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As part of the process of developing Le Monsieur and my ABC training app, I've been noodling around a lot with starting hands, equities, hot-and-cold numbers, etc... The goal is to not only give a newbie safe and reasonable recommendations for starting hands, but to explain the why, too... which actually turns out to be fairly difficult. It sounds simple, but doing all the math properly to determine when a hand should or shouldn't be opened from different positions is tough, and if anything, I'm now a bit more confused than when I started... Lots of books and online guides give starting hand chart recommendations (and many of these contradict each other), but the confusing part is there is basically zero analysis of "why" a hand like KTs should be opened in MP. I'm doing all manner of analysis, and probably spent five hours on it yesterday alone.
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And speaking of starting hands, I watched an Ed Miller video on $2/$5 live poker earlier this week, and his recommendation was to treat the first five seats at a nine-handed table exactly the same, and to play no more than 15% of your hands in any one of those seats. Specifically: 66+, AXs, K9s+, 76s+, J9s+, AJ+, KQ. Then in cut-off seat, open raise: K7s+, 43s+, 53s+, J8s+, A9o+, KT0+, QJo. And really open up your game on the button... Seems a little extreme, but EM is the man, so he's got me thinking...
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Been on a bit of a downswing in cash games the past few weeks. I think I'm playing fairly well, so it's just variance at work. I'm getting sucked out on left and right by incredibly bad players. The bad (good?) news is I recently cashed out a large chunk of my bankroll, so my (now) small online 'roll is, well, even smaller. Looks like I will have to drop down a few levels to build it all back up again...
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Went deep in a big-field online tourney on Bovada yesterday. Starting field was 1078 runners, and I finished in 35th place after five hours of play. Was seventh in chips when I got it all in with a fifteen out straight flush draw and over cards holding KhQh on a Jh-Th-3s board. Villain snap called holding 9s8s for the idiot end of the straight draw. I had him covered by 30% or so. Of course he turned an eight and the river bricked, leaving me one of the shorties at the table. The rest of my money went in a few hands later with AKs and I was sent packing. Sigh.
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Am enjoying the Sunday night WSOP broadcasts, even with the ever annoying Norm on the microphone. Episodes #3 and #4 were particularly fun to watch, with an obnoxious amateur getting under the skin of a professional at the table with his incessant table talk. Lesson to be learned: don't wrestle with a pig. You both will get covered in mud, but the pig will enjoy the experience.
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All-in for now...
-Bug
