July 2012 Open Thread

[Schmendr1ck]

Originally Posted by eneely

And for dis-inviting the sleezoid...no brainer.

Yeah, I know. The only reason I hesitated was surprise; he's always been a genuinely good guy at my games. Always has fun win or lose, throws me a couple bucks at cashout to help cover drinks, and takes even the worst of beats with a good attitude.

But I caught him red-handed. There is no other explanation for what I saw, and I won't have that bull**** no matter how nice a guy you are.

[Schmendr1ck]

Originally Posted by eneely

You could ask for a separate RSVP for the game and for dinner, with the understanding that if they opt in for dinner, they will owe you the money. No backing out. Then you will know how much to make.

I asked people to notify me if they weren't planning to eat. A couple did, but four others waited until the day of the event after I had already done the shopping and cooking, so it was useless at that point.

Originally Posted by The Palimax

You now have a baseline for what percentage of people are likely to partake in the pay-for-dinner portion of your evening. Plan accordingly. Budget for 2/3, and plan food for 3/4 or so.

You can always order a pizza if you're wrong.

Yeah, at this point I have a pretty good feel for the people who won't eat dinner, so I'll be able to make a better estimate next time based on who's coming.

The other problem, though, is that I've advertised the money as covering "dinner, drinks and snacks." I'd hate for the people who are paying to think they're subsidizing the opt-out who has a beer and a few chips. I think for next time, I'll just cover the drinks and snacks myself and collect money for dinner only.

[lanyi]

I wouldn't make room for exceptions. It's 10 bucks, it's not that much. Just announce there is a cover charge of $10 a head to cover the food & drinks period. If you can cover your costs for less by having everyone pay drop the price a few bucks, nobody should have anything to say for paying the cost equivalent to happy meal to cover your food costs.

FYI - good chance I will be in Boca next week Sunday-Tuesday. Looking to land in Miami Sunday afternoon so I might hit up the Isle in Pompano my first day depending on how awake I am after the 12 hour transatlantic flight + 4 hour layover + 3 hour connection. So if anyone from HP plans on playing there feel free to shoot me a PM.

And no, despite this being a business trip I am NOT flying business. And being 6 feet tall makes flying coach not that pleasent.

[eneely]

Originally Posted by Schmendr1ck

I asked people to notify me if they weren't planning to eat. A couple did, but four others waited until the day of the event after I had already done the shopping and cooking, so it was useless at that point.

Well, that was not cool, was it? But not surprising. Some people don't think about the consequences of their actions.

You didn't quite do what I suggested. You asked people to opt out. I am suggesting they opt in. By asking people to opt in rather than opt out, you avoid the problem you had. If they don't order a meal, they won't get one.

And you don't have to guess. The way things go, if you try to estimate, you'll have a couple of people who want to eat that you didn't expect, you will run short of food, and then your estimating will get more difficult, because some people might opt out at the last minute because they think they will be paying for food that won't be there.

[eneely]

Originally Posted by lanyi

I wouldn't make room for exceptions. It's 10 bucks, it's not that much. Just announce there is a cover charge of $10 a head to cover the food & drinks period. If you can cover your costs for less by having everyone pay drop the price a few bucks, nobody should have anything to say for paying the cost equivalent to happy meal to cover your food costs.

This is another option. As I've posted previously, I've played in a game like this. I do not begrudge the host a few dollars to help him make the game happen every week, no matter how little I may eat.

[getya45]

Schmerdr1ck I think you made the right play with 20bb or less I would just get it in. You villain is loose prelop by just limp-calling. Do you ever put QQ in his range? I know you stated you didn't want a 3bet shove to get 10'-QQ to fold. Would villain ever 4-bet QQ?

Regarding the food situation +1 to lanyi advice. Just make the $10 mandatory as they are getting a meal/drinks.

[philthy415]

Originally Posted by getya45

Regarding the food situation +1 to lanyi advice. Just make the $10 mandatory as they are getting a meal/drinks.

+1 to lanyi advice as well. You're opening up your home to provide a place to play a game I love and I get a home cooked meal? $10 is well worth it!

[lanyi]

Weekly game starts in an hour. Ship me the good stuff!

[Precept2]

Originally Posted by lanyi

Weekly game starts in an hour. Ship me the good stuff!

Sent.

[lanyi]

Originally Posted by Precept2

Sent.

