Duplicate Poker?
Legal in most of the United States, and they accept Visa & Mastercard because they have upped the skill factor considerably. No sir, I don't like it.
Basically it's a tournament where every table is dealt the same cards. You're given points relative to how you do against the players with your cards at the other tables. whoever has the most points wins.
My friend tells me that competitive bridge works in a similar fashion.
Edited By Paul on 1187193163
Poker
Yes, like duplicate bridge I guess.TPRJones wrote:That's very interesting! I'll have to check that out.
I'm not interested in it. I like facing my competition.
Duplicate poker looks stupid.
What if you fold 5/6 off and some jackass with the same hand calls and manages to hit a full house?
What if you have A/K suited, the flop hits 3,4,5 (various) and some assweed at your table goes all in forcing you to call and risk your whole stack (or a sizeable portion) or fold and do the smart thing and it turns our he was bluffing, but some dickweed playing your cards didn't have an asshole at their table?
What if you hit quads on the flop, but the players at your table fold, while the other guy with your cards has all 7 people calling him all the way?
How the hell are they getting it classified as a skill game? Duplicate poker will make the kinds of players you sit with or play against even more critical. It actually brings even more luck into the equation than poker.
What if you fold 5/6 off and some jackass with the same hand calls and manages to hit a full house?
What if you have A/K suited, the flop hits 3,4,5 (various) and some assweed at your table goes all in forcing you to call and risk your whole stack (or a sizeable portion) or fold and do the smart thing and it turns our he was bluffing, but some dickweed playing your cards didn't have an asshole at their table?
What if you hit quads on the flop, but the players at your table fold, while the other guy with your cards has all 7 people calling him all the way?
How the hell are they getting it classified as a skill game? Duplicate poker will make the kinds of players you sit with or play against even more critical. It actually brings even more luck into the equation than poker.
“Activism is a way for useless people to feel important, even if the consequences of their activism are counterproductive for those they claim to be helping and damaging to the fabric of society as a whole.” - Dr Thomas Sowell
I thought the same thing.
I'd say that overall it decreases the luck a bit, because the "donks at the table factor" is already a part of every tournament. What they're doing is eliminating the results of getting a lucky run of cards.
What I don't like is that if you have a long run of terrible cards, rather than sit back and wait you might feel pressed to play because *someone* getting that same run of cards is going to play despite it being an obvious muck pre-flip situation, and he's going to win.
I saw the video on the site, and if I remember correctly, when it's down to 8 players they make it 4 tables of two, and everyone keeps switching tables until they've all played with each other.
I don't like that at all! It make collusion much much more powerful.
I'd say that overall it decreases the luck a bit, because the "donks at the table factor" is already a part of every tournament. What they're doing is eliminating the results of getting a lucky run of cards.
What I don't like is that if you have a long run of terrible cards, rather than sit back and wait you might feel pressed to play because *someone* getting that same run of cards is going to play despite it being an obvious muck pre-flip situation, and he's going to win.
I saw the video on the site, and if I remember correctly, when it's down to 8 players they make it 4 tables of two, and everyone keeps switching tables until they've all played with each other.
I don't like that at all! It make collusion much much more powerful.
So far I'm not impressed. The software has crashed twice and there's no one besides me on there trying to get a free play game started. I see a couple of dozen cash players out there, but I'm not ready to put any money into this thing.
"ATTENTION: Customers browsing porn must hold magazines with both hands at all times!"
I just cashed in my first freeroll. Pokertime.com
12,000 people max tournament (LOL donkament!). Usually 7k play. I think there were less than average this time.
With about 50 people left I'm in 12th place. 40th place pays an extra quarter.
I go all-in and the only guy with more chips than me at the table hits a 15 outer on the river to bust me.
I end up leaving in 42'nd place. If I'd have asked for more time (I had 112 seconds saved up I think) I'd have made it past that bubble. *Now* I think of that. Ugh.
