fred_1_15301
Footballguy
Seems like a nice time for you to jam. Sucks that the 99 held up.r0llin_game said:
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Assani's Poker Thread (1 Viewer)
- Thread starter Assani Fisher
- Start date
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Insoxicated
Gotcha i somehow mis interpreted your post as he would regularly update and not just on breaks. If its just in place of what he's doing then hell yeah.
r0llin_game
Footballguy
He had opened a few pots, he's who I played the first hand against.
Baloney Sandwich
Footballguy
Phil Ivey making a move, up to 300K
Zegras11
Footballguy
Down to almost 1200.
Assani Fisher @AssaniFisher5m
4bet/folded JQs utg against good aggro button who showed 79s, table is 10x tougher than yesterday, 39,300 at 2nd break #WSOPME
Assani Fisher @AssaniFisher5m
4bet/folded JQs utg against good aggro button who showed 79s, table is 10x tougher than yesterday, 39,300 at 2nd break #WSOPME
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Guster
Footballguy
1200 players, right?
fred_1_15301
Footballguy
I consider myself a pretty good poker player but its just sick how good players at Assani's level are. I could never make that type of 4 bet with aWSOP on the line
17seconds
root of all aliai
Is 3b to 9500 then folding to a shove bad? That seems like a big shove with K8
K8 plays badly against anything calling his shove, and if he does 3b to 9500 it plays badly against anything which 4b shoves. After the fold he still has 12BB which is still OK for 3b shoving and open-shoving.
It seems 3b/fold is the best play, but I'm rusty as hell and for sure not as good as r0llin_game
Zegras11
Footballguy
Good Posting Judge
Footballguy
Good shove, given what little we know. Nothing you can do there.
fred_1_15301
Footballguy
fred_1_15301
Footballguy
Accidentally deleted my post. I originally thought he had 10 BB left but he had 20. Regardless I don't think shoving is horrible with a short stack. He has fold equity and K8 has a chance against a lot of pocket pairs. He had to make a move eventually. With that said, a fold is also fine. I only play cash games but I feel like 3bet fold is the worst option. It seems like he's committed after the 3 bet (I could be wrong cause I don't play tourneys)
Assani Fisher
Footballguy
Busted, as you guys saw via the tweets. Always such a sad day when you bust from the Main.
The kid from the 2 hands was Jonathon jaffe: http://pokerdb.thehendonmob.com/player.php?a=r&n=50197
When I open UTG and the button 3bets I would like to have a balanced range of 4bet bluffs vs 4bet value bets. These ranges adjust based upon my opponent's 3 betting percentages, so when I note that hes 3betting more than usual I will include more hands in my 4bet bluff ranges. When constructing 4bet bluff ranges you want to take hands that are:
1. near the very top of your folding range(yet not good enough to call with)
2. Have blockers to hands that he would be 5betting with(normally there are 6 combos of JJ and 6 combos of QQ, but when I have JQ there are now only 3 combos of each)
3. Play well postflop should he call(specifically that they play well against his calling range)
JQs meets all the requirements, and I wouldn't even need the button to be super aggro 3betting in order to include it.
So in other words....I get the feeling that most casual players get in the middle of a hand and have all these emotions and cognitive biases influencing them. The real way to think about poker is like a math/logic problem with a tad bit of psychology throw in. Work hard at solving the game as best as you can and then go out there and have confidence in your abilities. I have worked out my ranges, JQs is in my 4bet bluffing range, the 3bettor is more than aggro enough to justify 3betting him at this time = easy decision. Theres really not much emotion involved in the thought process.
The kid from the 2 hands was Jonathon jaffe: http://pokerdb.thehendonmob.com/player.php?a=r&n=50197
Just to try to give you some insight into this: It really has nothing to do with "whats on the line" or anything like that. You simply come up with somewhat balanced bluffing ranges and value ranges and then you adjust your own ranges based upon your reads. So for example....
When I open UTG and the button 3bets I would like to have a balanced range of 4bet bluffs vs 4bet value bets. These ranges adjust based upon my opponent's 3 betting percentages, so when I note that hes 3betting more than usual I will include more hands in my 4bet bluff ranges. When constructing 4bet bluff ranges you want to take hands that are:
1. near the very top of your folding range(yet not good enough to call with)
2. Have blockers to hands that he would be 5betting with(normally there are 6 combos of JJ and 6 combos of QQ, but when I have JQ there are now only 3 combos of each)
3. Play well postflop should he call(specifically that they play well against his calling range)
JQs meets all the requirements, and I wouldn't even need the button to be super aggro 3betting in order to include it.
So in other words....I get the feeling that most casual players get in the middle of a hand and have all these emotions and cognitive biases influencing them. The real way to think about poker is like a math/logic problem with a tad bit of psychology throw in. Work hard at solving the game as best as you can and then go out there and have confidence in your abilities. I have worked out my ranges, JQs is in my 4bet bluffing range, the 3bettor is more than aggro enough to justify 3betting him at this time = easy decision. Theres really not much emotion involved in the thought process.
