Ask char any question...

I'm bored, and I'm curious, and I'm an attention whore...... so ask away. I don't care if it's related to MTTs, life in general, personal stuff, whatevers.

If, heaven forbid, you get divorced, will your wife the doctor have to pay you alimony?

What reason, if any would a decent ring player have for playing MTT's and do you think that taking a Cash game background to MTT's would help or hurt? Is there something to look for in a player that would make him a better MTT player than cash? Do You see where I am going with this?

Also, how much has your house dropped in value since you bought it?

Originally Posted by Warpe

If, heaven forbid, you get divorced, will your wife the doctor have to pay you alimony?

If it were to happen soon - it's doubtful. If I were to remain an unpracticing attorney and become a stay at home dad for years and years and then we were to divorce I might have a better argument for some alimony. Generally alimony is meant to support the spouse who has given up job potential for the good of the marriage/household/other spouse's job potential. Since I have a degree that should allow me to support myself just fine, alimony would be a tough sell.

Originally Posted by Trainer_jyms

What reason, if any would a decent ring player have for playing MTT's and do you think that taking a Cash game background to MTT's would help or hurt? Is there something to look for in a player that would make him a better MTT player than cash? Do You see where I am going with this?

Sort of a hard question for me to answer since I consider myself to be a bad NL cash game player. Actually I think I might be a very good high stakes NL player (dunno cuz I've never played) but I try and play fancy too much at lower limits and become a spewtard. Anyhoo, with that as a background I'll still take a stab and try to answer.

I would think good cash players would have the patience and understanding of position and hand values which are super important for MTTs. What I would worry about cash players is: 1) that they might not understand how to play a short/medium stack optimally since they are used to playing 100 BBs deep (and many tourneys you don't even start out that deep); 2) they might not grasp how important it is to "change gears" and/or when to do it (i.e. my feeling is that good low/medium stakes cash players don't bluff much and would thus miss opportunities late in tourneys where bluffing gets you tons of value); and 3) they might not be able to handle the variance. Clearly to be a good cash player you need to have more winning sessions than you do losing ones - even the best MTT players are going to win only about 20% of the time, and that gets very mentally tough to deal with.

I think that my downfall in cash games (being spewtastic) might make me a better MTT player than cash - it's just a matter of picking the right spots to make those plays.

Originally Posted by Warpe

Also, how much has your house dropped in value since you bought it?

I actually don't think that much. We specifically chose a neighborhood that has historically had incredible resale value/short time on market when property is tendered for sale because we knew that the housing market was in a downswing and that it was probably going to continue for a while.

We'll find out in like 4 years when we (probably) put it back on the market.

Originally Posted by Trainer_jyms

What reason, if any would a decent ring player have for playing MTT's and do you think that taking a Cash game background to MTT's would help or hurt? Is there something to look for in a player that would make him a better MTT player than cash? Do You see where I am going with this?

Not to hijack, but...

TJ, I've just recently started dabbling in MTTs again (after the Gauntlet gave me back the bug- I'd like to put a few big cashes under my belt), and I find having played cash for a long time really helps. Patience is key, esp in the early stages, so knowing how to fold your way to glory really helps, as a lot of MTT/SNG players are action junkies and will takes hands too far. I don't always cash but if I do bust it's usually not far from the bubble, so I'm usually pwning at least 3/4 of the field anyway. Having kept up with the MTT and SNG forums even when I wasn't playing them helped a lot as well, of course (thanks Char, for one), so I do know when to switch gears, although I still need a lot of work (made a few stupid mistakes today, but not many considering).

And now, back to our regularly scheduled programming...

What is the inspiration behind the theme of your avatars?

my avatars are all mugshots.

I used to work as an assistant attorney general for the state of wisconsin. The vast majority of my workload consisted of defending the state from lawsuits filed by Wisconsin inmates. So I just sorta like my inmate avatars.

scale of 1-10, how much do you love me?

remember, I stayed up with you until 4am (had to work in 3hrs) in vent during you $150k win, so the bidding starts at 3.5

well I love everyone lots - cuz u know what the world needs now is love sweet love... it's the only thing that there's just too little of.

So I was gonna give you an 11 because you helped propel me to victory, but then I found out you hated the wheeeeeeing, so it's down to a 9.

1) what was your bankroll when you started your MTT career ?

2) what is your favorite tourney style to play ? (6max, rebuy , deepstack , turbo . . . )

3) when will we see more (if any) videos ?

4) when will we see a chardrian donkaments thread with vital/random HHs ?

5) how many MTTs do you play in a day ? week ?

^ i could OPR this , but what is your 'ideal' number ?

