M
marknz88
Rock Star
Silver Level
Hey everyone!
Here is my quick background. Started playing poker a couple of weeks ago online. Had deposited $100 on FT (now around @ $80) and have been playing mainly tournaments + SNGs with some cash games. Altogether only around 2k hands (yes I know a very small sample)
Now so far Ive read LGB and LBB and am a quarter of the way through Harrington on Holdem. I believe I have a good understanding of the basic poker theory so far and Im a futures trader so have good money management skills etc.
I started off playing what seems to me TAG poker...VPIP 16, PFR 12. PFAF 33%. However I have had no success at cashing in any of the 30 tournaments ive played. I started off ok with cash games but have since got back to where I started.
What im finding is that at these levels (2NL and $1+10-20) all of the poker theory I have been learning is useless. everybody calls far too much and plays every hand. Now I should be able to capitalise on this...but I havent. Everytime I get all my money in on good hands AA/KK i suck out to mid pocket pairs or 67os which hits a straight. EVERY TIME. During tournaments the same occurs. I wait till the 4th/5th rounds to to play a slightly wider range of hands than premium but find im always the short stack...always. So I end up shoving with high pocket pairs/premium hands, again get called by several players and suck out against them when in theory 'I did the correct move'.
So last night I tilted and decided to try LAG in cash games...it worked quite well initially and I doubled my buy-in. Then proceeded to lose it. I understand LAG comes with wild swings, but it seems like all those that win at this level are LAG players. I hardly see any TAG making it further than my self.
Now during Zorba's game yesterday I felt much more like I was playing poker. People respected your raises when you have premium hands etc and the experience was much more enjoyable than what Im currently experiencing. Obviously I dont have the bank roll to get out of the micros to a level where I can actually use the poker theory im learning.
So the question is, Do I stick it out playing TAG and wait for variance to turn around and start paying me back for all the times I should have won (based on equity etc) or adopt a more LAG style and play a wider range of hands which every 'fish' (yes I could be included in fish) tends to play and it seems to work for them...I feel like I should be playing LAG at the start of a tournament to build up a stack and then switch to TAG once I have achieved this. I would like to play to win rather than just cash but for the time being cashing is my goal. However this is the opposite of what most poker theory states (i.e TAG initially then open up to a more LAG when the antes kick in)...soo to TAG or LAG?
Here is my quick background. Started playing poker a couple of weeks ago online. Had deposited $100 on FT (now around @ $80) and have been playing mainly tournaments + SNGs with some cash games. Altogether only around 2k hands (yes I know a very small sample)
Now so far Ive read LGB and LBB and am a quarter of the way through Harrington on Holdem. I believe I have a good understanding of the basic poker theory so far and Im a futures trader so have good money management skills etc.
I started off playing what seems to me TAG poker...VPIP 16, PFR 12. PFAF 33%. However I have had no success at cashing in any of the 30 tournaments ive played. I started off ok with cash games but have since got back to where I started.
What im finding is that at these levels (2NL and $1+10-20) all of the poker theory I have been learning is useless. everybody calls far too much and plays every hand. Now I should be able to capitalise on this...but I havent. Everytime I get all my money in on good hands AA/KK i suck out to mid pocket pairs or 67os which hits a straight. EVERY TIME. During tournaments the same occurs. I wait till the 4th/5th rounds to to play a slightly wider range of hands than premium but find im always the short stack...always. So I end up shoving with high pocket pairs/premium hands, again get called by several players and suck out against them when in theory 'I did the correct move'.
So last night I tilted and decided to try LAG in cash games...it worked quite well initially and I doubled my buy-in. Then proceeded to lose it. I understand LAG comes with wild swings, but it seems like all those that win at this level are LAG players. I hardly see any TAG making it further than my self.
Now during Zorba's game yesterday I felt much more like I was playing poker. People respected your raises when you have premium hands etc and the experience was much more enjoyable than what Im currently experiencing. Obviously I dont have the bank roll to get out of the micros to a level where I can actually use the poker theory im learning.
So the question is, Do I stick it out playing TAG and wait for variance to turn around and start paying me back for all the times I should have won (based on equity etc) or adopt a more LAG style and play a wider range of hands which every 'fish' (yes I could be included in fish) tends to play and it seems to work for them...I feel like I should be playing LAG at the start of a tournament to build up a stack and then switch to TAG once I have achieved this. I would like to play to win rather than just cash but for the time being cashing is my goal. However this is the opposite of what most poker theory states (i.e TAG initially then open up to a more LAG when the antes kick in)...soo to TAG or LAG?
Last edited: