Now Ye're Talking - to a Professional Poker Player

Neon_Lights

Do you think nlh has gone a little stale and that a shake up is needed to attract more players to poker. It's never going to be like the moneymaker days let's face it, but it seems to me that interest has stagnated (in my opinion) . I know twitch has helped make poker streamers accessible, but it's a passive form of enjoying the game and sometimes it's not even about the poker.

doke

RichardB2 wrote: »

Hi Darragh,

My compliments on how you always take time to chat when people approach you at events, since basically you're in the office working when you play.
Nice touch to stay so grounded.

Which factors are you most often considering when bet sizing p/f?
Hand strength, stack sizes, opponents styles, position, history etc
presumably, but which ones & to what extent.
I know it's situational, but as a general rule of thumb. eg:70bb deep.

Do you think bots will eventually kill online poker?

Am I a better player or dealer? (careful now ;-)

Cheers, Declan

Hi Declan
Thanks for the kind words. I actually enjoy chatting to people at events: it lightens up what can be a pretty repetitive grind.
Preflop bet sizing: I rarely factor in my hand strength. Against weaker opposition it's ok to do so but as soon as there are stronger players in the mix it's a dangerous road to go down, as you are basically telegraphing the strength of your hand. If I do decide I can get away with this, then I bet the biggest size I think they will call when I want them to call, and the smallest size I think they will fold to when I want them to fold, which is always a judgement call. But you have to be careful as even weaker players can pick up on this, and the stronger ones certainly will. Let's say I start opening 4 big blinds into a weak players big blind when I want him to call, and 7 when I want him to fold. Even if my read is right and this works versus him, any strong player at the table will quickly pick up on this and start playing back at me when I 7x (knowing I have a weak hand) and staying out of the way when I 4x.
Opponents style can be a factor: against loose passive players who call too much, my sizing goes up to punish this mistake by getting them to put more money into the pot with a weaker hand than my range of hands and/or positional advantage and post flop skill deficit.
Position isn't a factor. There is a school of thought that you should open for bigger from early position (where you have a tighter range) and smaller from late position (where your range is wider), and another that is basically the opposite of that (smaller from early position because you want people to play against your stronger hands, more from late position because you'll be stealing more and want them to fold), but I stick to the middle ground of opening to the same size from every seat (except small blind where I generally limp if folded to).
History can be a factor but only against weaker players. For example if I have won some big pots against a player and I think he's angry and looking to take a stand, I might increase my sizing with strong hands and decrease it with weaker hands. Or if I've noticed he tends to reraise small bets but never big bets, I might go small with a big hand hoping to induce the raise. Similar comments I made about hand strength apply here.
Stack size is the primary factor. As a general rule/default, I open my entire range for 4 big blinds when the stacks are greater than 100 big blinds, 3 when they are in the 50 to 100 big blind region, 2.5 between 40 and 50 big blinds, and 2 big blinds below that. Below 30 big blinds I start limping more hands.
Bots will almost certainly kill online poker. One of the reasons I'm going so hard still even ten years in is that I know the timer is ticking and online poker will disappear at some point, killed either by the bots or government regulation, as online backgammon did before it.
Player or dealer, hmmm? I need to choose my words carefully I feel as we have been friends for almost a decade. Let's just say that you are equally incompet......usele....pathet.....risib....inadequ....amateuri.....unprofic....brilliant at both
Thanks for your questions and it's always a pleasure to run into you at events, either at my table as a player or waving from another as a dealer.

doke

siblers wrote: »

Have you had any experience playing against some of the "hot shots" on the live circuit? I'm thinking of the likes of Luke Schwartz, Jake Cody,  Sam Trickett, Benny Spindler etc (not even sure if they are still going)

If so, did you find it more difficult playing against them than against unknown competitors? How was their table manner, Did they have much of an ego etc?

I have played against all the guys you mentioned, Jake most often. He's a lovely guy with no ego. I didn't really interact much with the others: Luke is very brash but it seem to be an act/part of his strategy to wind people up and get them playing badly. Benny is very quiet, and Sam even quieter. I've also played against the likes of Negreanu, Hellmuth and other big names and always enjoy it and have no negative experiences there. I would say they undoubtedly have big egos though.

I used to worry more about playing the best of the best but these days I generally just try to stick as close to Game Theory Optimal so they can't exploit me irrespective of what they do. I'm basically playing for a draw against those guys while hoping to beat the weaker players. I sometimes diverge though, primarily against Luke (who does mix up his bet sizings to try to exploit weaker players so I try to exploit that as soon as I spot it) and Jake (who also diverges quite a bit from GTO).

David Lappin and I interviewed Jake for our podcast here: 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lXksEPVYURA

tedpan

doke wrote:

Thanks for your question and good luck at the IPO.