Yea its completely standard. The JQos call was a much more interesting decision imo, but there is also decent value for him in having me bust and replaced with a fish and therefore might be +EV overall to take a -EV gamble in a vacuum. I'd have to pokerstove my shoving range to see how good or bad of a call it was in a vacuum. My instinct says its slightly bad, but I'm not great at poker math and NLHE isn't my first game so I definitely wouldn't take my word as gospel there.
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fred_1_15301
Footballguy
Assani Fisher
Footballguy
played both the $1500 and the $3000, just didn't get many hands in either, never really built up much of a stack(think I may have close to doubled in the $3k but thats it).
The Main Event has such great structure that you have plenty of opportunities to accumulate chips. In the smaller events you just need to make hands or else the blinds will catch up to you.
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IC FBGCav
Footballguy
I know you played well and battled but let us in on some of your mistakes and hands you wish you played better. That is where the learning is.
Assani Fisher
Footballguy
I've probably played like 4 or 5 million hands lifetime, I'm not really gonna learn something new or have any super interesting spots in most tournaments. If you're talking about the Main Event, just check my twitter feed and ask questions about any specific hands. In fact, earlier today I mentioned a hand with A3s that I said was the first hand of the tournament which I think I misplayed- if you want I'd be glad to discuss that more in depth. If you're asking about the PLO8 events, I literally can't remember one hand from either....i smoke far too much weed to remember hands from weeks ago.
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IC FBGCav
Footballguy
Assani Fisher
Footballguy
The A3 hand was:
800/1600 blinds, 300 ante. I have ~64k chips, villain has ~70k. I open A3 of diamonds UTG to 3200, MP and BB call. Flop 26T rainbow with one diamond, BB checks, I bet 6k, MP raises to 12k, BB folds.
This was a few hands in, had not played any meaningful hands or seen villain play any meaningful hands. Villain is a random older guy who I've never seen before but looks like hes intelligent.
I folded. I think raising to 21.5k is best because:
-I risk 15.5k to win 31.1k, so if my bluff works > 33% of the time I'm winning
-He almost certainly thinks I could have JJ-AA, AT, 22, 66 given my line. And perhaps lesser Tx hands depending on his early read of me.
-People who make small bets like this in position are usually at least somewhat aware of the bluff dynamics/strategy of postflop tournament poker. Therefore I think its reasonable to assume that he may be doing this with a bluff range that looks something like: all gutshots and hands that have 2 overs plus a backdoor flush draws(this read was furthered later on when he continued to make these smallish types of raises frequently). On this board type, his bluff hands will far outweigh his value hands(that he is willing to get all in with) hand-combo wise.
-Or maybe instead of this being a case of his raise being a well reasoned play, perhaps he is just a fish who is just raising any T here without having a clue what hes doing after that. In this case I think he'll definitely fold as good as AT at times. Plus I'm going to have a turn bluff shoving range(any diamond, any 4, any 5) that will frequently get folds from hands that wanted to fold turn but couldn't for just 9.5 more. Moreover, some turns will go check-check, enabling us an opportunity to outplay him on the river.
800/1600 blinds, 300 ante. I have ~64k chips, villain has ~70k. I open A3 of diamonds UTG to 3200, MP and BB call. Flop 26T rainbow with one diamond, BB checks, I bet 6k, MP raises to 12k, BB folds.
This was a few hands in, had not played any meaningful hands or seen villain play any meaningful hands. Villain is a random older guy who I've never seen before but looks like hes intelligent.
I folded. I think raising to 21.5k is best because:
-I risk 15.5k to win 31.1k, so if my bluff works > 33% of the time I'm winning
-He almost certainly thinks I could have JJ-AA, AT, 22, 66 given my line. And perhaps lesser Tx hands depending on his early read of me.
-People who make small bets like this in position are usually at least somewhat aware of the bluff dynamics/strategy of postflop tournament poker. Therefore I think its reasonable to assume that he may be doing this with a bluff range that looks something like: all gutshots and hands that have 2 overs plus a backdoor flush draws(this read was furthered later on when he continued to make these smallish types of raises frequently). On this board type, his bluff hands will far outweigh his value hands(that he is willing to get all in with) hand-combo wise.
-Or maybe instead of this being a case of his raise being a well reasoned play, perhaps he is just a fish who is just raising any T here without having a clue what hes doing after that. In this case I think he'll definitely fold as good as AT at times. Plus I'm going to have a turn bluff shoving range(any diamond, any 4, any 5) that will frequently get folds from hands that wanted to fold turn but couldn't for just 9.5 more. Moreover, some turns will go check-check, enabling us an opportunity to outplay him on the river.
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IC FBGCav
Footballguy
Or a bad UTG raise. I put myself in this spot with AQ a lot. But what happens to me a lot is the MP flats me and blank comes off on the turn, then what?
