11:40 AM
Lazy Sunday Morning
It’s too early for poker, isn’t it? Usually, the only time a poker player is awake at 11:40 AM is when he’s STILL up from a game that started the day before (or the day before that). I signed up for the big tournaments today: Sunday Brawl, $750 K Guarantee, Sunday Mulligan, Sunday HORSE. I’ll decide on the $40k and $65k Guarantees and the $500 + $35 WSOP-E Qualifier on an as-needed basis.
There are some changes coming for the Blog. I know I’ve said that before - because Full Tilt has assured me of that before - but now I/they really mean it. I think. One format change will give you the opportunity to submit comments. I figured we’d experiment with this and see how it worked out. I maintain an active correspondence with many readers of the Blog and this seems like a way to encourage interaction (and allow me to profit from it by giving me material toward future entries.) Excuse any hiccups as I try out this new feature.
I received an e-mail recently from Tony, from Australia. His question, about how to play aggressive poker, is one I’m frequently asked, so I thought I’d post it, along with my response, and invite your comments. Of course, Tony also won me over with his hard-hitting analysis of the Blog in his opening paragraph:
Not that I’m complaining, but I probably have little choice but to keep playing poker (and writing about poker) until at least November. Every time I contemplate doing something different - and to move forward in my life away from poker, I probably have to give up writing about it and, for the most part, playing - something good happens.
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After spending Saturday, August 16, with Kelly Kim, Craig Marquis, and Scott Montgomery, I returned to my room to mull it all over. Apart from really liking the three of them - all three are very nice guys - I was struck by how skilled they all seemed. It goes without saying that you have to do a lot of things right to make the final table, but these guys had all paid a lot of dues. None of them were casual players who played the Main Event on a whim. In fact, based on their discussions about the other players at the final table, I learned that almost all nine were serious professionals.
Saturday, August 16 12:05 PM
Kelly Kim’s house in a gated community
Kelly Kim lives in a gorgeous house and I suspect he didn’t buy it in the month between making the final nine and this photo shoot. Kim is clearly doing something right. That’s what I think, as I write at a bar stool and lean against the marble kitchen countertop. The marble is cool on my resting forearms. Despite the blazing sun and the photo shoot outside – 12 feet away – the air-conditioned comfort is almost frosty cool.
That’s the best way to describe it all – Kelly, the house, the vibe, the photo shot: it’s all cool.
Saturday, August 16
2:35 AM
Wynn Las Vegas
This gig was a bad idea, but strictly necessary. On Friday afternoon, I contemplated a leisurely evening of FTOPS Razz, followed by degenerate FTOPS poker action throughout the weekend, punctuated by taking my wife Jo Anne out for dinner. Saturday was, after all, our twenty-seventh wedding anniversary. And let’s face it, despite my many charms, the total package is too complex (not to mention messed up) for most of the world’s female population. I’m lucky to have Jo Anne and multiply that by infinity for keeping her for twenty-seven years.
Question From jesus477: what would you do if you pick up ak in late position and are faced with a 3x raise smooth call or reraise?
Michael Craig: Depends on the stacks, stage of the tournament, and the opponent. With a lot of chips and tight opponents, especially later, I want to just call. Even if I don’t hit my hand, if my opponent misses, he may check and I can pick it up that way. Or is scared by the board. Imagine the guy has 7-7. He raises. If you reraise (and he doesn’t have a huge stack), he’ll be pushing. But if you call and the flop is Q-9-5, he may give up on the pot.
Question From xArtShellx: whats the most you ever won/lost in a night?
Michael Craig: The most I’ve won was $48k - I finished 3rd in the Sunday Brawl and won the Sunday HORSE in Feb. Most I’ve lost has been my Main Event buy-in, 3 times.
Question From alsr1: Would you have any advice for a new tourny player
Michael Craig: Read The Full Tilt Poker Strategy Guide - Tournament Edition. Seriously, it has a lot of good advice for a starting tournament player.
Have I or have I not been telling you since last year that Yuval “The Hawk” Bronshtein is capable of big things?
Question From bobarnuts: How much harder do you find online tournaments versus live tournaments
Michael Craig: They have such different features I’m not sure I can compare them. And I’m not sure they are harder, though some elements may be more difficult.
Question From KHALILONE: Did you start online? Or hit a big tourny to be sponserd by FT?
Michael Craig: I started playing in 1990, so pre-online. I’m not really “sponsored” by FT in that I buy my own way into online and live tourneys. My connex with FT was from The Full Tilt Poker Strat. Guide and from writing the Full Tilt Poker Blog.
