More often than not I see players who cant wait to get chips in the middle hoping to be in a race situation. I'm talking little or no $$$ invested and getting no where near the right price to call. If your in a casino you can find table games where your getting dam near 50/50 odds every hand. Why not go to roulette? Just an observation. What do you think?

Just to clarify its cash 1/2 and 2/5 where I have seen this the most.

Why do some people play roulette over blackjack? Why do some play craps instead of 3 card poker? Because those games are more fun to them. And some people play poker as their primary source of gambling entertainment.

"I could hit my Ten and take a Big Pot"

Two words: dead money

Gee, another thread about "I don't understand why people gamble".

Just be happy they do.

It would be nice of the new "pros" understood their clientele, so they won't insist on using gill nets.

Are you trying to encourage bad players to play roulette instead of poker?

Hell, I have seen someone stack off for a one-outer. They had about $200 in their stack, and the way the betting was preflop and on the flop (not to mention this guy played like 2 hands the whole time he was there..), the WHOLE table knew he had aces. Well, the flop came AA3 with 2 diamonds. Guy with aces pushes... (why, I have no clue..) but one of the players had 5-4 of diamonds and called around $200 to try to hit the miracle BBJ card. Some of the people at the table chastised him claiming how horrible the play was, but in reality with his read of knowing the guy had aces, it wasn't a bad play at all.. especially since the BBJ was over $125,000 and the winning hand would have been paid between 31K and 32K.

As for the coin flip scenario, agree with the posters in their replies. Many people just call for the thrill of it, others don't know any better, and sometimes they have a "feeling.."

Op's just moaning cuz someone called his bet and sucked out, imo.

It hurts, Op, but you know yourself the odds were ridiculously in your favor, and you want him to make that call every day of the week and twice on Sunday.

Encourage the bad play. Tap the table, laugh, and tell him "Great Call!!"

People who call knowing they're racing, or that they're on a draw that's well below 50% (but at least is still live, as opposed to say, AK on an Axx board facing a shove, which could be way ahead but could also be pretty much dead) are actually some of the most honorable, respectable people at the table. They're completely honest - they're there to gamble - throw their money in and see if they win. In fact, I'd argue their mentality is much more reasonable than the jerks who criticize them, question them, or encourage them to go play other casino games if they just want to "gamble" as opposed to "play real poker.

If anyone's mentality needs to be questioned, it's the group of jerks who take umbrange with the gamblers:

First, the jerks are smug enough to actually think it's their place to tell someone else what to do with his hard-earned (or not so hard earned) money.

Second, the jerks are dumb enough to seem to think that it's actually beneficial for the game (and their own profit margins) to NOT have these players at the table.

Third, the jerks are almost always self-deluded enough to think they're actually wininng players at poker - something which is almost never the case.

The gamblers are almost always never smug, dumb or self-deluded. The jerks are.

So if I see two people at a table, one who is just there to gamble, and another who actually has the gall to take offense to it, I know which person I respect.

Please never discourage random gambling and action at the table. I want to be at the table that is laughing and having a great time (alcohol never hurts). Everybody is giving action and pots are juicy.

Vs the table where 6 people have headphones and nobody says a word other than declaring their actions in a single syllable for an hour. Pots are rarely seeing the turn and not much money is changing hands - but everyone is playing well except for the one guy who clearly came to have a good time playing cards and nobody will acknowledge his presence.

I know which of these tables I want to be at.

we call these players "live ones," and we treat them with respect. buy them drinks and don't say a word. you want this action all day long. he may think he's flipping, but it's your job to catch him with a bigger hand, or a better flush draw or w/e. its kinda like, ya know, poker.

You mean the point of this game is to get someone to put a significant number, perhaps even all of his chips, in a situation where he is less likely to win the pot than you are?

