Grade the December Magazine

[Dynasty]

This month's issue of the Two Plus Two Internet Magazine has the return of a couple popular authors- Tommy Angelo and King Yao. I'm hopeful Tommy will be a semi-regular contributor to the Magazine going forward. King had informed me after his October article that he would no longer be able to contribute. But, fortunately, that situation has changed.

Dan Mezick's Poker and Finance series wraps up with the second part of his interview with Aaron Brown (part 1 was ver well received). And, Frank Jerome's pre-flop Omaha 8 or better analysis concludes.

Here's the breakdown of the issue:

Strategy Articles- 5
Fifth Street Fumble?
Analysis of Preflop Stack Commitment When Killing Aces
Starting Hand Selection in Limit Omaha 8 or Better
"I Knew Then That I Could PLay"
High Card Errors

General Poker- 1
What Goes Up Might Come Down

Psychology- 2
Can You Create Luck?
Classic Article: Taking Shots at You

Poker Journalism- 2
30 Questions with Antanas "Tony G." Guoga
The Gambler's Book Shop: History for Sale

Poker and Other Fields- 1
Poker and Finance Part 5

Non-Poker- 1
Hedging in Sports Betting Part 1

I think the strengths of this month are diversity in topics with stud, PLO, Omaha8, limit hold 'em, and NLHE being represented in the strategy articles. Add to that a couple psychology articles and a couple journalism articles and it's the type of balance I like to achieve.

For the fist time, I had left over articles at the end of the month which were complete (or nearly complete) and worthy of publication. But, I'm still interested in seeing more quality strategy submissions.

My Grade: B+

[MicroBob]

Haven't read the whole magazine.

Just wanted to mention that the font goes back and forth in Mason's publisher's note which I think is a teensy bit distracting and looks kind of unprofessional.

Very nit-picky observation on my part. But it should be easily fixable.

[1p0kerboy]

I haven't read thw whole magazine yet and probably won't just because I normally select articles which are more relevant to my game etc.

I thought the forward was a very interesting artilce and also something that Mason has been saying for quite some time, even quite a ways back. For the no-limit cash games to survive there should be a cap on the buy-in.

I thought Dynasty's article on the Gambler's Book Store was very well written and insightful.

I thought Mason's article on no limit cash games was pretty subpar. The advice was extremely basic and therefore mostly for beginners. Normally I wouldn't have a problem with this except for the fact that we are told that these types of articles are low priority.

[ QUOTE ]
Low priority topics are:

* Beginner to advanced beginner level discussions of poker strategy. Usually these are restatements of concepts you could find in most strategy books.

[/ QUOTE ]

[2461Badugi]

I'm not going to bother with a detailed review this time, as there's not actually much variance in quality in this issue. The two standout articles are "Analysis of Preflop Stack Commitment When Killing Aces" and Poker & Finance 5. Everything else ranges from unexceptionable to pretty good.

Two of the first two articles featured the use of non-2+2 software products, and I was happy to note the lack of embarrassing disclaimers this month.

I don't quite get why you still haven't been able to have each article displayed in the same font throughout. This is a minor annoyance but extremely confusing as it seems like a problem one would have to go out of one's way to cause.

While the 2+2 authors' articles are improving, I'd still like to see the content guidelines applied in an egalitarian fashion, and that's enough to drop the best issue so far half a grade. A-.

[Dynasty]

[ QUOTE ]

I don't quite get why you still haven't been able to have each article displayed in the same font throughout.


[/ QUOTE ]

The basic truth is that I'm a complete nOOb at HTML and just plain didn't notice it. All the fonts looked the same to me. In fact, they still do even after you point it out.

However, now that this has been brought to my attention, I will make a concious effort not to let this type of thing slip through in future issues.

As each issue goes by, I learn a little more about how to do the HTML work. It's a lot of trial-and-error for me.

[2461Badugi]

[ QUOTE ]

The basic truth is that I'm a complete nOOb at HTML and just plain didn't notice it. All the fonts looked the same to me. In fact, they still do even after you point it out.


[/ QUOTE ]

In case this is a case that involves browser differences, here is a pair of illustrative screenshots from Dr. Alan's article this month:

http://img300.imageshack.us/img300/4285/22magfontex1hu2.jpg
In this image, you should be able to see that the font has changed size in all three paragraphs; comparing "Dr. Wiseman" at the beginning of the first two paragraphs should make this quite clear.

http://img224.imageshack.us/img224/45/22magfontex2ne1.jpg
The second image should be even more obvious, as the text of the middle paragraph is substantially smaller than that of the paragraphs surrounding it.

