Prose from a Poshboy

[smashedagain]

A while back I played at DTD in a 2/5 game and two of you guys were having a conversation at the table about ICM-based optimal shoving ranges. This is not a good thing. There were two weak spots at the table, and several of you were exchanging 'subtle' knowing looks between yourselves after these weak players showed down hands that they had played terribly. I clocked these glances and it made me cringe inside. Even if the weak players did not see anything (one of them definitely did notice BTW), it demonstrated that you guys do not truly 'get' poker. Start showing the recreational players more respect, and focus more of your energy on providing these guys with what they want. They are your customers, and most of your focus should be on giving them a game that they want to play in. Then everyone wins. And you will have a healthy, vibrant game for years to come.

There's someone who plays at DTD (not one of the Eureka crew)  who takes great pleasure in discussing player's weaknesses and belittling people's play at the table. I know, because he often belittles my play. Wouldn't mind, but I enjoy playing against him because his game is a million miles away from where he thinks it is and I don't think I've ever seen him win a cash session and I've certainly taken more from him the other way round. He's also fascinated by "who is the best" and criticising players,most of whom I'd suggest are better and more successful than he is. Anyway, he's an extreme example but it would be worth some of the pros stepping back to watch as an impartial observer to try and see how others view the players and the games. Alex, you mentioned that people don't sit with thousands at the 1/2 game very often, but that's the perception many have - so where does it come from? Surely the perception is all that matters.

I'm afraid that sort of thing is all too common, especially from one or two of the more deluded individuals.

We see it on blonde, guys rolling their eyes & lolling at what THEY think are inferior players.  Then they throw the strop when they lose to "these idiots".

This, by the bye, is NOT levelled at the Eureka boys, or Alex's gang. They have manners, social graces, & know their standing.

Their only perceived sin at DTD is that to outsiders, they LOOK a bit cliquey, so people are or may be reluctant to sit-in.

this

[StuartHopkin]

A while back I played at DTD in a 2/5 game and two of you guys were having a conversation at the table about ICM-based optimal shoving ranges. This is not a good thing. There were two weak spots at the table, and several of you were exchanging 'subtle' knowing looks between yourselves after these weak players showed down hands that they had played terribly. I clocked these glances and it made me cringe inside. Even if the weak players did not see anything (one of them definitely did notice BTW), it demonstrated that you guys do not truly 'get' poker. Start showing the recreational players more respect, and focus more of your energy on providing these guys with what they want. They are your customers, and most of your focus should be on giving them a game that they want to play in. Then everyone wins. And you will have a healthy, vibrant game for years to come.

There's someone who plays at DTD (not one of the Eureka crew)  who takes great pleasure in discussing player's weaknesses and belittling people's play at the table. I know, because he often belittles my play. Wouldn't mind, but I enjoy playing against him because his game is a million miles away from where he thinks it is and I don't think I've ever seen him win a cash session and I've certainly taken more from him the other way round. He's also fascinated by "who is the best" and criticising players,most of whom I'd suggest are better and more successful than he is. Anyway, he's an extreme example but it would be worth some of the pros stepping back to watch as an impartial observer to try and see how others view the players and the games. Alex, you mentioned that people don't sit with thousands at the 1/2 game very often, but that's the perception many have - so where does it come from? Surely the perception is all that matters.

I'm afraid that sort of thing is all too common, especially from one or two of the more deluded individuals.

We see it on blonde, guys rolling their eyes & lolling at what THEY think are inferior players.  Then they throw the strop when they lose to "these idiots".

This, by the bye, is NOT levelled at the Eureka boys, or Alex's gang. They have manners, social graces, & know their standing.

