adjusting starting hands , not rigid -SSH?

[SenecaJim]

Hey , not sure if this is the right forum or should be in books or general but KIND OF pertains to Ed's book (and others 2+2).

I understand the recommendations for starting hands are not rigid and need to change according to a variety of criteria. My question is about the change.

Does mean stick to the given hands but adjust in what position you play them and if you raise or not. Or does it mean if game is weak and lots of winners with AXo and KXo, that it's ok to fudge a little like playing A9o from the button with a limp? ( usually 5 or 6 seeing flop ).

thanks

[Niediam]

It's more about playing differently when the table as whole is playing abnormally or you are against a specific player or two and change your play based upon their tendencies.

A couple of examples:

You are playing at a table where 6-8 people see the flop every hand and almost no hands are raised by your opponents (say under 10% of the hands). In such a situation is would be correct to limp UTG with a hand such as T [img]/images/graemlins/diamond.gif[/img]9 [img]/images/graemlins/diamond.gif[/img].

You are on the button with Q [img]/images/graemlins/diamond.gif[/img]J [img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img]. Two players limp who are very good players who usually play their hands correct. Usually you would limp with QJo on the button, however, in this situation you should fold because your opponents are not likely to make the kind of mistakes which make playing the hand profitable.

As to the specific hand of A9o on the button, Miller says in SSH that it may be marginally profitable. I suggest passing on the play though unless you are an expert player.

[SenecaJim]

Wow. Great answer. Thank you.

[K C]

A agree with this. In addition to adjusting up or down a bit according to the playing styles of the table as a whole, you also want to be on the lookout for specific situations in a hand which may call for hands to be played differently. For instance, there are going to be some hands on the button that you would throw away with several opponents having called already, which you would raise with if you're first in with. You want to give heed to the specific circumstances of the hand, in addition to the strength of the hand overall, such as how many have acted before you, the actions they've taken, how many are to act after you, and the known tendencies of the players downstream. Taking all this into account, you may want to deviate one way or the other from your default pre-flop strategy with a given hand.

KC
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