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Should i stick to my game plan of playing only premium hands in early position and drawing hands in the back when i can see the flop cheaply. Should i loosen up my starting hands for a looser table? (these guys just play rubbish cards, or queen and rags) I try this after copping a bad beat and it just results in loosing all my buy-in money. I usually buy-in with $300 for the structured 5/10 table. Do u think this is adequate buy in?

Any suggestions on this or how to improve my game would be greatly appreciated. Ive read almost everything printed on all the internet sites on low-limit hold em. Is it bad to play cards such as A,7o? In theory i know it is a poor starting hand, but it seems to win many times at my casino games. that is just one example.

Sorry for the 20 questions, I'm just very confused/frustrated as to why im always losing and where i stand in terms of playing low-limit hold em.

Thank you again

Answer: This is a good question. My guess is that many of the readers here are in similar situations: playing in low limit holdem games and having a hard time when the games are really loose and crazy. Instead of just glazing over this one and giving you the same advice you've probably read online elsewhere, let me make a few points that might show these kinds of games in a different light:

Big Swings -- You asked if $300 was enough for a $5/10 game. No, it isn't. Most of those games like $4/8 and $8/16 and $9/18 you can easily be in for 3 racks on any given day, yet still have a winning session. The point is that when the games are really loose, you are going to have bigger swings. This can be uncomfortable if you aren't used to it. It is helpful to understand that wins don't have to come in equal increments -- you don't normally just in a rack per time you go, for example.

What usually happens is that you either lose a little (little being a rack or so), or you win a bunch (like a few racks). Don't get frustrated if you go in a few times and loose a rack or two each time, because most likely if you are playing well in that same type of game, you'll crush them another day for a huge win.

Starting Hands -- I don't think that in very loose crazy games, you can win in the long run by only playing what most books recommend. What most books miss is that you need to adjust to the players. A rule like, "don't ever call an early position raise with KQoff or KJ or AJ or AT" is just too tight for a lot of games. The correct way to play is to put each scenario into context. The thought process: I've seen this guy raise the past 10 hands -- from J2 to 56 to AA -- and I have AJ now. While this may not be the best hand against a tight player's raise, it figures to be better than what this other guy is raising with, so I'll call.

This putting of everything into context is so important to poker that I'm surprised I've never read about it anywhere. I think most authors prefer to keep their strategy more black and white. You can't argue that they are wrong, it is best to only play premium hands in the right spots, but is that advice going to work in real games? After laboring my way up through the ranks more than once, I've developed a strategy that is a little different than the traditional poker author's.

My strategy was formed through playing in a lot of full tables, but also a lot of heads up and shorthanded poker. The philosophy I have, which has worked very well in all kinds of games, is that I base the strength of my hand on the amount of people in preflop -- plain and simple. Either you have a hand that already figures to be best and you try to manipulate the hand to cater to it (like AA or 99), or you have a drawing hand that is getting correct odds to call because so many people are in already. You might be thinking that this isn't really much different than what you've read before. It is though, and that will become clearer as we see this applied.

See, part of the problem when you play very tight in these games is most of the time you lose your AK's and big pairs, and you don't have any other ways to win. By playing some more cards in, what actually are, the "right" spots, you give yourself a greater chance to win. For example, I can have many winning days where I lose AA six times. I can have days where I lose all my big pairs, yet still win three racks. The reason is because I'm in with more hands.

Before we get to specific hands, let me mention one more part of this strategy. Most books base starting hand selection on position. The idea is that some hands do well with a lot of people in and you don't want to pay too much to see the flop. If you limp in with a weak hand, you may not end up getting the right odds to play the hand -- which is a leak in your game. This is correct, but not the entire truth. Above I mentioned the conceptual shift between having to rely on the concrete compared to making an educated guess after putting the present in the context of the past (not calling AJ against a loose raiser).

The same holds true for position. Now, what would most books say about calling with 44, 33, or 22 under-the-gun in your loose crazy $5/10 holdem game? Most would say it is an incorrect play because that hand does well in late position after you see a lot of people have come in for only one bet. That is too tight and we aren't using as much reasoning as we can. If I have seen for the past five hands, it has been a family pot, wouldn't it be fair to assume that the next hand would also get that much action? And if the hand gets that many callers preflop, my 44 is looking pretty good. Again, we are moving away from thinking of starting hands only in terms of the present.

We are now putting all the information about the game we can into context and then making judgments based on that. Position pretty much goes out the door in a very loose game. A hand that plays well in the back will play well anywhere. But what happens if the game tightens up? I'm aware of that, and now I adjust. It is this dynamic adjustment that keeps you in balance with how loose or tight you should be playing. If a couple players change, it may now be incorrect to play some hands out-of-position, while it was profitable before.

