Making other people rich

An actual poker post.

So, I have been in a royal slump as of late at the Sit n Gos' My account, after the most recent withdrawal, was sitting at $1,300. Now, it sits just above $900. I don't know what's changed about my play as of late, but I need to fix it. But what this post is about is Pocket Rockets early in the tourney. There is a certain value associated with each hand in poker. In the early rounds, the game is about maximizing the payback of midrange hands (at least the way I see it and the way I play). Because the blinds are so low early in the game, you cannot really get your money's worth on the big pairs. Why? Because if you bet large you get no callers and you pick up perhaps 20 Tournament chips. If you bet small and entice players to get into the game, your payoff potential is less than good. Lets say you bet 35 Tournament chips with pocket aces, you make get 3-4 callers. Good for money's sake, but bad for odds sake. No matter what comes (unless you get 1-2 aces on the flop) you are dealing with the possibility of your collective opponents hitting 2 pair or a straight or so forth. Heaven forbid if a pair hits the board. Anyway, lets pretend for the sake of argument that the board comes up looking fairly blank (one high card and two small cards with no obvoius flush or straight), you are left with a difficult proposition of how to bet it. Again, you are trying to get maximum money out of the pot, but at the same time protecting against a bad beat. Keep in mind that by betting small and this being early, the other players are getting huge potential odds here (ie you have a large stack to give them should they flop a monster). A pot size bet may be a good way to start, but the pot is already about 170. Putting the pot size bet only doubles the pot and each successive caller will increase the liklihood of getting another caller. A small bet will scare no one, and they will call trying to get lucky (and they might). A large bet will scare those without a hand, but makes you pot committed should you get a call/raise. After losing on the first or second hand on consecutive sit and goes with AA, my advice is simple, and something I may follow for some time*. Bet large preflop and hope for a raise/call. As the adage goes, I'd rather win a small pot than lose a big one.

*Actual use may vary.

Why the NBA needs to be suspended for the season and not Artest

So, wow. By now, you have seen the fights at Auburn Hills. Ron Artest went up into the crowd and put the beat down on a fan or two after being struck by a cup of beer/soda. A melee broke out and several fans and players got into fisticuffs. The NBA, via David Stern, effectively ended the Pacers season by suspending three of their starters, one for 25 games, one for 30 games, and the other for the rest of the season. So, if you are a fan of a team, what is the best way to help them get into the playoffs and get a good seed? That's right, start a fight with a member of one of the best teams in your team's league.

So, why did I say the league should be suspended? Because of the extreme negligence on the part of the NBA. Ron Artest (and I imagine others) has been hit by debris thrown by fans in the past. At least on one occassion, he had to be restrained from going into the stands. As far as I am aware, the NBA has not revoked those fans tickets for future games when they threw things onto the field of play. The NBA has therefore said to its players "We are not going to act to protect you from outrageous fans." The NBA refused to react against its fans who acted disobediently, and I hold Ron Artest harmless for reacting to being assaulted multiple times without anyone taking appropriate action.