Low Level Fun

I still play pretty low level poker. If I bring $500 to an NL table, there are still bets that make me nervous about my bankroll. And everybody knows that scared money is dead money.

So I thought I'd try a little experiment. I'd buy into a lower level NL table and play "Power Poker." Not that I don't play "Power Poker" all the time, I'm just not as aggressive as I could be.

I pretty much played my game, playing very aggressive when I held decent cards, not allowing people to play any hand cheaply. I could tell I was getting under the skin of a lot of players at the table. Min raises were punished. If you bet small into a large pot, you will be put to the test.

The play isn't that much different at the higher levels, except for one thing. The "extras."

There was one hand where I had AA vs KK. That went exactly as you'd expect it to at any level, the flop was all unders and the KK guy went all in, losing to my AA. The "extra" was the guy with A8 who came along for the ride.

Another when I had AK vs AQ. Again, the AQ lost his entire stack to me when a K hit the board, but the A3 that came along for the ride was a wonderful "extra."

I forgot how any ace is GOLD at the $25 NL tables, and how all draws, including gutshots, are worth the gamboooool!

It was a fun diversion, and it reminded me why I still don't play at very high levels. The players are so bad down where I play, it's tough to leave. One of the most frustrating things about playing is when your big hands don't get paid off, because your opponents are good enough to lay down their hands to obvious strength. That simply doesn't happen at the low levels. You almost always get paid off, and that's fun.