November 23, 2005
If you can master this - and the pokerparty skill required to execute this strategy is a lot tougher than any words I've used to describe it - the tactical aspects become pretty simple when you're playing limit poker: get your money into action when you have the best of it, and use your discipline to fold those dominated three-outers when you don't.
If you're lucky, you'll catch enough flops with your bigger pokerparty hands so that you will be able to check and call on the flop, and try for a checkraise on the turn or river. This might even slow down the maniac a bit, since he should eventually learn that a check on your part doesn't always imply weakness. There are, however, many maniacs who just ignore these subtler features of the game.
I got Bullied
This is the time to remember that getting out for the day is not important at all; what is important is playing your best game all the time, and getting up from the table when you aren't. If you can situate yourself to the left of a maniac, and continue to play correctly against him regardless of the results, other opponents may recognize that you're a very aggressive as well as a highly selective player. Your actions will demonstrate that you have no fear of the maniac.
Restricting your focus to the pokerparty results you achieve in any one visit to the casinos, or even to any one year, can be a slippery slope because you will be focusing primarily on what has happened in a short period of time and using a relatively short sample too. It takes a long time and a large number of events before things can be expected to start evening out.
Dealers are Bad Poker Players
Probability is predicated on results established over a very long time -- thousands of hours in most cases -- and the hour or two you spend gambling can bring about very different results. Huge variances can be found in most casino games, which is why players sometimes have incredible wins and horrendous losses. Your expectation is what you can anticipate happening in the long run, but the long run is usually a very long time in coming. Even so, this estimate is the best you can do with the facts at hand.
There are going to have to be a sufficient number of pokerparty games in your locale so that you don't end up playing against members of your own team. Team play works best when each player operates independently of the others. This also prevents accusations of collusion in case it becomes known that people are playing as part of a team.
Tourists = $$$$$
Bankroll management is all about maintaining control over your pokerparty playing stake, not some ersatz strategy that would have you walking a fine line between winning and losing some predetermined amounts as a way to ensure better results at the table. If you're emotionally upset, stressed out, fighting the flu, or otherwise not at your best, you're better off not playing, because your condition will ultimately take itself out on your bankroll.
A big pair, like queens, kings, or aces, can often win without any improvement at all, particularly if a card bigger than your pocket pair does not appear among the common cards in the center of the table. But smaller pairs, such as sevens or sixes, must usually improve to win, and the odds are 7.5-to-1 against catching a third card that matches your pair on the flop.
