the difference between 2-5 and 1-2 is that, IME, you can reasonably expect some players (choose with care, ldo) to get off TPTK/overpair in the right spot at 2/5 and i would never even bother to try this in a 1-2 game.

1-2 is almost strictly a value game - or rather, i should say it's almost strictly a 0th/1st level game. most opps are only thinking about their own hand (i have top pair - zomg nuts!) and the better ones are starting to think about yours.

2-5 has many more players thinking, i would say, on average one level higher. people generally know where the nuts are (tourist fish excepted) and some are willing to fold things like 2-pr to strong play on coordinated boards for fear of sets/straights. most of them recognize when tptk might no longer be (read is almost never) good. some fold at that point and some still don't. many players can flop top pair and realize they have kicker trouble and fold by the turn or river without any especially crazy action going on. they also have some (vague) idea of hand-reading and can start to put you on a range - which means you can actually rep a range

i would say this is a combination of having a lot more money in play (people can feel like they have serious skin in the game) and players being slightly better. although certainly a very long way from unbeatable/unexploitable

and of course this is all veeeerrry general. but when i play 2-5, i expect to bluff players who i think actually have hands. at 1-2 the only players i'll ever bluff are the ones i can put on air - everything else is strictly for value.

in terms of bankroll, i think it varies hugely on an individual basis.

do you buy full or partial or short? how loose/tight are you? how aggressive? what is the largest bluff you're willing to make? when you go card dead are you going to make moves anyway or just hunker down?

i'm personally a big fan of the buy short and run-it-up strategy. i almost always buy for $300 or under at 2-5. there are multiple excellent reasons for this, and i'm happy to get into it if someone asks, but the effect is that i can play 2-5 on a (comparatively) very short roll, especially considering my style. (my roll is actually fine, but i could play short is what i guess i should say.)

also, your bankroll will have very different needs mathematically based on your edge. if you have a 2bb/hr edge you'll need a much bigger roll than if you have a 12bb/hr edge to produce the same risk of ruin.

i tend to crush, so i don't need as big a roll for that reason as well. but then, i've dropped 1400 in a night mostly at 1-2 as well

Good to know--I would hope that calling a substantial raise on the flop with middle pair and checking the turn is an exception rather than a rule, or else I would be able to exploit flopped sets much more often >_<

What are your reasons other than bankroll considerations?

I typically buyin for 100bbs and usually keep topping off. I play a lot online so I am most comfortable with that stack size.

I find that many Mohegan nitty regs overplay big pocket pairs. Their raising range is so narrow (some feel AK is a limping hand) that your implied odds are huge. I feel its important to have a large enough stack size to be able to call raises and still have huge implied odds. The preflop raise size can be quite large (5x 6x 7x 8x.) I like to have enough stack to pot ratio to be able to maneuver pre flop and on the flop.

Thinking about heading to MS tonight for the first time. Can someone tell me the reg/fish ratio to each of the following tables on a Fri/Sat night? Ty sirs.

2/5 NL
5/10 NL
10/20 LHE
20/40 LHE

BBB

Pretty point on....more people making moves with poker brains....you still have your fish. You'll Dec find players that if they know you have tp and the boards coordinated....they'll try and get you off....I know I do with the right opponents.

Heading down tomorrow late afternoon/evening. Anyone else?

Yeah, I raise to $20 with TT and get a caller to my immediate left, with 2 other callers after. Flop is T54r, I bet out, guy to my left calls, 2 folds. Turn is an 8, I bet out again, and guy to my left raises, I shove, guy calls and reveals 76o. I mean, I am waiting to be up against the guys that represent coordinated boards with hands they have no business calling with, but I seem to catch the people who show up to the party with the nuts >_<. I was crippled once again pretty much right off the bat, on a hand that I could not really lay down given pre-flop.

Today was quite rough, though, in the respect that the 2/5 table was not enjoyable at all. I am a converted online player who started to take a liking to live poker because of the social factor, but the table I was at today was full of at least 6 regs who knew each other and treated outsiders as such. For example, I toss a $105 river shove after I am criplped into a pot of $210 (I had a set on a dry board), and 3 of the regs criticize me because it was a "poor value bet" and treated me like the donk of the hour...I didn't know whether to laugh, cry, or vomit .

But there was intentional soft play, as well, which is something I cannot overlook. For example, 2 regs are HU on the river, and the reg in position checks the river despite having the second nut boat with TT because he knew the villain well.

