This past Sunday I sat down at a $3/$6 (with full Kill) Limit hold'em game and was immediately entertained by the loose-aggressive play going on. Low limit games are ripe with loose-aggressive play, so I wasn't surprised. Three of the nine players were close to being "maniacs", depending on your definition. As a result, most hands were raised preflop. I said at one point, "Looks like we have a $6/$12 game disguised as a $3/$6."

The truth is, I was right. When loose-aggressive play becomes a constant theme at the table, it's like arbitrarily creating a higher-stakes game. I have found it usually takes more than one LAG player to pull it off, and in this game there were three players more than willing to raise, reraise, or cap numerous pots. I played for over eleven hours, trying throughout the session to figure out the best strategy against LAG play. As I left the poker room early Monday morning, I was mentally exhausted and by bankroll was a little smaller.

So, the question is: how do you play against loose-aggresives? I've read books, looked online, visited forums, and still can't quite come to grips on how to combat a maniac who gets lucky and wins huge pots when the odds are extremely against them. Maybe that's the one lesson to be learned: LAG players will get lucky, but in the long run, over time, they will eventually go broke if they keep it up. One reason LAG play is so popular is because of the huge amounts of money you can win. Solid players just scratch their heads and are amazed when a LAG player catches another river card to take down the pot. And since I am trying to be a solid player, this last Sunday night I was in awe of some of the hands that took down pots.

What are some things a solid player can do to deal with a loose-aggressive player or table?

1. If you feel like your losing your cool, getting uncomfortable, or going on tilt, then just get up and leave or change tables. This sounds simple, but sometimes you convince yourself you can outdraw the LAGs with better cards and superior postflop play. However, solid play and odds are often useless against a maniac on a wild rush of luck. So, get up and leave.

2. Solid players must become even more solid against the LAG, tightening up their starting hand requirements and concentrating on postflop and turn play. When you go against a loose-aggressive player who is hoping for that miracle turn or river card, you better have a solid hand. Bluffing them out won't normally work.

3. Avoid competing against the LAG, and seek to isolate the other players on whom you have a good read. LAGs are difficult to read, they can play any two cards and raise with anything. So avoid playing against them. Discover who you can beat at the table, and target them.

4. It's often been said, "when in doubt, be aggressive." Against LAGs, it's often effective to be aggressive against them. If they raise, you reraise. If they reraise, you cap it. Just be sure you have a good hand before you attempt it. You can't show any weakness against loose-aggressives or they will eat you alive. In many cases, you must try to "fight fire with fire."

5. Against LAGs you must be willing to call them more often, especially on the river. They are using aggression to win pots, not their cards, in many cases. If they sniff out a rock-solid, but fearful, player they will attempt to run right over them. Playing too tight against a LAG is an open invitation for them to steal pots, especially on the turn and river when you have missed the flop with a premium hand. Sometime you just have to pay them off to keep them honest.

Some final thoughts. I'm from the school of "tight-aggressives" that believes over the long haul, tight-aggressive play wins money, especially in limit cash games. I don't believe that the LAG style is the optimum strategy for limit games (no-limit tournaments, maybe, but not cash games.) LAG players will have enormous swings and variance: they will win a lot money one night, and lose a lot of money the next night. They primarily use aggression and table presence to intimidate their opponents, and thus ego and personality come into play as well.

I prefer to have the odds in my favor, the edge. Thus, I might become a LAG myself at times, if the situation calls for it. It is a strategy, a style of play, a tool, that can be used as a weapon when necessary. But the LAG style of play is not the best way to play, at all times, in every game.

Marathon Session and My First Milestone

mile·stone, –noun
1. a stone functioning as a milepost.
2. a significant event or stage in the life, progress, development, or the like of a person, nation, etc.: Her getting the job of supervisor was a milestone in her career. (from dictionary.com)

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I played an 11-hour session yesterday and surpassed my first real milestone in this game: I have now played more than 1,000 hours of poker in live in a casino setting, primarily small stakes limit hold'em.

I once heard a professional player say that a person needs at least 3,000 hours of live play before considering themselves a serious player. So, I guess I'm one-third of a serious player...working my way to that 3,000 hours milestone.

