Do you only play NL Hold'em...?

Dub13

I have mates who will play anything and they reckon it improves there game alot.I on the other hand just play NL Hold'em and play the odd hand of bingo sorry Omaha but 95% NL Hold'em.I just injoy NL Hold'em much more than any of the other games.


So what do you play and is it just for fun or to improve your overall game...?

DeLaBass

we always used to just play texas hold'em but started plying dealers choice lately and alternating between hold'em, omaha (which i really like) and 'irish' which is texas hold'em but you're dealt three cards and u burn one before the game begins. I used to think that these kind of games aren't pure poker but they really make for a great home game.

Any other games you guys are fond of? (not bingo!)

Optikus

I like yo play texas no-limit hold'em and omaha hi/lo.

DapperGent

Tournament Holdem and Omaha Hi cash for me.

Waylander

I mostly only play holdem but do enjoy 7 stud also. I keep meaning to get more into Omaha but have not put any effort into that yet. I do like to have an occasional home game of dealers choice just for a bit of variety.

JuliusFranco

Dub13 wrote:

I...and play the odd hand of bingo sorry Omaha...

:mad:


if ya can't stand the heat get out of the kitchen!! (only messin!)

mewso

I'll go with Dapper on this one. Holdem is the one for the tourneys but Omaha rules for cash. Thats the I play it online these days.

NickyOD

I have a lot of success in Omhaha H/L and 7 Card Stud H/L, but only in tournaments. The problem is if you want to multiatable Holdem is a much better option as these games take up serious concentration. I find 4 Holdem tables easier to manage than 2 Stud tables.

Marq

H.O.R.S.E.T. is the game of choice. A round of each of Hold'em (PL), Omaha High (PL), Razz, Stud, Omaha Eights or Better Hi/Lo and Triple Draw (all limit).

Usually NL Hold'em for tournies though I quite like Omaha tournies too.

CoD

kinda dealers choice but it lasts for a full round, clears up blinds/ante problems

as we play cash games not tourneys

nesf

Prefer NL Holdem for cash games and tournaments.

I play Omaha (and varients) for cash now and then, but never in a tournament.

I've played bigger cash games in Draw than in all the others, but I learned with draw and have been playing it for cash from a young age (in pubs and through games at my dad's/uncle's/cousin's house. Draw is a good game, alot more about reads and tells than any other poker type, since you really have no idea what the nut hand for a round is. Although, I've seen that it's far easier to go from draw to hold'em, than to go from hold'em to draw. I've seen far too many good hold'em players being ripped to pieces in cash draw games, but I've seen draw players adjust no problem to playing a hold'em game although, admittedly it takes a while for them to get used of the idea of having a fair idea of what the best hand out there can be. It really does change the game around completely. That said there are good draw players who started in hold'em so it isn't a golden rule or anything, just that the two games appear alot more alike then they actually are, and people try to import their style of play from one to the other without adapting.

Then again, I've had hold'em players come turn to me and tell me draw is just luck and no skill.

These generally are the aforementioned hold'em players who were decimated when they tried their hand at playing draw.

Lafortezza

I find omaha high cash games to have much less variance than NL hold'em cash games if you play in a certain way, bingo it isn't.

Imposter

I've being playing some limit holdem lately. Finding it annoying and frustrating. I don't take well to people drawing and hitting especially if they are getting the odds. Compared to NL when they hit something it's usually because they've called a bet they shouldn't have. That I can handle.

I've played a couple of Omahe 8/b freerolls on VC and occasionally a .1/.2 PL cash game. Haven't a clue what i'm supposed to be doing though. as for Omaha i've played about 2 hours cash at .1/.2 where I lost miserably, but it was fun. Other than that i've played one tournament which I won (hehe, yes the boards one!).

I've dipped my toes in 7-stud but again I don't know what i'm doing. I also played some Triple Draw 2-7 at the weekend and it seems easy and quite mechanical, unless of course I again don't know what i'm doing and just think I do.

But mostly for me it's NL holdem cash games, the occasional STT and an occasional tournament. Usually .50/1 for the cash games.

Culchie

25's for me !

Hitman Actual

nesf wrote:

Then again, I've had hold'em players come turn to me and tell me draw is just luck and no skill.

These generally are the aforementioned hold'em players who were decimated when they tried their hand at playing draw.

As Harrington says, draw is much more mechanical, but it's kind of a pure poker game in that tells are so important. Plus, a good draw poker player has a much bigger edge over poor opponents than a similar player in HE, imo, because the general edges are so small in hold-em. One of the reasons that poor draw players like HE so much is because they have a much bigger chance of drawing out on their opponents; but if they're crap at draw then they're crap at every poker game, to be honest.

I still play a fairly regular draw game in a pub, purely for recreational purposes 'cos you can relax and have a pint as well. I take the HE/Omaha games I play far more seriously so they dont have that laid back factor. Unfortunately I just dont have the time to properly branch out into the other games like hi/lo variants, stud, etc.

nesf

lenny_leonard wrote:

As Harrington says, draw is much more mechanical, but it's kind of a pure poker game in that tells are so important. Plus, a good draw poker player has a much bigger edge over poor opponents than a similar player in HE, imo, because the general edges are so small in hold-em. One of the reasons that poor draw players like HE so much is because they have a much bigger chance of drawing out on their opponents; but if they're crap at draw then they're crap at every poker game, to be honest.

I agree. Although I would consider draw and hold'em to be very different games. The edges in hold'em are tiny, and when you hit a monster hand, alot of the time it's glaringly obvious what you probably have and you won't get paid out big time on it.

For instance hitting four of a kind in a draw game with 6 players, will nearly always pay you off nicely. Mostly because the odds of you having four of a kind are tiny, and since there is nothing visible to suggest you have hit that hand, other players can be pushing their house of queens to the hilt and end up paying you off nicely.

The problem with draw is, only experience can teach you how to play the low value hands, like 2 pair and trips. If you can't read your opponents well enough to get an idea of what they are playing with then you are either going to be over-calling or over-folding with these hands. And to play draw sucessfully you need to know how to play these hands, since these are what you'll have 90% of the time when you aren't folding. It's much easier to form a hand in hold'em than it is in draw. Yes you can argue that you get to see upto 8 cards in draw, but compared to having 7 cards available at showdown to form a hand this is inferior.

The thing about Hold'em is that the edges are tiny. Your edge over an inexperienced player is no where near the edge you'd have in draw. Also, people who like to "draw out" other players don't fare well in draw. You will be made pay for seeing those cards every time, and your odds of hitting them is tiny. But because you really have no concrete clues as to what is out there, you can be holding three dueces and be very reluctant to fold them. Good draw players sometimes try to put everyone else in a pot on a hand before even looking at what they've drawn. Not always effective, but the wish for your hand to be the winning hand can sometimes cause you to underestimate others, or a fear of losing money can cause you to over-estimate.

knightsbridge

My heart doesn't pump sufficienty fast enough unless i play NL. I love going to a 25cent table and having the pot get up to $50...

nicryan

nesf wrote:

Draw is a good game, alot more about reads and tells than any other poker type, since you really have no idea what the nut hand for a round is.

ooooh...can we play some draw together but with the added split that if I can tell you what the nut hand is...I get half the pot?

me: all in!.....
you: uhhh...I've got quads....call....
me: ok the nuts is a royal flush...I get half the pot again....
you: that sucks
me: no it doesn't its the bestest idea ever!


oh...and HORSET rocks...best. game. ever.



Nic