16vT: RS WTF?!

orgive the cryptic title. I couldn’t resist.  So, what does it mean?  16vT is shorthand for the player hand of sixteen against a dealer upcard of Ten.   “RS” is a strategy abbreviation.  “R” means SuRRender, and “S” means Stand.  So, “RS” means Surrender if you can, otherwise Stand.

And of course, WTF is an abbreviation of the message I often get via email when someone thinks they have found a mistake in the strategy provided by my Blackjack Basic Strategy Engine.

It’s not a mistake. And while the trick cards explanation is not rocket science, it can admittedly get a little confusing.
Let’s start by looking at the issue directly on the charts. If you visit the Strategy Engine and request a chart for a 6-deck game with No Surrender, your chart will look something like this:
Notice that if you have a hand of sixteen against a dealer Ten, the advice is “H” for Hit.
Now take a look at the chart for the same game but with rules that allow Late Surrender. (If you’re not sure what Late Surrender is, see the post Blackjack Surrender Explained.)
Now the advice for 16vT is “RS”: Surrender if you can, otherwise Stand. How can it possibly be correct to Stand here when the other chart said to Hit?
This particular decision is a very close call. In fact, one recommended extension to regular basic strategy is this: “Hit 16 vs a dealer ten, unless your hand is composed of three or more cards. In that case, stand.”
Why would you hit a 2-card 16 but stand with a 3-card 16?
Any 3-card 16 that you hold is guaranteed to include at least one small card. For example, let’s look at (Ten,2,4). That version includes two small cards. If you are hitting a 16, you would marked poker love to have either that 2 or that 4 available as the next card out of the shoe. But those cards have already been used up, and they are sitting there on the table in your hand. The 16vT is such a close call that even one extra small card missing from the shoe is enough to swing the appropriate strategy from “Hit” being the best play to “Stand” becoming the better play.
Now, let’s look at the Strategy Engine’s seemingly conflicting advice on this hand.
If you are playing a game that offers surrender, you should surrender any hard sixteen hand if the dealer is showing a ten-valued card up. So all of your two-card 16s are surrendered. What’s left? Only your multiple card 16s with 3 or more cards in the hand. And all of those hands will use up some of those key small cards that swing the best strategy for the hand.
So the Engine is quite accurate: 16vT “RS”. Surrender your 16 if you can. If you can’t (because you’ve already hit your hand at least once), then the best play is now “Stand”.
In a game where surrender is not allowed at all, the correct basic strategy is to hit 16 vs a dealer ten. If you want to gain a small extra edge you can use the more complicated rule: Hit two-card 16vT, but stand on all others.

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Ryan Riess to Battle Jay Farber for $8.3 Million

The first day of the 2013 WSOP Main Event final table was full of surprises -- and the two survivors are perhaps the most shocking part of all.
Jay Farber and Ryan Riess, two of the least-experienced players at the final table, will face each other tomorrow with $8.3 million, a WSOP gold bracelet and the title of world champion on the line.
Many had JC Tran pegged as the favorite to win the 2013 WSOP Main Event but the former chip leader stumbled marked cards today.
Tran made a few missteps and found himself on the rail in fifth place instead of challenging for the bracelet.
Despite the fact Riess and Farber controlled the majority of the chips by the time play got down to six-handed, play nearly ground to a halt during that stage.
When a massive cooler saw McLaughlin bust with kings to Farber’s pocket aces, that seemed to open the floodgates and Tran, Loosli and Lehovat all busted in rapid succession.
Play will resume at 5:45 p.m. tomorrow.
Here are the chip counts at the end of play:

• Jay Farber – 105,000,000
• Ryan Riess – 85,775,000

Video Interviews with Jay Farber and Ryan Riess

To get you primed for tomorrow's epic heads-up match we spoke with both of the final two players.
Check out Jay Farber's interview below and check back soon for the chat we had with Ryan Riess.

Level

39

Blinds

500000/1000000

Ante

150000

Average Stack

95,280,000

Players Left

2

Tables Left

1

Handling Stress in the Poker Wars Part 1

Poker is: (a) A stressful game; (b) A game people play to relax; (c) Both.
I chose "(c)." Your answer will depend.
Depend on What?
What's it depend on?
On your approach to the game, the stakes you play for and your own reasons for sitting down in the first place.
Most people play for recreation. They play with friends in home games, they hit the local casino every once in a while, or fire up the old computer for an online game.
The stakes are typically low and if they lose a couple of bucks, who even notices? If they win, cool.
But increase the stakes, stir in a dollop or two of ego and stuff changes.
It's one thing to drop a couple of sawbucks to your buddies; it is a very different thing to find marked cards yourself stuck four dimes in a cutthroat $10/25 NL game with a bunch of guys with insect shades, hoodies and baleful stares.
You know, ones who look like they just walked out of an audition for a remake of Rounders.
Is there stress in these settings? Indeed.
Can it impact your play? Absolutely.
How Does Stress Affect Your Game?

