Having a hyper-aggressive maniac at the table changes the entire dynamic of the game.  The most difficult characteristic of these tables, from the perspective of the seasoned player attempting to grind out a profit, is not the maniac himself, but rather, the way everybody else reacts to the maniac.

If the nut-job were to sit at a table with nothing but sharks, he’d quickly lose his bankroll.  Smart players will isolate themselves against the crazy player by re-raising him, creating a short-handed pot while generally holding the best hand.  It becomes difficult to win when you always have the worst of it, and play for exclusively small to medium pots.

Maniacs, in reality, have the opportunity to win large amounts of money in a single session.  The reason for this is not the maniac’s play, but the way everybody else at the table acts when the maniac sits down.  While three-betting and isolating is the winning strategy against these nutters, the preferred strategy of your average poker player seems to be loose-passive.  They call with weak holdings, which in turn, makes other people call with weak holdings with the justification of “pot odds.”  The pots get enormous, and having the best hand pre-flop becomes less important.

I’ll give you a fairly typical example.  I was under-the-gun playing 15-30, with an absolute maniac directly to my left.  I open for a raise with 10-10.  The maniac, as he does, re-raises me.  What happens next is a truly astonishing psychological breakdown, and occurs with amazing frequency.  The player behind him, holding K-6 suited calls three-bets cold!  Then another player does the same with A-4 off-suit, as does the button with 7-9 off-suit!  These players, while not salaried professionals, have equally not shown the propensity to be out of their mind.  These same players would easily have folded to my initial raise, knowing I’m relatively solid, while not holding much of a hand themselves.  So why do they call three-bets?

The only thing I can figure, aside from the poorly reasoned idea that pot odds dictate you should call all the time, is that these extremely loose calls indicate a subconscious animosity toward the maniac.  Most of them would have folded to my initial raise, I feel relatively confident in that statement.  Because the person re-raising, however, “never has anything,” they feel an ego shot, as though this maniac is bullying them.  They think their A-4 could be good, and it quite possibly could be, against the maniac. But not against me.  Not against the other seven players at the table.

After that, really, it’s nothing more than dominoes and math.  One man makes a terrible call, as does another.  Then your Q-2 suited in the big-blind seems reasonable, as there’s already $200 in the pot.  Maniacs single-handedly change the culture of a game, and it becomes difficult to manipulate success without position and some good fortune.  My 10-10 plays well against two or three opponents, but truly terribly against six or seven.

The psychology of weak-minded poker players fascinates me.

About midnight Saturday evening Trevis Devericks took down the Diamond Jo Poker Bash earning himself $12,469.  Devericks outlasted a field of 229 entrants which was the largest ever in the Diamond Jo event center.

You may remember Devericks from the 2009 $70K at Diamond Jo where he finished 3^rd for just over $4K.

The final hand of the night was 3-handed.  With the blinds at $40K – $80K and $4K ante, Devericks with roughly $2 million in chips folded on the button, Bennett Wadekamper shoved all-in for $700K from the small blind with Kh8h.  Minnesota Poker Magazine’s Bryan Mileski, $650K, called with As6s.  The flop brought a K for Bennett eliminating Mileski in 3^rd place.

Devericks and Wadekamper immediately worked a deal to end the 14 hour  long tournament.

Wadekamper was excited for the hefty pay day and plans to pay for his entire last year of college with the winnings.

Photos and complete results (24 places paid) will be posted Sunday night.

