The poker world has changed a lot in the past twenty years. In the early 2000s, many people who had gone their entire lives playing poker exclusively in live environments – casinos, home games, and the occasional major tournament series at a high-profile venue – had to adjust to the fact that poker could… Read more »
Posts By: theginger45
Profitability Thresholds III: The Variable Edge Model
Much is made of the concept of ‘edge passing’ in MTTs, with little in the way of conclusive research being done. Over the course of two previous articles, entitled ‘Profitability Thresholds I: Why ICM Isn’t Just For Final Tables‘, and ‘Profitability Thresholds II: Quantifying Edges And Building A New Model‘, I’ve endeavoured to elucidate some… Read more »
Okay, So Limping Is Bad – But Why?
If you’ve spent any time on poker forums in the last few years, you’ll have seen that there’s a strange trend that develops every time someone posts a hand in which they open-limped preflop. One of the first comments will always be something along the lines of “don’t limp in, just raise or fold”,… Read more »
Playability and Blockers: The Keys to 3-Bet Bluffing
When we as MTT players are first learning the game, one of the most difficult parts of MTT strategy is to wrap our heads around what it takes to open up our game and start playing more aggressively. Gaining an understanding of what constitutes a good spot to 3-bet bluff, for example, is one… Read more »
Math Training for MTTs
I’ve worked with several students recently who were interested in furthering their understanding of some of the mathematical aspects of MTT poker. This is always something I like hearing, since I’m a firm believer that we as poker players should try to support our ideas about poker strategy with math as often as possible…. Read more »
‘Polarize’ – It’s An Adjective, Not A Verb
That might strike you as an unusual title, but stick with me. It’ll make sense soon. What I want to talk about here is a trend I’ve noticed recently among my students, and among some other low-stakes players who are just starting to get their heads around some of the more advanced concepts involved… Read more »
Even When They’re Bluffing, They Have A Hand
One of the most common logic flaws I hear from my students when analysing hands is fairly easy to identify. It usually goes something like this. The villain bets the river and we’re trying to establish whether we should call or not, and the student will say something like: “This looks strong. I think… Read more »
The Benefits of Yoga for Poker Players
At the 2014 WSOP Main Event final table two months ago, two of the final three players received a great deal of attention from the ESPN commentators and on social media when it came to their habits away from the table. Both third-place finisher Jorryt Van Hoof and eventual champion Martin Jacobson were identified… Read more »
Profitability Thresholds II: Quantifying Edges And Building A New Model
Back in July 2014, I wrote an article for TPE entitled ‘Profitability Thresholds: Why ICM Isn’t Just For Final Tables’, which was well received. It attempted to come up with some guidelines for what exactly constitutes a good spot in which to pass up a preflop edge, and constructed some arguments as to why… Read more »
Occam’s Razor: Making Reads in Tournament Poker
The principle of Occam’s Razor is a key device in the process of discovery, across many fields of science, philosophy and logic. Developed by William of Ockham in the early 1300s, it states that among competing hypotheses, the one requiring the fewest assumptions should be selected. In short, what it means is that the… Read more »