Comments: Renton's 169 hand SS-NLHE ring strat: Preflop

[cobere]

By the way if you are at a superloose table, what do you care if limping only pocket pairs in EP telegraphs your hand? They are going to call down with everything no matter what, remember?

QFT. I was thinking more along the lines of a loose table with mixed players. The tables I've been playing on over at Full Tilt have some wonderfully horrendous fish, but there are usually a handful of rocks and solid TAGGs scattered about. I'll take their money, too, so I need to make sure I don't get too predictable.

[Staresy]

The tables I've been playing on over at Full Tilt have some wonderfully horrendous fish, but there are usually a handful of rocks and solid TAGGs scattered about.

ha, ha! I'm almost too afraid to ask what catagory I fall into!!

[cobere]

Lol. You have your own category, the Staresy Effect. I don't have enough stats on you to define it yet, hehe.

[mrhappy333]

RENTON FOR PRESIDENT!!
great post.

[montauk]

hey renton, ive tested out your guide, and am basically at 7/15 which is extremely tight, is that the way you intended?

I'm incredibly tight in UTG 5%vpip and MP23 7-8%....

Any tips for expanding hand selection for loose tables?

[Renton]

idk what 7/15 means. If you mean 15vpip/7pfr then that sounds about right.

Your range under the gun should be about 8 percent.

[Ash256]

Good read, I like that strat a lot. Reading this is strange though, as this is pretty much the strategy that I've naturally adopted anyway.

[KrazyBluffer]

I have a question about A9 and under.

I don't see it in the guide except for A8o+ for stealing the Blinds.

I was wondering if I should ever play A9 and under and in what circumstances??

Here are some notes I have on A9 and Under.
Let me know what you think.

Ace 9 and Under
A9, A8, A7, A6, A5, A4, A3, A2
play when both cards are suited and you can see a cheap flop (for nut flush)
play if you have A5 and under and can see a cheap flop (for straight)
play if you are on the button or to the right of the button with no raise
Never call a raise with A9 or under, even on the button
With a table of fewer than 5 players, you can play this hand frequently and even raise with it

[Renton]

you can open from the button with any ace.

A2o just is a really crappy hand to be investing much money into because it is dominated by any ace or pocket pair.

BTW A2-A5 have virtually no value in straights because they only make one each and they can't make the nuts.

[KrazyBluffer]

Ok thanks for the reply.
It makes sense that A2o is week.
I had a hand yesterday A4s and the flop was 235.
I go AI with this guy who has 77 and im counting my money already lol Turn =4 River = 6
Got beat by a bigger straight so i see what u mean, although i think getting him to go AI was the correct play here. It was just a BadBeat.

Anyway, I have one more question and it is an easy one for you.

What is the exact range of hands to limp in with on the Small Blind??

Are these what you mean??
43s+ , 540+ , 64s+ , 970+ , 85s+ and all suited aces and suited kings

Or should that starting range be higher??

Thanks again.

[blackscribe]

Hey, Renton, great article, bro! Just wanted to share some immediate results with you. Here's what happened before I finished reading the WHOLE thing. This is an entry from my blog...

Tuesday, August 22, 2006
maybe i do want to be a french fry

Yesterday I suffered my biggest loss since I started keeping this blog. $21.39. That is actually good news and bad news. Knowing that I’ll be sharing my performance with you gentle readers helps to keep me somewhat in check. The truth is, I went on micro-tilt.

By the time I sat down to play I was tired and, at the same time, over-eager to play. I had been out of the house most of the day and when I did finally get home, I took some time to make dinner for the family. The thing that really put me in a poor frame of mind was that I reviewed the upcoming household bills. As a result, that night’s session took on a new seriousness. My game had to improve and it had to improve now. If titans01 could make $125 a day, damnit, so could I.

