Flush_Entity in the well

[Downtown]

Posted awhile back that Griffin "Flush_Entity" Benger is a good friend of mine and had no idea of his success at poker until recently. He is currently the number one player in the world according to Pocketfives online rankings. http://www.pocketfives.com/profiles/flush_entity/

I asked him to do a well here for us and he kindly agreed. So fire away.

Ill start it off

1) Could you explain the game we met in and used to grind? How long did you play live before moving online?

2) I remember you talked alot about video games and remember you told me you won money playing. What is your gaming history?

3) Elky talks about his gaming being a huge influence in his poker success. Do you feel the same?

4) Do you envy the live players fame?

5) how many hours a week do you grind?

6) I know you love Ice Hockey. Do you sports bet?

7) Most balla thing you have done?

8) How has black Friday effected you?

9) Am I still the best poker player you know?

Thanks again buddy and welcome to IPB.

[Guest]

Have you any fake ID stories?

Or any about underage drinking either doing it yourself or buying it for someone else?

[tipp86]

I dont follow the poker scene much outside of here. Any chance of a life story eg : Where your from, age, how you got into poker etc.....

Thanks for doing this.

[DAMO72]

Do you own a car
What colour is it
Is the head gasket ok

[MikePattonHead]

How big is ur hands?

How often do u cut ur toenails?

Whats ur favourite couch type?

Have u ever cleaned a chimney?

Thanks.

[Downtown]

Try and cut out the drool lads. Good opportunity to ask one of the best in the world in poker some questions. If you dont have any worthwhile then best to not ask any imo.

[MikePattonHead]

Try and cut out the drool lads. Good opportunity to ask one of the best in the world in poker some questions. If you dont have any worthwhile then best to not ask any imo.

Fanboy ?

[eamonhonda]

What sort of setup you use for grinding?
Do you go on sick long sessions or try and stick to a reasonable schedule?
What sort of system you use for cashing out/ seperating poker roll and money for yourself?

[tipp86]

Posted awhile back that Griffin "Flush_Entity" Benger is a good friend of mine and had no idea of his success at poker until recently..

Sorry for derailing thread but i need to ask Downtown how this came about ?

[Downtown]

Sorry for derailing thread but i need to ask Downtown how this came about ?

I lived in Toronto for a few months in 07. Met Griffin there and we became friends grinding a live 2-5 game. Hadnt a clue about his poker success since. Asked on here a month or so ago if there would be any interest in a well. There was good interest so I asked him and he agreed.

[Bubbleking]

1. In broad terms how has black friday affected your daily grind and what adjustments if any did you have to make?

2. How do you view the future of the poker economy? do you envisage a time when grinding poker will no longer be a viable option and what would you like to do then?

3. many players are of the opinion that the "HUD" destroyed online poker. If Huds were banned do you think this would be good for the game or would the regs just play less tables?

4. MW3 or BF3?

5. are you still a gamer? If so what are you playing now?

6. Fav game of all time? simillar but different - best game of all time?

7. what is the biggest failing you see among fellow grinders as to why they dont reach the top (excluding lack of skill)

8.fun one finally - most unballer thing you have ever done

thanks man looking forward to the response

[Midnitekowby]

1. whats the most exploitable mistakes you see made today in mtts?
2. best value out there in terms of sites and particular games?
3. how is your hud setup, any particualer stats you use outside of the standard ones?
4. have you used training sites,and if so which sites/vid series did you find the most useful?
5. have you received coaching and same again which coaches out there would you recommend?
6. what aspect of your game do you feel has got you to the top of the p5 rankings?

many thanks for doing this, much appreciated.

[Arazi]

A WSOP bracelet or a first round draft pick by the Mapleleafs?

A WSOP main event bracelet or a 10 year career as a starter with the Mapleleafs?

[bohsman]

Any eureka moments where you changed something in your game and things started to click?

Similarly, main difference between decent grinders and those that bring it to a different level?

[Guest]

Just thought I'd chime in and say the random ridiculous questions often make for the best reading in wells, so boo-urns to poker content only!

[eamonhonda]

Just thought I'd chime in and say the random ridiculous questions often make for the best reading in wells, so boo-urns to poker content only!

Be better to add a couple of funny questions after asking a couple of proper ones as so not to totally act the bollocks when hes taken the time to do it

[Midnitekowby]

Just thought I'd chime in and say the random ridiculous questions often make for the best reading in wells, so boo-urns to poker content only!

id ask randon silly ones to regs here but tbh i dont know this guy or care about his degen stories/car colours or how many kids hed beat up in a fight or animals he'd throw ova a crossbar...

guy is one of worlds leading mtt players and we got a unique oppurtunity to pick his brain here, think we should use it.