Now let's talk a bit about specifics... I'm assuming you are already playing hands like AQ, KQ, KJs, etc -- all the big cards. An ideal hand for a really loose crazy game is a big suited hand or a middle suited hand. A hand like KTs or QTs plays very well in those games. You aren't looking for top pair as much as you are for the flush or straight draw. Also, like I mentioned before, don't always just muck what books call marginal hands because someone raises. Think about what they were raising with before and then make your decision (the hands like AJ, KJ, etc).

In very loose games, you are basically fishing. You see the flop and then go from there. Most of the time the flop will miss you and then you just get out for relatively cheap. The problem with playing so tightly is that you have a tendency to get married to the hands you play and have a hard time releasing AA or KK. Don't give anymore weight to AA as you would 76s. You'll play both hands as well as you can, but if one wins and the other loses, it makes no difference. First specific hand: I would suggest you play pocket pairs in any position. Pocket pairs are great because they play themselves. Either you have a very strong hand, one that you can raise on the turn, or you have nothing and can muck. Also, in very loose games if you flop a set with a little pocket pair, the pots are usually monsters because no one folds.

For example, if you have 55 and the flop is Q-6-5, people will call with all kinds of crap hoping to hit. If the pot is raised before you, that is ok. If you see one person call after the raiser, you have the odds to call, because most likely the blind will call then too, making it four players. Also, if you hit your set, you'll nail the other people. Obviously, you shouldn't continue most of the time if you miss with the little pocket pairs. Next, middle suited cards are really good. Hands like J9s, T8s, 98s play very well in those games because when you hit, the flop also usually hits everyone else too. It doesn't take many of those big pots to have a really good day. (That might be another helpful point: A win in those games can be made up of any number of combinations. Sometimes a day is nothing more than just winning two monster pots with a straight or flush or set. It is very rare, though, to win a huge pot with a hand like AA or AK or KK.)

You play these hands the same way you do the small pocket pairs: See the flop, hope to hit but most of the time you won't, then muck. Sometimes on the flop you'll catch a pair and a gutshot straight draw or other hand that you can peel one card offf, but the vast majority of the time you just muck. You asked specifically about A7off. I would suggest playing Ace little suited -- like A7s because of the nut flush potential -- but stay away from a hand like A7off. There are exceptions. One exception might be if you are on the button and there is just one or two callers ahead of you. You may have the only ace in the hand, so limping in too might not be the worst play, provided you play in well post flop.

Blind play is also really important in these games. Often times if the game is really loose, some of the biggest pots I win are weird trashy hands from the big blind in volume pots. If there is a raise and 6 people are in the pot while it is your big blind, any two cards are worth calling with since the pot is laying you such good odds. What you need to avoid though, which other players usually don't, is playing the hand well post flop. For example, let's say 6 people called the under-the-gun player's raise and you have T4s in the BB. A call is correct. The flop now comes back T-6-2. This isn't what you are looking for. Even though you have top pair right now, this is just going to get you in trouble. Check and see what happens. If everyone just calls one bet, maybe peel off one card to see if you catch a 4 or T. The flop you are looking for is J-4-4 or A-T-T or the flush draw, etc.

Overly Aggressive -- The way you beat bad poker players is to play straight forward, ABC poker. Being overly aggressive with them, making fancy plays, doesn't work at all. I sometimes catch myself trying to play too aggressively against a bad player, for example trying to leverage my position against them, only to get called down and lose. I immediately adjust and only show down winning hands then. Limit holdem is a game of the best hand, so save the bluffs.

I take this a step further. If you play really tight poker, even the bad players will notice when you are in a hand. If you do what I suggest here, you'll be limping in with a lot more hands and this takes away that table image of only playing AA (you want action, you don't want to have everyone avoid your hands). What I've found is that limping in with bigger hands sometimes helps out a lot. I'm always raising my premium hands like AK, AA, KK and of course QQ, JJ, TT and sometimes middle pocket pairs, but what about AJ, KQ, KJ etc? In a tougher game, those would be raising hands, even lessor hands like A9s and such would be raising hands since it adds deception to your game. No deception is needed for loose easy games. By limping in with a hand like KQ, it costs me less preflop and it helps me to play the hand better post flop.

The majority of the time if you raise preflop, everyone checks to you. If you limp, they are much more likely to bet into you when the flop helps them since no one has the initiative already. Also, there is a big misconception about "protecting a hand." The idea is that you raise with AJ so you don't get A7 in the hand. That is the exact opposite: You want A7 in the hand with you when you have AJ! You make money in poker by having a hand that is only a little better than your opponents. Ideally, you would like to be competing for the same cards, yet have him out kicked.

I hear a lot of players complain about not being able to raise to protect their hand when they have something like top pair or an over pair and the other players have draws. I want to make them pay, but it isn't to get them out of the hand. I want them trying to get lucky against me. See you might make someone fold K7 when you raise with the KQ, but they are more than happy to limp in behind you if you just call. Then post flop you kill them if a King hits. In formulating strategy for games, doesn't matter whether it is poker or something else, the best way to beat your opponent is to exploit his weakness; help him express his weakness more.

