PRO CHAT TRANSCRIPT - May 10th 2010
QUESTION FROM ted8100: On Card Runners every video emphasized who important 3- betting is, every time sombody 3 bets into me it's either AA or KK. Why is it so important to 3 bet or know how often an opponent 3 bets?
ANSWER FROM Brian Hastings: It's important to 3bet because it puts pressure on your opponent and allows you to win pots without showdown, which cuts down on how much you need to rely on all-in luck. It's important to know how often an opponent 3bets so you can guess his hand
QUESTION FROM noodlearms: what events you definately playing at the WSOP?gl in the tourney
ANSWER FROM Brian Hastings: 50k 8 game, main event, 10k HU, 10k PLO, 25k 6max, probably a couple more. ty
QUESTION FROM HjjA: What tools do you use for online poker?
ANSWER FROM Brian Hastings: Hold'em Manager and Pokertracker Stud
QUESTION FROM jwbatten: how much does tuition cost where you go to shcool
ANSWER FROM Brian Hastings: about 50k/yr
QUESTION FROM idontuseapick: hey brian good luck in the event today. what would you say differs in terms of strategy when playing a shootout versus a standard freeze out tourney?
ANSWER FROM Brian Hastings: It's more important to take risks since you must win your table to advance. Loosening up some is the way to go
ANSWER FROM Brian Hastings: sorry my internet crashed. if I haven't answered your question feel free to repost
QUESTION FROM Bebeteso: Hi Brian, whats your favourite hand ?
ANSWER FROM Brian Hastings: pocket aces
ANSWER FROM Brian Hastings: tough to do much with such a limited bankroll, I would try playing microstakes SNGs to start
QUESTION FROM durrrJrrr: i have 35$ left in my account how can i maximize my profits with such a small bankroll
QUESTION FROM bigbob25: brian, i play micro mtts will i win a flip deep this month or am i destinded to depair
ANSWER FROM Brian Hastings: you got it my man
QUESTION FROM jwbatten: do you have any suggestions for cap plo
ANSWER FROM Brian Hastings: open raise small, play tight but aggressive, preflop play is key
QUESTION FROM jfalls77: So these 3 player tables could take awhile.. This is gonna get nasty with the blinds
ANSWER FROM Brian Hastings: I'm already out lol
QUESTION FROM Juergen Ka: how is it to play against isildur1?
ANSWER FROM Brian Hastings: lots of fun, he's very aggressive and a thinking player, always a good challenge playing against someone like him
QUESTION FROM Ship-L0AD: What u think about the ftops?
ANSWER FROM Brian Hastings: haven't had a chance to play much because of school but I've had some success in the past. It's a good series
QUESTION FROM HjjA: how long before u started making consistent profit?
ANSWER FROM Brian Hastings: about 6 months. games were easier back then though
ANSWER FROM Brian Hastings: I've done very well vs isildur but certainly run pretty well against him. No plans for high stakes poker at the moment but I'd like to play sometime
QUESTION FROM SantiagoST: hi brian, how were you doing against isildur? and are you gonna show up at high stakes poker?
QUESTION FROM RiverDogg71: how long u been pro ?
ANSWER FROM Brian Hastings: been making money from poker for about 4 years so by my definition that long
QUESTION FROM BillWennington: If I have $100 in my account is it ok to play a $55 SNG
ANSWER FROM Brian Hastings: $100 is more than enough to cover the buyin and you gotta gamble to win....do it up
QUESTION FROM HjjA: how many hours a day do you play? do you think it limits your social life?
ANSWER FROM Brian Hastings: lately not much at all probably 5-10 hours a week. I still have plenty of time for social life. When I played longer hours in the past I do think it hurt the social life some
QUESTION FROM Ship-L0AD: What do you think about slowplay...? ur the preflop raiser u hit a set what do u do
ANSWER FROM Brian Hastings: almost always bet in that spot, unless you're facing an aggressive player who has position on you and will often bet if you check
QUESTION FROM Reinjo: hey there brian, do you have any advice for me to play more aggressively? i'm way too tight and scared when in a hand.... how can i force myself to play less scared? thank you and good luck!
ANSWER FROM Brian Hastings: covered this above I think...try playing very small stakes and forcing yourself to play every hand, it'll help you get comfortable with aggression since the money will matter much less
QUESTION FROM gnoddy: whats your biggest profit and loss from a single session pls?
ANSWER FROM Brian Hastings: biggest profit was the isildur session, 4.18m. biggest loss was about 700k
QUESTION FROM jwbatten: what do you do with hands like KQJ4 with no suits
ANSWER FROM Brian Hastings: fold
QUESTION FROM Ship-L0AD: Who your favorite poker player?
