CF POKER

Archive for the ‘Poker’ Category

The poker playing pecking order is kept under tight control by the gospel of E.V. EV means expected value and due to the high variance of this game expected value must be realized over many thousands of hands. In other words, what may take years in the live tournament arena, can take hours when played at multiple tables online. This is one of the reasons why young guns are picking up the world of the poker player and shaking it by the scruff of the neck.

If you think of EV from this angle – the variance factor is often mitigated by a run of bad luck and a player with less ability will eventually get ground under, even after having a shot at the big time. This is not happening however and players such as Daniel Cates, Viktor Blom, Tom Dwan and quite a few others are getting on hot streaks and staying there. In terms of Cates for example, what makes his performance so noticeable is the fact that most of the money he has won has been in heads-up confrontations with multi-millionaire, skilled celebrity, professional poker players. He was the top online earner for 2010 and he is only 21 years old; this fact is getting people’s attention!

Men with names such as Patrik Antonius, Phil Ivey, Ilari Sahamies, Erik Seidel, Daniel Negreanu, and even young top gun – Tom “Durrr” Dwan are top-flight pros. They are the players who have turned poker into a celebrity enterprise worth millions and millions of dollars. But players such as Daniel Cates and Viktor Blom are challenging the whole concept of EV, which is how success in this game, over extended periods of time is measured. They are coming in fast and aggressively, risking millions and playing against poker royalty; leaving the game with hundreds of thousands of dollars, if not millions of celebrity money.

Cates must have played with all 20 of the top ranked names in the game for example and Blom is, and has been doing much the same. The recipe for their success is not playing in massive prize game televised poker events which is where Ivey, Negreanu, Lederer, Siedel and so on have made their names and their money.

The proposition for young poker players is this – there are so many players online so the chances of winning are a long shot. Every players’ actions are as unpredictable as the cards, and the chances of winning are about the same as winning a small lottery. However online poker players such as Cates and also Blom have pressed the advantage, by grinding and this is a term used to describe playing and winning over an extended period of time. In the case of these youngsters the reward is no longer something in which patience plays a role. Thousands of hands played over multi-tables teaches them as much in months as the older guard learns in years. They also have the benefit of an early training in computer games which develops a predatory interest as well as lightening fast reflexes; so EV is theirs in no time at all.

Many, many moons ago, back in the bad old beginning days of poker, women did not play this game (not in public anyway). This was a game for drinking, whoring, tough men! Today however, women popularly play poker and this has become an accepted more. When you are playing online, you may not know you are playing against a woman, but then again you might. Women are not the weaker sex, don’t ever be chauvinist or misogynist about this; these ladies will take advantage of you.

To play against a female poker player with a male chauvinist attitude will get you in hot water. Never assume anything! Women are trained poker players too, they are trained in the psychology of the game and if you are going to act like a man’s man, they will wipe the floor with you. Female poker players will exploit chauvinist male players as much as they possibly can, and they will win!

Defensive measures are necessary for male players who believe that because they are a man, they are a better poker player. All good poker players are aggressive and men seem to think that women are simply tight players. Nothing could be further from the truth. If truth be told, in the majority women are so aggressive as to almost appear hyper-aggressive. They play like this because it works well against male opponents and it is for good reason, it makes them successful.

Male players react differently when women are playing at a poker table, and all chauvinists believe women are weak. This is not a good head space to be when at a poker table. No player should ever underestimate any opponent. They may automatically assume that if women bets or raises, they have a good hand. A chauvinist believes that all women are bad poker players, and again nothing could be further from the truth, so a paradigm shift will have to be necessary.

Men like this may even believe that female poker players are easy to read – why? In the entire history of men and woman, a man is purported not to know what it is that women want, how would they be easy to read simply because they are playing poker?

If a male poker player believes that a woman doesn’t have the balls to bet or raise on a hand that isn’t a winner, they are at a disadvantage; they are the weaker, not the stronger opponent! The same goes for judgment, many men don’t believe a female player has the judgment to make the decisions necessary to be a winner. Guess what, it is not the lady player who lacks judgment in this case!

Assessments on female poker players based on baseless assumptions make these men an easy target for alert female players. She will profit from his reactions to her aggressive play and the “oinky” player who is trying to psychologically intimidate or dominate her will lose in the end. The men may even go so far as to tilt, and again this will put them in a weaker position. So guys, never underestimate the ability of a female poker player, she will take advantage of your predictability.