The Poker Scene in Macau

Hello, friends.  Long time, no blog.  Let's change that.  Now's as good of time as any.

Currently, I'm on a 5-week journey in China.  I spent 4 weeks in Shanghai for work, and this week I'm traveling to Macau, Hong Kong, and  Beijing.

I thought I'd write to you about a place that I'd heard a lot about, and that I had wildly anticipated visiting, which is Macau.  Macau is a SAR (Special Administrative Region) of China, and it is about an hour by speed ferry from Hong Kong.  It is a gambling Mecca similar to Las Vegas, but in the Eastern Hemisphere.  It was formerly a Portuguese colony, and was turned over by Portugal to the Chinese government in 1999, two years after Hong Kong was turned over by the British.  They drive on the left side of the road.  Cabs are cheap.  The people are pretty.

I was most excited about the poker parts, but I did manage to slip in several miles of walking each day around the area, and I'm glad that I did.  I saw the Ruins of St. Paul, the Gaia Fortress and Lighthouse, and some very beautiful park areas.

What I came for, though, was the poker.  So I thought I'd let you know about the scene there for the curious.

Currency
First off, there are 8 Hong Kong Dollars (HKD) to an American Dollar.  So, a 25/50 game is about the equivalent to a 3/6 game in the United States, which is about three times higher than I am used to playing the USA.  I basically found an appropriate buy-in (about 2500 Hong Kong dollars for a 25/50 game), and then attempted to play based upon the chip values like I would in a tournament, but I found myself constantly doing conversions to American Dollars in my head.  This made me very uncomfortable, unfortunately, as I already felt I was playing a bit too high, but didn't want to have come all that way and not play.

Where Poker is Offered
As far as I could tell, there aren't too many casinos that offer it in the area.

I visited the Wynn, one of the newer casinos in the northern area of Macau, and there were quite a few games going, but the lowest blind game was 50/100, which was out of my league.

The Galaxy Starworld, very close to the Wynn, had the most active room.  It is where the Asian millionaires game in which Tom Dwan and Phil Ivey play on occasion.  I was able to stand about 10 feet away to watch the game, where I could see huge stacks of tiles the equivalent of about $10,000 each, in front of many of the players.  The more down-to-earth games started at 25/50, and this is where I decided to play for about 11 hours over the weekend.

Lastly, the Venetian, which is on Taipa (the southern part of the area, across 2 large bridges from Macau) on the Cotai Stip (an area built-up on what was formerly sea using massive land dumps and reclamation), had a room with only one table going on Monday, and that was a 50/100.  They did have a zero-person waiting list for 25/50, so it is something they offer (unlike the Wynn), but there was no interest.

The Long Waits
All of the rooms are quite small by American standards, and combined with the large demand, the waiting time is huge.  In the USA, I've never had to wait more than 3 hours that I can remember.  On day 1, I put my name on the list at 5:30 PM, and I didn't get a seat at table 8 until midnight.  I figured this would be the case, as I was about number 50 on the list with seemingly no turnover, so I went out and walked around the town a bit, but that is pretty ridiculous.

Smoking
Are you used to American poker rooms with no smoking?  So am I.  Most of the rooms had smoking allowed (except for the table that I luckily got both days, which is table 8 at Starworld).  You can request to move, but it really made me long for smoke-free rooms like I'm used to.

The Rake
This was a killer, and one that I wished I would have researched a bit more before coming.  In American rooms, a typical room will be about 5% of the pot up to $4-7.  At Starworld, it was 5% up to 200 HKD, which is $25!!!  The Venetian's is all the way up to 250 HKD.

Language
"English only at the table, please" is never something you'll hear in Macau.  The signs say, "Only Cantonese, Mandarin, and English are allowed."  Wow, that really limits things down!  About half of the people spoke English at least moderately well, but my opponents all knew that I couldn't speak Chinese, so they could talk with each other out loud about what I might have, and I wouldn't be able to stop it.  The good news is that I could ask for the size of the bet in English, and I didn't have to learn the Cantonese (along with English, the official languages of the region) words for raise, call, fold, or check.