[TheDrunkenOne]

if you had one tip to online poker players which would help their game what would it be?

[40something]

Hi, thanks for doing this.

1. What's the smallest buy-in on-line MTT you did in 2011?
2. What's the largest buy-in on-line MTT you did in 2011?
3. Was there much of a difference in standards?

Thanks

[Marsden02]

I mostly play live and use online for sats but when I grind(not the right word for me) online I gamble the shit out of it. Is there much point me putting the effort in to learn the grind when I know Im calling with them Jacks 99%.

When do we expect the feedback?

[Flush_Entity]

Hey guys,

Never done one of these before or even read one, but I assume I just quote the questions I'm gonna answer? Here goes:

Posted awhile back that Griffin "Flush_Entity" Benger is a good friend of mine and had no idea of his success at poker until recently. He is currently the number one player in the world according to Pocketfives online rankings. http://www.pocketfives.com/profiles/flush_entity/

I asked him to do a well here for us and he kindly agreed. So fire away.

Ill start it off

1) Could you explain the game we met in and used to grind? How long did you play live before moving online?

We used to play a 1/2 underground game in downtown Toronto. I was already playing online but just in $20-$50 fullring non-turbo SNGs on FTP, with moderate success.

2) I remember you talked alot about video games and remember you told me you won money playing. What is your gaming history?

I used to play Counter-Strike professionally under the handle "shaGuar". I played for teams like 3D, NoA, EG, and won the Championship Gaming Series World Finals with the Chicago Chimera. Eventually, I found poker, and retired from gaming in 2006ish.

3) Elky talks about his gaming being a huge influence in his poker success. Do you feel the same?

I definitely feel like my gaming experience has contributed a lot to my poker success. I learned how to optimally handle pressure-filled situations, which is essential when you're playing for such large sums of money deep in MTTs. I often don't see the top prizes as money, but moreso "points", like I'm playing a computer game, and that helps me make the best decisions instead of being overly concerned with taking the more cautious route because you don't want to lose.
Also grinding long hours has never been a problem for me since I spent so much of my childhood gaming long hours.

4) Do you envy the live players fame?

I experienced a fair bit of gamer fame during my Counter-Strike career, especially when I travelled to Asian countries. It was a cool perk back then, but the older I've gotten the more I've become more concerned with making money, and especially since Black Friday it's a lot easier to make a decent living in MTTs online. It's impossible to actualize your variance playing live poker and while I'd love to have the bankroll and patience to play the tour, it's not a priority for me at this point in my poker career.

5) how many hours a week do you grind?

I'd say on average in 2011 I played 4 days a week, 8-12 hours a day. But in 2012 I intend to take it a lot more easy and probably play 2-3 days a week, and focus more on my personal life and try to play more live tournaments and see new places, such as attending the Irish Open in April .

6) I know you love Ice Hockey. Do you sports bet?

I don't sportsbet regularly no, but usually I'll make some Stanley Cup bets and the occassional SuperBowl/UFC bet to make those events more interesting.

7) Most balla thing you have done?

haha umm... credit card roulette on a $3000 dinner/drinks bills with poker friends I guess. Call me old fashioned, but I'd rather feel like I dodged a bullet and not get my card picked than feel like a baller and pay for a dozen of my friends expensive dinners and gratuiotous drinking though .

8) How has black Friday effected you?

I'm one of few that have actually benefited greatly from Black Friday. Right before it happened, I was kinda on the up'n'up but was still only really a medium winner in the highstakes online MTTs, but when Black Friday struck I woke up and suddenly I was one of the best players online. I've definitely made a huge effort to take advantage of that and my 2011 success is a reflection of that.

9) Am I still the best poker player you know?

No, but you're still the best Irish poker player I know.

I take that back, I met Andy Black in Vegas .

Thanks again buddy and welcome to IPB.

[Flush_Entity]

I dont follow the poker scene much outside of here. Any chance of a life story eg : Where your from, age, how you got into poker etc.....

Thanks for doing this.

I'm from Toronto, Canada, and turn 27 in April.

I got into poker through some of my gaming friends after the Moneymaker boom.

[Flush_Entity]

What sort of setup you use for grinding?
Do you go on sick long sessions or try and stick to a reasonable schedule?
What sort of system you use for cashing out/ seperating poker roll and money for yourself?

I use an iMac setup with two identical 27" monitors.

