watch the large screen television which I guess was somewhere in front of me, whilst trying to feel around the table for my ever elusive pint………

I sensed that the tournament was about to start, due to a sudden disquiet in the bar area as people made their way to the tables. Hurriedly, I supped up and tried to follow the crowd, my arms spread out in front of me. Thank goodness for hand rails, otherwise I would have never made it! After trying to watch the final hand in a ring game, I realised that my attempt to look “cool” was futile and made me look rather silly as well. Quietly, they were removed. We learn by doing……….

~~~~oOo~~~~

The actual tournament was a disaster for me and I have little to report about it of any interest. I played few hands, aggressively with pot-sized bets, and mainly from late position. My raises were, on the whole, ignored. Barely after we had been seated, my first playable hand, AJ on the button, only resulted in a tremendous “Chips Please!“ after several people called my all-in raise. I forgot just how loud my fog-horn voice can be as one guy sat on the table adjacent to mine nearly jumped out his skin. A couple of hands later I quadrupled my stack size holding pocket kings, only to be whittled down again to nothing after the first blind increase. I should of simply stood up then and left the table. It would have been cheaper. Instead, my prideful arrogance ensured that I stayed rooted to my chair, desperately trying to catch up to the chip leaders with another couple of re-buys. I did find playable hands, but in totally the wrong position, such as pocket sevens UTG. It would not have been correct to play them, but was very frustrating to see a 7 appear on the river, securing the pot.

One incident worth describing was that of a young player sat on my right. Apparently, he has had some success in a major online tournament (funny how everyone says that). If he plays as well online as he was at Salford on this particular night, I could well imagine it to be true. Whilst I couldn’t even make two cards to pair up, I was forced to humbly watch this chap take down some massive pots. During one hand, he asked the dealer, “What is the minimum bet?”. He made this statement very clearly. There was no misinterpretation as to his intention. He decided to check, which caused another gentleman across the table to become aggravated, insisting that he had stated he was making a bet. After a couple of minutes of verbal sparring, the decision was passed in the young guy’s favour, and he was allowed to check the action. There are a couple of lessons to be learned here, especially for beginners. First, know the rules of the game. In pot-limit hold em, the minimum bet is the value of the big blind, or an equal amount as that bet or raised from a person acting before you. As no one had bet before him, it was easy to work out the amount required. Secondly, don’t use words such as “Bet, raise, call, check, fold, or all-in” in any other context than to indicate an action, if your cards haven’t been mucked. If you jokingly say, “I’ll guess I’ll have to raise you to get you off that hand!” then the other players will insist that you follow through with the raise, even if it was obvious that you were going to muck them. You will be obliged to act. It is far better to keep quiet during the hand.

My confidence eroded in proportion to my stack size. Very shortly after the re-buy period, I was hanging on with just a chip and a prayer, just less than enough to fully cover both the large and small blinds. Sat just two positions from the big blind, I was dealt 5 4 suited clubs. The UTG player made a pot-sized bet, which I agonised over calling with my few remaining chips. It should have been an automatic call, but I was so much filled with self-doubt that I mucked my cards. Typically, three other clubs fell, another opportunity slipping through my fingers. Very shortly afterwards I had been blinded out of the tournament, those pocket aces failing to materialise in the final two hands I played.

~~~~oOo~~~~

I drove back home, defeated and broken, to “Saturn, the Bringer of Old Age”. A fitting reminder of the present, my adulthood and responsibilities. The cost of my poker endeavour totalling three re-buys.

~~~~oOo~~~~

Sunday, October 03, 2004

Teaching A Young Pup Old Tricks

Sunday 14th March 2004 - Salford Casino, Manchester, UK

Pot Limit Hold Em - £10 Rebuy Tournament

I was in a darker, more sombre disposition on this night than my visit two weeks previous. I wasn’t in much of a mood to socialise with any of the other patrons, which wasn’t such problem, as I didn’t really know anyone there particularly well. I recognised a few of the characters walking around the casino, including our Teach doppelganger, which brought a smile to my face. But on the whole, I kept myself to myself. Even my clothing suggested a more elusive facet to my character, deciding to dress very smartly, jet black head to toe.