1 – Trevis Devericks – $12,469

2 – Bennett Wadekamper – $6,298

3 – Bryan Mileski – $3,023

4 – Jim Gebel – $2,771

5 – Michael Myers – $2,519

6 – Brian Vanderwaerdt – $2,393

7 – Jayson Scheffler  - $2,267

8 – Bob Cassioppi – $2,015

9 – Tim Flater – $1,889

10 – Bill Romer – $1,763

11 – Charles Anderson – $1,637

12 – Richard Haag – $1,511

13 – Steven Sandeen – $1,385

14 – Alan Ahmann – $1,260

15 – Thomas Rieck – $1,134

16 – Paul Gilbert – $1,008

17 – James Haugerud – $907

18 – Ryan Skadsen – $806

19 – Marty Helle – $731

20 – Matt Rassier – $655

21 – William Carroll – $579

22 – David Rutledge – $504

23 – David Kingsley – $453

24 – Clifford Kiefer – $403

3:36 Update: 9 levels in the books, the last hour and a half had players dropping like flies.  We’re down to 105 remaining.  Ray “Sting Ray” Bendijo, MSPT Champion went out during the last hand before break.  Jeremy Dresch is still standing.  Blinds are at $1,000 – $2,000 with $200 when play resumes.  Avg stack is $33K.

1:47 Update: We are currently on a 40 minute lunch break.  Diamond Jo kindly provides lunch for all players.  Today on the menu is Pork Sandwiches, chips, chocolate Rice Krispie bars, lemon bars, cole slaw and all the soda you can drink.  Thought you might want to know that.  Approximately 172 players remain after 6 levels.  When we return the blinds will be $400 – $800 with a $100 ante.

11:00 Update: The turnout today is phenomenal, 229 players have arrived from all over.  The $250 buy-in tourney will yield a 1st place prize of $12,500.  The top 24 places will be paid.  Should be a fun day!

[Show as slideshow]

[View with PicLens]

Today’s noteworthy hand once again comes from a recent session at the 8-16 table.

A middle position player, Player A, opens the pot for a raise.  Player A is very aggressive, but I wouldn’t classify him as a maniac.  He raises pre-flop quite frequently, often with weaker than average holdings.  But he is not an idiot.  He can get away from a hand, and plays very solid post-flop.

The action folds to me on the button.  I have A-Q of diamonds.  In my mind, this is a pretty clear three-bet.  Player A has shown the propensity to raise pre-flop with hands as soft as A-3 suited, or K-10.  There is a very good chance I have the best hand, and I’d like to take control of the pot, and possibly get heads-up.  The big-blind, Player B, calls the three-bets.  Player A then makes it four-bets!  At this point, I don’t much care for my hand, but have no choice but to call.  He could, of course, have a hand like J-J, or 10-10, but almost all four-betting hands have me crushed.  Player B also calls the fourth bet.

The flop comes Q-7-3 with two spades.  Player B checks.  Player A bets.  I think for a moment, and decide to raise.  I want to establish my hand, possibly give myself a chance to check a later street if I think I’m beat, and also get a better read on Player A’s hand, based on how he reacts to my raise.  Player B once again calls both bets cold, and action is back to Player A, who thinks for a moment, and re-raises!  Dernit!  I call, as does Player B.  I am relatively certain Player B is on a spade draw.

The turn is a total blank, the 2 of clubs.  Player B checks once again, and Player A bets once again.  This is where I really need to contemplate what to do.  The river is an easy decision if I decide to call the turn, as the pot will already be large enough in size to where I’ll need to call one-bet for a showdown every single time.  Here is where the decision is made.  I have top-pair with top-kicker, and feel there’s no way it can be good.  What could he be juicing the action with so hard?  A-K of spades seemed less likely, because, as I said, I was almost sure Player B had a flush draw.  Would he be so aggressive with a hand like J-J or 10-10?  Probably not.  He could have the same hand as me, but that isn’t overwhelmingly likely.

I decide to fold.

Player B calls.  The river is the 2 of hearts, and Player B once again checks.  Player A fires a third bullet, and Player B folds.  Player A flashed his hand to the man next to him, threw it in the muck, and raked the pot.

I’m almost certain it was A-A or K-K.  Did I make a terrible fold?

Don’t forget, this Saturday the 21st, Diamond Jo Casino is hosting their 3^rd Annual $50,000 Poker Bash.  The $250 buy-in tournament will take place in the Diamond Jo event center.  Players will start with $15,000 in chips.  The tourney begins at 10:00 a.m. 

Diamond Jo is one mile over the Minnesota border on 35W South…so you know what that means!  That’s right, live No-Limit cash games are in play! 

