Ask Me Anything (Dusty Schmidt aka Leatherass in the well)

[Stu_Ungar]

ABC poker prob does ok at the micro stakes, although everyone's definition of ABC can be a little different.

I don't think at micro stakes it is too important to game select since everyone is just learning anyway. Although, you'd rather have F- players rather than F players.

I'm not sure exactly why I am winning, but I definitely know it is far from ABC. I feel my game is something I have to grind on for a lot of decisions.

The turning point for me was when I realized that I needed to be more aggressive. I learned that is is very infrequent that it is bad to simply bet. In fact if I lose track of what is going on in a hand I just bet by default rather than check.

Thanks for taking the time to reply.

Out of interest, what do you think of when someone says ABC?

 

[Divebitch]

Can't believe no one brought this up. This has got to be your finest work. Watched it so many times, practically know it by heart.

http://www.xtranormal.com/watch/5412861/

Looking at your profile ( http://www.xtranormal.com/profile/100661/ ), it's the only one you did. But I seem to recall another one (maybe even 2?) about joining Stox including the line "pull your head out of your ass for you". :laugh: Was there another, if so, any link? And any plans for more???? (Puleeeeeeeeease :icon_boun )

A huge welcome to CC!! Hope to see you at one of our tourneys sometime.

 

[belladonna05]

divebitch, too funny, you really need to put that in our poker vidoes section

 

[eNTy]

Without going too much into UIGA, say poker "dries up" or becomes unable to play online in like ~5 years, what are your plans for the future ?

Will you switch to live play ? Or do you have enough put aside to just retire and live off investments, or do you have other business plans that you may want to pursue ? (a golf coaching website that you started comes to mind, something along these lines maybe ?)

 

[Divebitch]

divebitch, too funny, you really need to put that in our poker vidoes section

Someone posted it a long time ago there, maybe a year. It doesn';t get the traffic like in this section.

 

[Leatherass]

I want to let you guys know that I will probably not get a chance to answer questions over the next 2 days with Christmas and all. But please don't let that deter you from asking. Rest assured I will get to everyone in due time.

Happy holidays everyone!

Dusty

 

[buckster436]

There is no doubt it will be legal some day. Let's just hope that is not 100 years from now haha.

ya i hope so too,, buck,,,,,,,

Hey - you were methodically answering every post in order and now you have my head spinning lol.

Go back to page 2 before I get dizzy.

(Although buckster deserved to jump in front of everyone else since he has been here for a gazillion years and is older than everyone else hehe)

LOL,although, i Feel like 100 today,,but the buck will survive,lol,,buck

 

[buckster436]

I want to let you guys know that I will probably not get a chance to answer questions over the next 2 days with Christmas and all. But please don't let that deter you from asking. Rest assured I will get to everyone in due time.

Happy holidays everyone!

Dusty

have a great holiday dusty,,, buck

 

[Stu_Ungar]

Merry Christmas dude

 

[Mortis]

I want to let you guys know that I will probably not get a chance to answer questions over the next 2 days with Christmas and all. But please don't let that deter you from asking. Rest assured I will get to everyone in due time.

Happy holidays everyone!

Dusty

No problem, have a very nice Christmas!

 

[TPC]

Ordered your book today, I can't wait to get it. Thank you for taking the time to answer all our questions here at CC. Everyone has asked some good questions so far, I don't really have anything to add.

 

[luckytokenz]

hello leatherass and merry Christmas! Thanks for your contribution to this site, it's really inspiring to have someone like you to learn from. Thank you for this opportunity.

1. Do you base every play you make on estimated hand ranges that have you dominated and estimated hand ranges that you have dominated and wheather or not it's a +ev or -ev play? Is ev what makes a winning player?
2. because the field of micro players are so big and often don't play against the same players, how many hands do you think you should have on someone to make an accurate read at the micro level?
3. why didn't you or don't you read poker books and poker forums to learn poker better?
4. Does a min-bet, or min-raise look weak to you the majority of the time?why? or why not?
5. What is the pro way to analyze your hand at a micro level? (disregard if answered in question #1)
6. How much would you recomend to bluff in micro if at all? and does bluffing (in the long run) work at this level?
7. you said learning poker is like going to school. If you had <b>tons</b> of learning material on poker,and wanted to learn it how would you teach yourself?
8. are you doomed if you don't get rakeback?
9. when your a slightly loosing player to break-even player, what would be the things you would start to looks at first in hand review(hem) to find your leaks?
10. How do you put someone on pocket aces or a set?(at a micro level)

bonus*(lol) : What is the single most important concept to grasp in order to move up from the lowest level? (would you recomend starting a little higher than the absolute minimum (like 5/10c instead of 1/2c)

