My first casino cash game..

So we went on vacation this weekend, and there just *happened* to be a casino nearby, I found out the 1/2 NL games (the only stakes they offered) start at 6pm and I signed up. Very early on, I c bet at a pot, then on the turn, then on the river only to get called down by some fellow playing junk that hit runner runner to get 2 pair. No problem, buy in again, lesson learned... I'm playing against 9 Phone Booths.

These people were the dictionary definition of Loose. There were lots and lots of hands that I was the ONLY one not in the hand. I was floored at the play. I had assumed that I'd be up against some super tight and ultra aggressive poker players, wow was I wrong. If they had "pot odds" whatever that meant to them, they called with anything. I mean anything at all. So I come across this hand:

There were 10 people at the table, and for this hand UTG will be seat 1, and the BB will be seat 10. Button was 8, and I was seat 7.

I am dealt J♣ [Tc]

1 calls $2
2 calls $2
3 calls $2
4 calls $2
5 calls $2
6 calls $2
7 I think, hmm, lets build the pot a little bit. I raise to $6
8- 10, and then 1-6 all call... pots now $60

Flop comes K♣ J♦ 9♣

ok, I got middle pair, gutshot and flush draw, not too bad. Lets see what everyone does....


1-6 check

ok, doesn't look like anyone yet has a King, lets test the waters a bit. I lead out with a $12 bet.

8 calls $12
9, 10 fold
1,2,3,4,5 all call $12
6 folds.

pots now $144

Well, they can't all have a King, maybe they are all on a draw??

Turn comes a blank (like a 2of hearts ), and the betting goes like this:

1-5 check, I bet $12
the other 6 people all call..

pots now over $200



I'm digging myself a big hole. This is looking bad.

River comes another blank, like a 4 of diamonds.

1-5 check

Now what to do, I got a pair of Jacks, thats it. Theres GOT to be a king at least out there with this many in the hand still, why are they checking?

Screw it, maybe they missed their draws.

I bet $12..

8 calls $12
1 calls $12
2 calls $12
3 calls $12
4 calls $12
5 calls $12

I think, oh well, I just pissed away my money because I wasn't aggressive enough, and I turn over my JT..

Person 8, turns over J6 offsuit, got the 6 outkicked...
person 1 mucks
person 2 mucks
person 3 mucks
person 4 mucks
person 5 mucks..

So I won this enormous pot, basically tripled up with a lousy middle pair. WTF were these people doing??


I walked away $285 richer and stunned at the poor play I was a witness to. I played nothing even close to good poker, but Saturday night, it appears that was more than adequate.

You sort of have to love it and scratch your head at the same time
A barrell full of fish why you didn't stick around and suck some more money out of them?

a lot of people that play $5/10 that have to sit in a $1/2 game while waiting will just screw around. other than that, i found the play similar to .01/.02 C online tables.

First thing, this was one of those little teeny weeny indian casinos, they were lucky to have 2 full tables (on a Saturday night no less), and all they had was 1/2 no limit, so I figured the local semi pros would be there to prey on the tourists.

Joosebuck nailed it, the play was identical to the micro limit games I play on Full Tilt.

I have a steadfast rule when playing Poker, and thats NO, and I mean absolutely zero alcohol. I had a few beers once playing a charity MTT and afterwards realized I had made some very bad calls. So there I sat, drinking my lemonade and building up my pile of chips. Yea I could have stayed there and made more probably, but I was up enough to cover my wife's losses so I left to go eat dinner ( at 11pm heh).

When I first sat down I was very intimidated. I'm so darn cheap that to sit with $100 at risk was scarey, but I had confidence that I could outplay some of these people. Once I figured out how the table was playing (very loose calling stations) I adjusted my play style to very tight and whenever I hit a hand I could be fairly confident I was ahead.

It was quite the learning experiance.

I've played 5 times at casinos, and noticed that my play increases tremendously with some alcohol in my system. I'm not afraid of playing and tend to not give everyone that bets the benefit of the doubt by folding. A much much more relaxed me. I broke my foot at work and have some time off, so I'm going to see if vicodin has the same effect. (thanks doc!)

LOL joose; poker and vicodin - the perfect mix...man if you go broke and fall asleep face first on the poker table, don't say I didn't warn ya

I was very suprised in a similar way during my first trip to Vegas - I thought nearly everyone at the table would be playing MUCH better than me.

I learned that the same type of players I see at our free live games at home and at the low limit games I play at online, play in Vegas too. Some are good, some are just goofing around, some are playing to improve their skill or make some money, some are playing to try to show off and intimidate others. The quality of play on average does seem to go up as the stakes go up, but even then there seems to be all types at the table. What I need to do is play my "normal" game for awhile, watch what the rest of the table is doing, then make some minor adjustments, and above all have confidence in my own skill so I don't let others intimidate me.

Thanks for sharing your experience.......... I am sure it will help others feel confient enough to play live poker at a casino who might not have otherwise.