Their only perceived sin at DTD is that to outsiders, they LOOK a bit cliquey, so people are or may be reluctant to sit-in.

this

Sigh

I know you always take my money Dan, but I will always think your shit, sorry

[tikay]

A while back I played at DTD in a 2/5 game and two of you guys were having a conversation at the table about ICM-based optimal shoving ranges. This is not a good thing. There were two weak spots at the table, and several of you were exchanging 'subtle' knowing looks between yourselves after these weak players showed down hands that they had played terribly. I clocked these glances and it made me cringe inside. Even if the weak players did not see anything (one of them definitely did notice BTW), it demonstrated that you guys do not truly 'get' poker. Start showing the recreational players more respect, and focus more of your energy on providing these guys with what they want. They are your customers, and most of your focus should be on giving them a game that they want to play in. Then everyone wins. And you will have a healthy, vibrant game for years to come.

There's someone who plays at DTD (not one of the Eureka crew)  who takes great pleasure in discussing player's weaknesses and belittling people's play at the table. I know, because he often belittles my play. Wouldn't mind, but I enjoy playing against him because his game is a million miles away from where he thinks it is and I don't think I've ever seen him win a cash session and I've certainly taken more from him the other way round. He's also fascinated by "who is the best" and criticising players,most of whom I'd suggest are better and more successful than he is. Anyway, he's an extreme example but it would be worth some of the pros stepping back to watch as an impartial observer to try and see how others view the players and the games. Alex, you mentioned that people don't sit with thousands at the 1/2 game very often, but that's the perception many have - so where does it come from? Surely the perception is all that matters.

I'm afraid that sort of thing is all too common, especially from one or two of the more deluded individuals.

We see it on blonde, guys rolling their eyes & lolling at what THEY think are inferior players.  Then they throw the strop when they lose to "these idiots".

This, by the bye, is NOT levelled at the Eureka boys, or Alex's gang. They have manners, social graces, & know their standing.

Their only perceived sin at DTD is that to outsiders, they LOOK a bit cliquey, so people are or may be reluctant to sit-in.

this

Sigh

I know you always take my money Dan, but I will always think your shit, sorry

The exception proves the rule.....

[claypole]

I want to post my thoughts on the issue of the struggling games at DTD. I realise that what I am going to say will sound very critical, and so I have thought long and hard about posting this - especially considering I really like and respect the people I am criticising. I hope my comments will be taken in the way they are intended. I also hope that you guys 'get' what I am saying, and don't misunderstand it/understand it only at a surface level. Please 'read between the lines' a little - a lot of this stuff is really hard to put into words and is about very abstract attitudinal concepts, and I know I have not explained what I want to say as eloquently as I would have liked to. So please try to realise what I am actually saying, rather than simply taking my words at face-value.

My contention is that the reason the DTD games are struggling is that the regs have not fully grasped what it means to be a professional poker player. They are too fixated on relatively unimportant stuff  like playinYg their hands well, when instead they should be worrying about far more important things - like running their game properly, acting correctly, and keeping their customers happy.

For example, one issue is that the regs (i.e. you guys) choose to make it a 3bet/4bet/5bet game. This means the recreational players can't see flops cheaply. They still call anyway, then check-fold when they miss. Great... you have won more money from them in the short term. But eventually they get sick of it, feel uncomfortable, lose too fast, and stop playing. A customer who might lose 50k to you guys over the space of a couple of years - and really enjoy doing so - quits playing in the game after losing 5k in a few sessions, because he feels he is out of his depth and out of his comfort zone, and is not enjoying himself enough.

I never ever understand it when, say, reg1 isolates a recreational player's limp and then reg2 3bets him. Why would you even have a 3betting range in this spot? JUST FLAT! Let the recreational player(s) into the pot, and play lots of multiway pots with them. Let the customers see some flops cheaply! And realise that the EV they lose will be shared out between you in the long run (you don't need to fight for it). Regs being too greedy to compete for the recreational money (and trying to win money from each other) ends up with them winning less money in the long run. Really good players should rarely 3bet each other if they want to nurture and sustain the games in the long-term. (I have obviously over-stated my case here BTW, and of course I don't really believe you should never 3bet... but you should understand the overall point that I am making)

Obviously if reg1 is isolating too much then the other regs might feel obliged to step in and prevent this by re-isolating him, to 'put him in his place' and prevent him taking more than his fair share of the pie. But in an ideal world all the regs would 'implicitly cooperate' to take their share of the pie without trying for more than their fair share. Instead of worrying about their 3betting ranges they should spend their energy on creating an environment conducive for the recreational players to enjoy themselves. This creates the best possible situation for the regulars to win money, and it also creates the best possible environment for the weaker players to have a great time in the game. So you get the best of both worlds... you win more money and you give 'value' to the recreational players.

