They did — and for the coming two hours I followed his pattern of minbets up to 15x minbet to end up winning $4900. When he left I played on for about ten minutes before cashing out with $4700 profit. Not too shabby.

On my way to the cashier I noticed my hero playing the roulette — so I walked over and whispered a “thank-you for your excellent count” in his ear… He smiled and said: “Ha, I noticed”.

Great stuff — hope to spot him at the casino again soon!

… in 2003, amateur Chris Moneymaker won the World Series of Poker Main Event on national TV in front of millions of people, beating out Sam Farha, a seasoned professional. Texas hold’em became the new game of choice, and poker exploded worldwide, both in casinos and on the Internet …
Source: Why Poker is So Popular

What I’m really remembering is: “Making your two-card hand relatively strong is more important than constructing a powerhouse hand behind.”.

Meh.

Wish me luck!

(gambling-wise, I’m down $25 this month — I lost a bet with my dad! :D) 

Texas Hold’em Poker: +$4,800
Punto Banco / Baccarat: +$5,900
Blackjack: -$1,100
Pot Limit Omaha Poker: +4,900
Roulette: -$2,100
Craps: +$300
Stud Poker (against the house): -$600
Slots: -$100
Casino Hold’em: +$2000 (got extremely lucky and quit ahead hehe)

I’m happy.

Wish me luck — I’m off to the Baccarat (punto banco here!) table!

I was playing the $5/$10 game at the local casino and was sitting on the button with AJ of diamonds. The flop was a well-deserved T-Q-K of diamonds. I was in for a treat as the other guy had KQ and was stupid enough to take my bet as a defensive one. He shoved in hoping I was on the diamond draw — too bad I flopped THE STONE COLD ULTIMATE NUTS BABY!

I’m still smiling.

For the record, we’re talking No Limit Hold’em.

1. Whether or not the player you’re up against is winner or loser, and how he reacts in these situations.
2. The stack-sizes. Don’t risk your whole stack by valuebetting a mediocre hand against a dangerous board. If you’ve got $300 invested and you both have $2500 –you don’t want to have to face an all-in decision on a weak hand.
3. The board. What dangers are out there? If a 3-card flush or straight is out there, be cautious. If you read your opponent as strong, check it down.
4. Your table image. Don’t valuebet a mediocre hand if you know you’re only getting called when you’re surely beat. Being aware of your own table image is vital in poker, so keep your eyes on yourself as much as your opponents.
5. Bankroll management. Fold to a big re-raise if you’re not strong enough. Your money is worth a good laydown every once in a while.

More factors to come, but feel free to join in and give opinions here…

I’ve been reading hand histories way too much. I should tune it down, I’m getting a feeling like “waw poker is brutal, i should quit”.

#Game No : 5021409804
***** Hand History for Game 5021409804 *****
$10/$20 Texas Hold’em - Thursday, August 24, 22:21:31 ET 2006
Table Monster #1278453 (Real Money)
Seat 4 is the button
Total number of players : 4
Seat 3: whitehot32 ( $1090.50 )
Seat 4: DRock420111 ( $303.75 )
Seat 5: dilipkothari ( $490 )
Seat 6: ramz3209 ( $350 )
dilipkothari posts small blind [$5].
ramz3209 posts big blind [$10].
** Dealing down cards **
Dealt to DRock420111 [ As Qc ]
whitehot32 folds.
DRock420111 raises [$20].
dilipkothari raises [$25].
ramz3209 folds.
DRock420111 calls [$10].
** Dealing Flop ** [ Qd, 8h, 5h ]
dilipkothari bets [$10].
DRock420111 calls [$10].
** Dealing Turn ** [ 7s ]
dilipkothari bets [$20].
DRock420111 raises [$40].
dilipkothari calls [$20].
** Dealing River ** [ 6h ]
dilipkothari bets [$20].
DRock420111 calls [$20].
dilipkothari shows [ 9c, 9h ] a straight, five to nine.
DRock420111 doesn’t show [ As, Qc ] a pair of queens.
The time at which hand ended:Aug 24 2006 22:22 ET
dilipkothari wins $207.50 from the main pot with a straight, five to nine.
Game #5021415834 starts.

I’m sure 3-card omaha is great for pot limit play. I’ll report back after I’ve had a chance to actually try it out.