Poker-Bridge

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I’m moving out to Rochester, NY soon. After a brief online search for nearby poker games (low-limit Hold ‘em) I’ve found that the Turning Stone is the closest poker room (about an hour and a half drive). If anybody has anything to say about that particular casino’s poker room.

Answer 1:

Just a couple of additions to the letter posted. There is a 50-100 HE game every Friday and it normally gets a lot of action. Also the 15-30 is one of the best around the country for the size of the place. Of course the one draw back to the little tables is paying $3 on the button. But if you go to 10-20 it is $10/hr time play. Not too bad.

Answer 2:

I guess I’m a regular but not every week I still have to work for a living. But if I could win the tournaments every Thursday like I did last Thursday I might consider retiring early. A $1200 paycheck for 4 hours of work isn’t too bad a living. The stone’s phone number can be found at its web page www.turning-stone.com.

Answer 3:

Turning stone’s poker room has potential for becoming a class “A” room but the casino management won’t the force that does it. Players will. When the room opened last year, there were plenty of 15-30 and above games spread all the time. By January a 15-30 stud game was impossible to get going. Since the poker room staff will accommodate anything players want (they are tops, btw), enough mid level players will jump start this room. We need weekend players who are interested in more than 1-5 studs. They tried “Spread it and they will come” now we have to “go and they will spread it”!

The game is LLHE.  The following problem seems to come up a lot. You have flopped top pair.  A small pair shows on the flop or turn. You were first to bet on the flop and it is now your action on the turn.  You must decide whether to bet or check.  The following hand illustrates one such   situation that occurred recently. I have Jh9h on the button.  Several callers and I call.  The flop comes 9s5c3h.  It’s checked to me and I bet.  The BB and one other player call.  The turn is the 5h.  It’s checked to me again.  What should I do? If I check, I risk a free card, but I have lots of outs if I am behind.  If I bet, I can charge those who are behind, but I risk a check-raise if one of the players has a 5.  Of course, there’s not much chance that someone has a 5. There are many similar situations depending on position and the type of opponents, etc.  Comments on this hand are welcome, but I am looking for more general ideas. 

Answer 1:

I think a free card here is a mistake.  You have top pair with a flush draw. You should definitely bet here since you likely have the best hand. If you get check raised by a lucky sickout or perhaps another 9 with a better kicker you still have a good chance of winning the hand on the river.

Answer 2:

Maybe I have been playing too much Omaha 8 lately but I would tend to just check in the situation.  You are probably ahead here, but you are just asking to be revered here. Any A,2,4,6,7,8 will probably straight someone in a low limit game,  You cant be happy if an over card hits and you are far away from winning the hand if your runner flush hits.  I may be in the minority but I toss you hand after the flop.  I think you are in real trouble, unless you are heads 
up with this hand. 

Answer 3:

I think you really need to consider the players and the board. 

1) If the board provides other draws (say it was 9s5s3h5h) then you should be more inclined to bet.  There are more reasons for somebody to have called on the flop then just their 2nd pair.  Even with 8s5c3h somebody with A4 would call on the flop.  Don’t give those draws a free card. 

2) Think about the players in early position.  Are they straightforward?  Many players at the lower limits just “bet their hand”.  If one of those guys checks he might as well have told you he doesn’t have a five.  If there is a tricky player who might 
check-raise and make you think about it then tend to check although I think this is weaker then the tendency to bet in #1.  With your flush draw and 2 9 outs you can easily call the one bet (already 5 bets or so). 

3) Are they predictable?  If you got check-raised and you didn’t have the other outs could you fold without much worry?  If so then think about betting. 

4) Think about the preflop action.  A board of AK2K is a board many will bluff at but if there wasn’t any preflop raise your weak ace out of the blinds is likely to be good since many more Kings get raised preflop then (say) jacks (board: AJ2J should be scarier). 

5) I tend to check more on the river in these circumstances then I do 
on the turn.  The reason being that on the river the paired fives is 
going to be as scary to my opponent as it is to me.  If I bet I’m only 
going to be called by a stronger then normal hand.  I have to have a 
pretty strong hand to make this bet.

How do I beat a maniac heads-up in online limit HE Poker? I am up, but I don’t think I’m maxing EV vs. maniacs. What kinds of
strategies and tactics do you recommend?

Answer 1:

Allow him to take the lead, and only play hands that have a greater than 50% chance of winning heads-up. You are letting him dominate you with chips, and he is winning his good hands, the blinds, and win he gets lucky. You need to go hard against him when you have the best hand. The Maniac IE aggressive player has a huge advantage in heads up play. You are the only one giving information about the hand.

