NEW EVIDENCE In Mike Postle Poker Investigation by Doug Polk and Joe Ingram

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Insane Bluff At The Biggest Poker Game Of All Time (By Doug Polk)

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Is He Really Going To Fold THREE ACES?! (£100,000 Buy-in)

Want to see some of the most baller pc/poker set-ups? These are pretty awesome..!

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Good Old 83s

Want to see some of the most baller pc/poker set-ups? These are pretty awesome..!

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Not A Live Poker Pro

While I do enjoy some aspects of live poker: the banter, a few drinks and a change of scenery there are other parts that I don't fancy too, like the travelling and the pace of the game.

In December I stated that one of my 2013 goals was to play more live, like once a week as opposed to once a month like I normally do. However having gone to the VIC a few days ago for a nights action I am going to scrap that goal and stick to playing once a month.

I found the action pretty slow and uninteresting at times. Plus I didn't get any VPPs :). One of the problems I think is that I have always played the 2 lowest levels which is probably just too low. I play the £1/£1 and £1/£2 (BI for $300/$600 respectively) games and some of the pots are just too small to excite. I will try out a higher game next time and see how I like it.

Back to online....

Follow @rosh125

Big One for One Drop $1,000,000 Buy-In NLHM Event #55 WSOP 2012

I had to give mention to a little piece of history that took place a couple of days ago at this year's WSOP.

The biggest Buy In poker tournament ever took place with the required entry fee set at $1,000,000.

A total of 42 entrants put up the funds with a lot of staking actioned rumoured to be behind some of it.

The final nine players of the 48-player (max capacity) field will receive the following:

1st: $18,346,673 
2nd: $10,112,001
3rd: $4,352,000
4th: $2,645,333
5th: $1,834,666
6th: $1,621,333
7th: $1,408,000
8th: $1,237,333
9th: $1,109,333
Total $42,666,672 (Prize Pool)

The remaining $5.5m will be given to the One Drop Charity.

It was lots of fun as huge charity funds had been generated.

Guy Laliberte flips with Antonio while wearing comic noses

At the end of this amazing event Antonio Esfandiari took home a cool $18.3m for his efforts, securing the greatest 1st prize in poker history.

This propels him to the top of the all time winners:

Hand Reading - Know the Basics

One of the first things that I learnt in poker was to hand read. I'm not talking about any advanced stuff in the heat of battle vs specific opponents but basic hands that beat other hands.

I was thinking about a hand from about 5yrs ago in a Live STT because hand reading was on my mind after I witnessed 2 funny hands from a recent online session. So here are all 3 hands with the 2 online ones first.

1. The first hand is quite a common occurrence but when recreational players are around it can be quite funny.

I'm in a small pot multi way in the SB and I don't think there was a bet on the flop or turn. By the river the board is KJQAT with no flush possibilities so basically the board plays. Now, if I am on the button and it checks to me, depending on the size and who it is against I may take a stab at it just in case someone folds out of a chop. In the hand above one guy bet small and 2 people folded. It can be just a waste of rake against a reg but against an unknown it has happened where I have got someone to fold.

2. Hand 2 is more interesting as I think it is one that gets many a fish/ recreational players confused. UTG min raises and it folds to me in the BB with 78s and I just call. Board runs out AJJJJ and there is no betting on the flop or turn. On the river I decide to have a laugh and lead out 2x the pot and he insta folds and I take down a tiny pot vs an unknown. I think a lot of players think that if I have an Ace or AA then I could have a big full house but actually they don't understand that 4 of a kind with an ace is unbeatable with any 2 hole cards so again the board plays.

3. This is the hand from 5 years ago in the Live Tourney. I played the hand terribly I know but I had no clue back then. I limp UTG with 76o and there are 4 people to the flop with no raise pre. Flop comes down 345hh, checks round, turn is 2h, putting the flush possibility out there, checks round (lol, I know I sucked), River is the an ace (different suit). So there is a straight on the board with a possible flush and I have the highest nut straight available. It checks round to the guy on the button who just goes all-in. I tank for a few seconds and call and the other 2 players fold. I say 'what cha got? and he replies 'the board obviously', but it wasn't obvious and he was a huge fish and didn't even see the possible flush and was shocked when I turned over the 67. His expression was priceless as he got knocked out with a shove in a nothing pot, lol.

