When I go allin i do it because I expect i have the best hand. And most often I do have the best hand, because if I feel I don't have the best I will lay down my hand.
(The obvious exceptions are going allin preflop with KK and with AK and meeting a better hand, that is just the realities of poker.)
But apart from those, and going allin on later streets, I have the best hand in 3 out of 4 hands, maybe even 4 out of 5 hands.
HERE*S THE QUESTION
- Should I be happy about that - that I can read the opponent and situation well and save my money?
- Or should I take more chances, get my money in there much more, until I have the best hand only in 3 out of 5 cases maybe?
Cista, you should definitely be happy that in most situations you are getting your chips in ahead. If it were the other way around, you'd have some serious issues to work on in your game.
IMO, if you are still grinding at 2nl then it is not worth trying to get the majority of opponents off hands. In general, most 2nl villains are not really thinking about what you are holding -- they are just playing the cards in front of them.
Have you downloaded PT3/HEM yet? When you have stats on your opponents, or if you are playing limited tables and have a very strong sense of what type of player they are with detailed notes, you can then begin to figure out which are the stronger, thinking players and the nits which you can then leveraging your image and power to make your opponent fold. Generally, to make an opponent fold, you want to have a hand which has no showdown value but which you played in a way that your opponent thinks he is beat. To be able to do this, your opponent needs to be at least considering what cards might be in your hand (level two thinking).
While there are some level two thinkers at 2nl, most unknown villains are simply playing their cards -- and against these types it is usually best to just play your strong hands fast and furious and get called down by inferior holdings.
But do look for these spots and stronger players that know how to fold, and when you find yourself in a heads up situation with one of them and a spot where you think you know what they have and that they probably won't call you if you show strength, try to take down the pot. It doesn't usually require an all-in to do so either -- it's dependent on stack sizes and pot size and board texture and villain and etc.
Also, post some hands here for analysis and you'll likely get some insight.