Ask Garth!

[Chelsea4thewin]

Garth

how much thought do u put into your table image when playing poker? i mean do u go out of your way to get your opponents thinking you play a certain style then change gears to catch them off guard

ive only recently put a lot more thought into my image and i have been rewarded with some good results in NPL and home games

[Bob B]

Garth

how much thought do u put into your table image when playing poker? i mean do u go out of your way to get your opponents thinking you play a certain style then change gears to catch them off guard

ive only recently put a lot more thought into my image and i have been rewarded with some good results in NPL and home games

Yeah your poker image is really starting to work Steve. Keep it up m8. Are they your mums other sunnies ??????

SUNNIES, HAT, IPOD MUFFS, Hmmmmm, are you related to Matty N??????

[Garth Kay]

Garth

how much thought do u put into your table image when playing poker? i mean do u go out of your way to get your opponents thinking you play a certain style then change gears to catch them off guard

ive only recently put a lot more thought into my image and i have been rewarded with some good results in NPL and home games

Plenty of thought needs to go into this at all times. If you are not aware of your table image then you're just not playing poker.

You need to know why players are betting, checking and raising at certain times and this has a lot to do with your table image. You are more likely to get called by marginal hands if your table image is extremely loose. Many players will three bet you light if you are a laggy player and they pick up on this.

If you are playing extremely tight then sometimes this will damage your play and payoffs as many players will lay down strong hands to you if you shop aggression.

To be able to accurately read players you not only need to know there betting patterns and baseline behaviour but you also need to be able to get in their head and think of what they are putting you on. Your table image has a lot to do this.

If you can sit back and put a player on a certain and fairly accurate hand range, and you know what range he is putting you on, you should be able to outplay them 75% of the time.

I will give you an example, 1st hand of a recent tournament.

My opponent was a regular and he knows I am aggressive and will make plays for pots to accumulate chips early on.

Seven players limp, I am in the SB and have AQ suited. I raise 8x. My regular opponent calls. I know he is thinking I am a laggy player and that I will cbet this flop even if I have missed, but generally i bet 3/4 of the pot for a general c bet. The flop falls rags and I bet out.

He instantly goes all in. My hand range had him on suited connectors (7 upwards) KQ or KJ suited or a weaker Ace than mine. He pushes all in almost instantly.

I call. And he shows down AJ, the turn and river bricks out and I double up first hand. Simply because I knew what he was putting me on and I was aware of the table image I had with this opponent.

[Garth Kay]

Chip Ruling

The ruling with chip ups has being implemented by me and I have asked our contractors to enforce it thoroughly.

In SA we started immediately with the rule the TD is always right and no allegations of chipping down or up will be listened to.

This has being the line from day one. We have very little problems with players being chipped down in South Australia.

Now in Victoria in a certain region and within a certain venue it appears that at least nightly at least one player complains of a chip down, I do not believe this is possible as I have worked with the TD's in question and do not doubt their effectiveness or accuracy one iota.

To be quite honest a certain player has ruined it for all Metro West players by continually claiming to be chipped down at EVERY event and sometimes at both breaks. I believe some players are taking advantage of the honor system and thus I have enforced this rule.

The amount of times I see players miscount their chips or make errors is astounding and I simply cannot believe that they are continually making minor mistakes of this nature.

Tables and tournament at Tigers
In regards to the tournament on Wednesday night; one big stuff up with tables and entirely my fault. I am sorry.

The blind structure will be tweaked with and apparently David announced to everyone what these changes were before the game begun. I see no issues with that and in the info sheet is does say the "proposed" blind structure. Next time I will add the following line - The tournament structure can and might be altered at the TD's discretion due to time constraints

Rosemary

Hi Rosemary,

I know you have posted quite a few articles here and I am not sure what to reply to. Do you need answers to anything? That I haven't answered or haven't answered thoroughly enough.

I know Garry called you today and we have our concerns and we will discuss these with you when we organise a meeting. Apparently you gave Garry 1 page of notes which he and I will go through when I get back into Melbourne.