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Zegras11
Footballguy
Dinner Break interview with first to a million chips...
nterview With **** van Luijk: "I Figured That I Would Never Get Past Day 1"
**** van Luijk was the first player to hit the million-chip mark here in the 2013 WSOP Main Event. The Belgian player surged late in Level 12 and went to dinner with a huge lead over the rest of the field. Before he could sneak away, we caught up with him to discuss and his success and why he showed up late to register on Day 1.
What is your background in poker?
I just started playing poker about five years ago when I bought a house here in Las Vegas. I then started to play online tournaments and sometimes in the casinos. I once even qualified for a tournament in the Bahamas for the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure. I have played in the WSOP twice before but I never have gone further than Day 1. It's funny because I have put in so little hours this year playing poker but I think it's going well.
Can you take us through your experience on Day 1, Day 2, and now Day 3?
It was last minute that I decided to enter the tournament because I was supposed to go to a wedding. I figured that I would never get past Day 1 so I thought that I might as well play. My wife was very upset that I didn't make the wedding but she is very excited that I am playing and doing well. So I entered the Main Event in the third level because I looked for other tournaments but there wasn't any running so I decided to play the Main. I ended up with almost 150,000 for that first day.
In the second day I ended with about 430,000. Today was going up and down between 400,000 and 500,000 but then I won a very big pot of about 300,000. That is what pushed me to the top.
Your initial thoughts were that you wouldn't get past Day 1. At this point what are you hoping to achieve?
I look at it from day to day. I don't actually know what the schedule is or how many days this tournament is. I understand there is a resting day, though and I am curious as to when that is. This is a lot of poker at one time. It is fun but it is long hours. I am surprised I've even got this far but I'm really excited and it is lots of fun.
You became the first player in the tournament to reach the million-chip mark. What are your thoughts on that achievement?
Well it really surprised me to hear that. It's just for the moment in time. Anything can happen and that can change. There is no guarantee that my success will continue; although it is possible it is never certain.
Is there any player that you are perhaps having difficulty playing against?
Oh yes. There are two players that I don't like playing against. I don't know their names but I think they are professional players. They are very aggressive and very hard to tell what they are thinking. It seems as though I lose every pot against them. Although I have a good hand I lose the pot. So I will try to stay away from playing against them. They are very tough and very good.
nterview With **** van Luijk: "I Figured That I Would Never Get Past Day 1"
**** van Luijk was the first player to hit the million-chip mark here in the 2013 WSOP Main Event. The Belgian player surged late in Level 12 and went to dinner with a huge lead over the rest of the field. Before he could sneak away, we caught up with him to discuss and his success and why he showed up late to register on Day 1.
What is your background in poker?
I just started playing poker about five years ago when I bought a house here in Las Vegas. I then started to play online tournaments and sometimes in the casinos. I once even qualified for a tournament in the Bahamas for the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure. I have played in the WSOP twice before but I never have gone further than Day 1. It's funny because I have put in so little hours this year playing poker but I think it's going well.
Can you take us through your experience on Day 1, Day 2, and now Day 3?
It was last minute that I decided to enter the tournament because I was supposed to go to a wedding. I figured that I would never get past Day 1 so I thought that I might as well play. My wife was very upset that I didn't make the wedding but she is very excited that I am playing and doing well. So I entered the Main Event in the third level because I looked for other tournaments but there wasn't any running so I decided to play the Main. I ended up with almost 150,000 for that first day.
In the second day I ended with about 430,000. Today was going up and down between 400,000 and 500,000 but then I won a very big pot of about 300,000. That is what pushed me to the top.
Your initial thoughts were that you wouldn't get past Day 1. At this point what are you hoping to achieve?
I look at it from day to day. I don't actually know what the schedule is or how many days this tournament is. I understand there is a resting day, though and I am curious as to when that is. This is a lot of poker at one time. It is fun but it is long hours. I am surprised I've even got this far but I'm really excited and it is lots of fun.
You became the first player in the tournament to reach the million-chip mark. What are your thoughts on that achievement?
Well it really surprised me to hear that. It's just for the moment in time. Anything can happen and that can change. There is no guarantee that my success will continue; although it is possible it is never certain.
Is there any player that you are perhaps having difficulty playing against?
Oh yes. There are two players that I don't like playing against. I don't know their names but I think they are professional players. They are very aggressive and very hard to tell what they are thinking. It seems as though I lose every pot against them. Although I have a good hand I lose the pot. So I will try to stay away from playing against them. They are very tough and very good.
Assani Fisher
Footballguy
What is this in reference to?
If its truly a blank then just give up and check/fold- nothing wrong with folding ace high on the turn when you're out of position and your opponent has demonstrated enough strength to call your preflop raise and your flop bet.
