Got into a big pot with a guy last night and made a decision based on extraneous tell information.

Two guys sat down at about the same time to a new 2-100 NL 10 man. Just reeking of ganj. Both had about $600 or so maybe more. Guy across from me in seat 1, eyes all blood shot and glassy.

I get dealt QQ BTN, UTG opens for $8 4 calls and I raise to $20

fold, fold, fold...stoner (lowjack) calls me (middle aged guy)

Flop comes 9, 9, 4 rainbow he leads out for $30

Normally this is insta fold for me or close to it, since Ive played a total of 0 hands with this guy and these tables are typically very tight.

But I took a moment to think about it, then noticed his jugular was literally popping out of his neck. Ive honestly never seen a pulse spike so badly. So I called.

Long story short he continued to look increasingly more uncomfortable as he barreled through two more streets and a scary King on the river, but turned over two 4s at showdown to take down the pot.

I would never continue calling if he didnt look so uncomfortable.

Im not looking to discuss a hand breakdown here because I called purely based on tell info.

I know general school of thought is to play tighter against loose/drunk players...what about stoned players?

I think its an interesting discussion as marijuana becomes more widely accepted and legal. Here in MN it can be used for PTSD and any chronic pain, so its basically legal.

Is there any strategy to use against stoners? Any tendencies you may have noticed?

You said your normal instinct is fold. So fold.

Play your normal game.

You say you had some "tell" on a guy you've never played against? Yeah...


Drunk/high people can sometimes make good money at a poker table because people get all crazy and think they can call ATC to a showdown because they're against a "drunk" .

Guy was excited about the monster he flopped and you read it as uncomfortable?
Sure you're not the one stoned?

Unless they look like this guy I'd give them an orbit or two to see how they're playing before getting overly involved:

Thought the same thing lol.

The only thing we missed was the guys hands shaking so hard he couldn't grab his chips.

That was my first thought exactly

Being high / drinking has very different effects on people, but generally speaking, the more somebody is used to it, the less effect it has on their game. Some very successful high stakes players play stoned regularly.

most of the regs I know who play stoned dont have any real change in their performance (they are reg smokers and reg players.) If it is a rec player or someone you dont see often/ever, I'd watch their betting patterns and get a ready for how aggressive/passive they are playing their game. FWIW I'd rather play someone who is drunk than stoned

At the game I normally play at, I'd need advice on how to play with sober opponents. A ton of players are stoned all the time.

Quickening pulse, .shakey hands, nervousness energy, is often a sign of a monster. Ymmv

Ok, glad I wasn't the only one.

As for stoners, I think it's a prerequisite for all the 20-something low limit grinders where I live. As someone who used to blaze when I was younger, I can understand it. For young guys that sit at a boring poker table day in and day out, being stoned certainly must help pass the mind numbingly long hours. It then just becomes a matter of whether they can focus while doing so.

Quick reminder that LCP isn't a poker theory/strategy forum. Strategy considerations can be discussed here:

http://forumserver.twoplustwo.com/17...low-stakes-nl/

I think most players don't play as well stoned or drunk as a rule. Of course some handle it much better than most , but when they are impaired the majority make worse decisions and just play badly a lot of the time. I would not change my game. Instead I would just try to exploit them whenever I can. I think these players will give you more exploitable situations as a rule, so all you need to do, is stay sober yourself and pay attention as normal.

Wow, bunch of squares in this thread. A ton of professional players are huge stoners. Aside from the short-term effects on memory, playing high may not impact a player's game much, and some people will play better high. Not comparable at all to playing drunk which is almost always a stupid idea. If you see other tells (like you may have here) and can correlate them in relation to the person being high, use it, but I wouldn't change my play because I knew someone was stoned.


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as someone who smokes nearly every time I play, I can tell you that it literally has zero affect on how I play. I'd classify myself as a TAG and I don't find that my range widens at all from pre-session to post. I log basically every 'note-able' hand and I don't find activity increases/decreases at all. I'd actually lean towards it being a help as I tend to think/analyze the action more seeing how I'm more zoned out (not yacking it up with other players)..

also in terms of trying to determine that someone can't contain their nervousness due to being high, I would suggest not factoring that into the equation... sometimes I get a little anxiety packaged in my high and it's rooted from nowhere so it would surely give off an incorrect tell. Due to getting anxiety sometimes, I won't walk into a new room already blazed as I tend to get edgy dealing with new players/environment as is.

GL and remember to only take two puffs before passing.

Could change thread title to "Playing poker in Oregon." And I'm kind of serious. Those backpacks ain't just for protein bars and sammiches.

No thread title change needed.

As it stands right now, marijuana is legal in California, Oregon, Washington, Alaska, Colorado, Nevada, Massachusetts and Washington D.C. for recreational purposes.

Question for OP: Why do you think that weed causes everyone to play the same way?

Also, as many others have pointed out, the pounding heartbeat is usually because they have a monster, not because they're uncomfortable. Even stoners know that.

I'm pretty sure Phil Laak has been stoned every single time he's ever played poker on TV.

Absolutely