Tips for the fitzwilliam on thursday.

There's a fair bit of chat, some players are chatier than others. All of the regulars know each other well so it's just like poker at a mates house for them. Seems to me like there is gonna be alot of newbie's tonight so I'd advise them to act respectful i.e don't walk in there thinking you are the boss. Also no swearing at the table, also there is no smoking at the tables. When i was there for the first time everyone was very nice and one older guy in particular gave me loads of tips on the other regulars. The age is anything from 20-65 but there is definatly more old players than young.

I played the €40 buy-in tournament thats held on Sundays a couple of months ago. It was the first time I played in a proper club and it was pretty cool.

i thought 5,6 was

no matter, however he hates it if you re raise him

You have to be a member (just bring photo id) but you don't have to pay to enter. You do have to pay to get buy-ins (€10) and you'll be either very good or very lucky to make it to the final table without one.

Ehhh, no..

Blackjack, Roulette, Omaha, Hold'em, and other variants of poker, but no tennis..

Have a look at their website: http://www.fitzwilliamcardclub.com/.

Their address:
The Fitzwilliam Card Club
Clifton Hall
Lower Fitzwilliam Street,
Dublin 2,
Ireland

Thought I'd give a few extra tips for the fitz on a thursday (or indeed, any other night). There are a few mistakes one can make that aren't that obvious but that some regulars might make a big deal out of.

Betting: Be sure that you announce clearly what you are doing when the action comes around to you - Betting, Raising, Calling, Checking (a clear tap on the table will signify this aswell) and Folding (just throw your cards in).

A common mistake is this: the blinds are at 50 and 100, and you want to raise to 500, so you put in one 500 chip and don't say anything, expecting that your scary pink chip will do the talking. However, unless you have announced "raise", this is treated as a call. If you had put in five 100 chips, then your intention would be clear and this would not be an issue, but even then, it's advisable to clearly announce that you are raising and how much you are raising. Many times you will have people who aren't that focused on the game and won't notice your raise unless you say it.

Another possible pitfall is Underbetting. The minimum raise for any round of betting is twice the last bet. So if you are raising when the blinds are 25-50, the minimum raise you can make is to bring it up to 100. Similarly, if somebody bets 200, and you wish to raise, the minimum that you can raise is up to 400, as in another 200 on top of the original raise. The next player's minimum raise is to 800 and so on. The problem can arise if you forget this, and raise less than the minimum. This is an underbet, and the raise is disallowed and treated as a call. Be aware of how much the bet is at all times, so that you don't fall into this trap. The exception to this rule is when a player is going All-In, in which case they are allowed to underbet as they have nothing else. However, a person acting after the All-In who wishes to raise must still raise in accordance with the same rules.

For example: player one bets 200, player 2 raises 350 all-in. Some people would insist that Player 3 cannot in this case raise to 400, he must raise to 600, which is twice what would have been raised had the person going all-in been able to raise the minimum amount. Many people will allow the raise in this situation to bring it up to 500, twice 150 which is the amount of the all-in raise.
If a player is all-in for an amount less than an original bet, say 150 when the bet is 200, the player after must bet to a minimum of 400.

On the turn and the river, the minimum opening bet is the big blind, although some people don't adhere to this and most people just don't care.
Obviously with the game being No-Limit, you can raise anything above the minimum.

Another thing that can get you on trouble is String-Betting, ie, putting your chips into the pot one by one. In this case, only the first chip that hits the green is counted as a bet, and all others are disregarded. If you are putting in your chips one by one and the first one is a 100, and the bet is 75, you are deemed to have just called. If you announce clearly exactly how much you intend to raise before you put the money into the pot, then you may put them in one-by-one, as you have already made your intention known to the table. The act of letting your chips drop from your hand onto the green is also considered a string bet, despite how impressive you might think it looks, so best to just stick all of the chips in with one movement.

Never ever say "Call and Raise", as this is just considered a call.

Acting out of turn: to deliberately act out of turn is strictly against the rules. Acting out of turn means calling, raising OR passing before it is your turn to act. The reason this is not allowed is becuase it gives information to people who are still to act before you, and this is unfair. Once in a while you will unwittingly do this when you genuinely think that it's your turn to act, and this will always be forgiven though should still be apologised for. You should always be aware of when it is and is not your time to act. This applies to passing your cards. Do not pass out of turn, despite the fact that you've just gotten 2-7 offsuit for the 9th time running, it's still poor ettiquete to do so.

If you call a bet out of turn, the bet stands, If you raise out of turn, the raise stands. For example. you're in sixth position and before anyone else acts, you raise to 300. Now, the person to your right, in fifth position, raises to 1500. You know he's an uber-rock who would only raise with aces, you want your money back, but you can't have it. Your original bet of 300 stands, and if you want to play, you're going to have to call the extra 1200, otherwise you just lose those chips. Same goes for if you are simply calling a blind out of turn and someone raises. that call stands, and unless you call the raise, you're out of the hand.

You are not allowed to talk about hands that are still in play. Despite the fact that you have passed, you may not announce to anyone at the table what cards you had as this can effect the betting of the remaining players in the hand. Even if you are all-in, but there is still betting on the side, you may not discuss what cards you have and you may not turn them over. You are not allowed to fold your cards up unless there will definitely not be any more betting after you do so (ie, a player is all-in and once you pass there can't be any more betting anyway, or you're one of the last two players in a pot and you're folding to a bet). When you're all-in and you have a caller, make sure that you know there are no other callers who might be betting against each other in the side pot before you triumphantly throw over your pair of cowboys, the guy representing them to your left will not be pleased.

Finally, just some advice on dealing. Often on a big thursday night you may have to deal for yourself as there are a limited number of dealers and lots of tables. Many people are intimidated by this as they see certain people flinging cards around with swiss precision. then you try it and the card goes off the table, or turns face up. the best way to deal at first, particularly if you are at the end of the table is simply to count how many players are there (including yourself) and then just deal them out in front of you - people will pass them down to the players. Nobody is bothered by this and it can lead to a lot less confusion in the long run.

Couple of other things to remember about dealing: If either of the first two cards are exposed, it's a bum deal, and must be reshuffled and redealt. If any card after that is exposed, continue dealing to the rest of the players. At the end of the deal there should be one player a card short, and you give him the top card from the deck, what would be the burn card, and replace the exposed card at the top of the deck to be used as the burn card. there's an explanation about burn cards and dealing stuff on the Noob FAQ. Also remember that if you're not confident about shuffling or dealing, someone at the table will be glad to do it for you, you only have to ask, and that you must pass the cards to the person on your RIGHT to be cut before you can deal.

Anyway, hope this helps any first-timers to the fitz (or the merrion, or a really hard-assed home game).
Good luck all,
Marq

Originally posted by lafortezza
The freeroll table I was on last sunday didn't really adopt this rule too well.....

It wasn't our fault people were betting when clearly they had absolutely none of that!

You always have to keep the value placed firmly at the forefront of your mind - especially when you're behind.

Originally posted by Marq
Nah, just have to raise as much again, it's double the RAISE, not the total amount that has been bet.

Incorrect. I bet 200 someone else has to put 400 in to raise. If the next person wants to reraise then they must put in 800. It's still 600 more when it comes back to me (given no more raises - if so next one must push 1600) but the last raiser's total bet is 800.

Originally posted by Marq
Two online poker sites (ultimate bet and Pokerroom) allow minimum bet of twice the last raise. Hence in an actual example from the play money tables at UltimateBet: Minimum bet of 20, raised 90 to 110, my minimum bet option was to raise to 200, an extra 90, not an extra 110. this reflects the game's origins in limit play. so if you bet 200, and are raised to 400, you can raise to 600, not necessarily 800, though obviously any amount over 600 is an option in No-Limit Hold'Em.

Aren't we talking about the fitz though? NL hold'em can have slightly different rules, casino vs online.
AFAIR the explanations me and Dapper have given are correct regarding the Fitz and the raising rules.

I stand embarrassingly corrected - checked it out with Luke and....

Minimum bet on all rounds of betting is the big blind

Raise double the amount of the raise. i.e. 200 - 400 - 800 - 1600.

Oh the shame.

Kimba, you are incorrect. The rules on a mis-deal which Marq stated is the way it is done at The Fitzwilliam.

Your right - I was reading it the wrong way around, I thought what you said was what Marq said, I blame my backwards brain .

richie17 wrote:

if I turn up thursday night will I be expected to deal every so often then? Don't like the sound of that... sure it's not hard, but a little nervous I guess.

There normally aren't dealers provided on Thurs night but there is always someone at the table willing to deal if people don't feel comfortable with it. If you are all taking turns,just say you can't deal if it comes to your turn or if you see someone good at it ask them to deal your round. don't be a bit nervous and head on in, it really is a great starting point and you will enjoy it. If there are some loud or annoying players just ignore them and play your own game. Luke (the floor manager) looks after the new players well and before you know it he'll have you dealing for the entire night!!!