The Well: El Diablo

[Fly]

At what limits (if any) do you believe (innate) intelligence begins to play the dominant role? Do you think their is an intelligence threshold such that someone who falls below it would never ben a winning player try as they might? (for very high stakes)

(Aside from issues of discipline/emotional control)

[IronUnkind]

[ QUOTE ]
One thing I do is try to put players on exact hands.

[/ QUOTE ]

Are you saying that you use this technique as an heuristic, or is it the actual method you use for hand reading? Don't you base your decisions on your opponents' range of hands?

[El Diablo]

BM,

"1.) Undergrad, rice, where for graduate?"

None.

"2.) What'd you get on your SAT'S?"

1560 I believe.

"3.) Were you popular in HS?"

I was not super popular, but popular enough because the three girls I dated were are really hot and popular.

"4.) Who are your favorite posters on 2+2?"

Tons of great ones, too many to mention. Pretty much all the smart HSNL and OOT regulars.

"5.) Do you like black girls? I'm not talking Tyra Banks either.."

Not really.

"6.) How much can you bench?"

I just bench light now. When I lifted more seriously, I weighed 170 and could do sets of 8 w/ 205 and sets of 4 w/ 225. I think 245 was the most I lifted, could have done a little more. The most I've done recently is 185.

"7.) How regularly did you get plastered in College?"

Average prob 2x/week.

"8.) Who have you won the most money off of in poker?"

No idea. Probably some 10/20LHE party guys or a couple of guys from big 25/50 sessions.

"9.) Are you a better poker player/theorist than most 2+2 authors?"

Yes.

"10.) Who is your fav. 2+2 guy in real life?"

GiftofGab is prob my best friend from here. beetz, haakee, Boris, Sucker, and Clarkmeister (as well as a few others) are all very good friends as well. Daver, scrub, Evan, IndieMatty, Paluka, DrSavage are a few of the other guys I've hung out with that are really good guys.

"11.) Whatever happened to you hanging out with that woman who was a model whose bf died in Phuket? Was she more beautiful than you could ever imagine?"

Meeting, not hanging out. Yes. She is close friends w/ a good friend of mine and there's a decent chance I will meet her again, so I'm not going to go into any more detail for fear of jinxing what is at least a 1 in a million shot for me.

"12.) What do you think of me?"

You seem like a good enough guy. I don't really have a very strong impression formed about you.

"13.) Has 2+2 helped your poker skill?"

Posting and discussing hands here definitely has.

"14.) Which poker 2+2er do you hope goes bust?"

Hmmmmm... HEK would be pretty funny. But I can't think of anyone I'm really rooting to go bust right now. I'm sure I'll get some PMs reminding me of people, but nothing really sticks in terms of my emotions re: 2+2 outside of the time I happen to be responding to a post.

"15.) What is your ideal woman?"

My friend Sarah tells me it is a rocket-scientist model.

"16.) Ever been in a fight?"

Yes. A couple of "real" fights, but nothing super serious. Basically black eyes and bloody lips are about the level of things I've been involved in.

"17.) Favorite book/author?"

I read a ton and don't really have any single favorite.

"18.) Favorite person on any Real World season?"

Bryn, Vegas.

"19.) I dislike your use of the adjective super, I feel its often used by the educated elite/wanna be... Agree/disagree?"

Disagree. I think it's a super cool word.

"20.) What's your style in NLH?"

Pretty tight and straightforward with a few tricks up my sleeve.

[kotkis]

El D,

I play under the sn Sawyer_on_TILT in the PP 600NL game and we've played a few times together. What do you think of my game and did you spot any leaks I might have?

[mmbt0ne]

ED,

Rumor had it you were coming to Atlanta at some point. Does the lure of Anacardo and myself not do it for you?

If you had to estimate IndieMattySuspects body fat percentage, over or under 25?

[El Diablo]

E:

"1) Do you enjoy your work on the internet?"

Yeah, I like my job. Basically, I like jobs that involve lots of complex/dynamic problems/challenges and no boss.

"2) Player you would least want to play HU?"

Eh, I don't really mind playing anyone. Of the players I've played, Prahlad prob gives me the most trouble HU.

"3) Favorite Mainstream concert attended?"

I go to so many shows, this is tough. Maybe Pearl Jam at the Fox Theater in Atlanta around 94 or so.

"4) Favorite Album"

This is just as impossible as favorite band/author. Lately I've been listening to a lot of Pixies and White Stripes and Flaming Lips. Pick an album.

"5)At what point do you feel as if it is time to take a break."

When you're tired.

