**Official** Ask Isura anything about SSNL thread

[Isura]

Metagame is not that important at nl25-50 imo. It starts to matter a bit more at nl100, because the players seem to care about the money a bit more, and most are atleast trying to play well. Even so, it is usually incorrect to make a -ev play (unless the EV is very close to 0) for the hope of future +EV spots. The player pools in these games (on Party) is so huge, that this is not necessary.

[Isura]

AceofSpades,

This is a tough question. A general "rule" to think about these situations is the 'one stab' rule. Sometimes the clear play is check/fold. Other times it is worth it to take one stab at the pot, either with a flop bet or raise. Other times I'll check/call the flop and lead a safe turn (I still consider this one stab at the pot). The key is not to play a huge till the river with these types of hands against the preflop aggressor.

[Isura]

swa,

Fold preflop! There are two lines here imp: bet/3bet or check/raise huge. The bet/3bet line looks a lot like a draw, so it can get people to call off with overpairs and even stuff like A9 sometimes. But a check/raise can be more effective against a passive opponent, since they are unlikely to raise you, and they might not believe you "have the flush" in this spot. The general consensus around here is to lead these types of flops, but my image allows me to check/raise a lot more.

[Isura]

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Thank you for this thread.

How do you handle this. Deep stacks, I'm TAG opponent is anywhere from TAG to SLprflp and okay post flop. I'm EP QQ, I raise 3.5bb get rr about the same by LP. The flop rags uncordinated T high, I bet 3/4 pot get called, turn rag, bet 3/4 pot, call. river J, what do you do? My mind always screams set or bigger pair. If I check I am usually resigning to a fold if he bets.

Same but coordinated board that doesn't come together.

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Block the river. very read dependent.

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Sometimes it's okay to check the turn too.

[Isura]

MJL,

A blocking bet is a smallish bet on the river that is meant to get hero to a cheap showdown and avoid a very tough decision. The assumptions are that villain will not raise this bet with a worst hand (so we can safely fold), and we get paid off by some inferior hands. Also, if the board was draw heavy, but you are unsure if you feel comfortable calling a huge river bet, it might be safer to make a blocking bet, even though many worst hands won't call.

[MJL]

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MJL,

A blocking bet is a smallish bet on the river that is meant to get hero to a cheap showdown and avoid a very tough decision. The assumptions are that villain will not raise this bet with a worst hand (so we can safely fold), and we get paid off by some inferior hands. Also, if the board was draw heavy, but you are unsure if you feel comfortable calling a huge river bet, it might be safer to make a blocking bet, even though many worst hands won't call.

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Thats what I thought. I frequently take these pots away when I see a block bet. How effective is it with decent players and what is an optimal size?

[Isura]

MJL,

I take away pots too when I see this type of bet. You just have to be careful who you are against, since many players will make a blocking bet and still call a raise. [img]/images/graemlins/crazy.gif[/img]

[AceofSpades]

Isura,

If you had $150 dollars and wanted to rebuild a bankroll and move up quickly. What level would you start at, and how many buyin's would you have at each level before you move up? Assuming that you are not really terribly concerned with ROR untill you have a few grand.

[epdaws]

Isura,

My biggest weakness at SSNL 6-max is my confidence that I can throttle my foes postflop; it leads to a lot more limping than it should. I try not to alter my game too much, but at a table that is passive preflop, I tend to limp more often in position to use implied odds. However, I tend to play more full ring than 6-max. What are your thoughts on increased limping against LAPs? Some might prefer to try to steamroll the table preflop, which is a different tack.

[Isura]

Ace,

$150 is not enough to play NL25. Go play some $11 SNGs on party poker. Build your roll upto $250 and then play some NL25. Move up to nl50 when you have 500, and repeat.