Third Man Walking

Your correspondent rereads Blockhead's gritty gambling memoir "Seat Open," then reviews a 5/5/10 session that blossomed into a bigger game.

11:36 5/5/10 session
11:47 A7cc on 553xccAxKccc
14:41 KQo on A53rJcc
16:52 KTss on AKTccx7ccc6cccc

19:17 We switch the game to 5/10/20
19:41 55 on QT9r8dd4x
21:17 J9hh on QT8ddhAx
22:18 AdAx on 875xdd8xKx
25:17 AcTx on 542ccxQssTx

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Your correspondent recovers from a minor illness, then plays a pair of cash sessions, one at 5/10 and another at 5/5.

0:22 Going to Las Vegas and getting COVID

2:45 5/10 NLHE session
2:51 AsAc on J53hxh2x5hhh
4:12 AQo (no spade) 762sxsAsss8x
7:01 77 on T82dxdKx8x
10:27 AQdd on AQ2rAss7sss
15:03 99 on Q97dddTx4x

19:46 5/5 NLHE session
20:29 TT on 993xss2x
21:32 K6hh on 642cxcJccc4x
23:28 KTcc on Q73xcc
25:31 Q9dd on Q32xcc4ss
26:57 KJdd on J52ssx2sss2x
29:07 KK on 965r8xJx
30:38 AcAx on JJ6xss7cc
32:31 AcAx (again) on AJ7xcc6x

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Your correspondent ties off some loose ends from the last episode about private games, sharing his own limited experience playing in them. He also reviews a session where he made a disastrous call.

0:55 Private games compared to home games
2:27 What are private games actually like?
6:35 My experience with a private game in a casino
9:18 What can be done about more and more games going private?

11:58 5/10/20 and 5/10/20/40 session
12:40 (at 5/10/20) AJdd on KJJ6r4
15:36 (at 5/10/20/40) AQo (no heart, no club) on A76hxhTccJx
23:53 A2o on A7778
25:25 AhKx on AK2xhh
27:20 AxKs all-in preflop

FORUM DISCUSSION:

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Your correspondent contemplates cash-game poker's identity crisis as more and more games go private. What do the increasing number of private games tell us about what players want poker to be? And how have pros and other serious players contributed to the downfall of public games?

0:48 Is poker fundamentally a competitive activity or a friendly gambling pastime?
5:05 How pros are dependent upon recreational players
7:14 How the pandemic changed many players' attitudes
11:07 Private games in casinos
14:47 Other reasons players' attitudes towards pros have changed over time
17:11 How pros have driven recreational players away
22:32 What good is it to be "the best" at poker?

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Your correspondent struggles with bad luck and bad vibes in a recent cash session and in a big tournament.

0:20 Why this episode is what it is

1:15 5/10 NLHE cash session
3:33 AQo (no spade) on AJ7sxsAxTx
7:22 JJ on AA4r3ddKddd
9:12 KK (no heart) on 543r2hh5hhh
11:30 TT on K83r
13:40 KJhh on K54xxh6hhAhhh
15:55 Q8hh on 964xhh3x2x
18:38 KQo on KQJssx

21:08 $3600 tournament review
29:21 AQo all-in preflop
29:52 J9ss on T96sxs2x2x
34:37 AKo all-in preflop

FORUM DISCUSSION:

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Your correspondent looks back at the late Doyle Brunson's 1984 book "Poker Wisdom of a Champion" to see what it has to teach us about poker in 2023. He then reviews hands from a recent $1400 buyin tournament in Los Angeles, asking himself in the process if the tournament life makes sense for him.

0:19 "Poker Wisdom of a Champion"

9:26 Tournament hand review - $1400 million-dollar guarantee
20:11 98ss on 887xdd
22:18 K4dd on A52rQccJx
26:00 J9hh on T72hhx
27:47 AA all-in preflop

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Your correspondent discusses a recent score of $16,000 in a bad-beat jackpot, then reviews an annoying day of 5/5 and 5/5/10/20.

0:15 Jackpot hand! JJ on A65AA
4:53 Session review (starting at 5/5)
8:38 QQ on J83ssxQcc
10:01 QQ all-in preflop
11:14 Double-board PLO bomb pot: A997 with A9dd on A95ccx and 842xdd
14:18 (at 5/5/10/20) 85ss on 976xsx4cc6x
16:28 K6dd on T74hdh3ddTddd
18:03 KQdd on 982r5hh4x
19:14 KhKx on J94hhx6x
21:33 AJo on A85dxd5ccAx
22:58 AQo (no club) on 853ccx2ss
25:55 QQ on K86ddxKx4x

FORUM DISCUSSION:

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Your correspondent reports back from a recent week-long trip to play tournaments in Las Vegas. Along the way, he compares tournaments to the cash games he usually plays and wonders if it's time to try playing tournaments more seriously. Also, he battles intense hunger while playing, then faces an ethical dilemma in a hand against an opponent who keeps exposing her cards.

3:10 88 on 753ccx5x5x
5:54 A7dd all-in preflop
14:14 ATdd on T82rThh
16:53 KQo on KJ8Q6

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Your correspondent reviews Aaron Sorkin's movie "Molly's Game" and the Molly Bloom memoir upon which it's based, finding one of the two narratives to be much, much more compelling than the other.

0:55 "Molly's Game" the movie
10:46 "Molly's Game" the book
The Indiewire interview with Sorkin:

https://www.indiewire.com/awards/industry/mollys-game-aaron-sorkin-jessica-chastain-idris-elba-oscars-1201915147/
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Your correspondent argues that the poker dream is still alive, and that poker should still market itself to players who want to win.

0:22 The Jonathan Little / Matt Berkey Twitter thread
13:38 Phil Galfond's argument for aspiring winning players as engines of poker's future

The Galfond video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BVw2k4D0fsc

18:32 5/5/10 NLHE session
18:50 TT all-in preflop
21:16 AdAx on KQ8ddxTx
22:41 AA on 964rJss
24:56 JJ on J83ssx
25:56 KK on 9723r9

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FORUM DISCUSSION:

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