a few questions to help my limit game

I play 2-4, 3-6, 5-10 limit.

I have a few questions i'd appreciate some answers to.

1. When do you guys play AX suited? currently, i'll play it when theres a few callers with no raise in mid / late position.

2. is there any profitable time to play suited connectors?

3. how should i play low pockets? in mid, early and late position? right now, i will usually fold low pockets in early position. and call in late position.

4. do you raise JQ ?

5. If you hold AK AQ, and you don't hit the flop. do you usually call if there is a bettor?

[jrbick]

[ QUOTE ]
I play 2-4, 3-6, 5-10 limit.

I have a few questions i'd appreciate some answers to.

1. When do you guys play AX suited? currently, i'll play it when theres a few callers with no raise in mid / late position.

2. is there any profitable time to play suited connectors?

3. how should i play low pockets? in mid, early and late position? right now, i will usually fold low pockets in early position. and call in late position.

4. do you raise JQ ?

5. If you hold AK AQ, and you don't hit the flop. do you usually call if there is a bettor?

[/ QUOTE ]

OK -- now I'm just letting you know right now that I'm not kidding around and I'm not being a jerk. I predict that MANY will post similar responses:

STOP PLAYING or, if you keep playing, MOVE DOWN SEVERAL LEVELS or you will lose A LOT of money. Read books. Read posts here.

Hopefully I've posted this in time before you provide all of your table numbers for all the PM's you've received from people offering to "watch" you play. /images/graemlins/wink.gif

Sorry in advance if I've ruined anyone's fun/profit, but hey, we all started (I'm still "starting") from somewhere.

uh... you make me sound like a huge fish.

i'm up around 4k in 1/2 a year. it's not much, but i believe i play winning poker. Maybe not great poker, but it's winning poker.

[cmwck]

Your questions are too general. There's no way there can be quality discussion of these subjects in a single thread.
Post a specific hand with a specific question about your play. Try posting the more basic questions (such as when to play suited aces) in the micro or beginners forum.

[jrbick]

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uh... you make me sound like a huge fish.

i'm up around 4k in 1/2 a year. it's not much, but i believe i play winning poker. Maybe not great poker, but it's winning poker.

[/ QUOTE ]

No it doesn't sound like you're a fish. When I read "Ax suited" I thought it said "AK suited" which looked REALLY BAD. My bad. Are you playing full or short-handed tables? Still, even for those stakes these are still shakey questions to be asking... I'm not an expert, I just know peple who are who play at these levels. Just trying to save you some dough in the LONG RUN. Speaking of "long run" I'm curious now -- how many hands have you played in the "1/2 year" that you are talking about.

Again, not trying to insult you AT ALL... Just offering what little bit of help I'm capable of offering.

[LesWormMurphy]

The answer to all of your questions can be answered in SSHE by David Sklansky, Ed Miller and Mason Malmuth. Generally speaking though:

1) A-Rag Suited is playable when the game is loose, many people are involved in the pot and it doesn't cost more than a bet to see the flop. Its playable because when your getting lots of action, the times when you hit your flush, you'll have the best one.

2)Depends on the suited connectors. Its always good to play AKs, regardless of how many raises, but a hand like 23s is a hand you'll want to throw away. Speculative hands like 78s and 67s can be played when the game is loose and generally, you don't want it to cost more than a bet. If you play hands like 78s in a tight game, you'll often fold after the flop but if the game is loose, the times you do catch will compensate for the one bet it cost to see it.

3) Low pockets is similar to A-Rag suited. You want to get in for one bet at most with those because mostly they will not win, but if the table is loose and there's plenty of calls (not raises) the times where you flop 3-of-a-kind is where the money is at.

4) Depends on the table, your position and whether their suited or not. The problem with a hand like JQo is that your often dominated. Be wary-- but I would think that's a raisable hand in late position if it hasn't been raised.

5)Depends on how much $ is in the pot, and whether the people in the pot are tight/loose. Often if you raise with AK and your in the flop with 2 loose players when a ragged flop comes about, you can bet or sometimes raise, depending on how many outs you have.


Basically it all depends on what kind of table your playing at and how much money is in the pot. What I suggest you do is pick up Small Steaks Hold 'Em-- all the advice I gave you, I took from that book. It is extremely informative, and 3 months ago, I couldn't of given you this advice.