I decided that I would review an article by Renton from the Flop Turn River forum while I played. He claims to have made $12,000 playing small stakes NLHE over a period of four months. In a series of articles he shares his winning strategy. So I made a hard copy of the piece, pulled out pencil and highlighter, and steeled myself for the influx of profound poker knowledge I was about to receive.

With all of the above swarming in my mind, I fired up Pacific Poker. Back to the $10 NL tables. I had just over $30 in my account. Okay, this is do or die, I thought. I would read a sentence from the article and then try to put it into practice while I played.

This approach didn’t work well. After just a quick scan of the techniques suggested by Renton, I got the impression that the biggest change in my game would be playing with greater positional awareness. Fundamentally I would be playing more hands based on seat position and table dynamics. That sounds reasonable. The problem with what I was doing was that I was splitting my attention between the article and the table. I hadn’t even gotten through the first page of the strategy and I was missing most of the action on the table. So I was actually playing with less awareness rather than more.

So let’s think about this… More hands, more aggression, less awareness equals…? Hmmm…. anyone, anyone? That’s right, increasingly shorter stack. But I gotta get this bill money! One hundred twenty-five dollars in the next 30 minutes! Damn, beat again! Let me reload. What? That guy who has only played 22% of the hands is raising from under the gun, I’m in middle position, let me reraise him with KT suited. Awww, f@#%, he has a pair of queens!!

And it went on like that for a couple of hours.

I began to think, who am I kidding? What do you mean you want to be a serious poker player? Get over yourself. You are a joke. You better go back to the play money tables where you actually had a chance. Then I reminded myself that there is a right way to approach a goal, any goal, and there is a wrong way. And with the right guidance, the right attitude, the right approach, I can find success.

So, today, for starters, I’m going to finish reading that article. The entire article. Away from the poker table. And I’m gonna take some notes and try to digest it.

And, yeah, maybe I do want to be a serious poker player!

[blackscribe]

Okay, so going off half-cocked wasn't too good. After I had some time to really read the entire article, here's what happened...

Wednesday, August 23, 2006
reading is fundamental

Last night I experienced something strangely fantastic.

It was very much like when I got my first pair of glasses. After moving through life for so many years in a constant state of visual fuzz, all of a sudden things became clear. I could read signs off in the distance, I could tell if that girl across the room was really smiling at me, colors became more vibrant. I no longer had to squint out into world. I was more self-assured. Doubt dropped away from me like so much unnecessary clothing.

This is what I felt last night playing poker. Earlier during the day I had spent a few hours reviewing Renton’s articles (which I mentioned in my previous post). As I read and reread passages, my basic understanding of the game began to grow and expand. I began to see why I witnessed others make more money than me with identical hands. Leaks in my game became apparent. I started to see that I wasn’t just unlucky in many situations. I simply hadn’t truly understood concepts like hand strength and odds. I saw that I hadn’t known how to properly build a pot or how to get away from a hand that was most likely beat. I began to recognize my unhealthy and disproportionate fear of drawing boards. It slowly dawned on me that I had been missing countless opportunities every time I sat down at the poker table.

When I joined a $10 NL table at Pacific Poker last night, I only had $5.60 in my account. That was it. But, strangely, I didn’t feel that anxious. Rather I sensed a new confidence and I was eager to put into practice the information I had just acquired. I had a road map for my play. And I followed it.

I stuck to the guidelines Renton laid out, varying the hands I played based on position, preceding bets, consideration of who made the bets and the quality of my opponents’ play. I found myself paying more attention to the action in each round. I developed the ability to predict with some accuracy who would limp into each pot, who would call raises and who would fold. As I got deeper in the game, I was better able to put players on hands. And I slowly, but steadily, made money.

