Back in the day, pre UIGEA and when 6max PL and NLO8 tables were new you could get away with a pretty tight starting hand selection (sub 20% if you wanted) and still make a ton of $$ on these games. You were pretty much guaranteed at least 2 fish per table that would play any pair and any 2 or 3 wheel cards under the assumption that everyone else was going to do the same. They'd call you down with every flush and idiot str8, 3rd nut low,etc.
Now, well, not so much. The fish % is lower (altho not completely non-existant). The skill level is higher and it seems like there are a lot of guys that are specializing in NLO8. If you run into someone that understands the math and has a bankroll large enough to support the variance involved you are going to be in trouble if you decide to nutpeddle/semi-nutpeddle these games.
Here's my strategy so far, keeping in mind that I started with $150 and now have only about $300 after 6,000 hands of .10/.25 and .25/.50 NLO8, exclusively at FTP. At last glance my PTO stats were about 11bb/100 at the $25s and 4bb/100 at the $50s. Yes, these numbers are almost worthless with the number of hands I have since my return, but I still feel pretty confident in my play (altho reads are iffy depending upon my blood alcohol level at the time, LDO).
Position - yes, it's important, but not as much as full ring. You have to learn how to play oop or you will be toast. This includes doing things that I would almost never recommend in a FR game, like raising from the SB. If you are first in the hand then you must raise, even if it's from utg, and even if you are coming in with 9TJQ. At low limits, don't bother trying to limp/reraise, as too many people just want to see a cheap flop before pushing.
Starting hands - Play any top 20% hands, plus:
- as of now I play any 4 well-coordinated low cards (ie A357, 2456)
- I play more high only hands then I used to (the above-mentioned 9TJQ, if at least suited once)
- any AA is an insta-shove preflop. You are going to be a dog maybe 5% of the time here and the amount of blinds you pick up when not called (almost always) makes up for that. Standard opponents will call you with hands like A3xx or 4 high cards, all of which you ahead of, even with AA79.
- if it's cheap, get in with iffy pairs, i.e. JJxx. This is somewhat table dependent as you need deep enough stacks to get odds to hit your set. Understand that sets get sucked out on more in O8 then in HE.
Post Flop - don't be a pussy. If you come in with 2456 and the flop is A3x then you either need to pot/push this or go home. You are going to get called with a weaker hand more often than not, so why not get them to push their entire stack in as a dog? I will sometimes pot bet vulnerable hands, but against most opponents I am looking to stack them for as many sklanskys as possible. Granted, this is not good for variance and if you are under-rolled then it will get scary at times, but that's what we are here for, isn't it?
Buyin - right now I am generally buying in for a half stack, but once the roll comes up I will increase that (plus I'd like to hone my post flop skills a little better.) Dont' be afraid to start out shortstacking a bit, but don't hit and run, as that is bad karma.
Ok, gotta go back to work. Thoughts?
mvp