Poker Boot Camp (1 Viewer)

[Joker]

This is for my poker playing friends out there. I know a bunch of people on this site play poker and this group is going around holding these camps. Its only $200 and I am thinking about going this weekend. I would assume the seat they are giving away at the WSOP isint the Main Event but for one of the littler tourneys or if you win the one you have to face all the other winners and play for a seat at the Main Event. I am trying to find out exactly what it is. Anyways, just thought I would share. Here's the link and the info about the Houston one this weekend:

Midwest Poker- Learn to play Poker and win a seat at the World Poker Tour in Las Vegas!

Houston's Poker Boot Camp!
Poker Boot Camp comes to Houston! The Midwest Professional Poker Association is holding a poker boot camp at the Ramada Plaza in Houston on May 10th, 11th, 12th, and 13th! Two sessions will be held each day, one at 9 am and one at 7pm. After each session a free tournament will be held and the grand prize is a seat to the World Series of Poker in fabulous Las Vegas! We will be giving away two seats to the World Series of Poker each day! That’s eight free seats to the World Series of Poker for the greater Houston area!

Our Poker Boot Camp includes: Interactive teachings from poker pro and creator of the Armature Poker League David Wallace, teaching materials to take home and further your study, and a huge free tournament afterwards to test your skills, a $1000 value! Lunch and dinner will be provided. Who ever wins the tournament gets to rub elbows with the other professionals in Las Vegas at the World Series of Poker!

Come test your skills and pick up a few new ones at our Poker Boot Camp in Houston! Your seat is waiting for you!

 

[mick]

all i can say is GOOOOOD luck.
they better have 50+ players per session or i would think no one's goin'
to the world series. (you're not sittin' at the world series for $200 that's
for sure)
Here's some verbage from their website.

Learn how to: manage your chip stack, how to read players, how to trap them, and how to increase your overall winning percentage.

not to be confused with:
Learn how to: lose all your chips quickly, be easily read by other players,
how to get trapped, and how to be elimated early.

sorry, it's just funny how they make it sound so easy.

 

[Mike]

Justin, Barbara went through the Mike Sexton class in San Diego last year and it was great. Nothing like learning from playing but Sexton was very helpful and gave a lot of good tips. Worth the $200 as far as she was concerned.

 

[Mike]

Hey Mike, it is easy as long as you have chips(LOL)

 

[Joker]

all i can say is GOOOOOD luck.
they better have 50+ players per session or i would think no one's goin'
to the world series. (you're not sittin' at the world series for $200 that's
for sure)
Here's some verbage from their website.


not to be confused with:
Learn how to: lose all your chips quickly, be easily read by other players,
how to get trapped, and how to be elimated early.

sorry, it's just funny how they make it sound so easy.

Mike, I agree with some of what you said. I did talk to someone today and what they do is buy you into a $1500 to $2500 WSOP tourney if you win the free tourney they offer after each seminar. It just depends on the number of people there and you are guaranteed atleast a $1500 seat. Thats what I was told. I still havent decided if I am going to go or not yet. I want to but I dont know. I wish it was a real professional doing it instead of this guy but oh well. I am basically looking at it as a $200 chance to win a $1500 seat or better.

 

[mick]

Mike, I agree with some of what you said. I did talk to someone today and what they do is buy you into a $1500 to $2500 WSOP tourney if you win the free tourney they offer after each seminar. It just depends on the number of people there and you are guaranteed atleast a $1500 seat. Thats what I was told. I still havent decided if I am going to go or not yet. I want to but I dont know. I wish it was a real professional doing it instead of this guy but oh well. I am basically looking at it as a $200 chance to win a $1500 seat or better.

what the heck - can't say you didn't try.
more than i can say.
hell of a game, that's for sure.
i wish i could play it better than i do.

 

[Joker]

I love to play poker. Any kind also. Hold'em, Omaha, Omaha Hi/Lo, Stud, Pineapple, Razz, 5 card draw, etc. It doesnt matter. No Limit Holdem and Omaha Hi/LO are my best games, Stud is my worse.

I have always thought of myself as a good player (6 outta 10). But 2007 I have upped my game considerably. I havent really done anything except for pay better attention than even before. And for whatever reason the luck that used to go against me has been there this year. My 1010/JJ/QQ have held up against the AK's of the world and my AK's have busted the 1010/JJ/QQ of others.

