Caution Rough Road

Today didn’t go as planned, it was a tough day at the tables, as it has been for few months now.  As I reflect on what happened I realize I’ve been pretty distracted and have made several key errors in my play.  I’m hoping that by writing some of these flaws down I can get a better understanding of the wrong turns I may have made. I consider myself a good player and I must get out of this RUT!

I started off in my usual way, pretty quiet and just trying to observe the action.  I was definitely card dead for almost the entire time I was there. The few times I got decent cards to play, the board was not favorable to my hands.  Even though in 3 different cases I had top pair, top kicker I had to fold due to the board texture.  Twice I ended up calling and losing to a set (3 of a kind).  So my stack was diminished and I had to reload twice to maintain my stack size. Playing short stacked would only make the situation worse.

In retrospect I think changing tables may have been a better option than remaining at a table that was very distracting due to all the socializing.  I felt like I was losing focus and was making mistakes,  I even misread the board once. I pride myself on being in control but my lack of focus proved to be costly. The last straw was when I overplayed AA and lost to a straight.  I was tired and discouraged and wanted to stop the bleeding.  I decided to leave.

I’m sure this happens to other players.  If you aren’t playing your best you should make positive changes or leave.  I guess deciding when is the key.  I felt discouraged and upset with myself.  It doesn’t feel good to have 3 major losing sessions in a week. never mind a consistent down swing over a two month period.

I would love some feedback…

Theresa Knutzio

feltonryder@gmail.com

Poker Patterns

As I ride the felt I’m always trying to reduce my risk by compiling as much data as possible on each opponent. This information will usually prove to be invaluable as many hands play out. Some problems may arise as the game progresses, players tend change it up, due to drinking, boredom, anger, or one of many other factors. I have seen players who play very few hands and all of sudden will blow up, some of the more experienced players will purposely change things up to throw you off the trail. If a player has reloaded once or twice, they may tend to play more hands in an effort to get their money back or the opposite if they are winning big, in that case they may only be playing top or premium hands.

I can’t stress enough how important it is to pay strict attention to each player at the table, as their status may change at any given moment. Ears up and eyes open…

Learning from our experiences by watching other players will lower risk and maximize rewards. The structure of the game will become second nature and the importance of our position at the table now makes sense. Your personal style has developed and it’s time to rely on instincts. I truly believe to be a winner you must have trust in the information that you have accumulated and make use of it when engaging in the action. I have a hand that will be a good example, of course this will be a hand that played out positively, remember there are no guarantees.

I was playing $2/$5 hold’em at an east coast casino on a day they were running a big high hand promotion. During these promotions most players will tend to stay put and sometimes alter their play, usually not in a good way. The longer I play with the same villains the better off I usually am. So I had been playing for over 3 hours and had been involved in hands with everybody at the table at least once. My day was going well, I was making good decisions, building my file on each client and building my chip stack up to over $300 in profit.

HAND EXAMPLE: I am sitting in the cutoff position (seat before the button), as the action comes around to me, there were 2 callers and I have AQ. Both players that have called were not having good days up until then, the button and blinds will respect my raise and my $800 plus chip stack. I raised to $25, it’s folded to the first player, he called as does the second player. The flop is 3d Ac Jc, this is a good flop for my hand, both players check and I bet $40 (50% of the pot). Here’s where it got interesting and I needed to apply the information I have gathered. The 1st player raised to $90 and the 2nd player folded. At this point I accessed my file on this player. He had been involved in several hands and twice had check raised, both times he had been on a draw. There were 2 clubs on the flop and my information told me he had a flush draw, at this point I have trust in my read and position. I called to see the turn card (no club), he bet $140 which was half his remaining stack. I had 2 choices here, I can raise to put him all in or call to see if the club comes, he may fire on the river even if a club doesn’t come. The river was another Jack and he checked, I bet and he folded, as I had anticipated he most likely had the draw.

Having trust in the information I have compiled will pay off, there will be times when the flush draw will hit (usually 1 out of 3). Of course knowing that is what he had would have saved me money if the flush did hit. There are other ways this hand could have been played, this is the way I chose to play it out this time. In a another situation I may have played it differently, depending on my position or my opponent.

Felton Ryder

feltonryder@gmail.com

Foresight

I’ve always done my best to participate in life and try to keep my eyes open for the road conditions ahead. Although as many others do, I sometimes have trouble seeing the trees through the forest. My goal is to improve my vision by increasing my focus!

As far as my time on the felt, I believe I’ve made some great strides in improving my poker game.  I try not to converse with other players too much as it seems to distract me from watching the action.  When I am able to concentrate and watch the other players at the table, I am amazed at the information that I’m able to gather about their style of play and it usually proves to be valuable as each hand plays out.

