Do I tell them....? (1 Viewer)

Pinesol13

Pinesol13

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Outside of my bi-monthly cash game, I have three friends I get together with usually every Sunday to play poker (less so b/c of COVID). We like to play $5 or $10 tournaments, winner take all. We usually get 3 games in a night. For the past two years we've been writing the results of each game on the back of a door in my basement. We've never taken the time to add it all up. Our general consensus was that we're all probably close to even, and we've basically just been passing money back and forth.

Well, I decided to put all the data in a spreadsheet this weekend aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaand......................................












PKR.tracking_3.29.21.jpg


For the record, I am that beautiful blue line.

Did something magical start happening 9 months ago? Did I miraculously get better, or did my friends get worse? Or is this just regular variance, and over another two years I'll come back down to earth?

I know this isn't crazy money we're talking about, especially when it's spread over 2 years, but I kinda don't want to tell Red & Green that they're both stuck $150, while I'm up over $300, unless they ask for some reason. Is that silly?
 
Keep it to yourself. Don't tap the glass.

I made the mistake of subtly hinting to one of the better (but not as observant) players in our group that another player was a calling station who loves trips to value town, and now I'm worried that once games restart there'll be two of us shearing the same sheep.

oQJn5v.gif
 
$5 or $10 for a weekly game? That’s great entertainment value, there. I’d be happy if I lost every week- better bang for the buck than a movie.

No need to call it out- they might change up their strategy and start winning. :)
 
Projecting on my own group, and I don't think anyone would appreciate the knowledge that a) they've been losing consistently and b) that I've been tracking everyone's ups and downs for our fun friends-only game

Tracking yourself is perfectly fine, but tracking other people's winnings and losses is a bit bad form in my book.

As I said: just projecting on my own group, no judgement or anything :)
 
Since January we play almost everyday NL cash game 0.25/0.50. we had 10 different players and most of time 5+ players at the table.

I always tracked all results (even when some had head up battles). Yesterday one of the losing players asked me if I track the results, and how he was standing.

I looked up my sheet and misread the line and told him that he is CHF 150 down. He said, oh that's easy....

This morning I realized that he is down 450 and not 150. I hated to see that but I told him my mistake.

He: Oh, that's okay...
I: CU at the table tonight
He: may be not today...

He hasn't missed a single game since started.

Long story short: don't tell them as long as they don't ask
 
Last edited:
Telling them Has the effect of enhancing your ego and crushing theirs. They will probably stop playing when faced with difficult facts, or come up with an illusion such as that they have been cheateted.

Best to leave your ego under fed and keep theirs happily unaware. At least if you want to keep playing.

Tldr. You can make money or feed your ego but not both. Choose wisely.
 
If they are smart, they will figure it out themselves after awhile
 
In general I think the advice you've gotten so far is good - if the players are happy and aren't aware of how badly they're doing, there's no reason to disappoint them by making them face cold reality.

But on the other hand...

I intend my game to be a learning experience for all of us. I don't want a game with a few feeders and a few winners; I want a game with tough, sharp competition that we can all enjoy with our eyes open. If someone is consistently losing, I want them to know it, and I want them to be able to get better if they want to. And if they don't want to get better and are happy just playing cards and losing money in the long run, that's fine too, it's up to them. But I want all my players playing with open eyes. I value their camaraderie as friendly competitors more than I value their money.

I don't want to shoot hoops with chumps, and I don't want fish in my home game. Easy games are no fun.
 
Another way to do it, keep a bankroll from the game. You appear to be up $300, put that money away in a box somewhere. After each game, cover your loses or winnings from the box, you will always know how much your up or down and will not have stats on your friends. Always better that way
 
If it’s a social game just for kicks and the money is relatively meaningless for all, and you’re real friends, it might be worth a jab or two just for kicks.

It’s not a rub it in, haha, you suck kind of thing - more of a good natured ribbing between buddies when the money is immaterial and it’s about juvenile bragging rights.
 
People are saying don't tap the glass, but these are friends and $10/15 so they don't care about the money. And it's only the last 9 months you've won, so I would present it to them. I assume that there's some friendly competition in there so I would show them in hope that they are motivated to get better, make better decisions and increasing the skills all around, making you all better.
 
If your friends really want to get better and have shown an interest in improving their game then have a conversation about that, showing them the results won’t help make them better.

it is more likely to turn them off from playing if they think they suck and are being taken advantage of now.
 
MathijsVS said:
Projecting on my own group, and I don't think anyone would appreciate the knowledge that a) they've been losing consistently and b) that I've been tracking everyone's ups and downs for our fun friends-only game

Tracking yourself is perfectly fine, but tracking other people's winnings and losses is a bit bad form in my book.

As I said: just projecting on my own group, no judgement or anything :)
Click to expand...

That's a good point. The only reason I did this is because we decided to start tracking each game two years ago, the four of us all thought it was a good idea. I decided to put it in a spreadsheet because I was curious, and the whole "writing on the back of a door in pencil" thing was not making it easy to track.

Highli99 said:
Telling them Has the effect of enhancing your ego and crushing theirs.
Click to expand...

I think this gets to the root of why I was feeling like I shouldn't bother telling them.

Part of the reason I wanted to share it was b/c I'm super nerdy, and I love my spreadsheet. I thought it's really cool to see how the game progressed over the years. But after seeing that I'm currently way up, and they're way down, it would be a dick move to shove it in their face.
 
Whether it is a home game amongst lifelong buddies or it is in a card room I don't think it is ever wise to talk strategy or tell other people about how they are doing. If someone asks away from the table, I am happy to talk about all of it.

Nothing good will ever come of it. In the case of the OP it sounds like the game is so small that after an entire year the player the is doing the worst is only down $340. I would assume that he knows he is losing and doesn't really care all that much.
 
I have no problems sharing that info with my poker buddies. It keeps things honest and interesting

I keep an annual graph and update players the next day of each game

This was 2020
1BA545CF-5785-4B1C-843F-46E069683549.jpeg




This is 2021 so far

45C84C98-BE5B-4CD3-A1EF-D133251DD04E.jpeg



We even have have a plaque to show the Biggest Winner, Biggest Loser, and Main Event Winner

1617119138951.png
 

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