The game we call Poker has many variations and is called by many names. We commonly hear people talk about playing a "friendly game" of poker but is it ever really friendly? One I think of many times when I'm playing is called "cut throat" but I must admit I have no idea how its played. The reason it comes to mind is the way some players choose to play in games where the top 25, 100, 250, or whatever number they chose advance to the next round. I've noticed some players whose chip stack has attained a level that would guarantee them winning a ticket still feel it necessary to raise pre flop against short stacked players to a level forcing them to either go all in or fold. Why do they feel it necessary to try to force these players out right before the bubble? Are they in that much of a hurry to get their ticket and go on to their next game? Why can't they just sit back and let the short stacks play it out? Why can't they let us see the flop before we decide to go all in? Why? Cause I think they're jerks. I use to play all public freerolls before I learned about forums. Since then I started playing a lot of private password games with forum members also. Forum members for the most part seem to be much nicer players than most. They congratulate each other on nice, well played hands and they don't get mad when someone fills a longshot hand on the river and puts them out. At least most of them. Its the other few that I'm talking about. Now this is not about the name callers, and the cussers, the perves, etc. I'm talking about the ones where the game pays the top 25 a ticket. There's say 30 left in the game. He's got say 15,000 chips and you got 2,000. The blinds are 200/400. You are in the SB or BB position so there goes another 200/400 out of your stack. His position is set. He's got a ticket. All he's got to do is sit out and wait for the final hand. But no, he feels it necessary to put out all the short stackers so the game will be over. So he bets 1200 or whatever. So much that you either have to call or fold. You have J, 10 suited and would have liked to have seen the flop before you committed the last of your chip stack to the pot but now Mr. Impatient has forced you to make a decision. Do I go all in this close to the bubble and risk getting a flop like 3, 4, 5. Or do I fold and watch my short stack get smaller and take a chance on my next hole cards being something like 2, 7 or 3, 8. I've found myself in this spot many times and sadly I've chose to go all in and lost right before the bubble. Play all that time just to have some jerk with all the chips think it necessary to put another short stacker out of his misery by constantly raising to get me to fold when I had marginal hole cards so he could steal my blinds until I got to a point where my stack was so low I had to push and make a move. Many times I lost. I'm sure they felt very superior to me. I'm sure they felt like big time poker players bluffing me out of my blinds with their big raises backed up with their big stacks. I call them bullies. I don't like to play with them but I find them most nights it seems almost at every table. But.....when I play private forum games thankfully I find a lot of players who are just there for a "friendly game". I'm glad I found this place and others like it. Thank you PFPAdmin for all the hard work you do to keep this place up and going everyday.
