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Tom Dwan is at it again. This kid is treading on thin ice and his
arrogance eventually is going to catch up to him. If you have not heard
Tom Dwan has issued a challenge to anyone that wants to play him
Heads-Up for $1 Million dollars on Full Tilt. The game will likely be
Pot Limit Omaha or Holdem. Basically, Dwan wants to play fifty-thousand
hands and whomever is up $1 Million after the session is considered the
winner. If any of Dwans challengers win he will pay them $500,000 + $1
Million.

So far Phil Ivey, Patrick Antonious and David Benjamin have taken him up on his offer but the sessions have not been played yet.

Here is my take on all of this. I have watched Tom Dwan play on
Poker After Dark and I have also watched his interaction with the other
players. Tom is a good player and even above average but he is not
nearly the top echelon player that he is purporting himself to be. In
his favor is the fact that he is playing over the internet where he is
most comfortable. Tom Dwan has yet to make his mark playing live cash
games or live tournaments. Until he does that no challenge issued by
him or anyone else for that matter is going to earn him the same
respect. Here is a thought since it appears that Tom cannot keep his
poker ego in-check.

If you really want to prove what kind of tough guy you are at the
table in a high stakes game or heads-up match how about playing in the
big game?

Playing with that caliber of player consistently and being able to
beat the game will earn you the accolades you so desperately seek. It
looks like Dwan, like many of the other younger players, is seeking
fame via the shortcut route instead of grinding it out as is required.
Respect is earned over long periods of time and consistent play over
the years. Poker skill is assessed the same way. One $1 Million dollar
session against Ivey, Antonious or anyone else does not put you amongst
the elite win or lose.

Maybe Tom Dwan should sit down with Doyle Brunson and just listen for a while the next time he comes up with a dumb idea.

Be careful what you ask for, you just might get it.

www.do-or-die-poker.com

The first Do or Die Poker podcast is now online and ready for
downloading. It took me a while to get to it but I am pleased with it
and I hope you enjoy it as much as I did. In my haste I left out the
“or” in the URL but it is easily read throughout the entire podcast or
by simply searching Do or Die Poker.

Hey I’m knew to pod casting so I figure one mistake on the first one won’t kill me.

lol

Anyhow, we would love to hear your feedback so that we can continue
to improve the podcast moving forward. Thanks for your patience and
enjoy the show.

Curtis III AKA “Curtom”

www.do-or-die-poker.com

President Barak Obama

Yes, those are the words we are all anxiously
waiting to hear with the election of Barak Obama as President of the
United States. When former Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist got his
beloved Unlawful Internet Gaming Enforcement Act passed it marked the
beginning of the end of online poker in the United States for many
companies that had been thriving previously. Shortly thereafter we saw
operations like Party Gaming and several others make a mass exodus
while losing the majority of their client base here in the U.S.

At the time Frist gave the following statement:

“Gambling is a serious addiction that undermines the family, dashes
dreams, and frays the fabric of society. Congress has grappled with
this issue for 10 years, and during that time we’ve watched this shadow
industry explode. For me as majority leader, the bottom line is simple:
Internet gambling is illegal. Although we can’t monitor every online
gambler or regulate offshore gambling, we can police the financial
institutions that disregard our laws.”

Oh really?

Gambling can indeed be addictive as can drinking alcohol or doing
drugs. However, to simply outlaw the industry without fully attempting
to understand how it works and how the people that participate in it
are affected is irresponsible and reeks of arrogance. The line
portraying poker as a “shadow industry” is a cop out. It is a cop out
because no one bothered to take the time to determine how to make
online poker work in this country. Instead of doing their homework our
uppity congress decided to disengage instead of engaging.

One would think that with the revenue potential via taxes, as of
2005 online poker was a $200 million dollar a month industry, online
poker could easily be regulated with little effort on our behalf. Each
of the large internet gaming operations from Full Tilt to Party Poker
have made it clear that they are ok with being transparent and paying
taxes in order to provide their services to online poker players in the
U.S. That is what really angers me as a poker player. It would be one
thing if they just flat decided they were not interested in
transparency. But when the very industry that we are outlawing has made
overtures to comply with our standards it becomes puzzling to say the
least.

