blonde poker forum

Hi Guys,

I am playing tonight in a local live game and am after some advice.

I have only played once live in a casino/cardroom so can be classed as a complete newbie. On a Friday it is Cash only where I am playing, and 90% of the games are £1/£2 Pot Limit apparently. Now I don't play Pot Limit at all so was planning on keeping it very to start with (ABC Poker) until I had a better understanding of the players and the table. Now to the important bit. 90% of the players in this game are American. Now I know from past games on the net Americans are very aggresive and tend to gamble alot, but should this mean I lower my starting hand requirements, or play as I usually do (Tight-Agressive).

I am after some very basic advice on Pot Limit if anyone can offer some.

Minimum buy in is £20, so was planning on buying in for a £100 - is this a ok amount.

My best friend has played 5/6 times at this place and has told me it's a very poor standard and he has made a profit every time so the pressure is on I suppose.

Advice would be great, and I will update tomoz with results and hands.

Cheers

play premium hands at the beginning and have a look at what every one is playing with before you start lowering your hand requirements.

Have you played PL before? It is a completely different game from no limit and you have to realise that it is more of a flop game then no limit is. (because people with average hands will call because they get pot odds to do so) (not as much a flop game as Omaha obviously) because people with average hands will call because they get pot odds to do so I therefore love suited connectors the pay off on them can be pretty big in potlimit games.

It might not be in time for tonight but I really suggest picking up supersystem 2 (16.95£ at borders). Jennifer harman wrote the chapters on pot limit and I reckon it's truly top class.

I may be wrong but didnt Jennifer Harman write about LIMIT poker in supersystem2 - i dont remember there being a section on pot limit holdem.

p.s. cant really offer advice on cash games - not my field of expertize. But for a first live game just remember to stay nice and calm, dont rush anything and dont worry about making mistakes. We were all first timers at one stage, just try to enjoy it (and win if possible! ;))

 :blonde: you are as usual correct.

smithy69, Is this game in sunny Suffolk if so I've been looking for a cash game at theses stakes for sometime and wondered if there is any chance of getting into some of the action.

Re: advice. From my experience Americans love to overvalue ace-rag and depending on the group a lot of macho behaviour between mates will always result in one to many outrageous bluff's. Personally I would stick to your tight aggressive game to begin with and loosen up once you have a read on some of the other players. I would especially play tight aggressive to begin with considering the size of your bankroll as you can only afford a few accidents and as you know anything can happen in poker  :D

Clearly your starting hand also depends on the number of players.

where do you live diceman!!!

let me know and if your nearby ill pick ya up

Cheers for the reply. PM sent.

I reckon you should fall off the stairs & bust your nose, then get a wasp to sting your hand... then tell the other players you had a cage match last night.

Seem to work for you  ;goodvevil;

I'm interested in the differences between PL and NL, my local card club has PL and one day I might get off my arse and go and play.

Everything you say seems true for NL as well as PL. Aren't the games on say UB and FT where you have a bet pot button playing the same as PL most of the time?

You obv won't be able to push on the flop with a straight and a flush draw for example but if you're playing fairly deep you prob wouldn't do that anyway. I have just quickly flicked through the PL and NL chapter of Ciaffone's book and he mentions a couple of other times you may want to overbet the pot but I don't see how "it's a completely different game"????

ah...I started out playing Omaha (in the olden days before hold em was invented) later when i started playing hold'em I played pot limit...the move to no limit was quite a big one..and the move from a no limit tourney to a potlimit cash game is quite a big one aswell.

I feel potlimit is much more a flop game then no limit is (which i why i only play NL in cash games online) Potlimit is much more about the flop, calculating pot odds and all that sort of good stuff.(exactly the thing I am not too great at...I play people not the odds).

I really recommend picking up supersys 2 (or if one of the pro's on here has time and knowledge about it and wants to write about it )as in that the differences are much better explained than I ever could.

In NL it is sometimes good to get all in on the flop with a big drawing hand.

In NL you can go allin on the turn with a made hand on a draw heavy board.

If folded around to you in the SB it may be a good idea in NL to over bet the pot to charge the other guy for his good position.

If a pot sized raise is going to leave you with a small amount of chips you may as well go all in in NL to put maximum pressure on your opponents.

Sometimes an overbet on the river may look like a bluff and/or may be a good way to bluff.

What have I missed?