After two hours of looking at flops, I had tripled my money. Yeah, I know what you’re thinking. Big deal, 15 freaking dollars… oooohh! Well, you’re right, it’s not much money. I’ve had days when I’ve won $200 or $300 when it was all over. The thing that set this session apart from most that I’ve played was (1) the margin of profit and (2) the absence of wild dips in my bankroll. I can’t recall ever playing a session where, when the cards were put away and the computer turned off, I had tripled my money. There may have been periods during a session when, at some point, I had more than three times the money I started with, but I never left the table with that much. And that speaks to my other point—this session was characterized by a steady upward climb of my stack. Nothing fancy or dramatic, but always an increase in my chips.

Now, I’m aware that in the world of serious poker play, one cannot reasonably measure his success or failure on one day’s performance. One of those poker pros, probably Sklansky again, said something like the game never ends, the game is always running. So a better measure of my success will probably be a period of weeks, months, or even a year. Nevertheless, I am encouraged. It’s become clear to me that there are ever increasing levels of poker knowledge and play. I have only cracked open the door a bit.

I’ll keep you posted.

[blackscribe]

One question for you, Renton... What the hell are "broadways"? As in "simply limp the other big broadways and pairs." When I googled the term it was defined as an ace high straight.

Thanks again.

[Renton]

I hope it works out for you. However, remember that in poker, that moments of clarity are often just runs of good luck. Maybe you did start seeing things more clearly, but I just wanted to present a realistic point of view. Its hard to change strategies in poker and it just immediately start working well, because poker's not about one session.

PS: Broadways= JT, QJ, KJ, AJ, QT, KT, AT, KQ, AQ, AK or some people consider them to be just AK, AQ, AJ, KQ, KJ, QJ.

[gnads]

I've found your post really helpful renton, quick question though...what are your thoughts behind calling raises with AQs? (Are you only looking for the flush as an Ace on the flop means I'm most likely dominated?)

Of course I'm playing NL10, so that will make a difference I'm guessing.

[Renton]

Calling raises with AQs kinda depends on the situation. If you call from someone raising under the gun, you have to be at least somewhat afraid of AK/AA/KK/QQ if the player is tight. If calling from the button a raise from MP, then you can be pretty sure you most likely have them dominated with your AQ, because weaker aces make up a large part of his range, particularly if he is a loose raiser. Generally its better to reraise or fold with AQ, but if you play smart after the flop and put people on fairly narrow ranges, it can be very +EV to call behind, or even play a multiway pot.

[jackvance]

lol yeah.. the "omg I see it all so clearly now, it's so easy" has always been a good run of cards.. real skill is in minimizing losses when the cards are sucking and staying calm when bad beaten. (sadly I lack those skills)

[cobere]

Quick question on blind steals. If you open raise from LP and get reraised from the blinds, do you have any guidelines for folding vs calling?

Obv holding KK vs a min raise from the BB is different from holding KTo vs a push for your stack. Do you basically treat it the same as if you raised from EP and got reraised from MP?

[Silly String]

WOW, all I can say is thanks.
This contribution to the forum is greatly appreciated.

[Renton]

Quick question on blind steals. If you open raise from LP and get reraised from the blinds, do you have any guidelines for folding vs calling?

Obv holding KK vs a min raise from the BB is different from holding KTo vs a push for your stack. Do you basically treat it the same as if you raised from EP and got reraised from MP?

Reraise ranges from the blinds are generally wider than from other positions, particularly when you have been stealing a lot. I open up my calling range somewhat, but I generally only like to call with implied odds hands like small suited connectors and pocket pairs (when I am getting the right price, of course). I will also call with AQ and better, especially if I think that they think that I am getting out of line. Its largely feel based.

[KrazyBluffer]

Hi Renton,

This thread is dying out so I thought I would start it back up.

I have some questions about your hand-chart which has become quite useful.

What I was actually doing is comparing it to HOH1 and then looking at the 5 cases he gives in his book.

For example: You have 3 limpers and you are on the button with KJo. I would limp this hand, but according to your chart you say to Raises 4BB + 1 for each limper.
So at $25 NL I would be betting $1.75 with this hand. Sometimes it works and everybody folds, and you usually will only get called by premium hands, unless you have really loose fish.

