PencilGeek's BMW Blog http://WWW.pencilgeek.org/ en Copyright 2010 Fri, 01 Jan 2100 00:00:00 -0800 http://www.sixapart.com/movabletype/ http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss Who is PencilGeek? My name is Robert Collins, and I’m an amateur poker player. If you’re curious what I do for a living, you can read my resume at www.rcollins.org. I wont' say much about my poker skills...but I will say plenty of things about yours.

I primarily play Omaha Hi/Lo because that’s my strongest game. In case you are wondering where I play, you are just as likely to see me at a $1/2 game, as you are at $15/30. Often times I play the low stakes while I’m waiting for a bigger game to open up, or want to play for stakes I don't care about. For some reason, people at the $1/2 tables can't believe a WSOP tournament finalist is playing at $1/2 level...but I do...and I do it often.

]]> http://WWW.pencilgeek.org/2100/01/who_is_pencilgeek_1.html http://WWW.pencilgeek.org/2100/01/who_is_pencilgeek_1.html Who is PencilGeek? Fri, 01 Jan 2100 00:00:00 -0800 How to win $200 from a bunch of Hillbillies -- while avoiding a fistfight. How do you know when you're in a Hillbilly Hell Hole?  That's a good question...but it's better to ask:  What was I doing there in the first place?

The simple answer:  my wife's sisters wanted to play $5 Bingo and $1 Blackjack.  That's their version of high stakes gambling.

]]> http://WWW.pencilgeek.org/2007/11/how_to_win_200_from_a_bunch_of.html http://WWW.pencilgeek.org/2007/11/how_to_win_200_from_a_bunch_of.html Weekly Results Thu, 15 Nov 2007 09:55:17 -0800 Event-44: $2000 Omaha Hi/Lo -- Day-2. Out in 15 minutes. Day two of my WSOP Omaha Hi/Lo tournament couldn't have gone any worse -- and was in stark contrast of day one. In Day-1, I managed to weather the storms, take bad beats, and always make a come-back. Day-2 consisted of three unlucky hands in a row to knock me out of the tournament. http://WWW.pencilgeek.org/2007/06/event44_2000_omaha_hilo_day2_o.html http://WWW.pencilgeek.org/2007/06/event44_2000_omaha_hilo_day2_o.html Thu, 28 Jun 2007 14:44:22 -0800 Event-44: $2000 Omaha Hi/Lo -- Day-1. 31,000 chips. In that tournament, I was at a table filled with complete lunatics, and it played more like a $5 re-buy tournament than a $1500 WSOP event. Today's event, went much different. My table actually played textbook Omaha Hi/Lo -- if there is such a thing. We started the day with 4000 chips, and I ended the day with 31,000 chips -- while the tournament average is 27000.]]> http://WWW.pencilgeek.org/2007/06/event44_2000_omaha_hilo_day1_3.html http://WWW.pencilgeek.org/2007/06/event44_2000_omaha_hilo_day1_3.html 2007 WSOP Thu, 28 Jun 2007 02:34:45 -0800 Making a killing in the WSOP side games (at least that's my story) Today, June 6th, I decided to play in the 6-handed NL Holdem tournament at Binion's Horseshoe Casino. If I did well in this tournament, I was planning to play the $1500 short-handed NL Holdem event the following day. As you can tell from the title of this blog entry, I didn't do so well in the tournament. But I did do quite well in the cash games afterwards. http://WWW.pencilgeek.org/2007/06/making_a_killing_in_the_wsop_s.html http://WWW.pencilgeek.org/2007/06/making_a_killing_in_the_wsop_s.html 2007 WSOP Thu, 07 Jun 2007 02:35:43 -0800 Event-9: Busted after 6 hours. This year's tournament didn't go nearly as well as last year. Last year started rough, but I kept my cool and perservered to build a healthy chip stack which gradually took me to the final table. This year, my table played more like a $5 re-buy tournament at PokerStars than a $1500 buy-in at the World Series of Poker. http://WWW.pencilgeek.org/2007/06/event9_busted_after_6_hours.html http://WWW.pencilgeek.org/2007/06/event9_busted_after_6_hours.html 2007 WSOP Wed, 06 Jun 2007 01:16:43 -0800 Getting Ready for Event #9: $1500 Omaha Hi/Lo Split The road to this year's WSOP has been a long one. It really all started the day after I finished 6th place in last year's WSOP Omah Hi/Lo event. In the year since my 6th place finish, I've won five tournaments, placed second in another five; and in the process won over $9,000 in these small stakes tournaments. http://WWW.pencilgeek.org/2007/06/getting_ready_for_event_9_1500.html http://WWW.pencilgeek.org/2007/06/getting_ready_for_event_9_1500.html 2007 WSOP Mon, 04 Jun 2007 22:29:35 -0800 Off to the WSOP 2007 Today I set off for the 2007 World Series of Poker. I'll be playing in two events this year: http://WWW.pencilgeek.org/2007/06/off_to_the_wsop_2007.html http://WWW.pencilgeek.org/2007/06/off_to_the_wsop_2007.html 2007 WSOP Sun, 03 Jun 2007 11:54:51 -0800 Cadillacpoker.com NLHE "Tri-Tip" Tournament: 03/03/07 Results When I set up the CadillacPoker.com tournament structure, I envisioned a maximum size of 54 players. I never thought a home game would ever get to that size, so I never had to think much about beyond the hypothetical planning stages. When I redesigned the CadillacPoker.com poker chips, I made sure to order enough for a 60 person, re-buy/add-on tournament -- just in case the unthinkable happened. This month, the unthinkable happened. I was more than maxed out at 59 players. This tournament size not only tested my planning abilities, but it also tested the parking limits in a residential neighborhood, the space in my house, the efficiency of running my tournament, and my blind structure. If any of these things were out of whack, the tournament could become a nightmare. http://WWW.pencilgeek.org/2007/03/cadillacpokercom_nlhe_tritip_t_4.html http://WWW.pencilgeek.org/2007/03/cadillacpokercom_nlhe_tritip_t_4.html Poker Blog Mon, 05 Mar 2007 10:45:37 -0800 LA Poker Classic Part-1: Early Touranment Results World Series of Poker hi/lo tournament this summer, I anxiously anticipated playing in the LA Poker Classic. I was much more excited to play this tournament than the Bay-101 Open for many reasons. 1) Bay-101 is my home town, and I already know how bad the players are. One would think this makes winning easy, but it actually has the opposite effect. 2) Many of the WSOP players, and even one of my final table-mates came from the LA area, and I was looking forward to seeing many of them again. I was also looking forward to meeting many players that I've met online -- including the always fun, "Dr. Mouse."]]> http://WWW.pencilgeek.org/2007/01/la_poker_classic_early_tournam.html http://WWW.pencilgeek.org/2007/01/la_poker_classic_early_tournam.html Omaha Tournaments Sun, 28 Jan 2007 20:29:34 -0800 Why do I get so pissed when somebody raises with a nut low? Anybody who's played with me long enough knows that I can snap a person's head off when they're raising with a nut low. If the hand is head's up, the move is completely idiotic because there's absolutely no chance the nut low will scoop anything. If the hand is 3-handed, then there's a better than average chance that two people have the same nut low because nobody in their right mind will fold in this situation. Thus the move is even more idiotic because there's a better than average chance that you're raising to get quartered. Raising four-handed is just as stupid because of the same reason. Only playing 5-handed or better does raising with a nut low even begin to make sense. So why do so many people do it? The simple answer: because they're idiots who don't understand the game. http://WWW.pencilgeek.org/2007/01/why_do_i_get_so_pissed_when_so.html http://WWW.pencilgeek.org/2007/01/why_do_i_get_so_pissed_when_so.html Playing Difficult Hands Thu, 11 Jan 2007 16:22:11 -0800 Cadillacpoker.com NLHE "Tri-Tip" Tournament: 01/06/07 Results When I set up the CadillacPoker.com tournament structure, I envisioned a maximum size of 54 players.  I never thought a home game would ever get to that size, so I never had to think much about beyond the hypothetical planning stages.  When I redesigned the CadillacPoker.com poker chips, I made sure to order enough for a 60 person, re-buy/add-on tournament -- just in case the unthinkable happened. 

