Anyone have a regular home poker game where they have their competition pretty well read? We’ve had a weekly nine player game for about four months, im one of three non-family members involved, and I think i have the family read better than they do themselves. Of course, its a friendly game, not too serious, but I’m liking that I keep cashing out (six of the last eight weeks) b/c I know Mom triples the blind whenever she’s got the nuts and bets the blinds when she doesn’t, and that Granddad will play any two cards in the deck, any raise, if he’s in the blinds, etc.
I have three calling stations in my home game, two people who I can pretty much goad into calling me at will, on person who defends her blinds with any two cards no matter what the raise in front of her and two people who actually know something of how to play the game. If it weren’t for ridiculously bad beats I’d win pretty much every time (and yes I know that’s a very Phil Hellmuth thing to say but it happens to be true).
It wasn’t the most sophisticated tell, but our weekly game last summer had an interesting participant. Every time she had nothing, she bet big, raising and reraising every chance she had. But if she had a hand worth playing, she was very conservative, checking and betting just what was necessary to stay in.
It took all of us other players a while to figure this out, but when we did, we jumped all over her big bets if we had even a halfway decent hand. Most often, the strategy worked to somebody’s benefit and her detriment.
Our game ended at the end of the summer and I left town anyway, so I don’t know if she ever changed her strategy. Like I said, though, it wasn’t themost sophisticated tell, but we made the most of it.