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Jean Robert Bellande Surviving Still

Saturday, October 27th, 2007

Jean Robert SurvivorJust thought Your ‘Dead Money’ blogger would get you an update on the Survivor pursuits of Jean Robert Bellande. Earlier I posted this Story about Jean Robert on Survivor. As of the broadcast on Thursday Jean Robert is still playing the same way. He is trusting his reads on people to get him farther in the game. This episode for a period of time it seemed like it would be Jean Robert that would be voted off the island. Jean Robert made it through ‘tribal council’ by a couple votes and lives to play another day. One of the other Survivors, Courtney had some unkind words for Jean Robert during the reward part of the show. Courtney said things like, and I am paraphrasing here:

  • I tried my best to be away from Jean Robert in the bathtub as I could possible be, he was at the one far end and I took the one at the other far end
  • He is kind of gross, every single part of me wants to see Jean Robert go, I just don’t like him
  • He’s a horrible person

It looked real bad for Jean Robert after his tribe lost the immunity challenge. Lots of his tribe members were discussing getting rid of Jean Robert. Lots of items were discussed about who to vote off here are a few snippets.

  • That would require talking to him and you know I don’t do that
  • I am going to vote for Jean Robert
  • I hate him
  • Well unless we vote for Jean Robert
  • I think we should vote for Jean Robert tonight
  • My gut says Jean Robert

Even Jean Robert wasn’t trusting his feel for the game. He admitted being uneasy and something didn’t feel right. At tribal council Jean Robert drew some very critical comments from two of the women of his tribe after he called himself the ‘bad boy’. Here are a few of the comments:

  • Little do you know they don’t like you
  • Bad Boy not quite the term I would have selected
  • Bad Boy cause you play poker or something?
  • Do you have a Harley we don’t know about?
  • We don’t get along, we don’t like each other, he talks alot, his jokes aren’t funny, lots of judgements of other people, he has lots of self righteousness
  • He is just a crappy person

But Jean Robert, once again when it seemed he was All-In, caught Runner Runner to stick around for at least another hand…..er episode. So far his plan, as published in Bluff Magazine, to be the biggest jerk possible without being voted off is working. He is at the final table so to speak with only 10 survivors remaining.
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Jean Robert Bellande Survives like an Ill Mannered Poker Player

Saturday, October 6th, 2007

Jean Robert BelandeHave you seen Jean Robert Bellande on Survivor China? I posted previously about Jean Robert being part of Survivor China. I have to admit I was a little surprised at the way CBS Survivor has been showing him. And they have been showing a lot of him. Your ‘Dead Money’ blogger should have known that Jean Robert would not make many friends on the Survivor Island. Given the way he plays poker with the tableside manner of Phil Hellmuth and combine that Poker attitude with the lack of food and rest on Survivor, that makes even the most likable people behave horribly, it is no wonder we see the worst of Jean Robert.

On the latest episode CBS Survivor showed him causing much trouble with the sleep arrangements. Not only does it appear that Jean Robert has a bad snoring issue but ‘needs’ to sleep next to the young women of the tribe. The young women of the tribe are shown on CBS Survivor discussing how much they hate sleeping next to Jean Robert and how they avoid it at all costs.

In one very damaging segment to Jean Robert’s fans was when he was discussing strategy with another member of the tribe. Jean Robert got into a discussion about one of the women of their tribe that was very frank and of a sexual nature. That was bad enough but Jean Robert was talking loud enough that the women and another member of the tribe heard the discussion.

Because of Jean Robert’s size and strength he is valuable on the challenges thus far that have mostly been physical in nature. He has helped his tribe win most of the events so far. Jean Robert does not seem to be very popular with his tribe-mates. It seemed during the last episode, after his tribe lost a challenge, he would be voted off the Island, but he survived. Kind of like he went All-In and nobody called. It will be interesting to see how long he can last and how much weight he loses.

