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How many people here play poker?
Jdurg:
With poker being quite popular, I was just wondering how many people on these forums play it? I've been playing for about 6 years now, both at home games with my friends and at the only casino in the area that plays it; Foxwoods.
I've gotten better as the years have gone on, and actually learned a few new games. I typically play low-limit Texas Hold'Em, but learned how to play Omaha as well. (A couple of weeks ago I got my second straight flush of the year playing Omaha. My 2-5 of hearts straight flushed when the ace of hearts came down and gave my opponent the nut flush. It's rare that you get the nuts in Omaha).
Anyway, how many people here play poker, and what game do you play? A few nights in the casino like the one I had this week and I could buy a bunch of cabs! :) (Flopped a couple of boats when others flopped trips. Lady luck was good to me. Got paid nicely, unlike my first Royal Flush earlier this year where I got nothing cuz my opponent was all in. (I flopped an open ended royal flush draw and he flopped trips. I got a straight on the turn, and the Royal on the river. First Royal Flush I've ever had).).
So does anybody else play the cards?
Cakemeister:
I used to play a little bit on partypoker.net, limit hold'em.
On the last cruise I went on back in '06, I was attracted to the poker table. The game was $5-$10 limit hold'em. Not knowing anything about the game except playing seven card stud in college and watching the World Poker Tour, all I knew was to fold bad cards and raise aggressively with good cards. I won a few bucks. So I bought a few books and I've studied them pretty thoroughly, and entered a couple of charity tournaments. I think that when I go back on the cruise ship or go to one of the Indian reservations in Louisiana or Oklahoma, I'll make enough money playing poker to indulge what I really like to do in the casino, which is play craps.
I am not delusional enough to think that I am any good at the game. A normal tight-aggressive style with a few bluffs mixed in is enough to clean house at the casinos.
I am not any good at no-limit because I can't fold a good hand.
DaveMMR:
I used to play a lot of poker but only rarely get together with friends for a formal game nowadays. We never played for anything "high-stakes" (maybe $20 buy-ins) but it was always satisfying to walk away with a couple of dollars more in your pocket.
I know it's unpopular but I liked "poker nights" better before the popularity of Texas Hold 'Em. Don't get me wrong - it's a great variation of poker and lends itself well to a successful poker night, but I do miss the old days of "mixing it up". We'd do a few rounds of 5-card draw - some with "wilds", some without (dealer's choice). Then maybe we'd do a few rounds of 7-card Stud or "Night Baseball". And if we really wanted to scare the easily intimidated, we'd break out a game called "Guts".
Reading the Wikipedia entry for the game, I now realize we were playing Guts unconventionally. But the way we played, everyone is dealt a small hand (three cards) and we made 2's and 3's wild. Everyone has to decide (on a three count) to be in or out. Those who stay in get dealt two more cards. The winner of the hand gets the pot; the losers have to match the pot (i.e. if there was $5 in the pot, the losing players have to each put $5 back in thus making it grow rapidly). Should someone find themselves alone, the face off against the "house" (a dummy hand that has to be beaten). Either they win and end the game or lose and match (double) the pot. It's fun but I've lost upwards of $100 on a single hand due to that game.
shmokes:
Used to have weekly poker night of the old-style variety DaveMMR described. That broke up when most my college buddies, including the one who hosted the games, graduated and moved away. Since then I've had a lot of poker nights, but they were never a regular weekly event, and always Texas Hold-em. I've never played in a casino, and buy-ins at our friendly games has never been more than $20 and maybe an opportunity to buy back in one time. The most I've ever walked home with is maybe $100. I haven't played poker for close to a year, though. I live in a new city and the only friends I have are law students. And we're just not an especially social lot.
Jdurg:
My friends and I play a weekly home game. It's generally range limit Texas Hold'Em meaning that it's not limit where you bet either A or B, but you can bet/raise any amount in a range from A to B. Our range is $0.50-$4.00 with $0.25 small blinds. With a buy in of $20 it works nicely because you're not going to go broke, but you'll still be able to play for a while. I usually bring sixty with me each time just in case I get a bad run of cards and lose thanks to luck. (Like this past Monday when I dropped $40 in half an hour thanks to every hand I had being dropped by a 5 or fewer outer on the river).
We also do mix it up every now and then. Each of our group of 8 people gets to do two "special" hands. "Special" is defined as anything not the typical range limit Hold'Em game play. So we'll play Omaha, 7-card stud, Pineapple (It's just like Hold'Em, only you're dealt three cards. After the flop comes down, if you're still in the hand, you MUST throw away one of your cards and then take your action. It can be tough if you flop two draws, or a moderate strength hand and a greater draw and have to decide which card to dump), or Chicago. Chicago is 7-card stud where the highest spade in the hole wins half the pot. So if you are dealt the Ace of Spades in the hole, you will try and get as many people in the pot as possible since you will get half the pot at the end. In addition, if you wind up with the best hand you will get everything. One of my buddies got a straight flush with the ace of spades in the hole and made a fortune. I've also won half a pot when sticking around with a ten of spades and at showdown seeing that my opponent had no spades in the hole. So I got half. ;D
We don't play any games with strange wild cards or difficult rules, however, since for many of us "poker night" is also "drinking night" so if it's too complex well be unable to remember rules and someone will ---fudgesicle--- up. :P
What is fun, however, is making the special hand "High Limit Omaha". This is where our range limit is bumped from $4 to something like $10. This allows people to buy in during the middle of the hand and continue the betting, as well as get more money in the pot. Usually results in $80 pots or greater when we do this.
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