Dealers Choice (1 Viewer)

detroitdad

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The group I play with pretty much sticks to .25/.50 to .50/1 HOPE format cash game. I've never played Dealers Choice.

Yesterday I was invited to a .50/1 Dealers Choice game being hosted by a friend (Mike32). I thought, why the hell not.

WOW.............I was introduced to some crazy shit.

Favorites:

4 card Cinci
5 card Cinci
PLO8 Full Monty

We also played Crazy Pineapple, Ludicrous Pineapple (4 cards, discard one after the flop, one after the turn), Push (which I opted out, still don't quite get, but the dealer was a dumbass), Screw your neighbor, 5 card/draw two, and probably a couple of others that I'm missing.

We also played the a few hands of the standard HL, PLO, PLO8 and PLO8 Double Board.

Really the only game I won at was PLO8 Full Monty. Played like PLO8. Two boards are dealt. The board is played with connectors/reach around/option. Just fucking insane. Biggest pot I won was at this game. I scooped with the nut low and second nut high, 200+ pot.

I took 300 with me. Planning on losing two hundred honestly. I pretty much played my game, even with some of the crazy shit. I cashed out at around 220. Only 55 of that was profit. Over all I got to meet/play with some new players. Got to try my hand at a few new games (some of which I would like to add to our mix) and actually make a couple of bucks.

One guy wanted to play acey duecy. A couple of other players said they wouldn't play (including me once the rules were explained to me).

I definitely think I'll be hosting a dealers choice game in the future.

B
 
These games are alot of fun, we have been doing this type of stuff for better than 25 years now. I think it is important to remember that the "fun" factor is a little higher than the "poker" factor in these games. i prefer our regular cash games overall but it is a blast to mix it up once in a while with a good circus game. Cincinnati is one of my personal favorites, I really do not like screw your neighbor, I think I outgrew it as I used to like it. Also can do without acey/deucey.
 
I think it is important to remember that the "fun" factor is a little higher than the "poker" factor in these games. i prefer our regular cash games overall but it is a blast to mix it up once in a while with a good circus game.

These two sentences sum up my feeling exactly. These games are a great way to work a different part of your poker brain. We also play for lower stakes on these nights to keep it more about the fun than about the money. I'm not sure if I do things normally or not but my dealer's choice nights are one orbit + 1 hand of each game (you deal your own game twice) and the next dealer calls the new game. In my invites for these games I include a statement to the effect of "Management reserves the right to veto any game that is called." I have absolutely no desire to play between the sheets, guts, screw your neighbor, etc. when I host. Not a fan.
 
These games are alot of fun, we have been doing this type of stuff for better than 25 years now. I think it is important to remember that the "fun" factor is a little higher than the "poker" factor in these games. i prefer our regular cash games overall but it is a blast to mix it up once in a while with a good circus game. Cincinnati is one of my personal favorites, I really do not like screw your neighbor, I think I outgrew it as I used to like it. Also can do without acey/deucey.

It was a blast. It was definitely outside my poker comfort zone. I thought I did alright not getting sucked into to much "gambling". Mike, you sat next to me. Thoughts on my play?

LS, I like your dealers choice rule to veto any game. I think on occasion I will start hosting a dealers choice game and I will definitely adapt this rule.

B
 
Generally play dealer calls with a Spread Limit. Keeps the fun in the game. I do not remember cinci but, have played plenty of the other games. Glad you had fun that is what it is there for.
 
Bill I thought your play was fine. The funny thing was you made your money in the circus stuff and I made most of mine in the regualr games. I recall two big calls I made on the river in double board games where I had the worst of it out of everyone who called. I was thinking I am putting too high a value on my boats when so many quads are possible...LOL.
 
The absolute funnest games are always the old school games. Early to mid 90's my college friends and I would always play the following, and we try to revisit these during our annual reunion ski/golf outings:

Acey Duece (this is a must)
Guts
Fu*k your neighbor
Follow the Queen

We'd always end the night with a "big" buyin of $20 and play Thirty-One. For those of you who don't know these games, you probably didn't play cards with people before the big bang of 2003, but there was a time when there were many games running that played these less skill, more chance games that would result in belly aches of laughing. Due to less skill, the needling becomes the focal point since nobody has to go into the tank or get moody from losses. People bring $80 and its more than enough to last you the night.
 
My wife and I almost filed for divorce after playing 31. I'm only kidding. Kinda.

Her grandpa and grandma taught her how to play when she was like 3. I have no idea how she does it but she absolutely crushes this game. We call it "the fight starter"
 
We used to have some wilder games in the rotation (High Chicago, Roll Your Own, Draw, etc.) but eventually settled down to the the usual suspects. I have been wanting to have a Brag night.
 
Is someone in the mood to explain the différent games mention above ? Or a link to a site with good détaiĺed explanations
it Will change from my dealer choice games : NLHE , courchevel , pineapple , PlO , OHL of my dealer choice games.
 
Is someone in the mood to explain the différent games mention above ? Or a link to a site with good détaiĺed explanations
it Will change from my dealer choice games : NLHE , courchevel , pineapple , PlO , OHL of my dealer choice games.

Two sites that I'm aware of have lists and explanations of over a thousand poker games and variants. I hope it's OK to post the links here.

http://www.xenomind.com/pokervar/index.html (Blank Frank's Poker Variant Collection)

http://www.pagat.com/poker/variants/
 
My group plays weekly in a limit game and there are three non-standard games that are not really circus games but riffs on actual games.

The first is called scungilli which is really Big Omaha (5 cards face down to each player and five cards in the middle flopped 3-1-1), hi-lo (8 or better), with the difference being that in addition to using any two cards in your hand, you can also use all 5. Although it only occurs once every 5 or so hands, the ability to use all 5 in your hand is an interesting twist. Most times it is a 5-card low and often that in-hand low is counterfeited by the board. But it can lead to some interesting hands like when the 5-card dealt low is better than the best low using the board. Or when you get dealt a high boat and the board only enables a lower boat or a flush. It is an interesting game and can also be played with two rows of 5 for the board (you can use the same one for hi and lo or one for hi and one for low).

The second game is called mini-Mayfair. It is 5 stud (1 down, 4 up) hi-lo (we play 10 or better in this game) with a common card turned before the first bet and then, after all of the cards are dealt, each player has the option of trading a card (and paying for the trade, we charge $10 for an up card and $20 for a down in a $10-$20 limit game). The order of buying starts with the highest hand showing and then proceeds clockwise. After the buy there is a round of betting and then the players must simultaneously declare, by dropping coins, whether they are going hi, lo or both. Then there is another round of betting. Very interesting game and for those that are good card readers (and can remember the folded cards) there is a huge advantage.

The final game is called maxi-Mayfair. It is 7 stud, hi-lo 8 or better with a common card turned before the first bet. There is no buy in this game and we usually play cards speak (no declare), although this game can also be played with a declare.

Each of these games is a reasonable variation on a known game, not very complicated (those board games where you can use two cards in one direction, three in another and have a floating card can cause you to take hours to figure out what you have), and still gives good card players an advantage. These are all regularly played games in my game.
 

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