One of the reasons why I wanted to be left alone, was my mind had been bombarded with a mountain of information, which I still was having difficulty processing. I had spent most of the weekend studying how to read and act on tells, after deciding to investigate Mike Caro’s University of Poker, during a discussion on the poker forum www.goallin.com. I found the instructional videos to be very constructive, and I studied each one repeatedly until they were committed to memory. A picture, or in this case, a video, can say more than a thousand words. Mike Caro’s mannerisms reminded me of some of the best tutors who took the time to enlighten me during my informative years at school and college. His good sense of humour, with a dash of eccentricity, made it a delight to watch. The funniest part for me was when he rustled his hair up on end and said, “And if this [tell] happens, you really got to be careful!”

I had noticed whilst studying these videos, some tells that I had picked up on my previous session. Perhaps more importantly, I also identified certain tricks which had been played against me, when I first started playing live. One I remembered vividly was a hand where I had made triple 7’s. The player immediately to my left was still in the hand. As I made a reach for my chips after the river card, he made a reach for his own chips, acting as though he was going to bet. This caused me to hesitate, and I naively checked, anticipating his raise. Of course, the raise never materialised, and he checked down the hand. His smile betrayed the fact that he had outwitted me. I won the hand, but had allowed him to go to the showdown for free. This time, I was determined to remain more alert to such deception and eager to put into practice some of this newly acquired knowledge.

It proved to be a long wait. I was not seated in a good position to start with. I had randomly chosen Seat 1 - Table 3. A quarter of the table, which brought the action towards me, was hidden behind the dealer , who was sat towering over the table on a chair elevated higher than the others. It also meant that the person acting on my right was the dealer. He paid little attention to my body language, but was more focused on ensuring the game ran smoothly. So, I couldn’t practice the one move I wanted to, more than any other, which was the anticipated reach for my chips. As compensation though, I had a clear view of the digital clock used to indicate the next blind escalation. This is very useful information to have, especially if you are a tight player on a restrictive bankroll. I was dealt KJ in the very first hand, which put me in a difficult position. I’ve noticed in the past, people tend to play almost any two cards in the first dealt hand, in order to gain an early lead, and this game was no exception. By the time the decision to act had come around to me, it was a case of putting all of my stack in or folding. Still nervous and unsettled, I decided to err on the side of caution and folded. There were several people in the pot, and I came to the conclusion that at least one of them would have a pocket pair. Plus, any cards which I needed may also have been out. As it happened, I would have won the pot on the river when my Jack paired up. But I was correct in my assumption. A pair of pocket 8’s took down the pot.

An hour passed before I played a hand. The blinds were about to increase to 100/200. By being very conservative, there were still a reasonable amount of chips in front of me. I had decided that the time had come to double though, and played pocket 6’s very aggressively pre-flop. At this stage in the tournament, during the re-buy period, there is no finesse. You pick your moments and go in for the kill, hoping to get heads up or win the pot there and then. I had one caller holding face cards, but luckily he didn’t connect. A loose player at the table commented that he had folded pocket 8’s because he thought my hand was so strong.

However, during this time, I wasn’t sat there staring blankly out into space. Instead of looking at the board cards as they fell, I was more interested in the other player’s reactions to them. More often than not, I could establish what cards a person was most likely to be holding. Whether they would fold to a bet, or if they genuinely had a good hand, information was radiating from each individual, once you studied them for long enough. I wasn’t able to correctly read people all the time. But I would estimate that perhaps 60-70% of the time I guessed accurately. It certainly saved me from losing chips, if it didn’t help me win any.

Discretion is not something which comes naturally to me, and is an area which I certainly need to improve on whilst sat at the poker table. I had a difficult decision to make holding QJ suited on the button. A rookie player (this was evident from his previous hands) , had made a big raise in mid-early position. The action seemed to take forever before it finally came to me. I wasn’t really interested in the other players, but more curious as to what this guy could be raising with. The slight shake of his hand betrayed a large pair. After I had decided not to take the risk, I casually glanced across to his left, as a few players had still not made up their mind as to what they were going to do. It was only then that I noticed the player to his immediate left looking straight at me. We both held eye contact for a few seconds, and then he smiled. I had been caught trying to catch a read! I noticed on several subsequent hands, that this player overemphasised his actions, such as heavily tapping the table to check, sometimes trying to throw me off the scent with false tells. I’ve found that once you’ve been caught, it is very difficult to get a read on someone.