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WSOP Europe Main Event Final Table Live

Tuesday, September 18th, 2007
  • WSOP Europe Main Event Final Table Live

Click =====> Final Table Live to see the Final Table hands played via PokerNews ‘PokerCast’. This neat online function shows each hand of the Final Table. You see each player and the amount of chips they have to start the hand, the seat position, the blinds and antes, the flop, turn and river and of course the bets for each round. If there is a showdown you see the hold cards. You also have the ability to skip to specific hands and speed up the playback. Mikesallin.jpgYour ‘Dead Money’ blogger found this tool very useful and interesting. I will be studying each hand in detail just in case I ever go up against Annette_15 in a $5 SNG. Check it out, quite a neat tool to have for review of the Final Table. Great Job PokerNews.

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Absolute Poker ‘Bad Beat’ Jackpot close to $700K

Monday, August 27th, 2007
  • Absolute Poker ‘Bad Beat’ Jackpot nears $700,000

The Absolute Poker (AP) ’Bad Beat’ Jackpot apextramail.gif that grows at a rate of $2,000 per hour will reach $700,000 sometime early on Tuesday if no online player suffers a bad beat. Absolute Poker an online poker room that still accepts U.S. players instituted a ‘Bad Beat’ Jackpot in late June of 2007. AP has already paid out $1.4 million in the jackpots.

Here is information from AP that explains the ‘Bad Beat’ Jackpot.

HOW IT WORKS

Look for our new ‘Bad Beat Jackpot’ tables and watch our jackpot grow. We’ll collect $0.50 from the pot of each raked hand that is raked .25 or more. The poker jackpot will keep growing until someone hits an unbelievable bad beat.

What constitutes a bad beat? If you lose a hand holding four eights (8888) or  anything better, that’s a bad beat. But at these tables, your luck couldn’t be better.

Thanks to your bad beat, everyone at the table will win a piece of the distributed jackpot. And you’ll take the majority of the prize.

As soon as someone hits a qualifying bad beat, 65% of the jackpot will be shared between everyone at the online poker table where the bad beat went down. 25% will go towards the next jackpot and 10% will go to the house.

We’ll take the new amount and divide it amongst the players seated at the Bad Beat Jackpot table.

  • The loser of the hand – ie. the bad beat victim - will take 50% of the prize
  • The winner of the hand will take 25% of the prize
  • The rest of the players seated at the table will share the remaining 25%

Your ‘Dead Money’ blogger will be heading to AP to see if I can get a bad beat. I get beat all the time at the tables, DSC00004_1.JPG so I just have to hope to flop quad 8s or better and have somebody hit a straight flush. I can get all my poker loses back in one ‘Bad Beat’. That is my plan and I am sticking to it. I think it is a good plan. Certainly better than my current plan of trying to win enough playing at the tables to retire from blogging.

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Guide to Bluffs and Tells

Friday, August 24th, 2007
  • PokerStars Guide to Bluffs and Tells

Here is a PokerTubevideo with PokerStars spokesmen Chris Moneymaker, Greg Raymer and Joe Hachem. The video in 7 minutes tries to give the basic information about Bluffs and Tells. All 3 have make good points. Raymer discusses how the Bluff has to tell a story that is believable. For example you can’t begin a hand like you have Pocket Aces and when 3 suited cards come on the board all of a sudden bet like you hit a flush. Of course we have all played against somebody that tries to pull that off. Raymer goes on to talk about observing how players bet when they have a hand or when they are bluffing. Hachem talks about since he won the Main Event he isn’t able to bluff much anymore because he always gets called. Moneymaker and Raymer agree that they are no longer able to bluff much.

  • Your ‘Dead Money’ blogger Michael doesn’t bluff because he always gives away his bluffs as he gives away all his chips. DSC00004_1.JPG

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Michael Vick, Tim Donaghy and the Bad Newz ‘Poker’ League

Saturday, August 18th, 2007
  • Just Poker Talk - Satire

Since Michael Vick and Tim Donaghy seemingly will be heading to prison in the near future, they got together with Purnell Peace, Quanis Phillips, Tony Taylor and some low level mobsters to play some Hold ‘Em in the Bad Newz Poker league.

