Ashley Sleeth (Vegas MTT pro)- Ask Me Anything About Playing Poker

[Ashley Sleeth]

I am just picking this now of your answer. I am wondering, how would you recommend about doing like this? I had already several friends here at CC about whom I thought,
oh, they are talented, but maybe they fail in brm or have some sort of tilt.
How would you help them?
And I always think, something needs to be done about this to help them to improve

First, your poker friends have to want the help. If they don't ask for it or don't respond well to your constructive feedback, it might be best to just lead by example. Some people have to learn the hard way by losing their entire bankroll a few times If they reach out to you for advice, you can point them to the Mental Game of poker books or the countless articles that have been written about brm.

 

[ProblemPlaya]

9 years, 300k revenue in mtts, how much did you pay in buyins

 

[Ashley Sleeth]

9 years, 300k revenue in mtts, how much did you pay in buyins

Would have to go through a lot of random records to figure this out. (I sell to all my wsop tournaments and have made Venetian/Wynn packages as well.) Something to note: you mentioned 9 years, but I started playing tournaments full time in 2017.

 

[emk211]

Hey there, thanks for sharing...here is my question for today...Does having burn cards change dynamics for the better or the worse or inconsequential?

P.S. Addendum...And should they have burn cards on-line or do away with them Live?

Forgive me if answered before and have a great day!

 

[Debi]

Do you plan on a big schedule for WSOP events this year?

 

[Ashley Sleeth]

Hey there, thanks for sharing...here is my question for today...Does having burn cards change dynamics for the better or the worse or inconsequential?

P.S. Addendum...And should they have burn cards on-line or do away with them Live?

Forgive me if answered before and have a great day!

I think burn cards are inconsequential to strategy (if that's what you're asking). I view them as another form of 'shuffling' the deck and keeping the boards truly random. (Preventing perceived cheating or set ups.)

 

[Ashley Sleeth]

Do you plan on a big schedule for WSOP events this year?

Definitely!! Still putting together a big March/April MTT schedule and then will start looking at summer time

 

[unadonk]

My favorite room for both cash and tournament poker is the Wynn. The staff are all really friendly, professional and innovative with trying different events. They have great food throughout the property and easy parking right outside the poker room. Plus, it smells great in there

I feel the exact same way. Plus they've consistently offered the most favorable (as a % of the pool) house fees. Sadly, I noticed a couple months ago that fees everywhere in Vegas seem to have increased, incl Wynn.

So what are your least favorite rooms, are there any you'd absolutely refuse to play even if the game was very good?

 

[Ashley Sleeth]

I feel the exact same way. Plus they've consistently offered the most favorable (as a % of the pool) house fees. Sadly, I noticed a couple months ago that fees everywhere in Vegas seem to have increased, incl Wynn.

So what are your least favorite rooms, are there any you'd absolutely refuse to play even if the game was very good?

Oooo good question. I'm not sure I'd refuse any place with a good game But my least favorite place to play is currently Bellagio. The floor staff is incredibly uninterested in player feedback and can be quite rude. It also seems unwelcoming to new players and I wouldn't be surprised if someone wanting to try poker for the first time decided against it after going there. (It's sad because they used to be great!)

 

[ObiwanJ]

Hey Ashley, Just checked out your latest on YouTube. As someone who's never played live I appreciate being virtually taken along for the ride and also your post match commentary so thanks! Okay here's a couple of questions from a random noob that's enjoyed picking up the game over lockdown.

I noticed you always put a chip on your cards when your in a hand and I'm wondering if this is habit you picket up/rationale behind the move?

Also you mentioned taking a break, is this something your afforded at will in tournaments like the one you were playing?

 

[teepack]

The first time I made a deep run in a WSOP Circuit event, the event played down to the final table and I noticed at the end of almost a 12-hour day of playing poker I started making poor decisions. I ran out of steam mentally and finished 19th out of about 460 players. How do you stay sharp during a long day of playing?

