Doyle Brunson

Many times I have experienced playing bottom two pair. Back when I first began playing Holdem I would slow play this kind of hand like a complete neophyte. I got away with it a few times for some big pots and then all of the sudden I started getting burned over and over and over again. It was only after I had reviewed my hand histories and read a few books that I realized how poorly I was playing this hand.

Bottom two pair should never be a hand you get married to and certainly not one worthy of going broke with. Even in a cash game playing bottom two pair can get you in a heep of trouble. Having said all that it is inevitable that you will hit this hand from time to time. Most often I tend to hit this hand while in the blinds. Here is my take on how to handle bottom two pair from any situation.

1. First and foremost I flat refuse to go broke with this hand in a tournament or cash game format. It just is not strong enough to withstand any serious pressure after you bet out.

2. The hand is extremely vulnerable when your opponent has top pair so you want to play the hand aggressively. I do not want my opponent to see another card after the flop so I am going to bet out hard holding this hand.

3. Despite holding a decent hand I still may be beat no matter what position I am playing it from. Again, I need to know where I am at in the hand and if I get some serious pressure be willing to fold the hand with minimal damage to my stack.

No, I do not encourage flaunting this hand with slow plays trying to milk the pot. This is a hit and run type of hand in a cash game or tournament format. Make your move and get outta there!

Sure, there are exceptions to every rule but you need to know where you’re at and with whom you are playing with. So when playing bottom two pair proceed with extreme caution.

Clonie Gowen

Looks like Clonie Gowen is unhappy with her deal with Full Tilt Poker. Apparently she believes there was jilted when the revenue was distributed to Full Tilt full members earlier in the year and she is now seeking retribution. I find this rather odd to say the least. The reason being is that most people know that full Full Tilt members are comprised of the founders of Full Tilt plus Patrick Antonious. Most everyone else is a Friend of Full Tilt professional or Full Tilt friend. The founding members of Full Tilt each have a 1% stake in ownership.

Full Tilt poker is estimated to be worth approximately $2 Billion dollars.

Gowen believes that when she was being courted by Full Tilt that a verbal commitment was made assuring her of being a full Full Tilt member. Again, if you take notice to the founders and full Full Tilt members you will see that they are all upper echelon poker professionals like Phil Ivey, Howard Lederer, Chris Ferguson, Gus Hanson, Andy Bloch etc. Clonie is indeed a good poker player and successful cash game player but she is nowhere near the top echelon of tournament or cash game players. I don’t see this law suit going anywhere especially since she has nothing in writing other than her being a Full Tilt Pro.

Here are the claims made in the case filed in Nevada on November 14th:

• Breach of Contract
• Breach of Fiduciary Duties
• Breach of Covenant of Good Faith and Fair Dealing
• Unjust Enrichment
• Fraud/Intentional Misrepresentation

The first Do or Die Poker podcast is now online and ready for downloading. It took me a while to get to it but I am pleased with it and I hope you enjoy it as much as I did. In my haste I left out the “or” in the URL but it is easily read throughout the entire podcast or by simply searching Do or Die Poker.

Hey I’m new to pod casting so I figure one mistake on the first one won’t kill me.

lol

Anyhow, we would love to hear your feedback so that we can continue to improve the podcast moving forward. Thanks for your patience and enjoy the show.

Curtis III AKA “Curtom”

iPhone Live Poker

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The Live Poker application is FREE!

Download here

Recommended Resources

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