And now…back to poker

Hopefully, all of the DRAMA is over regarding the League and what’s going on in it. It all gets down to if you want to play by the League rules, stay. If not, leave.

Anyway, Lippy made a post on the League site the other day regarding the play of the members. He was pretty upset about the whole thing and it brought up an interesting aspect of the game.

Basically, it came down to this. (I am paraphrasing because I wasn’t there but this is my understanding of what took place) A short stack went all-in on a hand. There were 3 or 4 big stacks at the table (20X the all-in bet). No one called the all-in bettor. Not even the BB who only had to call $400 more in chips.

Excuses were presented by those at the table.

1. They weren’t going to call even $400 more with a 9 4 off because it isn’t a good hand and they didn’t want to double up the all-in bettor.

2. (This was presented by someone who was at the table) They didn’t call because it is hard for US people to fund their bankroll. So, some US players play like that because they are trying to make it to the cash.

WOW

Where do we start with that?

We could sit here and argue why the call should have been made and that the whole “bankroll” thing makes no sense but I want to comment on something else.

I think the whole situation can be explained by the following:

Playing “not to lose” is a lot different than “playing to win”.

This “playing not to lose” attitude happens at most of our league games. You can see it by watching how people play, how long the games take, and some of the comments regarding the play.

I am not immune to it either. Sometimes, I notice my aggression is a lot lower than normal in league games. I think this is due to the fact that the games tend to be more “friendly” than non league games and I am also pretty confident I can beat most of them because I know how they play.

So, Lippy came in the game playing to win (Lippy made the post so I assume it was him that was the all-in person. It may not have been. He may have just saw the play and commented on its stupidity) and ran into people at the table who were playing “not to lose”.

Of course, the big fallacy with that type of thinking is that you will lose more when playing not to lose versus playing to win.

It may seem like you are doing ok but in the long run, someone playing to win will have the bigger bankroll.

Ok, so you play not to lose and you make it to the cash once in a while. The people playing to win will eat you up and make it farther into the cash, which, in the long run, will earn them more money.

If I sense someone is playing tight because they want to make it to the cash, I will force you to make decisions every hand because I know you won’t do anything unless you have a real good hand. Over time, I will have eaten you away by taking small chunks out of you and when you finally make the decision to go all-in, I will have earned enough from you to possibly call and take you out.

I am not even going to get into some of the calls made and hands played at league games. That would be another post or two.

Sucessfull poker is playing to WIN!

Comments are always welcome…….

Good Luck out there…

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Changes in the League – continued

I was going to comment to the responses in the previous blog but I thought I would start another one so it doesn’t get too deep in comments.

Excellent responses by both Ann Marie (gotmewrong) and Larry (Pinkdog).

I guess we all had and have the same impression when it comes to the League.

It was originally a place to meet people and learn about the game of poker with no cost and no “requirements”.

Learning and teaching was fun. I get just as much enjoyment teaching someone as I do playing the game.

Maybe we get so “emotional” about the whole thing because we have developed friendships along the way which makes it harder to let go.

Personally, at this point, I probably won’t quit. I don’t play that much with the League anyway because of my time constraints but every once in a while when I have the time, I do play. There are a select few in the League that I enjoy playing with, and at least in the League games, you are pretty much assured you will have a pleasant table with friendly people. (most of the time)

If I get “kicked out” because I don’t meet the requirements, then I guess that’s just the way it goes. I’ll find some other place because I am sure they are out there.

I have never looked for nor joined another League so I would have to do some shopping but I am sure there are plenty of Leagues around.

Honestly, if Rich came to me and said “I’ll set it up the way you want.” I don’t know what I would say.

If I was running it would I want to go back to the days of “come one, come all.” Freerolls, freerolls, freerolls? With all of that comes the bitching and moaning which appears to be greater when freerolls are involved for some reason.

I think Rich’s whole point with this is to keep the freeloaders out. Keep the people who only show up for the freerolls out or make them do something to earn the right to play.

This I understand, however, it is a major shift in philosophy from when he started.

Now, you have to pay to join, learn and play. I know, its only a few bucks a month but it is still money.

I would suppose that managing an “open” forum would be quite complicated. I think this is why the admins in the League are supporting this too. It is a lot of work for people who do other things too.