ANSWER FROM Brian Hastings: always been a big Ivey fan but weird to have a favorite now that I play in the same games as many of the famous pros. now I'll say Cole South, he's a beast
QUESTION FROM ToeJam4444: are the Pirates the best team in baseball?
ANSWER FROM Brian Hastings: they would possibly be the best team in triple A if they played there
QUESTION FROM Bebeteso: whats your best tip how to become a pro ?
ANSWER FROM Brian Hastings: work hard, understand that it's not gonna happen overnight. think about poker often.
QUESTION FROM gnoddy: hey. what was your original bankroll pls?
ANSWER FROM Brian Hastings: deposited $50 3 times....only deposits ever
QUESTION FROM HjjA: Do you think that the opportunity to make money through skillful, informed poker has a shef life? do you think the variance is going up as everyone gets better? What i mean to say is do you think luck plays a bigger part than it used to?
ANSWER FROM Brian Hastings: it's still possible to make money playing poker but much more difficult. edges are smaller so variance will be higher indeed. in the long run skill still prevails tho
QUESTION FROM skidd8: why is online poker illegal in the US , and when do u think it will be legalized and taxed?
ANSWER FROM Brian Hastings: not illegal for players although if uigea is implemented that won't help. i'm optimistic that it will be legalized fully sometime in the next 2-3 years but no way to know for sure
QUESTION FROM Chizick: Hey Brian did you think Cornell lost against Kentucky becuase they were tired after Spring Break??? Jordan '02
ANSWER FROM Brian Hastings: hah, I watched the game on a cruise during spring break. their team was so good that spring break hangover must be the reason...
QUESTION FROM BillWennington: When you have AK and dont hit the flop what do you usually do or what does it depend on?
ANSWER FROM Brian Hastings: bet all 3 streets and pray for a fold. or just give up.
QUESTION FROM slashweiland: how do u like to play ak in first position
ANSWER FROM Brian Hastings: I like to bring it in with a raise
QUESTION FROM UNI_G: HEY
ANSWER FROM Brian Hastings: hi
QUESTION FROM DejaVu42: Hello, what car do u drive?
ANSWER FROM Brian Hastings: '07 audi s4
QUESTION FROM UNI_G: WHATDO YOU THINK ABOUT PUTTING ALL YO CHIPS IN BEFORE THE FLOP WITH AK? WHAT IS THE BEST WAY TO PLAY AK?
ANSWER FROM Brian Hastings: they call it walking back to houston for a reason. depends on the format of the game and stack sizes tho
QUESTION FROM Gustha Hustla: Brian at what age did you start playing poker and when did you become a professional player ?
ANSWER FROM Brian Hastings: started at 16, started making money at 17. I consider that when I became pro
QUESTION FROM Ship-L0AD: What do you think about all the scandal with tiger woods
ANSWER FROM Brian Hastings: probably happens a lot with celebrities. what he did was wrong, not sure where i stand on sex addiction and it's merits tho so unsure how harshly to judge. sure gonna be fun to watch how his golf career unfolds from here
QUESTION FROM Juergen Ka: Would you play the durrrr challenge?
ANSWER FROM Brian Hastings: possibly, not til I graduate tho
QUESTION FROM SantiagoST: brian, i think that people playing online tend more to playing loose and therefore call more often than playing live. do you aggree? what's your experience with that?
ANSWER FROM Brian Hastings: depends on the game format and players. a given player playing both online and live tourneys will play very similarly in both. live players definitely tend to limp in more preflop. i think the differences are overstated sometimes tho
QUESTION FROM TouchPwnz: Hi Brian, do you plan on playing televised poker more often?
ANSWER FROM Brian Hastings: I'd like to play on a HSP/PAD type show, or just make the final table of the main event so I get tv time
QUESTION FROM SneakyNutBluff: how many buy ins do u think is needed for HU cash games?
ANSWER FROM Brian Hastings: if it's a bankroll that you can't afford to lose I'd say around 100 buyins is probably best, although maybe less if you game select really tight
QUESTION FROM ChristerHedl: Hi Brian. How many buy ins do u suggest as a really good bankroll management for FR NL?
ANSWER FROM Brian Hastings: not sure I don't play much FR...maybe 40-50?
QUESTION FROM brandon1717: do you pot aces not suited out of the small blind after someone raised in plo? I always have trouble playing aces in plo?
ANSWER FROM Brian Hastings: no, I think you get into too many trouble spots. I just call and hope the BB squeezes so I can come over the top, or if not just try to setmine
QUESTION FROM RiverDogg71: how much was your first big tourney win , and what was your bank roll just before the win?
