Re: Throwing Money Away - Intentionally Losing
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BTW... what limits/game is your game tough for? Mine is tough at the $25 max NLHE level.
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Our tournaments are $20 buy-in, no rebuys. Our cash games (which we hold most of the time) are mixed $0.05/$0.10 blinds in NL/PL and $0.25/$0.50 (with $0.10 SB) limit. The buy-in is usually $20. We've got a pretty good assortment of players, but a few (like myself) are graduate/PhD students with almost no disposable income, and a $20 loss can really hurt. I have no problem discussing strategy with my friends/opponents once the game is over. I figure, for a mere $20 per lesson, it's tough to find a better poker school in this area.
I hate to brag since I know we're still far from great players, but I'm still proud of what some of our regulars have been able to achieve outside of our game. Those with real jobs have made impressive tournament places and wins in games where the buy-in is far too steep for me. Recently, a few have even been playing in an local underground $1/$2 NL game. So far, they've all managed to take money off the table every time.
I guess I could conceivably do the same but, with tuition what it is these days, I'm not yet willing to risk the kind of money needed. I don't like playing scared, and that's exactly how I would be playing if I had next month's groceries and gas bill on the table.
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Seems like I'm not the only one who has to soft-play people at times . I'm really torn on it... I assume as the level of the game moves up, I'll be able to play a little harder....
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You will. More importantly, you'll know who you can play your most evil game against. I sometimes play softer against weak/new players simply because I think they're an asset to the game. Simply put, they make the game more fun. On the other hand, we've had many players in our game that I didn't mind busting at all. The latter all seem to be in their early 20s, and they all constantly brag about how mad their poker skillz are. I think most of you know what I'm talking about. In my experience, these guys eventually either settle down and start learning how to play, or they stop coming to the game altogether out of embarrassment. Either way, we're happy.
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