So anyway, they credited my account $1.
Woo-hoo! Maybe I should go pro?
12,000 people max tournament (LOL donkament!). Usually 7k play. I think there were less than average this time.
With about 50 people left I'm in 12th place. 40th place pays an extra quarter.
I go all-in and the only guy with more chips than me at the table hits a 15 outer on the river to bust me.
I end up leaving in 42'nd place. If I'd have asked for more time (I had 112 seconds saved up I think) I'd have made it past that bubble. *Now* I think of that. Ugh.
So anyway, they credited my account $1.
Woo-hoo! Maybe I should go pro?
Nice!
I finally got a free game going on that weird double poker thingy. It's got amusing potential, but this program is so shitty it ruins it.
The multi-tiered quality of the game drops out the crazy betters early on so later rounds make more sense and average out into a pretty good skill game. You could still mess it up with collusion, but you'd have to 1) lay low until the last rounds, and 2) be lucky enough to end up on the table with your collusion partner (very low odds on this).
If only the program didn't suck so hard.
I finally got a free game going on that weird double poker thingy. It's got amusing potential, but this program is so shitty it ruins it.
The multi-tiered quality of the game drops out the crazy betters early on so later rounds make more sense and average out into a pretty good skill game. You could still mess it up with collusion, but you'd have to 1) lay low until the last rounds, and 2) be lucky enough to end up on the table with your collusion partner (very low odds on this).
If only the program didn't suck so hard.
"ATTENTION: Customers browsing porn must hold magazines with both hands at all times!"
The Pokertime software is pretty sucky. Not buggy, just sucky.
And I figured out that the guy beat me on a 14 outer, not 15. I'd counted the Jd twice. (He had a flush draw, and any pair would have beaten me)
I had actually gone into suicide mode in that game, wanting to quit so I could play seriously on Pokerstars. But I kept making chips. I won every coin flip.
When I sucked out I'd say "I am so good it's scary," or "I am an unstoppable force of awesomeness." It really pissed people off and made them call my all-ins because they knew I had less than optimal hands.
The most vocal of my haters called my all-in when he had J/J. Of course, I had A/A. As he left he exclaimed something about me being an idiot but at least he was confident that he and I would get the same payout, $0.
Basically I'd just go all-in with any two painted cards, or any Ace-suited, and sometimes just Ace high.
When I got close to 20k I started picking my spots more, as I was a top-5 player. But I was still pretty much an all-in or nothing player. I'd limp in every once in awhile, and those pots I usually won by stealing.
I was amazed by what I was getting called by though. I'd go all-in with A/J and get called by Q/9 and stuff. WTF? I thought my all-in with A/J was a donk move! How can you think that you have the best of it going in with Q/9????
When I realized that I had a chance of actually cashing I started taking screen captures of the lobby to document my progress. Here's a summary:
6,270 players
0:25 in I was in 3rd, with 18k chips. Leader had 25k. 2nd had 19k. 2912 remain.
1:10 in I was in 9th, with 34k. Leader had 55k. 846 remain.
1:31 in I was in 6th, with 43k. Leader had 46k. 415 remain.
1:40 in I was in 10th, with 60k. Leader had 113k. 338 remain.
1:54 in I was in 26th, with 54k. Leader had 123k. 261 remain.
2:00 in I was in 4th, with 112k. Leader had 159k. 223 remain.
2:12 in I was in 10th, with 110k. Leader had 156k. 150 remain.
2:19 in I was in 8th, with 148k. Leader had 239k. 93 remain.
2:28 in I was in 14, with 169k. Leader had 497k. 50 remain.
2:33 in I was eliminated in 43rd place. Leader had 702k.
And I figured out that the guy beat me on a 14 outer, not 15. I'd counted the Jd twice. (He had a flush draw, and any pair would have beaten me)
I had actually gone into suicide mode in that game, wanting to quit so I could play seriously on Pokerstars. But I kept making chips. I won every coin flip.
