Playing with somebody who is drunk?

szabooom

szabooom

Enthusiast
Silver Level
Joined
Nov 25, 2023
Total posts
57
ZA
Chips
182
I was heads up a game where the blinds made my stack effectively 6bb against my opponents 9bb. we folded around 6 hands to each other and this guy just kept going all I, I let it slide for 2 hands and tried to fight back with an ace and the lucky dweep woke up with pocket 5s, and took the prize and my soul,

do you guys have any advice to how to play in this situation as I had a similar experience with the same opponent two months ago?
 
dreamer13

dreamer13

Legend
Platinum Level
Joined
Mar 18, 2022
Total posts
4,064
Awards
2
LV
Chips
919
Why did you assume that he was drunk? Maybe it was just a fish.Drink, drink and drink again, and then sit down at my table, you are welcome, but damn, there is one problem: I don’t play cash.
But seriously, the more you drink, the more action you want. There are few things in life that are more frustrating than the smirk of an opponent who saved money.
 
hardongear

hardongear

Visionary
Silver Level
Joined
Nov 20, 2022
Total posts
758
CA
Chips
483
I see no proof he was drunk.

With only 6bb vs 9bb it's a game of all-in. No reason to reinvent the wheel here. Any Ax, any pair and any 2 face cards is all-in. So you played the in question just fine and got unlucky that time.

Cheers!!!
 
Last edited:
Poker Orifice

Poker Orifice

And Still...
Platinum Level
Joined
Jan 19, 2008
Total posts
27,129
Awards
6
CA
Chips
404
I was heads up a game where the blinds made my stack effectively 6bb against my opponents 9bb. we folded around 6 hands to each other and this guy just kept going all I, I let it slide for 2 hands and tried to fight back with an ace and the lucky dweep woke up with pocket 5s, and took the prize and my soul,

do you guys have any advice to how to play in this situation as I had a similar experience with the same opponent two months ago?
what hands are you open-folding off a 6bb stack?
 
Pokerpoet2

Pokerpoet2

Legend
Bronze Level
Joined
May 7, 2020
Total posts
2,730
Awards
2
GB
Chips
744
Basically if you are at 6 BBs it would be all-in on every hand anyway, Playing against any player drunk or not. They can be annoying to play against I will admit, seeing a drunk at a Poker Table is not a nice situation, but from my experience they are pretty easy to beat, and I love taking a Drunk Sucker to the cleaners.
We had one that wanted to join our cash game at a Local Pub I regularly played at, he asked how much it cost to play? and we told him We like to keep it a Friendly game so we usually bought in for £10 each but it was a cash game so you could play whatever you wanted, He immediately sat down and bought into the game for £50, thinking he could bully the table, Which is what he tried to do.
My Friend and I took the £50 off him in less than 30 minutes. Playing Drunk is a Suckers Game!
 
Mauricio Perrotta

Mauricio Perrotta

Legend
Loyaler
Joined
May 18, 2015
Total posts
2,998
Awards
2
AR
Chips
532
There's nothing you can do against players who behave like this, whether or not they're drunk or in some other situation, you just have to focus on your game
 
M

mclay

Visionary
Platinum Level
Joined
Jan 11, 2018
Total posts
870
Awards
3
KZ
Chips
412
I was heads up a game where the blinds made my stack effectively 6bb against my opponents 9bb. we folded around 6 hands to each other and this guy just kept going all I, I let it slide for 2 hands and tried to fight back with an ace and the lucky dweep woke up with pocket 5s, and took the prize and my soul,

do you guys have any advice to how to play in this situation as I had a similar experience with the same opponent two months ago?
What's the situation? I see only a meaningless set of words.
 
steve01991

steve01991

Legend
Loyaler
Joined
Jan 17, 2015
Total posts
1,743
Awards
5
Chips
164
you played it correct, all in with little BB's, Don't think he was drunk though, he lasted this long.
 
szabooom

szabooom

Enthusiast
Silver Level
Joined
Nov 25, 2023
Total posts
57
ZA
Chips
182
Yeah I get there is no perfect way to play and that variance is a cruel and loving mistress I just found him multiple times saying he is going in without looking and just got the feeling like he was angle shooting
 
E

EarnDAStack

Visionary
Platinum Level
Joined
Jan 13, 2019
Total posts
696
Awards
2
Chips
154
Both your calling a shove and shoving ranges should have much more than just Ax in it or you'll get ran over.