I am terribly sorry for so many questions, and please, please take as long as you like to answer them, there is no rush. (although I will be checking twice a day, hehe j/k)

Thank you for your time and insight, as you are an inspiration to many!

luckytokenz

 

[veljco]

Haha. My wife wrote a guest chapter in my book that everyone loved. I have been told by tons of people that they made their wife read it. Show it to her and see what she thinks. I think it really speaks out to the wives out there and may help them better understand what you are trying to do.

My wife has to read it at least once a day :deal: ..

Happy Holidays all !!

 

[Leatherass]

I like the idea of metrics, and that as a business you need to budget dollars and also time for things like staff training and vacation, not just because you have to, but because it keeps your business viable in the long term.


I guess one of the tricks for the serious recreational player would be to define their own metrics; what win rate do they want, how many hours a month is optimal for them, is having fun more important than moving up or is moving up and improving more important, ect.

Any thoughts, or suggestions on metrics for this type of player?

I don't think you want to set your metrics as being results oriented. Basically as long as you are setting your goals in terms of being process oriented you are going to be in great shape.

 

[Leatherass]

Do you use a HUD? If so, what stats?

I don't use a HUD. I have it on sometimes and the only thing I look at is VPIP and PFR of bad players at the table. A hud isn't going to tell me much about any of the regulars that I don't already know from playing with them for the past tens of thousands of hands.

 

[Leatherass]

A third, more serious, question:

You give a few examples of things that make you label someone a fish. What's your default adjustment to a player on whom you have very little information other than "probably bad"?

Does the adjustment change depending on stakes?

I try and bluff them a little less. Other than that I think I just try and adjust based on how they play. Some fish are just retardedly aggor and others and incredibly passive.

 

[dg1267]

What do you get someone like "leatherass" for Christmas?

What's a list of the cool stuff you received this year?

 

[lmagalhaes]

SNG are less profitable than cash games?

First I am very pleased to make some questions to you, you are a great human being and a role model to me and every person.

Now down to business, I don't agree that SNG are low in profit and that is not possible to make a living. I know some people who make decent money by grinding SNG's, what are your thoughts about SNG in generall? Probably to newcomers could be the way to start but I think it is also a good business activity to increase your ROI and make decent profit.

I am saying this because I am specializing on the single table SNG and I know at certain blinds levels it is a push/fold game and it is all about stack sizes and position and also volume.

I am going to buy your book next year, for what I have read it also apllies to SNG game, right? After all, business is business whatever you play cash games, SNG, DoNs or MTT's, right?

Thanks and you are impacting in a very positive way my life. Life is a challenge, work hard and make things happen.

 

[TheNoob]

Just ordered the ebook.

The last poker book I read (that wasn't Harrington's hand by hand stuff) was The Poker Mindset. Not really strategy stuff, more understanding the basic nature of the game.

Looking forward to your book.

Question:

I play virtually all lower stake SNG's. How much can I expect your book to help me if I don't play ring games? ( I do, occasionally, but my daily grind is the SNG's).

 

[StormRaven]

1. Yeah I realized that you need to be relentlessly aggressive. That you can have the best of it simpley by betting all 3 streets against most passive opponents.

2. I would rather be in some crazy position to change the world. So I would want Warrne Buffet wealth and then do stuff like tell every homeless shelter in the country to place their clients into a home next week and I will pick up the tab. Stuff like that. I have goals to make a billion dollars someday. I want to give away at least 990 million of it.

3. I don't chill out. Maybe a few hours a week at most. I mostly either work hard or play hard. So I might work 60 hours a week for 2 weeks and then take a week off and rent a ocean front room in Maui for a week. I am basically either working hard or doing something that is what I call "productively fun." What I mean by that is that it is important to my success as a human being that I give myself some rewards for doing well. So a trip to Maui in this case is my reward, but in some strange way it circles back to help my career.

