Mediocre Poker

Are the “little charts” below the ones to which you are referring?

>>>>      opposing     odds against    odds against
>>>>       high pair      J-10-suited       K-10-suited
>>>>      ————     —————     —————
>>>>         A-A            3.73-to-1          4.60-to-1
>>>>         K-K            4.06-to-1          5.82-to-1
>>>>         Q-Q           4.46-to-1          2.08-to-1
>>>>          J-J             4.61-to-1          2.10-to-1
>>>>        10-10           1.58-to-1          1.79-to-1
>>>>          9-9            1.05-to-1          1.11-to-1

>>>> …the J-10 fares better in four of these six cases — but
>>>> in the two cases where the K-10 is better, against Q-Q
>>>> and against J-J, the K-10 is a LOT better…

JP Massar:

>>> Here is another metric.  Against the set of ‘standard’ S&M
>>> early position raising hands, AA-JJ,AK,AQ,AJs,KQs[,]
>>> JTs and KTs have almost identical pot equity of 32%.
>>      opposing     odds against    odds against
>>       (offsuit)       J-10-suited      K-10-suited
>>      ————     —————     —————
>>         A-Q            1.48-to-1          1.43-to-1
>>         A-6             1.04-to-1          1.16-to-1
>>         Q-6             1.05-to-1        *0.49-to-1*

>> The K-10 fares a little better against a ‘good’ A-Q, while the
>> J-10 is a little better against a ‘fair’ A-6 — but then the K-10 is
>> a LOT better, 2.06-to-1 FAVORITE, against a ‘blah’ Q-6…

Please do tell us just what it is that you think is so “off base” here…

Answer 1:

Since you ask, the problem is that your charts, while undoubtedly correct, provide very little extra fodder for the pro KT side of the debate. They don’ttake into account the effect of future bets or the effect of multiway pots. Thus it is very possible that the better hand is not the one that is indicated by your analysis. When I rate JT slightly higher for the good but not great player in typical games, I tried to intuitively factor all of this stuff in. Anyone who merely shows the results of their simulations to pit one hand against another, without explaining how the bets or other players in the pot could affect those results, is not on my list of top 50 poker analysts.

Answer 2:

This is an interesting debate, and I think both sides have merits. I think it is clear that the simulated numbers alone don’t fully describe the hands, but find them very useful as one benchmark of a hand’s value. In the case of JTs vs KTs, I more clearly see David’s point. Maybe in a simulation KTs had the same equity as JTs, but the actual, live play of the hand would radically affect those numbers. In the simulation, KTs does best against the lower pairs, making up for the domination by the higher pairs. However, intuitively, this doesn’t hold true to me. When the flop comes K95, KT will have a difficult time folding vs the aces, and may even be tempted to throw in some raises. However, against the QQ’s, or JJ’s, the KT might not get the action that
it wants. In other words, it seems a classic case of winning a small pot while losing a larger pot.

Answer 3:

The chart was NOT posted merely as a fact. Rather it was posted to the best of my recollection as an argument for the superiority of KT. This in spite of the fact that everyone knows that KT is better head up against most hands hot and cold and therefore anyone who argues for JT would clearly be taking it at least somewhat into account. Anyway you were the one who resurrected this argument.

I have recently been looking through a bunch of data from hands I played on line and I have found some unsettling things about my play. The worst thing is that a significant portion of my losses can be attributed to Axs and Kxs hands. I figure that this is probably due to both playing these hands in poor position and calling too many bets with them when the flop doesn’t fit. Does anyone have any good guidelines to play these hands? Do you only want to play these hands with lots of callers and in late position? Can you open from middle position with Axs? What kinds of things govern your strategy if you flop a pair (of either) on the flop?

Answer 1:

It depends. In general, you want to follow your own advice, play them with lots of callers, play them in late position.  More specifically. You probably want to be getting at least 4:1 on your action if you are playing in late position.  You want better action the further from the button you are, which means that you probably won’t be playing them from any position except the button, one off the button and two off the button, under normal circumstances. (Game conditions may dictate that you raise UTG with A5s, but forget these kind of plays normally). The only time you are going to be playing Axs (and Kxs) with few players is from the blinds. Again you’re still looking to get action on your money, from the blinds you probably want better action than 4:1 action since you’ll be acting early. On the other hand if only one person has limped in and you’re in the small blind, you’ll be getting 5:1 action, assuming that you are in a 1/2 small blind. The key to remember that this is a flop or drop hand (which hand isn’t?), so if you don’t hit a flush draw, or 2 split pair (or better), you are almost always going to bail on the hand. The trickiest thing is playing a flopped top pair. Now you have to make a decision.  Are you ahead, or are you behind. If you are ahead, you should bet. If you are behind you should check/fold. Making this determination is the hardest part about playing these hands, and if you don’t have confidence that you’ll be able to make this decision correctly, then you should ALWAYS check/fold. Being wrong here is very costly. Things that you should consider when you flop top pair with Axs (and Kxs):

* How many players you are facing?
* Whether the pot was raised pre-flop?
* What their limping/raising requirements are?
* How tricky your opponents are?
* Your position?