According to ESPN up to 20 other NBA referees might have played in the Bad Newz Poker League.

Your ‘Dead Money’ blogger knows he would not want to play in this league given the way Vick, Peace, Phillips and Taylor treated the dogs that didn’t perform well for ‘Bad Newz’ kennels. I have always avoided guns, hanging, drowning, electrocution and DSC00004_1.JPGgetting slamed against cement whenever possible. Donaghy is the full time dealer and when some of the low level mobsters win a hand he gets ‘toked’ $5,000. Donaghy is giving inside information to the mobsters to help ‘fix’ the Hold ‘Em games. Donaghy is also letting his mobster friends know what Vick and friends are holding. He is also dealing from the bottom of the deck to assist them with taking all the Dog fighters money before they go to prison.

Of course all of the above is satire, but the real stories on Vick, Donaghy and group can be found below:

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‘Fit or Fold’ Poker is Silly

Friday, August 17th, 2007
  • Fit or Fold is Silly - Mason Malmuth

In the August issue of Two Plus Two Internet Magazine, Mason Malmuth has a great article that discussed the ‘Fit or Fold’ strategy and the weakness of that style and how it really will be quite costly. It goes into many examples and tells you how over the long run the Fit or Fold strategy makes money for your opponent.

Fit or Fold applies to playing the flop in Hold ‘Em. If the flop fits your hand you stay in the hand, if it doesn’t fit you must acquit…. err fold.

Malmuth references his book ‘Hold ‘em Poker for Advanced Players’  he co-authored with David Skalansky, when the article discusses a short handed game with an aggressive player and the flop didn’t fit. Folding or by calling about 50% of the time when you hit or have a draw will only lead to long term profits by your opponent.

He refers to the book again when discussing a large multi-way pot and how you get 12-1 to call if there was a pre-flop raise but only 7-1 if no pre-flop raise. Discussing how that goes into your decision instead of blindly using ‘Fit or Fold’.

At the end of the article Malmuth ends with this gem regarding Fit or Fold: 

By the way, there is another point to be made about “Fit or Fold”, and this point has been mentioned many times before in my writing. It is the fact that poker is not simple. If it were, we would all be playing correctly and there would be no winners. So fortunately, it is a good thing that “Fit or Fold’ is a silly concept. source

Your ‘Dead Money’ blogger finds the Two Plus Two Internet Magazine an excellent source for Poker information.
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Phil agrees with ‘Dead Money’ Blogger

Thursday, August 16th, 2007
  • Phil Hellmuth Tableside Manners

Your ‘Dead Money’ blogger in an earlier post discussed the ESPN performance of Hellmuth at a WSOP $3000 NLHE final table. Turns out that Phil Hellmuth helmuth.jpg viewed the performance and was less than pleased with his antics. You probably know that Hellmuth is a blogger for CardPlayer. Imagine my surprise when I read a post in his blog dated August 8th the day he was the ‘Main Event’ on the 2 hour ESPN broadcast. Here is what he said about the ESPN ’show’

Well, let me say one thing about the 2 hour “Phil Hellmuth” show on ESPN tonight. After I was eliminated, I was rooting for Beth Shak to win! I know that I said-in private to my wife and friends Greg and Janelle Pierson-that I didn’t think that Beth could win, but I was still 100% rooting for her. I didn’t think she could win because I felt like she would over-play A-Q again, or another similar hand, and lose most of her chips in one fell swoop. Enough said. On another note, at one point, while watching the show, I was annoyed with myself! I don’t even mind that I said, “I’m the best Hold’em player in the world,” but some of the other stuff I said was too over the top. Oh well, at least it was an entertaining show.

