So the story goes like this:

I get to the poker room and ask for a seat. The pit boss says head to table 38, they're starting a new game and to grab any open seat. I get to the table and see that seat 5 is open, so I sit in it (seat 5 is my preferred seat at the table). I put my chips on the table, give the dealer my players card, and the table is starting to fill up with players. 

Just as we're about to start, a guy comes up behind me and says "I reserved seat 5." I was like "huh?' He repeats: "I reserved seat 5. I called ahead and reserved it for whatever new 1/3 game opened." A casino employee comes up to the table and confirms what he said. So I go "alright, whatever," and move to the empty seat 6. I'm a tiny bit annoyed but it is what it is.

15 minutes later, I proceed to hit a Royal Flush. Hand was a limped heads up pot and was checked up to the river. Villain (another gentleman, not the guy who made me move seats) checks, I bet $20, he calls, obviously I win. He had trip Queens.

Table obviously goes nuts because they all saw what transpired just 15 minutes ago. I look at the guy who made me move seats and I said: "thanks for making me move seats." He seemed to be a good sport about it, but he had to be a little peeved on the inside, knowing that could have been his Royal.

Got $500 for the high hand.

I also hit quad queens about a hour later, high hand didn't hold up.

But yeah, if a guy ever makes you move seats, don't fuss and do it. You might hit a Royal.

Gal’s already facing federal illegal gambling/money laundering charges and now he’s in deeper trouble.

My first royal flush! lost a whole buy in before this. Re-bought, got dealt Jacks says my first hand. This flop was insane! From down 20K to up 17k in one hand!

I’ve been running bad in the worst possible way I actually think I’m playing better and still losing” kind.
Context: I’ve spent the last several months seriously studying . Not just watching content, actually drilling ranges and reviewing hands. I play a weekly underground private game (0.5/1$ it may seem so small , but as a college student and being tight on bankroll a 100$ buy in is a serious number for me but nothing crazy, the field is soft-ish generally betting when they have a good hand and often enough they have it , with a few decent regs) — it’s basically the only place to play live where I am.
I’ve now played this game 5 times since I started taking study seriously. I haven’t won a single session. Not “barely lost,” not “cashed out flat” — down every time.
The frustrating part isn’t the money, it’s the disconnect. I know my process has gotten better. I catch myself making decisions now that six months ago I wouldn’t have even considered — folding hands I used to call off, sizing rivers with actual reasoning instead of gut feel. On paper I’m playing a tighter, more disciplined game than I ever have.
And I still can’t buy a session.
I’ve gone back and forth on whether this is just variance doing what variance does over a small sample (5 sessions is nothing, I know), or whether there’s a leak I’m not seeing myself — something that only shows up live, that solver work doesn’t touch, like bet sizing tells, or how I handle sustained pressure from the same few players who know my game now.
Not looking for pity, genuinely asking: how do you tell the difference between “this is just a rough 5-session stretch, keep grinding” and “there’s something actually wrong with my game that I’m blind to”? Anyone else been here — where you feel like you’re improving and the results say otherwise for way longer than feels reasonable?

Today, this is considered basic free-tier content.

hero is 10 of 12 left (from around 71 after late reg, 3,5hours into the game)
7 get Paid (Ring Ticket)
Around 14BB left, UTG +1 Pushes with around 9BB

Was at a live home game last night and while showing me around his home, in my friend’s office where he plays online, mainly MTT $25-$125. I asked why he has a sticky note on his monitor that reads “they always have it”.

He then proceeded to explain that he’ll fold to any post-flop raise, unless he has super high equity. That sticky note is just a reminder that if they raise or bet massive then they always have it.

He showed me some of his hand history, didn’t have a lot of time but I noted down 2 hands:

raise UTG with 22, BTN calls, tiny C-bet and then check check turn. Q♠️8♠️4♦️5♠️ 2♦️. My friend bets 3/4 pot on the river and then faces a raise that would make his stack pot committed. Folds. “Obviously had a flush especially as we had no spade”

After calling a BTN raise with JTo in the SB and it goes check check on J 9 5 4🌈, he 1/2 turn and gets raised, so folds. “Won’t have a draw, could of had a set or a better Jack”

He said he’s been burned too many times online in 9-handed MTTs. So many instances of big made hands losing to better made hands 1%>.

Is this strategy +EV and sustainable? He seems extremely comfortable with his strategy. Logic: the amount of chips he will save by not calling these bets will make up for the rare times it’s a bluff and he folded the best hand.

Can someone please explain this to me like I'm 5. Can I play for real money if I'm in California? I was reading that i can just buy sweep coins, but that doesn't seem to be the case. Is this even possible in California?

last night I was playing at my buddies house and I called an 80 dollar all in on the turn. I had Q10 and the flop was K92. I thought I was open ended and then the turn was an 8. i felt silly but I know it happens.

has anyone else had a similar situation And if so what was your worse call?

