Opening Up Your Eyes and Your Game (very long)

[gergery]

I like what you wrote, but I'd be careful about causality --
the winningest players have a loose style because they are very good poker players and make good decisions. Their ability lets them play loose.

Your post seems to imply that playing loose is what you need to do to be a top player.

The reality is that most people play the style that their skills let them play and when they go further they get into trouble.

-g

[AJFenix]

Gergery,

[ QUOTE ]

Also, I wanted to comment that "opening up" doesn't mean you have to drastically increase your VPIP and try to play maniac/LAG. Players that have "opened up" are willing to reraise more preflop, spot and make use of a larger amount of profitable situations (which ties into preflop), are capable of taking unconventional lines with hands that other players wouldn't consider, remain deceptive and creative, and do a better job of factoring in all the details when it comes into their decisions, among other things. Players that are going to start reraising light without taking into consideration the important factors, and/or making mistakes in the situations they get themselves into are going to be costing themselves a lot of money.

[/ QUOTE ]

I imply that playing well is what you need to do to be a top player. That means many things, including being open to changing your game to maximize profitability, realizing + making use of more profitable situations, and doing a better job analyzing situations, interpreting all of the information present, and therefor reading hands better, etc. Yes, as it has been pointed out, many people play a static "style" that they are accustomed to and they aren't really willing to change certain things as this is what they are used to doing and what has been working for them. They get into trouble when they go further because they have no experience dealing with the situations "going further" brings, and this is obviously discouraging and part of the reason why they are "stuck".

People aren't willing to put themselves into uncomfortable situations by nature, and these situations are uncomfortable because they are new and the player doesn't have any experience in dealing with them.
In order to have experience with those situations, you have to be willing to put yourself into them, but I also don't mean jumping in blind as far as situations that you have no clue how to deal with and that will cost you money due to mistakes you will be setting yourself up for making. Prioritizing is key, and you have to know and understand how to deal with A and B before you can fully profit from C.

[soah]

[ QUOTE ]
...

I'm raising hands in early position I formerly limped with,I'm re-raising more out of the blinds and floating more..its quite difficult because all of a sudden I'm in unfamiliar territory often out-of position which I'm not used to one bit. Playing in unfamiliar territory over and over forces you to think about the game(at least if you want to survive)and thus becoming a better hand reader and that's what this is all about-better post-flop play.

...

This is where the really excellent hand-readers are separated from just the very good hand-readers...if you cant make this leap ie the peter principal you may not be able to play much higher.

I think many players who only make money off fish are only endowed with average or slightly above average hand-reading skills vis-a-vis their opponents and they will fail miserably at attempting to open up all at once...it most be a gradual process except for the natural allstars.

...

[/ QUOTE ]

I have to disagree a bit with what you are saying (it's not just you, but it's easiest just to focus on a single post). Loosening up will require better hand reading because you will flop more marginal hands, and you will end up in more spots where you can only win by bluffing. However, increasing your aggression level does not require better hand reading. In fact, it requires less. Successful passive play requires superior hand reading because you must interpret your opponents bets and then correctly compare your hand's strength to theirs. However, when playing aggressively, you don't have to worry too much about your opponent's hand -- you win if they fold.

If a TAG raises and you choose to call on the button, you are going to be on the defensive. You will frequently have one pair on the flop, which may or may not be the best hand. Now you need to have a good idea of your opponent's range, whether they will fold better hands to a raise, and what hands they will fire a second barrel with. On the other hand, if you reraise preflop and bet strong on the flop, the TAG is going to let you have the pot most of the time unless they have flopped better than one pair, or a very good draw. Since the hand that you will hold on the flop is usually much weaker than what you're representing (like, you have unimproved 77 while representing AA-QQ), you have a very easy decision if your opponent stays in the pot with you. The only hand reading that is required here is that you must know that your opponent is raising with a wide range preflop, most of which will not play a huge pot barring a great flop. When your opponent does choose to play a big pot, all you need to know is that your opponent has a very strong hand. This is sufficient for our purposes, but it is NOT hand reading.

[Rick305]

[ QUOTE ]
Awesome post. Thank you.

How successful do you think the 'open' game would be in the mid stakes Party games? Meaning, would it work as well versus more fishy players?

[/ QUOTE ]

Does anybody think this post would apply to a game like NL200 6max on party??

[CamelZoo]

it's strat posts like this by AJ that have helped me develop as a poker player, and he writes well on top of it. thanks, and well done man. i think the strategies outlined can be applied in pretty much any NL game, esp shorthanded. id say that most winning players employ a great deal of its aspects. vn post AJ, im glad you are a mod too.

and to mcshove, he was already man enough to apologize so no need to comment any more on him.

[mason55]

i think you hit a 2 outer

[Big_Jim]

tl;dr

[soah]

I think you need to work on your hand reading. =(