My 10,000th post!

[taipan168]

So after five-and-a-bit years, I've finally reached 10k posts. Under the ranking system you move from straight flush to royal flush when you hit 10k but since they gave me administrator powers I'm just come up as "administrator"

Thanks to Xianti and Tyson for setting up and maintaining a great site, and to all the other posters on this site (some who no longer post, and no doubt some who haven't started posting yet!) who have helped me to improve my game and become a winning player and who will no doubt continue to help.

Anyway, in the spirit of "the other place", if it isn't too egotistical, I thought I'd make this a well post where anybody can ask any question and I will attempt to answer.

[Fielmann]

Congratzzzzzz! 10k posts, w00t!!!!!!!1111

And a big thank you for writing those posts. You are definitely on of the top of the list of the people who have helped me improve my game.

1. How did get into poker?
2. Lifetime winnings?
3. Did you grind your way through the micros? Do you have a graph of that time?
4. Do you have a real job?
5. A friend of mine who's spending a year in Australia just sent me a mini-didgeridoo. Any tips on how to play it? I'm just blowing into it so that it makes a loud and awful sound. I guess this is basically correct?
6. Ten years from now, will it still be possible to make a living playing SNG's, or will the fish have learned enough strategy to make the games unprofitable?
7. Do you still tilt? Why (not)? Have you done anything specific to become psychologically stronger?

Thanks in advance.

[Duffryn]

Congratulations on reaching a huge milestone. You clearly put a huge amount of effort into this forum as your achievement shows. I think the way you are so helpful to everyone who posts here is great. I certainly appreciate it.

What level SNGs do you play? Do you have goals to move up?

What differences do you think there are between your level and low/micro SNGs?

[3 pairs should be a hand]

Well done Taipan.

I guess that means you must have written several posts that are +ev, however, I ran the rest through wiz and you will be surprised to here that around 40% should have been folded before the flop.

Way I'm going I'll have caught you up in a week. I only got online in October last year and only registered a short while ago, so I've been voyeuristic until then, but have seen that most of the time you don't really know what you are talking about. Refer to above par.

OK enough of the banter. Me and my mate name drop you all the time. It's quite funny really, especially if we are playing live. We'll go: "What would Taipan say about this?" And people will say who is Taipan??!?

Knowledge is power, my friend. And I say that because I regard you as a friend already. You manage to show me where I am going wrong or where I am wrong - and I love that you can and do. People only learn through making mistakes - so long as they don't repeat them that is, as in they make a mistake like shoving or calling when they shouldn't, not repeating them cos all the clever (knowledgable) people posters on here, like you, show them where they have gone wrong.

Some players, like GForce make the same mistakes over and over and never learn. It's not that GForce is stupid, it's just that he doesn't know the fundamentals of the modern online game. When he tells me he plays "by instinct" I grimace. Instinct is fine as a last resort - the subconscious mind giving the conscious mind an answer based on experience.

But instinct is not the primary. It may be live as you don't have a pokertracker hud over everyone's head and GForce is a good player live.

But what GForce hasn't done is to look at the advice on here or to have posted any hands for analysis and he wonders why he continues to be a losing player.

Now I have learnt so much on here, that I understand I have a ridiculously large amount more to learn. Every situation is unique. There is no general answer.

And also it is not a game of instinct it is a game of math. I finally got my answer on here to the question of luck v skill. There is no such thing as luck in poker and do you know why? Of course you do Taipan because you have already studied and now pass on your knowledge.

What people call luck is actually variance.

So I have one question for you.

1. Will bots ever take over online poker ending our grinding careers as is widely feared? I am certain I have played one. It appeared in two games in which I played on Full Tilt and seemingly played fundamentally sound. Or it was an amazing player. But to play that well - shame I don't have the hand history or we could review it - I doub it was a real person.

And other questions
Which site do you play on
What is your username
What is your password so I can transfer your money to my account
Do you like sausages
Are you a vegan
What happens when a blonde walks in to a bar?

Oh, sorry did you mean poker questions?

