"Playing" a friend.

[thirddan]

i used to play at separate tables just cuz there usually weren't two seats that opened up at the same time, but now if its possible i will move to a table with my friend if the game is good...i find that the boredom is much easier to handle when you ahve a friend at the table, also it offers good exercises in hand reading and playing against thinking players (assuming your friend is such) some of the most interesting discussions come from you and your friend being in the same pot...

[Luv2DriveTT]

[ QUOTE ]
2/4 no limit game at Mandalay Bay. Playing at a full table with a good friend & a bunch of strangers. One hand, I had pocket Aces. My friend is in early position with pocket Queens. He raises, I re-raise, he calls. Flop is rags, he raises, I re-raise, he calls. The final two steets I simply call his bets. The pot ends up being 200-300 dollars, and I take it down. (This is a fairly large amount of money for my friend.)

[/ QUOTE ]

If you two were heads up, it sounds like he was betting into you, not the other way around. Hence you had no control over the outcome if you just called his bets. Its a lesson your friend will have to learn, NL is not a friendly game. [img]/images/graemlins/frown.gif[/img]

TT [img]/images/graemlins/club.gif[/img]

[iash]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
2/4 no limit game at Mandalay Bay. Playing at a full table with a good friend & a bunch of strangers. One hand, I had pocket Aces. My friend is in early position with pocket Queens. He raises, I re-raise, he calls. Flop is rags, he raises, I re-raise, he calls. The final two steets I simply call his bets. The pot ends up being 200-300 dollars, and I take it down. (This is a fairly large amount of money for my friend.)

[/ QUOTE ]

If you two were heads up, it sounds like he was betting into you, not the other way around. Hence you had no control over the outcome if you just called his bets. Its a lesson your friend will have to learn, NL is not a friendly game. [img]/images/graemlins/frown.gif[/img]

TT [img]/images/graemlins/club.gif[/img]

[/ QUOTE ]

Yes, he was betting into me, I guess it was my re-raising that people had a problem with. The more I think about it, the more I agree that one should play their best regardless of the opponent or circumstances.

As for fighting the boredom - my friend & I sat side by side at that table for 21 hours, I don't think that would have been possible if I was by myself.

The major complication was he could not afford to play at that limit. Still, it was his decision to sit down at the table. In the future I'd advise him to play lower limits or limit-poker. Otherwise I'll let him know I play him the same as anyone else.

Thanks for all the comments, much appreciated.

iash

[SheridanCat]

[ QUOTE ]
The pot ends up being 200-300 dollars, and I take it down. (This is a fairly large amount of money for my friend.)

[/ QUOTE ]

This is key. Perhaps your friend shouldn't have been in this game. You're not his mommy, even though he's your friend. If you want rebate him later, go for it, but take it from him now.

I always play my friends hard and I expect the same back. I was playing 4/8 at the Golden Nugget two to the left of my wife - that was the only time we've ever played together. I felt wierd when we got headsup once or twice, but I still wanted to win. Which I didn't.

Regards,

T

[krazyace5]

I would rather have my friend win my money than a stranger, besides I could hit him up for a loan afterwards. [img]/images/graemlins/grin.gif[/img]

[Homer]

I have one friend that consistently reprimanded me for raising him when he bets in to me.

Maybe he should stop betting.

[willie]

see my post from last week about a similar situation

told my friend i'd never be softplaying him so either play back at me or just get a different table.

[okayplayer]

If I'm in a game with my friend, we will always check it down if we're heads-up (we'd rather take everyone else's money not each others). If there are other people in the hand, we play as if the other is anyone else (however it helps to narrow his hands down!). But if I'm playing a home game with a bunch of friends, then I'll take their money. [img]/images/graemlins/grin.gif[/img]

[Turo]

I was playing at the Bike today with a guy that was telling everyone how much of a nice guy he is and how he never bets when he is heads up.
He never bet when he was heads up. The time he did bet heads up by accident and he beat the guy that called him he returned him the 8 dollars from the last bet. He also said "im sorry for being a jerk and betting at you"
A few hads later I checked raised the guy and everyone at the table including him gave me grief about it.
Personly I found it rediculous because we are there to make money, Not to make friends.

[jmark]

Of course you should softplay eachother. There's no reason to drive up the rake after you've managed to bully everyone else out of the hand. You're just going to end up splitting the other suckers' money later, right?