\"Playing\" a friend.
 

Just got back from a 3 day Vegas stint, was awesome..truly did nothing but hold 'em & the occasional club. I'd like some opinions on the following:

2/4 no limit game at Mandalay Bay. Playing at a full table with a good friend & a bunch of strangers. One hand, I had pocket Aces. My friend is in early position with pocket Queens. He raises, I re-raise, he calls. Flop is rags, he raises, I re-raise, he calls. The final two steets I simply call his bets. The pot ends up being 200-300 dollars, and I take it down. (This is a fairly large amount of money for my friend.)

Similar situations occured with this friend of mine throughout the next few hours. It just so happens that I was on the winning end of these hands. I would say I played them aggresively, as I would have played them against anyone else.

At one point in the session, a few players criticized me for playing so cut-throat vs. a friend. I have mixed feelings on this.

From one perspective, I'm there to play cards and i'm not going to let up, no matter who i'm playing. And what if I did ease up, say checking or calling when I normally would have bet or raised, and then I get outdrawn? Then I'd be extremely pissed off.

Anyway, a little later on, I ended up feeling bad, and folding pocket Jacks to a pre-flop raise of his. It turns out I would have flopped a boat, and won a $500 pot which my friend ended up losing anyway.

On the flip side, our friendship is worth more to me than a few pots or getting beat or outdrawn or whatever.

In the future, is it ok to let up on friends? What if it comes down to us heads up, can I tell him my hand? Is this ethical? Is this frowned upon? Just curious as to what others would do, or have done.

Hrm, looking back on this post, it reads more like a Dear Abby letter than a 2+2 post, but any advice would be appreciated anyway [img]/images/graemlins/wink.gif[/img]

Thanks in advance for any input.

iash

iash

Re: \"Playing\" a friend.
 

Poker is a strictly competitive game. If you soft play him then you are being unethical. If you don't want to take his money play at different tables.

It might be better if you played limit with your friends. That way there is less chance that you will lose a large chunk of money to each other.

Re: \"Playing\" a friend.
 

If you have any reservations about playing against (taking money from) friends, you should just not sit at the same table...

-Tik

Re: \"Playing\" a friend.
 

I have one friend that consistently reprimanded me for raising him when he bets in to me. I've also trapped him on numerous occasions. Sometimes it was due to me having a very good read on him as a player. It is completely unfair to the other players at the table for me to play him soft. It took a few sessions in AC for him to understand this. I basically let him know that he should play me the same whether it is at a home game on in a B&M. If he feels I have an unfair advantage over him, he should not sit at my table. Everytime I sit at the table it is a learning experience and I would hope he thinks the same way. It is not really fair that your friend happened to be in that seat. Had a stranger been in that seat, you would have been very happy with the profit you earned from that seat/player. This was the same type of situation where my bankroll was always significantly larger than his. Fortunately I've moved up in limits and this hasn't been a problem lately.

Re: \"Playing\" a friend.
 

take your boat and then buy him a drink and a lap dance later to make up for the other beats.

Re: \"Playing\" a friend.
 

I've always felt that you should play a friend just like anyone else, until that hand is down to just the two of you, in which case a little softplay never hurt anyone.

On a side note, a lot of people don't understand that when I raise you, it's not a personal attack against you. In more cases, it's an attack against those people yet to act. It's me saying that if you want to get in here, you'd better know what you're doing.

When it gets heads up....well then, that's a different story.

Re: \"Playing\" a friend.
 

[ QUOTE ]
Anyway, a little later on, I ended up feeling bad, and folding pocket Jacks to a pre-flop raise of his. It turns out I would have flopped a boat, and won a $500 pot which my friend ended up losing anyway.

[/ QUOTE ]

I hope you learned your (very expensive) lesson.

Re: \"Playing\" a friend.
 

If i have friends who don't like to be played hard, i tell them they shouldn't play. It's BS when friends softplay each other. It's too bad there really isn't anything one can do about it.

[ QUOTE ]
In the future, is it ok to let up on friends? What if it comes down to us heads up, can I tell him my hand? Is this ethical? Is this frowned upon? Just curious as to what others would do, or have done

[/ QUOTE ]

How would you like to be at a table where players softplay except when you're in the pot? Put yourself in others shoes. This isn't a team game.

[ QUOTE ]
On the flip side, our friendship is worth more to me than a few pots or getting beat or outdrawn or whatever.

[/ QUOTE ]

It's a pretty fragile friendship if it's predicated on not being bet into. Don't you think it's kind of pathetic?

[ QUOTE ]
At one point in the session, a few players criticized me for playing so cut-throat vs. a friend

[/ QUOTE ]

boo hoo. Welcome to poker. Guess what? It's a cutthroat game.

Not getting over this hurdle, and a simple one at that, you may not be cut out to play the game seriously. Serious players don't even give this issue a 2nd thought.

To paraphrase a poster a ways back,

"It's not personal, it's poker."

b

Re: \"Playing\" a friend.
 

Talk to your friend when it looks like you're gonna sit down at a table together and agree on how you are going to play it. Just tell him - I'm gonna play my regular style against you. Friends playing soft against each other is frustrating for the rest of the table.

Buy some drinks or dinner after you leave the table to keep things friendly.

Re: \"Playing\" a friend.
 

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
Anyway, a little later on, I ended up feeling bad, and folding pocket Jacks to a pre-flop raise of his. It turns out I would have flopped a boat, and won a $500 pot which my friend ended up losing anyway.

[/ QUOTE ]

I hope you learned your (very expensive) lesson.

[/ QUOTE ]

Yes, this made me realize I just have to play my hands, my style, and if he gets in the way, so be it.

When I flopped the boat I quietly got up from the table & walked around the casino for about 10 minutes. I was steaming.