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Analyze my play; What is most profitable?

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  1. #1

    Default Analyze my play; What is most profitable?

    I used to play at Party Poker, and after having terrible swings, I finally quit playing there. I started playing PokerStars yesterday and have found that it is much easier to control the pots there.

    Basically, I used to play conservative at PartyPoker, maybe TAG, maybe just tight conservative. Now at PokerStars, I am playing pretty LAG. I reraise pretty much every hand I play 2-3x BB. I am always the player creating the action at the tables. I find I bluff just as many pots as I win, and it throws players off because they never know what I have. Ocassionaly I show when I have a good hand, and ocassionaly I show when I bluff.

    Basically I am wondering what the best way to make money is at .10/.25 and .25/.50 tables. Should I continue to play the way I am playing or is there a better style? I currently play 2-3 tables at a time. I love to put the pressure on people on all streets now. I used to play too tight, I was afraid to raise, afraid to reraise, afraid to call raises. Now I am the one creating pressure and putting people in difficult situations. The action in almost every hand was usually a result of me. I've also been bluffing a lot more then usual, but instead of just random bluffing, I am using the board to aid me. If it's checked to me, I'll usually bet regardless, and it's tough for them to know what I have because I do it when I have a hand and when I don't. I think two of the key things I have learned are:

    1. If it's good enough to call, it's good enough to raise.
    2. You have to be willing to lose money to gain money.

    Is this a good direction to go in or is this doomed for failure at the higher limits (50-100 NL)?

    Edit:* By the way, I am talking about 6-max tables, and I usually only play hands in position. I'll raise 2x BB at the dealer position with almost any two cards, I'll also raise in position with almost any two cards at times. I usually have a pretty good feel of when I'm beat, and I'm rarely involved in large hands unless I am victorious. Hope that helps.

    Edit Edit:* What is the best way to destack someone? Often, I feel like I value bet too much, or bet the pot when I could get away with dropping the hammer and taking all of their chips. For some reason, I can't pick up on the times where the opponent isn't capable of dumping their hand, and instead of taking their entire stack, I only take an additional $4-8.

    Edit Edit Edit:* Eventually they catch on and realize I can't have the cards every time. I do this when I am new at a table and slowly tighten up over time. But if they are going to let me steal pots, I am going to continue to do it. What I like about this is, when I do get stronger hands (trips, straights, flushes, full houses), I can occasionally trap them and take a decent ammount of chips. I want to know how to do this though when they have something like Top Pair or Two Pair, something along those lines.
    Liter of cola.
  2. #2
    I'd bump up your preflop raises to 4x + 1 BB for every limper. The best way to destack someone is to find some really loose player and get a big hand against them. That's how I've gotten most of my money. If you don't have poketracker and pokerace hud/gametime+ I'd HIGHLY reccomend getting them.

    Just keep being aggressive and play position. It's up to you whether you wanna be lagg or tagg. I think it's generally accepted a good lagg can make more than a good tagg but there will be higher variance.

    Just a little while ago I had trip kings on the flop and bet out against a really loose player. The board paired on the turn giving me a full house. I bet again with my full house. The river makes three to a flush and I check. Villian goes all in with an unpaired AQo and I instantly call.

    Also the other day there was some insanely loose guy at the table I was playing at. He was in 90% of the pots and was raising 60% of them preflop. So then I just waited for premium hands or pairs in position and busted his ass four times.

    Granted I still have a lot to learn too but I think this might help.
    Currently at UB playing $50 NLHE 6max.
    Bankroll: ~$1900 (Almost BR'ed for 100NL.)
  3. #3
    Yep, some of that helps. I'm trying to figure out what the best tables to play are though. Do I want to play the larger average pot tables so that I can destack people easier, but does that mean those tables are also filled with a lot of LAGs like myself or they are just loose and not the greatest players? The bigger pot tables seem to have more risk associated with them, as oppossed to the lower average pot tables where I can usually muscle people around easier. I'm still thinking on that one.

    I think I should definitely invest in PokerTracker though. Everything I've heard about it and people that have it say it helps their play so much. What I love about being looser then normal though is it is letting me see a lot more hands, and I feel like I'm becoming a better post flop player.

    The problem is, at .10/.25 limits, the competition is hazy about calling raises. My bankroll won't allow me to play 50N L, so I am at 25NL for the time being. 3x BB raises (.75) rarely get more then 1 caller, occasionally 2, and the same applies to 2x BB raises (.50). People are afraid to call raises at the tables I play (smaller average pots, that's probably why). But I keep raising every hand I have in position, and better then average hands in worse position. I'm almost telling them, "If you want to play, you're going to have to call." I thought it was fairly obvious I didn't have premium hands every time.

    I don't know. It's a learning process. But I like PokerStars much better then PartyPoker.
    Liter of cola.
  4. #4
    If you are gonna play lag I think 4x BB + limpers can get you in trouble...

    ...I dunno just me.
  5. #5
    And so I have learned through trial and error that my current LAG style works better on the smaller average pot tables. The larger tables call down with anything, which kills the strategy of bluffing. Glad to know that.

    Just gotta tighten up at those tables and take their stacks with great hands.
    Liter of cola.

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