Q&A with RoundTower

RoundTower · 02-06-2007 08:27AM

hotspur wrote:

How come I don't see you playing HORSE on Stars anymore? It still has O8!

I'm pretty sure I'm Stars busto and they took away my Neteller, I have to go jump through some hoops get it back. Also I don't think the games are that good any more (since I stopped playing them).

RoundTower · 02-06-2007 08:40AM

lafortezza wrote:

Criticise several regular contributors to the poker forum on there general approach to poker, and to this poker forum.

Lloyd should spend less time moaning.
Mr Flibble and Fatboydim are both sneaky spammers.
I'm constantly surprised that DeVore has a maths degree.
Nicky still thinks he is better than the table every time he sits down, despite evidence to the contrary. Also for someone who ran a poker room he knows remarkably little about rules, etc.

That's enough for now, I'm sure I could go on all day.

RoundTower · 02-06-2007 08:51AM

Hi muso, I'm glad you came up with better questions than HJ.

musician wrote:

Is Rambo IV destined to be the greatest movie ever made?
After what happened to Rocky I have no faith any more

How would John Rambo do in 6-max 5/10 PLO?
He would destroy it

If John Rambo asked you for advice on how to play AAxx UTG in an Afghanistanian refugee camp what line would you suggest he take?
This is a tough one, he should probably go all in.

John Rambo has AKTJ double suited in MP in a 2/5 PLO game at a Green Joker Poker festival with Marq to act after him and Flipper on the BB should he:-

a) make a pot raise
b) limp with the intention of re-raising
c) jump onto the table and open fire on all players due to act after him, throw a few grenades towards the blinds and scream "POT".
Are you fcuking kidding with c? With that lineup why would you try to scare away the fish?

RoundTower · 02-06-2007 08:53AM

mdwexford wrote:

If you played halibut heads-up PLO for bankrolls who do you think would win??
Pretty sure he would have an edge, dont know how much.

Are you playing the WSOP PLO event this year??
I'd like to but I doubt it, it is a lot of money.

Can you play chinese poker to a decent standard??
Yes but I haven't played in a while.

more later/tomorrow.

sikes · 02-06-2007 09:40AM

cheers dave, good read. see you vegas.

Marq · 02-06-2007 01:43PM

Roundtower wrote:

Marq has been known to solicit tips.

Hell yeah!

Hitman Actual · 02-06-2007 03:52PM

RoundTower wrote:

Hi Lenny, I think I know you but can't remember who

I played in the Fitz a lot in the early days, so you dealt to me a fair bit, I'd say.

A few more from me:

1. What do you think of the adverse reaction to Jamie Gold's win, in general poker circles, and on this board?

2. Will you be disappointed if you don't cash in the ME? MPT talked about expecting to cash in 1 out of 3, or some high amount; do you expect the same?

3. Considering the amount of soft lucrative NL cash games in the country at the moment, do you think it's more profitable for a good player to target those, rather than grinding at the games online (where things seem to be getting tougher)?

4. What's the story with the RoundTower handle? I originally thought it was a connection to the Dublin GAA club, but I don't take you as being the GAA type.

5. A (sort-of) follow on from 4, have you been involved much in sports? And what's your taste in music?

6. In your 'antagonistic' threads, are you just trying to wind people up, or do you just believe in not sugar-coating things? Does it bother you that these threads might alienate you to a lot of posters?

Anyway, best of luck in the WSOP!

semibluff · 02-06-2007 04:57PM

lenny_leonard wrote:

4. What's the story with the RoundTower handle? I originally thought it was a connection to the Dublin GAA club, but I don't take you as being the GAA type.
QUOTE]

a reference to the roundtower in kildare were he is from AFAIK

only a few questions from me -

What software is a necessity for those who want to make some decent money online?
how stupid is is/ how much of an edge are you losing by not using it?
What length of sessions should one play in a day - ie 3 2hr session with min of 1hr break in between?

i find 2+2 very big to try and "get in to" although i know its were i would learn most. from playing small to med stake how do you recommend i get used to reading/posting and ultimately learning from the site in general?

ty for the well dave, njoy your trip

cardshark202 · 03-06-2007 01:55AM

I am not and never was a dealer in the fitz. Gl2me should know that thus Dave's slanderous answers to those questions are void.

