Xmas Party

What does an xmas party have to do with NLH strats? Here is my situation; last week the wife tells me her company party is on the 3rd. The owners usually really do it up for those invited. And each year there is usually a twist... limo ride...in house sushi maker ..whatever. So the wife calls me yesterday at work and says "your not going to believe this but they hired two professional dealers and the party is going to be centered around holdem tourneys $20 buy ins" I know I will likely be the most experienced by far so how do i play it. Several of these people now of my online prowess. Option A: Play my normal SnG game slowly ramping up the aggression. or Option B: Be an ultra aggro ass trying to get all the dead money before someone else does (and maybe get my wife fired in the process . Any thoughts? Also of note this will be my first real experience playing holdem live. Should be interesting regardless. Also she says there will be two 10 man tables so I guess 20 man sngs.

Be patient play your normal game and wait for the chips to come your way if your playing to win. Personally I'd be looking to have a good laugh at an xmas party and wouldnt take it to seriously, don't wanna ruin the night by tilting when your aces get cracked by 74o.

Play super tight, pound your strong hands for value. People that don't play poker have this idea that "any two can win," or, "ohh, YES!, I have a king," no matter if their other card is a 2 of a different suit.

Play a solid TAGG game, trust your reads (it will be VERY easy to tell who has what), and you should take it down.

If the blinds start off slow take a long time playing tight in the early rounds and develop some strong reads. Live poker against amateur opponents is way way easier than internet poker against the same opponents. Play tight, develop reads, make hands, and put your reads to use. I would have preferred the sushi.

I would also be aware of which of your opponents are your wife superiors. These thing can affect here relations at work so take it easy on them.
Play your normal game. Keep it light (like a party).

I'm with Eric.

Don't pull "the professor" and try to stare into someone's soul to figure out if they have what they're repping.

Plus, what are they repping? Amateurs don't know what's good, they only know what's GREAT. When they miss AK, they act like they missed. When they hit that ace on the flop, it doesn't mean they have a kicker.

Play some .05/.10 at absolute, it's the same game.

Originally Posted by dalai007

What does an xmas party have to do with NLH strats? Here is my situation; last week the wife tells me her company party is on the 3rd. The owners usually really do it up for those invited. And each year there is usually a twist... limo ride...in house sushi maker ..whatever. So the wife calls me yesterday at work and says "your not going to believe this but they hired two professional dealers and the party is going to be centered around holdem tourneys $20 buy ins" I know I will likely be the most experienced by far so how do i play it. Several of these people now of my online prowess. Option A: Play my normal SnG game slowly ramping up the aggression. or Option B: Be an ultra aggro ass trying to get all the dead money before someone else does (and maybe get my wife fired in the process . Any thoughts? Also of note this will be my first real experience playing holdem live. Should be interesting regardless. Also she says there will be two 10 man tables so I guess 20 man sngs.

Just my advice:

1. Sound like more of a social event. These are your wife's coworkers. So don't try to make money here. Just try to have fun. And since you're better than them, you'll probably make money without trying.

2. Don't play uber aggro. These people are having fun. It's a party and some of them will probably be tipsy. They WILL CALL YOU. I think that it's a recipe for disaster to try to push these people off of hands. You'll get pissed and no one likes that at a party. I'd play super tight and socialize with my table mates to pass the time. People make dumb mistakes against you when they like you. It's the truth.

All in fun... but hey, making money WHILE having a ton of fun with people you know? Doesn't get better than that.

I'd play your normal game and maybe share some tips with people who want to know.

Maybe you can even get a few of your wife's coworkers to start a regular home game with you!

FINISH THEM!!!!!!!!!

this is an awesome thread.

I work in a casino, and recently we finally introduced hold em.

They had a staff poker night, with drinks, to launch it and help some of the staff get to know the game.

I fould it really difficult playing on a table with 3 current dealers who have played poker seriously for 30 years, and the rest of the table were total newbies.

interesting table mix, but good fun.

my advice, dont play poker for the same reasons u usually do, get pissed, and socialise. like it did. lol.