How do YOU play Poker? [It -IS- about Poker!]
alingis
Registered User regular
Registered User regular
When I go to someone's house for a game of poker, I always inquire as to their House Rules.
When they have House Rules that I don't agree with, or if they cannot explain them to my satisfaction, I refuse to play. If they make up new rules in the middle of the game which make it impossible for me to win, I call it a night.
When I can't win a hand because of those rules, when there is indeed no prospect of coming out ahead, I don't waste any more money.
When the stakes that I'm playing to win are hidden under the table, I don't plunk my money down and ask for more cards.
I never play poker when I'm angry or frustrated. I never play when I cannot afford it. I never play if I'm going to be insulting and injuring my friends by spending my time playing a bad game instead of doing what interests them.
And I never play poker under any of those circumstances when the cost is human lives.
When they have House Rules that I don't agree with, or if they cannot explain them to my satisfaction, I refuse to play. If they make up new rules in the middle of the game which make it impossible for me to win, I call it a night.
When I can't win a hand because of those rules, when there is indeed no prospect of coming out ahead, I don't waste any more money.
When the stakes that I'm playing to win are hidden under the table, I don't plunk my money down and ask for more cards.
I never play poker when I'm angry or frustrated. I never play when I cannot afford it. I never play if I'm going to be insulting and injuring my friends by spending my time playing a bad game instead of doing what interests them.
And I never play poker under any of those circumstances when the cost is human lives.
Dan Kaplan
Lead Gameplay Programmer
Firaxis Games
Lead Gameplay Programmer
Firaxis Games
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Also, you need to be getting Bioshock out the door instead of wasting your time with Poker.
If people are making up house rules they're probably just trying to rip you off.
Although before that style came to dominate, my friends and I did have nights where we tried several variations of poker. There were nights where we changed games every hand. The only real rule was that the rules had to be clearly explained and wild cards identified before we dealt. It worked out well, but eventually we just kinda settled on hold'em only.
And Bioshock is getting close. Keep your eyes peeled; I believe we have something nice in the works for the coming weeks.
Lead Gameplay Programmer
Firaxis Games
"Sometimes it can take three days for the evil to come out."
That said, I never gamble more than I can afford to lose. When I lay down money at a poker table, I consider that money lost forever. If I win it back, awesome. I take the same approach with any gamble - willing to take chances, but never chances where failure results in catastrophe.
edit: Also, welcome to the boards, Mr. Alingis, and why are you goofing off on message boards instead of making BioShock come out sooner? ;-)
IOS Game Center ID: Isotope-X
Bleh. It was supposed to be a scathing critique on our involvement in Iraq.
Sadly, what I consider a natural train of thought in my own mind is obviously more oblique than I had intended. Although I wonder if the culture of these types of message boards contributes to an expectation of directness in speech where other environments promote a more subtle turn of phrase?
Not to worry, I have plenty of time during long build/bake sessions to clear my mind of technical problems and read up on everyone's interesting commentary.
Although you may speculate, if you desire, at the state Bioshock must be in that I am able to bring attention to bear on this discussion. 8-)
Lead Gameplay Programmer
Firaxis Games
Get it? Iraq?
Ah. If you'd like to discuss the war in Iraq, there's a recent thread on the second page in which you can do so, and I can lock this one. If you'd like to broaden this thread's topic to be wider than just that war so as to make it less redundant, you're welcome to do that, as well.
Directness in speech is useful in starting threads because it makes sure everyone is on the same page from the get-go. Beyond that, allegory, subtlety, and nuance are all very much appreciated. Also, hypotheticals. We love hypotheticals, especially if they involve warlords and prisoners.*
So either the game is so close to completion that you have time to kill discussing weighty matters, or the game has devolved into an irredeemable quagmire which got you thinking about the war in Iraq. God, I hope it's the former.
*Inside joke, don't mind me.
Wait are you making a joke, or do you really ban check-raising when you host a game?
If Iraq has devolved to the second page then there's probably not much worth adding on at this point.
I suppose a discussion on tailoring speech patterns to the environment in which they are rendered would be more appropriately suited for the Imus thread as well, so feel free to close this one out.
Lead Gameplay Programmer
Firaxis Games
Eh, it's only a day old. Check it out, and if you have something to add, you're encouraged to to contribute.
And Drez, sure, we can change this to actually be about poker. I'll tweak the thread title.
I'll say that my game of choice is No Limit Texas Hold'Em though I've also played a "Hand Limit" variant which is far, far more dangerous because people I've played with tend to go for the hand limit as a bluff/push particularly when people are down in uhhh "chips."
As for play style, people can't get a read on me. That's not to say I have a stone-cold poker face or anything. I just play very erratically on purpose, and I tend to catch cards and piss people off as a result, adding to their tilt. For me, I just try to keep myself as amused as possible even if I'm caught in a losing streak. When you get angry, you tend to lose "chips" much more quickly.
If it's a friendly game. If I ever got serious enough about it to have a "poker night," I'd drop that rule.
... so, essentially, what you're saying is that people can't get a read on you because there's nothing to read, you just bet hands randomly?
No no. I'll bet stupidly, on purpose. Not randomly. Pointedly.
Seriously though, if I see Irrational come out with a game in the next year with some semblance of "when the cost is human lives" as a tagline, I won't be pleased.
no limit is more fun for casual games though
Bioshock 2: At The Cost Of Human Lives
You were joking, ha ha.
I like Texas Hold 'Em a lot. Never really played before it came out on XBLA, though. I played for a little bit, won a lot of money, then lost most of it and never picked it up again.
Joking? No.
The key to poker is learning how the people you are playing against bet. It's like chess: when people let you call them enough times you can detect a pattern and betting threshholds.
I let people call me quite a bit in the beginning of a tourney and I spend chips to let them see me acting retardedly so they can't sense a pattern. Then, later, I just play smartly/creatively.
As for bluffing a nonsense hand like 2, 4 unsuited with an all-in toward the beginning of a tournament and winning, it does wonders for your own esteem. In fact, the couple of times I did it, I showed my hand after.
Not necessarily the most scientific way to play or the safest, but it's definitely fun.
I already said my playstyle was not wise.
A tenet I wished more of my friends understood. I don't play these games to make money, I play them to have fun. If the fun stops, so should I.
But losing money isn't fun.
A good many entertaining things in life cost money. It's not as if losing money in a tournament means there is no gain; if I've had fun and company then I'd say it's money well spent. There's this one guy I used to play with that got really pissed at me and other people that bet "stupidly" because it fucked up his ability to suss out our betting patterns. He played and bet very conservatively. And nobody liked him. I just played how I wanted, because it was fun, and that's why I was there.
Actually, no. Most big name players tell you to stay loose in the beginning, but tighten up as you progress later into the tournament.
Losing money isn't fun. But most people that are aware that they are losing money aren't playing for fun. So, for me, it should have a social element to the game. If I'm not talking and having a good time with friends while playing, then I am strictly playing for money, and not for fun. At this point, I am less likely to stick around of my own accord.
And play loose against tight players and tight against loose players. And then there was something Dan Negranu said about body armor, I'm not sure...
While that may be true in a proper tournament, I have a hard time seeing how it would apply in a low level donkament where an expertly crafted bluff nets you a call from the bottom pair, an inside straight draw and an ace high. They're not nearly as happy calling with any two after they've invested an hour or more into the tournament, though, and then you can do something more than just play ABC poker.
Though, that all applies postflop. Getting involved with just about any two card preflop against that crowd is probably advisable - they don't tend to raise much before the flop (or even after it), but will happily call all-in when the flop comes AhJhTh and they've got A2off.