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. 

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.   

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.

[Ginsu Victim]

I'm one of the people who doesn't understand how poker became something you not only watch on tv, but buy on DVD, and know who the celebrities are. I live in Oklahoma, and the area is DENSE with Indian casinos.

Oddly enough, it's also dense with a lot of loan companies.

Appropriately enough, though, the crime-rate has risen in these areas. Imagine that.

[DaveMMR]

Texas Hold'Em is a game for school girls.  None of you had even heard of it until the mass media decided to manufacture a craze.

If you ever wanted to know if a guy was a jackass, just ask him if he wears sunglasses during Texas Hold'em. 

If he says anything besides, "I don't play texas hold'em" you've got a jackass on your hands.

There's nothing wrong with Texas Hold-'Em, but I agree with the Sunglasses part.  Anyone way too into it at a casual gathering does not get a return invite.

[Jdurg]

Actually, I used to play Texas Hold'Em way back in high school.  It's not that "new".  I mean, if you feel that you are more elite because you don't play Hold'Em then all the power to you.  It's just that you are missing out on all the money the people are giving up when they think they can play because they watched a few shows on TV.  They provide a lot of income to those of us who like to go and play cards.   

(BTW, I don't wear glasses.  Nobody can get a "tell" by looking at your eyes.  Sorry.  If someone says they can, then they are full of ---steaming pile of meadow muffin---).

[hyiu]

I also play texas holdem with friends.... about weekly...
its $.25 / $.50 no limit with $20 buy-in...

I played it because its fun to play with friends...
(well.. of course we all want to win when we sit at the table...)
but I really enjoy the chit/chat... bs... bluffing...
those I-know-exactly-what-you have-and-know-what-you-will-do analysis...
and when crazy cards comes out... something to talk about...
to me... I've no problem if I end up losing like $20-40....

so far... I think I have played about half a yr....
and my guess is... sum it up... I might be down $100 or so total...
not too bad.....

I played in casino twice.... (on a golf wkend trip in Atlantic City...)
I don't really like playing with strangers....
the env / mood is completely different...
everyone is merely trying to kill each other....
I guess I'm not a gambler... just want to have some fun...

and no... none of us wear sunglasses when we play....

[Jdurg]

Yeah, I think the social aspect is the best part of it.  Getting out of work, having some beer with your friends, ragging on someone for making a dumb move, celebrating when a draw hits, etc.  Just hanging and chilling with your buds.  The plus is that we've all gotten pretty good at poker and now when we go to the casinos we have a good idea how to play and how to make money.  A lot of times in the home games we do a lot of stupid stuff just because it's fun and inexpensive to draw out at home.  (At the casino, it could, and certainly should, cost you a ton of money to chase a one or two outer). 

Still, it is fun at both places to flop an unbeatable hand and have somone pay you off because they got screwed with "second-best syndrome" that night.  Second best syndrome sucks, especially when your "second-best" is something like quads or a straight flush!

[ark_ader]

I play with funny money on pokerstars.com and it is a great way to learn.  I live in Las Vegas, so I sometimes get chance to watch some of the games.

I used to be a real gambler and play 7 card stud in the casinos all the time. 

But with this hobby, I think I'll stick with funny money and pokerstars.   

[shmokes]

Texas Hold'Em is a game for school girls.  None of you had even heard of it until the mass media decided to manufacture a craze.

If you ever wanted to know if a guy was a jackass, just ask him if he wears sunglasses during Texas Hold'em. 

If he says anything besides, "I don't play texas hold'em" you've got a jackass on your hands.

This is such a retarded thing to say, I'm surprised it's not in the PnR forum.  Texas Hold'em is just a poker game with a good number of rounds.  It makes for big, rewarding pots, and entertaining blunders (like pocket aces turning out to be worthless).  Whether its popularity is fueled primarily by the quality of the game, or the media, is irrelevant.  The fact is, it's what everybody is playing.  The only jackass here is the guy who doesn't get to have a good time with his friends because he arbitrarily refuses to play a poker game that cannot objectively be said to be any worse than any other, just because he thinks the popularity might have been manipulated by "the media". 

