There haven't been regular high stakes PLO games running lately, so when I can catch some of the action I like to share it.  I captured 10 hands where opponents were all in and thus showed their hole cards.  I'll let you decide if these hands are standard for the super charged aggressive high stakes environment or not, but I find them interesting nonetheless.  I keep trying different formats for presentation, especially in light of the harder to access hand histories on Full Tilt.

Hand 1: Four handed
Ziigmund is dealt Kd Ks Qh 2s UTG
Trex313 is dealt As 9c 7c 4s in the BB
Trex313 opens with a 3x raise, which is reraised 3.3X by Ziigmund and called by Trex313
Flop - 9s 10s 10h
Ziigmund pots 8k with an overpair and gutter, Trex313 goes all in for 15k with two pair and backdoor nut FD
Turn - 6s
River - 8c
Trex313 doubles with a straight

If I'm Trex313, I fold the flop, but he did have 44.4% equity against Ziigmund's actual hand but probably not against his range.

Hand 2: Five handed
Ziigmund is dealt Ks 10d Js Jc on the button,
John Juanda is dealt As Ad 2h 10s in SB
Ziigmund bets 3x pot, call by John Juanda, call by OMGclayaiken in BB
Flop - Kc Qd 4h
check, check, check
Turn - 7s
John Juanda leads out for  90% pot, called by Ziigmund
River - Kh
JJ bets 10k into 15k pot and called by Ziigmund, who wins the $35k pot with trips

Thin value bet by John Juanda.

Hand 3:  Four handed
Trex313 is dealt Qc Qh 3h 3s on button
John Juanda is dealt 7c 7s 10s 10c in SB
Trex313 3x pot bet, John Juanda 3 bets in SB, and called
Flop - 7h Qs 5c
John Juanda donk led pot, Trex313 reraises him all in for double that amount and called
Blank turn and river.

Trex313 wins set over set.

Hand 4: Four handed
Brian Hastings is dealt As Qh Jh 9h UTG
Gus Hansen is dealt 6d 4h 7d 6h in BB
Brian Hastings 3x raise, Gus Hansen calls
Flop - 8h qd 7h
Gus Hanse donk leads pot, Brian Hastings reraises pot, Gus Hansen pushes for 1k more, call
Blank turn and river and Brian Hasting holds

Light lead and call from Gus with low flush draw, 3rd pair, and gutter (he had 36% equity)

Hand 5: Four handed
Gus Hansen is dealt Ks Qd 10c 8c in cutoff
Brian Hastings is dealt Ac 6c 5s 3d on button
Gus Hansen pots pre flop, call by Brian Hastings
Flop - Jc 9c 8h
Gus Hansen pots the flop, call by Brian Hastings
Turn - 8d
Gus Hansen checks, Brian Hastings bets 55% of the pot, called
River - Js
Check, check - Gus Hansen wins $35k with a straight

Brian tries a turn steal when shown weakness, but Gus calls down with trips

Hand 6: Four handed
Trex313 is dealt Ah Ad 10d 7s on button
Gus Hansen is dealth Jh 2s 4s 2h in SB
Trex313 raises preflop and is called
Flop - Ks 5h 2d
Gus Hansen donk leads pot, Trex313 reraises all in
Turn - 7d
River - Qh
GH wins $38k with bottom set

Trex313 plays his overpair very aggressively but only has 13% equity when Gus hits his set.

Hand 7: Four handed
Trex313 is dealt As Jd 7c 5d on button
Patrik Antonius is dealth Kd Qc Jc 8s in SB
Trex313 makes a standard 3x raise pre, Patrik Antonius 3bets pot, OMGclayaiken calls, Trex313 calls
Flop - Ad Qd 10c
Patrik Antonius leads for half pot, Trex313 min reraises basically his remaining stack, called
Turn - 2c
River - 6c

Loose seeming reraise by Trex313 on the flop with one pair, gutter, and medium flush draw and 42% equity.

