Copyright 2006 Full
Tilt Poker
February 13, 2006
(View all Online
Poker Lessons)
Poker Lesson: Playing with John
D'Agostino
Author: Jay Greenspan
As a writer covering the poker
circuit, I wasn't surprised to see that John D'Agostino took second
in the Borgata Winter Open, netting more than half a million dollars.
John is widely considered one of the great, young, all-around
players in the game. He's equally comfortable playing limit and
no-limit, cash games, and tournaments.
I got a particularly close look at John's play a
week prior to Borgata, when we shared a table in Tunica at the
$10,000 buy-in World Poker Tour event. John didn't cash in that
event, but during the hours we played together, I witnessed many
qualities that make him a great player - here are three of them.
Overcoming a Tough Stretch
In Tunica, the players started with 20,000 chips.
Within the first blind level, almost half of John's stack was
gone. In a key hand, John made a tough lay down when he deduced
that his high pocket pair hand had not survived to the river.
A couple of difficult hands followed soon after.
It was the kind of tournament start that dispirits
others. After such a difficult opening, it's not uncommon to see
even very good players overwhelmed with resignation. I've heard
players utter "It's not my day." At that point, they're
sealing their fate.
John, however, settled in. He didn't make unneeded
moves that would decimate his stack. On his way to his second-place
finish at Borgata, John was able to deal with a far greater level
of adversity. With 25 players remaining, John was the chip leader,
holding nearly one million in chips. A few tough hands and four
hours later, John held only 280,000 chips and was in twelfth place
with 16 players remaining.
Despite these setbacks, he didn't tilt - he focused
and made good decisions. He waited for his spots and was able
to build his stack back.
During Tunica, John was keenly aware of his own
stack and the stacks of others. After the tough early hands, he
was quiet while waiting for a spot to double up. He didn't rush
it. He knew that he held more than 20 big blinds in his stack
and could wait for the right opportunity. He wasn't forced to
push in on Ace-Nine or a pair of 3s.
Once he managed to build himself back, he was on the hunt, looking
for stacks to attack. Sadly for me, he noticed that I had become
the table short stack. John was in late position when I had the
big blind, and he let no opportunity go by to attack my blind.
With only 20 big blinds, I couldn't afford to fight back without
a premium hand, as any decision I'd make would be for my tournament
life. John was the only one at the table (other than me) who seemed
fully aware of the situation. Others were far more focused on
their own cards, rather than on the other factors that would give
them opportunities to pick up pots.
Inscrutable Behaviors
In Tunica, most of the players at my table offered
a treasure trove of information. They varied their bet sizes pre-flop
- a little higher when they didn't want action, a little lower
when they welcomed it. Their arm and hand movements varied wildly
from hand to hand. With time, one could draw fairly accurate conclusions
based on such tells.
John, however, offered nothing. When he open-raised,
he did so for three times the big blind every time. His motions
seemed nearly identical to me time after time. If I tried to read
his facial expression, I got only a view of his downcast eyes
as he stared vacantly at the felt. As far as I could tell, there
was nothing to learn.
The Tunica event didn't go well for me, but I leaned
a lot from watching John. Without question, observing the pros
is one the easiest ways to improve one's game.
Full
Tilt Poker Referral
Downloaded
from the World Wide Web on February 13, 2006:
http://www.fulltiltpoker.com/proLessons.php?lesson=48
|