10-29-07, LearnTexasHoldem:
How should I play in loose office games?
Question:
Hi there, Chris here,
I play a lot of no-limit Texas Holdem with the guys at the office. They're usually quite loose, and since the blinds are cheap several players often see the flop, even if it's been raised and re-raised pre-flop.
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When someone bets out on the flop it's got almost no implications, it's more or less the norm, and the turn is much like that too.
I feel that I have to play a lot of sub-par hands in order to adjust to the overall game pace and not be pushed around. You need to invest quite a lot (compared to the blinds) even with marginal hands like middle pair without kicker, or bottom pair with a couple of far-fetched draws, etc.
Can you give any advice for when I should rather muck my hand and save my money in this kind of game?
Thanks a bunch!
Chris J
Answer:
The best way to attack these kinds of games is to tighten up significantly. Play all pairs and make sure the pot gets big pre flop with the big ones, like QQ, KK and AA. With lower pairs you want to flop a set or get rid of the hand. You can of course play hands like AK and AQ as well, but try to thin down the field before you get into the pot.
In all Texas Hold'em games there is a limit to how much the players will call pre-flop. If the blinds are low it can be as much as ten times the big blind, but there is always an amount that will make most players fold pre-flop. You want to bet that much with AK, AQ and such hands to get a thin field to the flop or just steal the blinds.
If you think this sounds too boring and you want to play looser, which is often the norm in these kinds of office games, it is hard to give any fast and forward advice. If the bets don't mean much you need to focus on the players and try to pick up tells, since that is all the information that is left if the betting pattern doesn´t matter.
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