Today was a big day for my poker career. That’s because today I had my first hate thread in NVG, meaning I’ve attained enough notoriety in poker to have people despise me and want others to know about it. It appears the posters main problem was my live vs online poker article:
http://forumserver.twoplustwo.com/29/news-views-gossip/tony-dunst-333176/

During the conversation with Greg Raymer that resulted in the ‘Fossilowned IMO’ post Greg mentioned that he’d read my ‘challenge to the world’ entry. He said he was surprised how I came off in it and how it’s rather unlike how I am in real life.
“Don’t worry Greg, nobody could take outlandish arrogance of that degree with any seriousness, and there’s a lot of joking entries like that in the blog. I mean I made a barely better than stick figure drawing of a guy holding both middle fingers up while stomping tiny opponents. What kind of moron would take that seriously?”
“It only takes one moron, especially if they aren’t familiar with your style.”
Damn, Raymer really is Obi Wanesque, sick read.

Okay, so let’s get it out in the open how I feel about live vs online and live players vs online players in a more serious and level manner.
Live vs online: It’s really just a preference. I can completely understand why people would prefer one over the other. For me personally, I need a balance of both. I like grinding online because it’s consistent money with minimum variance and I get in a routine so easily it barley feels like work at all. I also enjoy having the thrill of running deep in a tournament nearly every day.

Meanwhile I need live poker every now and then because I’d go nuts sitting in front of my computer forever. Live poker is enthralling because there’s so many additional elements to the hand. I like being around people and joking around at the table, and only in live poker can you compete for massive first prizes that can change your life, outside stuff like the FTOPS and WCOOP. You also get to travel to new and interesting places whenever you play and meet a ton of cool people. The pace and variance however, are just agonizing.

As far as live vs online players is concerned, I think the whole thing is overblown. Why waste time arguing with each other about how a hand should play out when we can collaborate and come to an optimal understanding? That’s why I’m so excited for Barry Greenstein’s new ‘Red Pro Forum’ over at www.pokerroad.com. It’s a combination of the best live and online players the world over coming together to talk strategy in both high stakes cash and tournament situations, both live and online. Every question I’ve had on that forum is about live play.

It’s no secret that I think live players are consistently leakier at the technical aspects of the game than online players. A ton of live players I know will even admit this, including my poker seminar collaborators Lee Nelson, Joe Hachem, and Dennis Waterman, who have considerable experience in both forms but are mostly live experts. There’s no reason to turn this into some jihad fervor dispute, it should be clear from the way the two forms of poker are played that online players will result with better fundamentals. Online play is structured around numbers and math and ranges with programs that will track every hand you’ve ever played and tell you exactly where you’re gaining and losing equity and by what % or $ amount.

Live players don’t have access to elaborate software to save their hand histories and the skills live poker demands are of a different variety. Sometimes I talk to live players about certain hands, or read their recollection, or simply watch them play on TV, and am stunned by their ability to pick up certain things and read into aspects of what their opponent is doing and saying. I’m impressed with their willingness to go with a read in a situation like that, and the best ones at it make some astounding plays. These days I spend as much time asking live players questions as I do online because my skills in these areas are rather undeveloped and I’m fully aware of it. That said, almost every live player I’ve encountered has pretty noticeable technical leaks, but if they take the steps to clean them up they’ll be even more dominating.

I think for the group of players out there willing to set their ego aside about the issue and see the opposing players information in the spots where it’s quality have the potential to gain a dominance at both forms. This goes for both online and live players, and I you commonly see arrogance in both about the other.

As a guy who spends a ton of time in both arenas of the game I’ve grown to be friendly with a lot of players on each side. One of the most awkward aspects of going to live tournaments is being pulled to interact socially more with one more than the other, and for the most part the two groups do not mix. The live players are often considerably older than the online players, and tend to view them as arrogant kids who are reckless with their tournament lives. Online players see many of the live players as fish due to their technical leaks, and aren’t afraid to verbalize it routinely. There are only a few guys who seem to enjoy hanging out with both sides, and as a guy often in the middle it’s a juggling act.

All of that aside, I will never stop making fun of live players who think they are the shit and continue to make horrendously awful technical plays. You know how I know I’m right about them? Because I can use a calculator.

I was talking to Greg Raymer on skype today about strategy in tournaments and mixed games. While I was playing in a $109 freeze out I played a rather standard hand that ended in massive beratement from the other player and quite a bit of fun conversation.

