I am a winning 1/2 player w/a poker bankroll of about $6300. I play any where from 20-40 hrs a week. Earlier this month i was in one of my local card rooms when i noticed a 5/10 game running. Not just your average 5/10 game though, the buy in was $100-300. Ok wtf. a seat is open, i evaluate the players (mostly all older guys 50+ and one young shark) and decide to buy in for 300. We did well (+$1200 in 2 hrs) and the game played really soft like a typical 1/2, a lot of limping pre then mostly fit or fold post.

Since then I've noticed on certain days during certain times this is the typical dynamic for this game and we jump in. I'm considering making this my normal game. 2/5 is way too reg based and all the super sharks play the normal 5/10 pit game.

Does anyone else have this game in their local card rooms? Will the swings of variance eventually eat up my roll? Can buying into a cash game for 10-30bb be considered +ev longterm? I feel like i have found my cash cow but it might just be too early to tell. Pros, cons, thoughts, concerns?

Much appreciated

If the players are really that bad and it's not an all-in fest, I would give it a try and see what happens. You can always move back to 1/2 (no 2/5 games?). What's the rake?

I'd stick with 1/2 and maybe take shots at the 2/5 when there aren't that many regs in it. The variance of extreme short stacking could drive you crazy, not to mention you're not really working on your post flop game what so ever. I mean, you're either going AI pre, or opening pre with the intention of stacking OTF.

Oops, sorry, missed the part about reg-infested 2/5. Still, doesn't seem as if these players are going all-in often, so I'd still give it a shot for a little while. Why not?

The 2/5 regs are going to notice that the 5/T game is soft and start sitting in your game if it's that good.

Also winning $900 in a game like this is pretty easy to do just by hitting a few hands. It will go the other way too just as fast. You won't have a huge edge if you are capped at 10 - 30bb. You just won't hit enough hands, and you should be jamming a lot pre.

Seems like you were just on a heater.

Seems very interesting, reminds me of CAP games online on Pokerstars. Given the description of the game you have I think it can be profitable.

In general, should 3B premiums more often than not and stack off a little wider/lighter than usual. Yes obviously variance will be a lot higher than your 1/2 game. Adjust accordingly.. I've never seen a game like this in my casino but if its 300 max buy in it wouldn't hurt to play in the game more and find out.

Where do you play btw if you don't mind me asking?

Also I recall watching a video series of Ben "sauce1234" Sulsky dominating these type of CAP games, he talks about his thought process while playing through hands. Basically in these games a player can only wager a certain amount of money each hand and then is considered to be "all-in" regardless of amount of money in stack

If you do a little bit of searching you could probably find it and see the types of hands hes opening/folding and pick up some other small edges

Edit: The cap game online and the game you described are slightly different in format in that online you're always capped for each hand, so I guess how much everyone has in their stack/money on the table will change dynamics for your game but most of the same concepts apply. What was everyones stack like? Were people stacking off and rebuying a lot? Were there more players with around 300 or more than 1k in front? If stacks get deep..

One thing I recall is double barrel very cautiously in these games and running a triple barrel bluff is suicide. (When short stacked or against short stack of 300)

Tighten up your opening range but bet your strong hands hard

The way you describe this game goes out the window when the players start playing the proper way. I cannot imagine you or anyone else survive in 5/10 game buying short like 10-30bb. A 3! pre will suck out 50% of your stack . No.., man.., You just got lucky this time but don't you dream that a 5/10 game can become your cash cow. ...haha! ... cash cow with 25bb buy in? .. ...haha!

The best games of 5/10 deep are the best, at least here in Vegas. I may be wrong when comes to your game because I always wrongly assume everybody is loaded bankroll-wise as I am.

The variance in these 5/10 kind of games is extremely high, due solely to big pots. Tight play and short stacks strategy advocated by Ed Miller does not provide a solution to this problem in 5/10 games. The obvious answer is a big enough bankroll. Do not adopt any strategies designed to reduce variance! For a pro with a modest bankroll, big pots are toying with death. You will feel traces of sweat on your forehead and upper lip. You will know what nightmare is.

Granted, variance goes thru the roof in these games, if you can handle the actual game, I thing are the best games to make money. Not with $6000 bankroll for sure and not and with 25bb buy in. You cannot make money on the cheaap. Always remember that.

$5 rake. I could be on a little heater but i have adjusted my play once i pass 75bb. I'm not too worried about the 2/5 regs jumping in this game under these conditions because the game with these dynamics doesn't run during peak hours. During the time frame i'm in this game the regular 5/10 isn't running either.

Idk if i want to say specifically where this game is running (info nit) but i live in Florida fwiw. A lot of good advice so far and ill continue to game select cautiously. Ill check out those sauce cap game vids too.

LoL yea i'm not expecting the 5/10 pit game to play the same not like i would even consider jumping in it anyways.

Normally this game is a shark fest with 1-2 hopeful degens and i would never consider getting involved.

I love it when I can build a 400bb pot with my 25bb stack.

OMG.. !..!.., You got to be extremely lucky to build 25bb into 400bb in a 5/10 NL game. If that happens it has nothing to do with your skill level or great play. It is pure luck and nothing else. I hope you manage to get a hot run like that but it's very unlikely. I know how the game goes. It is a grueling bloody battle with stacks going up and down constantly. Basically the players wouldn't let you play a short stack strategy. They will recognize it right away. If you call preflop, somebody's gonna put you all-in. If you raise like a 2!, some dude will either shove on you or you get no action. It's a hell to play with short stacks in that game. I see lots of players taking a shot in that game and going busted.

