I was going to start a new topic, but ice's post is the perfect lead-in for mine.
I am a total newbie, with insane amounts to learn about how to play poker for real. However, after all of two weeks, I have the boldness to claim that I am approaching expert status in the type of no-fold-em limit poker Ice describes. Unfortunately, I only get to play it for $0.01/$0.02 limits (with SB and BB both $0.01) at UB. My average so far during 16+ hours is somewhat over 15 BB/hr -- for a total of (drum roll...) $5 and change. (I've managed to blow most the 5 bucks with stupid plays in the $2 NL game -- but that's a story for another forum.) These hands are unraked which helps the BB/hr rate somewhat I'm sure.
I post the following tales for your amusement. I will keep them as simple as possible. At these tables, position matters very little (everybody is incredibly passive most of the time -- one guy will be betting while everybody else calls or [occasionally] folds).
Tale #1. I have KK. My preflop raise scares off precisely nobody (7 see the flop). Flop comes Kxx all clubs. I bet, several people call, one person raises. I re-raise, he caps. Turn is QD. I check, the same guy bets. OK, you gotta figure he's got the flush since he's betting out again, so I fold. Other people continue to call. River comes a club, and he bets again, and is called again. Conclusion of the hand: he did NOT have the flush until the FOURTH club hit. He was BETTING and RE-RAISING with his draw (if you can even call it a "draw") -- giving himself WORSE odds on the flop and the turn. Also, he had the queen of clubs, not the ace -- so even when the fourth club hit he didn't have the nuts. (He did hit second pair on the turn with his queen). I quickly put aside my thoughts that the site is rigged and that he knew the fourth club was coming; he's just a fish beyond all previously known dimensions of fishiness. I type in his little notes box "will BET and RAISE with second pair & weak flush draw." Maybe 15-20 hands later, he is betting and raising again with a possible flush draw (2 spades on the flop). The exact same situation, except this time I have top pair only. I raise and cap on every street. The 3rd flush card hits, but I keep raising. And I'm right -- he needed FOUR cards to hit his flush, and had hit only middle pair otherwise. Unreal. I win the 30ish BB pot (ooh, 60 cents!) with my unimproved top pair.
Tale #2. I raise preflop with AK and raise again when the flop comes AAK. Most people have the sense to drop, but one guy hangs in there, calling. (I never, EVER slowplay this limit.) I am figuring him for AK, KK, or at LEAST an A or a K (wouldn't you?). But then a T hits the board and he goes nuts, reraising me -- because (of course) he has QJ for the straight!!
With so many people seeing almost every flop, I almost always have the odds to call even to a 3- or 4-outer. When you add in the possibility that people are just flat bluffing, or that they think that their bottom pair is going to be the best hand, I'm finding myself calling with very little -- and making money. (My hand to hand variance is pretty high, of course, but it's only pennies, so what the hell.) I loosened up my starting hand requirements, since almost every pot gives me odds to make money, even with 65s or J8. (When your J8 straight hits, you can count on people to keep re-raising you with their two pair or even one pair. I don't think they even stop to see whether a possible straight is out there.)
Iceman, I have a tip for you. (I hope you will bow to my superior wisdom on these matters.
) You should always throw in a preflop raise with AA or KK in these games. Yes, it's not going to get anybody to drop, but you still have a great preflop hand, and you want to maximize it. You will be beaten with this hand more often than you're used to, so raising with it will increase your variance a bit, but overall it has to be a +EV play. (Doesn't it?) I don't think most people will respect (or maybe even remember!) your preflop raise as the hand goes on anyway, so you won't lose many people calling you when a third A or K hits. And yes, it gives people the odds to call later streets, but more often than not they're going to call whether they have the odds or not.
If you think I'm wrong about the preflop raise even if it folds nobody, let me know.