Ok my questions:

If you were only allowed to raise on one street, which street do you think you would choose? For example, if you chose the turn, it would mean you could only check/call/fold on every other street and check/call/fold/raise on the turn.
Give your answers for NLH, PLH and PLO.

MrPillowTalk · 03-06-2007 05:15AM

No questions about poker per se but more the poker life balance.

Would you consider yourself to be considerably different from when you started playing, ie do you react with a more logical viewpoint on life and less emotional involvement? As an example of what I mean, recently a close freind of mines father died, a man I knew well and liked, however when I was at the funeral and everyone was crying etc as he was very young to kick it, all I could think of whilst this was going on was how I hoped he had adequate life insurance and that his business would struggle to survive without him to run it. All in all I was quite unaffected by the whole thing much less than I thought I would be and it occured to me that the discipline of controlling my emotions for poker may have had a detrimental affect on my emotional well being, would you imagine this has happened to you?

Do you consider poker to be a positive influence? If you have children will you encourage them to play?

The majority of successful poker players I know dont have girlfreinds, do you think this is due to the demands of poker or more due to the personalities of the poker player?

RoundTower · 03-06-2007 09:25AM

lenny_leonard wrote:

I played in the Fitz a lot in the early days, so you dealt to me a fair bit, I'd say.

A few more from me:

1. What do you think of the adverse reaction to Jamie Gold's win, in general poker circles, and on this board?
I think it's mostly sour grapes. He's not likeable and didn't make an effort to be liked by his opponents or a TV audience, that means the media put him in a worse light and people are inclined to think worse of him.

2. Will you be disappointed if you don't cash in the ME? MPT talked about expecting to cash in 1 out of 3, or some high amount; do you expect the same?
No I don't think so, if I played solely to cash maybe I would make it 1/3 or so, I think 1/6 is more realistic.

3. Considering the amount of soft lucrative NL cash games in the country at the moment, do you think it's more profitable for a good player to target those, rather than grinding at the games online (where things seem to be getting tougher)?
No. All things equal, I think a good player can definitely get a better hourly online. You can multitable and play bigger games than are regularly available live. However a mediocre player might make a few bob live when he would be the value or breakeven in an online game.

4. What's the story with the RoundTower handle? I originally thought it was a connection to the Dublin GAA club, but I don't take you as being the GAA type.
I grew up near Glendalough where there is a 1000 year old round tower in the monastic city. Originally I had the name on the chess site FICS.

5. A (sort-of) follow on from 4, have you been involved much in sports? And what's your taste in music?
I haven't played competitive sports since I was a kid. I played a little bit of Gaelic football at home and a bit of rugby at school, I wasn't very good at either. I'm thinking of finding a football team here in Sydney.

Most of my friends listen to indie and rock so I've been exposed to that more than anything else the last few months. Before I left I was listening to a lot of American country from all eras: Willie Nelson, Johnny Cash, Tom T Hall, Charlie Daniels, Bobby Bare, etc.

6. In your 'antagonistic' threads, are you just trying to wind people up, or do you just believe in not sugar-coating things? Does it bother you that these threads might alienate you to a lot of posters?
I'm not naturally antagonistic. When people make glaring errors I tend to point them out as such, some people don't like this. The people who I "alienate", I don't think I'd get on well with them anyway, so I don't really mind. Maybe one of these days I'll come to this forum to get staked and wish I'd been more of a brown noser.

Anyway, best of luck in the WSOP!

Thanks.