I love making this trip.  Play in a great tournament during the day and play live, no-limit cash games all evening.  

Crowd lovin it! 

http://www.diamondjoworth.com/Play/Poker.aspx

In addition to my Noteworthy Hand series, I’d like to inaugurate a Jack-Handey-esque Random Thought series.  It’ll be little more than my inane brain children, allowing my mind a moment’s rest from these haphazard ideas, as I transmit them to your mind.

I realize I spend a lot of time sarcastically complaining about poker table annoyances.  And although this image I’ve created for myself as the cantankerous pessimist is largely schtick, there is an ounce of truth to my negativity, and I understand that constant negativity can be deflating.

That said, I’d like to share a recent realization.  I was sitting at a table with people perfectly typical of my usual complaints.  That is to say, they were loud, self-absorbed and unimpressive.  But as I sat quietly contemplating the usual poker minutiae, it occurred to me that my own image at the table could equally be scrutinized.

My realization:  A poker table starring nine people who act exactly like I do would be the single most boring poker game in the history of the world.

This humble realization kept me laughing in my head for an hour.  I thoroughly enjoy verbalizing my exasperations with fellow loud-mouth players, but imagining a table where nobody spoke, everybody wore headphones and modeled a constant half-scowl is painfully insipid.  Staying awake would be a far more mentally draining task than determining how to play your A-Q from the small-blind.

This does not mean, of course, that I will stop my ranting.  But I want to make perfectly clear that my demeanor at the poker table is only one of many, and without argument, the least entertaining.

Everett Carlton

The year is nearly two-thirds complete, but with two MSPT events, the Twin Cities Poker Open, the Midwest Poker Classic, the Fall Poker Classic and other events on the horizon, there is plenty of time for players to jockey for position in the MNPokerMag Player of the Year race.

Here’s what the standings look like through August 13:

Hey folks, just wanted to let you know we are working on some behind the scenes updates here at MNPokerMag.com, but things will be up and running again shortly.

Some of you may be seeing a security warning over the last couple days as well. This will be fixed shortly.

Thanks for your patience!

Phil Gordon and Andrew Feldman are joined by Minnesota’s Jason Senti, the short stack of the November Nine, who talks about what his strategy will be.

This is a great interview, it starts only 2 minutes into the podcast.  Senti talks a lot of strategy.  

The Poker Edge 8/5:  http://sports.espn.go.com/espnradio/podcast/archive?id=2509922

It’s been awhile since we’ve given props to some of our online grinders.

* Wade Woelfel, a Mankato native who plays online as ‘Soggy Dogg,’ recently won the Full Tilt $1K Monday for $85,250, outlasting a field of 341 players. Woelfel has earned over $111,000 in net profit on Full Tilt so far this year, and he also has three major live tournament cashes in 2010 for nearly $60,000.

* Amit Makhija, a U of M graduate who currently lives in Los Angeles, nearly won the Full Tilt $1K Monday last week, finishing fifth in a field of 331 for $23,170.

* Mike ‘thebattler33′ Kachan had two major scores last week, winning both the $75K and $60K guaranteed tournaments on Full Tilt for $23K and $17K respectively. Kachan outlasted fields of 631 and 454, and he has profited nearly $300,000 in online tournaments so far in 2010.

Kachan also plays online as ‘babyshark33′, and he sits on top of the MNPokerMag online rankings.

Canterbury Park launched “Survival” tournaments earlier this year in an effort to simulate a no-limit cash game without breaking any state laws, and now they have upped the ante, so to speak, with a series of $1,000 buy-in Survival tournaments.

The first one begins tonight — Thursday, August 5 — at 5:00 p.m., and players must RSVP to Canterbury Park prior to playing.

The Details: $1,000 Survival Tournament Night
First Week: Thursday, August 5th.  RSVP Required
Tournament: 5 PM
BUY-IN: $1000 + $45 ~ RE-BUYS:  $1000 + $10
DURATION: 3 hours
BLINDS: $2-$5 for the first half, $3-$5 for second half

As you can see with the blind structure, this game plays almost like a double-stack cash game. Certainly revolutionary.