Don’t be a Hater

I have been writing some interesting posts lately about doing things outside of the normal thinking box. I guess in some ways it appeases my gamboooler nature. At every turn I have been faced with the lame ass stock answer of “Why not play Red 17”. Well screw you. Get off your high horses and join the dark side. Luke liked the little taste he got. Even though that wussy went back to the good side.

If I played Red 17 on the roulette wheel, or played a slot machine, I would have A LOT less chance of winning than playing Titan 5/10 with fifty bucks. I have some short term data that suggests I can do this well. I have had many sessions where I have bought in short, ran it up, and took my winnings and left. I am playing within my bankroll. Fifty bucks is well in the range of acceptable loss. The upside is circumventing a week or more of grinding. I do not know what you brainiacs make a night grinding, but normally I will win ¼ to ½ a buyin on a decent night per table. I might also lose anywhere from a few bucks to a buyin.

If I put down my fifty on the 5/10, with the expectation that I MIGHT lose it, I have a chance to make anywhere from 1-3 buyins at my normal 2/4 level easily. So by risking half a buyin I have a chance to buy a weeks worth of grinding time. Not a bad tradeoff.

If you are commenting without experiencing the 5/10 tables at Titan then you have no idea what you are talking about. Some examples of the hands from last night.

I get dealt 77. I raise pre-flop, and an ace hits the board. I assume at this point I am dead but bet out anyways. I have some tool that called my pre-flop raise with 94o call me all the way down to the river because he caught his 4. Now this is not the best example because I probably needed to fold, but daaaaamn, how can you lose?

Couple hands later. I get dealt pocket jacks and two people call my pre-flop raise. The flop is a very not scary Jxx rainbow board with no straight draws. So I cold call the first guys bet. We have three players at this time. The turn makes a flush possible as most turns do, so I raise the initial better and he re-raises me, so we end up capped. The middle guy is STILL in the pot. The first guy gets wise and just calls my river bet. BOTH GUYS are in on my river bet. The first guy, who was somewhat smart, turns over AJ. Ok. I can see that. The other guy turns over ATo drawing dead to an Ace.

The passivity and just bad poker play at these tables is AMAZING. If you are basing any of your opinions on 5/10 play you have seen at other sites please at least view a table for 10-15 minutes.

So just to recap:

Upside
1. Not Risking Much
2. Possible Large Gains
3. Staying in my Bankroll

Downside
1. Can not maximize my winnings on a monster until I win a few hands
2. I absolutely need to win some pots in 10 orbits, probably less. This does not bother me much as I have rarely seen ten orbits of unplayable hands.
3. If I get one suckout it is over.

It kind of amazes me how much I get the same answers when I bring these things up. I think people get indoctrinated into “The Way” of winning at Poker. While I agree grinding is a tried and true method it is not the only way to grow a bankroll. Using different methods to accelerate the process is not always a bad idea. Throwing your whole bankroll on one table would be bad, but taking calculated, minimal, risks is not.

What is there to lose? Why the hell would you not want to do this? ESPECIALLY if you have had some success at it. It is not like I am taking a $100 bankroll and trying this out. I have a $1400 bankroll and the $50 does not even make it sneeze. I have had a perfect winning record at playing short at higher stakes on Titan over a VERY short sample size. I know I will not always win. I can accept that. The times I win though more than make up for it. So for now I will keep mixing it up. Playing some MTTs. Grinding. Taking shots at the 5/10 tables for minimal buyins. Up over $1400 in a little over a month. Something is working. So Don’t be a Hater!