Nov
26

#291 – Full Tilt Prose

Posted by Michael Craig

Today, November 26, is the one-year anniversary of my breakthrough tournament on Full Tilt. I finished fifth in the first running of the $350,000 Guarantee and earned $20,600. (It’s now the $750,000 Guarantee, though fifth pays just $33.200.) It’s my biggest cash on Full Tilt and, though I’ve won a lot of tournaments during the year, my weakest results have been in the biggest events. I wanted another big score; the time seemed right.

I noticed a higher than usual contingent of Full Tilt pros in the $750,000 Guarantee, which got me thinking ….

Nov
21

#290 – Strolling Past the FTOPS VI Graveyard at Midnight

Posted by Michael Craig

FTOPS VI is officially done, and thank goodness. Here I am having one of the best months of my life on Full Tilt and I’m break-even in tournaments due to the four grand I blew on FTOPS. Not the two dimes I told you I was going to spend a month ago, or even the three thou I told you at the beginning of FTOPS I was ready to drop. Four thousand dollars.

Nov
20

#289 – Bird Beat on Cancer

Posted by Michael Craig

Rafe Furst e-mailed me the other day to tell me there’s another Bad Beat on Cancer tournament coming. It’s going to be the day after Thanksgiving, Friday, November 23, at Noon, EST. The password, listed right there on the (private) tournament lobby, is “badbeat.” It’s $5 + $5 and the latter $5 goes to cancer education and research. You can see where you’re money is going at BeatCancer.org. Several players are putting bounties on themselves and I’ll do the same if I play.

If?

Nov
18

#288 – FTOPS Bulletin – Finale – One Day to Live

Posted by Michael Craig

It’s Sunday morning, November 18, as I write this. I’m in the Full Tilt bunker, preparing for the last day of FTOPS VI, having just missed the 30th anniversary of my first day with Jo Anne. I didn’t even call her to talk about the occasion, thinking a clean break would be best. Few Full Tilt pros are as ancient as me, but they’re beat up too and their gashes are bleeding cash. I feel like I’m drowning here, even though it’s one of the best months of my life in poker. Yet if I called for a life preserver, I think someone would throw me a radial tire.

Nov
15

#287 – FTOPS Bulletin – Event #6 – The Stud in Eight-or-Better, Yuval “yuvee04″ Bronshtein

Posted by Michael Craig

Although my own performance in FTOPS has been predictably dismal, I actually KNOW someone who won one of the events. This is a mixed blessing. On one hand, I’m thrilled for the guy and for the chance to give you a bit of insight into one of the winners. On the other, he won Stud Eight-or-Better, in which I had the chip lead for nearly an hour (the first hour, which is also known as The Useless Hour) so while I don’t begrudge him his success … I … begrudge him … his success.

Nov
15

#286 – FTOPS Bulletin – Event #10 – Jennifer Harman is One Tough Customer

Posted by Michael Craig

It’s Wednesday night, November 14, and I’m watching them in the money in FTOPS #10, the $300 + $22 NLHE-6-rebuy event. Apologies for getting behind on the FTOPS Bulletins. I have plenty to share but life is killing me this week. I don’t like playing the Cancer Card but this has been an ugly week for Jo Anne, who had her third chemo treatment last Thursday. She’s been remarkably strong and positive but I don’t think anyone can handle what she’s had to go through. Granted, I’ve still played a bunch of FTOPS events and other tournaments, but that doesn’t mean it’s not hurting me TOO. So I’m trying to make amends by throwing at you all the FTOPS stuff I’ve picked up over the last week. This will require several posts, made more difficult by the fact the FTOPS are a moving target; as I tell you things, more stuff is happening.

Nov
11

#285 – Chris Ferguson Thinks About PLOEOB, Part V (conclusion)

Posted by Michael Craig

PART V – SHORT-STACKED PLAY

I asked Ferguson to tell me about any nuances he could think of that might be relevant to short-stack play in PLOEOB, especially because I was sure I’d get a lot of use out of them.

Nov
11

#284 – Chris Ferguson Thinks About PLOEOB, Part IV

Posted by Michael Craig

PART IV – POST FLOP

Mike: How does the continuation bet work in PLOEOB?

Nov
11

#282 – Chris Ferguson Thinks About PLOEOB, Part II

Posted by Michael Craig

PART II – USING OTHER OMAHA PRINCIPLES

I asked Chris about differences in the games, which would include ways to take an understanding of one game into another as well as strategies that can get you in trouble if you don’t adapt them to differences between PLOEOB and PLO or OEOB. He identified three.

Nov
11