Tag Archives: Phil Ivey

On Different Views and Scenarios

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Hi,

I have several questions to ask. Hope you have time. Thanks in advance!

  1. In NL100, I oftentimes witness players buying in with $10, $15, $20 or may be $40. Well, I believe playing the short stack has its own advantages. However, I’m wondering if how should I deal and play with it when I have a full buy-in, at least. Any idea?

    Consider that I was in early position and with 88 I limped in. At middle position, with $20, I folded to a short stack. Such player raised to $4 and everyone else folded including both the small and big blinds. It was then my turn, but I don’t know what to do. I was considering if I’d call his raise or just re-raise him. If I’d call his raise, it would be a goodbye for my set on the flop and if I’d re-raise him, he might opt to go all in. At some point, I thought of folding. What do you think? I’m really sick and tired playing at a table full of short stacks, any advice?

  2. I really wonder if there’s any difference playing at NL tournaments than at cash games. I believe in NL tournaments, I have to lose first a lot of chips before I could have my set. And in a cash game, you can always reload, and there is always a chance to win back any losses.

    Because of the difference, I just always try to play big pairs and AK, AQ and may be KQ and AJ. I’ve always stayed away from suited connectors. And typically, I’m on all-in or fold mode. And in the event my hands are hold up, I go back to average or even above average at the later stage of the game. But sadly, I always end up with the least chips. Any advice for me? Is there any specific hand I should play?

  3. Professionals at High Stakes Poker on GSN tend to always play very loose cash games. In fact, there was one player who raises with A4o. He was then called by someone with K9s. Flop came and brought 9. The player with K9s earlier thought he had the best hand. I don’t know what’s going on. I believe they were just playing loosely then.

Thanks for your time.

Regards,
Raymond Feld
Raymond,

  1. Players with short stacks are going to try and push with big hands and try and double up. My suggestion is to try and play small ball poker and keep the pot small. The other option is to be aggressive and raise more often than normal and get out the way when they push with big hands.
  2. Tournaments are very different than cash games. You have to change your starting hand requirements based on what position that you are in on the table. I would recommend picking up a book or DVD on Texas Holdem. Phil Hellmuth and Howard Lederer have good DVD’s but Dan Harrington’s Harrington on Holdem is the best set of tournament books you can buy.
  3. Players on High Stakes Poker are very loose and very aggressive with their hands. You will also notice big fluctuations with their stacks overall. Watch some of the better players like Phil Ivey, Doyle Brunson, David Benyamine, and Jennifer Harman and you will see a good mix between loose and solid. Overall, those 4 are usually among the biggest winners around. This year Phil Ivey and David Benyamine are #1 and #2 in amount won online on Full Tilt Poker.

Phil Ivey

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As professional wrestler Ric Flair would say, “To be the man, you’ve got to beat the man.” Right now, “The Man” in professional poker would be Phil Ivey. Phil Ivey started his poker career in Atlantic City casinos where he used to play with a fake ID and go by the name “Jerome.” Once he was old enough to actually play in the casino legally, he went to his regular casino buddies and told them the truth.

Phil Ivey is one of the few players that can consistently win at both cash games and tournaments. Ivey actually prefers to play cash games due to the amount of money that can be won at the game. He is a regular player in the “Big Game” in Bobby’s Room at the Bellagio and has been mentored by all-time great poker players such as Doyle Brunson and the legendary Chip Reese. With the recent passing of Reese, many consider Ivey to be the all around best poker player in the world.

Although he prefers cash games, his success in tournaments has him among the all time greats in poker. He has 5 bracelets at the World Series of Poker. His first came in 2000 when he won the $2,500 Pot Limit Omaha event. He then tied a WSOP record by winning three bracelets in a single year in 2002. He won the $2,000 S.H.O.E. bracelet, the $2,500 Stud 8 or Better bracelet, and the $1,500 7 Card Stud bracelet. He would then go on to win the $5,000 Pot Limit Omaha Event in 2005.

Ivey also has one WPT title to his claim. He took down the WPT event at the L.A. Poker Classic in early 2008 for his first WPT title and $1.5 Million. In total, Ivey has 8 final tables with the WPT. In addition to his WSOP and WPT titles, he holds numerous titles around the US and the World, including the $25,000 No Limit Holdem event at the 2005 Monte Carlo Millions and the $120,000 Full Tilt Poker Invitational.

For his poker career, Ivey has won $10 Million in live tournaments, which puts him 7th on the all-time money list. The amazing thing about his story is that he has accomplished all these feats at just 32 years of age. He is commonly known as the “Tiger Woods of Poker” due to his dominance of the poker world. Ivey also is capable of dominating players in any game. His best game is considered to be Stud, but when he is at any poker table, players tremble.

The measuring stick for the poker world is Phil Ivey. Although players such as Doyle Brunson and T.J. Cloutier get respect for what they have accomplished, all up and coming players look at Phil Ivey as the player they would most want to be like. Normally a player this dominant would be prone to an eventual burnout, but with Ivey’s background and the mentoring he has received, it is safe to assume that Ivey will continue to be the measuring stick to come for at least the next 20 years.