Any poker players?

[Pekka]

I remember at least krazyhorse, or was it spec? Then DF was pretty succesful as well.

Time to do another poker thread. What kind of games do you play, what kind of bankrolls etc you have?

I haven't been playing in some time, simply because it takes all my time. Started back in... 2003. Strictly online. I'm in a spot where I kind of need to raise my skills in order to handle myself at the table. I've been jumping from ring games, NLH 1/2 back to .5/1 tables. I never actually really played limit poker, but I've been thinking if I should... I got the math part pretty good, so I figure with these lower limits, the limit tables might give me better return. I'm still winning at .5/1 though, I'm trying to get to the next level. It's frustrating as well, basically the last few times I've gone and tried it, both times got sucked out few times a row badly. You know when you get to thinking if this game is rigged?

My strengths are that I usually make good reads, I go with the best hand usually 90% of the times. I don't mind someone racing me, though I've been caught few times too many lately. I've started to log my hands, I'll do an analysis when I have about 20k hands in it and continue to patch my game.

Lately I've been playing a lot more drawing hands, they've turned out to be really profitable. I used to be very tight premium hands and then aggressive after the flop if no present danger, but it didn't pay off very well so had to take another look at how to get better value more bets out of people, so now I play a variety of hands more. Of course depending on the position and bets but I usually have set of hands I like to play from certain positions, sometimes I like to straddle with weird cards as well, so I'm getting more loose and I've noticed my expected values are going up as well.

I still can't take bad beats very well so I usually just quit for a while, because I tend to go play SNG heads up after bad beat in cash tables so.. that's not good . That's the other thing I like, I like SNG heads up. I usually play $20, because it tends to get a bit better and more predictable there for me... at least for me it's been a stable level where I can win most of the times.

So I'm back to grinding and reading few more books, trying to get to the next level, hoping to create enough of a bankroll so I can start playing other kinds of games as well, the better tournaments and so forth.

How about you?

[b etor]

facebook poker games

playing texas holdem with my family is kinda lame because they're not very good. my 10 year old sister is pretty good tho, and my dad usually is, but that's about it. still fun for a while tho.

[Pekka]

For money, of course.

[Krill]

£5 buy in, 10p/20p blinds for the first hour, 20/40 for the second hour with my friends every sunday night...

[Pekka]

I was in a home game in my previous city as well. I still say I'm an online player strictly though, because I haven't played any really competitive live games. I don't think I'd be ready either, I consider myself an average player. But I will get better and I'm analyzing my game and developing myself with rigorous ways.

Anyway, seems like a decent game there. What kind of purses do you carry in? Do you just play around until you don't feel like it or winner takes all?

The home game I was in was kind of small, €20 buy-in, winner takes all, 6-8 regulars so doesn't amount to much. That was once a week but I made it like every other week as well. Didn't do much damage there, since it was winner takes all. I won it twice and lost the rest, like maybe 6 times. Still left me ahead though.

[Kassiopeia]

I've been playing 5-6 handed 0.5/1 NL for the better part of a year, I began playing for money almost two years ago and have gone up the stakes ladder pretty conservatively, partly because I don't play that much (maybe 10 000 hands a month).

I gave 1/2 a shot in June but I dropped something like nine buyins there, and this was followed by dropping five more in 0.5/1, and since then I've been on a long breakeven stretch the whole time, for roughly 40 000 hands. I've been maintaining my bankroll on rakeback and bonuses.

While it fits within variance, I suppose, I've been trying to work on my game and sticking to 0.5/1, I'm pretty copiously rolled for it still. I think the problem is in my horribly weak-tight play, which I've been espeically concentrating on as of late. I hardly ever make any moves at pots or make any kinds of plays especially in smaller pots. I am way too aggressive on the flop but I sort of shut down always past the flop unless I have a really good hand.

This leads to me winning a hand almost always if it goes to showdown, but in pots that are not shown down I'm losing about as much money. So that's how I end up breakeven. That kind of style works beautifully in the lower limits, but I feel that in 0.5/1 and 1/2 and upwards you need to have some game in your... um, game. When I gave 1/2 a try I played only a miserable 14% of my hands when something like 18 to 22 would be better, for example. Most telling is that I won the hand when I saw the flop only 30 % of the time, when something like 40 % would be better for a tight aggressive player.

The regulars in that game just ran me over by kicking me out of pots and getting away from me when I finally kicked back, because it was obvious that I finally had something.

I've also played a bit of HU SNGs, I enjoy heads-up play every now and then but the rake and variance in cash HU is outright murderous. Figuring out your opponent in a heads-up game really helps when you're developing reads in other kinds of games, in my experience.

The drawback is that it's kind of difficult to study HU games as much, because every opponent is unique in their own way. Of course you can group players into certain categories, but everyone has their idiosyncrasies, especially really bad players.

I think I've got the basics of a good solid small stakes NL game learned, but I just need to learn a little more to really start crushing the game and to build the bankroll to give higher limits a shot. So I've been experimenting with 2nd or even 3rd barreling, stealing, reraising and restealing preflop etc.

Also figuring out and discussing hands, watching instructional videos, reading books, that sort of thing, but I think I also need to play a lot more, because that's the best way to learn if you can just analyze your own play properly.

[Kassiopeia]

I've also been playing 0.1/0.1 NL live with 200 bb stacks with a bunch of other students here in Jyväskylä who are playing in 0.5/1 or higher online games. It's been pretty interesting, and I've been on a good streak so I've beaten that game pretty grossly. It could also be in part because most of those guys are pretty loose and aggressive whereas I'm so tight, but they're certainly adjusting and I won't be getting paid off as much in the future.

