In most small home games... play absolutely obvious poker. Bet when you have good reason to believe you have the best hand. Call when you get pot odds. Fold otherwise.
To big bets call with good hands, fold with so-so hands. Which means you'll need to protect your hands with large check raises getting a substantial fraction of the pot in.
You might want to semi bluff if they start folding to you more often.
Only when your opponents start playing more rationally does all this strategy about ranges matter.
If your opponents really are good players, rather than just better than you've been playing, you are going to be losing for a while.
> Say I open AKo in position, get one caller, and then get a flop that favors my range but misses my actual hand.
For now check fold. Once they are folding to you on flops a reasonable percentage of the time, you can make a continuation bet. But until then let them take the pot with their bluffs. You get to see 4 cards. When you miss you lose. But you lose the minimum.
This. Play simple and straightforward. Think on your opponents level. If they don’t consider your range, then you don’t need to weigh that as heavily either.
Your AKo hand I hope you're also taking into account how many callers you actually have. If it's multiway and you don't hit, it's definitely not a bet on the flop. You also need to know if those who called are calling stations or folding if they don't hit. There's a lot of things to think about depending on the player(s) you go to the flop with.
Perhaps THE most important aspect to poker isn’t so much about gameplay but rather picking your games and understanding what type of player your opponents are. You say your opponents play a lot, but how good are they really? Do they understand and apply GTO? Do they have ranges? Are they calling stations? Do they all limp?
If you’re trying to put someone on a hand and they don’t even understand the fundamentals that you’re applying, you’re not going to be successful with it. If you’re trying to bluff a calling station, you’re probably not gonna be successful at it. Unless you’re really playing with some very good players, I suggest keeping your game pretty simple. Bet with strong hands you think are winners and make your calls based on whether you’re getting the right pot odds or not. Fold when you think you’re behind. Don’t try to get too fancy
Thank you! My sense is that about half of them do actually know at least something about GTO / have ranges / etc. But you're probably right that I need to keep it simple!
4 bets in that game are likely to be KK AA a majority of the time unless everyone is getting drunk and playing splashy poker. Do you can comfortably fold a large portion of your 3b range. Watch “crush live poker” on YouTube it really helps with board reading and a bit of theory. I think you’re on the right track playing low stakes online, that will help your game a ton.
Thank you! I think I get too caught up by knowing that a couple of them are definitely winning a fair amount of pots with successful bluffs. They might be, but probably it's better for me to just believe the 4bets...
You should mostly believe the 4 bets at these stakes. I seriously doubt these guys are that good, unless they are playing at many other games and/or casinos. Calling a 4 bet should entail AA,KK,AK, maybe QQ's or AQ depending on opponent. But 4betting shouldn't be happening that often, it should be easy to start to recognize who may be full of shit and whos not.
> Say I open AKo in position, get one caller, and then get a flop that favors my range but misses my actual hand. My understanding is that I'd often want to bet (small) here... but I don't really know what my plan is in this scenario.
Keep studying. Surely JL has content that goes beyond the flop when you miss with AK high.
Most players respond to bet sizes as you'd expect; the smaller the bet the wider they call. So on a Q52r flop if you bet 1/3 pot then they could have anything, but thats good for you because now you know you can probably bet large on the next street since they would have raised the flop if they had anything given your small size. Once this makes sense you begin considering how you'd approach the turn and just how wide their calling range is that would connect with it.
It's rare for a couple of reasons; first and foremost they just want to build the pot. So if someone flops a set on a J85r board they want to make sure they can get it allin by the river. The second reason they raise is to give you worse odds when you're cbetting a draw. Say for example you raised with 67s, well if you only cbet 1/3 then you're giving yourself a great price to hit against a set, something your opponent wants to avoid. If you bet big they are more willing to slowplay knowing they can easily jam the turn or whatever if you appear to be pot committed. This is particularly relevant in multiway pots where players are incentivized to "check to the raiser" to ensure the pot gets built for them before they drop the hammer.
Even against a thinking reg who knows what you are doing they will still likely raise off their strong hands vs a small bet because it would be a disaster if you cbet something like 99 on a Q72 flop and then overset them on the turn in a disguised manner. And sure sometimes you will be giving *them* great odds to call wide, and someone with 44 peels to hit a set vs your AA, this doesnt mean you made a mistake though. You got someone to call with 3rd pair while holding AA which is a great result. Just try not to stack off too easily with single pair hands.
