loosening up.
 

I usually play 8-16 but once in a while play a little 15-30 or 20-40 and have aspirations of playing higher soon. In my usuall game there is no reason to play deceptively preflop since these people pay me off even when I haven't played a hand in two days.

I am just curious how you TAGs change things up at the higher levels. Do you intentionally change gears? Do you ever open limp lightly from ep as well as open raise lightly. How often do you change things up and in what situations? Would you ever cold call a raise with a hand you would normally muck?

Can you give me examples?

I play pretty straightforwardly now since I don't think preflop deception is needed in my games to take down the money.

Re: loosening up.
 

I wouldn't overthink it. The players at 15/30 and 20/40 will still be terrible. Everyone gets nervous when moving up then realizes that its basically the same game. If you do fine playing 2/4 maybe even 1/2 online youll be fine playing these stakes live imo.

Re: loosening up.
 

I haven't played over 9/18 yet but about one of the things that I have watched a bit and heard is that there won't be much blind chopping like in a low limit live game. If it gets folded PF to the CO or Button there is good chance it will be popped if your in one of the blinds.

Re: loosening up.
 

Making -ev plays for the sake of image is usually stupid. If you have a tight image, use it to your advantage. If you are going to loosen up, Iso raise lighter, steal lighter, and 3 bet steal raises lighter. Dont open your range too much in early pos or start cold calling with hands that dont warrent it.

Re: loosening up.
 

[ QUOTE ]
I am just curious how you TAGs change things up at the higher levels. Do you intentionally change gears?

[/ QUOTE ]

Sometimes you don't change at all.

Really depends on the game.

Once you get a line on the game texture, and your relative position on certain players, then adjust.

b

Re: loosening up.
 

You can pretty much accomplish all necessary image manipulation by raising very aggressively in late position.

Good players will not really change their image of you much.

Bad players will peg you as a maniac for opening K4s in the cutoff. I promise you after showing down some nit will offer, 'He raises K4 offsuit, what an idiot, if you keep playing like that you're going to lose all your money, blah blah blah blah etc.' And that's not a typo, I can't tell you how often my hand becomes offsuited after the loser in the pot has told all his neighbors about it four times.

I sometimes also raise low suited connectors up front in a tight game, which even the good players will lift an eyebrow at. You have to play very carefully postflop to judge when you can push those hands through, however.

I limp loosely after terrible players with hands like QTo or J8s, if you end up showing down with one of those again you'll be marked, since no one remembers what the situation was preflop.

In other words, playing loose _and_ aggressive IN SOME UNUSUAL SITUATIONS will be more than enough to convince unsophisticated players that you are very bad at poker and will allow them to justify coldcalling with KTs on the button. Horray.

Re: loosening up.
 

Yeah you don't have to really change it up much at those levels (nor even at the 40/80 at Commerce).

I have inferred that by saying deceptively PF you mean underplaying your hand. If so, you are giving up lots of value. In many games, if I haven't played a hand in 2 hours than raise UTG, I'll still get a bunch of callers with their JTo and worse. The rest is up to the table conditions. If the game is playing loose and passive, I'll open limp with some good implied odds hands, which I might otherwise fold or raise in a tighter game.

Re: loosening up.
 

[ QUOTE ]

I limp loosely after terrible players with hands like QTo or J8s, if you end up showing down with one of those again you'll be marked


[/ QUOTE ]

I don't know about that. QTo and J8s are monsters for one bet to many of these fish. In fact, if you muck KJo UTG (correctly, I might add) and it accidentally gets exposed on its way to the muck, expect the table to stare at you like you're an alien -- fold AJo to a raise and watch them faint.

So for one bet, people don't blink an eye when hands like 87o, K6s, and A4o are shown down from players in middle position. Play tighter than this, and you'll show a profit.

Re: loosening up.
 

[ QUOTE ]
In fact, if you muck KJo UTG (correctly, I might add) and it accidentally gets exposed on its way to the muck, expect the table to stare at you like you're an alien -- fold AJo to a raise and watch them faint.


[/ QUOTE ]

The 2 best gasps that I ever got from these types are when my cards flipped up on their way to the muck when I folded ATo UTG and then AKo after I opened and it was 3-bet, 4-bet (cap) then cold called in two places.

Then again the other day at Commerce, I saw a rock accidently expose the AJo that he folded UTG then AKo after an MP raiser and one cold caller.

Re: loosening up.
 

Learn how to steal effectively. If you can get your ATSB up to 35-40% you will have enough deception in your game to keep most people off balance.