Jeffrey Mulder

Thanks Ryan. I look enjoyed the video, and look forward to the specific strategies you allude to moving forward. I come from a live background, but have played online also. I found I have more come back to live, as my results are better and more consistent. I have devoted a lot of time to study including solver study, but I find it dry overall. I agree focus on ICM is key, but I would be eager for an approach for less solver adept players to incorporate this learning into study. I agree you have a lot to teach less experienced live players. Probably more experienced ones too. I watch poker content voraciously. Triton, Wsop etc. I have witnessed several instances of what seem to me to be hugely glaring live strength tells missed. I am excited to see your content. cheers

Elias you will be missed. Your videos are helpful and entertaining. I wish you the very best of success and fortune in Japan. Home is where the heart is, and it sounds like that is Japan for you. Best of luck in the future.

Thanks for a great video as always. In hand 6 though Qd is in our hand and on the board. I didn’t catch it until the review.

Thanks as always Ben for an excellent video. At 41:30 with Q5dd when checking rivered gutshot, are you calling or raising if our opponent had chosen to bet river?

Thanks Jen, I enjoyed the video as always. Charity tournaments are always a blast. I must say though, I am still not over the sting from CSOP that time where we were co chip leaders on the bubble, and you got me JJ vs AA bvb. Someday the hurt will pass :) . One strategy I have employed in these is to open jam huge hands like AA or KK even at Level 1. Very often people will call off with anything as they are there to have fun and gamble. It is great to see you on RIO again. I hope you and your family are well. All the best, Doc.

I very much enjoyed this video. Though I am not certain I am fully convinced in the concept of us not having free will, it is an interesting topic to ponder. I want to draw upon part of your discussion with a personal take.

I, as a 48 year old man looking back at myself as a boy (much the same age as you were in that photo) recognize that boy is both me and not me as I am now. Life experiences, traumas, joyful events all have brought me to the point I am now. I have been exposed to different environmental toxins, foods, radiation all affecting my natural genetics, and perhaps epigenetics in ways I am not aware of nor was I in control of.

Looking back to the boy, raised in a fairly religious upbringing, I recognize in that boy a well developed sense of guilt. This was likely a result predominantly of religious teaching, school teaching and genetics. I also recognize this sense of guilt shaped the boy who was me, throughout all the infinite manifestations of me to the point I am now. I can appreciate I think, with reflection, this guilt had effect on decisions made, as well as sense of self at all those points along the journey in my life.

The guilt without question made me more anxious and self reproachful at times, affecting my happiness. I would worry about what present day self would consider minor transgressions with excessive self blame. This created anxiety and worries. Did the guilt offer any positives? I think so. I think to some extent this guilt acted as a motivator to work harder. I think it acted to keep me behaving in what I considered to be a more moral way at all these life stages. So perhaps guilt was not all bad.

My mind has become more flexible to examining different ideas about what is right and wrong over times. Some things remain as they were to the childhood version of me, some have changed. When you speak of eliminating the existence of free will from the equation, it is in a way very comforting to me. It seems like a "get out of jail free" card for all my life transgressions. I also like applying it to other people. It helps me be less blaming of other's actions I would differ with.

In the end though, and I am not saying you are incorrect, I am going to stick with the idea of free will. As a physician, I am a person of science also. To eliminate the idea of free will essentially eliminates us having a soul. Maybe we are just an amalgam of neurons having reacted to environmental stimuli in the background of our genetic code. Maybe there is more? Who knows for certain. However, overall this sense of guilt has lead me to present time self and I am OK with that. Of course it could be no other way given my lack of will in making it such. :)

You are an interesting cat, it is a pleasure to find life challenging ideas on a poker instructional website. Hopefully we bump paths someday. Cheers, Jeff

Thanks Keiran, I enjoyed this video greatly. I am excited to see what direction you take things from here. I am also interested in the progress of your new branch of psychotherapy, I agree there is room for improvement in this field, though in my opinion, solution focused therapy has been highly effective in my practice . ( I am a family physician with an interest in bariatrics. )

I welcome you bringing to light mental health issues which I would suggest are least as prevalent, if not more so in the poker playing community. Anxiety, depression, substance abuse are all common, and I believe it very important to try to remove the stigma of talking about these issues.

Keep up the good work! As you want some constructive criticism, I am also in the opposed category to the bad beat voice. It sounded a bit like Dana Carvey doing an impression of Jimmy Stewart. :) .

Thanks Jen, another great video. I think I have been too nitty in some of these spots, which comes as both an incredible shock and disappointment to me. I have a question re: 2-7 unrelated to your video. I am wondering in our initial set up when we should place cards 8-T in the back to keep the wheel draw intact. For instance if we draw 23589 or 23468, do we try to keep our wheel draw intact and place 89 and 86 in the back? What about when we have only 2 wheel cards like 2389T? Thanks in advance. Jeff

Thanks so much Tom, I really enjoyed this. I found the math very interesting. I am a bit removed from my college math, but it comes back somewhat quickly. There is a lot to digest, and I had to stop start and go back a lot to fully comprehend things. This is not a criticism though. I come from from a NL background, but my PLO and mixed games are improving, and I have a feeling this series will be immensely valuable in furthering that progression. Keep up the good work!

