Phil Gordon's Green Book and Jeff's Tourney

Results since last post on 1/17/06
3-6 -$68.40
NL 1-2 +$111
NL $55 SNG's 4 played +$95

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I downloaded Phil Gordon's "Little Green Book of Poker" to my Ipod a couple of days ago. So far I am really impressed. No Limit cash games and big Multi Table Tournaments are easily my worst games. There are plenty of books that relate to Tournaments but not too many that discuss cash game strategies. This book definitely fits the bill.

I am only 1/2 way through it, but what I enjoy the most are the scripts that he runs in his head before he makes a decision. This is definitely something I need to commit to memory.

It also clarified my thinking on medium to low pocket pairs. It's ok to call a raise in position with these hands if it costs less than 12% of your stack. The idea being that if you hit your set and your opponent has more money than you, then you could theoretically double your stack. This makes up for the 7 out of 8 times that you do not hit your set.

Phil's philosophy on betting with a paired board is also interesting. If he raised before the flop and took control of the hand, then if there are only 1 or 2 players in the pot, usually the first player to bet will win the pot. It's hard for another player to hit the flop with only 2 cards in play instead of 3.

I also found it interesting that if he flops a flush, that he likes to play it fast even if he does not have the nut flush. If he thinks someone has the Ace or nut flush draw and he's already flopped it, then he wants to make his opponent pay to draw at it. They think they have 9 outs but they really only have 7 so you can force your opponent to make a costly mistake. He believes that the chances of someone flopping a flush when you flop a flush are so slim that he will go broke with the hand.

In addition to reading or listening to Phil's book, I have joined Thomas Keller's website and his "Thunder Squadron". He has taken it upon himself to set up a new website designed to help other players improve their game. 2+2 has become a little weak lately, so I am glad to have a new resource. Thomas seems to be active on the site so it's good to get a pro's feedback once in a while. Plus, since he grew up in Chandler, a lot of the posters on the site live in Arizona so I have a chance to make some new local poker friends. Since one of the requirements to join his squadron is to keep detailed records, so I am recommitting myself to keeping Poker Tracker updated and I will lead off every blog with my results since the previous blog.

Finally, Jeff is having another big poker tournament. I have played in 3 and cashed in 2 so I am really looking forward to it. I still think he should lower the buy in to get more players, but $150 does keep out some of the riff raff. The problem is he only gets about 30 players. If you rebuy once, then you have to make the top 5 just to break even. I think I am ready to make a big score.