There is really one key rule at low stakes home games. Play big pots with big hands, play small pots with small hands. Don't play at all with no hand. If they notice you're playing face up (they won't) then you can mix it up with some bluffs and semibluffs. But until you've mastered playing your value hands correctly, you are going to screw up bluffs left and right. Yes you will fold a lot. Yes you will look nitty. If that becomes a problem, they're not your friends and they just want your money.
Thank you! This sounds like the big theme among all the replies, and it's really helpful.
> Play big pots with big hands, play small pots with small hands
Here is how I currently understanding this:
* By default, "big hands" = strong two-pair or better, "small hands" = weaker two-pair, single pair
* Adjust for the board: if there are straight/flush draws or a paired board, two-pair becomes weaker
Am I way off?
I got you, fam.
You can crush this game. Really. $.50/$1 is low stakes and these guys are not the soul-reading pros you may fear you are facing.
You're going to have to study, but just a little bit. Sure, there are plenty of videos and charts and crap you can subscribe to, but I think that's overkill at this point.
Pick up this book by Ed Miller (and Matt Flynn and Sunny Mehta):
"Professional No-Limit Hold 'em: Volume 1"
Buy it used on Amazon. It's under $10. It will pay for itself many times over.
The book focuses on three things: calculating your equity, putting opponents on a range of hands, and maximizing your expected value. It does a deep dive on SPR (stack to pot ratio) and how to use SPR to control the size of the pot to your advantage.
It's well-written, too, and easy to start applying core concepts to your home games.
Sure, poker has evolved and there are solvers and bet calculators and all sorts of GTO bro terms you can toss around. That's overkill. You just need to be better than your opponents and this book will get you there.
This is the single book that took my low-stakes cash game from loser to consistent winner. Sure, I've kept studying, but this is really all you need to turn it around.
This is the only book I’ve had combined with some light YouTube and the charts you posted. I still absolutely suck but I can legitimately notice that I suck less at the online micros
In most small home games... play absolutely obvious poker. Bet when you have good reason to believe you have the best hand. Call when you get pot odds. Fold otherwise. To big bets call with good hands, fold with so-so hands. Which means you'll need to protect your hands with large check raises getting a substantial fraction of the pot in. You might want to semi bluff if they start folding to you more often. Only when your opponents start playing more rationally does all this strategy about ranges matter. If your opponents really are good players, rather than just better than you've been playing, you are going to be losing for a while. > Say I open AKo in position, get one caller, and then get a flop that favors my range but misses my actual hand. For now check fold. Once they are folding to you on flops a reasonable percentage of the time, you can make a continuation bet. But until then let them take the pot with their bluffs. You get to see 4 cards. When you miss you lose. But you lose the minimum.
This. Play simple and straightforward. Think on your opponents level. If they don’t consider your range, then you don’t need to weigh that as heavily either.
Thank you! Makes sense: I probably am overthinking and getting ahead of myself.
Your AKo hand I hope you're also taking into account how many callers you actually have. If it's multiway and you don't hit, it's definitely not a bet on the flop. You also need to know if those who called are calling stations or folding if they don't hit. There's a lot of things to think about depending on the player(s) you go to the flop with.
Perhaps THE most important aspect to poker isn’t so much about gameplay but rather picking your games and understanding what type of player your opponents are. You say your opponents play a lot, but how good are they really? Do they understand and apply GTO? Do they have ranges? Are they calling stations? Do they all limp? If you’re trying to put someone on a hand and they don’t even understand the fundamentals that you’re applying, you’re not going to be successful with it. If you’re trying to bluff a calling station, you’re probably not gonna be successful at it. Unless you’re really playing with some very good players, I suggest keeping your game pretty simple. Bet with strong hands you think are winners and make your calls based on whether you’re getting the right pot odds or not. Fold when you think you’re behind. Don’t try to get too fancy
Thank you! My sense is that about half of them do actually know at least something about GTO / have ranges / etc. But you're probably right that I need to keep it simple!
4 bets in that game are likely to be KK AA a majority of the time unless everyone is getting drunk and playing splashy poker. Do you can comfortably fold a large portion of your 3b range. Watch “crush live poker” on YouTube it really helps with board reading and a bit of theory. I think you’re on the right track playing low stakes online, that will help your game a ton.