How I Was Treated
For the most part, I wasn't too much of an outcast being a European-looking person in Macau.  I definitely was in the minority, though.  There were lots of Japanese and Korean people (i.e. other Asians), but probably less than 2% of the people in the room looked like me.  Some people targeted me for that reason, as Asians are notorious for their aggressive play, and one guy in particular was definitely gunning for me.  On day 2, on Sunday afternoon, it was a rather boisterous game with lots of English spoken (probably because the Asians couldn't understand each other in their respective native tongues), and I felt significantly less comfortable than I did the day before.  Unfortunately, I wasn't able to really let my true, talkative, ridiculous personality come out.  I simply wasn't feeling that kind of positive energy like I do back home.  I tried to be my usual, friendly self, but it simply wasn't reciprocated much.

Pace of the Game
I felt that the play was much better quality than my 1/2 game back in Milwaukee, and the players were quite a bit better, on average.  Instead of 2 or 3 fish at the table, there usually was only 1.  This is not good for winning.  Also, the play was a bit tighter than what I was used to in the USA.

The Results
This was the unfortunate part.  I'm used to winning in poker.  I was hoping that the skills that help me beat the game in Milwaukee would translate.  This was a miscalculation.  Between the currency translations, playing higher than my comfort level, the general atmosphere toward me as an American, the better skill of my opponents, the huge rake, and no premium hands other than quad-3s once in 11 hours, I wasn't able to get anything going.  My Asian poker adventure ended disappointingly in a loss.  I was never up more than about 300 HKD, which is nothing.

Going Forward
Between the long waits, the high rake, the better skill, and the higher stakes, I'd say it is unlikely that I'll return anytime soon. I can easily find much, much softer games in my home town or in Las Vegas.  I would have loved to have seen Tom Dwan or Phil Ivey playing in the game, though, and that might be enough to get me to return.

I'm very glad I went, despite the somewhat negative tone in this post.  I learned a lot about inter-personal dynamics, and about some of my weaknesses while playing poker.  Until next time...

-Alan

Harrah's Properties = Very Bad Small Buy-in Tournaments

Michaela, Cory (a close friend), and I just came back from Vegas. After reading The Poker Tournament Formula, where I really learned to analyze smaller buy-in hold 'em tournaments, I've always honed in on tournaments in Las Vegas that give the best bang for my tournament dollar.

There are more poker rooms in Vegas than there are flies on a horse. Every casino has one. Many you'd like to see go away. But a former staple tournament, that had a very good starting stack, was the one at Planet Hollywood. I believe the price fluctuated between $60-$80 in the years I've been there, but the number of starting chips was around 5500, which was gigantic in comparison to the typical 3000-4000 chip tourneys. Better structures bring in better players, but there are still plenty of fish in the sea. Someone watches a television tournament, and is staying at the Planet Hollywood, and figures, "Blackjack isn't going so well; let's try a bit of poker."

I've found similar desirable structures at Binion's and the Sahara. Luckily Binion's is no longer owned by Harrah's, as they would have demolished the structure. You see, now that Planet Hollywood is part of the behemoth that is Harrah's, they've reduced the price of the tournament (a good thing), but slashed the chips down to 3000 with 20-minute levels. Since there are 30 players, and 90,000 chips are needed to win, you'll have to double up a bunch in order to have a shot. This means that luck will drive the winner in these tournaments more than the one at the Wynn, for example.

This is to be expected. They aren't trying to cater to me. The Venetian and Wynn are masters of the deep stacked tournaments. I bet even Harrah's would say the same. They are catering to people who just want to gamble in a different way, and hope that the tremendous amount of ESPN footage of the Rio and WSOP will bring in players who want to take their shot, put on some sunglasses, and play against something other than the house for once.

All of the tournaments in Las Vegas at Harrah's properties suffer from the same syndrome. It's a shame, as it wasn't always this way. Harrah's used to be my favorite place to play in Kansas City, and the publicity from the WSOP has brought me to the Rio in Las Vegas many times.