Another great video Phil. I am enjoying the HU. Please keep it going.

Tommy, thank you again for another wonderful video. As a background, I am a physician who specializes in bariatric medicine which is treating people with severe weight issues. As most physicians who do this area of work know, mental factors are perhaps the most important aspect of treating people with weight problems. So many people have developed no positive coping strategies for dealing with life stressors. Eating and especially mindless eating habits are developed very early in life, and often people have never developed other coping strategies. I always talk about the importance of finding helpful, non harmful coping tools, and I often talk about meditation, mindful eating, exercise,, and yoga. I loved your analogy of using these tools as "losing mental weight". With your permission, I would love to use this term with my patients. I think it is a beautiful, simple, but powerful illustration which will resonate with people.

Sorry if this is a digression from poker, which by the way I love. As with so many of your videos, there is so much greater life wisdom there. I am very appreciative. Jeff

I feel like this is a good spot to 4B jam. With you being short stack, there are no ICM concerns, and there certainly are for him. Folding is the other option, but I think a jam here puts a lot of pressure on him. He likely will fold his KQs-KTs, QJs, JTs type hands, and likely he folds some of his A high hands. He could definitely have overpairs, but it seems like a good spot to me.

Thank you for another great video. In regard to future options for videos, I think all the options you mention would be good. I have noticed you adopt overbetting pots more than most players I have seen. Particularly on the turn, but flop as well. I am wondering how you go about developing an overbetting range, and what situations favor it. Thanks so much.

Great video as usual James. I particularly liked the last hand example with AK vs AJ. While we never know for sure whether Mexicanpoker was influenced by your somewhat loose aggressive final table image, I think it is reasonable to assume it may have. You mention from Mexicanpoker's perspective, the decision to flat, 3 bet fold, or 5 bet jam is somewhat close. I agree while he has assumptions about your 4 bet range at this point, he really knows nothing conclusively. Particularly on a final table, when in Mexicanpoker's position as a near chip leader, does it not generally speaking make more sense to assume you as also a near chip leader have an extremely tight 4B range? While I suppose it makes us exploitable to at least an initial 4 bet, with the ICM implications, I think folding to your 4 bet, is a fairly easy decision.

Whether or not he flats your initial raise or 3 bets is definitely debatable. I think in general, assuming a strong 4 bet range at a final table where stacks are relatively short seems to be a wise default strategy.

I really enjoy your videos, and the thought you put into them.

Thanks again for another great video Jen. I enjoyed this format a lot. Happily, I mostly got correct answers also. I think the pacing is perfect, but it might also be nice in some of the closer decision spots to break the math down more precisely in written form. More of the same would be great by me though. Happy New Year upcoming to you and your family. Doc

It is certainly a +EV shove, but also assuredly a +EV call. I suppose it depends whether you wish to take a higher or lower variance route in this spot, and of course is dependent on villain.

Thanks Phil, I find this an interesting concept. I believe I need to digest it more, but I have a couple of initial thoughts after my first watch. In thinking about a pot share approach, I think it likely would help us to become less emotionally attached to each pot. "Suckouts" seem like less an issue when you bear in mind that each person owns a percentage of the pot. A gutshot hitting versus a top set or whatever the case may be. Any concept which helps with emotional acceptance of inevitable negative outcomes, certainly is intriguing.

It does also seem to make a case for increasing passivity, and decreasing "fold equity" as a concept. Perhaps I am misinterpreting this. It seems to favor a less aggressive approach in order to maintain our share of the pot. Perhaps this is more acutely relevant in PLO as opposed to NLH?

In regards to the point regarding multi-street bluffs, I think conceptually it helps one conceive that most of the time you create a pot which inherently your share of is small, which of course doesn't make a lot of sense.

Maybe I am interpreting things too simplistically here, but I certainly enjoyed the video, and I will rewatch and rethink it.

Thank you again George for as usual another excellent video. I have a question on the board at the 45 min mark, when our opponent has 2h8s5dAh. The board is 4d7cKc4h8d. From his perspective, with the 8 coming on the river, would there be any wisdom in him leading out with his hand for thin value from the exact type of situation he encounters with our holding, or does it make him too able to be exploited by raising. Cheers, Doc.

Hi Gino, good luck in building your bankroll. My advice is in these type of tournaments you will be facing an extraordinary amount of loose passive players. You often see an opening raise or limp, and 5-6 callers. Do not fall into the trap of playing borderline hands passively in this situation. Be tighter overall, but if you do feel like playing a borderline hand, do it in position and raise it.

Also, get to know the players in your room. Best advantage about live poker.

Best of luck!

Hey Dylan, I am loving this series. Your analysis is very detailed and well thought out. Your best yet! By the way, I would suggest always folding KK preflop. Cheers, Doc.