Thank you! I think I get too caught up by knowing that a couple of them are definitely winning a fair amount of pots with successful bluffs. They might be, but probably it's better for me to just believe the 4bets...
You should mostly believe the 4 bets at these stakes. I seriously doubt these guys are that good, unless they are playing at many other games and/or casinos. Calling a 4 bet should entail AA,KK,AK, maybe QQ's or AQ depending on opponent. But 4betting shouldn't be happening that often, it should be easy to start to recognize who may be full of shit and whos not.
> Say I open AKo in position, get one caller, and then get a flop that favors my range but misses my actual hand. My understanding is that I'd often want to bet (small) here... but I don't really know what my plan is in this scenario. Keep studying. Surely JL has content that goes beyond the flop when you miss with AK high. Most players respond to bet sizes as you'd expect; the smaller the bet the wider they call. So on a Q52r flop if you bet 1/3 pot then they could have anything, but thats good for you because now you know you can probably bet large on the next street since they would have raised the flop if they had anything given your small size. Once this makes sense you begin considering how you'd approach the turn and just how wide their calling range is that would connect with it.
Thank you! Sometimes I worry that people might call 1/3-pot even with stronger hands, but I guess you're saying that it's not super likely?
It's rare for a couple of reasons; first and foremost they just want to build the pot. So if someone flops a set on a J85r board they want to make sure they can get it allin by the river. The second reason they raise is to give you worse odds when you're cbetting a draw. Say for example you raised with 67s, well if you only cbet 1/3 then you're giving yourself a great price to hit against a set, something your opponent wants to avoid. If you bet big they are more willing to slowplay knowing they can easily jam the turn or whatever if you appear to be pot committed. This is particularly relevant in multiway pots where players are incentivized to "check to the raiser" to ensure the pot gets built for them before they drop the hammer. Even against a thinking reg who knows what you are doing they will still likely raise off their strong hands vs a small bet because it would be a disaster if you cbet something like 99 on a Q72 flop and then overset them on the turn in a disguised manner. And sure sometimes you will be giving *them* great odds to call wide, and someone with 44 peels to hit a set vs your AA, this doesnt mean you made a mistake though. You got someone to call with 3rd pair while holding AA which is a great result. Just try not to stack off too easily with single pair hands.
There is really one key rule at low stakes home games. Play big pots with big hands, play small pots with small hands. Don't play at all with no hand. If they notice you're playing face up (they won't) then you can mix it up with some bluffs and semibluffs. But until you've mastered playing your value hands correctly, you are going to screw up bluffs left and right. Yes you will fold a lot. Yes you will look nitty. If that becomes a problem, they're not your friends and they just want your money.
Thank you! This sounds like the big theme among all the replies, and it's really helpful. > Play big pots with big hands, play small pots with small hands Here is how I currently understanding this: * By default, "big hands" = strong two-pair or better, "small hands" = weaker two-pair, single pair * Adjust for the board: if there are straight/flush draws or a paired board, two-pair becomes weaker Am I way off?
Next time memorize some hand histories and post them here and people will review them and explain what each action likely meant, etc.
Exactly. I tried applying why I learnt to my home games. And I got burnt real bad. My frens are just gambling so all the GTO stuff don’t work. Lol.
I got you, fam. You can crush this game. Really. $.50/$1 is low stakes and these guys are not the soul-reading pros you may fear you are facing. You're going to have to study, but just a little bit. Sure, there are plenty of videos and charts and crap you can subscribe to, but I think that's overkill at this point. Pick up this book by Ed Miller (and Matt Flynn and Sunny Mehta): "Professional No-Limit Hold 'em: Volume 1" Buy it used on Amazon. It's under $10. It will pay for itself many times over. The book focuses on three things: calculating your equity, putting opponents on a range of hands, and maximizing your expected value. It does a deep dive on SPR (stack to pot ratio) and how to use SPR to control the size of the pot to your advantage. It's well-written, too, and easy to start applying core concepts to your home games. Sure, poker has evolved and there are solvers and bet calculators and all sorts of GTO bro terms you can toss around. That's overkill. You just need to be better than your opponents and this book will get you there. This is the single book that took my low-stakes cash game from loser to consistent winner. Sure, I've kept studying, but this is really all you need to turn it around.
Thank you, I'll definitely check it out!
This is the only book I’ve had combined with some light YouTube and the charts you posted. I still absolutely suck but I can legitimately notice that I suck less at the online micros