But I'm not sure if everything you think is a blank is really a blank. Lets take the T62 rainbow flop. Before we even think about our hand we should realize that any A, K, or Q would most likely be significant scare cards for our opponents flop calling range and therefore are not ever blanks. These cards may always be used to double barrel bluff in this spot, but its not 100% mandatory dependent on opponent
So now lets say we have AQs on this 26Tr flop and lets say we have one of our suit on the board. Well then I'd barrel the K because of what I said above and the fact that it gives me a gutshot, I'd barrel the J because it gives me a gutshot and is also a tad bit scary for our opponent since we could have JQ/JK/AJ, and I'd barrel any flush draw I pick up on the turn. And of course I am now value betting any Q or A.
This would be a general example of my range I would have against an online player I have no history with. With live play, I'll use appearance a bit for reads. And of course once we play hands I'll have reads whether its live or online. Once I get these reads then I'll adjust my ranges. Some of the components of my range I discussed above are better than others(for example an A>K>Q for turn barrel cards) so if I'm trimming my barreling range due to a read on an opponent then I'll start by cutting out the worst components. Similarly if my read on an opponent is to widen my turn barreling range then I'll start by including cards that just missed the cut(such as a J on T62r regardless of what my hand is).
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Assani Fisher
Footballguy
for the record, this was totally heat-of-the-battle bravado. I'm decent at NLHE only because I'm friends with a lot of guys who are super elite at it, and they teach me. I'm not top 200 in the world at it for sure when it comes to cash games. I'm certainly better at tourney NLHE, but even still top 200 is pushing it.
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Assani Fisher
Footballguy
I'm not sure, prob somewhere around $20k
IC FBGCav
Footballguy
This is part of your problem. You can play as many hands as you want and if that is what makes you good, everyone will do it, then be great. The game is always changing if you believe what is bolded is true you are done.
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sporthenry
Footballguy
Yeah, but if he plays 4-5 million hands but smokes enough pot he can't remember, has he really played 4-5 million hands?
Baloney Sandwich
Footballguy
Doyle Brunson with over 600K in chips heading into today's action and defending champ Greg Merson with just under 400K. Both are great stories.
Ivey is out. Flopped top two pair on a hand but lost to a set that was hit on the turn and then exited set over set.
Ivey is out. Flopped top two pair on a hand but lost to a set that was hit on the turn and then exited set over set.
Jojo the circus boy
Footballguy
A pretty **** move to pull in the middle of an all-in (from the link in the quoted post above):Dinner Break interview with first to a million chips...
nterview With **** van Luijk: "I Figured That I Would Never Get Past Day 1"
**** van Luijk was the first player to hit the million-chip mark here in the 2013 WSOP Main Event. The Belgian player surged late in Level 12 and went to dinner with a huge lead over the rest of the field. Before he could sneak away, we caught up with him to discuss and his success and why he showed up late to register on Day 1.
What is your background in poker?
I just started playing poker about five years ago when I bought a house here in Las Vegas. I then started to play online tournaments and sometimes in the casinos. I once even qualified for a tournament in the Bahamas for the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure. I have played in the WSOP twice before but I never have gone further than Day 1. It's funny because I have put in so little hours this year playing poker but I think it's going well.
Can you take us through your experience on Day 1, Day 2, and now Day 3?
It was last minute that I decided to enter the tournament because I was supposed to go to a wedding. I figured that I would never get past Day 1 so I thought that I might as well play. My wife was very upset that I didn't make the wedding but she is very excited that I am playing and doing well. So I entered the Main Event in the third level because I looked for other tournaments but there wasn't any running so I decided to play the Main. I ended up with almost 150,000 for that first day.
In the second day I ended with about 430,000. Today was going up and down between 400,000 and 500,000 but then I won a very big pot of about 300,000. That is what pushed me to the top.
Your initial thoughts were that you wouldn't get past Day 1. At this point what are you hoping to achieve?
I look at it from day to day. I don't actually know what the schedule is or how many days this tournament is. I understand there is a resting day, though and I am curious as to when that is. This is a lot of poker at one time. It is fun but it is long hours. I am surprised I've even got this far but I'm really excited and it is lots of fun.
You became the first player in the tournament to reach the million-chip mark. What are your thoughts on that achievement?
Well it really surprised me to hear that. It's just for the moment in time. Anything can happen and that can change. There is no guarantee that my success will continue; although it is possible it is never certain.
Is there any player that you are perhaps having difficulty playing against?
Oh yes. There are two players that I don't like playing against. I don't know their names but I think they are professional players. They are very aggressive and very hard to tell what they are thinking. It seems as though I lose every pot against them. Although I have a good hand I lose the pot. So I will try to stay away from playing against them. They are very tough and very good.
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AAABatteries
Footballguy
Why? Is there etiquette not to do this? It doesn't impact anything so I guess I don't get what the issue is.
fred_1_15301
Footballguy
Again, i don't play tourneys but that seems like a terribly played hand by van Luijk. Not sure how he couldn't get away from A10 with that kind of action.Dinner Break interview with first to a million chips...
nterview With **** van Luijk: "I Figured That I Would Never Get Past Day 1"
**** van Luijk was the first player to hit the million-chip mark here in the 2013 WSOP Main Event. The Belgian player surged late in Level 12 and went to dinner with a huge lead over the rest of the field. Before he could sneak away, we caught up with him to discuss and his success and why he showed up late to register on Day 1.
