Be careful what you say at the poker table

Be careful what you say at the poker table
小心你在牌桌上所說的話

At the Asian Pacific Poker Tour (APPT) tournament in Seoul, I got a terrible table draw. At first I thought the tournament was really that tough, but later I heard several people pointing out the different players at the table. There were a pokerstars pro, a recent Asia Player of the year winner, the winner of Jeju tournament that took place the week before and several other highly accomplished online players at my table. The game was played eight handed, and it had a really fast and aggressive playing style. One of the most exciting tables I played at in very long time. 

當我去打APPT首爾主賽事的時候，我抽到了一張非常硬的桌子。我原本以為這是一場非常難打的比賽，但之後我被告知我的桌子上有許多亞洲撲克圈的撲克名人 。其中有曾經拿過亞洲代表玩家的，有同一年濟州APT冠軍的，還有一些網路上有名的玩家。這是一個八人桌，是一個"快"又"狠"的桌子，至少從我開始打國際級的比賽時最具有挑戰性的一個桌子。

 I was seated in the 6 seat, with the two “other” Taiwanese players to my immediate right. With all the other players at the table being white or Korean, they started to discuss hand ranges and strategies. I mean why not, it is not like that Scandinavian guy to your right is going to understand. Everything was going great; they were giving me a lot of free information. I could fairly quickly double my stack during the first 4 levels of play. 

我被分配到6號的位置，旁邊坐了兩位來自台灣的選手。因為來比賽的大部分都是韓國人或白人。他們就開始用中文討論一些對手可能持有的牌，或比賽戰略等等。他們大概想說"應該沒關係吧~旁邊這個瑞典人反正也聽不懂啊"之類的。這個比賽進展得非常順利，他們給了我很多免費的資訊，所以我可以在第4階段就打到兩倍的籌碼。

Then I made the biggest mistake of the tournament. A guy from Slovakia had just sat down at the table, and he looked at me and said:

“You look European, where are you from”

Without thinking I responded

“Sweden, but I live in Taiwan now”

The two Taiwanese players instantly stopped talking and turned to me.“do you understand Chinese”

No more free information. The look on their face was hilarious though... :)

之後，我犯了一個很大的錯誤! 一個來自斯洛伐克的玩家被分配到我坐位的旁邊，他看了我一眼，然後對我說 
" 你看起來很像歐洲人耶，你從哪裡來的?"

我完全沒多加考慮，就回答
"瑞典人，但我現在住台灣!"
這時，坐在我旁邊的兩位台灣玩家立刻安靜了幾秒，然後轉頭問我
"所以你聽得懂中文?"
他們是誰我無可奉告，但他們臉上的表情絕對經典!

If you are at poker table, you need to think about what kind of information you are giving out. Even a question as “Where are you from” could change the outcome of a tournament. Even more so, you can never expect that someone doesn’t understand Chinese. Especially if you are playing poker in Asia!

 There are a lot of westerners in Taiwan that knows Chinese a lot better than me. I only understood about 80% and I got a huge advantage. So if you are going to talk about your hands this is what you do. Change the cards to something else. Since Taiwanese people always talk about food, it makes things easy. 

當你坐在牌桌上的時候，你必須好好的思考，什麼樣的訊息可以說，什麼不能說。就連一個簡單的問題"你從哪裡來"也可以改變整場比賽的結果，還有，你永遠無法預測在亞洲打比賽，你的對手聽不聽得懂中文。雖然在台灣有許多外國人的中文比我好很多，但我聽得懂80%隔壁玩家的對話，因此我得到了很多優勢! 所以如果你要談論你那手牌，你可以用另一種方式討論。像台灣人非常喜歡美食，相對來說，可以把你的牌比喻成不同的台灣小吃，這樣會非常容易讓別人聽不懂

Here is a rough guide:
 這裡是我發明的指南:

Oyster pancake: 76s  A dish that can be hit or miss due to the restaurant, the name should refer to a hand that is hit or miss.

蚵仔煎:76s，一道時而好吃，時而難吃的一道菜，因為取決於餐廳食材新鮮度。可以代表一手有時可以買到順子，有時什麼都買不到的牌

 

Mala hot pot: AKs Dangerous, but really good. You love it when you eat it, but quite often you end up with stomach pain the next day. No other hand is that good, but also one of the hands you are most likely to go bust with.

麻辣火鍋: AKs，非常危險，但是手很好的牌。吃的時候覺得超愛，但常常隔天會拉肚子。沒有別手牌是這麼好的，但常常是很多人會比賽gg的一手牌。

Stinky tofu: 72o No explanation needed

臭豆腐: 72o 不用解釋了....(小編:對臭豆腐那麼有偏見，哼)

Pokerguden

So close, so far away and such a big waste of time

So close, so far away and such a big waste of time
好近，但又好遠而且超級浪費時間

Right after I met my wife, I had the poker day of my life and won 60k in a FPP tournament (as I mentioned before), and a few months later I got invited to special freeroll at ultimatebet that awarded trip to their aruba tournament. After winning, she was convinced that I was a free roll master. 

