ridiculous game.. :[

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sir_lagalot

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hello guys,
could use some advice on how to go about playing at a 9 handed NLHE table. I got sent to the cleaners tonight playing at a friends place. I didnt know most of the fellows but they were sharks to say the least, every single one except one tight player. I myself play tight and safe but today was just ridiculous. I was card dead constantly.. being dealt unsuited 7's and 3's... Queen deuce, 7-2 , 9-3, 9-4, 10-2..

the guys meanwhile were playing absolutely wild. Guys straddling and raising preflop 10 times the blinds on crap like 7-3.. Basically it was impossible to see a flop cheap. It took me half an hour to realize they all were playing like absolute idiots.. they would raise high on ridiculous cards and when they'd get calls they'd put the callers on premium cards..the second a flop would show without any A,Q,K they'd go nuts raising and folding them off the hands. I raised a few times when I'd get decent cards and in late position usually dealer,cut off.. with AQ, AJ, QQ, JJ.. but i'd still suffer bad beats. So I switched to raising heavily like the table did and since my impression there was that of a solid player I'd get many folds and would go heads up....for bad beats ..:p ... my QQ's against AK..the guy hit his Ace. my AQ against JJ's..no sign of an ace or queen :p.. In one hand for example..I had A,K and was the button. Raised 4 times the big blind. Got 5 callers :/.. flop 2,5,6 of spades, checked to me, made a continuation bet of half the pot, 5 callers...:[.. ..anyhow, the guy who won did so on a pair of 5's..his hand was 5,9 unsuited. What the hell do you do at such tables? you dont see flops cheap, everyones aggressive, you are card dead most the time and unable to play the decent hands you're dealt, most of the time its impossible to make anyone fold, it was just crazy.
 
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Samweis3

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just keep on playing tight till you get a monster hand, when they play any two how you say you will make money in most of the times, which blind structure did you play when you say it was an private game??

Most times they do not increase to fast so just be able to wait for the hands and get all of them off the table step by step
 
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sir_lagalot

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if i convert into dollars should be 0.5$/1$...around 60$ buy in, cash game so they keep topping up whenever they please but the blinds dont increase. I was just wondering if what I tried to do when I did have decent hands was the correct play at a 9 handed table full of sharks i.e if out position raising a previous raiser all in for a chance at a heads up and trying to get bad beats out, (people who would call raises with 5-3 , 10-5 etc. There was just no betting structure here, unlike in many tournaments that I've played this was a game where a guy in early position would raise 10 times the big blind with mediocre hands and still get callers.. people were overbetting the pot constantly and nobody raised an eyebrow.
 
fletchdad

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OK, first of all, the game is not full of sharks. It is full of fish.

The 2 hands you mentioned, QQ vs AK and JJ vs AQ are not ridiculous hands, it may just seem that way in light of how the rest of the games went.

You basically have 2 choices. Keep playing this game or stop. If it bugs you that much, just find another game. Of course, if live game availability is like it is around my area, the second choice may not be a huge option. Since it is not high stakes, I would try to figure out if there is any +ev for you, and if you find some keep playing. +ev can also just be fun factor. If any of the guys are pleasant people, then try to get some social fun in at the game. That can make it a pleasant evening, and then you can work on exploiting situations as they arise.

In late position, try to see flops with decent hands, SC, PP, BW etc. If you raise in LP and get 5 callers, well, that is great for some hands. And if you dont hit, oh well. And if you have premium PP in LP with 5 players limping, or a raise and 4 callers just raise/3bet like something ridiculous, and if you do get them all to fold, you could weigh the advantage of showing your KK or AA to use that image for future steals, although that may not work at this game. But with premiums, if they are calling with trash, make your raises high.
 
LD1977

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Not even fish, correct term would probably be whales :D but I know about the cold deck syndrome, it happens to me regularly online with whales on table and it pisses me off massively.
 
Beanfacekilla

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Yes. These guys are WHALES. They are just trying to play ATC, aggressively.

Obviously, sometimes you just can't catch. You were just running bad. Patience.

