Poker: the intellectual’s pursuit
GUKPT expanded to cope with player demand
Christmas comes early at Littlewoods Poker
Reasons to play poker online: Number 483
Question & Answer
Littlewoods Poker - Book Review
Poker: the intellectual’s pursuit
Not every undergraduate’s life revolves around drinking as much beer as is humanly possible and considering noon a perfectly acceptable time at which to rise.
Some are encouraged to participate in a variety of non-alcohol-related pastimes; many do, but the number prepared to maintain an intellectually rigorous approach to pursuits away from their studies is, well, probably microscopic.
Matters are different in the USA, especially at Ivy League colleges such as Harvard, where the Global Poker Strategic Thinking Society (GPSTS) has been established for several years.
The society’s aims are laudable. It views poker as a truly exceptional game of skill – one that can be used as a powerful teaching tool across all levels of academia.
The society’s stated objectives are to ‘use poker to teach strategic thinking, geopolitical analysis, risk assessment and money management. We see poker as a metaphor for skills of life, business, politics and international relations.’ Essentially, the GPSTS sets out to prove beyond any doubt that poker is a game of skill which, like life, business and politics, happens to be influenced by luck. And you thought it was a game of cards?
As one might expect, the GPSTS website is laden with recommended reading, but heading the list of essential manuscripts designed to make you a better, more thoughtful, poker player, is not what might be considered ‘traditional texts’. Harrington and Hellmuth are absent; leading the way is Strategy in Poker, Business & War by John McDonald, first published in 1950.
It’s a fascinating tome and one no doubt read several times by students from Harvard and Yale prior to their own poker game which took place recently. Hosted by the GPSTS, the contest was won by Yale, who emerged victorious by a margin of three games to two, thus levelling the embroyonic series.
In addition to handing poker’s bragging rights to Yale for another year, the GPSTS series is seen as fulfilling an important function and placing the society at the cutting edge of a school of thought which considers strategic gaming as a useful rehabilitation tool for offenders, as well as a proven method for winning at poker. McDonald’s text is not exactly light reading, but if you fancy taking a more considered, almost intellectual approach to poker, there is probably no better book you could read.
GUKPT expanded to cope with player demand
The GUKPT has announced the dates and venues for its third season which starts next month. Following the success of this year’s UK-wide tour, which attracted a record number of competitors, next year’s version has been expanded.
For example, the Cardiff leg returns in August / September and the first Scottish leg will take place in Aberdeen in mid-June. There is also a mini-GUKPT summer series for those not attending the WSOP in Las Vegas, two high-roller tournaments and increased prize pools for the Champion of Champions event (£100,000) and GUKPT rankings (£50,000).
The full schedule for the tour (including location and festival dates) is:
Leg 1: Brighton -- January 12th - 18th
Leg 2: Walsall -- February 21st - March 1st
Leg 3: London -- March 19th -29th
Leg 4: Manchester -- April 18th - 26th
Leg 5: Newcastle -- May 18th - 24th
Summer Series 1: Bolton -- June 11th - 14th
Summer Series 2: Aberdeen -- June 18th - 21st
Summer Series 3: Walsall -- June 25th - 28th
Leg 6: Luton -- August 1st - 9th
Leg 7: Cardiff -- August 31st - September 6th
Leg 8: Thanet -- October 12th - 18th
Leg 9: Blackpool -- November 7th - 15th
Grand Final: London -- November 19th - 29th
Champion of Champions Festival: Luton – November 30th – December 6th
Christmas comes early at Littlewoods Poker
If you haven’t done so already, take a look at our Christmas events calendar. Okay, so we’re still almost a fortnight away from a visit by Santa Claus, but that doesn’t prevent us from having some early festive fun, does it?
For example, this coming Saturday 13, you could be on the way to winning a share of $100,000 in our Jingle All the Way event. All you have to do is earn 200 Frequent Player Points (FPP) during the course of Saturday and you’ll be handed a free seat at the $100,000 Deep Stack Challenge which is scheduled to start on Sunday at 20:00 GMT.
On Monday 15, we’ve got up to £50 to give away in our Loyalty Blitzen event if you can accumulate enough FPPs - there’s not even a wagering requirement and this is in addition to the loyalty bonus we hand out every month.
There’s something going on between now and Tuesday 23rd December and we’ll provide you with more detail in next week’s SFTW, but in the meantime, if you’re looking to win a few quid in order to boost your seasonal spending, take a look at what’s on offer on our Christmas Calendar!
