whats up fellas (and ladies)? i have been playing poker in AC once or twice a month for the last 4 years. typical story; started out 1/2 and have moved up to 2/5 recently, now that i am rolled for it and more skilled. there was a thread about beating the 1/2 games, so i figured i would start one about the 2/5 games. few questions to get things started:

1. where in AC do you like to play 2/5? I have found that the Borgata has a lot of regulars who subscribe to the rounders "pirahannas dont eat each other" style. while pots get big and you can get paid if you hit, i have found myself overmatched at the tables that are mostly regs.

2. Ceasars seems to be an ok 2/5 game. Not a ton of regs, and a lot of people seem to be in over their heads

3. My fav is trop. I have found at the trop 2/5 game, people let you see cheap flops much more than other places. see cheap flops and try to get paid when you hit and fold right away when you dont. its been that easy for me there.

do you guys agree with this assessment? what places do you love to play at/avoid?



I have been relatively successful since moving to 2/5 in the beginning of this summer, but I have done so basically by playing ABC by the books poker. i want to vary my game more to a. win more cash, b. avoid having regulars notice my patterns and label me as predicable and c. eventually move to teh 5/10 games

what are some tips/strategies to the 2/5 games?

btw i just joined this forum (love it) so if a 2/5 thread has been posted already i apologize.

I just joined the forums too - and this is something that I am intrested in seeing the commuinty speak up on.

I am still at the 1/2 tables (borgata and taj) and want to make the move to the 2/5 to try to get a different class of player. I always find that the 1/2 tables invoke the randoms of the game and gamblers (72o? REALLY?).

Am I just optimistic about the fact that people at the 2/5 dont play like they dont care at the 1/2? Or do I need to rob a bank to get my BR big enough to sit at the 10/20 or 25/50?

that sounds like there's money to be made at 1/2 moreso than 2/5 imo.

people play in manner where you can sit back and play patient poker and take maney and you want to avoid it?

Im being facetious only because i too had a similar mindset before - "wah, i want to play where im up against guy's who think about the game", but then i realized i like winning a whole lot more than measuring the size of my peen with other dudes. poker is enough of a sausage fest as it is.

To be honest - yes

I have had some of the worst luck the last few times - I have watched AA get spanked by 78o with a large re pre.

It just seems that people are much looser with their money at those tables and would be better suited sitting in the pit playing tri-card. I mean if the cards were hitting good for me then YES I would love to sit and take all of that - but they have not and it is making me want to vomit everytime I go.

Also I am not the best cash - MUCH better at tourney because of the style of play...IDK - I will try again this weekend I guess....

you have to shift your game a bit. You raise PF everyone thinks "lolol, he haz Aces/AK, im going to crack"

If they dont re-raise you and board is suspicious, tread lightly. no need to go nuts with overpairs, even AA. Fire flop, if called pot control. Most of the big pots i win with AA are when the action happens preflop when I run against dudes who cant fold smaller pocket pairs.

If you're not hitting flops and runnign bad 1/2, you're gonna miss flops and run bad at 2/5 but pay more for it.

gotcha - sticking with the 1/2 love then....

Thx

You can only win so much at 1/2. I personally would like to see if I can make significant money from live poker, and 2/5 is the next step towards that.

Regarding the OP's questions, I don't have a ton of 2/5 experience yet, but I've found Borgata pretty good for not playing against only regs. Seems like Caesars has more concentration of regs on their fewer tables, but they have a few spewy players mixed in. Showboat is all regs that are quick to make it 5/5 or higher. I haven't played 2/5 anywhere else yet.

I hope others contribute to this thread. I'm also interested in general advice on how to approach these games.

I'm sorry - im not trying to sound like some know it all dick head. If you're rolled for 2/5 and comfortable at that level by all means: play the **** out of it. but running bad is running bad no matter the limit. 2/5 players who are good regs are going to dance on your grave. Its easier to find a passive preflop 1/2 table where you can at least get in and see a lot of flops. but again, complicated bluffs and meta game are pointless and yes, sometimes boring especially when you're running cold.

I've just recently become rolled again for 2/5 due to situations liek you mentioned in another thread (no wife, but other life things required cash to be spent, sadly i had to dip into my BR as well) but i've been having such an easy time at 1/2, i am having trouble pulling myself away.

Oh goodness no - I dont think your a dh at all my man - just conversation here!!!

I just get fed up with the loosnes of it all - its like I want people to play a certain way but I know that will never happen (if it did you would have seen me on TV already!)

Yea I am just trying to figure out where my money is best at and from what I have encountered the 1/2 is almost as back at tri-card in the pit - its just 50/50 who the house is.

Also - what is a good BR for the 2/5?

