No Whining Allowed on 2+2

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While trying to get something on the double or nothing sit and go games, an interesting rule on the 2+2 forum was found.  At the bottom of the first post, the moderator wrote something to the effect of bad beat whiners would be given just one warning and they would be expelled from there


That certainly was a startling insight of how they conduct themselvs.  Tought guys, cerebral but tough.  Losing whether with a bad beat or from getting a lot of trash hands must be more stressfull at the mid and high level games they play. Temper must flare at those limits and more than the micro stakes.

El Cortez

Closeby was the craps table and the stickman was barking out the colorfull lingo like centerfield nine, easy eight, new shooter, yo, play the field.  The crusty craps dealer was chewing out the new dealer. 

The lady who was playing keno had some luck at the hold 'em table and thinking she can't be good to play keno was a mistake.  The King was playing craps and altho the house edge is smaller playing with craps than keno - both games are unbeatable. That lady was dumpy and acne scarred and looked like one of the characters from a waterfront bar.

The security guard to the left was sitting so low in his chair, like a disinterested high schooler, he could see flashes of cards that the dealer passed out. He said to the King you have KJ, he was right and he showed the King his cards.

The impetuous kid acroos the table was playing loose and aggressive and taking down the pots. The regulars at the table were not very agro unless they had the nuts.  The kid was dressed well in a cheap dress shirt, coat and tie and was talking up a storm, telling to no one in particular, in his self-promoting manner, his great expertise at poker.

Two seats away, this elderly man was comforted by the casino staff because his wife was ill.  He was a regular.  His day was bad and his cards were not running lucky.

The El Cortez is a dump, way past its prime.  But with the old, extravagant style of architecture and interior design, the atmosphere there was nostalgic of times gone by.

Tournaments and Tight Ring Games

     Tournaments take time, they are an investment in time and not for the impatient.  It seems like a contradiction because tournaments are suited for loose and aggressive players.

     You make do with what you have.  In the absence of full ring games, adjustments must be made to play in games with 6, 7, and 8 players.  And in the absence of loose games, game play strategy must be changed to play in tight games.  However, a tight game can have times where many players are in the pot and make small, suited connectors and small pairs worth playing. 

No-Limit

This game is different from limit:  more stealing, continuation bets work better, less players seeing the flop, the big hands like straights and flushes do not occur as often, and the loose aggressive players seem to do well.  Bets are sized in relation to the pot.  Bet sizing according to the other players pot comes into play.

Not Waiting for the Big Blind

Sklansky wrote that mathematically, not waiting for the big blind to come around is not disadvantageous.
The problem is there are many instances where if say.... two players join the table wiithout waiting for the blinds, the table suddenly becomes aggressive. The addition of two big blind sized addtitions to the pot does not change the pot size much. And the addition of two more players should make everyone play tighter, more players more tight and less players play more cards or loose. All this is a strange occurance on the micro limit tables.

Players at the Flop

This statistic might be incorrect. A full ring game of 10 max with just 5 players playing would have a higher seeing the flop statistic than a 10 max. If three people suddenly joined the table, the players seeing the flop statistic would be too high for 8 players but correct for 5 players.

When choosing for table to play on, see if the balance of some of the players are the exact buy-amounts, and if they are - downgrade the loose statistic a bit. Another thing to look for is the "sitting out" that flashes above eacch player before each game.

A plus of this type of incorrect statistic is that the new players joining the table, thinking that the table is loose, will play loose.  So, downgrading the loose statistic should be a compromise and not a drastic action.  Do these downgrades:  slightly loose to tight, loose to slightly loose, and very loose to loose.

Agro Game past Midnight

After midnight, the games are not plentifull but still profitable by playing a little tighter and having some patience. The King joined a full, ring game that was loose and passive with 80% seeing the flop and with an average pot size of 22¢. After the button went around once or twice the game was 60% seeing the flop and with an average pot size of 37¢. After 45 minutes of playing, the King particapated in just one pot and did not win it - the luck was running against him.  The next hand was a big one.

There were ten players with the King at the cutoff.  His hole cards were J♦ 8♦ which is barely playable but has the potential to win a pot with a flush or straight.  A flush with a jack as the high card is good as long as there are just threee cards on the board. 

Two players limped from the early position, a middle position player raised and the next player called.  The King called not expecting a reraise as this game was a bit aggressive and moderately aggressive.  The button, big blind and the two limpers called (14.5 bets).

The flop is 7♥ 5♥ 4♦ giving the King a gutshot straight draw, backdoor flush draw and an overcard.  There is a two flush on board so the King's outs had to be discounted.  The big blind bet, the first limper raised and the second limper called 19.5 bets.  The King quickly decided that his five outer had an overlay and called the bet expecting a couple callers and no reraise.  The button folded and the big blind called (23.5 bets).

The turn was 3♦, so the Kings had J♦ 8♦ and the board was now 7♥ 5♥ 4♦ 3♦.  A six would make a straight, any diamond a flush and a jack a pair.  The big blind bet, seat one raised and seat two reraised, the King was surprised at the aggressiveness of the table and having to call the reraise or fold.  With the pot at 17 big bets, the Kings called expecting anything a flush draw, set, two pair or even a made hand of a straight although this was not likely that someone had a six.  The big blind folded and seat one called  (22 big bets).

The river was the A♦, giving the King the third nut flush.  Seat one bet, seat two called and the King called instead of raising feeling a bit astounded at the agresiveness of the betting.  The Kings won the pot with a flush. The betting was heavy because seat one had a set (three sevens) and seat two had a six for a straight.   The King won a big pot to make up for the bad luck for the previous 45 minutes.