Poker Night
Every Thursday, 7 PM, private room. Free to sit, play-money chips, real bragging rights. The winner takes home a $10 growler fill and the right to pick the first guest tap of the month.
How the table runs
- Game: No-limit Texas Hold'em. Pot-limit Omaha when six or more ask for it.
- Format: Freeze-out tournament, 2,000 chips, 15-minute blinds. Usually wraps by 10:30.
- Seats: Up to 18 across two tables. First come, first served. Sign up at the bar from 6 PM.
- Age: 21+ (it's a bar). Beginners are welcome; one of the regulars will walk you through the first orbit.
- Food & beer: Order any panini and your first pint is $1 off at the table. Hoppy Hour snacks run until the first break.
After last call
The table rarely wants to stop at 10:30, and since we do, the conversation on the way out is always about where to keep playing. The regulars have strong opinions. The ones who play seriously want soft cash games and quick cash-outs; the ones who play for fun want freerolls and a tournament schedule that fits around a job. Over the last couple of years the table has settled on a short list of online poker sites that tick both boxes, and new players get pointed at them with the same advice every week: start at the lowest stakes, play one table until you stop making obvious mistakes, and never sit down with more than five percent of your poker money in front of you.
Hold'em is Hold'em whether the felt is real or on a phone, but the online game is faster and the players are tighter, so the lessons from our Thursday table carry over with one adjustment: patience. Online you will see three times as many hands an hour, which means three times as many chances to get bored and play a hand you should have folded. The regulars who do well at online Texas Hold'em are the same ones who fold the most on Thursdays. That is not a coincidence.
Starting-hand cheat sheet (taped to the back-room wall)
| Position | Raise with | Call a raise with | Fold |
|---|---|---|---|
| Early | AA–TT, AK, AQ | JJ–99, AJ suited | Everything else |
| Middle | AA–88, AK–AJ, KQ | 77–55, suited connectors 98+ | Weak aces, offsuit junk |
| Late / button | AA–66, any two Broadway | Any pair, suited connectors, suited aces | Offsuit 7-2 (yes, even here) |
| Blinds | Premiums only | Pairs and suited connectors if the price is right | Don't defend trash just because you're in |
Three rules from the table
- Position is everything. Acting last is worth more than a slightly better hand.
- Bankroll like a brewer. Online, never sit with more than 5% of your poker money at one cash table. A bad run is a bad batch, not a reason to re-buy everything.
- One beer per hour at the table. Loose play and loose pours go together. Our house limit, and a good one online too.