Hand 8: Five handed
Ziigmund is dealt As Js 6s 4h in cutoff
Brian Hastings is dealt  Ac Kc Qc 3h in BB
Ziigmund raises, call by Trex313 and Brian Hastings
Flop - Ah Kd 6d
Brian Hastings checks, Ziigmund  pots, Brian Hastings calls
Turn - 5c
Brian Hastings checks, Ziigmund pots, Brian Hastings check raises all in for another 11k, Ziigmund calls
River - Jd
Brian Hastings wins $74k with top two pair

Aggressive betting from Ziigmund with top and bottom pair that Brian Hastings calls down with top two pair.

Hand 9: Four handed
Patrik Antonius is dealt 7s 6h 6c 5h UTG
OMGclayaiken is dealt Ac Kh Qc 8c on button
Patrik Antonius raises, called by OMGclayaiken and Ziigmund in SB and Trex313 in BB
Flop - Jc 2c 6d
check, check, Patrik Antonius leads 85% pot, called only by OMGclayaiken
Turn - 10s
Patrik Antonius checks, OMGclay aiken pots for 20k, Patrik Antonius check raises all in for 58k
River - 3d
Patrik Antonius wins $135k with a set of 6's

When shown weakness, OMGclayaiken pots the turn with his nut flush draw and straight draw and calls another $40k to see $100k in pot holding 42.5% equity.

Hand 10: Four handed
OMGclayaiken is dealt Kc 9c 8h 5h in SB
Ziigmund is dealt Ah Kh 4h 4c in BB
OMGclayaiken raises and is called pre
Flop - Ac Kd 5s
OMGclayaiken leads with his two pair and Ziigmund reraises getting it all in
Turn - 9d
River - 5d

Ziigmund has 85% equity on the flop as his two pair dominate OMG's two pair.

Okay, I'll be the first to admit I'm not a gambler and I've never understood flipping.  Even for action junkie degens, it has never seemed to make sense to me.  The lifetime return is 50-50, so where is your edge? If it isn't a flip and you don't have an edge, than your opponent does and they are giving that up to agree to the flipping.  How exciting is it to flip a coin?  It often seems to be initiated by someone who is losing already, frustrated, and looking for a quick return to even or a greater hurting. 

Today's high stakes example comes from none other than Ziigmund and Phil Ivey.  Ziigmund had been playing Durrrr heads up for a while, that I missed.  Tom had about 300k and Ziigmund 400k before Durrrr had to leave.  Ziigmund then jumped on Ivey Thunderdome.   Nothing too notable occurred early as Ivey pulled to a 60k lead while they discussed Ziigmund possibly coming to London to play in the big cash games with Cyr.  Then in the next 30 hands Ivey won pots totally $835k vs. Ziigmund pots won totaling $218k (for a $617k difference).

- Ziigmund then initiated the flips request ($100k each, except for one $200k flip)
- Ivey won the first two
- Ziigmund requested $300k be loaned
- They did 10 flips in total (with one being a $200k flip)
- Ivey won 7 including the $200k flip to Ziigmund's 3.
- Ivey transferred 200 more but had to leave and urged Ziigmund not to jump off a balcony.
- Ivey left with $953k in under an hour.

Edited text of the 40 hands....(I bolded some of the more interesting chat)

