Nutspoker's Profispieler Nadim Shabou beantwortet eure Fragen - einfach an support@nutspoker.com schreiben und wir werden ihm alles weiterleiten!

 

Q: If you're getting short-stacked in a tournament and need to make a move, which hands do you prefer? How do your hand requirements for such a situation change according to how short-stacked you are?

A: Well, if I need to make a move, personaly I prefer A-A.. ok, just kidding! Unless I get a decent hand in early position, I will, first, choose position over cards - I mean, in late position any A-8 or better, any two cards of 10 and over will do the trick (J-10,Q-10,K-10, & A-10 of course). In early position I would need A-8 and up or K-Q or K-J because there are too many players behind me. My hand requirement gets a little less strict if I feel weakness with limpers but I still respect the position, which is everything in poker.

Q: In cash games, how do you tend to play small pocket pairs in early position?

A: This is a tricky question... I never play small pocket pairs the same way; if the table is loose I will be conservative and try to limp to see a cheap flop, if the table is tight I will be more aggressive and raise with it - but then again, It all depends on my position. 

Q: I learned to play poker online and have only recently started to play live. One of the main differences which I should have expected - but didn't - is that I'm finding it a bit difficult to quickly judge the sizes of other players' chipstacks, there's no nice little number displayed on a screen...

In televized tournaments I see players seemingly counting their opponents' chips in a couple of seconds - is this just a matter of time and experience?

A: Well, yes and no, experience helps for sure but it also depends who you are playing with. You mentioned TV events: on TV it's mostly the final table, the players are experienced and stack their chips usually by stacks of 20 chips, some by 30, some by 40 because they also need to know quickly how much they have, it's also easier because at the final table they've already coloured up all the small denomination chips and there are only  2 or 3 different colours of chips left, usually 5k, 10k, 25k...

So be patient, get some experience and you will be counting my chips at the final table on Eurosport or ESPN.  Heh! heh! 

Q: I've read that it's theoretically possible to win a hand with A-K - do you subscribe to this theory?
After three years of playing poker I've yet to see any proof of this, the evidence seems to be as scant as it is for the theory that spirits can come down out of the sky to impregnate virgins...

A: Well, well, well, an A-K question...

Regarding spirits and virgins: I would say that everyone is entitled to his belief, some think it's a theory, some think it's a reality...

Regarding A-K: some think it's the nuts, some think you ARE nuts if you put all your chips in with that hand..

Let me tell you something about this hand, it's not by mistake that we call A-K "big slick" or "Anna Kournikova" - yes it looks good, but rarely wins...

A lot of players make many decisions based on the odds, percentages, pots odds and outs and I am one of them, but when it comes to a big decision with A-K, you can be 71-24 favourite against A-Q, A-J or A-10 (with a 5% chance of a tie) which are the most common hands) or 55-45 underdog against a pocket pair. The bottom line is, for me it's still a 50-50, you hit or you don't hit... so why would you put your whole tournament on the line on a 50-50?

So personally, if I have the choice (meaning if I am not short stacked and fighting to survive) I will wait for a better spot to put all my chips in because I rarely win with A-K.

Until then "may the flop be with you!".

Nadim

Q: Do you prefer cash games or tournaments and what do you see as being the main differences between the two formats in terms of tactics and style of play?

A: Very good question! Tournament play is more about strategies, if you play a one or a four day tournament, you have different layers in your strategy,

You play the players, you play your position, you play the short stack, you avoid headbutts with the chip leader, you change your play when the blinds increase, when you are short-stacked or when you are chip leader. You change your strategy again when you get close to the bubble and you adopt a new strategy when you finally make the final table. If you lose all your chips, well .. "It's all over baby" to quote Scotty Nguyen in 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001 etc...

In cash games it's a little bit different, the strategy is essentially based on the players you play against, the level of aggression you apply and how much money per session you want to make. It's always a good idea to decide in advance (unless you are playing high stakes poker) how long your session is going to be, how much winnings you would be happy with for the day; increase your session by a couple of hours if it's a good night and reduce it if it's a bad one. If you lose all your chips (bad beat or not) you also have the option to rebuy as long as you want (it's not always a good idea..).
I know excellent tournament players who are incredibly bad cash game players, (no! no! I won't mention names) and vice versa - very good cash game players who can't play tournaments. I can, however, give you two names of excellent cash game and tournaments players: David Pham and Ted Forrest.

I, myself, actually prefer tournaments to cash games; I will, perhaps, change my mind when my bankroll exceeds 10 million... Heh! heh! heh!

Q: Texas Hold'em dominates the poker world today - what is your personal opinion on this state of affairs? Do you think other variations of poker will ever become as popular as hold'em, or are they doomed to live in the shadows?
Which poker games do you prefer to play?

I personally like to play Omaha & Omaha high/low,
Horse and 5 card draw, these are great, complex games.
I enjoy playing No Limit Texas Hold'em tournaments, I believe this game has gained a lot of popularity because it is more dramatic with the all-ins and the bad beats for television. The big money for now is in Texas Hold'em, it's also a much easier game to learn and understand quickly for the general public.
So, yes, I think the other games will be in the shadows for a while. ESPN in the USA broadcast other games from the WSOP like HORSE, Omaha and Stud last year, but the only one which had a good response from viewers was the HORSE event because the buy-in was $50,000 and the final table was full of stars.

Q: What is the worst bad beat you've ever suffered - or inflicted?!?

A: I am sure I have inflicted a few bad beats in my career but curiously I remember only the ones that I have suffered...

The only inflicted bad beat that I can remember was at the Bellagio, Las Vegas, a few years back, the event was a $3000 buy-in. LAYNE " back to back " FLACK raised preflop with QQ and I called with 7-7, the flop came Q-J-7 rainbow, he bet, I called, turn card was a 7 ( sweet...). He bet again, I called after a "Hollywood hesitation", river was a J, he moved all in thinking if I have a 7, a J, or Q-J, I would call and lose... well, I called with my quads and I thought if he has JJ.. I quit!

I won the pot and he was a little shocked...

One of MY most painful bad beats was at the WSOP Main Event in 2007; I remember starting the World Championship on fire, we started the event with $20,000 in chips and after the first break (2 hours of play) I had $52,000 in chips, that's when they moved a player from a broken table to my table, he had 60 something thousand in chips and was on fire too. Of course after 30 minutes or so, we clashed: he raised preflop 1500, I called with 6-6, the flop came 6-5-5... He bet 3500, I called, turn card was a deuce, he bet 12,000, I raised to 24,000. He moved all-in, I called showing sixes full, he showed AA, and the river brought the killer ace... Thanks for coming... See you next year!

That still hurts!

Q: I've realised that I'm too easy to bluff on a flop where I've hit bottom or middle pair and I need to work on that aspect of my game. I know I've often folded the best hand to a bluff in such situations: for example, I'm in the big blind with J-3 and nobody raises, letting me see the flop, which comes 9-7-3. On such a flop someone will also make a play and bet big; although there's a chance that my small pair is good, I always fold. How do you play such hands?

A: First of all, I would like to quote Steve Danneman (2nd-place finisher at the WSOP 2005 main event), with whom I've had the privilege to play several times (most recently last September, at the $5000 buy in event @ the Borgata open in Atlantic City). Steve said:

" Folding the best hand is only a small mistake" - and he's right!

I'd rather fold the best hand to a big bet when I am not sure of my read (because I won't be mad at myself for following my read or my instincts even if I am wrong occasionally), than calling and losing a big pot, because when you are not sure you are just gambling...