If it was me, I think I would ask the members. I would explain the situation and see what ideas people have. We have a lot of creative people in the league who could come up with some ideas.

How do you keep the league open to all, but at the same time, have a different tier, or level, for those who have progressed in their game?

How do you design the games to try to make managing them less time constraining?

We were considering this when thinking of a possible club. Voting people to a higher level is pretty subjective but then again, it is a club.

Actually, the division idea currently being set up may work for something like that.

First Division members are the new ones, freeroll players, etc.

Second Division members are the small buy-in people and occasional freeroll players(you can always play in lower division games but not higher division games).

Third Division members are higher stakes players.

The only thing you need to consider is how to move up in the divisions. Points, votes, etc.

Again, more management…….

It sure is complicated….I just want to play once in a while…lol

See ya all soon.

As always, comments welcome……

Changes in the League – again

Most of you reading this will understand the jist of this blog by the title.

For those of you who don’t, I am a member of the Pokerchipsquad League. I have been a member for gosh, I don’t know, 5 years maybe. The league has made quite a few changes over the years and we are now in the midst of another.

I thought I would make my thoughts on all of this known here instead of in the forum because I am free to say whatever I want since it is my blog. Also, Rich (forum owner) doesn’t want any negative comments made in the forum about the changes. I am not saying I will be negative but I want the freedom to be negative if my thoughts take me there.

When I first joined the forum a long time ago, it was a freeroll league. All of the games we played were freerolls. Points were earned by placing high enough in the tournament that was posted as a point scoring tournament for the League. This was good for me since I had just started playing on-line poker. Also, since there were members from all around the world, you could play at more opportune times depending on which time zone you were in.

I didn’t have to invest any money, and if I won, I could build my bankroll.

Over time, I made some friends and my game got better.

The league grew too. We changed from only freerolls to a little of both (freerolls and small buy-ins) and we are now changing to a buy-in only league with rules for membership.

I am not going to go into specifics. I am just going to write as I think.

I joined the league to learn and to make some friends. I have done that and a selected few I would be proud to call, good friends.

I am wondering with the way the league is structured now, how would it be possible for someone like I was originally, to join this league to learn and enjoy this game?

I thought that was the point of the whole league. Find people who want to learn and bring them into our community. Teach them, and maybe learn something yourself along the way.

It’s almost like the administrators of the league have grown in their game like I have and applied that to the league. No patience for freerolls, no patience for a beginners, etc.

Now, I am not saying I would be any better at running anything. I wouldn’t have lasted half as long as Rich has at running his forum. I am just wondering how this is going to end up? Is the Pokerchipsquad forum going to end up being a 10-20 member league playing where and when they want with strict membership rules? If that’s the case then it really isn’t a forum is it? It’s a club.

I already feel like the “redheaded stepchild” because I am in the US. League game times are all set at good times for Europeans during the week (I can’t play during the week because all of the league games start at about 4:30 p.m. here). The new Highroller section is for everyone EXCEPT US players. The new Division section will require playing at certain times that are not favorable to US players. 

I don’t play freerolls anymore (my exception is league games) because I don’t really want to wade through all of the bad play and beginners. HOWEVER, if someone shows interest in learning the game, I will stop whatever I am doing to try to help. That’s one of the reasons I write this blog. To help.

So, the league went from everyone is welcome, to, you have to post a certain number of times to join, to, a agreement you have to commit to to be a member. A agreement that requires playing a certain number of times per month and “suggested” joining of other tourny’s.

And, maybe it a British cultural thing, but the wording and explanations in the forum seem pretty heavyhanded.

If anyone questions anything or posts non favorable comments, the next post usually goes along the lines “if you don’t like it, quit”. “I don’t really care”, etc.

Jeeze, where is the exchange of ideas? It’s like a couple of people sat in a room and decided that this is how its going to be. No, ifs, ands, or buts!

But, it’s his forum, Rich can do what he wants. I need to decide whether I want to be a part of it or not. I don’t have any right to question his decisions. I am a member, not one of the decision makers. The only decision I need to make is whether or not to stay.

Am I way off base here?

I would like to hear from the rest of you?

See ya soon

Svcmgr

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