Third Man Walking

Your correspondent discusses his thought process as he endures the worst downswing of his poker career. He also reviews a recent $5/$10 session.

0:17 Maintaining a healthy relationship to the game in the midst of a big downswing
8:29 Dealing with a long stretch of boredom, in which moneymaking opportunities are few and far between

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20:22 $5/$10 NLHE session
21:13 AKo all-in preflop
22:24 AA (no club) on 762ccc9x8x
24:55 "Feel it in the heart of the cards"
26:05 A9ss on AKTxdd9xKx
32:17 AsJx on 985sss3x6ssss
33:58 J9hh on KQTxssAx7sss

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Your correspondent visits poker rooms in the Bay Area and Sacramento, folding flopped straights and finding ways to lose ridiculous amounts of money with ace-king. Along the way, he compares live poker in Los Angeles to poker elsewhere, and reflects on a recent bad run.





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0:20 Traveling to Northern California
0:42 Poker in American cities that are not Los Angeles or Las Vegas
1:57 What it feels like to enter a new poker room

2:57 3/5/10 at Lucky Chances in San Francisco
3:35 K3hh on KT3ssxQdd
5:34 A9hh on AQ5xhh

8:03 1/3 with straddles at Capitol Casino in Sacramento
9:12 KQo on AJ8rTr3
11:57 J8dd on QT9ssd2x
15:00 AQcc on Q54ddx

16:50 2/5 at Thunder Valley, northeast of Sacramento
17:58 QsTx on AKJssxKxJx
19:05 AKo all-in preflop
21:02 AKdd all-in preflop
21:32 AKo all-in preflop (yes, all-in preflop with AK in three different hands)
22:38 QQ all-in preflop
23:32 77 on AQ7rKr9

25:16 General thoughts on running bad

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Your correspondent discusses Michael Craig's poker-boom-era classic "The Professor, the Banker, and the Suicide King." He follows up on how he finished in the tournament discussed in the last episode, then reviews a double-board PLO bomb pot he played that left him feeling frustrated with himself.

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0:20 "The Professor, the Banker, and the Suicide King"

12:32 A correction regarding a hand in the last episode (double-board PLO bomb pot with 8733)

14:03 $1200 LAPC tournament, Day 2
14:41 AKo all-in preflop (big blind = 15,000)
15:41 JJ all-in preflop (big blind = 30,000)
16:10 Q4hh on T84A4 (big blind = 60,000)
18:46 Jx9c on JT6ccx3x5x (big blind = 60,000)
21:58 AQo all-in preflop (big blind = 100,000)

23:21 $25 double-board PLO bomb pot hand: KQJ4 (no spades) on KT9ssx3x4x and J52ssxJxQsss

Sources used in the Garfield/Cleveland story:

https://www.npr.org/transcripts/502301891https://www.cbsnews.com/news/how-doctors-killed-president-garfield/https://lib.arizona.edu/hsl/materials/collections/secret-illness/clevelandhttps://www.npr.org/2011/07/06/137621988/a-yacht-a-mustache-how-a-president-hid-his-tumor

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Your correspondent gets through Day 1 of a tournament for the first time in over five years. He reviews the tournament hands that brought him to Day 2 glory, then recaps a cash session of $5/$5/$10 (with straddles of up to $160) and $5/$5.

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0:16 Your correspondent bags a tournament! ($1200 LAPC Million at Commerce)
3:42 AJhh on J95r (big blind = 800)
6:04 AA on A98r2r (bb = 1200)
7:44 K4o on K32r4hhJhhh (bb = 3000)
917 JJ all-in preflop (bb = 4000)
13:19 T6o on 953xccKx (bb = 6000)

17:10 $5/$5/$10 NLHE cash session
17:43 AKo all-in preflop
18:52 AdTx on K32ddx
23:16 KhKx on 653xhh2hhh9x

24:47 $5/$5 NLHE
25:37 AdAx on KQ8dxdTx
28:25 Double-board PLO bomb pot with 8733 on J83rThh and 953xss6sss

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Your correspondent discusses why two thousand dollars is an important sum at $5/$10 and $10/$20. He also discusses his recent experiences playing $10/$20, then reviews a recent $5/$10 session.

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0:21 Why $2,000 is such an important threshold in mid-stakes cash games
4:40 Comparing $10/$20 to $5/$10
7:17 KsJx on JT8xssTx7x

9:54 $5/$10 NLHE session
10:23 AKo on Q83rThh
12:33 JJ on 993r3T
14:16 A5cc on 932ccx8x
15:36 AJo on 754r2cc
16:32 AA on KK7rK2
19:13 QJo on T32r8r
20:21 AJhh on 832xhh5hhh6x
23:42 KJcc on 976cccJx7x
26:29 Q6o on AT4r7x

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Your correspondent discusses how to filter poker strategy advice -- which advice should be ignored and which is worth taking? How can you tell them apart, and when should you feel satisfied with uncertainty?

