[wackjob]

If you are the FTP player I think you are that I talked to the other night while playing you HU, here is what I think...

I think you often raise way too much garbage, especially at a table full of LAGS(40/20 to 55/30) types. You don't beat a LAG by outLAGing them.

I think you steal the blinds too much, with too much garbage. This is part of the raising too much garbage above too.

I think you showdown too light, and I have specific notes on you saying that you chase poor 1 way hands on numerous occassions. Just because you are HU, doesn't mean you should show down every 2pair garbage 1 way hand.

I think you bluff and semi-bluff too much in a game where it just doesn't work. I prefer semi-bluffing to pure bluffing. In fact, I've almost but given up on pure-bluffing in the regular 6-max games except against a rare few.

To beat the mid-high stakes 6-max games you need good hand reading skills, you need good value betting skills(which requires good hand reading) and you need to consider position to be nearly as important as your cards.

These games are full of two types of players, for the most part: the LAG's who are in that 40/18 to 55/30 range, the passive fish, in the 35/75 0/10 range, with the occasional spattering of maniacs and solid players(I'd like to think of myself as solid most of the time).

I've crusehd the mid-stakes games for quite a while now, and my stats run in the 22-35 VP$P and 16-25 PFR range, depending on opponents and number of players at the table.

One other thing to always keep in mind at these short handed, LAGfest tables is this: Know your opponents well, because some are LO monkeys and some are HI monkeys. Knowing how to exploit this information is really important. Some guys never 3-bet a hand like AKQJ dbl suited, and some never 3-bet a hand like A235 dbl suited. I find a lot of my wins are made with 2nd best hands both ways, of which one will get me 1/2, and often enough it will earn me the scoop. I don't mind calling down a weak 2 pair hand with a 2nd or 3rd nut lo in the short handed games, something I'd just above never do in a full 9 or 10 hand game.

Lastly, I wonder how many hands you have on players like "Santanico" & "Feldar" These guys play extremely LAG and over 1000's of hands I show them as solid winners in the 1 to 1.5BB/100 range. They don't so well against me, but they obviously clean up against the fish.

/rambling off