Varying Your Play

[PJStyles 0]

I'm in a poker league where it's always the same 14-15 guys and we have all gotten to know eachother's style of play - more or less. I tend to be a tight-aggressive player where when I have the cards that match my starting hands, I will bet them aggressively.The issue I'm having is that because most of the guys know that I tend to play the premium hands, if I'm in late position and the flop comes in with all low to mid cards, some of them may now bet at the pot even though they may not have caught anything because they know I tend to play premium hands, leaving me in a position where I'm unsure as to what they have. Of the 14 guys, I'd say there are maybe 4-5 tight aggressive players and the rest I'd consider Jackals where they play all sorts of hands so they are difficult to pinpoint.Given this...what would be your strategy? Would you raise them in the scenario I just gave to find out more or just throw your cards away? or would you call?What would you do to vary your style of play? I try to limp in on a mixture of hands such as 9-10 connectors etc... but more often than not these Jackals are always raising pre-flop making it almost impossible to limp in. Should I throw out a few pre-flop raises with marginal hands?Any feedback would be appreciated.P.S - I did notice in Harrington's book that he says you should raise 80% of the time and call 20% of the time when you get a hand that falls within your playable hands pre-flop. That's a great way to keep them guessing since your varying your bet size but given that my starting hands tend to be in the same range each time... it really isn't that concealing.

[DrawingDeadInDM 0]

Some ideas for you..-limp or call with two red aces, two red kings, two red queens and drop the hammer on the flop. It's just an arbitrary way of varying your play--but if you're playing *that* many hands with these guys, they'll take notice.-If I'm card dead and bored, I'll play one hand every two to three orbits like it's aces--in position. Re-raise preflop, drop the hammer on the flop, fire another bullet on the turn, fire again on the river--assuming it gets that far. It's good for table image if you show down rags--you start to get action on big hands--and it'll win you a decent pot if you can pick it up on the flop or turn.-Raise more with suited connectors and suited one gappers.

[Chopper 0]

just my two cents.start showing your cards more, especially with marginal holdings...dont' forget to show the nuts once in awhile, too.raise UTG with a suited conn, once in awhile. try to play it to SD and show it.limp late with AK, once in awhile. and slam them on the flop no matter what the flop.i know this may sound like a "maniac," but sometimes a session or two of maniacal play will teach you a lot more about the style of your opponents, ie. how they handle YOU being the bully, than you may first think. who knows, you may add a new dimension to your game...

[asandu 0]

If you usually take the pot when high cards show up on the board, I like to raise in position with mid or even low pocket pairs. If high cards come up, you have a good chance to win with continuation bet. If low cards come up, you have a good shot to hit your set and take a real big pot, especially if they have a real high PP or somehow hit two pair on the turn.

[jjgoldy5 0]

Position, Position, Position, Position, Position...you get the point.Your 9-10o is not playable from early position, but if you pick up 9-10 on the button and it is limped/folded around to you, a raise is often appropriate.Don't be afraid to make some plays from good position with significantly reduced starting hand requirements, especially when the preflop action is limped or folded to you.Also, occasionally raise with your suited connectors and limp with your over cards.I have played against a few players of your type in a home game, and while it is simple to stay profitable online by playing tight because your opponents are always changing.... when you play the same players over and over again, they tend to pick up on your patterns.Similarly to the way Daniel wrote in one of his recent blogs that he could almost put his opponent on which two cards he held pre flop by the amount that he bet, it is likely that your opponents feel that they can do this to you now.It is important to note that loosening up your starting hand requirements and opening up your betting preflop does not mean that you should become a maniac. If your flop continuation bet gets called when you don't have a strong hand, don't hesitate to let go of the pot. The idea of playing more aggressively is to get paid off when you do make a strong hand, but that advantage is negated if you get attatched to your marginal / weak hands post flop.

[The Bwaves 0]

It is important to note that loosening up your starting hand requirements and opening up your betting preflop does not mean that you should become a maniac. If your flop continuation bet gets called when you don't have a strong hand, don't hesitate to let go of the pot. The idea of playing more aggressively is to get paid off when you do make a strong hand, but that advantage is negated if you get attatched to your marginal / weak hands post flop.

This is good advice.I was going to put it simple; Loosen up a bit.Like JJ said don't be a maniac but get in there with suited connectors in position and play catiously.