And how about Ivey being in the right place at the right time and beating me out of $109,000 while WATCHING the final table!! The first final table he has watched in years and he MAKES $109,000, sigh. I don’t mind him earning, but why did it have to be against me, again!?! I loved the collage they did on me, and was it me, or did Norman Chad actually lighten a bit on me for once? Norman sure gave me credit for my feats, and took me to task for my mouth, fair enough. source

So your ‘Dead Money’ blogger surmizes that Hellmuth agrees with him that Phil should clean up his Tableside manners as he is near the top of all time greats NLHE players as I said in this post.

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Poker Theory at College?

Wednesday, August 15th, 2007
  • Harvard Professor wants to use Poker Theory at College

pokernews-logo_1.gif has a story about a Harvard Law Professor pushing to incorporate Poker skills into the curriculum of universities and secondary schools.

Harvard Law professor Charles Nesson is set to announce the forming of the Global Poker Strategic Thinking Society, an organization that ‘views poker as a game of skill that can be used as a teaching tool at all levels of academia and in secondary education.’ source

Maybe if your ‘Dead Money’ blogger would of had Poker Theory in college he would have finished school in the normal amount of time, not to mention going to all the classes and he wouldn’t be ‘Dead Money’ at the tables. I can see it now, those hateful math story problems…….you are on a train traveling 55 mph heading east and you are in the ‘Poker’ car with 8 outs after the turn and there is $300 in the pot and you have to call $60 to see the river…….do you call? Those type of story problems would have been a lot more fun to tackle.

The Society aims to offer workshops and seminars to secondary schools and community centers, using poker as a means of developing strategic thinking skills. Bringing the secondary strategic lessons taught by poker to underprivileged neighborhoods is among the highest of Nesson’s goals with the project. He also hopes to sponsor team poker matches between law, business and other graduate-level programs, and to conduct seminars and conferences that explore poker as a means to teach strategic thinking and related public-policy issues.

The Society’s first chapter will be based at Harvard, and more chapters are expected to open later in the year. Nesson also hopes to launch a ‘team poker,’ NCAA-style championship between competing American universities. source

Wow, you can almost imagine a future with the NCAA Final Four for Poker. Can you see it now? CBS hyping the Tournament endlessly not to mention the Bracket show and Phil Gordon analyzing the Finals. Don’t forget ESPN high lights of the big upsets and Bad Beats. ‘Poker Today’ on every night to discuss who is going to win the NCAA Poker Tournament this year and the top 10 and RPI rankings. Matusow, Hellmuth, Negreanu, Brunson, Gowen as the ‘Experts’ in the studio. Sideline reporters Gold, Hachem, Moneymaker, Raymer.

Count me in.

  • Your ‘Dead Money’ blogger Michael DSC00004_1.JPG will be looking into Harvard admission criteria just in case his luck changes at the tables and he can afford the tuition.

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Online Gambling fears Unsupported by Harvard Study

Saturday, August 11th, 2007
  • Harvard Study does not support fears about Online Gambling

pokernews-logo_1.gif had this story recently, a comprehensive study of online gambling behaviors.

Harvard Medical School’s Division of Addictions characterizes a majority of online gamblers’ behavior as “moderate,” concluding that its findings do not support previously-made claims that online gambling has “an inherent propensity” to cause problem or “excessive” gambling.
source

the study responds to the current paucity of information regarding online gambling and to the fact that “concerns about Internet gambling are growing across various interest groups.” For similar reasons, Rep. Shelley Berkley (D-NV) proposed a House bill (H.R. 2140) early last month to provide for a study of online gambling by the National Academy of Sciences source

The study included:

  • Data from 40,000 individuals over an 8 month period in 2005
  • Time spent gambling
  • Frequency of placing bets
  • Amount bet

Researchers concluded that:

“the subscribers’ gambling activity levels were moderate,” and that the “findings reported here do not support the speculation that Internet gambling has an inherent propensity to encourage excessive gambling among a large proportion of players.” source

The author concludes the story by reporting that future studies will likely include the online Poker Industry.

