ahh! its all down hill from here

[airmcnair8888 0]

Topic: NL Texas HoldemPlayers: A Bunch of Friends Its starting to get tough playing against these pplI used to be able to atleast always get second when they were all really bad players but now most of them are in the middle and very unpredictable.Ill raise 4x bb and usually get atleast 2 callers... And it just so happens even when i hit i know someone has me beat with a straight or flush, trips, whatever.I tried raising more but if i dont hit i cant bluff these guys so im done a ton.Do you think it would be a good move to raise onlye maybe like 2x or 3x the BB so ill prob get the same # of callers with less invested in the pot when i know i prob have the best hand?The blinds raise quickly i get stuck on the low stack waiting for good hands so should i also loosen up a bit..And if I should loosen up should i only call with the mediocre handsThis problem has hit me the last ... prbably 4 tournaments weve played. Yesterday's the earliest we played a 12 man tournyI was in a bad position most of the game when i doubled up by getting lucky... still wasnt to high of a stackthen i ended up going all in with AK of diamonds on the one of the low stacks (had $25... blinds were 2 and 4 dollaars and raising soon)(but for some reason i think i only should have raised) with 3 ppl left to act I got 2 callers... first one with ace 6 and the other with pocket tens... the tens won it when they hit trips... the tourny was a huge payout too!Few other things that happened that may have contributed to my low stack was getting pocket kings... rasing alot and getting called with ace 4 (they'll play any ace)... sure enough an ace hit and it took a nice chunk outta me although i folded before the turn. (bet and got raised a TON)I just need an Overall strategy... i think im too tight in my opinion though

[airmcnair8888 0]

anything i forgot just ask and ill answer.. please help

[TruePoker 1]

raise with more suited connectors, even 79s and 46s. That will mix up you play a little and hopefully put your friends off guard. You will be much harder to be put on cards.You say you raised a lot with KK, you should try keep all your bets around the same size so you can't be read from that.If you play only great cards, and put in a Big raise with AA and small raises with AJ you are gonna be put on card quite easily.Hope some of this helped.

[airmcnair8888 0]

the only things thats common is the number of ppl in a hand is always more than their should b..ive heard that going all in with a premium hand such and KK , AK, or AQ, QQ when your now on a short stack knowing id prob get atleast one caller is a bad move and puts it into lucks hands.Sound right?

[TruePoker 1]

not really, with AA your 70%+ favourite against any other hand so it's not really lucky over the long run. But if you know your gonna get a caller why go all in? Put in a bit raise and see what happens post flop?

[Governator 54]

Actually I wonder if there is a stat for what the average caller has in his hand pre flop on an all in bet. As in what cards they hold. I believe mathematically suited connectors have the best chance up against AA but do many really call with that pre flop?If you're heavily short stacked and you land a AA or KK often the All In is a great move if you say you'll always get called. Great chance to double up & a 70% favorite is usually worth the gamble in mind considering in your situatin they are very loose players. Slow playing when I'm short stacked often hurts me more then helps. I hate seeing suited connectors draw out a straight or flush and crack my aces so I'd usually go all in pre flop and hope an A high calls when I'm short stacked.

[airmcnair8888 0]

I really think it would be a good idea for a Topic called "Home Game Strategy"for a whole strategy on playing your friends in home games.It seems as though theres a ton of ppl now in the same stituation as im inIm either falling apart or in a slump... but what i know for sure is i need some advice

[airmcnair8888 0]

should i loosen up a bit since im usually low stack mainly from blinds as they raise every 20 min?sometimes its takes an hour before i can really get a decent pot?i know i cant bluff them but should i just give up on a big hand that doesnt hit.. or pay a small or big price to see anohter card?

[711Buddha 0]

If your problem is that when you enter a pot you always get callers, its safe to assume that the other players don't recognize your pre-flop raises as a real threat. I'm not sure that playing looser is going to help here. (Raising more might also be an option.)I may be reading into this but you sound frustrated you can't bluff them. If that's the case, don't bluff. Wait for cards and then be aggressive

[airmcnair8888 0]

the only thing is..someone said b4 that if i raise a large amt and hit nothing it might cripple me after a few times of doing that when i dont hit...

