Posted Sun Jun 25, 2006 1:03 pm GMT by Ryan231
So I've been playing poker for around 1.5-2 years and just turned 19 the other day (old enough to play in the casinos in Canada) and decided to go play some poker at the local casino. They only have limit games so I sat down at the lowest limit game they had (2/5) and quickly realized that most of these guys are idiots. I mean these guys were playing ANYTHING and everything from any position for any amount. Is this normal or did I just get lucky and sit down into a fish bowl? There was 1 solid player at the table and we both stayed out of each others way for the course of the 5 hour session, most of the players were calling any bets/raises with any draw, any pair or anything.
I ended up with just over double at the end of the session but was up to about 3-4x my buyin halfway through but took some pretty nasty beats (getting called down by 2nd pair to hit a set on the river, etc). Another thing I found crazy was that they were sitting 11 people to a table, this is a hell of a lot of people and makes it hard to make any good money (I prefer 9-10 handed tables). Another thing I noticed was that nobody raised preflop with AA or KK, I was pretty much the only person that would raise preflop with good hands.
So my question is are all low limit holdem casino games like this? Maybe I should test out the 5/10? (next level up), I've played a lot of poker before live but never at the casino, this is the first time I've really sat down at a table and felt I could easily beat game consistantly without a huge effort. I just want some other people's opinions that play on a regular basis to what limits I should be playing at, or if I should be even playing there at all? I feel my NL25 or NL50 games I play on stars are a lot more solid than this casino play but the casino plays for more money and the games are softer (from what I've seen).
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Posted Sun Jun 25, 2006 7:13 pm GMT by Biowza
if you double your stack everytime you play at lower limit then i dont see why you shouldnt take advantage of bad players.
It will help your bankroll and set you up for possibly higher stakes later on. 
Posted Sun Jun 25, 2006 7:27 pm GMT by Ryan231
The problem I'm having (forgot to post this originally) is that the casino is kind of a drive so basically I'd be driving for about just over an hour (cost for gas about 10-15$/trip). So If I buyin for 60$ and double it to 120 I'd be making 60ish profit (can't do this everytime either). 60 - 15 for gas puts me at about 45$ profit /trip on a normal/good day. So I figure I can make about 35/trip overall. I'm still not sure if this is worth the drive + 2-3 hours of play for such a small profit. I guess it can be worth it for the experience but most players at these limits seem pretty awful.
Posted Mon Jun 26, 2006 3:27 pm GMT by Gunslinger
Definitely at every casino here in southern Cal., most people at the lower limit tables (which is usually 2/4, but they spread 1/2 in a few of them) are complete donkeys. They're mostly people who just want to have fun, they love action, and certainly don't have the first clue about position or pot odds, and they can afford to sit at these cheap limits. It can be very profitable at times, but very frusting at others when people call to the river on any draw, even two bets per street, and then hit to take a big pot from you. If you have the time to sit for a while, you can definitely take their money.
Posted Wed Jun 28, 2006 9:30 pm GMT by mindgame
One of two idiots, great. 3 or 4...okay, that's good too.
A table full of idiots--that can make you nuts. Sitting with 8 or 9 guys who are basically clueless can cost you a fortune.
Posted Wed Jun 28, 2006 10:08 pm GMT by craggoo
| mindgame wrote: | One of two idiots, great. 3 or 4...okay, that's good too.
A table full of idiots--that can make you nuts. Sitting with 8 or 9 guys who are basically clueless can cost you a fortune. |
I have put a lot of hours into live play in fixed limit. The main game my casino offers is 3/6, 4/8 kill has started to become quite popular. It started as only being offered on the weekends but usually lasts till 7 or 8pm most nights now. Also, 10/20 on the weekends. The waitlist for this game is usually 3 or 4 hours (not fun and really tight players) For the most part, i stick to 3/6.
There are several things i say you should look for in lower limits:
People that play a lot of hands. These are the type of people that are calling raises in front of them with K5 OS and making equally bad calls under the gun. These people either lose big (if they intend on staying a while) or win big. There is no in between for them. They may be up big at one point but trust me, they almost always walk away with no $$.
The next type of person is our typical TAG type player. These are the people that will only play high cards and PP's. Usually their raise will indicate either a high PP or AJ-AK. The types of hands i like to play against these people are suited connectors OR even OS connectors. Suited connectors have the best chance at busting high PP's. You don't want to be playing your high cards against their high cards because theirs will always be better.
The last type of person im not really sure what name to give to them. They are the people that are there just to have fun and spend a little money at a card table. If they lose thats ok. If they win thats great. They tend to play with better cards and like to play for as cheap as possible. By this I mean even if they flop the best hand they are going to check call all the way. They are not there to take your money but just enjoy themselves. I find these people are the most annoying and frustrating to play against because you can't ever put them on a hand. I can't emphasize this enough: they won't ever raise you... EVER.
All in all, if you are going to start playing at the casino a lot I would familiarize yourself with the floor people in the poker room. I think it actually does help. I know all of the ones at my casino (and its a fairly big poker room). Whenever I go to play I can basically say "Dave is there a chance I can get on table xx tonight? Its a pond full of fish." There has never been a time in recent history where any of the floor managers have rejected my request. This is one thing im sure a lot of people won't tell you but I believe to be extremely helpful. I wish you luck in your future visits to the casino. May your cards be live and your pots be monsters.
-Cragg
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