Is Greg's game a "home game" or just another casino experience?

[shipitfish]

nick_marden made a post about last night's game at Greg's, which we both attended. In addition to the standard post-mortem hand analyses, Nick made some interesting comments that were also the central topics that he and I discussed for about half an hour before I got out of the car when he dropped me off after the game. (I just woke up a little while ago, as I am not as resilient as Nick with no sleep, and he dropped me off at 05:00).

I thought a lot about those topics last night after I got back and since I woke up, and I have a lot I'd like to say about it.

I should start with a description of my expectations of Greg's game, which may very well be unreasonable expectations, and thus are the cause my angst (that I think Nick is feeling too) about the situation. I don't go to Greg's game for the same reasons I play online poker or go to casinos. I go to Greg's to meet interesting locals who have the same interest that I do. It's about socializing; after all, what else would home games be about? Is a home game actually just a convenient way to take people's money right in your own hometown?

Nick and I have both been regulars at Greg's game since the IPO (the tongue-in-cheek way I describe the first time Greg invited the public via homepokergames.com), although Nick took a hiatus when his non-poker life got busy. I have met my three best friends in the poker world through that game (Nick and Shabbir at the game, and Katie, who Shabbir introduced me to). I really see it somewhat as a social club, but sometimes I think (a) I might be the only person viewing it that way and (b) that I am socializing with people who would rather I just didn't socialize with them.

The thoughts on this matter start with Jon, who is a fussy fish that believes deeply in luck and gets upset at the strangest things. Last night, Nick and I were discussing what the most statistically unfavored hand against AA is preflop in Hold'em. Another person chimed into the discussion, and we narrowed the likely candidates down to A6o and A9o (as it turns out, A9o, with the suit of the 9 matching one of your opponents aces, appears to be the worst). Nick was checking his email on Greg's laptop, so I asked Nick to run the numbers with pokersource. Jon freaked out, saying: "Get that laptop away from the table." Nick tried to explain that he wasn't going to use it during a hand, and he was just going to check something about a hypothetical situation. Jon got more angry, and finally Nick gave up.

Now, there were a dozen things I wanted to say. I wanted to tell Jon to stop being stupid. I wanted to ask what he has against a little intellectual discussion about poker when players aren't actively in hands. But I didn't. I didn't because there wasn't a point, because I know what likely bothers Jon is that he's a horrible player and feels threatened by the fact that we're all better players than he. Also, I have this churning feeling in my gut that I don't want to piss off Jon because he's one of the few people in the game I know I'm a favorite to.

But that's just a silly way to think. Why should I be so afraid to lose a fish in a home game like this? When did my edge become more important in this game to having fun with some people who enjoy the finer points of poker?

I suppose that early event tempered the way I viewed the rest of the night. I looked around the table and started to think -- really think hard -- about why various people were there. I watched Josh and Frank, two players whom I respect and who are usually polite, trash-talk about how bad everyone else was playing. How conceited and self-absorbed do you have to be to sit and whisper to you neighbor about how you "know" what some player, whom you see as stupid and predictable, is going to do next? (Of course, I am keenly aware because it was mostly Nick and me that they were talking about this way). Neither Nick nor I are total fish and they know it. I know what they are talking about and I understand their criticisms; I would even appreciate and welcome their criticisms if they were presented in a reasonable way. I believe that they are both better players than Nick and I, but why not tell someone to their face that they suck, or -- if your edge is so important to you -- keep your damn mouth shut and make use of what you see? When did a poker table become a middle-school play-ground? Are they going to start passing notes that say: "Bradley and Nick are sooo stupid! Write back if you agree."?

I truly had a hard time looking around that table and feeling like there was any sense of community or even shared enthusiasm about the game. At one point, I mentioned I was willing to stay and re-buy if the game was going to run for a while longer and Frank said with true surprise: "You really love poker, don't you?" I quickly responded: "Of course, why else would one play?", and this answer seemed to baffle him. Have we reached a time in poker when people are so obsessed with the easy money that they don't think about why it is worth playing otherwise? Does everything you say to a poker player or they say to you have to be part of the psychological warfare? Somehow, I am comfortable with this arrangement at a casino or online, but is this what home games should be?

My ideal of what a home game (or home casino, if that's what Greg's place has become) is what Anthony Holden describes in Big Deal. He describes the "Tuesday game" (in London, I suppose) where he and Alvarez are regulars. These are a group of serious amateurs who get together to share there real love for the game, and to play their best and enjoy each other's company. There are times at Greg's when I felt that, but it just doesn't seem that way most of the time. I feel deeply sometimes that most of them are there to grind it out and make cash. It seems that everyone could care less to get to know people, make friends and share a love for friendly competition.

Yes, I've read Sklansky. Yes, I'm primarily an positive-EV-focused player. No, I'm not going to play hands because I "feel it coming" or because I'm bored with folding or because I crave action. I want to play my best game, and there are times when I want to improve my game by playing against opponents who are smart students of the game and have something to teach and learn. Poker is a hobby to me, and as such, I'd like to meet others thought that shared interest and build friendships.

So, why play against such people if they don't seem to be there for those reasons? If their goal is to get an edge against me, and on top of that they're going to chastise me or make fun of me for every conversation I start (as happened to Nick and me with no less than three different conversations we started last night), why bother? Are people totally focused on trying to take other's money ever really going to be your friends? Is the whole poker world, even the recreational world, just about "edge" and never about building friendships? If that's true, how do you explain Negreanu and Harman, or Brunson and Cloutier? Somehow, I refuse to believe that the poker world is no more than an Ayn Rand wet dream, but maybe it is just that shallow. As Nick said as I got out of his car last night: "maybe it's time for us to find a new regular home game". Is any other home game going to be that different, though?

