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 he Guardian Poker Column |
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| Victoria
Coren |
| Wed 12 May 2010 |
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How do you play trips against a solid
player?
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The
Spring Championship of Online Poker (Scoop), which is currently under way, has
caused international posters on the poker forum 2+2 to accuse each other of
unfair advantages when it comes to time difference.
A New Yorker looks
jealously at Los Angeles, complaining, "the east coast is sick of being up past
midnight without being close to the final table." |
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Ha!, replies Europe. Over here, we can be
knocked out at six in the morning and not even be in the money yet.
The
fact is, online tournaments with massive fields (some of these Scoops have
25,000 players) can be 26-hour marathons; that is a hugely difficult challenge
whatever time you start.
In my opinion, all the long events should be
split over two days, with no "day" longer than 10 hours. I would also like to
see some earlier start times for Europe. But as things stand, if you want to
play these tournaments (where $22 can net you $55,000), you need to know that
they are as much a test of physical endurance as of poker skills.
A
good diet and regular exercise will always improve your staying power. You need
to sleep in the afternoon before the start. You should stock the house with
fresh fruit, cold drinks and a dinner (or breakfast) that will provide proper
nourishment yet can be collected from the kitchen in a five-minute break. You
need stirring music to recharge your brain in the small hours.
At 5am,
in a Scoop event last week, I raised and called a reraise with AQ of hearts. My
opponent checked a K-high flop; I moved in, and he snap-called with AK. Good
trap. But it is not one, I think, that I would have fallen into, if I hadn't
been so goddamn tired.
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