So, poker players beware: look at the structure before playing at any Harrah's property. Maybe one of their marketing people will read this, and decide that a slightly longer tournament is good for everyone, and might draw more players like me.

Fear

Last week I was in Vegas. I played some tournaments here and there. My favorite tournament in Vegas has always been the noon Venetian, and so I played again on Friday.

Usually, when I'm playing in a deeper-stacked tournament at my buy-in level (7500 chips and 30-minute levels, $150), I find a few fish, but I rarely find people who I think are incredibly better than me. Incrementally yes, but monumentally, never.

Until Friday. My first table, I play a few hands, get lucky a few times, etc. But then a new guy gets transferred to my table. On first glance, he looks like a thug who likes to brawl in back allies. I'm positive this image really enhanced his actions at the table as well.

This guy wasn't your typical hyper-aggressive. Those guys are incredibly easy to trap. No, this guy was willing to build huge pots, sometimes with nothing, and sometimes with huge hands, and bet amounts that either got people to call or fold at his bidding. It was really sick. It was the first time in my history in Las Vegas that I was hoping to be moved to another table. I believe at the time my table broke, around level 7, I had about 11,000 (well below average), and he had about 85,000. Pure domination.

Which leads me to the point of my post. A loose-aggressive image in a deep-stacked tournament might be as close to optimal as No Limit Hold 'Em can get. Your opponents rarely have gigantic hands with which they are willing to go broke. A bit of maneuvering and a lot of angry scowl can go a long way, especially if your reading ability and intuition are tuned properly. It is definitely a style that I am more comfortable with when playing online, for some reason, but wow is it effective live.

This guy was a hold 'em master. I bet I'll be seeing him in the future when I play there, as I'm guessing he's killing that tournament. I wished I would have taken his picture, but I'll never forget his face as long as I live.

P.S. 17th place out of 119 for me in this particular tourney. Quite unfortunate. No cash (top 13). It is the deepest I've gone there. $4000-ish for first. I'll get it someday.

Long Time, No Post

After attempting to work on both my online and live game, I realize that I've dramatically improved both. I wanted to give a short, but sweet update:

Ameristar

I've been playing the 10:30 PM nightly (save Friday and Saturday nights) tournament regularly at Ameristar. It is a decent tournament, but it remains frustrating. I regularly do well, and get to the final 30%, and the blinds become so high as to become a giant luckfest. I no longer can raise and bluff. It simply becomes a matter of who gets the most pocket kings and flushes. It is still a great tournament for the price ($40), and I've had decent success as of late.

Full Tilt

I've mostly been playing 45 and 180 person tournaments, and my success rate is excellent. Sharkscope has me rated at a 70/100. Pokerprolabs has me rated as a Ace with one star on multi-table tournaments, and a King with one star on sit-n-gos. If you ever want to play a tournament against me, let me know. I'll be happy to let you know when I'm playing next.

I'm going to start more regular posts again. Stay tuned.

Heads-up Poker Tips

I think my most favorite game is heads-up No Limit Texas Hold 'Em. It is more about psychology, tendencies, and heart than about your two cards. My first time that I played heads up that carried some kind of meaningful consequence, I was playing in a charity tournament that one of Michaela's co-workers was organizing. I had just finished playing very good poker with a field of about 40 people (I don't remember exactly), and I had my opponent out-chipped about 5 to 1 going into the end. On pure mathematical expectation of equally skilled opponents, I should expect to win about 5/6 of the time. I was very excited for the prospect. I then proceeded to play exactly like I had to get to that point, which was a tight-aggressive style, a style which I continue today.

Oops. My opponent adapted, and quickly started raising more often than not in order to steal my blind. I'm sure at the time I felt like I would trap him, and I'd raise him at just the right moment and get that sucker! Wrong. Smart opponents already know that you are looking to do this at some point. So, they raise relentlessly, figuring that they'll steal enough of your blinds to make up for the one or two times you catch them out of ten. Then they promptly fold, unless they have something...

