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I play high stakes poker AMA (4 Viewers)
- Thread starter Bmeister51
- Start date
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Bmeister51
Straight
I think its all about feel. 100% you have to know your math. Its kinda what I spoke about earlier when it comes to knowing the fundamentals but it has huge implications as to how you play any given hand and based on your history and reads on a specific player.
Lets say its 10-20 and I have 10k effective and thats about the avg for the table. I have 76hh in the cutoff and its been raised to 120 UTG by a pretty tight player. I three bet to 440 and UTG calls its heads up. I know this player is playing a strong ace or possibly 8s or better. Flop comes QhJc8h. UTG cbets to 500. I know that AQ is part of his range here and even AJ. Prob checking to induce if he has JJ or QQ but he could also easily be betting here with AK. So worst case scenario he has a set and is trying to get value from an AQ AJ kind of hand maybe even TT. So I'm never folding here.
So in this situation you need to know a few things about your hands value. And that’s the difference in higher stakes is players are less frequently overvaluing their hands which is a big leak people have to shore up in their game usually. If I put him on AQ which is likely then I know that first and foremost I will make my flush 19.1% of the time roughly. Unless he has the A of hearts so he's got a blocker there. I know that I'm in a 60-40 spot in terms of my hands value. Knowing where your hand is at percentage wise against Your opponents perceived range is super important.
The feel aspect is also really important and you have to learn to trust your instincts. Calling with ace high, calling with second pair or on a four card flush board. Those are instinct driven decisions based on your feel. It’s important that you don’t have hard and fast math based rules and just play GTO poker all the time because people will exploit that.
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Bmeister51
Straight
Yeah I do every now an again. Usuall .50-1 or 1-2 with like $40 buy ins among friends. Very low key and fun. Not serious at all
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Bmeister51
Straight
Another thing to note here is there are some home games here in chicago that run pretty regularly that I've heard about but I've never played in them. I used to play at a 2-5 home game that ran every weekend for a few months and crushed that game but as a general rule I don't play home games just because of the safety factor and the fact that they can get really weird sometimes. I've heard of friends getting jumped after a game or people not being able to pay its just a bad scene. I'd never play in a home game unless it was small stakes and fun. Past that if theres a big home game going on I'd just as soon go to the Casino.
Some members prefer tournaments. They have a fixed outlay with known prizes, with more skill sets required.
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Bmeister51
Straight
I kinda disagree that more skill sets are required. Rather I'd say different skill sets. I think that you have to have more skill to be successful in cash games because they play is much more varied and the kinda of ranges people are playing with are wider and therefore require more intuition and more varried gameplay styles. I think the tournament mindset is pretty straightforward because youre not really all that deep all the time in tournaments and you're always trying to increase your stack against the clock. I think there are certain things like positioning and timing that are way more important in a tournament than a cash game but theres clearly a healthy divide when it comes to play styles in tournaments vs. cash.
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Bmeister51
Straight
Not even close actually. I’m very middle of the pack. The awards program doesn’t reward poker players… Eventually I’ll get to higher statuses ( The horseshoe is a Cesar’s property) but it will take a long time. Some of the guys that I play with you are professionals have seven stars which is the highest tier. The way that they get there is generally by playing big video poker… Although some of them dude gamble at the tables.
The casinos don’t comp poker players the same way they do big gamblers because we are not good customers for the casino. Sure they’ll make a couple thousand dollars off of us and rake each year but we are usually beating the rake in our games so they’re really not netting much of a profit. That as opposed to a big blackjack player who can drop $20,000 in an hour is just less preferable and profitable for the casino.
Of the guys that have seven stars most of them say it’s not worth it… Sure they get some free rooms at Caesar’s properties during the World Series of poker and they get to skip to the front of the line for payouts at tournaments but that’s about it.
Rhodeman77
Straight Flush
Were you needing to supplement your bankroll as you moved up from $2/5 to $5/10?
Would you have stayed at $2/5 if your regular group didn’t push to go up? Or did you know you would eventually play $10/20 and $20/40 even if it meant finding a new group?
Would you have stayed at $2/5 if your regular group didn’t push to go up? Or did you know you would eventually play $10/20 and $20/40 even if it meant finding a new group?
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Bmeister51
Straight
Because I wasn’t really setting money aside at 25 for a bankroll I didn’t really supplement it in any way. I just bought in and played and then returned the money to my checking account basically…
When I Decided to start playing bigger at 10-20 then I started to track my earnings and set aside a portion of money as my designated bank role. I was really fortunate that when we first started playing at that level I went on a six-month heater so my bank roll was set and I was making a large sum of money. I actually cut that money in half and put half of it away into the market.
