The Well: Riverboatking

[Johan L]

Has Bld been in the well?

[Oki-Oki]

Thanks for this RBK.

Anywho do you think that NL holdem will continue to remain the dominate game in say the next 2 to 5 years. Any predictions on what the future of poker holds. Ie player numbers, strength of games etc etc. Just you personal views.

[Wondercall]

RBK,

Has your dog adopted your schedule as well or do you have your roommates take care of him during the day?

[Nate.]

RBK --

What's the longest you've ever seen someone tank in a live game?

What's the largest pot you've ever seen in which an angle-shot (or, I guess, any rules issue) was involved?

--Nate

[neon]

Jonas:

-In your mind, what does the future of NL cash look like in L.A. over the course of the next five years?

-Do you think that PLO/half-and-half games are likely to catch on w/ the Commerce crowd?

-How often does traffic prevent you specifically, with the approximate schedule you keep, from doing what you want, when you want around L.A. (i.e., how often are your choices either put up w/ 1 hr+ of traffic or stay put/do something else)?

I can only imagine how nuts it must make you to sit in bumper-to-bumper w/ the way you drive . . . [img]/images/graemlins/wink.gif[/img]

Thanks dude.

[riverboatking]

haha so i just realized i could respond to more then one person in a single post and thereby reduce the clutter from each of my individual replies to here goes:

youngone: "Who are the regulars at the commerce 20/40 nl he games? What about the bigger games like 50/100 and 100/200 nl he?

Have you played Jamie Gold in a cash game since his wsop me win?

thanks,

YoungOne"

besides bobby hoff and kenny tran and sid jain (finished pretty high in wsop, made one or two appearences on L@TB) and phil laak, i don't think you guys would recognize any of the regulars by name.
however a lot of big names play in the game semi-regularly including esfandari, goldstein, gabe thaler, and numerous other tourney guys.
and no i haven't played with him since his wsop win, he was playing 100/200NL and i was on the board, however no one moved from that game till it broke. jaime lost ~150K.

scottery: "Do you think you need a certain mentality to play a live game? How do you see them as different from online ? (would you say there was more bluffing etc?)

How do you split your poker winnings into something that you can use for yourself? ie: do you skim 5% of profits from a week into your bank?

What is the most outrageous bluff you can recall - that you got someone to fold a monster and they showed you?

Thanks,
Scott. "

i think there is probably more bluffing and semi-bluffing in online games, in general the online games are more aggro.
i think that you can't be afraid to play a big pot when you play live, as the stacks are generally way deeper and some people have a problem with the sheer amount of money in front of them when it comes time to play a big pot.
i don't have any system for managing my money, basically i have $X and i take from that according to what i want.
like i have said numerous times in this thread i am a terrible poker pro, i keep lousy records, and am the last person anyone should look to for BR advice or money management.

i started a thread called "crazy meta-game play, not for the faint of heart" in HSNL some time ago that featured a pretty sick bluff, i suck at the search function but you can either find it or have someone who can find the link post it in the thread or pm it to you, that was a pretty sick bluff.
also there are many sick bluffs from the L@TB archives which i'm sure many people here saw.
one from the top of my head was where i had like 5 high and got like 5 people out of a huge pot one by one on each street including top two pair who would have rivered a boat.
i bluffed one guy out on flop, then two more out on the turn, and then finally got barry woods (who never folds) out on the river. that was a fun one.
if anyone remembers more specifics from that hand please share.
also from L@TB episodes i pulled some pretty sick bluffs on vic park who used to post on 2+2, i don't remember the exact hands but i'm pretty sure i had like 4 high in both of em, and for big pots. i also pulled a pretty sick rebluff on vic for a huge pot, where he raised preflop i 3 bet. on the flop he CR me and i called with no pair no draw and then bluffed him out on the turn...that was fun.
honestly though i'm somewhat of a lagtard so i've bluffed so many times hard to remember specifics...and trust me they don't all work, i've tried to bluff people off quads and boats on a number of occassions and ended up looking like a donkey.
i'm way more proud of some of the incredible laydowns i've made as i think thats a better testament to a players ability.


Lyinking: "Jonas,

Do you ever come east, either to play or simply to sightsee? Have you traveled much abroad? If so, where?

