Unique Breed

Alright let me just state that this could be a rambling onnn...kind of reading but I will try and get my point across.

I wanted to write about this ever since I watched the WSOP footage of Phil Hellmuth going nuts over a players "play" at the table. If you have watched the footage its when he tells the guy "He doesn't even know how to spell POKER" btw that is a classic line as well as "I can Dodge Bullets baby!", you have got to love Phil.

So we have this boom in the poker scene over the past couple of years (and yes I am included in this area) and we have two different types of players, the ones that play by the book and the others who don't. Do these "amateurs" really not know how to play poker, or do we have this new generation that don't seem to care what the pro's think are the best cards? It would seem they just want to see a flop with any two cards, as though they have developed a strategy all their own, which makes everyone else think "what the hell are you doing" while they take your chips away.

Pros have always said that playing by the book type players are easy to read, so haven't they shot themselves in the foot by saying this? Because wouldn't that mean that all these new players want to listen to the pro's, so they will do the opposite of what the pro's think they will do.

Of course this is giving a lot of credit to these river rats and king 3, 9 2, 7 2, type players, who believe that "hey they were suited" is a legitimate excuse for calling a raise with garbage. But maybe these players are playing a new type of game, a game where the luck of the cards will rule the day and maybe they will try to throw some skill into it. Why try and read someone when you really don't care what they have, all you need to do is play your cards and HOPE that you hit it in the end.

The lucky players will cash in on the short term, while the ones with skill will continue to get payouts in the long run.

I hope I am in the later catagory, but this site is called 7-Deuce isn't it :)

On a side note yes we can get angry at these players but what good will that do? If you try and tell them that they have done something incorrectly they will just say "look who has the chips". Unfortunatly they are correct, you sometimes just have to take those bad beats and get over them. I am always trying to "teach" others how they "should have" played that hand, but that really isn't my place now is it...but I do believe advice is helpful and if I sat down with any pro and they told me I played the hand wrong I would listen because it can only make my game better.

Daniel Negreanu

"Nice to meet you Daniel" as Craig shakes his hand.
Thats all I got to say as he was walking out of the Loose Moose yesterday on his way to play a private event with some Lucky Red Hot Poker Tour Members. The winner of season 3 and online tournament held last week got to play a small game with some Red Hot staff and Daniel. Pretty sweet deal and I am sure it was a lot of fun.

Daniel is in Toronto this week as his blog says on FullContactPoker.com and was in Hamilton on Wednesday. It was jammed pack of course and people who arrived at 5:30 hoping for a spot to play were left out in the cold as all spots had already been filled.

As well on a random note I will be at the Leafs game tonight and it just so happens so will Daniel, pretty funny...to me...not too anyone else I take it.

Red Hot Poker Tour...another win

Well I won at the Madison back in December and as I said before it was the place I had always wanted to take 1st place.
Cut to today and once again I won down at the Maddy. Great tournament as always and very well run.

I wasn't going to play tonight but last night I went down to Philthy's and got destroyed on the river for 8000, which put me out. I decided I would go down to the Madison play a tight game and see where it got me. Well at first it got me down to 2000 when my pocket 8's ran into pocket queens. But I pretty much stayed course and continued to wait for the cards, since the blinds weren't very high at that time. Finally I tripled up, then another double and another.

Got to the final table second lowest in chips at 35,000 (what a comeback!) I was on the button to start the final table so I could wait for my opportunity and see if I could double up. The big hand came when I was dealt King 10...normally I don't like playing king 10 that much but at this point when the blinds are 4000 and 8000 I decided that I would go all in for 19,500. I got called and was up against pocket 8's. Hit my 10 on the flop and it held up.
After that it was pocket 8's that cracked another player, doubling up again. And then it was down to 3.

So here is where I got into a trap mode. I was on the button and both of these players were moving all in, almost every hand. I look down at Pocket Queens...now of course I should push and see what happens, or at least put in a little raise...but I am hoping one will think I am weak and push all in. Of course the small blind calls and the big blind checks. Flop comes 9,8,6 rainbow. Both check to me and I move all in. Hoping one of them has caught the 9. Small blind calls and I have him covered by 10,000 - big blind folds. He flips over open ended straight draw. But it doesn't hit and we are now heads up.

It took 3 hands for me to finish it off: Chip count 250,000 to his 150,000. Small blind is in(blinds are at 6,000 and 12,000), I look down at Pocket 7's...I raise 40,000 on top of the big. He says all in, I call. He flips over King 6 and my 7's hold up for the title, the toque and the 25 buck gift certificate haha

Fun times!