Switching $2/4 Tables

[Still the Spank E]

Am I right to think that there is enough of a difference between 2/4 tables at a large public cardroom (the Taj, say) to make getting away from a bad one a good move? I consider a bad one one where NUMEROUS players attempt to see 90% of the flops and half of THEM will not lay down even the most ridiculous of long shot hands. This describes the very kind of table that beginners such as myself endlessly complain about in this forum, though it is not the ONLY one to be found in cardrooms big enough to accommodate a lot of tables. Playing a group of calling stations is like playing high card against 51 opponents with the expectation of someday getting ahead 300 bets via "skill." I could, of course, be wrong--I am about most things.

[JTrout]

I think you are wrong on this one. The 2-4 game you described is the dream game in my opinion. It is the most consistently profitable game you'll find.

Adjustments need to be made in terms of strategy, and you may not find it the most challenging game of poker, but you can win at a nice rate in a game such as you described.

Never bluff. Don't semi-bluff. Never attempt to steal blinds. Play your suited connecters, pairs, suited Aces, most suited Kings. You should only win about 7% of hands (in a 10-handed game), but you should be a big winner.

Good luck.
JTrout.

[scotnt73]

this is the game i look for.

[Still the Spank E]

I guess that the deal is that the fun and the challenge (to say nothing of the glamour) seem to me to be almost entirely drained from the game when it gets reduced to this. As a semi-mature, quasi-responsible adult, I understand that my first priority is supposed to be to suck it up and let myself be bored to tears while winning my 7% of the pots and biding my time before moving up to $3/6. If this sounds like a rant, I guess it is, but I'm quite sure you're both right as to the proper way to handle these tables. Positive 300 bets sure does look like a helluva long way up from here. Thanks to you both.

[Paul Talbot]

If the game is as you describe you'll win enough to move up to 3-6 rather quickly.

One point of concern though. If you are getting bored easily then you might be neglecting some skills. Are you trying to put people on hands? Are you trying to see how people could have played things differently to win more money (or lose less)? Are you looking for tells? There are plenty of skills to work on while you put in your hours.

Of course it is hard to read a hand when people will play just about any two, but that should be part of the fun. You'll still notice that some people will only raise on the big streets with two pair or better, you'll notice some people will ram their draws, others wont. Being able to spot these tings quickly and easily will help your game when you move up.

Essentially, the suckers are paying you to sit there and hone these skills. Think of it as a paid internship before you move up to a "tougher" game at 3-6 or 5-10 that you will find more interesting.

Regards,

Paul

[Still the Spank E]

I wouldn't say I'm getting bored easily. I am observant of those things (e.g., betting tendencies) that I'm supposed to be observant of (though I'm sure I could be even more vigilant--couldn't we all?) I was probably just ranting because my last outing was an uphill battle against real bad cards/luck, which just simply happens once in a while--no permanent getting around it. Also because making a few bucks tends to require a long day at these levels and the progress to higher ones can't come fast enough for my tastes. I like to think I'm learning what I'm supposed to be learning at $2/4, it just isn't always easy to feel sure that one is unless every outing is a winning outing--that's all. Thanks for your input.

[Webster]

Spank - do you live in Wisconsin? The fluctuation on these tables are pretty hi - thus - as they are very profitable IN THE LONG RUN - they take a LOT of patiance.

The problem is that all the tables are probebly the same. AND you are probebly playing 25 hands per hour.

I feel your pain 100%. PERSONALLY - I hate these games, you can not read a single person and unless you have at least a straight you will probebly lose. (well, not really but you know what I mean).

Your tables are the kind where you win one hand and you will leave a winner - problem is it might take 2 hours for that one win.

[Zetack]

Just a thought, if you don't like the kind of table that makes a lot of players salivate, perhaps you might examine your own game.

That said, there is no reason you are required to like what other people like, and no reason you have to play in a style that you don't enjoy. If fun is important to you, and this style is not fun and if other tables suit your temperment or style better, by all means move... Now whether the other tables are likely to have a different style, that I don't know.

--Zetack