Reasons to play poker online: Number 483
We keep saying this, but players really should be more aware when playing live games – you’re supposed to be street-wise poker dudes after all.
Earlier this week, news arrived at Littlewoods Poker Towers of an elaborate scam which is commonplace in Canada – so we can expect it to hit the UK anytime soon, if indeed, it hasn’t done already.
Here’s how it works: the scam merchants target a local tradesman, let’s call him Eric the Electrician, and say their ‘company’ has secured a major contract and would like to meet to discuss whether Eric would be interested in working on it. A meeting is then set up in a conference room, usually in a hotel or business centre.
Of course, Eric enthusiastically goes along in best bib and tucker to meet the so-called ‘company representatives’, although when he arrives, he’s told the head guy (Mr X) is running late, so he should just sit down and relax.
The other people, dressed in business suits, are playing poker for sugar packets or toothpicks and Eric is invited to join them. Initially, he may be reluctant, but, after being told Mr. X is running an hour late, he’s ‘given’ the cards of one of the men who has to leave. By this time, the toothpicks have disappeared and $100 bills are on the table.
To make Eric think he’s up against a bunch of greenhorns, the first hand he receives is rigged to win and he is soon pulled into the game as several other hands are played quickly. The cards are now rigged in the scam merchants’ favour.
Eric starts losing and after a while, a phone call comes saying the meeting will have to be rescheduled, at which point the men in suits tell him he owes, say, $2,500.
“There is a degree of intimidation,” a detective investigating the latest case said. Understandably enough, Eric is unlikely to have $2,500 in cash on him, and so the ‘winner’ says he will come to his office to collect a cheque.
In the case reported last week, ‘Eric’ had already realised he had been conned, so when the ‘winner’ arrived at his office, he refused to pay. The man drove off quickly and the intended victim noted the vehicle licence plate
To date, the scam merchants have not been found. The detective said that up to four people were involved and it is probable others have been caught out but are too embarrassed to come forward.
Question & Answer
Q: I know it’s all very well accumulating a big stack as rapidly as possible, especially if you’re a high volume tournament player, but – and this might sound stupid – are there specific players you should target when you’ve assembled more chips than anyone else?
TA from Chester
A: Good question. It’s fair to say that when you find yourself in this happy position you should be exerting as much pressure as possible on your shorter stacked opponents, but is there a specific strategy? Well, in our experience, it’s best to take on short and medium stacks although you should probably avoid the really short stacked as they’ve got nothing much to lose and are probably prepared to gamble.
Furthermore, as ever, it will pay to steer clear of maniacs, but what about taking only similarly well-stacked opponents?
You should certainly be looking to take them on if in position, particularly if you have a read on their game. Generally though, you should bluff and float tighter opponents and re-raise the looser ones pre-flop; if you happen upon a really good opponent with a big stack, avoid them wherever possible unless you hold the nuts.
Littlewoods Poker - Book Review
As we career towards Christmas, what to buy for the dedicated poker player? Ignore gadgets, we’ve got two mini reviews this week of books with which you cannot go wrong. Another two will appear next week in case neither of the pair below appeal – but how could they not?
Elements of Poker by Tommy Angelo
£20.04 @ 4sportsbooks.co.uk
Beginners could read this outstanding book and gain much from it, but it’s really aimed at those who think they know poker already.
Tommy Angelo’s verbal inventiveness and dexterity enables him to identify, pinpoint and name nebulous poker concepts and essential matters that need addressing - like ‘mum poker’, which means really learning not to talk about your poker game during the game, or like the art of ‘fastfolding’, when “you muck your hand as soon as you know you are beat.” Why? “Because it's courteous and it reduces your information outflow.”
Angelo’s assumption that to learn “to win at poker you have to be very good at losing” might sound a peculiar concept, but knowing when to fold takes genuine skill. Amongst the praise this book has received came the comment from one reviewer who said it’s the best poker psychology book ever written.
Kill Everyone by Lee Nelson, Tyson Streib & Kim Lee
£31.99 @ 4sportsbooks.co.uk
This highly anticipated follow-up to the best-selling ‘Kill Phil’ has not disappointed. It manages to blend real-time experience, poker maths and computational horsepower to create new concepts and advanced strategies never before seen in print for multi-table tournaments, Sit-n-Gos, and satellites.
Unlike ‘Kill Phil’, which was 90% pre-flop strategy, as you might expect, ‘Kill Everyone’ goes all the way. After reading this book, you'll know how to accumulate chips early, navigate through the middle stages, and perfect your play on the bubble and at the final table. What else do you need?
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