Liverpool FC Forum

[burjennio]

As you may have caught on in some of my previous posts, I quite like a flutter. I'll take a punt on just about anything from football to horses to the X Factor and while the internet gives us many ways to lose our money stupidly, my personal favourite is online poker

Now, I used to play poker in the real world a while back and was quite dishy at it. I made quite a bit of money playing around town at various tournaments but inevitably the interest dried up and the scene died a death as I live in a rather small town and people only have so much money to waste.

However, online poker is a different animal. It is infuriating and may actually lead to me killing someone. I hit a decent win on Friday night but Itll probably be spent in the next week. Does anyone else deal with the devil? are you waiting on the ace of spades or trying not to draw the queen of diamonds? do you know any other songs about poker? If so, do tell. I currently play on Victor Chandler but also stutter through Partypoker. My biggest win was $2300 (£1200 odd for the uneducated) about 3 years ago but I win the odd sit n go and won a Multi Table Tournament (MTT) on Fri there which got me a cool $1400, which was swiftly cashed out, and my now be classed as "The Cheltenham Fund"

[Emerald Red]

I've been a Hold'em player for about 7 years now. I never got into the internet poker until roughly 3 years ago. But I've never been foolish enough to start throwing money into it. I don't go for big bubble pay-out sit and go's, as one bad beat there and your bankroll takes a dent. Instead I just casually play mid stake sit and go's and cash games. Whatever I earn I use to bankroll satellites. The thing with them is that it only takes you to do well once and you're either cashing big money or qualifying for an EPT event where even bigger money can be made. I haven't been trying for long, but I came close once and was knocked out on the bubble by being forced to push or be blinded out. That one was for a seat at a Monte Carlo EPT with a prize pool of over 3 million Euro.

Love the game. I've just had too many beats from maniacs to be any good.

[dawson99]

used to play internet poker, but after home games and tournies in clubs i cant play online anymore. its all about looking into the persons eyes as you show them 7 2 off to win a big bluff

[LittleHobo]

internet poker is ok but it dont beat playing in person

play for small on the internet is the best way, that way if you lose you cant blame it on the site being fixed 

[burjennio]

i do blame it on the site bening fixed! it almost grates me when i win because then i have to admit its propably not. what site does everyone play on?

[Emerald Red]

I play on Pokerstars.

Internet poker is generally more difficult in my experience. There are no real tells to pick up on, save for betting patterns or just generally working out how a hand is played out. Though you shouldn't look too much into that, as I've taken a lot of bad beats that way from calling stations. From experience online, there are a lot of people who will call after being priced out of a pot simply to hit a draw, the worst one's being middle pin draws or one outers being sucked out on the River, which some people tend to do a lot.

I call Pokerstars Riverstars these days. Wired Aces are a seriously bad omen on there as I've seen them being cracked more times than they should going by percentages. It's crazy, but it's all good.

[burjennio]

I stopped playiing in poker stars because I got hit was 3 runner runner beats in a row on all-in hands and the last one was some thing crazy, like I hit trip 5s on a 256 flop and I guy called my all in with NOTHING but A 8 and hit 7 9. cost me like £40. who in there right mind would call that?

[Emerald Red]

I stopped playiing in poker stars because I got hit was 3 runner runner beats in a row on all-in hands and the last one was some thing crazy, like I hit trip 5s on a 256 flop and I guy called my all in with NOTHING but A 8 and hit 7 9. cost me like £40. who in there right mind would call that?

HAHAH!

Yeah, that's the stuff alright. that's exactly the kind of stuff that happens on there a lot. More often, rag Aces are seen as a monster to some. Set's are hard to sniff out most of the time. He's probably raised, then got a call from you with your small pair. Low flop comes, he figures you've muck if you've pushed, so he calls hoping to hit his over-card draw. Like I say, draws. Some crazy players, but in the long run, those are the kind of players I love playing against because sooner or later you land the nuts and check it into them.

I go by the motto of better the devil you know, rather than you don't. I hate playing against wreckless players. Sooner or later you will take a bad beat. I find it easier to play against good solid players who play by the book. They're more readable.

[burjennio]

Emerald Red Posted on Feb. 05 2008,15:38
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Quote (burjennio @ Feb. 05 2008,15:30)
I stopped playiing in poker stars because I got hit was 3 runner runner beats in a row on all-in hands and the last one was some thing crazy, like I hit trip 5s on a 256 flop and I guy called my all in with NOTHING but A 8 and hit 7 9. cost me like £40. who in there right mind would call that?

HAHAH!

Yeah, that's the stuff alright. that's exactly the kind of stuff that happens on there a lot. More often, rag Aces are seen as a monster to some. Set's are hard to sniff out most of the time. He's probably raised, then got a call from you with your small pair. Low flop comes, he figures you've muck if you've pushed, so he calls hoping to hit his over-card draw. Like I say, draws. Some crazy players, but in the long run, those are the kind of players I love playing against because sooner or later you land the nuts and check it into them.

I go by the motto of better the devil you know, rather than you don't. I hate playing against wreckless players. Sooner or later you will take a bad beat. I find it easier to play against good solid players who play by the book. They're more readable

People laugh when I say I prefer playiing against good players because they know how to play the game. I used to crack up (still do sometimes) at people making idiot call against me and winning my money and it took until very recently to understand I had to change the way I played against these guys because the way i play in a live game cant translate to a computer screen, and my very agressive mentality is suicide against a guy that will call you with a 10 high (seen it happen, honest to god) It was pure arrogance on my behalf to expect these guys to change because I was this big experienced poker player and knew the right way to play and they didnt, while they just laughed at the muppet in the corner now tilting at there horrendous, yet incrediblly fortunate play. As an old poker buddy of mine used to say (after about 20 magners) "if you build it, they will come" 

Roughly translated it means hang with the fish until you pull the hand and then CHA-CHING! Their chips are yours, unfortunatly if you dont get any decent hands that strategy is a non runner, which can lead to some boring hours at the table or the computer.

[Emerald Red]

Emerald Red Posted on Feb. 05 2008,15:38
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Quote (burjennio @ Feb. 05 2008,15:30)
I stopped playiing in poker stars because I got hit was 3 runner runner beats in a row on all-in hands and the last one was some thing crazy, like I hit trip 5s on a 256 flop and I guy called my all in with NOTHING but A 8 and hit 7 9. cost me like £40. who in there right mind would call that?

HAHAH!

Yeah, that's the stuff alright. that's exactly the kind of stuff that happens on there a lot. More often, rag Aces are seen as a monster to some. Set's are hard to sniff out most of the time. He's probably raised, then got a call from you with your small pair. Low flop comes, he figures you've muck if you've pushed, so he calls hoping to hit his over-card draw. Like I say, draws. Some crazy players, but in the long run, those are the kind of players I love playing against because sooner or later you land the nuts and check it into them.

I go by the motto of better the devil you know, rather than you don't. I hate playing against wreckless players. Sooner or later you will take a bad beat. I find it easier to play against good solid players who play by the book. They're more readable

People laugh when I say I prefer playiing against good players because they know how to play the game. I used to crack up (still do sometimes) at people making idiot call against me and winning my money and it took until very recently to understand I had to change the way I played against these guys because the way i play in a live game cant translate to a computer screen, and my very aggressive mentality is suicide against a guy that will call you with a 10 high (seen it happen, honest to god) It was pure arrogance on my behalf to expect these guys to change because I was this big experienced poker player and knew the right way to play and they didnt, while they just laughed at the muppet in the corner now tilting at there horrendous, yet incrediblly fortunate play. As an old poker buddy of mine used to say (after about 20 magners) "if you build it, they will come" 

Roughly translated it means hang with the fish until you pull the hand and then CHA-CHING! Their chips are yours, unfortunatly if you dont get any decent hands that strategy is a non runner, which can lead to some boring hours at the table or the computer.

Well, the thing is everyone has their own way of playing. There is no set poker strategy; no real true winning formula.

The thing about poker is that everyone thinks they are the best, or that they are better than what they really are. For me, a great player is not the one who has all the angles worked out. It certainly makes you better if you work out all your outs, and calculate implied odds, pot odds etc etc. This keeps the ship steady in the long run in long-winded and convoluted tournaments.

