I play on Bodog and I find table selection to be very important in NL games. Especially in ring cash games. If I'm charting a table for a bit before sitting down, I'll tend to try to sit to the right of the worst player at the table if the seat is available. I like my fish to my left. I also will try to avoid the guy at the table that thinks he's the captain that has to raise every hand by sitting on his left if at all possible. My most successful sessions often depend heavily upon where I sit and the types of players I sit closest to. I'm sitting in a Bodog 7 stud hi lo game right now with a fish on my left that's calling every raise I make. Great to watch him drain down...
At what level does table selection really become important? I guess it becomes more of a factor the higher the stakes you climb. But at 2NL and 5NL does it rly matter that much?
I would say that depending on the day, who I'm playing and the level of poker being played, I can adapt as you say to play a less narrow range and get away from my profitable "nitty" play. Tight agressive works in poker rooms in live games. Loose passive seems to present profitable options online. To say that a fish to my right is the only way to isolate is wrong. I don't need the button to steal if my table image is tight.
I must not understand what you mean by isolate. When I isolate a player, I'm talking post flop, dictate my play by his presence in a hand.
Nice thread Stu thanks.
One question: If entering a table for which you have no or very little stats on the players at it do you just sit out and watch a few orbits then move if it doesn't suit or do you watch and decide it's good then join the queue for the table and wait for the seat you want to be come free?
OK, help me here. I am not a real experienced player, and I need a while b4 I can categorize my table. I dont have HUD, so I am there taking notes and after 5-10 hands only begin to get a grip on who I am playing with. and even that goes through re-evaluation constantly. I would just love to set my self up as shown in the diagram above, but have a couple of questions.
how long should I observe a table b4 seating? Should I look 4 a while at different tables, try to find one I like and stay on the WL till my optimal seat is available? How to deal with player coming and going?
It seems to me I am missing something basic here, ok I am a beginner so bear with me, as this is a subject I have a lot of trouble grasping successfully.
This brings up a great question. What HUD do you recommend? What options are out there. I"m not new to the game, but have not played a great deal online. 3 years sparingly. Does the HUD you use give you the ability to track player's prior play on that site only?
That puts you OOP against the people you want to be IP with. It means you cannot isolate. It means you have less infomation on the flop when you bet. Its basically the opposite of what you want. Its fine if you play very nitty because you always hit the flop with a decent hand, but it also prevents you from stealing. On the button, against weak fish you can isolate and steal with ATC. OOP you cannot. Whilst I say that its fine if you are nitty, what I mean is you wont notice how bad it really is if you are nitty. You are essentially playing fit or fold poker postflop, but the fact that you will open a narrow range just means you fit a lot. The key to progressing as a player is to open a wider range in position.
I'm new here, so what's OOP/ATC