Poker

[chris]

This is a topic I can talk on all day long. Lets talk!

[Kevin]

Alrighty, I've got one for ya.

When I play, I get hung up on the ace-rag issue.

Is there ever a good time to play a-2 or a-3 os?

[wsox08]

I wouldn't suggest it in early position but I'd consider raising with those in late position/cutoff/button if there hasn't been any action.

A lot of it depends on how you want to play.

[chris]

NEVER! period! what hands like that does to you is if you do raise and get called and a ace flops how good are u really? Its best to only use that weapon when you have more chips than anyone at the table.

[V3r1f13d]

I'll play it, off suit I will limp in with the blind, suited I'd call a small raise.

With that logic of your hand not being that good once the flop hits, you better toss low pockets as well then...

[chris]

NO what I am saying is if it is a limped pot sure why not but I wouldn't make a habit of it because your bleeding chips. The reason I say never is also pending on what levels where talking abo-x in the lower ones $5-$20 ace-x is likely being held by another player than you both holding pocket pairs.

[V3r1f13d]

Ya, I know what you are saying. Everyone has their own style. Pro's talk about tossing K-9 and true it can get you into trouble, but with what some people hold onto these days K-9 is strong. People play anything.

I never go with any rules, because it comes down to who is at your table. Your game is based on other people. I could be at one table and play something that I would toss at another. What works one day will kill you the next.

Poker is really hard to discuss because there is never really a right or wrong answer. I've played poker since I was 5 years old, started with 5 card stud, then moved onto others, and watched this whole Hold Em scene launch...its all the same, just new people.

[chris]

Originally Posted by V3r1f13d

Ya, I know what you are saying. Everyone has their own style. Pro's talk about tossing K-9 and true it can get you into trouble, but with what some people hold onto these days K-9 is strong. People play anything.

I never go with any rules, because it comes down to who is at your table. Your game is based on other people. I could be at one table and play something that I would toss at another. What works one day will kill you the next.

Poker is really hard to discuss because there is never really a right or wrong answer. I've played poker since I was 5 years old, started with 5 card stud, then moved onto others, and watched this whole Hold Em scene launch...its all the same, just new people.

GREAT POST. That is so true there is no true way to play poker. You can play perfect poker like a robot and lose. This holds very true in NL and not so much the limit side.

[V3r1f13d]

Ha, when I need a break from the NL table I hit the 2-4 limit. By the time the river hits half the table is still in it!!!

Man, I know it sounds like I'm a chaser but I'm really not. I've been beat by chasers just like everyone else, no matter how much you raise you can never buy out another mans dream or gut feeling.

I really haven't been hitting the casinos much lately. I'm sick of waiting in a huge line with my initials on the board waiting to be called.

Yup, there are really no rules of how to play. The only rule I stick with is make sure you have time. If I am going to play and I need at least 5 or 6 hours of CARE FREE time and a couple hundred at minimum, or I just wont play. That's the only law I go by, other than that...just play.

[Underdog88]

Originally Posted by V3r1f13d

I really haven't been hitting the casinos much lately. I'm sick of waiting in a huge line with my initials on the board waiting to be called.

Come to Buffalo. I call the casino ahead of time & have a seat when I get there!



I've been playing a ton of home games lately. One in particular where i would say just 2 of the 9 regulars are respectable players. The worst chasers I have ever seen- we play .50/1 NL, & by the end these guys are throwing 20's in the pot on gut shots. The money is right, but there is no respect for raises- I raised 4x the pot preflop with AK & got called down only for a Q to hit on the river. Dude turns over Q6 off & I nearly went through the roof! Upside is they are so predictable, I can steal enough pots to make up for the bad beats. I have to tell myself to remain calm, accept the bad beats when they come & wait for the right spots.

[FlyersFan]

Originally Posted by Underdog88

Come to Buffalo. I call the casino ahead of time & have a seat when I get there!

.

make sure you don't stake dand and dan starts the juice running on you there.....

perhaps we see if eees ok weees one o-ther guy......grand-ma...

[CuseFan10]

Originally Posted by V3r1f13d

I never go with any rules, because it comes down to who is at your table. Your game is based on other people. I could be at one table and play something that I would toss at another. What works one day will kill you the next.

This statement is very true, although I think you probably have some engrained (sp?) "rules" in your game that you would almost never go against, but poker is about playing the person just as much as it is playing the cards. Couldn't agree more.

Another important poker skill IMHO is varying your betting patterns. In essence, you shouldn't have a decipherable betting pattern, it should be unrecognizable to other competent players. The really bad players don't know to look for a betting pattern in the first place so it really doesn't get you anywhere with them, but it's still a very useful tool to vary the way you bet if you're in a long session with a multiple of the same players.

The last, and probably most importantly rule for me personally is simple, know when to fold. Pride can not be factor at the poker table. If you think you're beat, or you have a great hand and you know you're beat, fold it. I hate when I hear people say, "I just couldn't fold that, it was too good a hand." I have a buddy who says that all the time, and he's quite possibly the worst player I've ever seen. Well, the fact is, you could have folded it if you recognized how the other guy was betting and all the signs of strength he showed. It's not that you couldn't fold it, it's that you are too stubborn, or narrow-minded, to fold it.

[JohnnyMapleLeaf]

Haven't played online in months. Too frustrating. They call everything, and the computer program seems to bail players out more than real games. Does it just seem that way?

Last hand I played, back during Xmas holidays...I had pocket Qs.....raised 4 times BB, got a call from the SB. Flop comes 6/8/2 rainbow. I bet half the pot. Get the Call. Turn comes 5. I go all in (about 30 BBs). Call and flips over 7/J. You guessed it...9 comes on the River. I asked him wtf he was doing calling preflop with J/7? He said they were suited, and he was feeling "lucky". lmao. Last hand I've played in months.

only home games for me...

[JohnnyMapleLeaf]

Originally Posted by CuseFan10

The last, and probably most importantly rule for me personally is simple, know when to fold. Pride can not be factor at the poker table. If you think you're beat, or you have a great hand and you know you're beat, fold it. I hate when I hear people say, "I just couldn't fold that, it was too good a hand." I have a buddy who says that all the time, and he's quite possibly the worst player I've ever seen. Well, the fact is, you could have folded it if you recognized how the other guy was betting and all the signs of strength he showed. It's not that you couldn't fold it, it's that you are too stubborn, or narrow-minded, to fold it.

Great point. Folding a decent PP is tough, but you gotta do it sometimes...some people just cannot fold their pocket 10s or Jacks, even though they are pretty sure the guy caught a pair on the flop...lol...

[Underdog88]

Originally Posted by CuseFan10

Pride can not be factor at the poker table. If you think you're beat, or you have a great hand and you know you're beat, fold it.

I think this is one of the main components of a solid poker player. The second you know you're beat, get out. Also IMO you must have a short memory. My home game is so funny, because a couple guys that play will lose a $50 pot when they had the best hand preflop, then get all worked up about it & lose $250 more trying to crack somebody.