After I lost this tournament, and the Chiefs' tickets, which were the prize for first, I vowed to improve my heads-up game. Michaela and I started playing at home a bunch. Michaela is a very intuitive poker player, and she is a challenging opponent. Although playing with different players with different styles is the ultimate way to train, Michaela switched things up enough against me to make things very interesting. I started to steal more, but she started to pick me off more with moderate hands, and vice-versa. What fun! I highly recommend playing with your partner, as they know you so well that they'll be able to pick up on things that most of your opponents do not. Even if your partner doesn't have the passion that you do for the game, playing a bit here and there will improve your game 100-fold.

I wish I could go back to that day and win those tickets. I'd stand a much better chance now. I love getting heads-up in tournaments these days, and I adapt so quickly that my record (at the levels that I play only) is statistically significantly more than 50%. Could I play on the NBC Heads-up Championship? Nope. They'd kill me. They have even more experience and adapt even more quickly. But players at the $5-$100 buy-in tournaments had better look out, as I'm on the move.

Having said that, here are a few tips to improve:

• play frequently with your friends and family
• adapt to your opponents' styles, and adopt a contrarian counter-style
• keep in mind that most opponents are aware that you might be up to something, so switch it up on occasion
• only act like you are looking at your cards, and play in the opposite way that your opponent wishes
• against a tighter opponent, raise frequently, and raise a similar amount with your big hands and small hands
• understand that it pays to be the dealer and act last on most streets
• if you get in a situation where you have either 25% of 75% of the chips in play, be more willing to take a coin-flip situation (pair vs. overcards)

Read Kill Everyone, by Nelson, Streib, and Lee if you wish to really improve your chances in a tournament setting.

Aggression, Table Image, and the Stock Market

Here's a quick quiz. What is the best way to play the stock market? Is it best to buy on the rise or the fall? I've got an M.B.A. in finance, but I can tell you that a lot of smarts in the market relates to being a contrarian, and doing the opposite of what the masses are doing. Don't buy when everyone is buying, and buy when everyone else is selling.

How about another quiz. What is the best way to play no-limit poker? Is it best to sit and wait for a good hand, push relentlessly with bluffs and semi-bluffs, or somewhere in between? The correct answer is that you should probably play the opposite tendency of your opponent(s) in the particular situation.

As a developing poker player, I've seen all kinds of games. I've seen crazy loose games, where 20x big-blind pre-flop raises are flat-called by 10-3 offsuit with only 100x stacks. I've been to bars and played free poker, where no one really has any idea what they are doing, and they have nothing at stake, and so they are inclined to call way more than they should. I've also played very tough games, where the average competition is well above average, like at the Venetian Las Vegas noon tournament.

I think this is a question that many players who are developing their A-game are constantly asking themselves. What should I do here? I know that if I don't play aggressively, especially in a tournament, I'm bound to come up short of the money, as good hands just don't happen often enough. I also know that too much aggression yields re-raises by other players to stop your aggression, and that people will call you down with King-high.

Here's my best piece of advice. Play the opposite of what your opponents are playing in lesser skilled games. When your opponents are tight, raise with a wider range of hands. When your opponents are loose, tighten up. If your opponents are not very observant, and they don't adjust well, this will often be enough to lead to good success.

Here's my next piece of advice. Against competent players, do the same thing, but understand that occasional randomization of play will be very important as well. In that case, you want to occasionally play differently than pure positive mathematical expectation plays in order to prevent your opponents from figuring you out. At better tables, I tend to have a very tight table image, but I don't play as tightly as my opponents perceive.

Try this the next time you are playing: pretend to look at your hole cards. Lift up the corners and riffle them a bit, but don't look. And then do your best to play your opponents' tendencies. Report your results in the comments below.