So I was wondering what hands do you think are better to call with then to raise with , when facing mulitple limpers??

Also in MP you say to raise with KQo, but say you have UTG limp (tight-passive) and aggressive players behind. Would the gap concept/sandwich look good for just a limp here, or would you still raise??

Thanks.

[MiJ]

Hi Renton,

For example: You have 3 limpers and you are on the button with KJo. I would limp this hand, but according to your chart you say to Raises 4BB + 1 for each limper.
So at $25 NL I would be betting $1.75 with this hand. Sometimes it works and everybody folds, and you usually will only get called by premium hands, unless you have really loose fish.

Thanks.

with KJo on the button, you can raise because you have great position and if anyone would have had a premium hand they would have probably have raisedthe pot already. so your probably a favorite..even if your not, by being the aggressor in the hand , you can take down alot of pots on the flop with a C-bet

[KrazyBluffer]

Hi Renton,

For example: You have 3 limpers and you are on the button with KJo. I would limp this hand, but according to your chart you say to Raises 4BB + 1 for each limper.
So at $25 NL I would be betting $1.75 with this hand. Sometimes it works and everybody folds, and you usually will only get called by premium hands, unless you have really loose fish.

Thanks.

with KJo on the button, you can raise because you have great position and if anyone would have had a premium hand they would have probably have raisedthe pot already. so your probably a favorite..even if your not, by being the aggressor in the hand , you can take down alot of pots on the flop with a C-bet

I understand this is a great raise if no body has limped. The reason I ask this is because I have noticed several players (tight passive) on the site I play at love to limp AK, AQ and I can see the obvious benefits. The fish will play top pair no kicker all the way to the river for half there stack.
So with 3 limpers , yes I can raise, but I won't expect to get re-raised by passive joe holding Ace-King.

Then flop comes K72 and passive joe checks, I c-bet, and all of a sudden they call , or even check-raise.
Then I check my notes and see "never raises with AK, AQ" so I know it is a good fold.

Now if Loosy-Goosy limps before me I have no probs raising as well.

Any thoughts!!!
Thanks

[MiJ]

Hi Renton,

For example: You have 3 limpers and you are on the button with KJo. I would limp this hand, but according to your chart you say to Raises 4BB + 1 for each limper.
So at $25 NL I would be betting $1.75 with this hand. Sometimes it works and everybody folds, and you usually will only get called by premium hands, unless you have really loose fish.

Thanks.

with KJo on the button, you can raise because you have great position and if anyone would have had a premium hand they would have probably have raisedthe pot already. so your probably a favorite..even if your not, by being the aggressor in the hand , you can take down alot of pots on the flop with a C-bet

I understand this is a great raise if no body has limped. The reason I ask this is because I have noticed several players (tight passive) on the site I play at love to limp AK, AQ and I can see the obvious benefits. The fish will play top pair no kicker all the way to the river for half there stack.
So with 3 limpers , yes I can raise, but I won't expect to get re-raised by passive joe holding Ace-King.

Then flop comes K72 and passive joe checks, I c-bet, and all of a sudden they call , or even check-raise.
Then I check my notes and see "never raises with AK, AQ" so I know it is a good fold.

Now if Loosy-Goosy limps before me I have no probs raising as well.

Any thoughts!!!
Thanks

depends on what you define as tight passive , if he's running at like 20/2 and 15/2 then yes , raise ....if he's something 7/2 over a significant amount hands then i see your point ...but a tight passive player limping is usually a small to mid PP or A10-AQ....(and are usually willing to fold unless they hit something on the flop)

what site and what limit do you play?

[KrazyBluffer]

Hi once again.