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0:16 How do you find good advice in poker?

12:47 5/10 NLHE session
12:56 AKss all-in preflop
14:04 QJss 4bet preflop
15:29 AQss on AT5r3dd4x
17:42 JTcc on 942xxc9x
19:03 AJo on A84ssxJx8x
21:15 QQ on KQ9J7
23:46 QQ (again) on K75ddxKcc7x
26:37 JJ all-in preflop
33:01 Jackpot hand!

Sabrina Chevannes' tweet:

Persuadeo's essay:

https://twitter.com/SChevannes/status/1745567657741402482https://persuadeo.nl/a-brief-word-on-learning-poker-or-anything/

I didn't credit them in the podcast itself, but some of my thoughts on solvers are pretty similar to Marc Goone and Gethen Jacobs', which you can see here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4vXh6ZhcL90

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Your correspondent explains why he chose not to go to Las Vegas to play tournaments last month, and relays how his experience playing the WSOP Main Event in 2019 shaped his skepticism about playing tournaments at all. He then reviews a recent 5/10 session.

0:21 Tournament skepticism and the 2019 Main Event

13:49 5/10 NLHE session (and staying off my phone)
15:09 KK all-in preflop
17:41 98hh QT7dxdQx9ddd
19:58 99 all-in preflop
23:07 QQ on T22hhxQcc5x
25:26 98ss on Q98ddx4x2x
28:32 AQdd 965cxc8ddTddd





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Your correspondent reviews a recent 5/10/20 session, then discusses "Game of Gold" and Alex O'Brien's new book "The Truth Detective."

0:21 5/10/20 NLHE session
1:22 AKcc on KT7r3x
2:36 KQo on KK2rTdd6x
4:00 AKss all-in preflop
5:09 KTdd on QT8xxd6hhQx
6:32 AKo on AJ4r2ss7x
9:19 AQcc on AQ4ddx4xAx
13:07 AA on 632rKhh
15:52 QTss on JTThhx9hhh4x
17:53 AdAx 995xdd3xAx
19:38 T9dd on Q85hhdThhhQx
21:29 J6hh on AT2hhxQxAx

25:27 Thoughts on "Game of Gold"

29:10 Thoughts on Alex O'Brien's "The Truth Detective"

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Your correspondent reviews a recent break-even stretch. He then considers recent rumors of cheating in high-stakes private games and offers a simple solution: Stop playing private games, and come play poker at casinos instead. Finally, he reviews a recent 5/10 session.

0:58 Why we shouldn't assume downswings have obvious causes
1:34 Whiny bad-beat story: 5/5/10/20/40 KK on TT3rAx
3:26 Nearly a catastrophic punt: 5/10/20 AKcc on 543ssc9sss8ssss

9:37 Thoughts on Nik Airball's accusations against Mars
10:45 Don't play private games
12:19 *Do* play poker in casinos

15:13 5/10 NLHE session
16:07 KQss on 764hsh5ss4sss
18:48 AJdd on QT9rQx4
20:02 55 on Q52r7dd
21:48 KJo (no diamond) on K82ddd2x4x
23:38 QQ on 966r
25:26 Q9cc on 952sxs9xTsss
29:58 KThh on QT2hxh3x9x
31:50 QQ on 986cxc3x
40:22 KQo on KT4r9hhJx

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Your correspondent asks whether, in the next ten years, poker will get tougher at the same rate it has in the last ten. Then, he reviews a recent $10/$20/$40 session.

2:37 Vanessa Selbst (44) vs. Kevin MacPhee (A9o) in the 2012 EPT Main Event (Watch here: )
6:10 How and why players will get better in the future
7:35 Why non-NLHE poker variants will continue to grow in importance

13:25 $10/$20/$40 NLHE session (and an explanation of the rules of the many sub-games we played)
16:20 Capped double-board PLO bomb pot: K764 on a top board of KK4 and a bottom board of JT3xhh
19:00 TT all-in preflop
19:56 TT (again) on 955r
24:13 99 all-in preflop
25:08 QTo on Q65rJssJx
26:50 Capped double-board PLO bomb pot: KKJ2 on a top board of T76xhh and a bottom board of AK3r
29:47 Q3cc on Q88ddc7cc5ccc
32:40 A3ss on K97sxx8ss
34:38 Q8dd preflop

Venessa Selbst's Top Blow Ups

Third Man Walking Episode 5, on the poker ecosystem and the rate at which it changes:

https://crushlivepoker.com/podcasts/the-ecosystem

Third Man Walking Episode 51, which reviews hands from the 2003 WSOP Main Event:

https://crushlivepoker.com/podcasts/getting-better-over-time

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