A professional poker player is, first and foremost, in the entertainment business. His job is to give his opponents a great time in the game. Or at least to help sustain an environment in which the recreational player feels comfortable and will enjoy himself. If all the regs do this then the money will flow to them naturally. But it requires all regs to 'follow the script' - because if one of them decides to take too many liberties/be too greedy then it almost forces every other reg to do the same. And the result is that the games are worse for everyone, regs and recreational players alike. The regs end up making less money in the long run (despite trying to make more money in the short term) and the weak players don't have as good a time. All the energy that DTD regs spend trying to outlevel and outplay each other would be much better served thinking about how they can act in a manner that nurtures the game.

Let's imagine a recreational player sits in your game and his EV is to lose, say, £500 over the session. 90% of your energy should be spent focussing on trying to make sure he gets VALUE for that £500. The other 10% of your energy you are allowed to spend thinking about more trivial stuff. Like playing your cards well. Giving him value might require one of you to leave the table in order to ensure a healthy balance in the game and give him a punchers chance. It might require all of you to stop 3betting so much. It might require you to start limping sometimes. It might require you to play a bit gentler in pots with him. It might require you to talk about different things at the table. It might require any number of other actions on your part. Or it might require the opposite of these things - every customer has his own preferences. The only important thing is that this guy should get his money's worth from playing with you. And if he is not doing so for any reason at all... it is YOUR fault, you are not doing your job properly. This person has left his place of abode, got in his car, and driven all the way to DTD to his lose money to you. You want him to choose to do so again. So give him the experience that he wants... he is paying you for it.

A while back I played at DTD in a 2/5 game and two of you guys were having a conversation at the table about ICM-based optimal shoving ranges. This is not a good thing. There were two weak spots at the table, and several of you were exchanging 'subtle' knowing looks between yourselves after these weak players showed down hands that they had played terribly. I clocked these glances and it made me cringe inside. Even if the weak players did not see anything (one of them definitely did notice BTW), it demonstrated that you guys do not truly 'get' poker. Start showing the recreational players more respect, and focus more of your energy on providing these guys with what they want. They are your customers, and most of your focus should be on giving them a game that they want to play in. Then everyone wins. And you will have a healthy, vibrant game for years to come.

Clearly everyone agrees that the games at DTD are massively struggling. Yes there is a cyclical effect, and yes the recession isn't helping. However, these things are not the real reason. The real reason is simply this: Many recreational players just do not want to play with you guys. This is 100% the fault of the regulars in the game, and it is up to you to do something about this. Stop thinking about little changes that could be made by DTD to improve things - these changes will scratch the surface at best. The only thing that will ensure the games survive and thrive is if you all start thinking properly about what it really means to be a professional poker player. [Hint: Playing your cards well, whilst obviously necessary, is WAY down the list of important skills and attributes]

And you can respond by saying: "Hold on, we have loads of banter at the table, are friendly, give lots of sick action, and have fun... surely the recreational players will enjoy this!" Well very obviously they do not enjoy the particular environment and atmosphere that you have created, even if you think they 'should'. And this is your fault and your problem, not theirs. You need to think really hard about this. It is your JOB to make the game appealing to your customers. If you are not doing this then you are simply bad at your job.

