$2 NL Live. How do I play vs. all these limpers

Hello,

I am used to playing online. Just started playing live $2 NL and I have never seen so much limping going on in my life. At least 3 limpers every hand minimum.
Some players limped every hand while I was at the table for 2 hrs. Next, every raise of 3x the blind gets called in at least 2 places. Just ridiculous loose passive players.

I know the best way to play these players is to just wait for solid starting hands, isolate the fish, and just relentlessly bet for value if I connect solidly. This works great online. As you can multi-table and see so many more hands per hour. However, playing live, it just takes too long to get the starting hands you need to play this tight style. Also, I just don't want to play that way. I am trying to develop more of a LAG style.

Should I just start punishing these limpers w/ 10x bb raises until they get the picture, or what. Please help!

What do you do to play these fish. Isolating is hard b/c some other fish will call your raise before it even gets around to the fish. I feel like I have to make a 5x raise just to get rid of all the junk. Please Help!

When I use to play live at the HORSESHOE I ran into the same thing. I was a beginner at the time and I just sat and waited on big hands. When playing live most people dont think of there chips as money but as plastic pieces they use to bet with. As long as they have them they will see flops. This is why live games are considered so much softer/easier than online. In trying to pick up a Lag style of play, be prepared to deal with the huge variance you will experience as a lot of your hands will be played 3-5 way. If you are going to adopt this style of play I would recommend staying tight early and playing your opponent and your position as best as possible. Depending on table dynamic, raising 3BB or 6BB wont make a difference, if they would call $6 , they would call $12.

When playing live don't worry about the volume of hands played, worry about getting your money in right on your big hands. It may take awhile but the patience is well worth the reward playing live.

Change TABLES! If you are uncomfortable with that kind of action then move to another table.....simple really.

Live 2nl, lulz

I had the same problem when i would drive to my local casino. I would raise about 5bb and add another bb for every limper. It sure seems like alot of money preflop and it is but after a few times i stoped running my aces into 4 or 5 people. Another tip dont bluff to much in a soft casino game cause you will get called and forced to showdown alot.

You answered your own question in the OP. As for wanting to play a LAG style in a live game, just don't. A LAG style is perfect for playing against people who will fold when faced with aggression.

Live players don't fold.

Yeah wtf lol, I thought 25NL was super micro for live?

he means 200nl, but denotes it by the big blind amount instead

...and really, just do not play LAG. then profit. ez game.

Yep, when your table is playing that loose, you ABSOLUTELY DO NOT to leave, because you will be paid off so much when you get a real hand, and the players that play that loose won't even realize that you haven't played a hand in 3 rounds. Tighten up and value town them

Most of the time players wanting to play "LAG" end up losing against the "loose passive clueless fish" because they are trying to bluff calling stations.

The live vs online difference is staggering to me. I think its because live you have chips but online you always have a dollar sign and an amount of money next to you at the table. It's very hard to treat the two the same way and for most people as well. I think I play slightly better live for whatever reason.

I don't treat it any different...it should all be in the number, nothing physical.

In my live games I open raise much more than when I play online. I usually open for x5 bb +1 per limper. If I'm oop, or in the blinds, ill open for anything up to 8xbb+1 per limper.

You can't at the casinos I play at. The typical pre flop raise is like 10-15 dollars, at the 1/2 nl tables its really bizarre. A preflop raise to 6-8 bucks would be laughed at, at anyone who would be limping would call you its a really strange game at the places I usually play live. ( And usually easy money with those "Small" pre flop raises haha)

I wasn't exactly meaning that the size of your bets and pots are going to be, but more that you shouldn't be associating chips and $$$ differently just because you can't see the pot size spelled out for you in a live game. I agree 100% that you need to be opening a lot higher but I constantly see people min raising/betting and it cracks me up.

I play 1/2 NL (my live BR is being built) at my local casino and the skill levels and from what I have seen is you have to play your villan more than what you may be used to online. With Online many people are very set in how they play and can be predictale. With live play styles and personalities are different every time I sit down at a table (also 1/2NL is entry level so automaticly I am going to get larger range). No table you sit at acts the same way.

As a Live player you need to adjust your game to your table and villians a little more than online. Think more strategicly and less on math (math still important but not everything). Your style and tactic should be determiend by your opponents, your style of play, and how you think you can win the most. Overall I think you need to be a better rounded player to be successfull live.

Live play IMO is more difficult and overall different than online. Live you have to have patience (each hand takes longer), and are constantly working on observing villans and analyizing hands. There are less hands per hr so you need to make the most of your hands and reads. Online you see so many hands that you have a lot of oppertunity to sit back and wait and play by the #s.

Also with live play the rake is a lot higher! so you need to build up pots to be profitable.

Anyway dont expect to play the same game Live as you play online... It wont be met with much success IMO. Play the player instead and adjust your game.

In my opinion, and also the opinions of the majority of poker players I know, micro limits all the way up through high stakes, online and live, would completely disagree with everything you've said above about live being more difficult. Low limit live plays so much more fishy that it isn't even funny. IMO if you can't beat low limit live, you can't beat micro limit online, unless it's strictly the money that you're scared of.

The only parts of your post that made any sense were the parts in bold. One thing that someone transitioning from online(or even someone just starting out but they watched poker on TV) doesn't realize is how many less hands you're going to be playing, so online and beginning players are very prone to become bored with only playing 1/3 of the hands they normally would be an hour(if they were single tabling online that is, MUCH less if they are multitabling). Also, you're correct, rake live is higher, but you're also able to get more for that rake(free drinks and such...)

This annoyed me at the game I went to this evening, my aces were beaten by a straight using 56 offsuit and the guy called at least 8x the big blind before the flop. Much harder to win without the best hand/a bit of luck

You know what you learn there? Bet more against him next time preflop, I love when that happens and I have premium because you're going to profit in the long run.

Yeah I know, I was kicking myself for being greedy

Difficult was the wrong word... Live is different than online. I aggree that there are more loose players live but I think it takes additional/different skills to be sucessfull live vs online.

Where I was getting at is there is a larger variety of types of players at the same table. Online I think opponents are a little more uniform in skill levels, in Live you have more fish and pros playing together. Because of this you need to bet and play accordingly to your opponents and not as dependent on your hand. Also, there is more ways to observe your villians and give info on your hand.

In addition it can be more difficult to grind with only the best hands given the higher rake and low hands per hour IMO.

So I agree more fish but I dont think that because you were successfull online you will be good live and vise versa. They are different games in a way and require a different set of skills while relying on the same core principles.

Sucks about the Aces.... you have to love being called there pre-flop though. Just log that hand away in your memory against that opponent and play accordingly later.