Poker

[Yippee Skippy]

Unfortunately, my #'s from SnG's are skewed from playing multi-table games, especially the 10 tablers on Tilt and the 20 tablers on Stars. My "main site" isn't supported by Sharkscope, but I'll post this to give you an idea (small sample size, obv.)

(image gone on purpose)

I used to whore the Bodog on a regular basis. The "Beginner's" $4.40 Sit n Go's are crazy easy to make money in because they pay top 5! It's not a great return, but it's practically guaranteed money, plus you clear your bonus with relatively low-risk. I don't know what I'm gonna do w/Bodog or most of my other sites now that Neteller's gone though. I'm kinda screwed in that department. FUCK!! I've been very depressed all day because of it. I don't know what I'm gonna do.

I can't PM yet, but if you want to email HH's to me, I'm definitely up for it. As far as bonuses go, I'm really on top of them, so if you want advice on some quick, easy hit n' run stuff, lemme know (unless you're a rakeback guy, which you forgo on a lot of those types of bonuses.)

Oh, and I'm loathe to give up the name of my "main site" 'cause it's very small and I have crazy data on nearly every tourney player there (only about 500ish regulars). I hate givin' up this fishing hole, ya know?

 

[thizzSantaCruz]

Yea the neteller thing sucks. I am not too worried about depositing because I have enough money in my bankroll that I should probably never have to re-deposit, all though I am in a ridiculously bad down swing right now. My problem is I need to find a site to consolidate all my money in because transfering funds will be pretty difficult. The main thing that worries me now is that the fish are going to have a much harder time redopisiting their funds and this will probably discourage them from playing.

I myself am not a big tourney player at all. I have played probably 3 online MTT's throughout about 2 years of online play. Cash games are my forte. Had a nice live game going on last nite. We had 3 tables of 9 people each but the nite did not turn out so good. Got stacked with a set over set, and got stacked again to a newbie to the game that was playing pretty loose-aggro when I ran into top two with my TPTK.

I got another game happening tonite but of pretty small stakes. Hopefully I can turn it around.

 

[Yippee Skippy]

My problem is I need to find a site to consolidate all my money in because transfering funds will be pretty difficult.

If you're mainly playing cash games and you're not interested in moving money around often, then you really should get an account that pays you rakeback. If you've never had a Full Tilt account, then I'd recommend you get one with rakeback. Full Tilt has good game selection, lots of players at almost all hours and is very reliable. If you don't know how to get rakeback I can point you to an affiliate.

The Neteller thing is just a huge inconvenience. I'll figure something out soon, but I doubt it'll be as efficient. Add that to the fact that I don't have an active bank account (I had been withdrawing with my Neteller card) and I'm really going to have some trouble.

Plus I just got stacked by an idiot who called a large raise w/K8soooooooooooted and hit trips on the flop, while I had TPTK. Really, I know I should be happy he made that stupid call, but it still hurts - maybe more than usual today.

Are you in Santa Cruz? I'm in FL.

 

[zzITCHY420zz]

guys..anybody have any rules/tips/moderation techniques for going to a casino? i enjoy the 1-3 NL tables, but i also enjoy playing blackjack, vid poker etc. i'm not planning on going again any time soon (just dropped 175$ ) but i'd love to hear good ideas . what i found was fun, was to play video poker at an attempt to make a bigger bankroll. unfortunately it totally didn't work today.

 

[zzITCHY420zz]

oh crap..i should add this.

when i'm playing hold'em , i tend to "buy" a round (pay that 4$ BB+SB) of 10 hands, , meaning ill fold so many hands. however, although this might NOT be biting me in the ass, i find that it does. i am not a pro, however i can do the whole math thing , but what really bugs me is the fact taht EVERYONE calls..i know there's so much dead $ in the pots, but i assume (correctly) that there are tons of sharks out there ready to make you sad. please give me some tips guys, i'm basically saying that i'm a tight player (at the casino), and i'd like some info to break through that "casino phobia" feeling.

 

[Yippee Skippy]

what really bugs me is the fact taht EVERYONE calls..i know there's so much dead $ in the pots, but i assume (correctly) that there are tons of sharks out there ready to make you sad. please give me some tips guys

If everyone is seeing a flop you can see more yourself - IN POSITION - with playable cards. 78 suited is great from Late Position if there's a lot of money in the pot. K2o not so much. If you flop a monster you can get paid. If you don't, let it go and watch what the donkeys are doing.

