I haven't played online lately so for my first post in Roland's Room, I propose to write instead about the system I use to designate the individual seats at a nine (or ten) player table. The terms Hijack (HJ) seat, Cutoff (CO), Button (BN) and of course Small Blind (SB) and Big Blind (BB) are now commonly used to designate the last five players to act pre-flop but for some reason the other four (or five) seats have not been so blessed, with the first player to act pre-flop being dubbed Under The Gun (UTG), the next player UTG+1, followed by UTG+2, etc. Aside from sheer length and clumsiness, the drawbacks to this system are obvious since UTG does not refer to a fixed seat (in contrast to HJ, CO, BN, SB and BB) but instead depends upon the number of players at the table.
In the past, I have mostly played nine player tables at PokerStars and to any sports loving American, the number "9" immediately brings to mind the game of baseball. This association suggested a solution to the seat naming problem, namely, to name each seat after a position on the baseball field. Thus, First Base (1B), Second Base (2B), Third Base (3B), Shortstop (SS), Leftfield (LF/HJ), Centerfield (CF/CO), Rightfield (RF/BN), Catcher (C/SB) and Pitcher (P/BB). Coincidentally, then, the three infield "base" positions correspond to the early and early/middle poker seats, the three outfield positions correspond to the late/middle and late poker seats, with the shortstop acting as a dividing line in between. (I also think of the shortstop or SS as the "Swing Seat".) And the battery of catcher and pitcher then corresponds to the blinds. Ten players at the table? No problem! Just follow the American League's lead and add a Designated Hitter (DH) before 1B.
Interestingly, Daniel Negreanu has popularized a poker playing style known as "smallball", which is also a term commonly used in baseball to describe a strategy based upon hitting singles, getting walks, stealing bases and making sacrifice bunts rather than hitting homeruns (which would be a "longball" approach). I don't expect baseball parlance to take over the world of poker but don't be surprised in a future post if I write "2B minraised to 40" instead of "(9 players) UTG+1 minraised to 40"!
Nice first post benkogambit! Your system is quite smart. It is self explanatory for any American, although we might have to teach the game to these Norwegians, and does fit metophorically with the smallball theme. Moreover, you bring up an interesting point regarding the dynamic character of the term UTG.
ReplyDeleteOften we (I) state that UTG raised 3x or something without mentioning how many players were at the table. Yet, as you say, the weakness of being first to act varies with respect to the number of players.
Interesting. I'm not sure if I'll adopt your system, but this is clearly an issue to consider especially now that we plan on writing a lot on the blog.
Cheers!
Roland
I only use it myself for the positions that don't already have names but I've found it quite helpful in keeping track of where I or other players are at (literally and figuratively). If I'm at SS, I'm reminded that I want to start thinking about swinging the bat if it's folded to me and if I'm in RF (the BN), I want to make like Reggie Jackson!
ReplyDeleteNice post Benko! I used to be a die-hard SF Giants fan during my years at USF, so the terms are well known to me.
ReplyDeleteI'm by no means a die-hard baseball fan, but I do have some fond, yet strangely blurred, memories of bottles of Jagermeister, excellent hotdogs and cheap bleacher seats... Go Tribe!
ReplyDeleteMrSmith, I had no idea you were at USF. This blog is going to be a goldmine of personal information and disclosures! I have only attended two major league baseball games in my lifetime, the White Sox vs. the Yankees and the Giants vs. the Mets. In each case, I won the trip to NYC playing checkers in a children's summer tournament sponsored by my hometown's Parks and Recreations Department in Connecticut. I had the privilege of seeing Juan Marichal pitch for the Giants against the Mets (showing my age -- he is before your time, I imagine!) and just last week discovered his portrait hanging in the National Portrait Gallery, a montage of hine images of his high-kick pitching delivery....
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