Au contraire!

Sometimes it's Tagalog.

Well, at lower stakes, anyway.

You sound like a very nice and thoughtful person. I agree that it is very unlikely to be collusion, but I can see how it would be unnerving for most people who doesn't understand the language.

they played that hand badly and saved you a bunch of money. that is what you want with in reason. if they play properly you may not win.

no one colludes by speaking in another language. it would be too easy for another to hear it and spill the beans on them.

i've been wondering the optimal strategy to beat this structure that they have here in the bay too. there is more dead money pf, so you have to play more hands, but then it is full ring, so someone always wakes up with something so it is easy to get trapped. i think you have to select hands very carefully pf to avoid playing too much oop or playing heads-up hands multiway for too much pf.

In my experience beating this game is very simple, yet hard for many because the only long term way to really crush the game with very little variance, is to play super TIGHT and getting a good read on all the players at the table. Patience, value betting and disciplined folds are the biggest keys to this level.

As it says, the structure is 200 max buyin with 4 dollar open, so 50 BB stacks and several shorter stacks between 10-25 BB. add on top of that the standard raise is 5BB+, and the number of calls you will get from your PF raises, makes raising anything besides value hands pretty -EV.

Playing too many hands and calling with speculative hands to try hit the flop or to outplay your opponents post flop, becomes a pretty big leak when the stacks are so short. I only usually play speculative hands when I have position on someone deep($400+), and I still usually fold multiway because I know that someone's stack is going in on the flop and i'm gonna have to be folding if I dont flop 2pair+ right away.

You will be entering very few pots, mainly value hands in late position, but will be raising and pushing the action on the hands you play. People will notice you as the "tight guy" and make comments about how you must have a huge hand, which works in your favor if you know how to use your image. You will be super polarized and get a lot of respects for your Cbets and preflop raises, and the times they dont believe you they will call you down when you have the hand.

You will still get huge value from this and the droolers chasing draws all in. People will bluff against you less if you have been showing down strong holdings, and you will be able to take a few big pots against weak players deep when its certain they are weak and you aren't afraid to put in a big bet at the right time.

So thats pretty much it. Ive been grinding this same style the last 200 hours live at 200nl for a 25/hr rate. I have very little variance only from the draws sucking out, but am pretty certain of where I am in every hand I play.
It works, but it gets monotonous if you are used to playing a different style or expect some excitement from playing, it is not for everyone.

whats the usual PF raise size at the 1/2/2 and 2/2/5? just got my BR out of stars so i might go to bay 101 for the first time

1-2-3 most raise to $12, if others have limped then of course the raise is bigger depending on the amount of limpers......up to $20-$25.

2-3-5 raising to around $25 is standard, and again more limpers mean a bigger raise behind the limpers.

Wrong.

Many believe that they are the only ones who can understand (especially if there isn't anyone visibly recognizable as their ethnic group sitting at the table). And if someone else can understand, they will be "friends" and not snitch.

Every once in awhile a white guy, old Vietnam vet or military intel guy, will understand everything being said and eventually reply back in the same language. The looks on the faces are like Mastercard - priceless.

I had to explain to a Latino player (wearing a badge no less) why it wasn't right to warn his friend "Voy a hacer thres" when the friend was about to call two bets cold.

Why is that any worse than when they say it in English?

Can anyone elaborate on Bay 101's large cashout policy. They asked me to write my name down on a piece of paper on Sat, they didn't have me verify my identity put I wrote down my real name. I inquired further and they stated they were tracking my one day (24hr) winnings.
How do they know how much I bought in for?
So they fill out a tax form at what point? $5,000? $10,000? in a 24hr period
Any info on lock boxes? Do they charge?

10 in a 24 hour period. just cashins. and buyins. you can chip up without any problem and cash at your convenience.

Lock boxes are free with a $100 deposit.

If you ask them, they will generally tell you they don't have any, until they decide that you come in regularly enough and play big enough to possibly need one.

So this 2/3/5 game: What is the minimum and max buyin amounts? Can you open limp $5 or is it $10? How is the action all the time? Thanks.

min $200
max $500
you can limp for $5
action is better on Fri and Sat and is table dependent. There are usually 3-5 tables going(at least when I go, some week nights and all of sat) so getting a table change is not a problem.

overall the action is pretty good but i guess I only know about the hours I go since I have a full time job.

every day after midnight the game becomes reg/prop invested. lost about 1k

at what stakes?

What game in a non-tourist area wouldn't be mostly regs after midnight?

2/3/5 action is OK most of the time. a few turds that wont let go overpairs and tptk for 100big blinds.

also a lot of idiots(even regs?) who raise 8x pre with JJ/TT/99/88 but raise only 3x with AA/KK. lol

a lot of donking/overplaying top pair hands and trying to steal in ******ed spots in multiway pots

anyone have experience with both 1/2/2 and 2/3/5? I played 1/2/2 couple days ago and the games werent that bad. Any major skill difference between the two?

played only 1-2-2 only a few times, but at the 2-3-5 i have yet to see anyone with a full stack going all in with tptk. there is still quite a lot of limping though so if you can beat 50nl youll have no problem

Anyone know how this "all in or fold" tournament coming up works?

I dont know if theres any way to answer this without sounding sarcastic, but it really is as simple as the name suggests. There are only 2 options when its your turn. All-In of Fold. Button/SB/BB still move around the table as usual. I know it should seem more complex, but as they say "it is what it is"