Phil Ivey wins the pot ($161,999.50) with three of a kind, Kings
Ziigmund: aw4 y
Ziigmund:  dg
Ziigmund: nj
Ziigmund: aryjä'sryj
Ziigmund: sryjsry'syjsryjjxr
Phil Ivey wins the pot ($1,999.50)
Phil Ivey wins the pot ($53,999.50)
Ziigmund wins the pot ($41,999.50)
Ziigmund wins the pot ($17,999.50)
Phil Ivey wins the pot ($17,999.50)
Phil Ivey wins the pot ($2,000)
Ziigmund wins the pot ($17,999.50)
Phil Ivey wins the pot ($45,999.50)
Ziigmund wins the pot ($2,000)
Ziigmund: zzzzzzzzzzzzz
Ziigmund: zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
Phil Ivey wins the pot ($2,000)
Ziigmund wins the pot ($5,999.50)
Ziigmund wins the pot ($17,999.50)
Phil Ivey wins the pot ($1,000)
Phil Ivey wins the pot ($2,000)
Ziigmund wins the pot ($5,999.50)
Phil Ivey wins the pot ($5,999.50)
Phil Ivey wins the pot ($1,000)
Ziigmund wins the pot ($1,000)
Ziigmund wins the pot ($47,999.50)
Ziigmund wins the pot ($15,999.50)
Phil Ivey wins the pot ($5,999.50)
Phil Ivey wins the pot ($5,999.50)
Phil Ivey wins the pot ($43,999.50)
Phil Ivey wins the pot ($31,999.50)
Phil Ivey wins the pot ($208,991.50) with two pair, Aces and Jacks
Ziigmund wins the pot ($1,000)
Ziigmund wins the pot ($41,999.50)
Phil Ivey wins the pot ($2,000)
Phil Ivey wins the pot ($240,998.50) with two pair, Kings and Threes
Ziigmund: ok
Ziigmund: 1 flip
Phil Ivey: k
Phil Ivey shows [7h Qc Ac Qd]
Ziigmund shows [2s Qh 3s 2h]
Phil Ivey wins the pot ($199,999.50) with two pair, Kings and Queens
Ziigmund: ok 1 more all in
Phil Ivey: k
Ziigmund shows [2d Jd 6d 9s]
Phil Ivey shows [6c 4h 6h Kd]
Phil Ivey wins the pot ($137,714.30) with three of a kind, Sixes
Ziigmund: send me 300
Ziigmund: lets flip few more
Phil Ivey: i sent it
Ziigmund: ok
Ziigmund: wait
Phil Ivey: yessir
Ziigmund: f
Ziigmund: u
Ziigmund: cigaret
Ziigmund: back in 3 min
Phil Ivey: don't let money change u
Phil Ivey: lol
Ziigmund: ok 1 flip
Phil Ivey: k
Ziigmund: then cigarette
Ziigmund: then more flips
Phil Ivey shows [Qs 2c 8d 3s]
Ziigmund shows [5s As Qc Td]
Ziigmund wins the pot ($199,999.50) with two pair, Kings and Tens
Ziigmund: 100k each
Phil Ivey: 100 ok
Ziigmund: yes
Ziigmund: now i win
Ziigmund: lets bet flop
Ziigmund: 10k
Phil Ivey: k
Ziigmund: 9TJA
Phil Ivey: kq87
Ziigmund shows a pair of Aces
Phil Ivey shows two pair, Kings and Eights
Phil Ivey wins the pot ($199,999.50) with two pair, Kings and Eights
Ziigmund: and 100k
Phil Ivey: k
Ziigmund shows [4d 9c 2d Ah]
Phil Ivey shows [9s 7d 6s 3c]
Phil Ivey wins the pot ($199,998.50) with a straight, Six high
Ziigmund: more
Phil Ivey: again
Phil Ivey: k
Ziigmund shows [Kd 8c 6c 2c]
Phil Ivey shows [Ts 9c 6d Qd]
Ziigmund wins the pot ($199,999.50) with two pair, Kings and Eights
Ziigmund: 100 each
Phil Ivey: k
Ziigmund: 3679
Phil Ivey: aj23 spades
Ziigmund wins the pot ($199,999.50) with a straight, Ten high
Ziigmund: 100 each
Phil Ivey: k
Ziigmund: Akj5
Phil Ivey: what do i need to bet
Ziigmund: hahahaha
Ziigmund: 37
Ziigmund: what u have
Phil Ivey: q982
Ziigmund: TILT
Phil Ivey wins the pot ($199,999.50) with two pair, Queens and Nines
Ziigmund: 200 each
Phil Ivey: k
Ziigmund: 599T
Phil Ivey: 3568
Phil Ivey shows [3s 5s 8s 6s]
Ziigmund shows [9c Tc 9s 5c]
Phil Ivey wins the pot ($399,997.50) with a straight, Eight high
Ziigmund: last one
Phil Ivey shows [Ad 6d Td 5c]
Ziigmund shows [Js 6s Ah 9s]
Phil Ivey wins the pot ($199,999.50) with a straight, Six high
Ziigmund: cool
Ziigmund: no london
Ziigmund: jumping from balkony
Phil Ivey: lol
Phil Ivey: don't do it. i will have no one to flip with me
Ziigmund: send me some
Ziigmund: lets play more
Ziigmund: y0 phil
Phil Ivey: sent 200 have to quit soon
Ziigmund: ok lets flip those
Ziigmund: if u quitting
Phil Ivey: keep the 200. we will play later gotta go
Phil Ivey: be back in a hour

