A Few Hands Too Many

Never play a few hands too many.

WSOP online poker by Playtika: Worst random generator = worst poker players

The online poker program, by Playtika, for the World Series of Poker / Caesar's Casino, has the worst random number generator (which causes the random card generator to function) is the worst poker game to play.

I have seen so many 60% hands lose to 10% hands, that it can't be a fair deal. I would recommend you not spend your money on this game. If  you are stacking up by paying for chips then be warned it's not a fair game.  That's how you know it's not working; the lowest probability hand keeps winning so people call with worst pair, no pair, for all their chips over and over to win hands that should have folded.  You can't keep calling all-ins with Queen-deuce offsuit over and over and expect to win.  For poker players that just want a thrill then that's fine. But don't practice the same way with real money.

While poker is a game expected to be played by different skill levels with expected better odds for the better players, this game by Playtika is crooked so any player is likely to lose more chips than gain them regardless of skill. This might just be the business model: make a crooked game to get people to keep spending $.99 for new chips knowing they can't keep them all. Rinse. Repeat.

How is this a crooked game when all players suffer the same bad beats? Easy. The online game generates fake AI players that play with the same bad decision making that get lucky and take your chips. And then they disappear. So the chips are taken from real players and deposited back into the houses bank. What an evil business plan by bankrupt Caesar's Casino.

What this poorly-done computer game has done is teach people to play poker so poorly that I dream for the days these players try the same decisions with real money on a table.  Yum yum.

The problem is directly resultant of stupid decisions getting rewarded again and again makes the game unplayable. You may as well flip a coin. At least the coin is fair.

Do not learn to play WSOP by Playtika and then try to play a real game of poker. 

Example of Psychological Counter Strategy

0.0.1 Counter Strategy

Here is an example of counter strategy - not playing the percentages and likely hand ranges like everyone teaches but instead playing player psychology. A tight Russian player raises from early. There is a middle caller who’s also a regular. I look down at  

 I am in the small blind so I think about calling. I recognize the first aggressor is normally tight so I don’t position reraise. I just call to see the flop and hope for a monster.

 

Naturally I am ahead of both players with the nuts. I know that tight Russian #1 might have a pair of aces. Other player has unknown since he was calling. I am sure if first aggressor has aces that he will lay them down to protect his stack if he thinks he'’s behind. 

 

There is a flush draw so I want to protect my hand. But more importantly, I want to trick them into thinking I am bluffing. There are two spades and the most likely play is reraise with two spades. Now, here is the psychology. The tendency is to protect an overpair. The tendency of all these pros is to assume the player has flush draw with an all-in. And the most important tendency is: someone goes all-in on a draw only and not a made hand. They always assume someone is bluffing if they go all in. If you had a made hand you would not want to push people off the pot. That makes them blind to the possibility that they are beaten. 

I am in the small blind to I am first to act.

I lead into the pot 60%.

That bet leads to a pot-sized reraise from the first aggressor. The middle player also calls which is confusing but OK.

Without much time, I reraise both of them all-in. That also looks suspicious, I am acting in the way they expect but not in the way they think.

The tight Russian calls without thinking. The other pro thinks about it for a moment and calls as well.

That was the entire hand, the rest is unimportant. Whether or not I win this hand, the point is I got two professional players to commit their stacks on the wrong impression. They turn over their hands. They made a wrong decision and were the ones behind, but were made to think they were ahead.

Tight Russian has  

  and the other hapless pro has

so at least he was drawing to win. But he's a 30% at best.  This is how you can triple up against "good" players.  It's not about ranges in any one hand, it's about out thinking them. They do the same action over and over and over. They aren't even thinking anymore.

Tight Russian is drawing dead. Hapless pro is drawing to the full house. Board runs out: 

I tripled up

      ♢

Get a chip lead, then go conservative

I was watching a rerun of the old 2013 NBC National Heads Up Championship, and it occured to me that Liv Boeree has forgotten how to play the cards at all.  She ran up a huge lead by aggression, which was well deserved apart from a flopped full house.  But then instead of tending the three to one chip lead she continued to make aggressive moves on her opponent.  She didn't need to.

And then she ran into on better hand and lost.

The reality in online poker is you make moves to get ahead and limit the chances you will be eliminated, then you sit on that lead until you get the cards to put your opponent away. 

Making moves when you are ahead is a pure luck play, you can't win every hand. That's why you need to make moves to begin with. But that's not the way to win.

Counter Strategies are viable strategies

If you are wondering how to beat people at poker, one way that doesn't take a lot of effort is to change the way you play.  I write about this in my book here.

http://pokerdaemon.blogspot.com/2014/06/superior-texas-hold.html



So if you are playing a player that you think plays a certain way, then look up how to play against that person and use that strategy.  It's that easy, pretend you are acting and assume the role.  Fish against a shark.  Act like a landmine against a Maniac. And so on....

Play that session like you looked at the game differently.

Worst Vegas Poker Weekend

I play in Las Vegas every June for one weekend.  This year I played at the WSOP hosted at the Rio hotel off the strip.  I go to play poker against weaker players.  My wife goes to attend the IBS International Beauty Show for hairstylists and estheticians. We stay at a new hotel every time, this time we stayed at the Las Vegas Hotel.

Vegas is a busy crazy place, but this weekend in June, this year the 21,22,23 June 2014 was an especially crazy one. Its a big party weekend too with the Electric Daisy Carnival going on at the Las Vegas Speedway. 

My friend did great at the WSOP, won two $1500 sit & go tournaments. 

Me, worst poker weekend ever.   WhyÉ I lost 5 80-20 decisions in a row to bad players.   Ièm not calling them bad because they beat me, Ièm calling them bad because they had to get extremely lucky to win.  If I flop the nut straight and another player goes all in with two pair - not the top two pair but Queens and Eights against straight eight through Queen, he should not be surprised when he gets called and is behind.  How was he even sure he was ahead with two pair.  Itès kind of madness.

The topping on the cake was I lost pocket Queens against two Aces and lost on the turn.
Two aces, guy reraises me with Ace King - another guy calls with Ace Ten.  Ace Ten! For his tournament life.  I mean bad play.  Wait for a better spot.  He should read my book!  

He knew someone was going out that hand, so why call with a weak ace.  Just watch the field get smaller.

  Worst. Poker. Weekend. ever.

Ill be back next year same time to win it all back.

Superior Texas Hold'em: Evolved Poker Strategy

Ok;

After a few years working on it, my first poker book is done.

It's available on Google Play right now:Superior Texas Hold'em

It is long and comprehensive.  I will talk about it in my future posts, making examples as I go.  Once I figure out EPUB, I will convert to that as well.

Please tell me what you think, I'll fix what I can.