The moral of the above hands is make sure that you always know what the NUTS is...!!

Still Time for Action....

Its only 3 days to go before I make my EPT debut.

As you may know I am selling chunks of myself so that I can reduce variance and give people a chance for a nice little sweat.

There are still pieces of me available to buy on the thread that I created.

The price of each chunk is as follows:

1% = $18.43
2% = $36.86
5% = $92.15
10% = $184.30

I accept Pokerstars Transfers and Paypal (link on the rightside pane, near the bottom)

The full thread link is as follows:

Rosh at EPT London

GL to anyone attending.

Cheers

Rosh

Rosh at EPT London 2011

I have decided to enter an event at EPT London.

I would love to play the main event but the buy-in at £5,250 is pretty steep and I don't really want to fork out that much money on a tournament. After all I am a cash game specialist.

I am however going to play event 1 which is a NLH Freezeout for a buy-in of £1,000 + £100.

I am currently selling shares in this event to reduce variance and to reduce the amount that I have to put up.

I have started a thread on 2+2 for the sale of shares.

If you would like purchase a share please let me know via here or on the forum, thx.

Link

Rosh at EPT London

Maniac Bluffage....

On Friday I briefly stopped at the Vic for some live poker. I only played for around 90mins and finished up around $80 after being up around $150 at on stage. I played £1/£1/£2. Only 2 hands of note really.

1. In the first orbit there was a guy who was quite active in the previous few hands I had seen. He limps and I pick AKo in the CO and I make it 6x. It folds to him and he goes all in with 65bb, I snap call. The interesting part was that he never flipped over his cards and the board ran out with a K on it and he just mucked. Now I can ask here to see as it was a preflop AI but I chose not too. In hindsight I should have asked as I can get valuable info on an opponent. The guy next to me also said that he should have turned the cards over. I mean you can ask to see any time there is a showdown but it is bad etiquette if you have played post-flop. Pre-flop it should be standard on their backs...!!

2. In this hand I was the SB and had JJ. There had been 2 limpers and the button had raised to 6x. I could have just called but all the limpers always come in for the ride and I didn't was to play 5-handed OOP. I made it 25x and he called. The flop was xxK and I cbet. He tanked and folded. Generally this is a 3bet pre but I like to just call sometimes when I have no info on the players and have just sat down.



I have a couple of hand histories from yesterday where villains went crazy on mad bluffs with complete air:

Poker Stars $50.00 No Limit Hold'em - 7 players

Hero (CO): $54.50
BTN: $26.95
SB: $14.75
BB: $81.15
UTG: $46.45
UTG+1: $50.75
MP: $38.50

Pre Flop: ($0.75) Hero is CO with Q K
1 fold, UTG+1 calls $0.50, 1 fold, Hero raises to $2, 3 folds, UTG+1 calls $1.50

Flop: ($4.75) 9 Q Q (2 players)
UTG+1 checks, Hero bets $2.80, UTG+1 raises to $8, Hero calls $5.20

Turn: ($20.75) 9 (2 players)
UTG+1 bets $10.00, Hero calls $10

River: ($40.75) T (2 players)
UTG+1 bets $30.75, Hero calls $30.75

Final Pot: $102.25

Hero shows Q K
UTG+1 shows 7 8

Hero wins $99.25
(Rake: $3.00)

It really is not a good idea to make this kind of move without almost any equity what so ever. If he had JT for example it would be not so bad but with 78o it is just spew.



Poker Stars $50.00 No Limit Hold'em - 9 players

MP1: $74.15
MP2: $52.05
CO: $33.70
Hero (BTN): $50.00
SB: $54.90
BB: $52.25
UTG: $146.95
UTG+1: $53.75
UTG+2: $20.45

Pre Flop: ($0.75) Hero is BTN with A K
4 folds, MP2 calls $0.50, 1 fold, Hero raises to $2, 1 fold, BB calls $1.50, MP2 calls $1.50

Flop: ($6.25) K J K (3 players)
BB checks, MP2 checks, Hero bets $3.65, BB folds, MP2 raises to $15, Hero calls $11.35

He makes a raise to $15 which is really not necessary for a bluff. I think he is thinking the big raise will scare me but a raise to around $9 will do the same and save him $6 when he doesn't get it through.

