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Colossus III and WSOP Trip Report | Poker Podcast #142

By Sky Matsuhashi on June 10, 2017

Colossus II trip report

In this episode, I discuss my first WSOP cash in this year’s Colossus III.  I also gained some important LIVE MTT insights.

In episode 141 I discussed how I prepare for LIVE poker tournaments. I also gave you my trusty Evernote document filled with important “top of mind” ideas.

Visiting Las Vegas, Dates and Weather (1:30)

The wife and I flew in and Ubered over to the Gold Coast.  It’s directly across from the Rio and is a bit less crowded and quieter.  Found out on this trip that China Town is only :10 away.

SPS Meet-up (2:20)

The meetup took place at the Bowling Alley in the Gold Coast Casino.  We had a good time even though there were only 2 people who joined my wife and I.

Tricia Cardner hung out for the whole time.

  • She’s giving away free stuff all summer, so make sure you follow her on Twitter @DrTriciaCardner
  • You can also get $20 off her course on procrastination by visiting peakpokermindset.com and using offer code WSOP2017.

Andrew Pieper (bikeking19 on YT) hung out and chatted as well.

David O. came by but didn’t see us.

Ralph M. lives in Vegas and we hung out during a Colossus break.

I enjoyed meeting all of you finally face to face.

Cash Games (4:35)

The RIO has tons of cash game action; NLHE, PLO, mixed games at all levels.

Lost ½ a buy-in at 1/3.  Need to play LIVE more and get a feel for how LIVE players play.  Very loose and stationy.

Flopped quad 3’s

  • 33 in the SB, MP minopened to $6, I overcalled and it was 4-way to flop
  • Flop 337 ss. Quads!  I checked and called the pfr’s cbet, one other caller and a fold.
  • Turn was an off-suit Ace. Still fd possible.  I figured there would be another bet by somebody floating the flop w/ an Ace.  Or, I figured if I led out on the Ace I’m getting all non-Aces to fold, so checking seemed like the best way to get value from bluffs and from an Ace who may bet w/TP.  So I check and it checks around.
  • River Ts, so 337AT with three spades. I hoped that somebody with a fd hit and would pay me off, or maybe a weak Ace would pay me off.  So I bet out $30 into $50 and they all folded.
  • I should’ve bet smaller to induce a bluff. Getting aggressive on the three flush was a bad idea.
  • Lesson learned: I should’ve bet smaller on the river.  The fact that nobody bet the turn meant no Aces were present and no fd’s either.

Colossus III (9:10)

Flight A

  • 10am start
  • 5K in chips and :30 levels. Turbo structure with about 10 hands per level on average.
  • Nothing super eventful happened. Won two small pots early on then slowly lost as I saw flops but didn’t hit anything and couldn’t find any good bluffing spots.
  • Made it to break, then came back at 8bb’s. Open shoved the SB w/A7o and took it down pre-flop.
  • Next SB open shoved w/AQo and the BB called w/ATo. He caught a T and that ended my flight A run.

Flight E

  • Decided to go at it again on Sunday.
  • Got off to a great start and doubled-up in the first level. I won a few smaller pots then this happened:
    • UTG opened to 125 with 8s7s at the 25/50 level. I got 4 callers including the blinds, so we went to the flop 5 ways with 625 in the pot.
    • Flop 962cc. So, I hit the oesd.  I bet 500, got a fold, then the BTN raised me to 1,100.  The blinds folded and it was up to me to call 600 to win a total pot after my call of 2,825, so I only needed 21% equity.  Now, having only 6 outs to the nut straight (b/c of the fd I didn’t count the Tc and the 5c as outs), I only had 12% equity to win.  But, I figured he could be making this smallish raise with a fd of his own, so I had an additional 6 outs to pair my 8 or 7.  With 12 total outs, I was looking at 24% equity, so I made the call.
    • The turn pot is 2,825 and a non-club Ten hits, giving me the nut straight. I figured this player would bet again so I checked, he bet and I c/r ai.  He wasted no time at all calling with a Kc8c, so he had the fd+gs+overcard King.
    • If I were him I think I would’ve checked-behind the turn to see a free river card to hit my flush or straight. I think he unnecessarily risked his tourney life with a non-ai turn bluff.
    • I ended the hand with twice the starting stack at 10,825 chips.

Journaling

  • In order to record all these hand details, I bring my physical poker journal with me.  I write down the significant hands that happen with all the actions and sizings.
    • I do this to review my hands later
    • This also helps me to keep focused on my play. I can only record important details if I’m paying attention.

