Joe Navarro: Poker tells of the neck
Re-published courtesy of our content partner Ante Up Magazine.
As I often say there are poker faces, but there is no such thing as a poker body. Somewhere on our body we reflect precisely and in real time what we think, feel, desire or intend. The neck is such an area for poker players, full of clues as to whether a player is strong, marginal or weak.
Seven years ago, when I first started writing about poker tells (Read ’em and Reap), the feet were not on the radar screen. Here was an area of the body unrecognized in the poker world. Since then many players have wisely folded in time when seeing “happy feet” on their opponents who had monster hands. To a certain extent, like the feet, behaviors of the neck also have been off the radar screen to many players, so let me shed some light on this often-ignored area of the body.
The neck is critical for survival (it’s architecturally necessary for food, water, air, chemical and electrical signals) and as such, the brain treats the neck differently than the rest of the body. Because it’s such a vital area, whenever we feel threatened or insecure the brain compels us to do certain things to protect or pacify the neck.
Watch any tournament and you’ll see players when they’re having doubts or feel some action on the board will hurt them begin to touch or rub their neck. This is an accurate indicator that something is bothering them. This is a legacy behavior from when humans routinely saw large felines bring down prey by biting down on their necks. Though large threats don’t remain, we still do this behavior when things bother us.
Neck touching is probably one of the most often used behaviors to calm us. Some people rub the back of their neck with their fingers; others stroke the sides of their neck or just under the chin above the Adam’s apple, tugging at the fleshy area of the neck.This area is rich with nerve endings that, when stroked, reduce blood pressure, lower the heart rate and calm the individual. This action usually is seen when players are marginal or weak and are deliberating their next move.
Chicago Joe: "Horeshoe Hammond Started It All"
Re-published courtesy of our content partner Ante Up Magazine.
For our poker players, 08/08/08 is the most important date in Chicago’s gambling history. Why? That’s when the Horseshoe Casino opened. Just over the Illinois border next to Chicago in Hammond, Ind., the Horseshoe Casino created a world-class poker room that rivals the top rooms in the country. When opened, the Horseshoe’s 34-table poker room had twice as many tables than all of Illinois combined. For the staff, the Horseshoe assembled an extraordinary group of professionals from all parts of the country.
The Horseshoe’s $1,500 Summer Poker Tournament Series will be Aug 27.This tournament has a guaranteed $250,000 prize pool.For cash players, a Win a Seat high-card promotion will start a week before the tournament. At 6 a.m., 9 a.m., 11 a.m., 3 p.m., 9 p.m. and 3 a.m. one table will be picked. Eligible players at the table will be dealt one card with the high card winning a seat to the $1,500 event.
Starting at $100,000, the Horseshoe’s bad beat is the largest in the Midwest, with quad 10s as the qualifier. Twice a month the bad beat is increased $20,000 and the qualifying hand decreasing. On July 15 the bad beat reached $160,000 and quad sevens. Last year the bad beat reached $320K when the bad beat was hit. For more details see the poker room staff or call 219-473-6065.
Don't be afraid to take them to Valuetown
Re-published courtesy of our content partner Ante Up Magazine.
I often see players my age crafting elaborate lines of action for the sake of balance. I would argue that balancing your perceived range of hands at $1-$2 NLHE is about as awful as it gets. The most crucial aspect of being a successful live cash-game player is betting hands for value. Sounds reasonable right?
You’d be surprised just how many low-limit players bluff way too often or miss extra bets. The primary way we make money in small games, such as $1-$2 and $1-$3 no-limit hold’em, is by betting our strong hands and getting weaker players to call with weaker hands.
I often see players my age crafting elaborate lines of action for the sake of balance. I would argue that balancing your perceived range of hands at $1-$2 NLHE is about as awful as it gets.
The reason online players balance the percentage of bluffs to strong hands in their ranges is so they won’t be exploitable when playing against good regulars. You probably won’t play the same players much if you play $1-$2 in large poker rooms. So why not just wait for a strong hand and bet it all the way against players who are going to call anyway?
WSOP 2011 - The End of The Beginning
Publisher's Note:What a treat to have Massey sharing his WSOP experience with us here at the Chicago Poker Club. Aaron is back to the grind in Chicago, and getting ready to hit the poker circuit around the country. We expect to hear from him as he hits the road, with new posts, and most definitely featured tweets on our home page. Aaron had a successful summer as a professional, but his talent, perseverance, and focus continue to hint at big things to come in his future. That is why this post, his last of WSOP 2011 is merely the End of the Beginning... [Jason]
So I didn’t get it done in the Main Event… and I am beyond disappointed in myself. It’s funny, if I had busted out on day 1 I wouldn’t have felt this way.
I began the Main Event on day 1b and did not get off to that fast of a start. Halfway thru I began to gain traction and got my chipstack moving in the right direction. By the end of day 1 I had amassed 50k in chips from a 30k start. I was feeling great and was very confident and pleased with my play.
My day 2 was a complete grind. I never got much momentum and was completely card dead the whole day. Only once in the entire day did I have a stack over the 50k I began the day with. I was playing extremely well but that’s the way it goes sometimes. I did make 1 incorrect decision on this day, calling a player’s 24k all in with 99. In this hand I had opened for a standard raise under the gun, only to have it fold all the way to the big blind. He didn’t waste much time before moving all in, and after 2 minutes of deliberation I made the call. He had JJ and held up. I was down but not out. I played great no showdown poker and got my stack back up to around 50k just in time for the last hand of the night. In this hand, I opened from the cutoff w 88, only to have John Racener (Runner Up in last Year’s Main Event) re-raise me from the small blind. I thought about it and made an over bet of 40k, which was 80% of my stack, effectively moving me all in. He jammed and I called. I thought I was in huge trouble but he flipped over the 55. I was surprised that such a good player would make such a bad play but I wasn’t complaining. I held up and ended the day with 105k.
On day 3 I got off to a fast start. I had gotten up to 147k only having to showdown 1 hand. I was extremely aggressive and feeling great… then the wheels came off. With the blinds at 8-1600 the player under the gun limped in as did a player in middle position. I had 45 of hearts on the button, and after some consideration of putting in a raise I decided to call. The big blind checked and we had 4 players off to the flop of Q98 which was checked around. Another 9 came on the turn and it checked around to me. I bet 5k into roughly a 9k pot which was snap called by the player who limped under the gun. The river was a J making the board Q899J. My opponent very quickly bet out 17.5K into a 19k pot. I interpreted this as a value bet and knew he was strong, however, I knew he didn’t have a full house. I had put him on a hand like QJ that he is trying to get value out of. So what do I do? I raise it to 50k with 5 hi, representing a full house and trying to push him off what I know is a very strong hand. He thinks for awhile and correctly makes the call with pocket 10s for a rivered straight. I was down to around 80k but I was still in good shape. Unfortunately I decided to go off again 10 minutes later. I made a standard raise w A4 from the cutoff. The button then raised me to 11.5k with roughly 55k behind. I jam all in and he calls with AK. He has me crushed and he holds up like he is supposed to, leaving me 9 big blinds. I jam my last 7 bbs in w A9 only to be called by the AJ. Just like that it was over.