Scene by scene, the scenario was similar.

My life was in jeopardy.

I was on the run.

Someone wanted to take my life, any life.

I didn't know why. It didn't matter.

He was close, but I would elude him.

First he was an unknown assassin.

Then he was a terrorist and rogue element.

Later I learned he thought of himself as a freedom fighter.

He fought for his own sense of justice and freedom.

His end goal, my life.

Every sense I had felt alive as I escaped his goal.

I needed to remain one step ahead, to parry his every thrust.

I reveled in my decisions.

At times, he would gain on me, but I would regain my distance.

Just when he thought he had me, I would escape.

In the moment, I felt superior, but never smug.

It could all end in one move.

I battled for my life with every fiber of my existence.  Nothing else mattered.

It was he or I.  Would I prevail?

...It may have been a dream, but as I load up my next table, it may be my reality.  Good luck at the tables.

When you are involved in a poker community, one thing you are exposed to a lot is people's bad beats.  People love to share them.  They also love to share their misfortune, much more than their successes and good luck.  It's human nature.  We all need to vent when things don't seem to be going our way. 

I recently have been on a downswing.  It seemed like 85% of the time I was getting my money in way ahead and 85% of the time I was being drawn out on.  It happens.  The key is how do you handle it.  Thankfullly I have been through numerous downswings and recoveries that give me confidence that it is temporary and that I can work my way out of it.  But, I thought I would share some of my suggestions that might be helpful to others.

The theme to most of these is 'changing things up'.

1. Take a break.  This is about clearing your head and removing the bad mindset from your play.

2. Change your external environment.  Removing distracting forces like music, tv, IM's, etc can allow you to focus differently.  It can be changing the times of the day you play, or how long your sessions go.

3. Change your online environment.  Something as simple as changing the default background for your poker table can give you the feel of a fresh start.  Changing your avatar or emotion can also mix things up.  

4. Change the site you play on.  Each site has a different feel, blind structures, and competition.

5. Change your game.  Switching to another format or game from your usual, is a good way to clear your head and change your focus.  Play SnG's, MTT's, or cash to mix it up.

6. Drop down limits.  This reduces your variance if you continue to run bad and often introduces different style of play at different limits.

7. Learn a new game.  Playing a different game can completely take you away from your downswing and focus on learning or improving another form of poker.

8. Rail good players.  Identify good players at your level and really study/watch their game, to see what they are doing well.

9. Read a poker book.  There are hundreds out there nowadays that you can select one for most any specific game or area you play.

10. Join a training site.  Watching videos of top pros play as they talk through their thinking process can be great for your game.

I'm sure there are a number of others...feel free to add your suggestion in the comments!

Isn't that the expected line we hear from the alien as they land in a strange new world? They want to establish that they are not a threat.  They may look different, act different, speak different, but their intentions are good.  They want to get along, co-habitate and see what they can learn from each other.

For much of my life, this is how I have felt.  I had an interesting childhood where I lived in several African countries, in international communities, and was exposed to many different cultures.  When I returned back to the US when I was 10, a part of me never fit in.  I never understood the 'baseball, apple pie, and Chevrolet' American perspective.  I didn't embrace a lot of the values and perspectives of my peers.  In my formative teen and college years I learned not to share the parts of myself that others couldn't relate to easily.  That strategy worked for my post college African travels and experiences as well.