Love this Video Jen, it was a very interesting approach. I think there is a parallel here in playing online. One of the reasons I don't play online much has always been my fear of bots, superusers, etc. I have had conversations with some of my accomplished MTT friends, and of course they are aware of these particular issues. They view this as the cost of doing business, and believe their edge in the long run combats this. They aren't happy with it, but they do not get emotional about it. I will be interested to see if this changes how you proceed in the future, and if so, how things go. All the best. Doc

Sam, you are dead on here. I classify myself as a skilled poker enthusiast, who fortunately has a back up income to rely upon (medicine) and I am not at the whimsy of the changes brought upon those such as yourself who rely on their income from Pokerstars and 888. I have a number of close friends who are deeply affected by these changes, and from an interested outsiders perspective, it seems since Black Friday in 2011, it has been nothing but eroding of online poker as a viable career.

I agree the villification of successful poker players is a huge issue. As you indicate the decline of objective poker journalism which has necessitated pros becoming their own advocate only further aggravates this situation.

It is not an entirely bleak situation though. Firstly, the product of poker in my mind is still a viable one. It is interesting to players and lay people alike. There is a market there which is not being served by the current powers that be. With inroads being made in the US regarding legitimizing online poker, I believe there is opportunity to create a better product. I know attempts have been made to unite poker players in the past for common goals such as the PPA, but a real union of sorts would be in the interest of all poker enthusiasts. The fact of the matter is these companies such as Party Poker, Pokerstars, 888 , Full Tilt etc, have profited immensely on the backs of the people that love to play poker. Create a new playing field. Bring in advertisers again who feed revenue in the stream. Ensure level playing fields. Be transparent with security measures. It can be done better. There are so many smart, inventive people in this field, I have to believe there is a better way. I certainly hope so for the game I love, and the people I care about in this business. If not, I am afraid the powers that be will continue to roll right over them.

I like preflop, and the sizing seems good. I would definitely fold turn as played. I don't mind the cbet OOP either, but I wouldn't hate a check call line here. We have flopped well, but not fantastic. We are up against the only stack that can hurt us, and I am not crazy about turning this into a huge pot. On the turn, even though we improve, I very much favor a check call line here. We give up some equity to his QJs, AK, KJs holdings, but we keep the pot smaller, and don't get blown off our equity. This hand simply can't stand the heat of a raise here. He has all the sets, KQ, KT also, and even his QJ, AK,KJ have substantial equity against us. I would prefer keeping this pot small. What do I know though :) GL today btw. Cheers, Jeff

lol lol that was a great and hilarious video. I will not spoil the ending, but wow. George I absolutely love your videos. The pace, in depth analysis, and your delivery are wonderful. Keep up the great work!

Thank you for as usual another thought provoking video Phil. My PLO is very nascent, so forgive me if this is an overly basic comment. In the first example hand (TdQsAsTc) on the 3dAdQc board, you mention in the detailed analysis at the end that you have virtually no raising range on this board with the exception of some slow played AA and nut flush draws. Similarly, in the 3rd example (6d6cQsKc) on the KhQd9s you mention you would only check call this board. I understand these are different positions, with different opponents, but I am wondering if there is any merit in adding these top 2 pair hands to our raising range/check raising range after the flop? Could it potentially help us avoid trickier decision making later in the hand when the pot is larger, and as in the 3rd example where we ultimately sacrifice our equity? I understand this may result in us getting reraised at times, perhaps where we have to sacrifice equity early. Could this overdefending early if you want to call it that result in fewer spots to underdefend later? I'm not sure if that makes any sense at all, but thanks for listening. As a happy aside, after having watched your videos for years on PLO, I decided to take my first foray into live play (I never play online) , and won $6500 playing $5/10. Beginner's luck perhaps, but I thank you for it. Cheers, Jeff

Thank again for another great video Phil. From my perspective, both long and short series are great. When the content is of the quality you provide, it doesn't matter.

Preflop, UTG, JTs seems like an easy fold to me, particularly nearing the bubble with only 10BB. His flat OOP with 10BB also seems pretty odd. After you are in with this hand and he donks the flop, he has over 50% of his stack in. He is never folding. I think the call on your part makes little sense. Calling this off, and folding future streets makes no sense. You will have an even higher percentage of your chips in the pot. Also, the numbers don't add up. 6600 pre + 12000 call = 18600. If you started with 32000, you only have 13400 left.

Not trying to be harsh, but the whole scenario seems a bit messed up. I am 100% calling the river if I ever somehow found myself there, given we are getting 3:1 and we are left with 4.5 BB if we fold. I suppose if there some micro stacks you could fold.

Thanks for another great video Jen, I think I am with you in that I enjoy the 27 more than the progressive. I definitely am impressed with you not mixing up the games more. I am pretty confident I would do this with regularity. One at a time for me. Hope all is well. Peace, Jeff

Thank you so much George, I think you struck a perfect balance. I am a novice at 27, but feel this one video has already helped immensely. It was extremely easy to follow. The pace was perfect, and seeing all hole cards allowed for no gaps in action. I couldn't be happier with you joining RIO. Welcome!

I agree with this, I erred on the side I wanted to err on. If I had peeled, results would have been no different...flop was 552. as i said, this was the very bottom of my get it in range here. In retrospect, I think I would make 99 the bottom here.