I was just reading an article online and they mentioned getting up and changing tables if you find yourself in a “bad game.” So what defines a bad game in your opinion?
What defines a “bad game?” (1 Viewer)
- Thread starter DoubleEagle
- Start date
There needs to be some money splashing around. If everyone is playing TAG, playing only good starting hands, and not calling to see draws then the game gets boring fast.
I want to see some people at the table willing to bluff as well.
A table of tight players is the main thing that makes me want to switch tables asap.
I want to see some people at the table willing to bluff as well.
A table of tight players is the main thing that makes me want to switch tables asap.
Short stacks, overly nitty players, people watching things on mobile devices with headphones in, refusal of anyone else to straddle.
Card dead and/or multiple bad beats.
Venturalvn
Full House
People talking to each other and taking forever, and never actually playing a hand. And I don't mean having a good time and being jovial kind of talking to each other, I mean 2 people having personal non-table talk related conversation wherein they're not paying attention to the game. Played in a game at Hollywood Park last week that made me want to shoot myself.
2 older gentlemen who probably should've been in bed that late at night. Both were friends and were talking incessantly, literally 3 hours straight without a break. I wish I would've known what topics 2 humans could talk that much about, but alas it was in a foreign language.
Every single time, and I mean every. Single. Time. It came to one of them, they would take an extra 2-3 seconds to talk, another 3 to analyze where they were in relation to the button, look at their hand, THEN see if there a raise in front (regardless of whether or not they were planning on calling ((spoiler: they were folding))), and then another 5 seconds to tank fold. This would happen in seat 3, and then the conversation would resume, and the process would repeat in seat 5. Every round.
On top of that seat 3 was a 20 BB short stack all night, and seat 5 amassed 5x buyin early in some wild hands and then didn't play a hand for 5 hours.
On top of that they kept pausing the game to talk to the waitresses.
It made me not want to play in a casino game ever again.
2 older gentlemen who probably should've been in bed that late at night. Both were friends and were talking incessantly, literally 3 hours straight without a break. I wish I would've known what topics 2 humans could talk that much about, but alas it was in a foreign language.
Every single time, and I mean every. Single. Time. It came to one of them, they would take an extra 2-3 seconds to talk, another 3 to analyze where they were in relation to the button, look at their hand, THEN see if there a raise in front (regardless of whether or not they were planning on calling ((spoiler: they were folding))), and then another 5 seconds to tank fold. This would happen in seat 3, and then the conversation would resume, and the process would repeat in seat 5. Every round.
On top of that seat 3 was a 20 BB short stack all night, and seat 5 amassed 5x buyin early in some wild hands and then didn't play a hand for 5 hours.
On top of that they kept pausing the game to talk to the waitresses.
It made me not want to play in a casino game ever again.
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No beer, hot dogs, bourbon or banter = bad game
fish72s
Flush
I played 20 mins of $1/$2 at the Bellagio and got up and walked out.
Nobody was talking, hands took FOREVER because everyone tanked on every decision.
I'm sure I have sat at lots of 'bad' tables for various reason. This is just the one that
immediately jumped to mind.
Nobody was talking, hands took FOREVER because everyone tanked on every decision.
I'm sure I have sat at lots of 'bad' tables for various reason. This is just the one that
immediately jumped to mind.
Kain8
Flush
If at a casino:
Tryhards at $1/$2
Apparent body odor or otherwise rude players
Oblivious to the action because of sports on, talking, etc.
Poor dealers who shouldn't have passed their table exam
If at a home game:
Not a social environment
Players asking for loans who came to the game "cash poor"
Only wanting to play NLH
People who are sitting in the middle of the table not helping push pots or cards
Commenting on the hand or board cards when you're not involved with action still pending
In either venue:
Tight play where the blinds are getting passed around mostly
Tryhards at $1/$2
Apparent body odor or otherwise rude players
Oblivious to the action because of sports on, talking, etc.
Poor dealers who shouldn't have passed their table exam
If at a home game:
Not a social environment
Players asking for loans who came to the game "cash poor"
Only wanting to play NLH
People who are sitting in the middle of the table not helping push pots or cards
Commenting on the hand or board cards when you're not involved with action still pending
In either venue:
Tight play where the blinds are getting passed around mostly
People inconsiderate of other people.
And that's it.
Any other game is a good one. If you can't beat it, don't play at it, but that doesn't make it a bad game.
And that's it.
Any other game is a good one. If you can't beat it, don't play at it, but that doesn't make it a bad game.
Quicksilver-75
4 of a Kind
The thought after a game in which you realize that you didn't play "your game". That you strayed from your style of play. Of course this only applies on losing nights. 
But seriously, I find "bad games" are typically ones that have been running for a long time with familiar players, incorrectly. Poor etiquette or string bets, rabbit hunts, safaris and other assorted drags...
But seriously, I find "bad games" are typically ones that have been running for a long time with familiar players, incorrectly. Poor etiquette or string bets, rabbit hunts, safaris and other assorted drags...
Poker Zombie
Royal Flush
Constant straddlers.
If you want to play 2/5 wait for a fucking 2/5 table. If you don't want to play 1/2 dont sit at the fucking 1/2 table.