Cheers! Best of luck in Brighton

hufpc8w3adnk65

When you started playing did you have a budget for your self from your “real job” money? Did you say for example max I’m putting in my account is €50?


I was told a long time ago to try and be consistent with my raise ie allways bet 3x the big blind would you agree or should you allways vary your bets?


Have you any lucky charm for the table/chip stack or superstitions you keep too at live events?


Who in your opinion is the best Texas hold um player out there? Past or present?

When playing live would you listen to music on your phone/iPod?if so what kind?

Would you bring a phone with you playing live and check between hands, ie Facebook twitter news texts?


Finally I’m the Snap World Champion wana play against me? If you win you can have another World title but if I win you can clear my mortgage? I’m fairly sound aswell so I’ll bring the deck and all

Creative83

doke wrote: »

On a weekday, 8-14 hours.

On Sunday, 14-20 hours.

Not trying to be funny but that seems like an addiction to me... What happens when you start running out of luck?

Dice75

mini_Sapphire wrote: »

Not trying to be funny but that seems like an addiction to me... What happens when you start running out of luck?

Will be tough for him but i'd say when he starts running out of luck he might have to fall back on his skillsets as a professional poker player. He has been pretty lucky for the last 10 years straight though....

Neon_Lights

Dice75 wrote: »

Will be tough for him but i'd say when he starts running out of luck he might have to fall back on his skillsets as a professional poker player. He has been pretty lucky for the last 10 years straight though....

Yeah people have this illusion that poker players are all Degens, I take exception to this, some are just calculated risk takers. If it's not a viable investment theres always the opportunity to move into something else.

keane2097

Tell the Bowie story!

tevey08

Do you tip on all cashes from a tournament and what % or do you not tip at all?

diomed

scudzilla wrote: »

We've all had bad beats, what's your worst??

Without reading down the thread I'm going to say his worst was when late in the Deepstack (about 11 players left) he was all in with AA, called by 72 offsuit and the other player hit a flush on the river with the 2 to eliminate him.
Besides my own bad beat stories I can tell bad beat stories for other players.

diomed

doke wrote: »

What really annoys me are the cautionary tales of friends who were problem gamblers and lost it all, or the guys who insist it's all blind luck and you can't possibly win long term.

Yes. The real story is the market makers take a percentage to run the game and the participants divvy up the remainder. No reason why some can't win long term if they identify good bets.

What gave you the idea for the thread?
Are you running in the Dublin marathon on the weekend?
When I start talking at the table do you lose the will to live?
You are unfailingly polite. Is that an act?
What do you do on a Wednesday afternoon?
You are known for your small stack play. Why? Is it knowing the odds: your all-in getting called; chance of being ahead if called; chance of winning if called and behind? Or is it being willing to fight it out even when small stacked?

Very disappoint you got your worst bad beat question wrong. :mad:

kincsem

doke

Tom Mann Centuria wrote: »

I know it wasn't poker but do you have an opinion on the latest Phil Ivey Baccarat case ruling? Or how he's played that game in the past. Cheating or clever?

I don't see it as cheating. It seems to me that casinos uses all sorts of tricks and strategies to maximise their edge like getting you drunk to impair your judgement, but as soon as the player manages to get an edge, they call it cheating.

Thanks for your question.

doke

Gloomtastic! wrote: »

Wow doke, you are the real deal, fair play to you!!

You must have met many of the shadier side of life while playing. Do they intimidate you? Have you ever been worried that if I clean this guy out I could be in trouble?

And you’re married, wasn’t expecting that!

Were you pro when you met her? How did she react when you told her and how long did it take her to really believe and trust in you that you won’t lose the house?

I have never felt personally intimidated at the table. It's not really in my nature to wind people up at the table so I feel that kind of insures me against retribution

I have however often worried for David Lappin. When he moved back from the US, he knew nobody in the Irish poker scene, and he does like winding people up, so I remember casting an eye over his table before sending him a text that said something like "Do not wind up the older Northern gentleman in seat 7".

I was married for 15 years before I even learnt poker so I have to give credit to my wife for being supportive (http://dokearney.blogspot.co.uk/2017/06/the-poker-wife.html). It was undoubtedly difficult for her in the beginning and I quickly learned it was best not to go into too much detail on wins and losses but just tell her how it was going overall.

Thanks for your questions.

doke

Junkyard Tom wrote: »

Do you like playing AK or do you think 'oh no, here comes trouble'.

As jaded as this sounds, I feel nothing and just think "Here's another hand I have to make correct decisions with".

Early in my career, a pro told me "When I get dealt aces online my girlfriend gets excited but I feel nothing". At the time that seemed bizarre to me, but having been dealt aces at least fifty thousand times over my career, now it's just another hand.

