[ajmargarine]

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To what extent do you think that your advice applies to NL100?

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I'm not really sure how to answer that, but I will tell you this: by stripping down my game to play pure ABC/TAG poker it has helped me at NL100. Early on in this experience, when I maybe had 6 $20 buy-ins for NL25, I flat-out couldn't afford to limp in with marginal hands like J9s and A8o. I just focused on good starting hands, no bluffing, and getting better value from my made hands.

I notice now at NL100 I am making some solid river value bets, when before I may have played it safe and just checked behind. And this really helps the profits. I'm also throwing hands preflop that I would have limped in with previously. And if I am playing something more marginal preflop, I am doing it LAG style, with a PFR instead of limping and hoping.

I honestly think if people are struggling to make a consistent profit at whatever level they are playing at, if they strip down there game to the basics they will be much better off. Focusing on starting hands, value betting and hand reading while playing strict ABC/TAG style will make a player profitable and he should gain confidence. And once you get that style down, you can always add the LAGgy elements and other mix-it-ups, because you have that firm foundation to fall back on if things get a little haywire.

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What kind of adjustments did you have to make to start playing the shorthanded tables?

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You loosen up preflop obviously. Ace high is a good hand. Position is king. And you have to use sort of a controlled aggression. You want to be aggressive, but not too overboard. There's alot of tricking and trapping going on SH, so you're always aware of that. If you can trick and trap well 4-handed, you can clean up. There's alot of straightforward play, but the big pots can be won by trying to convince your opponent that you have one hand, when you indeed have another, larger monster hand.

Blind play is crucial. You can't just fold your blind to aggression. And I was surprised how many blind battle hands ended up building medium or large pots. Because you end up playing such screwy starting hands, premium hands can make you a bundle when you get them, because villians think you are holding the equivalent of J5s just like they are every hand.

You get to read your opponents alot more so there are alot of metagame instances that happen within the session that you don't really have to worry about at full table. It's just a whole different ballgame. Preflop is meh. Postflop is king. I am used to preflop being the king, so that's a big adjustment.

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Why didn't you ever move up?

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I've played pretty much exclusively at one site since I started. A small site where probably none of you has ever played at. I like it there. I like the fish ratio. The NL100 game is juicy. The trouble is that the next game up the ladder is pretty much a NL500 game. They have NL200 and NL400, but they aren't regularily running and are hit and miss, whereas the NL100 is always going. And I don't have the roll (or game) to play NL500.

I am finally expanding my horizons though within the next week. Moving to Party and Absolute, so we will see how that goes.