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24th April 2007
Dear Reader,
How has your week been??
I've not done so well online but I did win nearly £400 in a cash
game - very exciting I can tell you -
I had crashed out of a £5 Rebuy tournament fairly early, mainly
because my cards were absolutely awful - but I decided to play in
a Cash Game afterwards. I sat down with £20 and ended up with
£370 managing to catch all the good cards I didn't get in the Tournament
!
This week I want to discuss:
- When is a cold deck not a cold deck?
- My Tip of the Week: which is about not getting despondent on
a bad run and
- Some Hot News in from Russia!
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When is a Cold Deck not a Cold Deck??
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Firstly - What is a Cold Deck? I found a Definition which sums it
up best:
"A Cold Deck is a deck of cards that a cheat has fixed. A deck, presumably
with preset hands in it (usually with several good hands, the best
of which will go to the dealer or his confederate), surreptitiously
substituted by a cheat for the deck he is supposed to be dealing.
It is so called because, after cards are dealt for awhile, they warm
a bit to the touch, while a cold deck actually feels cool."
This used to be the definition of a Cold Deck - but nowadays
if someone says - "this is a Cold Deck" - they would mean it is as
if it has been set up - There is no question of cheating or underhand
practices in this day and age.
There was an absolutely amazing hand on the Party Poker European
Open which was shown on Channel 5 last week - and this is as close
as I can come to showing you what is meant by a Cold Deck nowadays
-
There were 6 players -
Dale Hoy with 134,000
Darren Hickman with 124,000
Leon Loukaides with 123,000
Denis O'Mahoney with 92,000
Achilleas Kallakis with 74,000
Jon Hewston with 53,000
It was fairly early on in the game and Blinds were 1,000/2,000.
Denis O'Mahoney is first to act (Under the Gun) and he picks up a
pair of Cowboys, (a pair of Kings) and he raises the pot to 6K - a
standard 3X the Big Blind.
Darren Hickman then looks at his cards and he has the Ladies - a pair
of Queens !!
The commentators, Jesse May and Ken Lennart say: "he's about
to be on the back end of some bad cards"
He raises 20,000 more by adding 26K to the pot.
Leon folds J,10 and Achilleas is next to act - He has the Pocket Rockets
- American Airlines - A pair of Aces - the best hand pre-flop !!
The Commentators say: "Look at his face - Yum yum Yum -
Sweets for my sweet, sugar for my Daddy" What a great position
to be in with a raise and re-raise before him and he's holding Aces.
He ponders whether to Re-Raise or just call - He decides to go all
in - he's a bit short-stacked and it's really not that much more to
call -
Dale Hoy looks at his hand and he has a pair of Sevens !! Normally
in a 6-handed game, that would be a good starting hand, but with a
raise, a re-raise and a re-re-raise all-in before him - he
throws the sevens away very quickly !
Jon Hewston picks up his cards and finds a pair of Fives !!!! Ditto
- Normally in a 6-handed game, it would also be a good starting hand,
but with three players raising before him - it's a no-brainer to fold
them very very quickly!
Action is back to O'Mahoney with his Kings. Ken Lennart commentating
says: "Folding Kings is not good in a 6-handed game - if you're
not going to get your chips in with Kings in this format – then when
will you put your chips in?”
O’Mahoney ponders for absolutely ages – Achilleas taunts him by
saying “Do you really want to go home now?” O’Mahoney has to
not only worry about what Achilleas might be holding – but also how
Denis Hickman is going to act behind him – so after many minutes agonising,
he reluctantly folds his Kings.
Ken Lennart says: “I’ve never seen Kings laid down pre-flop
in this format before – it’s one of the greatest laydowns I’ve ever
seen !” He and Jesse May discuss the fact that he must have sensed
that either Achilleas or Hickman has a pair of Aces and that it was
a fabulous fold.
Hickman also ponders for ages with his pair of Queens and then decides
to take a gamble and calls!
The odds are 80% to 19% in Achilleas’s favour (1% for a split pot)
O’Mahoney is patting himself on the back as he informs the table he
folded a pair of Kings.
The Flop comes down… 2, 3, K and O’Mahoney has a silent agonising
scream !
The Turn is a 4 – anything but a Queen on the river and Achilleas
doubles up –
Hickman has 2-outs, the last two queens in the pack – and the flop
comes down… Queen !!
Achilleas is out –
Jesse May says: “What a hand – this deck is colder than
a polar bear’s freezer” and Ken Lennart says: “What
an amazing – amazing hand, definitely one for the books”
By the way - someone has been kind enough to put this hand on YouTube
-
www.youtube.com/watch?v=KNz-Duyx3Lc
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POST MORTEM
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Well – Pocket Pairs given to 5 players out of 6 – quite incredible
and destined for a lot of action -
Denis O’Mahoney sensed that his Kings were beaten and so they were
pre-flop – it was unfortunate that if he had stayed in, he would have
tripled up and been a massive chip-leader – but he would have had
to hit one of the remaining Kings in the deck to do so and the odds
are 4-1 against doing this –
Same decision for Darren Hickman – but he chose to gamble and very
VERY luckily hit one of his two remaining Queens –
Achilleas was totally right to go all-in to try and narrow the field
to one opponent and it might have been possible that both players
could have folded their hands pre-flop –
But that’s poker – it is not an exact science and the odds don’t always
go the way they should – Learn to get over bad-beats and you’ll do
fine – as this will happen to you again and again. See my Tip of the
Week if you are having a cold spell….
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TIP OF THE WEEK
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I have just read a great article by John Carlisle who is a Poker Columnist
and has a Degree in Psychology. It’s all about your frame of mind
when things are not running very well or you are having a lean spell.
He uses a phrase called “Time for a Gut Check” which his old High
School basketball coach used to call such situations.
“It is the tough times that we face that truly tests our courage,
determination, and our character. It involves looking within yourself
to uncover the roots of the problem.”
Most of the time, the issue lies within our own thoughts. A losing
streak presents a whole bunch of different psychological challenges.
Your energy can dissipate, you start to question yourself, your tactics,
and your abilities. Obviously this can be applied to all aspects of
life – but it can most definitely be applied to Poker – If you find
yourself discouraged, it might be time for an old-fashioned gut-check.
When you are losing, it does not mean that you are a bad player. Test
your determination and character before your next deal. Get your mind
straight, and the poker will come back into your comfort zone !
To read the full article go to: http://www.pokerplayernewspaper.com:80/viewarticle.php?id=1916
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HONEY, I’VE GOT SOME BAD NEWS’
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This just in from Russia –
Andrei Karpov, from Moscow, Russia, is a prime example of a man not
knowing when to leave a poker table. So desperate he was to stay in
a poker game, he put his wife up as a stake after he'd run out of
money.
His unusual stake didn’t bring him any luck and he eventually lost
the game to his opponent Sergey Brodov. Brodov then went to Karpov’s
house to claim his winnings. Even more surprisingly, Tatiana, Karpov’s
then wife, agreed with the idea instead of point-blank refusing to
be used as winnings in a poker game.
As a result, she divorced Karpov and later married Brodov and has
not regretted her decision.
'It was humiliating and I was utterly ashamed. But as soon as my ex-husband
did that I knew I had to leave him,” Tatiana said.
“Sergey was a very handsome, charming man and I am very happy with
him, even if he did "win" me in a poker game.”
I’m not sure what the moral of the story is but it made me laugh to
read it !
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So… I’m off to get over my bad online week and get some wins under
my belt!
I’ll let you know how I get on next week.
All the best
Meg Arana
Hold or Fold |