When you have a BIG hand in early position you need to raise - for value and to thin the field. I usually go 3x the big blind + 1 bb for every limper. Sometimes I'll go 4x + 1 bb for every limper if I see everyone is still coming along. With a big hand in Late Position and a table full of limpers it might be correct to just shove 'em all in, but that mainly depends on stack sizes. If you've got 12bb's in your stack then insta-shove. If you've got 120bb's then I'd probably use the 4x+1bb guideline.

I don't subscribe to the notion that you should always raise the same amount to disguise the strength of your hand. I mix things up as a way of deception. Sometimes I open for 3x w/AA and sometimes I open for 3x w/JJ. Go 2.5bb's sometimes too (I guess you can't do exactly that if the BB is $3, but I bet you catch my drift).

I can't comment on the "buying a round" thing because I haven't had any experience with it. As you might've guessed, I'm more of an online player, but have been trying to add more live games. Unfortunately in Florida there casinos can't have NL games, so I'm limited. I know a few home games and still mainly play tournaments though, so I'm getting them in the mix.

Good luck, and feel free to post particular hands (try to get all the details you remember: stack sizes, your position, the villain's position, reads on the players and how you think they perceive you) and I'd be happy to comment, as I bet others will too. Or you could just PM/email them to me. I might do the same.

 

[zzITCHY420zz]

my biggest "bad play" in my opinion, which didnt happen last night, was when i had AK suited, on the button or small blind. including me, 4 ppl were left in the pot, with the blinds at 1-3 raised to 10$ (by me after 2 limpers). BB folds, other two call. flop comes A 10 7 rainbow. i check, and the dude that i was most intimidated by on the table bets a cool 20$ (which ANNOYS ME!! 20 FRREAKIN DOLLAR BETS? WTOUWF). i fold after a small hesitation. i know. it was a stupid play. good thing the other player went all in (short stacked), saw teh 20$ raisers cards (AQ suited), and he caught a queen on the river. guaranteed this guy would've called any bet i would put in, he was one of those guys who played 1-3 tables as if they were nickel slots.

 

[zzITCHY420zz]

video poker question - regular rules, no wilds etc. u get dealt a low pair, and say a JQK suited. would hold the high suited cards (jacks and higher = better pay), or hold the pair hoping for trips/twopair etc?

 

[thizzSantaCruz]

i dont play video poker so i dont know. IMHO video poker is pretty much a losing propisition.

In your above post a 20 dollar bet into a 42 pot is actually pretty small. With top pair top kicker that is a call/raise situation. If you checked into the player I would definantly raise at that point. Check-calling isn't usually a good idea.

 

[Yippee Skippy]

had AK suited, on the button or small blind.

Big difference here. With the button and position, you can raise less because you'll have position throughout the hand, but in the SB you'll be first to act on all betting rounds. That's a HUGE disadvantage. I'd want to end the hand pre-flop really.

including me, 4 ppl were left in the pot, with the blinds at 1-3 raised to 10$ (by me after 2 limpers).

I would've made it $15 on the button, $20-$25 from the SB here. You priced in the limpers for sure (not necessarily a bad thing from the button.)

flop comes A 10 7 rainbow. i check

Not awful if you're planning to check-raise. Good to mix it up sometimes.

and the dude that i was most intimidated by on the table bets a cool 20$ (which ANNOYS ME!! 20 FRREAKIN DOLLAR BETS? WTOUWF). i fold after a small hesitation.

Ok, so you WERE in the SB if you checked first. But what happened? You checked, the other caller bet $20 and the shorty pushed? I would repush there to isolate without a sick read that the $20 bettor had a set (you seem to think he was a donkey w/too much money, right?).

saw teh 20$ raisers cards (AQ suited), and he caught a queen on the river. guaranteed this guy would've called any bet i would put in, he was one of those guys who played 1-3 tables as if they were nickel slots.

So you think he would've called no matter how much you bet if you hadn't checked first? And probably would've called if you had shoved instead of folding to the shorty push?

I guess that's lucky you folded and I hope you used that information to relieve him of his surplus chips for the rest of the session.