Ok is Sklansky now out of date or does his advice still cut it - they were the first books I tried to read. I say try because they (him and the other one) are terrible writers. Great info poor writing to make info clear (like that sentence).
Which poker book is your favourite and why?
If you played pimpindonks who would win heads up.
Which well known pro do you admire the most and whyy
What chance do you give Tony G against the top online grinders if you sat him down online and round a table.
When you play do you try to avoid or embrace a)europeans b)americans - as in which continent would you say generalistically has better players online of course.
Do you aspire to be a circuit tournament pro?
How many bracelets do you have? (I have two, both silver)

Ok I'll leave it there or my mate will kick off when he reads this. I do have fun on here as you can see.

So, anyway I have only one more thing to say, Taipan

[taipan168]

And a big thank you for writing those posts. You are definitely on of the top of the list of the people who have helped me improve my game.

No worries, thanks for the compliment!

1. How did get into poker?

A friend of mine is a very keen poker player so introduced me to the game around 2000. Started playing online in about 02.

2. Lifetime winnings?

Somewhere around 15k (including b0nuses and cash games), I've lost track

3. Did you grind your way through the micros? Do you have a graph of that time?

Started at 5NL with a $100 loan from the aforementioned friend, and once I had ground my roll to $200 plus paid the $100 back I moved to SNGs. At the time $5.50 was the lowest buyin available so I played those before switching to turbos. If you want to see my chart, my SN on Stars is the same as on here.

4. Do you have a real job?

Depends what you mean by a "real" job. I work for a private equity fund in Australia which has gotten much busier recently so I don't have much time to play.

5. A friend of mine who's spending a year in Australia just sent me a mini-didgeridoo. Any tips on how to play it? I'm just blowing into it so that it makes a loud and awful sound. I guess this is basically correct?

You need to relax your mouth and flap your lips sort of like a trumpet but with your lips a little looser, if you get what I mean. When played well the didgeridoo can actually sound quite haunting.

6. Ten years from now, will it still be possible to make a living playing SNG's, or will the fish have learned enough strategy to make the games unprofitable?

That's what they said five years ago but SNGs under $60 buyin are still profitable, although less so. At $60 and above I think the rake and the skill of the players combine to make them only slightly above breakeven. Low buyin ($10 and below) are still quite profitable IMO, particularly when I see the play of opps in low buyin hands posted on this board.

7. Do you still tilt? Why (not)? Have you done anything specific to become psychologically stronger?

Occasionally, but not nearly as badly as I used to. The key things for me to avoid tilt were to understand the maths well (such that a bad beat becomes just one of the expected outcomes) and to appreciate that the long term is very long indeed.

Oh, and having a big enough bankroll such that losing one game (or even going on a 30 buyin downswing) makes no difference whatsoever.

[taipan168]

What level SNGs do you play? Do you have goals to move up?

$27 single tables, $12/180-person MTTs and the occasional big MTT. I think I've found a level that I'm happy with as I question the profitability of SNGs above this level.

What differences do you think there are between your level and low/micro SNGs?

Plenty. Far more good multitablers who understand push/fold very well. Lower expected ROI over the long term. Much fewer complete idiots who donate their whole stack to you in the first level. More aggressive players and less really passive calling stations.

[taipan168]

So I have one question for you.

1. Will bots ever take over online poker ending our grinding careers as is widely feared? I am certain I have played one. It appeared in two games in which I played on Full Tilt and seemingly played fundamentally sound. Or it was an amazing player. But to play that well - shame I don't have the hand history or we could review it - I doub it was a real person.

I don't think so, for a few reasons:
- The sites are incredibly vigilant to kick the bots off. They use a whole bunch of techniques to find bots including reviewing HHs for patterns that a human player could never mimic. That's why if you suspect you're up against a bot you have to report it.
- The bots really aren't that good. Sure, they are getting better but particularly in the deeper stacked part of the game it's very hard to write an algorithm that can play as well as a decent player.
- Good players make money from bad players, so the main risk is that bad players stop coming to poker sites because they're worried about bots. Look at the growth in the number of poker players on the major sites and that's not really a concern.