[jfk]

Strategy Articles- 5
Fifth Street Fumble?
-really enjoying the Jeffage stud series. Hopefully there's room on the bandwagon before the inevitable stud revival kicks off.

Analysis of Preflop Stack Commitment When Killing Aces
-Don't know enough about PLO to offer meaningful commentary, although the article is very easily understood by a non-PLO player (like myself). Visceral sense is that these sorts of articles are a major strength of the magazine.

Starting Hand Selection in Limit Omaha 8 or Better
-another strong, well presented feature which adds to the sthin body of quality O8B material currently available.

"I Knew Then That I Could PLay"
-haven't been able to form an opinion, though they are creative hands (especially the pocket 77s). I'd like to see such an article fleshed out a little in terms of the conflict always in a limit player's mind between how much stock to put in a read versus the generous pot odds often found at the river. To my mind, that's the most difficult point of limit play.

High Card Errors
-Outstanding, even if it is very fundamental. Seeing others recognize the mistakes most often seen, reinforces both the exploitation and avoidance of those plays. Really enjoy these sorts of contributions from Mason.

General Poker
What Goes Up Might Come Down
-I enjoy Tommy Angelo's writing, but not particularly this article. This is not a criticism, and for many players they need this sort of fundamental bankroll advice, though exploring wider possibilities may have been more informative. That 500BB is getting to be considered the standard perhaps merits some discussion.

Psychology
Can You Create Luck?
-It pains me to say that this is the second straight month in which Dr. Schoonmaker's article fell flat. Perhaps he shouldn't write, "Dr. Wiseman’s 'research' was incredibly sloppy", after writing, "I have heard (but can’t confirm) that some of the players who are believed to be supremely lucky are broke and in debt." What is a critical reader to make of such a statement? Which players are lucky and broke? If the subject is being approached scientifically perhaps the author should verify or leave out such statements. Debunking shaky concepts is a worthy subject, but this article is not up to Dr. Schoonmaker's usual standards.

Classic Article: Taking Shots at You
-Two for two for Mason on the month. Very worthwhile read with excellent points of consideration.

Poker Journalism
30 Questions with Antanas "Tony G." Guoga
-Terrible. This is fluff which appears to be in the magazine only due to the banner on the forum. There's no meaningful info here and giving the rant and rave types additional attention is rarely a good idea.

The Gambler's Book Shop: History for Sale
-It is now a habit to start off the month with Bryan Clark's articles. Great reporting and good color.

Poker and Other Fields- 1
Poker and Finance Part 5
-One of the pillars of the month. Would still like to hear a bit more about the concept of exploiting a niche. There's great food for thought here and plenty of avenues for further research. If the Poker Player's Alliance is looking for personalities to be the face of their organization, they could do a lot worse than to pull in Aaron Brown. This series has been a great addition to the 2+2 mag.

Non-Poker- 1
Hedging in Sports Betting Part 1
-slowing turning me into an informed sports bettor. Yao is the most polished of the 2+2 regulars who have a technical/mathematical bent to their articles. Yao submissions always reflect well on the magazine. Really look forward to Yao someday putting out a sportsbetting book.


Grade: B

[RoundTower]

Dynasty,
congratulations, this magazine is really excellent and is easily the best since you took over IMO.

My grades:
Fifth Street Fumble? Excellent article, really well written and very instructive, shows how an excellent player thinks. A+.

Analysis of Preflop Stack Commitment When Killing Aces I think it was only a matter of time before this article got written, this topic gets thrown around all the time and the article shows the best way to approach finding a mathematical solution to a very important class of problems. A-.

Starting Hand Selection in Limit Omaha 8 or Better Obviously a fair bit of research has gone into this article. But I'm suspicious of "point count systems", etc, as a way to govern your starting hand selection, and I don't think the article has much practical value. B-.

"I Knew Then That I Could Play" Another really good article, lots of food for thought even (I think) for experienced players. skp can play, for sure. A.

High Card Errors "For those of you who are experienced no limit players there is nothing new here. All this article does is represent some obvious observations that I have made in these games. But what follows is typical, and is part of the reason why these games are highly beatable for a skilled player." This pretty much sums it up, yes OK people play bad. Great to see Mason is learning to play no limit poker but I don't really feel the need to learn along with him. C+.

30 Questions with Antanas "Tony G." Guoga I'm sure this article is fascinating to some railbirds, and I know you like to include some such articles for "balance". But it's pretty low content. In future I'd like to see these articles contain at least a little nugget of strategy advice. C.

What Goes Up Might Come Down I really like Tommy's writing style, I think this is fairly basic stuff though. The few people who think rigidly enough not to already get this, probably have worse problems with their game. B.