As far as Video Poker goes, I have a friend who is a slot-machine tech on the casino boats in my area here and he says that with "perfect-play" they are the most profitable games out there.

Here's a link to a good site that could help you learn perfect play:
Wizard of Odds

I wish I knew how to play that Video Poker hand you mentioned. Not being sure of what to do there is one of the reasons I suck at 5-Card Draw so much!

 

[L2R]

and he says poker? and so i says second opinion! :D

 

[Infinite Jest]

Liquor in the front; poker in Second Opinion.

 

[sgurd]

...Also, there are tools that will count outs and give you odds while you play. Not using them is like throwing money away. And you'll get a better feel for the math off the top of your head when you play live.

^^ What tools are you talking about specifically? :D

Also what program do you all use to keep track of your played hands?
Pokertracker or another one? (55$ seems like a lot to pay for such a program).

I've also got a question concerning starting hands:

All over the net I read that hand selection is key to a good game of poker but to me it seems like there are many situations where playing a lot hands is actually better(lose play). For instance when the blinds are 100x the BB and your in rather late position or the table is pretty tight.
What about in large tourneys where the blinds are 20x the BB and you have to double up fast to get a chance of winning? (once your stack gets larger the blinds get relatively smaller even). I tend to see a lot of the flops (most) in these situations(where there is no substantial raise).

We all know the feeling of throwing a half decent hand away only to have it come out as a sure winner after the flop... so why not check if its so cheap?

I see a LOT of people fold in these games and I must admit Im not really a great player, I also don't play very often but can't help to think there are quite a few situations where it's good to call very often. (taking position and previous raises etc. into account).

Is there a flaw in my thinking? Am I playing the wrong games?
Am I just playing to lose by playing too loose?

 

[Yippee Skippy]

^^ What tools are you talking about specifically? :D

Also what program do you all use to keep track of your played hands?
Pokertracker or another one? (55$ seems like a lot to pay for such a program).

$55 is NOT a lot of money in the long run. It'll pay for itself in a week. Probably less. Also, you can get it for free for just depositing into a poker site through an affiliate. I'd be happy to point you to one if you would like me to. PokerTracker by itself is a great tool, but to get the maximum use out of it I would definitely recommend you get Poker Ace Heads Up Display (often referred to as PAHUD) also. You can score that through various affiliates too.

I've also got a question concerning starting hands:

All over the net I read that hand selection is key to a good game of poker but to me it seems like there are many situations where playing a lot hands is actually better(lose play). For instance when the blinds are 100x the BB and your in rather late position or the table is pretty tight.

You're definitely on the right track with that. Position is the most important weapon you have at the table. If you can see a cheap flop with a playable hand, especially early in a tourney, then you should go for it - if you have the right odds. I mean 78s on the button with 4 limpers ahead of you is great. If you hit the flop real well, you could take a nice pot. But you have to hit the flop pretty hard (2pr or better). So that 78s with one early position limper and you in late position isn't nearly as valuable. Presumably, someone who open limps UTG, or UTG+1 has a pretty big hand (I know, at low stakes they could have any garbage. You'll figure out who the donkeys are soon enough though) so a button raise might not be wise. However, if you've realized that the table's tight then raise it up and hope to take it pre-flop. Also, the limper might have a hand that needs to hit the flop pretty hard to be good and you'll have position for the rest of the hand if you get called. The point is - you're basically right, I'm just explaining why you're right, ya know?

What about in large tourneys where the blinds are 20x the BB and you have to double up fast to get a chance of winning? (once your stack gets larger the blinds get relatively smaller even). I tend to see a lot of the flops (most) in these situations(where there is no substantial raise).

We all know the feeling of throwing a half decent hand away only to have it come out as a sure winner after the flop... so why not check if its so cheap?

I see a LOT of people fold in these games and I must admit Im not really a great player, I also don't play very often but can't help to think there are quite a few situations where it's good to call very often. (taking position and previous raises etc. into account).

Is there a flaw in my thinking? Am I playing the wrong games?
Am I just playing to lose by playing too lose?

I think what you meant was in tournies when you have 20bb's in your stack? Well the same thing applies here - play KTs on the button if it's cheap. And use position to pick up an orphan pot if everyone (including you) misses. Also, later in the game stealing becomes a vital way to pick up chips, so it you're in late position with QJs go ahead and raise 2.5-3xbb and hope to pick up the blinds. If you realize the blinds are particularly tight than you can do that with worse hands. 20bb's late in a tourney is very healthy. As mentioned earlier in the thread, if you have 12 or less bb's though you should be pushing all-in or folding. There's no room to play poker. Just picking up blinds and antes can increase your stack by like 15% (at least).