Because I play scheduled MTTs my schedule is usually always the same; I try to get started by 11:30 EST so I can late reg the 10:15 $265 KO, but if I sleep in I usually start around 12:30 and late reg the daily $100r. If I have to start later in the afternoon, I'm usually starting around 3:00 EST so I can start in time for some of the better late afternoon tournaments like the Stars $50r, big 162, big 55, and $109 1r1a turbo, as well as the daily majors on Betfair & Party.

Because I am fully backed, I don't have to be worried about seperating poker roll and life roll money so I can't give much advice in that respect.

[Flush_Entity]

1. In broad terms how has black friday affected your daily grind and what adjustments if any did you have to make?

The games got a lot easier once all the Americans weren't able to grind online. I guess I could say that I didn't have to be as balanced after Black Friday because there weren't as many good players, so I could manipulate the weaker players to get their chips.

2. How do you view the future of the poker economy? do you envisage a time when grinding poker will no longer be a viable option and what would you like to do then?

It's not something I've really thought about too much. I certainly don't expect to be a fulltime poker player for much of my adult life, but for now I'm just trying to enjoy the ride and make as much money as I can with this pretty amazing opportunity.

3. many players are of the opinion that the "HUD" destroyed online poker. If Huds were banned do you think this would be good for the game or would the regs just play less tables?

I'm actually one of the few regs that doesn't use a HUD. I've been lectured for hours by my peers that it would make me that much better, and I'm not too stubborn to explore using it, but right now I have a formula that's been working so I don't want to introduce something like a HUD too rashly and potentially compromise the success I've had in the last year.

4. MW3 or BF3?

I don't really play online first person shooters anymore, but almost always play through the newest Modern Warfare single player on PS3 for fun. If I do end up getting back into online FPS' I imagine MW3 would be more my speed but I've heard amazing things about the BF3 multiplayer.

5. are you still a gamer? If so what are you playing now?

Like I said I mostly just play through single player games. Right now I'm re-playing Mass Effect 2 in anticipation of Mass Effect 3. I'm also really looking forward to the new Max Payne game.

6. Fav game of all time? simillar but different - best game of all time?

Fav game of all time, yikes, too many to choose from, but the Unchartered and Mass Effect franchises are certainly up there. I'd probably say Diablo 2 though.

7. what is the biggest failing you see among fellow grinders as to why they dont reach the top (excluding lack of skill)

Because of the luck factor in poker it's very easy to blame variance or bad luck on a lack of success. We've all done it, but the reality is that if you're not winning on a consistent basis, you're just not playing/not good enough. It's really that simple. Variance is one thing, but if you constantly find yourself complaining about how that one flip didn't go your way, or those Kings didn't hold against that AQ with 12 left in this tourney or that tourney, I can promise you it's because you're not winning enough other pots to survive those kinda beats.

8.fun one finally - most unballer thing you have ever done

My dad gave me $20 to put on his lucky number the first time I went to Vegas years and years ago. I chickened out and decided I was just gonna give it back to him and say I forgot to do it, because I didn't have much cash on me. The number ended up hitting and it woulda made me a shit ton of money, and woulda made for a great story, haha.

thanks man looking forward to the response

No problem!

[Flush_Entity]

1. whats the most exploitable mistakes you see made today in mtts?

Playing pots without a gameplan. Sometimes weak-medium strength players will 3 bet or call or whatever with no real gameplan as to how they are going to proceed based on how their opponent reacts.

The biggest leak I find that regs have is getting into ego wars with other regs instead of focusing their attention on exploiting the weaker players on the table. It's counter-productive and something I try to stay away from.

2. best value out there in terms of sites and particular games?

I think the best value tournaments online are on the OnGame network. Their daily $50 rebuy is much softer than the daily $50r on Stars, and their $100 freeze and $50-$100 turbos have good payouts as well.

3. how is your hud setup, any particualer stats you use outside of the standard ones?

As I mentioned before I don't use a HUD setup.

4. have you used training sites,and if so which sites/vid series did you find the most useful?

I don't use any training sites and I haven't watched many video series'. However, I usually review handhistories with my poker friends.

5. have you received coaching and same again which coaches out there would you recommend?

Never had any coaching or done any coaching, but my backer was paramount in my progress in MTTs since I played with him every step of the way.

6. what aspect of your game do you feel has got you to the top of the p5 rankings?

I'm able to adapt really well to players' perception of me. I have a super-aggro image to most people and because I'm aware of that I can adjust accordingly.

It's really important to be tighter in spots people won't expect you to be, and looser in spots people won't expect you to be.


many thanks for doing this, much appreciated.

