In a 2 NL game the maximum buyin is $2 and the small blind and big blind are $0.01 and $0.02 respectively.Its only possible online since the rake is too small.

online buddy. pokerstars/full tilt. u get to put in mass more hands per hour, learn much more vs better players for much less money than at a casino

see casinos cant afford to run 5c/10c games cuz they have to pay dealers and the money they make even at high stakes is so not worth it. when u get good from online u can go grind it up at a casino. u go against much worse players than online for much more money. u just need the bankroll

Ro once again pwns a thread.

I love seeing honest to god beginners asking questions like this

You answered my next Q before I could ask it, which would have been...

1. "u get to put in mass more hands per hour"
2. "learn much more vs. better players...
3. "for much less money than at a casino"

And profits?

4. "u go against much worse players than online for much more money"

Sounds like the casino is the place to be. Less work, more money.

No:

Higher rake
Single table
Minimal hands per hour
Poker progress minimal
Cost of getting to a poker room
Tips
Inconvenience
Etc

2 Answers:

First: Multi tabling and comforts of never leaving your home.

Secondly: A fair amount of online pros DO play live games and make a decent amount doing it. Some moved to playing live almost exclusively, even, because of how weak it is.

but FISSHHHHHFHSHSHSHSHHSSSSSSSSSSSSSSFFFFSHHHHHHHHHHH

A casino is good to go to once you actually have a good understanding of the game. From you posts, it sounds kind of like you have never played before or have not played very much. You should probably go to an online site, and deposit some money and play 2nl. There, you can learn the game while playing for relatively low stakes. If you went to a casino, you have to pay for gas, plus its a minimum $50 for you to play. So you are learning for $50+ at a casino where as online its just $2.

but $$$$$$$$$$$$perhourrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr

So what do you think motivates people to bother messing with $1/$2 and $2/$4 games at a casino, if it's not in Nevada, no bright lights, no big stars? When I asked the guy at the casino tonight on the phone if these low stakes games go all night, he said no, that they're played by older folks (I took that to mean seniors, or at least over 50) and they don't stay up that late. I doubt they're in town to see the sights since there are no sights near an Indian run casino built in a cow pasture by itself.

I don't know what you are finding so hard to understand. Guys like to drink, chew the fat and have some fun playing poker. Online players are just playing poker.

I impression I've gotten observing the poker community is that it's all about the money. Period. The more the merrier. Drinks and camaraderie don't require chips or casinos. They could sit in a home game and play with booze and fat to chew. There's also Amateur Poker League if they live in a town of any size. Win caps, t-shirts, key chains, and entries to big tournaments if you're any good and play every night.

If that were the case, there would be no fish and the games wouldn't be profitable. Obviously people want to win money, but most people understand that when you go into a casino/cardroom, there is luck involved. In fact, for a lot of people, poker is fun because of the thrill of the gamble more so than learning pot odds and whatnot. That's why trying to berate or educate a bad player at the tables is such a bad idea (aside from the fact that berating is rude) In any case, I wouldn't assume that everyone playing poker is out to make gobs of money or go pro or anything. Even on 2+2, where people take the games more seriously than most, the majority of players are not out to try to make a living playing the game - they are trying to get as good as they can playing a game they enjoy.

Your impression is wrong

And as to your original question, think of pre-flop starting charts as training wheels. Following them will generally put you in decent positions post-flop (or at least will help keep you out of some particuarly bad ones), but the important thing is to understand why the recommendations are what they are. This will enable you to make adjustments based on table conditions, to put you in profitable post-flop situations. As I mentioned in my response to your post on the hand rankings, Small Stakes Hold'Em and HOH1 have discussions along these lines.

I have a friend that will drop $1000 in a night playing blackjack at his local no-name casino. Why? He has fun and he thinks he's "good" enough to beat the game (and no, he does not count cards). He also loves to play poker and thinks he's great at it when he is marginal at best.

People like to gamble. There's a reason state lotteries make hundreds of millions of dollars each year.

Thanks for the advice. As I fall asleep tonight, if I don't toss and turn in wonderment, I'll hope to dream up an answer to why AA-99 are raises in EP, with the other pairs only calls, but once you are in MP, you can add just one of the other pairs, 88, to the list of raiseable hands, but none of the others.

source: Ed Miller's beginning holdem book

Ask him why he thinks he's good enough to beat the game if he's losing $1000 per night and let me know what he says. Inquiring minds want to know.

Why do NFL teams usually run the ball on 2nd and 1 but almost always throw the ball on 3rd and 9?

people are stupid. the way average mind works u dont even wanna know. peoples attitudes to gambling is just one of the things where u can see how their cogs tick, and it's mind boggling. just be happy they choose to play

Selective memory. He never talks about the nights he loses $500 or 1k but brags about his $200-5k run constantly.

He's also the type you just can't explain logic to once he has an idea in his head. He's pretty much a poker reg's dream.

OP, I would suggest that you not use a casino as a learning ground.

I assume the allowable buy in at the table is $50-$300. Even if you buy in for $50, there is a high likelihood that you will lose it, since you will always be covered by the bigger stacks and every hand will be at risk of losing it all even if you double up twice your whole stack will be at risk. At minimum you are going to need 40-50 buy ins to start to account for some initial learning losses. Even short stacking this is $2-3k. Now if you have that kind of money to spare then by all means go forth and learn at the casino.

Online you will need a bank roll of 2 casino buy ins ($100) to get started and have a bankroll of 50 buy ins at the .01/.02 tables. Sure its less glamourous playing for pennies, but you get the chance to learn and once you start to play real hands this stuff will make more sense.

Hope that helps.

true...but if your opposition is doing nothing more than turning round, sticking their bat where it dont belong and edging their butt over the plate and hoping to get lucky...then t-ball kid has an advantage assuming the hero's pitcher to said butt wiggler is capable of not hitting enough batters to get the buttwiggler home.

Or, if for whatever reason the casino is really where you want to be, you might want to see if they have $10 sng's or similar buyins. You might find them more fun than cash games anyway.

While a beginner just learning might have a decent framework to get by using a hand chart, they will never improve.

If you are talking about cash games with 100bb stacks, you will still get crushed even though when you are in the pot you most likely will start with the better hand. In these cash games (especially 6 max), superior post flop skills will almost always make up for pre flop leaks. At games 100NL and below a good post flop player could raise almost 100% from late position and still have an edge if the players behind him are poor.

Starting hand charts are a good starting point, but you will never get better if you stick to them for long. You will never be put in different situations, and won't know how to act.