It is the type of experience that really persuades me to go back to full-time online, as a high propensity of regs and a complete lack of social gratification really offer no real advantages to 9-tabling 6max. I had no idea that the 2/5 at the Sun was so...tight-knit, so to speak. 1/2 was really more of a trial period just to see if I liked the B&M scene, and I thought that the only things different in 2/5 would be the stakes and a small progression in skill level...did I just catch a really bad night?

Watch for thr DRUNKS that'll call with 7/4 os & slam the flops

As I said, both of my 2/5 NL tables tonight were packed with regs who knew each other, did not give non-regs the light of day, and softplayed each other. I am not sure if I should try Foxwoods or just go back to online, as I do not remember actually hating a session in quite a while.

I think you'll enjoy 2/5 at foxwoods. The reasons you state are the reasons I don't play often there among others.

I mean, I will admit to being strong at a poker table in terms of emotion--I do not let an individual's action influence my moves, but ganging up is another thing--never been good with that. I mean, I did not care about the 76o catch (seriously, in that situation, there is no outcome that does not deliver my stack on a platter outside of the board pairing on the river) as much as the potential for the game's integrity to be compromised.

I hope everyone else has a better time--maybe Saturday will normalize things a bit.

If all they're doing is softplaying each other heads up, that doesn't affect you at all. If they're actually trying to collude, odds are they're doing it wrong and if you widen your 4bet range you will cleanup.

Just beat the table including the regs and enjoy it. They will respect you next time. If that's what you are looking for.
Btw, can you tell us who were MS regs at your table ?

I am not sure exactly which regs were at my table, which makes them regs, I guess. They knew each other by name, I knew nothing.

The weekend was difficult in more ways than one, and I probably had no business playing poker due to personal issues, as being beaten in the nuts/second nuts situation pretty much caused me to steam off the rest without hesitation.

You don't remember regs names? None of them? What do you remember
about your opponents?

As I said before 2/5 is MS top NLH game, that's why it so packed with regs.
Btw I never saw them colluding.
And it's very simple reason why they are friendly to each other.
They spend most of the time playing together , sometimes they
eat , drink, smoke,... together. And they treat each other as a friendly coworkers. This is very common for BM. This attitude pays on a long run.

You just simply have to accept this and build your game plan.
If you clearly represent yourself as online player, they will play against you
accordingly. So do I.
But they don't know you. Take advantage of this fact.

For example , what if you will create an image being rec TAG beginner player?
For couple hours pick only on a fishes , play tight, "proudly" show your cards couple times, check/recount your stack frequently, fold few times if they bet strong on a flop. Tell them nice story about your day job and that you
cannot risk such a lot of money you just won at 1/2 table. Well you get a picture.... That what live poker is, isn't it?
And wait. Wait for a moment for a bluff or nuts on a flop, when you have at least two of them involved. At this moment you already should know a lot about your opponents. Character, betting range at positions,...
Then go build a pot and move allin on a river.
They will put you on nuts. What are the chance they will call you?
If you have nuts , show your cards. Your goal is to make opposite play
in next 15 minutes. These two hands probably will make most of your profit for the session.

Basically , what I am trying to say here, that the way to beat table full of regs is to establish image at the table and then play against this image.
Regs bored and tend to simplify labeling their new opponents.

And of course you have to spend time to study your opponents, before you move. And you have to remember this information as well as your image ,when
you will come next time. Because , good regs will definitely remember how you played at their table for a long time.

I actually did represent myself as a fish, and it was actually quite funny. I noticed someone observed me playing tight and changed his seat to the right of me. I raised for the heck of it OTB a few hands later with 97s, got folds around, showed the cards, and I swear, he he seat changed to my left.

Nah, I do not need respect--in fact, I like to buy disrespect in 1/2 because I am typically the tightest player at the table with 15/8ish stats.

But what you present to me is rather interesting that they treat each other like co-workers...that is a huge negative for me, as I actually play poker to forget about a workplace type social environment (I have issues). If this is a big part of the MS 2/5, then I believe that I will give Foxwoods a spin--I prefer the cold glare of the monitor with my HUD over any social environment, but I prefer a casual game of poker where everyone is representing himself even more.

That is very enlightening, Toothpicker, and I appreciate it. By any chance, do you know how to stop my cold deck streak?