There was an interesting hand I played against this gentleman. I held AK in middle position. I followed an early raiser with my own all-in re-raise. My nemesis was sat on the button. We had clashed previously when I held exactly the same hand. That time he had called my raise with a pair of pocket 7’s. Even though I caught an ace on the flop, he rivered me with a third 7. This time, he was contemplating the same move. I could sense it in my bones. I really didn’t want him in the hand at all. I much preferred to either win the pot there and then, or go heads up against the original raiser. He was trying to stare me out, and had his chips ready in his hand. So I looked down at my cards and then quickly away from the table. He thought for a little while longer…… and then decided to muck them. Sure enough, the original raiser called my bet. I won the hand without even pairing up, the early position player holding QJ. Now, it could be argued that I shouldn’t have played that hand that way. But there were a few factors to consider. First, the early position raiser wasn’t aware of what I was doing. The dealer was sat in between us and was blocking his line of sight. Secondly, the button was the type of player who would typically play any pocket pair, if he felt that the other players were holding unpaired high cards. Finally, by looking away with decent cards, it may help me in the future when in a similar situation against the same person. Except the next time I might be bluffing….

I was very happy overall with how I played in this session. I didn’t enter many pots, but when I did, I won most of them, doubling up my stack size. I only lost three pots during the entire tournament, and whilst I didn’t make it to the final table, I did manage to last longer than I have ever done before. The total cost of entering the tournament was only £11. I didn’t need to re-buy at any stage, and I had sufficient chips not to justify a top-up after the two hour re-buy period. £11 per tournament is a cheap method of getting much needed practice, plus at that rate I can afford to play every weekend.

Learning how to read people has opened up my game immensely. I am by no means skilled at it at present. It is something that can only be developed with regular practice as I gain more and more experience. But the addition of being able to read tells is like the equivalent of being able to see in vibrant Technicolor, where as before I could only see endless greys.


Mike Caro Posted by Hello

Saturday, October 02, 2004

Relight My Fire

Sunday 29th February 2004 - Salford Casino, Manchester, UK

Pot Limit Hold Em - £10 Rebuy Tournament

My navigation skills are rubbish. Take travelling to Salford Casino as a good example. It sits at a crossroad junction near to a McDonalds and Harry Ramsden’s Famous Fish & Chip Shop, somewhere in Manchester (exact location unknown). Every time I go, I end up aimlessly driving around in circles, driving up one way streets when I should be driving down them, dodging cars, buses, trams and anything else stupid enough to get in my way, in a futile search for a casino with bright glowing neon lights. It looked so easy to find when I looked at the map. Eventually, I would stumble upon it, completely by accident of course. Not always from the same direction, mind you. Sometimes it will jump out at me on my left, sometimes on my right. Sometimes I peer over my dashboard and see it directly in front of me, it’s neon lights flickering slightly in a mocking gesture. “What’s it doing over there?” I would ask myself in a bemused tone, before grinding the gear stick into mesh and timidly approach. Once, I even managed to completely circumnavigate Manchester in it’s entirety and sneak up on it from the rear. The worst nights are when I would abandon all hope, turn the car around, and pray I arrive back home before sunrise. Laboratory mice and rats can negotiate mazes better than I can navigate. They could probably play better poker too. Luckily on Sunday night I struck gold, and managed to find the casino on my first pass, much to the relief of my aging bright yellow Fiat Cinquecento. (A car whose dimensions are perfect for mice to drive.)

Earlier in the day, in order to boost my confidence a little, I played a $5 No Limit Hold Em tournament on Paradise. There was also another reason for playing. You see, I made a promise to myself not to shave until I placed in the money in a tournament. I didn’t have to win the thing, or even reach the final table, just win some money. It was an idea of mine as an added incentive to play the best that I could, as I absolutely hate having a stubbly chin. Unfortunately, I was going through a bad patch in recent competitions, and I was starting to look like Saddam Hussein having a bad hair day. Thankfully, I finished in 13th place out of 331 entrants. I won $14.31, which isn’t enough to retire on, but it is enough to purchase a new set of razor blades and finally remove this infuriating outgrowth which had sprung from my face over the last ten days or so. In my enthusiasm, I nearly slit my throat.

