Still Struggling with Openers

[Festus22]

In the loose-passive game, what hands play better? I still have trouble differentiating these hands:

Small pairs - they have a 12% of flopping a set, 19% chance overall but they can be beat by higher trips (rare) or more commonly a straight or better. Great stealth hand but somehat vulnerable to higher draws. Raise preflop late with 6+ anticipated callers?

A-9 or less suited - this hand has a 6.5% chance of making a flush and if so, it most likely wins. Certainly can back off a bit if a board pair appears but only 18:1 PF to make the hand, seems poor (I guess this is where the dreaded implied odds factor in)? And when you get your 2-flush flop, you're usually committed to the later streets at 2:1. An easy fold if your 2-flush doesn't drop (usually ain't hangin around even if an A flops)

10 or under suited connectors - they have an 18% chance to make a straight or better. If the flush hits, the WORST you'd be facing is a 25% chance that someone else has a higher one. I'd think the straight also has a strong winning chance since most other unsuited cards in these ranks would be folded.

SO, in loose passive (5+ callers PF) - is it one, both, all? Positionally dependent? What about loose, agressive games?

I need a nap!

[HDPM]

Well, all hands play better in loose passive games. The pairs play a lot better in loose aggressive games. Connectors are really hurt by aggressive games. Getting a free or cheap card on the flop is very nice. In an aggressive game you won't get that and the price to even play is often too high. Small pairs are easier since you will fold if you miss your set. If you make your set you want to put heat on anyway and a set can stand a lot of aggression. Nice thing about the suited aces is that you can win big pots with the nuts. That's a lot easier than playing some non-nut straight. You can make more money with it. As a practical matter in a loose passive game you are going to be playing these hands anyway. So it doesn't exactly matter which is a little better with preflop odds. Know what you are looking to do with them and how they play. In passive games you will play a lot more hands than in aggressive games, be they loose or tight. So in a loose aggressive game you would not be playing the small pairs or connectors much. You can't call up front and if you're in back and it's raised you won't be playing often either. Read, reread, and reread the loose games section of HPFAP 21st Cen for more details. That is very profitable material.

[thomastem]

You have 6D-6H and the flop is:

9c QC 6s

I view flush draw as a nice underdog to meand love to see it. Reasons:

1.My Full House/Quads Draw has a slightly better chance of hitting than his flush draw.

2. I have information that he needs. In the above example my opponent is counting the 6c as an out. If the turn card is not a club that corresponding club is also mistaken for an out from my opponent.

3. On the occasions that the two mistaken outs hit on the river, giving you a full house and the flush to your opponent, you get big action/profit.

4. If your opponent draws his Flush your decision is easy. Turn caculate pot odds, River fold.

You have this information at the flop your opponent is still trying to put you on a hand and will often miss the trap where you both draw.

[Louie Landale]

Lets play holdem with only pre-flop betting. You get two cards, bet, then we turn 5 face up cards and see who wins.

Compared to the standard holdem, all the hands you've described do worse. That's because these hands NEED implied odds to be profitable: they make money when they HIT and this makes up for their PF losses.

The more money these hands have to invest PF the worse they are. Loose passive games make them profitable since you can generally draw to the hands cheap AND then get paid off when you make them. Loose aggressive games are marginal since you will usually have to invest a lot of money drawing. Tight aggressive games are the pits.

- Louie