The Well: 2461 Badugi

[2461Badugi]

This is something I stumbled upon while browsing SSNL, and it seems like a nice idea. There are some really worthwhile treads there (linked in their FAQ).

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A stranger is being shown around a village that he has just become part of. He is shown a well and his guide says "On any day except tuesday, you can shout any question down that well and you'll be told the answer" . The man seems pretty impressed, and so he shouts down: Why not on tuesday? and the voice from in the well shouts back: Because on tuesday, its your day in the well.

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So anyway, it's my day in the well. Ask me anything.

[DeathDonkey]

What are/were your screennames on UB?

What's the highest TDL game you've played?

Do you play big mix games live? What skills are most important when playing mix games?

What is your best game?

What is your worst game?

Who do you think are the best regulars in the UB 10/20 - 80/160 (TDL)?

Who do you think are the best regulars in the Stars 5/10 so far (TDL)?

What's your biggest downswing (BB's) in TDL and badugi?

Thanks,
DeathDonkey

[2461Badugi]

DD asked one variant of the obvious question, so first, an answer in image form:


(Photo by Heidi Woodland via http://www.tapirback.com)

Ain't I cute?

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What are/were your screennames on UB?

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timprov [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]

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What's the highest TDL game you've played?

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The 30 at UB. I haven't spent much time in it, though. I expect to be in the Stars 30 pretty commonly once it starts. I've been pretty lax in moving up limits in the last year or so, but I recently decided it was time to find a little gamble in myself.

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Do you play big mix games live? What skills are most important when playing mix games?

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I by and large don't play live. We're not allowed to have mixed games here. I'll occasionally play some Stud/8, but even that's hard to get running. Until the beginning of this month I hadn't been able to travel for more than two years for medical reasons.

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What is your best game?

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2-7 TD.

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What is your worst game?

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NLHE.

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Who do you think are the best regulars in the UB 10/20 - 80/160 (TDL)?

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I think JewFro is almost certainly the best. School Bus is pretty good. I've never played with you.

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Who do you think are the best regulars in the Stars 5/10 so far (TDL)?

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In the overnight crowd, me and RizNiles. I don't know much about the prime time games yet.

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What's your biggest downswing (BB's) in TDL and badugi?

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92. Honest to god. I'm the triple draw version of DERB. I just had my fifth-ever 50BB downswing this weekend.

[SumZero]

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timprov [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]

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!!

Was that something that was widely known before this thread?

When I occasionally fooled around in low limit TD on UB Plath and timprov were the two players I noticed a lot.

What would you rather have as a starting hand against a typical opponent 237KK OOP or 27AAA with position?

What is the origin of the "2461" part of your sn?

What is the most you've ever won/lost in a single hand of TD?

[2461Badugi]

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Was that something that was widely known before this thread?


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Not as much as I thought it was going to be. Mark knew, and I imagine Tom did if he was paying attention. I think TT figured it out a little while ago, but I'm not sure.

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What would you rather have as a starting hand against a typical opponent 237KK OOP or 27AAA with position?

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237.

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What is the origin of the "2461" part of your sn?

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It's kind of a combination. First it's a Les Miserables reference -- Valjean's prisoner number was 24601. Second it's number 7, and Joe Mauer wears number 7, and I'm fond of Joe Mauer even if he is my third favorite Twin. (It didn't make much sense to be #33 or #57.)

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What is the most you've ever won/lost in a single hand of TD?

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$975 won. $390 lost vs. Tongni (that hand's in BBV). I've been fortunate enough to win every hand I've gone completely nuts with in the 30.

[*TT*]

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Was that something that was widely known before this thread?


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Not as much as I thought it was going to be. Mark knew, and I imagine Tom did if he was paying attention. I think TT figured it out a little while ago, but I'm not sure.

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Oddly i figured it out just a few days ago, I had a suspicion. You outed yourself 48 hours after I knew for sure. Why did you abandon your modship of this forum?

TT [img]/images/graemlins/club.gif[/img]

[MarkGritter]

1. Please explain, in terms even the most diehard NL player will be able to comprehend, why limit is the preferred form of TD and Badugi.

("Can you rephrase that in terms of a question?" "What if... that thing I said?")

