how to play at a tight table?

[rjc199]

Hi,

How do you change your playing style when the table switches to tight-passive? (by this I mean 2 or 3 people seeing the flop, some hands being taken without a showdown).

Ordinarily I avoid these types of tables because they don't suit my style (beginner), but alot of times a table will go on anti-tilt and turn tight-passive.

I imagine that you should be a little more loose and semi-bluff more. Bet 2nd pair and 3rd pair. But what sorts of hands should you add to your usual repetoir and how should you play them?

[illunious]

Raise preflop with good position much more, limp much less.

Switch tables after the orbit ends. [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]

[StellarWind]

When the table is tight you should raise more when you have a chance to steal the blinds.

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But what sorts of hands should you add to your usual repetoir and how should you play them?

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You need to play *less* hands. Focus on big pairs and high cards. Being suited or connected is less useful. Small pairs are less valuable.

If people also play tighter after the flop, bluff and semibluff more.

That's how you should play if you play. It's a leak to play tight microlimit tables. Nothing you can do will compensate you for the loss of the fat profits from the abundant very loose tables.

It is very hard to beat a tight table at microlimits at all because the high rake eats your profits.

[rjc199]

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You need to play *less* hands. Focus on big pairs and high cards. Being suited or connected is less useful. Small pairs are less valuable.

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I don't understand how this strategy can be profitable. If you wait for those hands you end up wasting all your money folding preflop. And when you actually do get a hand people are going to fold to you when you raise.

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It is very hard to beat a tight table at microlimits at all because the high rake eats your profits.

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At Party $0.50/1.00 they only rake when the pot gets above $5. And if the tables are tight-passive not many of these sorts of pots get raked.

[MrDannimal]

If many of the pots at this type of table don't get raked, then how are you losing all your money folding pre-flop? You're losing only $.50 an orbit if you fold every SB.

Honestly, the best idea is to move to a better table. There are plenty of loose-passive tables at Party.

I don't know if I'd adjust my starting hands all that much. I would dump the small pairs and lower suited connecters in early/early-mid position. But mostly, I'd be sure to open raise instead of limping as much as possible, especially as I get closer to the button.

[rjc199]

I can't accept the advice "run away" when the tables turns tight-passive.

Eventually one will have to learn to play at tight tables, and it is better to learn to play at low limit tables.

[StellarWind]

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I can't accept the advice "run away" when the tables turns tight-passive.

Eventually one will have to learn to play at tight tables, and it is better to learn to play at low limit tables.

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You can pay for experience if you want. But you are paying. The profits are much better at the numerous loose tables. Your reduced profits are either money spent on tuition or a leak, depending on your viewpoint.

Tight games can be beaten but the profits are limited. Tight bad players don't make as many mistakes as loose bad players. You have to win many more pots to make a profit at a tight table and the rake really hurts.

20/40 Table: Big Blind = $20, max rake = $3
0.5/1 Table: Big Blind = $0.50, max rake = $1

You do the math. A winning player will pay several more BB per hour in rake at a tight 0.5/1 table compared to an otherwise identical 20/40 table. How is a winning 20/40 player (2 BB/hr) supposed to win if he plays the same opponents at 0.5/1 and no one changes the way they play?

Responding to another point, you have to tighten up your starting hands at a tight table. You can't be in the position of routinely playing worse hands than the fish unless you want to *be* the fish. Blind steals are an exception if you can get them.

[MrDannimal]

I'm not suggesting you run away, I'm suggesting you apply the skill of game selection, which is just as important as starting hand selection. If you have the choice of Table A with 30% seeing the flop and an average pot of 6BB or Table B with 45% seeing the flop and an average pot of 10 BB, are you being a "coward" by choosing Table B? OF course not.

I understand wanting to learn to be able to play at a tight passive table (which is why I offered my tight passive suggestions), but I don't think it's at all true that you'll "eventually have to play" a tight passive table.

Not only are there a massive # of tables online at the big sites, but if ALL the tables at your site have gone tight passive, you don't have to play. If you want to play $1/$2, and the only tables with seats are $2/$4, does that mean you have to play a $2/$4 game? If the only game at your level that had a seat had to players you knew were good, do you have to sit and play good opponents? There's been several times when I haven't been able to find a game that looked good to me (not often, but over 9 months it's happened). I either wait or do something else (read a 2+2 book, for example. [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]

Good luck with learning to adjust, though (it's certainly not a bad plan), and keep bringing questions.

[ctv1116]

leave the table.

EDIT: honestly, you really don't need to subject yourself to a harder game when there are softer games a click away.

[phishfan]

I don't think you guys understand the situation. He's not talking about jumping into a really tight low limit table. He means a table that was once loose but has just tightened up. Now, if this is because the 2 or 3 loosest players just left then yeah you should get up and leave but that's not always the reason. Sometimes the table tightens up because there have been some wild pots recently and the players are still reeling from losing so much money with 86o. Now if someone is willing to put in a bunch of money while taking the worst of it i'm going to show him some patience and give him an orbit to see if he still feels like gambling.
And, if you want to talk about poker skill, what about game preservation. I used to hate that about party low limits. Table full of fish tightens up a for a couple of hand, two or three "pros" leave to find a table with an 80% see the flop percentage and all the fish leave because no one wants to play shorthanded.