Again let me emphasize, if you have any doubt that you can determine whether you are ahead or behind, check/fold and save yourself money in the long run. Sometimes you’ll fold a winner, but most of the time you won’t.

Answer 2:

These hands are attractive but easily dominated when the flush doesn’t it. They’re simply not as good as they look. In a relatively loose-passive game (not many raises pre-flop, usually 3-6 see the flop) Axs is playable (for me) with at least 2 callers before me and no raise. This can’t happen in early position and rarely in middle position. Kxs I routinely throw away with the possible exception of having the button and 4+ callers in front without a raise. In a game where pre-flop raises are common, dump these hands without a second thought unless you’re late enough to have an idea that there won’t be a raise behind you. I don’t open-call with Axs. I MIGHT open-raise from late position if I thought I could steal the blinds or at least isolate a weak blind. This opportunity is rare in the games I play but happens in tourneys fairly often. In most cases, fold to any action if you don’t have a flush draw or 2 pair.

Answer 3:

I have Ad6d in late position. One raise by a madman so I call to see the flop. The flop comes Kd Qd 9d and I have a made flush. I raise and everyone is ut but the madman. I figure him for trips or two pair (he had trips) so I raise his bet and he calls. The turn is Jd and I am a happy camper until the river comes with Kh. He re-raises and I figure he’s got the boat. Nope, quad Kings. This guy was crazy and once he had trips there was nothing on God’s Green Earth that would have kept him from staying until the river. Thus: The only variable I would add to the previous posters is knowing your opponent.

I have both turbo hold’em and turbo stud.  They both worked fine on my old Pentium computer.  When I upgraded recently to a Celeron, the hold’em still works fine, but the stud is slow. It works, but it takes it forever to decide who has the bring-in and to start each new round. Any ideas?

Answer 1:

That’s probably a big part of the problem, as processing speed affects this directly… I don’t think that “upgrade” and “Celeron” belong in the same sentence…

Answer 2:

That’s not an up-grade. As far as I understand, the Celeron has no cache on the chip. It’s a totally cheap design, and terrible for cpu-intensive tasks. As i recall, they marketed it as a real performer when they should have marketed it as an inexpensive alternative for those who just use their computer to surf the net and don’t need high speed computing. As with all things, try to shut down all other applications before playing 7-stud. This might help.

Answer 3:

It depends what you mean by “Pentium”. There is the Pentium, the Pentium II, and the Pentium III. The Celerons are considerably faster than any Pentium and most if not all Pentium IIs. An upgrade from a Pentium 90 to
a Celeron 450 would be a huge performance gain. In any case, it’s almost certainly NOT a processor problem. The first suspect whenever you have these symptoms on a Windows/Intel box is a bug in the video driver. The original poster should check the computer and/or video card manufacturer’s web sites to see if there’s an upgrade available for the video driver.

I was playing 6/12 HE when the following situation occurred: Sitting in seat #9 (BB) with 6 callers plus me, no raise. I looked down and saw AQ off suit. I did not raise.

Flop:    Q9c3 rainbow

I checked. 3 more checks. Seat #4 (a competent player) bet. 2 callers, then I raised. 1 player called the double bet. The other players called my raise. 4 players plus me to see the turn. Turn: Ac I checked. Seat #4 bet again. 1 caller. Then seat #8 raises. I was planning to check raise again, but at this point, I’m not sure what to do. I can call, trying to get more bets in the pot or make it 3 bets. Comments? Advice?

Answer 1:

Well, based on the information provided, I’d put seat #8 or A3 or A9. This being the case — I’d three bet it.

Answer 2:

You are almost certainly the best here, with no flush or straight out there, and no raise other than your own on the flop. I can’t see you being beaten at this point.  You got to raise. I can see someone drawing out on you with a runner-runner flush though, and if so my sympathies on the bad beat.

Answer 3:

You should re-raise. The only way anyone has you beat is if they were slow playing a set on the flop or the remote possibility they were check calling with AA to this point.  From the action you described it sounds like you probably have the best hand. So first let’s look at it assuming you have the best hand… If a player is holding a TJ (~4.8:1 dog) or a club draw (4.1:1 dog) they are probably not going anywhere. They will most likely call regardless if it’s 1, 2, or 3 bets for them to call. Even if a player has to call 3 bets cold he’s getting better than 5:1 on a call. Even though these hands have the correct odds to draw, re-raising is the best option because not only do you currently have the best hand, there is also a (slim) chance they will fold a draw that could beat you… which would be a good thing. A tie with another AQ is possible but unlikely. Even if AQ is out there it’s not going anywhere. Inferior 2 pair has 2 outs against your hand with the exception of 93 having 4. They may call or fold for 2 or 3 bets. Re-raise and let them decide, you have them beat and they are drawing slim. Given the board and action, you will almost always lose pairs and gut shot draws with a re-raise here. If they call 2 or 3 bets they are taking the worst of it. Trying to keep these hands tagging along by cold calling the turn raise should not be a major consideration with 5 players and the current action. Bottom line is that with the straight & backdoor club draw on the board and 5 way action… if you feel you have the best hand you should re-raise. Let’s look at the possibility you’re beat: If you are behind to AA or QQ then you’re obviously in trouble. The most likely sets are 3′s or 9′s. If you knew for certain you were against a set you’d fold on the turn. You don’t know that, so you should re-raise and on the chance that you are wrong you still have 4 outs (except against an AA or QQ). If you thought there was a good chance the #8 seat (SB) had a set then I’d say just call… otherwise, re-raise.

