Hi,

I have some questions to ask but I don’t know if they would make sense.

Say you are playing in a live poker room and need to use the facilities or want to get some of the free grub, what will you do then? Leave your chips behind or take them with you as you go?

Another thing, do you have any idea what will happen in case one of the blinds passes you by while you are gone? Do you think there’ll be a need to ante up again?

Many thanks,
Clark
Clark,

If you need to go to the restroom or get food, you leave your chips at the table. If you are in a cash game, you will not be dealt a hand while you are gone. When you come back, if the blinds have past you, you may either post the blinds to get back in the game, or wait until the blinds come back to you.

If you are in a tournament you will be dealt cards and those cards mucked when action comes to you. Your blinds and antes will also be posted in your absence.

Related articles:

1. About Antes and Blinds
2. Moving a Player From One Table to Another
3. About Coloring Up

Hello,

I’m here to ask something about pot odds. Say you are playing in a full table, no limit cash game, with blinds of $0.50/$1.00. Then blinds post and three limpers appear. You check and you discover you have Ks Ts in the button. You call and SB folds while BB checks. Pot at such point is $5. Then flop brings As 2s 5c. BB bets $5 and one limper calls. Pot is now $15. To go on to the turn to get 3-1, it would cost you $5.

Now you have 2-1 to hit by the river, but 4-1 to hit by the turn. If you can ascertain if he wouldn’t bet on the turn then you can use the 2-1 method, but you can use 4-1 instead in case you don’t know such.

Well, for your theory of throwing the hand away because your opponent rates to bet the turn, I think you are missing something. For me, I’d still make the call as when you actually make your flush on the turn, you want your opponent to bet into you. In case I hit it on the turn, then more or less they will bet into me and I’ll probably win lots of money. In case I miss, I can get lost or when they grant me a free card, I can try again to make a flush or else bluff them till they are out. Any thoughts?

Thanks in advance!

All the best,
Joey
Joey,

Personally, on the flop, I am sticking with my odds to determine the call in most cases. In the scenario you presented, you have a 36% chance to hit your flush by the river. If my call is 36% or less of the pot, then I will call. In your scenario, the $5 call is only 33% of the pot. I am making the call here.

Related articles:

1. Raising on the Flop with a Flush Draw to Obtain a Free Card
2. Played With Weakness
3. Pot Odds Problems

Hi there!

The other day I was in a home cash game, $1/$2 No Limit. At some point I raised $25. A certain guy then went all in with $32. Player near me limped in and called. I then tried to re-raise and go all in w/ $220 but later was informed that I can only call the $32 all in of the other guy. Well, I knew then that I had the player who called much later dominated. He then flopped a cheap 2 pair. Unfortunately, my KK didn’t made it. Do you think what happened was just normal in a home or casino game?

By the way, in $1/$2 no limit cash game, what would be the proper rake? In a certain $1/$2 game pots were huge and back then we’ve been raking $1 max every round. Total bet then equaled to $20 minimum. Your thought?

Hope to hear from you soon.

Thanks and more power!

Regards,
Louven
Louven,

Since your opponent did not raise at least ½ the minimum raise, it does not count as a true raise. Therefore, all you could do is call. This is normal.

As far as your rake, technically it is illegal to run a game that charges a rake since you are not a casino. With that said, most casinos take a percentage of the pot as the rake. A rake of $1 per round is a little excessive. That’s $4 per round. A lot of casinos do 10% of the pot. In the scenario above, that would be $2.

Related articles:

1. No Limit Cash Game and Tournament
2. Rake in Holdem
3. First Live Poker

Hello,

Finally I was able to play live poker in a real casino. Supposedly, I’m going to try tourneys but I haven’t found any tourney scheduled therefore I just tried cash game.

I decided to play at Caesar’s Indiana riverboat for I heard before it expanded and has actually modernized its poker room, I wanted to see with my own two eyes the said changes.

First I chose what kind of game. I then chose the cheapest blinds in a no limit, $1/$2. What was quite surprising about their blinds was that they never change or increase. Room has pagers that will inform you when to come back in case you go out to test out other tables.

As expected, you have to wait for your name to be called and then later in case go immediately to the cashier to buy chips. Well, my table then had a min buy-in of $100 and a maximum of $300.

Just an advice then, buy in for the table max. Then do it for three reasons. First, others will notice and will make judgments about your play and eventually may gun for you if in case you show up with less. Second, to win over a typical run of bad cards, losses, etc. you must have sufficient chips right in front of you. Third, maximize your profit in case you get lucky and have a monster hand and later hook someone into a huge clash. Remember that the more chips you have the more you can make eventually.

