taking a shot ...i really need some help here guys

I'm thinking about taking a shot at a mixed game that happens once a week at a country club here in Dallas. It's full of older guys that might have more money than this entire forum combined. They dont let people just come in and play....it's a closed circle and if you have to know one of them to come play. It's a mixed game, omaha and hold'em, one round of each. Limits are 100-200 with a half kill (meaning that if someone wins two pots in a row, you play 150-300 and the player who won posts an additional BB)

My uncles friend had told me about the game a long time ago and asked me yesterday if I wanted to play in it after we finish playing golf on Saturday.

The game is soft, I know it is. He's described the game to me and it's a lot of unraised mutiway passive pots.

Here's my dilemma. First, I'm going to have to put a large chunk of BR in play. Too much, really. I plan on bringing 10K. This has me a little nervous. I dont want to run bad or get sucked out on in this game and go home wondering why I just lost four months worth of work. But, how can I turn this down? Secondly, i've developed characteristics of a seasoned live player. I dont think it would be a good idea to come into this game doing the chip tricks that I do without even thinking about because it's like, engrained in my mind. I'm terribly focused too. I dont really talk that much and i'm always watching actions. I dont want them to think they let a player into their game that takes poker very seriously and not get invited back.

Also, assuming this game is what I think it will be most of the time for me- profitable...how do I play? I dont want to leave them with the impression that i'm there to clean up. Ideally, i'd play and win a little and try to go un-noticed so i could play in the game on a regular basis. Please dont read this and think i'm trying to brag about my play, i'm not suggesting that I'm an expert player, but I know that this game is the equivalent of a home game played by ultra rich guys who play once a week and occasionally in vegas. These guys are gamblers; they're not poker players. The money they wager on the golf course is chicken scratch compared to the money they put into this game.


So, do i suck it up and buy in for 10K? I'm 90% sure I will. I hate jeopardizing that much of my BR, but I have an edge, I know that much. And secondly, how do I not seem like someone who's been doing this five hours a day for the past three years?

If it were you, would you put 1/3 of your BR in play, and if you would, how would you handle the game and the players. Details, details, details.

Seriously, comments and suggestions will be greatly appreciated.

Tex [img]/images/graemlins/wink.gif[/img]

[mantasm]

Try and run good.

[James282]

What are you, like Mike McDermott going to take a shot with his whole BR on the line? Decide how much you can risk, and go risk it. If you are going to be crushed by a 10k loss, then you have no business playing in a 100-200 or 150-300 mixed game. The idea behind taking shots is to take an amount of money that you are comfortable losing, and putting it all on the line while playing your best. You are going to be scared money - and no matter how soft the game is, it will effect your play greatly.

With regards to your chip tricks - what the hell are you worried about? Just don't do it? With how nervous you are, this seems like a terrible idea.
-James

[andyfox]

I'd be asking myself what the upside is and if it trumps the downside. How badly will I feel if I lose 50 big blinds in the game? How good will I feel if I win 50? If the game features a lot of multi-way pots, I'm going to suffer some "bad" beats. It can be psychologically devastating to blow four months worth of profits in one session.

No matter your poker advantage, you're playing against guys for whom the money doesn't mean very much, and you're already "nervous" about playing for $10,000. Will you be able to play your best game, especially if you don't want to come across as a card shark? Maybe these guys aren't quite the fishes your uncle's friend says they are. While there may indeed be one or two, there might also be a couple of other good players at the table.

What stakes do you normally play? Will you be able to put $1,500 into one pot, lose it, and be able to continue to play well?

Well, considering it's only a third (a sizeable chunk, to be sure, but still) I'd say take a shot. If the game is as weak as you say it is, you probably won't have to sit there and concentrate as much as you normally would at a table full of sharks. Tells and betting patterns should be easier to pick up on. You'll also have to adjust your game, obviously. With a lot of multiway unraised pots, limping in early with 9-10, j-10 might be a profitable play. Just don't crack and go on tilt when your aces get cracked by junk, while losing a grand in a pot. I'm the master of meticulously building my roll then sitting at a table with higher limits than I'm used to (usually no limit...I know I should just stick to limit with a small roll, but I just loooove NL), and I've had the nuts drawn out by longshots, losing half or all my roll in one hand. I know you know this, but it still needs to be said: do NOT go on tilt! Easier said than done, we all know. All things being equal, though, you should clean up the game.
If you want to be invited back, just be jovial, or at least not hostile. If they're not sandbagging, don't sandbag. What you lose in extra bets on certain hands will be more than made up for coming back to the game. If they sandbag, go ahead and sandbag. If you get caught bluffing, go ahead and tell them 'nice call' and always make them feel good about the way they play. You probably have thought about all this anyway, so hopefully I'm just reaffirming what you know. If you're set upon going to this game there's no one on earth that's going to keep you from it, so all anyone can say is good luck and don't lose your cool.

[DcifrThs]

you say you're90% sure you're gunna play the game.

but you've already ansered your own question why you shouldn't.

Barron

PS- James you have actually come to the point where you have watched rounders too many times.

[Lestat]

If you're willing drop down or have other means to replenish your br, then go ahead and give it a shot.

The biggest concern I have for you is that you have yet to meet Mr. Variance. At least not when he's in a foul mood.

[veganmav]

[ QUOTE ]
you say you're90% sure you're gunna play the game.

but you've already ansered your own question why you shouldn't.

Barron

PS- James you have actually come to the point where you have watched rounders too many times.

[/ QUOTE ]

Barron, he isn't playin poker for the thrill of freakin victory here. He has bills to pay, rent, alimoney child support. He plays for money, his kids eat.

[elmo]

do you knnow how to play omaha?

[phish]

Private games like this are a dream come true. You would be very foolish to not take advantage of it. These are precisely the type of opponents you dream about: old rich guys who have been playing for years and have never improved during that time. If this ain't the time to take a shot, I don't know what is.
Some adjustments: you'll figure out very quickly the 'texture' of the game and will need to adjust appropriately. But I suspect that they play a mixed batch of split pot games. These games will generally be very loose and bluffing is not recommended. Don't checkraise too much cause you may piss them off. Generally speaking, just fold more frequently than they do and bet your strong hands or draws. Bet your two-way hands and play more passively on your one-way hands (unless you have a lock). Fold all hands where you don't have a very strong hand in either direction. In other words, don't chase mediocre one way draws like they do.
Even tho the game is loose, your downwards swings probably shouldn't be too great since it's passive. One danger you need to watch out for is playing with 'scared money'. Don't tighten up too much, especially late in the hand.
And if the games require declaring hi or low at the end, there are strategies for that too. Depending on how the declaring is done, a little bit of thinking will yield great benefits. (For example if the last person to raise has to declare first, then you may not want to put in the last raise.)
What is it they say: "Opportunity may knock, but it seldom nags." Don't miss it.