Directors Quick Poll: Where do you play poker? (1 Viewer)

[Brook K]

Question #1: I know there are a bunch of poker players at HTF. Where do you play online?

Thanks to "Action" Dan Harrington's Pacific Poker hat he wore at last year's WSOP, I've played there for the past year. (website 888.com). But I've grown dissatisfied because I prefer to play no-limit tournaments rather than limit "ring" games and their servers are so overwhelmed that they only run tournaments at night after 2 a.m. so I'm looking for somewhere else to play.

Question #2: Also how many of you play online for real $$? I've still stuck to only playing simulated and play for cash only in live casinos. My wife doesn't think too much of the idea of me being able to gamble whenever the mood strikes, fearing I'll lose the house or something. (probably not misguided since I would be in the negatives if I totalled my low-limit casino play, whereas playing much higher stakes limit tables and in no-limit tournaments I've run my online "fake" account from starting at $1K to 80K+ giving me a false sense of "if only I was playing for real $$")

Question #3: Apparently Hold 'em is replacing trivia as the bar game du jour. Have any of you played in bars? I know it's played quite a bit around Atlanta and it would be nice to polish my live skills as I don't get much chance to practice that, but I'm leary of how professionally these games are run. Are the dealers competent, etc? Anyone have any experiences?

 

[Brian Elwood]

I play 12 hours a week clearing Crypto bonus's (InterPoker, PokerPlex, UKBetting,TotalBet), and another 5 hours at Party.

If you are just starting out online - Party Poker is the place to go, best software and 40,000 online at any givin time.

Pacific has to many collusion teams for my taste. Seen them in action and don't like it one bit.

I play full ring games 2 or 3 tables at a time in 2/4 games and this year will be filing taxs since I've made $XX,000.

Lets just say a trip to St.John USVI ($300 a night in a cottage) is only putting a small dent in the bank (also known as a wife bribe LOL)

BTW - TV poker is a godsend for limit players. NOBODY should watch those guys if they want to learn to be a winning at poker. They play a totally different game and know each other VERY well. Play like them online and you will learn fast that their bluffs do not work.

The REAL beautey is that SO many people are learning to play badly and STILL win. Play straight up ABC poker, nothing fancy and you can make more then you will believe.

DO NOT play any games with PLAY MONEY. It will teach you many many many bad things. PLAY MONEY and live money are way different games. Real money you will have hidious players that are much better then the play money players.

[email protected]

LOL - sorry - I love Texas Hold'm and actually plan to retire 5 years earlier then I had planned.

 

[george kaplan]

I've never played poker on-line. I only play it for real in my front room with a group of friends, and always dealer's choice with a lot of different and fun games. Definitely low-stakes, though I always seem to win.

 

[Lew Crippen]

I’ve never done this, but I do think that it falls into the category of ‘never play pool with a stranger who wants to play you for money—he is better than you’. I did play extensively when I was in the Army, often with strangers.

As an aside, I love card games, especially bridge which I have not played much for years, but expect to pick back up again soon. And games of all types—I am a game player over many years.

I only mention that to give my (perhaps gratuitous) next piece of advice some minor credibility: if you decide to play in some of these games in bars and you don’t soon know who is better than you at the table—you are in the wrong game. Get into one where you can learn (by playing against strong players), but where you won’t be overwhelmed.

 

[Lew Crippen]

Brian has nailed it—and your post indicates that you already know this.

Unless you have ice water instead of blood in your veins, you will bet very differently when spending ‘real’ money.

 

[Brian Elwood]

I've played over 85,000 hands this year and I STILL get my heart pounding on big hands. Won't happen with fake money.

Poker is a huge rush and I am SURE I have so many tells I could not play in a live game with anybody that knows the game.



actually there are some good games out there in the .5/1 range. Many people start very low and work there way up. Once they hit 300 Big Bets they go to the next level.

In fact the few live games in casinos in the $10/20 range are WAY WAY worse then the online .5/1 games.

