Cash Game What do you think of my game? (1 Viewer)

[Pinball]

We play mainly NL Hold'em 0.25/0.25 about once a month some long time members with some on and off joiners. Most of the time we are around 6-7 players on Saturdays and 5-6 on fridays.

what concerns me is our buy in range from $20 - $125. (all long timers agreed on that some years ago). The problem we had lately was that some players got coolered and lost 500 BB early and announced while rebuying that is, is their last rebuy. That means they will stop playing when they lose their second buy in. I totally respect when people have their stop loss limit. But stop playing means the game dies faster. I already told them they should buy in shorter so they have 3-4 rebuys but they don't listen... because they think buy in shorter is disadvantage vs higher buy ins (what is not true but they believe it)

others like this huge deep stack playing...

what would you do? reduce the max buy in to 50 or even lower? Don't do any change at all? Or have a fix buy and not a range?

 

[NotRealNameNoSir]

Once the game is running in one way it's tougher to change course, but yes, change to $50 max. None of you are high rollers and this means $200 is 4 buyins, not 1 and a half.

You can explain it as this means the game lasts longer and people have more of a chance to go all in.

 

[LeLe]

From experience the most friendly buy in that I prefer is

100 BB fixed starting buyin, rebuy capped at 200bb or match half the biggest stack.

It will still not stop the gambler type player to still gamble and either lose big or win big but for regular player, they usually don’t lose more than 3 buyin which is usually around 400-500bb

 

[Mojo1312]

What concerns me is our buy in range from $20 - $125. (all long timers agreed on that some years ago). The problem we had lately was that some players got coolered and lost 500 BB early and announced while rebuying that is, is their last rebuy.

What is the typical buy-in amongst the other players? And what is the typical pre-flop bet?

To loose 500BB's early against shorter stacks takes some effort. Do the players get coolered or play poorly?

 

[Machine]

One thing I don't think a lot of us think about is how the game is structured for the skill set of the player(s). Games evolve differently and people want to stick with tradition, and sure a lot of folks are averse to change.

Basically, smaller stacks means smaller risk, and it has a different strategy of play. If your players are unfamiliar with this, then it is likely they are newer players or members of the ostrich club.

As deep stack play is considered 200 bb. I would suggest you lower the buy in to be 20 - 80 USD.

In a home game where there is no rake to fade, and an exurbanite buy in, it favors seasoned players so much that new players can't win at a reasonable ratio. Unless you don't care to seat new players, your game is heavily bias towards better players, and new players are significantly likely to not return, 3 or 4 times losing 2-3 hundo isn't fun at all for a new player. Also 6 months later when they think about playing again, they are likely to not go looking for another game that would be more suiting.

Think of the top 3 players in your game, how many of them buy in for 20 bucks? I have a similar problem trying to get players to buy in for less than the max at my game (which is 20-80, and I play .25/.5 plo)

Would you go swimming with a harpoon gun and three sharks in the water? You can even have 3 smaller harpoons to take with you.

Another approach would be to up the blinds, it would likely alienate the new players you find right now, but in time new players that would play those stakes would likely fade the buy ins, and the seasoned players would lose the edge of the buy in size.

 

[BGinGA]

Fixed buy-in for everyone; 100bb seems reasonable. Allow re-buys/add-ons of 20bb to 100bb (or 1/2 of biggest stack, whichever is larger).

 

[SteveEH]

A 500 BB max buy in is way too big, and dangerous, for inexperienced/recreational players.

As a host, game sustainability is priority. I don't want the fish to be losing enough to not return, or break the game up early. I communicate the following to each player:

- 25c blinds
- buy in from $20 - $40
- bring 3 buy ins minimum for the night so you don't bust out and have to leave early (we don't want the game to break).

Note that 3 buy ins works for my gsme, but it depends on the type of players.

 

[ChipEnvy]

If people are stuck in their ways, allow running it multiple times.

 

[upNdown]

I prefer buying in at 100bb and topping off frequently (if necessary). I’m also fine with buying in up to 200bb. I also think that buying in 500bb is way excessive. But none of what I think matters. What matters is what your players think.
Here’s the one clue I’d focus on, in giving you advice.