Thank you for your question.

Former Great

Dara do u bet on Sports at all ? If so how big would your stakes be?
Iv never played poker in my life , im in my 30s and would think its to late to learn the game at my age , although u were a latecomer to the game aswell were u?

Dub13

Are you still running...? If so how does this fit in with (or not) the poker..?

RichardB2

doke wrote: »

either at my table as a player or waving from another as a dealer.

I see what you did there.....Schweinehund. :-)
Go ahead, ask for a ruling next time ..... I dare you.

hgfj

As a professional player are you liable for tax in Ireland? If so how much does anyone need to earn before they are offically classed as a pro player?

doke

FFred wrote: »

Is there any possibility that the big name online poker sites are rigged?

There's always some chance greater than 0 and the industry has had its scandals in the past but I think it's only a minuscule chance. Once a site or operator is exposed as cheating it's game over for them so they have a stronger incentive not to cheat in my view.

Thanks for your question.

4068ac1elhodqr

doke wrote: »

There's always some chance greater than 0 and the industry has had its scandals in the past but I think it's only a minuscule chance. Once a site or operator is exposed as cheating it's game over for them so they have a stronger incentive not to cheat in my view.

This subject of ‘legitimacy’ probably would require it’s own thread (and could include FOBTs and all other online casinos, games, bingo and the like).

Think there is way too many variables involved, to even slightly consider any of the above, poker in particular has added variance due to the small risk of ‘collusion’, particularly as stakes increase (both event and online environments).

As well as (unknown and unseen) source code, based around a ‘random(); function’ (RNG) that selects each card, there are other considerations:

i) As mentioned: RNG scripts (the source code for these are said to be independently verified, but who watches the watchers?).

ii) Admin key access, there was some historical news incidents from certain smaller vendor(s) whereby certain people had admin level ability to view all live hands played, and act accordingly.

iii) Funds holding, again historical news stories reported on improper funds holding by certain vendors. This presented issues with larger cash-outs.

iv) Virtual bots, probably only really exist in demo modes, again hard to verify (table chat may be useful). But what about presence of software testers, player profilers or other 'admin' staff?

v) The house/vendor takes a percent of each play, so the table is never really a level playing field with 100% of pot. Profit or simply just break-even-point, therefore requires either exceptional skill, or luck over other players.

Separately (but similarly), shop FOBT’s are said to run around 97.2%. Anyone that considers these shop machines needs basic help with math…

Essentially it’s like putting 5l of water in a bucket with a small hole in the bottom, then trying to retrieve back all 5l of the water. These physical shop machines have fees that need paid for: licensing, electricity, hardware, vending costs/fees. So (by their very nature) aren’t ever, ever going to be the cash-cow that some imagine they are.

Personally only ever consider 'real-world' events, whereby insight, knowledge and big data can be used to an advantage. Anything in the ‘virtual space’ gets a very, very big miss from me.

Neon_Lights

doke wrote: »

There's always some chance greater than 0 and the industry has had its scandals in the past but I think it's only a minuscule chance. Once a site or operator is exposed as cheating it's game over for them so they have a stronger incentive not to cheat in my view.

Thanks for your question.

But sites especially in cash games have the incentive with their algorithms to optimise hands to generate the most action at any given point maximise Rake etc

Jobs OXO

Always thought sitting at an online table could leave you exposed to 2 (or more) of the table working together. Any thoughts on this ?

howardmarks

I have a non typical question if I may.
I also don't want you to consider it as a would you have done anything different as you made your choices and I don't personally believe theres any positives in regretting past decisions.
Anyway considering the time sunk costs into getting where you are now with conservative estimates of (60 hrs per week x say 50 weeks a year) so approx 3000 hrs per year by a 10 year career. Say conservatively 30k hours.
Now consider a baseline of the 10k hour rule to master something.
You could have mastered 3 skills in this time.
Q1. What 3 skills would you choose to learn?
Q2. Would you think you could have been considerably wealthier devoting said time to master say programming, finance?

And I guess could you reflect on anything that you would change given the magic delereon I could lend you to do it.( I know I said don't do this:)

Thanks for your time . I don't play anymore myself but always find the stories very interesting

doke

Colsin91 wrote: »

Hi Darragh,

It is so nice of you to take the time to participate in AMA! Thanks so much!

I noticed on one of your posts that you work considerably longs. How do you ensure a decent work-life balance?

Thanks again!

Hi and thank you.

I guess the short answer is I don't. This is one thing I've always been pretty terrible at. I'm compulsive by nature: started running to lose a little weight, ended up representing Ireland in 24 hour races. Took up poker: within a year I was playing it full time 100 hours a week. When I find something challenging I enjoy, I pretty much devote myself to it for however long it holds my interest.

