Octopus Overlords

Years ago we ran a few "tables" of poker for fun here. I was thinking it would be fun to do that again. If I get enough interest I will run a table of 9 for Hold'em. Will work out the details (chips, blinds, levels, etc) after folks chime in wanting to play.

1. LordMortis - in
2. bb2112 - in
3. pr0ner
4. Jayman - in
5. The Meal - in

I haven't touched a poker table since the last time I touched one with you. So count on me sucking but I'll play.

You might be able to look for volunteers here

http://octopusoverlords.com/forum/viewt ... 16&t=52228

(plus bb2112)

LordMortis wrote: ↑Tue Jun 09, 2020 9:57 am I haven't touched a poker table since the last time I touched one with you. So count on me sucking but I'll play.

You might be able to look for volunteers here

http://octopusoverlords.com/forum/viewt ... 16&t=52228

(plus bb2112)

I'm doing end of year stuff this week so won't be doing too much extra (yes, sending PMs counts as too much ) but you're welcome to do so.

I would be down. My SIL plays with some friends online (I think at Pokerstars?). You can't play for real money on the site, but they all use Venmo to settle up at the end. I don't think they play for much, maybe $10 buy-in? Anyways, not saying if we play we need to do it for money, but it does always make it more interesting.

I would be down.

I would be interested

Deal me in, coach.

I'm all in.

For fun or money?

Sure, I'm in.

Also, we've got a group of for-free games going during the week on Poker Stars coordinated on a discord channel. I think I posted details in the Poker Results thread in Gaming in General. We've had a few OOers show up (but mostly it's folks I know in person).

stimpy wrote: ↑Fri Jun 12, 2020 1:02 pm For fun or money?

Fun from my end but if the players wish to set up a money angle I will leave that to them. I'll put you on the list but wait confirmation.

I could be convinced to buy in with a $10 Amazon gift card for the sake of fun. Anything that requires more effort, coordination, or cost than that and I'm out.

LordMortis wrote: ↑Mon Jun 15, 2020 6:05 pm I could be convinced to buy in with a $10 Amazon gift card for the sake of fun. Anything that requires more effort, coordination, or cost than that and I'm out.

Whatever you guys want to do. I think having a little money makes people actually try vs. just playing like they don't care, but honestly, I am just happy playing any game with people I know right now. Been stuck in the UK since Christmas and I'm looking forward to coming home at the end of July.

bb2112 wrote: ↑Tue Jun 16, 2020 11:05 am Whatever you guys want to do. I think having a little money makes people actually try vs. just playing like they don't care, but honestly, I am just happy playing any game with people I know right now. Been stuck in the UK since Christmas and I'm looking forward to coming home at the end of July.

Then you can be stuck in your house in Michigan. I've been very tempted to give redrun a call and ask if he wants to do face to face gaming. But the fact that I am now in the office several days a week means I'm actually a lot more exposed then when I was on again off again furlough, and leaving the house exactly 5 times in three months.

Also your rationale is why I'd to the Amazon card thing. It's token. It's easy but it gives people who want a sense of reality, *something*.

I could do a $5 or $10 Amazon GC as well. Whatever is easiest for most people. I agree with bb2112 that the main reason for wanting to add an incentive is that I find people play more seriously if there's something on the line. Back when I played online poker, the difference in play between games for fake money and games with just 1 and 2 cent antes was massive.

Here, I won't commit anyone else, but I will donate a $10 Amazon email "gift card" to the winner.

Now you have something to play for. And it's more than $5 from a free play against 1000 other people you don't know.

I'd be in for a $10 Amazon gift card also.

stimpy wrote: ↑Tue Jun 16, 2020 6:14 pm I'd be in for a $10 Amazon gift card also.

Same

LordMortis wrote: ↑Tue Jun 16, 2020 11:14 am

bb2112 wrote: ↑Tue Jun 16, 2020 11:05 am Whatever you guys want to do. I think having a little money makes people actually try vs. just playing like they don't care, but honestly, I am just happy playing any game with people I know right now. Been stuck in the UK since Christmas and I'm looking forward to coming home at the end of July.