This probably varies depending on who you're talking to, but i like something in the range of 10-15 BI's, however I simply wasnt playing as often previously as im starting to now again, so for me its another reason to stick around 1/2 instead of jumping to 2/5. Obviously a greater BR isnt going to hurt you and I'd say you definitely want more if you plan on playing regularly (i.e., every day, 3 times a week etc, every weekend) so maybe like 20-25 BI? I guess a downside of being over rolled is falling into a mindset of "lol, money, i have plenty" and start getting it in a lot looser improperly.

i was just gonna ask the same thing. how many buy-ins is considered to be a sufficient bankroll. when i play 2/5 i buy in for 400

i mean, sometiems when i go to ac just for a weekend ill bring one buy in and just play for fun, if i lose i lose. but i guess the 10-20 BIs would be if i was going to be playing consistantly

is the max buy in 400? I would be buying in for the max and reloading when i drop below, you need to be able to win the max when you are betting for value. Also, you have more maneuverability when your bluffing, never buy in for less than 100BBs.

As far as bankroll: online I'd say 30, but live the skill level is equivalent to 0.25/0.50 online and your 1 tabling so I'd go with 12-15 buy ins minimum ($6000-$7500)

Also are you talking about 10-20 MIN BI or 10-20 MAX BI?

Like at a majoity of the 1/2 min is $60 or $100 (depending on where you are playing) and max is like $300-$600 (again depending)

So if we are talking about 10-20 BI on the MIN at a 1/2 and MIN is $100 - your BR would need to be at around $1k to $2k. But if we are talking about the MAX side we are talking MUCH more.

Just looking for clarity!!

Thanks

Ok what?

i guess i should say BR is different from a stop loss?

i used to not set a stop loss. and i got punished for it severely.

I dont bring my whole roll with me when i go down to play. I bring about 2 BIs cash and if need be i can pull a 3rd from the ATM.

1 BI = max for table though.

So @ most 1/2, a BI = 300 bucks.

2/5 = 500. etc.

thought i was being pretty straight forward:
Cliff notes: you need more BIs for online than live.
Buying in for less than 100BBs is a mistake

I have only played 2/5 at the Trop and the Borgata. I used to play at the Trop when the poker room was always packed and my host would get me free rooms. Since the trop died down, I moved to the Borgata and I love it. The Trop at its heyday was awesome, hardly any regs at all and a packed room. It might still be good for not having regs but anytime I've gone in it's always dead.

The Borgata 2/5 has always been pretty juicy. After you play there a couple days you know who the decent regs are (there aren't that many of them). It's the best room as far as management goes and the 2/5 games are relatively loose. Table selection is very important though on the weekends when there are a bunch of 2/5 games running.

Like you said, you may want to think about how you can mix up your game a bit because when making the step up and playing 2/5 consistently instead of just taking shots, it will be very easily for the better players to pick up on your weak play.

PS - what I love about the Borgata is you have a bunch of young bucks who like to start playing at the 1/2 tables and then when they double their money, go play 2/5 and donk around. This is where I have made the most of my money at 2/5.

Borgata is the shizzle for 2/5 games. Most variety for table selection if you're not there on the weekends, best mix of regs and droolers.

Majority of the regs are so so so exploitable.

I constantly hear float this, flat that, and exploit this, and pot odds that. They've been around the game long enough to know the fancy terms, but they're still absolutely clueless as to how to incorporate any advanced concepts into their game.

Nitty regs give you too much credit, and spewy regs give you too little.

As far as the non regs go, they see all the chips on the table and sit down so they can either a) get all their money in way behind, lose, and then leave disappointed, or b) get all their money in way behind, suck out huge, then rack up the very next hand and do the Charleston over to the cashier. I see it all the time.

2/5 is just as easy as 1/2, if not easier IMO. People are actually betting in 2/5 so you can pretty easily assess the situation as opposed to in 1/2 where the norm is like 3 limps, a raise to 12 and then 5 callers head to the flop. Waiting around for the nuts, esp. live, is like pulling teeth. Super boring to say the least. Play pots, put people to decisions, make big lay downs, make hero calls, bluff in +ev spots. That's what makes poker fun and interesting, and keeps you coming back for more (well the $$$ that you win helps too). Having a big peen contest with the other people at your table is the only way to challenge yourself and make your game stronger so you can move up stakes eventually.

I don't think that 2/5 is easier than 1/2, but it's definitely much easier to build a big pot in that game. Despite its reputation, 1/2 is a really tight game when big money goes in. People value bet thin, semi-bluff big, and bluff big A LOT more often on 2/5.

Of course, that's a more correct way to play, so I wouldn't say that it makes the game easier. It does make the game much more fun, however. It really sucks playing with decomposing nits that only raise AA and KK pre-flop, and never give action without a set.

i have definitely logged more hours at 1/2 than 2/5 in AC. maybe ive just been lucky to be sitting at high action 1/2 tables where i can shift back and forth between waiting for the nuts to making some creative plays every now and then and having fun.

personally i'd rather have only 1 other player at my table that i need to worry about rather than 2 or 3 or 4.

If everyone's busy exploiting the fish at the table, then who's gonna bully the sharks? They're the ones who are more likely to pay you off in bigger pots with more marginal hands cause "I think you have AK high."

It's all a matter of how you adjust to the competition.

foxwoods ftw