So there I was, freshly shaven, getting ready to get back in the saddle and play my first live poker since May 2003. Ever since a dealer asked me, “Are you ever going to play a hand?” I guess the answer to his question was, “Not any more”.

I was just a little nervous to say the least. Live poker can be very intimidating and intense. Knowing this, I had the sense of mind to bring along a spare pair of boxer shorts and jeans, just in case of any “accidents”. I must have been having a really good day, because not only did I have a shave and find my way to the casino without crashing the car, but I was very relieved, if you excuse the expression, not to be forced to use my emergency supply of clothing.

This may be very difficult to imagine, but I am normally a very reserved character in the presence of a roomful of strangers. On previous visits, I have barely spoken to anyone, and just sat there waiting for the tournament to start, enjoying a bar meal and watching whatever was on television at the time. I decided before I even entered the building not to do that this time. I wanted to write about my experiences for GAI, and the only way I was going to paint an accurate picture, was if I started interacting with the people around me. I decided the best place to start would be at the bar. My intention was not to get blind drunk (I would never advocate drinking and driving) but just to sink a pint or two to settle my nerves. Every time I go to Salford, there’s always something new. This time it was a big red button. I ordered my pint and asked the girl what on earth is that for? She pointed to a sign above her which was split into different segments… Full…Half… On the House. Being of reasonable intelligence, I worked out the rest! She turned the device on, and the button glowed red like something you would see out of “Close Encounters of the Third Kind” I dutifully hit the button, and it landed on half. So instead of paying £2, I only paid £1. I was already beginning to warm to this place! I joked with one of the staff later that seeing as this was a casino, there should be another segment saying “Tip Bar Staff”. Then it would really be proper gambling, and I suspect the odds would be stacked as much against you as in all the other house games. It was very tacky, but I loved it!

The rules on drinking have changed as well. Once, you were prohibited from consuming alcoholic drinks on the game floor. Now you can drink as much as you like, wherever you like in the casino. I asked Kevin, the tournament director, if that caused any problems with drunken louts. “Only once,” he replied, “which funnily enough was last night on the roulette table, when a bottle of chardonnay was poured all over the dealer.” Well so long as they keep out of the card room.

I registered for the £10+1 Re-buy Pot Limit Hold Em tournament and sat down with Kevin and chatted for a while. How things have changed! I groaned inwardly as he explained how all the card dealers had since left in a mass exodus. They hadn’t been made redundant, just moved on to better prospects. Some were working on cruise ships, others in casinos elsewhere in Manchester. The casino isn’t keen to replace them with new staff, as they get very little juice from running poker tournaments, and certainly not enough to justify having dealers tied up for three hours. In this particular game, for example, with a maximum of 96 players, they only make £96. These days, all the tables are self-dealt. This usually entails an experienced player assuming the role as dealer. Bizarrely, they also have to be playing in the tournament. I guess this is for legal reasons. It is customary and well mannered, but not obligatory, to tip each of the dealers £10-£20 if you win the tournament. I think this is only fair. To simply play poker is difficult enough. To both play and deal at the same time is incredibly difficult. Plus, without these volunteers, there wouldn’t be a tournament. Ironically, I found out that the game actually ran smoother without a house dealer than with one. The house dealers were usually quite young and inexperienced, trying to learn all the disciplines of casino life. The volunteers are poker players. They know how the game should be run. It certainly made my experience there a great deal more pleasant than it has been in the past. I mentioned this at the table, which received a few nods of agreement. As long as I never have to deal. My shuffling and dealing skills are worse than my navigational ones.

So my overall impression of Grosvenor Casino at Salford…..I like it. It’s clean, smoke free and well spaced out. The staff are very helpful and try their best to please everyone. There’s a restaurant, which I can’t really comment on, as I’ve never used it. There’s a few slots kept in one section, but they don’t dominate the casino. House games include roulette and blackjack, and other games which I try to avoid. The card room runs cash games as well as tournaments, both of which are self-dealt. The quality of the poker players varies immensely, but I found them to be a pleasant and jovial bunch on the most part. It has been said that Julian Gardner frequents the casino, but I’ve never seen him. I don’t feel that the poker room is quite up to the standard it was a few years ago when it won “Best Cardroom” award. The loss of the dealers is a mixed blessing in a way. It certainly brings a smoother game, but the price of using volunteers is a diminished payout. It’s not the only thing to go missing. Dealer buttons are a favourite item to go AWOL. But still, the tournaments are enjoying full participation each and every week, with an ever growing reserve list.

