I see youv'e been searchin it though eh?

Yeah...Now I'm starting to feel at home. Thanks, everyone, for the initiation and the down-low on the low-down here at BTP.

I've been studying the last couple of days...no playing since the A / K off BB hand I posted earlier, which brings me to a poker point:

WTF do you do with a Group 1 hand from the BB? I realize that many of my poker questions will likely be rudimentary to many of you, which is why I'm gonna post them here, at first, rather than in the strategy section in order to avoid duplicative and / or inane topics in the strategy area. I'm sure many of the questions that I will ask have already been asked and addressed by the BTP, so if anyone could just point me in the right direction in these cases, I'd appreciate it, because I haven't gone through everything here yet.

Okay...So I read an article by Al Spath...posted here and at his site. In the article, Al talks about this kind of hand in a particular instance:

Al--red kings in the BB ($1 / 2 NLH)
--2 limpers in middle position
--SB completes blind
--Al raises $25 from the BB with his kings

First of all, a $25 raise in this spot...12 x BB. Would y'all have raised as much? It seems to be a bet which Al does not want anyone to call...Agree? Now, I get that you want to win the pot when you're dealt kings, from any position, but don't you also want a little action with them? It seems that this bet, in most cases, would not be called, and Al would take the limpers' crutches and that's it. So, how much do y'all raise here with this hand?

--MP limpers fold
--SB calls

WTF is what I'm thinking now...what is the SB slow-playing? Does he, or in this case she, have pocket rockets, or am I up against the world's first donkey-human hybrid? What are your thoughts, BTP?

Flop: K 7 2 (all clubs-just like in the A / K colonoscopy I received a couple of days ago)
--SB checks
--Al goes all-in ($210) with 3 kings against the 3 flush board--he admits that he did not want a call here, figuring it was likely the SB had a club. I'm with that. What about you guys?
--SB quickly calls and turns over J / 4 of clubs for the flush!
--Turn and River: blanks for Al
--Al loses a fat one.

So, is this what you guys would have done? Raise real big pre-flop to try to take it down then...because, even though you have kings, you are in sh**ty position, so don't get cute? Or do you raise maybe 5-7 x BB and hope 1 limper follows? Is only 5 x BB here a form of a slow-play, in your opinions, intentional or not? Do any of you just check into the flop...a major slow-play?

With the kind of flop that fell here...Do y'all push all-in as Al did, or do you wait for the turn or river?


Okay...So, I'm not playing poker for a while; instead, I'm gonna study. I was going to take just a week off, but I may take a little more because I'm getting ready to move into a different house. I'm going to use this break to re-group, so I can return to the tables with renewed confidence. Anyway, I've been looking at Excession's starting hand chart for 6-max NLH and his starting hand recommendations in his "Newbies Guide..." Should I adopt one of these (or another I don't know about? Please recommend)? Because right now, I'm stuck in Hellmuth's Play Poker Like The Pros mode, which was the first poker book I read, so I'm having difficulty, I think, transcending the influence of this text. For example, Hellmuth's starting hand chart, in the book anyway, breaks down essentially to this:

All 13 pairs
A / K
A / Q
K / Q
High suited connectors (situationally)

So, if I play anything but one of these hands...say for example K / J...I feel like I'm on a pure bluff. Should I just stick with Hellmuth's starting hands for now and just learn to play them well before adding any others, as Excession wrote, or should I widen out a little bit and include a few other starting hands? Should I stick with Hellmuth's hands but just add some pressure plays and semi-bluffs to my game? What do y'all think?

HitmanXL

nice pic hitman subtle yet effective


as for that KK hand you were reffering too.... this must have been a live game al was playing. in a live game, you expect to get called on 12xBB raises, seriously. The fact of the matter is, online players (for the most part) are much better then live players.

I think his all-in on the flop was ok. Its not a play I make. I think he was trying to protect his hand, while making it look like he was putting on a huge bluff. I probably would have bet around $45, still not giving my opponent anywhere near odds to call.

I'm willing to take some variance hits in order to get value on my hands and improve my image. (image really doesn't make much of a difference in the stakes you're playing.)

Here are the xBB raises I make on 5/10 and 10/20. you maybe should make them a little higher on your stakes, since more players are likely to call...anyway

no limpers - 4x BB
1/2 limpers - 5x BB
3/4 limpers - 6x or 7x BB
5 or more limpers - alotx BB

MVP:

Yes! That's some good info., dude...thanks. If you are 14-15% VPIP and winning $, this leads me to believe that I'm maybe not too tight but, rather, just too passive. How many tables can you keep up with playing this tight? What buy-in are you currently playing at? What's your win rate over those 25k hands? All at the same buy-in level or does this tightness work for you up and down the levels? I don't know if this stuff is sensitive info., but I thought I'd ask.

HitmanXL