HAUNTED

Part of developing a complete poker game is putting your opponent on a hand based on the board texture and betting patterns.  No matter how good you get, there is always a hand where you honestly say of all the hands imaginable, it wasn't that.  Here's a hand from last week:

ALL-IN IS THE WEAKER MOVE

Here's a poker argument we can have forever, going all-in before the flop in tournament poker is weaker than a proper raise.  Here's a hand I just played as an example:
It's a deep-stack tournament at Hustler Casino in Gardena, CA.  It's 15 minutes past the 2nd break and about half the starting field remains.  The blinds are $600-$1200 with $100 ante, 4 tables of 9 are still seated.  I've been at this table for 2 rotations and have yet to play a hand.  I'm in the cutoff when the cards come out.

FLOP LAG... the poker gods must be crazy

I believe in the unreasonable theory that there’s a life force dictating the rhythm of poker, much for it’s own amusement.  As much as I play by the laws of game theory and math, I’m still a poker-Gods guy.  It’s fun for me and like any other theist position it’s as silly to argue as it is to argue.  I believe that when facing a raise, if you look at one hole card at a time, it’s never the rag first.

DonkeyFish, a whale tale.

He’s the most annoying human being on the planet.  He never shuts-up.  He’s absolutely a horrible poker player who constantly runs his mouth like he invented the game.  His first hand was halfway into the second blind round, announcing proudly that he’d just gone broke and re-entered the tournament.  I’ve played against him before and while I don’t remember why, right away I know I’m not happy to see him.