ABC poker

[StayHungry]

first off, I started thinking about this earlier after i was watching a poker vid of some euro dude who knows his shiit. it was a 25nl vid of him 4 tabling, and he started talking about abc poker and the dicipline it takes to play tight and play "abc". so what im asking is, what is you 50-200nl dudes thoughts on "abc" poker and its meaning related to micro stakes. eg. calling a 3 bet on the button with A7 suited, is not an abc style etc. maybe some examples to explain your input. and quickly, i guess this post is a result of the way i look at image and when i make what might be called spewey moves, im left thinking if i didn't (or did hit), was that worth it, and does this effect image.

[youngKR]

I'm not sure exactly what you're asking. Are you asking what is ABC poker? Calling a 3bet with A7 is a def. spew. Those types of moves won't be profitable at any level.

As far as micro stakes go, ABC poker will be the most profitable style. There will be way too many LAGs who will call your 3bets if you are trying to 3bet light etc. Thus, ABC is the generally accepted way to play. Use position, pot odds, control the betting each street.

As far as "spewey moves" go. The farthest I go to loosen up my image (I play NL 25 and 50 mostly), would be to 3bet light AGAINST THE RIGHT OPPONENTS AND AT THE RIGHT TABLES. If you are at a table that doesn't require you to 3bet then just dont. 3betting light will allow you to take down most pots PF against NITs and if you CB that should take it down as well. If you don't hit and Villain plays back you can get away from the hand. 3betting light allows you to open up your 3bet range to other opponents the way they see you. Thus, next time you 3bet with AA or KK they'll have to give you credit for a wider 3bet range.

Hope this helps in some way shape or form.

[StayHungry]

yes it did thanks. i guess the impression i get of ABC poker, is making good lay downs with string holdings. spots like, pocket kings and the turn makes a flush or straight and the person gets strong, im left thinking is this steal, and should i just lay down and wait for better spots. but these types of hands leave me a bit frustrated as to whether or not the opponent may have been bluffing or have a slightly worse hand than me. so i guess im asking now, is ABC poker making tough lay downs?

[StayHungry]

just droppin back to say, im playin ONE (!!!) table atm, and believe myself to be playing ABC and more.. im stealing with junk, talkin smack to people, using third level thinking. so.. i dunno, lifes strange.

[pzhon]

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i guess im asking now, is ABC poker making tough lay downs?

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No. ABC poker means playing in a relatively straightforward fashion: Bet with good hands. Call with mediocre hands. Fold weak hands. Don't bluff or slow-play. This is enough to beat low stakes games.

[StayHungry]

now that i think about it, ABC doesnt exist. i guess people who use software and multitable are the closest thing to ABC, because theyre not dynamic.

[Albert Moulton]

[ QUOTE ]
now that i think about it, ABC doesnt exist. i guess people who use software and multitable are the closest thing to ABC, because theyre not dynamic.

[/ QUOTE ]

If you are playing relatively poor players at FR NL with very low stakes, then bluffing, calling down light, battling LP raisers for your blinds, and doing anything at all for "meta game" reasons are all symptoms of FPS (fancy play syndrome) that will result in spew at worst, and break even at best.

As Doyle Brunson said in SSI, "You can't put a bad player on a hand."

So, ABC style would be to play good cards in good position for good pot odds (when there aren't many implied odds), and good implied odds (when they're available). So, if you have an OESD when you have 3:1 pot odds vs a player you suspect has a good hand (i.e. top pair or an overpair) and he's all in on the turn, then you fold because you don't have good pot odds. But if you both have fairly deep stacks still, then you call (hoping to stack him if you hit) because you have excellent implied odds AND you have position (which you have because you're super tight and wouldn't play a drawing hand OOP). What you don't do is bluff because he's not worried about your hand - he just knows that he has ACES and that's the nuts, man!

The best way to define ABC poker would be to get any basic NL books that include conservative starting hand charts and play accordingly. I.E. Fold KQo in EP. Fold 78s UTG. Don't reraise preflop without QQ-AA (even AK isn't a great preflop reraising hand if villain will get all in on low flops with TT-QQ, you'll be OOP, and you have little fold equity either preflop or with a cb post flop). Don't 2-barrel bluff OOP when your continuation bet gets called and you have an underpair or worse on the the flop. Etc.

I would gues that if you run about 10% V$PIP with a 7% PFR and 2.0 or higher aggression factor that you will make decent money multi-tabling at micro limits vs the guys playing 30% or higher V$PIPs who aren't watching position and can't lay down TP for their stack. Most flops would be fit or fold, and value bet, value bet, value bet when you hit.