Wanna give 10NL another try plus my rules...

Hello again people,

I took a shot at 10NL full ring but after 5000 or so hands and a loss of 30% of my BR I realized I just wasnt ready so dropped down to 5NL to recover and plug some more leaks.

Currently I have a 25k hand sample 6 tabling at 5.54BB/100 with the last 15K hands at 8.35BB/100. I know the latter porion isnt a huge sample but I feel I am crushing this limit finally and am reaching the limit of what can be acheived at this level.

To help me remember to not do anything too stupid, after every session I review trouble or confusing hands and add to a set or written "rules" which I try to follow as I play.

I would appreciate if you chaps couple look over them and see if you can spot anything amiss.

I would like this next shot at 10NL to be for keeps and to hit the ground running... anyway:


PRE-FLOP

STOP CALLING MIN-RAISES and Only CALL a 3-bet with AKo.

NEVER CALL A RAISE WITH ANYTHING BUT A PAIR, AKo or AKs EVER

Raise with 22-88 as if you would with K9s

Call a raise with 22-88 pre-flop IP with effective stack sizes of 15X the raise. If you don't hit the set and he checks after the flop, take the free card. DO NOT BET!

Dont call with a pocket pair in very early position as you are liable to a squeeze play or being OOP to many others after the flop!

If you get re-raised with 22-88 you can call if effective stack sizes are 12X the price to call. If you hit the set OOP then you can check to him as he is likely to bet again.
When playing a pocket pair after a re-raise, if you merely CALL then flopping at least a set or better is all that will do.

Raise from the SB with these low pairs as you would K9s but if you are on the BB against 4 others then check unless one of them is in the SB.

With AK, AKs and QQ you can call IP position to a 3bet but re-raise if OOP
Strongly consider folding if you get 4-bet as you will have few options after the flop!

Dont call a raise when OOP in the blinds with a pair from 22-99!



POST-FLOP

Dont C-bet with 2 callers if:
You have no overcards
Someone makes more than the minimum bet
There are made straights possible with cards in the playing zone
Its a monotone board with any of the above
You are OOP against both players
Never c-bet 1 person with all of the above

Fire a secong barrel against ONE apponant on the turn if:
There are no made flushes
There is no more than one flush draw
The board has not paired
There is no more than one card on the board higher than the turn card
The turn card doesnt complete a straight draw!
Remember if you raise pre-flop, hit the flop and get called to also continue with a 2/3 bet on the turn unless its obvious you are beaten. A made flush possibilitiy on the turn does not count!

Before you merely CALL his bet IP you must think about what he will bet on the next street. Is it REALLY worth it?

If he check-raises you on the flop he could well have the nuts or 2-pair!

With low pairs don't C-bet after the flop if:
There are 2 or more cards in the playing zone
Its a monotone board and there is an A or a K

With 99 or above having raised pre-flop and facing ONE OVERCARD on the flop you can make a C-bet if there are no more than 2 apponants left to act. Consider releasing your pair if you get raised or bet into strongly!

With 99 or above having raised pre-flop and facing TWO OVERCARDS on the flop you can make a C-bet if there is no more than 1 apponant left to act an no more than 2 apponants in total.

If you are still there after the turn and there are 2 overcards then you are probably done especially against 2 others!

3 overcards in against 2 others = fold to ANY action!

If you flop TP with a weak kicker or an overcard to your pocket pair and get bet into IP then consider flat-calling for pot control as you don't want to get into a big pot

If you hit the flop with an overpair or top pair but the board is paired with cards your apponant could possibly hold, you MUST make your C-bet POT SIZED. A smaller bet could cause your apponant to feel strong or perceive a small bet as a show of weakness, betting or raising into you causing you to have to fold.

If you call a raise pre-flop IP and after the flop he makes what looks like a C-bet then consider re-raising him if its a dry board and there is no more than 1 card in the playing zone.

If you make top and bottom 2-pair but top 2-pair could be made with a hand that might have called your pre-flop raise then you must bet 100% pot! There will probably be made straights and with flush draws too so you should bet hard but procede carefully!

If you are IP on a non-nut flush draw and get check raised when you bet its not wise to continue unless you are getting GREAT odds because you are not guaranteed to win EVEN IF you make your hand!
...+1 if the board has paired. Infact in this situation, if you board is paired with a remotely-playing-zone card it might be wise to check behind and see the river for free whilst excersizing a little pot control!

If you've raised pre-flop and made middle pair with a not so great kicker, you have no decent 8 or 9 outer and are with 5 others after the flop its probably best to just check especially if top flop card is A, K or J. You just KNOW that someone has hit it!

Remember that if you face any RAISE after the flop when OOP, you don't have the nuts or you've got kicker trouble its got to be a re-raise or a fold. DONT WASTE MORE MONEY BY CALLING AND GIVING YOURSELF IN MORE GRIEF ON THE NEXT STREET!

If you find yourself OOP after the flop with TP weak kicker, you bet, get called and the board pairs with a playing zone card (that doesnt give you trips) Its not worth betting the turn as if you get called or raised you have no options on the river!

RIVER

Only check to induce a bluff on the river if you have been passive throughout the entire hand.

The standard river bet is half the pot. Vary it slightly to make it look scarier or less intimidating depending on the situation.

If he raises your river bet he has probably got you beat. FOLD that non-nut flush and think about that underfull house!

When you find yourself IP at the end of the hand DON'T bet if a check-raise from your apponant would cause you to have to fold!

NEVER CALL A CHECK-RAISE ON THE RIVER UNLESS YOU KNOW YOU HAVE THE BEST HAND!

Good idea to write down your thoughts and strategies, wp.

One very general suggestion - think seriously about the other players already in the hand and the other players left to act. Much of what you have here is based on the cards, and is good, straightforward ABC stuff, very appropriate for 5nl and 10nl. But you're going to see completely awful passive fish, completely awful spewey LAG's, and nits at these games, and your strategies should incorporate these players' tendencies.

POST-FLOP

Don´t make a cbet if you missed the Flop and there are 2 Cards T,J or Q!

Tip: Don't play 5nl. Unless you have some crazy tilt issues you're good enough to have heaps of edge at 10nl.

You should re-think these two, they can't both be right.
The first one is close to spot on, the second one is completely wrong.

Agree.

Having set rules is all very well, but you can't apply the same rules to a hand where one opponent is a calling station and the other is extremely aggro to a hand where the two opponents are both passive fish...

you are one cautious player. I dont agree with some of your rules however i have very little understanding of an fr table. Otherwise you seem to be a thinking player so 10nl should not be much of a problem.

Dont C-bet with 2 callers if:
OOP you miss the flop, even with AK.

It's not a C bet if someone bets into you either.