From my NL cash game last night...

[GeoffM]

WOW, and LMAO on that last line.

That is a huge pot he won with 2s. But what a dumbass. He must have a lot of money to piss away, or he really is a genuine dumbass.

[2Tone]

That's horrific. Losing $1200 to ducks would have me crying like a baby. Also, sounds like a VERY serious and interesting home game. Nice touch on having an actual dealer.

I'm curious about a home game of that scope. Mine are very casual, an excuse to get together and drink some beers. My "real" poker is played online or in my local card room, though even that is nowhere near the level you are playing at.

So ... Are strangers welcome to play, or this a core group of guys who did this every week? What is buy-in? Are you raking it in or breaking even?

[GeoffM]

I make $1200 on a pay day, so losing that on a hand, I'd likely kill myself.

I don't like home games to get this interesting, as I think it starts to get a bit personal when people start throwing that kind of money around, especially good friends.

[BlibbityBlabbity]

Yeah, personally I'm not even sure I could watch that game (I know I couldn't play in it ). What level are the players, skill/bankrolls?? I don't mind seeing pros with millions of $$ putting that kind of cash up on a hand, but watching your buddy lose a huge pot like that would be nuts. I WATCH the high blind NL games on UB sometimes and there are always those players that plop down $500 - $1000 (less than they should have) and proceed to blow it all in 15 minutes. Leaves me with the sense they DON'T have the bankroll/skills and may have just lost the rent money for the month. I think things like...."there goes his car", and "Grama, please don't break my finger, I will get the money back to you by next week, I promise!". Maybe some day I will have the bankroll and the skills to fathom sitting in this type of game.....NOT YET.

I assume those playing at your game can afford it though, so have fun

[Talking Poker]

I have to play in big games like this - How else am I going to afford to pay for all these posts???

It's not my game, but it's only a few miles away from my house, which is great. The guy running it (he was the one with the 2s, btw), has a really nice set up. He has a real Hold'Em table, a real dealer, lots of good food, whatever drinks you like, and so on. Last night I even had a $20 massage from a girl who comes most nights - worth every penny.

Each pot is raked, but much less than at a casino... usually about $2 per hand for pots up to $150 or so and then another $1 after that.

The players are not so much buddies as they are guys playing poker. We all know each other, but most of us don't know each other outside of the poker room.

Right now, he has a NL game once or twice a week and a limit game once a week (usually 5/10 or 10/20) for the people who aren't comfortable with NL. IMO, the limit game is weak (a little stronger than what you see online), but the NL game is solid. There are a few weak players, but there are some very good players as well... It's a good game.

I can make more money by playing online, because I can get so many more hands in, but I still like playing live when I can. It's good practice - especially for reading people, which is crucial if you ever want to do well in a big B&M tourney.

[BlibbityBlabbity]

A massage girl, nice . Sounds like a great game, hope to be at that level someday.

[eddo31]

wow

that hand would be tough to lose with the kings. i can understand losing a good chunk of change if an ace hit the board, but to lose to pocket twos when you flop the nut boat? that hurts.

just curious, but how did you end up in the game. did any of the owners lost grand end up in your stack?

[2Tone]

That's phenomenally cool. As mentioned before, I really like the touch of having a dealer. One of things that I like about playing in a card room is that I can be pretty confident that everything is on the up-and-up. I'm paying a rake, but I don't have to worry about anybody dealing from the bottom of deck, or any of the other fun tricks shown by Ed Norton's character in "Rounders." Sure collusion is always a factor, but that's the way it goes.

But playing in a home game for those stakes without a set dealer would make me nervous. On top of everything else, I'd want to be keeping a damn close eye on the EVERY aspect of the game.

[Talking Poker]

I paid extremely close attention when I first started playing in this game, until I was confident everything was on the up and up. But yes, I was definitely aware. It's not like we're paying $1/$2 or something.

He's a great dealer, but an even better player (he plays 6 days a week and earns nice money doing so). When we get really low on players, he will play if people want him to. He prefers to just deal, but he will play and deal to keep the game going. This made me nervous at first, but he's clean...