Absolute Poker=Absolute Insanity...HELP!

[westmt01]

I am getting killed at Absolute Poker.

I thought I'd do a little bonus whoring there, since I read in this forum that the games are very soft. Well they should be - I've never seen a worse group of poker players in my life. There are people there who bet with everything, all the way to the river EVERY SINGLE HAND!! It's not at all uncommon for everyone at the table to see the flop. It should be like shooting fish (literally) in a barrel, but they are kicking my ass. Granted I'm no pro, but I've been playing on the Internet for about a year, and I win at every other site. So what do I do?

I tried tightening up my play, and that didn't work. I wound up staying in about 2 hands an hour, only to see my pocket Aces get cracked at the river by some idiot playing 82o who sucked a straight out of the river. And what's with all the straights, flushes, and quads? That site has more flushes than a diahrrea convention. And I've never seen so many 4 of a kinds in my life. Is that site on the level?

So after seeing my pocket Aces go down for the third straight time (I flopped a third Ace, and watched a guy playing T5o in EP suck out a flush), I went on tilt. I started staying in with just about everything too. And of course that didn't work. What strategy should I use to beat this site? I'm embarrased because I should be mopping the floor with these people. Should I go back to playing tight? Or run for my life, or what? And suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

[Tosh]

What are you asking? How to beat easy games? Surely you already know that.

[lefty rosen]

Extremely loose games have high variance and you have to really use your head, don't bother to raise monsters in early position if you will get cold called by six guys, try and use guys as horses on the flop. Ie if you have KK or AA and a queen or jack hits the board check it and let a guy holding queen 10 or jack 10 bet and then checkraise them and quad the flop if necessary. Also if the tables are this loose play QQ or JJ in early position like 10/10 or 9/9 and try and use other players as horses on the flop to....

[mmanne]

Some of this I agree with, but "don't bother to raise monsters in early position if you will get cold called by six guys" doesn't sound right

Isn't that the reason to raise monsters in that situation?

[Tosh]

[ QUOTE ]
don't bother to raise monsters in early position if you will get cold called by six guys,

[/ QUOTE ]

Thats awful advice, the fact that 6 people will call my AA raise is why I want to raise.

[fluff]

If I sit at a table where everyone will call my AA, KK, QQ raise PF, I will raise everytime and twice on Sunday.

[Tosh]

Damn right.

[JDErickson]

I feel your pain.

I too am trying playing AP. I have been hovering around $500 up for the last couple weeks.

You are right. Players are horrible. Be expecting huge variance. Keep playing solid poker. In the long run you will come out ahead.

Last night I went up $120 quickly with a few decent hands. For the next 2 hour after that I ground it out and ended up down $20 total. Most of this loss was due to terrible fish play. See my hands I posted today and yesterday.

See you at the fish tank

[jmark]

After I read this I decided to go see what the bonus was at absolute poker. So I open google and type in absolute poker -- guess what's the first link on the list in the green paid advertising slot?

Absolute Poker $100 Bonus
www.PartyPoker.Com (http://www.PartyPoker.Com) 1000 Tables, 24/7 Live Help 35,000 Live Players- As Seen on TV Sponsored Link

Now I see how party does it -- by stacking the google searches.

PS Sorry to hear about the bad streak. I was playing 3/6 B&M over the weekend and got absolutely killed by the calling stations. Hopefully they'll be back this weekend so I can get it back.

[moondogg]

Yes, raise PF with AA, KK, QQ all the time. However, realize that they are going to lose at this table about two thirds of the time. Obviously, the third or quarter of the time that they actually hold up will make it well worth it.
One thing I think is worth mentioning, though, is that it will also increase your variance a lot. Granted, in the long view, not raising with AA because it will increase your variance is just stupid. However, if you have a limited bankroll or if you are just getting the bonus and getting out, I would raise PF a whole lot less often.

If the only reason you are at the site is bonus whoring, and you won't be back in the near future, I feel this changes your motivations for playing. You are not there to win the most money you can by making the making the correct plays, you are there to ride out a few hundred hands to get free money. When you play a hand, you risk losing money. If you are playing for a bonus, your progress towards the bonus is not dependent on whether you play the hand, just that you were there (assuming that your involvement in the hand is not necessary to make the pot big enough to be raked). Given the "free money" aspect, there would have to be a point were otherwise profitable plays actually start to eat into your EV because because the bonus that you get credit for (whether you play the hand or not) does not require the additional risk. Then again, this may be my own grave misunderstanding of the ROI of bonus, but oh well.

Personally, if I am just playing for a bonus, I try to minimize my variance, because it seems kind of a waste to go to a site, lose the bonus amount, and have wasted the time. I know, in many ways the next hand you play is the next hand you play, and I would not give up and huge edges, but I would not push small ones; you won't be there long enough to get into the "long run".

[Tosh]

Playing against full tables for several bets sure does increase your variance but if your bankroll cannot take the variance of raising AA, KK etc you should be playing at a lower limit.

[risen]

haha welcome to the club buddy, might I ask what level you're playing, The fish at 5/10 and 10/20 are little easier to smack down that the ones at 3/6 and lower. And read my earlier posts about the strange hand happenings there. As for me, I feel like the king of any table i sit down at at AP, and I'm up 2.5 K over the last 12 days before i decided to take a break. The strange hands take a little getting used to, but a slight adjustment in play has caused those quads and straight flushes to be profitable instead of heartbreaking for me. Damn 2+2ers going after the chum in my fish tank, go away! /images/graemlins/grin.gif

[risen]

And bonus whoring at absolute is hard, because it includes a 30 day hold before cashout, if you can't keep a level head through downswings, that $100 is going to cost you your whole buyin.

[JDErickson]

[ QUOTE ]
Damn 2+2ers going after the chum in my fish tank, go away!

[/ QUOTE ]

I had a feeling you may be one of "them" /images/graemlins/smile.gif

[lefty rosen]

You guys have never played these games six or more players against KK or QQ and they all chase to the river you are a marginal favourite, long term you will win but marginally. It's like a horse raise if you are 3/2 favourite its not a lock. with QQ I never bother to raise it in these situations. Also most bad players respect post flop raises alot more than pre-flop......

[fluff]

Marginal favorite? You are downright underdog to winning. But people calling gives you the overlay to winning.

Suppose KK wins against 8 random hands going to the river around 20% of the time (it's significantly higher, but let's be conservative), for every bet you put in you get 8 callers, or in other words: you're getting 8:1 on a 4:1 bet.

If you routinely refuse 4:1 bets that pay 8:1, you shouldn't be playing poker. Or any other form of gambling.

Not raising AA, KK, QQ PF in loose games is so horribly wrong, it's a pain to read this statement on a 2+2 board.

[lefty rosen]

Fluff buddy I mastered no foldem poker I played at Pacific Poker playing 2/4 there and cracked out 5k playing against these very same morons, I stand by my statement, what I meant by favorite is favorite in the sense that you against eight crackheads you have largest percentage of winning pre flop, and like I said if you are a chaser its easier to call 4 cold then 2 then being forced to call 6 or eight cold on the flop thinking someone may have triples. Maybe I need to clarify myself if its loose pre-flop and tight post I raise and follow through if its loose to the point of insanity its all feel for me. Ask lunchmeat about me, I played with him and ask him if I know how to play.......

[Tosh]

Dude you are so wrong its hard to respond. Win MARGINALLY ?? Look at the numbers, marginal doesn't come close. You are costing yourself money.


And yes I have played these games and LOVE doing so.

[darivercard]

I also know all about these fish games. I think a very important point here that no one is mentioning is that if you raise (or even re-raise preflop when given the opportunity), a lot less people are going to call you (even really bad players do not generally cold call 2 or 3 raises preflop - at least not 8 per hand). Therefore you are going to suffer less bad beats. Not raising preflop with qq is wrong on so many levels that it also pains me to see it here.

[lefty rosen]

Well paired boards and spiking a set are your best friends in this game, maybe I not clarifying myself but I just don't play these hands like a robot on these type of tables especially QQ or JJ(which is really mariginally)..

[fluff]

And I stand by my statement: not raising PF with QQ in a loose ring game is bad advice.

Congrats on your 5k win at Pacific, the players there must be even more horrible then described.

[lefty rosen]

Play a midnight Pacific game at 2/4 and 3/6 you can sometimes get 10 in I mean when I feel their are a few thinking players I obviously raise them and 100 percent AA but QQ vs 6+ players unless you release them easily is a potenial disaster. Yeah if there is a prelop raise I obvioulsy horse with QQ or KK or AA but like I said especially QQ I look for the feel of the table if its super loose bingo styles.......

[lefty rosen]

Dead hand chasers but I didn't win that much on the full I played mostly short if I could I couldnt take the major suckouts, plus the short payed like full without the drawouts against monsters........

[Tosh]

I don't play much at Pacific anymore but I would raise 22 on the button against this kind of limping field, let alone QQ or JJ.