Did Garrett's buy-in/add-on strategy to be the largest stack give him an advantage on HCL? (1 Viewer)

[NotRealNameNoSir]

GLHF

 

[elemeno]

Seems like a key point of all this is that there's a difference judging whether a rule is fair—i.e., applies equally to everyone and offers no inherent EV advantage to any random individual, agnostic to skill—and whether a rule amplifies skill advantage.

Poker itself is an example of this. It's a fair game, but within that fair game are many parameters that can amplify or dull skill advantage depending on how you set them. Stack depth in NL games is one such parameter, as is choosing NL as a format in the first place. Ante size in limit stud games is another. The poker variant you choose to play is yet another.

The sweet spot for any particular poker gathering depends on the balance you need to strike.

If your players are all relatively close in skill, it doesn't matter very much. Features that amplify skill advantage will make the game more competitive and less gambley, but they won't really hurt anyone too much, since there's isn't much advantage to amplify.

In this case it's a matter of preference.

If there's substantial skill difference among your players, it matters a lot. If you're a skilled, experienced player, and you find yourself at a table where you're the only person who knows what "semi-bluff" means, features like matching the big stack and tough variants (e.g., Scarney) are going to leave you shooting fish in a barrel.

In this case you should lean toward gambley features (because recreational players win by chance) and avoid competitive features, to protect the lower-skilled players.

Well put

 

[elemeno]

I'm really not sure what information you're looking for, or how you want to apply it

I understand your consternation and I totally went about this thread the wrong way. It harkens back to this:

People in my games always wanna rebuy off the big stack for some reason. I'm not sure how many times I've tried to explain that big stack bullying doesn't exist in cash poker, but they still don't believe me.

I have the same trouble in my game and

I’m contemplating whether I should adjust my home game rules to cap rebuys/add-ons at some level to keep the peace. My game isn’t cut throat and is 100% a social thing, so I don’t mind either way.

 

[Jimulacrum]

I understand your consternation and I totally went about this thread the wrong way. It harkens back to this:


I have the same trouble in my game and

If people are still being ornery about this, I've found that folks around here can be quickly warmed up with photos of poker chips.

 

[allforcharity]

This is Andy Stacks' MO in a nutshell. Cover the whole table.

 

[allforcharity]

One thing I find peculiar about HCL players (and maybe this happens with everybody and I'm clueless), but they make bets and raises based on their stacks and not on the blinds. The blinds have almost zero relevance.