Review: Making of a Poker Player by Matros

I just finished Matt Matros's MAKING OF A POKER PLAYER.

If you're like me, you pretty much read everything that comes out, with mixed results.

This book is actually pretty good. His credentials - he made the final table of a WPT event, winning $700 K - don't compare to Hellmuth's or Chan's, but his perspective - a young student entering the poker world and climbing the ranks - sets him apart.

The first 5 chapters are very basic, and will be a little boring for regular players. But, for those who are new to poker, and who are still determining what game is right for them, which limits to play, online versus casino -- this is a good place to start.

Matros sprinkles tips throughout the narrative, using his own beats (and wins) to tell the story, and gives solid advice to players looking to build a strong playing foundation. The best tip is to find someone else who loves to talk poker and analyze hands, and talk about poker with that person constantly. This is espeically helpful if that person has a different style than you.

One of the final chapters suggests further reading, and this was the part that I found most lacking. He recommends Gary Carson's COMPLETE HOLD'EM without reservation (I think following Carson's strategy will actually cost most good players money), as well as Ken Warren's book as a good beginner book (Warren's book is terrific -- but it's terrific for me if you've read it and follow the advice, since much of the book isn't very good). Matros cautions that there are a lot of books out there, some good, some bad, and some poorly written. This is true. But, even bad books can have one tip that will improve your game (you, the reader, have to discern what aspects of a text you should disregard).

One book that doesn't make his suggested reading list is Hellmuth's PLAY POKER LIKE THE PROS. Personally, I don't think Hellmuth's book is a very good book. He does give some solid advice, but even Phil Hellmuth can't teach a person to play like Phil Hellmuth, and for the most part, I think that there are better books out there. But, you have to acknowledge that his book has sold a lot of copies. For that reason alone, you have to read it. You might not follow his advice, but you want to be able to recognize when your opponent IS following his advice and adapt your play accordingly.

But, overall, Matros's book is an enjoyable read. If you've been playing for a while, you may want to skip it, but if you're fairly new to the game, you should find plenty within to make it worth the time.

I'd make this play 100 times, results be damned

No limit tournament, everyone started with 6,000 in chips, and we were still in the first round with blinds 100/200.
I raised to 600 with Ace spades, queen of hearts.
The small blind called, the big blind folded.
The flop came Q, J, 8, all spades.
The small blind bet $500, making the pot $1900.
I had $5,300 in chips.
I decided my best play was to go all-in. With top pair, top kicker, I could beat a lot of hands he might be in this spot, and with the nut-flush re-draw, I had outs if he had flopped the flush.
He called -- almost instantly -- and turned up K,9, suited in spades.
"Spade, spade," I called. The turn was a spade! But, it was the 10, making an ace-high flush for me and a straight flush for my opponent, knocking me out of the tournament.
But, even though I got busted out on this hand, I don't think I could have played it any different. I think I made the right play. If my opponent is bluffing on the flop, I shut him down and win a decent pot. If he has a hand better than top pair, top kicker, I have outs to beat him.
If I smooth-call the flop, I don't know where I'm at in the hand, and might give him outs to draw to beat me (two pair or a straight). And, as it turned out, when the spade hit on the turn, my chips would have gone in the pot with the ace high flush anyway.
Right play, wrong result, but sometimes, that's poker.

review: One of a Kind: the Stu Ungar book

I received an early copy of ONE OF A KIND from an associate at Simon & Schuster, and tore through it.
Any poker player who hasn't heard of "The Kid" needs to read this book, and most players will want to check it out just to get the most complete version of his life available.
The basics: Ungar showed an early talent for gin, and won tons of money in heads-up play at an early age. He also won several gin tournaments. But, he was so good -- and beat the opposition so completely -- that he couldn't get games.
So, he moved 0n to poker, where he showed tremendous skill.
He's the only player to win the main event at the World Series of Poker 3 times, which is reason enough to read the book.
Originally conceived as a memoir, Ungar was working with Nolan Dalla prior to his death. When Stuey died, Dalla reconfigured the book - with the help of Peter Alson - as a biography.
The book is a great read, and well-researched. Because Dalla had interviewed Ungar for the project, the authors let him 'speak' in several sections, which adds to the experience.
Ungar's constant need to be 'in action' was his greatest strength and a big downfall. He could destroy a poker game or win hundreds of thousands in a poker tournament, only to lose it on the golf course, at the track or betting on sports.
But, the biggest problem is that Ungar couldn't keep away from drugs, and that addiction ultimately killed him.
This is a frustrating book to read, because every poker player dreams of achieving what Ungar achieved, and yet you have to read about his undoing as well.
A cautionary tale that has appeal beyond the green felt, ONE OF A KIND is a book that will be read and talked about by most serious poker players.