Turn: ($36.25) 6 (2 players)
MP2 bets $14.50, Hero raises to $33, MP2 calls $18.50

River: ($102.25) 5 (2 players)

Final Pot: $102.25

MP2 shows A 5
Hero shows A K

Hero wins $99.25
(Rake: $3.00)

Sitting with the Limpers....

I briefly played some live poker yesterday at the Vic in London.

I usually play the £1/£2 game which has a max buy-in of £400 ($650). I put my name on the wait list and also put myself down for the £1/£1 game (£200 max buy-in). I got called almost instantly for the latter as the wait list for my normal game was about 5 long.

It was quickly apparent that this was a really good table. Unfortunately I had the 3 most active players to my left but it was still good to be at the same table.

It is the first that I have played a live cash game in which I can say for sure that I was easily the best player at the table. Its amazing how much people give away from random strategy comments that are so wrong. You have to figure if they are levelling you or just don't have a clue. These lot were just not that good or knowledgeable.

My biggest pot came only after about 5 hands in. I opened UTG with KQss and the 2 aggro players directly to my left folded but the 3rd guy who was very active too called. I opened to 7x for some reason and immediately thought wtf, why did I do that. It's just what the others were doing so I did too, donk. Everyone else folded. Dream flop for me as it came down 346sss. I knew that if I checked here he would bet and I could check raise but that may seem to strong. With the low cards he could easily have an overpair and put me on 2 big cards chasing another spade. I decide to cbet and bet around 3/4 pot. He insta calls. The turn is 2h was puts a one card straight out there with still all low cards. I Hollywood for a few seconds before leading another 3/4 pot sized bet. He insta calls again. He must have like 77-TT I reckon. The river is another blank from my POV and is the Jd. I have the 3rd nuts on this board and he will rarely have a flush here. I bet again around 3/4 pot again and he insta calls then mucks as I show and I take down my biggest pot of the night for around $250.

I only played for 2hrs or so before getting bored and deciding to go home and fire up stars. I won most of the pots that I played past the flop. I lost a few where I called pre flop raises then folded on the flop. I made a small win for the night.

In other news

Here is DN making a great play:

14hr Marathon Poker Session

Lately I have read numerous reports of live cash poker.

These are mainly coming from the American players who currently cannot play online on the major sites.

I hadn't played live once this year until yesterday when I decided to head down to the VIC Casino (Grosvenorvictoria) in London's Edgware Road.

I arrived at around 4.30pm and had a look around, got a drink, before signing up for the waiting list. The system is really good as you just scan your card on the computer and select your game(s). You then appear on the large electronic board and can see your position on the wait list.

It took about 20 mins before I got a seat. They started a new table at stakes £1/£2 + £4(optinonal straddle). The max Buy-In is £400 and that's what I bought in for as I always max buy-in to maximise implied odds.

We started out playing 5-handed and I thought I would just take it easy for a couple of orbits to see what people were playing like. That didn't happen as I got into 2 decent pots with the same guy within the first 5 Hands. The first hand saw me complete the SB with 4 players in the pot with no PFR. I had A8 and the flop was JJ4 and I checked, BB checked, next guy bet small, last guy folded, I called giving him no credit for a J but thought I was probably behind but with the small bet I stayed in with A-high even though I was OOP. The turn was an A and I checked again. He bet again and I called. The river was a blank and it went check check and he had complete air.... 1st pot to Rosh..!!

A few hands later I got 55 in EP and opened to around 3x and got a few callers. The flop was 457 with a flush draw and I lead out about 2/3rd the pot and the same dude called. The turn was an ace and I bet again, he folded. As it turned out he was one of the biggest fish of the night buyin in around 5 times and busting each time making bluff after bluff and everyone calling his bluffs. If I had known that I would have checked the ace and let him hang himself on theat previuous hand.

Live poker is very different from online in many ways. The main one is that you can only physically sit on one table as opposed to maybe 24+ that a few sickos do online. This means that people play a lot more pots because it is boring to sit there and nit it up. Also the action is very much limp limp limp. When people raise everyone calls. This makes your raise range choices very interesting as you know you can't fold people out pre. If you try the raise pre, then cbet good board strategy that you use online you will find it hard as you will often have 5 callers and your cbet will be called or raised. So I think it makes more sense to limp a lot too and kick into gear when you hit the flop hard. I soon picked this up and started to limp a lot too in the last 3 positions with more marginal holdings.