However, I know one of the areas that needs improvement is being able to quickly formulate a plan for each street before the card(s) ever hits the board. There are so many factors to consider and so little time to act!  The most important hands are the ones that see the flop, turn and river. I want to be at the point where as each hand plays out, I am able to think ahead with ease.

On the flop it appears that this is the area to begin to formulate your plan for the hand.  I find that most of my decisions to continue are made on the flop.  This is also the point that I decide whether or not I may be able to bluff with my hand.  I like to make this decision early in the hand as it becomes more difficult as the turn and the river hit the felt. I want to work on getting more comfortable looking forward as it seems to be a point where the decisions need to be made quickly.

Or is this perception just one of my leaks that needs improvement?

Theresa Knutzio

feltonryder@gmail.com

Promo Madness

This post was written as “High Hand” many months ago as the promotion era was in its infancy. High hands, straight flush rollovers, bad beats, mystery envelopes, etc. are now the norm. You can almost never play a day without some type of event or promotion happening….

1/14/2018 – Over the last year or two, many poker rooms have trended towards high hand promotions to increase business. While they have been somewhat successful, the quality of play seems to have spiraled downward. Many players seem to have forgotten what has worked for them in the past to chase a longshot. I have worked on my game for years to reduce my risk as much as possible and not be drawn into a roll of the dice or more of a gambling scenario.

So should you avoid these promotions or should you adjust your play to profit more by the mistakes of others? Obviously in my opinion, the answer is to take advantage of every situation to increase the bottom line. My tactic during these promotions has been to stick with my game plan as usual, with one exception, open up my range slightly when in position. With the added involvement in each hand, I figure my payoffs will usually be larger when I win a pot.

First you need to understand the rules and what you will need to qualify. Most every room will post the information or the floor will explain it for you. A qualifying hand is normally a full house or better with a minimum of $10 or $20 in the pot. The rooms will have specific times and the better rooms will have a running clock with the hand to beat posted. This is very important information to be aware of, many players don’t pay attention and will be over playing a hand that will not be able to beat the current posted hand.

Please do your best not to get caught up into the promotion and donate to somebody else’s cause. I have had some trouble with this myself, especially when I am losing. Although I do recommend playing during these type of events, it is only to have a competitive advantage over the bad play presented on the felt by others.  If you happen to achieve a qualifying hand, that is all well and good. Remember to play the hand out and always maximize your profits, one hand at a time.

Felton Ryder

Editors Note:It

We are not sponsoring or promoting any rooms or games, everything is just based on our personal experiences.

Theresa Knutzio

People tend to play more hands when they are in the gambling mode of promotions.  It is good advice to remember not to get caught up in the moment but to continue to play your “A” game.  Your bottom line will be the beneficiary.

Poker Fantasia

As I take my seat and scan the table, I find myself playing with some of the best players in the world. I started with a few hundred dollars a few years ago and now I’m crushing all the so-called competition. I have reached the summit and they now all stand in line for an invite to play at my gold trimmed table in my private man cave. I still may lose a hand occasionally, but now I never have a losing session. I am the best in the world and I can’t be bluffed!

Playing with me is not fair to my opposition, I am able to see every eye twitch, finger shake and hear every breathing change. I can see your cards as if they were face up, you can’t hide from me, I dare you to try to beat me. The pressure that I have learned to apply will crush anybody that stands in my way. The term “any two cards” came from playing with me, as I can and will beat you with any hand I choose. I will overwhelm you with my confidence and take you down a road of disaster.

So who am I?

I am just an average player most likely similar to most of our readers. While I have had moments like the above described, the rest is just a poker fantasy. I hope that something can be gained by reading this blog as we always do. There are many nuances of the game and traits of the players that we should take notice of to improve our game. If our imaginary scenario got you thinking, then we have achieved our goal and who knows, someday we may both be seated at that gold trimmed table.

Felton Ryder

feltonryder@gmail.com

Editor’s note:

I usually make it a habit to be the best player at the table and after a great session I feel on top of the world. However, It’s difficult to win every time, but it’s fun to strive for.

Theresa Knutzio

Comfort Zone

I went down to the Las Vegas strip to play a little poker on a Sunday afternoon late in November. Playing on a Sunday was not one of my normal playing days but I wanted to change things up. I arrived a little after noon and was seated quickly, the game was good and there was a fair amount of action. Everybody was friendly, I was enjoying the atmosphere and happy with my choice. The football games were on in the Sports Book and the casino was extremely busy.

