Bad beat strategy at lower limit holdem ring games.

Hi all.

I`ve been reading a few posts about bad beats at NLHE, $0.01/0.02 limits.

I play poker but I play by pot odds/ good starting hands/ position and probably a few other ways I can`t think of.

But anyway, one post I have just read was ab out a set K`s on a rainbow flop, an all in push with a caller who had 33. (Flop was something like K67) set looses to runner, runner for a straight.

I know this might sound real basic, but would you not be better playing amost tight/ passive at these levels?

Knowing that these guys will call almost any bet, u would be better pushing with the nuts, cause they will call.

By the way, the hand I quoted is probably not the best example for a few reasons - the guy got his cash in so good it was untrue, so IMO, nothing u can do about it.

Also, instead of trying to push ppl out of pots with your QQ 10 x bb raise pre flop, that seems to act like a pot sweetner for most players at this level who hold any ace in their hand, would you not be better with a standard 4 x bb raise. If A/ K flops and someone bets, u r probably behind. If u r checked to, u then raise and they are likely to fold.

The time when u hit your set and they catch their Ace, u have all of their money!!!

I suppose I`m saying keep it simple and basic, nothing clever

I play 25c / 50c 10 seater limit holdem, so there is not a direct correlation, but with typically 30% - 40% of players seeing the flop I'd say similar principles apply.

I will say that I'm no expert, but I certainly agree with your "keep it simple" arguement. There's no point trying anything too subtle at this level, because it will be lost on most players at this level. However, I don't agree with your passive stance. If I have what I consider to be the best hand, I'll bet it strongly - pretty much every time (slow playing at the lower levels is a waste of time - USUALLY)!

Sure, you're going to get bad beats - but the point is that you need to maximise your profit when you win. Particularly playing NL - even at low stakes, you've got to get your money in to take the odds away from the cretin that is chacing a gut shot. If you don't give them the odds to call, they will STILL call most of the time, but the odds are stacked in your favour, so you'll come out in front in the long run.

Boltneck

at the lower limits, I just play straight TAG ABC poker. I fold a lot of hands. At the micros, fancy plays like floating or representing a flush bluff, for example, will not work a lot of times at these limits so you can just forget about them. I might try bluffing every now and then if I think my opponent will fold, but most of the time I dont even try since most are call stations. So, for me its just really playing basic, no fancy-pants poker.

-Fold majority of hands PF
-Play Helmuths top 10 hands + drawing hands like 89s or J9s in position
-If I raise PF, always C bet if I hit TP/GK or if I have an over pair to the board.
-Find call stations and keep betting into them (this is where I make most money)
-Let over aggressive players bet into me when I have a hand
-Avoid bluffing as much as I can.