However, the test of how good you are is not measured by clever trapping play, or your ability in maths; it's whether or not you are good enough to lay down a monster hand when you think you're beat. Being able to control rushes of blood to the head.

Like if someone comes out firing pre-flop and you call with something like A6 suit (which you shouldn't really do if it's twice a standard raise) and the flop comes A62, all rainbow. You've two pair. Monster on that flop. Even if he's wired K's or Q's, he's down to two outs, so you're well good. You'd be thinking more like Big Slick or AJ, AQ something like that. There's a draw there for a Wheel, but that's a massive but shot, plus you wouldn't put  him on a 43 or 53 to raise with. You're under the gun, so you bet  it. Nothing big, just to test the water. If it's a flat call, then he's either on some kind of draw, or he doesn't believe you. Most of the time you'd get a call if you price him in. So he calls. next card comes a 3 and pairs a suit. Scare card. Could have put a flush draw with a straight draw down there, so you come out firing a bomb into the pot. No way he can call. But he pushes all in. You're thinking he can't have a straight, no flush, or he's two pair, but yours is the better kicker. Normally for most, this is an automatic call. Of course it also depends on your stack and what  you've invested into the pot, or if he's short chipped. But if it's for all you money. This is the key to Hold'em. Asking a player for all his chips in one hand. But this hand: can you get away from? Most people would call. But as I've found, if someone pushes like this on a flop like that, they have a set.

The real test of any Hold'em player is being able to put a hand down. More often than not, I see people calling bets down to the river card because they've top pair with a decent-ish kicker. Top pair is only top pair. How many other hands are beating it. I normally let those ones go if someone prices me out of the pot, even if I do have a big ace, or unless I've top top.

[burjennio]

yet so many will never lay top pair down, regardless of how high it is, so many A8 hitiin top pair and getting murdered by Qs and Ks. thought if i have the big pair you can bet your a$$ he hittin his rag a on the flop!

[Emerald Red]

yet so many will never lay top pair down, regardless of how high it is, so many A8 hitiin top pair and getting murdered by Qs and Ks. thought if i have the big pair you can bet your a$$ he hittin his rag a on the flop!

Well, mate, if someone has A8 and hits top pair, K's Q's in the hole are not beating Aces up! 

[burjennio]

Emerald Red Posted on Feb. 05 2008,16:56
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Quote (burjennio @ Feb. 05 2008,16:52)
yet so many will never lay top pair down, regardless of how high it is, so many A8 hitiin top pair and getting murdered by Qs and Ks. thought if i have the big pair you can bet your a$$ he hittin his rag a on the flop! 

Well, mate, if someone has A8 and hits top pair, K's Q's in the hole are not beating Aces up!   

I meant an 8 high flop     

[andy_g]

like you two are saying. internet poker is just a stupid game (and this from an addict) - there's so many people playing who just haven't got a clue. sometimes you can clean 'em out but they're so unpredictable. i wonder if they'll eventually change the way the game is played completely because you have to adjust your game to play them. i've seen people going all in pre-flop just because they have a Q, never mind their other card is a 3.

give me a live game any day of the week.



please

[burjennio]

andy_g Posted on Feb. 06 2008,12:33
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like you two are saying. internet poker is just a stupid game (and this from an addict) - there's so many people playing who just haven't got a clue. sometimes you can clean 'em out but they're so unpredictable. i wonder if they'll eventually change the way the game is played completely because you have to adjust your game to play them. i've seen people going all in pre-flop just because they have a Q, never mind their other card is a 3.

give me a live game any day of the week.



please

Ive been having a bit more success the last couple of weeks Andy but it took me to realize that I had to change my game, not wait for the internet pokering community to change theirs!

I found that playing top pairs slow gives you a chance to get away when the fish inevitably pairs his kicker, but at the same time dont worry about stringin people along with big hands because they'll call with anything. If you flop a set and you thing your opponant has caught top pair raise him. if he calls go all in on the flop. NO ONE LAYS IT DOWN! The one saving grace about internet poker is that if your hitting hands like straights, flushes and houses, you'll get paid. but always remember that aa kk an ak are only single pairs and dont commit to them. Id £2 left in my acc and went on after the cinema lasy night. turned it into £40. but the. NO BAD BEATS helps