I don't know how to beat the .25/50 NL games anymore

I'm back to playing cash games after a run of tournament poker, which I did very well in. However now I'm at college and can't devote four+ hours a day in a row in the event I make a final table in a MTT event.

Which brings me to the world of .25/.50 NL hold'em.

These people are insane to me, which is now what I remember when I first started here.

I've picked up Jacks and queens recently in early position and raised to 3 dollars preflop...only to have all 5 people at the table call me. To me that's a pretty substantial raise.

Then the flop has come 10 9 2 and after I bet 5 dollars I'm faced with a call, a re-raise and an all in with someone with 10 9 offsuit and 10 2 offsuit.

I'm forced to fold and move on.

Besides losing 45 dollars in one hand (I pushed with the nut straight of 97 in the BB on a board of 5 6 8 4...I checked flop, villain bet 2.50 I raised to 5.50, villain called...I bet 10 on the turn, villain min-raised, I pushed he called...river was a 6...he has 64)

I always seem to raise preflop with a big hand and have to check because my AK missed and there are 3 other people in the hand.

Whenever I raise to 4 dollars preflop I get no action.

Do you guys notice this? It's almost like I donate 3 dollars at a time over the period of the hour-two hours I get to play when I have the free time.

First off, should I avoid these games? And second off what is a normal raise in here?

Should I even raise with pocket 9s and 10s? It seems like I raise to 3.50 and get called by 2 people and then at least one paint card flops and I have to muck.

[stu-unger]

r u really complaining about people calling your PFRs??? hmmmmmmm...i raise 4 bbs and dont always get action... u must be blessed. as for what hands to raise position, stacks, and table conditions are how i decide what to raise.

[ QUOTE ]
r u really complaining about people calling your PFRs??? hmmmmmmm...i raise 4 bbs and dont always get action... u must be blessed. as for what hands to raise position, stacks, and table conditions are how i decide what to raise.

[/ QUOTE ]

It starts to get really annoying when you have KK, QQ, and JJ...you are in late position and see two to three limpers in front of you. You raise $2.50 to $3 only to see everybody call your raise.

Then the flop comes

A 9 2

and there are raises and re-raises in front of you. You throw away your $3 and repeat the process five hands later.

The only money I've made is by hitting sets or nut flushes.

My reads have been right. My big pocket pair loses to A 10 or A 6 or K 9 or what other garbage there is.

I'm slowly losing 3 dollars a hand.