Assuming this is a tournament situation because the pot already includes the Blinds and the players Antes when we're in the small blind we should be looking to jam a very large portion of the time.

If you're familiar with GTO Wizard their ranges suggest open shoving off 8bb nearly 50% of the time and then following SB's Shove BB should also be looking to call about 50% of their hands. As stacks continue to get shorter we will be forced to both shove and call wider as the money already in the pot becomes an increasingly higher percentage of our remaining stack.

I would point out that your opponent's state of inebriation at a poker table isn't really that relevant.

A better question to ask would be something like:

What would I be looking to call in this situation in general and then what tendencies does villain have that might cause me to alter my strategy from the baseline I would implement.

For example you're implying that him being intoxicated is making him more aggressive.

You would have to know what the baseline optimal strategy to determine of opponent is playing more aggressively than he's supposed to.

One drunk player could build a completely different all in range from the next, the burden falls on you how to know how to defend against it properly.


All Pocket pairs, All Ax suited and unsuited, Kx suited and unsuited and all Qx suited are a good place to start but you should have a look on the internet for some MTT ranges.


GL



EDS
 
pentazepam

pentazepam

Legend
Loyaler
Joined
Oct 31, 2008
Total posts
2,812
Awards
4
SE
Chips
970
With 6 BB you have to move all-in with a LOT of hands if you are HU and first to act (SB).

2

Blue is all-in and yellow just calls to slow-play/trap with some big hands. But you can make it simple and go all-in with all blue hands and the best half of the yellows and fold the rest.
 
kishamania

kishamania

Rock Star
Platinum Level
Joined
Jan 16, 2020
Total posts
136
Awards
2
BY
Chips
283
the main thing is not that you are playing with a drunk, but that you are sober, otherwise your bankroll will be gone in a couple of minutes
 
M

martDdart

Visionary
Platinum Level
Joined
Aug 20, 2023
Total posts
502
Awards
1
NO
Chips
625
I played live poker with friends and a drunk friend called an allin without knowing what cards he had from another room and won. If he would not have been drunk he most likely would not have called that allin preflop and won that hand.
 
Ruslan L

Ruslan L

Visionary
Platinum Level
Joined
Aug 30, 2022
Total posts
991
Awards
1
UA
Chips
302
I was heads up a game where the blinds made my stack effectively 6bb against my opponents 9bb. we folded around 6 hands to each other and this guy just kept going all I, I let it slide for 2 hands and tried to fight back with an ace and the lucky dweep woke up with pocket 5s, and took the prize and my soul,

do you guys have any advice to how to play in this situation as I had a similar experience with the same opponent two months ago?
Luck does not depend on the type of drink, and even more so on the amount of alcohol consumed. Luck is either with you or your opponent. How to play in such a situation? ..... Play as you always play, play correctly, disciplined and patient, and then in the long run you will have better results than your drunken opponents :)
 
userX

userX

Visionary
Platinum Level
Joined
Aug 2, 2023
Total posts
695
Awards
1
UA
Chips
295
If your opponent is drunk, then there is a good option. Drink it yourself :)
.... but I must say that this is not a guarantee that you will be lucky.
 
eberetta1

eberetta1

Legend
Loyaler
Joined
Aug 11, 2007
Total posts
2,386
Awards
7
US
Chips
437
I have several friends that playing penny nickel dime means nothing and they want action. So they max raise every hand with any 2 cards. So I have to decide do I want to play some poker tonite or go watch a movie on TV. I so seldom get to play poker with some friends that I will sit and play poker and hopefully someone busts this person out else I am not going to have a prosperous night.
 
szabooom

szabooom

Enthusiast
Silver Level
Joined
Nov 25, 2023
Total posts
57
ZA
Chips
182
I see no proof he was drunk.

With only 6bb vs 9bb it's a game of all-in. No reason to reinvent the wheel here. Any Ax, any pair and any 2 face cards is all-in. So you played the in question just fine and got unlucky that time.

Cheers!!!
So here is the meat and potatoes of what I can remember, I had 10 7 not suited, diamonds 5 8, I had K J and the flop came ace high so I folded, the I got like a 8x , my last hand as I said was A 2, I normally wouldn’t call and I don’t think in future I will with such a shit kicked, because the flop was 8 ,Q, K J and I was begging the gods for a 10 but it didn’t come, I buddy of mine says I was also on the flush draw which hurts as well with so many outs
 
szabooom

szabooom

Enthusiast
Silver Level
Joined
Nov 25, 2023
Total posts
57
ZA
Chips
182
With 6 BB you have to move all-in with a LOT of hands if you are HU and first to act (SB).

