Poker night at Dirtman's Thursday 15Nov2007 (reduced stakes)

[Darren Dirt]

...(obviously the invitation is open to any RW'er in Edmonchuk...

Guess I am out then.
*calls to cancel hotel booking, informs travel agent to cancel flight*

I'm sure you are joking, but if not *awww, thanks for the interest, I feel so important now*

[Darren Dirt]

Alrighty friends, here's a quick day-before summary of what to expect tomorrow. Apologies in advance if my attempt at providing game/betting rules are overly high on the "assist/confuse" lifeline.


I ask my esteemed guests to arrive sometime after 6pm, but expect the game to actually start around 6:30 unless everyone is there earlier. Melbosa is of course welcome to arrive whenever is convenient for his busy self (seriously!). We should be ending around 10pm or a bit after depending on how tired anyone is.


"Dealer's Choice" is available but not "required" (i.e. if every time you have the button you want to play Holdem that's cool). Since this is the first time in a long while that we've had a home game, I will not take offense if Holdem and Omaha are all we play the first time, just to get us into a groove or whatever.*



A suggested buyin is $10.00 or so, but if you're wary of losing too much too quick feel free to buyin for $4 or $5 and rebuy if you're still having fun. Also, I've got tons of nickels dimes and quarters put aside so "cashing out" at the end of the night should go smoothly.


Stakes will be $0.10/0.20 for the more familiar non-stud games (Texas Holdem, and its variants Omaha High, Royal Holdem and Pineapple/CrazyPineapple, if chosen) which means:
-preflop and on the flop, SB (one to the left of the Button) is $0.05, BB (two to the left of the Button) is $0.10, and bets/raises are dime increments ($0.10, $0.20, $0.30, 4-bet maximum capped at $0.40).
-on the turn and river the "Big Bet" is double the BB, which means it's $0.20 to go. Typical 4-bet capping per round (i.e. $0.80 max bet), but if headsup at the river we can have the "no end to the raising" rule if ya like



For the stud games*, if we play them (7-card Stud High and Razz a.k.a. lowball A-to-5 )...
-the ante is $0.05 from everyone before the deal
-then at Third Street (after the 2 hole cards ("down") and 1 "door" card ("up") are dealt) the *weakest* hand starts with the forced bet ("bring-in") of another $0.05, or can "complete" to the full dime.
-After this player has acted, anyone after that can fold (and if all *do* fold then the horrible bring-in player wins the tiny pot!) , or they can call the current bet amount, or they can raise it exactly one level (i.e. they can "complete" to $0.10 if the highest bet right now is only the "bring-in", or they can raise it to $0.20 if it has been completed, after that it's $0.10 per level to the maximum of 4-bet i.e. $0.40)
-The player to start Fourth thru Seventh Street is the one whose "porch" (upcards showing) is the *strongest*. Obviously the "bring-in" is only on the first round (Third Street) so it's check/fold/call/bet $0.10 from here on (but double the "complete" amount on Fifth Street thru Seventh Street i.e. $0.20 to go)
-After a hand or two of practice Stud-Hi or Razz I think it shouldn't be too different than Limit Holdem for those of you who are stud virgins.



*PS: We'll hold off on playing the "Kill" game, for the first handful of sessions at least, since I want to keep it simple and fun as a first priority. Once we establish a comfort level for everyone, we can decide what new things to throw into the mix (just like I expect nobody to want to try playing Stud-Hi or Razz the first night )

[Thorin]

That's solidly confusing.

[Mr. Analog]

Can we just keep it simple Texas hold 'em? Can we also just do chip buy in?

I don't know how much change you have but I'll be packing bills only I think...

[Thorin]

Please don't edit the existing post, I have no idea what you added/removed, and I found it clear as mud to read already...

[Darren Dirt]

Alrighty friends, here's a quick day-before summary of what to expect tomorrow. Apologies in advance if my attempt at providing game/betting rules are overly high on the "assist/confuse" lifeline.

OOPS!

Okay, thanks for the quick feedback (and I apologize, I think I need to take a break away from the keyboard...)

Limit Texas Holdem only, no Dealer's Choice, no "Kill", no confusion.

Cash game, no tournament/SitAndGo, table stakes (meaning you can't add chips once you are in a hand, but can add more later).

