Tatics for tight tables

[A.M.P]

These bore me shitless you know. I don't think I've got the right mentality for poker as I'm devoid of the "workman ethic" that I suppose one must possess to grind out a percentage of your buy in hour by hour....The most fun I have at poker is when I've had a few shandies, just been stacked and think "Fcuk it" I'll go up to the 50c/$1 tables. The five or six times I've done this I'm in and out in a few hands, winning the amount it took a few hours to loose ....it's very strange

Anyway, I digress tight tables. I hate them. Specifically I don't know what to do with raises. A fundamental problem I have when playing poker (and TDP's Titan offer has got me playing again ) is raising especially with tight fcukers. I don't know whether to raise to a level that I know they'll call knowing I've got them beat hands down or just sticking it all in.

2 examples will show what I'm on about.

I'm dealt AA UTG 6 handed 25c/50c. Now, I perhaps should have limped in here giving what I knew about the table. The fact that I was UTG I was hoping for callers I called 5 * BB. Everyone chucked it in and I picked up 75 cents. Woop-de-fcuking do.

2nd hand. I 'spose I could go and get the info from Titan if anybodies interested. (Actually I've just looked and it looks very long winded to do) I'm dealt K Q s. Sombody raises for 50 cents and The table calls. I flop the nut straight. UTG raises to $3 I call, as does somebody else. Turn comes and it's not helping anyone bar me. No flush on, not paired. Table checks to me, so I check. River comes. Again I sill hold the nuts. Table checks to me.

What would you do?

[A.M.P]

This is more like it IMO:

Serves him right for calling 4* BB with 5 10 s I did have him down for a flush though but still. HAVE IT!

[Jezza]

nice cold deck in your favour there m8

I'll reply to your first post later on AMP, im just putting in a sesh on the cash games/watching the football atm

Jez

[A.M.P]

Having said that I looked down the "Av pot" column and found me a super loose 10c/20c game...and preceeded to loose $50 in 15 minutes due to some bad calls on hands I should've binned. I got half of it back or so but it was a real eye opener.

How do you guys approach it? Due you play in sessions and set yourself a profit / loss level or a time limit?

Still, I've just about foubled yesterdays deposit into Titan so it's been a good weekend. Thinking of sticking it all on Argentina in running...

[Jezza]

Hi AMP

Good to see you getting back into your poker mate......

First of all as regards the tight tables I totally agree, they are not the most profitable anyway (as well as being boring). The great thing about online poker is you dont have to play them! Just leave and look around for tables at your stakes with a higher % of people seeing the flop and a higher average pot. These should be both more fun and more profitable (although prone to more volatility). I would also suggest you stick to 6 man tables if you get bored easily, youll be involved in a lot more hands that way.....

Ok onto the hands you talked about...

1)
Hehe dont worry about getting no action with your AA, it happens all the time. Obv it is annoying but hey you have to try and much better that than limping in and getting stacked when someone outflops you (of course limping with AA can work out well sometimes, but be sure to be thinking about what your opponent has if your playing a big pot after doing this as it can be dangerous). If its your lucky day you will pick up AA and someone else will have KK, or someone will call your raise hit top pair and stack off to you - IMO this is FAR luckier than getting AA 6 hands on the trot but there you go. On other days you get no action - just go onto the next hand m8 and try again the next time you get the aces..........

2)
Ahhhh a sweet flop for you there isnt it.....but how best to play it? I always advise against slowplaying straights - they are exceptionarily vulnerable to being outdrawn (well compared to the thought you have a lock on the hand on the flop I suppose) other weird things can happen with them as well like a 4 to straight card comes off on the board - this probably means you are now splitting it with someone and even if you are not who in their right mind is going to give you action now! You have to both protect your hand in this regard and also try and get a nice pot for yourself. One of the great things about flopping broadway (AKQJ10) like you did is that the flop is BOUND to have hit someone else (usually two pair or top pair at least) particularly as you were in a raised pot I would be rubbing my hands and hoping for this. However you dont want to get over excited and just go all in for 50 bucks at a 9 dollar pot or something, you have to build it up. A pot sized bet would have been my choice had I been you there AMP, both on the turn and river - you will be surprised by what they call you with even if you have been playing tight.