在我剛剛認識我太太不久之後，我經歷人生撲克贏最多錢的一天 (6萬美金)，而且是打5000點數的比賽贏的，幾個月之後我被邀請參予一個Ultimatebet特別的免費比賽(給訂閱過Card Player的人打的)，贏的人可以去Aruba打WPT加上3000美元獎金。我很幸運得拿到了獎品，所以我太太從此認定我是一個打免費比賽的強手。

I guess the name got stocked. I have a feeling even if I win the WSOP main event one day, she will think of me as the freeroll king rather than world champion. She hates the idea of a losing day, or even a losing session. So when the Taiwan freeroll was announced she got really excited and she convinced (forced) me to take a shoot.

我想這個綽號會一直跟隨著我，我覺得就算有一天我贏了WSOP主賽事，她還是會把我定位在"免費錦標賽之王"而不是冠軍得主。她無法忍受我一天輸錢，甚至一天之中的某一段時間輸錢她也會受不了。所以當撲克之星公佈台灣的免費錦標賽開打之後，她非常開心，然後說服(逼>_<)我打。

 
For those of you not familiar with the Taiwan freerolls, they consist of three steps. First the daily tournament where 9 out of approximately 220 players get a seat in the weekly final. The weekly final has a slightly smaller field and again 9 players are award a ticket to the monthly championship. After about 20 daily tournament and three weekly finals I finally got a seat in the monthly championship. The monthly final awards 1 seat to a live final table, with the top price being a poker trip to Macau and the Red Dragon.

如果你不太了解這個錦標賽的比賽規則，讓我娓娓道來。這個比賽有分成三個階段。第一個是每日三場的免費錦標賽，每一場大約有220人左右參加，會取九位參賽者晉級到每周的錦標賽。每周的錦標賽有稍微少一點點的人數，也是取前9名到一個月一次的final。經歷了20天的每日錦標賽和3次的每週錦標賽，我終於打到每月的錦標賽，也就是最後一關。贏得最後一關的人可以到現場打一個9人比賽，9人比賽的冠軍可贏得紅龍杯參賽資格和免費的住宿。

If I was bored in the weekly tournament, and half asleep in the daily I was finally motivated to get back to my normal tournament schedule. All I had to do is win this 36 field tournament, and I could stop playing these time consuming tournaments. I worked my way all the way to headsup. Bang a missed flush draw and a coin flip later and I was back at square 1. 2^nd place, and nothing for the effort. Still have a few unused weekly tickets, so I might give it a last shoot. Luckily I have the bankroll for the normal satellite, but there is a certain satisfaction to qualify for free. However, when you get close like this it is hard not to look at these tournaments as huge waste of time.

每次當我在"每週"打到超無聊，或在"每日"打到快睡著的時候，我總是用自己比較常打的比賽來勉勵自己。我告訴自己"只要撐到每月的冠軍(36人取1)，我就再也不用打這類的比賽了"。我非常努力的打到剩下最後兩個人hp的時候，"轟隆一聲"我沒買到花，下一個coin flip又輸掉的時候，我又被打入第一階段(因為我拿了第二名)，長久以來的努力化成煙霧。我目前還有幾張"每週"的票，所以我可能會再試最後一次。還好我目前有足夠的錢可以打真正的錦標賽，但如果不用花任何一毛錢就打到票，心裡總會有一絲絲奇妙的滿足感。但是當你非常接近勝利，但卻沒有成功的時候，真的很難不認為自己其實浪費了很多時間!

Equilab- A Must For Any Serious Player

Equilab- A Must For Any Serious Player
Equilab- 專業玩家的必需品

During the first levels of a freeroll tournament it is common that players goes allin right away with 20% and even 30% of their hands. So what kind of hand do you need to have to call these large allin bets?  To calculate that you can use a free software called Equilab www.pokerstrategy.com/software/10

如果你有打免費衛星賽的經驗，通常比賽剛開始(大盲，小盲還是最低層次的時候)有些玩家會把他們20%-30%的牌全押(all-in)。到底你必須有哪幾手牌，才能跟注呢? 如果你想分析或計算你贏牌的機率，我會推薦一個叫Equilab的免費軟體。(有興趣可以點上面的連結)

You can put in a percentage of hands that you think that your opponent raise (or go allin) with and the program will estimate the range of hands your opponent has. In such a weak field I like to be 55% favorite to call. The program can tell you exactly what hands has a certain win percentage against his range.

首先，你可以輸入你的對手平常加注或全押(all-in)的比例，這個軟體就可以幫你用排除的方式計算出你的對手有可能持有的牌。在這種新手較多的比賽，我希望有55%勝算去跟注。這個軟體也會告訴你，哪幾手牌對上你的對手可能持有的牌，贏的機率會是多少。

In the case above, if you put in 20% as the number of hands your opponent raises it would suggest that his range consists of A5+, 55+ and any two cards above JT. To justify calling I would need 99+ or AT+. Each of these hands will give you above 55% chance to win.  So the best calling hands against these frequent allin players are medium to high pairs and any decent ace.   