Widen your range. They are playing rags, you don't need to get A-Q+ to get in there. Like someone else said, play suited connectors, any PP, Suited aces, A-rag even.

All you need to do is be patient, and wait for a few good flops. If you never hit, oh well. Sometimes we just can't catch cards.

But this is a great table to be at. You just needed to connect with a flop or two.

One good hand you could get 3:1 on your stack, maybe more.
 
IntenseHeat

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If you were playing any other way, I would recommend tightening up. Since you're already playing tight, I would say continue to do so. "Grandfather say It no rain every day". Sounds like those guys are all bluff, bluster and, apparently, a large helping of luck. You were just a little unlucky I'd say. I've played with those types of players before. They were happy when they were winning. But when I started hitting my hands, they all got quiet and longfaced, and never wanted me back in the game, unless they were short on players.
 
runnerx289

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Simple... Leave, there is no point playing at tables like that waste of time and money in my opinion. Also try not to get tilted over those examples you mentioned (QQ vs AK and JJ vs AQ) as thy are pretty standard coin flips and you just lost the race unfortunately. Next time I would leave the table before you loose too much money:D
 
Jblocher1

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Don't play if your having a bad night. Pretty simple. Just know there will always be other games
 
Seraphim

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Hate it when I play in games full of sharks that are playing 7-2 oop maybe I will be as good as them some day.
 
fletchdad

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Hate it when I play in games full of sharks that are playing 7-2 oop maybe I will be as good as them some day.

But they are so easy to play against. Might as well lay their cards face up.
 
SyKoChiller

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I would leave the table! After even a half an hour of dead cards against such ridiculous raises, if you haven't hit and taken those fools stacks in an hour it probably isn't going to happen tonight, so no sense in wasting any more $
 
Dorugremon

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"What the hell do you do at such tables?"

Hope they invite you back! Yeah, I know: SUX to run so card dead in such a rich game. Nothing you can do about that, but play 'em as they're dealt. Muck the garbage, and try to make the most of the good hands that come your way.

"my QQ's against AK..the guy hit his Ace. my AQ against JJ's..no sign of an ace or queen :p."

Runbad happens. Hell, I had to deal with it all through 2012. Lots of losses during some real donk-a-thons. It requires a good deal of patience, but in three sessions during the last half of December I made it all back, and a whole lot more by hitting 1000+ sessions. It may seem like the runbad will never end, but eventually it does, as nothing lasts forever. You just have to play through it, and stay off tilt. Poker isn't just about what you win, but also what you save. Sometimes, you just have to console yourself with the thought that they would have lost a helluvalot more if the fish had had your lousy cards.

That's all it was, and there is a silver lining in that dark cloud: you can make up that loss by being invited back since you didn't absolutely crush this game. They'll remember that, and you can keep reminding them of how these hands miss after you take these fish to the cleaners. Until the runbad ends, just stay off tilt, and definitely don't be imitating their horrid play. It can be difficult watching hands like (9, 5-off) hitting second or third button and come out good, but you've got to do it. Eventually, you'll get those losses back with interest.
 
Cafeman

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Game sounds awesome, only being improved by free drinks and topless dealers.
 
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eham5

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Game sounds awesome, only being improved by free drinks and topless dealers.

I agree.
Was there a cap on the buyin? Also, if the game bothers you that much, then find a new one. I would love to play a game like that. The two big hands that you mentioned were just flips, not a big deal at all. In a game like that, it's basically a postflop game. There is merit to sticking it out, in order to improve your postflop game. Sometimes you're just card dead. It happens. My biggest cashout in a $1-$2 game, I folded for 4 and a half hours before stacking up.
 
Lucothefish

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Somewhere in that wall of text I see the OP cbet into 5 callers.

No wonder he thought they were sharks.
 