RoundTower · 03-06-2007 09:38AM

semibluff wrote:

only a few questions from me -

What software is a necessity for those who want to make some decent money online?
I don't think any software is necessary. I have PTO at home and used it to track my own play, never used a HUD. Since I left I've been playing in internet cafes with no software and I've run really well. I don't play more than 4 tables most of the time though. If you want to play a lot of tables (8?) I think you pretty much need a HUD, PTO and PAHUD seem to be the tools to go for here. Also your choice of AHK scripts to reduce the amount of clicking you do.

how stupid is is/ how much of an edge are you losing by not using it?
I think not much for me in particular, since I play a manageable amount of tables and in games with a small player pool. For some people it is indispensable, for some it probably hurts as much as it helps.

What length of sessions should one play in a day - ie 3 2hr session with min of 1hr break in between?
That sounds ideal. Normally I play longer sessions and quit when the game breaks or I've lost too much money, but for a more disciplined approach I like your line.

i find 2+2 very big to try and "get in to" although i know its were i would learn most. from playing small to med stake how do you recommend i get used to reading/posting and ultimately learning from the site in general?
Go to the relevant forum (small stakes NL or med stakes NL). Read some threads, mostly hand history ones. They are very busy forums so you couldn't keep up with all the threads unless you have a lot of time, but that doesn't matter, just read as many as you have time for, at random. Think about the questions posed and what advice you would give, look at the advice other people offer. If there is a consensus on how to play the hand and it differs from what you would have said, think about whether you should play similar spots differently in future. After a while you'll get a feel for which regular posters are very good, and offer the best advice. Pay more attention to their advice. Bias your reading to include more threads started by smart posters, or threads with a lot of replies (it could be fluff but a chance the hand was interesting and provoked good discussion). Offer your advice in the threads, and pay attention to whether it is criticised or approved of. Post difficult spots from your own games, with as much information as possible, and read the advice you get. Repeat.

The important thing is not really the advice, it is the discussion. You should get a good idea of standard lines "what to do", but also reading and posting is going to help you in the way you think about your own hands.

ty for the well dave, njoy your trip

You're welcome, and thanks.

RoundTower · 03-06-2007 09:53AM

Unfortunately your reputation precedes you, Reggie.

cardshark202 wrote:

I am not and never was a dealer in the fitz. Gl2me should know that thus Dave's slanderous answers to those questions are void.

Ok my questions:

If you were only allowed to raise on one street, which street do you think you would choose? For example, if you chose the turn, it would mean you could only check/call/fold on every other street and check/call/fold/raise on the turn.
Give your answers for NLH, PLH and PLO.

In NLH or PLH I would choose preflop. In PLO I would choose the flop. In both cases I would play short stacked.

RoundTower · 03-06-2007 10:18AM

Hi Eoin, tough questions but interesting.

MrPillowTalk wrote:

No questions about poker per se but more the poker life balance.

Would you consider yourself to be considerably different from when you started playing, ie do you react with a more logical viewpoint on life and less emotional involvement? As an example of what I mean, recently a close freind of mines father died, a man I knew well and liked, however when I was at the funeral and everyone was crying etc as he was very young to kick it, all I could think of whilst this was going on was how I hoped he had adequate life insurance and that his business would struggle to survive without him to run it. All in all I was quite unaffected by the whole thing much less than I thought I would be and it occured to me that the discipline of controlling my emotions for poker may have had a detrimental affect on my emotional well being, would you imagine this has happened to you?
This is really interesting. I'd like to say no, I don't think poker has changed me in this way. I've never had anything like this happen to me though so I can't say.

Do you consider poker to be a positive influence? If you have children will you encourage them to play?
I think it's been positive for me. If I wasn't playing poker I would be involved in some other cerebral activity, probably chess. I don't think I'd encourage my kids but I wouldn't have a problem with them playing and I'd be happy to help them if they were interested.

The majority of successful poker players I know dont have girlfreinds, do you think this is due to the demands of poker or more due to the personalities of the poker player?
Well I don't have a girlfriend either, there's another data point for you. I haven't been in a serious relationship since before I started playing poker seriously. I can't see how it could be the "demands of poker", plenty of people work unsocial jobs. More likely explanation IMO is that successful poker players are nerdy losers.