When I sucked out I'd say "I am so good it's scary," or "I am an unstoppable force of awesomeness." It really pissed people off and made them call my all-ins because they knew I had less than optimal hands.
The most vocal of my haters called my all-in when he had J/J. Of course, I had A/A. As he left he exclaimed something about me being an idiot but at least he was confident that he and I would get the same payout, $0.
Basically I'd just go all-in with any two painted cards, or any Ace-suited, and sometimes just Ace high.
When I got close to 20k I started picking my spots more, as I was a top-5 player. But I was still pretty much an all-in or nothing player. I'd limp in every once in awhile, and those pots I usually won by stealing.
I was amazed by what I was getting called by though. I'd go all-in with A/J and get called by Q/9 and stuff. WTF? I thought my all-in with A/J was a donk move! How can you think that you have the best of it going in with Q/9????
When I realized that I had a chance of actually cashing I started taking screen captures of the lobby to document my progress. Here's a summary:
6,270 players
0:25 in I was in 3rd, with 18k chips. Leader had 25k. 2nd had 19k. 2912 remain.
1:10 in I was in 9th, with 34k. Leader had 55k. 846 remain.
1:31 in I was in 6th, with 43k. Leader had 46k. 415 remain.
1:40 in I was in 10th, with 60k. Leader had 113k. 338 remain.
1:54 in I was in 26th, with 54k. Leader had 123k. 261 remain.
2:00 in I was in 4th, with 112k. Leader had 159k. 223 remain.
2:12 in I was in 10th, with 110k. Leader had 156k. 150 remain.
2:19 in I was in 8th, with 148k. Leader had 239k. 93 remain.
2:28 in I was in 14, with 169k. Leader had 497k. 50 remain.
2:33 in I was eliminated in 43rd place. Leader had 702k.
With about 50 people left I'm in 12th place. 40th place pays an extra quarter.
I go all-in and the only guy with more chips than me at the table hits a 15 outer on the river to bust me.
This is becoming a very common story with you and not in a good way.
When you're getting close to the money, relax and play quality hands only. Be less aggressive. Around the money, everyone's play style changes a bit.
Most become tight waiting for the small stacks to go out, which is what you should try.
Others get too aggressive, they figure they can bully people out of pots because nobody wants to miss the money.
So what you typically have in any given hand at this point are people bullying or people with strong hands.
Next time you get close to the money and you're doing that well in chips, slow down and play top ten, but play them conservatively.
After you hit the money, the people will start playing normal again and the pace of eliminations will pick back up. IE: Play will get back to normal.
By the way, the worst feeling in the world is to be the last guy before money. You get eliminated and everyone cheers.
“Activism is a way for useless people to feel important, even if the consequences of their activism are counterproductive for those they claim to be helping and damaging to the fabric of society as a whole.” - Dr Thomas Sowell
Oh, I didn't care about going out then. The winning another $.25 was not a big deal to me.
But if I won that hand (when I thought I had the best of it) it would have practically guaranteed me a multi-dollar payout and I would have had most of the chips at my table.
If this had been a game where I had something other than 2.5 hours of play invested, I'd have been quite a bit more conservative.
1st place was $67
8th was $12.50
I think 10-20 was $2, and up to 40th was $1.25. So really, I was probably risking another dollar in probably winnings to get $12 or so in probably winnings.
But you're right. I have to quit challenging people who can hurt me just because I'm sure I have an advantage. I need to stick it to the smaller stacks later in the game.
But if I won that hand (when I thought I had the best of it) it would have practically guaranteed me a multi-dollar payout and I would have had most of the chips at my table.
If this had been a game where I had something other than 2.5 hours of play invested, I'd have been quite a bit more conservative.
1st place was $67
8th was $12.50
I think 10-20 was $2, and up to 40th was $1.25. So really, I was probably risking another dollar in probably winnings to get $12 or so in probably winnings.
