My second 10,000 hands

Originally Posted by chiefer77

You are completing the SB far too much.

Originally Posted by Jillychemung

Well to his credit he has dropped it a lot from 49% to 24% but yeah drop it some more.

Originally Posted by Deceitful_Frank

Well I geneally play 2-3 tables at a time depending on what other distractions are around. I feel this fills my time and keep me playing tight (obviously not tight enough) but gives me the time to look for other good tables and play an extra one for a few minutes while I wait to sit out a big blind. I never play more than 4 tables as I can get swamped if more than a couple hands past the flop. Its a shame when I hit the nuts but don't have the time to extract value.

That's good, that you only play a few tables at a time. A lot of people will tell you that playing as many tables as you can is the best way to make as much money as possible. I am not in that group. I prefer to play 2 to 4 tables at a time. It helps me keep up with the players and thier tendencies.

Thanks guys for those comments. I compiled a list or ways to improve my game and hopefully become a winning player over the next 10k hands.

1) Generally tighten up my pre-flop play. I do however prefer a more loose free-wheeling style as I have found that playing too tight at this level can make it hard to get action. Everone hates raising UTG with KK or AA and only picking up the SB. I will aim for VPIP of 18-20 with a high Pre-flop raise value.

At 2NL, 5NL, 10NL and even 25NL, i've found that it's better to get your vpip around 15 to 18. Actually mine is a bit lower. I range from 12 to 15 in most cases. The vast majority of these players are not paying any attention to what's going on around them much less paying attention to how tight you are playing but they sure will pick up on how loose you are. As far as AA and KK go in EP, always raise, raise, raise, raise. Never limp. you are leaving yourself wide open to any two cards making their hand. Remember that AA and KK etc is only just one pair. Always raise, never limp into an unopened pot.

2) I also need to tighten up my blind stealing strategy. I use poker stove to find the hands that give a 10% edge over 1-2 apponents and use this to form a set of blind stealing hands. I will consider using the best for stealing from the cut-off and the rest for stealing from the button.

You obviously have PT3 and have a hud and that's good for sure. Many players in micro's don't. Use that hud to determine who you can and can't steal from. While it's good to have a range of hands that you feel comfortable stealing with, your HUD will tell you what players you can always steal from with ATC. Eventually the blinds will get tired of your raises and reraise you, this is when you hope to have a legitimate hand because they are probably reraising you with something moderate like J10 or K9 simply because they are sick you of stealing from them. Use all of that information to your advantage. Constantly check your HUD stats and your opponents HUD stats.

3) I will re-think the hands and situations where I raise from the SB, what do you guys think is reasonable? 15%? 20%? I could always just ignore the half bet already in and treat it jus like bad early position!

In most cases, you should ignore it. Just remember that when you complete the SB, you will be OOP for the rest of the hand and waiting until the button or the cutoff of steal the blinds will get you back the blinds you lost. Just because they are forced antes doesn't mean you have to play them.

4) I need to stop being drawn in when a short stack pulls the all-in trigger but at the same time remember that a mid pair is pretty even against AK and AQ so pot odds could well make it worthwhile.

Avoid shorties as much as humanly possible!

5) I will TRY TO stop re-raising people after the flop when I have not made my hand and there are overcards. I will TRY TO remember that just because I raised pre-flop and they merely called, it doent mean they couldn't have connected!

A reraise is almost always a sign of strength unless you've seen the villian do this and showdown with nothing. give them credit for the most part. Most players at this level don't know how to make plays and their reraises are pretty much good. There is no shame in shutting it down just because you raised preflop. fold if you must and move on. Just keep it in mind for the next time you get into a hand with him.

6) I will STOP calling the re-raise from the guy in later position when I have a pocket pair JJ or below. It never seems to end well as overcards are often usually on the way plus I am out of position. Set mining though could be an option but stack sizes would need to be huge to make it worth a go.

As the saying goes. There are 3 ways to play JJ and none of them are right. Play them aggressively. I usually just flat a reraise with JJ, however it is wise to 3bet QQ and up.

7) lastly, I will start playing suited connectors and suited gappers from 67s-89s plus 79s and 8Ts. Havent really decided on a calling strategy yet but will look into it!

Suited connectors have a lot of equity in them when you hit them hard. It's unwise to play these too aggressively in micro's. If you can see cheap flops with them in LP then go for it. Just don't get overly aggressive with them as they can cause trouble and get you pot committed with draws that rarely hit.

What do you guys think? any more ideas?