Love those Aces

  • 5 hands after the 87s hand, we were in level 2 and I was dealt the beautiful AA.
    • The guy I crippled with the 87s shoved for 3.5bb’s.
    • I was in the BB and the SB (nice lady) 3bet iso-raised to 8.5bb’s. I figured she had a strong hand and was hoping she’d call or 5bet over my raise, so I 4bet to 20bb’s.  She obliged and 5bet jammed and I called.  As soon as I called she groaned and knew I had AA.  She showed me KK.  The ss shover had 97s, which is a great hand to play here.
    • Flop came T93, so he flopped a pair. The turn came a T, pairing the board, then the river blanked.  I KO’d two players with my AA and was now up to roughly 17K.
    • It was over a 3x starting stack and only in level 2!
  • Kept chipping up and up, then in Level 4 another great hand occurred where I KO’d another player with my TPTK on the flop and he shoved with his fd. The draw didn’t get there and this vaulted me up to 30K in chips before the first break.
  • So this was great, made it to the first break with 6x starting stack. I was super pumped but I kept my emotions in control and told myself that it’s still one hand at a time.  I needed to still make the best decision possible with every opportunity if I was going to cash.
  • When we returned to level 5, I had 30,350 in chips and this was the most I’d have for the rest of the day.

The Big Hit

  • I took a big hit when my JJ called my opponent ai on the turn with AK, and she rivered the Ace. It was okay though b/c I just went from 30K to 20K at the 200/400 level, so I was still sitting pretty with 50bb’s.
  • That’s the thing about tourneys. You’ve got to put everything in perspective to help you keep your composure.  I tried to look at the situation like I had 50bb’s.  At my table there was only one player with more than me.  I may have just taken a 25bb hit, but I was still far and away above most of the other players and there was tons of play at 50bb’s.  Keeping things in perspective helps me to stay positive.
  • It wasn’t a big roller coaster, but from this point on my stack when up and down here and there, and when we made the money in level 12 I had 15bb’s at the 800/1600 level.
  • The bubble was cool in that it only lasted for one hand-for-hand hand. It paid out at 595 players, which was a full 60 tables in the room.  There were so many short-stacks and I was happy for that.
  • At my table, and I got to see some great aggressive actions taking down pots. One player named Katie Lindsay was being dealt some great hands, and she used them to almost run over the table.  I never got into any conflicts with her, but I don’t know how many people she KO’d.  There was also a great Brazilian player there named Bruno Politano.  Thankfully, I had position on both him and Katie so I was able to avoid lots of their aggression.

An Important Note

  • Often when the bubble bursts players start getting knocked out like crazy. In big fields like this, don’t get stupid and start shoving randomly.  The min-cash was $833, and by staying alive and playing patiently for another 2 hours, I moved up the ladder to $1,366.  Pay attention to those pay jumps b/c if forgoing a small EV edge will earn you a few more hundred dollars, it’s totally worth it.

Busting Out vs Moorman1

  • I got moved to seat 5 of a new table with some super big stacks. (btw I was the only one from my original table to make the money).
  • Bruno got moved with me.
  • Seated to my direct left was Chris Moorman. You all know him, I’m sure.  He had a rail of friends watching him play.  He was in the 20bb range, so all of his plays were timely shoves in later position.
  • Anyway, I had just double-up with AK vs K4, but then the blinds went up and I was down to 5bb’s. It was folded to me and I had A3o, so of course I shoved.  Moorman re-iso shoved with ATo and he KO’d me.
  • I went out in 230th place for the day, and 1,090th

Amazingly, there were 3,966 runners for the day, so my 230th place finish put me in the final 6% of the field.  I’m super stoked about my results and I’m looking forward to a better placing next year.

Lessons Learned (22:00)

I’m a thief.

I’m a hunter.

Ask yourself: “What’s my edge over these players, and what’s my game plan vs each of them?”

Pay attention to every hand, and learn from SD’s.

Don’t show your hand unless absolutely necessary.  Muck the losing hand and don’t give opp’s free info.

Challenge

Here’s my challenge to you for this episode:  Get out there and play a LIVE tournament.  They can be a lot of fun and good learning experiences.  Take your online game and see if you can apply it to the LIVE realm.

Now it’s your turn to take action and do something positive for your poker game.

LIVE Poker Tournament Preparation | Podcast #141

By Sky Matsuhashi on June 2, 2017

LIVE poker tournament

In this episode, I discuss how I prepare for a LIVE poker tournament. I give you my trusty Evernote document filled with important “top of mind” ideas.

In episode 140 I discussed using implied odds to make +EV decisions both pre-flop and post-flop.

