Back after a brief hiatus, I speak with one of the latest TBR members, Greg, who just completed Construction 1 and 2. Greg lives and plays in the PNW with another TBR mainstay, Luka who appeared on episode two. After years of not going anywhere in one-two games, Greg is now applying himself and is, well, looking to go deep, so to speak. We talk through two spots: one is a conceptual solve that Greg created in order to examine betting frequencies on deceptively advantageous boards, and two, a hand he played in the OOP club games.

(By the way, I forgot to follow up, mid-interview, about that turn sizing point I made, but the solver did confirm my suggestion.)

Speaking of the OOP games, you are invited to play in them. Contact Porter at oop.pppclub @ gmail.com to introduce yourself and join club #505400 on pppoker.

Sketch of Greg by “Chief.”

The post The Poker Zoo, Ep. 32: Greg & OOP Club Games appeared first on Out of Position.

This week Persuadeo is away so Dean interviews east coast pro Chase Bianchi. Chase has almost a million dollars in live tournament winnings, at least one WSOP bracelet that I know of, plays quite a few tournaments as well as live cash, while also keeping a great work/life balance. We discuss life in Boston, his journey through Maryland Live, National Harbor, the new Encore casino and poker room and keeping priorities in line so that being a poker pro is not your only identity. Chase isn’t shy about his faith and the importance that a church community has in his life, as well as his distrust of the various poker apps and unregulated clubs.

Hear more from Chase on the Top Two podcast, as well as his guest appearance on Thinking Poker. You can find Chase on Instagram and Twitter.

The post The Poker Zoo, Ep. 31: Chase Bianchi on East Coast Poker appeared first on Out of Position.

Today I speak with Ken Kohl, a long, long-time mid-stakes Las Vegas cash game pro. Kenny went through something of a rejuvenation last year after attending the liberating Solve For Why Academy, and has entered the second half of his career with a fresh perspective on how he and Vegas plays (and should play) poker. He also has a keen eye for what’s going on along the strip, and gives the audience and potential pros a good idea of what they have in store for them. (Chris Konvalinka, take notes.)

The post The Poker Zoo, Ep. 30: Ken Kohl on Vegas Cash appeared first on Out of Position.

Episode one guest Greg Porter returns to the Zoo. We talk about his post-WSOP shift to Ignition online, discuss the talented streamer Invoker, and confront an interesting hand in TBR that’s really not about the hand. The podcast closes with a hint of what’s come at OOP. Greg also runs the Out of Position PPPoker Club (#505400) with me.

For now, at least, a bunch of us play extremely deep NL20 for practice and fun – what’s better than punishing your friends in poker. Contact one of us for details and instructions on how to get involved.

To leave an audio comment, talk with Dean about BBQ or his great home state of Pennsylvania, leave a message at (410) 775-6224‬.

The post The Poker Zoo, Ep. 29: Porter appeared first on Out of Position.

I check in with player and coach Fausto Valdez, who has made big life changes since we last spoke to him on on episode three. Fausto just completed a long-planned move to L.A. with his girlfriend; his website is up; and – surprise – he’s been caught working with a solver. We talk about the L.A. games, how his style has co-evolved with his Solve For Why influence, and review his WSOP.

The post The Poker Zoo, Ep. 28: Fausto appeared first on Out of Position.

This week I speak with “life-long beginner” Steve B., currently a TBR member, and a lurker on channels and forums throughout the scene. We ramble over a number of poker topics, among them Texas poker, the nearby Winstar, how to learn, who to learn from, and the tribulations of various poker personalities. We focus at the end, closing with a conceptual spot where BU range bets and is met with a big check raise by the BB on a low, two-tone flop.

The post The Poker Zoo, Ep. 27: Steve appeared first on Out of Position.

On this week’s Zoo, I reach out to Soto prodigy and Instagram road rager Chris Konvalinka. We hear about his fast and furious entry into the Vegas scene, including an immediate stake and the roller coaster after. Chris also talks about his S4Y connection and finding his community.

In the strategy section, we go over pot construction and positional issues:

UTG 40 @ wynn 5-10 2k eff I flat QQ UTG1 HU

AQ3r.

he 30 we 110 he calls

turn 4h

he check we 250 he calls.

river 8d

he checks we 900 he all in 1600 we call

The post The Poker Zoo, Ep. 26: Chris K. appeared first on Out of Position.

I catch up with poker coach Alvin Lau, who first joined the Zoo on episode 6.  Since then, Alvin has been busily becoming a compelling content creator, but most recently has been examining the database of Pluribus hands. We talk about the result, Pluribus’ overall strategy, what a few of those who had success against the computer were doing, what we can learn from the experiment, and examine two of its hands versus Mr. Blue.

We conclude with some hints about his follow up to Overnight Monster, Alvin’s course on GTO NL strategy.

Hand 1

Hand 2

The post The Poker Zoo, Ep. 25: Alvin On Pluribus appeared first on Out of Position.

The Poker Zoo Podcast was created with intention of keeping track of TBR members and others. Today we return to online and live cash player Jason Burge, whom we talked to in Episode 6. Jason, an avid experimenter, has continued to tinker with his game, but is increasingly spending time in PPPoker games. Under the JamBasket name, he’s created some fun videos where he demonstrates understanding his club game opponents through some very simple metrics.

We also talk about a live hand where an aggressive player bombs check bombs it, putting TPTK to the test.

2/5, 9 Handed, BTN straddle to 10, 1k eff. I open AKo from 5 to 35, 7, 9, and 2 call. Flop KQ9r. 9 bets 165 into 140, I call. Turn Qx. Check check. River 7x. 9 bets 500 into 470.

The post The Poker Zoo, Ep. 24: Jason appeared first on Out of Position.

In the second episode of the “doubleheader” promised this week, I interview East coast tournament grinder Greg Candido. Our focus is on his run to Day 7 of the 2019 WSOP Main Event (104th for $59,295). We start with Greg’s background and the poker club that helped prepare him, then go over each day of his main event, including four hands he picked out as crucial or troubling.

Greg’s Ugly Tuna Poker Club

WSOP ME Day 2 Hand 1

MY HAND: AQ (Ace of Hearts)

MY STACK:  25K

BLINDS: 500-1000-100

MY POSITION: BB

Preflop:

Aggressive V opens CO 2500 all fold, I Call.

V covers me by a lot.

Flop:

JJ9 (two hearts)

I check, 4500, I call

Turn:

3x

I check, V checks

River:

9x

I check and V tanks all-in.

WSOP ME Day 3 Hand 1

MY HAND: TT (Ten of Diamonds)

MY STACK:  100K

BLINDS: 1200-2400-2400

MY POSITION: UTG

Preflop:

Open 6000, V (No History) from MP calls.

Villain second largest stack on the table (450Kish)

Flop:

842 (2 Diamonds)

I bet 8500, V calls

Turn:

7d

I bet 12000, V calls

River:

5d

I bet 15000, V shoves. 

WSOP ME Day 3 Hand 2

MY HAND: JT

MY STACK:  65K

BLINDS: 1200-2400-2400

MY POSITION: BB

Preflop:

The button opens to 6K, SB calls, I shove.

Button calls.

WSOP ME Day 3 Hand 3

MY HAND: 98s

MY STACK:  300K

BLINDS: 2000-4000-4000

MY POSITION: BB

Preflop:

The button opens 10K. SB folds, I 3B 33K

V Calls

Flop:

AKQ

I bet 30K, V Calls

Turn:

3x

I check, V checks

River:

9x

I bet 65K.

The post The Poker Zoo, Ep. 23: Greg Candido’s Main Event appeared first on Out of Position.