Can someone explain 2/5 limit hold'em in Colorado for me???

[rkiray]

There will be lots of smoke everywhere but the Hyatt. I recommend the Lodge and consider the 5/5 game. They tend to be much wilder than the 2/5 games and if you can hold your own on-line 2/4 you should be ok. If you get to a real "action table" though the swings can be huge. These games are all somewhat tough to beat due to the high rakes and that there can be some very good players in the game. People who play mid and high limit in Vegas and elsewhere have to play either 2/5 or 5/5 in CO (some will play either depending on the type of game they prefer, the 5/5 can get really wild sometimes (not usually though) so some mid-limit players prefer the saner 2/5 games). At least at the Lodge I don't see that many truely bad players and when newbies show up they almost always get slaughtered. I almost feel sorry for them ( I never felt this for newbies in low-limit in Vegas, since I think they almost always have a much better chance). The week-end players are definitely much weaker than the week-day crowd, and week-day afternoons are brutal (bunch of old rocks in general). Like the other poster said you almost always have to show down the best hand since 5 bucks rarely scares anyone (except on weekday afternoons).

[rharless]

Actually, I think the weekday night games are better than the weekend night games. The weekday night games are full of casino employees who got an E/O (early out) and they are ready to gamble. I was shocked at how good the weeknight games were and was told by a dealer: "yeah, on the weekends, you Denver people come up and rock up the games."

I haven't played on a weekday night in 2-3 years so it could have changed.

I'd never recommend 5-5 to a new player, personally. I've seen people lose almost two red racks in that game in one night -- playing "normally." Three pots, back to even. Swings are wild.

[rkiray]

Nice post in general but I believe there is one correction. I know earlier this year they changed the law (actually gaming commision rules) so that all stradles are now live. I haven't played much 2/5 lately (only when waiting for a 5/5 table), but before this year all 5/5 stradles were "dead". This generally didn't slow too many people down since at most 5/5 tables if someone put out a stradle the betting was almost always capped at a 5/5 table. Now the stradles are live, so I'm guessing this would be true for a $6 stradle at 2/5.

[rkiray]

I'd be interested

[rharless]

Actually, now that you mention that, it rings a bell -- I heard something about straddles that everyone was saying was a clear violation of Colorado gaming yet was being allowed. That's probably it.

No matter -- I generally like straddlers in my game [img]/forums/images/icons/smile.gif[/img]

[rkiray]

I think the 5/5 games are easier to beat but I admit that the swings are wilder especially if it is an "action game". I mentioned that in an earlier post. Actually what I've seen that has the biggest impact at night (or weekend afternoons) is the size of the bad beat jackpots. When a jackpot gets above 50k, the gamblers come out. They tend to play mainly at the 5/5 tables. I believe the worst players i've seen in CO are the maniac gamblers. They almost only play 5/5. So that's where I like to play. He said he was doing well at 2/4 on-line so I wasn't thinking of him as a beginner. But I must admit CO takes some adjusting that takes some time. When I moved here 3/5 years ago, I started mostly playing 2/5 and getting my ass kicked. You definietly need to adjust. I found the games much harder to beat than low limit games in vegas. At that time I didn't have much live experience, I had mostly read books and played TurboTexas Hold'em, but in three trips to Vegas I won every time. The normal advice didn't seem to apply in CO. I tried 5/5 twice, and both times got in absoluty crazy action games and lost. So for about 1.5 years I just played 2/5 and eventully beat it. Then I moved up to 5/5 and did even better. When the jackpots get above 70k the true lunatics come out. The tables I like best have one or two lunatics and I will do seat changes to get on their left. If you get at a table with 6 or more lunatics I will definitely table change (usually sooner). But you guys seem to have less respect for the 2/5 players than I do. I have never played at a table in CO 2/5 or 5/5(and I've played at a bunch) that is as easy as the average low-limit LV table (up to 8/16). Of course I have played at some low-limit tables in LV that are tougher than the average CO table, but I've never seen a really easy table in CO.

[WiredPair]

I am very new to the forum, but I would be interested as well. I live in the Denver area and have been up to the Hyatt a handful of times now. That is the only live experience I have so far. Keep me in the loop if you get an outing together. Thanks.

[oddjob]

i have a tendency to agree. i think for the most part, there is rarely a time you should be betting $2. to extract teh most money, you should bet the most. people will still call $5 if they were going to call a $2 bet. and if they would raise a $5 bet, if they were to raise a $2 bet. this is not always the case of course, but in the long run i think you're better off betting the max.

one thing i'm worried about in an all 2+2 denver game, is who's donating the money? we need some fish in there as well... heh, cause i don't want to be the sucker at the table.

[oddjob]

i've found that both games can be quite profitable. in my experience, there are poor players during the weeknights, who want to sit there for as long as possible. so they play very weak tight. you can still win a lot from them.

the weekend nights, there are a lot more regulars, but at the lodge, there are so many tables, that there are plenty of tourists as well. these seem to be the players that'll buy in for a rack, and have no problem playing an hour and lose it all and go find their gf/bf/wife/husband, only to be replaced by someone else who will do the same thing.

personally i've had my biggest wins on the weeknights as they're more consistent and usually climb up, whereas i have done allright on the weekend nights as the games are a bit crazier and my swings are bigger, and i'm not smart enough to rack up and leave during an upswing, cause i'm sure that i'll score another big pot.

[rharless]

I heard once in the cardroom about a guy who did a TTH sim for a 5-5 game, using the rake, jackpot drop, and a $1 tip, and in the long run, everyone at the table was broke.

I have no idea if the sim was accurate or not.