how do you play against idiots who don't play w/ blinds??

ok, I have a few friends who refuse to play w/ blinds--Yes, ive tried to tell them that it's not real poker thousands of times--they don't listen-----Anyway here is my dillema:its like 50 cent antes(im poor) w/o blinds..and no matter what type of hand my opponents have they call the ante( I'm talking about even w/ 2 7o)..I have a tough time winning against these guys for some reason, and I consider myself a pretty good player...any suggestions on how to beat them?? I've thought about bluffing a lot, but it never seems to work...should I be patient and wait for the monster hands? Thanks for your help

i have a very similair situation when i play with some friends of mine that dont play a lot of poker...see they play with blind starting at .50cents but they dont raise it until the final two players are heads up and they only raise it a dollar which is pointless considering they each probablly have over $25-$30 in chips....but when i play i always raise before the flop if i have a decent hand even sometimes when i dont. but if your friends ante in or something like that perhaps you want to raise in the dark after the flop. i struggled at first playing against people who dont use/ordont raise blinds but once you figure out their betting patterns you should have no problem reading them....anyways hope i helped

The number of hands you play depends on how expensive it is to sit in the game. if it costs nothing, no blind no ante, you camp for monsters. the bigger the cost, the more hands you're forced to play.

I always thought that everybody had to pay the ante to be dealt cards... generaly that adds up fast, so you have to play lots of hands. What you're describing sounds more like a single player posts a blind. if everybody calls all the time, you're better off camping for a monster, since it dosn't cost much per hand to see cards.

sorry for the confusion,,,everyone is dealt cards,, then they get the option of either calling or folding...(so you could sit for 3 hours for FREE) BUT, almost everybody calls regardless of their hand,,,,hope that clears things up

Ha! What a great format.

Camp for great hands and over bet the shit out of them.

Find the point at which people stop calling and scale the bet down just smidge.

Limp with any hands that can make a nut hand. Suited connectors, pocket pairs and high suited cards. Overbet when you make two pair or better (be careful with two pair).

Just wait for better hands and bet as much as can be called by 1 or 2 other people.

Then just swim in your money.

-'rilla

Thanks rilla, I like the strategy you came up with,, now its time to put it to the test on friay.....

Yea, I had the same problem with the normal people that I play with. They would like to play with no blinds and no antes so I just waited for huge hands and bet out. This game, that we played almost everyday, brought in about 10+ people that barely know how to play. Everyday I brought in a few bucks, but it was pretty boring with no structure to the game.
I eventually got bored of that game and brough all the serious players to another place to play with antes/blinds. This game was a lot better and more aggresive obviously, so I was taking about the same amount from this game as the old game at first, but now as I play with the same consistant 5-10 people. I know a bit more about how they play and constantly take home about 10 bucks a day.. and that buys me into my other weekly game.
So in my experience, in free games wait for the cards obviously, and in the regular games, play more aggresive and make sure you have enough money!

The game I played in yesterday was the opposite. Everyone puts in an ante and there are no blinds. It wasn't my game, so I just quietly went along. But why do people do this? I suppose it is to promote bigger pots. You have to play more hands or the blinds eat you up. They had another rule that disallows side-pots...once anyone is all in, you flip em. This really sucks for getting the big stack to fold his straight draw.

On a good note, one guy was getting so incredibly lucky on the river, and when he won a pot he would buy everone's ante. Twice his win was such a bad beat that he bought everyone's ante for the next three hands!

Wow, so basically there is no penalty for not playing a hand? Sounds sweet.

To win at this game, just sit around waiting for premium hands, and when you get one, bet it. You are practically guaranteed to make money on 100% of the hands you play and lose zero money on 100% of the hands you don't play. Doesn't even sound like poker to me...

The reason for blinds and antes is to get action going, to put an initial prize out there for whoever is willing to try to win it. If there's nothing out there it makes the game very different. If there's nothing to win, who will be the first one to risk their money by putting in a bet?

Unfortunately it doesn't make very exciting poker to fold practically every hand. I'm not sure what to tell you on that.

No blinds?!? Can I play?

Oh man...tell them to set up an online game like this. Count me in.