A few questions, mostly on Small Stakes Holdem

I just purchased small stakes holdem, the book. I've read a few chapters and question some of their ideas.

They stress the fact that you should just about never cold call a preflop raise. It is my understanding that this simply means calling a raise preflop. They even go on to say you should fold hands like AJs and below if it is raised to you (that you should only be calling with AQ, and raising with the other hands you should be playing - AA, KK, AK.

I think about 50% of pre flops are raised (I might be way off, Im just guessing). Im right with them on which hands to play. And, I get these hands very very rarley. I guess im saying, I have a problem with them telling me to fold AJo or s, A10s, when someone has already raised the pot.

Im playing 25NL, 0.25 blinds. and find that many people raise preflop with garbage. I know Im not being clear... But do you think they are being rash? I know Im picking on a small sample of hands (AJ, AJs, A10s, and medium pocket pairs 7-9, KQs+o, KJs+o)

Should I keep reading or is there something in these words I speak.

PS. as I write, the past 6 preflops have been raised,

[SheridanCat]

Small Stakes Hold'em really only applies to small stakes limit hold'em. My comments below apply that structure.

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They stress the fact that you should just about never cold call a preflop raise. It is my understanding that this simply means calling a raise preflop.


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Your understanding is correct, and their advice is correct. You should only cold call a raise in a very limited number of cases. Like, maybe you have a high suited hand after an early raise and many cold callers already in. If you don't feel your hand is good enough to reraise with, then don't cold call either - fold.

What hands do you like to cold call with, exactly?

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They even go on to say you should fold hands like AJs and below if it is raised to you (that you should only be calling with AQ, and raising with the other hands you should be playing - AA, KK, AK.


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Right. AJs will often be dominated by a hand that would raise before you. In the games you play, what are the raising standards of your opponents. If you play against players that will routinely raise with, say AT or A9, then by all means play on.

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I think about 50% of pre flops are raised (I might be way off, Im just guessing). Im right with them on which hands to play. And, I get these hands very very rarley. I guess im saying, I have a problem with them telling me to fold AJo or s, A10s, when someone has already raised the pot.


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Where are you playing? Loose/passive games are what I tend to look for. If I find a game where it's raised 50% of the time, I'd be looking for a more passive game where I can control the preflop action better. AJo and ATs are often dominated, play them against a raise at your own risk.

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Im playing 25NL, 0.25 blinds. and find that many people raise preflop with garbage. I know Im not being clear... But do you think they are being rash? I know Im picking on a small sample of hands (AJ, AJs, A10s, and medium pocket pairs 7-9, KQs+o, KJs+o)


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First off, SSHE is not a book about no limit hold'em. It's about limit hold'em and that's a very different game. I know it looks similar, but it's not really. I'm not loving the idea of playing ATo for a raise in NL either, but hey, that's just my NL style.

I would suggest you go to the small stakes no-limit forum and ask what they think about ATo in a raised pot. You'll find the real expert answers there.

Good luck,

T
Regards

I kept reading the book yesterday and this 'cap' issue came up over and over. Im thinking, what crazy NL game has a cap on betting. I think some more. Then I just sit there, in shock; realizing what I've just done.

Not only have I lost two buys while being dealt AA today, Ive purchased a book for a game I don't play. Worst day in my poker career, short as its been.

Thanks for the help Cat. Had I not realized how big an ass I am, your post would've brought it out

While Im here, does amazon have a return policy And whats a good 'bit better than beginner' book for no limit holdem (preferally small stakes ring games). Everyone in here was recommeding SSH, and thats why I bought it. I forgot to ask what they were recommeding it for.

[SheridanCat]

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I kept reading the book yesterday and this 'cap' issue came up over and over. Im thinking, what crazy NL game has a cap on betting. I think some more. Then I just sit there, in shock; realizing what I've just done.


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Believe it or not, there are NL games with a cap. However, players are usually going to be all-in long before the cap is reached. [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]

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Not only have I lost two buys while being dealt AA today, Ive purchased a book for a game I don't play. Worst day in my poker career, short as its been.


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Well, if you're going to lose, you might as well do it with the best hand. That's just bad luck, not bad play. As for purchasing the book, I wouldn't worry too much about that. While you're a no-limit player now, there's nothing wrong with learning how to play limit poker as well. It's a very different game, no doubt. But you never know where the juicy action will be, so it doesn't hurt to have a handle on both games.

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Thanks for the help Cat. Had I not realized how big an ass I am, your post would've brought it out


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Sorry, I wasn't really trying to call you out as an ass. [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img] You are not the first person to make this mistake - I guarantee you.

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While Im here, does amazon have a return policy And whats a good 'bit better than beginner' book for no limit holdem (preferally small stakes ring games). Everyone in here was recommeding SSH, and thats why I bought it. I forgot to ask what they were recommeding it for.

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I would guess that Amazon does, indeed, have a return policy. They're pretty liberal with their customer service in my experience.

There's not much currenlty on the market to reccomend for NL hold'em. Sklansky and Miller are working on a NL book, but it's some way off yet.

I would suggest you get Ed Miller's Getting Started In Hold'em which has a section on very basic NL strategy. Then look at No Limit and Pot Limit Poker by Bob Ciaffone and Stuart Ruben. That's an excellent book, but not exactly beginner material.

SSHE is a great book, that's undeniable. It has changed the way the game is played by knowledgable players. If you get the bug for limit, you'll definitely want to read and understand it.

Regards,

T

[Twitch1977]

If you're reading a book and you can't tell if it's for Limit or No Limit you should probably not ever play poker.

T

[SheridanCat]

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If you're reading a book and you can't tell if it's for Limit or No Limit you should probably not ever play poker.


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Don't flame here. Yes, it's a rookie mistake to miss the differences between limit and no limit, but that's what this forum is about.

If people are afraid to post here because they'll be mocked, they won't post and questions that need to be answered will be left unasked.

Regards,

T

Personal view, but limit may be a better place to start:-
(i) lower variance (disputed, but probably true for beginners)
(ii) individual mistakes less expensive
(iii) better books for learning
(iv) you will learn all the basic maths/probabilities

Just a couple of small points from another beginner:

give limit holdem a try too. It's not so popular on TV, but it's a great game you might like

do not throw away (return to Amazon, whatever) SSHE in any case. There's some stuff in there that is applicable to no-limit too! (for example the chapter on counting outs)