I'm pretty sure for most of my career I went entire years without taking a single day off. In the last few years I've been trying to be a bit more balanced by forcing myself to take one or two days a week off playing. But even there I do my 4 hour weekly long run one of the days, and find myself sneaking in coaching and study sessions and other work. Because I love my job so much it really doesn't feel like work and I just feel restless and cold turkey if I try to take an entire day off.

Thank you for your question.

the_galway_fry

do you play all of your hands online at normal speed and what is your general thoughts on turbo etc?
im presuming you play at normal speed at 9 plus tables given you said you play 20plus at a time?

tedpan

doke wrote:

Thanks for your question and good luck at the IPO.

I ended up playing the 125e side event on the Friday. Split it for 1k, so freerolling with profit. Played the main even Saturday, got through to Sunday with 180 remaining, ended up bubbling with 3BB. Disappointing , but there's always next time..

How did Brighton go, any decent stories?

doke

MrMac84 wrote: »

When you started playing did you have a budget for your self from your “real job” money? Did you say for example max I’m putting in my account is €50?

I never actually deposited online. I initially played freerolls (which were much more commonplace back then) and on my second night playing came 2nd out of something like 6000 runners in a Ladbrokes freeroll for €170. I used that money to start playing low stakes cash (limit, which was bigger back then) and gradually ran it up to a 6 figure bankroll online.

I was told a long time ago to try and be consistent with my raise ie allways bet 3x the big blind would you agree or should you allways vary your bets?

It's generally better to stick to a consistent bet size, at least until you become an expert. One mistake a lot of novices make is varying the bet size depending on the strength of their hand, which will quickly be read by more experienced players.

Have you any lucky charm for the table/chip stack or superstitions you keep too at live events?

No. On my first big live final table, the only pro at the table (Joe Beevers) said "I think it's unlucky to be superstitious", which I took to mean that if you are focusing on luck and superstition you're wasting brain bandwidth that could be used to focus on the aspects of the game within your control, like studying your opponents and working out the best counter strategies against them. I wholeheartedly agree with this.

Who in your opinion is the best Texas hold um player out there? Past or present?

Relative to his time, Stu Ungar.

Right now, Fedor Holz.

When playing live would you listen to music on your phone/iPod?if so what kind?

Rarely, as I prefer to listen to opponents for any information on their game they may be giving off. Sometimes if the table is completely silent, or if there's annoying uninformative chatter that's just distracting, I listen to my favourites: Bowie, Joy Division, Snow Patrol, Kraftwerk, Iggy Pop, Velvet Underground, Arcade Fire.

Would you bring a phone with you playing live and check between hands, ie Facebook twitter news texts?

I definitely do that, both for information and to stave off boredom. On major final tables that are being broadcast I'll also have at least one friend watching relaying me information on how my opponents are playing.

Finally I’m the Snap World Champion wana play against me? If you win you can have another World title but if I win you can clear my mortgage? I’m fairly sound aswell so I’ll bring the deck and all

I would never play you for money at anything you might be better than me

Thank you for your questions

doke

Neon_Lights wrote: »

Do you think nlh has gone a little stale and that a shake up is needed to attract more players to poker. It's never going to be like the moneymaker days let's face it, but it seems to me that interest has stagnated (in my opinion) . I know twitch has helped make poker streamers accessible, but it's a passive form of enjoying the game and sometimes it's not even about the poker.

I wouldn't say stale but it's certainly lost a lot of its novelty.

I think that was probably inevitable. No industry or pastime can continue to grow infinitely, and I personally think a lot of money and effort has been wasted chasing impossible growth after numbers had peaked. Just accept it's a niche and make the best of it. The analogy I always use is that undertakers know their business is limited to whatever number of people die every year, and they don't take active measures to increase that.

Thanks for your question.

doke

mini_Sapphire wrote: »

Not trying to be funny but that seems like an addiction to me... What happens when you start running out of luck?

A friend of mine wrote her doctoral thesis on addiction and tells me I don't meet the clinical criteria (but probably do for "compulsion"). I used to spend similar amounts of time in my previous job, and running when I took that very seriously. It just seems to be how I am: whatever interests me most at any given time I devote most of my time to.

Poker is a skill game: in the long term luck doesn't really matter. If my skill edge diminishes to the point that I'm no longer winning, I'll just quit. Actually probably before then: once it becomes clear I'm going backwards I just lose interest. When I realised my marathon times were deteriorating and would never improve again no matter how hard I trained, I stopped running marathons. I expect the same to happen when I start to deteriorate in poker: I'll just quit and find some other obsession.

Thank you for your questions