why are players on paradise so terrible?

I just started playing on paradise, and it seems like the players in .5/1 will play any two cards. Theres so many suck outs, its ridiculous. Anyone else notice this and get discouraged that your not beating the game as well as you thought?

[AKQJ10]

I used to play Paradise micros (2c/4c and 5c/10c) and found them tough. Someone told me that the games like you're referring to were looser than the micros.

Why are they so terrible? Rhetorical question, probably, but it has answer: because people love to gamble it up in the short term, not grind out profits in the long term. But why would that be discouraging? Because of the suckouts, which I grant are frustrating? Or because you'd like to be beating better players? If it's the former, be patient, play the best you can, and console yourself with the thought that by definition good players suffer more bad beats than they give out (http://poker.wikicities.com/wiki/Beginner#Why_do_I_take_so_many_bad_beats_but_hardl y_give_any_out.3F). It's the latter, also have patience, grind it out, build up a bankroll, and you'll get your wish.

[froggy527]

Those suckouts and bad beats are a pain! But in the long run
you should come out ahead against these bad players. If
you don't then you need to take a close look at your game!

[4_2_it]

[ QUOTE ]
I just started playing on paradise, and it seems like the players in .5/1 will play any two cards.

[/ QUOTE ]

This is not a BAD thing. If you play sound poker, (hell, who am I kidding, I mean half-way decent poker) you will crush this type of competition in the long run.

[SheridanCat]

[ QUOTE ]
I just started playing on paradise, and it seems like the players in .5/1 will play any two cards. Theres so many suck outs, its ridiculous. Anyone else notice this and get discouraged that your not beating the game as well as you thought?

[/ QUOTE ]

Other posters have mentioned that you should be happy to play with these people - even though you get sucked out on repeatedly. Here's why.

When you play poker with someone and they make mistakes (such as playing terrible starting hands or chasing all the way to the river with bad draws and improper odds) you make money. That may not mean you'll be pushed a pile of chips at the end of the hand, but in the long run you are making money from those mistakes.

Conversly, if you make the same mistakes, you are losing money even if you ARE pushed the pot at the end of the hand.

This is all long run thinking. Just because the goons at the micros crushed you for a session or two doesn't mean anything. If you have the bankroll to fade the loss (which you should or you should step down to a level where you can stand the losses) and continue to play against these players, you will show a profit.

Do not fall into the trap of thinking that all you need to do is move up in limits to where the players are smarter and then you'll be able to beat the game easier.

For more on this topic, check out Theory Of Poker by Sklansky.

Good luck,

T

[scatter shot]

The .25/.50 games on Paradise are the same. Plus, the players tend to be very passive, not betting their good hands aggressively, so it's hard to get reads. While this can lead to some frustrating sessions, I agree with other responses -these are the players you want to have at your table.

My approach is to play a fairly tight game (like Miller's tight starting hands table) and be aggressive when appropriate (a real weakness in my game right now).