3/25/2022

Poker Trends

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Valerie Cross

Poker is a dynamic industry in terms of vocabulary, with new terms popping up when a need arises to describe a new trend. Back in the early 2010s, the term 'hoodflat' was one of those.

Part of the reason the term may not have blossomed into mainstream poker vocabulary could be the trend away from the strategy to which it refers, which is very much not 'GTO' — but could it be making a comeback?

Defining the Poker Term 'Hoodflat'

The 'hoodflat' is a term that was used to describe flat-calling a raise or reraise with a hand that does not have the correct odds based on the equity of the hand, or calling with a marginal hand with a relatively shallow stack (which is also mathematically not correct when considering implied odds).

In 2010, 'charder30' explained the term in a 2+2 thread as:

'simply, it means calling a bet or raise before the river (usually preflop) in which you're not getting the proper odds; like calling a raise with 15bbs with T8s or peeling a 3 bet with less then 2x pot with some suited BS.'

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This type of play has also been referred to as 'street poker' or playing 'street,' and is still referred to as such by many old school players. Terminology trends in recent years seem to categorize strategies on a spectrum of 'GTO' (Game Theory Optimal) and 'Exploitative' play on the opposite end. The hoodflat would definitely fall on the exploitative end, as the play is not GTO, by definition.

Much like the vocabulary used to talk about different poker topics evolves, so do poker strategy trends. With the increasing popularity of GTO solvers and GTO strategy, poker has become a tougher game than it was in the boom years, and has consequently also become more boring to watch, in the opinion of many.

But recently a couple of streamed cash games provided some hope that street poker – and the hoodflat – are making a comeback. The heroes leading the return? Gus Hansen and Kelly Minkin.

Hoodflats by Hansen (Five-Deuce) and Minkin (Seven-Deuce)

In one of the better known varieties in the $1,500/$3,000 Mixed Games edition of Poker After Dark last week, two legends in their own right tangled in a big pot of limit hold'em. The 'Great Dane' Gus Hansen flopped a very strong holding with trip deuces, and no... he was not in the big blind.

As discussed here last week, Hansen had raised with the ol' five-deuce, got three-bet by Brian Rast who had picked up pocket kings, and after Hansen called he flopped trips. Alas for him, a king came on the turn to spoil his fun (see below). Read more about that hand and what happened in 'Brian Rast and Gus Hansen Play Slow, Then Fast on Poker After Dark.'

Another recent televised hand perhaps illustrating the comeback of the hoodflat also showcases a return of the 'seven-deuce' game that was a staple in many old school televised poker games. Designed to help drive some loose action, if any player wins a hand with seven-deuce, whether by default after their opponents fold or with the best hand at showdown, everyone else at the table must pay that player a set amount ($100, for example).

In a Friday Night Poker $5/$10 game that was playing rather big, Kelly Minkin was dealt a chance to try to collect the seven-deuce bounty, and she went for it. With all players at the table donning Halloween costumes and having imbibed an undisclosed number of alcoholic beverages, Justin Young started the action off with a raise to $70 on the button with ace-six offsuit.

Bryan Piccioli called with queen-eight suited in the small blind and Minkin three-bet the seven-deuce to $310. Perhaps sensing weakness, Young four-bet to $1,200 and Piccioli got out of the way.

With effective stacks of around $12,000, an all-in here would be quite extreme, but for Minkin, folding was not really an option either. Enter the hoodflat. Minkin just called the four-bet and Daniel Negreanu in the commentary booth commented, 'Oooh, this is so street!' Hence the term — 'hood' flat.

The flop did not bode well for Minkin, and the commentators quickly lost hope in her likelihood of winning the pot. However, Young opted to check back with his weak top pair, and the revived some hope for Minkin. She led out $1,600 into a pot of $2,500 and Young quickly clicked it back, min-raising to $3,200.

Minkin stared down Young for a while, eventually saying, 'Sticky spot,' before putting in a call.

'What's she doing?' Negreanu asked at this point. 'Does she have a plan to go coo-coo on the river? She can't think the sevens are good.'

Regardless of what her actual plan was, the on the river sent the commentary booth into squeals and Minkin's potential need to bluff the river promptly vanished. She checked it over to the aggressor and Young moved it in.

A possible nit-roll, Minkin took some time, saying, 'I didn't expect this to happen,' and then put the chips in. Upon seeing Young's hand, she proceeded to stand up and needle the table as she collected the well-earned $100 bounties to go with the $23,270 pot in a friendly Friday $5/$10 game. Watch the action unfold below.

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A #FridayNightPoker trick and treat from @The_Illest! Watch this crazy 7-2 hand and then get ready for more cash ga… https://t.co/iuLIDrAmuS

— Poker Central (@PokerCentral)

The hand was so epic, it even inspired Joey Ingram to return to doing a hand breakdown video after a long hiatus.

Fans can catch more of Minkin when she returns to PokerGO this week on Poker After Dark's 888poker week that starts tonight (Nov. 5-6). Who knows — maybe we'll even see some more street poker breaking out.

Less than one week until @888poker takes over #PokerAfterDark! Watch @Moorman1, @MariaHo, @the_Illest, and… https://t.co/fa0mXTab5r

— PokerGO (@PokerGO)

  • Tags

    cash game strategyhoodflatflat-callingbluffingimplied oddsGTOgame theory optimal strategyexploitative strategyPoker TermsGus HansenKelly MinkinJustin YoungBrian RastDaniel NegreanuPoker After DarkPokerGOFriday Night Poker

  • Related Players

    Daniel NegreanuGus HansenBrian RastJustin YoungKelly Minkin

We reported last month that Google Trends data indicated interest in online poker was on the rise. But new data from August shows searches for “online poker” were significantly down compared to July.

The global health pandemic forced the closure of most poker rooms around the world in March. As such, many poker players turned to the internet to get some action. During the month of July, the WSOP hosted an Online Bracelet Series on WSOP.com. Although it was only available in the US, it brought thousands of players to New Jersey and Nevada to compete online.

In July, Google search engine users expressed great interest in playing cards on the internet. Ever since Black Friday in April 2011, searches on Google for the phrase, “online poker,” have been down considerably. But two months ago, according to Google Trends, interest in online poker was nearly as high as it was during the latter days of the poker boom era. So, does that mean we’re heading for a second boom? Not so fast.

Back to normalcy

Website owners use Google Trends to determine how popular a niche is over time. The database doesn’t share details on specifically how many searches were made for a certain key-phrase. Instead, it reveals how popular that phrase or keyword is compared to previous months.

Take the search phrase, “online poker,” for example. Google received more searches for the phrase in June 2007 than any other month since 2004. What does this reveal? It shows that interest in online poker was at its highest during that time.

Online poker interest remained high through April 2011. And then Black Friday struck, forcing the top poker sites out of the US, leading to decreased popularity in the game. From May 2011 until January 2014, the graph indicates a steady decline before leveling out from February 2014 to March 2020.

After the coronavirus hit, interest shot back up as players, especially in the US, returned to online poker. But with the casinos around the world slowly beginning to reopen, interest in online poker was down significantly last month compared to July.

In July, Google received approximately 46% of the searches for “online poker” compared to its peak month of July 2007. That’s in line with where it was in the two years leading up to Black Friday. But last month, the key-phrase only generated 13% of searches compared to the peak month. That’s right about the same as it was in most months for about six years before COVID-19.

So, what does that tell us? The supposed online poker boom was over-hyped. The boom lasted just a few months because players were stuck at home with no local card room to visit. Now that the poker rooms are beginning to reopen all around the world, it’s back to normalcy for the online poker industry.