I'm probably doing this all wrong, but the answers are still here! haha

[mickste]

Thanks for doing this Griffin.
I see you have mentioned about being backed ,
1. Have you always been backed ?
2. Do you find it beneficial not having all your own action?
3. Is it quite common in the higher mtts for a lot of regs to be backed?
4. Since black Friday with the likes of sheets and johnnybax's stable taking a big hit are there fewer backers for winning regs like yourself?
5. Have you ever ran your own stable or contemplated it?

Thanks again

[Guest]

General question about the step up, gonna be vague (if too vague fine)

Partially comes from this comment of yours:

or those Kings didn't hold against that AQ with 12 left in this tourney or that tourney, I can promise you it's because you're not winning enough other pots to survive those kinda beats.

And I think would probably fit a good few on here:

What do you think are the main differences between people who are in the 90-95% on officialpokerrankings.com and those in the 98-99%?

Which is sorta the difference between break even and break the bank



Will try to think of actual questions if/when I get some sleep


*question (if it counted as a question) pretty much answered in reply to bohsman
play better, work hard, have a plan

& good read so far, cheers!

[Flush_Entity]

A WSOP bracelet or a first round draft pick by the Mapleleafs?

A WSOP main event bracelet or a 10 year career as a starter with the Mapleleafs?

WSOP Bracelet. Luke Schenn and Nazem Kadri certainly haven't proven to be worth more than a bracelet now have they ?

Obv 10 year career.

[Flush_Entity]

Any eureka moments where you changed something in your game and things started to click?

Similarly, main difference between decent grinders and those that bring it to a different level?

My eureka moment came in February 2011 when I was being railed by a friend of mine deep in the Wednesday $320 quarter million. We swapped 15% with final 2 or 3 tables left and when he busted, he stayed up with me to help me with my lategame strategy. He opened up my eyes to how I wasn't playing the late stages of tournaments optimally; not opening enough, not recognizing how irrelevant an opening hand really is, having a gameplan etc...

I finished 3rd or 4th for one of my bigger scores that night and went on a really crazy run the next few weeks, which I think was a combination of running really hot and having the newfound confidence of playing the later stages better. I chopped the $100r that Saturday for around 35k, and then tabled the Sunday Million both of the next two Sundays.

the main difference between decent grinders and those that bring it to a different level:

kind of a difficult question to answer... I think that people are a lot lazier than they think, it's so easy to just accept that things will either go their way or they won't in MTT poker, when in reality if you really want to be one of the best you need to dedicate countless hours, surround yourself with better players, constantly be badgering them for advice and hand analysis. Have an open mind, don't be stubborn; if the way you play and the way you do things is right, then why aren't you winning?

Every once and a while someone on the rail will chirp me saying that I just run good, or that I played a hand so badly. If that was the case, then why am I winning and why is he losing? Experimentation is important, if there was only one right way to play, then everyone would play that way and noone would win.

Be unconventional, be unpredictable, there are too many variables in poker for one right answer in any given scenario. That's what makes poker so much fun and so fascinating to me.

Sorry for the ranty/vague answer, but hopefully that helps!

[Flush_Entity]

Hi, thanks for doing this.

1. What's the smallest buy-in on-line MTT you did in 2011?
2. What's the largest buy-in on-line MTT you did in 2011?
3. Was there much of a difference in standards?

Thanks

Smallest buy-in I guess would probably be accidentally registering the $5r :P. Although I think I may have played the $3r Saturday Splash a few times. The smallest buy-in that I play regularly is the $8r 2x at 1:30 EST because it's still a 45k guarantee and is really turboey.

Largest buy-in would be the 5K WCOOP Main Event and the 5K GSOP Main Event. Unfortunately my backer and I decided not to play the 10k 10th anniversary on Stars because we were on a bit of a downswing on PS at the time, and figured there wouldn't be enough of an edge, but when we saw other regs tabling it we definitely regretted sitting it out.

Yes, a huge difference :P...

[Flush_Entity]

I mostly play live and use online for sats but when I grind(not the right word for me) online I gamble the shit out of it. Is there much point me putting the effort in to learn the grind when I know Im calling with them Jacks 99%.

When do we expect the feedback?

Kind of a difficult question to answer. Poker is still poker, I don't do much Jacks folding myself, but I'm also not always raising and getting them in pre-flop depending on how deep I am with my opponent(s).