So, whether you voted for President Obama or not he is our best
chance to put the game that we love back online in a positive way for
everyone involved. Somehow I am fairly confident that a man with a
Harvard law degree can bring some sense to internet poker sites and tax
it like any other service provided by a company here in America. I
don’t expect it to be his top priority but it sure would be nice if it
were somewhere on his “to do” list.

Is that too much to ask?

www.do-or-die-poker.com

The flop came down [7][8][3] with a flush draw on the board.

The small blind bet out and I immediately put him on a flush draw or
top pair. Feeling confident in my read I raised to find out where I was
at in the hand.

I smooth call and the turn brings a harmless [9] and a potential straight on the board.

At this point in the hand I am confident I have the best hand even
with the possibility of a straight on the board. I then bet out another
$650 which was enough to keep my opponent in the pot if he was on a
draw and enough to push him out if he had put me on a draw instead
without having a hand.

The river brought a [K] which is the last card I wanted to see.

However, after thinking through the hand I was fairly confident that
he did not have a King but checked the hand nonetheless. As it turns
out I was correct. If he had a King he likely would have raised
pre-flop or bet out when it hit the board and I would have known my
Jacks were no good. Had he made a small value bet I likely would have
had to call for the pot odds. The bottom line is that I missed another
opportunity to get money in the pot and get maximum value from my hand.
On the other hand the check wasn’t a horrible play but it was a passive
play on my part even though it is very likely that my opponent would
have simply folded his hand.

How would you play this hand?

www.do-or-die-poker.com

Short Stacked: Get Your Chips in the Middle

Posted by Curtom | October 22, 2008 | Posted in: Articles, News, Strategy, Tournament | Comments (0)Edit

Poker Chips

Lets not make any bones about it. We all get involved in hands where
we lose chips in poker tournaments. Sometimes we even lose a big pot on
our journey to the “promised land.” Sometimes no matter what we just
don’t get there at all. However, you never give up as long as you have
a chip and a chair. Yes, I said it and I meant it. Monday night I
happened to be playing the Pokerstars $10 No Limit (360 players)
tournament. I enjoy these particular tournaments simply because the
numbers are good and if I can build a stack my odds of getting to the
final table are better than most.

Early on I didn’t get a whole lot of cards and things were awfully
slow for me. However, I was able to pick up a pot here and there to
hang around. I must stress to you that I have the patience of Job when
it comes to tournament poker which is very atypical of online players
but also explains why I cash so often. I am always optimistic about my
chances of overcoming any circumstance no matter how difficult. The
hand listed below is an example of not only my patience but also how I
got extremely lucky to triple up. However, by being patient and
allowing myself to at least hang around as long as possible before
getting my chips in I was rewarded for my effort. No, I didn’t go on to
cash or make the final table in this one but I did give myself an
opportunity to make a run at it. That is what it’s all about! You must
give yourself every opportunity to survive and thrive in any poker tournament you enter.

Here is how the hand played out:

PokerStars Game #21364790245: Tournament #114745988, $9.00+$0.90 Hold’em No Limit – Level VII (125/250) – 2008/10/20 22:55:33 ET

Table ‘114745988 5′ 9-max Seat #5 is the button

Seat 1: A-10off (11045 in chips)

Seat 2: 1AceHole (4540 in chips)

Seat 3: Curtom (1235 in chips)

Seat 4: WoodBrave (5861 in chips)

Seat 5: Counterfeit9 (2570 in chips)

Seat 6: Mallecas (5140 in chips)

Seat 7: Taku1 (9915 in chips)

Seat 9: Vitão_Piruca (3041 in chips)

A-10off: posts the ante 25

1AceHole: posts the ante 25

Curtom: posts the ante 25

WoodBrave: posts the ante 25

Counterfeit9: posts the ante 25

Mallecas: posts the ante 25

Taku1: posts the ante 25

Vitão_Piruca: posts the ante 25

Mallecas: posts small blind 125

Taku1: posts big blind 250

*** HOLE CARDS ***

Dealt to Curtom [9c 9d]

