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View Full Version : Crazy 20-40 Stud Player--Who Kills the Pot!!


12-03-2001, 04:18 AM
Played tonight with a player who, in addition to anteing every hand, would put up $20 blind automatically. He then would bet raise, or call all the way down without looking at his hole cards. He actually would put chips on his hole cards to show that he was playing blind until the river, when he would finally look and then act accordingly. Surprisingly enough, this must be a great strategy, because I never saw so many straights, small two pairs, and full houses snap off so many legit starting hands. The guy went up at least three yellow chip racks in less than an hour--even though he lost some of these pots.


Anyway, two questions:


What's the best strategy here, given the fact that you are essentially dealing with a killed pot every hand? How would you people approach it?


Secondly, the following hand came up between myself and this guy:


I had jacks with a four in the hole and I raised it before it got to the kill--the way we were playing, you could raise after the bring in and the blind raise made by the live player was semi- live--i.e. he could raise it if someone else raised before him--(we made these rules up on the fly, because the player was soooo live no one wanted to consult the floor man)--but he couldn't raise it if no one else raised--which of course, now that I think about it, put him at an even greater disadvantage than he already was. Long story short, some people got out of the way, and we managed to cap it on third street.


On fourth I snagged a four, and bet. He was showing two red cards, a ten and another card like a six or a seven, but they were offsuit. I had a two flush of some kind. I bet, he raised, I reraised, he made it four bets, and I made it five, at which point he said "Hey, you can't do that" and we explained to him that there was no limit on raises heads up. He pushed all his chips in. Keep in mind that he hadn't looked at his hole cards at all.


What would you folks do?

12-03-2001, 06:51 AM
If your bankroll is big enough, push in as much as you have on the table. If you can't afford huge losses, just raise as much as you feel comfortable with, then call down (then consider stepping down in limits or leaving the game till it's more sane).

12-03-2001, 07:56 AM
I'd play for every cent any day of the week.

12-03-2001, 05:03 PM
do you remember any of the dead cards?

even so, i can't imagine you are behind at this point. this guy doesn't even know what he has! push them in, and if you get beat, smile and tell him "nice hand" and go get more money.

you're telling me he would never fold, no matter what he saw on others' boards??

12-03-2001, 06:12 PM
Hello,Chris,

I would call his all-in bet and pray to the poker gods!


Sitting Bull

12-03-2001, 06:20 PM
Hello,Deadart2,

I'm assuming that Chris has a bankroll that can withstand a lot of "turbulance";otherwise,he should not be playing in a 20-40 game to begin with.

You should not be playing with "scare" money or when you become too emotionally upset when you lose. You must realize that in the "short-run",anything can happen--and the "short-run" can really be long!


Sitting Bull

12-03-2001, 07:14 PM
(1) Are you absolutely positively 100% sure this guy hasn't looked at his cards? I've played against some players who were experts at looking at their hole cards without anybody knowing they've done it.


(2) I'd just call for one bet. Jacks up is not a hand I'm willing to risk my whole stack on, even against a complete idiot.

12-03-2001, 08:10 PM
If hes making this play only ocassionally theres a good chance he knows what his cards are, and maybe even what your cards are. Where was the game held? Who was dealing? Was it a new pack?


If he really has no idea what his cards are, you are a huge favourite to win so back your hand with your stack.

12-03-2001, 10:07 PM
One four was dead--his cards were live.


He did fold ocasionally--maybe twice!


I thought I'd died and gone to heaven...

12-03-2001, 10:11 PM
I did consider the possibility that we were all being cheated.


But we got new setups (guys that he put beats on repeatedly called for them), it was at the premiere club in southern California, in a game 3/4 filled with regulars, and the guy was just incredibly lucky--for a while.

12-04-2001, 03:17 AM
I got all my money in the pot and more than doubled up. I did it so fast it made my own head spin. I think it was the right decision but not as right as a similar decision would be in holdem.


I hope that this player comes back and plays with us again.


(By the way, he had earlier beaten me in two pots for nearly a full rack, both of which times he made a straight when I had a big pair to start.)

12-04-2001, 04:27 PM
Hello,Chris,

The "short-run" random factor favored him.

You would definitely want players like him who plays just to have a little fun.. It's always a great idea to encourage "fun" players in your game. ***Happy pokering**Sitting Bull

12-05-2001, 01:03 AM
I think I was clearly a favorite, just not a tremendous one.


I completely agree that it was important to make this experience fun for this kind of player, and even though he did beat me for all of that money in those two pots, (with runner runner gutshot cards in one instance) I tried to maintain my composure, and my smile . . .


If I had lost my whole stack, I would have just called for more chips and maybe the first ever setup I've ever asked to have changed!