Just so you get the idea of how much one good book can help you out-- I have yet to play even $1-$2, because I haven't finished the book. And yet I knew what advice to give you.

Those 2+2ers man.. hats off.

Hope that helps,
Take care.

Thanks for the responses.

Those are the ways that i play normally.

And i am up 4k not from like few hands. i'd estimate 50k-100k hands in this half year.

mostly been playin 3-6. full games. % flops seen usually about 15%

[Harv72b]

[ QUOTE ]
1. When do you guys play AX suited? currently, i'll play it when theres a few callers with no raise in mid / late position.

[/ QUOTE ]

This one depends entirely on game conditions. If I'm in an aggressive game where most of the pots are raised preflop, then I will only play a suited ace below AT if it gets to me in the CO without being raised. If I'm on a loose/passive table, where few pots are raised and even the ones that are generally have 5 players to the flop, I'll limp suited aces from any position. If I'm in a tight game where flops usually end up heads up or maybe 3-handed, I'll first ask myself what I'm doing in that game, and then raise anything A6s or better from MP on. I will never, under any circumstances, coldcall with a suited ace below AT (and even then only if the pot is many-handed & I'm in LP), but I will usually call a raise in the BB with a suited ace. I will 3-bet with any ace from the Button on if I suspect a loose openraise/blind steal.

If the game is 6max or similarly short-handed, I will bring any suited ace in for a raise from any position.

[ QUOTE ]
2. is there any profitable time to play suited connectors?

[/ QUOTE ]

Rarely in 5/10. Sometimes on 3/6. Fairly often on 2/4. Again, it depends largely on the table conditions--you need a loose and/or passive table in order to profitably play a suited connector, because you must see the flop for only 1 bet in order for your implied odds to justify what is usually a negative immediate EV call. It is also acceptable to openraise with a suited connector every so often, either as a blind steal or as an image play, but if this sounds weird to you then you probably shouldn't do it. Generally speaking, if the pot is unraised and you can be confident that at least 4 players will see the flop, then suited connectors are legitimate hands to play. It also helps if your opponents are terrible postflop players, and will pay you off handsomely when you do hit.

[ QUOTE ]
3. how should i play low pockets? in mid, early and late position? right now, i will usually fold low pockets in early position. and call in late position.

[/ QUOTE ]

Once again, table conditions. Loose/passive tables will allow you to limp any pair from any position, and will usually pay you off handsomely when you hit your set. Tight/aggressive tables will punish you severely if you try to limp a small pocket pair from EP. Under no circumstances, ever, should you be the first player to coldcall a raise with a pocket pair. If someone raises & two people call between you, then it's okay assuming you have position and can extract bets when you hit. Otherwise, it's either fold or 3-bet, depending on your read on the raiser. If it's folded to me in LP, I'm open-raising with any pocket pair. If it's folded to me in MP, I'm usually mucking 22-44, limping 55-77, and raising 88+. That is regardless of table conditions. In a 6max or shorthanded game, I am raising with any pocket pair 22-AA, unless I know for a fact that raising will not eliminate any opponents (then I'm limping with 22-55).

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4. do you raise JQ ?

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Rarely. I'll openraise with QJ from MP3 on, especially if the blinds are tight. I'll also openraise with it in 6max games. Every so often I'll pop a raise behind several limpers in LP, especially if the QJ is suited. I will never play QJ against a raise, unless I'm in the BB (or, obviously, the raise comes behind me when I limp).

[ QUOTE ]
5. If you hold AK AQ, and you don't hit the flop. do you usually call if there is a bettor?

[/ QUOTE ]

There are so many variables at play in this situation that it's not even funny. You have to consider the size of the pot, the texture of the flop, the player who is betting into you, the number of players left to act behind you, how well those players play, how many (if any) players have called the bet already, how strong your draws (if any) are, and how many other, stronger draws might be out there. Among other things. All of these factors can lead to either calling, raising, or folding your UI big ace.

[Hoi Polloi]

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5. If you hold AK AQ, and you don't hit the flop. do you usually call if there is a bettor?

[/ QUOTE ]

If you don't know why the best play here may be to raise, you need to do some studying. If you don't know why you would raise here, how are you going to read what your opponent who raises here might be up to?

Good luck. Keep winning.