Letter from Doke (25th Oct 2011)

Hi

Doke here again. I played absolutely no live poker again this week, but had a pretty good week online. The nightly 10k that starts on Irish Eyes at 8 has been particularly good to me: I think I final tabled it four times in a row. My next major live outing is the Winter festival next weekend.

After that I will be playing in the JPPoker WSOP Mini Series on from the 3rd-6th November in the Maldron Hotel Tallaght. The main event has a buy-in
of €360 including reg, with a €40,000 guarantee, and there will be a super satellite on Irish Eyes Poker next Tuesday 1st November at 8.pm. Buy-in of €20 for 1500 chips, with one rebuy/add-on for €20 for 2,500 chips. 12 minute clock.

The TV coverage of UKIPT Dublin started on Channel 4 last Tuesday. They used a short soundbite from an interview they recorded with me at the event (which I can honestly say I have no recollection of!).

This week's strategy section is in response to Peter, a reader who says he has tried everything,cash, mtts, back to cash, back to mtts, sit and gos, multitabling at cash, then one tabling, but who can't win at any of them. He was looking for any general tips and in particular how to play sit n gos and 180 mans.

Poker can be very frustrating at times when things are going bad. First thing I'd say is it's important to try to focus on medium to long term rather than short term. If you're having a bad session or day, just accept it. Don't try to chase your losses as in the long run that just leads to more losses.

As far as sit n gos go, the best way to play them is fully explained in Colin Moshman's book "Sit n Go strategy". To summarise, he recommends playing tight early, then loosening up and looking for good restealing opportunities as the blinds rise, and finally switching to allin or fold as the stacks drop below ten big blinds. He has a good chart in the back of the book on which hands are good to shove for different stack sizes and positions.

If you're trying to make money from poker long term, there are a number of things that are important. First is bankroll management. Make sure you have enough buyins to cover bad runs. The usual recommendation is 50 for sit n gos and 200 for mtts. Second is to try to find something you can consistently beat. This means focussing on one game, whether that's €1 stts or €10 mtts, and playing enough to accurately assess if you can beat them and how much by. With sit n gos you need to play at least 500 to get an accurate picture, and ideally 2000. Third, look around to find your best option for long term profit. When I started I specialised in sit n gos. I moved away from them as the general standard improved and my edge shrunk (most of the other top sit n go players did the same). These things go in waves though and the fact that so many top players stopped playing them may make them softer again. But Stars stts may not be your best option, as Stars attracts a lot of good grinders because of the volume it affords and the VIP benefits for 20 tablers. It's worth trying stts on other sites like Irish Eyes. On Irish Eyes there are also a number of 10 euro rebuy multitable tourneys that are very good value.

Last thing I'd say is that making your living from poker is essentially a shift job. It's important when you play. If you play during the day, there's a lot more grinders and a lot less amateurs, so you should play in the evening which is when the recreational players get on after work. Weekends are good for the same reason.

Another question I get asked about is about rake back. Irish Eyes Poker are just about to announce the launch of a new ‘INSTANT’ reward program starting on 1st November. This reward program is a new initiative that rewards loyalty without the boundaries of a normal monthly schedule. You earn Loyalty points, rise in Loyalty Level and collect your rewards instantly. No more waiting till the end of the month to collect your rake back or bonus. Called the Instant Reward Program, players should register for it by emailing their username to promotions@irisheyespoker.ie

To launch it there is a November Promotion for IRP Enrolled players called the LOYALTY POINTS RACE worth €20,000. From the beginning of November for the players participating in the new loyalty program there will be a seven day long Loyalty Points Race. The prize pool is €20,000 and there are 100 cash prizes.

All kind of earned points will count; you can earn Loyalty Points in cash games, tournaments and Sit & Go tournaments.It's earned points that count,
if rewards are purchased the points will still count towards the leaderboard. The race is held between the 2nd (00:00 CET) and the 8th (23:59 CET) of November.

Lastly, if anyone is interested in playing the €100 Freeroll on Irish Eyes this Wednesday evening at 21.00, the password is ladies43.

For details on all the promotions click on the links above.

Good luck at the tables - unless I'm at the same table :)

Doke