I had been playing several hours and was definitely in an agreeable space. Betting and raising were reasonable and I had increased my stack by 50%, not a large amount but most of  the pots were small and medium-sized. Definitely a game that was in my comfort zone. I was playing well and was enjoying my day up until that point.

The game started to pick up steam when a couple of new players joined the table. The action became more aggressive and a few larger pots had changed the character of the table. Now there were 2 players with big stacks, 1 with over $1000 and another with over $900, fairly large stacks for a $1/$2 game. I had lost a big pot and was now down my original buy-in. I really dislike it when I’m down, however, the game was still going at a good pace and I thought firing another BULLET (buy-in) would be okay. I was playing well enough to turn things back in my direction, even though my comfort zone was now being challenged.

TAKING A LEAP TO THE NEXT LEVEL

Just as I was adjusting to the new personality of the table, a young man came to play and everything changed. We will call him a cowboy, there would be no more limping and almost every pot would cost at least $25 to see a flop. He played 75% of his hands and if you wanted to get involved with him post flop, it would likely be for your whole stack.

The two big stacks tried to shoot it out with him, but he was relentless and soon the cowboy had built his chip stack to over $1000. The big stacks lost large portions of their stacks.  I realized the game was now playing like a $2/$5 table, definitely not in my COMFORT ZONE.

I was aware that if I was going to get involved, it would probably be for my whole stack. Although I was now in unfamiliar territory, I thought I would practice my patience and try to learn something.

I watched through several orbits around the table and I figured when the right hand came along I would go for it. Finally I opened up my hole cards to find a pair of 10’s, I played them strong but they did not hold up to the cowboy’s ace rag hand. I ended up losing my whole stack.  I was pretty disappointed because I had lost 3 buy ins during the session. Since that is my chosen limit, I left the table feeling like I still had a lot to learn.

I’m sure as I reflect back, it will prove to have been a learning experience. although it certainly didn’t feel that way in the moment.

Theresa Knutzio

We published this blog a while ago and we thought a reprint was in order…

Playing or living in my comfort zone can be okay but I believe I’m sometimes settling for less. So when I decide push the envelope, I feel I’m moving forward.

Felton Ryder

feltonryder@gmail.com

My Journey

As I get a chance to reflect on some of the things that I’ve enjoyed and loved throughout my life, poker is something that comes to mind, I was attracted to the game at an early age and now over 40 years later it remains a strong part of my life. I’m not sure if I was looking to fill a void or I just fell into it. Which ever it was, I welcomed it into my life with open arms and I almost always feel I’m in the right place when I take my seat at poker table.

I was in my mid 20’s and hanging at the local club, the old-timers usually had a game going off in the side room at the old style round table. After watching and talking with some of the players, I finally dove in and claimed my seat. I have since played thousands of hours and a variety of games, including limit, pot limit, no limit betting anywhere from $1/2 – $20/40. There are many things I’ve done and played plenty of games over the years, but poker has always been my favorite and most constant.

I do my best to never give my opponents an inch, the times I’ve let my guard down I have paid for it dearly. My luck/cards will run hot and of course cold from time to time, fortunately the skills I’ve acquired over the long haul keep my losses to a minimum and my winnings to a maximum. I have learned not to play when I’m tired, sick or just simply worn out, when I’m feeling confident and on top of my game, I can play with any villain that dares to sit across from me.

When I approach my game completely clear minded and not preoccupied or pressured for time, my results will almost always end up positively. All the things I’ve mentioned will result in better hand selection and the most important ingredient PATIENCE is the icing on the cake.

Oh yeah… have fun or don’t bother!

Redwood

Thank you Red for your experienced insight…

Felton Ryder

Brakes

I recently took an overnight road trip to Philadelphia to see a baseball game (yes I do have other enjoyments). I had booked a hotel about 30 miles away from the park near a well-known casino with a very active poker room. My plan was to head back after the game and hopefully fit in a little playing time. I had driven most of the day, checked into the room and headed to the field. The game went well, it was fast paced and was over in less than 3 hours. I was quickly back at the room for a freshen up and headed across the street for some late night action.

I was immediately seated in a $1/$3 no limit table (my favorite), the action was over the top. Every pot was $300 plus and players were shoving in chips like they had no value. Unfortunately, I was card dead and much like the baseball game, I was just a spectator. So I found myself at a great table after a long day and I was unable to get any playable hands, I realize that patience is the key, My problem was that exhaustion was starting to kick in and as much as this was my type of table, I had to consider walking away.

I had been playing for over an hour and had lost about 1/3 of my stack between the blinds and speculating on a few hands. Just as I was ready to call it quits, I woke up with pocket Aces on my button. The first player to act (UTG), raised to $15, there were 2 callers and I 3 bet raised to $65, about a third of my remaining stack. The original raiser called and the other players folded. The flop was all hearts and the villain shoved in all his chips. I possessed the Ace of hearts and of course I called. He had flopped a flush but the fourth heart hit the river and I more than doubled up.

