Why do ppl even bother to play 1/2 No Limit?

[bettilimbroke999]

So I was bored today and said **** off to all common sense and headed down to the casino to play a little 1/2 No Limit

Now in short I lost 200, but this isnt about that as every time I go to the casino I walk out with a trail of blood from my ass so nothing new, this is about how the casino slow rapes the entire table and makes it nearly impossible to win

I was playing in Tunica, MS but I have played elsewhere and they all follow about the same rake rules, they basically want 5 bucks a pot + 1 for bad beat from EVERY pot regardless of what limit you're playing. Now if you're playing 5/10 No Limit and winning an average pot of 150 bucks then who really cares but when playing 1/2 NL with an average pot of 30 bucks ITS A FUCKIN PROBLEM, in fact that 6 bucks amounts to 20% of the pots AND THESE ***** WANT A TIP **** THEM!

Lets examine the effect this has on the potential for winning at the table, lets say 9 ppl buy in for 150 bucks avg (min is 100 max is 200) and play for 5 hours and a hand takes 2 mins, well the house has dealt 150 hands and taken 5 avg per hand (some cheap pots 4 bucks but mostly 6 bucks so lets call it 5), now the table started with 1350 bucks in chips but after 5 hours the house has charged 750 bucks JUST FOR DEALING THE CARDS! That means the house has broken 5 out of 9 players just on the rake alone or you could say each player has paid over 80 bucks in rake, even if you had a 50% 5-hour ROI at 1/2 NL which is impossible you would still be LOSING in the long-run. What ends up happening almost everytime at 1/2 NL is after 5 hours 1 guy has been hit by the deck and wins 400 the other 8 players lose 150 (1200), the house rakes 700 AND THE DEALER GETS 100 BUCKS IN TIPS , what a fuckin scam!

Hit the blackjack table or roulette wheel instead of playing 1/2 NL at the casino, ya got a much better chance of winning, just throw your 150 bucks on red/black or a hand of blackjack and near 50% of the time youll win. The rake is so high that low stake poker is just pointless, play a 60-100 dollar buyin poker tourney instead if you insist on playin cheap poker.

[ApricotSinner32]

You can probably grind out 30-40k a year playing 1/2 at casinos with horrible players if you grind like a mother fuker 12 hours a day and are good.

[ttwarrior1]

your basically right , one night i was on the table and wondering who was winning all the money, we were all about even and one guy said, the rake is winning. usually one big winner, 2 wins some, 3 lose alot and the rest lose some

[UntilTheNDofTimE]

Reason whyi only play 2/5 and 5/10. Altho 1/2 is very beatable. Last year i made 18k in 1/2 alone. 6k of which was in bonuses

[bettilimbroke999]

You can probably grind out 30-40k a year playing 1/2 at casinos with horrible players if you grind like a mother fuker 12 hours a day and are good.

Horseshit

Keep dreamin

Let me tell ya something theres this crazy myth that you sit down at 1/2 on a Tuesday afternoon and for 12 hours you play nothing but bozos throwing money away with nothing, it simply aint true. You might find some drunks on friday or saturday night that are giving money away but if you think for 12 hours straight monday-friday you can sitdown and make 800 a week when they're raking 20% of the money away you're fuckin high, after 12 hours the casino has raked 1800 bucks and that's probably just short of the entire money that has been lost at the table on a Tuesday, these tight fisted old folks come with their SS checks to **** off a couple hundred not a couple thousand

[bettilimbroke999]

your basically right , one night i was on the table and wondering who was winning all the money, we were all about even and one guy said, the rake is winning. usually one big winner, 2 wins some, 3 lose alot and the rest lose some

Look around the table next time you play on any day but friday or saturday night (when the drunk fish come out and there might be a chance to win) you will see one guy with a nice stack, 1 guy with a slight win and the rest of the table suckin hind tit, so u got one guy up 400, one guy up a 100, and what about those other 7 guys well they're down around a 150 buy-in a piece, who's the big winner well the casino is up over 500 in rake and the dealer is tied with the guy up a 100 in tips

Biggest winners after 4 hours:
House up 500 (- payin some bitch 3 bucks an hour to shuffle cards and compin those with players cards 1/hr so around 10/hr in direct expenses)
Lucky **** hit by the deck up 400
Dealer up 100 in tips
2nd lucky **** up 100
Rest of table down around 150 avg each (-1100)

Its fuckin miserable

[Ernie Mccracken]

You can probably grind out 30-40k a year playing 1/2 at casinos with horrible players if you grind like a mother fuker 12 hours a day and are good.

Says the obvious losing player. 1/2 NLHE was a soft game years ago, but good luck bum hunting that game now. It's full of total nits playing 10/8 style, and when the occasional fish stumbles in, the bloodthirsty feeding frenzy is on. Very difficult for most to beat the rake.

[bettilimbroke999]

Agreed, except for fri and saturday night and holidays the 1/2 game is the ultimate nit game, guys can spend 3 bucks on blinds for 10 hands waitin for AK or better that takes 20 minutes and thus play 4 hours in super nit mode and lose 40 bucks in blinds just waiting for monsters to lock up a 30 dollar pot and say they had a good time. If u lose 300 at that game they will be talkin about what a giant fish u were when u leave as most have never won or lost more than 200 in their life

This is also why I ALWAYS go broke in that game, I finally get tired of fukin around 20 dollar pots where they rake 5 (that's right since 10 of it was mine to begin with the house won 5 and I won 5 and now the dealer looks at me like Im a prick for not tipping ) and I end up goin on tilt and start becomin the only loose player at the table just to get a pot big enough to win more than the rake

[freddues]

One two no limit is waste of time and it is not poker because it is virtually impossible to push a player off of a hand. REAL poker has bluffing and allows you to push your stack to stop a hand before a turn or river card lets someone catch and beat your hand. 1/2 is BINGO--just buy a lottery card! GLA

[rm18]

I killed in in Milwaukee the two times I went but was getting the cards, like 1600 in 9-10 hours on 1/2

[bettilimbroke999]

Very true, in 1/2 the pots are so fukin small that betting a reasonable amount to protect your hand is pointless

Heres an example from my 200 losing adventure today:

I had 98 in the small blind and called the additional buck, flop comes

982

Yippee, flopped top 2 whoa baby, now heres the problem there is 8 bucks in the pot, wait strike that 7 bc the house already swiped a buck, so what are my options? Even a pot sized bet of 7 bucks may scare off the other 2 non-blind nits and more than a 7 bucks pot sized bet and I win 5 bucks (2 was already mine) for my monster, okay so I bet 7, big blind folds, 2nd guy folds, 3rd guy calls, flop was 2 clubs turn comes 4 of clubs, I bet 15 bucks into this monster 18 dollar pot (dealer raked 3 more bucks from the 14 bucks thrown in on the flop, that's right a 22 pot has had 4 bucks raked already and my 7 dollar call I got on the flop had 3 of it removed by the house), old guy GOES ALL IN for 80 bucks WTF????

I fold and geezer nit shows me k7 of clubs, he said he was scared I had the ace of clubs (fuckin super nit)

This is just the way 1/2 NL is played, if you bet 20 on that flop u get no callers (cuz its only a 7 buck pot) and u win 5 bucks, if u bet less u win almost nothing if u win and lose if you get outdrawn bc you made it so cheap, the whole time the dealer is swiping 20% out of each pot and lookin for a tip anytime ur hand holds up

[bettilimbroke999]

I killed in in Milwaukee the two times I went but was getting the cards, like 1600 in 9-10 hours on 1/2

Anyone who has ever played poker frequently has been completely hit by the deck and had a great win at least once, this unfortunately is the huge exception, hell I went 15-1 in college baskets in March 3 years ago when NC was dominating, unfortunately Im closer to 50/50 in the long-run pickin college baskets and then the juice slowly empties my wallet.

[Kaladarus]

This is usually an extremely easy game to beat if you any skill at all. Your casino may have higher rake than others, but the game is still very beatable. Comparing 1/2NL hold'em(a game that you can beat) to blackjack or roulette(games that are guaranteed to lose in the long run) isn't using common sense.

You could jump up in limits if you want or get your casino to change things like buy-in amounts or change the table to 1/3 for more action. If none of those options work then maybe find a decent casino.

[k13]

rake beats most players the lower the level. Rake too high at most casinos.

[bettilimbroke999]

This is usually an extremely easy game to beat if you any skill at all. Your casino may have higher rake than others, but the game is still very beatable. Comparing 1/2NL hold'em(a game that you can beat) to blackjack or roulette(games that are guaranteed to lose in the long run) isn't using common sense.

You could jump up in limits if you want or get your casino to change things like buy-in amounts or change the table to 1/3 for more action. If none of those options work then maybe find a decent casino.

I've played at many casinos sir. The rake is unbelievable at ALL of them and it seems like the players get nittier every year. You have to understand when you bet at a casino they basically consider your money theirs and rake you accordingly, I assure you you have as good or better chance of winning if you walk into a casino and play one hand of bj or red/black roulette as you do of doubling your money at 1/2 NL on an average night, when the avg pot is 30 bucks and you got the dealer in there for 6 of em it doesnt matter how good you are you aint winnin shit in the long run bc almost half the winnings of an avg hand are going to the house...oh yea then they want a TIP

[Emily_Haines]

You can probably grind out 30-40k a year playing 1/2 at casinos with horrible players if you grind like a mother fuker 12 hours a day and are good.

It's a easy way to make money during the off season. Yeah the rake sucks but the casino usually has some kind of comps program that you can use to your advantage. Plus it's a hell of a lot more fun than sitting in your underwear and betting games.

[bettilimbroke999]

It's a easy way to make money during the off season. Yeah the rake sucks but the casino usually has some kind of comps program that you can use to your advantage. Plus it's a hell of a lot more fun than sitting in your underwear and betting games.

Yea buck/hour comps whoop te do, if you think 6 bucks rake on 30 dollar pots with the nits that play 1/2 NL at the casino is an easy way to make money you must be playin with marked cards

[Emily_Haines]

Yea buck/hour comps whoop te do, if you think 6 bucks rake on 30 dollar pots with the nits that play 1/2 NL at the casino is an easy way to make money you must be playin with marked cards

No one said you were ever going to get rich doing this. But you should easily be able to make 1500-2000 a month by playing 3-4 nights a week, plus get all your meals and drinks paid for. All those hours you log at a table you will eventually hit one of those bad beats. It's good to get out of the house and actually talk to other people once in a while.

[OTL]

I played 1/2 NL for a living for about a year. It was not uncommon for me to turn a profit of $400-$500 per session. You can't do that with Blackjack or Roulette. Nobody makes a living playing against the casino, nobody.

[Dutch]

I've done ok with 1/2. You can't push people off hands as easy, some prick is going to pay to see the turn and river and catch his card, but that makes it's easier to slow play the nuts and get paid.

[bettilimbroke999]

Oh brother, Im sure you made a great living playing 1/2

Why do all the suckers always end up in my threads, get fuckin real

You say almost no one makes money at sports gambling and 500 bozos come in with I make 50k a year betting on sports

Say no one ever makes money at horse races and another 500 bozos will claim they make a fortune at the track

Say no one can overcome a 20% rake suddenly everybody and his brother makes 30k on the side at 1/2

If I said no one makes a living at lotto 500 guys would chime in they make 100 mil a year playin powerball

Fukin clowns

[thetrinity]

cant make a living but can make spending money at least in pittsburgh, its 1-3 at most casinos around me though now, so that is a little different.

[bettilimbroke999]

Rake is so through the fukin roof that making any profit in the long-run is very tough, dealers literally robbin ya blind stealing 6 bucks out of your 30 dollar pot then lookin at you like a prick when you dont tip em. I'll admit what Emily says is true if u somehow happen to hit a bad beat jackpot every year you could make a living but other than that...unfortunately having played cards for years I have yet to even be at a table that hit a bad beat jackpot

[Darkside Magick]

who ever say they make a living playing 1/2 nl is straight lying the rake is murder!

played at harrah new orleans ...$12/hr rake

[bettilimbroke999]

Yup at a 10 person table that's 120/hour, that's actually less than the 150/hr they charge to deal at my casino despite most ppl only buying in for a 100, yea I wonder who ends up with all the chips

Hour 1 I lose a hundred
Hour 2 I win a hundred
Hour 3 I lose a hundred
Hour 4 I win a hundred
Hour 5 I lose a hundred

Net result 100 loss damn

Casino not risking a cent of their money on the other hand has a guaranteed net result of 600-750 profit PLUS TIPS (cant forget to tip the dealer, lord knows the casino chargin 120-150/hour cant afford to pay him more than 3 bucks/hr or else theyd go out of business so he has to look to the players for charity)

Yea Im sure all these idiots make 40k a year playin a bunch of nits at low limit poker with a rake through the roof

[Darkside Magick]

the dealers getting 3 dollars is exactly correct.. get mad when you dont tip! how someone can tip playing 1/2 nl with a 12/hr rake! i love the the cali card room with limit rake but alot of cheating going on esp. @ commerce.

you can make money 1/2 only on friday and saturday esp at harrah NO

[OTL]

Oh brother, Im sure you made a great living playing 1/2

Why do all the suckers always end up in my threads, get fuckin real

You say almost no one makes money at sports gambling and 500 bozos come in with I make 50k a year betting on sports

Say no one ever makes money at horse races and another 500 bozos will claim they make a fortune at the track

Say no one can overcome a 20% rake suddenly everybody and his brother makes 30k on the side at 1/2

If I said no one makes a living at lotto 500 guys would chime in they make 100 mil a year playin powerball

Fukin clowns

If you can't make money at these things then maybe you are the sucker man. You keep crying about the $3 rake in a 1/2 NL game but I used to make anywhere from $1500-$5000 a month (usually somewhere in the middle) playing 1/2. The local casino's cap their rake at $3 per pot, so I really couldn't give a crap if they're shaving $3 off my $200+ pot, because I'm still making money. The people who lose money playing 1/2 are the nits and the fish, straight up.

[Dutch]

Oh brother, Im sure you made a great living playing 1/2

Why do all the suckers always end up in my threads, get fuckin real

You say almost no one makes money at sports gambling and 500 bozos come in with I make 50k a year betting on sports

Say no one ever makes money at horse races and another 500 bozos will claim they make a fortune at the track

Say no one can overcome a 20% rake suddenly everybody and his brother makes 30k on the side at 1/2

If I said no one makes a living at lotto 500 guys would chime in they make 100 mil a year playin powerball

Fukin clowns

Who said anything about making a living? When I've played 1/2 I've done ok. At least ok enough that I didn't have to make shit talking treads, whining about the fuking rake.

[OTL]

Who said anything about making a living? When I've played 1/2 I've done ok. At least ok enough that I didn't have to make shit talking treads, whining about the fuking rake.

He would probably vomit in his mouth when he finds out how high the rake is at the 2/5 or 5/10 levels.

[bettilimbroke999]

Never heard of a 3 dollar cap rake, where is that at? Where I play they shove it in for 6 bucks (5 rake + 1 bad beat) virtually every hand, you're paying half the rake they charge at my casino, very lucky.

It is tough as nails to get a 200 pot nowadays these nits wont part with 10 bucks much less a 100, maybe its the economy but these nits see a 15 dollar bet and almost shit themselves

Very hard to believe anyone could make a living at this Sun-Thursday against the incredible stream of nits, fri and saturday night I could see turning a profit but thats bout it.

I play a home game 2/5 no limit and do fine there, the money nowadays is in these loose ass home games, the nits at the casino would rather fold a 100 hands in a row then lose 20 bucks callin. I bluffed a guy 20 bucks a week ago and he took 5 minutes and called and I thought he was gonna shit himself he was like yes, yes, yes, Im thinkin holy fuk dude I only bet 20 bucks who the **** cares, these guys are scared to death to call anything so all you can do is bluff

[bettilimbroke999]

Who said anything about making a living? When I've played 1/2 I've done ok. At least ok enough that I didn't have to make shit talking treads, whining about the fuking rake.

Theres ppl in this thread talkin bout how they win 30-50k a year playin 1/2 thats who I was replyin to, go shine the fuckin trophy they gave ya for doin ok at 1/2 NL

[mikemca]

I think its pretty well documented that if you are serious about making money at live poker long term you need to be at 10/20 or higher because of the rake.

[TheCentaur]

1/2 NL is as close to steady income from gambling as you can get.

[UntilTheNDofTimE]

Well the casino i play at in essence makes every player a prop. Pay you $10 bucks a hour to play( if you play 50 hours in a calender month they give you 500 in cash), then they have high hand bonuses, free food, drinks etc. 1/2 is very beatable. On a decent night theres 1800-2500 on the table so its not horrible.

[bettilimbroke999]

Well the casino i play at in essence makes every player a prop. Pay you $10 bucks a hour to play( if you play 50 hours in a calender month they give you 500 in cash), then they have high hand bonuses, free food, drinks etc. 1/2 is very beatable. On a decent night theres 1800-2500 on the table so its not horrible.

Where the hell is this casino at? $10/hour to play + bonus + comps wtf? My casino pays $1/hour with no comps and you pay for drinks

I dont doubt that 1/2 is beatable on its own, the debate here is whether you can overcome the monstrously high rake they charge at most casinos, but hell if theyd pay me $10/hour to play + bonuses/comps that would definitely change things, how does your casino even make a profit paying that high comps?