Hey, I wasn't sure where to post this, or if it even has its place in this website at all lol, but here it goes:

One of my friends hosts this type of poker tournament once every week:
20$ buy in
8-10 players
$1000 in chips, blinds 5/10 and go up every 20 minutes (I don't even know if this structure makes sense, I don't know much about tournament poker)
when heads up, the two players decide how much the winner takes (it usually settles for 2nd place retakes his buy in, or winner take all)

The players there don't know much except the hand rankings. They don't keep track of how much is in the pot, they don't see bets as a fraction of the pot, they don't know the importance of position, etc.

My question is, what's the best approach to beat this? Can I go there every week and expect to win in the long run? Or is there too much variance to expect anything (would a 3rd place prize be important to consider going there every week)?

My "background": I don't know anything about tournament poker, but so far I do well in live 1/2 NL, and I learned what I know from the books PMTM and Beat The Donks (currently looking for a new read), and a thread on this site helped me a lot too.

So, should I go there every week, and how should I play?

Thanks!

You should go there every week, thats obvious , the table is very fishy and if you play enough games in a long run if you know what to do you will win variance easily.

The way i approach these games is to play very very tight at the first levels. They will pay your AA/KK every time. Dont try to bluff or being fancy, i know that recreation players are calling stations and like to gamble a lot. Mid Level try to steal but fold if you see someone raising, they tend to raise only when they hit or have premium hands , else they only limp. Value bet only, and value bet a lot. Late stages, raise more. I have notice that recreational players overplay Ax late stages.

For me these games are gold mines, way easier than online, and i think that you should play them, no second thoughts.

Because the buyin is so low I would not bother to go there purely for the money.

Go there whenever you want some poker.

Mostly just responding b/c your s/n, gary indiana stand up

If you do well in 1/2 nl cash games it sounds like you are ages ahead of these guys. It might not be worth your time money wise but you should def expect to beat this game in the longrun. You obv want to be playing pretty aggresive esp later in the sng when the blinds are much larger. gl

Yeah I thought someone might say this, but I'm a student and I don't work (live at my parents and they pay for pretty much everything), so $140-$180 profit for me is very good (it can even finance my 1/2 buyin so why not?)... Plus, most players there are my friends so it's a lot of fun playing for me. I just want to make enough money in poker to pay for things like going to the club, clothes, etc., I'm not trying to make a living with it (it would be really awesome though).

If they have any sort of idea of hand ranking you will have a tough time making more than $10 ev each time you go.

I used to play in a similar game that was WTA but almost always a 2 place deal or even a 3 place deal if loads of rebuys. This is so annoying how can you make the correct decisions when you don't know the payout distribution. you have to weight the icm tax by assessing how likely it is you will be hu with whom and there tendencies to deal.
Only play in a game like that for fun, not profit

To me it sounds like a perfect place to get your feet wet. I still remember all the home games I played when I first started, and honestly some of the most fun poker you will have.

As for how to play, study the players, evaluate yourself, come to conclusions, exploit, repeat. If you notice very passive players, be aggressive. If you notice very aggressive players (especially if they are intoxicated) play passive and try to bust them with big hands.

Most of all, play AND HAVE FUN. This is a group of people you can build nice poker related relationships with and grow with. Don't be a dick.