You asked me how I play hands like J-3, well, to be honest unless I am in the big blind with no raises, I need a court order to play those kinds of hands... but more seriously, folding to a big bet when you hit bottom pair is fine. My advice is if the same player does that to you frequently, try to check-raise him once or twice : if he folds, that will calm him down for a while, if he calls your raise, you have a pair of 3's and you could still get lucky and hit a Jack or another 3 on the turn or river.

May the flop be with you..

Q: I find it easy to make it into the money in big tournaments and I'm usually chipleader or not far off it when it comes down to the last two or three tables. Often I can identify a loose player, such as an ace-lover, and manouevre him into an all-in situation where I'm a huge favourite, only to lose. I'm not talking about 80/20 situations here, I regularly lose when I'm 97% or 98% and it's driving me nuts! How do you deal with really bad beats?

A: Bad beats are unfortunately the nature of Texas Hold'em: no bad beats = no players and no money! We, average and good players alike, have to remember that if the logic of the game was respected and the best players would always win, we would have 6 to 8 players to play in a tournament and the World Series of Poker main event would be contested by about 89 players, like in the 1980's... Fortunately for us, Chris Moneymaker showed the world that anybody can enter a major tournament with $40 or less, inflict an incredible bad beat on a pro like Phil Ivey (when Phil made nines full on the turn and Moneymaker rivered a bigger full house), and win $2.5 million...

So, every time I get rivered, I usually smile (nervously I confess), say "good catch" and try to forget it as fast as I can and re-focus if I am still in the game. You need a strong mind to overcome bad beats again and again. Just try to take the bad beats in your stride and be assured that if I could put all my chips in as a 97% favourite and risk a bad beat, I would do it every day - and twice on Sundays!

Q: Slow-playing AA seems to automatically lead to a disaster for me, I always lose... what is your opinion on slow-playing big hands in general, and how do play AA in particular?

A: In limit hold'em, I rarely slow play big hands, it's generally a recipe for disaster. In no limit ring games and tournaments, depending on the situation, it is interesting to vary your play by, most of the time, raising AA, KK & QQ and other times (mostly when you are in early position) smooth calling and waiting for a raise by another player and then re-raising , or calling depending on the situation. However, if the raise doesn't happen and two or more players call, always remember that you have only one pair! Top pair, yes, but one pair only and if you don't improve your hand on the flop, your top pair becomes vulnerable and depending on the structure of the flop you have to decide to be either very aggressive to protect your hand and try to win the pot right there or very careful if the flop is dangerous.

Q: What are your favourite hands, and why?

A: My favorite hands except the obvious AA or KK are suited connectors and small pairs. With these type of hands you go after straights and flushes or two pairs, you don't always hit, but when you do, generally, the reward is great because nobody puts you on these hands and you can hide your strength very well.

Q: What is the most difficult aspect of poker for you, and what is the easiest?

A: The most difficult aspect of poker for me is adapting your game plan to the table you are playing, you cannot come to a table with a game plan already designed.

You have to identify very quickly the type of players that you have at your table, knowing who is loose, who's tight and who's aggressive and integrate this information into your game plan. I am a chameleon, my strategy changes everytime I sit down at a table, tournaments or ring games.

The easiest part of poker is to play, the difficult part is to play well and win...

Good luck.

Q: I can usually beat most of the field and often get into the money in big tournaments, but then I always seem to hit a dry streak where the cards are rubbish for a long time, while the other players at the table are getting more and more aggressive. It's kind of hard to call an all-in when you keep getting 5-2 and 8-3 every hand... What do you do in such situations?

A: It seems to be a major problem among tournament players, and you certainly don't want to call an all in bet with weak hands. In these situations, I try to be as patient as I can be (depending on my chip stack) and give myself a chance to pick up a big hand. If it doesn't happen, when I get to a short stack situation (8 to 10 big blinds) I usually wait to be in late position and with pretty much any medium Ace or two face cards, all my chips are in and I hope for the best. If I can do that once every round, it pays for the blinds until I can catch a real hand.