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NLHE Strategy Tips (2 Viewers)

detroitdad

detroitdad

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I'm playing in a dedicated NLHE cash game tomorrow night. I can't remember the last time that I played cash and "only" played NLHE. We sometimes play a couple of orbits. Never a dedicated NLHE night.

Blinds: .25/.50

Buy In: 100 max, rebuys half the deep stack

10 players (mix of gamblers, really good players, Great fricken players, and me :( )

I normally play PLO games where I'm playing my hand and of course any big re draws that I could hit. In the PLO games I love to build big pots for a payoff if my monster re-draw hits. I think I need to take a different approach for NHLE?

Any sage advise out there? I think I'm decent at NLHE. I'm definitely out of practice.

I plan on nitting it up for the first hour or so to see the flow of the table. There are a few guys playing that I play with very infrequently.

Initially I'll probably focus on position, starting hands, and pot control.

B
 
ChaosRock said:
Was just joking man... And thanks for the kind words.

I think you're giving yourself way less credit that you should though.
Click to expand...

My main problem will be focus. In NLHE tourney's I get really bored. When I get bored I usually do something stupid. I'm hoping that playing NLHE "Cash" will help me keep the boredom away.

Anyways, I can't wait until tomorrow night. I might be a little bit later than I thought. If I can't get my daughter to let the dogs out I might have to go home first. I'm not sure if the puppy is ready to be kenneled for 5 hours.
 
I was going to say if you're used to 4 card pot limit style games, then boredom will be your biggest enemy. However, you already self assessed that leak. Cuz we all know when we're bored, we like to play, which means probably being in hands we have no business being in (RIO). To combat that, sometimes really have to keep remind myself that NLHE is a game of patience. Be patient. Make a game of studying your opponents, etc... but overall, I think Paulo nailed it, just have fun!
 
Start drinking heavily
Whenever you are checked to, bet like a maniac
Build up a nice stack
Get trapped and lose your entire stack
Reach into pocket to grab more money
Fall out of chair from being drunk
Sleep on floor
Lose only 1 buy-in
 
I think you have the right idea. Be patient, limp sparingly (more in late position and with speculative hands, much less in early position and with dominated hands), bet your value hands (TPTK+) and pot control your marginal holdings. Don't bluff too often and try to play most hands in position and/or as the aggressor.
 
MegaTon44 said:
Start drinking heavily
Whenever you are checked to, bet like a maniac
Build up a nice stack
Get trapped and lose your entire stack
Reach into pocket to grab more money
Fall out of chair from being drunk
Sleep on floor
Lose only 1 buy-in
Click to expand...

I didn't know @MatB was going to be at the game.
 
If you're bored and really have to get up to some goofy antics, make sure you do it when the bets are small. If the table is such that you can often get away with a limp (unlikely, given your characterization of the players), it's rarely truly terrible. Even a couple of silly pre-flop raises with KT in early position aren't gonna break you. If you pick your spots right, some mindless aggression immediately after the flop might even be OK if the bets are still small due to a small pot. As long as you are willing to release if stuff gets serious ...

When the red chips come out in force in later rounds, and you don't have either a good hand/draw or a good plan to scare everyone out, then you MUST GTFO.
 
Don’t open limp any pots. Always come in for a raise if you are the first to enter the pot, no matter what hand! Open for the same amount every time (adjusted for limpers) to keep the strength of your hand disguised.

Pay attention to who is raising when you decide to call. The tight player from very early position opening the betting isn’t doing so with A8 so you can easily fold your AJ off suite. The preflop hand advantage is so much bigger than in PLO you need to avoid the RIO type hands as much as possible preflop so you aren’t put in tough spots post flop.

My best advice though, flop sets with all your pocket pairs and make mad bank!!!!
 
MegaTon44 said:
Start drinking heavily
Whenever you are checked to, bet like a maniac
Build up a nice stack
Get trapped and lose your entire stack
Reach into pocket to grab more money
Fall out of chair from being drunk
Sleep on floor
Wake up in the morning and discover 4 buy-ins worth of money in your pocket, with no idea how it got there... (in all $1's)
Click to expand...

FYP
 
ChaosRock said:
I thought your tip was gonna be "Target the host and you'll be fine!" :p:p:p
Click to expand...

Your the last person at the table I would target. I'm not sure I'm good enough to "target" anyone lol. I'll most likely sip on some bourbon, play a few hands, laugh, and have a good time.

I like @Rhodeman77 advice. Just flop sets with every pocket pair :)

Rhodeman77 said:
y best advice though, flop sets with all your pocket pairs and make mad bank!!!!
Click to expand...
 
detroitdad said:
I plan on nitting it up for the first hour or so to see the flow of the table. There are a few guys playing that I play with very infrequently.

Initially I'll probably focus on position, starting hands, and pot control.
Click to expand...

I think you answered your own question. This is usually a recipe for success, especially at a table with a bunch of aggressive players.
 
At those stakes expect to have a lot of people seeing a flop. You may find two pair or better will be needed if you have to showdown..which will be often.

Forget poker guidelines like raises being 3x the big blind. The min raise will establish itself among the group in the first hour or less. It may be in the $5-7 range with a $100 buy in. I think $60 is better for those blinds.

You will need to a lot more hands and try to extract the most cash when you make a big hand like a set or better.

Tournament style play will lose money and even good players play worse at low stakes
 
I think you and I need to team up for out strategy Bill. About a half hour in our strategy should be to talk about how similar crazy pineapple is so similar to NLHE, only one extra card. Then about an hour in we talk about adding a fourth card to play Omaha, and how that is no big deal. Then around 7:30 we tell everyone how fun it is to have extra chances to win in Omaha Hi-Lo. I figure by 8:30 we will be playing SOHE as the fifth game in our rotation.

Now how is that for a strategy?!?!
 
mike32 said:
I think you and I need to team up for out strategy Bill. About a half hour in our strategy should be to talk about how similar crazy pineapple is so similar to NLHE, only one extra card. Then about an hour in we talk about adding a fourth card to play Omaha, and how that is no big deal. Then around 7:30 we tell everyone how fun it is to have extra chances to win in Omaha Hi-Lo. I figure by 8:30 we will be playing SOHE as the fifth game in our rotation.

Now how is that for a strategy?!?!
Click to expand...

best post yet :)
 
Playing that deep-stacked (and probably deeper if people start matching half the deep stack), it's going to be critically important to make solid plays in the later rounds in big pots. That means, as others have mentioned, avoid RIO-type hands that will trap you for money later in the hand, but don't be afraid to sneak in with decent speculative hands when opportunities arise, since you could get paid off for so much relative to the investment. Big openers are nice and all, but you'll tend not to win big pots with them unless they improve into monsters.

Also pay close attention to how your opponents play. With deep stacks, you could be looking at a lot of deceptively strong (or unexpectedly weak) hands getting to the turn and river, and it's important to know who can have them and how those players handle value bets versus bluffs and semi-bluffs. Watch each opponent and try to determine what kind of play style he generally uses, any exploitable betting patterns that seem to come up often, and stuff like that.

Until you have a good line on your opponents, just lay back and play conservatively preflop.
 
RIO.jpg
 
You are probably the most vocal NLHE grump on this board, so my advice to you is, enjoy the game!
I think NLHE gives you a lot more opportunities to play your opponents, as opposed to all those wacky games you love, where the cards seem to matter a lot more. Watch for spots, and exploit them when you see them. It will probably surprise you how well it will work. And worst case scenario, if you keep running into monsters and get exposed as being full of shit, exploit THAT image and get paid off big when you finally do get hit with the deck.
 

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