"6) Strasser vs. HEK- your pic"

Strassa, easy.

"7) Vehicle Chooser or Poker Skins?"

Poker Skins.

"8) Suggestions for running cold?"

Tighten up.

ep:

"1. What is your political affiliation?"

Registered Democrat. Have a lot of Libertarian leaning views. Social views generally more left-leaning. Fiscal views more moderate.

"2. You would legalize which of the following: gay marriage, marijuana, hard drugs, prostitution"

I'd probably legalize gay marriage, marijuana, and prostitution. I'd have to educate myself more on the impact of legalizing hard drugs before deciding on that.

"3. What is your favorite kind of wine? (We're talking vinifera, not winery) What is your favorite winery?"

Syrah, probably. Drinking a lot of Syrah, Petite Syrah, Pinot, and Zin lately. No favorite winery, but I've been a big Miner fan lately.

"4. Rank the following flicks in order of greatness, best coming first: Swingers, Best In Show, Defending Your Life, Waiting for Guffman, The Constant Gardener"

Swingers
Waiting for Guffman
Defending Your Life
Best In Show
The Constant Gardener

2-4 were a tossup.

"5. What is the biggest factor in success for entrepreneurs?"

Drive. Intelligence and luck are pretty damn important too.

"6. Gas station cappucino or Starbucks Uber-Grande cappucino?"

Between those two, Starbucks. But regular coffee at local coffee place is what I drink.

"7. While real estate is generally considered to have diminished in appeal, what is your opinion of investing in waterfront real estate, namely lake or ocean properties?"

I don't know much about real estate. From what little I know, long-term I think you're usually in good shape w/ property like that, but in the short-term it can be very overpriced. Sorta like buying in SF and NYC. Given enough time, you'll always make money no matter when you buy.

mos:

"Why is OOT going downhill (or all non poker forums on 2+2) ?"

Lots of dumb posters, dumb mods, lack of any real plans for oversight/growth/direction. I don't think OOT has been that bad lately, though.

"What kind of whisky do you recommend for a semi n00b?"

Maker's, JW Black Label, Macallan, Balvenie are all good choices to get started.

"Is beetz a tool?"

No. Well, kinda, but he is awesome.

"Your thoughts on why most SSNL have troubling moving up in levels?"

Most people aren't very smart and most don't really understand the game.

Grunch:

"- What kinds of adjustments do you make when there is a good lag at the table, assuming that for whatever reason you cannot or will not change tables?"

I'll generally play more trappy against him.

"- What kinds of things do you take in to consideration when deciding how to play a draw?"

How often my opponents will fold. How often the will pay off if I hit. How often they will give me free cards.

"- Is there any consistantly bad advice you see on these forums you would like to identify & correct? Is there any particularly good advice you think should be more strongly advocated?"

A lot of advice is too aggro.

"- Would you be willing to participate strat advice more often to SSNL?"

I don't have time to participate regularly in multiple strat forums. Lately I've barely had time to participate in HSNL. If a handful of threads were picked as the most interesting/challenging threads of the week, though, I bet a lot of higher limit posters might be willing to take a look once a week and contribute thoughts.

"- What is your opinion on the current state of the SSNL forum or the no-limit strat forums in general?"

I don't know about SSNL. HSNL pretty much sucks right now, but it ebbs and flows. MNL I've popped in to contribute in threads that involve me and I've seen some good stuff.

ben:

"Where did you get the mask and costume from?"

Mexico.

Jingle:

All of my investing experience is concentrated on a very specific niche - startups and tech-related private equity. Besides that I'm usually in index funds and occassionally in certain sets of very specific stocks. Basically, I know jacksht about prudent investing. All of my eggs are in a few closely related baskets, I just happen to have very deep and specialized knowledge about those baskets which probably makes this OK for me, but doesn't really translate to good advice to others. I do know enough about investing to recommend intelligently balanced portfolios (funds v. stocks v. high-risk vehicles v. int'l v. startups etc) for my friends, but I really need to know the people, financial situation, and risk profile very well before providing my thoughts on that. I think that was a very long-winded way of saying I can't really help you. Sorry.

Strike:

"Given a one time chance at gambling on a 90% winner, what percentage of your bankroll would you wager on it?"

Bankroll? 100%. Net worth? Hmmmm... 40-50% maybe. I dunno.

shmoosh:

"Most you've won/lost at blackjack in a single session"

Both around $20k.

Chaos:

"What is your typical thought process throughout a hand?"

OMFG R U F'ING SERIOUS? HOW THE F DO THEY ALWAYS HIT THEIR GODDAMN 2-OUTERS AGAINST ME JESUS F'ING CHRIST THIS IS SO F'ING SICK.