LIVE Poker Tournament Evernote Document (3:00)

Preparation:

  • Play in some local smaller tourneys
  • Play cash or SNG’s or MTT’s at the venue if traveling

Ask yourself, “What’s the best way to play this hand right now?”

3 things (got this from Tommy Angelo)

  1. sit up
  2. take a breath
  3. look left

Move a chip on your stack as the dealer shuffles. (this from Tommy Angelo as well)

Tilting or unfocused? Pick a focal point, 6-2-7 breaths, tell yourself, “The next hand deserves my full attention.” (from Dr. Tricia Cardner)

What would a pro do? Pros ain’t scared.

Get frisky in the early stages, but choose good cards and play IP.

Don’t get impatient and start playing crappie hands. Stick with your better hands and position and good spots.

IP on Ace high flops: bet out on the flop to steal and to rep the Ace for a double barrel.

Getting deep: take a breath and know your tourney status. Online you can easily see how close you are to the bubble. Listen to the floor staff and look for signs of how close to the money.

Think about the opponent’s range and the board before you fold a pair.  I’m often too quick to fold a weak pair.  Gauge their strength by their bet sizing.

Play the Player

Start with 2 to the left and 2 to the right. Know their basic style and plan to exploit them.

Show aggression when others show weakness.  But be careful when OOP.

Pick on the mid-sized stacks, not the small or big stacks.

Stack sizes matter. Know the stacks of those who already acted and those yet to act.

What does your opponent likely think of you? TAG, NIT, fish, LAG?

Trust your gut! If your heart is racing, your subconscious is trying to tell you something. Be present.

People shove very tight, but call super wide. So, you’ve got to call extremely tight and shove reasonably tight w/ good Aces and Kings and pp’s.

Challenge (16:10)

Here’s my challenge to you for this episode:  Copy this list for your own use for both online and LIVE MTT’s.  Add or subtract items to your heart’s content.  Make it your own, and make it useful.

Now it’s your turn to take action and do something positive for your poker game.

Colossus II at the WSOP and LIVE MTT’s | Podcast #070

By Sky Matsuhashi on June 7, 2016

Colossus

Today I discuss going to the WSOP, give you some LIVE tourney tips and discuss some of the lessons I learned from playing in this year’s Colossus II.

In episode 68 I discussed the best poker software for improving your game, Flopzilla.  It’s part of SplitSuit’s ‘Hand Reading Lab’, and I never study without it.

Colossus II at the WSOP and LIVE MTT’s

Heading to the WSOP (1:45)

  • The place is busy, pre-reg for all tourneys (online or in-person), get tickets early
  • Stay cheap! Gold Coast and Palms are decent, off the strip even better
  • Use Uber
  • Get used to the WSOP atmosphere
    • Play SNG’s or cash, visit the Poker Kitchen, find the restrooms, hit the WSOP shop and pick a prize for cashing
  • Look for famous faces
    • This year I saw James Woods, Dennis Phillips, George Danzer, Bernard Lee, Alan Kessler, Greg Raymer, Vanessa Rousso, Robert Mizrachi, Ted Forest, Bill Chen, Benyamine, Alessandro
  • Watch big events: like this past weekend’s $10K 7-card Stud
  • Meet people, say hi, everyone pretty cool

LIVE Tourney Tips (10:40)

  1. Know the structure
    • Structure sheets are available
    • Know when you’ll likely be ss assuming you don’t chip up
  2. Play your normal game. Make adjustments, but don’t do things just cause others are doing them.
  3. Sit up straight, deep breath, look left (from Tommy Angelo and ‘Elements of Poker‘)
  4. Watch the action of every hand, learn from each
  5. Take notes on your opp’s, especially 2 left/right
    • ‘Table Conditions’ in Evernote
    • Notebook for complete hand history writing
  6. Trust your gut
  7. Play IP

Lessons Learned (19:45)

  1. Know what time the bubble will likely burst
    • Online is super easy, LIVE you must pay attention
  2. Let the tension out
    • Walk around, pushups, go to the bathroom when in EP
  3. Don’t play timidly
    • Play as you would online
    • Don’t let the fact it’s only one table make you treat it delicately
  4. Play more LIVE tourneys
    • Get in more practice before important events like the Colossus
  5. Show aggression when others show weakness
    • Position is best for this
    • OOP you can ck then donk lead the next street

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Up Next…

In episode #71, I’ll go through the Smart Poker Study Facebook Discussion Group and we’ll see the types of discussions we have over there.

Until next time, study smart, play much and make your next session the best one yet.

Playing in the WSOP Colossus Event

By Sky Matsuhashi on May 16, 2015

TheColossus

I’m totally looking forward to The Colossus this year.  This newest event will be amazing. It’s a $5M guarantee for only a $565 buy-in.  How could I pass it up?

