The Poker Lab Rat

Recently Poker Professional Gus Hansen announced he was part card player, part businessman and part degenerate gambler – about 60/30/10. In this blog posting, Paul Waskica reckons this resonates with him, right down to the percentages…

Unlike athletes and celebrities, poker players have to risk their own money to make money. In cash games they can only win what they put out there. It’s a little different with tournaments, but tournaments require a lot more luck since one misstep and their run can be done. This high degree of risk makes diversifying really important, if they can swing it. I know my primary job, the thing I’m best at, is playing poker. But I have other interests that help balance out the emotional and financial swings inherent in the game.

I’ve locked most of my money up, where even I can’t get to it. But I’ve also put energy, and in some cases money, into an endorsement deal, a poker school, a book project, real estate, the stock market and, yes, a little sports betting.

As I’ve branched out, I’ve spent a lot of time thinking about how to make sure I’m part of that first group, the group that invested wisely, not the group that fell from grace in extraordinary fashion.

The hard part is knowing when to keep a hands on approach and when to let professionals handle some of it. In general I believe you should know as much as possible about what you’re getting into. The more you know about taxes, the better conversation you can have in April.

I also believe the absolute most important thing you can do is surround yourself with good people, people you absolutely trust. In addition to trusted family members and friends, it’s crucial to have a good lawyer, accountant and financial adviser. Scrimp on these and your decision might bite you hand. Just ask Martha Stewart.

The other thing that’s held me in good stead is instinct. I’ve made some mistakes, but generally when something feels like a bad idea, even if you can’t pinpoint exactly what the concern is. You should probably walk away. I’ve had guys come to me with deals that have to be done immediately or the “opportunity” would disappear. I decided a long time ago never to allow myself to be pressured into making a financial move, and that has saved me money more times than I care to count.

As for the degenerate gambler part, I’ll never get the feeling of wanting that rush completely out of my system. The key is to keep it under control. But as my life changes, I don’t ever want to lose that 10%. After all, that’s what got me here in the first place.

Paul Wasicka is a member of Team FullTilt. Join Full Tilt Poker to play in May and they’ll give you a bonus of up to $600. (Players from around the World including the USA are welcome)

For more info on playing online at Full Tilt Poker and how they compare with other top rating online poker sites, check out the latest poker room review on FullTiltPoker.com here.

For other poker tips and advice, including more from Paul Wasicka, check out the PokerLabRat.com archive of Tips from Professional Poker Players

Elite Poker Professional and Team FullTilt member Gus Hansen shares an amazing hand from his Aussie Millions play. How would you have played this one? An interesting read.

Hand 133 - Crucial hand 7 - Biggest Hand So Far - Busting the Defending Champ

Blinds: 4000/8000/1000, My position: SB, My hand: Ac Qs, My Chip Stack: 389,000

Defending champ Lee Nelson has been moved to the table. He opens in middle position for 24,000 and I decide to just call with my Ac Qs in the SB. The BB folds. The flop comes:

Qh Qc 4c

I think it is fair to call it an above average flop!

I check and as expected Lee bets 44,000 into a 64,000 pot. Having flopped three Queens with top kicker, or as some would say “a Monster”, I have a couple of different options:

Calling, trying to trap Mr. Nelson would be more tempting with no flush draw on the board. Another draw-back is that calling simply fails to put more money in the pot. For it to be a real trap, I would have to check the turn as well and could thereby easily give Mr. Nelson two free cards. I don’t like it!
The mini-raise – doubling his 44,000 bet to about 100,000. Trying to keep Lee in the loop but forcing him to put a little more money in the pot. It might also be interpreted as a cheap steal-attempt thereby inducing Mr. Nelson to make a move. I like it!
Standard raise – to about 150,000. Put even more money in the pot but might force Lee out of some marginal hands. Has some merit!
As you can see I prefer the mini-raise.

After some deliberation I make it 100k. Now it is Lee’s turn to think. Surprisingly fast he goes all-in putting a total of 326,000 towards the middle. Pretty happy about the development I don’t hesitate to call. After all – I am holding the third nuts - or more likely “the nuts” since Lee would have played it a little slower if he was holding either Q4 or 44.

There is now 716,000 in the pot, so the next two cards are very crucial for the outcome of this tournament. The defending champ is all-in and I am left with less than 50,000 in front of me. Whoever wins this pot will be well on the way to the final table and the other guy headed – or more or less headed – to the sideline.

Showtime:
Lee: Kc 9c
Me: Ac Qs

Winning percentage before the turn:
Lee: 23.1 %
Me: 76.9 %

Turn: Jh

No club but now he has a gut-shot as well. His winning percentage stays the same.

River: 3h

Nice - I win the 700,000+ pot.

So what really happened here? How did we get 700k in the middle at this stage at the tournament?
Let us take it from the top:
Lee’s opening raise from middle position with Kc 9c - a play that has my utmost sympathy.
My call in the blind with AQo is definitely not mandatory and I would generally lean towards the re-raise. Being out of position, facing a tough opponent with a big chip-stack, I opted for the more conservative call.
Checking the flop – Very straight forward as Lee will most likely take a stab with any two cards.
Flop bet by Lee – Good solid play! Continuation bets is a big part of winning tournament strategy and should be performed a very high percentage of the time – especially this time where he actually has a flush draw to back it up!
My mini-raise - described earlier in the hand.
Lee’s all-in move – OOPS. I do not agree with this play.

A much better option would be to just call and see what develops. Lee is in position and has the luxury of awaiting my next move. If I had an air ball there is a very good chance that I would give up and he would be able to take it away with a medium-sized bet on the turn. On the other hand if I had a Queen I would probably move all in on the turn and Lee would be able to get away from the hand without losing all his money. Not to forget, if a club comes on the turn we would get all the money in with me having the drawing hand.

As you can see Lee would have gained a lot of information by flat-calling. Not only would he have a better idea about the strength of my hand but he would also get to see whether a club showed up or not!

Furthermore, contrary to what people think I am actually a very tight player . At least in some situations… Very rarely do I check-raise a big stack on the flop with absolutely nothing. I was in a comfortable position and not especially looking for a spot to pull off a big bluff. Analyzing the hand again and again I have come to the conclusion that my most likely holding is a random Queen, with the Ace high flush draw next in line. None of which the Kc 9c fare well against.

I am not quite sure why Lee opted to move all-in but I have a strong feeling that my reputation played a big part in his decision-making.

Gus Hansen plays poker online exclusively at Full Tilt Poker. You can join him at a table!

For more info on this top rating US-friendly online poker room check out the latest May FullTiltPoker review here at PokerLabRat.com.