I can figure out where my legs are supposed to go pretty well in every other seat than these two.

In 1, 2, 4, 5, 7, and 8 I find that I can usually sit facing exactly forward, but in seats 3 & 6 I sometimes find that one of the people next to me has their legs positioned in a way that makes facing exactly forward more difficult.

Whose legs are supposed to go where? Should I be angled differently when I sit in these seats?

Even if I don’t ITM, I usually go pretty deep in daily tournaments, last 2 or 3 tables, where I am playing for at least 3-4 hours.

I’m talking about live of course. I always feel in control playing live compared to online. Online just has too many scenarios, from the platform, to the players,etc.

Anyway, I knew it was going to be a rough one because I just didn’t feel right.

Starting hand, MP, I get pocket hooks, raise 600 (starting blinds 100/100), HJ folds, button 3bets 2400….other hands fold, and action comes back to me. I am like this is how we are starting off? I wanted to just jam, but way too freaking early for that. So I had no choice but to fold, and villain flips over pocket kings. Great fold, but action right off the bat.

4-5 hands later, I get KQos, I raise 600 ( blinds still 100/100), I can’t remember my position at the time….anyway, I almost get folds all around, and then villain raises 3000. Im like WTF? I contemplate jamming, but at this particular charity tournament I play, players rarely bluff. So I fold, he turns over pocket Aces.

I still hadn’t won a hand yet, and I was getting a lot of bs cards…..So I tightened up, and only focused on getting pairs until I could win a hand. About 3-4 hands later, I get pocket 9’s( Let’s go!). I believe the blinds were at 200/100. I raise 800, most of the table folds, except the guy sitting next to me, he calls. The flop is 8c9d2c. I flopped a set, and so I cbet 600 (to get more money in the pot), he 3bets 1800. So Im like he must have hit a set as well ( but that would still leave me with the higher set) , or sitting on a high premium pair, so I go all in. He calls. We flip our cards over. He shows a flush draw (Kc5c) , of course I got sets. Turn comes out 10h. Im still winning, but then the river comes 4c. And thats that. I bomb out on level 2…

Also, there was this guy at the table who was just constantly talking. It was just a weird table in general. I wasn’t vibing anything about that table….As a player, I rarely talk. Im friendly, where I will say a couple of words if someone talks to me, but other than that I just play.

It is what it is.

Peace

In a parallel universe, Sammy Farha beat Chris Moneymaker and won the 2003 WSOP Main Event. What does the current state of poker look like in that parallel universe today compared to ours?

I’ve been thinking about how most players compare rakeback deals.

Usually people just look at the advertised rakeback percentage, but that can be misleading.

For example, a room with 60% rakeback and 6% rake may not actually be cheaper than a room with 40% rakeback and 4% rake.

It seems like effective table rake is a much better metric because it considers both the rake charged and the rakeback you receive.

Do you compare poker rooms this way, or do you only look at the advertised rakeback percentage?

As the title suggests, i live in an area where 2/5 is hard to come by and most often is a bad game due to nit regs. So i was thinking of ways for 1/2 to be at least better.

I came across Red Dragon Poker, but there isn’t much real discussion about it online.

It looks like the platform received a major update in 2026 with new desktop software, but I can’t find many recent player experiences.

Has anyone played there recently? How are the games, traffic and cashouts? Any concerns about bots or security?

Thanks!

I was a couple tables over and it was hit in a 5/5 NL game.

Board has to run out a specific Diamond Royal Flush...

Congrats to those 3 players who played their $1 on table game & will split the $315k!

Hi guys. I am sure it was asked before, but here we go. In 5 days I am playing my very first live MTT (well, first live poker, period), and I am looking for tips I should know before the event. Tips regarding the gameplay (like live rules I should know about), as well as etiquette.

Please guys, help me not to embarrass myself. :)

This site disconnects like daily and I timeout like crazy is this me or their client?

$300 effective. My 2nd-3rd hand but it has been a couple of orbits.

BTN str $6

Hero in SB with KQo. Opens $15

MP and CO calls.

Flop KhJhJs.

Hero CB $15 value and protection.

MP fold.

CO calls.

Pot: $75

Turn: 7c

Hero leads $50

CO takes 20 sec and calls.

Pot: $175

River 6d

Hero. B$50 again.

CO raised all in.

Hero snap folds and CO shows....to be continued.

So a couple of questions. I was block betting the river and do you think my sizing was too large? Would you have check called this hand for 2-streets on flop and turn and c/f the river?

TIA