[Flush_Entity]

Thanks for doing this Griffin.
I see you have mentioned about being backed ,
1. Have you always been backed ?
2. Do you find it beneficial not having all your own action?
3. Is it quite common in the higher mtts for a lot of regs to be backed?
4. Since black Friday with the likes of sheets and johnnybax's stable taking a big hit are there fewer backers for winning regs like yourself?
5. Have you ever ran your own stable or contemplated it?

Thanks again

1. I wasn't backed until I started playing MTTs regularly. I was on my own dime when I played sngs fulltime on Full Tilt Poker until about a year and a half ago when my backer took me on.

2. That's a difficult question to answer because since I started playing MTTs I've always been backed. However I can definitely play pretty recklessly/fearlessly, especially during big buy-in rebuy periods, which is +EV in the long run, but I might be less comfortable doing if it was on my own dime. Even just today in the $20r action hour I think I went in for as much as $400, which was obviously spewy as all hell but by the end of my session I still profited at least $8000 on the day. Perhaps if I wasn't staked I would become more cautious and that might make me less dangerous and therefore less successful.

3. It is extremely common. Most online highstakes MTT regs are backed. Highstakes MTTs can be very swingy, I've been one of the most profitable players in the last year and there've still been times when my roll on Stars has gone from 20k to 3-5k in just a few losing sessions (this past Sunday for instance, I cashed in just one Stars tourney and I was probably in for over $10,000)

4. Luckily I'm not backed by an American so Black Friday wasn't a problem for me in that respect (although I did lose 5 digits on both Absolute and Full Tilt Poker). I'm sure it might be more difficult to find a backer in today's online poker climate but if you're a proven winning player there will always be someone out there willing to put you in the game.

5. I have one midstakes horse that has done reasonably well over the few months I've backed him but hasn't been able to put in a great deal of hours because of his job. I'm more focused on my own game right now though. The better I become, the better teacher I become, and the more money I make, the more money I can invest in other players.

[Lplated]

Congratulations on being top of the board!

Couple of questions, please ...

1. Did you "relearn" the game in order to move from SNGs to MTTs?
2. Was the transition successful from the beginning or how long did it take you to become happy with your MTT game?
3. Given you dont use a HUD, and multi table, do you have (A) a system for remembering what is happening on various tables at various times, and (B) a system for remebering players you come across from one week to another?
4. Given the vast amount of literature, videos, knowledge in general available to all players, what do you think of the general standard of play in the games you play regularly?
5. In saying that the absence of Americans has helped your ascent of the poker rankings - do you think the absence of less good Americans balances that in terms of cash flowing in the poker economy?
6. Most important advice you would give to a poker player learning to play for first time in 2012?
7. Do you think physical fitness or outside interests play any role in the success of your play?

Thanks for doing taking the time.

[White Knight]

1. What are your poker goals?
2. What are your life goals?

[DAMO72]

Try and cut out the drool lads. Good opportunity to ask one of the best in the world in poker some questions. If you dont have any worthwhile then best to not ask any imo.

With all due respect Rory anyone should be allowed to ask any question they like be it serious or humorous.
Its a well on a public forum and everybody gets something different from it , if Griffin chooses to answer the questions then alls well and good , if not then it's no biggy . I am pretty sure he doesn't need you to hold his hand .

[Flushdraw]

Cheers for doing this, looks like it's going to be a really good well.

• Considering you don't use HUD, do you regularly use Pokerprolabs, Sharkscope or Tournament Shark when deep in tournaments to see who's a danger at your table?
• Do you take a ton of notes when playing? I find it difficult to note take if playing 10+ MTTs so i sometimes miss out. Do you have a system or tip for taking notes while playing?
• What way do you arrange your MTTs on your display? Do you keep them in a certain order/place based on buyin/rebuys/stage of tournament?
• Any general tips on how best to approach a session where you're playing 20+ MTTs differing in buyins/formats/structures?
• Are you a minraiser, or a minraiser plus a little? At what stage do you change from 2.5x-3x to minraising?
• If blinds are 6k/12k and a 400k stack opens and you've nothing to go by except for his bet sizing, would your play or thought process differ if he opened to 24000, 24240, 25999 or 36k?
• What 2 regulars do you think 'ffs' when they appear on your left deep in a tournament? Similarly, what 2 regulars make you lick your lips when they sit on your right?

Cheers again Griffin and gl with the Sunday spin. I don't think many of us should be expecting too many replies on a Sunday with it being the ultimate grinding day so don't worry about leaving this alone for a day or so.

[Flushdraw]

With all due respect Rory anyone should be allowed to ask any question they like be it serious or humorous.
Its a well on a public forum and everybody gets something different from it , if Griffin chooses to answer the questions then alls well and good , if not then it's no biggy . I am pretty sure he doesn't need you to hold his hand .