Are aces always high in five and seven card draw? Someone had a hand that
included an Ace,1,2,3,4. And the won the pot. Is that a real way to use that ace?
Answer 1:
No. aces usually can play both high or low, played low as in A-2-3-4-5 for a straight. Seven card draw is probably not a game you have played. Perhaps you are thinking of seven card stud, which has no draw phase. The hand you transcribe is technically a pair of aces. “Ace”, “A” and/or “1″ are all the same card in this notation (an Ace), although generally people taking notes like this would not mix the three forms. Perhaps a pair of Aces won that pot? Or maybe you mistyped, meaning to type Ace, 2, 3, 4, 5, for a straight? In any case, i hope this was of some help. Feel free to “Search” your newsreader for the terms: “poker faq” (for Frequently Asked Questions) and i am sure many other questions you may have about poker will be answered. And finally, try to ignore that court jester (Paul P) who answered you first in another part of this thread. There is one in every crowd. Thankfully (and unfortunately), he is unique.

Answer 2:
When making a straight, you can use the ace high as in A-K-Q-J-10 or as a “1″ to go with 2-3-4-5. You cannot wrap around a straight as in Q-K-A-2-3. In a Hi-low game where the pot is divided between the best hand and the worst hand, the A-2-3-4-5 is a great hand because it is a nice little straight and also the lowest hand possible and thus allows you to win both the high and the low hand. People call it a “wheel” or sometimes “bicycle wheel”.

Answer 3:
While we’re on the subject, a pair of Aces is commonly mistaken in home games as simply a high pair. A pair of Aces, however, can also be used as a low pair. If you were playing 5-card stud hi/lo, your pair of Aces might win you both halves of the pot, played high for one hand and low for the other.

I’ve seen a couple of references to tipping floor staff.  I’ve never seen anyone actually doing it.  Is it commonly done?  How and when is it done?  For what amount?  Any info would be appreciated.

Answer 1:

Saw it happen at Canterbury earlier today – they had just hit the jackpot for $4900, and they toked the dealer about $200 and the floor $50…

Answer 2:

To Insure Prompt service.  So yes, I occassionally slip the floorman a few bucks or drop a chip or two in the cashiers jar.  I put most of my hours in at the same place, so I think it spreads good will (and it has worked to my advantage).  A couple of weeks ago, I needed five copies of a document and the cage girl made them for me.  Of course I could have gone to Kinko’s for less than the buck, but that’s not the point.  I also know that I got preferred treatment from one floor man (who is no longer there) because he likes me (most probably because I tipped).

I always tip chip-runners ($1 per rack). I tip brushes, chip-runners, etc. who do something else useful, such as clean up the mess some other player left at the table, go get my comp ticket for me, or fetch me a better chair than the one I have. I don’t tip managers and supervisors under any circumstances. I tip the rare cashier who actually smiles and doesn’t come across acting as if she’s doing a favor by giving me my money. But I also tip better than most people, probably because I once worked as a waitress and know what it’s like to be in a low-wage job where you are dependent on other people’s generosity.

Can someone please tell me which casinos have hotels attached to them?  And if none of them do, is there one where there is a nice hotel nearby?

Answer 1:

Crystal Park is the only Hotel/Casino in L.A. Commerce has a hotel about a block away. Hollywood Park has hotel’s you probably wouldn’t want to stay at across the street and hotels you wouldn’t mind staying at about a 5 minute drive down Century.

I recommend the Wyndham down the street from the Commerce.  It is two minute shuttle ride from Commerce and 5-10 minute drive from bicycle club.

Answer 3:

If you’re playing Hollywood Park, just sleep in your car like a lot of the players there do…that is, if they OWN one.

I admit it, I am a supporter of Phil Hellmuth and wish him nothing but the greatest future in this game.  With that being said, I also used to look forward to visiting his website for hands of the week and high limit results.  The last update seems to have been done in April. He came on here a while ago and promised a new posting in the hand of the week section, but I never saw one.  Anyone know what gives?

Answer 1:

I’m guessing that as with many new websites, the owners are very excited about doing it at first and update and add new content often. Then after a while it kind of loses its fun and just becomes a lot of work.

I like the high limit results but he only updates it every couple of months.  Maybe if he did a better job he would get more hits and be able to get some advertisers. That would make it worth his time

Answer 3:

I saw Phils face & a few brief words, what fascinated me was what they said about Barbara Streisand playing $5 Blackjack, and requesting all new toilet lids in her suite.  The program was good, but not enough about poker