First the hand:
Poker Stars $100+$9 No Limit Hold'em Tournament - t175/t350 Blinds + t45 - 9 players
The Official 2+2 Hand Converter Powered By DeucesCracked.com

jc0880 (BB): t6890
revheat969 (UTG): t9272
dannygreen1 (UTG+1): t8220
Hero (UTG+2): t5680
Pti4ka_Tucan (MP1): t2710
brettsky678 (MP2): t15120
mike121112 (CO): t11338
BaldGuy (BTN): t15755
Stoweski (SB): t10553

Pre Flop: (t930) Hero is UTG+2 with K A
2 folds, [color=red]Hero raises to t950[/color], [color=red]Pti4ka_Tucan raises to t2665 all in[/color], 1 fold, [color=red]mike121112 raises to t11293 all in[/color], 3 folds, Hero calls t4685 all in

Flop: (t14865) 2 9 Q [color=blue](3 players - 3 are all in)[/color]

Turn: (t14865) 9 [color=blue](3 players - 3 are all in)[/color]

River: (t14865) K [color=blue](3 players - 3 are all in)[/color]

Final Pot: t14865
Hero shows K A (two pair, Kings and Nines)
Pti4ka_Tucan shows Q A (two pair, Queens and Nines)
mike121112 shows J J (two pair, Jacks and Nines)
Hero wins t5940
Hero wins t8925

And then the chat that followed:
STM70 [observer]: nh bond
mike121112: FKING JOKE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
mike121112: why
mike121112: wot u think i had bond
STM70 [observer]: dirty river ther
mike121112: fking spastic

Bond18: i think i haz AK
STM70 [observer]: dude that's a standard play by bond
Bond18: it be the nizzles
Dealer: Stoweski, it's your turn. You have 15 seconds to act
mike121112: so u called for a split nice 1 idiot

mike121112: no its not
mike121112: its a moron play
dannygreen1: these bloody aussies...lol

mike121112: bond wot hand u actually think i had? looks like i have aa
Bond18: on behalf of morons everywhere, i am offended
dan89 x [observer]: lol

STM70 [observer]: Dude he has AK with 15 BB, THAT is standard to get it in

mike121112: not after a re raise and a re re raise idiot
Bond18: is that you hellmuth?

mike121112: bond ur a ****** clearly
Bond18: given entertainment value
mike121112: re t ard

STM70 [observer]: maybe you should start one

FossilMan [Commentator]: Greetings players. Please give me a moment to review the chat log

Bond18: i'll only start a video if mike promises to keep berating me after standard play
STM70 [observer]: lol
mike121112: check the HH

STM70 [observer]: i really enjoy watching your videos bond
STM70 [observer]: keep up the good work

Bond18: oooo you've pissed off the fossilman, you are so ****ed

Bond18: thanks dude

FossilMan [Commentator]: PokerStars requires that people act with respect, and insulting comments are not allowed at the table. Please refrain from such comments in the future

mike121112: FOSSIL MAN CHECK THE HH THEN U SEE WHY IM MAD

FossilMan [Commentator]: Also, having reviewed the HH, I have to agree that bond played the hand 100% correctly.

dannygreen1: lol
dan89 x [observer]: LOL
Bond18: lol
STM70 [observer]: ship it bond
FossilMan [Commentator]: Just an ordinary bad beat.

mike121112: o dear fossil man


mike121112: think about it then talk to me

FossilMan [Commentator]: Have a good night all, and thanks again for playing at PokerStars.com.


STM70 [observer]: and he will still say it's the standard play
mike121112: why is fossil man even here?

mike121112: at least get moderator or sumthing
FossilMan [Commentator]: If any future issues arise, you will have the services of a real Moderator. I'm just filling in for a moment.

Bond18: much like Obi Wan Kinobi, Fossilman can feel a disturbance in the force
FossilMan [Commentator]: Good night all.

FossilMan [Commentator]: Have fun.
mike121112: raymer sucks anways

Fossilowned IMO.

With the combination of Celina being gone for a month, my strict diet, and my needing to get up early in the morning every day, it’s safe to say I don’t have a life and won’t for some time. My daily schedule for all of November looks something like:

