Question for Poker Players around here

[Mass_Liberal]

I'm 14, so I can't gamble. But me and my friends play hold em' a lot. But it kinda sucks because without money involved, the whole idea of betting is screwed up.

Ok, so my question is:

Has it been worthwhile when you play poker with friends for money? Does it just get you pissed at eachother (when someone loses a lot of money)? Or is it crazy fun and people can handle it alright?

[Salviati]

1. You just have to play for appropriate stakes...

Don't play with more money than you're prepared to lose, and things should go alright...

[Intelsucks]

2. We used to keep the maximums at bay, so no one could lose too much

money. We're talking about 25 cent anty stuff here. The card game was more of an excuse to get together and drink beer than anything else.

[Maddy McCall]

5. Yup, same here.

[papau]

8. At 14 nickel, dime , quarter makes more sense - unless you get a nice

"allowance"

[mdmc]

3. When I was in 8th grade

our home room was known for its poker table. To play, you had to put in .25$. Five card draw - no future rounds of betting - best hand won.

There were only fights over who was in the game. Nothing serious.

[Maddy McCall]

4. Crazy fun.

No one gets pissed...sometimes we play with money from our spare change jars just for fun and just so we have some small stakes--and you can win thirty or forty bucks easily in a night playing with nickels, dimes, and quarters.

You can buy a box of chips and just divide them evenly and play that way. Then you get the feel of playing for money without actually doing so. It's fun!

[truthspeaker]

6. play for pennies

If you're like me you have a big jar of pennies that's hardly worth taking to the bank. Play for pennies and set a maximum total bet per hand.

[onebigbadwulf]

7. It's fun when you play with quarters.

When everyone brings 10 bux to the table and you play with quarters, the money goes a long way and there's usually no hard feelings.

[curlyred]

9. could you all play at the same yahoo table?

We've done that, too.

[ProfessorGAC]

10. Let Me Ask A Poker Question Too!

If you're not playing for serious money, (which i'd be too chicken to do), how can you bluff?

If the stakes are such that it doesn't matter if you lose or not, why would anyone ever fold on even the most marginal hand. If you take a bluff you lose, but if you stand and they're not bluffing, you lose. Either way you lose the hand.

So, how would one EVER be bluffed in low stakes poker?
The Professor

[Beetwasher]

13. You Can't Really

Bluffing is all about the other guy being actually afraid to lose. You can't bluff if the other guy really doesn't have anything to lose...

[waylon]

16. There is a difference...

I play on ultimatebet... Ive played the real money tables, and the play chips. Whole different ball game so to speak.

Serious players dont care about "what" they win, only that they beat the next guy. Its more about competition than tangible results. So several million playchips becomes a status symbol and yu dont want to lose that. I dont care what I am playing for, I dont want to lose anything. So playing too many marginal hands or over bluffing will eventually drain your account.

[HEyHEY]

11. I'd never play for money at your age

I wouldn't trust the othr players.

[Beetwasher]

12. Poker Night is a Night Me and My Friends Look Forward Too

It depends on the people you play with though. I play w/ guys who can lose a couple hundred and still walk away with a smile and come back the following game in good spirits. It's a fun night out w/ the guys...

[curse10]

14. We play nickel, dime and quarter poker

although we don't have a max bet limit, you could set one, that might help eliminate anyone feeling like they lost a lot of money.

[bookman]

15. I've played for 30+ Years

With mostly the same group of guys, monthly.

The secret is to set the limits so no one gets hurt badly.

We had limits, bet amounts, rounds of betting, and ending time.

We played dealers choice.

I still consider these men my good friends.

So it can be fun under the right set of circumstances. Poker was recreational, and a great stress reducer.