4. I like the Office prob the best. Love that show.

5. Greed. Hands down. I am so used to hanging out with rich people because I play a lot of golf and I can't stand like 95%+ of them. Everything is all about material goods and there is just never anyone I meet that ever talks about the good they can do with what they have. I just don't understand why people think they need 90 million dollars. They act like they can buy eternal life if they get that much or something. I think the idea of wanting to make a ton of money is perfectly fine. It is a way of competing and keeping score for a lot of people. Nothing wrong with that. But the part where they want to keep it all for themselves and hold onto it for dear life until they are too old to even enjoy it anyway really pisses me off to be honest.

I have not purchased your book, yet. I have a "wish list" of poker books I would like to obtain, because of your answers highlighted in red, I have bumped your book to the top of the list and will purchase it this week.

I feel EXACTLY the same way about wanting to help/change the world and greed. I am around many wealthy people, have in-laws that are quite wealthy and can not stand to be around them. Money is all that matters in their life and they put that above all else. This both saddens and angers me. I myself am not well off financially and would never be. If I won the lottery or something I would not have the money for long as I would use it to help those who really need it.

I am very passionate about poker, it runs in my family. My grandfather was a pro and played often with Doyle. I hope to achieve his success one day and wish you the best of luck in your endeavors.

*I don't have a question for you right now but wanted you to know why I have moved your book to the top of my list (not that it matters, you don't know me) and will purchase it this week: your answers above are impressive to me.

 

[_RoyHobbs_]

Thanks for sharing your thoughts Dusty.

1. By any chance did you attend La Serna High ?

2. At what point in your limit play did you decide to start playing NL ?

3. Would you also recommend starting with limit holdem before venturing into NL ?

 

[bazerk]

Aw gee, if I'd waited to receive the book I would have known you already answered my ??? (post #94) .

Anyway, I rec'd the book today & really love it!! I've already read it cover to cover (I'm a fast reader). I like how it's straightforward & I esp like the analogies.

You've given me many, many things to consider. I believe this just may be the resource that helps me transition my thinking from ‘poker is for entertainment’ to ‘poker is a viable income opportunity’ (a major paradigm shift for me). I was raised in an environment that emphasized success = ‘pursue college education, get a job with a major company, & make a 6-figure income’…been there, done that….& yet I don’t feel satisfied that I’ve accomplished much of anything; I’ve become so disillusioned with corporate America within the past few years (ie: Enron, Tyco, Madoff, Wall Street, etc…) & have been trying to figure out what I really want to do when I grow up .

I greatly admire how socially conscientious you are. I think that you (& Chip Reese) are/were on the right track, poker can = freedom…to do the things one wants and/or finds important. The opportunity cost, for me, was not having quality time for my family while instead spending that time analyzing & implementing process improvements for an employer who expected me to perform @ the level of 2.8 FTE peeps; I ended up too tired & too stressed to enjoy the limited family time I did have.

Thank you for taking the time to be in the CC forum & making your insight so freely available. I have been enjoying the other members’ ???s & your thoughtful responses. I'm looking forward to Vol II & your memoir Raise...Best Wishes & continued success to you, your wife, & daughter!

 

[Leatherass]

Thanks for sharing your thoughts Dusty.

1. By any chance did you attend La Serna High ?

2. At what point in your limit play did you decide to start playing NL ?

3. Would you also recommend starting with limit holdem before venturing into NL ?

I am going to get back to answering these in order. It's obviously a busy time of the year and so I apologize for not being more on top of this stuff. Having a new born around the holidays is tough. And while I don't want to upset anyone for being slow to answer, if it comes between my answering posts and being there for my family, well, I don't have to go to bed each night with you guys hahaha.

1. I was supposed to go to La Serna, but I transfered to Sunny Hills high

2.I played limit holdem from the time I started playing poker late in 04' until the middle of 06' when I switched to NL

3. Probably not. I don't think a limit holdem back ground is at all a prerequisite to playing NL. I would cut to the chase and start with NL

 

[WVHillbilly]

Over/Under on the number of post you'll end up with in this thread?

Speaking of over/unders, do you have any bad sports betting habits / degen gambling stories?

 

[JoeShowdown]

Thanks for joining cardschat and contributing in this thread I got the latest issue of CardPlayer magazine with Isildur and Team Fulltilt on the cover and featured in the hand 4 hand combat article is Dusty Leatherass Schmidt. It's about a 10/20 nl 6max table where you donkbet the minimum bet on the river and entice your opponent to bluffraise you potsize to 1k with a busted openender straight draw - brilliant How did the article come about? Did they contact you and ask to talk about an interesting hand? Is it coincidental you're in CardPlayer at the time of the release of your book?