 

[Ashley Sleeth]

Hey Ashley, Just checked out your latest on YouTube. As someone who's never played live I appreciate being virtually taken along for the ride and also your post match commentary so thanks! Okay here's a couple of questions from a random noob that's enjoyed picking up the game over lockdown.

I noticed you always put a chip on your cards when your in a hand and I'm wondering if this is habit you picket up/rationale behind the move?

Also you mentioned taking a break, is this something your afforded at will in tournaments like the one you were playing?

Hey! Thanks for checking out the channel.

To answer your questions:
1) At a poker table, it's possible that the dealer will sometimes make a mistake and swipe your cards thinking that you folded. When you put a chip (or other 'card protector') on top of your cards, it signals to the dealer that you have an active hand and are not folding. Players are responsible for 'protecting their hand'. Even though it's rare that a dealer does this, if it's ever happened to you once, you know that it's worth putting something on top of your cards.

2) In live tournaments, there are scheduled player breaks (usually every 2 hours) and sometimes a dinner break as well.

Glad you're enjoying the virtual ride!

 

[Ashley Sleeth]

The first time I made a deep run in a WSOP Circuit event, the event played down to the final table and I noticed at the end of almost a 12-hour day of playing poker I started making poor decisions. I ran out of steam mentally and finished 19th out of about 460 players. How do you stay sharp during a long day of playing?

Hey teepak! This is really common. You'll notice that a lot of pros show up late to tournaments and this definitely helps with focus and higher energy at the end of the day. But, it's not always the most profitable decision so other things that I do to help my endurance:
-eat my biggest meal of the day at breakfast or before registering the tournament; pack healthy food for the rest of the day (avoiding junk food and a big dinner helps keep my energy consistent and my mind sharp)
-no alcohol during play
-stretch or brisk walk on breaks
-stand up often when you start to feel tired
-focus on having a running commentary about the hand going on in your head (even if you're not involved)
-embrace your sleepiness by having a softer focus when you're not in the hand so you can have a more intense focus when you are
-win a HUGE pot and ride that adrenaline

 

[teepack]

Hey teepak! This is really common. You'll notice that a lot of pros show up late to tournaments and this definitely helps with focus and higher energy at the end of the day. But, it's not always the most profitable decision so other things that I do to help my endurance:
-eat my biggest meal of the day at breakfast or before registering the tournament; pack healthy food for the rest of the day (avoiding junk food and a big dinner helps keep my energy consistent and my mind sharp)
-no alcohol during play
-stretch or brisk walk on breaks
-stand up often when you start to feel tired
-focus on having a running commentary about the hand going on in your head (even if you're not involved)
-embrace your sleepiness by having a softer focus when you're not in the hand so you can have a more intense focus when you are
-win a HUGE pot and ride that adrenaline

Great tips. I never drink when I play and usually go for a walk during breaks but hadn’t thought of doing the running commentary to keep focused on the hand or loading up with a big breakfast and light snacks the rest of the day. I pack a few granola bars and peanut butter crackers. What’s your snack of Choice to stay sharp?

 

[teepack]

When playing PLO, should you see more or less flops than when playing NL?

 

[Ashley Sleeth]

Great tips. I never drink when I play and usually go for a walk during breaks but hadn’t thought of doing the running commentary to keep focused on the hand or loading up with a big breakfast and light snacks the rest of the day. I pack a few granola bars and peanut butter crackers. What’s your snack of Choice to stay sharp?

My go to snack is usually an apple w/ peanut butter it's light, but filling

 

[Ashley Sleeth]

When playing PLO, should you see more or less flops than when playing NL?

I've never played PLO so I'm not sure.

 

[JayBook]

Learning Poker

You said to ask you anything so…

There are so many sites out there willing to take your (my) money to teach poker, but do you know of one/any that you’d be comfortable recommending? Or maybe you have a better idea? Please guide a newbie who’s been away from the game to that it’s changed so much. Thanx

 

[muleyy999]

Welcome!

I have never played in a cash game in Vegas and would like to (I have played in a low stakes tourney there once) and wonder what the general situation is -- do you have a choice of 6 seats or 9?