Vitão_Piruca: folds

A-10off: folds

1AceHole: raises 750 to 1000

Curtom: raises 210 to 1210 and is all-in

WoodBrave: folds

Counterfeit9: folds

Mallecas: raises 750 to 1960

Taku1: folds

1AceHole: raises 2555 to 4515 and is all-in

Mallecas: calls 2555

*** FLOP *** [4s 9h 3d]

*** TURN *** [4s 9h 3d] [7c]

*** RIVER *** [4s 9h 3d 7c] [8c]

*** SHOW DOWN ***

Mallecas: shows [Jd Js] (a pair of Jacks)

1AceHole: shows [Qd Qh] (a pair of Queens)

1AceHole collected 6610 from side pot

Curtom: shows [9c 9d] (three of a kind, Nines)

Curtom collected 4080 from main pot

*** SUMMARY ***

Total pot 10690 Main pot 4080. Side pot 6610. | Rake 0

Board [4s 9h 3d 7c 8c]

Seat 1: A-10off folded before Flop (didn’t bet)

Seat 2: 1AceHole showed [Qd Qh] and won (6610) with a pair of Queens

Seat 3: Curtom showed [9c 9d] and won (4080) with three of a kind, Nines

Seat 4: WoodBrave folded before Flop (didn’t bet)

Seat 5: Counterfeit9 (button) folded before Flop (didn’t bet)

Seat 6: Mallecas (small blind) showed [Jd Js] and lost with a pair of Jacks

Seat 7: Taku1 (big blind) folded before Flop

Seat 9: Vitão_Piruca folded before Flop (didn’t bet)

Summary: Clearly I am behind the eight ball here. I no
longer have the option of waiting around for a hand and the average
stack is around $5k+ No matter how many people are in front of me with
a raise I have to get my chips in the middle here. This is a typical Do
or Die play that you have to be willing to make no matter the
circumstances. Pocket Nines certainly is not the worst hand in the
world and with 2 people in the pot you may be up against [A][K] and
[A][Q] if you are really lucky as this would give you a sleight edge.

Unfortunately for me I was a 4 to 1 dog in this hand on both sides
with my opponents holding pocket pairs larger than mine. However, if
the poker “gods” see fit I can come out of the hand with a new lease on
life and a few fighting chips to build with.

The [9] hit for me on the flop and the hand held up for a nice pot
and some much needed breathing room. By not allowing myself to get
blinded off I gave myself an opportunity to get back in the tournament
while I still had a few chips to make the double up or triple up worth
while. Therein lies the key! Don’t wait until you are down to $800
chips with a 250/150 blinds to get your chips in because you still need
to double up again to have some breathing room. I would have done the
same thing if I had had $1600 in chips. Double up when it means
something and you have a couple of good things that can happen for you.
One, you just may have the best hand. Two, you might get lucky against
multiple callers and put yourself in position to re-build your stack.

That is how you play Do or Die Poker!

Patience, persistence, and position are vital to winning poker tournaments. The three P’s have been my mantra for as long as I have played tournament poker. Why? Because you simply cannot win a tournament without having these three attributes in your game. I came up with the “3P’s” about three years ago. I know that’s a lot of threes but you will understand later. Anyhow, basically I had a major tournament break through after reading Harrington on Hold’em volumes 1,2, & 3 when it came out a few years ago. I went on a run and took down about $3000 over a one month period with finishes of 2nd place, 4th place, and 3rd place in some low buy-in tournaments.All of the sudden I had a bankroll!

Prior to this breakthrough I was cashing quite often but not getting to the final table with any substantial amount of chips if at all. To make a long story short I ended up re-reading all of the books I felt had a significant impact on my game. Many times when you read something the first time, especially when it involves playing poker, you cannot firmly grasp the technique or concept until you have enough experience to truly understand its meaning. This is exactly what had happened to me. I was stuffed full of theory but had yet to really understand how to apply all that I had learned over my first year or two playing the game. Once I had that break through I was able to make final tables consistently and have won many multi-table tournaments since with 180 or players or more. I actually had a poker epiphany if you will and I gained clarity over many of the concepts I had read in the blink of an eye. It just all came together and made sense.

One day I decided to sum up my approach to the game and that is how I came up with the three P’s. So here is the breakdown of the three P’s as they apply to my game and tournament poker:

Patience – Without patience you might as well just jump in a cash game or not play tournaments at all. These days there is an extremely high level of aggression in poker tournaments. It is so high that players are willing to take a draw for their entire stack from the first card that hits the felt. Good players DO NOT do this. You never take a draw early in a tournament when you can out play that same player later for a much bigger pot when you have the nutz. Trust me on this one. The player the triples up on the first hand and jumps out to the chip lead rarely wins the tournament or even makes the final table.