If someone's leak is playing too many cards, your goal is to help them do that more. Playing overly aggressive against them can sometimes cause them to tighten up. So sometimes I just limp in with AQ, KQ, AJs, etc. Secondly, don't consider every hand you have to be one that you're either going to try and cap the betting or muck. There are many times when you think you have the best hand, but you are just trying to limit your risk so calling is the correct move. A lot of books condemn calling and suggest you only bet, raise and fold. That is way to black and white for real play. Putting lots of money into pots with marginal hands is inherently wrong, especially against weak players whom will let you beat them playing good cards only.

An example of this might be if you have AJ and the flop is Q-J-4 against only one player. You might think you have the best hand, so calling down is the right move. If you raise, he might fold a worse jack, but certainly not a Queen. And if he is bluffing completely, a raise will kill any extra money you might make if you just called and he kept betting.

Extracting The Maximum -- Part of what makes an expert an expert is the ability to size up a hand so that they can win the maximum with it. For example, let's say you flopped the nut straight with T8s in a raised pot with 5 other people in. You need to think about how to play these hands in advance so when you get them, it will be natural. Each hand is a little different and the way you play it to make the most changes. Sometimes raising the flop is the best because you are tying everyone to it and you are sure the pot will get capped. Other times you'll wait till the turn to raise. Other times you'll wait till the river to raise because you don't want to cut anyone off behind you. It just depends.

When I flop a set, I'll usually raise the turn. Against tough opponents, I won't do that though. I'll raise them on the flop because it makes my hand seem weaker -- usually a raise on the turn is much stronger. Then when they reraise, I just call. Then I can raise them on the turn. Also, it is important to sometimes raise draws in big multi-way pots. For example, if you have JT and the flop gives you the openended straight draw and there are seven other players in, get as much money in the pot as possible. The same goes for nut flush draws if there are lots of people in. Obviously, you don't do this if you cut off players, charging them two bets to play, or if there aren't that many people in.

Post Flop Play -- Most of poker strategy is based on preflop starting hands. While starting hands are key, there is much more to loose games. Most of the money that you win will be because of your play post flop, not preflop. Let me give you an example:

This is your $5/10 game.

You raise with AKoff. Four players call. Here are their hands and your hand with percentages of how often each will win the pot:

AKoff - 28%

76off - 20%

KToff - 14%

22 - 19%

Q9off - 19%

Are the other players that much behind you with the AK? Your 8% equity is more than countered if you play the hand wrong.

Here is another one when you have KK:

KK - 40%

AToff - 20%

J4s - 13%

88 - 16%

45off - 12%

Even garbage hands aren't that bad against the best hands. Take J4s against KK in a 5 way pot and the guy is probably getting ok odds. Now that doesn't mean you start playing hands that bad, but it does show how much post flop play matters. The problem with playing hands like J4s, even if the odds are ok in the example above, is that most of the time you won't be going to the river with the hand and a great many times the hands you lose will cost you more (say if you were against a guy with AJ). The numbers can be a little deceiving, but the truth they do show is that you need to see more flops and play well after in loose games, or you simply can't win.

People will run your KK and AA down so often that you don't rely solely on them to profit. More hands need to be played like T8s, J9s, etc. Hands that won't get you in trouble with kickers (like J4 against AJ) and when hit can potentially win big pots. We like to also think of starting hands in terms of their high card strength. We like KT more than 76. Well actually, against a preflop raiser, you would do much better with the 76 than the KT. You want to be in there with cards that aren't competing. If the flop comes back your way, you are ahead.

Couple more random thoughts -- Extracting bets is important, but saving bets is even more important. A bad player's raise deserves more credit than a good player's raise (at least post flop). Let me give you an example. I had KQ against a really bad player heads up in a kill pot (a kill pot is a hand where the betting doubles). I flopped a Queen. I bet the flop, I bet the turn. On the river another blank hit, at least that is what I thought was a blank, and I bet again. He raised me now.

If this was a good player, my call would be automatic because the board was so wacky that the chances of the opponent having two pair was slim. But since this was the crazy guy, I knew my hand wasn't good. One pair is rarely good on the river if someone raises you. If you play only very good cards, it is easy to get stubborn with them and overvalue them -- which actually gives bad players better odds to try and gamble with you. This is why hands like AA and KK rarely make big pots. If you get much action on the hand, usually you are behind.

Think about it. If you raise preflop, you've defined your hand. Usually at best you can raise once more on the flop and then the people just call you down. If there is a raise on the turn or river, your big pair is rarely good anymore. This is why it is imperative in loose games to play more hands, especially those that can win big pots. (Granted, you still love seeing Aces.)

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