Home cash game advice?

stevea · #1 03-17-2006, 05:11 PM

My friends and I have been playing tourneys for the last year, but I want to switch it up and start playing some NL cash games.

I want to keep the game friendly and very low stakes, so I plan on doing .25/.25 blinds, with a $10-20 buy in.

I was thinking about doing pot limit instead of NL, but it would probably be a pain in the ass as people would have to total up the pot every time they make a big bet.

I was also thinking about having a max bet of $10 instead of pot limit.

Any advice?

Etaipo · #2 03-17-2006, 05:40 PM

I just switched our structure to .25/.25, and we'll be playing it for the first time tonight, so I'll let you know how it goes.

I prefer 100 BB stacks, so it's $25 max.

We did a few nights of .25/.50/$50, but the stakes made some people a little to nervous.

I would not put an artificial cap on bets. If $20 is too much, then lower the stakes, but I'd say give it a few nights and see how it goes, and assume that it will be fine as it is.

jzpiano · #3 03-17-2006, 07:05 PM

My friends and I play .05-.1 blinds with a $10 buy in usually so it keeps the 100BB "rule" there, nobody loses more than $20 in a night and there have been some nights where people have walked away a $40+ winner. We play NL. This is just we do, dunno if that helps you at all.

fadedstar · #4 03-17-2006, 07:34 PM

I play with a bunch of friends sometimes, very amateur and only for fun. We play Pot Limit and it's not really a problem. It's like 0.25/0.50 and most people buy in for 20$. Counting pot is not a problem. When a hand is played and some serious betting is going on, one player out of the pot start to count chips while people make their decisions... It doesn't slow down the pace...

.fs.

Dan87 · #5 03-17-2006, 09:06 PM

[ QUOTE ]
My friends and I play .05-.1 blinds with a $10 buy in usually so it keeps the 100BB "rule" there, nobody loses more than $20 in a night and there have been some nights where people have walked away a $40+ winner. We play NL. This is just we do, dunno if that helps you at all.

[/ QUOTE ]
I use the .05/.10 structure as well, but the maximum buy-in is $20. I find that even 100BB max is too constricting in some cases because
a) hardly anybody buys in for the max, so if I make the max $20 then people will buy-in for 10$, if I make it $10 people will buyin for like 5$, I don't know why.
b) if the max is 10$ and people are down to 2-3$ that is hardly enough money to make any bets, and often playing one hand with big bets to the river will pot commit people to just go allin

LastEmu · #6 03-18-2006, 04:52 PM

My friends insist on playing .25/.5, but refuse to buy in for more than $10 (or let anyone buy in for more than $20), their logic being, "any chips below 25c are useless." If your friends are any smarter than mine, 25NL shouldn't be a problem.

General K · #7 03-18-2006, 06:56 PM

I don't see any reason to make it pot limit or to have a max bet. That sorta takes the thrill out of it if you ask me. If you're afraid of your friends being to timid to play NL, maybe they should find a softer game.

If it's your house, set the game up at your comfort level. Finding willing poker players is no problem these days.

Lottery Larry · #8 03-20-2006, 03:44 PM

[ QUOTE ]
I don't see any reason to make it pot limit or to have a max bet. That sorta takes the thrill out of it if you ask me.

[/ QUOTE ]

Have you ever played pot-limit?

vikefan24 · #9 03-20-2006, 05:23 PM

My buddies and I play .25/.50 nl and the range of buyins is usually $40-$80, every thing runs smooth, I'm sure it would be much slower with pot limit.

thedustbustr · #10 03-20-2006, 08:34 PM

My home game is deep stacked NL these days (200bbs average buyin). While it isn't PL, we allow pot betting, and it is the "normal" bet on the flop and often the turn. It doesn't slow down the game much at all. And if you intend to raise, just say pot right back and worry about putting the chips in if he calls.