More poker oldhead talk
I listened to more of the poker archives of the Rounders show on twoplustwo, there is some great stuff in there. One of the things that always fascinates me about poker is the fact there are so many different styles of play, and there are successful players utilizing each style. Otherwise, how could Dan Harrington and Gus Hansen both put out huge-selling books? (Actually, I'm not sure if Gus' book has been put out yet, but I know he's working on one.) Even within a book, you have players with contrasting styles, i.e. Doyle Brunson's Super System. You read Doyle's chapters on No limit tournaments, and then you read Harrington on Holdem, and you realize these styles are night and day. Harrington looks with disdain upon small suited connectors, while Doyle will tell you these are the best. Although, there are some who claim Doyle's style is a little outdated, I'm not sure I totally disagree, but in the right setting, I think it can work.

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I did mention the debut of the WPT on GSN will be Monday March 24th. What I did not mention is the fact this is supposed to be a star-studded final table. I will try not to "spoil" it by looking up the tournament, so hopefully the ending will be a surprise to me. Since I don't follow each tournament that closely any more, I have no idea who won. As far as I know, it's the Mirage event, so please don't reply with a spoiler! Final table includes Ivey, Gigabet, and Jonathan Little, I believe. Can this new setting save the WPT?

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Doyle Brunson has a blog. Aside from the fact I hate people telling me who to vote for, it's pretty entertaining. Here's a sample:

I called a friend of mine and asked him to come to Bobby’s Room and start a two-thousand/four-thousand limit poker game. There were two out-of-town high rollers wanting to play. “I can’t, my wife wants to go see a movie,” my friend told me. I understand a man who has to get along with his family but if you are a professional poker player as my friend was, you have to play when the opportunity presents itself. I’ve been with the same woman for forty-five years and she has never tried to keep me from going to play.

Also, here's a review of HSP by the godfather himself...

I accidentally tuned in on High Stakes Poker on GSN and I was absolutely fascinated by what I saw. This show isn’t a tournament; it is a real cash game where the players can buy more chips when they want and quit when they want. Also, the ante and blinds never go up. I sometimes wonder how I came off a cotton farm in Texas to where I am today. After watching that show every night for the past month, I can understand it. Most of these so-called poker stars can’t play a lick! It is almost embarrassing to watch how badly they play. There are a few that I would call winning players but the bad players far outnumber them. Tournaments don’t really teach you fundamental concepts and that is all most of them do – never playing what I call real poker. I think I have played eleven times since HSP started and have yet to have a losing session.

For more gems, go visit Doyle's blog over at Doylesroom.com.

Have a great weekend.