[Am I Spewing Preflop?]

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.

[Why Play Limit]

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 player is more valuable.I could be wrong as this is simply my immediate gut reaction but for what it's worth, that's my opinion.

[Qq W/ Flush Draw]

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.

[Aa Poll]

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.

[Aa Poll]

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 not impossible to get off the hand. You've invested $5. Easy fold if trouble comes. However if the flop comes K 9 5, or any other combination of unexciting cards youre in a position to win a fairly sizeable pot, especially in $100 NL. Maybe Smash is playing $500 NL where folding TPTK to a raise is easy and there's not a lot of implied odds for AA as an overpair, however in the $100 NL games I've played, it's not uncommon for someone to lose their hundo with TPTK.

[1/2 Nl B&m Shenanigans]

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 (me) $300 (see above for what they think of me)preflop I'm dealt 79o and it gets limped in 4 spots in front of me, so I follow suit and limp in. I normally would not play this hand for a limp however with this many people in... I really don't see any reason to question this decision.flop 7 handed ($11): 5h 6d Jschecks to the second limper, bets $5. One limper folds the rest call to me so I toss out a call as well. This could be a mistake however I feel with implied odds on the limpers with a live draw to the nuts this is not a questionable call. notably, bb and UTG both flat call.turn 6 handed (~$40) 8cMy gin card. I now have the mortal nuts. BB, UTG both check, flop bettor bets $15, folds to me i make it $40. I wanted this to look somewhat like I'm getting pushy, but clearly I still want action...here's the interesting part:BB reraises to $90, UTG pushes for about $135ish. flop bettor folds. What do we do here? reraise all in or flat call looking to capitalize on the river v. bb. My read, should it matter, is that i'm probably against a set for UTG and I'm either chopping with BB or he has 47.I flat called, this was months ago, now I would play this differentlyriver HU ($a lot): 6hUgh....i check to BB who bets $50. I call. Surprise time...BB has 56 for 6s full.UTG has JJ for Js full. I did lose this pot, however I am more interested in analyzing the BB and UTG. Needless to say I lost a LOT of respect for BB after this hand...what's he doing slowplaying bottom two on a flop like this? and UTG...wow.

[Anyone Make This Call?]

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.There's a difference between LAG stupid and LAG smart. I play LAG at 1/2 a LOT of the time for various reasons including table image and action, however the only reason I'm pushing for a bet you wouldn't anticipate, an overbet like he did, is if I'm making it look like a move because I know you think I'm capable of it. However, I can't imagine any scenario in which I'm donking off flat calls from OOP with a running flush draw, unless I planned on making a move on the turn which he clearly didn't.

[I Need To Bet/fold More]

i'm results oriented obviously. random donkey = A9.

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

[Meet The Short-handed Forum]

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.

[The Ultimate Double Whammy.]

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?

[The Ultimate Double Whammy.]

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 a straight, ended up losing 100 on the session. 13 hours, down 100...doesn't get a whole lot worse. I get out to my car, start driving home and then....BAM! a flat tire. Not only did I lose 1 buy in in 13 hours, frustrating as that is, I managed to blow out a tire on my car at 7am heading home. The double whammy.

[The Pissing Match Play]

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 occasionally when they do flop a huge hand on me, but it's just an idea, something i'm trying out.Any comments would be great. Thanks

[Gsn High Stakes Poker (rant)]

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 the ordinary. There are certainly good reasons to discuss, anlalyze and critique plays, however to disregard some people's play as "wrong" or "bad" isn't helping anybody get any better. I feel that this rant may have been better off in a different thread or as its own thread, but it's a bit too late now. I figure at the very least this will show OP (Yoda? I don't remember who it was) what a real rant looks like. P.S. if you don't like the commenators, mute it or don't watch the show.

[what kind of hand do you need to stand up to maniac?]

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 player the extra chips will enable you to pick up more chips and hopefully make a run at really making some money. I don't know what I'd do with 99, probly call his all in, but that's just me, and I do bust out early on a lot of bonehead moves occasionally...so take my thoughts for what they're worth

[good tournament player]

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 playing maniacally.

[** is this a easy laydown or easy call?]

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 number of the tournament players are very weak. In this sort of field I don't mind having an average stack getting down to the last couple tables because I feel like I can pick up some pots without having to show down, or catching any big hands. In conclusion, I'd call his all-in here with JJ and hope for 66-TT. This sort of play isnt all that unusual because the bb probably thinks youre stealing his blind. Anyway, folding here isnt so bad either, it'd just be a shame to look back when you went out in 13th at this hand and feel like you could have lost a real opportunity

[phil hellmuth = cash game specialist???]

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"

[big call downs...or big laydowns...]

The difference between a hero and myself is that my dream is to get someone all in for a million dollars when I have a straight flush vs their quad kingsSo you dream of holding the cooler over somebody's quads...i dream of hitting the lotto. You probly entered the pot that you hit your straight flush as an underdog, a pretty big one. So you dream of entering a pot as an underdog, outdrawing somebody, and then hitting a hand against one that could not ever get away from it.And table image is greatly affected by the way y'all perceive a call down with A high. Like one guy said, you think i'm an idiot so you try to get into pots with me and such when in reality i'm probly not as bad as you think i am. Or, you stay out of hands with me in which case i may have some trouble getting action, but there's generally enough people who think they're hot shots and can outplay me to make up for it.

[pokerblue.com ?]

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.

[southern california poker rooms]

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?

[southern california poker rooms]

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.

[big call downs...or big laydowns...]

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.

[big call downs...or big laydowns...]

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 you get by calling down vs. laying down. Then if you consider how your table image changes, people making bigger bets into you and giving you more action because they think you'll call them down with nothing. Basically, what's more profitable in your opinion?

[daniel can't catch a break ----he's out!!!!]

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.

[need help.... nl tourny to nl cash games]

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 occasionally because there's always next hand. You also need to make sure and brush up on your post flop play because it is immensely more important in a cash game. And, like a previous poster said, raises can be ridiculous in the 1/2 game, so come with enough money to go 2-3 buy ins deep.