I don’t think I would’ve stayed at 25 because I always had a drive to play bigger. Not to mention eventually the same steaks and winning all the time gets stale. If there’s no challenge then it just doesn’t interest me. If I was a professional player I would probably play at that level because it’s the easiest to make money yet and the swings are much less than at 10 - 20. It’s part of the competitive aspect of Poker for me and in life in general. I just want to be Playing the best players I can play. Like I said it’s not so much about the money but more the satisfaction that comes with being respected by good players and winning against good players. I get a tremendous sense of satisfaction from being respected by my fellow players and even more so from professional players
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Bmeister51
Straight
One more thing to note here. The only way for you to be a better player is to play against people that are better than you and learn. I am tremendously fortunate that this group of players is not only really really good but everybody is extremely friendly. Like we get together for dinners and go out together as friends away from the poker table. Doesn’t matter if they beat me for 10,000 the night before we are still going to go out and get drinks on Tuesday.
Not to mention these guys are all willing to discuss Hands and different plays and give advice even if it’s contrasting. It’s made me an exponentially better player just by listening to their insights and giving my own as well.
If you want to get better play better competition and have well read people to discuss your plays with. You’ll be shocked at how much better you will become right away. Nobody knows everything so ask for advice.
Can I borrow $20?
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Bmeister51
Straight
I’m sure you’re a good guy but you don’t become a profitable poker player by giving money away… Sorry lol
I've made it through the first page, so far. Really enjoying your insight, although I'm a long way off from playing even 2/5. $20 will last me an entire evening of poker in my home game.
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Bmeister51
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I've made it through the first page, so far. Really enjoying your insight, although I'm a long way off from playing even 2/5. $20 will last me an entire evening of poker in my home game.
My pleasure. If you have any other questions ask away!
What advice would you give to a recreational micro stakes and low buy-in tourney player (such as myself) wanting to take a stab at a 1/2 casino game for the first time?
You do if the juice is high enough.
Changster
Full House
People are buying in for 500bb’s?
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Bmeister51
Straight
Same advice as I give somebody who is about to play 1000 2000: take a shot and work on your game.
Like I said before the only way to get better at poker is to play people who are better than you. Nothing trumps experience but it also helps to have really good basic fundamental skills. Understand the math start small and play tight and aggressive. You’re going to lose more than likely but that’s OK. Losing is a good thing because it means that you’re learning and as long as you aren’t repeating the same mistakes then your game is getting better.
If you have players that play at that level then ask them about certain situations or hands and what they would do. Get multiple opinions. The more experience you get the better player you will become.
12 shouldn’t be too scary and there are plenty of bad players at that level. It’s an easy game To start learning at.
Play tight and aggressive and go slow. Also I think it goes without saying but play within your means if it’s too expensive and it starts to affect your quality-of-life don’t do it.
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Bmeister51
Straight
Lol no o don’t do home games and I’d never play that big outside of a casino. Great book and movie though!
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Bmeister51
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Even more than that. Answer this question a little bit earlier but some players will buy in to cover the table and be in for 40 or $50,000.
The vast majority of players sit with anywhere between 10-20k
Cubs or Sox?
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Bmeister51
Straight
Cubbies
Right on! My dad told me how my grandpa welded a frame and hardwired a radio to his old Farmall tractor so he wouldn't miss the '45 World Series. Apparently, it was a big deal in the area, and lots of neighboring farmers stopped by to see how he did it. My dad was 7 at the time.
Rhodeman77
Straight Flush
I also play in a pretty small network of people both in home games and the casino (PLO player pool of regulars is not huge), do you feel that because you all know each other pretty well and have so much history that when a new player joins the game they are at a big disadvantage?
Conversely, when you play in other games, other casinos do you play at lower stakes to avoid playing with a bunch of players that all know each other very well? Do you feel you are at a disadvantage if you sit in a game with a bunch of players that have a ton of history with each other?
Conversely, when you play in other games, other casinos do you play at lower stakes to avoid playing with a bunch of players that all know each other very well? Do you feel you are at a disadvantage if you sit in a game with a bunch of players that have a ton of history with each other?
I watch LATB a lot what's his name?
Kidsthesedays
3 of a Kind
I hope it's Nordy hahaha but that's unlikely
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