Loose Players and Game Selection

[Walter]

If you are playing with very loose, very bad players in a small-stakes game, what do you think is the most profitable game to call? Or is there an even better game that is not spread in casinos that would maximize your edge.

[Dynasty]

Stud high only should be better than either hold'em or Omaha. The mistakes loose players make on 3rd street in stud are much more costly than the mistakes made in the flop games.

[Mason Malmuth]

Hi Walter:

I don't think it's even close. You want to play either razz (seven-card stud for low) or jacks-or-better to open draw poker without the joker (but playing with the joker is still pretty good).

Best wishes,
Mason

[snakehead]

could you please explain why you think razz is a good choice?

[Mason Malmuth]

Hi Snakehead:

In razz, since there are no flushes or straights, it's much easier to read someone's hand. Furthermore, bad loose players will frequently start with a bad one versus your three good ones. Thus you frequently get to play seven cards versus their six and the hands are easy to read, and yes they will sometimes start with that bad one up.

By the way, assuming you are an expert, against decent players razz becomes a terrible game to play. But against live ones it can be great.

Best wishes,
Mason

[chaos]

Lowball (5 card draw low) is pretty good also if your opponents will regularly draw 2 or even 3 cards.

[Billy LTL]

Not exactly poker but 7-27 is pretty much a guaranteed money-maker if you know how to play it.

[Clarkmeister]

7-27 RULES.

Billy, do you play ins beat outs or outs beat ins?

[Billy LTL]

Clarkmeister, in answer to your question - 6.5 beats 7.5, and 26.5 beats 27.5. Though I'll go with what the dealer calls of course.

The optimal rules as far as I'm concerned allow the option of passing a draw only three times - after that you live with what you've got, or fold.

Billy

PS - Oh yeah, if you are ever in a situation where you have introduced the game and it received rave reviews, you might consider dealing 7-47 towards the end of the night.

[spiral]

I think variants of H/L stud with no qualifier and a declare are far and away the best. Put in the option to buy cards and escalate the betting toward the end of the hand.

Another devastating game that incorporates Mason's observation about how good draw is would be the following:

5 or 7 card draw, H/L with a declare, roll at the end.

The order of action would be:

get cards
bet
draw
bet
arrange your 5 card hand in a face down pile
everyone turns over one card
bet
repeat until each player has 4 up and one down
simultaneous declare for High, Low, or Scoop
bet
show

This game should yield a monumental edge against bad players