Cindy Albert Blog

NEW POST DEC 2010NEW POST OCT 2010

To Chop or Not to Chop?



Picture this … you’re playing in your first tournament ever during the World Series of Poker. It’s not an official event … just one of the single table tournaments … $65 buy-in awarding $500 in a tournament chip and $70 in cash … winner takes all. Granted, it doesn’t seem like much, but for a poker rookie, it felt like the Main Event. After about an hour of play, you can’t believe it … you’ve made it to heads up … and you have a 5-to-1 chip lead! Then your opponent asks if you want to chop … or make a deal. You can have the $500 chip and he’ll take the $70 in cash. It sounds like a good deal .. but you’d really like to take down the tournament outright to validate your poker prowess. What should you do?


So it was with my first experience with chopping. Since then, I’ve come to realize that poker is a game of decisions -- and the goal of winning poker is making correct decisions. And, whether to make a deal or not and what deal would be most beneficial for you are among those decisions. I’m not a big proponent of chopping and not all tournament organizers will allow players to make deals. However, if chopping is allowed and I think it may be in my best interest, I’ll consider it. In those instances, I’ve developed the following guidelines for myself regarding chopping, which you may find useful as well.

1. I don’t offer to chop … at least not usually. Very rarely am I the one to mention chopping. The only way I’ll offer to chop is if we are down to heads up, the blinds are skyrocketing and we’re about even in chips. In this case, I will consider the amount of time it will take to finish the tournament. Too often by the time play is heads up, you end up just shifting the chips back and forth and the blinds make it impossible to play good poker. Unless there’s a huge difference between 2nd place and 1st place money and you feel you have the best chance of taking it down, it’s probably better to just agree to a deal and move on to another tournament, cash game or much needed rest.


2. I never agree to chopping with more than 5 players. Players will sometimes start making noise about chopping as soon as the final table is established – if not before. Just recently the final players in a WPT tournament at Foxwoods agreed on an unbelievable 23-way chop! Each player received at least $10,000 for their $400 buy-in – with the top chip leaders each receiving $2,000 more. What made this deal even worse, is that the players decided to (or were forced to) continue to play the tournament out. So there’s no real time benefit to be gained from deciding to chop. This was a great deal for the short stacks and inexperienced players, but a bad one for the chip leaders and for the more experienced players at the table who had a real shot at going much deeper into the tournament. Also, chopping at this stage completely changes the attitude of the some of the players. They change from survivor mode to nothing-to-lose/not-much-to-gain mode and become much more aggressive and loose and less predictable in their play. They push more often and make calls with weaker hands than they normally would. On a similar note, I’m also not a fan of paying the bubble for this same reason. Somebody’s got to be on the bubble. Why give a short-stack who’s just trying to survive a reason to throw caution to the wind and push more often with weaker hands? Next thing you know, the short stack that was just trying to limp into the money and was about to go out on the bubble has acquired a significant chip stack.


3. If you are the only one opposing the chop, be prepared to get pressured by the other players to agree to a chop – and to be the object of their wrath at the table if you don’t buckle. I have seen players be relentless and even downright vicious in attacks against “chop blockers.” I personally don’t have an issue with the pressure, but you will have to decide for yourself if you are willing to cope with the pressure and possible ill-feelings.


4. I will only agree to a chop according to chip stack size – not an even split across the board – unless, of course, I am the short-stack. Then if the other players are willing to chop it evenly and I feel like that’s the best deal for me given my stack size, then I’ll agree to it and move on. The chip leader is the one that drives the negotiation. If I’m chip leader, I will insist on a proportionate chop according to stack size.

Bottom line is that you have the power to accept or reject a deal. All remaining players must agree to the deal or there is not deal. If you feel it is a beneficial deal for you, then you should strongly consider taking it. In the converse, if you don’t like the deal or would prefer to wait until the field is smaller, then reject it and stand by your decision.


Still wondering the outcome of my first chop decision? I decided to play it out. Did I win it? First, let me say that, in hindsight, whether I won or lost, I should have taken the deal. At the time the offer was made, I was 5-to-1 chip leader, and my opponent was offering me a 7-to-1 deal -- which was clearly to my benefit. Forced to play it out, he went on an incredible heater and ended up winning the heads up match. He used the $500 chip to enter a $500 buyin tournament, and ultimately won $1800. A good return on a $65 investment. And a valuable lesson in chopping for me.