But you are basically right.

I'll shut up now - get ne started on Hold'm and I can't keep quiet:b

 

[Brook K]

Thanks Brian, I'll check out those sites.

I hear what you guys are saying, but that's why I like to play tournaments. In a tournament setting, you aren't playing with real money whether your buy-in was real or it wasn't. I know there is no rush like there is with real $ but the strategy (after the first few yahoos go out in the first hand after going all-in with whatever they have) is similar. I'm still trying to do whatever I can to cash/win the tournament and play appropriately. I don't randomly bet 46 offsuites just because it isn't real money.

But that is also why I don't like playing ring games with fake $$. That is very boring as most everyone stays in for the flop, you can't bluff anyone, and it's just a drawing contest. I still usually stick to premium hands but will get bored and play with anything sometimes. You are right here, in that I will certainly bet differently than in live play where I can be really, really tight.

I understand the social aspect, when I go to the casino and play it is almost always with one or more friends, but I've had fun playing by myself too. You can usually find someone to talk to at the table (then again I'm a pretty shy person who has no problem not talking at all). In any casino or tournament setting you are going to be playing against a lot of people of unknown skill levels, part of the fun is figuring out who is tough and who to take advantage of.

I've been reading more theory and working on improving things I know I'm weak at, like playing too many marginal hands and not being aggressive enough. Chomping at the bit for Nov. 6th to roll around so I can go back to St. Louis and play and see if it's helped at all.

 

[Charlie C]

was unemployed for a month so I played in the holdem tourneys at local pubs. had alot of fun. you learn how to shed bad hands fast and how much ppl BS. I prefer taking my freinds money though.

 

[Brian Elwood]

As Mason Malmuth says. IF you are at a table with an unknown, consider him a fish until he proves otherwise.

I've only played in one live tournament, 300 players and came in 8th. Can't complain.

Play Party Poker for good tournaments. as low as $2 I think.

email me if you have questions!

 

[SteveGon]

I play at Kissinger's house.com

Never played online and don't have much desire to do so as I prefer to face the people I'm playing.

I disagree that watching poker on tv can be detrimental to your game - I like watching the pros play and I feel like I've learned a thing or two from them (not that I'm ready to play against them or anything).

Anyway, my friends and I used to have a regular poker night where it was dealer's choice, but too many Guts (sorry about those kings, Brian) and Deuces got out of control so we decided to stick with Hold 'Em tourneys. I haven't done too badly: one win and about three or four second place finishes out of about eight or so tourneys so far.

 

[Brian Elwood]

Sorry but unless you know WHY Phil is calling or raising with his 86o you will do it at the wrong times.

Pot odds, implied odds, reverse implied odds and all sorts of math is going into they plays. You see the stall and you think they are thinking what to do, actually they are figuring out the exact odds of what there play should be.

I'm not saying YOU don't know about implied and pot odds but 99% of people watching are young and think poker is played with your head, when in reality it's all a number games.

I guarentee that if you do not know at least pot odds and the difference between outs and effective outs or positional betting, "at least online" you will be a loser in the long run.

 

[SteveGon]

That's why I avoid playing online - I've heard too many horror stories of idiots beating out better players.

I should say that what I've learned from watching the pros on tv is to play less scared and more confidant - makes a big difference.

Regarding Phil: didn't take his loss too well the other night did he? Go Annie!

 

[Brian Elwood]

Anytime an idiot beats me I'm normally happy to have him at my table. Perhaps not after THAT hand but it all comes back sooner or later. After 85,000 hands (2800 hours of play at a LIVE table) you become immune to suck outs.

Online I play 120 to 180 hands per hour (3 tables) so you can't dwell on the losses.

Even playing ONE table your playing 60 hands per hour compared to 30 in a live.

 

[Scott Weinberg]

I play online (free money/tourneys) at http://www.pokerstars.com/

Cool interface. Good methods for booting the non-players. And a few of my local friends play there too.

When we're not playing on someone's kitchen table, that is.