Gambling with an Edge --- July 12

[BobDancer]

This
Thursday our guest will be Ed Miller, author of Playing the Player, a
poker book dedicated to identifying different styles of players who play low
limit No Limit Hold'Em --- and how to exploit these players' tendencies.

My normal
co-host, Michael Shackleford, will be climbing Mt. Whitney this Thursday and
refuses to carry a satellite phone so he can co-host the show remotely. My guest
co-host will be gaming expert Arnold Snyder. As substitutes go, this is pretty
cool. Snyder's books deal with tournament players and Miller's book deal with
live-game players. I'm going to be asking questions designed to illustrate the
differences in reading players in these two different poker formats.

There is a
chance that Ed Miller won't show up --- which will actually be good news for
him. He entered the $10,000 main event at the World Series of Poker and
Thursday will be Day 3. Prior to entering he figured he had a 20% chance to
last that long. If he does miss the broadcast (as a friend I'm rooting for him
--- it'll be no problem re-scheduling him for a later date) I have plenty of
questions to ask Arnold Snyder. He has been a guest recently and we didn't get
through all of the questions we had already prepared for him. Either way, it
should be an interesting show.

GWAE may be
heard live Thursday evenings from 7-8 in Las Vegas on 1230 AM or from www.klav1230am.comfrom
anywhere. The shows are archived the next day on bobdancer.com. You may
subscribe for free from iTunes to get the podcasts delivered automatically to
your device. Bob

[GidgetGadget]

Awesome... I'm a WSoP contender too.

[BobDancer]

Ed Miller posted on vpFREE that he had a solid Day 1 of the WSOP ME. That means the chances of him being on GWAE Thursday have dropped a bit. Bob

[DaBurglar]

I play both tournaments and live cash games, and typically I am what you'd call a "low limit" or low level player, as most of my tournament entries are $150 or less, and most cash games I play utilize blinds in the $3-6 (small-big blind) range and lower (usually 2-5), although I will play $1-2 when that is the ONLY option available. while I am by no means a "professional", I am at this point a slightly profitable (all-time) player, and I can definitely point out a few "tells" or tendencies that low level/limit players typically have..... 1)  Almost always at a FULL table (anywhere from 8 to 10 players) there will be 2 or 3 who are fold machines, where they fold 80% or more of the time, waiting for exceptionally strong starting hands (JJ or better).  This makes them ridiculously easy to play.... 2)  On the other end, you have what you call "calling stations". players who always call, but almost never raise, opening bets.....to figure these guys out, simply watch how they play the flop....if they call or raise after the flop comes, you can be almost 100% certain they caught something with the flop and you simply djust your play accordingly. 3)  Low limit play almost always has 1 or 2 sheer Idiots at every table, and they stand out by repeatedly shoving all-in at the most ridiculous aberrant times....these guys you simply waity until YOU have something exceptionally strong and then pounce on them when they shove.....otherwise just stay out of their way until they either tire or go bust. When I play low limit holdem, my goal is to win 3 to four "big blinds" per hour....so if I am playing $2 (small) $5 (big) blinds, I try to win (or make) $15 or more per hour of play....that is what you call "grinding"...anything more than that is gravy.  As far as losses go, when i sit with my initial buy-in (usually the table uper limit) I will play that until it is either exhausted, or my time limit is reached (usually 4 hours per session) The only way I will ever "jump" to the next level of play however, is if I suddenly become independently wealthy through striking oil, gold or some long lost inheritance comes my way....Hold em poker =, while partially a game of skill, is subject to the same swings and volatlility of video poker and other similar games of chance.  Gambling is Ganbling and you cant alwqays choose when to lose!  Sidebar:  Anyone catch the "Million dollar Event" at this years WSOP?  48 players bought in for $1million each and the tourney was won by Antonio esfandari, the former magician turned-pro....he took home the richest prize ever in the history of tournament poker, over 18 million for first place.   Pretty sickening in this day of continued economic misery.....  

[BobDancer]

I play both tournaments and live cash games, and typically I am what you'd call a "low limit" or low level player, as most of my tournament entries are $150 or less, and most cash games I play utilize blinds in the $3-6 (small-big blind) range and lower (usually 2-5), although I will play $1-2 when that is the ONLY option available. 

          You are EXACTLY the sort of player that both Ed Miller writes for and Arnold Snyder's first book is addressed to. Bob       

[BillyJoe]

I play both tournaments and live cash games, and typically I am what you'd call a "low limit" or low level player, as most of my tournament entries are $150 or less, and most cash games I play utilize blinds in the $3-6 (small-big blind) range and lower (usually 2-5), although I will play $1-2 when that is the ONLY option available.
 
while I am by no means a "professional", I am at this point a slightly profitable (all-time) player, and I can definitely point out a few "tells" or tendencies that low level/limit players typically have.....
 
1)  Almost always at a FULL table (anywhere from 8 to 10 players) there will be 2 or 3 who are fold machines, where they fold 80% or more of the time, waiting for exceptionally strong starting hands (JJ or better).  This makes them ridiculously easy to play....
 
2)  On the other end, you have what you call "calling stations". players who always call, but almost never raise, opening bets.....to figure these guys out, simply watch how they play the flop....if they call or raise after the flop comes, you can be almost 100% certain they caught something with the flop and you simply just your play accordingly.
 
3)  Low limit play almost always has 1 or 2 sheer Idiots at every table, and they stand out by repeatedly shoving all-in at the most ridiculous aberrant times....these guys you simply wait until YOU have something exceptionally strong and then pounce on them when they shove.....otherwise just stay out of their way until they either tire or go bust.
 
 
Well, Burglar, you would have a tough time, then, playing against me. I only play in tournaments, and since I have NO IDEA OR PLAN regarding a strategy, I am liable to call at any time.
 
I have an unbelievable track record in tournaments, having cashed in almost every tournament that I have played in.
 
The best one was @ the Beau Rivage earlier this year. I had just been moved to another table, and as I sat down, splashed my chips all over the place. Before I could re-stack them, the dealer began the hand, dealing me pocket Aces. I was first to bet, so I just shoved the splash in the middle - all in. The people at this new table, of course, thought I was an idiot, so I had three callers. Wiped them out. They were not happy.
 
There is no substitute for good cards..

[Tedlark]

Burglar I think I saw where Antonio donated 25% of his winnings to charity. I know he can now take a deduct but it was still a hugely classy move on his part.

[backsider]

Im a little confused. Is this videopoker.com, or livepoker.com?

[BobDancer]

Ed Miller posted on vpFREE that he had a solid Day 1 of the WSOP ME. That means the chances of him being on GWAE Thursday have dropped a bit.
  I received an email from Ed saying he busted out of the main event last night and will be on GWAE. Bob

[BillyJoe]

Im a little confused. Is this videopoker.com, or livepoker.com?
Actually, it is GWAE free advertising..