Knock on wood, I have cashed in every tourney I have played in so far this year except one and I would still make that call again that knocked me out. I have made money at every single cash game I have attended.

My biggest haul of the year so far has been a $45 NLHE freezeout tourney I play in. $20k starting chips. Had 87 players and won it for $1800 and then I split 1st/2nd the next week with another guy with 69 players for $1100.

I have really quit playing online this year and went strictly to live tourneys and/or cash games but I tend to be a better tourney player.

To me reading Dan Harrington's books made a world of a difference. Super System by Doyle Brunson is good also if you havent read any poker books. Personally, I didnt like Phil Hellmuth's books. They didnt seem to help me all that much. The Theory of Poker by David S. is another good one to read if you havent.

 

[Bob]

I like playing HORSE, it keeps my mind sharp with the continuous game rotation. It's always funny when a newbie gets in a game of HORSE, and when the game changes from Omaha Hi/Lo to Razz, they can't figure out why their full house lost to a box of rocks.

As to the WSOP, I think the final couple of tables at the $5,000 buy in HORSE tournament are a better measure of who really are the best poker players in the world than the $10,000 buy in world series tournament is.

 

[Joker]

I like playing HORSE, it keeps my mind sharp with the continuous game rotation. It's always funny when a newbie gets in a game of HORSE, and when the game changes from Omaha Hi/Lo to Razz, they can't figure out why their full house lost to a box of rocks.

As to the WSOP, I think the final couple of tables at the $5,000 buy in HORSE tournament are a better measure of who really are the best poker players in the world than the $10,000 buy in world series tournament is.

I agree Bob. I enjoy HORSE as well. On pokerstars last year I was playing a HORSE tourney and a newbie woman played. When it changed to razz she had 4 kings showing and just kept betting and kept betting. We were trying to be nice and tell her to fold that the game had changed and she just kept dumping money into it. I won the hand and wound up taking over $100 off her. Then she finally caught on what was happening. It amazes me the people who play with real money who have no idea what they are doing.

And I agree with you also about the 50k HORSE event. The players left in it are probably the best in the world. I had the pleasure of meeting Doyle Brunson several years ago and I asked him who was the best player in the world overall games combined. He said without a doubt that Chip Reese was and that he thought he was second. Well for those of you who dont know, Chip Reese won the $50k HORSE tourney last year at the WSOP. Doyle made the final table and finished 9th I beleive if I remember correcty but they played only NLHE at the final table.

I am looking forward to August b/c my wife will be gone on a trip to Europe for 19 days and it happens to fall during the Houston WSOP (a bunch of tourneys here in Houston with $100/$200 buy ins with structures like the WSOP) so I will be playing in alot of them. THey have everything, I might not play Stud and a few others but I will play the NLHE, HORSE, Omaha, Omaha Hi/Lo, Razz, Limit, and No Limit Short Handed tourneys more than likely.

 

[Rollout96]

For us casual players, what is HORSE? I'm guessing acronyms for Hold-em. Omaha, Razz, Stud, and ????? Hmmmmm... "E"... dunno!!!

 

[Joker]

For us casual players, what is HORSE? I'm guessing acronyms for Hold-em. Omaha, Razz, Stud, and ????? Hmmmmm... "E"... dunno!!!

Jay, your correct so far. The E is for Stud Eight or better which is Stud Hi/Lo. Some people play Omaha Hi/Lo instead of Stud Hi/Lo but most play Stud. I have played different structures of Horse. Some you play a round of each, some you play for certain time periods, etc. I enjoy it and I believe HORSE players are the best players. I think if you play more different games then just one or two it makes you a more rounded player.

 

[Bob]

Eight or better makes sense, sorta, for the E, but it doesn't indicate that it is a split game. ....but neither does the O for Omaha Hi/Lo.

The two structures of HORSE I've played are, 8 hands dealt per individual game, and 5 minute switch times.

The only kind of poker that I've felt uncomfortable playing is pot limit Omaha Hi/Lo online. I know pot limit is a rather common format for that game, but every time I've played it, it looked like there was collusion going on. Too many bets that didn't make sense, and bets made by players in tandem all too often. I could be wrong, but it has appeared to be a setting that is more cutthroat than any other game I've played, leading me to suspect collusion. Collusion is easy to spot (at least for me) in Hold'em, and not as easy, but still identifiable in 7-Stud games. What ever the case, I hate cheaters!

