tight is right

I like to play tight and only play in cash games. this for some reason hasn't been working on me i went to play 10/20 (live) yesterday and landed up losing a pretty penny even online i have been playing extremly tight and nothing only rags mabey I'm just not catching but in the long run mabey tight isn't right. I was wondering if tight in the a overall out look if tight is right?

Tight is good if you're playing against amateurs, but nowadays with all the poker books and strategies flying around they likely exploited that as your weakness and took advantage. You need to mix it up.

It's certainly possible to be too tight. But if you've found a generally tight strategy that's been consistently profitable for you in the past, you're likely just experiencing variance and the cards will come good for you again eventually.

I was playing very tight at the cash game level, only winning the pots i was supposed to, but i feel that that style of play did not suit me....

i decided to pull a page out of super system and play a lot of connecting cards and i mixed it in with a strategy i read in a recent cardplayer magazine, it is to not play loose, but call the small pre flop raises when you suspect someone has a big pair and when you hit, you are going to get paid off greatly....
last night i doubled my buy in by winning 2 huge all ins with a couple of rags on the flop....

one of my favorite strategies for sure but it might not be the best one for everyone

ill give it a try thank you

Tight is good...if you're talking about a hott 16 year old...:-P

Anyways...I used to play tight when I first started...because I was obviously afraid to lose my chips, a lot of people tend to do that when you first start.

As I grew into Hold em more, I found myself playing tight TOO much...I was known as the tight guy at every home game...it works when you bluff with a crappy hand, but sometimes you can't play a hand right.

So then, as I started more home games, live cash games and online...I caved in and started working hands more and more...and got out of my tight phase.

But like they have been saying, if it works for you and you win games and pots, then work with it...but if it's starting to slip and not getting you anywhere...start calling some hands you think are good and go from there.


The only thing I don't do...Chase. :-)

I hope you are a 16 yo

I think you can get carried away with being tight, and rigidly sticking to starting hand charts etc. I've found its more profitable (and fun) to instead focus on the situation in front of me, then you can more readily see opportunities to exploit. Depending on the situations I'm facing (hand dealt, position, nature of other players etc) my play can be tight or rather loose.

alsa, do not take it too far because i was playing wreckless like crazy and i ended up losing 3 buy ins because of it...

its kind of crazy play but still methodic and really you just gotta pick your spots....

if you play K9s and the flop comes down K87 be vary careful...

its a style where you are very loose pre flop but extremely tight when the flop hits unless you think that your opponent is holding a very weak hand...



method to madness type stuff

you got to mix it up, you cant play tight all the time otherwise even average players will exploit you and you will be leaving valuable chips on the felt.

You are missing half of the winning equation, possibly the more important half:
it's tight-aggressive that is the universally recognized winning style of play.

Quote:

Originally Posted by TubaMark316 Tight is good...if you're talking about a hott 16 year old...

Creepy.
...If you're over the age of 18.

Jeez, i feel perverted now that you've stuck this thought into my mind.

Theres your answer..............

What would you suggest as the best reading material for this style?

Dan Harrington basically espouses a tight-aggressive style in his books

true but that is more of a tournament strategy book, if you are talking TAG in cash games then i dont know which book to refer you to...

i just recently bought all 3 volumes of harrington on holdem but i am yet to read them....obviously for tournament purposes

The 'Killer Poker' series by John Vorhaus.

It really depends on how your opponents are playing. I've been noticing that the cash games are a lot tighter than I had previously found them. Therefore, playing tight is no longer an advantage. Back when an overpair of eights was considered the absolute nuts, then playing tight was more advantageous.

I still play very tight in tournaments unless I'm getting low relative to the blinds. There are way more nuts in the tournaments, and it's important to play tightly to survive and take advantage of the chip explosion. Even at the $50 level sit-n-gos, you can still pretty much fold your way to 4-handed (not that you should, but tight it probably going to be best).

No I am not...:-P

Trying to joke around but no one seems to have a sense of humor...

Haha, I am sorry for that thought...

Bad sense of humor for me...I know!

There's a simple answer to the question if tight is correct, or not--it just depends on the situation.

I'm sure you will realize this with more experience.

I think this question is so rhetorical, its all down to personal preference, the players you are playing against and the type of game you're playing. Lets be fair, being able to change gears is SO IMPORTANT!

I used to play super super tight....

I know a friend that still does. The key is to creating your own style that works for you and who you are. For me, I like to play loose-aggressive, and it works (against who I play against, anyway).

Looking at the table around you. Generally, if most are loose, play tight. If most are tight, play loose.

The great thing about NLHE is that you don't show your cards until the end. So if you bet big pre-flop, continue betting, and play it like you have Aces, any decent player is going to put you on Aces. Even if you have deuce-seven.