Frustration a common cause.

 

Stress affects the body, the brain and its decision-making ability.
One of the most common causes of stress is frustration, which is experienced when: (a) goals are blocked (your last three bluffs were snapped off), (b) constant pressure is applied (your c-bet got raised for the fifth time) and (c) progress is thwarted (you missed another draw).
Enough of this and your biology goes go wonky; adrenaline levels climb, body temperature swings wildly, hypertension kicks in and thought processes head for the Port-o-John.
Unhappy outcomes at poker are ultimately unnerving and frustrating.
But do they necessarily cause stress? Do they always produce the physiological changes that impact your game?
Missing a dozen draws in a row will drive most folks' blood pressure up a couple of ticks, but not everyone's.
Some find such events merely annoying, like a buzzing fly. The stress is still there but they have different emotional reactions to it.
What's Your Emotional Experience?
In a study done some years ago, students were given a dose of adrenalin, told it was a "memory" drug and asked to wait until it took effect.
Some were left in a room with a very funny guy who told jokes, stories and clowned around. Others were put with a morose, depressive character.
When quizzed later about their experiences, the students in the first group thought the experiment was a hoot; they loved it.
Those in the other group thought it was depressing, unpleasant and reported odd side effects.
Same drug, same biological impact, different emotional experiences.
Stone-Cold Bluff: Gut Clenching or Zen Moment?
There's a take-home message here.

Can you keep cool during a huge bluff?

 

Recall the last time you ran a stone-cold bluff at a big pot. Heart pounding at Indy 500 speeds, gut clenching as you wait for your opponent to make a classic lay-down.
It's a Zen moment for some - and a psychological nadir for others.
You can often see the difference by the way in which the bluffer reacts after the lay-down.
Those who handle stress well just rake in the pot; it's just part of the game.
But it isn't unusual for players who cope less well to react openly, exhale loudly, shake their heads or even laugh.
These folks experience stress far more poignantly than the others.
The Game Requires Risk
The game, by its very nature, requires that we take risks.
Risk involves stress, and we vary widely in how we manage it. Some learn to modulate it so that its impact on their marked card tricks biology and decision-making is controlled.
This group includes the solid pros whose careers have spanned decades and a few good recreational players.
Others never learn; mostly you will find them in the lower-limit games.
Still others find the adrenalin rush irresistible. They become poker's Icarus characters, the action junkies, the ones who soar for a time only to crash and burn and vanish from the stage.
You Can't Avoid It - Just Learn to Control It
If you play poker you can't avoid stress; in fact, you don't want to.
You want to understand it, control it, keep it at nonmalignant levels.
The easiest way to do this is to stay within your "comfort zone." Even the very best do this.
A few years back Andy Beal, a Dallas-based billionaire, challenged the top players in the game to go heads-up for staggering sums.
Beal, with some of the deepest pockets in the world, had a singular aim: to force the pros out of their comfort zone.

Not intimidated by Beal.

 

To counteract Beal's gambit, the pros combined bankrolls and played in rotation, thereby distributing the financial liabilities and stress among them.
Eventually, they (well, mostly Phil Ivey) sent Beal back to Texas poorer by several million.
Lest you get sidetracked by such tales, here's another surprise: money isn't the issue.
Bill Gates, one of the few on this planet with deeper pockets than Beal, is a regular player.
Gates could sit down in the biggest games in the world and nothing could dent his bankroll. He is financially inoculated against all assaults.
But he is famous around Seattle for never playing higher than $10/$20. He just doesn't feel comfortable doing so.
I doubt he knows the psychological research here, but he is doing the right thing.
He has found his comfort zone. His stress levels are kept manageable.
His decision-making will be unaffected by emotional swings and his game will thrive. Bill, of course, plays to relax.
The Practical Advice?

1. Understand how you deal with frustration and its offspring, stress. Are you easily affected? Do modest levels, as the Brits say, "get your knickers in a twist?" If so, stick to the lower levels where there isn't as much pressure. If not, feel free to move up as your skill level improves.
2. Discover your comfort zone where you feel at ease and don't let anyone push you out of it.
3. Be careful not to get "addicted" to those adrenalin rushes. When they pop up, you can roll around in them like a hog in a muddy swale but don't go out of your way to find them. You'll last longer that way.

Watch UKIPT Isle of Man Live Streaming Right Here!