You definitely have the right idea though. I would definitely suggest you pick up Harrington on Hold 'Em by Dan Harrington if you're mainly playing tournaments.

And as always, if you want to swap hand histories or need bonus advice, PM/email me!

 

[thizzSantaCruz]

Just got back from my weekly home game. Hit kind of a mile stone today with over 1000 dollars in play (combined on 3 tables). Wound up walking away with over triple my buy-in. I made a couple of good plays along the way to overcame mostly shit hands throughout the nite.

In other news someone told me Stars is not cashing out through checks anymore so I need to get my money out ASAP. Online poker is dead for me, I will be trying to play more live. Rake can get brutal in the casinos unfortunately.

 

[Yippee Skippy]

JIn other news someone told me Stars is not cashing out through checks anymore so I need to get my money out ASAP.

That is absolutely untrue. Rumors at the poker table about online poker are usually way off base. IMO that's because people who don't play online (or only play casually) hear part of the story and run with it, while someone who plays online seriously will take the time to research the rumor and get the facts.

From Stars site:

Checks under $1,000 USD or the equivalent of $1,000.00 USD will be delivered by regular mail, and should arrive within 15 business days. Checks over $1,000 USD or the equivalent of $1,000.00 USD will delivered by courier and should arrive within 7 business days.

And I know several people who have received Stars checks this week.

A new payment processor like Neteller will fill that void soon enough. You don't have to hang 'em up yet.

Wound up walking away with over triple my buy-in. I made a couple of good plays along the way to overcame mostly shit hands throughout the nite.

That's the beauty of No Limit. An entire session can be defined by 2-3 good hands. Nice work!

 

[zzITCHY420zz]

i just gotback from a person's house that i know, and i left agitated . it was 20$ buy in, my friendwasthe dealer so he wouldbe taking a small amt fromthe pots. this was fine, as it was spot onwith casino style cash games. however, therewas the STUPIDEST catch. you have to play at LEAST TWO STUPID FUCKING HOURS. now, i know that's not a big deal,but i'm not willingto have to sit for 2 hours paying the dealer. what atsupid fucking rule, and what stupid fucking idiots (all over 21, im 18) to accept such a rule. i left, told everyone have fun paying vince, and gave myself a pat on the back for not playing in such an unfair game. can anyone give me opinions on this, and if it's a stupid ass rule to have a minimum 2hr playtime?

 

[Mehm]

^^our only rule of thumb on cash out is if you've just won a large pot, then you should play at least another rotation...unless you already informed everyone that you would be leaving soon.

 

[thizzSantaCruz]

In our weekly game the dealer rotates with play and their is no rake. It is pretty ludacris to have to pay a rake when it is not even a casino. Now if it was a cardroom with a professional dealer, casino quality chips, and a felt table I would understand. There is no reason for him to charge a rake against you guys, he is not using that money to pay for operational costs like a casino is. Poker in this case is fun not a business. I would have a serious discussion with your friend.

The 2 hour rule does seem pretty lame. In our games you have to tell everyone you are leaving a half hour before you do. Hit and runs are pretty uncommon, allthough last week we had someone call half an hour and then play for an hour and leave right after he tripled up. It did not happen at the table I was playing at so I was unaffected, but he will be getting talked to next week if he shows up.

 

[Yippee Skippy]

I definitely think you did right by skipping that game.

How much was the dealer making per hand at those stakes? Probably too much.

It would've been better for everyone to split up a flat fee to pay the dealer if he was gonna deal all night. Some casinos charge a "seat rental" fee like $8 every half-hour or so. That will vary to some degree, but you get the idea.

If the dealer was playing though, then the whole thing is ridiculous.

Just bring a bag o' chips or a 6 pack of beer and try not to miss the toilet when you piss. That' my Standard Operating Procedure at home games.

Me n' some friends played "League-Style" for 10 weeks. Everyone put an extra dollar in every week and after the 10 weeks was up the person with the most points (we played tournaments) got 1/2 the money and we bought pizza with the other half.