Taj 1/2 NL first time, short buy-in?

[Marc Desjardins]

I'm going to AC this weekend and I'm tempted to try my hand at NL. Last time I went I only played 3/6, but from what I saw and what I read, the NL games seemed pretty juicy, but with the big preflop raises, it seemed like it has very high variance.

So, with a 300$ max buy-in, how much should I buy-in for? The whole thing? 200? 100? My bankroll is not that big, losing 300 in one hand would hurt, but then again, doubling up with only 100 in front of me if I catch a monster seems like a waste?

BTW, I have about 13k hands logged of NL25 online with a 8.83BB/100, I just recently moved up to NL50 and I've been doing almost as well so far with 7.45BB/100.

Any advice for a B&M newbie will be much appreciated.

[sourbeaver]

First time I went to AC, I bought for 150 at the 1-2NL @ the Trop. I like it. Just don't call too many big raises preflop with drawing-type hands, because your implied odds are cut down. Big preflop raises are good for your big hands. With 75BB, you'll be playing more "top pair poker" if I may call it that way. When and if you feel more confortable later on and get a good feel of the table, go ahead and simply add to your stack. Good luck and enjoy [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]

[Marc Desjardins]

thanks for the reply.

you mention playing "top pair poker", how do people typically play TPTK at those games, since most pots have huge raise before the flop, do you often find yourself going all-in after the flop when you hit top pair?

I mean if the standard raise is 15$ (as I read somewhere else) before the flop and I buy-in for 150$. If I get 3-4 callers with AK or AQ and flop top pair top kicker, with 60 in the pot and about 100-150 left, do I just fire a pot size bet, half pot or just go all-in?

[KramerTM]

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thanks for the reply.

you mention playing "top pair poker", how do people typically play TPTK at those games, since most pots have huge raise before the flop, do you often find yourself going all-in after the flop when you hit top pair?

I mean if the standard raise is 15$ (as I read somewhere else) before the flop and I buy-in for 150$. If I get 3-4 callers with AK or AQ and flop top pair top kicker, with 60 in the pot and about 100-150 left, do I just fire a pot size bet, half pot or just go all-in?

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The general consensus is to play your hands fast at these tables. The smaller your buy-in, the more true this is. People are either noticeably weak-tight or noticeably loose-aggro at these tables. Most are very loose callers and pay off your TPTK. Also, almost none understand anything about pot odds and will routinely call near-pot-sized bets on draws. Make them pay for this.

That said, be prepared to bust if you only buy-in in for 100 dollars. Me? I think you'd be doing yourself a disservice if you didn't buy-in for the max. Why give away that potential advantage? Besides, Foxwoods spreads a 100 max buy-in 1/2 NL game, and the blinds end up being extremely suffocating making it essentially an all-in fest (read: high variance).

Feel free to PM me with any more questions. Most of 1/2 NL experience comes from the Trop in AC and Foxwoods.

[canis582]

I dont think 75 or 50 bb would handicap you at 1-2 nl. In fact, if you bring a $300 br, you can screw up once and buy in again.

Just try to get your chips in with the best hand.

Edit: Bring an orange or ripe peach to put next to your chips...the smell will relax you if someone puts you on a tough decsion.

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Edit: Bring an orange or ripe peach to put next to your chips...the smell will relax you if someone puts you on a tough decsion.

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Seems to work for Johnny Chan [img]/images/graemlins/wink.gif[/img]

[four eight suited]

I played at the Trop a few times over 1 weekend, all at the 1/2 NL. Each time I bought in for $150 but I brought enough money to cover 5+ buyins. I would advise bringing money to add on if you get short on your $150 buyin. There are just too many juicy tables to let your implied odds slip so much. Like people said before, you need to be playing fast especially on the flop. If anything I would err on the side of overbetting any good hand you have. With a lot of big raises preflop many people decide to call these big bets with big hands waiting for the flop to make moves. I think reraising is pretty cruicial in these games. I was on the button once with red aces and the bets were $60 to me (MP1 opens for $20 (not uncommon) and hijack makes it $60), I push for $300 total and get 2 callers. My aces held up vs JJ and AKs.

Make sure you bring enough money to weather a few suckouts and I think you should have a good time there.

[Marc Desjardins]

Well, i just got back, we got there friday morning, played in the 50+15 multi, I was doing good for the first 3 level, but then I got eliminated in two hands, first one with JT on a board of ATT, vilain had AA, I lost more than half my stack. Then I went all-in with A3s in the small blind with only one limper. Insta-called, showed 9Ts of my suit, hit a T on the flop and that was it.

Still not too sure about no limit, I played a bit of 3/6, lost about 140$ in 3-4 hours, none of my big hands worked, people kept making full houses and flushes on me. So I decided to go for it and try no limit.

I only bought in for the minimum 100$. Made 90$ on my first session, in about 4 hours. The next morning, sat down with 100$ again. Called a raise of 10$ when I had previously limped him with JTs (the original raiser had showed hands where he raised with lots of medicore hands). Flop came J high, went all-in for about 60, he called and showed KK and I lost my first buy-in. I reloaded to 100$ again and a bit later, I checked on the big blind with KQ with 3 or 4 limpers. Flop came K high. I bet the pot and was called. Turn was a blank, putting two clubs on the board, I went all-in for my remaing 30-40, was called by KQ of club. I was hoping to split, but the river came another club and I lost my second buy-in. I reloaded again to 100$ and then things picked up. Turned that into 330$ before dinner.

Came back after dinner and still couldn't bring myself to buy-in for more than 100$, but things went really well, I doubled up the first time with AA and scored big again with KJs, I raised to 10 UTG and got three callers, the flop came K high with two of my suit. Bet 30$, all called. Turn made my flush, I bet 80$, first guy went all-in for about 30$, second guy thought for a long time but folded (he later said he considered going over the top with the single ace of my suit), the other folded. The all-in guy had QQ with the queen of my suit. Ended the night with 420$.

So when all was said and done, I lost 140$ at 3/6, lost 65 in the tourney, but I made 440$ at no limit, which paid for the room, the food and the gas, all in all, an excellent weekend.

Thanks a lot for the all the good advices I got, hopefully next time I have enough guts to buy-in for the full 300$. But I found that the smaller stack was a lot easier to play, most of the time, I would raise my big hand pre-flop and go all-in when I hit the flop. Worked most of time. I played a little scared with the bigger stack at first, butI think I managed to adjust.

Can't wait for next time!!

[AKQJ10]

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I dont think 75 or 50 bb would handicap you at 1-2 nl. In fact, if you bring a $300 br, you can screw up once and buy in again.

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Buying in short never handicaps you in the sense of taking the worst of it in these games. It reduces your EV, because if you're an accomplished NLHE player you can make more with a larger stack. But if, like me, you're learning the game then buying in short only helps you by making it an easier game to beat.

This has been debated ad nauseum on various forums, for example here.

[PokerAmateur4]

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Edit: Bring an orange or ripe peach to put next to your chips...the smell will relax you if someone puts you on a tough decsion.

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Seems to work for Johnny Chan [img]/images/graemlins/wink.gif[/img]

[/ QUOTE ]I have an important hijack to commit. What is the difference between a scent and a smell? I looked it up at dictionary.com, I guess a scent is just "often agreeable" and also more distinct.