Do you also refuse to see movies if you think that the ad campaign has been too effective?  Did the evil mass media manufacture too big a craze around Spiderman for you to see the movie?

Point is . . . not doing something just because it's popular is just as stupid as doing something just because it's popular.  In fact, it's exactly the same thing. 

[Jdurg]

Had my weekly poker game tonight.  Had pocket kings 4 times!  Wound up losing one HUGE hand on the river, and winning three big hands outright.  So I'd say I was up with my kings tonight.  Cards were pretty nice to me.  In the end, I was up $17 which is pretty good considering our low stakes.  Had more fun jabbing at some people though.  Seriously, poker night is more about the social aspect than anything else.  Winning money is just a nice benefit.   

[RayB]

poker? I barely know'er

[Jdurg]

Well the WSOP just became an ever bigger farce than it has been in the past few years.  They now decided, in order to turn a bigger profit, to delay the final table until November.  16 weeks after the final table roster had been decided.  They want the time to "promote" the final players, allow for more marketing, etc. etc. 

Just wait until someone gets seriously ill, dies, or is unable to make it back for the final table.  That will do the game wonders. 

The mass-marketing of poker has gotten a bit too much.  That's why I still like the home games.

[shardian]

I've never been a gambler at all. Several of my family members have had major problems with gambling. If you've ever known a problem gambler, you know it is not a pretty thing.


Having said that, I LOVE tinkering around with penny ante poker and such. Problem is noone I know plays. Those that I do know that play are rich people and only play with other rich people for big money. When real money gets involved, it is no longer fun.

[shmokes]

I used to play a poker game where everyone bought in with five dollars and the ante was nothing . . . like a nickel, IIRC.  We had fun, but not nearly as much as when the buy-in was $20.  It works out more or less the same.  Sometimes you win, and it's like $60 or $80.  Sometimes you lose.  You lose more, but then you win more too.  But the problem with low-stakes games is that you CAN NOT BLUFF.  You bet fifty cents or a dollar on a hand, which is a huge bet when the buy-in is five dollars, but it doesn't matter.  You get called every time.  People will call you just to see what you have.  They'll call you with a pair of twos or a even just a high-card.  It actually is more fun if the people you're playing with care whether they win or lose.  I mean . . . you want it to be just a friendly game.  I can see how a HIGH stakes poker game might make for a bad vibe at a neighborhood poker night.  But . . . I like for there to be a little bit of real money involved. 

[Jdurg]

I used to play a poker game where everyone bought in with five dollars and the ante was nothing . . . like a nickel, IIRC.  We had fun, but not nearly as much as when the buy-in was $20.  It works out more or less the same.  Sometimes you win, and it's like $60 or $80.  Sometimes you lose.  You lose more, but then you win more too.  But the problem with low-stakes games is that you CAN NOT BLUFF.  You bet fifty cents or a dollar on a hand, which is a huge bet when the buy-in is five dollars, but it doesn't matter.  You get called every time.  People will call you just to see what you have.  They'll call you with a pair of twos or a even just a high-card.  It actually is more fun if the people you're playing with care whether they win or lose.  I mean . . . you want it to be just a friendly game.  I can see how a HIGH stakes poker game might make for a bad vibe at a neighborhood poker night.  But . . . I like for there to be a little bit of real money involved. 

I agree.  The game I play with my buddies is a $20 buy in, range-limit Hold'Em game.  The minimum bet/raise is $0.50 with the maximum bet/raise $4.00.  It can lead to some big pots and if someone is short stacked they can either go all-in if they can't call the bet/raise or they raise with $4.00 or less, or they can decide to buy in before making the bet/raise.  So if you're up against a short stack, you never know if they're going to go and buy in again, or if they'll just go all-in.

