Ugignadl

As I have recently criticised a hand posted by my blog buddy Mirage, I figured it only fitting that I let him do the same. While I’m at it, since this is on Cake, I figured a Cake update could be a good idea as well.

So I’m trying to learn how to play STTs and MTTs like a champ. It’s not too tough, the hardest thing really is finding the time. Any big gaps in my day are … well they don’t really exist as a general rule. But whenever they do, from now on, I’ll be MTTing. On Cake, of course, despite their awful software ;).

Due to this I’ve had a bit of a rise in the old bankroll. I have won much cash playing almost every STT they have on offer. At my time of day (Aussie time) there isn’t much traffic on Cake, so this is pretty limited to the $20 and lower level. But they are great practice. I also placed well (3rd) in a $5 MTT, despite the software requiring a reinstall near the end and not allowing me to continue play. Bastards.

Anywho I can’t stomach just playing tournaments and recently I had a really bad day at the local cash game. So while playing some tournies I decided to get going on the cash tables in the background. I present for you, my featured butchered hand of the week.

This is the first hand I played at the table, no reads, no notes on other players. It’s at 200NL because whenever I play lower I end up drinking and donking everyone to death. It’s fun but I was trying to remain sober and learn up on tournament play. This is convenient because Mirage’s hand was also at 200NL ;).

Cake Poker 200NL (6max) 6-handed

UTG (365.00 in chips)
MP (283.10 in chips)
CO (85.40 in chips)
BTN (227.45 in chips)
SB (295.10 in chips)
BB/Hero (198.00 in chips) <— Ugi

Preflop: 9 9 dealt to Hero (BB)
UTG raises to $10, 3 folds, SB calls, Hero calls

Flop: ($30) J 8 T
SB checks, UTG bets to $30, Hero is all-in, SB calls, BB calls

Turn: T
River: T

Six hundred dollar pot eh… 300BBs is the more impressive number. What do you think they had? SB was packing JT and UTG had AA for the lose…
What should I have done? Well, this is a blog, not a forum post, so I guess I’ll have to say. I should have reraised before the flop. That’s my standard move in this position in this hand without reads. I’m really not impressed that I didn’t manage to do it. Sure, I have the best relative position, which is important, but I have no reads to use that relative position. Look at the math behind the flop as well; it’s no good. Bad move Ugi, bad move! Start ye olde beration plz ;).

I figured it was time to write something in the blog. I apologise, I have been trying to keep things up to date. I will write an update (I promise!) sometime soon. In the meantime, here is a rant.

I present: a rant on mathematics and poker. It is motivated by this thread.

I am short on time due to life but I must say something on math (no groaning). Mathematics is the way to learn poker correctly. However, not many people even know what mathematics is, as a field of science, let alone are qualified to judge if it is required to play poker.

I will give you two examples of poker players to illustrate my argument without actually presenting it in full detail. The first poker player has tonnes of experience playing all kinds of games. They learnt over time, trying new things and sticking to those which gained them money; that is, over time they have learnt which plays to make and how to eke out some profit playing poker. This player does not know why the best move in a certain situation is to push: they just know that it will work to gain them the most money in the long run, with some vague (usually personal and invented) rules to guide them. These rules are memory devices, used to help the player remember which moves to make. But they are not reasons.

The second player is very much like the first. On the surface, they make the same moves and they eke out the same profit (for the sake of argument). Underneath however they are very different players (and most likely, people). Underneath they understand the reasons for every action they take: the fold there in middle position, the call with an ace high busted flush draw, the push over the top on a dangerous board. They can break down their opponents games and convert everything into a probabilistic landscape, calculate the best course to achieve maximum profit, and set out on it. This is the mathematician playing poker; it is a dynamic, exciting and very challenging way to play. But it is unquestionably the best way to play.

But why? Fine, I have dragged myself in. Let us make a further assumption. It is reasonable I assure you. Both players are NOT perfect. They are both learning and growing. Now I bet (I am a gambler after all) that when I gave the above two descriptions one was an old wizened man and the other a young hothead or similar. This is because the first player by necessity must spend a lot of time tweaking their game to adapt to changing situations, new rules, players changing their games (changing gears) and so on. That is to say in a very precise sense that the first player is not perfect: they do not have every move in every situation for every possible game against every possible player including every possible alteration that player may make to their game. When phrased in that manner it is obvious that such a concept is ridiculous. The first player knows and will just do his best to adapt the game he has learnt. The second player is in a significantly better position however. Because everything they do is built up from a set of information that they know at the time they make every decision, if one of the variables changes then this will be relatively simple to recalculate and make the appropriate move.

Conclusion: poker and mathematics, one the problem and the other the solution.

Good luck at the tables.