Originally Posted by chardrian

well I love everyone lots - cuz u know what the world needs now is love sweet love... it's the only thing that there's just too little of.

So I was gonna give you an 11 because you helped propel me to victory, but then I found out you hated the wheeeeeeing, so it's down to a 9.

lol who ratted me out?

Originally Posted by mojoNOgo

1) what was your bankroll when you started your MTT career ?

2) what is your favorite tourney style to play ? (6max, rebuy , deepstack , turbo . . . )

3) when will we see more (if any) videos ?

4) when will we see a chardrian donkaments thread with vital/random HHs ?

5) how many MTTs do you play in a day ? week ?

^ i could OPR this , but what is your 'ideal' number ?

1) I started with a sort of variable roll. When I first started playing I was in law school so I was mostly playing Limit cash and then playing MTTs for fun. Once I graduated and got a job I always knew that I could just redeposit if I needed to so I am probably best known for playing way above my roll and busting down to almost nothing and then right when I should be totally busto I win some random MTT and go on a tear. I did that at least 3 times including right before I won over 150k in August. Since then I have actually practiced good br management and have made 3k+ each month.

2) I like to be able to make moves which means both you and your opp need a deep stack. So rebuys and deepstacks are my favorite because they give you that opportunity.

3) I made a video for grinderschool which was started by ftr'ers. I have made another one but my computer sucks right now and for some reason I am having problems uploading it. So.... we'll see.

4) there is one - I just haven't been updating it often. I think I called it hand of the night or sumtin like that.

5) I generally play 8-12 a day when I am playing and 5ish days a week when I am playing fulltime. So about 40 a week. However, I am not going to be able to play fulltime again until March because I am studying to take the bar exam which is at the end of February and I really would like to pass.

Originally Posted by bigspenda73

Originally Posted by chardrian

well I love everyone lots - cuz u know what the world needs now is love sweet love... it's the only thing that there's just too little of.

So I was gonna give you an 11 because you helped propel me to victory, but then I found out you hated the wheeeeeeing, so it's down to a 9.

lol who ratted me out?

I think it was you.

1) when you play the rebuys , is it standard to dbl your stack (if option is there) and add-on ? does your stack size at break affect this ?

2) besides the FTR forum , what resources have you benefitted the most from ? (mtt related)

3) whats a life lesson you had to learn the hard way ?

4) does fieldsize affect your game selection ? payout structure ? or is buy-in what decides the game ?

5) ever busted a pro ?

- ps , thanks for this i wish i had more philosphical Qs for ya and fwiw i ate up your grinderschool vid .

when will the powers that be finally cave to popular demand and instill a playoff system for college football?

Originally Posted by mojoNOgo

1) when you play the rebuys , is it standard to dbl your stack (if option is there) and add-on ? does your stack size at break affect this ?

2) besides the FTR forum , what resources have you benefitted the most from ? (mtt related)

3) whats a life lesson you had to learn the hard way ?

4) does fieldsize affect your game selection ? payout structure ? or is buy-in what decides the game ?

5) ever busted a pro ?

- ps , thanks for this i wish i had more philosphical Qs for ya and fwiw i ate up your grinderschool vid .

1) yes always rebuy. I think it was Rizen who told me that mathematically u might not need to add-on if you have a stack that would be an average stack when the money bubble bursts (it came up because I had over 60k at the end of the rebuy hour in rebuy madness last week and wondered whether this was the one and only time where it was actually ok not to add-on - I added on anyways). So yeah always add-on.

2) just playing lots and lots. oh vent is nice too.

3) don't ever bike down a steep, gravelly, dusty road in buttfuck Guatemala that hairpins at the bottom on a bike with no brakes.

4) I like to play a mixture of tourneys everynight. Some are big fields, others are smaller. If you just stick with big fields the times in between final tables can start to eat away at u, which is why I like to throw some of the 200-400 entrants tourneys in there as well.

5) yes - haven't played much live, but I've busted lots o' online pros.

p.s. yeah I had fun doing the video and then I recorded myself going over my $10 Tilt rebuy history but I can't upload it.

Originally Posted by iolzizlyi

when will the powers that be finally cave to popular demand and instill a playoff system for college football?

I think we're stuck for like at least 5 more years and even then the best we can hope for is top 4.

How has mid-level ($3r to, say, $50+5 daily) donkament play strategy changed in the past year? What are the average player doing more and less of?

Hi chard, how's it going?

Originally Posted by Deanglow

How has mid-level ($3r to, say, $50+5 daily) donkament play strategy changed in the past year? What are the average player doing more and less of?

Some of it can actually depend tourney to tourney and site to site. At this point I am only playing on Tilt and Stars.