I made my way back to the bar for my second pint before the tournament started. A middle-aged gentleman at the bar engaged me in conversation, just to pass the time really. We started chatting about the upcoming tournament. He makes regular visits to the casino with his family, as you can have a pleasant time socialising without a mass of drunken louts spoiling the evening. Preferring the play the house games, he enquired about the basics of the game, which I tried to explain as best as I could without a deck of cards in front of me. Although he had no intention of playing, he listened enthusiastically as I made a point that poker is more about pitting your wits against another opponent, than trying to beat the odds, as in the games provided by the house. He introduced me to his son, who is a design consultant, so we immediately had something in common, as I am a design engineer by trade. A girl was stood close beside him, whom I assumed was either his daughter or his son’s girlfriend. His wife was busy on the Blackjack and Caribbean Stud tables. I hit the big red button as my pint was poured. A big cheer went up as I managed to get it for half price again!

Tournaments generally tend to start late in the UK in comparison to those played in the United States, as I have been informed. This one was no exception, starting at 9:15pm. There was also a large tournament being played elsewhere in Manchester that night for £1000 with one optional re-buy. Even so, the poker room was packed and all 96 places taken, as is typically the case. These game tend to run very loose during the 2 hour re-buy period, and tighten up afterwards. Most people stay the distance during the re-buys, although some make an early departure. The blinds only double in size twice during this period, once each hour. After an optional top-up though, the blinds escalate quite quickly, and many people bust out of the tournament in a short period of time. Although I have never gone the full distance yet, I have heard that the final table can take over an hour to reach a conclusion, as people have massed huge piles of chips, and tend to play rather cagey.

After wishing each other good luck, I said goodbye to my acquaintances at the bar, and strode across to the card room. Seats are selected at random, by picking a card from the tournament director, although there are some exceptions. In this tournament, for example, a lady who was playing had some type of bulky equipment attached to her. I was too polite to make too many enquiries as to what is was. But the tournament director made certain that she wasn’t inconvenienced by having to switch tables, and also made sure that she was seated near the end of her table, in case of any difficulties. I thought it was a very understanding gesture on behalf of the casino, and demonstrates the level of hospitality encountered there.

I edged around to Table 5 - Seat 10, which was to be my new home for the next couple of hours. I was the first to be seated on my table and I settled down and examined my chips. 1000 points split into 1x500, 3x100, and 4x50 denominations. The initial blinds would be set at 50/100. Interestingly, they had only recently increased the amount of chips that your £10 bought. When I originally started playing, you started with 500 chips. This made the game too much of a crapshoot for most peoples tastes I guess, and it was changed to the format that I have described. Our volunteer dealer sat down next on the swivel chair, two seats to my left, in the middle of the kidney-shaped table. We chatted for a little while, and he joked that he would deal me aces. The tables quickly filled up then, with a flurry of activity all around. With twelve players to each table and 96 players, there wasn’t much room to manoeuvre. I gave a quick glance to over our table. Most of the players I had seen before. It was quite a young age group, with a few middle-age and senior individuals. There were four Chinese, two of whom I was sandwiched between. One other noticeable character was in Seat 7 on my right. A middle-aged English chap who was reading a book about tournament bridge. He carried the aura of someone who had experience and intelligence, a very dangerous combination.

For the first half hour I did absolutely nothing but fold and be attentive to the rest of the table. Although this was mainly due to the lack of playable hands, it does have some advantages. Firstly, it meant that I didn’t need re-buy after re-buy. I could also focus my attention to the feel of the table, and what type of players I was up against. I observed a great deal of loose play with hands I would simply muck, waiting for a better opportunity. It also helped my image, as a new player. I wasn’t nervous at this point, and tried to develop a thoughtful, confident posture. I feel that posture, along with a calm breathing pattern, is just as important as what cards you are holding. You are constantly being watched on all sides. As the game progressed, the dealer was trying to get a read on me using small talk. “Mmmmm, you moved your chips in with your left hand this time, have you?” Body language has a highly detailed and subtle vocabulary.

