This is something that I am trying to improve my game.

So, I lost 5 buy ins today in full ring play.

But, I can't quite say I care. Its not a lot of money, and here is what i am getting at...


I find that I am feeling locked into a TAG style, and, I always win the same type of hands, and I always lose the same type of hands. So, what I decided to do was play at an affordable losing level and really mix things up.

Do you ever have pocket AA KK etc and you always get folds because you 3bet, re-raise, etc??? I've always thought, hey, no one ever sees these cards, i could have 7-2. I just have to rep the big hand in the right way and the right place. Unfortunately, I don't have the guts to do it when I really care about the stakes.

But, I guess what I am trying to is figure out how to make the above move, and various other moves. I am trying to sort out a LAG style...at very least I'd like to be able to move back and forth from TAG to LAG when needed.


I am also paying to see cards when I know I am beaten. I am paying out for hand reads.

My idea here is to really shake up my game, look at it from an entirely new perspective...truly get a grasp on other styles, confirm hand reads, practice big bluffs...all in a safe enviornment (ie my BR and personal finances are not effected).

Do any of you folks do this?



ps. Its actually really fun and liberating. There are so many places where I would fold that I re-raise and win...of course, I also have realized that big bets represent the nuts more often than you think.


pps. This isnt my new everyday thing, but...playing the same grind with the same style and the same problems isnt going to fix anything, so, I am shocking the system.

I know just what you mean, Shoot. I started another thread this morning (HU SnG - the case for the defence) that follows a similar theme. I find a bit of heads up play can liberate me from what you describe - it allows me to try a few things, because you have to do something in HU play.

When I started online a few years back I made a ton of cash at low level ring games. As I got more into it I started studying the game more, read a few books did some more maths and so on. Within a few months the flow of cash had dried up - I had stifled my game, thought myself into a corner. A bit of liberation (without going bonkers) did my game the world of good.

You just got to go with instincts...sometimes its good if you do a little research on your opponent via sharkscope and sites like that...Just go with you gut instinct

Poker is all about plays and when you make them. If you only make plays when you have hands people (good players) will read that and donkies will call anything anyway. The idea is to sometimes have a great hand without having anything at all. Position and lots of other factors will also decide when you can make plays that otherwise would not be wise to make.

What resuls am I hoping for with my play? Do I want callers or am I hoping everyone will fold? If I get callers and didn;t wwant them should my next play be more aggressive or should I back off. The card that turns or rivers will help decide that right?

The thing I need to get better at is really knowing what my opponents have. I am multi tasking so much that this is the absolute weakest aspect of my game.

I went from nit to Tag though recently. I kinda like nit better due to my inability to stay foscused, posting this when I should be watching my table.

Why cant you try freerolls for your experiments friend...
By that, you wont have to loose money for learning new strategies...
And i totally agree with you that getting locked as one particular type is not good in poker...
And i would like to suggest you, that more than trying to mix your style of play between different games, its more beneficial and important if you work on mixing your style play within a single game at different levels of the game...
The later is more important and worthy than former...

Sounds like you've gone from one extreme to another...TIGHT TO LOOSE...maybe between Tight aggressive and Calculated Aggressive would be better, but specifically dependent upon "where you are in the tournament"....ooops, just remembered you were playing Ring Games. Oh well, what I am saying applies to tournaments not RING.

In Ring games, I have found playing Between real TIGHT and real LOOSE is key to winning.

GL, Wally

I'm wondering if you using your starting hands correctly in different positions.

I have two charts I can post if you like. I have being editing and using for cash games. They are no way finished but you made get some idea's.

I appreciate all replies...but, I only play cash games, this has nothing to do with any sort of SNG or MTT. In this regard, I think free rolls are not an option.

I think the very interesting thing is can you imagine playing like the opponent? Can your game encompass both your own line and your opponents at the same time?

We all want to be profitable players and we all want to be better...but, what separates us from the truly great? We complain that these donks and fish suck out at 5NL 10 NL...200NL etc.

I think that its not the ability to play truly great TAG, LAG, NIT, etc poker that makes anyone great, its the ability to play any and all styles at the correct time.

I do not want to lock myself into a particular method...and, as with a small infant, when the bones are soft it may be the correct time to mold them.

As far as losing some money goes...well, in any discipline that one intends on mastering, sacrifices are in order. It is just paramount to remember your mortgage, children, insurance, etc...

But, what is the difference between losing $100 enjoyable dollars on poker and losing $100 enjoyable dollars on food/drinking/cd's/etc/etc?

I would say that you're thinking in the right way. People get too stuck on Thinking about whether they are a TAG, LAG, NIT, etc. when what really is correct is situational.

Some information about the specific levels would be useful in recommendations and fine tuning. For example if you normally play 25nl and do some of your more aggressive bluffs you'll get some respect more frequently than if you were at 5nl for your experimenting, simply because the 5nl players are literal beyond words, and if they're calling your cbet its because you're beat.

In general opening up your abilities is good as it allows you to tune your game not only to your table, which can be changed readily online, but to your table layout. Location of the soft money is key in determining your approach to the table.

I do like playing at the lower levels, also the various game types to hone certain skills. I am a FR player, but I recently rocked some 6 max because i felt i needed to get more comfortable with aggression, but wanted to do it in an environment where it was profitable to really cut loose, and learned a new poker style and game format in the process.

Hello,
If you need to become an expert online poker player all you need is to study the strategics, tips and try to make continuous experiment to develop you own tips and tricks all that you need is to practice a lot.

I tried this the other day. With a healthy stack, I decided that I was going to spew 1/3 of it. And I was going to show every hand I won. And I DECIDED that I was not allow to play well UNTIL I lost 1/3 of my stack. Sounds foolish. But at the low stakes, guys don't have a clue. They can't wait to call your all in's cause they think you're a donkey. Then tighten up.

I know most intelligent poker players know variations of this, but you aren't playing them. It also gives you the liberty, (almost forces you) to play some REALLY loose poker.

Just a thought.