Can You Create Luck? This is the weakest article in the magazine IMO. Maybe it could have been improved with a big red pencil: even discussing "research" of the sort mentioned got the article off to a silly start. C.

The Gambler's Book Shop: History for Sale A really enjoyable read. Made me wish I'd dropped in to the book shop when in Vegas. This kind of colour piece is so much more interesting than what Tony G thinks of the poker scene in Japan. Or is it just me? A.

Poker and Finance Part 5 I found this really interesting and would love to hear more discussion of some of these questions. Actually I disagree with Aaron on several points, but I don't think this takes away from the value of the article. B+.

Hedging in Sports Betting Part 1 I practically never bet sports and have never hedged a sports bet in my life. Despite this I really enjoyed the article and I think it should be very helpful for any sports bettors. Well written and analysed. A-.

Classic Article: Taking Shots at You Excellent discussion of an issue many people don't really consider, this is important for anyone who regularly plays live. A.

Editing/presentation pretty good, someone already mentioned problems with font sizes, etc. And there are some other inconsistencies that should be eliminated as part of a house style. Perhaps this is too nitty for an internet magazine. B+.

Overall grade: A. Would like to see more articles by: most of the strategy writers, especially Jeffage and skp.

[Buzz]

[ QUOTE ]
Obviously a fair bit of research has gone into this article.

[/ QUOTE ]Yes. [ QUOTE ]
But I'm suspicious of "point count systems", etc, as a way to govern your starting hand selection,

[/ QUOTE ]If anyone really wanted to use a "point count system," I'd advise them to use Hutchison's system.

I tried to come up with a nitty gritty way to quickly select hands with which one should probably be seeing the flop for the December issue. Seems to me where people who are new to limit-Omaha-8 stumble most is with regard to what starting hands to play.

What is presented in the article is a simple three step mechanism to quickly evaluate the playability of a starting hand.<ul type="square">
1. flush value
2. high combo value
3. low combo value
4. And then you also consider position.[/list]You're "suspicious"?

You can easily alleviate your suspicion by trying the system for yourself. See if it works for you or not.

Try this: Deal out nine or ten four card Omaha-8 hands and then quickly evaluate each as described in the article (without regard to position) for<ul type="square">1. flush value
2. high combo value
3. low combo value.[/list]About one out of every four hands, on the average, will add up to a total of five or more points. Put the hands the system considers "playable" to one side.

Then deal out a five card board and see which hands of the nine or ten dealt would end up as winners for high, low, or both (scoop).

Do this a hundred times, keeping track of how often the 5+ hands end up as winners in each category (high, low, scoop) and how often the other hands end up as winners in each category. That process should at least remove your suspicion and will not cost you any money in the bargain. You'll see for yourself whether the system is a good predictor of success or not.

But remember, if you decide to use the starting hand selection system in a real game, you still have to play good poker with regard to other decisions. I advise you (or anyone) to read or re-read Ray Zee's classic. Success playing the game involves much more than just good starting hand selection.

I remember the first time I sat down in a casino Omaha-8 ring game. I didn't know which starting hands to play and which ones to fold. As a result, I played too many hands and lost. It was obvious to me at the time that I was seeing the flop with more hands than my opponents but it was not clear which ones should be folded until I saw the flop.

[ QUOTE ]
and I don't think the article has much practical value.

[/ QUOTE ]That's ironic. I actually took your criticism from last month to heart and tried to write something for December that had very much practical value.

Buzz

[bernie]

I loved skp's article.

Talk about solid reads.

Great detail on his thought process during the hands. It really shows how the hand is built(read-wise) through the streets.

Beautiful 3 bet with 77. At first I was like, WTF!?!. Then as he explained it, it got a 'wow' out of me. Fantastic reasoning behind it. I hope I remember that when I find myself in that spot.

TA's article was good. Lots of players who play decent tend to neglect BR issues until they hit that first really bad run. I remember GoT had a post similar to what TA was talking about as far as moving up and down(reeeeaaally wished I'd bookmarked that).

Except in TA's article, it's not so much the amount as much as it's just 'something' to work with and start out with. (remember the view of the person he's talking to)

Interesting obs. from mason in the starter.

Good interview by Deac. My only critique of that is that it doesn't really seem conversational. More like a bunch of questions sent in so the person can just fill out a form and send them back.(which might be the case, I don't know) I've noticed this with other interviews. For instance, when he mentioned not being comfortable with Phil Ivey I thought there was a good follow-up question to be had. But Deac still does ask some interesting questions.

Sucks to hear the bookstore is closing(if I read that right) I remember being in the one in Reno a long time back(I think it was part of the same store) you could spend hours in there.

The few articles I read I liked.

Cya.

b