2. Suppose it's KCL (NL 2-7 single draw) and you shove from the SB heads-up. Your opponents cold-calls and stands pat. How can you characterize the hands he will stand pat with, rather than the ones he would draw to? He might well be correct to call and stand pat with QT953 (if he expected you were likely to draw), but would obviously draw to Q7432. Where's the dividing line?

3. You're playing HU TD2-7 (limit, duh). The big blind gets the button, like on Stars or B2B. BB is calling more than 50% of the time (say, 60-70%), so a raise is not automatically profitable. What's the lower end of your raising range as SB look like?

4. <insert Monty Python joke here>

[Biggle10]

1. Did you start in HE/Stud/Omaha before you moved to other games? If so, how did you fair in those and why did you change?

2. How old are you? Do you play professionally?

3. *TT* once expressed that he was relatively impressed with the play at some small stakes TDL games (though I suspect it was a fluke or he was just being gracious). Ever experience something similar? Have you ever watched a small/mid limit TDL or badugi player and been impressed with their play?

4. Why haven't you bothered to get an avatar?

[2461Badugi]

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1. Did you start in HE/Stud/Omaha before you moved to other games? If so, how did you fair in those and why did you change?

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I started out playing SnGs on a free $10 bankroll from Pacific. As did Mark, oddly enough. I played SnGs for several months, read SSH and moved to LHE cash, and eventually got off of Pacific at about the six-month mark. I bonus whored a little but was getting sick of holdem, and about that time Chris Fargis started talking about 2-7 TD in his blog. (I don't recall why I was reading it.) I gave it a shot and immediately found it much more enjoyable than holdem. I still played a lot of holdem at the time (and in fact didn't really quit until Stars added HORSE this fall). I took a shot at being a multitabling LHE rakeback pro, hit a big downswing, was miserable playing that game, but was using TD as a way to destress rather than really taking it seriously as a profit source. Later in 2005 I started playing the 5/10 game, often headsup, with two guys named JewFro and Norm. That really boosted my game to the point where when I wasn't playing those two I could dominate the table. I was still kind of looking at it as a secondary and holdem and bonus whoring as a primary activity, though, which in retrospect was a substantial mistake.

I'm a lifetime 2BB/100 winner at limit holdem through 20/40, but I just can't find any real desire to play that game. Fortunately I've been able to develop strong TD and Stud games.

I started playing Stud games about the same time as I started TD, but for a long time I didn't take them seriously as more than a bonus whoring game for Bodog/Party/Crypto. I've really only been working on my Stud game seriously for a few months, but the theoretical basis from lowball games has allowed me to move quite quickly.

I'm just good enough at Omaha to play tight and not lose very much when I'm playing HORSE.

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2. How old are you? Do you play professionally?

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I'm 27. I don't have a job, but I'm semi-disabled. I'd say I play semi-professionally. One of the great things about 2006 has been finally making some medical progress, so I'm hoping to get my hours up substantially.

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3. *TT* once expressed that he was relatively impressed with the play at some small stakes TDL games (though I suspect it was a fluke or he was just being gracious). Ever experience something similar? Have you ever watched a small/mid limit TDL or badugi player and been impressed with their play?

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I think my "class" of low-limit players was quite good once we got done beating on each other in the 5/10. JewFro and Groth911t both went on to some nice success in the bigger games. Recently I was doing something like an OIC in the lower games, and I wasn't really impressed with anyone, but I game select pretty well. One player who I think could develop a good game is Plath, who I ran into last week, though he hasn't been around here much recently.

However, I'm not sure anyone could have picked the right players from the pool when we were there. Anyone who gets in the right spots can improve their game drastically.

In truth, I've never seen a Badugi player I had any respect for at any level.

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4. Why haven't you bothered to get an avatar?

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I didn't want to steal Schneids'.

[*TT*]

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3. *TT* once expressed that he was relatively impressed with the play at some small stakes TDL games (though I suspect it was a fluke or he was just being gracious). Ever experience something similar? Have you ever watched a small/mid limit TDL or badugi player and been impressed with their play?

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I was impressed at how hard it can be to beat those games, never that impressed by it's opponents. I always believed (and still do) that sometimes the lower limit levels of TD games are actually harder to beat.

TT [img]/images/graemlins/club.gif[/img]