Chips will be distributed in $0.05 and $0.10 denominations (to cover the SB and the BB, and Big Bet would be double that so 2 dime-chips) based on whatever amount you want to buyin for, although 40-60BB is typically enough ($4-6).

For fun we also might have a "Holdem/Omaha high hand of the night" pool, say $5 donated from each who wants to participate. (qualifying hand would exclude Royal Holdem, of course)

Again, for simplicity we might not do the above, but then again for laughs we just might. Depends on you guys.

[Mr. Analog]

Me likey!

[Thorin]

Given that this is for actual money, we need to lay out the rules of the game very clearly beforehand (don't just give me the name "Razz" or "Stud High") so that n00bs can at least *try* to come up with a strategy before all their money is lost.

[Thorin]

Chips will be distributed in $0.05 and $0.10 denominations (to cover the SB and the BB, and Big Bet would be double that so 2 dime-chips) based on whatever amount you want to buyin for, although 40-60BB is typically enough ($4-6).

Does it make sense to have us all buy the same size stack of chips at the beginning of the night?  Otherwise those with more money to spend have a natural advantage over those without (and if I want to win, well, you take AMEX, right?).

[Darren Dirt]

Given that this is for actual money, we need to lay out the rules of the game very clearly beforehand (don't just give me the name "Razz" or "Stud High") so that n00bs can at least *try* to come up with a strategy before all their money is lost.

In my original post in this thread, I gave a ton of Wikipedia links to help with the rules for anyone who wasn't familiar with them. Sorry, that was a few weeks ago, don't expect anyone to remember.

Stud-Hi is the typical 7-card stud High where you are getting 2 cards down, then 4 up, then the 7th card down, and make the best highest 5-card poker hand. Razz is the exact same game except you are trying to make the worst hand, the "lowest" hand (i.e. 86542 would be "better" than any paired hand, or even 8732A).


But for tomorrow, won't even be an issue. Although playing for fun as a break halfway thru the night, trying out Razz or Stud-Hi, might be an option if anyone want to learn/refresh the game.

Chips will be distributed in $0.05 and $0.10 denominations (to cover the SB and the BB, and Big Bet would be double that so 2 dime-chips) based on whatever amount you want to buyin for, although 40-60BB is typically enough ($4-6).

Does it make sense to have us all buy the same size stack of chips at the beginning of the night?  Otherwise those with more money to spend have a natural advantage over those without (and if I want to win, well, you take AMEX, right?).

If we were playing No Limit or Pot Limit, then you are correct ... would take away the fun too, for those with smaller budgets. Since we are playing Limit, though, that restricts how much you can lose in a hand. In fact, if you ever got crazy and 4-bet capped every round, the most you would be able to invest would be $0.40+$0.40+$0.80+$0.80 = $2.40, or 24BB -- extremely uncommon. So having 40 or more BB is adequate for anyone to play without any disadvantage whatsoever vs. anyone else's stack.



...back to work I go...

[Darren Dirt]

I forgot to mention/ask re. tonight: is everyone okay with the typical "order pizza as soon as everyone has arrived" method of sustenance intake? Since we hope to start 6-6:30 I presume nobody will be eating supper beforehand.

I of course have big bags o' chips to handle the snack-cravings esp. while waiting for said pizza to arrive.


and btw it's a "cash" game -- so nope sorry I do not take AMEX

[Tom]

So how many people are you expecting now? I'll be a bit tired by 5-7, considering I've only been able to sleep till about 3am the past week or so. It really depends on how I feel by then.

I'll try and have a power nap this afternoon, if i can, and I don't oversleep, I'll be there

Thorin, Just assume that if I haven't called you before 5, and I'm not there by 5 on the money, I won't be showing up. Thanks

[Thorin]

j00 bett4 sh0w up!

[Darren Dirt]

j00 bett4 sh0w up!

+1!

So how many people are you expecting now?

4 of us, and if Melbosa makes it that would be 5. Don't worry about how tired you are, I am waaaaayyyy more sleep deprived than you are (2am would be an early bedtime for me the last few days) and I have at least 3L of caffeinated beverages in my fridge as well.

[Mr. Analog]

I'm well rested and productive both at work and home!

Sorry, just had to pour some salt!