Poker Coaching

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You can click here to examine an article by Daniel Negreanu in Card Player that mentions our Poker Coach, Bill Seymour directly.

Or, here, to read an article by Poker Blogger and Player, Bill Rini about his experience being coached by Bill Seymour.

FEATURED ARTICLE: "VALUABLE LESSON" by Poker Coach, Bill Seymour

The most valuable lesson that I have ever learned in poker...
Was in 1995 at a final table of a Limit Hold’Em event at the Four Queens Casino.

Although the monetary cost of the situation was calculated in the several thousands of dollars, the lesson learned proved to be priceless throughout the rest of my career in poker.

I will now share that moment with you.

We are 8 handed at this final table. The blinds were $1000/$2000; playing (betting) level was $2000/$4000. I am second in chip count after Umberto Brenes. He has 45K and I have 37K. Two players have approximately 12K, one player has 5K and the three others have medium stacks in the area of 18K-20K each. Under this scenario, the following hand took place:

I am in the big blind with QQ, Umberto raises, I re-raise he calls.

The flop comes 9-6-4. I bet, Umberto raises, I re-raise he calls.

The turn is a Jack. I bet he raises I re-raise. He re-raises, (uh-oh I must be in trouble here,) I call.

River comes an Ace. The board is 9-6-4-J-A. I check he bets I call. He shows me AJ.

I lose 32K in chips in this episode.

Now the tournament director announces higher blinds as of the next hand, moving up to $2000/$4000. I have 5K in chips left in the small blind. I go all-in and lose finishing 8th and getting $2200 for my 8th place finish.

First place was about 58K in prize money. I leave the table with my chin dragging on the floor and feeling like I just got run over by an automobile. You know the feeling.

An older man who had been watching comes up to me and says, “Bill you have talent, now I’m going to teach you how to win.” He was a very respected player who I knew very casually, but we shared a name and he found that to his liking.

Now you have all the background you need to understand the lesson.

The older gentleman sat me down with pen and paper, and wrote this:

IT’S NOT WHAT YOU WIN.

IT’S HOW YOU WIN, AND WHAT YOU DO NOT LOSE. This is not a ring game, when you are broke you must leave.

Then he wrote out the following notations:

(a) 6 small bets = $12,000
(b) 5 big bets = $20,000, total $32,000
(c) Win= $64,000 + $1000 small blind; total $65,000
(d) LOSS LEAVES YOU $5,000

Then he said: “Taking into consideration the other player’s chip counts and the fact the blinds were about to go up. Whether you won or lost the hand is not at issue. You exercised poor judgment in your decision making. “

“This is how the hand should have been played:

“Umberto raises, you call.

“The flop comes 9-6-4. I bet, Umberto raises, you call.

“The turn is a Jack. You bet he raises you call.

“River comes an Ace. The board is 9-6-4-J-A.

“You check he bets you call. He shows you AJ and you lose.”

“Played correctly these would have been your results:

(a) 4 small bets = $8,000
(b) 3 big bets = $12,000, total $20,000
(c) Win= $40,000 + $1000 small blind; total $41,000
(d) LOSS LEAVES YOU $17,000

“Now, compare these total results if you win or lose:

Your play:
If you win: $65,000 + $5000 = $70,000
If you lose: You are left with $5,000 in chips

My play:
If you win: $41,000 + $17,000 = $58,000
If you lose: You are left with $17,000 in chips

As they say, “seeing is believing.”

The reality is the difference between $70K and $58K, which is marginal. That’s if I won it. In the event I lose it, the difference between $17K and $5K is extremely significant. With $17K remaining you are still in the hunt for the win, plus the fact that every step up (as others are eliminated) is an increase in prize money.

I never made that mistake again, and the following year, ironically, I won that same event at the Four Queens, in 1996.

Poker is all logic, and method. You cannot change the cards, but you can change the approach to every hand.

The wonderful old man that explained the techniques just described passed away a few years back, doing what he loved best, playing poker at the Mirage. He has a heart attack right at the table, and passed away. Just the way he would want it. His name was Seymour Lebowitz, a tremendous player, and person. The poker community in Vegas knew they had lost one of their best.

I hope you enjoyed this piece of history, and will have the fortitude to incorporate it, into your memory banks, for future use.

-Bill Seymour, Poker Coach