But you're right. I have to quit challenging people who can hurt me just because I'm sure I have an advantage. I need to stick it to the smaller stacks later in the game.
Logged into Pokerstars at 3:00 from work to sign up for the 6:00 freeroll.
Tonight was the first time I played in that game.
8,000 players, and I finished in 203'rd, for a $.26 payoff. I think I was in 40th or so place when I went out.
I had J/J, someone made a big raise, and IM'd my friend (who was knocked out two hours earlier) that I was probably going broke on this hand so he should pop in and watch. I figured the other guy had A/A or K/K.
The flop was 7/2/10 and the guy (with 8k less chips than me) went all in... a massive over bet.
I still figured I was doomed but I made the call.
He had Queens.
I tripled up the very next hand, my KJ getting a flush against a guy holding A/A. I hate sucking out like that.
Then I went all-in again (because I was mentally done... the next ten levels of blinds only going up $.02 each before it got interesting (18th place paid $.50).
I just wasn't willing to fight for pennies anymore. I'd even PM'd my friend a little earlier, telling him that I just wanted to hit the $.26 mark, to say I made a quarter.
BTW, it took 2.5 hours to make that $.26.
Edited By Paul on 1187919771
Tonight was the first time I played in that game.
8,000 players, and I finished in 203'rd, for a $.26 payoff. I think I was in 40th or so place when I went out.
I had J/J, someone made a big raise, and IM'd my friend (who was knocked out two hours earlier) that I was probably going broke on this hand so he should pop in and watch. I figured the other guy had A/A or K/K.
The flop was 7/2/10 and the guy (with 8k less chips than me) went all in... a massive over bet.
I still figured I was doomed but I made the call.
He had Queens.
I tripled up the very next hand, my KJ getting a flush against a guy holding A/A. I hate sucking out like that.
Then I went all-in again (because I was mentally done... the next ten levels of blinds only going up $.02 each before it got interesting (18th place paid $.50).
I just wasn't willing to fight for pennies anymore. I'd even PM'd my friend a little earlier, telling him that I just wanted to hit the $.26 mark, to say I made a quarter.
BTW, it took 2.5 hours to make that $.26.
Edited By Paul on 1187919771
So as a pokerstars.net newbie, give me a rundown.
Where should I go? How do I see how much play money I have? Which freerolls are best? etc.
Where should I go? How do I see how much play money I have? Which freerolls are best? etc.
“Activism is a way for useless people to feel important, even if the consequences of their activism are counterproductive for those they claim to be helping and damaging to the fabric of society as a whole.” - Dr Thomas Sowell
Freerolls = LOL donkaments
Over half of the people are just wasting their time (and know it and don't care). Play tight, and when you have an excellent hand go all-in. People will call. Sure, you'll have a time or two when you only win the blinds, but you'll get called enough that all-ins are +EV (positive expected value) plays.
My feeling is that getting knocked out early for no $ is better than playing an hour for no $. So I try to amass chips early. Later in the game when I have chips and a good percentage of the idiots have left, I'm a lot less eager to go all-in and can start to use bluffs and other tricks.
The *best* freeroll I know of isn't Pokerstars. I downloaded PokerTime (pokertime.com) specifically for their 8:30pm freeroll. I think it's Tuesday through Friday.
They pay $500 and get about 6,500 contestants. They pay to 248th place or something like that. If you can win $1, they have $.90 + $.10 sit & go's that you can spend it in.
Pokerstars has an 8:30 ("Hubble") freeroll as well. 8,000 players, and the top 27 get a free entry to another freeroll with $1,000 in prize money. This is a ripoff, unless you have a lot of free time. I figure it'll take about 3.5-4 hours to get to 27th place. Then you only get an entry to another tournament and that tournament is full of proven winners (so I assume it's not a donkament).
The *best* Pokerstars freerolls are the $200, 8,000 player games. Registration begins 3 hours before the game.