In fact, if I scan my 42 years, there have been relatively few times that I have truly connected with others to a point where I felt that I was talking to a fellow alien from my home planet.  I know they are out there.  I know I'm not alone.  I know lots of people feel this way too.  They just happen to be from another solar system from mine.

The different perspectives show up in a variety of areas; financial, emotional, relational, communication styles, intensity, dedication, even sex.  When not on your home world, you have to constantly compromise to interact and survive.  I don't mind being different, as long as I'm not overly judged.  Otherwise, the natural choice is to keep it hidden.  It's what most of us do.  But like most people, I just want to be myself and live in peace. I have a desire to connect.  I share that with you humans.

People love freerolls.  The concept is simple.  You risk nothing with the hopes of winning something.  In theory, if you risk nothing, you shouldn't be disappointed when nothing comes of it.  And yet almost everyone is disappointed when we bust out.  We have invested our time and whatever skill we have against this unknown field of opponents.  We all have a competitive spirit. 

Every freeroll I play in for Poker Curious I want to do well.  It doesn't matter that I don't play NLHE regularly; PLO is my game.  It doesn't matter that I don't play tournaments, cash is my game.  It doesn't matter that I know going in that people will play wild and crazy.  I understand the dynamics.  People play sub optimally.  They are free to take their shots however they like.  It costs them nothing to test their luck.  I only control my own variables and I have to accept whatever outcome the poker gods deliver.

Today, for instance, I only played two sizable pots.  The first one I flopped a set of 10's and my opponent, who had 6.7% equity on the flop, caught his runner runner straight after the money was all in.  In the second hand, my opponent raised and I shoved all in with 10's.  They called with 5's.  They hit their two outer on the flop.  GG me.  Obviously the percentages didn't work in my favor, but in poker all you can do it put your money in with the best hand (best equity) and leave it at that. 

Freerolls are free, but the necessary mindset to handle them and the outcome of any poker situation is something we all have to continually work on.  No one likes to lose, but in any tournament, everyone is a loser, but one.  Dealing with losing is as important, or more so, than any other component of poker.

Today, out of the blue, there were 4 500/1k NLHE tables running.  That is a rare event these days so I decided to rail the games.  On the side, I opened the sole 300/600 PLO table 'This Is Nuts' that was running.  The following hand and chat occurred at that table.

Dealer: OMGClayAiken shows two pair, Queens and Eights
Dealer: Ziigmund wins the pot ($555,549) with a flush, Queen high

Immediately after the hand, Gus Hansen, who wasn't in the hand, felt the need to say something.  This is what ensued.

Gus Hansen: I have never seen Ziigmund loose a hand like that?????? very strange
Ziigmund: shut up u retard
Ziigmund: fcking atm maschino
Ziigmund: gus
Ziigmund: take refill
Gus Hansen: It is funny that Ziggy is up up 5.2 million on lucky 4 way pots
Ziigmund: huh
Gus Hansen: he claims to be the best
Ziigmund: gus is real pokerplayer
Gus Hansen: which is true I think he is the best drunk player out there
Ziigmund: ever heads up
Ziigmund: gus
Gus Hansen: change the tune you fukin finish retard
Ziigmund: whenever
Gus Hansen: in the chat you have no chance you barely speak english
Gus Hansen: of course I am drunk
Gus Hansen: My name is Ziigmund and I have put in ( million with the worst hand but I got 17 million back so it is OK
Gus Hansen: typo error 8 mill got 17 back

Ziigmund left a few minutes later, up around 300k on his short session.  I edited out all the railbird chatter, but for amusements sake, I thought I would include a few comments after Ziigmund left.