straight forward play usually makes the most $

Mike Caro calls it "FPS" - Fancy Play Syndrome. It's when you opt for the fancy play rather than the most straight-forward one. Sometimes FPS costs you a pot you would have otherwise won; sometimes, it just costs you money.
The game was 10/20 with a 1/2 kill, and the kill was on, making it 15/30.
I was in early position with 22, and limped behind two callers. The player behind me and the button called.
The flop came 9, 3, 2 rainbow. One player led, I smooth-called* and the player behind me raised. The big blind called, as did the initial raiser. I called**.
The turn paired the 3. It was checked to me, and I checked***, looking to check-raise the field. The flop-raiser checked.
The river was a Jack, it was checked to me and everyone folded to the initial flop bettor, who reluctantly called with Ace, 9.

* I could have immediately raised on the flop; I might have shut out the field behind me, or they may have come along for the ride. I like the call here, and am hoping someone raises.
** I could have made it three bets here, which, in retrospect, would have been the right play. I would have trapped them for an additional small bet, and then, would bet (or raise) the turn.
*** Going for the check-raise after the board pairs is a dangerous move; I was confident that my full house was good, and wanted maximize the money. But, given the action, I was not confident that my opponent would oblige with a bet. I should have bet the turn.

In this instance, FPS cost me at least $90 (both players would have called my flop raise; one of them may have re-raised; both players also would have called my turn bet). Both players had a 9, one with an ace kicker, so they would have given me action.

Single Table Tourny fun

I was killing time before dinner in a Sit-n-Go when my opponent basically threw the tourny. We were heads-up, the blinds were 400/800, I had $8,000 in chips to his $7,000.

He raised to 1600 pre-flop, a very small raise. I had JTo. I felt that he had an ace or king, and was trying to steal the blinds. I called, thinking I could out-play him if rags flopped, or get lucky and out-flop him.

The flop came A, K, rag. I checked, and he bet 1600.

Since I put him on an Ace or King, I figured I needed to hit a queen to win the pot. But, I also figured that if I did hit, I'd take him out. After he bet, there was 4,800 in the pot, and it cost me 1600 to call, pot odds of 3 to 1. I wasn't getting near the 11 to 1 odds needed to go for the gut-shot, except I was sure that I could put him all-in and drawing dead if the miracle card hit. I called.

My implied odds weren't great, but the chance to win it all right there made it attactive (the amount in the pot plus the amount in his stack totalled 8600, so my implied odds were 8600 to 1600, or about 5 to 1).

The turn was the Queen. I checked, he went all-in, and I called, winning the tournament. He had Ace, 6 for top pair, weak kicker.

After the flop, the pot was big enough to merit just taking it down. By making a small, weak bet, my opponent made it easy for me to call. If he had bet the pot (or more), I would have folded, and we might still be heads-up.

when opponents don't understand your play

I was in the big blind. The game was fired up.
A very loose and aggressive player raised a limper from middle position and the field folded to me.
I have very little respect for this particular player's moves; he raises from the blinds fairly often with suspect hands, and will open raise with on a whim, sometimes with as little as A,xs -- or worse.
I looked down and found pocket 9s. Wanting to knock out the limper -- who, in my opinion is also a bad player -- I three-bet the pot.
They both called, and the flop came QQ5.
I bet, the limper folded, the pre-flop raiser called.
The turn was an ace, definitely not the card I wanted to see. But, I grit my teeth and bet, determined to fold if he raised. He called.
The river was a deuce. I bet, he called, I turned over my 9s, and won the pot (he had pocket 8s).
This is not an exceptional hand; I got a little lucky that my opponent had the exact hand he held, but having played with him many times, I wasn't surprised to take down the pot.
After I showed my hand, the limper expressed shock (maybe outrage?) at my holding.
"You three-bet with 9s? How could you three-bet with 9s?"
Well, I felt that I had the best hand pre-flop, but that it was a vulnerable holding; any overcard would be dangerous, even if he held a suspect hand like J,8 (the kind of hand he is often willing to play). By forcing him to cold-call two bets, I was hoping to drive him out and play the pot heads-up. He foiled my plan by calling, but then he got in line and folded on the flop.
But, telling him all this would have been a waste of breath.
So I told him, "I'm just looking for action, looking to lose my money as fast as possible, having fun and raising it up."
I like how I played the hand. I evaluated my opponents and my holding and maximized my win while minimizing my potential loss (I can get away from pocket 9s pretty easily if I feel that I am beat). If my opponent doesn't understand all my plays, then I must be in the right game.