Making correct decisions is at the core of winning poker and it’s not always about whether to raise, check, call or fold.

Copyright © 2010 Cynthia L. Albert - All rights Reserved.

THE T-FACTOR

Cynthia Albert

October 10, 2010

You’ve probably heard of the M-factor, explained by Dan Harrington in his books “Harrington on Hold’em.” And, if you’re a serious player, you’re definitely familiar with pot odds and implied odds, and hopefully apply these concepts to your game. Never heard of the T-factor? Well, before you get out your calculators and slide rulers or begin sighing in disgust at the prospect of having to understand and apply yet another mathematical equation to your game, cheer up! The T-Factor has more to do with the birds and the bees than with math. I can best explain the T-factor by relaying my most recent experience with it.

I was playing at the Bicycle Club in Los Angeles. It was my first time playing there and I liked it. It’s a good poker room for people looking for games with lower buy-ins. I was playing at a $1/$2 NLH game with $40 min/$80 max buy-in. I’m used to playing at slightly higher buy-in limits, so for me this was a pretty relaxing, no-stress game.

As usual, I was the only girl at the table. Also at the table was the world’s #1 Donkey! This guy was so bad. He raised every hand he was in – which was almost every one – and he usually C-bet the flop and continued betting out or calling down to the river. He took down a couple of pots in the beginning, but then he started getting called by people with weak pairs or even Ace-high – which would be enough take down the pot! It was clear that the Donkey had nothing most of the time.

You’d think after being called down a few times and paying a couple of us off, that our Donkey would have scaled back on the action. No such thing. He became even more aggressive – undoubtedly in an effort to get his money back. Many times, he would go all-in pre-flop or on the flop. Of course, he would get called by one or two of the guys just hoping to felt him again. The problem with hyperaggressive players and Donkeys, is that sometimes they actually have a hand. Once in a while, he would take down a nice pot. However, after some more hyperaggressive action, he would eventually be felted again.

All of this made for great action at the table, and as I was watching it all unfold before me, I thought to myself, “How I love testosterone at the table!” And that is what I call the T-factor. The more guys at the table who are aggressive or on tilt, the greater the T-factor will be. It’s not unusual to have one guy at the table who is upset over a bad beat. And, you should look for opportunities to take advantage of him while he is on-tilt. But, finding the right opportunity to do that might take awhile, and by then he may have calmed down and be playing much smarter.

However, if you find yourself fortunate enough to be at a table where about half the players are on-tilt and gunning for one particular player, then you can scream “Eureka!” – quietly to your inner self, of course.

Don’t be too frustrated that you’re hands don’t seem good enough to get in on the action. You shouldn’t want to get in too often – only with decent hands. Patience can be frustrating, but it can also be your friend – especially at the poker table. Just sit back, enjoy the fireworks and wait for the right hand or hands. You can be assured that, when the time is right for you to make a move, the pot will be a nice size – the Donkey and other tilted players will see to that.

This is exactly what happened when I found myself with KQ suited. I decided my hand was good enough to see a flop, so I called the Donkey’s pre-flop raise along with several other players. The flop came AJ10 rainbow. I won’t go through the action step by step, but suffice it to say that by the river, the Donkey, me and one of the other players were all-in. My nut straight held and I took down a nearly $400 pot.

Unfortunately, all good things must come to an end. Not long after that hand, the Donkey was felted for the last time and called it quits.

So, Ladies, my advice to you: the next time you find yourself at a table full of aggressive male players, don’t fear the T-factor – embrace it!

Copyright © 2010 Cynthia L. Albert - All rights Reserved.

OLD POST Aug. 2010

PLAYING IN A POKER ROOM

Cynthia Albert

August 10, 2010

For many people – and not just women -- the thought of entering a live poker room is very unnerving. Just the sight of all those players hunched over their cards at the table, looking so serious, riffling their chips, doing their best Phil Ivey impressions, is enough to send some back to the comfort of the blackjack tables or slot machines.