These are all generalizations so take em with a grain of salt:

1) the stars' rebuys ($3-$10) are still much more push happy during the rebuy hour than on Tilt.

2) The play on Tilt is still much more conducive to soupie's classic guide style of tight is right early and then start becoming an aggro maniac late. Stars is now much more of a play technically correct preflop and little to no room for maneuverability postflop. I think a lot of this is due to the blind structures at each site. Anyhoo, just know that at stars people play back a lot more preflop (lots more 3 betting/pushing) than at Tilt.

3) I think the average player has gotten a lot better at playing preflop (repopping likely steal attempts, using the squeeze, etc.). I think the average player still sucks at playing postflop (not knowing when a c-bet is a bad play, not knowing when to let go of a hand).

4) I think the two most important skills to concentrate on are to label your opponents and then to purposefully adjust your game to their style (e.g. never bluffing stations, using tricky plays only against players that understand them, etc.).

Originally Posted by ChrisTheFish

Hi chard, how's it going?

Hey, it is going g00t. My folks and younger siblings (well they're half-siblings technically but whatever) are coming up today for the weekend. My wife is off of work for the weekend. So I am looking forward to that. I start my bar review classes on Wednesday and have to start studying my ass off which means that I will probably not be playing any MTTs from now until March, so that sucks.

when do we get to see Char? or is there a pic floating around somewhere?

meet me in Vegas.

1) how important are PT+Hud stats in a MTT ?

2) have an example of when a C-bet is no good ?
^i assume if your up against a solid player and OOP with a flop that didnt hit .

3) why would you ever want to be a lawyer ?

Originally Posted by chardrian

meet me in Vegas.

tease

Originally Posted by mojoNOgo

1) how important are PT+Hud stats in a MTT ?

2) have an example of when a C-bet is no good ?
^i assume if your up against a solid player and OOP with a flop that didnt hit .

3) why would you ever want to be a lawyer ?

1) pretty important. Getting a read when you are 4+ tabling can be hard. Hud stats give you that first quick read.

2) You raise to 100 at 15/30 blinds UTG w/ AKs. You get 3 callers so it's 4 way. Flop comes TQ9. C-bet = waste o' chips.

3) Because it was (is) the easiest way to get a professional degree without tons of school (only took me 2 1/2 years to get my degree). You can also use a law degree for lots of things besides practicing law. If you wanna become filthy rich, you can, but you also can do lots of things that actually help people. I also am one of the few who actually enjoys the drama if being in court. With all that said, I really would rather play poker as my job, but having the assurance of being quickly employable by having my bar privileges in case poker doesn't work is a nice fallback to have.

Originally Posted by bigspenda73

Originally Posted by chardrian

meet me in Vegas.

tease

The best shemales always are.

How do you play mtt's and not break things. A good itm% is like 18 right so how do you deal with the fact that 82% of the time you want to kill yourself?
(I obviously play cash and only want to kill myself 45% of the time) I get that the big score is pretty sweet but the in betweens must suck no?

1. What programs/HUD's do u reccomend for improving your game in SNG's and in MTT's?

2. Will the Pats win the Superbowl?

3. how much wood would a woodchuck chuck if a woodchuck could chuck wood?

As a total noob Beginner. I've read Theory of Poker, HEPFAP, King Yao's Holdem book, SSH, Killer Poker, Killer poker online.

What's the best book I can read for SnG's and MTT's?

What's the over/under for the number of times Norman Chad mentions his ex wives in the next WSOP ESPN coverage series?

Will you give me money?

Hey

1: scenario: rebuy stars, M like 12-13 you get pocket 22-55 in first position-how do you usually play these. I seem to struggle with this spot. Obviously it depends a little on how many people are left, table image, etc.. but in general how do you approach this?

2: When interviewing for jobs, internships, etc... do you think it is okay to say you play poker when asked what do you do in your freetime? Specifically for professions like law, medicine, dentistry, etc...

3: What do you think seperates the decent MTT from the elite?

4: If you could take all the time you spent palying poker and invest it into something else what would it be?

Originally Posted by meeloche

How do you play mtt's and not break things. A good itm% is like 18 right so how do you deal with the fact that 82% of the time you want to kill yourself?
(I obviously play cash and only want to kill myself 45% of the time) I get that the big score is pretty sweet but the in betweens must suck no?

yes the in betweens suck. other than that, you basically answered your own question - the big score after pummeling a huge field is a pretty incredible feeling.

Originally Posted by DaddyDeez

1. What programs/HUD's do u reccomend for improving your game in SNG's and in MTT's?

2. Will the Pats win the Superbowl?

3. how much wood would a woodchuck chuck if a woodchuck could chuck wood?