ANSWER FROM Brian Hastings: I once had a score that tripled my bankroll from about $700 to about $2,000
QUESTION FROM Flyboy Duke: how long did it take to turn 50$ to around 10-20 000$?
ANSWER FROM Brian Hastings: probably about 10 months, don't completely remember
QUESTION FROM jfalls77: any suggestions on how to start trusting your reads? At my local casnio my reads always seem to be right but for some reason I just want to see it.
ANSWER FROM Brian Hastings: just takes self-discipline
QUESTION FROM alexuuus: how does it feel to bust isildur1?
ANSWER FROM Brian Hastings: good, both for the accomplishment of beating a tough player and for the money
QUESTION FROM lGiveUp: how do u beat isilldur?
ANSWER FROM Brian Hastings: run really far above ev
QUESTION FROM PaulLaak: Hey Hastings! amazing punch to Isildur ! Is he goina be back, and are you scared?
ANSWER FROM Brian Hastings: I think and hope he'll be back, online poker is more fun when he's around. I'll be up for playing him more
QUESTION FROM kmoore4lyfe: How have you found so much success playing online with people who play so loose all the time
ANSWER FROM Brian Hastings: if they're playing too loose they're making mistakes that can be exploited. generally you should tighten up and just value bet mostly and bluff rarely
QUESTION FROM lGiveUp: what is your favorite food?
ANSWER FROM Brian Hastings: tough one, I'll go with a good filet mignon
QUESTION FROM skidd8: have u ever gave someone their money back after beating them?
ANSWER FROM Brian Hastings: no, I think everyone is responsible for managing themselves and their accounts
QUESTION FROM PaulLaak: Hi Hastings, hi from Coco Paris !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
ANSWER FROM Brian Hastings: hi there
QUESTION FROM aaleonard: hey brian. do u think software like holdem manager and poker crusher are bad for online gaming? i believe it will ruin online poker in the future.
ANSWER FROM Brian Hastings: we live in the information age, data is becoming more available in all kinds of fields. hard to say what it's overall effect is
QUESTION FROM lGiveUp: do u exercise, brian?
ANSWER FROM Brian Hastings: yes, just got back from the gym right before the tourney actually. not having time to get in the zone cost me :(
QUESTION FROM brandon1717: how big do you think most full tilt pros bankrolls are ? on average? 500k? more?
ANSWER FROM Brian Hastings: average is def less
QUESTION FROM BillWennington: Can I hangout with you
ANSWER FROM Brian Hastings: are you the former bulls center. if so sure!
QUESTION FROM Gustha Hustla: Why do pros like you, Cole and Townsend almost never play NLH online ? Townsend and CTS were killing the NLH games a few years back
ANSWER FROM Brian Hastings: nlh has gotten much tougher since then. i think there are more profitable games in plo and mixed games. given the right games i'd still happily play nlh but soft games rarely run these days
QUESTION FROM Titsushi: Brian, do you think playing Online Poker can make a living ?
ANSWER FROM Brian Hastings: of course it can, I do it and so do thousands of others. it takes hard work and the right personaility tho
ANSWER FROM Brian Hastings: he's a very talented, accomplished player, but I feel pretty confident vs just about anyone, at least when my game is in shape
QUESTION FROM lGiveUp: do u fear tom dwan?
QUESTION FROM HjjA: Buiding a bankroll from 100 at a rate of %10 a week means 15 grand in a year - can disciplined cash game play with the right tools be done quite easily? whats the diff between you and the average player equipped with Holdem Manager?
ANSWER FROM Brian Hastings: there will be lots of variance in building a bankroll so tough to say. if you're a winning player from the start 15k is attainable. i am better able to use good fundamentals and form reads on players, at least once we have some history
QUESTION FROM alexuuus: did you regret the blog after busting isildur?
ANSWER FROM Brian Hastings: got a lot of flak for that but not really, I was running on emotion and it was how I felt at the time. just felt (and still feel) lucky to be in the posiiton I was in to have that session
QUESTION FROM Rob Muntz: hi
ANSWER FROM Brian Hastings: sup
QUESTION FROM jcd6413: Hey Brian, are you going to play in the cash games in Bobby's room this summer?
ANSWER FROM Brian Hastings: yes I plan on playing some, how much depends on what games are running
QUESTION FROM BillWennington: How do you feel about donations
ANSWER FROM Brian Hastings: I think donating to charity is a good thing.
QUESTION FROM Titsushi: How do you manage to concile studies and poker?
ANSWER FROM Brian Hastings: it's tough to do both really well. lately I've been more focused on school, but if you budget your time well it's doable. most college kids have plenty of free time, just use a chunk to play poker instead of watching TV or whatever
ANSWER FROM Brian Hastings: ok I'm done guys....take it easy and gl at the tables