I think Rory's point, and what Kowby touched on is right in this instance. I'm not sure if Griffin has done a well anywhere else, so fair play to Rory for getting him over here. Rory would have had to explain that IPB is the best Irish Poker forum out there and if would be great for us to to share in some of his knowledge. You'd pay good money for some of the stuff he's answering and in my case, the Qs i've asked will all help improve me as a player and hopefully end up in some of his regular games.

Griffin won't know anyone's username on this forum. He won't know personalities and the last thing you'd want would be for him to think wtf is he wasting his time for when people are asking him does he take a shit standing up or sitting down, and what part of his body does he wash first in the shower.

100% agree that it's fine to ask a reg in the well these questions, or maybe even throw the odd one in once F_E gets his feet under the table, but i can defo see where Rory is coming from seeing as he's the one that introduced him over here.

[danutpeddler]

Hey Griffin,

Rory's mate Tom here. Heard a lot about ya. Conrats on your success and thanks for doing this.

1. Are you an M or BBs man?

2. Do you stick to push fold charts for short stack play? If so have you constructed your own or do you use one that's out there already?

3. What's the shortest stack you raise fold with?

4. What's the shortest stack you 3bet fold with?

5. Your thoughts on clod 4bet bluffing deep and cold 4betting all in with complete cheese?

6. Poker books you've read, forums you read?

Thanks again and ignore the trolls.

[Laois Hammer]

Wp Rory.

Question is kind of based on what you mentiomed about end game,,
1. When do feel yourself making the switch from mid-game to end-game?, Ive seen it said that 4 tables out should see a change in stategy, is this close to being correct?

2. How wide will you shove a 20bb stack if it feels right and feels like you will get a fold.

3. Thoughts on raise/folding off a shorter stack (14-18bbs).

4. Is there anyone in particular you hate seeing at your table?

5. mid stages, high variance style or low variance style?
final table, high variance or low variance style?

6. Ever played 180s on stars?

Gl for the year and thanks for doing this

[Flush_Entity]

Hey guys,

Hope you've enjoyed the well so far. Because it's Sunday I won't be available to answer any questions until tomorrow. Wish me luck! If I get a really deep run I'll let you guys know.

[mcnugget]

Brilliant well so far, thanks to Downtown for arranging this.

Do you keep detailed notes on opponents seeing as you don't use a HUD? A lot of the time you'll surely end up in situations where you have no idea whether villain is a nit/lagtard?

Have you played much live poker in the last year and do you plan to play much next year?

Any interest in getting involved in coaching/doing videos?

What is the lowest stack you would 3b/fold? 4b/fold?

[ViperEyeIRL]

Thank you for doing these....have come up with a few random question, will add more later if something more comes into my mind:

1) at what effective stack sizes you stop flatting raises regardless and you go in push/fold/3betc/3betf mode? I am particularly interested when you play 30x stacks, would you flat to a raise hands like AQ/JJ to at all, even IP?
2) longest losing/break even streak in terms of number of MTT?
3) biggest losing streak in terms of buy ins?
4) how many online MTT are you planning to play in 2012?
5) most common leak of MTT regs in early/mid and late tourney stages?
6) how many tables at once do you play? would your game have significant changes were you playing half of that number?
7) what are you VPIP/PFR/3bet % stats playing full ring MTT?
8) best TAG online MTT player? best LAG online MTT player? most overrated online MTT player (you don't have to answer this if you don't want to obv) ?
9) whats your expected ROI? whats your expected ROI in Sunday Majors only?
10) whats you general approach to online MTTs giving that you play lots of them? high variance play or low variance play? does this change based on the field?

[PortOfTheYokes]

What was your largest downswing when you were grinding smaller stakes $50> when you were starting out and how long did it last?

Did it ever make you want to quit the game?

How harder/easier have the high stakes mtt's become since black friday?

What tip/tips could give someone about grinding low stakes mtts?


cheers

[peterswellman]

Cheers for doing this well man, you're an absolute beast?

1. What was your most satisfying tournament result?

2. How big a role do you think beating the SnG's and having a good push folding strategy in beating MTT's?

3. Which Irish player you've played against has been the toughest?

4. Have you got a a memorable poker hand that will live forever in your memory? Could you talk us through your thinking and why you made the decision you did?

5. Do you spend much time reviewing HH's after a session?

6. How many times have you played the Main Event?

7. What's your best non-poker story?

8. Do you still enjoy grinding tournie's or is it just a means of making money? Enjoyable or just 9-5?

9. 6-Max or full-ring?