The first hand I played was very unusual for me, and I wouldn’t class it as “by the book” poker. I held QJ under the gun. I was getting tired of not seeing a flop, so I casually limped in, hoping no one would raise behind me. Three callers, including the blinds. Flop comes all low. I checked….. They all checked. Turn is another low card. I checked again…. They all checked. Last card comes, another low card! There is not a single face card showing on the board. I looked straight into the eyes of the Chinese player across the table, who was next to act after me. “Raise the pot” I stated calmly. All three fold almost instantaneously! I paused for a little while, and looked at my hand as though I wanted to turn my cards over, although that was never my real intention. The dealer started ushering me for the cards back, “ You like them enough to be dealt them again?”
Yep, I sighed, “That’s that pocket aces you were promising me.”
Can you imagine how I felt inside? My first hand played in a live tournament in 9 months. A pure bluff! A successful pure bluff on a table full of loose players!! I realised that it was more than likely that at least one of the must have paired up. Maybe they were scared that I was trying to trap with pocket aces or kings. My reputation as a tight player worked to my advantage.

My next hand was pocket 8’s, again in early position. This time I played aggressive and raised the pot pre-flop. One caller, the Chinese player directly to my left. A loose player who had a tendency to go all in unpaired and hope to catch. He also flashed cards at me while he was playing, showing cards which again I would just throw away. Was I about to be duped? Flop comes 10 x x. I checked. He had just a few more chips than me and raised all-in. I pondered for a minute. I saw him do this move previously with nothing. I decided to take a chance and call. He turned over pocket 10’s to make trips. “Good hand, chips please!!!” I lament. I didn’t make any kind of moves for quite a while after that, or even speak. I was reassessing my strategy on how to play this tournament in my mind. After I got my composure back, we chatted about that hand. He laughed, saying my initial raise pre-flop scared the hell out of him, and he nearly folded. Yeah, right!

Another pocket pair in early position! This time it was pocket 3’s. Any raise and I was folding. One guy, another of the Chinese players, made a deep reach into his stack. My eye was transfixed on his hand as he did so. His movement was very slow and deliberate, and he was also controlling his breathing. Just before he picked up his stack, I saw it! A little tremble. It didn’t last long, but it was there! He was broadcasting out to the rest of the table that he had a big hand. I dutifully folded my small pair, although others were not as observant and called. I smiled inwardly when he turned over AK. I was beginning to develop a new skill…… reading tells. Ironically, I would have won the hand, as a 3 fell on the river. But unlike the previous two hands that I described, this time I made the correct move.

The longer I played, the more I realised that I have the potential to win this type of tournament, perhaps not on that evening, but certainly in the future. I felt calm and collected, unlike previous times where the hustle and bustle of poker playing overwhelmed me. When I was engaged in a hand, I felt like I was the one directing which way the action flowed. I realised that there was nothing to be nervous about. In fact, it dawned on me just how nervous some of the other players were. The left leg of the Chinese guy to my right was shaking so badly, I thought a dog was trying to hump it! In one hand, I even managed to convince another player to fold when I wasn’t even in the hand. I had just mucked my cards on the river, to his initial bet, and was in the process of stacking the chips from my previous win. He thought I was still in the hand and making a move!

I didn’t make many mistakes such as playing out of turn, although my inexperience did betray me once significantly. Early position raise with pocket J’s. Called by the dealer. One other guy moved all his stack in, but it is only as a call. I mistakenly thought that he had re-raised, and I was going to force to dealer all-in with another raise. The dealer turned around, alarmingly, and demanded, “Where have those chips come from?” I realised straight away my mistake and explained the situation. He was focused on the other player with his call when I picked up my chips. The dealer thought I was sheltering them behind my arm, not keeping my stack on plain view. I raised the pot on the turn card anyway, which the dealer called. I took down both pots, but was severely reprimanded by the dealer for my indiscretion. I was ashamed with myself for making such a stupid mistake and I’ve promised myself never to repeat it. In future, I will wait for the dealer to indicate that the action is back to me, before making my move. It didn’t make things easier for me when in the very next hand, in the big blind, I flopped a straight with 5 6 and got two people all-in with two cards to come. That meant our cards were turned over. “I’ve got a straight” I remarked which received a couple of glares from the dealer. I won the hand, but was glad that this table broke up soon after. It was becoming obvious I was beginning to irritate him. Is it considered bad etiquette to state you hand before all cards have been dealt? In my excitement, I momentarily forgot my manners. Another lesson to be learned.

