Greetings everyone!

Even though I do not plan to play poker for my only source of income, I do desire to be as knowledgeable as Doyle, T.J., the Professor and the rest of the gang concerning the theories and stratergies that govern No Limit ring games.

None of the books that I have found conerning No Limit holdem provide the information that I am really looking for. They give information concerning strategic play but not the theory that helps you understand how to decide which stratergy to use.

For example: Book "A" says with KK in early psoition make a standard raise. Book "B" says to limp with the intention of reraising. Book "C" says to limp x percentage of the time and to raise y percentage of the times. Book "D" says it depends and then fails to explain how to evaulate the situation so you can decide what to do. I am not looking for someone to tell me what to do, I am trying to learn how to evaulate the situation so that I come to the most correct decision.

Based on every thing I have learned so far,when it comes to No Limit Ring Games it seems the most important factors are who are your opponents and what is your position! In the example above you would limp with aggressive players behind you and raise with passive players behind you (I think).

I would like to start a thread discusing one stratergy at a time and the therories that determines the most correct way to use that stratergy from early, middle, late and blind positions against the different types of players (loose, tight, passive, aggressive and so forth).

For example: I know how to check rasie, but would like to discuss check raising from the before mentioned positions against the before mentioned types of players.

Is this the right place to post my questions and start this thread?

[note from tetsuo: yes it is! ]

when I started playing poker I read just about every book I could and I really didnt find anything that was on as detailed a level as you are looking for. The best information I found for more specific situations were there online bulletin boards. I find it funny that some of the ideas that I learned from reading BTP a couple other forums have provided me with so much more poker knowledge than reading all the books, I have, and I have 30 something poker books. Reading UPFwas the first time that I realized the reasons why you dont want to be all in with TPTK.

Everytime I ask questions like the ones you're asking, they always say "it's situational, and it'll become second nature once you play long enough..."... I just hope I get to "long enough" before I go broke...

You shouldn't ever be playing losing poker. With micro-limits and very cheap SnG's available there is no need to 'pay to learn' any more...

And if you are so bad that you still lose at the 1c/2c limits and $1 Sng's, then at least it's very cheap entertainment (like my 1c/2c O8 sessions)

It seems like everyone and their momma is using Poker Tracker or some other software program. With them having more knowledge than I do, and using the software, how will I ever move up in limits

PT just gives you extra information - it takes skill and discipline to use this in your game - it's not some sort of auto-win bot..

and if someone as undisciplined and harrassed as me (new baby, only time to play 10 hrs/week etc) manages 10-15ptBB/100 on the $50 tables then you should be able to outrun the rake at the very least..

I try hard when posting a response to give a reasonable line of play for that particular situation. As well taking into account the approach the poster used and showing a situation that their line might work better or my thoughts on the play as a whole.

As said above poker is very situational, and I think and gearing not only responses but structuring questions to illicit indepth discussion starts with a couple of things. Clearly communicate what you were thinking in your and the opponents play, either interspersed in the converted hand history or told in story format. Leave the results out, this fosters more discussion about the whole hand with out hindsight clouding the readers opinion.

Put time into not only posting your hands, but reading and understanding where other members of the forum are coming from in their responses to other posters questions. I am especially thrilled when I disagree with someone, as it is an opportunity to learn a new view on a subject, exception to this rule is low stakes nl thinking at 2+2, they can have their world I want no part of it. In the past actual hands have proven to be more useful than theoritical ones, even if the discussion goes on a theoritical tangent.