[Garth Kay]

I thought I would post this in here.

Last night I played a tournament at the Gordon Hotel; I played with a lot of great people and one person in particular stood out amongst the crowd. After a lot of the negativity and upsetting players over the last two weeks; it made me stop and think about NPL, what it has achieved, what I have achieved personally and some of the fond memories I have.

With the launch of NPL in South Australia, many of you know I worked hard and (at most times) tirelessly to get it to where it was. I felt immense pride at what I had achieved and along the way got to meet some great people.

Through those first six months of endless struggles, long nights and days, teamwork and bonding, we built the greatest team of TD's anywhere in the country. These guys are extremely dedicated, loyal and passionate about poker and NPL and they produced the best tournaments of any pub poker game, anywhere. I am proud to call them all friends and I would do anything within my power to help them in a heartbeat with anything.

Six months ago I moved to Vic, was told we had some serious issues with staff and that I had a long road ahead of me. The contractors in Vic are just as dedicated, loyal and passionate as those of SA. And I need to make special mention of Dave, Adam and Michael our three metro RM's who have being with NPL almost since day 1 of launch in Vic. These guys have being with NPL for ages and if anyone was entitled to senior positions it was these three who have stuck by NPL through thick and thin and continually shock me with the exemplary work they do and the management skills they all possess. If I was to fear any rough transition it would come from these three disgruntled guys who deserved the position more than some punk from SA. Fortunately these three have accepted me and have played the position of support better than I could ever have hoped, without these guys NPL would not be in the position it is in Vic (irrespective of other posts and opinions, this is a positive comments).

During my 20 months with NPL I have met some fantastic people; who do make this job worthwhile. The brothers Murrin who moderate and administer this website, David in particular for creating this off his own back. Des, Big Pete, Scott, Mat, Muzz (that's your new nickname), Ondie and David do a fantastic job on this site, so all NPL members can voice all of their opinions, and they are a great bunch of blokes to talk to, hang out with and sink a few with.

Special mention goes to the Pooraka crew and in particular the big and loveable Ron Morgan, who showed me more respect than I ever deserved. His words at hearing of my return to Victoria moved me immeasurably. It was after that conversation that I realised how much of an impact I have had on certain individuals just through this job.

Matty G, what a kid! A guy who found his niche in the world; and that is everything poker. I always have the time for Matty (even though he works for the opposition now). I watched him move from an introverted bloke in a wheelchair, to a talented and challenging opponent who was loved by everyone and became the mascot of NPL in South Australia.

His father Roger, a true gentleman of the game and the most decent bloke I know. The amount of bad beats this man cops and he still manages to stand up and shake his opponents hand with a pleasant smile on his face.

Scotty, gun player that just seems to run bad when it really counts. Unbelievable skills on the felts and the gridiron field.

All of the "old Boys" crew, you guys have to be the funnest table to sit at and i love the fact that NPL brings so many demographics together through a common shared interest.

The BG crew - AK, Bruce and benny the cunt (yes you too Bob) we all have tangled on this forum so many times it's not funny, and although we didn't get to share too many moments live, this internetz thingy has enabled us to share many opinions and thoughts. And watching your thought processes develop has being hugely satisfying to me. AK and benny the cunt you have the makings of above average poker players (read good) if you continue to apply yourselves and discipline yourselves. Bob, we are too much alike not to come to blows at times, we are both stubborn and if we believe in something we will defend it to the death. Bruce - one day I will understand you completely, when that day comes can someone please shoot me, I couldn't live in a Bruce world!

There are many more people that I have spent plenty of time with and I am sorry if I missed you, I am writing this on the fly. These are the great individuals I have met, that I share my thoughts, opinions and knowledge with and that is the most positive part of the job. To be able to see that I am having a small effect on somebody's life in a positive way and to help them further their poker and social life is AWESOME.

