Sunniva123@aol.com

I have had quite a bit of experience at Rama and I would LOVE to share my experiences. My boyfriend and I started playing about 2 years ago at home games. We played all no-limit hold’em , Omaha high, and seven card. We started going to Rama at the beginning of the summer. We went about 15 times averaging 10 hours a session on Friday nights when it was busy (always playing 2-5 by the way). We got to be familiar with the pit bosses dealers etc. so we felt very comfortable and all. I won most of the time and he lost most of the time. He couldn’t figure out WHY. He would get so frustrated because basically he is a better player than I.

Eventually, I lost big. So I started to analyze the situation as most females do. I realized that if you are playing a game against 8 people who stick till the River with hands such as King-2 off suit then you are dead!! Everyone is playing everything so you better have a HUGE stack a lot of LUCK, and forget how to play the game of poker!!!!

There is no ryme or reason to the 2-5 tables at Rama and I heard the same for 5-10.
Also, a little problem with the Dinner button. Button is an hour. I was down BIG. So I wanted a good dinner. My boyfriend and I went to the Steakhouse and spent 150$ on dinner. Not to mention we had been there many many times before. We go back to the table 4 MINUTES late and my chips are off the table and someone is in my seat. Now I would understand this if I had seen strict rules there before. But in my time there I had seen open seats for 30 minutes with a 2 hour waiting list before. I have also seen people showing each other cards, telling cards, and speaking other languages.

Needless to say I am not going back to the 2-5 tables at Rama. I want to find a game in Toronto (where I live) with people who I can learn from and have a good time.

Hork42

There are ways to beat this game... But it does take time and patience.

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BigChrisEl

My wife and I were at Rama (at the 2-5) on Monday, we only played for about 3 hours. I left up $70, my wife left up $110.

We got seated pretty right away, because soon as we put our name on the list for a table, a table opened right away and we were the last two on it.


One thing to remember about Rama is that people will chase straights, flushes, and high cards all the way to the river, also people will stay until the turn with basically any two cards.

When I sat down at the table (which was the first hand for the table) I was the BB, my first 2 cards were crap and folded as soon as I could, it was the same for the SB.

Third hand, I was the button. I look down and have pocket Queens. Everyone at the table ahead of me except for one calls. I raise to 4. The Big and Small fold and I get 7 callers.

The flop comes and it is garbage (3-6-9), and rainbow. Everyone checks around to me and then of course I bet. ½ the table calls.

On the turn was a queen, again the table checks around to me and then I bet, I get two other callers.

River is a King no flushes or straights can be made with the table, again checked to me and then I bet and get the same two callers me again.

First caller had K-2, second K-7.

I take down a monster and that pretty much made my day on the third hand.

At the table I would have said there was 3 that knew how to play (myself, my wife and a bus driver who was there with a casino tour) about 4 people that thought they knew how to play and the rest that had no idea on how to play.

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Tilter

I found that when I beat the game, I had to play suited connectors in any position as there was so much value as its usually a loose passive game. Also, I once played with a guy who raised UTG blind so I always called with any two out of the BB, and he would exchange a lot of money to me. Any SB is callable in this game as well as long as it SOOTED

Zithal

Best advice I read on hand selection for these games... (I think it's from Slansky)

When the table is loose, loosen up on your drawing hands and tighten up your quality hands.

When the table is tight, loosen up on your quality hands and tighten up on your drawing hands.

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Sunniva123@aol.com

I see people beat it. However, I have decided I don't want to spend my time learning to beat those players. I don't want to learn that way you know ?!?!?! I want to get better so I can play in higher stakes games. agree

Hork42

Well, yes and no. All I'm going to say here is don't fall into the common trap in thinking that loose low-limit games are unbeatable so I'm going to play a higher limit where the players are more predictable. I'll guarantee you that in the long run, your hourly win rate will be much higher in a game such as Rama's 2/5 game than a "higher stakes game".

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Dead Money

I used to say I need to play at higher limits so that the players will not play crap. Oh how wrong I was. Some of the higher limit games are almost as loose as the 2/5.

My honest suggestion is to be a wining player at one limit and then move on. 10/20 players will push you just like 2/5 ones, but they are just a little more crafty.

Rob

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Need somthing better to say!

Johnath

I'm surprised to hear so many people saying that basically, they don't want to play with bad players because they'll play anything. I have to throw my voice in with Hork42 here, maybe even more strongly than he put it:

If you can't beat bad players, you can't beat anyone.

Nevermind the fact that this is basically Sklansky's fundamental theorem of poker, it's also common sense: poker is about profiting off other people's mistakes and lack of information by being good enough to not make the same mistakes, and to make better use of the information you have. To say you won't play against the people making the most mistakes and using the least information is, well... backwards to say the least. I see this attitude a lot and I have never agreed with it - it's fun to play against smart players, I sit in a home game from time to time with a five dollar buy-in because there are several good players there, we're friends, and it's entertaining -- but it's not nearly as profitable as playing against bad players.

I think a lot of people come off of reading writers like Lee Jones with the attitude that they are better than the masses at LL poker now -- and then they hit a modern low limit game and fold all their draws and second-pairs to a single bet on the turn (or river!) when a scare card comes up, even when the pots are huge. They even congratulate themselves for making the hard laydown. I've seen that attitude lots of times, I even remember thinking some of those things in a former life (some. Even in my Lee Jones days, I never agreed that bad players were to be avoided.) Those players tend to hate the Rama 2/5 because with 7 players calling down to the river, they're ALWAYS making those laydowns, someone ALWAYS has them beat. I think the problem is with their game, not with Rama -- Rama 2/5 is a goldmine, and from what I hear, 5/10 is more of the same. Back up, read Miller/Sklansky/Malmuth SSHE, and rethink how you approach low limit, would be my advice.

OR: follow your urge, don't play rama's 2/5 & 5/10, you were taking up a fishy's seat anyhow.

ScoobyD

This may be a bad anecdote, but I think you have to learn to crawl before you learn to walk. If you can't beat a game full of loose passive players, how will you expect to beat a game with better players? These games are, in fact, beatable (and highly profitable). The variance is high, however. If you play a long enough session with a sufficient buyin, you should do OK. That's not to say that you won't have down sessions, you will. Rather than blaming your fortunes on the poor play of others, I think it's more constructive if you work on your own game. Are you playing too many speculative hands in bad position? Are you defending your blinds too much/not enough? Are you making "heroic folds" when the pot is giving you massive odds to call? Just a few of the questions you may need to think about...

Tilter

The game is very beatable in fact and there is not much tricky players in the 2/5. If they face a reraise. drop that top pair top kicker as it won't tkae you anywhere. 4 card straight on the board, don't call to see if he made it I've seen 4 card straights and me and another both have it and cap it with a middle man with two pair calling us down, don't you just love that.