  • Your ‘Dead Money’ blogger Michael DSC00004_1.JPG

hopes any future study doesn’t include his online money won, tournament wins or in the money finishes, because he is pretty certain the study will return ‘no data found’.

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Chip Shuffling taught with a YouTube video

Friday, August 10th, 2007
  • Video to show you how to Shuffle your chips like the pros

pic_youtubelogo_123x63.gif
YouTube has this short video that provides you instruction on how to Chip shuffle like the pros. I know that after watching the video your ‘Dead Money’blogger will shuffling the chips anytime he has at least 4 chips in front of him. In other words not very often. Just click on the YouTube logo above to start the video.

  • Your ‘Dead Money’ blogger Michael DSC00004_1.JPG is off practicing shuffling chips.

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PokerListing Ranks the Poker Book Sellers

Thursday, August 9th, 2007

Check out this site before you go hunting for a Poker Book. PokerListing Ranks the Poker Book Retailers and keeps them updated in Real time. They have 25 Poker Book Retailers listed. For each Retailer PokerListing provides a summary of what the site provides.

Some of the hi-lights of the retailers offerings.

  • Rebates
  • Discounts
  • e-books
  • Reviews of books
  • Promotions everywhere
  • All the Poker accessories you need
  • Your ‘Dead Money’ blogger Michael DSC00004_1.JPG needs some Poker instructions books so he can graduate from ‘Dead Money’ to ‘Donkey’.

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Hellmuth Tableside manners on ESPN

Wednesday, August 8th, 2007
  • Phil Hellmuth tableside manners are on display on ESPN

Did you see the ESPN broadcast of the attempt by Phil Hellmuth to capture a 12 WSOP helmuth.jpgbracelet on Tuesday? ESPN devoted both hours of their WSOP broadcast to this event. The event was a NLHE $3000 buy in that Hellmuth made the final table. Hellmuth did not win his 12th bracelet so his atrocious tableside manner was on display throughout the 90 minutes that he survived during the broadcast.  

In case you didn’t see it, here are some of the ‘Highlights’.

  • Complaining that other Players didn’t respect him. Saying things like ‘Everytime I put in a raise these dummies come over the top’.  ‘I am the greatest NLHE player in the world and I can’t get any respect’
  • Tell other players he was going to bust them for sure. Just in case you didn’t know he is Phil Hellmuth the greatest NLHE player in the world. Phil didn’t bust the players that he told this to. He said this multiple times to two specific players that he felt they didn’t know how to play NLHE.
  • Whine constantly that everytime he had a raising hand players would raise him, he had trouble with 2 players in particular. In watching what ESPN showed these players never raised him just trying to steal, they always had very good or even premium hands.
  • He survived at least 6 occasions when he was All-In but, he lost at least $100,000 in cash to Phil Ivey. Ivey gave Hellmuth ‘insurance’, at appropriate odds based on the hands, each time Hellmuth was All-In. When Hellmuth won the hand he would lose cash to Ivey. Each time he was All-In it seemed that all would have to wait for Hellmuth and Ivey to figure out the odds and agree on the insurance bet before the dealer could continue with dealing the community cards. ESPN seemed to love this.
  • Telling all that would listen that the world doesn’t know how good he is. 
  • When his final all in was called by a big stack player and Phil had a weak Ace, he said for all to hear that he couldn’t believe that she called a big raise with KQ suited. He went on to say how he couldn’t believe how bad the players at the final table were.
  • He had many other critical comments for all the players. Just too numerous to recount all of them in this post.

Of course all of this stuff is part of Phil’s act. One of the other pros at the table was quoted on the broadcast saying something like: Phil is great at taking advantage of weak players. Phil’s comments get inside their heads and he just runs them over. Also, that stuff doesn’t work against the experienced pros who basically just ignore it.

ESPN analyst Norman Chad took every opportunity to point out Phil’s Tableside manner. He even said the event was like a 3 ring circus with Phil being 2 of the rings. He also said he would rather watch Phil at a final table then anything else Vegas had. 