When I sat down at the table yesterday at the Casino del Sol in Tucson, I had played 994 hours since I began tracking my sessions on a spreadsheet back in July, 2006. I needed six hours to surpass the 1,000-hour mark. The clock said it was 12:10 p.m. when I began...therefore, at 6:10 p.m. last night, January 4, 2008, I hit the 1,000-hour mark.

As I look at my spreadsheet, I see I have played 1,005 hours. This does not include the hours I've played online, though I no longer play online because it's too boring. Online poker gave me a way to learn the game, and I tracked over 12,000 hands online dating back to 2005. But I have no desire to sit alone in a room and play online poker ever again. I love sitting in a room full of players, the noise of chips riffling in the air, dealers joking around. Poker in its most vital, symbolic and purist form is played in a social context. A poker room with all of it's atmosphere and characters and silliness is what real poker is all about.

After 1,005 hours of play, I've logged the following stats:
*99 winning sessions, 118 losing sessions: a total of 217 sessions with a 45.6% winning rate.

My goal is to hit the 2,000-hour milestone this year. To play 1,000 hours I'll have to average 19-20 hours a week. By this time next year, I hope to see improvement in my hourly win rate. After all, the idea is to become a better player. Experience is the best teacher.

Concerning my 11-hour session last night, here's an exerpt from my session notes:

I played well for the most part. Just had no cards at all. I was tired late and got grumpy…began to complain a bit when beat…must keep a check on my emotions and not berate or complain or gripe…even when I get tired. If I start to bitch and gripe, it's a sign to think about quitting. I bought in for a total of $250, and actually was back up to about $235 late...very up and down. I could not gain any momentum. Missed flops, lousy starting hands, and others sucking out to beat me. Just one of those days.

The coldest night of the season hit us this week when temps dipped below freezing. Snows hit the upper elevations and the mountains, but here in the valley it was just cold. When I awoke and drove for breakfast into the city, fog was so thick that visibility was down to about 30 yards. As the morning sun melted away the fog, the skies cleared and I was startled to see the snow-capped mountains surround Tucson.

I took this picture from the parking lot of the shopping center where I work. What a beautiful scene.
The snow melted within a day or so and the mountains were back to normal. Temps are beginning to warm back up and we'll see a normal sunny day with little or no rain.

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The Philadelphia Eagles slammed the Cowboys today, giving the Pokes their second defeat of the season. If they continue to play this bad, forget any success in the playoffs.

I was driving down Broadway after work yesterday and saw this car in front of me. I had to take the photo...Cowboy fans are everywhere. They'll need to update their window, however, now that Dallas is 12-2.

Nothing much happening today, just work. The rain continues. The sun is usually out with Tucsonians involved in their outdoor hobbies and work, but for the last few days the rain has forced everyone inside. I'll be glad when the storms move out of here so at least I'll be able to find a seat at my local Sbux.

A retail UPS Store at Christmas is a madhouse. Gas may be $3 a gallon, but that and a slow economy hasn't slowed the pace of people shipping Christmas gifts around the world. I began this morning at 11 a.m. and didn't have a chance to catch my breath until mid-afternoon. It was a steady barrage of nonstop shipping, faxing, wrapping, processing, and general mayhem. We finally slowed to a snail's pace around 6 p.m. It will more of the same until Christmas week.

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I'm listening to the new album Raising Sand, a collaboration between Robert Plant and Alison Krauss. Do yourself a favor and listen to the entire album, for free, online at http://www.robertplantalisonkrauss.com/site.php .

I've not written much here, because I've taken some time off from the felt. It's been good for me. I've been playing a lot the last few months and I needed a break. I'm not sure how the professional poker player does it. The game is fun and I enjoy nothing more than sitting in a poker room with a stack of chips in front of me with a nice group of players.

But 50 hours of poker play, week after week, can be draining. While many players claim to be professionals, earning the majority of their income from poker, I believe most of them have other interest away from the table. Some have local businesses they own in Las Vegas. Others may write books or travel or attend poker training camps as instructors. The point is, they have a life outside the poker room.

