DougieG

I like the raise here due to the tight BB. He will probably fold to the steal here and if he doesn't you can bet the flop when he checks it to you as he's likely to do. Chances are he folds here and even if he doesn't your hand isn't really that bad.

I feel Jeff is off base saying that there are more tools to use in NL as a skilled player versus a new player. Having started playing NL and having some success I recently switched to limit and found that there are many more nuances to limit than there are to NL. Sure in NL you can bet any amount in order to 'freeze or bluff' an opponent, but you can also miss a bet on the turn attempting a slow play, and still make up for it on the river. In limit the edges are smaller, the payouts smaller per successful move on your new player, therefore the edge that an experienced LHE player has over a new

I drop it like it's hot and thank UTG for making QQ easy for me to let go. I gotta think the only way you could win the hand is if you catch a spade, even that might not be any good. Interesting hand though...is dropping QQ there too tight? Just would hate to hit my flush and lose to UTG's AxKs.

I knew people would actually come back saying what about K9, 99, 55...what flop are you guys looking for with AA? And the OP didn't say the button was a 'tightie'. He said he plays predictably post flop. That doesn't specify TAG v. Tight/passive. I agree we aren't getting paid off huge by this guy but most LAG players aren't paying us off huge either. What it comes down to for me is what this guy's going to do if we reraise...he's going to fold unless he has KK and even then he's spooked into playing it cautiously.

I agree with the poster directly above me. Based on the way OP describes the button player there's very little problem with flat calling this players raise. OP basically gave the answer away IMO by providing us with all this info. Reraising this is missing a BIG opportunity. Sure, youre going to lose some big pots with AA if you flat call here however youre going to win more often than you won't...especially if you KNOW that the button has a tight range and is predictable after the flop.You flat call because there's a very good chance you've got button dominated. If the flop comes KQJ, it's no

I feel it's not only important to include my reads on others, but also how the table perceives me. I'm on the button, everyone knows I'm playing LAGgy, but not stupid. Out of the 10 biggest pots in the last hour I've probly been in 8 of them. I'm the action at the table, doing all the talking and most of the winning...9 handed about 2-3 months ago so to the best of my recolection i'll include stack sizes for the key players:BB: $350 (Another LAGgy regular, fairly solid postflop, doesn't show down a lot of losers)UTG: $150 (Tight/Passive, seems like she's in over her head...not sure why)Button

Hand number 1 seems to be shocking a lot of people...I'm not sure why. I've played a significant amount of time at 1/2 NL in B&M cardrooms and have seen way too many people donk off money with hands like this. I think, based solely on the fact that he's pushing the river from OOP, you have to fold. Of course, this is a very read dependent situation. If, as you described this LAG, I think he's a good player, capable of making moves, I am not calling the all in. When I started writing this post I thought I would call from a LAGgy bad player, however with them there's even less reason to call

Tim youre turning this into the 2+2 boards if you start preaching a fold here. That place is a rock garden man.

I'm 19, college freshman at San Diego State. I play about 30 hours a week at SH 2/4...at least that's where I should stay. I have a bit of an itch for making runs at 4/8 or 5/10 which causes me to go way up at 2/4 and then lose it all at 4/8 or 5/10. I've been playing online since I legally could at 18 and seriously playing SH for the last month or so. I lurk on here more than I post as you can see by my low number of posts and the fact that I've been a member for a while. I'm a History major, but I probly spend more time playing poker online than anything related to school.

No, I go to school at San Diego St. And I wasn't saying losing 100 was too much, I was referring to the counterintuitive way you feel playing live. I don't want to play 13 hours just to be that conservative. I would rather go and blow 300 in an hour because then I'd feel like I was in the action. A lot of players experience that feeling I think...and seriously...did you really think that losing 100 was the point of my story?

So I left my house at 10AM Friday morning going to classes til 4 then heading straight to the indian casino to get in a decent 1/2 nl session. I got to the casino at 5 and sat immediately. I didn't set a time limit on my session, figured I'd play til it wasn't a profitable situation for me any more, once the bigger stacks had left or I was a bigger stack. My previous longest session was 13 hours, not so hot but a decent amount for someone who's used to playing primarily online. Well I played from 5pm-6am, a 13 hour session. This wasn't intentional, as my flopped set got turned and rivered for

I've been trying an ultra aggressive style, something along the lines of:Me: KJVillain: xxflop J J 8i lead out, villain raises, i reraise a lot.That's a very generic example but i think y'all get my point. Obviously I'm losing a lot of value on the pots where villain folds now, but occasionally i get a non-believer to come back over the top of me because they think it's a pissing match of sorts. Any comments on this sort of play?Oh yeah, and please don't point out that he may have 88/AJ/K8, this isn't a real hand, simply an example. I do understand that I'm wrapping up my money in a pretty bow