Because it starts at 6:00 out here, I'd have to sign up by 3:10 to assure a spot. I can do it from work, but I'm usually out at that time. My friend VPN's to his home PC and signs himself up.
If you sign up you can leave PokerStars and login later. Your blinds will be folded to you. Being 30 minutes late is no big deal as you don't lose much early on.
Unfortunately you have to finish in the top 8 to win at least $1 (it's something like top 100 on PokerTime, and 8th or Pokertime pays $12.50). $1 is the minimum buy-in at the $.01/$.02 tables, which is the only thing you can play with $1 on Pokerstars. If you win $.26 like I did you can't play with it unless you somehow get another $.74 into your account.
My plan for most days is to sign up at 3:00 for the 6:00 Pokerstars $200 freeroll. When I get home I'd play that. An hour before the Pokerstars Hubble game I'd sign up for it (because it does fill up).
The PokerTime game never fills up, so I sign up for that at around 8:20 and play it, assuming I'm out of the Pokerstars $200 freeroll.
PokerTime and the Pokerstars Hubble games start at 8:30, but PokerTime has priority because it has fewer people, worse players, and 2.5x the payout.
To see how much play money you have go to the cashier.
You get $1,000 to start out. If you go broke you can reload three times an hour.
Yesterday I blew my entire 26k of free chips in 10 minutes. I basically lost it all in two hands.
I tried to win it back but blew all three of my reloads for the hour. (The first two I go through quickly. After the last reload I'm a bit more conservative.)
However, late last night I found a table of chumps and was able to turn my 1k into 24k, thanks to my good hands holding up.
When you play the free chip games, look for tables where a lot of people have a lot of chips. I used to fear players who had 15k chips at a 2k max-buy-in table, but really, it's easy come easy go for them. Most of the time they got those chips because they are willing to go all-in.
Play money games are not a good arena to bluff. If you notice people folding, yeah, bluff them. But some people get curious when you go all-in and I think they call just to see what you have.
Of course, once you have a bankroll play a bit more conservative.
Edited By Paul on 1188222612
Over half of the people are just wasting their time (and know it and don't care). Play tight, and when you have an excellent hand go all-in. People will call. Sure, you'll have a time or two when you only win the blinds, but you'll get called enough that all-ins are +EV (positive expected value) plays.
My feeling is that getting knocked out early for no $ is better than playing an hour for no $. So I try to amass chips early. Later in the game when I have chips and a good percentage of the idiots have left, I'm a lot less eager to go all-in and can start to use bluffs and other tricks.
The *best* freeroll I know of isn't Pokerstars. I downloaded PokerTime (pokertime.com) specifically for their 8:30pm freeroll. I think it's Tuesday through Friday.
They pay $500 and get about 6,500 contestants. They pay to 248th place or something like that. If you can win $1, they have $.90 + $.10 sit & go's that you can spend it in.
Pokerstars has an 8:30 ("Hubble") freeroll as well. 8,000 players, and the top 27 get a free entry to another freeroll with $1,000 in prize money. This is a ripoff, unless you have a lot of free time. I figure it'll take about 3.5-4 hours to get to 27th place. Then you only get an entry to another tournament and that tournament is full of proven winners (so I assume it's not a donkament).
The *best* Pokerstars freerolls are the $200, 8,000 player games. Registration begins 3 hours before the game.
Because it starts at 6:00 out here, I'd have to sign up by 3:10 to assure a spot. I can do it from work, but I'm usually out at that time. My friend VPN's to his home PC and signs himself up.
If you sign up you can leave PokerStars and login later. Your blinds will be folded to you. Being 30 minutes late is no big deal as you don't lose much early on.
Unfortunately you have to finish in the top 8 to win at least $1 (it's something like top 100 on PokerTime, and 8th or Pokertime pays $12.50). $1 is the minimum buy-in at the $.01/$.02 tables, which is the only thing you can play with $1 on Pokerstars. If you win $.26 like I did you can't play with it unless you somehow get another $.74 into your account.