What is your background in poker?
I just started playing poker about five years ago when I bought a house here in Las Vegas. I then started to play online tournaments and sometimes in the casinos. I once even qualified for a tournament in the Bahamas for the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure. I have played in the WSOP twice before but I never have gone further than Day 1. It's funny because I have put in so little hours this year playing poker but I think it's going well.
Can you take us through your experience on Day 1, Day 2, and now Day 3?
It was last minute that I decided to enter the tournament because I was supposed to go to a wedding. I figured that I would never get past Day 1 so I thought that I might as well play. My wife was very upset that I didn't make the wedding but she is very excited that I am playing and doing well. So I entered the Main Event in the third level because I looked for other tournaments but there wasn't any running so I decided to play the Main. I ended up with almost 150,000 for that first day.
In the second day I ended with about 430,000. Today was going up and down between 400,000 and 500,000 but then I won a very big pot of about 300,000. That is what pushed me to the top.
Your initial thoughts were that you wouldn't get past Day 1. At this point what are you hoping to achieve?
I look at it from day to day. I don't actually know what the schedule is or how many days this tournament is. I understand there is a resting day, though and I am curious as to when that is. This is a lot of poker at one time. It is fun but it is long hours. I am surprised I've even got this far but I'm really excited and it is lots of fun.
You became the first player in the tournament to reach the million-chip mark. What are your thoughts on that achievement?
Well it really surprised me to hear that. It's just for the moment in time. Anything can happen and that can change. There is no guarantee that my success will continue; although it is possible it is never certain.
Is there any player that you are perhaps having difficulty playing against?
Oh yes. There are two players that I don't like playing against. I don't know their names but I think they are professional players. They are very aggressive and very hard to tell what they are thinking. It seems as though I lose every pot against them. Although I have a good hand I lose the pot. So I will try to stay away from playing against them. They are very tough and very good.
Good Posting Judge
Footballguy
Does weed help?
Jojo the circus boy
Footballguy
If I read it right, the one that flashed his cards was to act between the two players that made it to showdown after the first one went all-in.
Nevermind... the BB was already all-in.
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Assani Fisher
Footballguy
I absolutely belive the bolded to be true. I do not think I have a problem when it comes to evolving my poker game, and I believe my growth over the course of this thread is a testament to that. "I'm not going to learn something in most tournaments" is not saying "I'm not going to learn something new ever again". This was a super soft tournament where most hands were standard hands against fish that don't require me much thought. Moreover since we're playing live and getting ~30 hands/hour, its less than a 1000 hand sample size we are talking about here- thats nothing at all. I'm simply not going to improve a ton from this and expecting me to do so at this stage of my poker career is silly imo.
Going online and multitabling a really good NLHE opponent HU for 10k+ hands, using pokertracker/pokerstove/etc. to analyze our play mathematically, discussing hands with trusted friends, and then making some small and barely noticeable changes to my game is a much more reasonable scenario of how I might improve at this stage in my career.
Assani Fisher
Footballguy
Suited aces are good hands and are a part of my raising range(which I have already worked tons of hours on refining- this absolutely isn't an in-the-moment decision on whether or not to open A3s utg). Moreover they make great hands to use as part of your x-betting* bluff range preflop because:
-The ace blocker cuts your opponent's AA combos from 6 to 3, his AK combos from 16 to 12, and his AQ combos from 16 to 12.
-Suited aces play great against your opponents calling range in x-bet pots which will largely be comprised of 99, TT, JJ, QQ, and AQs(also sometimes AQos and AK if it decides to not reraise). Contrast that to how a random hand like 67s(which some might x-bet with) will play against your opponent's calling range after you x-bet.
-Lower end suited aces do not play great multiway. To give an example: Assume UTG raises and you have A3s on the button. If you flat call here, you're giving the BB more than enough odds to call with A4+. Think about how bad your hand plays now that even when you hit your ace you're not good, whereas if you 3bet the original raiser and he has a hand that is good enough to call but not good enough to 4bet(the range I described above) you have so much more equity in the hand plus you have initiative so he'll just check/fold some scary flops such as KQx when he has JJ.
*x-betting just means 3 betting/4betting/5betting/etc.
Overall though, this isn't particularly close- A3s is a clear open, especially with antes. With antes I'm gonna be getting a great price(often times around 1.5:1) on taking the pot down from a preflop min raise, so we want to have an aggro opening range. A3s easily falls into that. I notice that you just said "A3" and not mentioning it being suited changes everything.
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Assani Fisher
Footballguy
Its absolutely horrendous on multiple levels.Again, i don't play tourneys but that seems like a terribly played hand by van Luijk. Not sure how he couldn't get away from A10 with that kind of action.Dinner Break interview with first to a million chips...
nterview With **** van Luijk: "I Figured That I Would Never Get Past Day 1"
**** van Luijk was the first player to hit the million-chip mark here in the 2013 WSOP Main Event. The Belgian player surged late in Level 12 and went to dinner with a huge lead over the rest of the field. Before he could sneak away, we caught up with him to discuss and his success and why he showed up late to register on Day 1.