Now, lots of people say that with 10,000+ players it’s just a crap shoot, but I don’t mind that at all.  It’s the beginning of the WSOP, there’s going to be so much excitement in the air and I’m sure it will be tons of fun.  I think it will definitely reach the necessary 10,000 players to meet the guarantee.  My guess is there will be 13,000 players at the end of the fourth flight.

Every time I head to play in a live tournament series, I revisit some of my poker tournament books to prepare myself with some good live tourney strategy.

Elements of Poker by Tommy Angelo

Element 60: Mechanics – These are the simple actions to take to prepare yourself before each hand.

Stop talking, reading, eating or looking around

Sit up

Notice that you’re breathing

Notice your opponent’s stacks

Watch the cards being dealt

Sometimes live poker can be a bit boring and my mind starts to wander and I only get focused once I have cards in my hand.  By doing the above actions as the dealer is shuffling I’m more focused throughout the tournament.

Element 61: Look Left

When you look to the right, you look into the past.  To see your future, look left.

Looking at the players who will act after you can give you valuable information about their intentions.  Sometimes players telegraph their plays (grab chips to raise, hold cards out to fold, eyebrows raise when they look at the cards, etc).  Noticing these can turn a call from the CO into a fold if the BTN is grabbing raising chips.  It could turn a fold into a raise from the BTN if both blinds look foldy.

Element 102: The Bubble

The most important part of this sections is:

You should assume at the start of every tournament that you will make it to the bubble, and you should put maximum effort into being ready and rooted when the bubble begins.

My goal with every tournament is winning, so leading to that eventual win I’ll be making and breaking the bubble.  My intent is to get to the bubble with a 30+ bb stack and doing my best to abuse the bubble and to chip up.  With such a low buy-in there will be lots of players whose goal will be making the money, and I intend to mark them at the table and take advantage of their tight bubble play.

Tournament Poker for Advanced Players by David Sklansky

Page 111: Tourney Skills

#1: Preserving chips – don’t risk your tourney life with a small edge.  The reward isn’t worth the risk (chips gained aren’t worth as much as chips lost in terms of CEV).

#2: When not to preserve – near the money bubble when you’re short stacked it’s time to gamble it up.  You need to take some risks and try to chip up by pushing all-in to gain valuable blinds and antes.

#3: Expertise against moderate or poor opponents – you need to extract the maximum and lose the minimum vs these players.  Mark them at the table, play hands vs them in position, and beat ’em up!

#4: Taking advantage of other’s “Fear of Busting Out” – Their tourney life is important to them, so take advantage of this.  In general: more betting and folding, less raising and calling.

#5: Playing with or against short stacks – as the tourney goes on you’ll have to play against short stacks and you’ll probaably be one yourself.  I’m pretty familiar with this as I play lots of SNG’s where we get to short stacked play fairly quickly (by round 4 the average stack is around 20-25bb’s).

Page 216: Focus on the Weaker Opponents

This really goes with every form of poker, but it’s something I always try to keep in mind when playing in a large MTT.  The Colossus will be full of both pros and recreational players, so I intend to mark everyone and play against them accordingly.  I’ll try to stay away from the pros and look to confront the recreational players, and play against their style accordingly.

Secrets of Professional Tournament Poker Volume 1 by Jonathan Little

Page 64: My Style

The thing that sticks out most to me from this section is:

Waiting for a big hand is a sure way to go broke in no-limit holdem tournaments.

I absolutely agree with this, and I’m often guilty of playing this way in live tournaments.  I have so much experience online MTT’s that playing tight isn’t a problem, but in live tournaments I tend to overvalue my tourney life and play far too conservatively.  I’m going to focus on loosening up my live MTT game for the Colossus.  I envision myself playing maybe a 20/18 game instead of my usual live tight 12/10 game.  I’ll be opening up and playing more A’s in position along with suited connectors and every pocket pair.

Page 194: Exploit Each Player

Avoid the good players as much as possible, but Little recommends to play in position and aggressively if the situation presents itself.  Versus the different types of weak players, my strategy will differ.  I will always strive to play in position, but versus weak players I’ll make lots of cbets, be careful when I face aggression, and look to value bet vs players who don’t like to fold top pair.  The key to playing weak players is knowing the best way to exploit their different weaknesses.

There are lots of things that an online reg needs to keep in mind when playing live, and the items above are just a few that I’ll be focusing on.  What else do you think I need to keep in mind while playing at the WSOP this year?  Please let me know in the comments below.

Make your next session the best one yet!

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