Feel like burning a few bridges with your guy friends? Why not take their money before you do it! The good old fashion homegame is where you can have the biggest edge playing poker. If you play online or in a casino, you’ll likely play against people who actually know what they are doing, plus you’ll be paying casino rake. Play against your friends, and you have free reign. Here are a few tips to especially line your pockets.
Don’t Play A Tournament
Tournaments have the least skill in comparison to cash games. Avoid a tournament with your friends like the plague. That plus it’s harder to amp up the stakes since all the money is paid upfront. Don’t let your friends get by on paying $5 entry into a tournament. You want them ponying up at least $5 a hand.
Play 7-Card Stud or Pot Limit Omaha, not Texas Hold’em
Nowadays, most people can play Texas Hold’em at least somewhat competently. Only a total newbie will play 95 offsuit, and most people even know to dump hands like A6 offsuit.
This isn’t the case with 7-stud and pot limit Omaha. These games are relatively new to most people. Most people know the rules, but they don’t know the strategy.
Seven stud is a very boring, fold-happy game. So you’ll get most of your edge just by being patient. Boring yes, but profitable yes as well. Most newbies play every hand, like they do all poker games. This is an especially disasterous move in 7-stud. The main problem with 7-stud though is that it’s generally played for fixed limits.
Here’s where pot limit Omaha comes in. It’s not a fold happy game at all; you can play a lot of starting hands. But the pots get huge in this game, and drunken newbies will often go all in with top pair or something when you have the nut straight. They play their hands like hold’em hands, which means way too loose and aggressively. Recipe for getting all their money quickly.
Get Them Drunk
Need I say more? That $10 bottle of Smirnoff will more than pay for itself.