Wave of Mutilation

Nothing interesting has gone on lately. Pretty much airballs in fact. It will pleasure you to know that I'll have a replacement vid for the one taken down going up sometime soon. I'm going to start playing HU for the majority of my play. So if anyone has any nut high HU vid suggestions let me know. Otherwise I'll make my way around the usual channels of groove and try to find some gem mint stuff. I'll still be coaching 6-max and playing 6-max some % of the time. 
I've been listening to this band Surfer Blood as suggested by my music/political journalist friend David King (read some of his stuff here, but be warned it's usually Upstate, NY stuff :D ---->) http://www.metroland.net/back_issues/vol31_no15/newsfront.html. It's pretty damn awesome, and if anyone reading this likes Weezer, The Pixies, My Bloody Valentine, or Pavement-ish type stuff, you need to check these dudes out. 

I thought you'd like that :D

Sooooo everyone is going to be chillin' at the WSOP, playin' events, wackin' donks, hoping for that run hot to a bracelet groove. I used to play a lot of live poker, mostly cash games but the occasional donkament. I table talk like a motherfucker, and it usually tilts the shit out of people. It's very subtle though, you plant the seeds of doom and let your enemies stew and foam until finally they explode! No seriously! I have a couple of tricks that I use here and there and a few topics I'd like to discuss. Actually, fuck all that structure bullshit I just have a few random things that crossed my mind and as such I'm spewing them to you guys. Drink up me hearties yo ho!

OK firstly -----> EDGE IS EDGE IS EDGE IS EDGE IS EDGE. Online edge manifests itself differently than live. I'm not going to go into all the ways you can create an edge online because I think you guys are probably pretty well versed in this. Live though, things are completely different. Less hands means less opportunity to take advantage of technical edge. You spend more time interacting (or not) with your actual opponents via conversation, dirty looks, or spyin' that make-up caked ho's cleavage while her meathead boyfriend loses his paycheck. The visual experience of seeing them in the flesh has its advantages. Alright on we go (Q Wonka's boat ride clip here imo)

First up is table talk. What is it? It's a way to fuck up your opponents game and help them make mistakes. Why do we do it? It's a way to fuck up your opponents game and help them make mistakes. When should we do it? When it's a way to fuck up your opponents game and help them make mistakes. Who should we do it do? Anyone at the table who has chips you'd like to de-rezz. Where should we do it? At the poker table numb nuts what the hell? I do think if you read everything I'm rambling about today you can probably find some life application as well though, so keep in mind how stuff may transfer over to non-poker situations. 

I like to get a feel for who's a talker at the table, and who's just iPoding away or a cold lump of air. What you talk about topic-wise can have a big effect on the way your opponents subconscious brainwaves are sputtering. Regardless of how good we are at poker, we are emotional humans who have psychological triggers and things we like too much or hate a lot. It's your job to feel them out and see what they might be into or against. What's their job? A Veterinarian probably likes animals so talking about some video you saw online with someone beating a dog would probably make them pretty uncomfortable, and it may even make them angry. (This may be a bad example, but if you present this information from a "this disgusts me" standpoint rather than "DUDE THIS WAS AWESOME" they may actually register that they like you in their head (things in common = bonding), and may softplay you unintentionally down the road, or if you did say "dude this was awesome" they may be gunning4you, you get the point though :D) This WILL have an effect on their play whether they know it or not. How many times have we said it online? STAY FOCUSED, close IM's and web pages. Those things lower our in motion level of skill (by lowering our "focus" and increasing our level of emotion). The same thing can happen live. If you let them grind quietly along they can focus, if you throw rocks at their windows and blow out their tires, they can't navigate very well anymore :( 

After getting a feel for what kind of people you have at your table and what may influence their level of emotion, you move on to topic manipulation. You can attack them individually with precision, but you need broader topics when trying to influence the entire table. When I used to play at the Turning Stone Casino, I'd generally have tables with a good mix of older dudes and college kids that couldn't play anywhere else because they weren't 21 yet and they didn't have a giant beard to defend vs. ID checks. At this kind of table, my favorite topic to bring up? Think for a second.... STRIPPERS! Talking about women in general, but mainly those that taunt you in a sexual fashion is a great way to loosen up the table. It gets everyone thinking about sex and whoever they banged (or failed to bang!) the previous night or who they could be banging tonight. It will loosen up the nittiest of nits. USE THIS. It's actually amazing at how a nitty table can get loose and gambly (word?) all because emotionally they're thinking about sex, and their level of poker focus has decreased. Sex is where we let go of our inhibitions, if it's on their minds they'll do the same thing at the poker table, let go of their nitty inhibitions. Close calls become easy calls, preflop folds go the way of the dodo. I go off on tangents and make up stories about the subject, anything over the top to really grab their attention. You may think this is all ridiculous but seriously give it a shot. Post comments on how it went :D 

SIDENOTE: Silly tricks used on dumb animals = If you have the nuts, or AA, you can often ask a naive opponent in the hand if HE has AA or the nuts, thus drastically reducing the chances of him thinking you have said hand, and increasing his likelihood of going broke with a hand he may not have previous. If you know a player is VERY ego driven, hates losing pots for the wrong reason, hates losing a conversational battle, you can TAUNT him into calling ALL THE TIME :D When you're value betting vs. him, top it off with comments like "You'll never call this one!" or "I'm just takin' your black chip, no worries bro." Be subtle but ---> BE CONDESCENDING <---. You will rape this guy because his emotional response will crush his focus and he'll HATE STATION you. If you want to get away with an overbet jam or a giant pot sized bet for value where you have a naive opponent with an obvious hand, suggest parity. Say something like "haha we're chopping." or "haha, we have the same hand." or call out his hand and say "You have XX too? I may as well fold out the chop LOL." or "You have XX as well? We choppin' this pot?" Keep in mind this kinda stuff won't work on good players. VS. those guys you need emotional subterfuge. Also keep in mind that a smile or a laugh is in nearly every example. VS. the naive dudes it suggests comfort and togetherness, VS. the ego driven guys it suggests that you're getting the better of him, and he will respond accordingly. 

OK back to our regularly scheduled program. Eh nevermind this is getting kinda long but I don't feeling like shutting the hell up just yet, so I'm going to continue this in a part 2 coming up ASAP.