I'll be getting back to the poker room, soon. And I plan on writing more about my experiences, especially about the characters I meet along the way. For me, poker is a great game because of the people you meet. But I'll always have a life and other interests to keep me sane.

It rained again today, making me wonder about the so-called desert around here. I guess it does rain in the desert, especially as the seasons change. But it's been raining for almost week now. Temperatures remain moderate, however, so I'm not complaining. The sun will be out soon.
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Tucson is definitely growing on me. I met a nice couple from Texas who have been living here for a few years (he works for the railroad and was transferred from El Paso and has kids living in Austin) and I told them, "I can see why you like living here. I'm beginning to think I want to spend winter here and summer in Santa Fe." They agreed. For them, their summer retreat is in Ruidoso, New Mexico where they own a cabin.

When I set out from Texas (seems like years ago, but its only been a few months) my first idea was to take my time while traveling to Las Vegas, thinking I might settle down in Henderson or some other town on the outskirts of Sin City. And to be honest, I may still do that. But I'm becoming more intrigued by the idea of living in two places, with some traveling about to keep things interesting.

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I'm trying to decide on what to do with my blogs. I have three blogs, but also want to begin a blog for my interest in art. Do I create another blog devoted to art? Or, do I combine all of my interests into one major site? I have five main areas of interest right now: writing, art, photography, poker, and traveling (or at least a blog of my journey on the road as it currently exists).

My photography blog, Photographium, is at http://photographium.blogspot.com. My writing blog, WriteFinger, is at http://writefinger.blogspot.com. And of course I have this blog, 1100 Miles to Vegas, which I began when I hit the road. My poker site, The Seven Seat (or The 7 Seat, if you prefer), is at http://www.7Seat.com. I'm also a former REALTOR and broker of real estate, but I'm switching my interest from sales to investing. I would also like a blog-slash-website on real estate investing. My question: what's the best way to organize all of these interests, where I can write about and promote my various hobbies?

I'm of the belief that the more blogs/websites you have, the more likely you are to catch an audience. But I may be wrong. Maybe I need just one site that plays host to all of my hobbies. I'm getting a headache just contemplating the ideas bouncing around in my head.

The Cowboys and The Lady of Guadalupe

I was scheduled to work today, but business was a little slow so I found myself with the day off. I spent the first part of my day watching the Dallas Cowboys come from behind and beat the Detroit Lions. I viewed the game at the Fox and Hound Sports Bar and Grill near the Foothills Mall. The game was a squeaker, with Dallas lucky to pull it out at the end with a touchdown from Tony Romo to Jason Witten with 18 seconds remaining. Dallas clinched the Eastern Division Championship and a first-round playoff bye.

After the game I had time to make it for the last two hours of the La Fiesta de Guadalupe on the grounds of the adobe gallery and chapel built by foremost Southwestern painter, the late Ted De Grazia. DeGrazia's Gallery in the Sun was host to spirited outdoor performances by mariachi groups, folklorico dancers, traditional Yaqui deer dances, ethnic foods, La Posada procession, and arts and crafts. The Fiesta celebrates the Lady of Guadalupe, Mexico's patron saint.

I stayed until the last remaining event, which was a "las posadas procession" to the Mission of the Sun (the chapel built by DeGrazia) by students of the Carrillo Elementary Magnet School. "La Posadas," the remarkable buildup to Christmas Eve, is perhaps the most delightful and unique Mexican tradition.

The procession commemorates the events in the journey of Mary and Joseph from Nazareth to Bethlehem. Children carry a small pine-decorated platform bearing replicas of Joseph and Mary riding a burro. Other members of the company, all with lighted long slender candles, sing the "Litany of the Virgin" as they approach the door of the house assigned to the first "Posada." Together they chant an old traditional song and awaken the mast of the house to ask lodging for Mary. Those within the house threaten the company with beatings unless they move on. Again, the company pleads for admittance. When the owner of the house finally learns who his guests are, he jubilantly throws open the doors and bids them welcome. All kneel around the manger scene or "Nacimiento" and offer songs of welcome, Ave Marias and a prayer.

I took these photos of the children leading the "la posada procession" to the Mission of the Sun.


These children were among the dancing groups who performed throughout the day.