That sir, is one of the best post I have ever read on blonde; some really well made points articulated brilliantly. Start a diary.... Lol

[Junior Senior]

I want to post my thoughts on the issue of the struggling games at DTD. I realise that what I am going to say will sound very critical, and so I have thought long and hard about posting this - especially considering I really like and respect the people I am criticising. I hope my comments will be taken in the way they are intended. I also hope that you guys 'get' what I am saying, and don't misunderstand it/understand it only at a surface level. Please 'read between the lines' a little - a lot of this stuff is really hard to put into words and is about very abstract attitudinal concepts, and I know I have not explained what I want to say as eloquently as I would have liked to. So please try to realise what I am actually saying, rather than simply taking my words at face-value.

My contention is that the reason the DTD games are struggling is that the regs have not fully grasped what it means to be a professional poker player. They are too fixated on relatively unimportant stuff  like playing their hands well, when instead they should be worrying about far more important things - like running their game properly, acting correctly, and keeping their customers happy.

For example, one issue is that the regs (i.e. you guys) choose to make it a 3bet/4bet/5bet game. This means the recreational players can't see flops cheaply. They still call anyway, then check-fold when they miss. Great... you have won more money from them in the short term. But eventually they get sick of it, feel uncomfortable, lose too fast, and stop playing. A customer who might lose 50k to you guys over the space of a couple of years - and really enjoy doing so - quits playing in the game after losing 5k in a few sessions, because he feels he is out of his depth and out of his comfort zone, and is not enjoying himself enough.

I never ever understand it when, say, reg1 isolates a recreational player's limp and then reg2 3bets him. Why would you even have a 3betting range in this spot? JUST FLAT! Let the recreational player(s) into the pot, and play lots of multiway pots with them. Let the customers see some flops cheaply! And realise that the EV they lose will be shared out between you in the long run (you don't need to fight for it). Regs being too greedy to compete for the recreational money (and trying to win money from each other) ends up with them winning less money in the long run. Really good players should rarely 3bet each other if they want to nurture and sustain the games in the long-term. (I have obviously over-stated my case here BTW, and of course I don't really believe you should never 3bet... but you should understand the overall point that I am making)

Obviously if reg1 is isolating too much then the other regs might feel obliged to step in and prevent this by re-isolating him, to 'put him in his place' and prevent him taking more than his fair share of the pie. But in an ideal world all the regs would 'implicitly cooperate' to take their share of the pie without trying for more than their fair share. Instead of worrying about their 3betting ranges they should spend their energy on creating an environment conducive for the recreational players to enjoy themselves. This creates the best possible situation for the regulars to win money, and it also creates the best possible environment for the weaker players to have a great time in the game. So you get the best of both worlds... you win more money and you give 'value' to the recreational players.

A professional poker player is, first and foremost, in the entertainment business. His job is to give his opponents a great time in the game. Or at least to help sustain an environment in which the recreational player feels comfortable and will enjoy himself. If all the regs do this then the money will flow to them naturally. But it requires all regs to 'follow the script' - because if one of them decides to take too many liberties/be too greedy then it almost forces every other reg to do the same. And the result is that the games are worse for everyone, regs and recreational players alike. The regs end up making less money in the long run (despite trying to make more money in the short term) and the weak players don't have as good a time. All the energy that DTD regs spend trying to outlevel and outplay each other would be much better served thinking about how they can act in a manner that nurtures the game.

Let's imagine a recreational player sits in your game and his EV is to lose, say, £500 over the session. 90% of your energy should be spent focussing on trying to make sure he gets VALUE for that £500. The other 10% of your energy you are allowed to spend thinking about more trivial stuff. Like playing your cards well. Giving him value might require one of you to leave the table in order to ensure a healthy balance in the game and give him a punchers chance. It might require all of you to stop 3betting so much. It might require you to start limping sometimes. It might require you to play a bit gentler in pots with him. It might require you to talk about different things at the table. It might require any number of other actions on your part. Or it might require the opposite of these things - every customer has his own preferences. The only important thing is that this guy should get his money's worth from playing with you. And if he is not doing so for any reason at all... it is YOUR fault, you are not doing your job properly. This person has left his place of abode, got in his car, and driven all the way to DTD to his lose money to you. You want him to choose to do so again. So give him the experience that he wants... he is paying you for it.