Then you can be stuck in your house in Michigan. I've been very tempted to give redrun a call and ask if he wants to do face to face gaming. But the fact that I am now in the office several days a week means I'm actually a lot more exposed then when I was on again off again furlough, and leaving the house exactly 5 times in three months.

Also your rationale is why I'd to the Amazon card thing. It's token. It's easy but it gives people who want a sense of reality, *something*.

You should reach out to him. He retired in May and is already doing face to face gaming with RW. After I come back (and after self quarantine if self quarantine rules are still in effect at that time) I plan on reaching out for some face to face gaming, as well.

bb2112 wrote: ↑Wed Jun 17, 2020 6:54 am You should reach out to him. He retired in May and is already doing face to face gaming with RW. After I come back (and after self quarantine if self quarantine rules are still in effect at that time) I plan on reaching out for some face to face gaming, as well.

I don't want to expose him to my workplace. And if I consider that he doesn't mind the risk then I also have to consider that I am exposed to the other things he doesn't mind the risk for. If we sat and wore masks I'd be more comfortable at our opposite ends of the table but I need glasses for most gaming and my ability to mitigate steaming glasses hasn't been great.

I don't think I'll wait until the final phase to get oot and aboot again in a sort of limited control but I will wait for a bit more of sustained drop in cases/infection ratio or for hospitals to start working on normalcy before I make that leap.

https://www.bridgemi.com/michigan-coron ... s-and-maps

Thing are looking better here (considering your community was where it all set fire from in March)

Is there a plan for coming back yet?

What sort of set up were you thinking, Remus? If we're all doing GCs, maybe something like a tournament works best? But I'm down for whatever.

We have 8 people so far so I don't know how I'd run a tournament for that few players unless we did multiple tables at the same time (as in multiple 8 player tables you are all sitting on). Maybe 5 tables with points given for each finish. 8 for first, 7 for second and so on. Player with the most points when the fifth table finishes wins. I'll let you all decide the structure of pay outs but if you like the idea of the multiple tables let me know.

I don't see any reason to make it complicated. We play at a table by whatever rules you impose. People put up what they put up, or don't. Winner is happy. I get their email address and send them ten Amazon dollars. (Winner won't be me and I'm OK with that just like bb2112 will be OK with sitting to my right and watching me make stupid plays the entire game)

Yeah, I don't know that it needs to be complicated, but I haven't tried to organize a tournament on one of these sites (maybe The Meal can give us the 411). But, in general, it's easy enough to have a tournament with any number of players. Just means that we start with a set amount of chips and the blinds increase every X hands or X minutes. The last person with chips wins. If we have 8 people, we are all at the same table the entire time.

I'm up for whatever (including sending a $10 Amazon card to whomever).

I agree with LM and R-W that it's less complicated to just run a one-table tournament compared to doing a multi-table tournament. Running additional tables is geometrically more complicated for the person running things.

Assuming a tournament (which I think would be best), then things to be decided would be the structure and prize pool. The structure would be the starting stack size, the increases to the blinds, and the frequency the blinds go up (which could be a number of hands or a number of calendar days). With regards to a prize distribution, I'd toss out what we use for our live games and online games (same prize pool at both links).

The final considerations would be 100% on the organizer, such as how information will be shared with participants, how participants interact with the game (and each other), etc. I've done a similar thing here in the forum, so there's probably a good framework there from which Remus could personalize for his own style and desires.

The current group I play with online does 1 payout per every 5 players.
So 1 payout for 5 players.
2 payouts for 10 players.
3 for 15, etc.

So, we will go with a single table tournament style.

