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16th November 2007
Welcome to Hold or Fold - The UK's only Poker E-Letter dedicated
to
helping YOU become a better player!
In this week's E-Letter -
*Could you play like the Crazy
Horse??
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Hiya there and how have you been this week?
OK - I'm sorry to have to confess that I haven't played a single
Sit and Go this week at all - I'm still really enjoying the Multi-Table
Tournaments - and I was VERY unlucky to go out with KK to someone's
AA during last Sunday's big one.
I just have to take that on the chin - there is no loss of pride
in losing to the bullets !
I've also been venturing into the HORSE tournaments - I was watching
the World Series of Poker HORSE event and I wanted to have a go
-
This is when you play five different types of poker normally 10
or 15 minutes of each.
I seem to do really well in the H-part i.e. Limit Hold'em and I
also like the Hi-Lo parts i.e. O=Omaha Hi/Lo and E=Stud Hi/Lo both
Lo hands have to be no higher than 8 high - I'm also getting used
to R=Razz but I'm still FAR too loose on S=Stud Limit.
I suppose it's like any game really - you have to play and gain
experience to learn it properly - I've got some information about
it on my main website: www.holdorfold.co.uk
but it's a good game to play if you're feeling that you'd like to
play some variation from good old Texas NL Hold'em !!
Ooh - I'm also off to Birmingham tomorrow to play in the Woman's
Poker Tournament with over £10K in the pot - So I'm really looking
forward to that and I'll let you know how I get on next week !!
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Could you play like the Crazy Horse??
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Ram 'Crazy Horse' Vaswani - So much has been written about him -
a member of the Hendon Mob and winner of countless tournaments -
I've watched him play many a time and it's easy to see why he is
such a great poker player -
One of the many reasons is that he is so difficult to read - he
chops and changes his game according to the players, the situation
and the chip counts and opponents just do not have a clue what type
of hand he is holding...
He also has great 'chutzpah' which is a jewish expression meaning
courage and confidence...
Here is one example which can take your breath away - could you
play this hand like Ram???
I seriously doubt it....
Here goes...
It is the Partypoker.net World Open Tournament.
A 6-handed shoot-out whereby only the winner goes through to the
Semi-Finals. So it is winner takes all...
One player has already gone so there are five players left and the
chip stacks are as follows:
Ian Woodley - 644,000
Anthony Hardy - 181,000
Ian Frazer - 171,000
Ram Vaswani - 105,000
Ian Cox - 99,000.
Ram has been getting a bit frustrated as he has Ian Woodley on his
left and almost every time Ram has made a move by raising on the
button - Ian has moved over the top and Ram has had to fold...
Admittedly they've mainly been marginal hands like K10 or QJ but
he's not been able to bully or intimidate Ian Woodley at all.
The Blinds are 3000/6000.
Ian Frazer is first to act and he folds as does Ian Cox.
Over to Ram sitting on the button...
He picks up: AS & AD
Roland De Wolfe commentating: "Finally - a hand for the
Crazy Horse"
Ram limps in for 6,000.
He is obviously hoping that Ian Woodley will go over the top of
him again as he has in countless hands before...
Jesse May also commentating: "He's limped on the button
- is that dangerous??"
Roland De Wolfe replies: "It IS dangerous - but I think
Ram is good enough to get away from certain hands - "
Jesse May continues: "And what is the idea behind it -
this is the only way he is going to be able to play some kind of
big pot??"
Roland answers: "I think so - he has also discovered that
Ian Woodley has a penchant for putting in a large amount of chips
with average hands pre-flop."
Ian Woodley picks up: JD & 7H
He doesn't raise, unluckily for Ram, he just adds the extra 3,000
for being in the Small Blind.
Anthony 'The Bookie' Hardy announces: "No Raise" with
his 8C & 5C.
So there is 18,000 in the pot and the Flop comes down: 9C QC and
QD
Ian Woodley chacks -
Anthony Hardy checks -
Ram also checks.