Flushdraw · 03-06-2007 10:50AM

Hi RT,

Good reading so far and some good advice given. Just a couple of questions

1. How good are you as a player at NLHE and PLO? Do you still have leaks in your game that you are trying to work on?

2. Whats your biggest distraction from poker? i.e you're up a few buyins in a big omaha cash game full of fish, whats the one thing that can drag you away from it?

3. Youre playing O8 and you get dealt A235 and theres 7 limpers to you all with a similar stack to yours. How many players do you want to keep in the pot?

4. Have you a target amount that you aim to make over the next 6 months, 1 year, 5 years or do you just take each session as it comes?

Cheers Dave. Best of luck in vegas

Lafortezza · 03-06-2007 11:26AM

What's the 'biggest' cash game you've played to date? Online or live? Did you have 100% of yourself? Did you hack it up? Did you feel comfortable playing at higher stakes?

Without naming names, tell us a story of degeneracy about one person from the poker forum.

Doc Farrell · 03-06-2007 11:45AM

Genuine question.
when I was in my twenties it would never have occured to me to pay for sex but now I'm in my mid thirties, single, and when away some hotel hookers look very tempting to me, nice girls and very beautiful.

have you been tempted to open your wallet to pay for the midnight pleasure of the senses?
in Barry Greenstein's book he warns of the many girls who will sleep with you if they think you will 'take care' of them. has this been a problem for you?

also, if a pretty girl is at the table my gaze naturally gravitates towards her cleavage. i find it relaxes my mind. Do you think this is a problem? If so, do you recommend any particular course of action?

finally, the importance of comfortable shoes has been grossly underestimated by esteemed posters. Where do you stand on the issue of style versus comfort in the shoe and sartorial department?

RoundTower · 03-06-2007 11:47AM

Hi Tony,

Flushdraw wrote:

Hi RT,

Good reading so far and some good advice given. Just a couple of questions

1. How good are you as a player at NLHE and PLO? Do you still have leaks in your game that you are trying to work on?
I think I'm very good at PLO, better than all but a handful of people I know. I know a lot more people who are better than me in NLH. But how are you meant to measure something like this? Everyone overestimates their ability at poker, it's like sex or driving.

Definitely I have leaks, I don't know what they all are though.

2. Whats your biggest distraction from poker? i.e you're up a few buyins in a big omaha cash game full of fish, whats the one thing that can drag you away from it?
Tough question, so many choices. This would definitely do the trick.

3. Youre playing O8 and you get dealt A235 and theres 7 limpers to you all with a similar stack to yours. How many players do you want to keep in the pot?
I have an idea this is a trick question. Also it depends on stacks/players/position and most importantly if we are playing PL or not. But I think all of them, for as much money as possible.

4. Have you a target amount that you aim to make over the next 6 months, 1 year, 5 years or do you just take each session as it comes?
No, I never have. I'd like to make a million some day, but I don't look at it as a target.

Cheers Dave. Best of luck in vegas

Thanks.

RoundTower · 03-06-2007 12:19PM

Hi Luke,

lafortezza wrote:

What's the 'biggest' cash game you've played to date? Online or live? Did you have 100% of yourself? Did you hack it up? Did you feel comfortable playing at higher stakes?
The 25 50 NL in Clonmel just before I went away. I never had more than about 6-7k but there was a fair few 10k+ stacks and one guy with an unlimited amount of money. I didn't play particularly well, and ran worse. I lost about 11k, all of it mine. I didn't feel too uncomfortable, but I definitely wasn't on my A game.

Without naming names, tell us a story of degeneracy about one person from the poker forum.
I've seen a lot of degenerate behaviour as a player and a dealer, but this has got to be one of the worst examples.

Doc Farrell · 03-06-2007 12:27PM

now thats very wrong, I've been warning against this kind of behaviour of years. awful (involuntary shiver).

