too much information!

[porkchopexpress]

I have been playing poker for 20+ hours a week online for over 2 years, at one point I was a winning $2/4 6max NL hold'em player but then I started heavily reading poker books and reading forums to try to plug any holes in my game and move up to $3/6NL. I read a couple dozen books and kept hearing about how AT-AQ, and KT-KQ is crap, and how tight-aggressive poker is winning poker, and and how all these games are full of loose players and how bluffing weak players is the dumbest thing you can do. Previous to reading all this I used to fire three bullets with overcards, I would call raises with AJo out of position, basically I would play cards I shouldn't have been playing according to the books, and I would bluff "too much," BUT I WON TONS! I would usually win about 2 buy-ins a day and was considered one of the most aggressive and best short handed players on my site. However after I did all that reading and self-evaluation I started a losing streak that has been going on for about a year. Now I'm struggling to win at $.10/.20 full ring games! I was wondering if anyone could tell me how to beat these microlimit NL games by adhering to these supposed "golden rules" without getting blinded away due to the tight restrictions of most of the literature:

1. Don't play loose, tight poker is winning poker
2. Don't bluff weak players, they simply won't fold
3. Don't be weak/tight, be aggressive!
4. Don't call raises OOP with weak hands

When I used to play super-aggressive (back when supersystem was the only thing I ever read) I would raise preflop with ATo, I'd get called by the big blind, the flop would come 9c7h2c, BB checks, I bet the pot, BB calls. Turn is 4s. BB checks. At this point I put the BB on a flush draw so I bet the pot again. BB calls. River is Jh. BB checks, I push allin, BB folds. The way I played that hand would give some people a heart attack, but I would do that with my overcards ALL THE TIME and I would win a ton of money. Sure occassionally someone would call me down with a set, but most people don't have the guts to call me down with a pair of nines in that situation, and people would call the flop and turn bets with draws, then not hit and fold the river enough for me to win a bunch. Plus when I actually had a hand I got paid off huge. My variance was rather high but I was a long term winner (used to make 100k hand histories on Pokertracker to prove to myself it wasn't just short term luck). The next hand I would pick up KQ and do the same thing.

Now ever since I read those books I haven't been the same. I just can't seem to get back into that winning groove I used to be in. It is as if I have all these other thoughts floating around in my head and I can't just find that instinctual decision I used to rely so heavily upon. The other problem I have is that people don't buy in for the full amount anymore, so my aggressive style doesn't scare people like it used to. Nowadays there are so many short stacks that if you raise JJ preflop and get a caller, they will only have half the pot left in their stack so even if a couple overcards flop, you almost have to put them allin on the flop anyway and sure enough they call with K8 when they spiked their King. In the old days when everyone was deep stacked I would just bet the turn and river huge and that guy with K8 would get scared and fold on one of those two streets.

Any thoughts would be so greatly appreciated on how to get back to my winning ways.

[gir]

??????

Good luck.

[Daimonster]

Adjust to your opponent and perhaps fold more often.

[FeNeF]

Stop reading poker books, in my experience most of them suck.

This forum is very valuable, read other people's hands in SSNL and uNL to get a feel for how people play, and post a few of your own.

The games have gotten tougher in the last year, if you aren't keeping up it's not surprising that you are starting to fall behind. It also sounds like you play a high variance style so it's possible you were just running hot for a while. Just play plenty and post here and you should do fine.

[LocustHorde]

well, sooner or later, players will look you up or play back at you. You must utilize balance in your game, young solja. Just because a book or whoever says to fire a bullet on every street, doesn't mean YOU have to

[GittyUP]

I was in the exact same situation as you. I used to play just like you as well. Extrememly LAG!! Something along the line of 30/24 on PT which by the way I had never even heard of. I was a winning player but nothing extreme. After reading some really crappy books, getting pokertracker, and starting to read this forum I started losing. I realized I was trying to play using too much information. Over thinking situations and styles. About 15k hands into my new poker strategy things starting clicking for me. I learned the value of some of the things people talked about and incorporated them slowly into my game instead of incorporating my game to others proven styles.

Play your game it seems like to had a very good hand reading ability and stone balls. Good luck