Thanks for tuning in and responding, dudes. I read that page you linked, Kuso...Some very good stuff on just that one page. Is there more to that thread...I need to check out Aisthesis, Stoneburg, and Ojingo.

1) Learn to TAG it up (or net-peddle) effectively...This is the current stage of Chimpy the Hitman.

2) Add moves, weaker starting hands, draw plays, etc. one at a time after Stage 1 is completed...Examine your play after the fact and try to find one or more openings for a Stage 2 type of play...Look to exploit these kinds of openings in future sessions, while still maintaining the profile of a TAG player.

3) Eventually, with much study and experience, become the kind of player who is truly playing the table and everyone on it...What I've called "The Fully Improvisational Player," whose cards matter less than the circumstances of the table moment by moment and his ability to detect and exploit them.

I also like some of the specific moves that were mentioned on that page...Like the one Aisthesis noted wherein you call not because you have have the current pot odds to call, though it may be close, but, rather because it is likely that a scare card will fall and a big bet will drive this particular (and straightforward) player off the pot.

Anyway, thanks for the point to the good stuff.

hXL

You need to work more on your table reading skills than on how to play specific situations.

Things like CBs, semi-bluffs, pushing people off middle pair or draws, etc all depend on your reads. Once you can put people on hands and predict what they will do in various situations, then you start opening up and making plays based on what your opponents have shown they will do. There is no point in trying to CB someone who will not fold any pair, any fd or 2 overs.

Work on putting people on hands, putting people on a range of hands, trying to tell what they might have based on their prior play. This is one of the reasons that PT is so valuble, as it gives you a lot of the data on their style.

You cannot expect to be a winning player by just looking at your cards and tuning out to what your opponents are doing. If you say 'I raised 4x with AK, and the flop is all unders, so I should CB 2/3 pot and villan will fold", you will end up being a losing player. That situation is entirely dependant on a combination of your image and the villan's playing style.

-Jus

i somewhat disagree with MVP on this.

you can "make moves" against weak-tight tables (esp. bonus whores) and weak-tight players (e.g., if all the CSs have folded). that being said, you're usually going to be in hand with a lot of chasing CSs, so adjust your play accordingly. this is how i disagree with MVP.

i think we see eye-to-eye on pretty much the rest.

if one or more CSs are in the hand, you just have to ask your self one simple question: "Is this a good value bet?" Of course, you ned to know what consitutes a good value bet (the HU microlimits LHE helps with this A LOT), but it's a good guide when playing CSs.

also, i've found that i actually need to make very few moves even at the 100s and 200s in plo8. people are STILL chasers and will STILL showdown non-nut hands (e.g., flush on a paired board) even if you have the image as a nut peddler. i do still take stabs at orphan pots, and i do make moves against certain opponents, but largely i just play ABC poker and value bet every chance i get.


if you want a crash course in poker education, read every one of Aisthesis' posts... really. you'll probably need to revisit after you've played some hands.


[edited for spelling]

Like Black said.. .you can CB as long as there are less than 3 callers... More than that and you're prolly pissin into the wind...

This is a hand from today... I raise PF w/ 56s... One Weak tight, calling station caller whom I think I can bluff (cause I'm dumb)...

Flop 3d9sKh.. He checks, I pot, he calls... FUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUCK...

Turn 4s... hmmmmmmmm... He checks, I'm like fuggit, I pot, he calls... Maybe FUUUUUUCK...

River 2h... he checks, I push, he calls for like 40e more... he has 9Td...

I repeat...

Okay...I had some Chinese food last night. I get to the fortune cookie, crack it open, and this is what it says:

"Beware of little expenses. Small leaks will sink great ships."

The perfect fortune for a miser-in-training, don't you think? Then I turn the fortune over, and, on the back, it says:

"Learn Chinese--Student...Xue-sheng."

All in all, a prophetic and appropriate fortune cookie for your humble Xue-sheng. I turn it over to the fortune side again and notice some "Lucky Numbers" printed at the bottom of the fortune. They are: 29, 11, 37, 21, 8, and 35. So, henceforth, I am going to play, in addition to hands on Excession's starting hand chart, the following starting hands:

2-9 (suited or not...check out the frauds Piersmajestyk be pullin' with this hand on page 9 of this journal)

Any Ace (I'm taking 11 to mean an Ace...coupled with any other card...suited or not)

3-7 ('nuff said)

Any two cards that add up to 21 (blackjack!)

