The Assembly Inn, Bath - Fish Tank or Lake??

[HandofGod]

Morning All, Now most of you who know me will know I am not one for complaining
but after last night I definatly need to. The Assembly Inn has become my nemisis.
If you want to play a decent game of poker and need points don't play there as its
a haven for fish and new players who don't have a clue what they are doing. The
only reason I play there now is because I have made a lot of friends and like socialising
it's definatly not for the poker. The day I get there and play on a table with the likes of
Dan, Alex, Martin, Neil and Nick on the same table I may enjoy myself as they know
how to play. This moan is all about my bad beat last night.

First hand of the night I get dealt AK and obviously the blinds are 50 -100. A few players
limp in and it gets to me and I raise to 400. 4 times the big blind. Everyone folds except one
who calls. Unless this chap has a pocket pair I am winning. Flop comes 3 - 5 - 6. he checks
I raise 1000 he calls. Now I think he has hit a small pair or has trips. The turn comes a King.
I have now hit top pair. He checks I bet 3000 he calls. the turn comes a 5 and we both check
I turn over AK top pair he turns over Q - 5. He hit trips on the river and bets but someone please
explain why someone is calling a 3000 raise with a pair of fives.


aaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh.

There needed to get that out of the system.

Then just to finish me off. 4 hands later I get dealt AQ and get called by another Newbie with A3
and he hits the 3 and takes me out. This I can handle as its poker.

[Chipfire]

Originally Posted by HandofGod

Morning All, Now most of you who know me will know I am not one for complaining
.

Apart from a couple of recent posts that both begin along similar lines.
Maybe you are one for complaining?

But seriously thats poker aint it?! Getting a read on a reckless fish is all part of the game. Furthermore, in the long run that sort of play should reward you.

[Hoof_Hearted]

I certainly agree with HandOfGod, but ChipFire is spot on. I used to play at the Assembly quite frequently, and often lost a lot of chips to the fishes. The Assembly attracts lots of students to the game. Now, I will play poker with anyone. The majority of new faces have never played before and will keep calling all the way to the river hoping to hit something good. I don't have a problem with this, because these players soon realise that playing 5 hands and then exiting from the game isn't much fun. They soon tighten up and we all benefit from a skillful game instead of a lucky game. The problem with the Assembly Inn is that the vast majority of these students only play a few games and then disappear. We never see them again. They are then replaced by another set of poker-luck clones. The end result is that the Assembly is always full of fish and the game becomes one of luck. The regular players (you all know who you are) are good players and a good game is enjoyed on the final table.

On the other side of the coin though, the players who rely on luck can often chip you right up, and if you are honest, you probably acquire more chips from them than from anyone else. You probably only remember the bad beats that they gave you.

[Alex_B]

Dan here,

Hoof is right, it's the beats that stick in the mind more than the wins, it's a fact borne out by the complete lack of " i'm a winner" stories on these forums and the endless " your all fish" stories....

Adie, to be fair the Assembly game has always been the way it is since we started the league in Bath and i'm surprised that your surprised about it. I seem to remember you racking up plenty of wins in the past with the same standard of clientelle........

Could it be that now there is a more serious prize at stake and the "regulars" are taking it more seriously, the pressure to accrue points is multiplied and therefore we get more frustrated than usual at what, once upon a time, we laughed off as "beginners luck", and now we say is terrible play?

It's now a running joke at the assembly that new sign-ups always make the final table. I believe it's because they play the game without fear and without the pressure of needing the points therefore the decisions they make have less consequence for them. Unlike the "players" who are always concerned about making the right decision directly because of the consequences, ie: no points.

Finally, I have to say that I would not be leading the betting for that much at the start anyway. Especially if you know you are up against a newbie. You know they aren't going to back down as they have nothing to lose and you also know that they aren't worried about pot odds, number of outs etc. Hell they hardly know what the chip amounts are! Why risk it early on? As Nick says in his signature line: "you can't bluff someone who's not paying attention" and you can't bluff someone who doesn't understand the game.

Phew I need to lie down now. I'm beginning to sound like i know what the hell i'm on about.....

[Chipfire]

If thats the Adie I suspect, well he bad beated me a couple of times so all's fair in Love, War and Poker!!

P.S. Dan, you need your own forum ID!

[got 6 aces]

It's plain and simple a fish tank, but what do you expect. Give me a table full of calling stations whose starting hand requirements are any 2 suited cards and i'll give you a high point tally for the month.

Let me take you through a hand.

I'm BB, blinds 300/600, i'm dealt T,9o

There's a MP limper, the SB makes up the 300 and i check. Now i have a few reads here. The limper's starting hand requirements are low and he's big stack so his limp is a sign of weakness. The small stack had played only 2 hands all night so she was limping in to see a cheap flop, both her and i were short stack so any half decent hand would've provoked an all in, so i know i'm not up against much.

Flop comes T,5,3 rainbow

SB checks
I bet 1500 knowing i'm ahead
Limper raises all in for my last 2500
SB folds

There's now 7300 in the pot with me having to pay 2500 to call
I've got top pair so i call

The donkey flips over A,3 and catches a 3 on the turn.

I still finished 16th and in the points so it wasn't that bad, but i guess what i'm trying to say is give me a guy who's gonna go all in with bottom pair against a short stack firing bullets into a pot anyday. This aint the World Series.

[swinebag22]

It certainly aint the world series.

There is no use whatsoever complaining about bad beats, poor calls, poor play etc...

Has anyone ever played a freeroll online? Or played "play money" games online? The calls and moves there are unbelieveable.

The LPL is free to enter, there are good prizes to be won, but no bankroll put up to win those prizes. I hate to state the obvious but that is the essence of the LPL. Poker is essentially about winning money and risking your bankroll to win it. Part of the game is lost when we play for free.

I love the LPL. Love the social side, have learnt more about the game and I love the poor play and bad beats. It is fun, not a cause for whining. If I want a serious game, I go to the casino. there's no calling 3000 with bottom pair there!

good luck in the online freeroll guys. BUT be prepared for some seriously bad calls