Humans Still Superior When It Comes to Poker

Written by Nigel

Who can forget when the chess Grand Master Kasparov was defeated by the computer Deep Blue in what was dubbed the “Brain’s Last Stand?”  When Deep Blue won the match, the rest of the world commiserated with Kasparov and at the same time marveled at Deep Blue.  Last week, a similar event was held in Canada.  This time it was a match between 2 professional poker players and a computer program called Polaris.

Polaris, 16 years in the making, plays for days before a match, creating 10 different bots that each has a unique playing style.  The very concept of Polaris is enough to make anyone wonder.  Yet after four rounds of Texas Hold ‘em poker, Polaris surrendered and folded once and for all to the humans.

Interestingly enough, lest we be smug and say that poker is too complex for computers to get the hang of, we (humans) barely won that match.  According to Phil Laak (the Unabomber), “I literally felt the same feeling that you would have if you beat 500 people in a tournament and won a million dollars. We won, not by a significant amount, and the bots are closing in.”

Many others agree with the Unabomber.  It seems that it will be only a matter of time till the programmers find a way to make their machines even more powerful.  Yet for now, we can thank these two poker players for proving that man reigns supreme over machine – at least in the world of poker.

Should I Stay or Should I Go?

Written by Nigel

I bet that this question has been asked countless times in countless different situations.  Yet have you ever found yourself asking this question while at the poker table?  If you haven’t, it could both be a good thing and a bad thing.  You may not have had to ask this question as you always know when to leave the table.  On the other hand, you may not have had to ask this question because you never know when to leave.

Ask different people about their take on this topic and the chances are that you will get all sorts of answers.  One common strategy that many people use is to leave while you are ahead.  It is a good thing actually, very sensible.   No one is 100% tilt proof. If your emotions get the best of you at some point in the night, then you are dead.  So while you are still level headed, get out of there.

Others will tell you to decide based on your streak and your opponents.  If you are playing with obviously weak players, then stay and win more money – that is their rationale.

I do not really have anything against these lines of thinking.  They do make sense, no one can argue with that.  My take on this, though, is that one is always better off playing by the hour and not by the result.  What I mean is simple.  Set a time limit as to how long you will be playing for the night.  Once that is up, get up and leave.  What do you think?

Poker Players: New Rock Stars?

Written by Nigel

I was browsing the web this morning and saw an article that made me think.  It was all about poker players being the rock stars of the modern age.  How true is this?  Here are some excerpts of the article, giving a checklist of what it takes to be a rock star and how poker players meet the criteria.

Money - check. Sure there are broke degenerates out there, and lots of them, but the top poker players are all ballin’ at a tremendous clip. The net worth of players like Phil Ivey and Barry Greenstein? Massive. Even if you take a step down and look at the top online players, you have at least a 100 with a net worth of over a million dollars. Not bad for sitting at your computer.

Cool life - you can’t really beat living in Vegas for two months in a house that looks like a castle, driving to the Rio for your $2k buyin tournament in your rented Benz, and then getting stoned when you get home and winning $40k online. That’s a pretty cool life if you ask me.

Jewelry - you seen the bling that Ivey, Antonius and Mizzi are sporting?

The Girls - in typical rock star style, you got ugly guys that are good at poker pulling down ridiculous girls that they would have no chance of getting if they were an insurance broker. Plus, you got groupies in poker too (see Brandi Hawbaker)

The Fancy Car - Check out the rides of Ivey, Antonius, Ozzy87 (online) or MuckEmSayUhhh (online). Sick.

The TV Time - make a final table at the World Series of Poker and you’ll get your face seen by millions of people on ESPN, no matter how ugly or unattractive you may be.

What do you think?  I tend to agree.

Tips to Win Online (Part 3)

Written by Nigel

So you have detected those tiny tell tale signs that give you necessary information to win against your online opponent.  Here are some more tips that can give you that much appreciated edge.

Play small tournaments in the beginning.  I know, it sounds like the easy way out.  You are not a wimp.  But this really makes sense, you know.  If you are a beginner, test the waters first.  Gain confidence as you win the smaller tournaments and then move your way up.  It is always better to start out small anyway.  Think about it, small things turn up to be big sooner or later.

Don’t get too caught up in too many tournaments.  One advantage of online poker is that you can play multiple games at a single given time.  Of course, the downside to this is that you cannot give all your attention to one game.  You are diverted by many.  So when playing tournaments, if possible play one at a time.  Schedule them as well so that you have time between tournaments.

Don’t make poker your escape.  What do I mean?  Say you and your partner had a fight.  You go online to forget about it.  It might sound like a plan but it does not sound like a good plan to me.  When you play poker you need your focus.  If you have a problem you’d probably lose that focus.  If I were you, I’d play poker because I want to and I can give all my attention to the game, not because I am running away from something.

Tips to Win Online (Part 2)

Written by Nigel

In the last post we talked about learning how to scan and interpret the flop as fast as you can.  The next tip is very much related to that tip but with a much broader scope.

Learn to adjust to the speed of online poker.  In face to face poker, sometimes players their own sweet time before they make a move.  Online, you would rarely see this kind of strategy.  On the average, you can expect about 50 hands per hour with online poker.  Compare this with the 30 hands per hour in the “real” casino.  This is basically due to the programming of online casinos.  If you do not make your move within a specified time, your hand will automatically fold.  You have two options here – make a move without having thought it over well or learn to think fast.  Though in tough situations you may be able to request for additional time (in some online casinos that is), you would be better off adjusting your speed.

Learn to detect and interpret online poker tells.  Though this is a harder thing to do online, it is still possible.  The most basic tell in online poker would be the speed that your opponents make their moves.  Checking too fast most of the time might just mean that your opponent is using the automatic check option – this signifies weakness more often than not.  On the other hand, if a player takes a fair amount of time before making his move, make sure you note his hand in the end.  This will give you information on how he thinks.

Let’s look at the last batch of tips next time.