02-28-05, LearnTexasHoldem:
Opinions On Tourneys
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Answer: After reading your question, I'm reminded of a comment that I've heard a million times over the years: "This game is so loose and the players are so bad, I can't beat it." Let's clear that up to begin with, worse players are easier to beat, not harder. It is true that collectively, enough bad players can make winning seem difficult; notice I said, "seem" though.
What happens in really loose cash games is that your bankroll has more fluctuation. Either you'll have a big win or a big loss. Overall you should do quite well but it will be uncomfortable to be in for that much when you are used to playing in games where the pots are usually heads up or threeway and one or two buy-ins is sufficient. I think a lot of new players are surprised when they first step into a real cardroom and playing limit holdem compared to no limit at someone's house.
Many of the fancy moves that worked at home don't work there because people, like you said, just keep on calling. After a few times of losing at the limit games, many of the new players think limit holdem is just gambling. There are many similarities between playing against bad limit holdem players if you are used to no limit and what you are describing above.
What I'm happy that wrote, is that you have tried a number of different approaches. Experimenting and analyzing your game will really help out in the long run. Let me make a distinction though before we move on. Not winning a tournament and playing well are two entirely different things. Because one strategy didn't win the tourney that day doesn' t mean that it wasn't a good one. What I like about what you have done so far is to bet your hand when you think it is good.
Regardless of what level you play at, a key to winning is to have the balls to bet your hands when you assume they are the best. The problem is though, is that if you play in tighter games, you feel like you have more ability to bet your opponents out (and rightly so). Many flops that you miss with AK in no limit still get picked up with a bet into the caller. When you carry this same strategy over into loose games where people don't know what they are doing, you end up giving money away.
And to make matters worse, you are actually making the bad players moves correct by pushing hands into him. In poker, there is a Ying for every Yang. When you don't adjust, you lose. If you are very aggressive, the worst player to be up against is someone who will call you down on every hand. If you fold too much, the worst player is one who bets too much. So what is the worst opponent for someone who calls too much? Someone who only bets good hands. That may seem obvious but often times we forget the most simple fundamentals.
When I play against people who don't know what they are doing (like home games with new players), I take a different approach then I would against pros. I try to use their weaknesses against them. Let me give two examples that pop into my head; one, often times in these little home games people are content to just check everything (so I take lots of free cards and play more hands in the back than I normally would); two, like in your case, the players often call too much with weak hands (so I wait for top pair or better and bet it).
Position will change a little. Position won't be used as leverage for muscling people out of flops but it will still be used for seeing what everyone else does before you. I like to still bet my marginal hands after everyone checked to me but if I suspect I'm beat, I may just check the turn. You don't need to be super aggressive with passive calling stations. And for hand selection, if you know that your opponents are capable of calling with their whole stacks post flop with weak hands, you have a big upside for pot odds. Play more hands if you can get in for cheap and try to set traps.
Lastly, the worse the player is, the more respect you give them. A raise from a bad player means they usually have it.
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