You can still bluff, but it's not the end of the world if you lose a pot so people do call with sometimes questionable hands.  (Though not with something like a king-high, or a pocket pair of 2's on a board full of paint).  The only thing that hurts is if the pot is huge and you have a dominating hand and someone catches the one or two outs they have left when they had no business being in the pot.  It hurts, but you get over it.

The whole idea of poker night, which I'm attending one tonight, is to have some brews with your buddies and just enjoy being out of work.  Granted, we've had nights where people have been frustrated and received such horrific beats that they let loose on a tirade and either walk out and go home, or just steam on the side for a while, but nobody has ever directed any rage towards any person.  It's just been rage at Lady Luck for the "bad" cards that came down.

[vorghagen]

But the problem with low-stakes games is that you CAN NOT BLUFF.  You bet fifty cents or a dollar on a hand, which is a huge bet when the buy-in is five dollars, but it doesn't matter.  You get called every time.  People will call you just to see what you have.  They'll call you with a pair of twos or a even just a high-card.  It actually is more fun if the people you're playing with care whether they win or lose.   

In the poker night games I've played it's always $10, $15, $20 whatever buy-in, but then you're given $2500 worth of chips to play with. It helps a little with the problem you mentioned. Sure, everyone knows that your $1000 bet is really only $4 but there's something about pushing that huge pile of chips into the middle that makes you think twice about calling with a 5, 7 off suit.
When you play a friendly game with mates it's easy to forget that you're not James Bond, that can of light beer next to you is not a Vodka Martini, you're not going home in a Lamborghini, and those stacks of chips in front of you are worth nothing outside of this room.
THAT is what I enjoy most about poker.

[Paulson]

 Yeah...I play too...
 Here's my poker chip bank roll These are Paulson chips...hence my nickname
 Some of the best chips money can buy...there's nothing quite like real clay
 chips on the table.

 

 I play online too...

 Poker nuts go here: www.chiptalk.net

[ChadTower]

Texas Hold'Em is a game for school girls.  None of you had even heard of it until the mass media decided to manufacture a craze.

If you ever wanted to know if a guy was a jackass, just ask him if he wears sunglasses during Texas Hold'em. 

If he says anything besides, "I don't play texas hold'em" you've got a jackass on your hands.

It went too far when Stern actually produced a bin based on it.  Way too far. 

[shardian]

I would almost guarantee that Stern is basically paid to make a pin of a certain theme at least some times. The most obvious is the Spiderman pin and the Indiana Jones pin. Why would Marvel hand Stern the complete audio tracks to all three movies - one of them months from release? As to Indiana Jones, there was already a good IJ game that is not very old and sells at a price comparable to the new Stern. It would not make financial sense to Stern to PAY for a license for IJ.

And then you have games like PotC. There is zero actual audio or video from the movies. The artwork is BARELY related to the movie too. I would think that Stern did pay for that license since it is so bare bones.

However, I've never heard either way how the licensing works for Stern. Are you saying that Stern flat out denies that they are paid to carry a license?

[ChadTower]

And then you have games like PotC. There is zero actual audio or video from the movies. The artwork is BARELY related to the movie too.

There are playfield toys specific to all three movies on POTC, though.  IIRC Stern had to very carefully control when they released the preview shots so as not to spoil anything... Disney mandated it. 

Plus, as we all know, Disney keeps hardcore control of its IP.  Much stricter than Marvel.

[mccoy178]

 Yeah...I play too...
 Here's my poker chip bank roll These are Paulson chips...hence my nickname
 Some of the best chips money can buy...there's nothing quite like real clay
 chips on the table.

 

 I play online too...

 Poker nuts go here: www.chiptalk.net

Nice chips!  Here are some of the top hat and canes I picked up last year.  Since then I finished out the set with the other denominations.  I think I'm at 1100 total in the set.


 Here is the table I built last year: