THE FOUR EXTREME POKER GAMES

Social– a loose-passive game. A game played for entertainment.

Play money – a loose-aggressive game. A game played for money and entertainment.

Professional– a tight-aggressive poker game. A game played for money and competition.

Loose-passive Games (Social Poker)

Once a month Sid has got together with the same group of friends for a night of poker.

They have played unstructured ‘dealer’s choice’ games. Each chip has been worth a dime and bets have rarely exceeded fifty cents. They haven’t played table stakes so they have constantly been fishing green out of their pockets when their chips pile would run low. However, there has been an ‘understanding’ that if a hand is a monster, there won’t be any throwing down ten and twenty-dollar bills. They have been drinking beer, munching salty snacks, eaten meals of cold cut sandwiches at the half point, discussed sports, worked, the stock market, and generally have had a good time.

On a really bad night, Sid has lost thirty dollars and on a good night, Sid has made that amount. It has always felt better to win than to lose, but if you have been the loser that night, where else could you have had such a good time for so little money? On poker night, they have played Holdem and seven card stud, but they have also played many junk poker games with wild cards and antes high in relation to the final pot size. In high ante poker games where most of the money in the pot has gone in before anyone has seen the cards, it has been impossible to gain an edge. Since the game has consisted of the same seven people, playing month after month, year after year, money has just flowed around the circle.

Over time, no one has won or lost a perfect social situation. The social poker game Sid has played with his friends has been an extreme example of a loose-passive game. The defining features of these poker games have been few raises and everyone has played until the end. There has always been a showdown. If you have gone to a casino cardroom on a weekend, at the lower betting limits you must have found games that have been close to fitting the loose-passive definition. Tourists, beginners, and people who have been out to have a good time have populated these poker games. Money has not been the main issue entertainment has been the attraction. The stakes have been small compared with the costs of most entertainment/social activities.

Loose-passive poker games have actually been the easiest ones to beat. To win money, you would have to become anti-social: that is, no played every hand through to the end.

Strategic considerations for Loose-passive Games

Primary reason for the game –

entertainment, socializing.

Money –

no one cares.

Competitiveness –

low.

Safe Assumptions:

Position has been unimportant since everyone has called with every hand. There has been little information to be gained from having an advantageous position.

Cost would have been small in relation to the pot. Just about every drawing hand would have had decent pot odds.

Number of players would have equaled the number in the group. Everyone would have played every hand.

Playing styles have been passive. People have rarely raised, even with the nuts.

Most Important Factor:

Your Cards. The only way to get edge has been to do what the others would not have: folding unproductive hands.

Frustrating Features of Loose-passive poker games:

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