Home Game Fun

First the results: Up $168

Second the commentary: For those of you who play online, do you find that when you transition back to a live game there is so much more information available to you? What I mean is that while playing with live people in front of you, there are so many tells people give away that it actually makes your decision making process much easier. Since I began playing online, the wealth of extra information at live games has become so much more obvious to me.

Mike Caro's book about poker tells is a great source of adding an extra weapon to your poker arsenal. My favorite is the "sitting back with arms folded" tell. It basically means that player has a great hand and is not worried about what you may do betting-wise. It's amazing how many people subconsciously find themselves in this position, not even knowing it. I've even caught myself doing it, then sitting up straight, hoping nobody saw my tell. At our home games, people frequently show their cards after the hand, and so far this tell has been the most reliable.

Last night also was the first night we got to use my new chips. We actually used to use cash and toss paper money into the pots. This has it's benefits and drawbacks. At the beginning of the night, there is no buy-in, and at the end, there is no cash-out; just take what you have left home. However, we play many hi/lo games with 2 winners and splitting the pot is a nightmare when we're using cash. We voted that using the chips sped up the splitting of the pots enough to overcome the buy-in/cash-out delays, and the sheer fun of splashing, stacking, and simply using real clay chips was well worth it.