Poker Strut.......one more time

yuichi

So who plays here? I've just started playing house games with some homies a couple months ago. We mostly play HOS (hold 'em, omaha, stud) and I'm getting a better read on people based on looking at the board, and betting patterns and such. I seem to play better when I'm slightly drunk because I'm less nervous. Tell me yall stories.

pj4533

So who plays here? I've just started playing house games with some homies a couple months ago. We mostly play HOS (hold 'em, omaha, stud) and I'm getting a better read on people based on looking at the board, and betting patterns and such. I seem to play better when I'm slightly drunk because I'm less nervous.

Tell me yall stories.

I play quite a bit.....

Went thru several phases. Was playing in a dealers choice game with several friends, that was 0.25/0.50 blinds, with a ~40$ buyin. We played alot of stud, omaha, holdem & variations.

Also was going to a few underground card clubs in boston, playing 1/2$ NL holdem. Honestly, I did ok at my friends game....probably about even, but I'd say I lost more than I won at the 1/2$ games. I havn't been able to figure it out really. My problem in the 1/2 was that I'd play very good, maybe a bit too tight, then one hand I'd get AQ, flop an ace. I'd contuation bet, get one caller. turn would be a blank (to me). I'd bet to protect against a straight or flush, and get raised. What do you do? sometimes, he has 2pair and your fucked....sometimes he is bluffing.

Lately, I have been playing in a game that started at my WORK of all places....(I work at a tech company doing software programming). We stay late 1 night a week and play cards. I am much better technically than the other players in the game. But the problem is that I am not good enough to be able to play against crazy ass players. These dudes are NUUUUUUUUTS. So I started experimenting with other play styles. Its only 0.10/0.20 NL holdem (20$ buyin). I play EVERY SINGLE HAND. True no-foldem holdem. Its awesome tho, cause usually I can get away from the bad hands post flop and get PAID HUGE when I flop big. It has opened up my game alot, and I am interested to see how I'd play in the 1/2$ now that I have this experience.

I think the biggest thing I learned is that in NL holdem your bankroll is EVERYTHING. Basically, if you value the money you are playing with, you will lose. Eventually. I heard a pro once say that if you aren't willing to set fire to a buy-in and watch it burn, you shouldn't be playing. You have to play smart, of course, but not to the point where you are afraid.

wow....this turned into a fucking essay. write it off to drunken saturday night rambling.

-pj

yoigotbeats

I play a lot less than I used to, but when I can I hit a game whereever I'jm at. I even caught a Strut-approved game in Austin....

billbradley

I play no-limit hold'em 2 or 3 nights a week. This week was pretty bad. I couldn't catch any cards for the life of me. I paid to see too many cards and lost out first in two seperate rounds on Friday. Oh well... I can't win them all.

I am currently the point leader in a tournament that has a $1000 payout at the tournament of champions once a month. The top 100 point leaders from the various nights around town are invited to play. Slowly but surely I'm getting used to playing in a game with so many people entered. I was playing with about 6 to 8 people every week and as people were eliminated the pot odds would change. In the larger tournaments where they constantly consolidate the tables back to 9 people the pot odds don't change until the final table. Typically it is harder to bluff at those pots because it is likely someone at the table has the cards to beat you. I'm still learning more everytime I play and enjoy the game even when I'm losing.

GenePontecorvo

Love the game. We play a cash game every now and again and been playing a weekly $20 tourney pretty regularly and won it time before last. Played at Treasure Island in Red Wing, MN a few weeks ago. $2-10 spread limit. Pretty cool game. I played about six hours and unfortunately lost about seventy bones but it was fun.

These days I seem to win more hands where I bet/raise and don't show cards than I do showdowns. That's a good thing.

Swayze

I played a NL cash game last night at a cardroom. I hadn't played in awhile and was a little rusty, plus I was hungover and couldn't catch any cards. All of this added up to losing $200, which isn't that bad I guess but I HATE to lose. It's like even if I win $100 I'm riding high for a couple days afterwards but when I lose I think about it for awhile.

Great game tho, don't think I'll be going back soon. I def like tourneys better, more at stake and you could potentially make much more money off your investment.