I now had a little gas in the tank and chips on the table. Winning a big hand can perk you up, it’s almost like getting a shot of adrenalin. The problem is human nature had me applying the brakes, I tend to lock down when I’m tired and winning. So at this point I found myself throwing hands away that I would normally play at the beginning of a session. I wasn’t sure if it was fear of blowing the money back or just the exhaustion taking control. When I’m at this juncture I’m definitely not on top of my game or willing to play my normal range, so I’m not sure whether I should I bother to continue. I was torn, I traveled a long way to play and the action was great but I felt that most likely I should take the small hit and run.

This was a scenario that many of us run into and I’m not sure what the answer is…

Felton Ryder

feltonryder@gmail.com

Editor’s Note

One thing that I remember hearing clearly from a well-respected pro and instructor was that when you begin to think about quitting for whatever reason, you should leave.

Theresa Knutzio

Poker Time

I have enjoyed playing poker all over the country and I’ve had a variety of results, mostly positive. Walking into a live poker room can be intimidating, but can also be exciting. I would recommend playing in an established legal poker room. Home games may be fun with friends and family occasionally but underground poker rooms are illegal and may be dangerous.

So you and a friend decide to head to Big City USA and play some poker. If you are going to drink and have fun that may sound like a great time, but chances are it will end in negative results. I do not have a problem with having fun, but I believe that we can help you have fun and make a profit while doing it. Even at an amateur level acquiring some basic knowledge will give you a huge advantage.

The most popular poker game is no limit hold’em and that is what I will focus on. The required buy-in (money needed to play) for a $1/2 cash game, is usually between $60 and $300. I personally start with $200, some so-called experts will recommend always buying in for the maximum. I like to have 3 buy ins to sit down with, so if you are heading out for a day trip or an overnight adventure and you want to play 1 poker session, you should have $600 dedicated for poker only.

If you are fairly new to the game you may want to make some personal ground rules and these can vary depending on your situation, health etc. I would recommend starting your session early in the day, perhaps between 10am and 2pm. The reason for this is that you should be starting on a level playing field as far as the amount of money each player will have at the table. Joining a game that has been in progress for many hours can be a big disadvantage to a newer player, many players with deep chip stacks behind (large amounts of money) will try to overrun you by making large bets. Setting a time limit is a good idea, this should be based on your stamina. I never drink or do any type of other mind altering substances before or while playing. I can make all kinds of suggestions, but you need to make a business plan that works for you.

Remember they call it a game, but my goal and hopefully yours is to have fun and possibly make a profit!

Please submit your comments, ask questions, or make any suggestions, including sending us your own blog for possible publication (feltonryder@gmail.com). Your input is greatly appreciated.

Felton Ryder

Editors Note:

Our suggestions are just that, please make your decisions based on all information you can gather from as many resources as possible.

Theresa Knutzio

Rambler 4

We understand that you may want us to tell or show you exactly how to play any random 2 cards that may be dealt to you, but unfortunately poker is not an exact science or a simple math equation. Every time you choose to enter a business transaction or sit down at a poker table, you will assume some risk. We hope to help you minimize risk and possibly maximize your rewards, we also want you to enjoy the experience as we do.

At this point we are thinking you may have played some live poker and have started to develop a style of play that hopefully fits your character. If you still have some fears and haven’t got there yet, no problem keep reading. Once you have entered a few rooms and starting playing regularly or even occasionally, you will find out that taking your seat was the easy part.

In R1-R3 we discussed the room functions, dealing sequences, and betting procedures. We now have set the table and will try to address some specific hand scenarios. You will find out that there are many factors that should persuade you to make good and proper decisions. We have presented the importance of reading or studying your opponents, Other considerations would be your 2 hole cards, the board cards, your seating position, the amount of the bet you are facing and the total that is already in the pot. We believe successful players are able to apply this basic recipe, while adding a few of their own personal ingredients.

A few other things of consideration when playing is to be well rested, drug and alcohol free, good hygiene and if you are sick stay home. Please keep in mind, Poker rooms are NOT germ free! Be careful not to touch your eyes or put your fingers in your mouth without washing and if you must eat at the table try not to eat any finger food. Remember you are trying to enjoy yourself while presenting yourself as a professional and in a businesslike manner.

Felton Ryder/ Theresa Knutzio

Editor Note:

Please submit your suggestions or your own blog, we would be very interested in possibly posting your thoughts.

feltonryder@gmail.com