The past couple weeks I’ve had a chance to jump back into live poker. I’ll be looking for more chances to play live, because quite frankly, nothing beats live poker.

Because I’ve played primarily online poker the last three years, with very little live experience, there’s definitely an adjustment period.

Here are some observations I’ve made about my own live game, and the actions of others in live tournaments — things people might not think about when transitioning from online to live.

- Keeping tabs on exact chip counts is much trickier. It’s obviously important, especially as the blinds creep up, to know exactly how many chips each player has in order to steal blinds and re-raise preflop without pot-committing yourself with a marginal hand.

The problem is, I don’t want to blatantly stare at stacks to my left — even between hands — because those players will feel paranoid that I will attempt to steal (which I will, haha).

This is where sunglasses clearly come in handy. But I’m not one to wear sunglasses at night, or at a poker table.

- Being consistent with reactions and emotions. This is sometimes difficult without repetition. For instance, if I’m running a bluff on somebody, good players will sometimes notice my mannerisms in that situation. It’s important to remain laid back and calm during all situations so nobody can pick up a physical tell.

And yes, bad players DO give away physical tells, although I wouldn’t recommend putting your tournament life on the line because of an eye twitch or something…

- Bad players have very little concept of pot control, bet sizing, pot odds, and how much money is in the pot. Online, it’s easy to see how much money is in the pot. In live tournaments, you obviously have to do some math.

It’s always funny watching bad players bet 1/10th the size of the pot in a no-limit hold’em tournament. These same players will deliberate for minutes when somebody moves all in and lays them 6:1 to make a call.

- Bad and mediocre players don’t three-bet very often in live tournaments, and they certainly don’t know how to properly react to a three-bet. Until players start adjusting, it’s fairly easy to pick spots and pick up pots by three-betting. Just don’t do it against the calling stations, obviously.

For those who read my last blog, I tooted my own horn about how I made a Kenny Tran-like “sick call” with bottom pair on the bubble. In this instance my instincts were right and I went on to win the tournament.

In the story I’m about to tell you I was called “crazy”, but if you think about it logically (in my mind) it’s a great play!

The setup: I’m playing Saturday in the $340 buy-in, $70,000 Battle on the Border at Diamond Jo Casino, 141 entrants. For those who haven’t made the trip, DJ has a great event center to host these events and the tournaments are a fantastic time.

My state of mind: I came into this tournament riding a hot streak. I’ve won 2 of the last 5 live events I’ve played and have won 3 online tourneys in the last two weeks sprinkled with a 2nd a and a couple other final tables. I attribute a large part of my success to making high % moves in key situations despite what I have in my hand.

The story: There are 12 people remaining. 15 was the money so at this point I was guaranteed to triple my buy-in, thus cashing was not a concern. We are playing 6-handed. I’m in the big blind with roughly $110,000 behind. The blinds are $4,000-$8000 with a $1,000 ante. So before the flop we have $18,000 in the pot.

The gentleman on my right in the small blind was the chip leader. He had roughly $350,000. He and I had clashed a few times, I made a big lay down to him on a raise, re-raise, all-in situation, that hand is a story in itself. Turned out I was ahead but we were racing.

This guy is a really good player and playing a big stack well. He’s raising into 2 of every 3 pots. Though in all situations where he was forced to show down, he was showing big hands. It was clear he was running well on top of playing well.

The Point: Everyone folded to him in the small blind, he raised to $25K. I had played out this exact scenario in my head as the dealer was still shuffling. If it played out like this, I was launching with any two cards. My reasoning is this….. he was operating in a fairly aggressive manner, his raise-range is extremely wide here. If I were in his shoes and had that stack, I would raise with close to any hand here including any pair, any face card, anything suited or connected. There’s too much in the pot pre-flop to not try to get it.

I’m trying to position myself to win at this point, every six hands I don’t play I lose $18,000. Before long I have no fold equity. Re-raising him another $85,000 is still a lot of fold equity, and because I know he is a good player he will be willing to lay down any middle pair here, any mid-ace, obviously any garbage. His call range is probably 10’s or higher, AK, maybe AQ. He’s not going to be one to race off his big stack. I’m going to take down the pot here a large % of the time.

I look down at 10-5 suited clubs. Like I said, the hand was fairly irrelevant. This was a good spot for this move. Odds are low that he has 10’s or higher on a standard position raise in this spot. Even if he has AK or AQ or any two overs, I’m still 38% to win the hand.