Game Play

1. My judgment supercedes any and all rules.
2. All actions take place in this thread (unless OO croaks, in which place we move to email).
3. All discussion of the tournament takes place in this thread (not on the phone, via PMs, emails, face-to-face, etc.)
4. Betting actions should be stated unambiguously: Call, Raise to/by <amount>, Check, Fold, Bet <amount>.
5. Raise <amount> will be treated exactly the same as Raise by <amount>, just like in a brick-and-mortar casino.
6. All actions take place in turn. Out-of-turn actions are not necessarily binding (especially if cards have not yet been shown), depending on my ruling.
7. Contact the next player (or me) via Private Message (PM) after you've taken action. This helps the game flow at its maximum pace. Don't count on receiving PMs to know you're on the clock, keep checking the thread.
8. Take action within 24 hours of the previous action or you may be skipped over (checked/folded as appropriate).
9. Feel free to contact (PM) me to schedule out-of-turn actions, including stepping away from the table. Announce your triumphant return to the table directly.
10. Timing out twice consecutively will result in being set as away from the table.
11. Displaying graphics for cards ( ) is considered to be showing your cards. One cannot "show" an incorrect card, and if caught I will correct what was shown. Words typed (Ace of Spades) is considered table conversation and will not be corrected if deceitful.
12. All hands participating in a showdown will be shown.
13. Blind levels will go up every 31 "clicks." Each hand increments the click counter by the number of players in the tournament at the time the hand is dealt.
14. Everyone begins with 200 chips.
15. The structure is as follows:
    1. Blind Level. SB/BB (no antes)
    2. 1/2
    3. 2/4
    4. 3/6
    5. 5/10
    6. 7/14
    7. 10/20
    8. 15/30
    9. 20/40
    10. 25/50
    11. 35/70
    12. 50/100
    13. 75/150
        any additional: +25/+50
16. A bet may be of any size between the big blind and your entire stack. There is no requirement for a bet to be a multiple of the big blind.
17. (Non all-in) raises must be of a size between that of the action taken ahead of you to the size of the second-largest stack among active players. There are three types of actions taken ahead of you:
    1. there is a bet (note, the big blind is considered a bet) with or without calls following,
    2. there has been a bet and a raise (again, with or without intervening calls between you and the raiser), and
    3. there has been a bet, a raise, and any number of raises to follow (possibly followed by callers).
    The minimum amount you can raise BY is, in the case of a., the size of the bet; in the case of b. the amount of the raise BY, and in the case of c. the amount of the most recent raise BY. Note that raises TO must include the total number of chips involved in calling all raises.
18. Attempts to put chips in the pot (via a declared "bet" after a bet has been established, or by declaring a raise) at half or more of a legal raise will result in a minimum raise. Attempts to put fewer than half of a legal raise into the pot will result in a call.
19. A player may raise for less than the minimum in the case of an all-in raise. All-in raises of an amount less than the minimum raise in the previous rule do not reopen the betting for further raises by remaining active players.

Game play rules and outline shamelessly stolen from a thread by The Meal. I'm not sure which one as I found and copied this from a previous table I ran here.

Seat order will be done by dealing a card to each player. Players will be arranged in order of the cards high to low with high card being the first dealer. Card order is A-2 high to low with suit order Spades, Hearts, Diamonds, Clubs high to low. Thus, Ace of Spades is the highest card and the 2 of Clubs the lowest.

Payout if you choose to do that will be as in Meal's link. So with 8 players 50/20/10 for 1st, 2nd, and 3rd respectively.

I'd like to start by Friday so please check in and let me know your standings/feelings.

How does the deal and game play work?

Jaymann wrote: ↑Thu Jun 18, 2020 2:31 am How does the deal and game play work?

I'll PM hole cards to each player and maintain a list of stack sizes and pot for each current hand.
I will post whose action it is to open (each player should post the next to act after them).
When appropriate I will post the flop, turn, and river then announce winner of hand and reveal if it goes to a showdown.

Player list with stack sizes will show button and blinds.

Old game thread you could look through to get an idea of how this works. Same rules we would follow here.

https://octopusoverlords.com/forum/view ... 16&t=83683

Ack - sorry; I thought we would be playing online using one of the free to play poker sites at some appointed day/time. I’m not sure I can commit to the time it’ll take to play a tournament through the forum. I think I have to bow out. Sorry everyone.

