What style should i play at this type of table?

[IaHawk]

I am looking to start playing in a 3-6 game at a local casino in the near future and have been going to the card room a couple of times to watch and see what type of game is going on there. At the 3-6 table (where i am looking to play) there seems to be a lot of bad play going on. here is the set up....there are usually 4-5 people who see the flop and hardly any raises before the flop. People play a variety of hands like most loose players and win with them. One hand that really suprised me was a lady who had J5o and was in early position!?!? it wasnt like she raised to bluff or anything...she just called and wound up getting her 2pair on the riv with a jack coming up. she ended up winning the pot with two pair. i guess i am just trying to say that it seems like they are pretty loose and passive. Should my style be tight and aggresive or loosen up a little and still be aggresive? The one thing that i did notice was that the couple of people who were playing aggresive had the larger stacks. any thoughts would be a appreciated. oh yeah, this is in iowa too...so its not like a gambling hot bed.

oh yeah, would like a little advice on ways to calculate pot odds and what not. any good sites or links for that. thanks again for any help

[travisand]

Welcome to the forum IaHawk.

In a loose passive games drawing hands like suited connectors go way up in value and unsuited high cards go down in value. You can also play most any pocket pair from most any position if you can expect the 4-5 callers like you were referring to.


And yes you should still be aggressive with your made hands, you have to make those limpers pay to hit their two pair on the river with J-5 offsuit.

[kiddo]

Some links to look at:

http://www.posev.com/poker/holdem/strategy/index.html
Article on how to compute odds postflop, when to raise, when to fold. Also a very good article on preflop-play.

http://twodimes.net/poker/
Calculate how different hands play against each other with a given board.

http://www.pokerroom.com/main/page/games/evstats/expValue/
Compute how much a certain starting hand wins at a certain position at a certain limit.

If you want to know how to play in the game you talk about, there is a very good chapter on loose games in Sklansky/Malmuth: "Texas holdem for Advanced Players".

good luck,
kiddo

[jaydoggie]

Hey IaHawk. I'm from IA too, what casino are you referring to?

[IaHawk]

I am talking about the isle of capri. Do you play there, i noticed you are from davenport.

IaHawk

[IaHawk]

kiddo,

thanks for the links. i actually do own holdem poker for advanced players but have yet to read it because i want to make sure that i have a good understanding of the game first. i am on my 3rd book now. lou Krieger, Gary Carson and now a low limit book by bill burton.

Sklansky/Malmuth: "Texas holdem for Advanced Players" will be the next one i read though. i think i will take your advice and take a peak at that section on loose games though. the reason i am waiting to read this book is that i was told that it is not an easy read and you have to understand the game to get the most out of it. basically you have to read it like a text book and STUDY it...not read it. i am pretty excited about it. should be done with my current book in about a week...and then its sklansky time!!! thanks again

IaHawk