Good luck if you do the Houston Boot Camp. Those "little" WSOP tourney's can pay some pretty big money just to make the final table!

 

[Joker]

Eight or better makes sense, sorta, for the E, but it doesn't indicate that it is a split game. ....but neither does the O for Omaha Hi/Lo.

The two structures of HORSE I've played are, 8 hands dealt per individual game, and 5 minute switch times.

The only kind of poker that I've felt uncomfortable playing is pot limit Omaha Hi/Lo online. I know pot limit is a rather common format for that game, but every time I've played it, it looked like there was collusion going on. Too many bets that didn't make sense, and bets made by players in tandem all too often. I could be wrong, but it has appeared to be a setting that is more cutthroat than any other game I've played, leading me to suspect collusion. Collusion is easy to spot (at least for me) in Hold'em, and not as easy, but still identifiable in 7-Stud games. What ever the case, I hate cheaters!

Good luck if you do the Houston Boot Camp. Those "little" WSOP tourney's can pay some pretty big money just to make the final table!

Collusion happens, you just have to look out for it. I play a Dealers Choice cash game about once a month and a couple there try and help each other but she's not that good and actually cost them money alot of the time. It is easier to spot in Holdem thats for sure.

I think I am going to do the boot camp just for the fun of it and see if I can learn anything else. I would love to make the final table at any of the WSOP events. You would be guaranteed alot of money and several hundred thousand if you could win any of them.

 

[BlueStangGT]

Justin - Since you're in Houston I'm assuming that you're playing in backroom games? I didn't know there was any legal poker in Texas. Where are you playing legal poker... Louisiana?

 

[Joker]

Justin - Since you're in Houston I'm assuming that you're playing in backroom games? I didn't know there was any legal poker in Texas. Where are you playing legal poker... Louisiana?

There isint any legal poker in Texas. There was a bill in the Texas House this past week to legalize it and to bring 8 casinos to Texas but no rep sponsored it so I beleive it has died. Oh well.

But to answer your question, there are several websites for Houston poker that list all the legal home games that people have around town plus there is a cardroom on about every corner if you know there there. Its always been like that here. You can find pretty much any kind of game you want or have it spread at a club as long as there are people who want to play it. Up to this year tourneys have always been the big thing around here especially for the lower buy in guys like myself and I still prefer them but in the last year or so we have seen huge leaps in the cash game area.

Used to if you held a tourney at your house for say $20/$25 and posted it on the internet you could get 20 to 30 players a night. Now you do it and your lucky to get 10. Cash games are the opposite, used to just get all the decent players or people with unlimited cash and now you get everyone.

I do go to Louisanna and play some in the casino's. Not a whole lot though. There are alot of suckout kings at the 3/6/12 tables. Donkey's who call all the way and hit 2 outters on you all the time. You can win alot but you can lose alot too if your not careful over there. The last time I went to Coushatta I played a $60 buy in tourney. We had 214 players, 20 places paid and I finished 14th. I didnt play all that well that day making 1 big mistake but oh well.

 

[BlueStangGT]

"Legal" home games? If the house is charging a door fee or taking a rake, it isn't legal. How are they getting away with being so blatant about the cash games? I always knew there was a TON of action down there but it was always of the backroom sort. Is the horse racing industry trying to get it in the tracks?

LOL about the limit poker games. It's always been that way and always will be. Limit poker and NL poker are worlds apart in terms of strategy and money management. The trick is to learn how to take advantage of those dorks and turn their wrecklessness into profit. They're going to draw out sometimes but they always get broke in the end. There aren't any decent limit games around here (Indian casinos), just 3-6, but the NL and tourney action is pretty rockin'!

 

[Joker]

"Legal" home games? If the house is charging a door fee or taking a rake, it isn't legal. How are they getting away with being so blatant about the cash games? I always knew there was a TON of action down there but it was always of the backroom sort. Is the horse racing industry trying to get it in the tracks?

There are tons of LEGAL games where the house doesnt take a rake, just a group of guys getting together to play some cards. Actually several women as well. If they charge a door fee, chair rental,or take a rake than its illegal.