His strength is universally unknown, and he is going to win every blind that you do not have a good start on, and he is going to go straight for your stack. You start with only quality hands, bail quickly on bad flops, and continue with pot odds in your favor. Will you win? A maniac is going to put you straight into high variance, who is lucky poker. If good hands come up often enough to overcome the stealing of the blinds, and when he is lucky, and when he just plain has you beat, you will win, otherwise, he will win, a good maniac can often take you down based on blind stealing and otherwise winning hands that you chose to fold. So long as the big loses do not overcome the lots of little losses, well you lose.

A maniac is even more “dangerous” on-line, because there are damn few external “tells” to give you a read on his hand. The other method is just going up stack against stack. Become an equal Maniac. At this point you are going for his stack and his blinds just as viciously as you are. In this case, the poker is little more than cut for high-cards, and you have little long-term ability to win anything, because it is essentially a high-cost coin flip. Welcome to heads-up poker. Being a maniac in this case is NOT necessarily the sign of a weak player. They are removing information, and creating a position where all weakness and domination is felt by the other player. There are very few ways to overcome it, and any method can have dramatic short-term variations that can outstrip your bankroll. They have no fear of their bankroll, and that puts you in a weak position.

A maniac will eat for lunch somebody that plays against them because they are a maniac. That is their primary target. This generally leads to overly tight, weak play, or overly loose, weak play. It is a fine line that you need to walk if you are going to be anything other than an equal maniac. If this is uncomfortable for you. DON’T play. When you get to the final table in a tournament, take the chop. Find another game that suits your style. Ultimately the best way to beat a maniac, may be very well, to let others play them.

Answer 2:

I’m under the impression that the on-line poker sites charge $1 rake on every heads-up hand. If this is true, I’d tend to think it’s difficult to beat anyone but a total fish at one of the on-line heads-up tables.

Answer 3:

My strategy would be “don’t play a maniac heads up in online poker.” It’s a recipe for disaster if you ask me. Why would you get involved in a game where super aggression is your biggest weapon against someone who’s only playing style is super aggressive? Also, there is less in the way of tells you can generate in online as you cannot see the person face to face. Why would you ever want to play a super aggressive person one on one in the first place? I just think that’s bad business…try and find a more passive opponent. Those are the people you can dominate heads up.

I’m coming to L. A. soon and I wondered how the games are going at the new Hustler Casino? I know they opened strong but wondered how they are doing now.

Answer 1:

It’s located on the corner of Pornography Ave and Smut Peddler Way.

Answer 2:

That’s nothing. His daughter has accused him of molesting her when she was a kid. Would you lie about that when you stood to inherit millions? I know many poker players think porn is just free speech, but child-molestation is a criminal perversion and Flynt calls himself “The Pervert.” Of course, there couldn’t possibly be any connection between porn and child-molestation. Think about that next time you are going to play poker in his club.

Answer 3:

Without (hopefully) starting yet another “who owns the Hustler” thread, it is NOT Mr. Flynt’s club. He built the building and is the landlord, but he has no official affiliation with the casino (he can’t get licensed) and as far as any of us who play there are concerned, he’s just another customer.

I would like to kindly ask a few questions about the legalities of online poker.

1. Is it legal for an American software company to license poker software to online poker casinos and accept ongoing royalties (either a fixed amount, or as a percentage of the gross) as part of their license fees?
2.  Is a U.S. citizen in violation of U.S. laws by having his/her name on an off shore credit processor account?
3. Is it legal for a U.S. citizen to advertise/market for an off shore poker casino? Any info would be greatly appreciated.

There is precious little rules (either existing or proposed) that deal with on-line casinos, so you have to draw from the existing gambling statues.  I don’t think there is anything at the Federal level (nor most states) that prohibits developing gambling equipment. The answer to the second question is that, with the exception of a few blacklisted countries, there’s nothing that prohibits it. The answer to the third question is that, Not right now.  But if the current Internet Gambling bill passes as written, it will pretty much make such agents of “Gambling Businesses” illegal.

Answer 2:

My concern isn’t with the questions above (which IMHO would never be universally answered in a court of law) but with the larger question of how the recent Internet Gambling Bill will impact on-line poker.  Basically the law seeks to stop on-line casinos and sports books by requiring US ISPs to block access.  My question is whether or not this applies to poker rooms such as Paradise Poker?  Also, keep in mind this may impact practically all US Internet users.  It isn’t just AOL, MindSpring, etc that will block access but ALL ISPs including UUnet, PSInet, etc that provide internet access for corporations and educational institutions.  If the bill passes and isn’t immediately challenged in court you may want to consider checking with your ISP about their plans to block access to such sites.

Answer 3:

People keep saying this, but the bills as currently written don’t say that. The only requirement on ISP’s is for their direct subscribers who happen to be ’gambling businesses.’