The table had now filled to 9 players and my stack had gone back to maybe slightly less than I started with. I raised in early position with A2s and only the blinds came along. The first guy was a young dude that was a cross between Elky and Timoshenko and seemed to know what he was doing. The second guy was an old dude over 60 who looked like Raymond Rayme. I hit the nuts on the flop with 9T4 all clubs. I also had the relative button and was rubbin my hands with joy. The young dude leads straight out for only £7 and BB calls. Now I don't wanna scare them off with a huge raise so I min raise to £15 and they both come in. The pot is close to £60 and the turn is a blank. They check round to me, I bet £35 and they both call putting the pot at around £160. There are no nice on screen indicators like you have online so you have to keep track of the pot too as you play. The river came the ace of spades maintaining my nut position. I was really trying to figure what each of them had.... maybe a K or Q of clubs?..... maybe 9T or JQ or AT. Anyway, I wanted 2 calls so I bet £65, young dude folds and old dude calls with 73 clubs for the baby flush. He was a clever guy as many I saw on the night would have gone broke with that!! That took my stack to around £475, which sadly was the peak of my night as things went down hill from there...!!

One of the things I hate about playing online poker is the isolation of grinding on my own for hours a day. I am a people person and miss having work collegues. I know I won't play poker for a living for ever for that reason but for now I am really enjoying the freedom it gives. Playing live gives you that human interaction with people who do the same thing whether for fun or to make $$$. As long as you can put up with the endless stories of bad beats you hear during the night it makes a nice change from staring at screens for hours each day.

There was an American dude who was the best player of the night and seemed a bit of a pro. He sat down quietly and was giving a few stares out, checking the competition out. As it turned out he became quite the chatterbox and got into a few huge pots of which he won almost all of them. The biggest one was for around £1,000 when he got it all in with 2pair vs a flush draw and held. I chatted with him for a bit before we got into an interesting pot. He was often raising his button and cutoff and using his position post flop well. I pick up TT in the BB and the American dude has the button. He raises to £7 and the SB calls. I make it around £30 and the yank calls and SB folds. The flop is 779 with 2 diamonds and I cbet around £35, he calls. The pot is quite big now and the turn comes an 8 giving me a OESD with 2 flush draws out there. I am in a really tough spot here OOP with potetially and all-in to come right here with a hand that could be way behind. I decide to check for pot control and he checks behind. The turn is the J of diamonds completing the flush and straight for me. This is where I made a mistake. I only probably beat QQ. I should check call here or check fold if I think he has me. For some reason I decide my straight is good, probably due to his check behind on the turn. So I bet £60 and he makes it £180. I can beat AA, KK and QQ and thats it. AA/ KK often get 4bet pre so I can only beat QQ. He can easily hace JJ here which looked very likely. I tank for ages and decide to fold. He shows 88 and takes it down. My stack is around £200 now.

I was also unlucky to have a rude maniac to my left for around 3hrs who kept raising and 3betting everyone and then showing nothing often on the river. This guy was an ass and when he left the table was slagging him off a bit, deservedly..!! I only won one pot against him and he used his aggression and position on me well. I had to adjust my strat vs him but I lost that battle. Position is everything....... I also had a fish to my right which was great but he sucked out so many times on the river vs me it was crazy..!!

I chip up a few pots and I am up to around £450 again and enjoying a small profitville and some food I ordered. This is where I make another mistake. It was around 11pm and I should have left and called it a night.... but it was so early and the place was jammed and I was having a laugh, so i stayed. The problem is that tube trains in london stop running every night at around midnight and start again at around 6am. This is the best method for me to get home. I can get a night bus which is only £1 and runs from midnight to 6am but it takes ages to get home and you have a small walk too. A cab is always an option but paying up to £60 too get home is very expensive and I only do that on big win nights. I didn't want to get the bus so I thought sod it, lets marathon it up and catch the train in the morning.

My stack had slowly dwindled to around £200 with only 2 significant hands where my 2pair ran into trips on the turn and when my QQ got beaten by J7 held by the donk to my right who rivered 2pair. In the end I was really tired and in the future I will get the last train or take the bus option a few hours earlier than I did yest.