Persistence – Persistence is precisely what you would think it would be. You must be relentless in the pots you are involved in against weaker players. That means continuation bets and even firing a second and third bullet when the situation or your opponent dictates. Chips are power and they are of no use to you if they are not in play. That does not mean that you are reckless with your play but it does mean that when you enter a pot you mean business.

Position – Position is still king amongst those that play poker as it should be. Having position in poker is like being on the top of a hill with an M-60 machine gun. You have a significant advantage over your opponents and you need to be capable of taking advantage of that position even when you are waiting to re-load that M-60 when your opponents show weakness. Just by the nature of the game you tend to win many more pots in position than you do out.

There you have it! That is my theory on tournament poker in a nutshell. The three P’s – don’t leave home without’em.

www.do-or-die-poker.com

Finally! After browsing and tweaking and programming html until I dropped I am pleased with the end result for my new theme. Welcome to the New and Improved Do or Die Poker blog. This past year has been an absolute blast. Never in my wildest dreams could I have predicted how well Do or Die Poker would be doing today. We literally have readers from around the world from Los Angeles, California to New Zealand and our readership continues to grow each month.

Since we are celebrating our first anniversary I decided it was time to spruce up Do or Die Poker and bring a new energy and fervor to the place. I hope you enjoy it and continue to read Do or DIe Poker. Thanks for all of your comments, well wishes and support.

Sincerely,

Curtis III AKA “Curtom”

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Have you ever asked yourself if you are playing the right sized pot? If you haven’t you should. The very structure of your tournament will almost certainly dictate what kind of pot sizes will be prominent throughout the tournament.

Why?

The reason is because structure and pot size go hand-in-hand. If you happen to be playing a fast poker tournament you are likely to see pot sizes that are much larger. You are also more likely to see pre-flop pushes with Ace King and middle pairs hoping to win a race in early levels. You will see larger pre-flop raises in relation to slower tourneys too. Sure, in the first level or two there is time for a little patience but usually when the blinds start high and the hands are few and far between you do not have the luxury of waiting around.

On the other hand if you are playing in a slow structure you are likely to see much smaller pots being played and more “poker.” You are also going to be able to sit back and wait for good hands and use position more to your advantage. That doesn’t mean that fast structures do not have poker players too but the luck factor increases considerably in faster structures.

Typically slow structure tournaments are Deep Stack tournaments or tournaments that start you off with at least 100 big blinds or more with forty minute levels or longer. Many online players struggle in this kind of format because you are almost forced to make standard raises to get action and if you are not confident in your post flop play you will be shown to the rail rather quickly.

Either way you need to make sure and adjust your strategy accordingly.

www.do-or-die-poker.com

The entire world is beginning to feel the effects of our financial woes here in the United States of America. A bad economy equals a lot less poker for those that play the game. Already Las Vegas has seen a fourteen percent drop in gaming revenue and now the President has finally acknowledged what the entire world already knew – we are in BIG TROUBLE!

What really makes me wonder is how the economy will affect professional gamblers. Lets face it folks. Many of the “professional” poker players we see on television are not quite as liquid as one might believe. I would venture to say that many of our favorite poker players are not living nearly as high a life style as they may portray to the public. As I understand it only about one percent of the professional poker players are making serious cash outside of playing tournaments. That means they have substantial endorsement deals with major online sites or additional means of earning revenue without playing poker. Those players are few and far between.

Guys like Phil Ivey, Phil Hellmuth, Doyle Brunson, Howard Lederer, and Chris Ferguson are rare. Each of these players has a sizable endorsement deal to subsidize their bankroll or pay for tournaments entirely. Other professional players without the benefit of such deals are reallying strictly on tournament and cash game money. Many of those players are being staked or borrowing money. Considering how poorly the economy is performing in the United States those individuals that were loaning money and staking players for tournaments will begin to dry up sooner than later. I suspect we will see smaller tournament fields in the near future until such time as the economy begins to come back around.

Until then guard your bankroll with your life.