The UKIPT Season 4 stop in the Isle of Man is available via webcast right here on PokerListings.com for two days marked cards starting today.
This is a special one for international fans as several of PokerStars' high-profile stars are in the mix including Liv Boeree, Jake Cody and current king-of-all-POY rankings Daniel Negreanu.
Check the schedule below for coverage details:
Webcast Schedule:

• November 3 - Start time 12:00 GMT with play down to 8 players
• November 4 - Start time 12:00 GMT with play down to the winner

Five Pro-Endorsed Strategy Tips That Are Terrible

Poker is a unique game and the best players use a combination of math, skill and observation to beat it.
It takes a brilliant mind to understand and win at poker - and an even more brilliant one to invent the strategy basics that are now commonplace.
These geniuses do their best to solve the game as it’s played marked cards at the time.
But the game of poker has evolved a lot over the last decade, and will continue to. What might have worked 10 years ago canseem silly now. And winning strategies today might not be effective at all 10 years from now.
Below are a few of those strategies - endorsed by some of the most famous names in the game, no less - that may have worked in the past but have passed their prime.

1. Reraise with Small Pairs Before the Flop in Limit Hold’em

The Author: Phil Hellmuth
The Book: Play Poker Like the Pros
The Advice: When the pot is raised to you in Limit Hold’em and you hold a small pair, you’re better to make it three-bets rather than call the original raise. You’re then meant to “represent whatever hits the flop.”
Why it’s bad: The problem with this advice is that he’s writing a book for beginners, and beginners are going to play in small-stakes games. People in small stakes games play tons of hands.
You’re not going to be able to represent anything on the flop because people are just playing their hands. They don’t care that you made it three-bets to go. They care that they flopped top pair, and they aren’t going to fold.
You end up just putting more bets into the pot without ever being able to get them back unless you flop a set.
The better approach: In Limit Hold’em, especially in low-stakes Limit Hold’em, you should just call because you’re more likely to get callers behind you. Play the hand to flop a set and if you don’t, fold.

2. The Fourth Raise Means Aces

The Author: Phil Gordon
The Book: Little Green Book
The Advice: "The fourth raise is always aces."
Why it’s bad: It’s not so much “bad” as it is dated and wrong.
The top players today are four-betting so much more than aces it’s incredible.
Take a look at Shaun Deeb’s bustout hand from the 2011 Main Event, for just one example.
No longer is even the 5th or 6th bet guaranteed to be aces.
The better approach: Treat all players individually.
For some players the fourth bet might always mean aces, but other players might still have any two.

3. If You’re Playing Small Connected Cards, They Don’t Need to be Suited

The Author: TJ Cloutier
The Book: Championship No-Limit and Pot-Limit Hold’em
The Advice: Small connectors don’t need to be suited because in multi-way pots there’s a high likelihood someone has higher marked cards lenses cards of your suit.
Cloutier says that the suit causes more harm than good when you make a flush and lose to a bigger flush.
Why it’s bad: There’s literally no way that unsuited cards would ever be better than suited cards.
The notion that the suit does more harm than good is ridiculous.
Yes, occasionally you’re going to make a flush and it’s going to be second best. But also occasionally you’re going to be drawing to a straight and backdoor the flush.
The better approach: Being suited gives you more ways to win. It’s as simple as that.

4. Raise for Information

The Author: David Sklansky
The Book: Theory of Poker
The Advice: You sometimes want to raise to find out where you’re at in a hand.
Why it’s bad: It’s bad because the information you get is often not very helpful.
E.g. You raise and your opponent folds. This is bad. Chances are he folded a bluff and you probably would have preferred he kept trying to bluff you.
E.g. You raise and he calls. How much does that really tell you?
He could have a draw, he could have a hand he's slow playing, he could have you beat, he could not have you beat.
If he re-raises, he could have you beat. He could also be playing a big draw fast or a worse hand fast.
The better approach: There are ways to define a hand, but generally raising isn’t a very good one.
Pay attention to your opponents and their previous play will give you a better idea as to what they have.
Actively try and put your opponent on a range and with every new bit of information you’ll get closer to his hand.

5. Vary Your Opening Amount

The Author: Dan Harrington
The Book: Harrington On Hold’em 1
The Advice: In a tournament you should vary your opening size from 2x to 4x randomly to make it difficult for your opponents to not get a read on you.
Why it’s bad: The only reason you need to vary your bet sizing randomly is if you’re regularly raising different amounts.
If you’re raising the exact same size every single time it’s not like your opponents will pick up any tells on you because your bet is always the same.
The better approach: If you’re playing in a tournament there’s really no reason to raise 4x the big blind -- ever.
Keep your standard 2.25x to 2.5x raise and stick with it. It risks less chips and is just as effective.
Raising to 4x just needlessly risks chips.