The final 2 hands for me happened back to back as I was almost asleep at the table after 14hrs of poker. I got it in with the nut flush draw and gut shot straight draw vs a guy who went all in with 2pair. I was only getting 1.5-1 on my money so should have folded as there was only 1 card to come, but I gamboooled and lost. The last hand I had A9s with only around £75 left and had 2 to the flush on the flop and shoved with no fold equity and missed my flush or ace and he held top pair. Busto..... I left just before 7am with no cash in my pockets..!!

Even though I lost £400, it is only one buy-in, which is nothing in relative terms. My conclusion is that live poker is lots of fun and if I play solid while wide awake and not drunk I have a good edge over the randoms. I saw so many ridulous plays last night. It interesting how you make impressions and judgements on players and they are so wrong. There were many that came and went that I thought this guy seems solid only to see pure junk at showdown. I could never be a live game cash pro as it is simply too slow in terms of hand rate. Online I see around 1000 hands per hour playing 16 tables. Live, you will see like 30-40 per hour on one table.

From July onwards I intend to play live once or twice a month just for a change of scenary but from tomorrow its Pokerstars multi-tabling once again.... back to the graind..!!

Peace

Tournament Tear-Up....

Well not quite the MTT that i had expected.....

2 weeks ago I joined a poker club called The WesternClub. Its located in NW London, just of the A40/A406 Junction(Hanger Lane). It is a much smaller and intimate venue than some of the Big City Casinos that you find in central London.

Anyway, yesterday was my 1st visit to what i thought would be the biggest tourni of the week. They run 2 tourni's mon-fri (afternoon + evening) and one on sat and sun evening. Weds night is the Deep Stack (10,000 Chips) £40 FreezeOut. I thought there might be 3 tables running but instead it was in effect a 10 man sit n go as turn out was low.

I think its quite wise when you come to a new place or first sit at a new table to take as much in as possible about your opponents. What i know about this place is that it is full of Regs. It is quite different from a casino uptown where you will have recreational players and people on a night out gambling. I was very quiet and there was a lot of chat going on. All nine of my opponents knew each other well and i can only describe it as gate-crashing somebody's home game where you knew nobody...!!

As the game developed it was clear with the exception of 2 guys that these were pretty hardcore players. I recognised a few of the leaderboard runners who have their player profiles on the site. The reigning leader was too my left and i thought that i had drawn the worst seat, but as it turned out i think he was pretty card dead and played tight all night.... in fact i raised him twice blind v blind and he folded and also a few of times on the button and he didn't play back once.

The 2 weak players busted early and one by one they fell..... soon i found myself 3 handed and in the cash. I did get some nice cards and i won 2 flips along the way, but the fun bit was that i made well timed bluffs which got through. I think my quietness built up a strong image and that helped. I made loadsa mistakes posting the wrong blinds and forgetting to say 'raise' when i put chips in.... it then being deemed a call.... i mean online you just hit raise... you don't need to say it... lol

3 handed there were 2 memorable hands where i donked my betting. With blinds of 1000/2000 i threw in 5000 OTB with T4o, a pure steal, but i forgot to say raise, so it was a call, SB folded and BB checked.... The flop was AQ6 he checked but a got a tell so i checked. The turn brought 3 clubs on the board and he checked.... now i have to bet here, but for some reason i checked and the river brought a 4 flush on the board... i had the 4 of clubs and showdown value and embarrassingly had to turn over T4o and with it went my tight image. I won the pot though and thats all that mattered at this stage. He had a Q and i don't think he would have folded so i think my line was right even though i could have repped the Ace with 2 bets on the flop and turn.

Funnily enough i my think raise-call mistakes OTB scared my opponents into thinking i had big hands. A few hands later i tried again to raise to 5000 with 67o but threw in the 5k chip without announcing so it was a call again... SB called, BB checked..... Flop was AJ3 and it checked to me... this time i Cbet and they couldn't fold quick enough... lol

The cash in this tourni was very small relatively but it was my first live tourni (not including home games) for over a year and was lots of fun vs good players. We eventually decided to chop.... i had more than half the chips in play and at first said no to the deal and played on as i thought it was a poor split but as one of the guys said one double up and it all changes.... he was right but more so i felt like i was the weakest player at the table so finally i agreed and we split:

1st: £140
2nd: £110
3rd: £110
4th: £40

Here is my name on a tourni winners posting... the 1st time ever in my life...!!

http://www.thewesternclub.com/result/400

Time for me to start-up my tourni play......