In the early stages of PLHE tournaments the value of the big premiums falls becuase you are likely to be playing them multiway, the value of implied odds/drawing hands rises for the same reason..ie you can only raise the pot so once you get a caller behind the others may be priced in against your AA/KK/AK/QQ


In general I think people are subconsciously a bit afraid of PL...they "bet pot" as a matter of routine when actually betting half a pot might do the same job.

My only bit of advice for what it is worth is knowing the people will bring in more money than a long diatribe from me about the differences in the game. Might I suggest a tactic that I have used previously in rebuy tournies in places I am not known but it also works I am told when you are new to a cash game. Splash a little early. Put in your mind that maybe you will write off a small amount playing loose before tightening right up and cashing in with a good hand. The yanks will love it and you may get a better read on their game......Hang on did I just suggest to someone that they should lose. Ignore me I've got porridge for brains

I'm sure there was a big name player refered to the money lost early appearing loose as 'advertising money'.

hehehe some people have watched Mavercik this week ;)

Didn't - honest. I'm sure I'v seen it refered to before - not in the film.

So Smithy, was it the cash cow you dreamed it was???

And will you be returning next week as I might join you in milking the yanks for all there hard earned cash  :D

Hi Guys,

Very good night and met some good people.

Have to say a great set up.Th people who own and run it are a couple in their 50's who run the place on a non profit basis. (no rake taken whatso ever). They have a 4 bedroomed house and basically have turned the whole house into a card room. I think their are 8 tables throughout the house, aswell as a bar and fruit machines. Really nice place, and even nicer couple that run it.

Friday nights they mainly play 1/2 pot limit holdem with probably 2 full tables going on. I cashed in 200 and sat down. Very friendly bunch and as already discussed all americans. Sat out a few hands and then called a raise in the bb with  Jh Qh.

Flop comes down Th 8h rag. I make a small bet, he bets the pot and puts himself all in . I call for another 20£. So its probably a near 70/80£. He turns over  Aspades rag. No pair and no rag. Dont need to hit a flush or even the straight as a pair would win it. I hit a pair on the tun and a flush for good measure on the river.

Next hand I raise from the button with an ace. 1 Caller. Small bet from me after a ace high flop. He calls. I make 2 pair on the river. Small bet once again which he calls. I river another ace for a full house. I make a 3/4 the pot raise but he folds.

So now up £100 and only been their 15 mins. Well chuffed.

Straightaway I am dealt 9h 8h and end up calling a all in after the flop. Not a hard call as I flopped a flush, and he simply had top pair with no heart.

Wow this is easy. Then lose my first big pot.

I am dealt  Th Td on the button and pet the pot. Their had already been a straddle so the pot was nice enough to take down their and then. Flat call from the bb which was expected really, he liked ace rag and kj etc but I was a little weary as he had a bigger stack than me and was the only one who could do me damage

Flop came 8 high so checked. He bet half the pot and i bet the pot.I think there was roughly 60£ in the middle(not exactly sure.)he then reraises the pot again.

Oh dear - i very nearly went striaght over the top - but stopped my self. Their was no flush although their was a gutshot out their. No way he makes this play with a gutshot. Ace 8 wouldnt have surprised me, but then again he is either very brave or very stupid to make this play. I can only put him on a set - only hand i can think off.
Flat called the raise, small continuation bet after the flop, and then a big reraise. smells like a big trips. I so wanted to call but thought I was beat. I showed my 10 10 face up.

He turns over  Aspades Ahrt. well played mate- i never put him on that. I saved a wedge of money and was told what a good lay down it was - but in fairness I knew I was beat so wasnt that hard to do.

Cash game slowly ended and we played a few stt's. Great fun and a thoroughlyy nice place to visit,

Finished the night roughly £60 up which isnt huge but it will do me to be honest - i lost a few quid on stt's so would have been better profit if i had stayed on cash (i hoped).

Great place, and even nicer people!!!

great  report. Glad you had a good night

I'm guessing your planning a return trip. Let me know when and maybe we could meet up  :D

THEY DO A £10 REBUY ON A WEDNESADAY - AND CASH GAMES THROUGH THURS-SUN I THINK.

They also hold a better tourni on the 1st saturday of each month - I thinkit a £100 freezeout this month
may well attend

so where was this?

it is in sleepy suffolk mate - in between thetford and newmarket

dammit!!!....from now on I only want to read about good places in Glasgow!...I don't want to hear any more positive stories about places far away from where I live! ;)