Rake-free games - how to study
In Sydney we have many rake-free games.
The blinds are $1/$1 and most people buy in for $200 and by the end of a good night you're often playing 500bb deep.
How can I best spend my time away from the table to study for these games?
Most preflop charts assume a 2.5x open raise but in this game raises are $5+ and get several callers, so how do I go about developing a strong preflop strategy under these conditions?
I've just been dealing 9 random hands to simulate the game and hone my preflop knowledge using various charts and studying postflop spots with the help of ChatGPT, but I feel there are better ways to improve.
Thanks
5 Replies
Home games? I thought rake in Australia was high
Rake is high at casinos, but there are many games held at pubs and clubs which are rake-free since taking a rake outside the casino is illegal.
Rake is high at casinos, but there are many games held at pubs and clubs which are rake-free since taking a rake outside the casino is illegal.
Don't mean to derail, but if there is no rake then how do they make their money? Is there a time / entrance / club fee? Or a minimum amount of beer / food purchase?
GcluelessfollowingthemoneynoobG
Most preflop charts assume a 2.5x open raise but in this game raises are $5+ and get several callers, so how do I go about developing a strong preflop strategy under these conditions?
Smash live cash has rake and no-rake preflop charts.
Also you can't easily play GTO vs. giant raises (GTO response is to fold more than any human would want to do), and the common advice is to pretend the open is to a normal size and try to understand how the stack/pot ratio isn't going to be correct for "500bb" or whatever that you are technically playing.
Don't do random things, with or without LLMs help, because you'll very likely get the wrong answer and this isn't 1995 anymore.
Don't mean to derail, but if there is no rake then how do they make their money? Is there a time / entrance / club fee? Or a minimum amount of beer / food purchase?
GcluelessfollowingthemoneynoobG
The game organiser gets paid for every person playing the game, since some of the players also play the slot machines (which have a 15% edge) or buy drinks/food.
Also if you want to play until the end, the last two hours often have a $10/hour time charge.
