Variance: Live NL cash games are unbearable

[jdock99]

Online all I play is NL cash games.

However, live NL really is unbearable with all the sunglass wearing hotshots staring you down for 5 minutes over every $25 pot, when it is obvious they are going to fold.

I will play and enjoy ANY game live, including Badugi, 2-7 triple draw, crazy pineapple, etc., but I just cannot stand NLH.

Not really sure what the point of this is, but does anyone else who plays live and online find themselves in the same situation?

[tarheeljks]

i like live play more than online, but i learned to play live.

[Alobar]

the only way live poker is tolerable is if you are unbelievably drunk

[Sponger.]

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Not really sure what the point of this is, but does anyone else who plays live and online find themselves in the same situation?

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[img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img]

I refuse to play live NL. 9 handed, slow as hell, short stacks, and yeah worst of all are the hyperactive 50 year old balding fat guys wearing their poker t-shirts, shades and acting like monkeys.

Also, more pathetic reasons include the fact that I can't stop cbetting half my stack into people who will never fold, and I am neurotic about reloading to the max buy in.

I suppose I could play some uncapped NL games but why bother? I can't afford to play high enough stakes live to earn what I do online so I might as well enjoy myself trying something different and play mid-limit LHE.

[forshure]

I thought this would be my experience the first time i played live, but there actually werent that many sunglasses/hats. However, when looking over at the people playing donkaments, every one of them had sunglasses, hats, and ipods with infinite sized headphones

[sweetjazz]

Heh, I just recently started playing a fair amount of live NLHE. I've played very little online NLHE (< 10K hands), as I am primarily a limit player.

Things I like about live NLHE:
* Pretty easy money
* Downswings are very mild
* Better (for me at least) way to learn a new game

Things I hate about live NLHE:
* People who have to count out their chips before making a call, when it takes them about 15-30 seconds to do so, instead of just verbally announcing call. When it happens on the river closing the action sometimes I just want to scream.
* People who won't turn their hands up at showdown until the other person does so, even though they were the last person to bet.
* People who turn one card over at a time at showdown.
* People who have limped into the pot every single hand talking to the food server and then 1 minute later finally turning around and staring intently at their hole cards before they finally decide to...surprise, surprise...limp in.

I mostly 2/5, which seems to differ from 1/2 in that players are stupidly aggressive rather than stupidly passive. What happens is that every 15 minutes or so, a big pot develops, usually between two crap hands. So of course both players need to take 2 minutes on each street to figure out how to donk off their whole stack.

Sample hand from my last live session:

Bunch of limpers, stupid aggressive guy who raises about 35% of his hands before the flop raises to $25, 3 or so people call. Flop comes Q96 with a flush draw. Checked to the raiser who bets like $50 or some such, one caller, and then a guy behind him check raises to $150. Preflop raiser hems and haws and finally calls. Other call hems and haws and finally calls. Turn is an 8 not completing the flush. Check raiser bets $300 this time. Preflop raiser hems and haws again and finally calls, leaving himself with $125 or so behind. Other guy hems and haws and finally calls (he still has about $1000 behind and the check raiser covers). River is a complete blank, an offsuit 2 or 3. Check raiser bets $500. Preflop raiser hems and haws. Another guy at the table cannot take it anymore and tells him to just put his money in, it's only $100 more. Other people not in the hand tell him to pipe down. I'm about to start banging my head into the table. Preflop raiser finally calls. The other caller inexplicably takes another 30 seconds before flipping over KTs (flopped flush draw) and announces "All my draws missed!" After another 30 seconds of prodding, the check raiser turns over his hand to reveal Q8s (LOL), while the preflop raiser tables Q7s (LOL).

We played 5 hands that half hour, with a $6 time rake, or in other words $1.20 per hand. Even so, this game is immensely beatable by anyone with minimal cognitive skills. Fortunately, I am usually the only person at the table that fits that description most days.

[Brad1970]

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i like live play more than online, but i learned to play live.

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+1

[Lusky]

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Heh, I just recently started playing a fair amount of live NLHE. I've played very little online NLHE (< 10K hands), as I am primarily a limit player.

Things I like about live NLHE:
* Pretty easy money
* Downswings are very mild
* Better (for me at least) way to learn a new game

Things I hate about live NLHE:
* People who have to count out their chips before making a call, when it takes them about 15-30 seconds to do so, instead of just verbally announcing call. When it happens on the river closing the action sometimes I just want to scream.
* People who won't turn their hands up at showdown until the other person does so, even though they were the last person to bet.
* People who turn one card over at a time at showdown.
* People who have limped into the pot every single hand talking to the food server and then 1 minute later finally turning around and staring intently at their hole cards before they finally decide to...surprise, surprise...limp in.

I mostly 2/5, which seems to differ from 1/2 in that players are stupidly aggressive rather than stupidly passive. What happens is that every 15 minutes or so, a big pot develops, usually between two crap hands. So of course both players need to take 2 minutes on each street to figure out how to donk off their whole stack.

Sample hand from my last live session:

Bunch of limpers, stupid aggressive guy who raises about 35% of his hands before the flop raises to $25, 3 or so people call. Flop comes Q96 with a flush draw. Checked to the raiser who bets like $50 or some such, one caller, and then a guy behind him check raises to $150. Preflop raiser hems and haws and finally calls. Other call hems and haws and finally calls. Turn is an 8 not completing the flush. Check raiser bets $300 this time. Preflop raiser hems and haws again and finally calls, leaving himself with $125 or so behind. Other guy hems and haws and finally calls (he still has about $1000 behind and the check raiser covers). River is a complete blank, an offsuit 2 or 3. Check raiser bets $500. Preflop raiser hems and haws. Another guy at the table cannot take it anymore and tells him to just put his money in, it's only $100 more. Other people not in the hand tell him to pipe down. I'm about to start banging my head into the table. Preflop raiser finally calls. The other caller inexplicably takes another 30 seconds before flipping over KTs (flopped flush draw) and announces "All my draws missed!" After another 30 seconds of prodding, the check raiser turns over his hand to reveal Q8s (LOL), while the preflop raiser tables Q7s (LOL).

We played 5 hands that half hour, with a $6 time rake, or in other words $1.20 per hand. Even so, this game is immensely beatable by anyone with minimal cognitive skills. Fortunately, I am usually the only person at the table that fits that description most days.

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Ahh, lol.... Well I might know you becuase I play alot of NL at Harrahs New Orleans.

I agree, and I'm starting to spend less time there and more at home online

[mce86]

2-5 NL game in Indiana....300 Max buy in..
somehow, by the A.M., there are 7 or 8 guys with about 2000 in front of them...what does that equate to? Lots of rebuys and crazy poker play! On juicy nights, you can make a ton of money playing!

[BJJIII]

I must be in the minority here. I really enjoying playing live NLH. I guess it helps that I am on a major heater right now, but I am sure my doomswitch will flip when I go to Tunica in 2 weeks.