artm123

 
registro: 17-08-2014
In some states, poker is not gambling, it is a "game of skill".
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A new way NOT to play poker - AKA cheating on this site

Well, I have suspected this for a few days, but I am CERTAIN of it now...some people are playing multiple hands at the same table to increase their chances of "winning".  This is really sad - REALLY sad.  Again, it makes me wonder why they even play because rigging the game isn't playing the game and isn't even difficult to do.  I have noticed multiple times where the same two players are on a table with me (and 1 or 2 other players).  The two in question always bet on the same hands and follow a pattern of betting and folding to maximize the winnings of one of them (and the losing of the other players at the table).  It is always the SAME one of the pair that ends up winning (unless one of the other players beats the rigged game).  Most of the time the "second" player folders after betting on the River driving other players out - then the "first player" (the designated winner) re-raises and the "second" player folds.  AND they only follow this pattern if there are other players playing and betting on the hand.  There are a couple of other variations to this scenario, but they all work basically the same and end up with the "first" player winning (unless someone else ends up winning by some fluke). It took a while for me to make certain this is what is going on, but now I am positive this is happening.  I guess all it takes is one person with two computers on the same desk and a desire to cheat more than the desire to actually play the game.

Tournament "sitters" that get "paid"

I have been playing in some low value sit-n-go tournaments lately and have noticed there is always at least one (and most times, more) "sitter".  A "sitter" is a player that just sits (or more often isn't even really at the table), and hopes to be one of people who cash at the end because the real players take each other out.  Unfortunately, more often than not they meet that goal.  Look, I truly understand someone not getting cards to play and doing a  lot of pre-flop folding, but I hate players who go into the tournament with a strategy of never playing (or simply sitting out).  That strategy isn't even comparable to the famous "Rope-a-Dope" in boxing where a fighter covers up and hopes the opponent wears himself out taking shots -- in Rope-a-Dope, the fighter must eventually decide to actually fight (play).  I wish this site would do something to actively keep this from happening....not sure how that would work, but hey, they are the programmers.


I don't understand it...

Honestly, I don't understand what drives people to stay to see the flop 60%, 70%, 80%, or more of the time.  At first I thought, "Damn, these are some lucky bastards getting all the good cards".  Then I quickly realized that they would pay to stay in on ANYTHING.  In the last 24 hours of playing here I KNOW of 16 times that someone stayed in beyond the flop with 8-2 off suit and absolutely nothing on the board to help them.  Obviously these people never play for real money (or at least I have never been fortunate enough to play at a table with them).  In the long run, they will lose "chips" (just as they would lose money), but in the mean time, they screw up the learning experience for people actually trying to learn the game.  Winning with hands that shouldn't have been played at all really isn't winning at all.  It is really a very slow, painful "poker death" that infects everyone at the table who is trying to actually play the game.

The International Flavor

It is nice to see a site with a real international mix of players.  Sure, I could generalize about various groups of players by nationality, but that would be plain stupid (and dead wrong).  I have played poker (real, face-to-face poker) in the United States, much of Europe, and Australia.  I do notice differences in the game depending upon where I am, but they are subtle differences that really don't matter in the long run.

 

In short...if someone plays poker well, no matter where they are playing (or live), in the long run they will do well.

 

Bad strings of cards happen (and can be overcome).  Bad players are "grown" and usually can't be changed. 


What is it about poker that attracts people to play it?

After playing here for just a short while, I have once again had to ask myself this question:  "What is it that makes people want to play poker?"

 

Is it an appreciation of the game itself with all its intricacies?

 

Is it the excitement of knowing what SHOULD happen in a situation, but often getting a surprise?

 

Is it the competition of matching oneself against another in a game of both skill and chance?

 

OR...  is it simply trying to pile up as many chips/points/money as one can, without any thought of the game itself?

 

In this virtual, semi-real world, without any consequences for not actually trying to play well, I think the "correct" answer for most online players is the last thought I posited.

 

 It's too bad that those players with that shallow motivation don't know what they are missing.  Poker really IS a great and complex GAME where the true enjoyment comes from playing, and playing well has its rewards.