1) B&M; Oppressive Rake
I often read how some B&M casinos have such a high rake that anything below $10/$20 can be almost impossible to profit at. But why? If you're winning, you're gonna leave with more then you entered with.

You bet $10. He calls. You win. Even at 10% rake, you still take $18 from a $10 bet.
Because a good player's edge can often be less than you think.. I'm sure I remember reading somewhere that a top online player worked out that his edge was like 102%.. although I may be full of shit.

Whilst you still take $18 from a $10 bet, if you take $20 from a $10 bet, it adds up HUGELY in the long run and for semi-decent players who are floating above breakeven it can mean the difference between winning and losing.

PostPosted: Thu, 04 Oct 2007, 8:38pm
Hi,

As the title says, here are a collection of questions that I've yet to find the answer to.

1) B&M; Oppressive Rake
I often read how some B&M casinos have such a high rake that anything below $10/$20 can be almost impossible to profit at. But why? If you're winning, you're gonna leave with more then you entered with.

You bet $10. He calls. You win. Even at 10% rake, you still take $18 from a $10 bet.


2) Oppressive Buy Ins
Some tourneys are deemed to be not worth the while due to the buy in fee. Eg: one such tourney is a 10 seater, $50+$9 affair. 1st place wins $160. Why would $50+$5 be acceptable but not + $9?

I have also seen this for MTT, apparently some Vegas casinos obscure the buy in by advertising as $350 instead of $300 + $50. But what is the difference - it's $350 eitehr way?

And in both examples, if you cash, you're still going to take home far more than you invested.
Again, rake adds up a lot in the long run, and you're thinking in the short term.

Sure, if you cash you're going to take home more than you invested, but if you don't cash you're going to lose more than you would with less rake.

I read somewhere that the top TV pros were asked to guess their EV win in the main event (as in if they played it infinite times how much they'd average per event), and the answers came out between $12-18000. Phil Gordon, the author reckoned the real answer was closer to 12.

I don't know enough about networks to give a decent answer.

PostPosted: Thu, 04 Oct 2007, 8:38pm
Hi,

As the title says, here are a collection of questions that I've yet to find the answer to.

1) B&M; Oppressive Rake
I often read how some B&M casinos have such a high rake that anything below $10/$20 can be almost impossible to profit at. But why? If you're winning, you're gonna leave with more then you entered with.

You bet $10. He calls. You win. Even at 10% rake, you still take $18 from a $10 bet.


2) Oppressive Buy Ins
Some tourneys are deemed to be not worth the while due to the buy in fee. Eg: one such tourney is a 10 seater, $50+$9 affair. 1st place wins $160. Why would $50+$5 be acceptable but not + $9?

I have also seen this for MTT, apparently some Vegas casinos obscure the buy in by advertising as $350 instead of $300 + $50. But what is the difference - it's $350 eitehr way?

And in both examples, if you cash, you're still going to take home far more than you invested.


3) Online Networks
Many poker sites share the same network: CryptoLogic, Prima, iPoker etc. Can Someone explain this fully?

At first, I assumed it just meant individual companies using the same software but in games, players have said they are playing at another site. As they were playing in specialised tourneys, like jackpots where if you win 5 $10 SNGs in a row, you win $40,000, I then assumed that all sites had to be owned by the network as how else would multiple sites make the same offers?

But against this is that online sites can change networks, and a number of sites on the iPoker network are registered in different continents, which debunks the above.

I did email my iPoker site but the answers were in riddles. They said they share the same network as other sites but have independent management/support. When I asked for a clearer answer as to whether they are independent of each other, I got a repeat answer.

So guys, any ideas?



4) Professionals
We all hear about the guys winning the main events or maing $100K online but considering how even at .50/$1 level, tidy sums can be made in one sitting, are there pros on this site who are quietly and happily making a living - even if it's no more than they would if they worked a day job? Earning $100 a day or so?
Yeah, I'm one (even though nobody would advise it), although I struggle to get hands in. I make double hourly what I would shoveling chips for stupid tourists or breaking my back lugging crates around - all jobs round here are minimum wage.