My plan for most days is to sign up at 3:00 for the 6:00 Pokerstars $200 freeroll. When I get home I'd play that. An hour before the Pokerstars Hubble game I'd sign up for it (because it does fill up).
The PokerTime game never fills up, so I sign up for that at around 8:20 and play it, assuming I'm out of the Pokerstars $200 freeroll.
PokerTime and the Pokerstars Hubble games start at 8:30, but PokerTime has priority because it has fewer people, worse players, and 2.5x the payout.
To see how much play money you have go to the cashier.
You get $1,000 to start out. If you go broke you can reload three times an hour.
Yesterday I blew my entire 26k of free chips in 10 minutes. I basically lost it all in two hands.
I tried to win it back but blew all three of my reloads for the hour. (The first two I go through quickly. After the last reload I'm a bit more conservative.)
However, late last night I found a table of chumps and was able to turn my 1k into 24k, thanks to my good hands holding up.
When you play the free chip games, look for tables where a lot of people have a lot of chips. I used to fear players who had 15k chips at a 2k max-buy-in table, but really, it's easy come easy go for them. Most of the time they got those chips because they are willing to go all-in.
Play money games are not a good arena to bluff. If you notice people folding, yeah, bluff them. But some people get curious when you go all-in and I think they call just to see what you have.
Of course, once you have a bankroll play a bit more conservative.
Edited By Paul on 1188222612
If you signed up with Pokerstars.net uninstall the software, get the software from .com and install that software.
.Net is what they advertise because it's free poker software with no $ ability. But .Com allows $ and they allow you to upload an avatar.
Here's what my screen looks like. Cashier is a menu at the top (and a green link on the bottom-left). I click "Cashier" then "Summary."
The top tournament is the daily $200 freeroll that you have to sign up for at 3:00. The highlighted one is the freeroll where the top 27 people get an entry into a $1,000 freeroll. (The second freeroll is composed of thousands of other freeroll winners that week, and takes place on Saturday I think).
Edited By Paul on 1188247458
.Net is what they advertise because it's free poker software with no $ ability. But .Com allows $ and they allow you to upload an avatar.
Here's what my screen looks like. Cashier is a menu at the top (and a green link on the bottom-left). I click "Cashier" then "Summary."
The top tournament is the daily $200 freeroll that you have to sign up for at 3:00. The highlighted one is the freeroll where the top 27 people get an entry into a $1,000 freeroll. (The second freeroll is composed of thousands of other freeroll winners that week, and takes place on Saturday I think).
Edited By Paul on 1188247458
If you're looking to play suckers, I hear a good time is around noon, when people are on their lunch breaks.
Personally, I found early mornings before work to be lucrative.
EDIT: Oh yeah. There's a 9:00 $200 freeroll on Pokerstars as well. Of course, you'll be playing until 11:30 to cash.
EDIT AGAIN: Finished in 430-something'th place on PokerTime out of 6k+ players. No $. After an hour and a half I was a BB away from losing my 8:30 Pokerstars freeroll. I tripled up, then lost it all on the next hand.
Then I played the 9:00 $200 freeroll with half my stack left. Shoved it all in with King high and lost it.
I just wanted to get it all over with.
Edited By Paul on 1188267586
Personally, I found early mornings before work to be lucrative.
EDIT: Oh yeah. There's a 9:00 $200 freeroll on Pokerstars as well. Of course, you'll be playing until 11:30 to cash.
EDIT AGAIN: Finished in 430-something'th place on PokerTime out of 6k+ players. No $. After an hour and a half I was a BB away from losing my 8:30 Pokerstars freeroll. I tripled up, then lost it all on the next hand.
Then I played the 9:00 $200 freeroll with half my stack left. Shoved it all in with King high and lost it.
I just wanted to get it all over with.
Edited By Paul on 1188267586