I agree, the announcing is horrible. However, I am getting sick of people having problems with 'donkeys' "betting 100 to win 15". It is possible that there isn't just one brand of poker, and while I am certainly not one the guys overbetting a pot that drastically, is it not possible that this sort of play could work for someone? And if it doesn't, why complain?The long and short of it is that poker, especially NL holdem, is a creative card game. Everyone shouldn't play the same way and frankly I'm just getting sick of hearing how poorly people played a hand because they did something out of th

I understand youre thought that it's "too early to take such a risk," and while i will admit 99 is a bit weak, I like to employ similar tactics to your "maniac". I'm not saying I would make the same moves as he is with A 7 and such, but I like to reraise a lot of pots from later position and such. Sounds like maniac truly is a maniac, but sometimes these guys are the ones to watch out for. Anyway, regarding the "too early for such a risk" isnt really a good way to win tourneys like this. 99 is weak, but if you pick up TT, JJ, sometimes it's best to gamble a little. If you're a good enough pl

I agree the styles of those at your table is important, but in a 5 or 10 dollar multi, on stars perhaps? youre lookin at 1200 entrants. Only way to play is ULTRA LAG. I make a lot of moves, play a lot of pots early just like everyone else does. So therrinn I agree it matters what the styles are like at your table, but in general LAG is much better than TAG in a large field multi table tourney. If youre interested in playing something where TAG might work out better try smaller sites, Interpoker, UB, Absolute. Tourneys stay at a more..."manageable" size and it's a lot easier to do well without

I think with 5500 and the blinds going up to 150-3 youre already in a average stack situation. With only the top 10 paying I would probably take the risk with JJ there. If you win it then you're probly in the top 10 at this point, or close, and you would have enough chips to start splashing around near the bubble and really build your stack into a contender.The only exception to this is if the tourneys on FCP tend to run very soft. I know that I played Stars for a long time and had some success in tourneys, not a ton but enough, then switched to InterPoker to chase the crypto bonus and a large

I think he probly is a fairly good cash game player. If he's playing for the stakes that he's mentioned consistently he'd have to be. I know he's filthy rich, but like he said you need 1 mil cash to play 2000-4000...well that's as much as he won when he won the WSOP main event in 89...i think. I wouldn't doubt that he's a great cashgame player...how else would he have built his bankroll prior to his rush of tourney victories in 88-89? I don't think he's as good a cash game player as...say...Howard Lederer is supposed to be, however i think it's safe to say he's a "winning player"

The pros that are endorsing the site aren't big time tourney pros. They're guys you've obviously never heard of if youre asking for the "endorsement list". It's mainly a guy named "Yosh" who is endorsing them who is a professional at the Bike and host of the 50-100 NL 5k minimum buy in whale game on Live at the Bike every wednesday.

Morongo and Sycuan are 18+. Nothing wrong with the 18-21 year olds with basketball jerseys and sunglasses for the 10 dollar tourney as long as they sit at the cash game tables after they bust out right? I know I don't mind it. And don't knock on those of us below 21. If you've got a problem with playing with 18-20 year olds, go to Oceans 11 or Rincon. There's plenty of cardrooms in socal, can't we all just get along?

Only played at one LA casino (Morongo). It was alright...definately a different atmosphere than what i'm used to since i live in SD and play at Sycuan a lot. Morongo's more of a resort so nobody really knows eachother like at other cardrooms where you walk in and are greeted by 3-4 people that you know right away. If anyone's coming down to SD i recommend Sycuan.

I don't take shots in the dark, i'm saying my reads have a tendency to be spot on, or way off. In general i make good reads and play them as such, but like i said there are times when i'm way off base.

I'm not an expert in +/- EV or anything like that so i'm throwing my question out to y'all. When i play 1/2 NL at the casino I make big call downs. I like to think i have the instinct however, there are times where i'm way off base and make a call down with bottom pair and he's got top set. Things like that. Then there are times where i call them with A high and they have to show down the busted draw or something along those lines. I'm curious as to mathematically what is more profitable. Making big lay downs, or making big call downs. First without taking into consideration the table image yo

The question isn't one of whether or not he should gamble as a 55-45 favorite, anyone who thinks it is would be well advised to scroll up to the post with the link to the Matros thread. The question is whether or not Negreanu could have played the hand without doubling up Paul P. I agree with what seems to be a majority of the posters in that there is no way he isnt losing most of his chips on this hand.

I just recently started playing the 1-2NL table at my local casino too. I, like yourself, consider myself fairly good at NL tournies, but could use some work on my cash game. A HUGE help has been watching Live at the Bike. If you dont know what that is it's a cash game webcast Monday - Friday from 6-9 at Liveatthebike.com. Basically what helped me the most is simply changing my thought process...in a tourney you want to maximize your chance of ending with ALL the chips, in a cash game you are looking to maximize the value of each and every hand. It's ok to make an incorrect laydown occasionall