I would like a little more detail on SB vs BB raises.
Looking at Renton's Guide, I am a little unclear on this subject.
HOH1 says " any pair , any A or K , Q5+ and JTs and J9s"

Renton's guide says A9+, KT+, QJ+ and all pairs.
But in late position it says A80+, A2s+, KT0+, K8s+, 98s+, J9s+ JTo+ and all pairs.

Why is the SB vs BB tighter then say the CO, or is it because you will be first to act??

But then Dan really loosens up with any A or K hand.

When playing the loose $25 limits games this situation doesn't come up very often.

Thanks.

[ProZachNation]

Havent read much of this yet but it realy makes me wish I still played. Keep up the amazing work.

If I ever start playing again I will give it another read then.

[prosnaker]

Sorry for digging up an old thread but great post renton.

As a newish player getting a decent understanding of position really helps.

gw

[Bozanic]

Excellent article! It has really got me thinking about my play. In particular, hand selection in the varying positions.

Poker is not a natural thing for me. So I relate it to the things I do know about. For example, snooker. It is not always about what you make, sometimes it's about what you leave behind.

Thanks heaps! I am now a Renton's 169 fan!....LOL

[DonkeyDonk]

Well written article however somewhat idyllic. If you stick to this preflop strategy your vpip will never be the standard player 20% it will be more like 2% on a full ring table. You will play 1 or 2 hands an hour with normal levels of preflop raising. When you finally do hit your hand your opponents will promptly fold to your raise or call your KK with a rag ace and blow your hand away when an ace hits the flop. All this making for a demoralising as well as unprofitable visit to the table. You need to play many more hands and master post flop play to achieve any sort of success.

[Ash256]

Well written article however somewhat idyllic. If you stick to this preflop strategy your vpip will never be the standard player 20% it will be more like 2% on a full ring table. You will play 1 or 2 hands an hour with normal levels of preflop raising. When you finally do hit your hand your opponents will promptly fold to your raise or call your KK with a rag ace and blow your hand away when an ace hits the flop. All this making for a demoralising as well as unprofitable visit to the table. You need to play many more hands and master post flop play to achieve any sort of success.

Troll/gimmick account fo' sho'.

[DonkeyDonk]

Well written article however somewhat idyllic. If you stick to this preflop strategy your vpip will never be the standard player 20% it will be more like 2% on a full ring table. You will play 1 or 2 hands an hour with normal levels of preflop raising. When you finally do hit your hand your opponents will promptly fold to your raise or call your KK with a rag ace and blow your hand away when an ace hits the flop. All this making for a demoralising as well as unprofitable visit to the table. You need to play many more hands and master post flop play to achieve any sort of success.

Troll/gimmick account fo' sho'.

what does Troll/Gimmick account mean

[donkbee]

Troll/gimmick account fo' sho'.

Why? I disagree and think your post is unnecessary.

[Ash256]

Troll/gimmick account fo' sho'.

Why? I disagree and think your post is unnecessary.

Sorry courtie.

That kind of writing and sheer.. umm.. lack of knowledge looked exactly like the kind of trolls I see on other poker forums, plus it's a first post.

@ DonkeyDonk, very roughly, a troll is roughly someone who posts on discussion boards merely to get a negative reaction from the community and a gimmick account is one that serves no purpose other than to troll in one particular way.

To put it nicely (using muchos restraint), your post is completely and utterly unfounded and wrong on so many levels. Get some experience and you'll look back at it and laugh.

[Kozmo]

I read your articles found it interesting, applied your strategies and went from a winning player to a loosing player. Oh well back to my passive aggressive game. Are you sure these strategies work for the online game today. I play NL 100 and NL 200. I find when you plat passively pre flop and then aggressive postflop I seem to win. When I am aggressive preflop I'm throwing money down the drain when I don't hit the flop. Furthermore at these levels you still can't get anyone off there hand. So just call play passive and let the calling stations bet for you. Of course I'm only talking about online play. But I really liked your articles don't get me wrong.

[Renton]

games have changed a LOT since i wrote those articles.

