Live game question

[Cactus Jack]

In a loose game like this, the last thing you want to do is LAG it up. In loose games, tighten up. In tight games, loosen up.

Believe it or not, you can and must establish a tight image. It's possible. Not with all the players, but you can with half the table. The half that doesn't pay attention is the half that will pay off your good hands.

Here in Vegas, I sit down and don't play anything but AA or KK for at least two orbits. I want to see who's decent, who's weak, and who's my ATMs. I want to see who notices I'm not playing any hands. After getting a comment or two, I'll raise anything in the CO to gauge reaction. If all of the table folds, then I know my image is right where I want it. I can start playing my regular TAG game. If I get a couple of callers, then I know my image isn't what I want. I will look at the flop and go from there. A large turn bet usually will take the pot. Then I go back into my shell for another orbit or so and test it again. I want at least a few people to be scared to play a pot against me with their garbage hands. That way I can attack the calling stations, and the fish who have no clue.

Doing this allows me to control the pot size. I can play hands that I don't want to go broke on, but also allows me to limp a few hands for trapping purposes without losing the image I've established.

I'm mainly looking to trap. That's where the money is. I'm not looking to gamble it up with them. That gives up the decided edge I have over them. I play better hands, I can outplay them post-flop, I have better reading skills, and I don't need to put my stack at risk at any time. If I do, then I'm giving up my edge.

There is nothing in the world more satisfying than turning over the nuts on the river when your calling their all in. Bluffing might be exciting, but when you take all their money after setting them up, that's a turn on.

Do that a few times, build a huge stack of chips, and then run over the table. That's poker, my friends. They won't know what hit 'em.

:lol:

[KipBond]

[ QUOTE ]
In a loose game like this, the last thing you want to do is LAG it up. In loose games, tighten up. In tight games, loosen up.

[/ QUOTE ]

Thank GOD someone posted something I agree with. I don´t know if that means we´re both wrong, or what! [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]

Seriously, I want to play poker to win... I want to minimize the gambling/luck factor, and maximize any skill/edge I can. That means not pushing with marginal EV hands. It means folding them, and waiting for a better position. Right? I loved this post... I hope to read a lot more of yours in the future. Thanks!

[eof]

read no limit holdem theory and practice and pwn

[Albert Moulton]

[ QUOTE ]
... In loose games, tighten up. In tight games, loosen up... I'm mainly looking to trap. That's where the money is. I'm not looking to gamble it up with them. That gives up the decided edge I have over them. I play better hands, I can outplay them post-flop, I have better reading skills, and I don't need to put my stack at risk at any time. If I do, then I'm giving up my edge.


[/ QUOTE ]

I think this is excellent advice.

Actually, all of Cactus Jack's post is right for the kind of game described in the OP, but the notion of trying to play a trapping game is probably the most important part.

The corrollary to this advice is probably, "Avoid getting trapped with TPTK vs somebody with a random 2-pair or better."

In general, only raise preflop with premium hands. Get in cheap in LP with speculative hands, which means it's OK to limp more than you might usually. It's also ok to overlimp in CO/Button with stuff like 79o, for example, since you have a lot of implied odds if you hit an unlikely flop or turn card for a straight, trips, or full house. Avoid raised pots where the raise is too much of your stack, especially OOP. You can play in mulit-way raised pots where you have good position and small pairs that can stack a couple of people if you flop a set, but just don't pay too much for the chance to flop a set, especially heads up. 5/10 rule is still good as a gauge.

AK in EP is probably good for a limp in EP sometimes looking to play a small pot and trap guys who have TPWK. Just don't fall in love with your hand if the pot gets big.

Most continuation bets when you miss the flop and the action is mulit-way are spew.

[FattyMcGee]

I play in a similar type of game. 1-2 NL game with 4-5 seeing the flop on average and the standard preflop raise is 12-17. I agree with everything that's been said already. The only thing that I would add is that it may be beneficial to add very large preflop raises to your arsenal - especially where you limp and then re-raise to an amount that is larger than the pot. With A/K, QQ, KK, AA or even JJ I'll often do this. An early position limp with AK may lead to a raise and a few callers, leaving 60+ in the pot. At that point, it's often wise to make an enormous raise since the likely worst case scenario is a coinflip with a substantial amount of dead money in the pot. Raising to 20 with big pocket pairs hasn't been bad for me also since it often results in only one or two callers. Of course, you'll need to occasionally make large raises with other cards to keep the few good players at the table guessing - and on these occasional times, it may be advisable to show your hand. In theory, a very simple computer could crush these games by only playing super premium preflop hands and either raising hard or limp re-raising super hard. Balancing this strategy with playing small-medium pairs and other hands with potential when in position is the best bet.