The PokerListings Daily 3-Bet is a Sheaffer 330, a leather-bound notebook and the yellow-stained hand recaps that rewrite afternoon poker news history.
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Today in the 3-Bet we find Daniel Negreanu reliving an epic session, Wired turns to Annie Duke for political advice and a trip in a poker time machine.
1) $2k/$4k Among Friends
As we mentioned yesterday the rumor is the Vegas cash games have been booming since the WSOP ended and Daniel Negreanu has confirmed it in a new blog post.
Not only is the game playing huge - $1,500/$3,000 to start, $2k/$4k by the time the night owls take over - it "hasn't broke for 5+ days."
Even Gus is like, 'Big Bean?'
Negreanu popped in for a go at Bellagio last night and said it had the vibe of "the golden era" with Ivey, Doyle Brunson, Gus Hansen (!), Patrik Antonius, Jennifer Harman and "a little new blood" mixed in.
All told he says there's about 30+ players lingering around to play, making it a real blockbuster. Negreanu also reminisced about what he calls an unforgettable, 'animalistic" session he, Ivey and Gus played in San Diego years ago:
"Three young bulls bulls going to battle in a dinky little casino in a remote part of San Diego playing for millions... with $1 chips.
"I can't say that I remember any other cash game session as vividly as I do that one."
Also of note: It's the first time Negreanu was ever down "a big bean" in a cash game. It's a great story.
2) "You Have to Figure Out Just the Right Way to Punish the Aggression”
We're not sure why mainstream media outlets still call on Annie Duke as a "professional poker player" source but, for whatever reason, Wired magazine has in a new piece on the tenuous relationship between Paul Ryan and Donald Trump.
Poker/politics metaphors are also drastically overdone but, in this case, there does seem to be a reasonable parallel:
Weird as it is, she makes a good point.
"Why is Trump’s aggressive behavior starting to fail him? In part, Duke says, it’s because his opponents are catching onto his strategy.
'In tournament poker you’ll see people that do really well for six months to a year and then disappear,' she says. 'In general, those people do the exact same thing–they break convention by having this naked aggression where they’re moving all their chips without normal rhyme or reason.'
"Opponents initially respond one of two ways: by avoiding the player, like many of Trump’s primary rivals, who mostly ducked direct confrontation; or they try to match his aggression, like Marco Rubio did at the end of his campaign. Over time, though, players figure out a more sophisticated approach–to lie in wait until they have a great hand, then lure the aggressor into betting into them.
"Purposefully or not, that’s how things played out with the Khan family, who represented a bet that Trump couldn’t help but raise, despite the fact that he was clearly holding bad cards against them. 'You have to figure out just the right way to punish the aggression,' Duke says."
Not a bad bit of insight, truthfully.
3) Live from the 1973 World Series of Poker Main Event!
As every year passes and PokerStars refines and improves its live streaming product, it feels a bit archaic to still do written "live updates" as the industry standard.
Live from 1973! (Photo: UNLV Special Collections)
But back in 1973? It would have been revolutionary. And opened a door into a world few, if any, could even imagine.
Kudos to poker blogger Martin "Short Stack Shamus" Harris who came up with the brilliant idea to "live update" the 1973 WSOP Main Event based on historical recollections in a couple of books and the CBS Sports Spectacular documentary about it.