Oh, and I folded KQ suited before the flop to a small raise (I was rusty and too conservative I think) and would have gotten a royal flush on the river. I couldn't fucking believe it. People were betting and raising the entire way through. I probably would have made like $400 on that hand. Oh well.

yuichi

I guess there is merit in playing loose. A lot of the house games are obviously like that, and dudes go all in in the first hand and shit. Stupid to me, but it works on some nights.

Swayze

I guess there is merit in playing loose. A lot of the house games are obviously like that, and dudes go all in in the first hand and shit. Stupid to me, but it works on some nights.

If you're playing to make money in these games, and not just playing to hang out and have fun with friends, the stradegy is pretty easy. Don't bluff and just wait to have a decent hand. You'll get paid off nicely. You have to be pretty patent, but these are by far the easiest games to make money.

highscheme

I don't play live games (no casinos in Tokyo) but I've won about $5K online @ Full Tilt Poker

I mainly play the $50 9 player tournaments and the $24 buy in for the 200-1500 player tournaments

roisto

A Finnish dude (who I think also posts here once in a while) won 122,000 euros recently...not bad!

GenePontecorvo

I think it's good to be loose when you're being aggressive. Loose calls are not the way to go.

Playing tight awards the player who's playing cash games day in and day out and can have the math catch up. I think it's important to be instinctual and play a few hunches in the limited time of a home tourney.

Otis_Funkmeyer

I used to play online a lot, but i've done better at casinos, the few times I've been. I did ok (won $150) at the $2-$4 limit holdem table at Resorts in Atlantic City and the $1-$2 NL at Bally's. Almost everyone played very tightly, and hardly anyone bought in for more than $100, so it was pretty non-stressful. I won a nice pot by pulling a flush on the river with four players still in. Also, check-raising with a with a set of deuces did me well. I play tightly, only seeing the flop on about 1 out of 8 hands.

How do y'all play the nuts to maximize the pot? Does sandbagging usually work well in that situation?

billbradley

How do y'all play the nuts to maximize the pot? Does sandbagging usually work well in that situation?

I play the nuts (no-ayo) by check-raising usually. I love checking then coming back over the top all-in over any raises from around the table.

TrillWalton

The biggest payout that I ever gotten in a poker tourney was 4th for around $3,000. It was a tourney on a Saturday in my local casino w/ a $125 buy-in and $100 RB and in that tourney the most opportune and fortuitous moment in my poker playing career. It was down to two final tables, I had like a average chip stack, blinds were $2000/$4000 and I was first to act and I see AA. Trying to repress my excitement, I raised $12,000, but I had said, "$1200" in which the dealer corrected me. I guess that was a sign of weakness or whatever... Anyhow, guy two seats to the left of me goes all-in, then guy on the button goes all-in, and I obviously called. Dude to the left had A K, button had K K. Nothing came on the board, and a sea of chips were being swept to my area. I didn't even play the next few hands since I had to stack those things up. in fact, the other players just folded whenever I raised my hand cause I had a monster stack. But when it got to the final table, my chip stack dwindled as other players were catching big hands like K K and the blinds got high. But whatever, I got PAIDS, SON!!!!

Other than that, I don't play many home games cause it's difficult and rare to get all my cousins to stay in one place and play without their significant others getting bored at the family parties and whatnot. The other reason is that I have no friends.

I have been recently playing online poker, trying to win freerolls and entries to bigger tourneys. Only play money this time, I haven't started to play online poker w/ real $$$, which addresses this question-- what do y'all make deposits? do you use e-wallets? which is recommended? I heard epasporte is good, but their transactions take forever. I'm just really hesitant of using my debit and CC.

Damn with all this poker talk, someone needs to change that graemlin to "take that shit to cardplayer.com" or something...

yuichi

Looks like we've summoned a compulsive gambler amidst the lurkers.

pj4533

Damn with all this poker talk, someone needs to change that graemlin to "take that shit to cardplayer.com" or something...

naw....

TAKE THAT SHIT TO 2+2!

TrillWalton

Looks like we've summoned a compulsive gambler amidst the lurkers.

Naw I'm just Asian.