Does anyone else do this? (repost, no responses on internet forum)

[blackaces13]

This idea just struck me tonight and I wanted to run it by the room here. I play mostly Party .5/1 and I usually look for a table with a high avg pot size. But tonight I went looking for a table with 3 or 4 players at it regardless of pot size. My thinking is thus:

These people didn't START playing in a 4 handed game, they probably say in a full game that was either boring or just happened to have a lot of people leave suddenly. So 5 or so people left for whatever reason and because the pot size was never big it was slow to attract new players.

The other 4 people were also boring players but they were just too lazy to get up and find a new table and post or wait for the BB so they just sat there while the avg pot in the game went down to about $4 and no new players even noticed it. There are ALWAYS a few games like this when you scroll down on the table list.

These people didn't WANT to play a shorthanded game and more importantantly these people don't know how to play a shorthanded game. So I go in there and raise the roof with any kind of edge I can conceive of and play extremely aggressively and also limp if they let me with a bunch of hands I'd never play in a full game.

I can usually expect to do pretty well against beginnners who never wanted to play SH in the first place and also I get a total LAG image at the table. Now 10-15 minutes later when the table starts to fill up, all the players who were there originally are giving me loose calls because they don't know that I've dramatically changed my play and that I generally have much stronger holdings if I'm getting as aggressive as I was before.

So, sitting at these 3 or 4 player tables when I first log on has a lot of great things going for it as I see it, although tonight was the only time I've tried it. Does this make sense? Does anyone else do this regularly?

[sthief09]

there are people who do that and only that. basically when a game breaks up, usually the people left are the winners. the winners are feeling good about themselves so they'll play some shorthanded, thinking it's the same game when it's entirely different. I have read that these people do really well.

[blackaces13]

Any chance you remember where you read this, I'd love to read about the intricacies of it?

I just finished using this strategy somemore and I really think there is potential here for this to be the way I play from now on. Not only for all the reasons I mentioned in my original post, but also because it is a lot more fun IMO.

[JP2k1]

Seems like a good idea, and I like creating a "gambler" image for yourself when the game is SH so you get more action with your legitimate hands once the table fills up. The only thing is, at a Party $.5-1 game, I have very rarely had trouble getting enough action, and I am by no means a loose player. In fact, I lose a lot of hands by not getting enough respect with my raises (ie, someone with garbage cold calls and beats my overpair with two small pair).

But hey, if it's being profitable for you, keep it up. Let us know how this strategy does for you down the line too.

[easypete]

I find myself in this situation a few times every day I play. The table starts to break up and I find it SH in just a few hands.

I find it happens for a few reasons.

1. One player wins a few pots in a row while playing aggressively.
2. The LAPs leave and the table no longer becomes profitable for TAPs.
3. Table has become too tight.

Either way, I mostly find that the tables only give money for a few hands. More often than not the table becomes empty in just a few hands after it becomes SH. I always adjust my play to almost maniacal. Those that played with me for hours give me respect from my table image [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img] , but most solid players do the same in this situation. I feel that I'm just slightly ahead in these situations.

Now after the umpteenth million time it's happened, I now uncheck the "autopost blind" button and leave when the BB hits me. Go back to the lobby and find a table with a 2 or 3 LAPs (usually >$10 for 0.50/1 or >$20 for 1/2 tables).

I may experiment this week with seeking out these tables and try it the other way. I can see the potential for the LAP image when it gets to full table.