08- 5-05, LearnTexasHoldem:

Being Seen As Too Tight

Question: I have the problem of apparently being seen as a tight player around some of the people I play with. I didn't really feel like this was the case because I loosen up quite a bit in our home games by usually playing most connectors and most hands with two face cards, etc, but when I would get into pots and hear "Uh-oh, two aces", I figured it must be a problem.

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I do usually end up winning money and one of the advantages is that I have been able to take some nice pots at the turn or river with a sizeable re-raise because everyone figures I have it, even when I don't.

I have been trying to become a more loose and aggressive player, but my attempts at it the last week or so on the internet have gotten me absolutely hammered.  I know there are people out there that force people out of pots on a regular basis with relentless heavy betting.  It makes sense because you surely miss your hand much more often than you make it, and that person is taking advantage of that, along with the side benefit of getting action on their good hands. I read Super System and it says essentially the same thing. The difference between most of the pros and amateurs on TV is that the amateurs wait for good hands and the pros force the action and put the tough decisions on the amateurs.  It's no secret that the pros usually end up on top.

Do you have any suggestions to get me started in the right direction? I can't seem to make myself play trash hands or make myself put in substantial bets when I think I have the worst of it. When I have tried, it has not gone well. It's not like I'm sitting around for only AA, KK, and AK, but most of the starting hands don't seem to come along very often. I think it is the direction I need to head in, but I would love some help getting started.

Thanks so much.

Answer: If you are winning at the home games, why change your style? Don't change things just because people have labeled you. Being called a "tight" player is good actually. If you were called a "loose" player you would need to change. You've already figured out how to use this table image to your advantage (steal a few pots here and there).

One thing you need to understand is that the games you play in are not the same as the games the pros play in. If they were to play the same style of poker in a $3/6 game as they did a $300/600 game, they would lose. As fewer players see the flop, position matters more, hand values change, etc. You base your strategy on your opponents play. Ideally you have a different tool for varying games. Now, as for the whole super aggressive bully player who wins, that doesn't exist. You may have players who possess varying gears, some more aggressive than others, but you won't find a relentless raising machine, constantly trying to push people off hands, who wins in the long run.

Solid play will nail this kind of player and anyone with some experience would apply just that strategy in no time. Next, much of the TV poker you see is shot from the final table of a large tournament. One thing is that tournament play is looser than cash game play because players are forced to play instead of being able to wait forever for a good hand. Secondly, the amount of hands they show are few compared to the amount actually played. Many pots are raised and everyone folds, or someone raises, bets the flop and the opponent folds (aka boring). The ones you see are somehow deemed interesting for one reason or another and the rest are edited out. Next, as I mentioned above, solid play wins. 90% of your play will be the same regardless of what limit you play or whom it is against. It is that 10% that changes based on the competition. At a tougher game, this 10% will include more plays at pots and stealing. This is a big no no at easy games though.

Making fancy plays at a low limit game is a sure way to lose your money. You beat bad players by just showing them good hands, otherwise save your money. Let me finish up with an example that illustrates the difference between a small game and a big game with respect to how a hand was played. I had 88 under the gun in a tight tough game. I raised. In a low limit game, I would have just limped in. Raising in that spot has no value when I know everyone behind me will call -- or worse, on a few people call. A good player reraised me and we got heads up. (This is limit holdem by the way.) The flop came back Ace high.

Now my instinct was that since he reraised me preflop he most likely had a big pair, or AK. I check raised him on the flop and bet the turn and he folded. And he did have QQ. I would never ever, and I emphasis ever, try this at a low limit game. I would be throwing my money away since even if he did have TT, JJ, QQ, KK, etc, he would still have called me down. Only because this was a thoughtful good player was I able to enjoy a little larceny.

The way the hand would have played out in a low limit holdem game would be me to limp in, miss the flop and fold. Finally, a tendency as you progress up limits is to assume people are stealing from you more since they are so aggressive. Solid play will still beat them, just don't change your style too quickly when it is already working.

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