Has your game evolved much in terms of starting hand selection, or have you always relied on post flop decisionmaking? "

my paternal grandmother lived in chicago her whole life so i used to visit her frequently. i have also been to many of the other states however i'm not going to list them all as thats probably not very intersting, but i've been to alot.
its mainly been for sightseeing purposes, i've never played poker in another state.
i've been to europe once, backpacked with two buddies on a total impromptu trip with absolutely no planing and ended up sleeping in a park in the middle of amsterdam one night, at some random chicks apt i met on a train in germany, and various other misadventures.
in total we went to switzerland, germany, amsteram, and italy, but i'd love to go back and see the rest of europe and asia for that matter.
funny thing about travelling for me is i love to be other places but i hate the process of getting there...i don't have any fear of flying, but i can't stand flying coach.

as for the development of my game, when i first started playing no-limit i was a very nitty player preflop, and played pretty much ABC.
as i started beating the game, and improving my postflop and hand reading skills i started to expand my game and gradually became laggier.
it got to a point where i could really outplay everyone in the 5/10NL game postflop so i really started playing/raising any two cards.
however despite my image and reputation i still change gears and have no problem switching back to a very TAG game, especially when i'm playing with very good players.
basically i am very fluid when i play, changing speeds depending on the flow of the game.


ghazban: "You mentioned in a previous post about tipping floor, brush, etc. How much are you tipping these guys and do you do it every time you walk into the room? If it's $20/trip for each floorman (plus dealers, waitresses, chip runners, etc.), that seems like a lot of overhead. What's a rough estimate of how much you're tipping away from the table each session? "

when i first started playing at commerce i tipped jack, the main floorman $20 right away, and gave the chip runners $5.

since then it really depends on how i'm doing...at one point in time i've tipped every person working in the casino in my section very generously so they all know and like me. now it comes down to how i'm doing and they all know that if i'm winning they will get taken care of, and when i'm losing i don't toke out the floorstaff, which is the norm.
like i said before i never calculate the amount i tip, nor factor that into my earn rate, basically when i'm doing well everyone does well.
however if i had to guess i would say i tip less then $100 to floorstaff on a winning day, probably closer to $50-60.

but you have to realize that i'm not very money oriented, for me money is a means rather then an end, and so when i'm doing well i generally take care of my friends and family, and therefore when i'm not doing well i know that there are people who will help me out.

phresh: "Ghaz,

rbk pitches the chips at the floormen, much like he throws his cards at the dealer, so it's "money well spent" as he puts it. "

nh sir.

blopp: "A few rec would be great. Ty.

- B "

really depends on what you're in the mood for, PM me with what you're looking for and i can help you, although to be honest lapoker is the man for that kind of stuff so you guys should beg him to do a special thread for "things to do in ls".


stokken: "As you moved trough levels;

1.Did you find that when you where able to beat/crush a level it had prepared you for the next one or was there a a new mindset you had to learn/incoorporate to get comfortable at the next level?

2. Was/has/is your Br managment always sound?

Stokken "

i have found that as long as you are mentally prepared for the stakes then you the game is pretty much the same. basically i've always said the only thing that can intimidate me at a poker table is the amount of money i have in front of me.
therefore sometimes when i move up in levels, or take a shot at a higher limit, i generally start out playing a little more TAG then i normally would.
although to be honest that generally doesn't last too long [img]/images/graemlins/grin.gif[/img]
my BR management has never been sound.

theguy123: "Jonas:

Do your parents/ signfigant other approve of your life style as a proffesional high stakes poker player? "

yes 100%. although everyone that cares about me does want me to have some productive outlet in my life.


degen: "This thread rules, thank you.

Where do all of those asian fish get all of that money? How much do you think Jason makes per year? What about that young gangster asian kid who is always in the big games?"

i have no idea where anyone gets their money, i have no idea how much jason makes per year, although i do believe he is a winning player.
and the gangster looking asian kid is i'm assuming T.D. who made a final table in one of the LAPC events.
i have no idea how much he makes, however he is a very solid, tough, tricky opponent who i def. should have mentioned in my post on who i consider to be a formidable opponent. he is probably the only person that i actively do not want to have position on me.
this is the person that neon is referring to in his post.

okayplayer, thank you i will def. check it out...i am always excited to find a new place to eat...mmmmmmmmmm food.

neon, glad you showed up, you should def. do one of these that would be awesome. also get your ass back to CA my dog hasn't had any good faces to munch on.
oh and thats hilarious cuz i totally remember that non-verbal exchange during that hand...fabulous.

