Bad Habbit or Efficient Noob?

KurtSF · #1 09-01-2006, 01:00 PM

I'm a B&M noob. I've only sat in a handfull of times and my first extended session was a month ago (big loser, don't ask). I'm probably going to sit for another long session tonight, and I wanted to ask about something I was doing with my chips.

I was playing 3/6 LHE with $1 chips. I was having a horrible time cutting out 3 and 6 chips to bet with (internet player alert!), and I felt like I was holding up the game. So to adjust, before every hand I would cut out two stacks of 3 and one stack of 6 and place them next to my stack, that way I could bet and raise efficiently during the hand.

Now I've read a lot on here about not cutting out your bets before its your action, but I was figuring that since I did it before the hand, every hand, I wasn't giving out any information.

So is this a bad habbit I should cut out and just learn to handle chips? Or is this something that expedites the action and I should continue doing until I'm quick and comfortable cutting out my bets?

Thanks!

GrinningBuddha · #2 09-01-2006, 01:07 PM

It's not a bad habit necessarily, but something you do have in abundance in live poker is time between hands. Use this time to a) study your opponents and their betting/playing styles, and b) practice cutting chips. Get a feel for how far down to cut a 20 chip stack so you pull off 6. Get used to how 6 chips feel in your hand. It shouldn't take long before it becomes second nature. And if you cut off 5 or 7, it doesn't matter; you can easily add/take back the extra chip without it affecting your bet.

Good luck!

n.s. · #3 09-01-2006, 01:17 PM

You're worrying too much about this. Good on you for trying to keep the game going as fast as possible - imo about the only real mistake you make in a 3/6 game is to slow the game down too much. Otherwise just do whatever floats your boat and before you know it you'll find yourself cutting out stacks with break-neck speed anyway.

playersare · #4 09-01-2006, 01:21 PM

in a fixed limit game, just make your verbal action first ("bet", "raise") and action will pass to the next player. then you can take your time putting the proper amount of chips in, since your word is already binding in the hand.

say it...then spray it

n.s. · #5 09-01-2006, 01:27 PM

[ QUOTE ]
in a fixed limit game, just make your verbal action first ("bet", "raise") and action will pass to the next player. then you can take your time putting the proper amount of chips in, since your word is already binding in the hand.

say it...then spray it

[/ QUOTE ]

I was going to recommend this as well, but for some reason a lot of small stakes players have an annoying habit of waiting until the guy in front of them has finished putting out chips before he acts, even if he's already made a binding verbal declaration. It's as though they can't make a decision until they see what the bet they are facing actually "looks" like. It drives me crazy, especially when there's an idiot at the table that has to count chips one-by-one, and then the whole damn table has to stop and watch him, instead of letting the action continue while he does it.

So anyway, sometimes it's good to be able to put out your bet quickly.

playersare · #6 09-01-2006, 01:46 PM

[ QUOTE ]
I was going to recommend this as well, but for some reason a lot of small stakes players have an annoying habit of waiting until the guy in front of them has finished putting out chips before he acts, even if he's already made a binding verbal declaration.

[/ QUOTE ]
it would be the dealer's responsbility to keep the game action fluid at that point. again, this is for fixed limit structure only.

cockpit · #7 09-01-2006, 01:57 PM

I used to stack my chips like that myself. Not only did it enable me to be more fluid with my bets, but it also helped me get a read on some opponents. Since I didn't have to have my eyes on my chips I could instead look at my opponents' reactions as I touched my "raise" or "call" stack.

QuadsOverQuads · #8 09-01-2006, 05:08 PM

I think it's great that you're being considerate of the other players and of pace of the game.

q/q

moris · #9 09-01-2006, 05:42 PM

jeezzz.. why are you being so considerate? What the hell are we gonna bitch about.

KurtSF · #10 09-01-2006, 05:57 PM

[ QUOTE ]

I think it's great that you're being considerate of the other players and of pace of the game.

q/q

[/ QUOTE ]

Read too many posts in this forum not to. [img]/images/graemlins/wink.gif[/img]

Thanks for the input everyone!