I should probably spend some time on the non-meta-issues and talk about the hands I played badly at Greg's game last night. I might do that later today.

Comments

... the first two points.

[shipitfish.livejournal.com]

Greg wrote:

surely trash talking cannot be without bounds, but isn't some allowed? shouldn't you just learn to see such tactics as part of the game that you love and zone them out, as rory suggests?

I don't think it's a bad thing necessarily. Indeed, I showed this in a my clarification comment to Steven. When I said the word "taunt", I didn't hold any qualifications or judgments with it; it was part of the game. The tactic worked, to further reap benefits for Steven with his semi-bluff and make his play more mysterious to me. If I hadn't been clear before, I want to be now: that sort of stuff is to be applauded as good poker play.

As for the more recent event, I am honestly unsure how to read Steven and Nick's argument; I do think the "... and I rivered you" comment could easily have been taken as a slow roll and an over-the-top insult, and I think it was reasonable for Nick to take it that way. Meanwhile, I also don't believe Steven truly wanted it to work out that way. What ensued was escalation that was definitely bad and blame goes to both sides, I think.

What bugs me most happened earlier in the evening: the silly whispering, which became prevalent about 3/4ths the way through the game. I listened to it, since I thought it might be good for my game to hear it but I didn't let it impact my play (at least, I can't find any impact in my analysis of my results), and I do think Rory's advice here is right.

What bugs me here is people failing to confront other and face up to the situation. If you want to needle someone as part of the game, then come out and do it. Indeed, I think Steven's showing that bluff to me is a great example of how to do it perfectly. However, whispering to your neighbor about "how stupid they all are" is just silly and immature. I don't care if they do it, and if it were a casino, it wouldn't even matter to me. My whole point of the initial post was this: I prefer to avoid treating your game as a casino, and these incidents make me want to treat it more like a casino, and that's something I'm pretty sad about, because it was my only regular "home game" at the moment. But, I can adapt, and if you're game's a casino, it's a casino, no longer a home game (at least what I view as a home game). And, adapting in that way is probably what I'll do.

Greg wrote:

when steven asked nick why he was upset about losing that pot after steven spiked a 3 outer, i don't think he was trying to gain an edge.

I really was thinking more about other events, not this one, when I made the comments I did.

Re: ... the first two points.

[(Anonymous)]

i certainly don't think steven slow-rolled. any slowness that occured was just due to him nearly mucking his cards and then having to stop himself after he realized he spiked a miracle card. i'm sure in his head he was as convinced that he had lost as nick was convinced that he had won. but steven will have to defend himself (if that's his wish).

i'm not sure what to say about any "silly whispering." i'm not guilty of it, and i don't think i've heard all the things you've heard. i don't doubt that it's happened though -- i guess that's just the nature of a group where not everybody gets along perfectly.

i've never fully understood your differentiation between a homegame and a casino game. i play pretty much the same at home as i do at the casino -- i just sit there and play my best poker and try to take everybody's money. to me, that's the point. that's poker.

but this discussion has made me see one potential key difference between a classic home game and a casino. a classic home game forms when a rather small group of friends gather to play poker. typically these people know each other from relationships that exist outside of the poker game. they're old friends, business associates, or relatives. typically the group is small, is difficult to organize regularly, and plays for small stakes (it's hard to be really laid back about EV and edges with friends for serious money).

on the other hand, riverstreet is a larger group, organized by me, of people who otherwise don't know each other. they come to socialize and play poker. but since they aren't otherwise friends, i think it's hard to avoid some of the conflicts that you're pointing out. i think the only primary solutions are: 1) put on some thick skin, and 2) treat it more like a 'casino," if that's what it takes.

but i don't want to get into the business of defending rude whispers or explaining how adults should interact. i personally think i treat everybody with respect, so i'm not sure what i can do beyond that.

casino mindset

[shipitfish.livejournal.com]

Greg wrote:

i've never fully understood your differentiation between a homegame and a casino game.

It's probably difficult to understand, at least in part, because I am putting a bit value (for non-computer geeks: that's a yes/no value) against something that's actually a spectrum. Your characterization of a "pure home game" is pretty accurate, in my view. The PL home game I've told you about (run by the person I call "Andrew" in my journal) is much more what is a typical home game: dealer's choice, goofy games, for stakes that don't matter too much to the people who attend.

As we've talked about in email before, I think it's hard to move around on that spectrum (i.e., moving a home game to more of a casino-style game with higher stakes). As I've told you of in email long ago, I've seen home games die and people quit playing over escalating limits and peer pressure to play higher. You managed that well, and evolved your goofy $1/$2 home game into a nice casino-style game. I probably didn't adapt as much as I should have over the year and a half. It's hard to see how much things have really changed when one shows up nearly every week for more than a year. As you pointed out, I'm the top attender according to the RSVP data, so I, more than anyone, have missed the changes as they've evolved over time.

Greg added:

i think the only primary solutions are: 1) put on some thick skin, and 2) treat it more like a 'casino," if that's what it takes.

The thick skin I have, after all, I play at Foxwoods and other (sometimes-)unfriendly casino environments! I agree with your solutions, and think that I'll probably implement them. I'll be headed in this week in a casino mindset. It means, for me, being a bit less myself and more formal (like I would show up for a business meeting; that's typically the mindset I have when I play very serious poker). But, I think it's the right thing to do. I should bite the bullet and admit that you're game is more casino than home game these days, and, like one should in all poker situations -- adjust.