6:50am: Wake up, shower. Set out my breakfast of protein bar, water, and skim milk. Maybe an apple.
7am: Fire up as many tables as possible. I won’t stop registering until 1pm.
12pm: Eat lunch. Likely some meat from the grill or a simple pasta heavy on chicken and vegetables and low on actual pasta (must watch those carbohydrates.)
4pm: Have a healthy snack like nuts, fruit, vegetables, or another protein bar.
7pm: Finish playing. I can’t be certain of my exact finish time, but this amount of registering tends to work out to about a 12 hour day.
7:30pm: Go to the gym. In the event it’s a day where the gym is closed I’ll go running or go play tennis.
8:30pm: Return home from the gym. Turn the music up load on my computer, open the door to the patio, and take my pink jump rope (I got it in an airport, I don’t know how either) outside and jump rope until I give up because I suck at jumping rope and I’m still in mediocre cardiovascular shape.
8:45pm: Eat dinner. There’s very low variance in my meal selection, and often I’ll eat grilled meat or pasta again. Sometimes I’ll stir fry some chicken and vegetables with Asian sauces and make a little steamed rice. Rice intake must be kept to a minimum.
9pm: Free time, often resulting in my playing video games and sitting around wondering how much fun other people my age are having right now. Then I reassure myself that other people my age are broke and in my late 20’s when I’ve saved up my money I’ll be the one laughing. Then I feel bad about being a workaholic money driven prick who thinks about life like some big contest.
10:20pm: Attempt to sleep. This has mixed results.

So there you have it. I’m having people come visit during my work day fairly often, but it makes things awkward when I have to kick them out because I “need” to go the gym. I can’t imagine going out any night during this period and risking ruining my sleep schedule or losing my bets, not to mention when you go out people want you to drink and I’m not currently consuming alcohol.

The other night some friends and I went to a restaurant and we were informed there was a bit of a wait for the table. We were told to go to the bar and order some drinks then hang out until the table was ready. I looked at the cooler full of drinks and saw redbulls, so I ordered one (which I should not actually be drinking, due to their high sugar content among other things.) The bartender chick looked at me like I was fucking crazy.

The good news is that at the end of this month is APPT Sydney which promises to be an awesome time and great tournament. A few weeks after that is the Aussie Millions in Melbourne which is my favorite tournament series on the planet and just a great time to be in Australia in general. This year both tournaments look to be extra soft as a result of most online players opting to attend the PCA in January instead and few willing to fly all the way to Australia for a single major tournament. I still remember the first time I attended the Aussie Millions in 2005. That seems like forever ago now. A little under four years later and I’m nowhere close to the same person I was at 20, and even more different as a poker player. I remember walking up to various poker pros I’d seen on TV and introducing myself with awe and admiration. I remember Scotty Nguyen being the nicest guy in the world to me and coming home to brag to my friends with stories like “Scotty Nguyen gave me his free drink card!” Given Scotty’s difficulties getting a drink these days I doubt that’d happen again.

Four years later and I feel older but I know I don’t look it or don’t act it. I’ve watched some of the guys around me who I met in their early and mid 20’s start to grow grey hairs and worry that I’m not too far off. But when I look in the mirror I see the face of the same stupid kid who was amazed by his first trip outside the US (except some resort on the Dominican Republic.) The same kid who drank as much as possible as fast as possible then walked up to girls and hit on them with their boyfriend sitting right there, too drunk to be aware of the taboo. The kid who showed up back at college just 12 hours before classes, having traveled around the world the previous day and telling all his friends that he was going to go back to Australia for six months, or so. The kid who watched Brett Favre play for the packers, Dave Chapelle at his best, and Lewis Black live with his best friend who he hasn’t seen in three years, one shorter than the period he’s seen most in. The kid who didn’t think half of the people he knows are retards on a life long angle shoot.

I never really thought I’d get to where I am. I guess what I mean is, I didn’t really have a plan, and I just sort of went with things however they fell. I never thought I’d be as successful as I am now, but sometimes I wonder what I gave up to get here. I wonder what wealth costs. I wonder what other people my age are doing right now. I wonder why my blog entry suddenly got so emo.

As many of you know, I stated that I would be having a November challenge with my friend Stevo. We elaborated on that idea and decided to challenge EVERYONE for the month. Here's the post that has appeared on 2p2/P5's/PNW:

Konichiwa bitches,
So I was engaging in my standard MSN constant trash talking of StevoL the other day, and with plans to put in a high volume month of November boasted that I was naturally kick the shit out of him results wise. He told me to put my money where my mouth is and after considerable discussion we came up with a number of bets. Not only that, but we came up with the idea that us two will challenge a team of ANY two players in a November monthly PLB contest.

We’ll be betting each other in
A. Total monthly PLB score.
B. Most final tables. Dinner of winners choice.
C. Most wins. % equity freeroll in tournament to be determined (likely APPT Sydney or Aussie Millions.)
D. Most final table bubbles. Weed paraphernalia of winners choice.
E. First to triple crown.

As I said before, we’re also willing to challenge any two person team out there. This will be scored simply by the combination of both players monthly PLB score on P5’s as this is the easiest way to score something like this. We’re not looking for any gigantic 5 figure bets or anything like that, but we are willing to bet anyone. Either post in this thread or contact Stevo or I about your team and what you’d like to wager.

