NEPC $300 NLHE

Here goes nothin'!


This event started with eighteen tables @T1000

each;the start at our table, unlike my neighbour Glen's, was tighter and more aggressive early on.

In fact, we lost no-one, if my memory doesn't fail

me, till midway through the second level.Raise and

fold all round was the order of the day, or in my case, fold, period. As noted in the 'patience' response to Glen, I got all the way to hand 63 before finding anything to play%2

perfidious,


You didn't tell us anything, now did you. Try raising and reraising with nothin. You'll be surprised sometimes.


Good Luck


Mark

Mark,


Agreed, I took a chance, but given my tight image, should I sit around and wait for aces or kings to act? In my reply to Glen below, titled 'patience', you'll see my views on playing no-limit.


perfidious

perfidious,


If your image is real tight it will get noticed. About three years ago I played in a $120 No-Limit Hold'em Tournament at the Mirage a week before the WSOP. To my left was Johnny Hale and Susie Issacs. Anyway I noticed that Susie would take a bare ace in early position (but rarely UTG) and put in a raise, and everyone would fold. A few times she got called by a pocket pair, but managed to escape with catching an ace. People caught on to her play once she continued doing it, so she was frequently called and eventually I took all her chips away. So, you shouldn't overdue it, because once players see you do this they'll come after you.


I think this is one move you can get away with in early position if your image is tight, and the table is tight. What's good about this play is that a large percentage of the time you will not get called. The reason being is if the players are very tight, they are waiting for AA, AK, KK, QQ, AQ. If you get the drift. So, you probably will not get reraised. By holding one of the aces you reduce the chances that someone may have AA. Since, you would have one ace there are only 3 combinations of aces left. If you just get called it's usually not one of the big hands so you should always bet the flop if you have only one or two callers. Frequently, they will throw away a pair that could beat you, and of course give it up unless you improve on the turn. If they only call you and you get a flop with an ace or a king, or all little cards you will usually take the pot.


Good Luck


Mark

Mark,


At this table, I actually pulled off the move you mention with A-2 offsuit in an earlier round,and definitely know better than to overwork that sort of thing.BTW, when I raised with A-2 from early position, everyone else passed. No surprise there!


What would you have done in my situation those

first sixty-two hands, never once having gotten a

pair above sixes (the times I was paired, always

in early position, no less!),and never getting an ace better than A-9? I suspect that many NL players would have lost their discipline, even some pretty good ones.


perfidious

What would I have done in those 62 hands ? Nothing. Nothing except play each hand as best I can. You don't get a prize for folding 62 hands. Why were you counting ?


In more specific terms, what were the blinds during this stage of play ? Was every pot being raised ? If so by how much ? If the pots are being raised too frequently, and by too much, then you need to wait for a good opportunity. If they aren't, maybe you can find more spots where you can call and take a flop. But if you don't get any playable hands, then maybe not. What I'm getting at is that I wonder whether you missed some opportunities to play some hands, in part because you were pleased with your own sense of discipline. Do you see what I'm saying ?


Finally, anyone who does lose their discipline just because they haven't been dealt a big pair for two hours isn't a good NL player ! Period !


Andy.

Andy,


The blinds were $10-25, then $25-50 in the second round.


As I noted, I saw no pair above sixes; one of the baby pairs was twos in the BB, but nothing flopped but big cards. Only twice, if I'm right, did I see two paints- K-Q early and a K-J suited

UTG. With the way the play was going, I wasn't really interested in getting involved with these.


There wasn't much limping or overbetting the pot- it was a raise, usually of three to five times the big blind, with the odd reraise, perhaps

every fourth or fifth pot. At these early levels, I'm used to seeing less discipline than that.


perfidious

perfidious,


In No-Limit you should be paying attention to what is going on at your table, don't worry about what is dealt to you, that's why this game is so different from limit hold'em, you don't need a hand if you are paying attention.


Observant opponents are the players that win at no-limit, not card players unless the game is loose with a bunch of idiots (this occurs during the rebuy periods, so you'll be doing more card playing then). You should be looking for weeknesses in your opponents.


For example, say an aggressive early position player raises. Another player behind him cold calls. I can already tell you the outcome the majority of time. The cold caller will fold to a pot size bet on the flop more than half the time. When you see this happen, the cold caller is someone you can bet against. You need to think about the mathematics of the play. When you hold a hand you will at least pair one of your cards approximately 33% of the time, and your opponent also has the same chances, so the odds are good that you can steal the pot when you are first to act. Look for players like this to play against. You can do this even if you don't hold an ace or king and one flops, that's because most good players will reraise you most of the time with aces and kings.


You can make these bluffs from early position as long as you don't have more than two people in the pot with you. But, you must be careful who you do it against. There are alot of "weak tight" players that will fold if they don't hit the flop. So, your job is to figure out if they hit it or not, and see if they are afraid any scary flops by betting into them. If you do it at the correct frequency you will not get played with. These are highly profitable plays.


Good Luck


Mark

Mark,


Thanks for your insights- I'm still riding the learning curve in NL, and getting a feel for

situations such as the one you describe.


perfidious