[BDixon]

We've played a freindly $5 buy-in(50 chips all same value) NL holdem tourney game for a while now. The games used to last about 1 - 1.5 hours with 5 players. Most of the guys liked this. Lately we've been getting 7-8 players and the games are lasting upto 3 hours. Only 1 rebuy is allowed per game(not 1 per person per game but 1 rebuy period) so it seems one or two guys are sitting out for well over an hour waiting for the next game.

A couple of us were trying to think of a way we could keep the stakes small(for the guys that only want to lose $20 for the day) but not have guys sitting out for so long.

About the only thing we can think of is trying a $10 buy-in LIMIT holdem with .10/.25 or .25/.25 blinds. If guys want to rebuy they can no big deal.

For the folks that play the low stakes limit cash game like this is it fun? Does it just seem to be a family pot all the time? Does it seem to drag since there's not much on the line?

What about $10 buy-in NL holdem with .05/.10 blinds? This doesn't seem like it would help the problem of guys sitting out much since they could still lose they're whole stack in a single hand. Some of the guys would prefer to keep the game NL though.

I personally can care less since I'm not a real good holdem player, I much prefer 7CS. It just seems to me for the small stakes the guys want to play for, a tourney is the better way but a few guys are getting tired of having to wait so long to play.

Thanks for any thoughts

[mcguirem13]

I've had similar problems with tourney's. So my friends and I play .05/.10 NL and we all love it. There doesn't seem to be as big of a problem with people sitting out since you can re-buy as much as you want. It all depends on your preference though, I would prefer limit because I'm better at it but NL is great too.

[SingleMaltFan]

why play tourneys at all then, just play a NL cash/ring game instead of switching to limit....then they can rebuy all they want..as long as the bank has chips, and anyone can leave with their wins or losses as they please...


i play limit at the casino, but for some reason i dont think it would be as fun at a home game, especially at such low limits...

my 2cents
1malt

[ink_junkie]

If you want to stick with a tourney, I'd suggest allowing one rebuy per player. That way everyone gets a fair shot at a rebuy if they want it, and you won't have people sitting around for too long. Depending on your blind structure and length of tournament, you can add a stipulation that all rebuys have to be completed by the start of the second hour of play or third round etc...

I typically have 20-30 people at my tournaments and allow one rebuy per player with the stipulation that all rebuys have to be completed before the start of the third hour of play (tournament typically run 5 hours or so). So far everyone has been very happy with how it's worked out.

[Spaceman Spiff]

Nickel dime limit at a home game is going to be pretty similar to how it is online I would think. Family pots, calls all the way down. It's only a dime, right?

If you want to play limit, I would recommend 1/2 or maybe even .50/1. When we play 1/2, the most anyone usually ends up down is maybe $40-50. And that's having a real bad day.

For NL, probably .05-.10 or maybe .10-.25 is the way to go. Things could still get ugly in a NL game though even at those stakes. Especially if you've been playing for awhile and there have been a few rebuys.

Cash game is the way to go if you don't want to have to worry about people sitting out. The only other option is to stick with tournies, but go to a blazing fast blinds schedule that gets things over quick. But if you're going to do that, you might as well play the lottery.

[Fins]

My vote is play a cash game... 5¢/10¢ NLHE w/ a max buy-in of $10 & min buy-in of $3. Give it a try and if it doesn't work try something different.

All the chips the same value... eeewww... unless of course they're all the same.... but still for NL this would be a pain IMO. Should have 5¢ & 25¢ chips w/ $1's & $5's for rebuys.


Also, you could post your schedule as 3hrs w/ 8 playrs seems too long anyway.

[BDixon]

We've always played tourneys simply because the guys felt it added something to the game. As far as all chips of same value it's easier for the math challanged players in our group. Keep chips in stacks of ten and even they can count up what they have without any problems.

They've always been setup the same way:
50 chips per person, blinds start at 1/2 and go up every rotation. With 5 players the games would last about an hour, sometimes 1.5 hours. Now with 8 people playing the games have been over 2 hours with most around the 2.5 hour mark.

The problem/issue is the guys seem to like short-quick-gotta-gamble-alot tourneys over a game that lasts awhile. They liked if they lost they had a chance to play and win again in 45 minutes max. Now that the games are lasting longer some are sitting out more than playing.

The $1/$2 limit game would be fine with me and a couple of the guys but some of the other guys will only bring $20 period. For them it's a cheap day of entertainment.

I was thinking about the .05/.10 NL setup and something like putting a cap on the cash pot. Once it reaches a certain point from rebuys then any players wishing to rebuy would have to purchase from another player. That sounds like it'd work to help keep the number of chips in play down and it'd let guys that want to leave or take some profits the chance without getting to much grief.

As far as why the games seem to be taking so long I think it's because two of the new players like to talk. I bought a timer(can setup for length of blinds, amount of blinds etc) but we've only used it once, a couple guys didn't like using it for some reason and wanted to just raise the blinds every orbit like we had been doing.

[Fins]

Originally Posted by BDixon

50 chips per person, blinds start at 1/2 and go up every rotation

Starting with 25 BB's... uh, not fun IMO.
Can you say pot commited?
Just read it again... EVERY ROTATION!
Kind of takes the poker out it.

You make a typical raise of 4BB's someone pots you to see where's at and commits 1/4 of his stack... no room for plays with your structure... sounds like a limit rockfest. Welcome to the orange zone

[BDixon]

Oh I agree with you 100% but they seem to like to gamble more than they actually like poker(if that makes any sense). I don't know anyone else that plays poker so these are the guys I play with. We're all freinds and have known each other for years.

The games were never rock fests, far from it actually but that was when we had 5 players and unlimited rebuys. After a couple games where one guy rebought 3 times it was decided a change needed to be made.

[Fins]

Originally Posted by BDixon

The games were never rock fests, far from it actually but that was when we had 5 players and unlimited rebuys. After a couple games where one guy rebought 3 times it was decided a change needed to be made.

I gotcha... rethinking... I enjoy blackjack so I'd enjoy this! Don't mean to give the wrong impression I'd enjoy it all the same just not what I'd prefer... sounds like your situation.

You should give the HPT structure a shot for a start... tell 'em it's like the WSOP format but of course adjusted for your group

Sounds like you might want to run 10¢/25¢ instead but still have the other constraints $3-$10 max. I never like limiting the money on the table but that's me i.e. allowing/encouraging buying from other players.

Not sure what else to suggest.
Good luck.