Playing Straight Draws in Texas Hold’em

Of all the draws you can have in Texas Hold’em, straight draws are possibly the most difficult to play. That’s because you have two different types of them in inside and open-ended straight draws. Open-ended straight draws are obviously the most favorable to play since they give a person 8 outs while inside draws only offer 4 outs. Since these two draws differ greatly from each other, it can be very difficult to decide what to do in each instance. Here is a look at what to do when you have each draw.
Open-Ended Straight Draw
As mentioned before, an open-ended straight draw (OESD) definitely gives you the better shot at hitting your hand by the river but you still need a bit of luck to hit since you only have 8 outs to hit your straight. You should almost always be drawing for the nut straight when you have this kind of hand to make sure you’re not drawing to the second best hand.
However, you should watch out for a couple of things before you fully commit to your open-ended draw marked cards. One of these things is when there is a pair on the board and other tight players are betting heavily; this means there is the potential for a full house on the board. Another thing to beware of is when you’re only using one of your hole cards to make the straight because it’s likely someone else will be drawing for a higher straight.

Inside Straight Draw
With an inside straight (gutshot), your odds are cut in half so you will rarely call just based on this hand. However, it makes sense to draw for the inside straight if you’ve got additional value in your hand such as overcards, a flush, etc, or if you’re getting good implied odds and can be very confident of getting paid off when you do hit. This can often be the case versus opponents whom you suspect are strong since when you you hit with your gutshot it’s very well disguised You can also draw in this instance if there were several limpers before you since your pot odds will increase significantly.
Playing Straight Draws Aggressively
It’s easy to push your advantage when you’re holding pocket rockets preflop. And there’s a very good chance you could have the advantage after the flop hits the board. However, it is much tougher easy cards tricks deciding what to do when you’ve only got a straight draw. It is so tough that many players decide to limp in before the flop and on the flop, then fold as soon as their draw doesn’t hit. But the key to playing straight draws correctly is to play them as aggressively as possible on the flop/turn against tight players because they will always fold unless they have a strong hand.
Here is a look at how to do so. When you limp in with a draw, the only way you’re going to win is by hitting your hand. You’re unlikely to bluff an opponent if you merely call everything that comes your way. However, if you were to raise with a drawing hand on the flop, you can either win by making your opponent fold to the raise, or by hitting your hand if the opponent calls. In either case, you have one more chance to win the pot by playing your draw aggressively. And even when your raise does happen to get called, you are bloating the pot for the times you hit your straight draw, and will likely get to see a free card because your opponent will check to your on the next street as they will fear you have a strong hand since you raised on the flop.

Las Vegas

Las Vegas is in the southern part of the state of Nevada, about 50 miles east of the California border and 30 miles west of the Arizona border. The city is divided into two main parts: a compact downtown called Glitter Gulch and the Strip, a corridor of hotels and casinos.

　　The only natural feature to account for the location of Las Vegas is a spring north of downtown. Once used by Paiute Indians on their seasonal visits to the area, it was re-discovered by Mexican scout Rafael Rivera in 1829. The area became known to overland travelers as las vegas - 'the meadows' - a place with reliable water and feed for horses. Las Vegas became a regular stop on the southern emigrant route to California, the Spanish Trail. In the 1850s, Mormons built the town's first structures, a small mission and fort; the fort became a ranch house marked cards, but there was little development until 1902, when much of the land was sold to a railroad company. The area that is now downtown was subdivided when the tracks came through, with 1200 lots sold on 15 May 1905 alone - a date now celebrated as the city's birthday.

　　As a railroad town, Las Vegas had machine shops, a good number of hotels, saloons and gambling houses. The railroad laid off hundreds in the mid 1920s, but one Depression-era development gave the city a new life. The huge Hoover Dam project commenced in 1931, providing jobs and growth in the short term and water and power for the city's long-term growth.

　　Also in 1931, Nevada legalized gambling and simplified its divorce laws, paving the way for the first big casino, El Rancho, which was built by Los Angeles developers and opened in 1941. The next wave of investors, also from out of town, were mobsters juice cards like Bugsy Siegel, who built the Flamingo in 1946 and set the tone for the new casinos - big and flashy, with lavish entertainment laid on to attract high rollers.

　　The glitter that brought in the high rollers also attracted smaller spenders, but in larger numbers. Southern California provided a growing market for Las Vegas entertainment, and improvements in transport made it accessible to the rest of the country. Thanks to air conditioning and reliable water supplies, Vegas became one of the country's most popular tourist destinations. In recent years, Vegas has bent over backwards to remake itself into a family resort destination, building theme parks inside its hotels. Hotels have outdone each other with working volcanoes, million-gallon fishtanks and miniature Manhattans. All of which - along with dozens of artificial lakes in the suburbs - has put a huge strain on the city's water supply, but it hasn't slowed the development juggernaut.

　　Today Las Vegas boasts 19 of the world's 20 largest hotels, attracts 33 million visitors per year, earns over US.25 billion in annual gaming revenue, and marries over 100,000 people each year. There are other cities witih terrific entertainment and gaming opportunities, but there is no place in the world like Las Vegas, and no city even pretending to be.