This month, the unthinkable happened. I was effectively maxed out at 53 players. This tournament size not only tested my planning abilities, but it also tested the parking limits in a residential neighborhood, the space in my house, the efficiency of running my tournament, and my blind structure. If any of these things were out of whack, the tournament could become a nightmare.

]]> http://WWW.pencilgeek.org/2007/01/cadillacpokercom_nlhe_tritip_t_3.html http://WWW.pencilgeek.org/2007/01/cadillacpokercom_nlhe_tritip_t_3.html Poker Blog Thu, 11 Jan 2007 11:03:32 -0800 Cadillacpoker.com NLHE "Tri-Tip" Tournament: 12/02/06 Results Somehow I know when the tournament is going to be big, and when it's going to be a struggle. This month, I seemed to know it would be a decent sized tournament. By Friday evening, I had 23 sign-ups -- which is quite a few for 24 hours before. I also was hearing a bit of a "buzz" -- the discussion I hear about anticipation of the tournament -- that a bunch of people were going to show up. By game time, we had 36 players (five tables), and $6450 in the prize pool. http://WWW.pencilgeek.org/2006/12/cadillacpokercom_nlhe_tritip_t_2.html http://WWW.pencilgeek.org/2006/12/cadillacpokercom_nlhe_tritip_t_2.html Poker Blog Sun, 03 Dec 2006 00:00:00 -0800 Weekly Update: 11/18/2006 -- More tournaments, fewer cash games. I realize it's been a while since I gave a weekly update. I've been sufficiently busy and taking some time off of playing a whole lot of poker. After some great success two months ago without a single losing session in two weeks, I suffered two straight weeks without a single winning session. At that point, I decided to take some time off, and concentrate on playing more tournaments and fewer cash games. This strategy proved to be just the break I needed. http://WWW.pencilgeek.org/2006/11/weekly_update.html http://WWW.pencilgeek.org/2006/11/weekly_update.html Weekly Results Sun, 19 Nov 2006 00:00:00 -0800 Thinking of raising with A2LH in Omaha-8? (Maybe you're not an idiot after all...) In my previous article of this series, I discussed the low probability of raising with A2HH (HH=High card, High card) in your hand. If you learned nothing else from that article, hopefully you learned how much of an idiot you were for raising. If you subtracted the odds of catching a runner-runner low on the flop, turn, and river, then hopefully you realized that you only have a 31% chance of making any low at all -- horrible odds for raising with a bare A2. This article expands your holding to A2LH (A2, Low card, High card) and discusses the odds for making a low. Unlike the A2HH hand, this hand is much more favorable to catching your low.]]> http://WWW.pencilgeek.org/2006/11/thinking_of_raising_with_a2lh.html http://WWW.pencilgeek.org/2006/11/thinking_of_raising_with_a2lh.html Playing Difficult Hands Sun, 12 Nov 2006 16:00:00 -0800