Anyway, ... Good Luck and Good Flops to you...

outdonked, did you even read the game description? This isn't a normal short-stacked all-in fest. They are limping pre and playing fit/fold. Rake is only $5, which is about as cheap as it gets. I'd definitely give it a try for a while.

Very unlikely the description is accurate. It may have been for that day couple hours or some hands played fit/fold but in games of that range 5/10 NL players are good. Now, with a short stack of 30bb on the cheap the OP cannot possibly play fit/fold trying to hit the flop. If the preflop raise is 4bb our hero has 7.5 preflop bets and that's a joke. He cannot survive unless he gets very lucky the way he did in his description. Oh, Yes.., you can even get lucky once with 10bb but that's not the way the game goes. Anybody telling me otherwise must be lying and inventing stories.

We consider preflop bets to be the first raise, the 2! of 4bb. So, if you don't have at least 50 preflop bets you cannot possibly play the game properly. You don't have the leverage you need to take pots down. During the game flow there are many pots that has got to be taken down by you in order to hold your average of 10bb/hour.

I don't even know why I'm getting myself involved in such nonsense subjects like hero having a "cash cow" in a 5/10 NL with 30bb. That's a hogwash. It's not real but FoS. ... "cash cow" ... haha..haha...

lol @outdonked calm down buddy. Cant knock it till you try it. I'm not asking you "how does your local 5/10 game play?" Your trying to compare this to your typical 5/10 game and i KNOW they are on completely different wavelengths. The table isn't 9 handed w/everyone sitting on 30bb stacks, that would be ridiculous and there's obviously no value there if that were the case.

Whats the point in lying about the game description? The schedule i have set up for me to play that game IS based off of those conditions solely. It doesn't take long for the game to get deep. I just think the psychological aspect of "im only putting $300... risk/reward... ill give it a shot" attracts older players (in this time frame) who have deep pockets and are cool dumping $900 or so into this game.

I was more curious to see if there is anyone else whose local room has this game or if there is any advantage or edge to be had playing 30bb starting stack nl

You won 1200, so take that, plus your original $300 buyin, and take a $1500 shot at the game. If you lose the $1500, you are back where you started and you can go back to your 1/2 game.

Sorry you got it wrong, Giltech. Better luck next time.

Yea sounds good, that's been the plan so far this month

yea he was right. Come to find out this whole situation was me hallucinating at a 1/2 table. In reality i outdonked off my entire roll. Woe is me

"lol @outdonked calm down buddy. ..." ,<== that's a good one .., LOL, LOL, haha

OK,.. man.., I have nothing against you, bro
If you want to take a shot, well.. yes.. try it and see how goes. You my get lucky and have villains fit/fold for couple hours .. wtf? .. very unlikely but, try it see what's what .., I'm just telling you that 5/10 and up are though game. Bloody battles where the fit/fold or short stack strategy are worthless. If you cannot take couple pots on paired flops down and have leverage on your c-bets you could not possibly come out ahead. The good players will not let you. Obviously my mind is setup for the Vegas games where in the 5/10 and 10/20 the stacks goes up and down constantly. If your stack doesn't fluctuates too, you cannot come out ahead.

You got to have that symbiotic relationships between your cards, your bets and your attitude to different flops architecture in order to play well in 5/10 and up. Your cards and your chips are one and the same. There is no difference. You must manufacture "outs" using your bets. Ask any solid TAG good player and see that what I'm talking is the absolute truth.

Good Luck and Good Flops .. to you. .,man

Found myself in a 1-2-5-10 game the other night, $200-$400 stacks.

It was a 1-2 game where everyone agreed to straddle and double straddle. I normally avoid that sort of thing, but the game was ridiculous. The entire table would limp every pot, then whoever hit on the flop would bet and everyone would fold. One reg fish was beside himself:

"This is the best game I've ever played!"

The poker gods wept.

Anyway, I just shoved with any hand that had good equity. Then when the table got a little deeper, I did standard short stack play, after which I nut-peddled. There is wiggle room, of course. Just keep tabs on position, effective stack sizes, and dead money.

These are carnival games, and simple strategies work well with the clown fish.

So, you guys been playing like video poker game or slot machine. Pull the handle and see who's winning. Pull the flop handle and see who's the lucky one? .. haha .. So you found a little strategy how to play that fish game? - You call that poker and dare to discuss strategy on 2+2 forum?

Very impressive ..,Not just one regular little fish but I think the entire table was a big ocean fish tank. haha! .. what a waste .. wtf a waste ...

What's your 1/2 hourly? Also how is your short stack play? I'm a decent cash player but I don't play tournaments so I would be a lost here facing aggressive 3 and 4 bettors pre. If you are going to keep playing this you need to study preflop equities in push/fold scenarios.

Ask your daughter.

I'd much rather be doing other things...



It's a nice consistent, straight angle, with a little bit of variance.

Just the way she likes it.

One thing i didnt realize until the MGM opened and has 1/3/$500 max buyin and 2/5/$1k max buyin, and compare Arias 2/5/1k game to bellagios 2/5/500 game... An error in perception that this forum causes is the idea that how big a game play is based on the blinds. This simply is not true. Max buyin is going to tell you the stakes of a game to a much higher degree than blinds. 1/3/$500 is gonna play bigger than this 5/10/300, and really wont play much bigger than the 1/2/300.

I can see how this game would be EV+ compared to 1/2, since it punishes limpers much harder. dont limp ever, play tight and raise to like $50+ and make a killing off limp folders.