Your ‘Dead Money’ blogger in an earlier post gave Phil credit for being one of the all time great Poker players, but his Tableside manner does him no Mikesallin.jpgfavors with anyone that actually ranks the all time greats. His Tableside manner will hold him back from ever being ranked the greatest of all time in my humble opinion. Also in this post I discussed how Phil seems to be all about the ‘Show’ and this ESPN broadcast just make me think that even more. I don’t think it would be fun for me to be at Phil’s table, of course being ‘Dead Money’, I don’t ever expect to be seated with him, thankfully.

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Poker Players that remove the fun

Monday, August 6th, 2007
  • Types of Poker Players that take the fun out

Just your ‘Dead Money’ bloggers rant on the Types of Poker Players he finds DSC00004_1.JPGirritating to play against. I don’t mean irritating in that they play well and take my money. I know I am ‘Dead Money’, I just like to play and I actually hold my own against them. I mean I do not enjoy playing with them as it is no fun. I was just having a discussion yesterday with my son about how much I enjoy playing Poker and writing about Poker and talking about Poker. Guess you could say one of my passions is poker. That being said when I play online or go to a B&M facility there are specific types of players that I can’t wait to see them leave my table. Doesn’t mean I go on Tilt or anything, just means I don’t have as much fun when these types are there.

See if you recognize the types of Poker Players and if you have played against them.

  • Trying to teach you how to play

You know the type always trying to show you how they know it all when it comes to poker with comments like:

  •  
    • ‘you shouldn’t have called’
    • ‘you should have known I had you beat,  
    • ‘pots odds dictated that you should have called’, said after you muck
    • ‘what are you doing calling an all-in with A-7 off’?
  • Critical of and rude to all other players at table and dealers

I have heard at live games or seen online comments like:

  •  
    • ‘you are an idiot’
    • ‘what a stupid a** playing that’
    • ‘where did you learn to play like that’?
    • ‘is this your 1st game’?  

I actually am in a home game with a player that is a good person but has told me he just trys to irritate other players to get them on tilt so he can get their chips. He readily accepts that somebody has to wear the black hat. Envisions himself the Phil Hellmuth or Mike Matusow of the home game. In a post earlier this month I talked about the World Poker Association (WPA) development of a Code of Ethics. One of the sections addresses player to player relationships and another section deals with player and dealer relationship. I hope the Code of Ethics become the standard of how poker is played everywhere.

  • Constant whining about Bad Beats
    • Citing the Percentages
      • ‘I was 80-20 to win after the flop’
      • ‘I had you 3-1 after the turn’
      • ‘you were 4% to hit that on the river’
    • Saying things like:
      • ‘I can’t believe you sucked out like that’
      • ‘I had a boat and they hit quads’
      • ‘I flopped a straight they hit a back door flush’
      • ‘they hit a 2 outer’ 
  • Loud happy winner, Quiet ornery loser 

When winning you have the incessant happy chatter with everybody, the constant chip rifling, the loud bets, the showing of their cards including the bluffs, the nutz, the big laydowns.

Of course seeing their cards is a good thing for the other players but when combined with the noise I still find it irritating.

Just the opposite when losing, hardly says a word (not necessarily bad), no chip rifling, never see their cards, big frown on their face.

  • Tells you why they called
    • ‘I had you on’,
    • ‘I felt you were bluffing’
    • ‘knew I had you beat’
    • ‘I am on a rush’, ‘

Personally, I try to ignore all of the types listed and just focus on playing poker. Very rarely use the chat box online and at B&M generally have very little to say. I think part of the reason there are so many of these types of players now, is that Televised Poker seems to show so many instances of this behavior. ESPN almost tries to make a celebrity of the player that exhibits these playing styles. Just thought I would Rant a little bit.

Feel free to add any Poker related comments, they are welcome always.

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Do Poker Rushes really Happen?

