"Official" Poker After Dark thread (Week 6 - Poker Commentators Week) - Page 6

chucksim · #51 02-15-2007, 08:46 PM

[ QUOTE ]
I'm sorry but Phil Gordon is a douche. He just rubs me the wrong way w/ his lil schtick.

[/ QUOTE ]

Yes. Gordon annoys me to no end.

I really like Sexton. Seems very classy and genuine. I met him in Vegas several years ago and he was very approachable and made time for everyone who spoke to him.

Plus, he can still play some poker.

Jive Dadson · #52 02-15-2007, 10:26 PM

I think maybe Phil Gordon is just trying to be witty and doesn't know how. He is also trying to demonstrate that he's smarter than Konik. (How hard can that be?) The effect is definitely not becoming.

Both Gabe Kaplan and Mike Sexton come off as Cool Dudes. I'd never really seen either of them before. Okay, I've SEEN Kaplan at the poker table, but the show I was watching didn't mic the table very well, and the announcers never shut up. The Kotter show was after I was grown up, so it kind of missed me demographically. I like Kaplan's wit. Someone mentioned that before Kotter he was a stand up comic.

I was surprised by Sexton. I didn't expect to like his personality. I don't know why.

The poker action has been fun too. The Professor is being schooled.

private joker · #53 02-15-2007, 11:14 PM

Chad Brown is coming across as very likable, humble, quiet, and pretty good at poker. I am a fan of his.

chucksim · #54 02-15-2007, 11:51 PM

[ QUOTE ]
Chad Brown is coming across as very likable, humble, quiet, and pretty good at poker. I am a fan of his.

[/ QUOTE ]

I didn't much care for him when I first saw him playing Stud against Men the Master. No specific reason, just didn't really take to him.

After this week, though, I seem him kind of like you said....mostly quiet and somewhat humble. Doesn't seem like a bad guy.

Uppercut · #55 02-15-2007, 11:56 PM

My favorite line for tonight goes to Gabe Kaplan during the hand where Konik was all-in against Lederer with AQo vs. KQo.

Konik: "Anyone fold a king"?

Kaplan: "I folded two."

pokerraja · #56 02-16-2007, 01:42 AM

[ QUOTE ]
Chad Brown is coming across as very likable, humble, quiet, and pretty good at poker. I am a fan of his.

[/ QUOTE ]

it seems we all have the same impressions, sexton and kaplan rule, lederer is the professor, brown is a nice guy, and the other 2 are annoying.

Yo Adrians! · #57 02-16-2007, 02:00 AM

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
Chad Brown is coming across as very likable, humble, quiet, and pretty good at poker. I am a fan of his.

[/ QUOTE ]

it seems we all have the same impressions, sexton and kaplan rule, lederer is the professor, brown is a nice guy, and the other 2 are annoying.

[/ QUOTE ]

I played with Chad Brown for a couple hours in a promotional bounty tournament at The Venetian in mid October. He was very friendly, humble, kind and fun to have around.

He's great.

Dima2000123 · #58 02-16-2007, 03:09 AM

[ QUOTE ]
He only looked at the lines when he peeked at his cards so he didn't know exactly what he had - but knew it was either an A4 or A5 based on the number of lines visable. Gabe felt that back then the poker audience wasn't sophisticated enough to understand the reasoning behind why a pro would bet without knowing his exact cards.

[/ QUOTE ]
Why would he do that?

Captain Freedom · #59 02-16-2007, 06:52 AM

[ QUOTE ]

[ QUOTE ]
Give Gabe credit for reading weakness in Howard's flop bet and trying to make a move by leading on 4th street.

[/ QUOTE ]

After hearing a ton of Gabe commentary on HSP, and seeing him play on live at the bike/hsp/poker after dark, I'm pretty certain he's just a donk. When he's right it might look cool, but the fact remains he wouldn't play an ace like that ever, and Howard figured that out.

[ QUOTE ]
But the fact that Howard saw through it and could smooth call the turn bet knowing he'd have to then "value bet" the river (and expose more chips). Wow. Very well done.

[/ QUOTE ]

I think Howard's played pretty horribly, and doesn't deserve accolades. His horrible play with 1010 in the blinds, his overall nitiness. He made a good read on this hand, but still screwed it up by just calling the turn bet instead of raising. The problem being that Howard can't beat a bluff, so he can't call a river bet even if he thinks Kaplan is bluffing. If Kaplan ever fires a third barrel Howard has to give up on the hand. If he thinks Kaplan is weak he needs to raise the turn, while he still has enough chips to bluff. This has the added bonus of denying Kaplan a free card if he has a weak pair/draw.

[/ QUOTE ]

List,

You make some good points but I'm not sure I fully agree with your assessment of Howard-Gabe hand.

- Gabe was right on his read and wrong on his execution.

- Howard was right both on his read and his execution.

Why did Howard play this well?

He followed his instincts and acted accordingly. He knew:

1. Gabe did not have Ace and was making a play for the pot.

2. He knew Gabe would shut down on river and not fire another shell (given Howard had shown strength preflop, flop, and turn)

3. He knew Gabe would fold on river to a small value bet (regardless of the card)

I think it took a lot of courage to play the hand the way he did - he trusted his instincts both on the player's hand and the player's future line. With shorter stacks in play, it made it even more impressive.

Bottom line, I think it sometimes takes more heart to smooth call with willingness to play the next street then simply to raise trying to push people off hands.

Eleusis · #60 02-16-2007, 07:12 AM

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
He only looked at the lines when he peeked at his cards so he didn't know exactly what he had - but knew it was either an A4 or A5 based on the number of lines visable. Gabe felt that back then the poker audience wasn't sophisticated enough to understand the reasoning behind why a pro would bet without knowing his exact cards.

[/ QUOTE ]
Why would he do that?

[/ QUOTE ]

Many of the best players do that... it helps randomize your game, thus keeping your opponents reads off (if you don't know what you have....)

[ QUOTE ]
Phil Gordon is usually a dick while playing - just watch the shooting stars WPT event he won (or don't, actually).

That last hand with Howard and Gabe was hilarious:

Howard button raises, Gabe calls in BB.
Dead flop.
Gabe checks, Howard c-bets, Gabe calls with nothing to bluff turn.
Dead turn.
Gabe bluffs, Howard calls with nothing to bluff river.
Dead river.
Gabe checks, Howard bluffs, and Gabe folds.

Highly entertaining battle of wits and situation analysis.

[/ QUOTE ]
I guess I'm in the minority for liking Phil, I don't find him annoying at all, dry humor perhaps, but hell, I like Jean Robert too, so ignore that point... [img]/images/graemlins/wink.gif[/img]

The Gabe vs. Howard hand though?

That's purely a professional outplaying an amateur. No two ways about it.