acezag
3 of a Kind
Looking forward to my first meetup in a month, and I got to thinking. Is there anything you wished you'd known before you went to one?
EDIT - Summary / Highlights of PCF'ers Tips and Advice for First Timers
Learning Circus Games
- Unofficial "PCF" meetup rules you stumbled on after you unintentionally broke them
- Stuff you wished you'd brought (or stuff you wished you'd left at home)
- Not obvious ways to help out the host or make things more fun for the group
- Circus games someone should definitely know
- Something that surprised you
EDIT - Summary / Highlights of PCF'ers Tips and Advice for First Timers
Learning Circus Games
- Download Abby’s Mixed Game Cards on your phone
- Learn to calculate a pot-sized bet
- If you understand Omaha / Omaha Hi-Lo / BigO, you'll be able to learn everything else
- Other common games: Scarney, Double Board Omaha, Drawmaha, Archie, Badugi, 2-7, Scrotum, and SoHe
- Don’t be afraid to ask lots of questions – folks at meetups are friendly and want you to have a good time. No one looks down on learners
- Don’t be afraid to tighten up while you're learning - playing like it's Hold'em will get you in a lot of trouble quickly
- Don’t sit in the middle if you’re not comfortable helping divide split pots
- Get decent at dealing
- Be prepared for Hold’em only tables to be skilled games
- Hit and runs / locking up a win when you’re way up, especially at the action table, are considered poor etiquette
- People will call games you don’t like. Fold quietly – the next game’s coming soon
- If you have an especially bad day, if you're a good dealer and know the games well, you can offer to be the designated dealer for the cigar or "big boy" table
- Offer to sponsor something if you can – bringing a bottle, some snacks, beer or energy drinks, etc
- Snacks tend to be sweet or salty. If you want more healthy options, bring them
- Feel free to offer to bring your poker set – it’s often welcome
- Be a part of clean-up efforts at the end of the night whenever you can
- Pitching in cash to help out the host is welcome
- Don't be a pig – treat the venue with respect; clean up after your self
- Sharing your phone charger or having extras is awesome
- Always offer to split exotic beers, using glasses
- Bring samples of any customs you have for pot splashers or to share
- Pace yourself in terms of drinking / etc - it's easy to pass out if you're not careful
- Help others get to/from airport if you can – never know when you’ll need it
- Don’t bring $50s
- Plan for a bankroll. Think about what you want to spend each day; bring more money than you think you need, and only what you’re willing to lose
- A thread on meetup bankroll planning
- Learning pot limit circus games has some variance. Don’t go crazy on day one. It is a marathon, not a sprint. Set a mental note of how much you're ok with losing in a day. If you get to that threshold, make yourself a drink/grab a beer and hang out outside. Meetups are generally 3 to 4 days long and there's a lot of cards go be played.
- The Old Fashioned table is not where you want to pop your Meetup Cherry. Find a limit game if you can; there is almost always a lower stakes table available at most meetups
- DO NOT PLAY POKER THE ENTIRE TIME. I often see first timers make the mistake of (trying) to play poker from noon to 2am everyday. Take breaks (and not just 5 minutes to piss and grab a snack), get a beer, smoke a cigar, and hang out and chat with folks away from the tables. You'll both rest your poker brain and engage in what's probably the most fun part of meetups - meeting cool chippers. Otherwise, you WILL crash.
- Be like @onerand, take and post lots of pics
- More often than not, there will be a cigar/old fashioned table outside going where you can sit in a chair off to the side and sit and bullshit with everyone out there
- Take mental breaks and hang out outside and introduce yourself to anyone that may step out for a smoke/drink and listen to their bad beat stories. Most meet ups have groups that go out for breakfast/dinner together or have activities planned outside of the poker room. At @MegaTon44's meetup last year a group of us went mini golfing in the morning and still had plenty of time to degen that afternoon.
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