Which site do you play on

Stars

What is your username

Same as my SN here

What is your password so I can transfer your money to my account

Even if I posted it, you'd need my security token to access my account

Do you like sausages

Yes

Are you a vegan

No

What happens when a blonde walks in to a bar?

She does whatever it was that she was intending to do when she walked in, be that meet her friends, order a drink, wait for somebody, whatever?

Ok is Sklansky now out of date or does his advice still cut it - they were the first books I tried to read. I say try because they (him and the other one) are terrible writers. Great info poor writing to make info clear (like that sentence).

Very much so. Theory of Poker is a very dry read but the concepts that he writes about are timeless and are the fundamentals of poker.

Which poker book is your favourite and why?

The Harrington on Hold'em series. Never read a better set of books for tournament play, and Harrington explains his concepts very well.

If you played pimpindonks who would win heads up.

Who is that? Regardless I would probably lose badly against any decent HU player as my HU is terrible when stacks are deep

Which well known pro do you admire the most and whyy

Don't really follow poker pros but I do admire Joe Hachem for giving it a go and winning the big one, and also because he's won subsequently that proves he's not a flash in the pan. Plus he's an Aussie

What chance do you give Tony G against the top online grinders if you sat him down online and round a table.

Depends on the game format, but if he was up against the best SNG players on a 1-table SNG, unless he studied the format very carefully beforehand or learned very quickly he would probably get eaten alive over the long term

When you play do you try to avoid or embrace a)europeans b)americans - as in which continent would you say generalistically has better players online of course.

I think there are good players and donks everywhere in the world and I can't honestly say that I have noticed that much difference in style

Do you aspire to be a circuit tournament pro?

No, to be honest I make more money in my day job than I could ever hope to do as a pro, I'd hate the lifestyle and I think I'd very quickly get bored

How many bracelets do you have? (I have two, both silver)

None, but I do have 12 watches (I collect mechanical watches).

[3 pairs should be a hand]

You're a good sport - you answered them all.

So just one more question then:

What's your token thingamijob.

Oh and re the blonde.

What does a blonde do when she walks in to a bar... She says OUCH!

[taipan168]

What's your token thingamijob.

Link here

Oh and re the blonde.

What does a blonde do when she walks in to a bar... She says OUCH!

Ha!

[givememyleg]

[givememyleg]

So after four-and-a-bit years,

Join Date: Jul 2005

fail.

[taipan168]

Join Date: Jul 2005

fail.

Yeah so I can't count, big deal

[3 pairs should be a hand]

Yeah so I can't count, big deal

In terms of ICM if you can't count that surely is -ev

[ed cooper]

thanks for the help so far mate.

1. do you have any specific goals (bankroll growth/roi etc)?
2. do you withdraw your winnings or let your bank compound?

[fulksy]

Congrats Taipan, Thanks for all the help and time you've taken to look over tons of trimmed tournys and hands, no doubt your insight has probably helped more then any thing else I've done. Also congrats at all your success at the tables.

SnGs seem to be your bread and butter, but what form of poker to you enjoy the most. MTT, Cash, Sngs, live/online etc.?

What helped you the most in learning poker, SnGs, Mtt?

thanks again

[taipan168]

1. do you have any specific goals (bankroll growth/roi etc)?

No, I just want to play the best game that I can and make the best decisions possible. I actually think that having specific target bankroll growth/ROI etc. is sort of putting the cart before the horse, if you make the best decisions that you can the rest will just follow.

2. do you withdraw your winnings or let your bank compound?

For the first few years I just let it all build up, but once my balance got over 10k I thought it was crazy to leave my money in Stars getting no interest when I can get 6%+ in Australia. These days I use my poker winnings to buy watches (one of my other hobbies).

[taipan168]

SnGs seem to be your bread and butter, but what form of poker to you enjoy the most. MTT, Cash, Sngs, live/online etc.?

