Short Buy Ins = More Fun?

[SteveA]

My group usually buys in to our no limit cash game with $20 and 80BB's.

A while ago I played at a friends house where we bought in for $20 and 40 BB's and it seemed a lot less serious and a lot more fun.

For those of you that play short buy in cash games...is it usually like this?

Thx,

[mipevi]

At my game people can buy-in with 40-400BBs. Personally I don't see anything fun about shortstacking, I prefer 100BBs and up.

[wafflestomper]

I'm not sure if more fun is the right word...

I think it is FUNNER!

Seriously though, we play .25/50 with a buy in of $20. I'm not sure if it is just my group, but they all know how to play poker (and relatively well), but some of them play the craziest hands. It makes me feel like we aren't playing for enough money (it doesn't matter if they lose, they can just reload). We often have 7 or 8 guys playing cash and finish with about $300 - $400 on the table when we finish. We all play seriously and want to win. I've never played a normal stack with them (except for tourneys - which is a different game in itself).

[SILKS POKER ROOM]

A group I used to play with capped the buy in at $40.00 $1-2 nl CRAZY game.20BB
The problem was you would have nits that got up and would sell chips in essence going south with their winnings. If the nits were up early it wasn't as much fun vs a loose passive player having the chips cause you know he would keep the cash in play.

Not to mention that all rebuys should have been from the chip box to keep all the chips/ money in play.


I tried explaining to the group about the 100BB but they all said they like it the way it is. I even brought Dunes compression .25/50 chips to extend the BB for $40 buy in but that only last 1 session. That extended the $40 buy in into 80BB but they couldn't wrap their heads around the concept of playing poker.
It's a soft game with lots of limping.
Good luck

[SteveA]

Originally Posted by wafflestomper

they all know how to play poker (and relatively well), but some of them play the craziest hands. It makes me feel like we aren't playing for enough money (it doesn't matter if they lose, they can just reload).

Your group sounds like the same kind of group as mine.

Because we all know how to play, and we know that a 40BB buy in is stupid, I think it may encourage people to play to have fun and not take it as serious as our 80BB game.

BTW our 80BB game plays effectively the same as, or maybe even deeper than, our local 100BB casino games. I believe this is the case because opening raises at our local casino is at least 5 or 6 times the BB, and at our home game, they are 3 or 4 times the BB.

[wafflestomper]

Our standard raises seem to be in the 2-3 times the BB, although it can get bumped up a bit more with a real legitimate hand (or someone acting like they have a real legitimate hand...)

[abby99]

One of the "funnest" games I've ever played in was 0.05/0.10 NLHE with a $5 buy-in, with a group of graduate students who played after the weekly colloquium. It was all about the poker (not about the money), and the students weren't risking money they needed for food.

Based on my experience, I think that the "fun" element has more do with the stakes (affordability) and less with the size of the buy-in in terms of the BB. Most important, however, is to play with fun people.

[SIOUXICIDE]

I've never had fun in a 20bb buy in unless it was limit, but I guess it depends on the players and how LAG the game itself turns into.

[Captn_All_In]

My Thursday night game is just getting around to starting again....that is the most fun I have ever had....for get this......$2.

Two bucks gets you $20 worth of chips and we play .05¢/.10¢ blinds when we play hold em or dealer's choice with many split games or lots of non poker type games. So, its basically penny poker with better chips. Is the poker good...not as good as the 10¢/25¢ game on Full Tilt, but its a hell of a lot better than the .01¢/.02¢ game on there.

Speaking of which....is it Thursday yet??

[VARoadstter]

It all depends on how you quantify fun, I suppose. When I play, I prefer that the everyone is within their means financially so lower stakes games help in that regard. I personally prefer poker that has more strategic decisions than a 20-40 bb game offers. That's not to say I don't play them (I do) but I would definitely take a 100BB+ game over the short games. Ideally, I would like a game to have people sitting with 250BB or so. They do happen, but only after some bustouts and rebuys.

Maybe it's the people you play with in the short games that make it more fun for you.