I'm good with the rules. I am a little concerned with point Q and the raises, but I am sure after I screw it up 3 or 4 times I will get it.

Ralph-Wiggum wrote: ↑Thu Jun 18, 2020 5:43 am Ack - sorry; I thought we would be playing online using one of the free to play poker sites at some appointed day/time. I’m not sure I can commit to the time it’ll take to play a tournament through the forum. I think I have to bow out. Sorry everyone.

Do you think you would have trouble checking in once a day?

Not criticizing, just trying to understand.

Still in

bb2112 wrote: ↑Thu Jun 18, 2020 6:11 am

Ralph-Wiggum wrote: ↑Thu Jun 18, 2020 5:43 am Ack - sorry; I thought we would be playing online using one of the free to play poker sites at some appointed day/time. I’m not sure I can commit to the time it’ll take to play a tournament through the forum. I think I have to bow out. Sorry everyone.

Do you think you would have trouble checking in once a day?

Not criticizing, just trying to understand.

Probably not, although I am starting to get out in the field now for my job, which will make it hard to log on some days. I'm just not sure that the overall length of a poker tournament through the forum is something I can commit to right now; it's the same reason I stopped playing the forum Werewolf games awhile back.

I'm also not sure how well poker will translate in the play-by-forum medium; part of what I like about poker is that people have to evaluate the board and make decisions relatively quickly. Playing a turn or even a hand per day seems like it would make the game more statistical and less instinctual, if that makes any sense.

Ralph-Wiggum wrote: ↑Thu Jun 18, 2020 8:46 am

bb2112 wrote: ↑Thu Jun 18, 2020 6:11 am

Ralph-Wiggum wrote: ↑Thu Jun 18, 2020 5:43 am Ack - sorry; I thought we would be playing online using one of the free to play poker sites at some appointed day/time. I’m not sure I can commit to the time it’ll take to play a tournament through the forum. I think I have to bow out. Sorry everyone.

Do you think you would have trouble checking in once a day?

Not criticizing, just trying to understand.

Probably not, although I am starting to get out in the field now for my job, which will make it hard to log on some days. I'm just not sure that the overall length of a poker tournament through the forum is something I can commit to right now; it's the same reason I stopped playing the forum Werewolf games awhile back.

I'm also not sure how well poker will translate in the play-by-forum medium; part of what I like about poker is that people have to evaluate the board and make decisions relatively quickly. Playing a turn or even a hand per day seems like it would make the game more statistical and less instinctual, if that makes any sense.

It makes sense. You do what you enjoy. It's weird to me that you missed the context implied when TheMeal ran these over a pretty long period... over ten years ago... crazy...

Sounds good to me (despite the shitty, incomplete list of Game Play elements).

I can see if MHS would want to join as well.

(Forewarning, summer trip at the beginning of July may see me stepping out for a hand or two early on.)

I can certainly check in once a day. That's a slow roll!

The Meal wrote: ↑Thu Jun 18, 2020 9:44 am Sounds good to me (despite the shitty, incomplete list of Game Play elements).

I can see if MHS would want to join as well.

(Forewarning, summer trip at the beginning of July may see me stepping out for a hand or two early on.)

If you want a better list go back and edit your old threads for me to copy from.

Ralph-Wiggum wrote: ↑Thu Jun 18, 2020 8:46 am

I'm also not sure how well poker will translate in the play-by-forum medium; part of what I like about poker is that people have to evaluate the board and make decisions relatively quickly. Playing a turn or even a hand per day seems like it would make the game more statistical and less instinctual, if that makes any sense.

That I totally understand. I like it better in a face-to-face format as well, but I really want to give this a try to see how it works. I'm curious, plus, I am a little starved for gaming. I figure worst case scenario I'm out $10 and I can have some fun in the process. Seems like a good trade off for me anyway. But as LM said, to each their own.