TY, I had mine. And I am on a break. TG I can afford it.
I am coming back to MS next week after 6 month of playing strictly online
and not to often.
So, I did my homework. I believe my biggest 2 mistakes were that I
called underdog villain HU all in preflop. And the second one , that I was playing
cash games right after tournaments.
My biggest mistake in tournaments is to call my wife during a break.

I played at Fxw before MS reopened their poker room.
Believe me Fx regs much more snobby and unlpeasant them their MS brothers.
Especially SnG and small tourney ones. They are all "poker book" writers.
Well , at least you should go and check yourself. It will be interesting
to see your review.

And I believe that regs "co-workers" behavior typical for all BM casinos and private rooms as well.

Sorry guys. Saturday night , to much beer..
But can somebody comment on my statement , that MS regs are not different
then other casino regs?

One of the main ones is exactly this... It's so easy to get value from a table that goes: 5x, call, call, call, call.

Now I'm in LP/blinds and basically can shove/fold for excessive value since there's 125 in the pot and i have 200-250 behind. EZ game. I should probably open my range here, because no one really wants to call the 200 on top (I'm not suprised when someone folds and flashes JJ or AQ here), but someone shows up with a monster every once in a while and they might realize I'm not as nitty as they think I am and I lose a lot of bluff equity in bigger spots on later streets (later in the night with bigger stacks).

So because of the above, sure I'm losing a lot of deep-stack value, but I'm gaining so much short-stack value that I think it makes up for it. Plus, it gives me a chance to make sure I don't get in tough spots without a read in my first hour-ish at the table. This is a place I know I lose money, so if I can avoid the situation until I have a read, great. Also, when you buy in short, you look like a fish. Super. Also, when you buy in short, by the time you're up a whole buy, it looks like you're only up a little and no one's flagging you for caution/observation yet... again, super. Also, as I become a reg, for the same reason (=my profit is hidden in plain sight) no one has any idea how much money I'm taking out of the game and therefore how good I actually am. F****** tremendous.

Also, if you buy short and realize that there's a fish with a huge stack, you can top up. No problem. If you buy full and realize all the fish have half stacks and less, you have a bunch of money that's not useful (i.e. against the fish) but is at risk (i.e. against the better players) - sounds like a great situation to avoid, all else equal. Also, when you buy in short, you're restricted to very tight play since you just don't have enough chips to do anything fancy. As you chip up, you open up. I described it once as kind of like a reverse SnG. It's an automatic gear change - set a tight image and then exploit it as your stack grows and it's appropriate. (And relating back to a previous point, by the time you have the chips to make fancy moves, you also have the reads to make fancy moves, so it works out very well.)

This is, of course, all in addition to the wonderful things using shorter buys does for BRM.

Can you tell I've thought a lot about this one? I'm with Barry G... buy short and exploit! (Although you will please, please note this is different from "short-stacking"!)

I tried to find you... I was there Fri from like 5p - 3a (first hour at 1/2 while I was on the list). I was wearing my favorite "barnyard animals" t-shirt and hideous blue/silver oaklies w/ shaved head. Didn't see anyone in a skynyrd hoodie, but a youngish guy with dark hair and sports jersey on did sit just to my right for a while at the 2/5.

I've asked a couple people if they ever post on forums, but so far no joy. We need a secret greeting/response combo for 2p2. Is there an established one that I am missing or do we create it? Taking suggestions below!

I think there was something about a brown trout they used from the zoo but I'm under the impression that's antiquated/not well known.

2/5 - decent on weekends
5/10 - would love to know
10/20 & 20/40 - are you kidding me? this s*** doesn't run! mohegan = NL room

(okay, maybe it runs once in a while - i actually couldn't say, but i never see it - and only one table ever and come on, you don't really want to play minbet do you?)

You are right, we're the same as Regs in other casino poker rms, personally, I try to get a table with no one I know is playing at, but being that I play everyday, it's very hard not to, so that said. There are days I'll play them easier, other days I'll crush them. ( tables )
Grinding @ these Poker rms, is & will always be as good as your running

Good point.

On a days when you are in a "crush" mood , how other regs reacting to that?
And do you crush them as well?

That was indeed me to your right, after being "kicked in the second nuts", so to speak. After whiffing a few times with KK (ace board) and QQ (King board) respectively, I made probably the biggest hero shove I have made this year with a double gutshot out of pure steam. I may give Foxwoods a spin after I "right myself", so to speak, as it was a very bad case of tilt >_<.

Sadly, I should have said something, but I was just out of it after coming frm the feeder.