Any 8 ('nuff said)

The mighty 3-5 (suited or not)


Okay...I'm just kidding on the starting hands stuff...Or...am...I?

Here are a couple of hands I played...I didn't have reads on players. What would you guys have done differently?

Paradise Poker
No Limit Holdem Ring game
Blinds: $0.05/$0.10
8 players


Stack sizes:
HitmanXL: $14.70
UTG+1: $11.10
MP1: $9.25
MP2: $5.58
CO: $14.30
Button: $5.74
SB: $5.05
BB: $8.00

Pre-flop: (8 players) HitmanXL is UTG with
HitmanXL raises to $0.5, UTG+1 folds, MP1 raises to $1.5, 5 folds, HitmanXL calls.

Flop: ($3.15, 2 players)
HitmanXL checks, MP1 bets $2, HitmanXL folds.
Uncalled bets: $2 returned to MP1.

Results:
Final pot: $3.15


Paradise Poker
No Limit Holdem Ring game
Blinds: $0.05/$0.10
9 players


Stack sizes:
UTG: $10.50
UTG+1: $9.65
HitmanXL: $7.35
MP2: $14.30
MP3: $3.00
CO: $14.57
Button: $9.70
SB: $10.55
BB: $3.55

Pre-flop: (9 players) HitmanXL is MP1 with
2 folds, HitmanXL calls, MP2 calls, 2 folds, Button calls, BB checks.

Flop: ($0.45, 5 players)
Button checks, BB checks, HitmanXL checks, MP2 checks.

Turn: ($0.45, 5 players)
Button bets $0.1, BB folds, HitmanXL raises to $0.2, MP2 folds, Button calls.

River: ($0.85, 3 players)
Button bets $0.55, HitmanXL folds.
Uncalled bets: $0.55 returned to Button.

Results:
Final pot: $0.85


hXL

black knight:

Thanks...I think I'm gonna need constant reminding of this rule. Part of my problem is that, some of the time, anyway, I don't even know I'm pulling a move. Like in the hands I just posted, is the move I pulled checking instead of betting on the flop with trip 5's (a slow play)? The first hand I played straight, right? Thanks for your helpful responses, BK...It's slowly coming together.

hXL

WOW... no offense dood, but that second hand sucks... Bet the flop, don't minraise the turn, and no way in shit I fold on the river... He doesn't HAVE to have an 8... he could have 2pr, busted FD, AJ... AT LEAST a couple others that you're beating...

Thanks, guys...It was a boner play...No question about it. Putting it up here and getting roughed up a little bit should help me avoid doing it again in the future. I guess my thinking, flawed as it was, was obvious: I wanted to keep players in when the flop came down, and I thought that opponents would fold if I bet out significantly (because I had been playing tight), so I checked the flop (greed ); I was hoping the guy behind me would bet, so I could check-raise and isolate with 1 opponent; the bet was checked behind me; the turn opened straight possibilities, and I was bet into with a minimum bet (I thought I was getting sucked in); I raised a little to see if he would come over the top of me (he didn't, which should have told me something); the river strengthened my fear of a straight, and when opponent bet out at me, this time with more authority, I was just sick and folded.

black knight: Thanks for tuning in and ringing my bell with that reminder.

MVP: You can say it...It was me, not my hand, that did the sucking...And I sucked a big, fat one on that exchange.

Juskimo: Is it "Mizor"? I looked it up in the dictionary (seriously) and only found the spelling "Miser"...as in "Miserly"...I do want to come correct, so please let me know if a Mizor is something different from a Miser. Maybe Mizor is the street spelling for the word, in which case I need to check my Ghetto dictionary.

KennyG: Yeah, it was fu**ed up. Thanks for your response...You gave me some good specific advice with solid back up...Just the kind of thing I need.


Obviously, your friendly neighborhood Hitman has a long way to go, so thanks for hangin' and contributing to my education.

hXL