[Trouthunter]

I use the first several hands to feel out my opponent and see how he reacts to various moves on my part. In football, a coach will often script the first several plays of the game. I'm not that bad, but after the first ten hands, I will have limped, check called OOP, raised pf, reraised and check raised, etc... That is, of course, dependent on the hands to some extent, but what I really want to do is test my opponent's aggressiveness, see how he deals with a check raise or two, get a feel for his range.

Then, I try to adjust my play to give me an edge over his play. It's not a matter of playing tight or loose for me - it's more a matter of what style of play is going to work best against my opponent. The only changes I make as the levels get higher are changes based on how I perceive my opponent is adjusting his game to deal with me, or how he is adjusting according to relative chip stack sizes, tilt, etc...

I play pretty low levels, though, and most people there are incapable of adjusting their play. Once you have them pegged, it's just a matter of taking them out.

Well, at least in theory that's what I do. In practice, it doesn't always go according to plan. If I had to choose one of the above, I would probably choose the fourth.