What is your background in poker?
I just started playing poker about five years ago when I bought a house here in Las Vegas. I then started to play online tournaments and sometimes in the casinos. I once even qualified for a tournament in the Bahamas for the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure. I have played in the WSOP twice before but I never have gone further than Day 1. It's funny because I have put in so little hours this year playing poker but I think it's going well.
Can you take us through your experience on Day 1, Day 2, and now Day 3?
It was last minute that I decided to enter the tournament because I was supposed to go to a wedding. I figured that I would never get past Day 1 so I thought that I might as well play. My wife was very upset that I didn't make the wedding but she is very excited that I am playing and doing well. So I entered the Main Event in the third level because I looked for other tournaments but there wasn't any running so I decided to play the Main. I ended up with almost 150,000 for that first day.
In the second day I ended with about 430,000. Today was going up and down between 400,000 and 500,000 but then I won a very big pot of about 300,000. That is what pushed me to the top.
Your initial thoughts were that you wouldn't get past Day 1. At this point what are you hoping to achieve?
I look at it from day to day. I don't actually know what the schedule is or how many days this tournament is. I understand there is a resting day, though and I am curious as to when that is. This is a lot of poker at one time. It is fun but it is long hours. I am surprised I've even got this far but I'm really excited and it is lots of fun.
You became the first player in the tournament to reach the million-chip mark. What are your thoughts on that achievement?
Well it really surprised me to hear that. It's just for the moment in time. Anything can happen and that can change. There is no guarantee that my success will continue; although it is possible it is never certain.
Is there any player that you are perhaps having difficulty playing against?
Oh yes. There are two players that I don't like playing against. I don't know their names but I think they are professional players. They are very aggressive and very hard to tell what they are thinking. It seems as though I lose every pot against them. Although I have a good hand I lose the pot. So I will try to stay away from playing against them. They are very tough and very good.
Assani Fisher
Footballguy
This may get way off topic, but for me personally, weed has had an astounding effect on my ability to be objective and see things for as they are. I think a lot of people try it as a means to party(i.e. You've had a bunch of beers, some friends have a joint, you pass it around) which is fine, but when those people then try to debate the drug I feel as if their thoughts are always clouded. I've found that when I use it as a legit self-help tool, it has worked wonders.
With poker specifically, before I started smoking I was a mid stakes PLO8 grinder who would play 16-24 tables at a time and eek out a small win rate that paid the bills due to the number of hands I was putting in. I started smoking and watching the higher stakes shorthanded PLO8 games- at first I would never play while stoned but would think about hands and sweat games while stoned. Then I tried smoking to find a good mindset, waiting 30+ minutes to come down some, and playing. Finally it progressed to where I'm at now(going out to my car every WSOP break to smoke alongside a huge amount of other good players who are doing the exact same thing). I went from a mass multitabling midstakes plo8 player to the guy who would play absolutely anyone in the world heads up at the highest stakes PokerStars offered($10/20 deepstacked) i a span of about ~6 months after I started using weed in conjunction with poker.
Even apart from poker, I've found that it has helped me in other areas. For example before I started smoking I was an ex-college bball player who had let himself get out of shape- was around 215lbs without a ton of muscle. Fast forward to today and I"m ~190 with around a double bodyweight squat. I just got stoned, looked in the mirror, thought about it rationally, and made a decision to get in shape. I feel like making these types of self-improvement decisions is so much easier when you're stoned because weed almost works as a truth serum- I knew deep down that the optimal way to live my life in this area is to be healthy and fit, and when I'm stoned those deep down truths can't be suppressed as easily as normally.
I will say that there are some downsides in that if you're naturally a person who enjoys laying around and being lazy then its very possible to use weed to continue that pattern of behavior. Many people get into this routine and then blame it on the weed. I notice this in myself for sure(I have major ADD and am very lazy at times), but thats stuff that I struggled with even before I started smoking. Also I don't feel nearly as good socially when I'm stoned. When you're stoned you have this thing- some people call it objectivity, some call it being paranoid, some call it being forced to consider other perspectives, etc. But whatever it is, I don't think its good for me personally when it comes to socializing(with someone who does not know I'm stoned)- it just makes me worry too much about how I'm coming across and its not as enjoyable to me as socializing when sober.
I think mushrooms and other psychedelic drugs are even more potent when it comes to paradigm-shifting/life-changing realizations, but we're getting way off topic now, lol.
