Guide to nut-peddling at low-stakes NL Holdem

[Doubling12]

Step 1. Limp with any speculative hand, and raise with any "good" hand, as defined in a Limit holdem book. Position is not important.

Step 2. If you flop top pair, bet a lot. If you flop middle pair or a great draw, bet a little. If you flop something really good, pause for a long time, check, then raise immediately all-in when it comes back to you.

So many people play this way. The logic is seemingly irrefutable - "I'll just wait till I flop a monster, and bust someone!" It doesn't work. You need to wait not only for a monster, but for someone to have just less of a monster to call you (hopefully, it *is* less than yours...sometimes it's better or has a lot of outs to be better). Plus any good player knows exactly what you have all the time. This method also places no emphasis on reading hands or otherwise paying attention to the table, so your play will never improve.

[Snoogins47]

Let's not forget some other low stakes NL phenomena:

1)The "Min-Bet-Pot-Buy"

Here, an EP limper will lead out with a minimum bet to a 6 way pot. Everybody calls, and a minimum re-raise in LP knocks out half of these players. I can't fathom what these people are thinking by leading a couple of quarters into a $5 pot, and then folding for another couple, but I've seen this hundreds of times.

2)The "IM A FAVORITE TO OVERCARDS L9LLLL" phenomenon.

That is, if you have an opportunity to get all of your chips in the middle, regardless of number of limpers, raises, and re-raises in front of you, do so preflop with any pocket pair, knowing that you're a tiny favorite against many hands. It's better to call off your whole stack on pocket 22 to a bet, re-raise, and push in front of you, than AK. Duh. Oh, and I forget to mention, if one of the 4 overcards that hits the board pairs up an opponent, make some crack about how the site is rigged, and how you can't believe you keep losing when you're the favorite. Type some "awe;fsdlkjvfnasl;dc" into the chat window, reload, and repeat.

3)The "I GOTTA PROTECT MY HAND"

Here's another one, related to #2. Here, our hero limps preflop with QQ, 5 way action. Board comes A K 3, somebody bets, and hero pushes for 4x the pot here, to "protect his hand" after limping so "nobody thought I had queens." Again, get pissed when you're shown the higher pair, or if you spike a Q on the next 2, say "wow, I haven't had the best hand hold up here in months!"

4)The "I'm going to slowplay my set to let him draw at his flush!"

Here's an interesting one. Hero limps preflop with 77, makes his set on a two-suited board. It checks to him, he bets 1/5th of the pot. One caller. Turn is a blank, he bets 1/8th of the pot, one caller. River is another blank, he moves in for 7x the pot, caller folds, and mister set flips his cards and says "I knew you were on that draw."

An excellent move, if I may say so myself. He missed his clubs! Fire a bullet at him to show how l33t your hand reading skills are. If the club DOES hit, call his re-raise on the turn, and call his push on the river: you were the favorite on the flop, so losing is statistically not possible. Then bitch about a suck out.

5)The "Check or call last to act on the river so as not to scare anybody"

Here, our hero makes his nut flush draw on the river. Heads up pot, opponent leads at the pot, a moderate bet. Hero calls with the nuts, and pats himself on the back for winning the extra bet on the river. Good work, hero!

There's more, but this is all I can think of at the moment.

[square444]

this thread is some funny [censored].