Scripts and Poker

While at my bachelor party in Las Vegas, I played in the Venetian noon deep-stack tournament on Friday. I had been looking forward to this tournament for quite a while. It is the best tournament in Vegas during the regular, non-special event season from a skill perspective. I was very much looking toward my first major Vegas cash. Unfortunately, that didn't happen. In fact, it didn't happen partially because of an issue with my poker script that I had playing in my head during the hand.

What is a poker script you might ask? Well, poker players are constantly concerned with making correct decisions at the poker table. Everyone else is concerned with helping you make mistakes at the poker table. A poker script is a sort of flow-chart of possibilities that can happen during a poker hand. It is a plan. It can be math-based or intuition-based, but it is always based on the information that you have about a player, your position, and your chip stack. At least it should be. It is a script to help you get maximum value and help you get through emotional moments without as much of a possibility to get outplayed (make you call when you should fold, and vice-versa).

Let me tell you about a sample script that happened during this tournament. It should give you a good glimpse of what is going through my head when I'm in a hand.

I have pocket kings under-the-gun (first to act after the big blind). I figure I have the best hand. I'm excited because I've raised several times this tournament, only to be re-raised by someone in later position. This time, I have the goods. I make the same raise that I've made several times, which is 350 with 50-100 blinds. I get one caller. He is an aggressive player that I've seen push someone off of queens pre-flop. He is also Asian, but I'm still not sure if he is as aggressive as an average Asian, as I've only seen one hand with him. Everyone else folds.

My starting stack: about 6800
His starting stack: about 8500

My hand: Kd, Ks

The flop comes Jd, 10s, 4d

I figure I still have the best hand. I am going to bet here, 2/3 pot sized (400), and I want a call. I'm ahead at this point. There are lots of scare cards in the deck that complete flushes and straights, but I figure to have the best hand at this point. If I get raised, I will be inclined to either push all-in or call, as my opponent might have A-J, K-J, K-Q, or two diamonds. Obviously two pair (most likely J-T) and a set are possible, but not likely. The guy calls me.

The turn comes the 7d.

I have the King of diamonds, which gives me a backdoor draw (which may or may not be live). This card completes the jack-high straight and the diamond flush. I fire the same bet of 400, in order to see where I am at. Again, I figure I'm probably ahead, but I might get away from the hand if he raises at this point. He calls again. At this point I figure I'm ahead. I think he is still drawing in some way. I think there is a good possibility this is floating me, and he might try to take the hand away from me on the river.

The river comes the Tc.

This card pairs the board. It looks like a scary card to most players. I don't love my hand anymore, but it could be the best hand still. I planned on checking and calling whatever bet he made, as I thought this guy was very capable of a bluff, and I really wanted to get away from it as cheaply as possible.

He pushes all-in, which is a huge overbet. I instantly call. He says, "Do you have a full house?" And I said, turn your hand over, sir. He meekishly turns over the Ad-7d for the nut flush. I fold and exits sheepishly with his tail between his legs.

So, what went wrong? My script was horrible! I have spent most of my tournament life playing short-stacked tournaments. Rarely in one of those do you have enough chips to make a huge mistake like I did, as you are pot-committed (meaning you aren't going to fold after you've made a certain series of decisions that were hopefully correct) much more quickly. I usually can plan my hand with a script like this with relatively great success at a smaller-stacked tournament. But this was a deep-stacked tournament. I really needed to modify my script at the end to something like this:

This card pairs the board. It looks like a scary card to most players. I don't love my hand anymore, but it could be the best hand still. If my opponent bet 1/2 of the pot or less, I would always call, as I have a good hand, and he could have a worse hand that he thinks is best. If my opponent bet between 1/2 and pot-sized, I would probably call, unless I get a read that he had a really strong hand. If his bet was bigger than pot-sized, I don't have sufficient information on this player, and I don't have a good read, so I should just fold and move on to the next hand.

As I said, my script sucked on this hand, but I didn't plan my hands even this well in the past. If you want to work on your poker scripts, I would like to recommend Phil Gordon's Little Green/Blue/Black Book[s]. They are all available on Amazon, and I'll be referring to them more heavily after this embarrassing moment.