Thursday, August 2nd, 2007

Do Poker Rushes Exist?

pokerprologo_1_1.jpghad a story by Arthur Reber Playing the Rush recently that your ‘Dead Money’ blogger not only found fascinating but made me really get lost in this whole ‘Rushes’ question and if they really exist.

Since I started playing poker I have always believed in the Rush concept. You know what I mean. You win a couple hands and all of sudden you are not mucking that 7-2 off suit you were just dealt and you hit a set of ducks. I know I have fell into that situation often and I always thought it got me some chips. Now after reading Arthur’s story I am not so sure about the Rush. 

Arthur makes to me very convincing points that the concept of a Rush is wrong mathematically. That the Rush is more a outgrowth of your own play improving when you win some hands and of other players at the table believing you are on a Rush and staying out of your way.

He made a comparison to athletes that seem to hit every shot or go on a tear at the plate. He discussed the ‘Hot Hand’ concept of a coach that feeds a shooter who seems to hit every shot. Also he mentioned the manager that adjusts the lineup to get the hot bat higher in the lineup so they might get more at bats.

Arthur talked about three reasons why a player would play a Rush.

1. Playing my rush because I’m ‘running good’

He details that most players believe this is accurate but they are wrong. He explains that what you are really saying is:

‘that you believe what happened in the past will continue into the future’

Mathematically this is wrong as each hand is independent of earlier hands Arthur explains.

Arthur wraps up the 1st reason by saying:

‘There is no increased likelihood of winning the next hand because you’ve been running good - just like there is no increased likelihood of losing the next hand if you’ve been running bad.

Arthur discusses the 2nd reason players play rushes.

2. Playing my Rush because I’m sharper when I’m winning

Arthur tells us that this reason is closer to a good reason. He lets us know that most players play better when winning. Winning increases confidence and aggressiveness.

So there is some reason to play a rush if your game is sharper than usual when you do. ‘this argument has nothing to do with being on a rush, if you are like most recreational players, your game is better when you are winning’

Arthur moves on to the 3rd reason players play rushes.

3. Playing my Rush because I can dominate the table.

Arthur tells us that this reason is the one that makes the most sense.

The key is that most players believe that rushes are real, that they will continue and that the ‘rusher’ is going to ride his wave of good fortune as long as he can. When someone goes on a serious rush a chorus of refrains will be heard from others at the table. ‘Man, you’re really on a roll no way am I playing a hand against you’ or ‘I am just going to stay out of your way for a while’

Essentially players will fear the ‘Rush’ and not be playing optimal poker and you can take advantage of it. But it is not because of the ‘Rush’.

Arthur ends the Rush discussion by telling of a study psychologist Amos Tversky did some years ago. Tversky was trying to analyze the ‘Hot Hand’ theory by charting every shot several basketball players took over a full season. He found little evidence of the ‘Hot Hand’ theory.

Players got hot about as often as a random number generator got hot. If a player shoots about 50% overall, we would expect to see a run of shots made and missed - and we can calculate just how many runs we ought to see and how long the runs should be.

The source for all the quotes in this blog is: Playing the Rush

The study by Tversky was really fascinating to me because it took your ‘Dead Money’ blogger back to his childhood when ‘Grandpa Joe’ introduced me to Lifetime averages. I was beside myself with worry when one of the veterans on my favorite Major Mikesallin.jpgLeague Baseball team was only barely hitting above the ‘Mendoza’ line about 2 weeks into the season one year. ‘Grandpa Joe’ showed me the Lifetime Average on the back of the player’s baseball card and told me that by the end of the season the player would hit pretty close to his Lifetime Average. Sure enough the player did and I remembered that reading Arthur’s discussion of the ‘Hot Hand’ study by Amos Tversky.
Sadly, it also reminded your ‘Dead Money’ blogger that he will always be the ‘Dead Money’ at the poker table because my ‘Lifetime Average’ is ‘Dead Money’.

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