Bicycle 2+2 "home game": Hold 'em Played with a Joker

[Dynasty]

For ten hours on Saturday night and into Sunday morning, one table at the Bicycle casino was being fed about $1,000 in rake exclusively by 2+2 posters. The table had Rick Nebiolo and wife Esther, Jim Rivett, Ed Miller (majorkong), Josh W., Gabe, Dynasty, mike l., Clarkmeister, and Andy Fox.

We were basically playing a home game in which each player chose their own game at 4-8 stakes. We played Crazy Pineapple, Stud8, Lowball, High Draw, Omaha High, Omaha8. Eventually, settled on playing a fantastic game of 4-card Crazy Pineapple where one card was discarded after the flop action and another after the turn action. That's a game which needs to be spread more often.

When it was my turn, I decided to pick a game with some novelty value. I picked hold 'em but we kept the Joker in the deck. The Joker was completely wild and obviously very powerful in a community card game. In fact, it was too powerful and suppressed the action. Here's the one and only hand in which I was dealt the Joker.

The hand:

Everybody folded to Gabe who open-raised two positions off the button. I was on his immediate left and cold called with Jack /images/graemlins/diamond.gif Joker. Everybody else folded.

The flop is: 9/images/graemlins/club.gif6/images/graemlins/heart.gif4/images/graemlins/diamond.gif

Gabe bet and I called.

The turn is: 9/images/graemlins/club.gif6/images/graemlins/heart.gif4/images/graemlins/diamond.gif4/images/graemlins/heart.gif

Gabe bet and I called.

The river is: 9/images/graemlins/club.gif6/images/graemlins/heart.gif4/images/graemlins/diamond.gif4/images/graemlins/heart.gifA/images/graemlins/spade.gif

Gabe checked. I bet and Gabe folded.

The Joker is too powerful.

[Franchise (TTT)]

Well there's only one way to counter that: put TWO jokers in the deck. And add a third (big) blind.

[andyfox]

One thing the joker did was make me abandon my policy of not looking at my second card when the first card is a deuce. As Dynasty says, the joker is too powerful.

Another thing to do might be to make the joker usable only as it is in draw: as an ace, or to complete a straight of flush.

I was the only player that I know of that didn't outright win the pot with the joker. True to form, my first card was a deuce and I was now forced to look at my second card which was the joker. I raised and only Hero (I think) saw the flop with me, which also contained a deuce giving me a set. By the river the board was K-Q-J-T-2 and Hero and I split the pot.

[Rick Nebiolo]

[ QUOTE ]
For ten hours on Saturday night and into Sunday morning, one table at the Bicycle casino was being fed about $1,000 in rake exclusively by 2+2 posters.

[/ QUOTE ]

I hope my boss reads this /images/graemlins/grin.gif

[ QUOTE ]
The Joker is too powerful.

[/ QUOTE ]

Agree. But for draw you needed it for action but in high draw it was used only for aces, straights and flushes.

~ Rick

[Tyler Durden]

[ QUOTE ]
The table had Rick Nebiolo and wife Esther, Jim Rivett, Ed Miller (majorkong), Josh W., Gabe, Dynasty, mike l., Clarkmeister, and Andy Fox.


[/ QUOTE ]

I think you guys need to work on your game selection skills.

[mikelow]

I used to play in a Mensa group home game Friday nights, and
found the same thing out. What a tough lineup you had to deal with!

I'll take the 4-8 on Planet Poker any day.

[mike l.]

"The Joker is too powerful."

perfect assessment. about 5 minutes into the game i think we all started to realise that and the game nitted up sickeningly. AA paled hugely in comparison to Joker-anything.