LAPC & Noah Schwartz Makes The Borgata Final Tableby Roy Winston | Published: Jan 31, '08 |
Well I'm back at Commerce, which feels like coming home in some ways. I was very happy to hear that Noah Schwartz made the Borgata final 6 which plays later today. Noah and I first met at last year's LA Poker Classic and have become close friends. Noah started as an online player but over this past couple of years has transitioned to a live action tournament player. At the Bellagio 5 Diamond he did well with several cashes including the main event where he accumulated a lot of chips and went out with top set to a flush, having putting his money in with the best of it and getting unlucky.
What impressed me about Noah initially was his poker "instinct" and his ability to decode an opponent's betting patterns. As an online player betting patterns are paramount in reading a player. He has taken this and added in a very short time, what most players take years to integrate into their games, if at all. Namely, live action tells and reads. Even in main events and among good players there are still many tells and reads available to the observant. You would be surprised how many players pre-muck or get their bets ready before their turn to act. Also time tells and other physical tells can make a huge difference. When Noah and I played at the same table earlier in The Borgata main event, there was a player at our table that would rub his face after raising. After watching him a few times I quickly noticed he did it only on bluffs. This allowed us to take advantage of his weakness and avoid him when strong. When he and I discussed this at the end of the day, Noah had picked up the same thing.
Noah starts today in 4th place, but has enough chips to take his time and play poker. The final table is packed with excellent players, Gavin Griffen and David Tran are the chip leaders with just over 5m in chips, and although short stacked, Lee Watkinson is always very tough. That being said, I'd love to see Noah pull it off and win. Play begins in just a little bit and I can't wait.
I played some live action mixed games last night and after 10 hours of play broke about even. I started playing stud high only where I did well and then switched to a BOTE game where I went cold the last hour of the night and finally got tired and went to sleep. I am about to head down and play.