Curious how you'd play AdQdQh9s UTG vs. maniac
9 handed 1/2/5 PLO
These guys are NLHE players, but we do PLO bomb pots followed by two hands of PLO every round.
Six of the players are old white guys and are mainly bad nits. MP is about my age (mid-50s) and is an OK player. He is willing to gii with hands that aren’t AAXX.
The BTN is a maniac. He knows how to play NLHE and PLO, but he just can’t help but gamble. He straddles every hand and tries to run over these old nits – usually he busts.
I am the only regular PLO player. (As a side note, the dealers are constantly asking me what the pot is and half the time the table argues with me about pot size. I’ve stopped playing in one of the local games because they refuse to get it right.)
$175 effective (me). This is my last bullet. I can’t win a pot.
BTN straddles $10. SB and BB fold. I have AdQdQh9s UTG.
Pretty straightforward hand, but curious if you would raise now (others might come along and BTN will 100% call and might repot) or limp knowing you will get a few limpers and the BTN will 100% raise – then you can repot it? Nobody else at the table is raising w/o AAXX except MP, who will raise w/ normal PLO raising hands.
20 Replies
I'd limp/raise. Hero isn't afraid of playing this hand OOP vs maniac with SPR just under 2, but limp-raise there is no need to play post-flop whatsoever, and might pick up a little extra dead money.
It's not a disaster if no one raises, Hero's hand has good playability and no wasted low cards that are less desirable multiway.
LOL. I play until a certain time or until I've lost what I came to play with 😉 It was still pretty early.
LOL. I play until a certain time or until I've lost what I came to play with 😉 It was still pretty early.
sure, that's the standard approach, used to do the same.
but learned to listen to my gut more (still not always, but getting better).
that's also why i love Vegas so much, you can leave a game at anytime if something doesn't feel right, bc there's always a game available when you come back.
PS:
not advocating that it's right or wrong, just describing my approach and what works best for me
If I had a nickel for every time I'd stayed for my last buyin and run it up into a huge profit
I'd have even more profit
good for you guys, not arguing.
again, just describing what works for me
Well, since only one poster has replied to the hand, here's what happened: I did decide to limp/raise. Got a few limpers, BTN potted, I repotted, MP called, BTN called.
BTN had 55XX (like, J8) and flopped a set, but I went runner runner FH. MP had middling cards.
Playing my last bullet worked. I was in for $500 and left up $120 after playing to my normal time 😉
Good for You,
Playing with your last buy in should not affect the way you play a hand, except if you think that some players are so weak that you should not gamble, saving your chips for the right spot against them. It is the case in the setting you described. So, I will check call.
By the way, you should never let it know at the table that it is your last buy-in or your last hand. Some perceptive players could use this information and adapt their play.
As a side note: ‘old white guys’: ‘old’ could matter, ‘guys’ could matter, but ‘white’ imo doesn’t matter.
I always announce my last hand or the time I'm leaving, but this was not it. This is a local underground game with people I play with every week, so I like to be polite. Plus, I'm usually winning, and I don't want to piss them off by being way up and just walking out. Keep 'em happy.
Also, I disagree about race when it comes to poker. In this case it might not matter, but there are stereotypes for a reason, and it helps people picture the players and how action might happen. Just like I think describing whether the V is a man or a woman makes a difference 😉
I agree with you,
I play only in casinos or poker rooms where you can leave whenever you want without announcing earlier, hence my comment.
Regarding race, again I agree. In some cases it matters especially for the very first impression but not beyond. Btw, I am white, but it doesn't matter. LOL
FWIW, if there had been any other race at the table in the old guy category who played the same, I would have said "old guys." There used to be an old black guy who played, but I haven't seen him in a while.
These are about the whitest old guys you can imagine, though. I should have added "podunk redneck right-wingers" to my description 😉 It's especially fun because I'm about as liberal as you can get and there's nothing more rewarding than needling them about it!
I come with enough bullets that I’m never on my last bullet. Why give up if you’re playing well and the maniac is raising every hand?
This is a slam dunk limp raise.
LOL. You realize that makes no sense unless you come with an unlimited amount of money?
I bring two bullets on nights when I have to leave early; three bullets on nights when I can stay late. One of the signs of a gambler vs. a poker player is someone who keeps chasing losses 😉
I would argue the opposite. Someone with a stop loss willing to leave a good game both a) doesn’t understand it’s all one long session and b) might not be mentally tough enough to play through downswings.
I come with around 30-40 bullets.
LOL. I'm not staying past a certain time when I have to be at work the next day. My job pays way more than poker ever will.
The whole point of poker's being one long session is that you can leave -- there will be another game 😉
(FWIW, my "bullet" is $500 in a 1/2 NLHE game.)
Poker is my only source of income. PLO doesn’t run every day here so if the game is good and I’m playing well I’m willing to put in extra hours whether I’m up big or down heaps.
I was just pointing out that a stop loss doesn’t make sense to me.
I don’t know why the new software changed my name to condemned aracari lol.
When you play during the week and have to be at work at 8 a.m. and your real job is your main source of income, you definitely should have a stop loss -- either money or time. Usually, by the time I'm on my last bullet, I have to leave, anyway, so there is no point bringing extra. I'm not going to risk a six-figure job to stay at a poker game for a few extra hours so I can make a few hundred bucks -- or even a few thousand, which is rare in my games 😉
And, again, there is always another poker game. If you are running bad enough to be on your 30th bullet, maybe the poker gods are telling your something. LOL. Chasing losses is the sign of a gambling addict. Good luck winning back 30 bullets from your last bullet in one game!
You seem to think it matters if we get back to even on our 30th bullet. It’s not chasing losses, it’s work and staying in a good game is working smart.
Stop loss has nothing to do with time. If you have to leave at a certain time, so be it.
If you have no time limit then stop loss can make sense but you have to ask yourself: Is the game good? Am I playing my A game? Do I have enough money to make the most of it?
As for me, winning or loosing, I leave after I make 2 blunders. (definitely not my A game)
Reasons to have a stop loss:
1) your tilt profile has you playing significantly worse when you're losing
2) the game varies in quality, right now it's tough, and it's difficult to get money to this site or live game
You do need to think explicitly about your goal for continuing not being to break even, but to make money. If you're $10k down and the game is likely to break in an hour and you're putting another $1k bullet on the table, it's not because you think there's a good chance you'll turn a profit on the night, it's because you're profitable from this point onwards.
