Been playing live more since black friday, and it seems like the majority of my winnings are going to be from extracting value from when I actually do hit a hand. The only successful bluffs I've really made were just cbets on the flop when I don't hit and raises against tight nitty old players.

I'm wondering if this is relatively the same for you guys and what's the best approach would be at these type of tables? Generally I've found open limping and overlimping a ton of hands (not premiums) and playing hit or miss on the flop has been profitable, but is there a more profitable way to play? I know this is a rather broad question and relies quite a bit on table dynamics, stack sizes, etc. but it really seems like live 1/2 NL plays just like 2NL/5NL online and it's not really playing poker but rather waiting for good hands/hitting the flop so you can extract value.

In general your post is correct.
Try to identify who are thinking players and you can put some moves on these guys (very few of them at this level).
Its OK to bluff on flops in small pots when everyone shows weakness but be careful when called.
If in doubt just remember that most players at $1/$2 didn't drive all the way to the casino to fold.

value bet, value bet, value bet. as you gain experience and live reads, you'll understand who you can and cannot bluff. as a general rule, every body is a calling station until proven otherwise.

i agree with you. i have played exclusively live since black friday and i have witnessed VERY FEW "elegant" plays. Mostly ABC poker. raise when you've got it, fold when you don't. you don't see many bluff-raises at all.

which brings me to a good idea: would it be profitable to consistently raise c-bets (in position and even oop) ? most players at this level are folding tpgk to a raise and will probably check for fear of a set when facing this move. this sets up nicely for a 2nd barrel on the turn that makes them just nervous enough to fold so you take down the pot.

just wondering if anyone has seen this as well...

To answer OP - yes.

To this comment I would say no, generally not profitable. Most players at this level are NOT folding TPGK even when facing heat. You can't say you are betting for value on one hand but then say they will fold TPGK on the next, does not compute. Honestly even the idea of a C-bet is foreign to most of these people, so you can't assume they are C-bet bluffing most of the time... chances are they have SOMETHING and won't just go away. Not unles you have a super tight/nitty image.

If you are playing a partially thinking player, then yeah, its called a float and it can work. But doing it all the time will turn into a pattern and you WILL run into a decent hand for a large chunk of your stack. Only occasionally against the right player, thats it. Don't spew money trying these big moves at $1/2, just bet your hands and take the money.

That being said, theres one guy at my local casino that I occasionally run into who I can float EVERY SINGLE TIME. He always tries to steal and he will fold anything TPTK on down to a float. If he calls the turn bet I know he has 2 pair +... I miss him, he was a living ATM machine...

Value bet value bet value bet.

This.

My experience is most players at this level are calling stations and are not laying down TPGK. About the only thing they are capable of thinking about is a flush board. You can second barrel the turn in position when scare cards hit and you are checked to. Otherwise, I think barreling OOP is a huge leak at these stakes.

Also, if you haven't done so yet, look into Bart Hanson's podcasts and live poker videos over at Deuces Cracked.

Also, remember that people tend to think in ABSOLUTE DOLLAR AMOUNTS and not 'in BBs' or 'percentage of pot'.

This means that squeezing at 1/2 is useless since if someone opens to lol $7 and gets 3 callers and you squeeze to $30 a ton of people will still call. But, at 2/5 lets say one opens to $20 and gets 3 callers, you squeeze to $100 and you fold out like everything... Point being that bluffing and 'plays' become more prevalent when there is actual FOLD EQUITY and much of this fold equity stems from the fact that at higher stakes some bets and raises are just large in absolute dollar amount so people are more likely to fold.

$30 is probably too small. $50+ is ususally the sweet spot for folding out random rubbish

I agree - the players I have seen are happy to call with TP/almost any kicker.

floating could work for the meta game if you flash your bluff when caught by the non-folder just to make sure everyone especially calls your value bets in future hands

Yes, the most bad player type (at any stakes) calls too much and that is where we make most of our money. No, it is clearly not the only spot we can make money (again, at any stakes)

That's true and I've experienced this many times. If you know you have no fold equity unless you revamp your 3bet to something ridiculous 25BB, is that always the best option?

You pretty much have it right, double barreling good board textures also works - you pretty much just want to play solid aggressive poker taking pot shot bluffs.

This is probably why really making a living in 1-2 is impossible. If you can get the same guys to play PLO or omaha 8 instead you will make a lot more (assuming you are playin in a home game).

I recently learned all this and agree just about 100%.

My 1/2 winnings are from extracting value and stabbing at the correct board textures multiway/HU when it seems they have missed.

Took me a while to go along with limping, but it is obviously correct. Fwiw I rarely limp EP (I'd just rather fold/raise), but I'm sure it can't be bad.