However, they should still hold relatively true, and its very likely you either a) ran really badly during the sample of hands where you were using my advice, or b) overapplied or misapplied it.

Post some example hands in the full ring forum and i'll be glad to help you out.

[AFchung]

that was a long read, but well worth it for a beginner like me. thanks

[Robb]

that was a long read, but well worth it for a beginner like me. thanks

This makes me happy - a noobie playing a vnh Welcome to FTR. Keep reading the Beginner's Digest and listening to guys like Renton - his entire 3 part series made me a ton better about 5 months ago when I was starting out. Keep posting your thoughts and HH's.

I read your articles found it interesting, applied your strategies and went from a winning player to a loosing player. Oh well back to my passive aggressive game. Are you sure these strategies work for the online game today. I play NL 100 and NL 200. I find when you plat passively pre flop and then aggressive postflop I seem to win. When I am aggressive preflop I'm throwing money down the drain when I don't hit the flop. Furthermore at these levels you still can't get anyone off there hand. So just call play passive and let the calling stations bet for you. Of course I'm only talking about online play. But I really liked your articles don't get me wrong.

This pisses me off. And Renton's reply was so gracious - dayam!! "Are you sure this works?" Oh, yeah. "So just call play passive and let the calling stations bet for you." WTF?? Calling stations don't bet for you - that's why we term them CALLING stations.

Kozmo, sorry dude, I don't go off on people often, but here's my postflop read: you suck at poker. You had two winning sessions, one at NL100 and one at NL200, then finally read some strategy stuff and are ripping up Renton 'cuz you can't play poker AT ALL. I won't believe this "winning player at NL100/200" BS until I see some PT stats, and even then I probably won't believe it.

Renton filled a big hole in the strategy posts here on FTR and spent many hours to do it. His guide is spot-on and works well. His posts and replies are helpful and informative. You just need go whine somewhere else - you lost all your lunch money 'cuz you suck at poker.

Renton can be gracious (1) because he has class and (2) because he and everyone else here with two working brain cells knows he's a great low-limit player who'll be moving up quickly.

[pankfish]

Jeez rob, wtf are you freaking about?

[Numbr2intheWorld]

wow Robb what caused the response? The guy was being very polite.

[Pelion]

wow lol. Thanks rob thats cheered me up.

[Robb]

wow Robb what caused the response? The guy was being very polite.

"So just call play passive and let the calling stations bet for you."

Maybe I overreacted, but this CAN'T be a winning NL100 player talking. Renton's guide revolutionized how I was playing in October 2007, and since I was a losing player in September...I just have a ton of respect for Renton. And felt like this guy didn't.

[Hal]

Well Robb - if nothing else, you've convinced me to re-read Renton's (and other's posts) again now I have more of an understanding of the game to see what new things I take out of it.

[redflea13]

good read.

[LuckySlevin]

Really fantastic my games improved leaps and bounds thanks to your writing. I have only really read and absorbed the pre flop strategy and am looking forward to moving on to the post flop.

I play mainly MTT but as a complete beginner of last week the information I've picked up here and strategy for a tight solid game has been invaluable, can't thank you enough.

Cheers!

[kb coolman]

Renton - Mad props to you!!! What an excellent strategy for low limits. This site has helped me fill in a ton of holes in my game.

I recently became a disciple of 'rillas BR management, which I found very helpful. I was the player who would deposit $100, hit a mad run and get up to $400-$500, then go on a bad run, move up in stakes to 'catch up' and get felted.

So, I built a $250 BR and started playing .05/.10 NLHE, to be within my BR. But the play has been maddening. Standard value and c-bets get no respect, but I am determined to pay my dues and live in hold-em hell for a while in order to EARN my right to play larger limits.

