For a couple years, I’ve played in a 2/5 cash game in a private home. There are usually between 6-9 players, with a pool of only about 12 regulars. Pretty much everyone has been friends for even longer than that, and so we’re well familiar with each others’ tendencies, frequencies, and other poker habits. It’s an enjoyable group and a tough game. Unlike typical casino 2/5 games, people rarely buy in for more than $500 at a time, often for more like only 50-60 BB at a clip.
In the past few months, something changed, which has skewed the game dynamics tremendously, and also raised some ethical questions.
One regular—a fun, loose, generally losing but by no means stupid player—has started dropping WAY more money into the game than he ever did before. It used to be that a bad night for him was in the $500-$1,000 range. Now he’s bringing a ton more cash, rebuying repeatedly, playing more recklessly, and losing more like $1,500-$3,000. In one session that I missed, he reportedly was stuck five grand. Maybe that’s not exceptional for some casino games, but I consider it a lot for a friendly 2/5 home game.
Some of us have been discussing this privately... It’s been a big windfall for the rest of the field, but it’s also kind of worrisome. Did he come into a bunch of money we didn’t hear about? Can he really afford these losses? Does he have a problem? Should we say something? (I know he has the same job as before, not a hugely high-paying one, and not one where the salary would have gone up substantially in recent months.) His attitude and generally happy-go-lucky outlook doesn’t seem different, just the volume of cash he’s dropping, and the increased lack of discipline in his game.
In addition to those more important questions—which raise personal concerns for someone we consider a casual but longtime poker friend—there is also a big shift in the game dynamics as a result.
Not only is this already-loose player playing even looser, but by bloating so many pots, he has induced a lot more loose action from the rest of the regs, chasing that (relatively) easy money. Guys who used to manage their stacks and buy-ins more carefully are taking more shots, and buying back in if they bust for higher amounts than usual, knowing they have a decent chance of recouping their losses.
I tend to play pretty TAGgy, occasionally exploiting that image to bluff/steal pots I shouldn’t. Unlike the rest of the field, I’ve tightened up a bit more since the new free-for-all atmosphere is radically increasing the variance in a game where I’d always been a solid if small winner. Now, if I enter a hand and stick around postflop, I can take a lot more pots down right away, but the winnings are smaller than before, because people are assuming “He must have it.”
So I’m contemplating both (A) the question of how soon/whether to talk with this poker friend off-table fabou his recent spews, and whether everything’s OK; and (B) how to adjust my play to the new economics of this particular game. My feeling on the latter question is that I should at least open up my own range a little, as it will likely still be stronger than the field, and it will be quite a while before my existing TAG image wears off.
In the past few months, something changed, which has skewed the game dynamics tremendously, and also raised some ethical questions.
One regular—a fun, loose, generally losing but by no means stupid player—has started dropping WAY more money into the game than he ever did before. It used to be that a bad night for him was in the $500-$1,000 range. Now he’s bringing a ton more cash, rebuying repeatedly, playing more recklessly, and losing more like $1,500-$3,000. In one session that I missed, he reportedly was stuck five grand. Maybe that’s not exceptional for some casino games, but I consider it a lot for a friendly 2/5 home game.
Some of us have been discussing this privately... It’s been a big windfall for the rest of the field, but it’s also kind of worrisome. Did he come into a bunch of money we didn’t hear about? Can he really afford these losses? Does he have a problem? Should we say something? (I know he has the same job as before, not a hugely high-paying one, and not one where the salary would have gone up substantially in recent months.) His attitude and generally happy-go-lucky outlook doesn’t seem different, just the volume of cash he’s dropping, and the increased lack of discipline in his game.
In addition to those more important questions—which raise personal concerns for someone we consider a casual but longtime poker friend—there is also a big shift in the game dynamics as a result.
Not only is this already-loose player playing even looser, but by bloating so many pots, he has induced a lot more loose action from the rest of the regs, chasing that (relatively) easy money. Guys who used to manage their stacks and buy-ins more carefully are taking more shots, and buying back in if they bust for higher amounts than usual, knowing they have a decent chance of recouping their losses.
I tend to play pretty TAGgy, occasionally exploiting that image to bluff/steal pots I shouldn’t. Unlike the rest of the field, I’ve tightened up a bit more since the new free-for-all atmosphere is radically increasing the variance in a game where I’d always been a solid if small winner. Now, if I enter a hand and stick around postflop, I can take a lot more pots down right away, but the winnings are smaller than before, because people are assuming “He must have it.”
So I’m contemplating both (A) the question of how soon/whether to talk with this poker friend off-table fabou his recent spews, and whether everything’s OK; and (B) how to adjust my play to the new economics of this particular game. My feeling on the latter question is that I should at least open up my own range a little, as it will likely still be stronger than the field, and it will be quite a while before my existing TAG image wears off.
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