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Scientific Poker Strategy creator Greg Porter, who has been grinding hard throughout the Covid lockdown, returns to the Zoo today. It’s a packed episode as we not only go over playing on Ignition, Bros, and the OOP training game, I get back to some strategy with two hand reviews. Porter reports on successfully getting a small band of colluders removed from the Bros union he plays in. Porter gives me some advice on changing my training game teaching strategy, which has gotten a little stale. We also touch on several current affairs in poker, including a consistent public misunderstanding of how app games work, Real Time Assistance fears, the various websites versus pros controversies, and a new trend in poker learning.

You can hear more from Porter in episode 41, 29, and our kick-off, episode 1.

1. ‎A remarkable guest on today's Zoo - Andrew Seidman (aka Baluga Whale for the true old schoolers), author of Easy Game. One of poker's finest texts, TBR members are especially familiar with the book, and really, most poker players should be.
2. The Poker Zoo, Ep. 52: Porter Goes Bananas 4 days ago 89 minutes Scientific Poker Strategy creator Greg Porter, who has been grinding hard throughout the Covid lockdown, returns to the Zoo today. It's a packed episode as we not only go over playing on Ignition, Bros, and the OOP training game, I get back to some strategy with two hand reviews.
3. Nov 12, 2020 The Poker Zoo, Ep. 50: “BFSkinner” Kent The Zoo returns with TBR member 'BFSkinner' Kent, a grinder on WSOP.com and in the Las Vegas live games. While I was focused on hearing about the state of poker in gambling central, we also ended up covering Kent's poker path from Moneymaker to the Covid-19 boom online he's enjoyed.

If you want to play in the OOP training game and earn yourself a banana from Porter, contact him at oop.pppclub@gmail.com.

First hand discussed:

Ignition – $5 NL (6 max) – Holdem – 6 players

SB: $414.43 (82.9 bb)

Hero (BB): $569.50 (113.9 bb)

UTG: $512.73 (102.5 bb)

MP: $559.87 (112 bb)

CO: $308.00 (61.6 bb)

BTN: $492.50 (98.5 bb)

SB posts $2.50, Hero posts BB $5.00

Pre Flop: (pot: $7.50) Hero has 6s 7s

UTG raises to $11.50, 4 folds, Hero calls $6.50

Poker Cooler Definition

Flop: ($25.50, 2 players) 4s 5d 5c

Hero checks, UTG bets $12.00, Hero raises to $41.00, UTG calls $29.0

Turn: ($107.50, 2 players) Qd

Hero bets $119.50, UTG calls $119.50

River: ($346.50, 2 players) Ac

Hero bets $397.50 and is all-in

Why do you play poker? Who are you and what do you want? Why are you here, reading this blog? If you play for fun, this isn’t about you. Do your thing, have a blast. But if your answer is something along the lines of, “Well someday I want to be…,” or “I’m actually pretty good, other than some mental game leaks,” then I’m talking to you. If you don’t even have an answer for “why” then I’m absolutely talking to you.

If you want to master poker, then learn the fundamentals, understand the theory of the game, find the deviations, and finally build your own strategy. A strategy is more than tactics, more than a list of heuristics. Building your own strategy requires knowing your strengths and weaknesses and having your own ideas about the game. The confusion borne of having a jumble of ideas floating around your head, each from a different poker thinker, never ends until you take responsibility and develop your own ideas.

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“Poker reveals to the frank observer something else of import – it will teach him about his own nature. Many bad players do not improve because they cannot bear self-knowledge. The bad player will not deign to determine what he thinks by watching what he does,” as David Mamet wrote. Step 1- be a frank observer. Step 2- bear the self-knowledge. Step 3- ?

— from Porter’s Poker and the Culture of Narcissism

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Today I speak with mental game proselytizer, new author, Poker Detox advisor, and suspiciously even-keeled guest Jason Su on the pod. While Daniel and Doug swordfight for your clicks, Jason has made a more useful splash in poker 2020 with his book, blog, and appearances all over poker training media. I grill him on the necessity of emotional control, tilt avoidance and the intersection of strategy and mental health, but he remains calm – we even get a funny Mason Malmuth story from him.

John Penturn’s comments on Magritte’s Décalcomanie MM, adapted here, echo some of Jason’s thoughts on mental game: “This approach in key ways was the meaning. The subject matter is almost incidental.” While Jason’s love of poker may be central to his life, Jason believes living with full bodily presence is equally central to all successes. This is a lesson the poker community has tacitly accepted, and is evidenced by the fitness and life improvement ethos most of the game’s ambassadors espouse (between squabbling and berating each other).

Jason’s book is Poker with Presence: Unlocking the Final 15%. You can learn more at his website, where you’ll find the blog I mention.

My article on Malmuth/Cardner.

At one point in the interview, I mention Luka, a TBR member and former student who presently plays on stake at Detox, but I didn’t provide much context. Here is his 2020 appearance on the Poker Zoo.

These were the pieces of wisdom shouted from the poker mountain tops, and soon a divide would form. Analytically oriented players who played primarily online discovered that the old timers had obvious technical deficiencies which could be exploited for large amounts of profit. They’d see a clear strategic mistake and think to themselves: Wow, how can they not understand this? They valued the study of tactics above all else, while the “old school” players would make fun of the internet players who showed no interest in developing a feel for the game and would bluff off their stacks in live games versus players incapable of folding. They’d see this obvious contextual mistake and think to themselves: Wow, how can they not understand this? Despite their differences, both sides wanted the same thing: to win, and win big.

They’re both right. You can’t win at poker without a firm grasp of range analysis and game theory. You also can’t be the best version of yourself if you disconnect from what is happening inside and around you. You need both – a strong understanding of how the game works, and an equally strong ability to stay a step ahead, sense intentions and recognize when someone will change gears before they know it themselves. That’s the pinnacle of poker.

-from Poker with Presence

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