Lost in the mail

overpair vs. small PP on dry board. Floats the flop in case I have AK, hits his 2 outer on the turn

AJ hits TP vs. Lag tard. I Tripple barrel all in vs what I know is a weaker Ace and he hits 2 pair on the river

-260bb

Weeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee

[Schmendr1ck]

Originally Posted by eneely

This is another option. As I've posted previously, I've played in a game like this. I do not begrudge the host a few dollars to help him make the game happen every week, no matter how little I may eat.

I'm going to talk to a couple of the opt-outs and find out why they chose to go eat fast food instead of eating with the group. It could be social (they're all friends and younger than most of the group), financial, or they just didn't like what I was serving, but I won't know without asking them. Based on their input, I'll adjust accordingly.

When it comes down to it, I want people here for the game. Dinner is an extra; something I like to do and something that I think most of my guests appreciate. I can afford to eat some of the cost and I don't mind doing so, that's not the issue. I just don't want to waste effort and money preparing food that won't be eaten.

On that note, if anybody wants some leftover beef stroganoff, come on down! I've got a tub of it in the fridge.

[Schmendr1ck]

Originally Posted by getya45

Schmerdr1ck I think you made the right play with 20bb or less I would just get it in. You villain is loose prelop by just limp-calling. Do you ever put QQ in his range? I know you stated you didn't want a 3bet shove to get 10'-QQ to fold. Would villain ever 4-bet QQ?

Sure, villain is loose preflop, but there's a big difference between limp-calling a single raise and 5-bet shoving into a reasonably tight thinking player (which is what I think his image of me was). In that particular spot, I don't think he 5-bet shoves QQ. The fourth raise is always aces.

The reason I was upset is because I came up with a plan, got the info I needed, and failed to follow through on the plan because I couldn't fold the kings even though I knew they were beat.

[jzpiano]

Originally Posted by lanyi

I wouldn't make room for exceptions. It's 10 bucks, it's not that much. Just announce there is a cover charge of $10 a head to cover the food & drinks period. If you can cover your costs for less by having everyone pay drop the price a few bucks, nobody should have anything to say for paying the cost equivalent to happy meal to cover your food costs.

FYI - good chance I will be in Boca next week Sunday-Tuesday. Looking to land in Miami Sunday afternoon so I might hit up the Isle in Pompano my first day depending on how awake I am after the 12 hour transatlantic flight + 4 hour layover + 3 hour connection. So if anyone from HP plans on playing there feel free to shoot me a PM.

And no, despite this being a business trip I am NOT flying business. And being 6 feet tall makes flying coach not that pleasent.

Do I hear a trip to IL in your future since your already in the states?

[gedanken]

Originally Posted by Schmendr1ck

(6 of the 17 players) decided to opt out of dinner. I ask players to contribute $10 each...

...I came in under budget and was able to almost break even from those who did pay....

This pair of statements does jump out at me a bit. I know full well that it's easy to underestimate the cost and value of a provided meal, but if you're breaking even when payments are 2/3 of what you asked for, perhaps they're sensing that they're not getting their money's worth?

Most likely, these kids just prefer to use "poker night" as an excuse to eat sugary junk food.

decent player and a self-described former pro who claims to have supported himself playing low-stakes cash games for about a year. He's also super friendly at and away from the table..., I caught him cheating last night... I watched him riffle the deck repeatedly with his thumb while looking right at it - obviously trying to see the next card.... He then flipped over a good portion of the muck, including what I thought was my hand....

sadly, he fits the profile I've read about, as far as "the kind of guy who cheats". A lot of cheaters feel they're good enough to win, they're just "suffering a string of bad luck". Someone who went on a good run for a year, but is no longer succeeding somehow feels justified taking a few advantages.

Being generally friendly and even generous at times is also common among this sort of cheater. Partly it's the obvious smokescreen -- you can't be a surly/difficult person and set everyone on edge if you're hoping to take these "casual" angles right in front of everyone. These only work under the radar. But there's also behavioral science that says cheaters need to feel like "generally I'm a good guy, just in this one case I'm taking a small advantage that doesn't really offset all the other good things about me." Look up Dan Ariely for more on that.

[lanyi]

Originally Posted by jzpiano

Do I hear a trip to IL in your future since your already in the states?

Doesn't look like I will be able to squeeze that in unfortunately even if I do fly over (which isn't definite yet)