[Pekka]

Kassi, I'll get back to your post later, since I'd have to read it again. What could be going wrong, well lots of things. If you're a tight player, you should either change your style, or at least adapt to the table better, or get better value, extract more bets. This was my problem for quite some time, I wasn't getting the maximum when I had the goods. I used to slow play when I was supposed to be betting, I bet too much etc. So strategically you should focus on how to get the maximum value out of your opponent when you're a tight player and have the goods.

I think you need to analyze your game, use one of them applications to do it, count your ev's and see where you're at. For .5/1 tables you shouldn't be going for +-0 and get the profit from rakeback and bonuses, you should be getting more.

ANyway, I have to go to the couch and rest a little bit, ate too much

[Kassiopeia]

Yeah, you probably have to read my post again.

I do have a problem in valuebetting in that I don't valuebet as thinly as I probably should, but to suggest that I slowplay hands feels almost insulting. It's something I only do with very strong hands on very dry (nondrawy) boards.

I mean say I have top set in a 3-way pot on a 27K rainbow board, I might consider slowplaying, but that also depends on my position. If I'm first to act I almost always just fire away straight up, if I'm in position I might opt to just call if I can get the third player to go in for the ride.

"Big hand, big pot", is my motto. After the flop has been dealt you have three streets to get the stacks in the middle, and you need nearly pot sized bets to do that. It's depressing to have a monster on the river and the pot is only 30 bbs, unless you just hit a two-outer or something.

[DanS]

A friend of mine plays professionally in Vegas and he plays limit hold 'em because he doesn't get enough action in no limit.

In his opinion, in order to win in no limit (cash game), you have to be much choosier with the hands that you play. Taking this tact, no limit is a somewhat boring game. So probably, your tight game is good. But maybe you ought to work on stealing the blinds.

[Pekka]

Depends on the limits. In general, it's not the best idea to play more hands in limit games than it is in no limit, because with lower limits in limit games, you get more action, and you're more likely to lose the hand unless you play tight or get good reads. That is, the amount of bets you can steal or win IMO plays much more role in limit game, but this would apply to lower stakes.

Stealing blinds won't make much of an impact in no limit, unless you're playing higher stakes, .5/1 certainly isn't the proper level to rely on it. There's just not enough value in it, and you're likely in trouble if called or raised, and the pot odds aren't there anyway to begin with. In tournaments it's important and in limit games it pays might pay off better, in lower level no limit tables, not so much. You're going to overbet and get less of a value in microlimit tables basically.

Also the problem with playing more hands in limit games when it comes to lower level is that you will be called and raised all the time, if not every time, so you have to have it most of the times. Bigger limits? Well it's a different game, your friend plays professionally so it's fair to assume they play for bigger money so in that sense you have to be more loose with limit games as well.

In strictly cash table and no limit and higher level, I would say your friend is right, but that's only his style. Most styles can win, the key is to play the style that suits the table. If everyone is tight, you should be more loose and play more drawing hands to set them up for big pots. The biggest key to victory is of course to play tables where other players are worse than you are, but after that, playing the table is the biggest thing to do. That can mean stealing blinds or just playing tight, or playing more drawing hands or whatever, but you have to play for value and against the person, so you can actually get better chances to stay on the up and up with the variance over the long period. Naturally you have to play for the odds, this would go without saying.

But in professional level, it's just flipped infinite times over and again, so... I wouldn't know what to do most of the times anyway. Plus higher stakes and everything, it's a whole different game, normal strategy the mortal ones that we are, don't apply .

I hope to get there some day though. Who is your friend, I mean has he been on any of the shows?

[Pekka]

dans, so to not make any mistakes here, I'm talking strictly low limits or microlimit online games. The ones where all the losers hang out and dream of playing better or sleeping with a real woman .

One of the things I'd like very much is after I get enough experience and go few levels higher and when I get my bankroll strong enough is to be taken under a wing of a real professional. That's what I'm looking for, maybe in few years, perhaps. Then go on a rampage and see if I got it or not.

[ColdPhoenix]

I play NL Texas, mostly online. Used to play cash games but now tournaments at around $5 buy-in.

Originally posted by Krill
£5 buy in, 10p/20p blinds for the first hour, 20/40 for the second hour with my friends every sunday night...

I've a game at my flat about once a month with a £5 buy-in. We don't have cash values on the chips but give everyone a certain number. If you're knocked out you can buy in as many times as possible until a certain time. Winner takes all unless it's almost time for last tube in which case 2nd place gets a tenners worth of the pot. Sometimes we have a couple of games.

I win a bit online but don't really make any money at it, my bankroll's only gone up by about $30 in the last couple of months. When I first started I was losing money, always chasing cards that rarely came out. Have broken even now but will never be good enough to turn pro!

I usually win against my friends, I try and give them advice, the ones who listen are better now. Some are stuck in their ways though, there's one guy who will always go in to see the flop, doesn't matter what cards he has. His theory is that you never know what will come out so you may as well stay in and see...

[Ninot]

I try to play twice a month in tournament home games, NL hold'em. I played last night at an old-friends place and won $70.

I host a game once a month, invite 9 of my friends, and its a good time. I often invite people who are less knowledgeable, as it's easy money. We try to teach them the game too of course, but for them its more of a social outing.

I play on Fulltiltpoker when i'm bored, but don't take it too seriously. Mostly try to play it to keep myself sharp on odds and such, make sure i'm not seeing too many flops.