A while back I played at DTD in a 2/5 game and two of you guys were having a conversation at the table about ICM-based optimal shoving ranges. This is not a good thing. There were two weak spots at the table, and several of you were exchanging 'subtle' knowing looks between yourselves after these weak players showed down hands that they had played terribly. I clocked these glances and it made me cringe inside. Even if the weak players did not see anything (one of them definitely did notice BTW), it demonstrated that you guys do not truly 'get' poker. Start showing the recreational players more respect, and focus more of your energy on providing these guys with what they want. They are your customers, and most of your focus should be on giving them a game that they want to play in. Then everyone wins. And you will have a healthy, vibrant game for years to come.

Clearly everyone agrees that the games at DTD are massively struggling. Yes there is a cyclical effect, and yes the recession isn't helping. However, these things are not the real reason. The real reason is simply this: Many recreational players just do not want to play with you guys. This is 100% the fault of the regulars in the game, and it is up to you to do something about this. Stop thinking about little changes that could be made by DTD to improve things - these changes will scratch the surface at best. The only thing that will ensure the games survive and thrive is if you all start thinking properly about what it really means to be a professional poker player. [Hint: Playing your cards well, whilst obviously necessary, is WAY down the list of important skills and attributes]

And you can respond by saying: "Hold on, we have loads of banter at the table, are friendly, give lots of sick action, and have fun... surely the recreational players will enjoy this!" Well very obviously they do not enjoy the particular environment and atmosphere that you have created, even if you think they 'should'. And this is your fault and your problem, not theirs. You need to think really hard about this. It is your JOB to make the game appealing to your customers. If you are not doing this then you are simply bad at your job.

What a great post. Enjoyed it immensely

[stato_1]

You should be spending more of your mental energy thinking about how to create the best possible environment for your customers than you should thinking about how to play your hands.

Whilst your points are so thoughtfully constructed its difficult to argue, I do take slight issue with this. I agree with pretty much everything you said but if I really wanted to make money from this particular game I would be focussing the majority of my energy on trying to become the best reg so that I would win off everyone and then it's irrelevant how good the game is.

[JamesBee]

some excellent posts within this thread, Smashedagain mentions a couple of cash games which have run in the UK for many years in which i have played and he has it nailed on, the game in Manchester for example , you would rarely find someone lie JP making any player feel uncomfortable or acting like his game is a level or 2 ahead of anyone else, but he has been quietly 'doing it' for years , there is a guy who solely plays in one casino in the south of England who has been running the games for nearly 15 years and he has used his personality to make people want to play in his games, anyone new is welcomed and made to feel 'at home' and part of all the banter/fun.

The thing with poker is over the last 25years it has gone thru all sorts of phases, 3/4 years ago it was all about being 'balla' now it seems the younger generation are trying to make it far more technical and break it down piece by piece, both of these traits have attracted certain types but at the same time repelled others from the games.

Many of the people calling themselves Profiessional poker players at the age of 21 etc should really learn from the guys who have been quietly going about their business for many years adjusting and working the games as they have changed,The problem with the games at DTD are no different to games anywhere and in fact Alex and his crew have the best facillities this country has ever offered to work within and around

from what i have gathered the big game at DTD is far too cliquey and the players are coming across too arrogant within there own group , with the help of Blonde they have believed their own hype a little too much, I played a few times last year and found the banter very focused only on the group and as for PJS hollywood dwells on nearly every hand , anything but professional
in short
Stop blaming DTD and look at yourselves, and lets seehow many of you are still 'doing it'in 10 years time



i

[Cf]

A similar thing happens with fruit machines.

A good player on certain machines can pretty much guarantee a profit. However, the machine has to be "ready", i.e. it has had enough money put through so it isn't "dead".