Before the table broke, I decided to purchase a top up of another 1000 chips for £10. I had about 4000 in front of me, but seeing as I had only done one re-buy, I felt the top up was worth it, to keep up with the competition.

My next table was a complete contrast to the previous one. Instead of being jovial, these characters meant serious business. Their stacks sizes meant that they were also a serious threat. I looked across the table to a wall of black 1000 point chips which were in the temporary ownership of a man with a face like a pit bull licking pee off a stinging nettle. He had just lost another hand, what a shame, and he was not very pleased about it. As a concession to having to face this very grumpy chap, the dealer was a stunningly beautiful oriental lady, about the same age as myself, and hopefully, single. She had a very enchanting smile and disposition about her. I casually tried to cover up the mark on my neck, where I nearly slit my throat whilst shaving my beard off, but I don’t think it fooled her. When I realised that staring at the size of her stack might be perceived as being rude, I slowly scanned the table. Suddenly, I was stopped dead in my tracks. I couldn’t believe my eyes, for there across the table from me was Al Spath (known on GAI as Teach)! Or at least it was a very close double of him. The same silver head of hair and neatly trimmed moustache. As far as mannerisms go, I could only guess. But he composed himself very well and I could tell he was regulating his breathing. He preferred not to make eye contact with anyone (whereas I always look directly at people), and took his time before making a decision. But the accent was English rather than American, so that shattered the illusion.

I only managed to play one hand on this table, which was a final stand with pocket 9’s. I was getting short on chips, gradually being blinded away. I realised I needed to make a move and double through if I had any chance of progressing in the tournament. I knew I was doomed when one person re-raised behind me, which committed me to the pot, and was called by one other player. The raiser turned over AK which I expected. The other guy called with A3 spades, which everyone found surprising. I made a straight on the river, flop falling K Q J 10 but sadly it was the ignorant end. I was busted!!!

Aside from one or two mistakes which can be rectified with more practice, I really enjoyed myself. I can’t wait to play again sometime in the near future, funds permitting.

I wished everyone good luck with the rest of the tournament and made my way to the car and (hopefully) back home. I managed to find my way to the motorway without incident, although I did completely miss my turn off, ending up on the wrong motorway, in the wrong direction, miles away from where I was supposed to be, heading towards Risley………


Take a left at the next junction..... Posted by Hello

Friday, October 01, 2004

Raising the Dead

I think it would be appropriate to include some of my past trip reports. At least this way, they are all in one place. These were originally written earlier this year, and are all based around visits to the Grosvenor Casino in Salford. I hope you enjoy reading them as much as I enjoyed writing them!

Ladies and Gentlemen……

I suppose the most appropriate and predictable thing to do now is post a small introduction about myself. So here goes….

I’m not going to bother!

The reason behind this decision is simple. Poker is a game of incomplete information. Those people who I have made acquaintances or friends with whilst playing poker, already know enough about me. Anything or anyone else is largely irrelevant.

My level of experience, where I play, the games and limits I play at, will all be revealed in future entries.

This diary has been created for purely selfish reasons. I want to become a better poker player. By recording my failures and successes, and the thought processes going on behind them, I hope to gain a better understanding of myself.

This (hopefully) does not mean that no-one else can gain beneficial information here. It could be of particular use to people with very little experience to playing poker. Over the years, many people have influenced me. I intend to make the challenge of learning this remarkable game a little easier by providing links to web-sites created by these equally remarkable people. I also intend to post my own opinions on eye-catching articles/discussions found on the web today, as well as my own trip reports (also known as epics) of live tournaments.

There is no doubt in my mind that over time some of the later entries will contradict some of my earlier posts. This is the inevitable nature of learning.

All comments are welcome, especially constructive criticism. I try to keep an open mind…. And an open wallet!

Welcome to My Poker Diary!

Well I've finally got around to creating my own blog! At present I haven't much of a clue as to what I'm doing so please bear with me whilst I become accustomed to blogging.

My intention is to provide a useful guide for wannabe poker players, as I am still very much a beginner myself. If I keep a track of my progress in the form of a diary, I feel it will be beneficial both to myself and anyone else who may share an interest in any writings here. One can only tell with time!