Jesse May: "Hardy's flopped a flush draw - I am wondering
that the fact that there is a pair on board there that Ram is going
to say 'well I'm not going to make the pot big but if someone else
does, maybe they're bluffing'"
Roland De Wolfe: "He will value-bet at certain points
when he believes his two-pair are good - when he's sure that no-one
has the Queen."
The Turn is 10H
The odds are 62% in Ram's Favour, Hardy at 24% and Woodley at 14%.
Ian Woodley looks at his cards to check what they are - he thinks
about it for a minute and checks again.
Anthony Hardy checks too.
Ram reaches for chips and casually throws 10,000 into the middle.
Jesse May: "What kind of bet is that?? This is VERY dangerous
- you have to be a very good poker player to be mixing around in
this pot"
That's cheap enough for Ian Woodley who also puts 10,000 in.
Anthony Hardy folds.
Jesse May: "And Hardy folding the flush-draw as though
it were nothing - maybe it wasn't - odd fold though??"
Roland De Wolfe: "He's not going to win a big pot - he
doesn't have the position and the board has paired already - I don't
hate that fold there."
The Odds are now 82% in Ram's favour and the pot stands at 38,000.
The River is 2D
Jesse May: "Woodley has nothing - does he want to try
and bluff Ram?? What does he put Vaswani on here??"
Ian Woodley is first to act - he counts out some chips - and then
counts out some more and puts 22,000 into the pot.
Ram only thinks about it for 10 seconds - and then he announces:
"Call" so the pot finishes up at 82,000.
Ian turns his cards over showing a big nothing and Ram turns his
Aces over.
Ian Woodley smiles and says: "I KNEW you had that hand
when you limped."
Ian Frazer pipes in: "Yeah I thought so too - you were
hoping for a raise pre-flop huh??"
Jesse May: "And it seems like Ram has played that hand
very well - he's got the maximum out of it"
Roland De Wolfe: "I think Ram played that hand excellently
- he played it like I would have hoped to have played it myself."
Jesse May: "That 50,000 that Ram won instead of the 9,000
that were in the blinds could prove significant."
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Post Mortem
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I know there is that saying: "No Risk No Reward" but my goodness
- the risks that Ram took in that hand was enough to set your heart
racing through the roof.
Firstly he didn't raise pre-flop - Ian Woodley or Anthony Hardy
could have been sitting there with something like Q2 or Q4 and obviously
would have folded to a raise. So that was the first risk he took.
Secondly he checked on the Flop - giving Anthony Hardy a free card
to see if he could catch another club - and it opened up an inside
straight-draw for Ian Woodley -
Thirdly he only bet 10,000 on the Turn - I'm very surprised that
Anthony Hardy didn't try to fill his flush - he had the odds once
Ian Woodley had called....
And finally - if Ian Woodley had gone all-in on the River - would
Ram have called? He would have lost to a Queen, or a holding like
KJ or J8 -
So - I think the risks he took on that hand were PHENOMENAL !!
I don't know if I would have taken those risks myself - I definitely
would have raised pre-flop - I think it sent up warning flags to
the other players by limping in and as he had raised so many times
before with marginal hands - Ian Woodley would have had no reason
to think Ram was holding Aces -
By raising pre-flop - Anthony Hardy would have folded so the flush-draw
would have been eradicated - and Ian Woodley is so aggressive -
I'm sure he would have called with his hand and Ram could have got
some more chips out of him by putting in a reasonable bet on the
Flop -
Even if Ian Woodley folds after a post-flop raise - He would still
have picked up 20,000 chips without the risk rather than 50,000
with big risks - but then again - that's why he's one of the most
feared players in the country and I'm not !
****************************************
Well I hope you have a good week - may the cards be with you and
I'll see you again next Friday.
All the best
Meg Arana
Hold or Fold
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