Do you play in any bar or state poker leagues? (1 Viewer)

[Mr. Cheese]

I just played my first league poker game at a local bar last night (FPN). It was pretty fun and it was a nice change from my monthly tourney and cash game. The bar was about 20 minutes from my house so it wasn't too far. We were talking at the table and someone mentioned another poker league called Straight Flush so I did a search and it turns out a bar about 4 minutes from my house hosts games for them on monday and wed nights so it looks like I'll be getting to play a lot more poker then I did before .

There were 32 people total last night and I was knocked out in 8th place :/. My last hand was a classic for me... I had pocket aces. I raised double the big blind pre-flop and had 3 people call me. The flop comes and its Q 3 9. I raise 1 1/2 times the pot size and everybody folds but one guy. Turn card is a 7. At this point going double the pot would put me all in and him almost all in so that's what I do. He flips his card and he has a Q 2. I'm thinking alright his only out is a 2 or a Q so I'm sitting pretty good. Well of course the river is a Queen :/. Other then having my aces get run down by a set of queens it was a fun experience. Looking forward to next week!

How many of you play in bar or state leagues? Any good stories to tell?

 

[RichMahogany]

I've never seen/heard of a bar league in California but I've never looked. From other stories I've read your AA vs Q2 hand is kinda typical of bar league play.

 

[links_slayer]

I've only played in two so take my experience for what it's worth. They are horrible. Bad structures, horrible chips, virtually no TD presence. Just awful. I don't ever plan on playing in another. I'd rather go 2 months between home games than play in a bar league.

 

[Mr. Cheese]

The bar I went to last week wasn't the nicest and now that I'm a chip addict I noticed the chips and that they were just cheap slugged ones (although they were custom with the FPN league logo). I still had fun but if the bar that's 4 minutes from my house is fun I'll just go there being its so convenient. I figure if nothing else more practice can't hurt my game

 

[Tommy]

If they allow smoking indoors, then I won't be there. Many states have banned it. I gave up smoking many years ago and can't stand the smell of cigarette smoke. I hate when I get chips (new or used) that smell like cigarettes.

I tossed all the white boxes that these one group chips came in because of the smell.

 

[Mr. Cheese]

Thankfully MN and WI are both no smoking indoor states otherwise I wouldn't be caught in a bar either lol.

 

[ReeseChip]

I used to play in a couple bar leagues but haven't in a few years. One of the places got shut down by the cops and another burned down but they did rebuild. I just haven't been back. Those leagues are usually fun though.

 

[Mr. Cheese]

Haha wow that's some bad luck for your bar leagues Reese.

I went again last night to the local one by my house, had a pretty good time and met a few more new people. Some of the players go from bar to bar and actually play every night. It's crazy, I definitely don't have enough free time to do that. If I did I think my gf would kill me if I spent every night playing poker lol

 

[Jellyfish]

I wish they even had something like this in Germany. It is very, very rare and not active either.

 

[mrr]

I used to play in NJ...as links_slayer said, they really are terrible in structure, skill, etc. But while skill may be looking, I have always met good people. Well, almost always. If it isn't far, it is usually fun to go. And many offer incentives like gift cards and the like to the top places. Or maybe a nice new set of plastic dice poker chips