That being said, I was floundering. No real losses or tilts (thanks to playing within my BR), but no real gains either (thanks to higher suckout ratios). This strategy is SPOT ON. I cannot find a single flaw. If nothing else, the positional play is word reading 10 times. The advise on 4xBB raise plus 1BB per limper is so perfect. It narrows the flops to 2, sometimes 3 players. Suckouts have dropped dramatically, and I'm making progress. My $250 BR is up over $350 now in just a couple of days (I 3-table). I've lost a few buy-ins, but I've won many more. Working my BR up to $625 so I can move up to $25NL.

[bpurvis2]

I think this was a great post the most valuable part was about implied odds how to stack someone with AA when you hit your set on the flop I find that alot of players think there over pairs are good and they lead out for pot sized bets so when you come over the top of them they 3bet the rest of there stackk at you and you get paid off . I've done this a few times with 22 vs AA and landed not only a set but quads lol making the guy look even worse and duck and hide to were I had to get the buddy finding tool up when before that hand he had 10 tables going and was easy to find lol I love it when that happens.

[3cent]

hi,

can you explain a bit this phrase :


I reraise more preflop, with weaker hands like JJ, AQ, AJs and sometimes with total air. As games get tighter, unimproved AA and KK make less money, so the need to represent them becomes greater.

taken from ' preflop strategy adaptation for tight games unl

thanks

[Ragnar4]

UTG (1st to act preflop)- I typically raise pocket pairs 99 and up. Some people limp 99 and TT under the gun, I don’t. I think in loose games they have way too much value as overpairs. In order for a pocket pair unimproved to win a pot, you need to isolate one or two players with a raise. As far as unpaired cards go, I like raising AJs+, AQo+, and KQs. If you limp these hands you will have to play a one pair hand out of position in a multiway pot, which is not too fun to do, and not too profitable either. You can limp the other pocket pairs 88 and lower in a loose fishy game. Fold all other hands. As you become a stronger player, limping big suited connectors and suited aces becomes profitable, but they’ll only add to your variance and frustration if you play them as a novice.

Can we talk about this? Because I disagree.

[Renton]

that is, a very old post

also, its probably true at low limits

[Ragnar4]

that is, a very old post

also, its probably true at low limits

Probably, I still lose money with it, but truth be told, I'm not a strong player.

[Darth Candy]

Heya,
I really enjoyed your article. Nicely written and explained.

A quick question from a fellow Georgian. I know that that the 19 hand strategy says that it is mainly for up to 25NL and you say in your disclaimer that your strategy is only for 25NL-200NL.

I play mainly 5NL, would your outline work with that level or is the play too loose and sporadic at that level?

Thnx - Candy

[EasyPoker]

Great post, just a few questions:

1) Am I right with the following meanings:
a) AJs = Ace/Jack - Suited; b) AQo = Ace/Queen - offsuit;

and are there any other abbreviations I should know about re suits?

b) What does being deep-stacked mean?

[Hoopy]

a)Correct

b)Deep stacked means you and another person/s have bigger stacks than is usual in a game. For example in a 10NL game you have $22 and one of your opponents has $30 we would say that you are 220 big blinds deep against him.

Generally you aren't deep stacked in in cash game unless you have 200 big blinds or more and so do your opponents.

Interesting note at 2NL and 5NL you can buy in for 250 and 200 big blinds respectively, i.e you start deep.

[EasyPoker]

Interesting note at 2NL and 5NL you can buy in for 250 and 200 big blinds respectively, i.e you start deep.

That would be $5 and $10 respectively, right?

[Hoopy]

Yep that's right, you can't buy in that deep at most other limits, it just something to be aware of.

[bdestefanis]

I created a Word doc that summarizes Renton's 169 hand SS-NLHE ring strat: Preflop and Postflop: Part I if anyone is interested. It leaves out some of the nuances, but makes for a handy reference while playing until you can make the ideas your own. I would recommend reading the original articles first.

You can grab it here:
http://www.lustykittens.com/Renton169Hand.doc