View attachment 372184

Blue is all-in and yellow just calls to slow-play/trap with some big hands. But you can make it simple and go all-in with all blue hands and the best half of the yellows and fold the rest.
Seeing the solver makes me feel a little better about my choice but not a whole lot, the buy in was effectively 20 dollar, i Was in for 1 buy in and was chip leading the whole night, the pot came to just over 300 dollar and I think I maybe wanted it to much, I dunno, also the rail was drinking and supporting the drunk so I did feel a little like the odds where stacked against me,
 
pentazepam

pentazepam

Legend
Loyaler
Joined
Oct 31, 2008
Total posts
2,812
Awards
4
SE
Chips
970
Seeing the solver makes me feel a little better about my choice but not a whole lot, the buy in was effectively 20 dollar, i Was in for 1 buy in and was chip leading the whole night, the pot came to just over 300 dollar and I think I maybe wanted it to much, I dunno, also the rail was drinking and supporting the drunk so I did feel a little like the odds where stacked against me,
Don't be too hard on yourself over one game.

You have to get lucky with short stacks since the decision is almost always to fold or go or all-in.

So long as you don't play over your bankroll, it will often even out in the long run. But the run can be very long sometimes if you're unlucky.
 
hardongear

hardongear

Visionary
Silver Level
Joined
Nov 20, 2022
Total posts
758
CA
Chips
483
So here is the meat and potatoes of what I can remember, I had 10 7 not suited, diamonds 5 8, I had K J and the flop came ace high so I folded, the I got like a 8x , my last hand as I said was A 2, I normally wouldn’t call and I don’t think in future I will with such a shit kicked, because the flop was 8 ,Q, K J and I was begging the gods for a 10 but it didn’t come, I buddy of mine says I was also on the flush draw which hurts as well with so many outs

Such is poker. Having so many outs and not hitting any of them always sucks. That doesn't mean you should change anything about the way you played it. According to GTO you should have been way more aggressive. I personally don't prescribe to or study GTO.

Getting it in with any Ax in this spot is a solid play. You're the favorite. Sadly the math didn't math in this case. It happens. To win and do well in any MTT one has to win the hands like this when he's a slight favorite to coin flipping. If you don't take these small edges/flips(when short stacked) you'll just get run over and end up being forced to get it in with way worse then Ax.

As Pentazepam says above don't beat yourself up over this one result you played it good. Play within your bankroll you'll be fine. Forget it and move on too the next one.

Cheers!!!
 
Last edited:
emsea9o5

emsea9o5

Rock Star
Silver Level
Joined
May 12, 2024
Total posts
128
Awards
1
CA
Chips
140
I was heads up a game where the blinds made my stack effectively 6bb against my opponents 9bb. we folded around 6 hands to each other and this guy just kept going all I, I let it slide for 2 hands and tried to fight back with an ace and the lucky dweep woke up with pocket 5s, and took the prize and my soul,

do you guys have any advice to how to play in this situation as I had a similar experience with the same opponent two months ago?
Just be patient and wait for the nuts. I understand that if you’re getting blinded out then you need to make a move.
 
Poker Orifice

Poker Orifice

And Still...
Platinum Level
Joined
Jan 19, 2008
Total posts
27,129
Awards
6
CA
Chips
404
So here is the meat and potatoes of what I can remember, I had 10 7 not suited, diamonds 5 8, I had K J and the flop came ace high so I folded, the I got like a 8x , my last hand as I said was A 2, I normally wouldn’t call and I don’t think in future I will with such a shit kicked, because the flop was 8 ,Q, K J and I was begging the gods for a 10 but it didn’t come, I buddy of mine says I was also on the flush draw which hurts as well with so many outs
Why didn't you just shove with the KJ? (I'm not sure why you'd be 'seeing a flop' & folding, vs. just getting it in pre on such short stacks?)
 
dori111

dori111

Rock Star
Bronze Level
Joined
Oct 23, 2024
Total posts
147
UA
Chips
71
it is better not to play drunk at all, it will not lead to anything good, and you can still lose a good amount of money
 
Top