MPREDROCK (Observer): hit and run ziggy
reggi__bgd (Observer): Gus u pissss offf Zigiiiiiiiiii
CleverCastro (Observer): everyone here sucks, maybe thats why they have so much $. HMMMMMM!?!?!
superrrm (Observer): Gus u made ziggy leave.......
NyHustler14895 (Observer): next person pops off about gus is getting their teeth kicked in
Boludini (Observer): poor old gus freerolling nosebleeds on rake money
BullAtty (Observer): zziiigy gone to cry into his vodka over gus mean nasty words
BullAtty (Observer): next he'll fly to monaco for make up sex
Seamus Bloom (Observer): gus is shortstacking
poolepit (Observer): -5mil in like 6 months!!!!!!!!!!!!
Pink Chip (Observer): gus is running on fumes

Earlier this week, I went with my wife and two kids to visit a friend's farm.  She lives about 30 minutes away from our suburban neighborhood. We went to pick blackberries as a family and visit her animals.  She keeps award winning horses and goats, along with dogs and cats galore. Neighboring farms raise cattle, llamas, cattle, chickens and various other animals.  There are wild deer, coyote, turkey vultures, possum, and birds throughout the area. Right next door to her 20 acre property are the state forests that eventually lead up to Mt. Hood and the Cascade range.

The sights and sounds are so different from suburban or urban life. It got us to thinking on the drive home what it would be like living in the different settings. Ever since we planned on having a family, we moved away from more urban settings to have a home with a yard but close to the typical suburban necessities. I think if it were just the two of us again, we might consider either the urban settings, for proximity to the diverse culture, restaraunts and activities, or a rural setting where we could develop our love for the outdoors and living closer to the land. As it is, we are happy with the compromise that is the suburbs. It accomplishes our goals of raising a family in a supportive environment and having stability for our children.

I didn't have that stability growing up. I moved 5 times in the first 12 years of my life, 4 of those different countries. My childhood was very international and exotic, introducing me to a lot of different cultures and experiences.  But I never had the sense of home that I wanted for my children. That early transient lifestyle affected how I made friends and attachments as the years went on. I wonder how my kids will view it as they grow older, having lived their lives in one town.

It's fun and interesting to consider how those different settings and different priorities would affect our lifestyles.  I think there is value in each setting - rural, suburban, and urban.  Which is your favorite and why?

A PC member asked me today about blogging on Poker Curious.  Were there any rules?  What made a good blog?  My immediate answer was regularity.  The blogs that have the greatest success have a consistency to them.  Not only does that mean you build in an expectation for delivering new content, but that your creative 'voice' is also consistent.

I only started blogging in May 2007.  One of my main missions at the time was to demonstrate to the pros at CardRunners how to improve their blogging.  While I can't say that my experiment influenced many of them, it clearly showed that you can develop an audience despite not being a celebrity/promoted pro, high stakes player, or even talk about poker on a poker site.  Simply from blogging regularly with a consistent 'reasoned voice' I developed a following.  I blogged more than any other blogger, with many disparate thoughts.  I blogged about those issues important to me.

In the final analysis, people will connect with your passion and voice.  They come back if they appreciate your perspective.  They can find it entertaining or educational.  They can find it outrageous or stimulating.  Readers like to delve into the mind and experiences of others; no matter how weird or obsessive they may be.

There is no one formula of what or how to write it.  Some blogs employ unusual formats that people connect with; using photos and video, stream of consciousness, lists etc.  But there are some helpful hints to reaching a wider audience.  They are common to all good writing.  If you are telling a story, have a beginning, middle, and end.  Whatever story you tell, please use paragraphs and punctuation to break it up. 

Often times, your title is the most important part.  It creates a set of expectations before your reader ever starts reading.  So invest time to create a title that is interesting and appropriate to your blog.  If you don't, it is likely to make your reader confused and uncomfortable without even knowing why.

While a stream of consciousness blog can be effective, the more focused blogs tend to generate more readers.  From a practical standpoint, it makes it easier for search engines and non regular bloggers to gravitate to your blog if you are focused.  You also want to be relevant to the target audience. When you stimulate their minds, it is beneficial to link to other relevant information so they can persue this new interest.

Ultimately, you are sending your readers on a journey.  If they enjoy that journey, they will return again and again to see where you take them next.  If you don't blog regularly, they will grow disenchanted and search elsewhere for what they thought they had found in you.

Good luck.  I look forward to reading your blogs.