10-11-2005, 11:07 PM
Here is the hand. 4 handed, I have 6000 chips and am BB. SB is all-in for his last 10 chips, the other two players have ~1000 chips each. Blinds are 150/300. Both mid-stacks call and I raise all-in. Both players fold and curse me out, telling me how stupid I am. “Your stupid” and “you better have it” flashes in my chat log. I show 43 offsuit, SB turns over Q2 and takes down the 40 chips in the main pot, I take side pot. “That is the worst play EVER” flashes in my chat log. The midstacks are failing to consider why it was in my advantage to do this, only thinking about how it effected them and was to their disadvantage that I made this move. Small stack folds next two hands and I auto raise all in. The two mid stacks fold both of their blind hands and berate me for being the worst poker player on earth. Now I have 7320 in chips at the end of this and we are still 4 handed. In an effort to maximize my own equity, I have screwed over the mid-stacks chances of winning. I am simply looking out for myself in this situation.
Analogy to Party—Many of the posters here are saying that Party is stupid, screwing themselves. They are not stupid, they are not trying to screw themselves. They see this as the best move for them. By making their own best move, they are screwing us out of some rakeback money on the Party network. If it hurts your wallet a little, that is not their concern. They don’t think it will hurt their wallets and in fact they think it will fatten them. Could they be wrong about this? Possible, but I doubt it, and they have fallback options just in case (like offering rakeback). As a good poker player, you should understand this.
I’d love to get rakeback and play against the Party players, at the moment I can’t have both. I’ll do whatever alternative I figure is most +EV for me. This game is about the long run and about making adjustments. If you were a break-even player and using rakeback as your primary source of poker winnings, you were always at the mercy of the sites (like if they increased the rake 25%, or eliminated affiliates and/or rakeback) and are better off figuring it out now. If rakeback was just a bonus to you, I’ll bet you will find other ways to find some of this money throughout the month, just not in one lump sum. Especially in small stakes, there are adjustments in your game or game selection or site selection or bonus hunting etc. that can be made that is equivalent to a couple dollars per table/hour.
Analogy to Party—Many of the posters here are saying that Party is stupid, screwing themselves. They are not stupid, they are not trying to screw themselves. They see this as the best move for them. By making their own best move, they are screwing us out of some rakeback money on the Party network. If it hurts your wallet a little, that is not their concern. They don’t think it will hurt their wallets and in fact they think it will fatten them. Could they be wrong about this? Possible, but I doubt it, and they have fallback options just in case (like offering rakeback). As a good poker player, you should understand this.
I’d love to get rakeback and play against the Party players, at the moment I can’t have both. I’ll do whatever alternative I figure is most +EV for me. This game is about the long run and about making adjustments. If you were a break-even player and using rakeback as your primary source of poker winnings, you were always at the mercy of the sites (like if they increased the rake 25%, or eliminated affiliates and/or rakeback) and are better off figuring it out now. If rakeback was just a bonus to you, I’ll bet you will find other ways to find some of this money throughout the month, just not in one lump sum. Especially in small stakes, there are adjustments in your game or game selection or site selection or bonus hunting etc. that can be made that is equivalent to a couple dollars per table/hour.