I don't mind the occasional "Hey lets get some excitement" straddle, but every orbit... Table change please!
If you want to play 2/5 wait for a fucking 2/5 table. If you don't want to play 1/2 dont sit at the fucking 1/2 table.
I don't mind the occasional "Hey lets get some excitement" straddle, but every orbit... Table change please!
A game where people are only interested in how fast the game can be played (max number of hands per/hour).
A table completely devoid of social interaction. Might as well be playing online.
A table completely devoid of social interaction. Might as well be playing online.
• Table full of casino regs playing nitty, and slowing the game down with endless gossip about their other friends/who took a bath the night before.
• Bad dealers
• People on their phones, or staring at TVs, or wolfing down a meatball sub instead of acting.
• Limp-call fest, every hand 5+ players to the flop, becomes a BINGO game.
• Sometimes tables can be bad in some very different way... For example, having a total maniac at the table who (on the plus side) is spewing chips but (on the negative side) makes all the action one-dimensional. He’s bloating every pot, and everyone else just starts sitting around waiting for premiums to catch him speeding. Becomes another form of BINGO—who’s going to happen to stack the maniac.
• Bad dealers
• People on their phones, or staring at TVs, or wolfing down a meatball sub instead of acting.
• Limp-call fest, every hand 5+ players to the flop, becomes a BINGO game.
• Sometimes tables can be bad in some very different way... For example, having a total maniac at the table who (on the plus side) is spewing chips but (on the negative side) makes all the action one-dimensional. He’s bloating every pot, and everyone else just starts sitting around waiting for premiums to catch him speeding. Becomes another form of BINGO—who’s going to happen to stack the maniac.
Great example of how subjective it can be. If someone wants to put money in the pot in the worst position, blind no less, I'm all for it!
I sat at a 1/2 table where for the first hour I was there, the pre flop raising was between 20 and 75 pretty much every hand. I literally wanted to vomit because with only 300 max buy-in, 50-75 pre flop usually mean you were going all the way and people were getting stacked left and right. I had no idea what was going on lol. I couldn't agree with this sentiment more. It was less the straddling and more the "go play at a 2/5 table lol".
Casino? That's bananas, was everyone deep stacked or just a shove fest?
At Twin River Casino. This was the very first time I sat at a table like this and I can genuinely say that it was vomit inducing. I sat there sick to my stomach folding hand after hand after hand because if I played any hand pre flop it was getting raised. I eventually got pocket 8s and got stacked
. It pretty much was an all in fest. People would either see a flop and shove, or shove on turn. Couple deep stacks but they were the ones who won their coin flips. I ended up paying 75 to see the flop the with my 8s, came out 8,Q,5 (don't remember suits). run out was a 2 followed by another queen and the villain had quad queens lmao. It was the absolute most tilting thing that has happened to me playing poker. Villain was playing all sorts of weird hands so the 75 pre flop didn't really help with trying to put him on any feasible range. But hey, that's poker I guess...lol
I encounter this a lot... People playing either 1/2 or 2/5 with shallow stacks, bloating every preflop pot.
This means that almost everyone’s stack-to-pot ratio is tiny on the flop... which in turn means a lot of shoves. And if there are still any chips behind for the turn and river, if you’re still in the pot you’re almost always incentivized to get it in. Even when you think you’re beat, you only have to win a small percentage of the time to make it correct to do so.
It makes for a very high variance, more BINGO-y game which appeals to gamblers, but blunts the edge of thinking players.
The most berserk variation that I’ve encountered is a social hall cash game which spreads 1/2 No Limit Omaha High Low—already an absurdly swingy game. Incredibly, they only allow players to buy in for $60 (30BB) at a time for the first couple hours. After that they’ll allow buyins of $100-$120.
Usually someone puts in a $5 straddle preflop (“Hey, watch me put in almost 10% of my stack blind!”) followed by someone who raises it to $20-$30. And then there will be 4-5 callers.
So you’ve got a ton of players each with maybe $20-$100 left on the flop, with a pot that’s already $80-$150. Multiway, with 2x-6x everyone’s effective stack already in the middle, this guarantees at least one flop shove and call. Then you get to wait 10 minutes while they run it three times, and then for people to try to chop the pot multiple ways.
And then wait while the losers peel another $60 and the host has to fish out more chips every hand.
I’ve actually found it to be a profitable game for me, if I bring enough burins and am prepared to weather the swings... Early on I’ll just fold pre way more often than the field and only play premiums with nut/nut potential. No one notices; they behave the same whether I’m in or out of the hand. Once I’ve tripled or quadrupled up, I can then play both a little looser and more strategically. But it is an absurd structure.
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Ye
Yeah that's a good strategy. I folded hands for an hour until I got the pocket pair. I know 8's aren't the best of the best but with that specific table people would be playing Ace little for 50+ so if there was ever a time to flip the coin that was the hand to do it. I was in for 150. up to about 350 and got stacked at about 310. What really made me angry was that my original table which I was very happy with got broken and I got the shaft by being seated at this table. Haven't been back to that casino since but I might go back to just shrug it off.
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