newbie questions

[mostsmooth]

ive decided to start playing holdem to give me something to do when im waiting around like a moron for a stud game
i played 6-12 tonight for about an hour
a general question and then a couple hands
1. if a player leaves the table for a walk or whatever and misses the blinds, can he just sit out until its his big blind and just post $6? or does he owe the blinds he missed plus the current $6?
2. im in second to last position, and have pocket Qs, 4 player call $6 i call as well (mistake?), button calls, blinds call. flop is KT4 suited (i have none), early player bets 6, 3 players call, i call (mistake?), button calls, big blind drops. next card 8h, mid position bets 12, call, i make it 24, all fold including the bettor, except the caller who goes allin for 19.
hopefully i typed the hand correctly
were the calls and raises i made pretty much on target? im sure the raise was, but just calling in the other spots im not so sure

3. very next hand i have pocket 4s and fold to $18 cold. mistake?
unfortunately i have no info on the players to help in these decisions

[daryn]

to answer your questions:

1) if you leave the table for a walk or whatever, and the blinds pass you.. you get a big blind button usually.. now when you come back to the table, you can totally sit out and wait until the big blind comes back to you, at which point you post it, and play resumes as normal. if you are not new to the table (you took a walk) and you want to post in the cutoff or something, usually you must post an amount equal to the bb as a live bet, and an amount equal to the sb as dead in the pot. you do not owe the money equal to the blinds that you missed while you were away


2) yes, when you just called preflop, it was a mistake. you have the best hand here, so why not charge them more to play? now the flop comes KT4 of one suit, you have no cards of that suit.. you are hurting here.. early player bets, 3 call... i would fold easily. some are almost certainly drawing to the flush you cannot make, and someone must have a K.. you fold. ok.. but you didn't.. so, the turn comes and offsuit 8.. mp bets 12, and you make it 24 for some reason.. i just don't understand why. i doubt you have the best hand.


3) you have 44 and fold to 3 bets cold preflop, good fold! when it's 3 bets and you haven't invested anything in the pot yet, you have to toss 44 here, you just don't have the odds necessary to play for a set.

[Peter Harris]

okay, can i add a few?! I have been playing with friends and stuff for years, but never heard cash game/official tournament lingo...

1) Where is the "Cut Off"? is it represented by CO in hand histories? is it positional, or to do with dead blinds?

2) what is the "bubble" i hear about on the tournament page? is it to do with rising blind levels? is it some funny slang for bid blind? is it actually a bubble, like from the prisoner?

These questions answered and more would be very much appreciated.

All the best,
Peter

[crockpot]

1. one spot in front of the button (dealer) is the cutoff. CO is 2+2-ese for cutoff.

2. the bubble refers to the period in the tournament where a few more eliminations will result in every remaining player getting paid. so if your tourney pays 60 places and 80 are left, you're in a bubble situation. the bubble is characterized by small stacks playing extremely tight and often stalling to sneak into the money.

[CrackerZack]

nothing like jumping right in to the higher LLs..

1) If you get up in a stud game and take a walk, then come back, do you owe all the antes you missed? This is the same, you play $9/round in antes but only in 2 hands, if you miss an entire round, you pay nothing for that round.

2) QQ - Raise PF, fold on the flop, raise is really bad.
3) 44 - must fold.

[MicroBob]

i think it would be better if it was the Bubble from The Prisoner. what a great show (except for the final episode)!!

when a player is eliminated from the tournament the big white bubble would come out of the ocean and eat the losing player and bounce away. i think i might play a little tighter in this scenario.

btw, to me, the bubble always referred to the 1 or 2 spots closest to missing the money....so in a tournament where 60 players receive money then 61st and 62nd is the bubble...as in close-call, but your bubble has burst.
it's a phrase that is more commonly associated in america with the college basketball tournament selection process as there are always 2 or 3 deserving bubble-teams that do not receive invites thus 'bursting their bubble'.