Ring Game Early Round Strategy

SPCotter

SPCotter

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Do you guys have a strategy of how you play your game over time from sitting down at a cash game? I'm playing in $0.10/$0.25 NLHE ring games atm, and whereas before I am generally a bit looser than in tournament play, especially at 6 seats, now when I sit down I play super aggressive for the first two rounds, slightly mixed, not playing every hand, but when I do I play hard, if I bluff/hit/suckout I always show, and then revert to my normal game, although bearing in mind people I've faced, any comments etc. and adjust my game accordingly (I suppose this could be considered tilting, but I am thinking of them doing the same too!) I've been doing it more so the past few weeks, and it's turning out to be quite profitable, although I'm posting here because I'm trying to see if any of you guys do the same (I know a few people where I play live do it, but I think live cash games are generally looser than online, or the people I play with certainly!) whether this is a profitable strategy or whether I'm on one hell of a streak :)
 
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JD Dirty

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I mostly play just the oppisit, playing tite then going aggressive.
 
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zzzaacckk

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It all depends on what the table is doing. Its always a good idea to datamine (if you are FTP) with pokertracker or some other equivalent before you sit down to figure out what the table is like. however, if you cant playing like a rock for the first few hands is a good way to observe. Once you know what the table is doing, its generally good poker advice to do the opposite. ie, at a tight table, play loose aggressive and take down smaller pots.
 
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BlackJack

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I would say tighten up your play online. Your opponents at 25nl are usually pretty loose and you can really make a killing just trapping them with sets to their tptk.
 
kidkvno1

kidkvno1

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I tend to watch the table first, to see who is tight, and who is loose..
I tend to play tight when i got a lot of raising coming at me and make them pay for bluffing....
Getting a good read on the players also helps out :)
 
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dumpy620_84

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In tournaments you've got to worry about your tournament life a good portion of the time. Cash games just simply are not like that. You've got to always evaluate your pot odds. This means if somebody puts you all in for your whole stack and you've got 3:1 with two cards to go and you've got a nut flush draw, you may have to call off your chips many times.

The fact of the matter is that in the long run, you'll hit a large profit by playing properly. The problem here is that the long run is longer than most people realize. That's why it is important to play inside of your bankroll. I can give you one suggestion though.

Start out tight tight tight and write down a list of hands you play. Mark down whether you win or lose with em and how you play them. Then, gradually expand your game outward. This way, when you're experimenting and are having a bad run, you always have a safety point for something you know works.

The main thing is to play well within your bankroll. I'd say you shouldn't ever put more than 2% of your roll on any one table at any given time if you want to play it safely.

I hope this helps. Good luck!
 
ripclawph

ripclawph

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i usually play during the early stage to make the impression of playing as a tag player... i become slightly loose on the mid stage and steal a couple blinds every now and then. then total aggression at the late stage... that is for tourneys of course... lol
 
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spacemiu

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he is asking about cash games. I would like to play as tight as possible (and observe) at the beginning in a semi-literate table (25nl and above), so that when I start to make moves, it works.

you choose the other way around (start loose, so they pay off your good hands) but I believe that's not very profitable (at these limits esp) and you mostly have to wait for good hands because noone believes you. However %70 of the time you don't hit flops, so you r limiting yourself to 30 percent if the table see you as a loose maniac.

esp. below 25nl where noone folds anything, the only way to go is to play the nuts... play in position etc. abc poker works best here.
 
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