1) I use Poker Ace as my HUD and Poker Tracker. They don't really improve my game though - they're just a tool I use to maximize my play.

2) Unfortunately, I think so.

3) a woodchuck would chuck loads of wood if a woodchuck could chuck wood.

Originally Posted by Ragnar4

As a total noob Beginner. I've read Theory of Poker, HEPFAP, King Yao's Holdem book, SSH, Killer Poker, Killer poker online.

What's the best book I can read for SnG's and MTT's?

What's the over/under for the number of times Norman Chad mentions his ex wives in the next WSOP ESPN coverage series?

Will you give me money?

This is chard's thread, but I feel compelled to reply. Chard has admitted to not reading any poker books. If you are going to play tourneys, then you are reading the wrong books. You need the HOH series, Kill Phil, Kill Everyone, Tournament Poker for Advanced Players, and Full Tilt Strategy Guide, SNG Strategy by Collin Moshman just to name a few. Chard can answer the rest.

Originally Posted by Ragnar4

As a total noob Beginner. I've read Theory of Poker, HEPFAP, King Yao's Holdem book, SSH, Killer Poker, Killer poker online.

What's the best book I can read for SnG's and MTT's?

What's the over/under for the number of times Norman Chad mentions his ex wives in the next WSOP ESPN coverage series?

Will you give me money?

1) I'm a bad person to ask about book advice because I've only skimmed SuperSystem and HOH2. I've gained my knowledge through playing, and posting hands here. I still think that's the best way to learn.

2) Once per episode.

3) No - I have a proven track record of wasting money which I'm trying to break. (Plus it's against the FTR rules to ask).

Originally Posted by kstarm

Hey

1: scenario: rebuy stars, M like 12-13 you get pocket 22-55 in first position-how do you usually play these. I seem to struggle with this spot. Obviously it depends a little on how many people are left, table image, etc.. but in general how do you approach this?

2: When interviewing for jobs, internships, etc... do you think it is okay to say you play poker when asked what do you do in your freetime? Specifically for professions like law, medicine, dentistry, etc...

3: What do you think seperates the decent MTT from the elite?

4: If you could take all the time you spent palying poker and invest it into something else what would it be?

1) hate to say it depends, but it does. There are some times/tables when open-limping from EP with low pocket pairs is the play. Other times/tables you should always be raising. And there's probably a decent argument to just dumping them (although that's just not my style).

2) I think it's fine to say poker is a hobby. Most people who are hiring/accepting are looking for well rounded people who are not social retards, so just make sure that you bring up other things that you do as well.

3) I continue to be surprised that I have lightbulb moments. I think the big thing though is learning to play poker and stop just playing cards. And by that I mean learning to adapt to make optimal plays depending on who your opponents are. Often when I was seeing new plays that I thought were pretty cool (huge bluffs, incredibly thin calls, etc) I would actively try and replicate them without thoughtfully figuring out that some plays only work against certain players in certain situations. Learning to spot those situations and exploit them is what makes a good player great.

4) As a money making venture it would probably be learning the stock market. As just a time spent - it would probably be athletics. I was a top notch volleyball and basketball player at one point in my life, and I miss playing as much as I used to.

What does your name mean? What is the relevance behind it?

My wife's name is Charmian; my name is Adrian. Put them together and you get...

My wife's name is Charmian; my name is Adrian. Put them together and you get...

Gads. You're a Brangelina. Say it aint so, Char.
It's like you just told me Santa's not real.
Why don't you kick me while you're at it?

Because I don't believe in violence.

What the world needs now is love sweet love.

And I have enough for everyone.

Chardrian is black.

Originally Posted by chardrian

Because I don't believe in violence.

Are you saying you don't believe violence exists?

Originally Posted by elipsesjeff

Chardrian is black.

no he isnt, he said he doesnt like violence

Do you think its as effective live saying "wheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee" every time you pick up the blinds or win a small pot, or that just annoys the oldies???

Do you think 100% ROI is maintainable in the current poker environment?

Will u reshove me if next time I am at one of your tables I min-raise your big blind with any two cards?

How many margaritas does it take to get you drunk?

1) I dunno - but I had more fun doing it live than I do online (and I enjoy wheeing online).

2) Well my goal is 50-100% next year, and I think it's possible. I think 100+% is attainable with a little luck (read you need one mega huge score). Without that huge score I think 100% would be tough, but possible.

3) Against u, there would be lots of metagame involved, so I have no idea.

4) Depends on the potency. I think I was at like 7-8 in Vegas and I was starting to feel good. But 2-3 of mine and I feel reeeeeal g00t.