peer pressure and the bad beat jackpot

got up and went to work today at harrah's. played for a little over 8 hours, and this is what I learned... Even in poker there is peer pressure. its funny, but its true. a couple of examples are not calling the $1 from the small blind no matter how many people are in the pot unless i had cards i wanted to call with. I had a couple people make a comment to me about the pot odds i was getting and how i should call. i agree -in a game where i have an unlimited bankroll, i can see making that call, but for me part of playing winning poker includes the money you keep in your stack that you don't bet. i figure i saved nearly $50 by not completing the blind. with cards that i didn't want to play, and better yet, i wouldn't have won a single hand from the small blind, so i feel justified in not calling. it would take raking a pretty decent sized pota couple times a day from the small blind to make it a profitable move. Im ok if some other players think I'm a bad player because i didn't call for odds. i figure its my stack and i should play it the way I want to. plus if they think im a bad player, maybe i can get more action from them than i would othewise get.

another way peer pressure shows up at the table is through things like a straddle. a straddle is when the player who is first to act before the flop, puts out a bet = to 2x the big blind before he is dealt his cards. it helps generate action and can loosen up a tight game. i have straddled before, but I won't do it just because the 4 people before me did. i am there to make money and raising blind without seeing your cards is generally not the way to do it. (although it can be fun) not a positve value move in the long run, and here at first i'm trying to maximize my positive value moves and minimize my negative value ones. once I start crushin the game, I can open it up a bit.

now we come to the bad beat jackpot. at harrahs, the bbpot is at around $265k. i have found that it encourages people to stay in with hands way to long and play some cards in a very strange fashion. one other thing I've learned is that you can almost throw pot odds out of the window. with the stakes as low as they are ($1-$2 game) most people will call even on a gut shot with horrible odds to try and catch becaue they are thinking its only another $x instead of thinking that they are calling a pot sized bet. I think I've decided to stop betting 3/4 pot when i'm trying to get the draws off, because they will stay anyway, and feels like to win in this game, i need to be willing to call my draws a little thinner as well. I had a friend tell me that its hard to make money at the $1-2 game and that should sit down at the $2-5 game. Once I get my severance I'll take a look at that. right now I'm playing off the small bankroll I had started after i got my bonus in Feb.

overall a normal poker day. had some good pots and took a couple of beats. nothing out of the usual. funny how last week a $10 raise was too much and this week, people were calling $15 pre -flop. all depends on the table make-up.

until next time -

peace and love and happiness to all.
kk