I've definitely played more 1-table SNGs than any other kind of poker but I'm diversifying now into turbo 180-person MTTs. They don't take that much longer than a 1-table SNG (I don't have 10+ hours to sit and play a big MTT) and there's far more of a rush in placing in the top 3 when the prize is hundreds of times your buyin than when you just get your money back plus some.

I've probably played 50k hands of cash which I did enjoy, but maybe I'm too much of an action junkie to have the patience to deal with deep stacks the whole time.

What helped you the most in learning poker, SnGs, Mtt?

Definitely SNGs, because I've played the most of them! But that was when I learned the fundamentals of poker ie. putting players on ranges, comparing EV to pot odds, understanding the impact of position, etc. Plus knowing how to play SNGs definitely helps you when you reach the FT of a MTT, which is where the big bucks are.

[Penneywize]

Congrats Taipan, though you have officially tilted me by saying that you A: make more money in your day job than you could ever hope to make as a poker pro, and B: that you would get bored / would dislike the lifestyle. Ack!

Anyhow good on you for doing well in life, I think the rest of us with pedestrian jobs just like to dream a little.

[Penneywize]

Alright - in the spirit of my previous post:

One day, on a whim, you decide to sign up for the main event of a prevalent online tournament series; assume that the prize pool is several million dollars with first place totalling exactly $2M (for argument's sake).

A hard-fought 16 hours later, you miraculously clean up and ship first place. Do you continue to work at your day job then?

[taipan168]

The reason I said that I make more money in my day job than I could ever hope to make as a poker pro is that I didn't think I'd be any good as a poker pro.

One day, on a whim, you decide to sign up for the main event of a prevalent online tournament series; assume that the prize pool is several million dollars with first place totalling exactly $2M (for argument's sake).

A hard-fought 16 hours later, you miraculously clean up and ship first place. Do you continue to work at your day job then?

Yes. You can't retire on $2m in Sydney (a half-decent house in a half-decent suburb costs $1.0-1.5m) and I enjoy my day job so why would I quit?

[TLR]

Congrats Taipan, great accomplishment.

Thanks for all the advice and effort over the years, I am actually one of the small group who is still around to remember both your 5K post (which is a similar Q&A theme if I remember correctly) and I think also your first posts on this site back in the VQC days

I'll shoot some questions as well
1. Did you ever play/plan to play in the high buy in MTT events (WSOP, Aussie millions, you name it) ?

2. More of a personal question - so feel free not to answer it - Marriage/Kids in the near future plans ?

On a side note - since you started playing the $180 Sng I think you might want to give the 90 player KO MTT and the 135 Rush poker MTT on tilt a shot, I think the format in both of them is better then the stars 180 players turbo

[rong]

Wow Tai, 10k is huge, congrats. How many times do you think you have said "don't donk min raise" in that time?

[taipan168]

Thanks for all the advice and effort over the years, I am actually one of the small group who is still around to remember both your 5K post (which is a similar Q&A theme if I remember correctly) and I think also your first posts on this site back in the VQC days

Yes, I remember those days, you are one of the old stagers. I have really learned a lot from you so the thanks should go to you not to me.

1. Did you ever play/plan to play in the high buy in MTT events (WSOP, Aussie millions, you name it) ?

I have thought about it, but until I get much much better at MTTs I won't go anywhere near them as I suspect I will be dead money.

2. More of a personal question - so feel free not to answer it - Marriage/Kids in the near future plans ?

I have been together with my girlfriend for more than 14 years, and since we are not religious (and neither are our families) we never really saw the point of getting married. I would rather spend the $50k or whatever a wedding costs these days on investments. As for kids, we don't plan on having any...not really our "thing".

On a side note - since you started playing the $180 Sng I think you might want to give the 90 player KO MTT and the 135 Rush poker MTT on tilt a shot, I think the format in both of them is better then the stars 180 players turbo

Thanks for the tip, I will take a look, somebody else told me about them as well.

How many times do you think you have said "don't donk min raise" in that time?

Hundreds? That said, I think there are a few limited uses for the minraise (preflop and post), but generally not at low buyins.

[rong]

hmmmm...only half my post came out, the other half was on the lines of....