I push, he calls with AK. He flops an Ace and I go down 12th. The players at the table think I’m nuts for making that move with 10-5, but I stand by the play. It’s a situational play you need to have in your arsenal no matter what your cards are. I’m playing the odds, I have fold equity and likely several outs if called. As I said, a large % of the time I take down a nice pot here pre-flop. This time it didn’t work, that happens. But similar plays at “key times” have padded my stack and allowed me to win many more tournaments that I use to simply just cash in.

If anyone has any thoughts or comments regarding this play, feel free to email bryan@mnpokermag.com to discuss, I enjoy hearing your opinions.

Peace out!

Bluff Magazine reports the December 1st deadline for banks to comply with the UIGEA has been pushed back at least six months.

Here’s the story from BluffMagazine.com:

Online poker players have a little more to be thankful for today, as it appears the UIGEA regulations that were supposed to go into effect next Tuesday will be delayed for another at least another six months. While formal confirmation has not yet been issued, well-placed sources tell Bluff that the Poker Players Alliance’s petition to delay the regulations has been granted. That petition had gained the support of more than 50 members of Congress as well as nearly every leading banking institution in the country.

Rather than going into effect on Dec. 1, 2009, the new deadline for implementation of the regulations will be June 1, 2009. Our sources also tell us that there will be an option for an additional delay if the law hasn’t been sorted out in the first six months. An official announcement on the petition’s acceptance is expected soon. We’ll keep you updated on the situation as more facts become available.

This is obviously fantastic news for poker players. The next step is to repeal the UIGEA altogether and find a way to regulate online poker.

We’ve had a little bit of a layoff the past month since concluding the Fall Poker Classic. And yes I needed the break.

But…

We’ve got some big, exciting events on the horizon. This Saturday, November 28th, PMac and I will be at Diamond Jo Casino just across the MN/IA border right off Hwy 35 for the $70,000 Battle on the Border. This is a $340 buy-in event. On top of covering this event for the magazine, I will be playing as well. I’ve been on fire lately so looking forward to that one. For those heading down, you’ll be happy to hear the bad beat jackpot is currently $128,000! That’s sweet. Would be cool if it hits while I’m there.

Then Sunday, November 29th, Running Aces is hosting the Big Turkey Tourney. This is a $1,100 buy-in tourney with 40 minute levels and $20K starting stack. Unfortunately I won’t be able to get there for the noon start time to play but will be in attendance later on to cover the final table. I’ve seen the trophy and it is…..interesting. Let’s say very unique and memorable, it looks good though.

And last but not least let’s not forget the launch of the Minnesota State Poker Tour Dec. 9-14 at Canterbury Park. I don’t need to tell you how awesome this event is going to be because you already know.

FYI – Minnesota State Poker Tour events are Cardplayer player of the year point eligible. (that’s pretty cool!).

http://www.cardplayer.com/poker-tournaments/2855-2009-minnesota-state-poker-tour

For more info on the tour: www.MinnesotaStatePokerTour.com

Hope to see you this weekend or at the Tour Launch.

Peace out!
Bryan

Be sure to follow Minnesota Poker Magazine on Twitter!

The MNPokerMag Twitter account provides live updates during major, local tournaments, as well as convenient links to new blog and news posts on MNPokerMag.com.

“I am a genius! I must be the greatest!” These were the phrases uttered by Kenny Tran in the 2007 WSOP after he made a sick call on Roy Winston for his tournament life.

Now I’ll preface this blog by saying that I’m not comparing myself to Kenny Tran and this wasn’t close to the World Series of Poker, I get that. But I too had these phrases being shouted in my own mind (not out loud like Kenny) after a recent hand in a local tournament.

The tournament: PMac and I recently made a road trip to Northern Lights casino this past Friday. They have a super-fun tournament each week, a $10 rebuy and add-on tourney. They allow you to rebuy during the entire first hour if your stack is at or below specific levels. The fun part is they continue to increase the required rebuy stack maximum every 20 minutes. You can actually continue to keep building your stack by not winning a pot! If you’re looking to play this tourney the right way, you realistically need to expect to spend $60-$80, some spend more, few spend less than $60. I had $60 invested.

On this night there were 40 players.

The situation: We were down to the bubble or 5 players, 4 get paid. My boy PMac just busted 7th. The blinds were $1,000-$2,000. I was in the Big Blind and had $26K behind.