So I have a ready machine and can do 2 things:
1) Take a modest amount of value and leave the machine in a half-decent state where the locals will still get wins here and there, or
2) Take the full amount of value (which isn't always much more) and leave the machine dead.

Option 2) is the short term gain option. But the result of this is the locals quickly realise that the machine is always dead and they never win on it. Not only do they not win but they don't even get any gameplay because the machine is dead and it's just taking money off them fast. So the end result is you go back to it but the machine still isn't ready. You play it anyway and this time are lucky to break even and leave the machine dead once more.

Option 1) on the other hand the locals are more happy to play as they are getting some gameplay for their money. They'll win occasionally but they'll generally lose but they know this and are happy to lose the money as long as they're getting some entertainment for their money. So when you do go back to the machine it's had lots of money put through and is ready for you again.

Other players can become an issue, especially if a machine has a reputation of being good. What happens here is players go out of their way to find a certain machine. What happens in the end is that so many players keep playing it that it's never ready and everyone is just losing money. Locals will never play said machine. It's a similar idea to poker. If a game has a reputation of being good the last thing it needs is an influx of good players because it's then no longer a good game.

That's the weird thing about poker and fruit machines. We're essentially taking money from other people and they are happy to let us do this, as long as in their minds they are getting perceived value for money.

[nirvana]

Honestly, I haven't had anything to smoke tonight.

Yes, but you did use Symbiotic, which was great.

You see this everywhere I think. At Luton the small DC game is a work in progress - there are one or two regs who can skim some money in that game and they 'get' the points you are making. They are better than people like me but they run the game in a way that I'm happy to do a couple of hundred on a regular basis to enjoy the games/learn. I really don't mind losing to people like G Rog, Pascal and a couple of others who will play that game.

The bigger game with its more dog eat dog mentality ensures you are playing for stacks a lot and they dont find much in the way of new blood to play those games - it just isn't really enjoyable for a fish

[david3103]

I wrote along these lines three months ago on one of the local 'lads' blogs when he was moaning about a game he was winning in breaking early...

Maybe you need to work on your 'keeping the table going' skills?
In cash, and in tournaments, it's important to keep the newcomers/less able in the game. They want a good experience even if they are losing.
90% of tournament players don't cash. Some of them don't cash 100% of the time. But if they enjoy it, then they will come back and help to make sure the game runs.
Cash tables need regulars who come back to lose. Like me, or lots like me. Make losing a pleasure and you'll keep us interested. Don't flaunt your bluffs, or your theoretical superior knowledge of game theory and dynamics.
Don't bury yourself in your iphone/earbuds/hoodie for those players. Engage and encourage them. Entertain them. There's more to being a winning player in cash games than just maximising the value from every hand, especially when the player pool is small.

[Rod]

Interesting points (a lot of which are way over my head). I know the last time I was at DTD I did not play in the cash games as I knew that I would be way out-matched due to the level of player who are in them at the moment and also suggested to at least two other people that playing those games might be a bad idea unless they are happy to give up huge amounts of EV.

I suppose there are players who play purely for enjoyment and therefore the players like ALex and the other players who are often talked about here should be trying to encourage other players back to the game. I sort of got the impression from reading this that they did do just that, it does seem to make sense. They should get it quietly and when they do lose should make sure they congratulate the player who beat them and encourage them to come back. This is not always easy I would guess.

As their games offer no real value for players as far as EV goes I guess there has to be something else to encourage people to keep coming back?

[pleno1]

Agree with it all except the not having a 3bet range which is pretty silly and a bad idea. Great post otherwise.

Last year in gib I was up around 100bis in a pretty short time, I came a little deluded and would always take pics on my phone of big stack, I'd often go all in ott for 1k with 400 in the pot of deep vs a Spanish guy with a capped range. I'd 3bet most opens and just really made the game boring for everybody else. People made ridic folds vs me like qq pre and I'd be like 'what are you serious?' etc

The game generally died a little bit because of my ego at the time and now it's a very small 50/50 game and if I ever go to play its because im there to gamble on a Friday night and there are a lot of groans if I come to the table. Have learned from that of course.