Seems like an appropriate place to say thanks for all your help. You have probably been the most influential person I've spoke to since I started playing SnGs, so thanks for the always well thought out advice and for all of the torneys you've trawled through in order to tell me how shit I am (was, I'm relatively much better now). The SnG forum is far greater for your presence in it.

[bjsaust]

How come years ago you were going to contact me when you were in Melbourne and we'd hit the casino, but its never happenned? Do you expect me to believe you havn't been to Melbourne since?

[Alpine021]

Well done mate that's a lot of typing, lol.

So you're still going strong in terms of interest? I still love it with my goal to have a big live scene win. You fancy that at all?

Although I have at admit The busting out feeling is tough when u can't just boot up another one

Nice one though mate and cheers for your help and input on tons of hands.

[taipan168]

How come years ago you were going to contact me when you were in Melbourne and we'd hit the casino, but its never happenned? Do you expect me to believe you havn't been to Melbourne since?

Believe it or not, I've been to Melbourne heaps of times but never actually stayed overnight without my gf being there. I doubt she would take too kindly to being taken on a weekend away then having me bugger off to the casino with you! Would love to do it one day if I ever have reason to stay overnight for work however.

[taipan168]

So you're still going strong in terms of interest? I still love it with my goal to have a big live scene win. You fancy that at all?

Bleh, I guess so - but the time commitment involved (both in learning how to play MTTs properly and then entering all those tournaments) puts me off.

Nice one though mate and cheers for your help and input on tons of hands.

No worries, keep the hands coming!

[fulksy]

Yes. You can't retire on $2m in Sydney (a half-decent house in a half-decent suburb costs $1.0-1.5m) and I enjoy my day job so why would I quit?

holy *&$%, I'm just in process of buying a house and i thought it was super expensive here, makes me feel a bit better

[drmcboy]

I only scanned through, but having a wedding doesn't need to involve 'god'. I guarantee the process of acknowledging your love and commitment in front of people you care about will be one of the best days of your life. And it can cost however much you want it to.

[taipan168]

I only scanned through, but having a wedding doesn't need to involve 'god'. I guarantee the process of acknowledging your love and commitment in front of people you care about will be one of the best days of your life. And it can cost however much you want it to.

I don't deny it, but as long as you acknowledge your love and commitment to each other isn't that the main thing?

[Da GOAT]

congrats man, I lament you never playing cash games with me. I think we started low sngs together and moved up together (thats how i remember it).

[atikabo]

Congratulations for reaching the 10K posts, I"m sure it will take a long long time for other members to equal your feat. I"m looking forward for the next milestone, the 20K posts.

[drmcboy]

I don't deny it, but as long as you acknowledge your love and commitment to each other isn't that the main thing?

Nope, trust me. If you end up thinking it wasn't worthwhile I'll stake you the cost playing $50/100 45 man SNGs or something .

[mxiu]

Congrats Taipan. When I first started SNG's, I always looked forward to your advice in any threads that I posted. It has definitely helped develop me into the player I am today.

In a few days, I'm off to Calgary to play a few CPT events. Your helpful advice has transcended into a lot of MTT play for me and has helped me take down a few notable tournaments!

Good luck with your future endeavors.

[3 pairs should be a hand]

I have another q.

So, I'm wondering if your gf is like my x as in she only plays with you... at poker! For the dirty minded hee hee.

And if so she would've been the student.

Has she now surpassed you and does she kick your ass... at poker and not for not doing the washing up. Though you probably have a dishwasher - as in a machine and not your gf!

Also I have an old gucci for sale!

[taipan168]

So, I'm wondering if your gf is like my x as in she only plays with you... at poker! For the dirty minded hee hee.

And if so she would've been the student.

Has she now surpassed you and does she kick your ass... at poker and not for not doing the washing up. Though you probably have a dishwasher - as in a machine and not your gf!

Unfortunately my girlfriend hates everything to do with poker, so no luck there. And yes, we do have a dishwasher.

Also I have an old gucci for sale!

Just bought another watch so have to take a bit of a break...