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if you cant beat em join em...lol there is some truth in that statement. sounds like a lot of action, lucothefish made good point. r u CALLING from late position into a lot of min/moderate raises with half the table calling? seeing all the players in the hand, r u reraising in late position?? your odds are not that great no matter what cards your holding if there is 4-5 or more players in the hand and if your reraising properly and still getting all that action after your reraise, don't get married to a big hand there is too much variance. sounds like u need to mix it up a little, but i wouldn't limp in early position too much if there a lot of pre-flop raises. it is hard to do but... you could raise 4-5xs out of positon with a medioker hand if its folded to you, or even if theres a limper. the question is are u constantly getting rerasied no matter what you do? the last thing you wanna do is donk off chips It is all relative to the players your playing. try focusing on one player and just watch what he does. once you think u got a basic feeling for him, pick another to start watching. what your looking for are leaks in their game. bad raise amounts, constant out of position raises or limpers, bluffers....pay attention to showdown in relation to intial raise/call (reflect). Yes bad cards and bad luck happens. if thats the case just try to pay attention to the game and fold most of your hands, don't force any hands. and just limp in good late position with your big hands, and pairs. sooner or later youll hit a big hand and crush your opponents with hands they never saw coming. once you do this youll notice a change in their loose play when your in a pot. Or.......all of this could be hopless and their chopping your money at the end of the night hahahahahahahahaaaa...........sorry good luck!:thrasher:
 
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sir_lagalot

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hahah i'm good now :p i wiped the table a few times since then. Played with the exact same players but i played the patience game waiting for the nuts . since there is an uncapped straddle on the table and everyyy single hand is straddled 3x big blind i would wait till everyone had called before going all in with AA, AK, QQ, JJ , 10-10 preflop hoping to go heads up etc .. and i'd still get 4-5 calls each and every time and the hands surprisingly would hold up..first games developed a rep as a solid player, then they started folding to me everytime so i varied. A few times i even called huge bets with crap and got lucky hitting a small player, going all in after would get rid of everyone so yeah you guys were right, variation is key.

the table is absolutely crazy. I was up tonight but wont forget how this one idiot with the widest range possible,straddled then raised preflop and went heads up with me. flop hits 7,k,2 with me holding pocket kings..i hit my set , he goes all in , pot was huge, i called, turn card was a 7, river a 5, and he shows 7-7 in his hand :p .. still recovered from that later but I was just thinking, straddling and then actually raising it a good 10x big blind with 7,7 like he did..crazy. this wasnt just the one odd hand, this is how every other hand was played with people being dealt baddd beats. Nobody stays constantly up, a guy will be down a thousand dollars and then a few minutes later up 100-200 , all buyins after the first are not based on effective stacks, rather 2xeffective stacks with the sole aim of doubling up. I've only played with disciplined players the past 2 years or so , so at a 9 handed table with such guys was a weird experience.
 
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fletchdad

fletchdad

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hahah i'm good now :p i wiped the table a few times since then. Played with the exact same players but i played the patience game waiting for the nuts . since there is an uncapped straddle on the table and everyyy single hand is straddled 3x big blind i would wait till everyone had called before going all in with AA, AK, QQ, JJ , 10-10 preflop hoping to go heads up etc .. and i'd still get 4-5 calls each and every time and the hands surprisingly would hold up..first games developed a rep as a solid player, then they started folding to me everytime so i varied. A few times i even called huge bets with crap and got lucky hitting a small player, going all in after would get rid of everyone so yeah you guys were right, variation is key.

the table is absolutely crazy. I was up tonight but wont forget how this one idiot with the widest range possible,straddled then raised preflop and went heads up with me. flop hits 7,k,2 with me holding pocket kings..i hit my set , he goes all in , pot was huge, i called, turn card was a 7, river a 5, and he shows 7-7 in his hand :p .. still recovered from that later but I was just thinking, straddling and then actually raising it a good 10x big blind with 7,7 like he did..crazy. this wasnt just the one odd hand, this is how every other hand was played with people being dealt baddd beats. Nobody stays constantly up, a guy will be down a thousand dollars and then a few minutes later up 100-200 , all buyins after the first are not based on effective stacks, rather 2xeffective stacks with the sole aim of doubling up. I've only played with disciplined players the past 2 years or so , so at a 9 handed table with such guys was a weird experience.


Ouch at ur set Ks getting quaded. But sounds like you have a handle on the game. High variance play for sure, but since you seem to have adjusted to exactly the dynamics of this game, sounds like a + ev game.

GL.
 
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