great thread, thanks RBK, that decision by the Bike sounds really unjust

T mac: "How do you stay alert and patient playing live? Is it because you mostly play live and havent got used to getting many more hands an hour in (like u can online?) I find playing live I often get bored and attempt some reckless plays"

i'm not sure why that is because in general i'm pretty ADD, however one way i combat that is by watching the hands even that i'm not a part. i generally try and pay attention and put people on hands even when im not in the pot, as that not only helps my hand reading skills, but also helps me notice opponenents tendencies. however when i'm playing lower then i normally do i often lose focus and don't play my A game.
so my advice to you would be whenever you play live play higher then you can afford and believe me you won't lose focus [img]/images/graemlins/grin.gif[/img]

Oki-Oki: "Thanks for this RBK.

Anywho do you think that NL holdem will continue to remain the dominate game in say the next 2 to 5 years. Any predictions on what the future of poker holds. Ie player numbers, strength of games etc etc. Just you personal views. "

i think that PLO may become more prevalant however it may have to be played with a cap so ppl don't go broke so quick, as the casinos are obv worried about keeping the games going so they can collect their rake.
however PLO is such a fun game and promotes so much action, and it keeps the fish happy cuz they don't get to see how bad they are playing as easily as in NL (because no hand is that much of a favorite preflop and when you do get it in on the flop as a monster favorite ie: set plus wrap or flush draw over a lower set, the fish can blame it on a cold deck) whereas in NL it can be easy for a fish to feel really outmatched.

however in general i would say that i don't see poker declining in popularity anytime in the near future, in fact i think it is just going to continue to grow in popularity.
it certainly isn't a fad, or a "boom", its a genuinely fun pastime for many people and there is no reason to think this will change in the forseeable future.
i think the poker laws concerning online gambling are a total joke and hopefully they will get overturned soon.
as far as the strength or quality of the players i think the games are def. getting tougher, however there will always be fish. there are people i play with that have been playing poker for 20 years and still play horrendously.
some people just have no desire to actively work on their game, some people are just stupid, and others are purely in it for the entertainment.

wondercall: "RBK,

Has your dog adopted your schedule as well or do you have your roommates take care of him during the day? "

my dog has adopted my schedule to a certain degree, he pretty much sleeps when i sleep, and then he wakes me up in the afternoon when he's decided that i've slept long enough.
i do have roomates and in fact they have a dog as well (the dogs are absolutely inseperable, they have become brokeback doggies) however they are both lawyers and are pretty much never home so i am the one who takes care of the dogs.

nate1729: "RBK --

What's the longest you've ever seen someone tank in a live game?

What's the largest pot you've ever seen in which an angle-shot (or, I guess, any rules issue) was involved?

--Nate "

probably the longest is around 5-7 minutes for a big pot (25K call on river i saw once after about 8mins).
i had someone try and angleshoot me in a big pot dont remember the exact size, or the exact details.
one thing i see alot is someone will hide a big chip ($5K) and then produce it when is advantageous, so when playing live in a pot vs someone make sure and ask them if they have any big chips.
the one big angle shoot that happened to me that i will never forget i mentioned in a thread about grimstarr.
me and another player in the 20/40NL agreed to go all in blind if no one at the table objected.
everyone agreed to muck their hands and so after the cards were dealt i was in EP and i moved in blind (~10K) the person that i agreed to the flip with was in the blind, and everyone mucked their cards like they said they would until it got to the button (same person who likes to hide big chips btw) who had agreed to muck his cards before the deal, however after looking down and finding AA he called me and busted me (obv the other player who agreed to flip folded once i got called).
that is pretty much the worst thing i have ever witnessed at a poker table.

[riverboatking]

i blame on the years of drug use, but i forgot to include flawless_victory among the people that i have not only kicked it with, but also respect the hell out of their posts.

sorry flawless, no offense intended, and hope all is well with you.

[PartyGirlUK]

How common are 'Heads Up Challenges' live? How often do they actually go ahead?

[riverboatking]

[ QUOTE ]
How common are 'Heads Up Challenges' live? How often do they actually go ahead?

[/ QUOTE ]

not very often.
i've only seen one that actually resulted from a HU challenge, and i rarely see a challenge thrown down.
people generally talk a lot less smack live.

i've played HU on numerous occassions but it hasn't been the result of a challenge its usally when a must move game breaks down.

[EC10]

how much had you won total lifetime and how long had you been playing when you decided to go pro?