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Cyclones
Footballguy
Yeah, I just can't see what he was thinking here.Its absolutely horrendous on multiple levels.Again, i don't play tourneys but that seems like a terribly played hand by van Luijk. Not sure how he couldn't get away from A10 with that kind of action.Dinner Break interview with first to a million chips...
nterview With **** van Luijk: "I Figured That I Would Never Get Past Day 1"
**** van Luijk was the first player to hit the million-chip mark here in the 2013 WSOP Main Event. The Belgian player surged late in Level 12 and went to dinner with a huge lead over the rest of the field. Before he could sneak away, we caught up with him to discuss and his success and why he showed up late to register on Day 1.
What is your background in poker?
I just started playing poker about five years ago when I bought a house here in Las Vegas. I then started to play online tournaments and sometimes in the casinos. I once even qualified for a tournament in the Bahamas for the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure. I have played in the WSOP twice before but I never have gone further than Day 1. It's funny because I have put in so little hours this year playing poker but I think it's going well.
Can you take us through your experience on Day 1, Day 2, and now Day 3?
It was last minute that I decided to enter the tournament because I was supposed to go to a wedding. I figured that I would never get past Day 1 so I thought that I might as well play. My wife was very upset that I didn't make the wedding but she is very excited that I am playing and doing well. So I entered the Main Event in the third level because I looked for other tournaments but there wasn't any running so I decided to play the Main. I ended up with almost 150,000 for that first day.
In the second day I ended with about 430,000. Today was going up and down between 400,000 and 500,000 but then I won a very big pot of about 300,000. That is what pushed me to the top.
Your initial thoughts were that you wouldn't get past Day 1. At this point what are you hoping to achieve?
I look at it from day to day. I don't actually know what the schedule is or how many days this tournament is. I understand there is a resting day, though and I am curious as to when that is. This is a lot of poker at one time. It is fun but it is long hours. I am surprised I've even got this far but I'm really excited and it is lots of fun.
You became the first player in the tournament to reach the million-chip mark. What are your thoughts on that achievement?
Well it really surprised me to hear that. It's just for the moment in time. Anything can happen and that can change. There is no guarantee that my success will continue; although it is possible it is never certain.
Is there any player that you are perhaps having difficulty playing against?
Oh yes. There are two players that I don't like playing against. I don't know their names but I think they are professional players. They are very aggressive and very hard to tell what they are thinking. It seems as though I lose every pot against them. Although I have a good hand I lose the pot. So I will try to stay away from playing against them. They are very tough and very good.
Otis
Footballguy
Regardless of position? If you're late position and have no raises, I get that. But UTG is the part I question.
Then again, you're a heavily aggro player and it works well for you, so maybe you set your range differently than I would.
r0llin_game
Footballguy
He's merging his range. If it's folded to me, almost wherever, I'm opening wider and wider depending on position. If it's A3o, it's a fold, but it's A3s, we can make the best hand! Lol. Seriously though, all he's trying to do is accumulate chips. I feel like I open a lot when utg, mostly since I'm first to act. I know if I get 3b v. certain individuals, it's easier for me to get away from certain hands, or if 4 balling is the right play. If you have someone nitty to your right, that's going to be folding the BB quite consistently, it also definitely makes opening utg wider a lot more effective. It's perceived that opening utg is really strong still. The first hand I played yesterday, was opening utg with 97hh.
Speaking of which, I hand this hand day two that a lot of people I think would fold.
Folds to me otb. Blinds are 400/800-100 ante. I have 32o. Before the few tourneys I played this summer since I didn't really get to play much, I just fold this. But I went the more aggro route when in this position. Think I only open folded three buttons during the main in like 20+ opportunities.
I make it 1700. SB folds (good player), BB (weak player) 3 bets to 3400. He hadn't 3b too often, usually when he did, he had a pretty good hand. He was an older black guy, didn't really ever hero anyone either. So to me, these were my options... call >>>> fold >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> raise. Raising is never good here since we're only going to be raising for value. I think folding is bad too since if we hit the perfect flop, we're getting his ~35-40 bb stack. There's 3400+1700+400+900= 6400 in the pot already. With only needing 1700 more to call, (3.76:1) and having position, this is an easy call.
Flop 983r. Not the best of flops, but I did get a piece. He bets 3700, now I'm getting 3.1:1 to call and peel another. We're still a dog here most of the time, but the EV+ play is to peel I think since I'm a good enough player to get away from certain hands.
Turn and river run out like T/9, he checked turn, as did I, and he says he gives up on the river. He turns over AKdd and we win. Do I like flipping over my 32o. Hell no, my image is pretty tarnished now, but I definitely thought it was the right play.
It's not always what the typical right play is in that situation, and different players have way different opening ranges, let alone how they play hands, but I'm completely fine with Assani opening A3s as I snap open that in a heartbeat.
Speaking of which, I hand this hand day two that a lot of people I think would fold.
Folds to me otb. Blinds are 400/800-100 ante. I have 32o. Before the few tourneys I played this summer since I didn't really get to play much, I just fold this. But I went the more aggro route when in this position. Think I only open folded three buttons during the main in like 20+ opportunities.