"Do you think about things systematically or is it more of a random thing?"

The first half of things is very systematic - narrowing down hand ranges and potential lines. The second half is more feel, trying to decide exactly what they have and how they'll react.

"for example, do you think: Okay, he's bet into me on the turn, my pot odds are xxx, he has yyy in his stack, i think my implied odds are zzz"

Yes. I actually try to have multiple complete lines in my head for every street based on a variety of hand ranges and lines. What I do on the flop is largely dependent on where I want things to be in terms of pot-size and money left on the turn and river.

spock:

"When moving up what was the hardest level transition to make?"

10/25 to 25/50. When I did that, 25/50 was where all the top guys played. Things are a little different now. I suspect the toughest level jump in today's game is probably 5/10 to 10/20.

[Specialist]

D,

1) Who was it that influenced you that you became the man that you are today? What was the most important thing he taught you?

2) I am a jack of all trades and master of none. I've seen Europe. When do I know that I am on the path I am supposed to be on? How do I know this is the path?

Thank You,

S

[toybux]

I agree strongly about the river check-raise bluff being underutilized at SSNL. I thought of another question!

When you talk about handreading, do you use the way a particular player played another hand to infer anything? Like if someone just calls with a strong hand on the river rather than raise it, do you ever use that to infer other things? If so, could you maybe tell us some clues to watch for?

Also, this is the best Well-dweller yet. I'm impressed by the volume of questions you have been answering so far.

[Specialist]

One more,

Is it possible to become master of all, jack of no trades? What will it take to accomplish this?

Danke.

[El Diablo]

sall:

"-Why did you choose Ulysses as your original sn?"

No reason. I probably read something that day that mentioned the name and thought it sounded cooler than RoundersMike47.

"-I once saw you post that your job is "actually pretty cool" what is it?"

See above.

"-Am I the only one that doesn't know who you are in real life? If so, please tell me."

Just a dude. Businessman. Nobody famous or of note in the poker world.

"-a while back, you commented to bbuddy that you NEVER like to talk about the specific probabilities you assign to a villians hand range. We're you being sarcastic? Or very serious?"

Bbuddy is among a small group of very tough opponents. I have played against him a lot. I would never outline to a tough regular opponent like that exactly how I assess their frequencies. In general, I am very open about my play and thoughst about how others play because I don't care about telling anything to most players.

"-How old are you?"

34.

"-Ever played wih Chip Reese or Phil Ivey? What do you think about their abilities."

No. By all accounts they appear to be excellent players.

"-Who would be sitting at your nightmare six max LIVE NL table?"

Eh, I always play well within my bankroll, so I don't really care who's playing. There's nobody who I'm afraid of or think I can't hold my own against, especially online.

"-Who would be sitting at your nightmare six max ON-LIVE NL table?"

Pick any six crazy f'ing 19yos.

"-Are you one person? or do multiple people consistantly post under your name."

Of course I'm one person.

mud:

"does watching GSN high stakes poker make you laugh?"

Sometimes.

"of the players whos play do you respect?"

Eh, it's just so hard to make any intelligent assessment based on watching a few hands on TV. Antonio and Phil can both be very tough opponents. Daniel seems like he could be tough as well. Same w/ Doyle and Barry. But I don't really know.

"who do you think is gonna go bustttttto"

Matusow's the only one who that seems to be the sure outcome. Oh and that restuarant dude from Chicago or wherever.

jtg:

"Where are the best hot dogs in California? "

I'd guess Pinks, but this is not my area of expertise.

s:

"Have you ever had to answer so many questions before?"

I've been deposed a few times. That is a lot of questions. I guess it depends on how many questions this ends up being.

K:

"Why wont you show a pic of yourself?"

Many people have seen my pic and know my info. I just don't care to be a "known" person like many of the 2+2ers are. In the earlier days of 2+2, even then, I'd get approached by randoms at the cardroom asking me stuff because they heard I was Ulysses/El D. I'm generally a pretty private person and like to do my own thing and stick to a small group of people, as opposed to people who like to be friends w/ everyone and the center of attention. So, when I'm in a cardroom or casino, I'd rather just do my thing than have a bunch of people go "hey yo aren't you El Diablo from 2+2?"

"How much do I suck at OOT?"

Hmmm, you seem to be fine as far as I can recall.


CTN:

"What are some easy and good dishes to cook, that don't take too long?"

Chicken breasts / fish / burgers / steak / vegetables on a George Foreman Grill. Salt/pepper/garlic to season.