10. Do you just reg everything over $50 or is there any tournies you just scrap because it's just packed full of regs?

11. Top 5 Best Value Weekly tournaments?

12. Do you have more respect for a naturally talented poker player or a 30+ table grinder?

13. How confident are you in your live game?

14. Any advice you would give to up and coming grinders about poker mindset and dealing with balancing the grind with irl things?

15. 2+2 or Pocketfives?

Cheers for this, you're a complete boss.

[40something]

PokerStars No-Limit Hold'em, 8.8 Tournament, 30/60 Blinds (9 handed) - PokerStars Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

saw flop | saw showdown

SB (t8917)
BB (t4485)
UTG (t4114)
Flush Entity (UTG+1) (t3235)
MP1 (t3900)
MP2 (t2705)
MP3 (t2370)
CO (t493)
Button (t2400)

Hero's M: 35.94

Preflop: Hero is UTG+1 with 9, 9
1 fold, Hero bets t180, MP1 calls t180, MP2 raises to t826, 1 fold, CO calls t493 (All-In), Button raises to t2400 (All-In), 3 folds,

Flush Entity?

[eamonhonda]

regular strat thread for this, its not what the thread is for imo

[alocon]

regular strat thread for this, its not what the thread is for imo

why not? he's asking him a question/looking for his opinion??? too many people trying to "police" this well if you ask me. thanks Griffin by the way, will throw a couple up questions up for you tomorrow. congrats on your unreal success

[eamonhonda]

why not? he's asking him a question/looking for his opinion??? too many people trying to "police" this well if you ask me. thanks Griffen by the way, will throw a couple up questions up for you tomorrow. congrats on your unreal success

ah no im not trying to police it at all i just feel if he wanted to do a strategy thread he would have and it would have been titled as such. I think if its a general what would you do in this common occuring spot fair enough but i thought posting hands a bit much, just my opinion anyway not many people value it so dont mind me

[islander32]

Hi Griffin. Really cool that your taking the time to do this.

[Jibzzzz]

Great well so far, thanks for doing this and wp to Rory.

1) Before you were backed, how strict were you on BR management? Did you take shots etc?
2) You use to grind cash games with Rory and now your a MTT player, did you play much live MTTs back then or just cash?
3) Did you start online with MTTs or did you play cash?
4) Do you play much live tourneys nowadays?
5) Do you try satts online?

[Bodybuilder]

Have you ever drank in McVeigh's on Queen and Young (I think) on a Sunday night (Irish night)?

[daire]

I used to play CS back in the day and remember watching a few of your games so cool to see that you made the crossover to the pokeys! Most of my questions are CS related so apologies to anyone uninterested but I dedicated a significant portion of my teen years to this game so I need answers!

1) A lot of the fanboyism and criticism leveled at CS players seemed totally extreme to me when I played and I was wondering how you dealt with that?

2) There was a fella playing with 3D (think it was reaper or something?) for the first CGS that got absolutely torn to shreds on a regular basis on forums. Is your lower profile in the poker world partly because you don't want to be exposed similarly or is it more of an unconscious thing that just happened naturally?

3) I got a great kick out of CS for a couple years but the practices etc just dulled my enthusiasm after a while and I gave up. How long would you have kept CS up for if there wasn't money involved?

4) With CS being a team game do you ever miss the banter between teammates when playing poker? Maybe "miss" is a bit strong but hopefully you get what I'm saying.

5) Most extreme tilt/rage incident?

Cheers!

[IPB Champ]

Diablo 2 is the best game if all time! Really wouldn't like to find out how much if my life I have lost to the game

Favourite class/build?
Have you played many mods for D2?
Looking forward to D3?
Liv Boeree or Kara Scott?
6 2 OTB or J 10 suited in EP?

[GAWA9]

Incred work getting such a boss in, congrats on your success over the last year firstly!

Few questions:

Thoughts on how shallow 3b folding can still be effective? Obviously guys like aaaaaaa are doing it way way shallower than most and with most regs assuming you have a much stronger range when you size a 3ball off a shorter stack instead of just jamming it is there a lot of room for it?

Thoughts on the biggest differences between big winners at midstakes to high stakes?

You've obviously done very well recently, any plans to go on your own dime or are you planning on remaining backed and starting a stable yourself?

Thanks again for doing this, particularly interested to hear your thoughts on 2nd question.

[Flush_Entity]

Brilliant well so far, thanks to Downtown for arranging this.

Do you keep detailed notes on opponents seeing as you don't use a HUD? A lot of the time you'll surely end up in situations where you have no idea whether villain is a nit/lagtard?

