3-6-12 lake charles madness

[kantu]

i have played down there a fair amount and feel like i am just begining to understand this game . i really think it is unlike any other hold em i have played elsewhere (vegas, canada). i'd really like to hear other's idea of how they play this game and what their expectaions are.
this is what i know so far:
1) a raise preflop is a pot builder, and if from early position, will entice more people to come in
2) 12 on the river will induce a call, where 6 will get a fold

i play any suited ace, any pocket pair, suited connectors down to 6-5, any two paint, most unsuited connectors (depending on the situation) and mid range suited gaps (J9, 10 7....and embarassingly enough 6-3!). with this range of hands i have moderate swings, but it's worked the last few times down there and i've ended showing a small profit. i enjoy splashing around, and get away from marginal hands in small pots. i thought i did a decent job of alternatley appearing super loose and reckless, or super tight, and mixing up my game for those paying attention.

anyways, i'd be interested to hear what others think about this game, and what their strategies are.

drew

[The Q]

Sounds like my experience there. I didn't play quite as many hands as you, but did loosen up a bit and came home with a nice profit. River play is the interesting part. Value betting a decent but not great hand can be scary because the raise can come back at you for twice as much.

A quick example: I had AT on a flop of 22T. I bet all the way with 6 on the end. One guy had stayed to the river and then raised 12 more. Of course he had a 2. I didn't feel like checking the end was smart and I didn't want to start with 12 either. Basically the other guy played it right and there's isn't much else I could have done. He got maximum value by waiting til the river to raise, though part of that was positioning because he was directly to my left and wanted others to stay in.

Overall a fun game. We had a few straddlers that liked to mix it up a bit.

I don't think the structure changed my game as much as the super-loose players did. I would be interested to hear what others say about it as well.

How often do you go there? That drive is a bit too much for me to do too much.

[kantu]

we don't get down there as often as i'd like, maybe once of twice a year. the drive back late on sunday night after staying well past when we said we'd leave is always fun.

i forgot all about the straddlers....a fairly common occurance.

i forgot to do a little room update in the original post. we played all three rooms:

harrah's: on friday night 7pm -1am : maybe 5 or 6 3-6-12 tables and a few nl. free dogs and drinks. dealer's were fine.

coushatta: sat noon til 1am : new room, that i thought was really nice, orange sunburst felt! tables are 9 handed. lots of 3-6-12 and nl. in the nl some giant stacks--why even sit with 300 when ppl have like 3 grand? dealers fine except for one dude who was super slow, slowest dealer ever.

isle: 3-11pm sunday. slow start, room picked up plenty 3-6-12 and nl. renovated room-- painted it bright, light colors, purple felt (very soft). free dogs. high hand jackpot every hour($200) from 4 to midnight. i made quad 9s and lost out to KKKK, and then next hour made quad 5s and lost to 7777!

[free=good]

I usually go to Shreveport because my mom lives up near Dallas and watches the kids for me, but I keep thinking I'll hit Lake Charles. Do they also have 3-6 or 4-8 or is it all 3-6-12 in LC? Just curious because I'd want to know that before I went since I've never played it.

[The Q]

It's just the 3-6-12 game at Harrah's. That's the only limit game they had when I was there. They had a waiting list for 10-20, but it didn't look like that was going to get going any time soon. Isle of Capri may have others, but I didn't go there.

By the way free=good, I remember playing with you in a Hornfans tourney a while back. Those are fun games but I haven't made some of the more recent ones. I'm QHorn on Hornfans.

[The Q]

Holy [censored] Kantu, you lost with quads twice in one night! That would have been worth some huge cash at Harrah's with their bad beat jackpot.

[kantu]

i won the hands with quads, but not the high hand jackpot at the isle($200). every hour from 4 to midnight on sunday, the high hand for the room gets the cash.

the isle, harrah's and coushatta are all 3-6-12 -- 3 preflop, 3 on flop, 6 on turn, 6 or 12 on the river.

from what i heard, the no limit games have killed the 10-20 and 20-40 games.

[The Q]

Ok that makes sense, I'm an idiot. Reading comprehension skills are off a bit today.

[Phat Mack]

These can be great games. You'll see a lot of chasing, and to take down a pot you will often need to show down the best hand at the end.

[ QUOTE ]
any two paint

[/ QUOTE ]

Be careful of what you flop with this one. If you flop top two, there's at least a straight draw, possibly a flush draw on the flop or turn, and bottom set lurking in the weeds. Top two isn't necessarily a hand to marry in these games when they are multi-way to the end (nor is top pair-good kicker). If you are making good reads and have trained the table to respect your bets, they can turn a profit, but if you are in a "super loose" phase they can get you strung out.

[DuceTrey23]

From Houston, it's a 3 hour drive, so I've made the drive a few times. Way too many people playing the flops and going for long-draws there. I play the suited connectors and small pairs much more than I do when I go to Vegas and when the flop misses, drop the hand, because the chances of buying a hand are slim. Sand-bagging works well there, too...I really prefer the tougher play found in Vegas as playing there can make you play sloppy.