I already told them they should buy in shorter so they have 3-4 rebuys but they don't listen... because they think buy in shorter is disadvantage vs higher buy ins (what is not true but they believe it)

Hopefully people are buying in deep because they don’t want to be covered by bigger stacks (and not because they prefer to play really deep.). If that’s the case, then yeah, moving it to a 200bb max buyin should be no problem.

 

[Charichard]

I like an initial buy-in from 40bb-120bb. So, $10 to $30 for a .25/.25 game.

Reload/Add-on up to either the set initial buy-in or half the biggest stack and cap that somewhere between 200bb-300bb (whatever you feel is appropriate). There will be breathing room at the start of the game and the average effective stacks aren’t bloated for the blinds late game.

e.g. if the “Half Max Cap” is set to say 240bb, once the biggest stack is at $120 then the max cap has been met and $60 is limit for reloads/add-ons the rest of the night.

 

[quintooo]

I like to run my games match big stack (but will likely have to change that, as too much money ends up on the table for a 0.25/0.50 game...), but I set min buy at 50bb.

Some people on the forum don't like playing with short stacks, as it becomes a shove/gambol-fest. Personally, I don't mind it, and like getting money in early. It allows for a friendly game, where people who don't want to risk a lot can still play and gamble. Sometimes they run hot and leave a big winner, which is good.

I also curate my invite list so no one is really a "shark." We basically play bingo most of the time to get the degen out.

Anyways, if certain players are buying in for the max and leaving after just one buy in, I would either tell them the night before that you prefer if they bring at least 3 buy-ins (so you don't end up shorthanded early), or cap the buyin to 200-300bb.

Better yet, cap the buyin to 100bb at the beginning of the night, and after a few hours, raise it to 200-300bb.

 

[upNdown]

Some people on the forum don't like playing with short stacks, as it becomes a shove/gambol-fest. Personally, I don't mind it, and like getting money in early. It allows for a friendly game, where people who don't want to risk a lot can still play and gamble. Sometimes they run hot and leave a big winner, which is good.

I agree with this as long as I have an open seat. If I had a robust invitation list and/or people waiting for a seat, then I’d rather not see a seat taken up by a guy who isn’t gonna but in for 100+ bbs. But if I have an open seat (as I usually do) and somebody wants to show up with 30 bbs, great, I’m glad to have them.

 

[JustinInMN]

We play mainly NL Hold'em 0.25/0.25 about once a month some long time members with some on and off joiners. Most of the time we are around 6-7 players on Saturdays and 5-6 on fridays.

what concerns me is our buy in range from $20 - $125. (all long timers agreed on that some years ago). The problem we had lately was that some players got coolered and lost 500 BB early and announced while rebuying that is, is their last rebuy. That means they will stop playing when they lose their second buy in. I totally respect when people have their stop loss limit. But stop playing means the game dies faster. I already told them they should buy in shorter so they have 3-4 rebuys but they don't listen... because they think buy in shorter is disadvantage vs higher buy ins (what is not true but they believe it)

others like this huge deep stack playing...

what would you do? reduce the max buy in to 50 or even lower? Don't do any change at all? Or have a fix buy and not a range?

I think educate players that setting the stake at the point where they are willing to lose 300BB a night is best for the health of the game. I think the high side of the cap should be no more than 200 BB, and 100 BB may be healthier. If their wallets are going to close after losing 500BB then the max buy in far too high.

 

[merkong]

From experience the most friendly buy in that I prefer is

100 BB fixed starting buyin, rebuy capped at 200bb or match half the biggest stack.

It will still not stop the gambler type player to still gamble and either lose big or win big but for regular player, they usually don’t lose more than 3 buyin which is usually around 400-500bb

This. This feels, it feels right.

As some forum lurkers know, this is a current issue for me as a host. I am believe this will become effective for this weeks games (and we are hunkering down for a big snowstorm in these parts).

Thanks.
Ken