At some point, I finally sat down at the table with my $300. Dealer then immediately approached me if I want to come in right away or wait for the button then. I decided to wait however something came up. Every half an hour, anyone sitting at the table has to give $6 to Caesar for the honor of playing. I guess it was a some kind of a table tax. To continue, well, I finally started playing. There was one thing I suddenly noticed, there wasn’t much pre-flop raise less than $10, $15 and even $20 was not unusual. Unlike in my home game experience, a typical pre-flop raise is 3-5 times the big blind. After such discovery, I decided to play a little tighter than usual. However, whenever I played a pot, I became aggressive.

Unluckily, for quite a while, my cards sucked. I then tried to be fortunate with suited connectors, low pairs, etc. but then still gradually lost some chips. Then I got JJ, raised while everyone else folded. Finally, I won $3. I was very happy. So at such point I already have a rock image at the table because of my lousy run of cards.

Next hand I had was pocket Ks. I then raised same amount but got three callers. To check if I will later on win or lose, I bet out about 1/3 of the pot. Two players folded. Then I called. Turn came and brought A. I then bet again while he called. River came but of no help. I then checked while he bet big. After a while he showed an Ace. Luckily, I won an all in showdown, doubled up and ended up winning $50 on the day after 5.5 hours.

Any thoughts?

Hope to hear from you soon.

Best regards,
Joe
Joe,

In the hand you called the big bet on, you should have probably folded. They had an apparent pair of Aces and you were beat.

As far as your other play, over it sounded ok, but you were a little card dead. Be careful with suited connector and try to only play them when you can see the flop cheap.

Finally, the $6 fee was a time payment by each player. Chances are they did not pull any rake at this table. If they took the fee and charged a rake, then I would play at this table anymore as you are feeding the casino too much money.

Related articles:

1. Played With Weakness
2. How Do You Find My Play?
3. An Argument About Side Pot

Hello,

In a certain cash game, one guy placed a straddle while another guy wanted to place a “sleep” bet. Honestly, I haven’t seen it in a casino cash game yet, what is it? Do you have any idea if it’s allowed in casinos or it’s just a local rule?

Thank you.

All the best,
Marc
Marc,

I’ve played in casino’s all over the United States and have even played tournaments at a professional level, and I have never heard of a sleep bet. This sounds like something the cash game where you played allowed.

Related articles:

1. No Limit Cash Game and Tournament
2. Home Cash Game and Rake Issue
3. NL Games

Hi,

Just recently, I joined a no limit cash game and tournament. Well, I noticed that playing with cash chips is actually far different from playing with tournament chips. I noticed different typical pre-flop raises, different standards on what kinds of hands to bet, raise, or call, etc.

Luckily, I got a feel on good tournament strategy, however it was a different story when about cash games. I wasn’t able to get a feel on good cash game strategy. Any advice?

Your help will be much appreciated!

Thank you.

Regards,
Nick
Nick,

Cash games play a lot differently than tournaments. If a player busts out, they can buy back in. As a result you will see more drawing, and more play with speculative hands. One way you can play is a small ball method. This means seeing a lot of flops cheaply in the hopes to hit the flop hard. When you do hit, you can then punish your opponents.

Related articles:

1. Home Cash Game and Rake Issue
2. About Overplaying
3. Very Loose and Aggressive Game

Hi,

I joined a cash game at a local card room with blinds 2/3. If I remember it right, there were 7 players then fighting for the pot. Most of the players were really good, they have combined tight and aggressive style of play and have a few hundred to back them up.

At some point, I’m UTG with AQs. I then raised to $9. Folded to button who re-raised to 25$, blinds folded. Consequently, I opted to call as I’ve seen such player checked down several hands earlier part of the game. Pot was $55. Flop came and brought J35 rainbow. I then checked to the raiser while he placed $50 bet. Eventually, I placed him on a steal, AK, or a pocket pair below Jacks. I then called. Pot was $155. Turn came but was a blank. Later, we both checked. River came and was another Jack. I then had some winnings and so placed $125 bet. I thought he would never call with AK or pocket 10s.

At some point, he stood up and then asked me if I have a Jack. I was speechless then. Afterwards he called and then had the pot with his KK.

How do you find my play?

Your help will be much appreciated.

Thanks!

Billy
Billy,

You should have folded on the flop when you missed.

Related articles:

1. Played With Weakness
2. With Pocket Eights
3. With Losing Hands