Such a thing as "too loose"?

howdy,

I've been playing .25/.50 on the crypto sites, and i've noticed i'm having difficulty winning in rooms where the flop% is above 55. It seems difficult to play hands when you can't determine whether or not someone played 9-6o from EP and made a straight or 74o from MP and made a boat on the river. I usually have a flop% of 25-30% myself. Are there suggestions for winning in these rooms, or is it just a matter of fact that you have to put up with lots of draw outs, and that the variance is going to be pretty great? Thanks.

[SheridanCat]

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howdy,

I've been playing .25/.50 on the crypto sites, and i've noticed i'm having difficulty winning in rooms where the flop% is above 55. It seems difficult to play hands when you can't determine whether or not someone played 9-6o from EP and made a straight or 74o from MP and made a boat on the river. I usually have a flop% of 25-30% myself. Are there suggestions for winning in these rooms, or is it just a matter of fact that you have to put up with lots of draw outs, and that the variance is going to be pretty great? Thanks.

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In these games your edge will come from being more discriminating in the hands you play than your opponents are. Your edge will also come when you give up on nearly hopeless hands earlier than your opponents.

If 25-30% is your VPIP, then it's a little bit high, so you might try tightening up just a little bit. If that percentage includes seeing the flop from the big blind for free, then your percentage is on the high end but probably not too high.

The swings in the game type you describe will be large. If the postflop play is loose and passive, you will often be able to value bet against your opponents' even if you hold only a marginal hand. That said, do not try to bluff. You will have to show something.

Usually you will not be able to narrow the range of hands on your very loose opponents. This makes life more difficult, but it also means your opponents will be arriving at the river with some pretty poor hands which will fold to a bet or make a crying call against your value bets.

I know it's frustrating to play these games and you can see some large swings. Just make sure you're bankrolled for the game and that whacky suckouts don't put you on tilt and you'll do fine.

Good luck,

T

[Eratosthenes]

These games can be very profitable if you know how to play them. Fortunately, there is a book that tells you how to play in these games: Small Stakes Hold'em. It is a 2+2 book and you can buy it nearly anywhere. SSH is not a beginners book, so you might need something to get you started. Two good beginner's books are Getting Started in Hold'em (a 2+2 book) and Winning Low Limit Hold'em (not 2+2).