It was folded to the button who limped in for $2,000. The small blind limped as well. I’m hoping to look down in the BB at a relatively big hand so I can launch though I am extremely suspicious of the button’s limp. He had $28K behind.

I look down at Jh4h, I decide to check to see the flop.

The flop comes 4-6-9 rainbow. The small blind thinks and checks. I check, the button checks.

Interesting, I’m not sure at this point if somebody is slow playing or if everyone whiffed. The small blind is a good player whom I’ve played against before, he also has $60K at this point so I’m cautious of him slow playing top pair hoping myself or the button will get too aggressive.

The turn is a 5 making the board 4-6-9-5. Once again, the small blind checks, I check, the button checks.

The river is a 9, the board now reads 4-6-9-5-9. There is no potential flush on the board. At this point I anticipated someone making a move to pick up the pot and I sense my bottom pair of 4’s may be good.

The small blind checks, I check hoping my bottom pair is good and the button will check behind me so I can pick up this pot without risking more of my relatively low stack.

But then, the button shoves all in for $28K. The small blind folds and it is up to me, yuck! I felt my 4’s were good but this guy has me covered so a call with bottom pair will put my tournament life at risk. Not to mention, we are on the bubble, if I bust I get paid nothing.

I’m typically not one to make big calls or call off my stack, I prefer to be the aggressor in a hand. I had two scenarios running in my mind, the call “Magic” Leshovsky made with 4th pair for his tournament life versus 3 Putts in the Midwest Poker Classic Main event which propelled him to a victory and the call Kenny Tran made on Roy Winston during the 2007 WSOP Main Event.

I played the hand back through my head. The button initially limped in. My read on him was that he had a big Ace and was trying to induce a launch by myself pre-flop. I put him on a range of AK to A-10. Any other pair he would have bet the flop or turn. Also, his gigantic overbet on the river was odd. Though I do see players online often use this move when they have a monster trying to show signs of an overbet bluff. Also, by observing his body language he seemed uncomfortable, I sensed he didn’t want the call.

So, for my tournament life, I went with my instincts and made the call. Fortunately I was right. He had A-10. With that double up I was able to go on to win the tournament.

Watch this Kenny Tran video, its hilarious. This is what I felt like shouting inside. Let it be known I didn’t say a thing, LOL.

Jeremy Dresch is the hottest player in Minnesota. He followed up a final table appearance at the Fall Poker Classic Main Event by winning back-to-back Heartland Poker Tournaments at Grand Casino Mille Lacs and at Meskwaki Casino in Tama, Iowa.

Dresch earned $13,619 at the FPC Main Event, $55,490 at HPT Shooting Star, and $71,705 at HPT Meskwaki. This adds up to over $140,000 in tournament winnings within a two-week period.

Look for more information in the December issue of Minnesota Poker Magazine.

What a crazy time it’s been over the last two months!

As if covering the Vikings for KFAN hasn’t been exciting enough during the Favre Era, I’ve also been working like a madman with Bryan Mileski to launch the Minnesota State Poker Tour — something we began working on in early June.

Not to mention, we also spent nearly every night from September 23 through October 23 at either Running Aces or Canterbury for the Midwest Poker Classic and Fall Poker Classic.

Of course, I didn’t play AT ALL because my schedule simply won’t allow it.

Even though the nightly tournament coverage has come to an end, our work is only beginning. Launching the Minnesota State Poker Tour is a full-time job in itself, and it’s given me a new appreciation for anybody who attempts to start something business-related from complete scratch.

So far, so good. We’re spreading the word about the “Tour Launch” event at Canterbury Park, December 9-14, 2009. I can’t emphasize this enough… You will not find a better tournament structure in Minnesota.

I can’t explain how torturous it’s been to sit and watch poker tournaments over the last two months — as well as plan for a poker tour — without being able to actually play. I knew my free time would be non-existent after September, and it will continue to be that way until the Vikings are finished (hopefully in February!).

But it’s interesting how almost everyone I’ve met at casinos and cardrooms probably assumes I don’t play poker. They’ve never seen me play. I want to show what I can do on the live felt, but it’ll almost certainly have to wait until 2010 at the Grand Casino Mille Lacs Minnesota State Poker Tour event.

My time will come

- Matt “Magic” Leshovsky wins the inaugural Midwest Poker Classic Main Event championship at Running Aces.

- Full Midwest Poker Classic coverage.

- A photo tour of the Trent Tucker Celebrity Poker Tournament.

- Heartland Poker Tour invades Grand Casino Mille Lacs.