I thought poker was about staring into the other person's eyes on the river to see if "they got it" or if they're simply bluffing - that's why it's so important to be able to put someone on a hand, so you can make such a read on the river, otherwise it's just gambling...and since you have to be able to put someone on a hand, you have to be at a level where people respect your raises...

sounds like a real fun bunch of nits that know how to ruin a game
and in this specific case its really unlikely the guy has quads
1)card removal
2)his idiotic shove

dude wants to gamble with a sf draw- people need to learn how to stfu

not necessarily have to be somewhere where they don't respect your raises... You have to adjust. Not everyone cares what you have, but only care what they have. Board texture, bet sizing, and position, can give you some solid reads about the story an opponent is trying to convey. I would rather play with bad players making bad calls then regs making correct plays. Casino poker is sooo passive, everyone just limps there q5s hoping to hit their flush. When you enter the pot you're isolating and dominating their range...

I'm guessing sarcasm is very tough to convey on an internet board.

See my earlier post. I love the people who just want to gamboooool. I'll happily give them what they want - I'll happily shove with top two and they'll call with a gutterball. Once in a while, they hit, and I'll smile and say something that keeps the game social, happy and juicy, instead of going on a rant about what a horrible call it was.

Also, isolating a gambolholic guy pre-flop isn't always the best approach - iso 3-betting with AK when they're calling with Q5s because it's sooted - don't forget if flop is Qxx or J5x, they may call you down on all 3 streets with just a pair as well. Not saying isolating isn't the right play, but I often will play along with the limp-fest, knowing I can isolate post-flop when I'm dominating their range - wait until the flop is KQx or whatnot...but either works.

Serious answer:

Because if you're afraid to get a bunch of chips in when you're a 55-45 money favorite, then you're burning money.

And it comes up all the time, like when someone in EP opens for a raise and gets a late caller and I wake up with AK and have at least a reasonable read these guys won't play KK-AA that way, all my chips are going in and I'm going to mentally fistpump every time.

Waiting "for a better spot" to get your money in means you are literally leaving money on the table now.

Sure, but that's not even remotely a coinflip. And top two is pretty hard to get.

Obviously, they either they don't know, or don't care, whether or not they're getting the right price to call (or else they way overestimate the possibility that the other player has air).
But as long as we're discussing financially irrational decisions, why do you think they should care about how much they've already "invested" (in a cash game)?

You'd be surprised how many people think it is, or at least think it's close enough. Plus, they're never dominated with the draw (as opposed to say, AQ v, AK with an A on board), it's a pretty much guaranteed 25-40% or so (presuming open-ended or flush, not gutterball).

My point is just - gamblers gotta gamboool. Yeah, sometimes they're doing it with a flush draw + overs that's actually 50% or so. Sometimes it's with OESD. What matters to them is the gamble part of it. What matters to us is making sure we're always on the +EV side of it.

Everyone wins. Except the jerks who actually get MAD at bad players. I could just see Albert Pujols say tomorrow:

"God I hate facing the Atlanta Braves, they're such a bad team, all their pitchers suck - all they do is throw curveballs - how do you play a team like that, you can't try to figure out what they're throwing, you can't play baseball, it's just hitting a curveball, that's not baseball!"

Dude thinks that the roughly 4.4% chance of hitting a one-outer BBJ for $30,000 is worth a lot more than a $200 call....
(Of course, if the other player somehow doesn't have AA, Dude may have a lot more than one out...)

[x] Dude made the correct call with the BBJ equity factored in.
[x] Dude

first of all against specifically aa he is 4.4 pct congrats
im sure the table full of nits were sure to mention it to him nice job
how did it feel to be right?

second of all the guy almost never has aa there

Let me give you an example I saw yesterday. 1/2 game UTG opens for $15 it goes fold and 4 callers. Button shoves for $275. BB hims and haws and says I have to call. Everyone else insta folds. BB turns over AK off. Button turns over two black kings. The limpers all say they folded the other aces. Dealer runs out the board and the KK scoops.

I didnt say anything at the time but the rest of the table, seriously without sarcasm, thought the guy with AK got coolered. This is the type of situation i'm talking about. Flame away gentlemen.

lol

LOL ---- time to move up