CP: Adjustments for 8/16 (from 6/12)

[danspartan]

Been doing well at 6/12 all year at Canterbury. Sometimes the tables have been.... dry. Next door is big pot 8/16 game.

What adjustments need to be made to go from a loose-passive 6/12 (1-2 3 bets per hour) to a LAG 8/16 (1-2 3 bets per hand). CPers' know how different the two games play. ABC works very well at 6/12.

So whats a TAG to do if the 6/12 game sucks and there are a bunch of idiots playing bingo at 8/16? I think the TAG should generally work, but the variance/swing has to be huge.

danspartan

[Holm Fries]

I switched to the 8/16 earlier this year after playing the 6/12 for a couple of years. I think that the difference between the two games is overblown. Certainly, it is more aggressive so you are going to have to be comfortable with some swings. +- 2 racks in that game is pretty standard, even over short periods of time.

I wouldn’t look to make a lot of adjustments, assuming that you play well already. Eventually, I think that you can loosen up more than in the typical 6/12 (although obviously not as loose as the other players). You may want to semi-bluff less and bluff almost never, because virtually no one in that game lays down hands. Find the LAG players, see if you can get on their left and 3 bet often to try to isolate. This doesn’t always work, since a 3 bet isn’t as scary to the 8/16 players, but do it with solid hands and it shouldn’t matter. Value bet the hell out of made hands and pump strong draws where you have equity (ex. NFD with 3+ opponents).

Most of these things you should be doing anyway, so like I said I don’t know that the 8/16 is all that different. You may choose to play slightly tighter than optimal initially, to reduce variance. But eventually, the style that won $ at 6/12 will win the $ at 8/16.

Good luck,

HF

[ACG2x]

Being from Minnesota, I know what you're talking about. The 8/16 and 6/12 are pretty different games in terms of playing style.

Basically almost all of what HF said. Don't bluff since it won't work, rarely semi-bluff and push the hell out of your good hands.

I'd add wait until you have a big hand to play a big pot. It sounds elementary but people forget to do it. Since lots of the 8/16 crowd is gamboooooool'ing, make them pay for it.

There isn't any real need to change you you've been playing, especially if it's what you are comfortable with and it's the style that suits you. Trying to play an uber LAG style against a LAGtard when you're not comfortable with it is a surefire way to hit your BR.

I haven't played out at CB in a while though (been playing at TI and Turtle Lake), are the 8/16 tables on the weekends still 90% Asians who are gamble gamble? It sure sounds like it reading the OP.

[PorkchopDJG]

At Canterbury Park in MN we have two games that fit the following descriptions almost perfectly, Loose/Passive is 6/12 and Loose/Aggressive is 8/16.

In Loose/Passive games you have many people calling to see the flop and it is rarely raised before the flop. If it is raised it's usually only 2 bets and very seldom 3 bets or capped. Each hand is played multiway so you can play lots of speculative hands like A3s, 33, 89s if someone has already limped because if you hit you can win big pots. Several people usually call down and you may have 3 or 4 at showdown so you pretty much have to have the best hand. I find this type of game the most profitable because you get to see a lot of flops for cheap and when you hit you will get paid off all the way to the river.

In Loose/Aggressive games you have to tighten up from early position because there is always the chance of it getting 3 bet and capped behind you. From early position you should stick to big pairs, big suited cards and AK/AQ unsuited but from late position you can open up more and play some speculative hands because the pots are sure to be big. In the 3 bet and capped flops you often have odds to draw to things postflop that you would normally fold in a more passive game with smaller pots. These games are also good because you win massive pots and if you get on a roll the racks can add up quickly but there is also a lot of variance.

[Bob T.]

It's still just poker. A little more aggressive high variance poker, but poker nonetheless.

I would say the main thing to remeber, is when pots gets played 5 ways for three bets, is that it doesn't take many pots to accumulate, a lot of chips. You see it all the time from the loose guys, they are almost all in, and then the have a halfdozen racks in front of them. If you are behind, just keep plugging away, and if you win some hands, you will be healthy suddenly. Just buckle the seatbelt, and hold on.