如果套用上面的例子，如果你輸入20%為你的對手經常加注的機率，軟體會告訴你他可能持有的牌大概是A5+,55+或任一兩張比JT更大的牌。如果你想要跟注的話，你必須要有99+或AT+，這幾手牌會給你大於55%的贏牌機率，總之，對於這些經常全押(all-in)的對手，你最有勝算的牌是中等以上的"一對"或好一點的A組合。


If you are serious about poker I highly recommend Equilab. 

如果你對撲克是認真的，我非常推薦你使用Equilab.

Freeroll-The Best Way to Learn the Games for Beginners

Freeroll-The Best Way to Learn the Games for Beginners
免費錦標賽-對初學者最有利的學習方式

If you are a beginner and just started playing poker I would suggest that you start by playing free roll tournaments. They are free to enter, and if you manage to go far you can make a few bucks. Often the first step is a qualifier where you have to finish top 10 or top100 in order to get a seat to the main free roll tournament (that awards the money). This is a great way to practice how to play right before you reach the “money”.  

如果你是一個初學者，剛剛開始接觸撲克遊戲，我會建議你從免費的錦標賽開始打起。 這些比賽都是免費的，如果你能打進錢圈，就可以賺一些零用錢。一般來說，第一階段通常都是預選賽，只有百分之十的人可以晉級到下一場主要的賽事(就是有獎金的那一場)。這是一個如何在進到錢圈之前，擬定最佳作戰計劃的絕佳練習機會。

For instance if top 100 get a seat to the following free roll and there is 105 left and you have an above average stack, you really should do anything you can to avoid an allin against a bigger stack. It is crucial to know your chip stack and which of your opponents are afraid of gambling and just want to fold to the money. With an understanding of chip stack and game flow you can often float into the money with a relatively short chip stack. 

比方說，如果前100名能得到下一場比賽的參賽權，當比賽只剩下105個人，你又持有平均以上的籌碼，此時你應該盡你所能，去避免對籌碼比你多的玩家有任何全押(all-in)的動作。此時的關鍵在於了解你的籌碼數量，和哪些對手是害怕出局的玩家(他們只想一直蓋牌以最保險的方式進錢圈)。當你懂得如何巧妙地運用你的籌碼數量，和對手打牌的特性，就算你沒有太多籌碼也能有蠻高的機率進到錢圈。

Further on, if you manage to make it to the main tournament, the level of play of the free roll is roughly like one of the low buy in tournaments. Finally there is a great feeling of building a stack out of nothing, and if you end up losing it in the end – all you lost was your time since you never deposited any money. 

此外，如果你能進到下一場主賽，通常玩家的水準大概是跟低參賽費的比賽對手差不多。當然最令人興奮的是當你能從比賽開始的籌碼累積到一定的籌碼數量，無中生有。就算你到最後輸到一點也不剩，你失去的也只有時間而已，因為你從來就沒有存過任何一毛錢。

Why Taiwan

Why Taiwan 台灣，為什麼?

Besides the obvious my wife, there is many good reasons for why we decided to settle down in Taiwan. When I met my wife during my Ph.D studies in USA we were thinking of moving to Sweden after I graduated. Before we got a chance to do so, we went to a vacation to Taiwan. I fell in love with the country. It is very convenient to live in Taipei. Excellent public transportation, cabs are really cheap and people are extremely friendly. I think Taiwan will see drastic growth in the number of international visitors in the next couple of years. It has a fascinating mixture of Japanese, western and Chinese culture. I really love Japanese food and you can get it for less than half the price in Taiwan compared to Japan. 

除了我老婆是台灣人之外，我們會決定在台灣定居有更多有利的原因。當我在美國讀博士班的時候認識我的太太，我們有考慮要搬到瑞典。在我們付諸行動之前，我太太帶我到台灣度假，我因此愛上這塊土地。台北市一個非常方便的都市，除了良好的公共交通工具之外，計程車也非常便宜，除此之外，台灣人真的非常友善。我覺得未來兩三年台灣一定會有越來越多的外國觀光客來旅遊。這裡綜合了日本，西洋和中國的文化，非常迷人。像我非常喜歡吃日式料理，在台灣可以用不到日本的一半價錢吃到非常美味的日本料理。

Taiwan is also a great place for being self-employed, especially if you are a poker player. Everything is cheap, taxes are low and Macau is only 90 minutes away. Taiwan is an up and coming poker-country and several Taiwanese players have had great success at the international poker circuit. I hope to add my name to that list in the near future, and help promote this fascinating game in Taiwan.

如果你想自己替自己工作，尤其是當一個撲克玩家，台灣是個很好的選擇。在這裡的生活開銷大部分都是便宜的，稅也很低，而且離澳門也只有90分鐘的飛行時間。撲克在台灣的市場是很有潛力的，而且有許多台灣的撲克好手也在世界級的比賽裡拿下不錯的成績。我希望有朝一日我的名字也會在那成功撲克選手的名單上，幫助台灣推行這個非常迷人的遊戲。