I make it 1700. SB folds (good player), BB (weak player) 3 bets to 3400. He hadn't 3b too often, usually when he did, he had a pretty good hand. He was an older black guy, didn't really ever hero anyone either. So to me, these were my options... call >>>> fold >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> raise. Raising is never good here since we're only going to be raising for value. I think folding is bad too since if we hit the perfect flop, we're getting his ~35-40 bb stack. There's 3400+1700+400+900= 6400 in the pot already. With only needing 1700 more to call, (3.76:1) and having position, this is an easy call.
Flop 983r. Not the best of flops, but I did get a piece. He bets 3700, now I'm getting 3.1:1 to call and peel another. We're still a dog here most of the time, but the EV+ play is to peel I think since I'm a good enough player to get away from certain hands.
Turn and river run out like T/9, he checked turn, as did I, and he says he gives up on the river. He turns over AKdd and we win. Do I like flipping over my 32o. Hell no, my image is pretty tarnished now, but I definitely thought it was the right play.
It's not always what the typical right play is in that situation, and different players have way different opening ranges, let alone how they play hands, but I'm completely fine with Assani opening A3s as I snap open that in a heartbeat.
Zegras11
Footballguy
This is one of my favorite type of plays. People think you are super strong with 2x raise. If you hit the hand, it is often the most profitable hand you'll hit all day, and no one will ever put you on 97.
If you miss, it's easy to get away from.
I often get 2-4 callers in tourney play and rarely is it raised.
Good Posting Judge
Footballguy
Open min-raising in tourney poker seems de rigor now. What's the math behind this?
Baloney Sandwich
Footballguy
17seconds
root of all aliai
Everybody talks about how soft the main event is. How soft are we talking? Like a $100 weekly tourney at a typical casino?Assani Fisher said:
Is it mostly soft due to weak-tight players who are afraid of busting or because of stations you can take to valuetown?
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ILUVBEER99
Footballguy
I'd assume a big part of it is the long consecutive days and super deep stacks, not many non-pros are used to that. I know i'd go nuts playing 12 hours a day for 8-9 straight days.
Otis
Footballguy
Re: theories about drugs, I'm not sure I buy this whole "performance enhancing" point about pot.
It's not more performance enhancing than booze. True, my performance for the women, and at bars, and for entertainment purposes was way better when I was lit. But that was about partying. Booze and pot never made me smarter, or more focused, or better at, well, really anything.
I suspect there is research that says as much. That it makes you distracted and lower performing. I'm willing to put up the universe of non pot smokers against the universe of pot smokers any day pretty much any day of the week. If you put me up against an above average lawyer who smokes pot all day while he works? Pretty sure I'll run circles around him.
And this whole notion of "all the guys do it and we go out to our cars every break"? It's just making me want to play in the ME more myself. It sounds like a fun party lifestyle, but the claim that a bunch of stoners all going out to their cars to smoke rounds every few hours because it's performance enhancing? Sorry, I just don't buy it.
I'm not saying I'm against pot. Or mushrooms. I've done plenty of that stuff in my life. And I'm not saying it doesn't open up your mind in interesting new ways and help you think creatively. That's all good stuff. But I don't buy this notion that it makes me way better at analytical, on the job thinking. It's great for partying and relaxing, but I don't the rest.
Of course that's a generalization. I suppose it could work that way for some. But then again, I bet there are studies that suggest otherwise for most.
Sounds like a fun life, and a good time, but it also sounds like me trying to justify sitting around and getting hammered at a bar and proclaiming it makes me a better lawyer. I may enjoy it and it may be a blast, but I highly doubt it will make me better at much of anything.
:buzzkill:
It's not more performance enhancing than booze. True, my performance for the women, and at bars, and for entertainment purposes was way better when I was lit. But that was about partying. Booze and pot never made me smarter, or more focused, or better at, well, really anything.
I suspect there is research that says as much. That it makes you distracted and lower performing. I'm willing to put up the universe of non pot smokers against the universe of pot smokers any day pretty much any day of the week. If you put me up against an above average lawyer who smokes pot all day while he works? Pretty sure I'll run circles around him.
And this whole notion of "all the guys do it and we go out to our cars every break"? It's just making me want to play in the ME more myself. It sounds like a fun party lifestyle, but the claim that a bunch of stoners all going out to their cars to smoke rounds every few hours because it's performance enhancing? Sorry, I just don't buy it.
I'm not saying I'm against pot. Or mushrooms. I've done plenty of that stuff in my life. And I'm not saying it doesn't open up your mind in interesting new ways and help you think creatively. That's all good stuff. But I don't buy this notion that it makes me way better at analytical, on the job thinking. It's great for partying and relaxing, but I don't the rest.
Of course that's a generalization. I suppose it could work that way for some. But then again, I bet there are studies that suggest otherwise for most.
Sounds like a fun life, and a good time, but it also sounds like me trying to justify sitting around and getting hammered at a bar and proclaiming it makes me a better lawyer. I may enjoy it and it may be a blast, but I highly doubt it will make me better at much of anything.
:buzzkill: