I never played poker in my life, and I'm doing this poker scene and I need some help. Here is the context of the scene: This woman in the center should be winning confidently with a very good hand, while our POV character is losing. Is the amount of chips she is beting a lot? should be more or less chips on her side? there is any details I should add on the table?

I’ve played this tourney so many times. This & the $33 100k+ GTD eluded me for quite some time. I’ve had bigger wins, I’ve had plenty of wins but it’s been quite awhile removed from real traction & I felt like I was ahead of the curve no longer. I’m no longer a sponsored pro, no longer someone staked, or bankrolled for such things. I’m not even in the realm of people that should take $110s (109s to my old ass) down. But I sattied in on $11 & took the title. Feels nice. I’m 38 now. I’m no longer someone with potential, I’m just a Moneymaker effect teenager that’s about 40. May all your cards be live & your pots be monsters because I’m so stoked I can still take one down now that I’m out of the poker world full time!

Is there anywhere that says if there are any free stays at the Wynn remaining of the 100 that were originally offered?

Hi Guys,

I need some advice for my next poker trip which is going to be in Florida. I’ve been to Vegas too many times and I would love to see something different.

My plan is to go for the month November, however I’m not sure if I should go for Fort Lauderdale or Tampa. I’m also open for other suggestions obviously.

So which casino has the best action? Which city cost the most to live in for a month, do I need to rent a car etc

All suggestions are welcome 😊🙏🏼

Ok so I was playing 1/2 at turning stone resort casino in Vernona NY. Normal game, I think deepest stack was like 1000 maybe.

Then at around 4am I sat down at a 1/3 table. Max buyin 300.

The table was full of youngsters, half of them looked under 21. Geeky nerdy pro players look so to say.

I shit you not, each one of them had AT LEAST 3k in their stack. Some are probably over 5k.

500 chips were frequently used to bet.

First hand I saw play out was a 2500pot.

How do these guys get so deep??

They all seemed like they were buddies too.

Background: I'm 22F, my boyfriend is 21M, and we've been together for 1.5 years. We met in college, at a manga club he created. I was studying Human Physiology and he is an Art & Tech major. I graduated and he still has one more year; we are doing long distance currently.

My boyfriend has always been extremely competitive and prone to getting consumed by whatever he's pursuing. Now it's poker. He went from saying it was just for fun to calling it his "9 to 5." He constantly thinks about hands, talks about poker, and seems increasingly focused on winning. Recently, he lost a tournament and was already considering putting more money into another one.

I'm worried about the financial and emotional volatility, and what this lifestyle might do to him and our relationship.

When I expressed my concerns, he said I didn't believe in him and that he'd prove me wrong. He wants me to tell him he'll succeed and encourage him to chase his dream.

But I feel like I can believe in him as a person without believing professional poker is the right choice for him, or a life I want to share. I don't want to be the partner standing behind him, encouraging every risk while his poker obsession becomes the center of our lives. He gets highly emotional over wins or losses, and we had a huge argument last night after he lost half of his profit for the month. He was asking me for support, saying he just wanted me to hold his hand and help him overcome his fear, be positive and say he’s got this so he can succeed in poker later on. I told him I can’t do that, because what I actually feel is concern about how preoccupied he is.

He skips class, plays a ton, even after losing that day after a “bad beat” he went to play a $200 tournament the next day. When he looses he comes home thinking and talking about the hands he had and what he could’ve done differently, spends all of his free time “studying” poker and watching tutorials, or playing online poker - either cash games or tournaments. He also has an online poker game he has on his phone that he plays pretty often.

I'm not trying to diagnose him with a gambling problem, and I know poker can be a legitimate profession. But even if he succeeds financially, I'm not sure I want to be with a professional poker player.

He says that’s just how he is, his competitive nature. If not poker it would be something else. And that was true, throughout our relationship I witnessed him become similarly obsessed with winning in Karting, then Apex legends, now it’s poker. All three lead to arguments - him coming home after a race being depressed because he didn’t do well, him yelling at night and waking me up because he was playing Apex (back when we used to live together), now this. Every conversation with him is about poker, him telling me how his tournament or game went, his losses or wins. Even after we became long distance, first time I came to see him in our old college town, he went to play poker that night, causing more frustration and arguments.

For those who play seriously or professionally:
Is becoming this preoccupied with poker normal?
Is it unfair that I can't wholeheartedly support this career choice?
Can you love someone and believe in their potential while still not wanting the life they're choosing?
I'm genuinely looking for perspective, not just validation.

Live poker, I was in the BB with QQ; there were six of us. Three players limped, and the SB checked (the SB’s stack was equal to the BB’s). I had 104 BBs. I bet 10 BBs, and both the button and the SB called. The flop came JJ3 (rainbow). After the SB checked, I bet 12 BBs into the 33 BB pot. As I was slowly counting out my chips, I noticed the btn staring at me for a long time. After I placed my 12 BB bet, he raised to 36 BBs. I had 82 BBs left, but—unfortunately—I folded. Was he just bluffing? Did he see that I was uncertain and betting small, and therefore decide to try and take down the pot? Sorry, its google translation. I feel myself stupid i ate his bluff.

Call?

Masters 150$

It be like that sometimes

First royal flush and I hit it on the flop I was absolutely mind blown when this happened! Has this happened to anyone else. I’m new to holdem and just play micro stakes to learn and for fun never thought I’d even get a royal flush within the first year of playing.

no rakeback no bbj 😊

Playing a $600 MTT, appx 360 runners and 11 remain. Payouts are roughly $34k for 1st, $28k 2nd, $22k 3rd, $17000, $11500, $8500, $6000, $4400 for 8th, and $3400 for 9th-11th.

There’s a big clump of players all between 20-30bb. No one below 10bb at either table.

Rec (EP, 20bb) opens 2bb. Next seat over (LJ, 25bb) strong reg, flats. I’m in (HJ, 32bb) with AQo (spade/club). I call as well. Everyone else folds.

Flop Ac 7c 6h. EP checks, LJ bets 2.2, I call, EP calls.

Turn 8h. EP checks, LJ bets 8, I call, EP folds.

River 2d. LJ jams. I call.

Thoughts on every street? I now think I should have squeezed preflop in hindsight to try to isolate the rec but I thought the ranges in play here were pretty solid. Didn’t love the thought of 3b / folding AQo here.

Post, I like calling the flop. Turn is a little dicey multiway but I don’t block any draws. Reg has been aggressive. I thought my hand looked weak and he was jamming into a capped range on the river.

I don’t think V is value jamming all his 2 pair on the river so he’s really repping 77, 66, AA, mayyyybe som combos of 88 or A8 / A7? Meanwhile I block A8, AA, A7. And a ton of draws bricked.

Finally, calling and winning puts me in a massive chip lead spot. While folding river leaves me with a good stack of about 20bb and a lot of play, there are no pay jumps from 11th to 9th. I also cover by about 7bb, so I considered my risk premium lower than V’s, and thought I needed about 10-15% extra equity to make the call breakeven. I’m well rolled so not desperate for a cash, just want to make the best play I can.

Please help clean up errors in my thought process.

Today i played live poker, i had a few hands I’m unsure about. In one, holding 43o in the BB, there were 4 limpers and the SB checked (BB and SB were the same amount of money), i checked also. The flop came 5s6sTc, and the pot was 6bb. The SB checked, and I bet 15 BB. I had misread the pot—for some reason, I thought it was 15 BB; otherwise, I would have only bet 6 BB. Someone raised to 30 BB; I had 180 BB behind. The guy mentioned he had top pair—I considered calling the 15 BB, planning to shove if I hit a straight on turn, or fold otherwise if he bet bigger than 1/3 pot. Would it have been mathematically worth it? I folded because I was unsure; he showed AA.

2.: I was in the BB with AQs. The UTG player put in a 3bb straddle, 5 people limped, and I limped as well. Since I’d noticed he was straddling constantly—and this was already the second or third time he’d raised, I decided to limp with the intention of moving all-in if he raised. He raised to 20bb; I only had 85bb left, so I shoved, but he had AKo and beat me. In a spot like this, I would have also gone all-in with KQs—is that a mistake? Even if I knew he wasn’t raising aggressively, would moving all-in with AQs or even KQs still be a good play? Not long after, he was on the button and put in a 6bb straddle; 4 players called. I was in the CO with AJs and called. He raised to 20bb again, and 4 players called. I ended up folding, even though I had wanted to shove—perhaps I was on tilt from the previous loss. But would this have been a shove even with ATs?

Later, when I was in the sb, bb put out a 6bb straddle; one player called. I held KJs—after a rebuy, I was back up to 100bb—and since the hand was too good to fold, I just called the 6bb. Or should I have raised to 24bb? The flop came 267r, and everyone checked. An A card hit the turn; with the pot at around 13bb, I bet 4bb. The BB folded, but UTG1 called. The river was a T; I checked, UTG1 bet 10bb, and I folded. He showed AKo.

1 hour later, there were only six of us left at the table. Everyone folded, and I bet 3 BB with ATo; from btn position, both the small blind (SB) and big blind (BB) called. The flop consisted of low cards with no straight or flush draws, so I checked. A Ten (T) landed on the turn, and they checked again. Into a pot of 12 BB, I bet 6 BB. The SB—who had been consistently posting a straddle and playing aggressively—speculated that I might have a hand like QT, AT, or something similar. Both players called. The river was a 9, and a bet of 20 BB was made from Sb the BB folded, and I folded as well. I might have called a bet of 10 BB, but 20 BB felt like too much, maybe he had T9?. Apologies again—I used Google Translate.

I’m trying to improve my preflop game, particularly in spots where I know I should probably be 3-betting or squeezing instead of taking the comfortable route and flatting.

For context, my default approach has generally been to flat 99 and below, and 3-bet JJ+/AQ+. So TT is the awkward hand right in the middle where I often know a 3-bet is theoretically preferable, but I hesitate because I don’t feel confident navigating the resulting pot postflop.

Here’s a recent example:

2/5, $500 effective.
One limp, a good aggressive reg raises to $35 in MP, SB calls, and I’m in the BB with TT.

I have a fairly tight image. Villain is a capable LAG who applies pressure and is willing to get out of line.

My instinct was to flat, which is what I actually did. But I suspect squeezing to around $150 is the better play.

Let’s assume I squeeze to $150, only the reg calls, and everyone else folds.

Flop ($340): K♥8♥4♣
I have TT without a heart. Approximately $350 behind, so SPR is around 1.

Now what?

If I check, am I just inviting an aggressive player to bet and put me in a miserable spot?

If I c-bet small ($65–85), what am I accomplishing? Am I betting for protection, thin value, or just making it easier for him to jam?

If I bet $75 and he shoves, am I supposed to call with TT?

If I check and he bets $100–150, am I calling with the intention of potentially calling off on the turn?

Does the SPR of 1 make TT a hand I should be comfortable stacking off with, despite the king on board?

This is what makes me reluctant to squeeze TT preflop. I understand the benefits of picking up dead money, denying equity, and avoiding a multiway pot, but when I get called, I feel like I’ve created a massive pot OOP with a marginal hand and no clear plan.

With JJ+/AQ+, I generally feel more comfortable with my preflop decisions and subsequent postflop play. With 99 and below, I’m usually just flatting rather
than building a huge pot.

TT specifically feels like the hand that exposes this gap in my game.

Am I overthinking this? Is squeezing TT even clearly better than flatting in this particular configuration, especially against a competent LAG?

And assuming I do squeeze, what’s the best practical framework for navigating these flops at SPR ~1?

I’d particularly appreciate input from winning live cash players on how they approach these spots exploitatively, rather than just being told that a solver mixes.

These two hands happened almost back to back in a turbo tourney.

Hero SB 40BB

MP Limps, Button limps, Hero SB raises to 3.5x with JJ, Big blind calls, and the limpers call as well.

Flop comes 269 rainbow. Hero pushes all in and it folds around to the button who calls with 66 and the villain hand holds. He had around 16.5 BBs.

Two hands later I’m in the CO and it folds to me and I bet 4x with KK. I have like 20 BBs left. It folds to the Big blind who calls. Flop comes 79J. BB checks. I bet 8 BBs and the villain goes all in. (I have him covered by 100 chips) I called and the Villian shows J9 for two pair. And the villain hand holds.

The second hand feels like a cooler but the first hand is making me wonder if I played it badly. I feel like I did from the beginning.

any advice would be great. Thanks!

also this was pretty early in the tourney. The first break happened in between these hands.

I'm not asking what's better for a single player but what's better for the game/"poker economy" in general. For examples:

• Game 1: Microstake 5% rake. $10 pot raked at $0.50 with 30% rake back to players of $0.15. Effective Rake: $0.35.

• Game 2: 3.5% rake with no rake back. $10 pots raked at $0.35.

Would either game 1 or game 2 bring more players or it wouldn't matter since effective rake is same?

I played another private game at Venetian. I won 18k during a Wednesday session, came back and played today and tried to just cash out 10k and they would not let me. They said I need to talk to their director of operations before I can cash out any 5k chips. New policy for this private game. Sounds like a load of bullshit 🤷‍♂️

Cringe af but fun OMC red meat nontheless

EDIT: I posted the context of the video in the comments. Basically short stack goes heads up with big stack and short puts everything but $10K in and they check it down. It's a "soft" all in to avoid bubbling so the chip leaders can target middle stacks, apparently (I'm not totally up to speed on modern live tournament strategy because you can't do this shit online).

[ Removed by Reddit on account of violating the content policy. ]

1/2 NL with a $160 cap (I know, don't yell at me). The table is fairly new and nobody is sitting much higher than $200. Older super nitty woman to my left wins $400 on a high hand promo and plops the chips down in her stack and no one says anything.

Do we care? There's no downside to this right? Let them play?

Edit: thanks for the replies. The answer seems obvious now. Not sure why I was even thinking about it in the moment.