2019 Poker Discussion Thread

[Tor Ekman]

Originally Posted by Track Collector

My advice.........be yourself and play somewhat tight, meaning don't limp in with marginal hands, particularly in the no limit games.

Thanks, that's been my game plan heading in, stay somewhat conservative for my first time on the merrry-go-round, it's more about enjoying the ride than grabbing the brass ring

[proximity]

Originally Posted by Tor Ekman

Another piece of advice given to me is when having the winning hand, to not relinquish my cards to the dealer until the pot is pushed my way - let's hope that's a common occurrence.

you can combine that with run4's tip about the tip.

dealer pushes you the pot, take one of the dollar chips, place it on your cards and slide them to the dealer.

and when you win that first pot...….OMG WHAT A RUSH!!!!!

[Tor Ekman]

Originally Posted by proximity

you can combine that with run4's tip about the tip.

dealer pushes you the pot, take one of the dollar chips, place it on your cards and slide them to the dealer.

Very classy, I like that.

[thaskalos]

Originally Posted by proximity

you can combine that with run4's tip about the tip.

dealer pushes you the pot, take one of the dollar chips, place it on your cards and slide them to the dealer.

and when you win that first pot...….OMG WHAT A RUSH!!!!!

The first time I played at the Wynn poker room, I took down two decent pots in succession...and I called out to no-one in particular"..."Where has this game been all my life?" And I watched as the players around me rolled their eyes at one-another.

[dilanesp]

Originally Posted by Tor Ekman

Other than house games with friends, I've never played live poker. Any advice for first-timer playing in casino cash game? I plan on playing at Resorts World Catskills up in Monticello, NY, maybe this weekend. Bankroll will be purely disposable money of say $300-500. Looks like they offer both limit and NL games. Thanks in advance.

1. Don't play above your roll. That means 1-2NL or maybe 4-8FL.

2. Be friendly and have fun.

3. Make sure you know about casino promotions. They can have everything from cash back for hours to drawings for jackpots.

4. Your opponents are not going to be good in low limit games. But they might be slightly better than what you are used to with your friends. Play tight, fold a lot out of position. Don't overdefend your blinds in NL, or against a single opponent in FL.

[Tor Ekman]

Originally Posted by dilanesp

1. Don't play above your roll. That means 1-2NL or maybe 4-8FL.

2. Be friendly and have fun.

3. Make sure you know about casino promotions. They can have everything from cash back for hours to drawings for jackpots.

4. Your opponents are not going to be good in low limit games. But they might be slightly better than what you are used to with your friends. Play tight, fold a lot out of position. Don't overdefend your blinds in NL, or against a single opponent in FL.

Thank you for the sound advice.

[barn32]

Originally Posted by thaskalos

The poker books out there are way more informative than the horse-handicapping books that we typically find.

That's because poker can be beaten.

[how cliche]

keep track of how much are in the pots. 80% of 1-2 live players don't do that. yes play tight, but also ag. remember one phrase. 'pot sized aggression'. it wins a lot. good for value and folds alike.

what's the live players kryptonite, but none of them do it? you can be the one. it's 3 betting. so many pots at 1-2 go open to 12, four calls & then it's hit or miss, fit or fold poker for all. you can be the guy where it gets to you and you apply the pressure.

[proximity]

Originally Posted by how cliche

keep track of how much are in the pots. 80% of 1-2 live players don't do that.
.

in that same vein, watch the stacks at no-limit and keep an eye open for larger denomination chips; which are almost always to be placed prominently, usually in front of or on top of a player's $5 chips.

[proximity]

Originally Posted by thaskalos

The first time I played at the Wynn poker room, I took down two decent pots in succession...and I called out to no-one in particular"..."Where has this game been all my life?" And I watched as the players around me rolled their eyes at one-another.

lol, I think my first time at the wynn i said that same thing to two hookers by the flower carousel. they seemed to be confused as to which game I was actually talking about.

[Tor Ekman]

OK, so here's my report of my first live poker experience playing at Resorts World Catskills:

First of all, what a freaking blast!!! Got to the poker room about 12:30 in the afternoon and was seated about 1pm. My plan was to play to 4-5pm or until I went broke but wound up playing until 10pm, it was such fun.

I played tight using a mental checklist of opening hands that I stuck to pretty strictly, so I folded some hands that could have been winners but that was more than offset by avoiding others that would have resulted in big losses. When I had a strong opening hand I played it aggressively, but sometimes too strongly scaring off action when I should have invited it.

It was fairly obvious recognizing the two very sharp regular players at the table and I tried to steer clear of them best I could. In the first hour I either averted disaster or missed out on a huge payoff when one of the sharp guys went all-in on me, but I folded my two pair fearing he had me beat with trips; I'll never know but so early in the day, discretion was the better part of valor. I was both happy and disappointed when the sharp guys left after a few hours; happy not to have to contend with them but disappointed to lose the opportunity to observe their play.

I was amazed to see how so many players were completely disinterested in the action once they were not involved in the hand, most of these types wound up busting out and leaving the table.

I've read about players going on "tilt" and got to see it happen live with one guy who after some bad beats took cash out to re-load for $200, kept getting beat and kept re-loading for increments of $100 to $200 until he finally asked floor manager for table change. Wow! Same guy was also the only one at table splashing the pot.

Also witnessed a few instances of poor etiquette with some uninvolved players whispering to each other about the hand in play.

Another observation: Those psychologists Dunning and Kruger had to have been poker players because a poker table is a real-time live laboratory of the Dunning-Kruger Effect in action with so many guys believing that they are sharper and more capable than they really are.

Final tally: after buying in for $200 and playing for 9 hours, I cashed out for $190, so factoring in tips to the dealers and barmaids, I guess I can say that I actually won a couple of bucks, ha ha. I was never down or up by more than about $100. At 8 pm I was up about $60 and spent the last two hours trying to flop a big hand and so I burned off my winnings by playing some hands that I would not have earlier, but c’est la vie.

Got home a little after midnight and crashed. Great day! Thanks to everyone here for their sound advice, and I did use that chip on the cards tip move, and noticed the sharp guys doing same.

[barn32]

Originally Posted by Tor Ekman

First of all, what a freaking blast!!!...it was such fun.

45 years ago poker was fun for me too.

Now it's just a grind.

[RunForTheRoses]

Great report TE, you did great for a FTS. Live poker is fun, I played live for the first time in 2 years last month and it was a blast.

[Tor Ekman]

I'll add two more observations:

I don't understand how some players come to the table apparently having only $100 or even less at their disposal. I noted one sharp guy paying quite obvious attention to this factor and making quick work of some of them.

I don't get why the "Dunning-Kruger guys" feel compelled to explain to the table the whys and wherefores of both their winning and losing plays . . . well, I guess I get it in that that's what makes them D-K guys and betrays their lack of self-awareness and over-estimation of their expertise.

[proximity]

awesome report tor!!!!

when do you think your next game is?!?!