Problems with playing live on a fishy tables

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limakpl

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Hello, I have come across this scenario very often in which I don't what would be the best strategy.



9-6 handed table .. Every hand early and during middle stage in a tournament starts with early position limper followed by other 3-5 limpers of course including BB SB, They play everything that looks nice, all aces, connectors Q6s etc.
My strategy is to limp and call cheaply ONLY from late position everything that has potential to turn into a monster pocket pairs 22-99 most suited and unsuited connectors, suited one gappers 8T J9 etc.and broadway cards TK Qj JK QT etc. Once I hit the flop or have a good draw and good odds to chase I carry on playing, if I hit second pair or less i normally play passively check/fold .

TT+ KQ AJ+ i raise 3 +1bb for each limper and 3 bet 3x with AK JJ, despite that I always have to play multiway pots and .

When I open and I miss the flop, I don't c -bet because my c-bet will be called 99% of times, so I don't see point in losing money. And because there are so many players in the pot Top pair is also not good enough , SO even If I have TPTK I get 2-3 callers on my c-bet and I normally get outdrawn to straight, flush two pair or set...What is more If I bet the flop and check the turn , everyone sees it as a weakness and they fire a bet on the turn or river. ALWAYS and I can't continue.

I don't know what to do because unless i get a monster I CAN't bet. Please Help
 
razva_raz94

razva_raz94

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You need to make a big raise preflop to isolate the limpers and if you don't have a big stack,just let them limp and when you get a good hand maybe JJ or better(depending on the blinds) go allin and take the pot
 
smallfrie

smallfrie

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Stop limping. In general you should be using an optimal strategy keeping your voluntarily played hands almost at zero early in these tournaments and when you do enter it should be for a raise after the blinds hit widen your range and try to steal more pre-flop from later positions. Let me guess 75% of the tables are old people? Don't get me wrong I am old as well but let me assure you old the majority of the time does not mean experienced and good in poker, it means they limp fold almost every pot until they are busted DO NOT PICK UP THEIR HABITS. Get comfortable playing post flop. I recommended in another post that was asking about books to read that the poster read 2 books by Zachary Elwood 1. Reading Poker tells 2. Verbal poker tells. I recommend you read those after you read them you will be amazed at the obvious tells those limpers are showing you and how big a factor it becomes in your post-flop play. How can I say that for sure? If they are limping every hand they are bad players and if they are bad players they have no idea about the obvious tells they are giving on their hand strength. Tells make live games a little less difficult. I think if you play tournaments with the same players over and over you can add some "exploitive" or "exploitative" play to the "optimal" tournament strategy but I would try to keep your tournament strategy optimal not pick up bad habits from bad players and just work on trying to get better and better at post flop play with every trick you can learn, because post-flop is where you are going to be a lot in these tournaments. I think in live poker, tells are underrated and reading them and acting accordingly is an underutilized tool so that's why I recommended those books. Good luck :)
 
teepack

teepack

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Get more aggressive pre-flop with good hands. The more people you allow to see a flop, the harder it is to win a hand. You really have to pick your spots and keep the pressure on. I play in a local pub league, and I am always amazed at how many of the players will chase gut shots, flushes, sets, etc., when they know they are beat. Yes, they are going to get lucky some times and hit a two-outer on the river to beat you, but by and large that is going to be a profitable play for you and not them.
 
TheJermyGerm

TheJermyGerm

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patience, position, poise.

Iv been in a Ton of these little tournaments doesn't really matter the buy in but usually you find these guys in buy ins under 100.00.
Use your number one gift in poker and that is position to your advantage, they want to keep limping and calling let them just if you can choose good positioning to make a big move when big moves should happen.

Even though it is tempting to switch your game up and play reckless stay patient, im sure you'v head this before but none more true then a situation like this.. you want to give the image that your reckless, pre and post flop meaning instead of a 2-3 x make your regular raise / bet 4-6 x depending on starting chips exp early, and follow up with a flop bet 1- 3 times your going to take it down but doesn't mean your only going to have it 1-3 times you'll have catch your runs and when you do they will pay you off, btw 2-3 x is an effective strategy as well but when they're calling so much your going to be paid more pre - flop then flop - river so you want more in, plus they're more often to call a flop bet having called 4-6 x pre flop but if they have a hand it doesn't matter if they flat call bb pre.

like smallfrie said stay poised in good poker habits, you don't want to play the game their playing, you want them to continue to play the game their playing but every once in a while play into your game, while you keep your game consistent. these guys will suck out on you and bump you out of the tournament, but if you stay to an aggressive strategy and make them make tough decisions to do so you should do alright out of ten of these style tournies.
 
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limakpl

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Stop limping. In general you should be using an optimal strategy keeping your voluntarily played hands almost at zero early in these tournaments and when you do enter it should be for a raise after the blinds hit widen your range and try to steal more pre-flop from later positions. Let me guess 75% of the tables are old people? Don't get me wrong I am old as well but let me assure you old the majority of the time does not mean experienced and good in poker, it means they limp fold almost every pot until they are busted DO NOT PICK UP THEIR HABITS. Get comfortable playing post flop. I recommended in another post that was asking about books to read that the poster read 2 books by Zachary Elwood 1. Reading Poker Tells 2. Verbal Poker Tells. I recommend you read those after you read them you will be amazed at the obvious tells those limpers are showing you and how big a factor it becomes in your post-flop play. How can I say that for sure? If they are limping every hand they are bad players and if they are bad players they have no idea about the obvious tells they are giving on their hand strength. Tells make live games a little less difficult. I think if you play tournaments with the same players over and over you can add some "exploitive" or "exploitative" play to the "optimal" tournament strategy but I would try to keep your tournament strategy optimal not pick up bad habits from bad players and just work on trying to get better and better at post flop play with every trick you can learn, because post-flop is where you are going to be a lot in these tournaments. I think in live poker, tells are underrated and reading them and acting accordingly is an underutilized tool so that's why I recommended those books. Good luck :)


I am saying that I only limp or call cheaply from late position , when it's very likely there will be no raise or 3 bet and the odds are sometimes 5;1 one or even greater , not talking about implied odds. :eek: And i Only do it with hands that have great potential, not any two cards... Isn't this profitable??

Live reads are not for me.. I think the energy and time spent on observations is wasted because ,one person can act in a following way when they are weak while the other person will be acting in the same way when they are strong I checked it after reading outdated Mike Caro's book of tells and observing amatour opponents during games at my University. BTW I learnt not to listen to Psychology students because they try to trick you with whatever they say when you play against them. Also I, think by the end of the day , observing betting patterns , sizings etc. is much more reliable. I am not that great to focus on both in the same time , I can't even play more than two tables online .
 
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