[cpk]

If you have made it so the people to your left are really loose, you can only really open-raise with legitimate hands and have to fold most of everything else, since they will be calling two cold and you can't take a shot at the blinds with weak hands anymore.

This is nonsense. I would much rather play legit hands against people who cold-call two bets against them than grind it out stealing the blinds with very marginal hands--occasionally being isolated by tight, aggressive players with me taking far the worst of it.

You can argue all you want about how that will rarely happen--but because you're stealing with hands that have very thin margins, it doesn't take much to really screw you over.

I think it's scary how firmly you state your case and provide some very dangerous advice for people who don't know better, because your case sounds okay on the surface.

That's funny, I was about to say the same thing about bisonbison.

Perhaps part of the other philosophical difference between bison and myself is that he 8-tables and I 2-table at best. The reason is merely practical--I have a laptop with a 14" screen, and I do not have the time needed to pay off a $1k+ investment in the extra hardware needed to play at 4 or more tables.

I make most of my LL money B&M, because there are games around here where you can find a table full of players who are 50+/<5 or 50+/20. I have played enough time in such an environment to know what works and what doesn't.

Whenever you do play, you will often be essentially in EP. The tighties fold to you, the loose players all limp in, and your absolute position will often be terrible those times you are in EP and MP.

First of all, if you are playing at a table with 7 other tighties and only 2 loose players, you've got more problems than relative position (except at about 15/30 and higher). And, besides, in such games I tend to want tight passives to my immediate left for the exact reason you suggest.

Otherwise, when you are in LP, you will act after most of the weak players to begin with (except perhaps the 2 blinds). Therefore, you will be in great position in the situations where you should be playing most of your hands.

I'm going to repeat this one more time, because everyone seems to forget this: Marginal hands cannot stand preflop raises. If you have aggressives to your left, marginal hands cannot be profitable. Period.

Think. Why were you told, as a newbie, to muck 22 in EP but play it in a largish pot for one bet on the button? With the aggressives to your left, how can you ever play 22 in EP? If you have the passive players to your left, you can limp in with small pairs and suited aces in EP with relative impunity.