Here I am in Foxwoods. The 2005 World Poker Players Conference went very well. Mike Caro emceed, and was charming, funny and informative. Lee Jones presented a new strategy for playing heads up NL play with fairly large blinds, typical at the conclusion of Sit’nGoes. This is a mathematical game theoretical proven strategy which Lee (and co-copyright holder James Kittock) will be giving away. When they post it to a website, I will link to it from here.

I did an hour seminar called “Making One Big Bet per Hour” that was very well received. In the afternoon, Mark Gregorich, Kenna James and Clonie Gowan spoke. All got very good reviews. The conference concluded with a panel consisting of Mark Seif (double bracelet winner at the 2005 WSOP), Linda Johnson and Mike Caro answering questions posed by Jan Fisher. It was fun and informative. The DVD of the conference should be available in a couple of weeks.

I also met a wonderful bunch of very studious and dedicated up and coming players. They were serious about the game, and improving their own understanding and results. Our game is growing, and the fascination of learning to play at a high level really enthralls many players. Congratulations to them for coming, and for asking some excellent and challenging questions.

While here on the right coast, I also got to meet several students face-to-face. That was a very nice experience. Thanks to all of you for coming.

In my talk I pointed out that playing tight is the first way most people make money. Making the transition from that to more advanced strategic play becomes difficult for many, as they need to add aggression, which does not come naturally. Aggression increases their varience, which makes them uncomfortable so they slow down. But aggression (combined with selectivity) is what makes real money. It is tough, but winning is tough as well. Winners almost always have to move well beyond their comfort zone to see meaningful results.