 

[muleyy999]

the Bike stream

Hi CardsChat members!

My name is Ashley and I'm so excited to join this community. I've been living in Las Vegas for 10 years now playing cash games and more recently, tournaments. I currently play $5/$10 on the Strip and higher stakes on live streams such as Live at the Bike. I'll buy in to tournaments as low as $300 and as high as $5k (with an exception for the WSOP Main Event, which everyone should try to play at least once!).

I have also traveled for poker events in many other parts of the world, including Europe, the UK, Australia, Canada, Africa and the Caribbean. I can answer a broad range of questions about playing live, traveling for poker events/series, playing on live streams or the general poker lifestyle.

My goal for joining CardsChat is to inspire new people to play poker and to encourage those of you who have a poker bucket list item to go out and do it!

Ask me anything

How often are you on the Bike stream these -- do you know when you will be on next? Let me know the date and I will tune in!

 

[johnnylawford]

Hi Ashley,

Quick WSOP question -I plan on playing my second WSOP this year for the Homecoming event. Do you have any advice for playing these large field WSOP games? My understanding is there are a lot of wacky players in the day 1's of these big field games, so I'm interested in how to adjust/prepare for this.

 

[Ashley Sleeth]

I have never played in a cash game in Vegas and would like to (I have played in a low stakes tourney there once) and wonder what the general situation is -- do you have a choice of 6 seats or 9?

How often are you on the Bike stream these -- do you know when you will be on next? Let me know the date and I will tune in!

Hey muleyy- in most Vegas poker rooms, cash games are generally 9-handed so there's no requesting 6-max games. (Some had 8-handed still because of Covid policies, but I think most have dropped those at this point.)

I haven't been back on The Bike since last summer. I've been mostly focusing on tournaments again When I'm on a live stream again, I'll definitely tweet about it.

Hi Ashley,

Quick WSOP question -I plan on playing my second WSOP this year for the Homecoming event. Do you have any advice for playing these large field WSOP games? My understanding is there are a lot of wacky players in the day 1's of these big field games, so I'm interested in how to adjust/prepare for this.

Exciting! In these larger fields, there are two general rules that help:
1) Be aggressive with your value hands because you'll often get called. (these players overvalue their medium strength hands and tend to be sticky w them)
2) Be cautious if you face a lot of postflop aggression from a passive table because there's not enough bluffing going on. (there just aren't a lot of amateurs bluff-raising rivers, for example.)

Good luck to you, Johnny!

 

[Ashley Sleeth]

You said to ask you anything so…

There are so many sites out there willing to take your (my) money to teach poker, but do you know of one/any that you’d be comfortable recommending? Or maybe you have a better idea? Please guide a newbie who’s been away from the game to that it’s changed so much. Thanx

The right training site for you highly depends on what game you play (cash/MTTs/holdem/PLO), what stakes, your current skill level and the skill level you're trying to achieve. If you want to give me those details, I can point you in the right direction.
As a general recommendation, Run It Once and Upswing poker are the most comprehensive training sites with the best variety of coaches, in my opinion. Both have different payment options depending on your current skill level and needs.

 

[hobojim1247]

thank you

thank you for the blurb in one of your YouTube videos about Cardchat. I had been looking for a site like this for a while and it turned out to be what I wanted to find. So I am here because of you,.

Jim... aka : Hobojim1247

 

[ZefaPoker]

1.) Do you play at all online?

Also, random side note: I've played with jesse sylvia a while back HU on 3/6 PLO on WSOP back when chat was still not disabled and we had a pretty long HU session. At the end of our match, I remember he said something like "wow great match! gg" and I remember thinking, man this guy seems like a pretty chill cool dude lol. Just though I'd throw that little story in there.

2.) I've watched a few of your youtube vlogs since I live in Vegas and like to follow a lot of the vegas vloggers out there. Your videos are pretty high quality and well done especially for being a newer poker vlogger to the scene. Just curious how you edit your videos or how you went about finding a good poker video editor as I've been playing around with starting a poker vlog myself and find the entire process extremely tedious and time consuming.