I'll keep it short. I been playing at a specific casino for a lot of hours this year. A couple days ago a dealer told me, "You are a very good poker player." I been told this by other players, and I told other players that they play well, but I lied. I just told them that to keep them in the table, and to hopefully have them come back. Now I'm confused, I never had a dealer tell me that I am a good player. I been playing for more than 10 years. I do break even a lot, lose very little, but I am no winning player yet. I play 1/2 nl so I know I won't be getting rich there. Wondering why she told me that, what's her angle?

The dealer seems similar to the go kart track manager in this story....

https://youtu.be/JZ7ed_ODHNk

She's messed with your head.

My mom sez I am quite a catch

at w090 she is probably just conveying that most of the players she sees lose most of the time to if you are break even you are probably in the top 20% at that level
either that or you are tipping her good and she wants you coming back

See above .. if you are truly breaking even, then you are a 'good' Player since you would be avoiding the pit falls of downswings and technically beating the rake. This would definitely be classified as 'above average' in your Player pool by default.

I might ask you this .. Have you been 'the same' for 10 years or are you now just coming around to breaking even? Perhaps there are things that Players/Dealers are seeing that would lead them to a 'good' conclusion.

How long has this Dealer been pitching to you? Unfortunately you never know if there's any underlying tones to a message/complement. Are you single?

How do the other Players in your room stack up to your game? Do the 'great' Players limit being in hands with you or fold more to 3-bets when they chase after others?

There are plenty of Players who think I'm pretty dam good too, but they didn't read all my mail over the years either, so to speak!

If you want to follow up, ask the Dealer what they think you do differently and what maybe you could do 'better' in order to become great. If they don't really have anything concrete to offer, then it was probably just a nice social gesture perhaps spurred on from some decent plays you made in a recent session. GL

I have changed some things over the last 10 years plus of playing poker. I play 1/2 nl at casinos, and always for the most part I buy in for the minimum. The reason for this is because I do not know how to play deep stack. Also, years ago I found Bodog, Bovada poker online and I realized I can hit and run all day, making pennies. Then I applied this logic live, table changing when I am up a buy in or more. But I got tired of table changing and found flaws on why that strategy is not beneficial. It is not beneficial because the table you change into, the good players are there, that busted the player on the open seat. Also, some table change games are more difficult games causing me to lose what I made. Now I do play one table, and only table change if I am getting nothing at that table, or if the competition is tight there, or want to pocket some profit.

But basically, I play tight. I do play loose when I drink or do not care that day and play like a total fish. My small minimum buy ins, with "short buys" when allowed has kept my losses to a minimum. Also at this point my decisions are simple, I do not mind losing. But now I have new obstacles. Since I do not hit and run as much, I been playing deep stack with the chips I accumulate. So now I am getting bluffed out more, I mean a lot more, so I do not know what to do yet. Hoping to maybe build a decent bankroll to be able to call a lot more.

And the dealer that told me I play well I played with her less than 5 times, or maybe more I just never noticed her.

What is your 'definition' of deep? Some would say that unless you have at least 100bb in front of you, you are 'short'. And in reality I don't think that deep stack poker starts until you have at least 200bb in front or more.

I realize that 'deep' is different than 'deeper'. Every Player has a chip stack comfort level and that's fine. There's plenty of threads that discuss how to deal with 'monsters under the bed' poker.

You make no mention of playing differently when 'deeper'. This is a must no matter what that means to you as a Player. Your simple decisions automatically become more complicated the deeper your stack is, that is how poker works. Pot Odds, Fold Equity and Semi-bluffs have little effect on short stacks when compared to playing deeper. Only you can determine when and how you dip your toes into those aspects of the game.

I'm not really sure how table changes benefits you when you double up. I know of very few casinos that allow (or force) you to go south when changing tables.

It's very possible that when you are deeper that you just need to play a trapping style of poker and not the aggressive style that you are 'free' to use when shallower. This actually will allow you to open up your range of hands, perhaps set mine more with smaller pairs or speculate suited connectors when in position.

It can be done, but based on your 'getting bluffed more' comment your opponents are sensing/seeing something that alerts them to your hesitation or change in style/demeanor. GL

There are a few things to consider:

Poker dealers are not created equal, so they don't necessarily know what it means to be a good poker player. The comment may have been honest but coming from a dealer who doesn't know enough to make useful observations. Or the comment may have been honest and coming from a place of knowledge and you may be great. Or the comment may have been manipulative and the dealer's poker knowledge doesn't matter.

Next, consider that a "good player" means different things to different people. A casino might think a good player is one who pays a lot of rake, doesn't trash the place, and doesn't scare other marks away. A spouse may think a good player is one who can pay for expenses out of their earnings. A dealer may think a good player is one who tips and is polite, at the very least. Technical skill may not have anything to do with it.

Finally, consider whether the comment matters at all. Are you achieving your own poker goals? Will that comment help you reach the next level?