In Newcastle a few months ago I was playing in a 20r. I had about 6rebuys and was trying to get a stack, the local regs were being wayyyyyyy ool. Shouting to their friends on other tables 'we've got a huge fish here' and after hands would shout full HHS across the room. If I was a recreational guy who was there to punt I'd 99% never play live poker again.

[tikay]

Agree with it all except the not having a 3bet range which is pretty silly and a bad idea. Great post otherwise.

Last year in gib I was up around 100bis in a pretty short time, I came a little deluded and would always take pics on my phone of big stack, I'd often go all in ott for 1k with 400 in the pot of deep vs a Spanish guy with a capped range. I'd 3bet most opens and just really made the game boring for everybody else. People made ridic folds vs me like qq pre and I'd be like 'what are you serious?' etc

The game generally died a little bit because of my ego at the time and now it's a very small 50/50 game and if I ever go to play its because im there to gamble on a Friday night and there are a lot of groans if I come to the table. Have learned from that of course.

In Newcastle a few months ago I was playing in a 20r. I had about 6rebuys and was trying to get a stack, the local regs were being wayyyyyyy ool. Shouting to their friends on other tables 'we've got a huge fish here' and after hands would shout full HHS across the room. If I was a recreational guy who was there to punt I'd 99% never play live poker again.

You make some good points there, especially as to the deluded thing, & photos of towering stacks. 

[smashedagain]

Agree with it all except the not having a 3bet range which is pretty silly and a bad idea. Great post otherwise.

Last year in gib I was up around 100bis in a pretty short time, I came a little deluded and would always take pics on my phone of big stack, I'd often go all in ott for 1k with 400 in the pot of deep vs a Spanish guy with a capped range. I'd 3bet most opens and just really made the game boring for everybody else. People made ridic folds vs me like qq pre and I'd be like 'what are you serious?' etc

The game generally died a little bit because of my ego at the time and now it's a very small 50/50 game and if I ever go to play its because im there to gamble on a Friday night and there are a lot of groans if I come to the table. Have learned from that of course.

In Newcastle a few months ago I was playing in a 20r. I had about 6rebuys and was trying to get a stack, the local regs were being wayyyyyyy ool. Shouting to their friends on other tables 'we've got a huge fish here' and after hands would shout full HHS across the room. If I was a recreational guy who was there to punt I'd 99% never play live poker again.

You make some good points there, especially as to the deluded thing, & photos of towering stacks. 

all young players take photos of their stacks and use em as profile pics on social media. Even seen people posting pics of the blue 100k chip at Dtd. It's just what they do. No harm in it intended

[leethefish]

Agree with it all except the not having a 3bet range which is pretty silly and a bad idea. Great post otherwise.

Last year in gib I was up around 100bis in a pretty short time, I came a little deluded and would always take pics on my phone of big stack, I'd often go all in ott for 1k with 400 in the pot of deep vs a Spanish guy with a capped range. I'd 3bet most opens and just really made the game boring for everybody else. People made ridic folds vs me like qq pre and I'd be like 'what are you serious?' etc

The game generally died a little bit because of my ego at the time and now it's a very small 50/50 game and if I ever go to play its because im there to gamble on a Friday night and there are a lot of groans if I come to the table. Have learned from that of course.

In Newcastle a few months ago I was playing in a 20r. I had about 6rebuys and was trying to get a stack, the local regs were being wayyyyyyy ool. Shouting to their friends on other tables 'we've got a huge fish here' and after hands would shout full HHS across the room. If I was a recreational guy who was there to punt I'd 99% never play live poker again.

You make some good points there, especially as to the deluded thing, & photos of towering stacks. 

all young players take photos of their stacks and use em as profile pics on social media. Even seen people posting pics of the blue 100k chip at Dtd. It's just what they do. No harm in it intended

Pretty sad tho!