if you were to recommend Tommy's program to someone, at what stage in their poker development(to simplify i guess use $ limit they play/win @) would you suggest they get his coaching so that they maximize its potential?

ur the greatest jman, i really enjoy reading all your posts

a new title for jman "best poster on 2+2" comon moddddds

Obviously one must be somewhat intelligent to be successful at poker, but to what extent is this statement true? How important would you say intelligence is overall in poker? How intelligent do you think you are relative to some of the other top pros. There are obviously different types of intelligence, perhaps you can discuss how this factors in as well (?).

Thanks.

shhhhhh

improv analogy is well put. if you're not writing a book, you should start.

how and where did u learn about game theory, u knew about it before u started with poker?
u think HU NL-holdem with 100bb+ stacks is a solvable game?


do u have ageneral idea, tip or concept that u could give as a tip to someone when they think about balancig their range? i mean if i want to balance in a specific ssituation, si there any special concept i could use a s a guideline to find the solution?

what is your 3-bet range HU? i think a lot of people RR too wide but I'm not sure.

This is one of the best threads I've read on 2+2. I hope it gets 500 replies.

Thanks for taking the time to do this jman.

Hey Jman, thanks a bunch for doing this.

I've always had a lot of respect for you, as you are clearly a very humble and classy guy.

Just a few questions, if you have the time. In your opinion:

1) Who are the top 5 HU NLHE players online?
2) Who are the top 5 6max NLHE players online?
3) Who are the top 5 6max PLO players online?

Also, I've seen ActionJeff comment that Lars is not as good a player as most people think he is (I think his comment was along the lines of "I'm surprised more nosebleed players don't play him HU"), but you seem to suggest the contrary. How high would you rank Lars in NLHE?

Thanks and happy holidays!

"Against some, you're 3betting just because they fold a lot and you'd rather take down the pot or find out you're behind than play a hand OOP (Also these hands strengthen your 3betting range so it isn't just junk and monsters)."

sounds very familiar to raising for info? do u ever think that is justified?
i mean with very deep stacks and against an opponent who you will know exactly how he reacts maybe but otherways seems spewy and bad and u wont get more info anyway?

I hope this question is greeted with a proper response, although the question is intentionally vague - I lack creativity. You mentioned making 1/3 psb bets in re-raised pots, which is something my arsenal does not encompass.

Could you share an interesting/non-standard line youv'e taken recently or thought about regardless of whether it's fictious?

Thanks for taking the time to do the well and giving us things to think about.

what are banana thieves?

Good morning and Merry Christmas. I'm doing something with friends later tonight, but I have some time today to get to work.

Merry Christmas Jman, I don't really have any questions, just wanted to say you're doing an awesome job amswering these with well thought out and informative replies.

This is really outstanding. As others have said, there are enough good questions here that I don't want to detract from future answers by adding any new (lesser quality) questions. I do want to thank you, though, boss. This thread rocks.

I mean, if I said I think about the game the best, that would sound arrogant. So I won't say that.

I will say that I think you should give me "Philosopher of Poker"

1st of all, my name is Phil, which is part of the word, Philosophy.

2nd, I was a philosophy major in college before dropping out.

3rd, I wrote the Gbux article, and random thought posts like this one or this one.

o3l

Yeah, the part I left out was what happened once I moved up to 50/100. The truth is I don't really remember. It was a lot of bouncing back and forth between 25/50 and 100/200, then back and forth between 50/100 and 300/600 and in between. I remember all of my biggest losing days, but not many of my biggest heaters.

I think for the most part I ran normal. I mean, my first shot I lost half my roll, and then my next shot went better. I was just lucky to run normal since I started by playing 50/100 and 100/200 on a 10bi roll. I would never risk my whole roll on shots like that, but I'd put 1-2 bi in play and then move back down when there was a really good game.

I know I have had my disagreements with you in the past....but this was an outstanding thread,and great read

Stephen

This is already the best well ever, thanks.

what are your thoughts on your KJ,88,A2,75 question?

Adapting to opponents is a big one. Some players just 'play their hand' too much, since that's what they did when they 10 tabled 3/6nl. The better players change every part of their game based on the table and the players they're up against.

I also think that a lot of medium-good but not great players probably undervalue betsize/timing tells. Especially against weaker opposition.
I'm not sure which of two interpretations of this questions you're asking, so I'll try to answer both.

Some players are smart enough and work hard enough to win, but lose because of 'soft skill' leaks. Things like game selection, BR management and tilt control. It definitely happens.

On the other hand, there are a lot of medium strength players who are successful because they don't have those leaks. It probably is wrong to call them medium strength players because they have higher EV than some of the 'better' players.

The other way I take your question is as a question about the players you see in the biggest games or in highstakes db as the biggest winners/losers.

In the long run, the best players will always win, but I think most people have no idea at all how long the long run is.

I wouldn't trust 3 full years of data on highstakes dbs to tell me who the best and worst players are.

I'm somewhat friendly with too many people to feel comfortable making a comprehensive list like this. Sorry if that's a little lame of me.

I definitely agree with a lot of things that you said.

Yes. Though I'm probably close to even at 25/50. I went on a nice heater at 100/200+ recently.

I still think I have more to learn about plo, but so do a lot of people who play it. Some very soft games have been running, where I'm good enough to be a decent favorite.

Jman,

thought of one more question that I probably value in an answer moreso than the first two from my previous post in the thread...


Can you describe the process of deciding to drop out of school to play full time? What factors pushed you to the decision? Did you deal with your parents/family head on with it? Was that a factor at all? Any advice you'd give to the aspiring young players that may be faced with similar decisions that you went through? Any thoughts at all on the subject are much appreciated, thanks.