I am SOO CONFUSED

[DSL8266]

Hi people,this is DSL, i have a problem. I usually play the 6-12 or the 9-18 at commerce. Im a really tights player. I rarely play group 8 hands. I make sure i have certain position before i call a preflop hand. for example i would fold a 9T off suit if i was first up. BUt sometimes i feel lik eim playing too tight. Because my premium hands won't win most of the time. So i tried to loosen up my games and play my Q9 off suit and A7 offsuit in middle position praying for the game to be shorthanded. I think im plaing on tilt now. How much should i loosen up when 7 out of 9 players are really looose. Should i stay tight???? Please i need a lot of help.

[Louie Landale]

Don't loosen up with the unsuited hands. In fact tend to fold them MORE often. If PF raising is rare and calling is common, loosen up with suited hands and pairs.

The most important round in tight games is PF. In loose games its ON the flop.

- Louie

[DSL8266]

Hey Louie what does PF stand for???

[J.R.]

PreFlop

[rtrombone]

I haven't played 6-12 at Commerce in a long while, but I've played the 9-18 a couple times in the past few months. Most of the time, you are playing with LUNATICS. The game is always very loose pre-flop and post-flop. It tends to be passive post-flop. Depending on who's playing, it's either passive pre-flop (lots of limping) or aggressive (capped family pots). It's aggressive pre-flop when there are one or two maniacs who will raise with almost any holding.

When a lot of pots are capped pre-flop, you have to limit yourself to your best hands. It's that simple. Since it's often passive post-flop even after getting capped pre-flop, you're getting horrible implied odds. So you basically play only big cards and big pairs. I know, it sucks, but you simply cannot play a hand like J10s when it's going to cost you four bets to see the flop. Small pocket pairs aren't getting the proper odds, either, given the passive play post-flop.

If the game is loose-passive pre-flop, you can play more hands. You should still raise with your premium hands. You can limp with hands like Axs, most if not all pocket pairs and good suited connectors. Normally I want at least QJs or better in EP, but in these loose-passive games you can probably get away with playing 98s or 87s in EP.

Mucking T9 offsuit in EP is not something to boast about. It is standard. Q9 and A7 offsuit are similarly worthless hands. You really can't play these hands from anywhere but the blinds (in an unraised pot).

[CrackerZack]

Yes you are. I don't think you ever should be playing A7o and Q9o unless you're stealing the blinds. T9o should only be played when stealing or sometimes defending blinds but i don't like it. When I first started I loved how S&Ms hand rankings were set up because they were easy to memorize and quantify, but now I kind of wish they weren't so easy because it makes it easy for newbies to just memorize instead of learning what makes a hand good in what situation. You should study up on things like that because if you're playing T9o regularly, you're definitely not playing tight.

[Dante]