Have you played much live poker in the last year and do you plan to play much next year?

Any interest in getting involved in coaching/doing videos?

What is the lowest stack you would 3b/fold? 4b/fold?

I don't keep detailed notes on opponents no, but I have a blue/yellow marker system based on how bad/good I know a player is. If I see someone playing terribly, even if it's just one hand where his actions are very indicative of how weak he is, I'll usually mark them as "blue" so I know how bad they are in the future. Yellow is for all the regs/sharks, which isn't all too necessary since I recognize them anyway, but helps if there's someone who doesn't play that regularly but has really good stats and I'd looked them up in the past.

I haven't played much live poker, I played pretty much the entire series in Vegas this summer and only made two cashes, one of which was chopping one of the first 1K Venetians for 45k, which made up for most of my buyins for the rest of the series. I definitely ran incredibly bad but it was a great learning experience and I'm excited to head back out their next summer. I also played the $2500 at the BCPC in Vancouver (bubbled Aces vs 10s :P) and three or four tournaments at the PCA including obviously the Main Event. I bubbled the $2k turbo and lost a 120 BB flip late on Day 2 of the ME.

Unfortunately I had some obligations in Toronto so couldn't play the Fallsview Classic series this past weekend (a 1k, 2.5k and a 5k), but I'll probably go to Madrid for the EPT which I believe is next month, and I also won a package to some Dominican GSOP tournament or something in April on Betfair yesterday. I also intend to come down to visit "Downtown" for the Irish Open in April as well.

At this point I have no immediate interest in doing any coaching/videos. I grinded really hard in 2011 and trying to spend most of my free time putting that money to work on my personal life and grind 2-3 days a week in the meantime.

The lowest stack I would 3 bet fold is probably around 22-25 BB. If I have under 20 BB I probably won't enter a pot and fold unless I'm peeling from the big intending to either jam a flopped draw/mid pair flop (also referred to as stop and go).

A good example of this was at the bubble of the $109 2r1a on Stars last night. niccc raised in MP with around 40 BB, I had Qd10d in the BB with like 10-12 blinds. Recognizing I have little to no fold equity but also having a hand that flops really well, I peeled for the one chip.

Flop came Q/J/Jd. check check, turn 7d, check check, river 7s. I bet about half pot and he called with A4os, and I went from 10-12 BB to 18-20ish.

The lowest stack I would 4b/fold is probably just over 30 BB. I don't like the idea of putting in a third of my stack and folding, but if I'm facing a raise from an opponent who is trying to exploit my 20-30 BB stack (because if he 3 bets, I'm pretty much faced with a jam or fold situation), it's very difficult for him to 5 bet me in unless he actually does have a strong value hand and was intending to 3bet call me off. In general though I'm a strong believer in not folding once I've put a lot of chips in the pot, so I'd be more inclined to 4 bet jam a 30 BB stack as opposed to 4b/folding, and if he does have a value calling range, any two cards are never that behind .

[Flushdraw]

^^^^^ You missed 3 or 4 posters before mcnugget

[DAMO72]

^^^^^ You missed 3 or 4 posters before mcnugget

Missed mine also

[Guest]

I don't really play a lot of tourneys but I'm curious as to what has changed in the past 5 years that has made the minraise go from horrendous to standard and vice versa for 3x.
As someone who tends to look at things mathematically, I can't fathom how minopening in EP can be optimal. Keeping the SPR large and enticing people to play pots in position against you seems bad to me.
Which do you think is 'correct' or is there no correct in absolute terms with the best play being a function of what everyone else is doing?

[Zod]

id ask randon silly ones to regs here but tbh i dont know this guy or care about his degen stories/car colours or how many kids hed beat up in a fight or animals he'd throw ova a crossbar...

guy is one of worlds leading mtt players and we got a unique oppurtunity to pick his brain here, think we should use it.

if you can't draw a comparison between 4bet ranges and the size of animal you could throw over a crossbar I feel bad for you, son.

Q:

what's the highest pair you'd fold UTG, <25bb on a table full of competent players?

[chips1234]

http://www.pokerhand.org/?6323151

just seen the czar19 play this hand in the big 162 on stars, can you make any sense of wtf he was doing on the turn, or what his range is here. maybe its gone completely over my head but confused the shit out of me.

edit: gonna try put him on some range of hands and not come out looking really stupid, but would AJ/A10/89 be possible i guess 89 could make more sense given river call but his turn bet has me really confused? would he do this as really weak semi-bluff attempt if he thought pinophile was bad enough to fold ?