Preflop, need help

[ginko]

I'm an aggressive rock. I raise my good hands, fold my losers more often than not. I play 1/2NL-3/6NL online. The reason I'm posting this here is because a 2/4NL online game is often tougher than a live 10/20...or so I've heard. I'm grinding 5PTBB/100.


I play AK/AQ, AA-22 from any position, and I'm profitable with all of these hands. However, the last two months I've started playing a lot of mediocre hands from any position.

I'll open raise or open limp these hands depending on my mood/game. My winrate has dropped substantially the past 2 months and I'm pretty sure it's because of these hands(I think I'm running worst than usual but that could just be an excuse).

My questions are, how do you play these tricky hands? I usually play as follows:

KQs in middle position, I'll make a standard raise because I want to build a pot to steal if I don't flop big, and make a huge pot if I flop a monster(If I flop a draw I bet big to take the pot down or enlarge it on the turn.

If the flop comes something like K92 I'll make a continuation bet and go from my reads. Obviously this style of play has big swings and requires more skill than nut peddling.


Problem is, I'm not making any more money than usual, actually I'm losing a bunch. I'll open raise UTG with KTs just because I want to play a big pot if a flop something good.


Actually, I'm pretty sure my KTs utg raise is break even at worst, it's my post flop play thats making me lose. I don't think my preflop is bad with any of my hands, usually these games are deep enough right?


If someone could explain the mediocre hands to me it would be great...

[Marnixvdb]

if you raise KTs you cannot be described as a Solid Rock. It can be profitable to play a LAG style in NL, but then you need to have a very good postflop play, understand very well when to raise, bet, check and when to check call - and use positional advantages to the max. Raising KTs UTG in full ring is a losing proposition as you will only be called / raised by hands that are stronger than yours and that will thus flop stronger than you most of the time.

The example you gave is a good one, say you raise KQ from MP and flop K - rag - rag. You are usually ahead in this pot, but you have to realize that for your opponent it is quite clear what he has te beat (Kx). So if you bet it hard, he will probably only continue with better hands, whereas if you check it, he may bet worse hands that he would have folded to a bet. If you do not fully understand how those concepts works, I would advice you to tighten up your preflop hand selection, especially the hands that you play from EP.

As you put it, it sounds as if you are tilting (raising KTs UTG to 'hope to flop big'). Tigten up and experiment a bit more with LAG play from LP.

Manrix

[ginko]

Hi Marnixvdb!

Thanks for the reply. To clarify, when I said I was an aggressive rock, I meant for the past year I've only been playing AK/AQ, AA-22.

I play ALOT laggier now, because thats where the money is. Tricky smart LAG players are the absolute best poker players(not EXTREME LAG..). I want to be that. I want to win the most money. I want to be tricky. I want to be unreadable.

[johnnyblaze]

king ten suited is a hand you should raise in late position with no limpers, otherwise i would typically fold to a raise before me unless it is shorthanded. I also advise open limping in late position if there are other limpers before you

[ginko]

I really want to learn how to become a good LAG. I'm just tired of 13%vpip...

[ginko]

BTW, I also open raise 22 UTG. I make all my preflop raises 4xbb. What do you think of this information?

[barongreenback]

[ QUOTE ]
I really want to learn how to become a good LAG. I'm just tired of 13%vpip...

[/ QUOTE ]
Try shorthanded.

[Jonny]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
I really want to learn how to become a good LAG. I'm just tired of 13%vpip...

[/ QUOTE ]
Try shorthanded.

[/ QUOTE ]

I agree, full ring sucks. No action whatsoever.

[AZK]

Here's what I've been doing for a little, mixed results. Try and play real tight from the first 5 spots in, say pairs, AK/AQ/AJ if there are no limpers. I find myself playing marginal hands in marginal situations, so I'm trying to tighten up on that, so I will no longer limp in with a suited ace, or connector if there is only one limper and i'm still early/middle. If there are two limpers or more, than by all means I limp. Here's where it gets fun, and you have to have good control, which I don't but I'm working on it... when it's folded to me 3 off the button (hijack?/Co/button) I open raise any two cards. Literally any 2. Play a flop accordingly. This is nice because you occasionally get to showdown a real winner like J2o, a majority of the time you take down the blinds, a largert part of the time you take it down on the flop, I do this until people start to fight back, most of the time they don't. Once they do though, you have to change gears and figure out what they are doing. This is more of a very tight early very loose aggressive late style, if I can get better at changing gears and laying down marginal hands it will be profitable, try it out. Plus I get paid on the hands I raise with early, which are monsters, since people think I'm just the kid raising K7o and 92o for fun.

FWIW, over the thousands of hands I have in PT on 2/4. THe winningest players are the rocks. There is something to be said for this. The people that are 13-15/3 are crushing this game. I need to develop the patience to play like this. 8 tables might do the trick.

[Marnixvdb]

[ QUOTE ]
if you raise KTs you cannot be described as a Solid Rock. It can be profitable to play a LAG style in NL, but then you need to have a very good postflop play, understand very well when to raise, bet, check and when to check call - and use positional advantages to the max. Raising KTs UTG in full ring is a losing proposition as you will only be called / raised by hands that are stronger than yours and that will thus flop stronger than you most of the time.

The example you gave is a good one, say you raise KQ from MP and flop K - rag - rag. You are usually ahead in this pot, but you have to realize that for your opponent it is quite clear what he has te beat (Kx). So if you bet it hard, he will probably only continue with better hands, whereas if you check it, he may bet worse hands that he would have folded to a bet. If you do not fully understand how those concepts works, I would advice you to tighten up your preflop hand selection, especially the hands that you play from EP.

As you put it, it sounds as if you are tilting (raising KTs UTG to 'hope to flop big'). Tigten up and experiment a bit more with LAG play from LP.

Manrix

[/ QUOTE ]

what i meant to say in 1st sentence was 'when you raise KTs UTG etc.'

sure you can raise KTs profitably from LP

Marnix