Absolutely right. But even when it's 100% sure you play against real people...I still like playing in real life more....then there is a lot more suspense.

Well the game went well every one had a good time and i made back what i spent and a little more the guys are all ready asking me when is the next one thanks agian Plawrance for all your help

Plaw - I scoped out that game tonight...

Okay, these guys are serious. I walk into the basement, and there are 5 large poker tables set up. There are 14 of us, so we have 2 tables of 7. $100 buy-in gives you "$2000" in chips -- worth $500/100/25.

Talking to some of them, they seem to practically live in AC, and some go to Vegas for $1000 buy-in tourneys. I think a couple even went to the WSOP.

I went to simply practice, and to take in the experience. I was kinda proud of myself for lasting a whole hour with the $100. This one kid at my table re-bought another $100 like six or seven times in that hour! (The same kid who told me he won 4 of 6 tourneys in AC recently - hmmm....)

Trying to think of all the details. There was a timer; apparently every 30 mins the ante (blind) went up. For most of the night there was no dealer, so I had to learn pretty damn quick -- and I did, since I was like 5th in line to deal. I didn't even know how the blinds worked, but figured it out fast enough to not make a fool of myself - lol.

Typical of me, I got shit cards ALL night. And remembering your advice, I played tight/conservatively for a long time since I had nothing. I was hoping that once I did start actually betting, that they'd get scared. But nah, nothing scares these guys. lol But with the blinds going up on a schedule, even not betting you're gonna lose.

It was a tremendous learning experience, though! Well worth the $100 for that. There was $1000s of dollars in that room...unbelievable. Right now, while I'm home, they're probably just consolidating to one table. Awesome!

Sounds like there are a few fish there. Usually there are in a group of 14.

You gonna bring me along next time?

I'm not playing w/ them anytime soon, that's for sure. I need more practice -- or a change in luck! My buddy bought in for another $100 and lost that quick, but at least he lasted almost 2 hours. When we get to know these guys better, I'll be in more of a position to vouch for others, y'know? But surely this is the place for someone at your level, so I'll work on that...

What do you mean by "fish"?

Fish.....suckers, weak players....

In any group of 14, there are bound to be a few. Like almost everything else in life, it's a bell curve. There will be 3 or 4 really good players of varying ability, 3 or 4 really weak players, and 7 or 8 who are average. That's why they invited you. The suckers eventually get cleaned out and stop playing, so the game always needs new blood.

Not to imply that you're one of the fish, of course..... :p

Something I noticed when I spoke about Poker with Americans. Why do they always talk about that lot of money!? Playing one evening for $100....$10-$20/$15-$30 games...damn...that's a lot of money....are all Americans that rich that they can afford that?

Just a question, not an insult to anybody!

I would say no.
You see tons of people in the U.S. (and probably all over) with high gambling debts or maxed out cash advances on their credit cards.

I think people see the life some of the poker players on tv are living and then spend whatever they have to try and get that break.

I know people who play cards with friends and never lose more than $15 for a night.

Poker is gambling, MM.

I could play for a whole night in a game in which I was risking no more than $20 or so, but that wouldn't hold my interest.

What makes it "fun", if you will, is the thrill of the possibility of losing more than you'd care to.

By no means am I rich, but at the level I play (usually $5-10, sometimes $10-20) I can afford to sustain a loss of a few hundred dollars when I visit a casino poker room, although I don't like to. When I win or lose only $20, I simply don't care.

However, as I explained in an earlier post, the level of competition generally improves as you play for larger stakes.

I have found that the line for me and my ability is the difference between $5-10 and $10-20. When I stick to the lower limit, I usually win. When I move to the higher limit I have a much tougher time.

I was a fish in this game, believe me. My buddy asked me later why I didn't buy in for more, and I said, "what's the point?" I may have an addictive personality (okay, I DO), but I'm also not stupid.

I assume, too, that the regulars there had an advantage since they know how the others typically bet. You would think that I'd've gotten some pots, though, by not betting in for a while and then all of a sudden betting/raising. But these guys didn't sweat at all.

That's what I mean...I play with friends...one whole evening (around 4-5 hours)but there's nobody who lost more then 30 Euro in that evening.

How much did the 30 Euros mean to the loser, MM?

Was it alot to him, or an insignificant amount. Everything must be considered in relation to the person's income and financial standing.

30 Euros to you may mean as much as $300 does to me.

I wish I could remember how many chips I got -- it wasn't a very big stack. As I said, the $100 buy-in gives you "$2000" in chips -- chips "worth" $500/100/25. That was a bit confusing, as I'm not used to that (I'm used to 25c/10c/5c ).

I'm trying to think what the chip values really were....

Later in the game, I just remembered, they got rid of the lowest chips and introduced $1000 chips.

Ok, you are rich . 30 Euro for a student of our kind is damn much money. You could go out for that 2 nights!!! In relation to the person 30 is indeed much.

Just for reference, 30 euro = $US 36.80

I can't track this one...is this meant as an insult that 30 Euro doesn't count because it's only $36.80??? It sounds a little bit sarcastic....

But, I can't imagine that JGeoff would insult anybody, so this probably doesn't mean anything.

I'm sure it was just for reference, MM.

I was just giving the current exchange rate, MM.

I used to consider poker a small passion of mine. Now I consider it a huge passion. I'am pretty much addicted, and my dream is to one day be a professional.

Me and my friends are always out to find games around town. Usually we play cash games but we'll play in tournaments every once in a while. The most I have ever won in one night was like 500 dollars and that wasnt even a tournament. Its peanuts compared to what I want to hopefully get to, but when your 18 it might as well be 500,000. Last night I won 100 at the casino. A good friend of mine lost 1,200

As I said before, the last game I went to, the $100 buy-in gave you chips worth "$2000". I couldn't remember how many of each chip we got, so I asked my buddy, and he thinks it went something like this:

2 Green $500 chips = $1000
6 Red $100 chips = $ 600
16 White $25 chips = $ 400

So I suppose the chip values were actually:

2 x $25.00 = $50 greens
6 x $ 5.00 = $30 reds
16 x $ 1.25 = $20 blues

A more than they nickel/dime/quarter games I'm used to!

I was searching some old topics about gambling. Plaw explained a lot there about odd's and a lot more. But where the heck are those topics? I know I have not been here for a long time, but I still know how the search button works...so...where are those topics?

Plaw? Do you know?

Uhm, read the first post of this thread:
http://www.gangsterbb.net/cgi-bin/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic;f=6;t=010623

Sorry I didn't read this...