[Governator 54]

Do you usually play the hands all the way through, or fold? It sounds like they are bluffing you to hell.

[darksung 0]

I think you need to see more flops. Call the big blind with anything with a three card gap, preferably suited (J-8, Q-9, 10-7) and of course prenium hands, with which you can raise if you feel like it. I suggest investing post-flop, since your likely to be called by 2nd and 3rd pair, on fairly large bets. I've used this approach in home games, and it works ok, altought I think it requires some tweaking.

[dead money 1]

ur approack def needs some tweaking. like not callin with 3-gap hands. u should play a big range of hands from the late positions. u should play nothing but AA, KK, QQ, JJ, 1010, AK, and AQ from the early positions. u should raise with all these hands, but be carefull with QQ, JJ, 1010. They can get u in trouble if u run into alot of aggression. playing in position is the key. its so much easier when u get to see ur opponents act first.

[darksung 0]

This is a home game buddy. First of all, you wont see that many hands in one night, and might not even get a big pair. By playing lots of hand, you give yourself a chance to hit more flops. You can it trips, a straight, a flush with 5-8 suited. You gotta give yourself has many chances as possible to hit something big on the flop, and you'll usually get paid off for your big hands.

[airmcnair8888 0]

yea i usualy only call with 10's knowing how many ppl will call my raise...it depends with the jacksi guess im way too tight...crippling myself... if im not in the blinds ill throw away anything like9 7 9 J k 8 :diamond:4 6 :heart:2 3 :spade:thanx for all the advice

[Vade 0]

This is a home game buddy.  First of all, you wont see that many hands in one night, and might not even get a big pair.  By playing lots of hand, you give yourself a chance to hit more flops.  You can it trips, a straight, a flush with 5-8 suited.  You gotta give yourself has many chances as possible to hit something big on the flop, and you'll usually get paid off for your big hands.

It'll also leave you broke more often then not

[airmcnair8888 0]

If your problem is that when you enter a pot you always get callers, its safe to assume that the other players don't recognize your pre-flop raises as a real threat.  i dont think its that they dont see it as a threat.. They know i have a better hand but think theres will hit and mine wont. I think they just dont care.I may be reading into this but you sound frustrated you can't bluff them.  If that's the case, don't bluff.  Wait for cards and then be aggressive

I almost never bluff them..To answer another ?I usually fold if i dont have atleast top pair

[airmcnair8888 0]

This is a home game buddy.  First of all, you wont see that many hands in one night, and might not even get a big pair.  By playing lots of hand, you give yourself a chance to hit more flops.  You can it trips, a straight, a flush with 5-8 suited.  You gotta give yourself has many chances as possible to hit something big on the flop, and you'll usually get paid off for your big hands.

It'll also leave you broke more often then not

OK now im CONFUZZLED..i need to play a few more hands but no way as many as that guys talking about?

[srharris22 0]

personally i treat home games like a SnG, don't play too loose early b/c you will waste away a good chunk of your chips if you don't get lucky with you 3 gapping suited connectors! and i stress lucky. So go with the previous posters note about raising in EP with only top 5 premium hands.But what i want to know is what are the pots like when you are late position? as the blinds go up aka making the pots worthwhile, then you can start calling with suited connectors and such. But the biggest thing is hanging onto you chips early so that you can double up later with bigger hands and you are not short stacked putting you AA out there, where doubling up does not really help.I think another big point is that you say they dont' respect your raises, I want o know why? You seem to be raising with good hands so are they just that bad of players? If they are just bad then remember you can't bluff bad players and as Sammy said at the 2003 WSOP "i need good cards to beat bad players, but against good players I can play anything."Bad players don't understand that having a pair of aces with a 4 kicker is a loosing play over years.