Years ago, before any one knew who Chris Moneymaker was, I remember standing with my father, who was not an easily intimated man, watching the poker action inside the poker room at the Grand Hotel in Biloxi, Mississippi. We enjoyed playing poker at home with friends, but neither of us had ever played poker in a casino with a bunch of strangers. He seemed interested though; so, I asked him if he wanted to give it a try. I can still hear his voice so clearly as he replied, “No, Baby. Those people would eat me alive.” Nodding to each other in agreement, we retreated to the safety and ease of our favorite games – he to Pai Gow and me to 3-Card Poker.

However, after the year of Moneymaker when Texas Hold’em skyrocketed to popularity in the poker world, I became very interested in the game – watching it on television and playing it online every chance I got. It wasn’t long before I decided I was ready to give live poker a try. Ironically, I played my first live game at the Grand in the spring of 2004, when I went with my mother to Biloxi. I entered the poker room by myself and asked to get into the lowest limit game available. The poker room staff was very helpful answering my questions and explaining the different game structures to me. Before I knew it, I was seated at a $2/$4 limit table. I was a little a nervous, but I survived it. Afterwards, I had more confidence and a better understanding of the game.

During the first couple of years of playing live poker, I made many errors and breached many rules of poker etiquette that clearly identified me as a novice player. Some mistakes even incurred the rath of other players at the table – those are the worst! Being readily identied as the novice at the table leaves you at a clear disadvantage. The only way to become more comfortable and skilled at live play is to play in a live poker room as soon and as often as you can.

I encourage any of you who have not yet played in a liver poker room, to do so as soon as you get the opportunity. I promise the experience will not be as scary as you imagine, and the confidence and knowledge you’ll gain will be well worth the effort. Below, are a few of the tips for playing in a poker room that I think would have been the most useful to know before entering a poker room. I hope you find them helpful.

1. Always protect your cards! Especially in the seats next to the dealer (#1 and #10), It is your responsibility to make sure your cards are protected. The best way to do that is to place a chip or some other token on them to identify those cards as yours and that they are still in play. If mucked cards touch your cards, your hand could be declared dead. If a player flings his cards across the table and into your unprotected cards, your hand may be declared dead. It’s not unusual for a fast dealer to mistake unprotected cards in the #1 and #10 seats for mucked cards and rake them into the muck in error. Some people think protecting their cards with a chip or token is an unnecessary practice -- until their winning hand is raked into the muck!

2. Never, EVER talk about the community cards! Never comment on the community cards and the possible hands that are out there – especially if you are not in the hand. Novice players are notorious for this! Your comment on the flush or straight possibilities could highlight a hand that a player was unaware of – causing them to change their action to the detriment of other players in the hand. Other players in the hand will get very irate for this – and rightly so. Actually, whether you are in the hand or not, it’s best not to make any comments on the cards or the action until the hand is over.

3. Learn how to handle your chips! Practice stacking and counting chips at home. Count them out with one hand in stacks of 4 or 5 at a time. Keep doing it until you can do it quickly and accurately. Nothing screams “beginner” like a player fumbling over their chips every hand. Keep your chips in neat stacks with higher value chips in front or on top of stack. I like to keep my chips in stacks of 20 with the odd chips on top, so that I always know at a glance what my chip count is. Also, learn how to riffle your chips so that you don’t look like a stranger to the felt. With a little practice, it’s an easy skill to master.

4. No string betting! Attempting to place an unannounced raise or re-raise into the pot in more than one motion is a cardinal sin in live poker. If you’re going to raise, announce “Raise” and the amount. Then you can put the chips in the pot in as many motions as you’d like. Raises must always be at least double the initial bet or previous raise. If a player is first to act after the flop and bets $10, you can’t raise it to $15; the minimum raise is $10, so you’d have to raise to at least $20. Of course, you can always raise more.

5. Beware the “one chip rule”! If you intend to raise a bet, but only throw one chip into the pot without announcing “Raise”, the action will be considered a call. For example, if the bet is $5 and you throw in a $25 chip with the intent to raise, but don’t say anything, it will be considered just a call. Just another reason for why it is best to announce your intent before placing chips into the pot.