There are also several moments that when I sink into a contemplative mood when "things" just become too much and I begin to doubt myself; if I am doing things right, if I am worrying to much over certain aspects, if I am always defending the product or if the workload is really worth it all.
I have met almost a hundred people who all have a similar story, I used to gamble on pokies non stop, it ruined my life, my partner left me and then NPL came along, I hardly ever play pokies anymore and I have found another avenue to dispel my addiction and to funnel my energies into.

There have being other stories that have had an impact on me and that drive me to further this company.

Matty G and his acceptance into the community, his explosion of life and vitality when he took hold of poker (it did cost him abit and that is a slight negative) but as someone said, NPL has changed his life. Sorry if this overboard Matty, but it was fantastic to meet you and play poker and to know that in some small way NPL shaped your life into what it is today.

Caroline (the grumpy one); her story of her life, how NPL changed so much for her and her constant improvement and seeking of answers, her evolution into a poker player and her love of the game and NPL. This motivates me greatly and some of you need to speak to Caroline to really understand where I am coming from. A wonderful human being who needs to share this with the world and not keep it to herself.

Attending State Finals, managing events for up to 600 people and watch their awe at the first tournament of this size. The state finals winners and their stupid grins, the two most memorable - Mrs O'Hare and her tears of joy and her proud son wearing the red shirt beaming proudly. Kylie our most recent winner and the most overjoyed winner I have ever seen - the bloke had not won a tournament until the finals. Handing over that cheque is just an awesome feeling and knowing that that $10,000 is going to make a difference in this individuals life is very fulfilling.

There are many more, but last night the thing that kicked all these thoughts off was a young bloke by the name of Tommy.
I was moved to his table before in the second blind level. Tommy is well known in the South West region and I am unsure what has occurred to him, needless to say he cannot communicate very well (can hardly speak) is parapalgeic, as he is in a motorised wheelchair, and has very little motor control skills in his upper body as somebody needs to show him his cards and help him move his chips into the pot.

I was seated to the right of Tommy for almost half an hour, I helped him with his cards and bets, and I messed around a bit with exaggerated checks and bets, and everytime I glanced over he was beaming (that big smile devoid of everything except happiness). When he won his allin bet with an 8 on the river and I was pushing that pot to him that smile only grew bigger and he giggled.

When the first break commences I gave Tommy some FT and AM pro patches I had received from Crown.

Anyway I sat with Tommy for awhile and he watched the finals table, which I dealt and at the end of it, his carer came up to me, gave me a hug and said thank you. I was shocked, and asked her why, she said: "for taking the time to sit with Tommy and show him a good time, he knows who you are and what you have done and he feels honoured to play with you. He loves his NPL and it's one of his few outlets, he also wants to know if you will be playing tomorrow night". Unfortunately I couldn't, but I have promised to head back down in late Jan.

Now if NPL can bring that to somebody in Tommy's situation and help him be accepted into a community of players aged from 18 - 60 and give him that joy that sprouted on hid face. Then I will continue to work this job until I die knowing that even doing this for one person is so worthwhile.

Thanks for taking the time to read this, sometimes I need to remind myself that it's about more than just the competition and prizes.

[Garth Kay]

WTF

tl;dr

[Garth Kay]

Just wanted to say how awesome it is to see you posting your thoughts on the NPL forums. I do have heaps of questions, but they are so basic I am ashamed to post them.. LOL.. however that won't stop me..

My main reason was to say thanks for the effort you putting in, I realise it is a huge committment on your part but it is very much appreciated.

A very special thanks to this person for taking the time to write this. You know who you are and it is reaffirming. Cheers!

[Des]

WTF

tl;dr

I read every damn word. I dunno what to say really. Except this.

Thank you!

Hope to catch up for a beer while you are in Adelaide mate.

[Adam Hancock]

Thanks Garth, greatly appreciate the kind words.

[Scotty]

That's the best "on the fly" piece of writing I've read in a long, long time, Garth.

Ditto for Des' words - look forward to sharing a beer soon mate

edit: I even took my grammar and spelling Nazi hats off for five minutes