I would like to make on disclaimer though; if you bet us, you will lose. This is no matter of opinion, just a simple fact. Perhaps you’re thinking “Bullshit, I’m a better player than Stevo or Bond18, I’ll crush them.” Hahahaha, you are misguided. Stevo and I are inhuman MTT grinding machines with no lives and no responsibilities to anything but showing you what a fool you are for having the audacity to wager us. Not only will you have to face the crushing embarrassment of defeat, but you will also have to endure my constant trash talk. It is highly probable I will send you an insulting and mocking PM on the anniversary of your defeat in this bet every year for the rest of your life, such is my and Stevo’s commitment to destroying and demoralizing anyone who has the balls to accept this challenge. Were you to ever meet me in person after I beat you I would belittle and berate you until you were reduced to tears, and were you with a significant other ask her if she’d prefer to “hang out with a superior man, you know, lose the zero get with the hero?” to which she will immediately and enthusiastically say yes and accompany me to my hotel room where she will experience sensations you can only dream of giving her.

If you wager us it will be an epic beat down, similar to the one Sonny Corleone gives Carlo mid way through ‘The Godfather’. In case you are unfamiliar here is the appropriate youtube link:
http://au.youtube.com/watch?v=2cd0r9HUH4E
Sure Carlo gets Sonny shot later but let’s just forget about that detail for now. Suffice to say, it will be a similar if not more thorough beat down. Here’s an artists rendition for further clarification:

I’ve referenced ‘the invisible hand’ numerous times before in my blog when discussing poker player’s motivations and their ethics. The term comes from the ‘father of modern economics’ Adam Smith and in his book “An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations” he elaborates on the concept:

“...every individual necessarily labours to render the annual revenue of the society as great as he can. He generally, indeed, neither intends to promote the public interest, nor knows how much he is promoting it. By preferring the support of domestic to that of foreign industry, he intends only his own security; and by directing that industry in such a manner as its produce may be of the greatest value, he intends only his own gain, and he is in this, as in many other cases, led by an invisible hand to promote an end which was no part of his intention. Nor is it always the worse for the society that it was no part of it. By pursuing his own interest he frequently promotes that of the society more effectually than when he really intends to promote it. I have never known much good done by those who affected to trade for the public good.”

So what the hell is this dead guy talking about and what does it have to do with poker? What Smith is saying is that as long as you do what’s good for you economically, you’ll indirectly do what’s good for the economy as a result, whether you intended to or not.

The reason I constantly reference this in regards to poker is because this game of ours is the ultimate embodiment of Adam Smiths capitalism, at least when it comes to personal mind set. A poker player’s single goal is to increase his own wealth and in his own community he has no responsibilities and concerns outside of that. Every poker player knows this, even if he isn’t fully aware of it. Essentially, our ‘community’ is a bunch of people whose entire goal is to break each other for their own personal gain. Mix that in with the high amount of players who are already unethical and willing to truly do whatever it takes to get the money, and it becomes rather difficult to compose a true poker community that’s interested in what’s best for the game as a whole.

As a result I’ve been questioning my own motivation for what I’m doing. I used to play only because I loved the grind and that’s how I wanted to spend my time, and although that’s true to this day I’m increasingly thinking about dollars and cents. Maybe that’s because of the economy and maybe it’s because I’m getting older and realizing I need to plan for the future or perhaps just a result of having played for so long. Am I doing the writing because I enjoy it, or because I enjoy the attention it creates? I know that when I do my writing out of necessity and not because I feel like it the quality drops off considerably as I witnessed during the later stages of my Around the World in 90 Days blog. I wonder if I write things that I consider ‘good for the game’ because I’m actually interested in doing good or simply like the idea that I can show off knowledge. As pretentious as it sounds, I think self reflection and assessment is important in order to ‘keep it real’.

Every now and then a thread will pop up on the forums with a title like “Is XXXXX good for the game?” with ‘X’ being a player, a program, or any number of other things that have recently attained a lot of attention. What their truly asking is “Will X generate more fish and therefore increase my bottom line?” As far as I can tell in my experience there are very few people in the industry (both players and businessmen) who actually give a fuck about the game. What I mean is, most people I’ve run across in this game, were they given the opportunity to do something unethical and damaging to the game but extremely profitable for themselves and with a low chance that they get caught, would leap on that opportunity. That’s just the way our game is and what happens when it’s based on the invisible hand mentality running at max capacity. There are plenty of exceptions on both sides, but much like my fellow blogger Dr. Pauly I’ve become increasingly disgusted with the industry around me over time.

Not that I’ll do anything about it though, because according to Mr. Smith, I’ve got myself to look out for.