help a feller to loosen up.

[snake_oiler]

first off, i'm not too experienced so maybe this is a dumb question...i'll thank you in advance for not alerting me to that fact [img]/images/graemlins/grin.gif[/img]

i've played about 5000 hands online...i see the flop about 17% of the time, (around 10% when excluding the blinds) so i guess i'm rather tight...i think i have a decent handle on strategy - i'm only losing a little bit of money and 90% of that is due to dumb mistakes - "heat of the moment" stuff...i know where my leaks are - i just need more practice to plug them...(either that or online poker is rigged. [img]/images/graemlins/grin.gif[/img] [img]/images/graemlins/grin.gif[/img] [img]/images/graemlins/grin.gif[/img] )

of course, it doesn't take folks long to figure out that i'm tight so my raises don't get much action after i've been at a table for 30 or 40 hands...so i want to loosen up.

how do you play more loose? what i mean is, say (just for example) i'm a guy who only plays the top 5% "best" hands...if i want to play more loose, should i go down the list a bit and play, say, the top 7% best hands? (again, i'm just using those percentage numbers as an example. they don't mean anything.)

or do you looser players do so by mixing things up a bit and playing weaker hands for whatever reason - maybe you're not really systematic about it...maybe you play the best hands and then throw in a few wacky hands, to avoid being labelled "tight"?

so what's a good way for a tight feller to loosen up a bit?

(i realize that how tight/loose to play can be very situational - i'm just looking for general guidelines.)

thanks...

[joda mas]

Start by adding more hands in position.

[tom10167]

17 vpip isn't that bad for FR. open raise a ton more in MP2 on with XYs

[NSchandler]

If you're playing too tight, it's almost surely because you're not paying enough attention to position. It's hard to give specific advice without knowing whether you play limit or nl, full ring or 6-max.

Also, "percentage seen flop" isn't as useful as VPIP, or at least not as widely used here. Unless you are in games that are pretty aggressive preflop, I'd imagine your VPIP is somewhat lower than 17%. You definitely have room to loosen up.

If people aren't respecting your raises, take advantage of it by stealing blinds liberally. You can steal with all sorts of trash and get away with it. Just loosen up on the button and (to a lesser extent) in the cutoff, and you'll probably see better results.

[TheJS87]

the answer is 6max [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]

[Mike]

When the button passes you play the very next hand - if you can for no raise. When the button passes you a second time play wait one round and play that hand - if you can for no raise. These are the best positions in the round, don't be afraid you will lose your limp, just pay attention to what happens to your game.

If you get hit hard by the flop you are off to the races, if the flop misses your junk hands, fold.

Repeat this sequence every four rounds for say five total sequences (or more if you can afford it). This isn't a money making play at your skill level, but if you pay close attention you will notice some things while playing junk from these positions you have never seen before and it will help your game loosen up.

Now if the $$ is too important, there isn't much that will help. In poker you have to pay your dues, we all do or did.

[bernie]

[ QUOTE ]
i see the flop about 17% of the time, (around 10% when excluding the blinds) so i guess i'm rather tight...i think i have a decent handle on strategy - i'm only losing a little bit of money and 90% of that is due to dumb mistakes - "heat of the moment" stuff...i know where my leaks are - i just need more practice to plug them...(

[/ QUOTE ]

Why not wait 'til you plug those leaks and actually win before you start opening up your game?

[ QUOTE ]
it doesn't take folks long to figure out that i'm tight so my raises don't get much action after i've been at a table for 30 or 40 hands...so i want to loosen up.


[/ QUOTE ]

Your problem is likely that you don't raise enough hands in certain spots so you're predictable. Not that you're not actually 'playing' enough hands.

I'm only about 18.5% and get plenty of action.

b

[PhatPots]

have a shot of scotch before you sit down and play. That will make you loose as a goose

[Geoff Lightning]

Add more drawing hands in position. Button: if there are big pot odds for you entering, try any two cards that aren't face card-low card (ex. J2). Play suited connectors and suited one gappers most positions, and suited 2 gappers and unsuited connectors button or cutoff.

[SharpObject]

One word... ISOLATION