RoundTower · 03-06-2007 01:07PM

Hi Des,
you're actually the only person I have on ignore, but I thought I'd do the polite thing and answer your questions, some of which are quite interesting.

Doc Farrell wrote:

Genuine question.
when I was in my twenties it would never have occured to me to pay for sex but now I'm in my mid thirties, single, and when away some hotel hookers look very tempting to me, nice girls and very beautiful.

have you been tempted to open your wallet to pay for the midnight pleasure of the senses?
I've been tempted, definitely thought about it but never done it yet. I'm not particularly moralistic normally but it seems a little bit wrong to me, even though I have no problem with buying a girl a lot of drinks and ending up in a 1 night stand. Maybe when I'm a dirty old man it will be different.

in Barry Greenstein's book he warns of the many girls who will sleep with you if they think you will 'take care' of them. has this been a problem for you?
I obviously should reread that section because I must be doing something wrong. I'm not exactly flashy with money or anything though.

also, if a pretty girl is at the table my gaze naturally gravitates towards her cleavage. i find it relaxes my mind. Do you think this is a problem? If so, do you recommend any particular course of action?
I don't think it's a problem for you. For the girl I would recommend a can of mace and not to walk down dark streets alone late at night.

finally, the importance of comfortable shoes has been grossly underestimated by esteemed posters. Where do you stand on the issue of style versus comfort in the shoe and sartorial department?
I tend to wear comfortable shoes/sandals/runners and don't mind looking scruffy, perhaps this has something to do with the issues touched on in your other questions.

Jools Poker · 03-06-2007 01:14PM

ah these were the answers I was most looking forward to!

Jam-Fly · 03-06-2007 05:53PM

I'll throw in a few questions...

1. What events do you plan on playing at the WSOP this year?

2. Will you be in for 100% of yourself (also mention whether or not you won at ticket).

3. Will it be primarily cash games or tournaments you will be playing?

4. What date are you planning on arriving/leaving Vegas (I'll be there for the middle/end of the ME)?

califano · 03-06-2007 07:23PM

1.) Did you ever get beat or come close to getting beat by a student you tutoured at chess?.

2.) Do you view Michelle De Bruin as a bit of a cheat after what came out in the wash and what do you think in general about drugs in sport?.

3.) Which scenario would you least like to have to carry out and you cant argue with either person you have to do one.
A) Your mother or auntie is doing a sponsored run and gives you a sponsorship card to go get some sponsorship from your friends and colleagues
or

Your at a pub in a 'rounds' situation and one friend on their round keeps giving you the money to go get the drinks in?.

semibluff · 03-06-2007 10:44PM

RoundTower wrote:

Hi Tony,

this

Thanks.

my biggest reasoon 4 tilting . . . must get a reg misses!

thanks 4 all d answrs, apreciate it

eggie · 03-06-2007 10:51PM

Do you believe that your tournament life has value? Would you fold a marginal hand with a slight positive EV to enable you to pick better +EV spots in future hands where you are not risking your tournament? Why?

BIG-SLICK-POKER · 03-06-2007 11:23PM

Great read dave .....

Heres my 2 Questions mate

1. DO U READ BOOKS ?
2.HAVE U READ MINGE????:D

.....

kincsem · 03-06-2007 11:53PM

Dave,

Are you heading for a normal 9 to 5 career, or a poker career?

Do you think it is possible to consistently make money gambling (non-poker)?

Where do want to live long-term?

Do you have any plans, or do you just let it happen?

Good luck at the WSOP.

cardshark202 · 04-06-2007 01:57AM

I want you to extend your answer to my question earlier to all limit games (ie all the HORSE games).

Vamos · 04-06-2007 04:22AM

Not at all related to poker...

If given a choice of one country to live in for the rest of your life which would you pick?

If an alien race offered you to take you away, to show you the universe and any secrets it holds, on the conditions that it was only you that went, and you could never return to earth, would you agree?

Best alcoholic beverage in the world?

Q&A with RoundTower

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