As far as the card rooms, they are widespread down here. Houston PD used to try and bust them up to about 2 years ago but then they quit all together. Dont know if the card rooms put them on the payroll or if HPD finally realized that they were too many to worry about. I know at 2 of the nicest rooms I play at Houston PD/Sheriffs Deputy/etc are the security for the card rooms so they know about it. Its just like they have turned a blind eye towards it b/c its so big here. Plus at just about every bar or tavern or restuarant/grill they have free poker tourneys for pts etc several times a week to get people in.

As for casinos coming here, yes the horse track tried. I know the dog track has one liners and slot machines now I do beleive I have heard. I havent seen them but I was told that. Casino's will happen here eventually though because Tilman Fertitta is behind the movement to do it. He owns Landry's Restaurants and he bought the Golden Nugget in Vegas a while back and its just a test to see how to do things so when Texas legalizes it he already has his license etc b/c he owns this whole area down here and his family owns 3/4 of Galveston. To me it just doesnt make since for us not to have casinos. We have residents who spend millions of dollars and it all goes to that swamp state next door. Plus look at the jobs and tourism it would bring. I dont understand it.

I know alot of people on here play poker, how many of you play online? I play Ultimate Bet the most. If there are enough of us that play there I coudl set up a private Mater tourney once a week or month or whatever, $10, $20 buy in. Anybody in?

 

[BlueStangGT]

I know alot of people on here play poker, how many of you play online? I play Ultimate Bet the most. If there are enough of us that play there I coudl set up a private Mater tourney once a week or month or whatever, $10, $20 buy in. Anybody in?

I've had an account at Paradise since 2000 but they've ceased their US operations and refunded my $$. I also have an account at Absolute Poker but haven't used it in several months.

 

[Bob]

I play on PokerStars.

Me and some friends of mine, all members of a collectors club, have been having a series of weekly tournaments on PokerStars. We call it the road to the WSOP, and we just finished our third series -- it runs from late January into May.

We play 20 NL Hold'em tournaments, one every Wednesday night. The entry for each tourney is $22 ($20+2). The goal is to be in the top 9 in points standings after the 20th tourney. The top 9 play one more tourney, a $55 ($50+5) entry fee. The winner of the final tourney goes to Las Vegas and gets paid entry into one of the $1500 NL Hold'em tourney's that are part of the WSOP. I think there are 6 of those this year, so the winner has a lot of flexibility to pick the tourney best for him or her regarding setting up a travel schedule. The money won in the final tourney also helps put a dent in travel expenses.

The way we accumulate the money for the WSOP paid entry is, for each weekly tourney, 1st place in that tourney donates $39 of their winnings to the final prize pool. 2nd place donates $29 and 3rd donates $18. That's $86 a week for 20 weeks. That totals $1720. $1500 is used for the WSOP entry, and $220 is used the enter the top guy on the leader board after the 20th week into one of PokerStars' Sunday Millions $215 entry NL Hold'em tournaments. The player who plays in the Sunday Millions tourney (it isn't always the same guy who wins the WSOP entry -- that is determined solely by the winning the 21st tourney) keeps 50% of anything he or she wins in that one, and the 8 players below him or her split the other 50%.

The winner of the $1500 paid entry chooses the tourney they want to play in, and they head for Vegas. If they win at least $10,000 in that tourney, they MUST enter the big one, the $10,000 to enter WSOP. Anything they win over $10,000 in the smaller tourney, they keep. Now, here's the kicker. If our player makes it to the big game, he keeps 50% of anything he wins, and the other 50% is again split by the other 8 players who made it to the final table in our series.

Everyone has a chance to make some money every week (we typically have between 28 and 40 players). The final leader board standings use each players best 16 out of 20 finishes, so you can miss 4 weekly tourney's and still be very much in the hunt. The scoring system is weighted on the top side, so cashing six or eight times out of 20 tourney's will likely get you into the top 9 for the final table tourney. The top nine have a shot at making some serious money if our designated players do well in the post-series tourneys.

It's all fun! Our first two players in the smaller WSOP tourney's didn't cash, but who knows....maybe the third time is a charm!

 

[Joker]

Thats a pretty cool setup Bob. There are lots of deals like that around here at the card rooms and even some of the upper class live games that some people run.