[xorbie]

i'm leaving poker for a while (for good?) but I just wanted to depart with a bit of advice for some of you guys playing the .25/.5 nl game. i hope this is helpful advice both for those struggling with these games and those hoping to move up.

the main thing that it seems like this forum has always had a problem with is getting value out of your good hands. this really, really, really needs to be driven in. you guys need to realize that when you flop a monster against someone elses overpair, you are taking all their money. when they flop a set against you, they will take it back. this is called poker. worrying about it at these levels is, with rare exception, a serious waste of time.

the money made in ssnl is from people overplaying dominated hands, especially preflop and when oop. if it seems close, bet. if it seems close, call. simply by virtue of preflop hand selection and positional agression you will have better hands almost always when money goes in and you will always get good action. playing in such a way so as to get only two bets in postflop with tptk or better is often leaving money on the table (though there are obvious exceptions such as KK2 or 678 flop holding AA).

those times you find yourself OOP with ak and an a flop? oh well. happens to everyone. that money is just trading hands. you might be asking yourself "but shouldnt folding strong but non-nut hands be a skill i should be working on?" my answer is: of course. but at the same time, by not playing these hands agressively you will develop very poor habbits at higher levels. its also the only way to develop your game in the more difficult situations, because by playing weakly and passively with top pair you also implicitly abandom the smaller pots that are to be won here.