Dont worry about the hard task you had getting the hand history AMP, they are changing this in the very near future

Jez

[A.M.P]

Thanks for your comments Jezza.

I can't remember what I did in the end with the river bet. I didn't go all in but made a bet which I wasn't satisfied with. Still, I won the hand but only got something like $15 return. That's what pisses me off about those kind of tables. You wait all day for a decent hand and get a crap return and being the impatient tosser I am end up playing less than premium hands.

I was thinking that I shouldn't just stick with the first table I find. I'm definitely going to look for that hands seen / average pot size indicator after logging on and maybe waiting a bit for a choice table.

I have played a bit 10 handed in STT's and freerolls but I only play 6 for cash as you say I find 10 boring and having 2 games open gets on my tits.

I do find Titan to be very quick to get through hands. The only problem is I have to go looking for what the opponent had in the history as it's not apparent when you call / are called on a river bet.

[aliensyndm]

Getting hand histories can be a pain yeah but you don't need to do it every hand. Just the important ones that give you information. One important piece of information is what people raise with and how they play it after the flop.
When I'm making notes on people I always try and get in the hands they raise with and how they play them after the flop. I have quite a few people noted who will put in the exact same size raise depending on the hand. 3 BBs with AQ or AJ, 4 BBs with AK , 5 BBs with QQ or better etc. That's a give away for a start. Then you have to see if the people raising with AK put in a continuation bet or not. Again I have how the person plays the flop noted if I know it.
Many people will bet half the pot or less if their AK has missed - dead giveaway that and quite profitable. These same people will bet the full pot if their hand has hit so you know when to steer clear. Some people will simply check the flop with AK etc if they have missed, again a dead giveaway although you have to be careful it isn't a set they have made and checked.
You then get the people who play it properly and bet the same amount on the flop every time and you have no information at all whatsoever - you gotta be more wary of these players.

It's frustrating getting a beefcake hand and noone has anything isn't it ? You've more chance someone will have something on a full ring game rather than short handed so when you do make a hand more chance of being payed off but if full ring bores you best to leave it alone as you might start to play too loose. As already said if the game is too tight just leave and look for a better table. Secret of winning at poker = Don't play with superior players. You don't need to be the best in the world to be a long term winning player, you just gotta make sure you are better than the people you are playing against. If the table is too tight move to another !

[Jezza]

Originally Posted by A.M.P

How do you guys approach it? Due you play in sessions and set yourself a profit / loss level or a time limit?

I definately dont set myself a profit/loss limit - I firmly believe these are bad things and are in all actuality irrelevant to what is going on in the poker you are playing. The way I approach a session of poker is with the goal to play at my best and this means making good decisions. This is the most important thing. Make good decisions about every hand and play well and the results will take care of themselves. As far as time goes as long as a winning player is playing at his best then the longer he plays the more he expects to earn, its a simple as that - for this reason I try to put in at least 6hrs of poker every day. I would come off (as anyone should) if I feel myeslf getting pissed off or angry at anything, or not playing to your best for whatever reason.

A recreational player should really have a stop loss limit tho I would say, and again stop playing if they feel themselves getting angry/tilty over something

Jez

[Jezza]

Originally Posted by A.M.P

The most fun I have at poker is when I've had a few shandies, just been stacked and think "Fcuk it" I'll go up to the 50c/$1 tables.

btw LOL

[A.M.P]

Cheers Alien and Jezza.

And one memorable session it was $1/$2 but I'll get caught out one day...!

[A.M.P]

Again, I'm in one of my poker destructive moods and decide to head to my "Next level" 50c/$1 and I get thisthe first hand.....



I wasn't going to but I'm going down to the shop and having a couple of nightcappers to celebrate that one (Though I am in awe of WayneMc's display )