SSNL is the most active strategy forum at 2p2. We have the most traffic, we have the most posts. And, it seems like every day there's new posters coming in here with no idea what SSNL is about.
The focus of our forum is the discussion of poker strategy as it pertains to games at the NL100 and NL200 level. We post hands that we have played where we are unsure about the best course of action, and ask for the advice of SSNL posters on how to play the hands better. Oftentimes, the analysis of specific hands will expand into good theoretical discussions of broader poker concepts.
We are usually thought of as one of the friendliest forums here at 2p2. And we aim to keep the dialogue civil and fun. But, as I said, we are high traffic. And having alot of off-topic, poor, no content posts or bad beats in disguise (usually started by n00bs who don't know better) comes with the territory. These kinds of threads can clutter the forum and make it unreadable at times. So, this guide is made to help you post well here at SSNL.
The majority of SSNL posts are hand threads. We'd like to see about 90%-95% of the posts here be hands submitted for analysis.
WHERE SHOULD I POST MY HAND?
High Stakes NL - above 5/10 (above NL1000)
Mid Stakes NL - (NL400-NL1000)
Small Stakes NL - (NL100-NL200)
Micro Stakes NL - (NL50 and below)
Full Ring NL - (all SSNL/McNL full ring hands)
TIPS FOR POSTING HANDS
Post one hand for analysis per thread. If you have a couple hands with the same theme (TPTK on monotone) or a few hands vs. the same villian, those would be exceptions. "How'd I play these 4 hands" threads are discouraged.
We now have a firm limit on how many hands you can post in a day. Please limit yourself to starting 2 hand threads maximum per day. Go over your session and post the hands that genuinely have you stumped. Plus, respond and discuss alot in other people's threads. You will mature faster and more efficiently when you do.
Use a converter. Posting raw hand histories usually get little, if any, response around here. They are hard to read, and if the OP doesn't take the time to simplify the action for us, many people won't take the time to help them with analysis. It's common courtesy.
Before you hit the submit button for the final time, check to see that your hand was converted successfully. The most common hand posting error is not clicking 2p2 format at the converter site. Also, sometimes when all-ins are involved, the converter messes up. Make sure to edit the mistakes manually if you want coherent analysis.
If your site is not compatable with a converter, try to convert your hand manually. Include all pertinent information, including stack sizes, exact player positions, specific suits of the cards (use images), etc. Basically, use a posted converted hand as a guide to converting yours manually.
Here's a few converters:
Legopoker
flopturnriver
Neildewhurst
deacons
Pokerhand
Do not include results in your hand post. Results are irrelevent to how well you played the hand. Being results orientated is the #1 error n00bs make in hand analysis. If the results are posted in the original hand post, they tend to lower the quality of advise given. You can always post the results later on after the analysis has played out, or if there is a request for results within the thread. But, oftentimes results are never posted and no one really misses them.
Include all reads in the original post: anything known about villians that you considered while making your decision at the table. Include PT stats if they have any significance (50+ hands on villian). If you had no reads, state "no reads" in the OP.
If you do anything within the hand outside of your normal game, note it in your hand post (ie. I normally don't call this PFR with 43s here, but I wanted to be in hands with this guy). Your decisions in the hand will be put under the SSNL microscope. Respond and discuss graciously.
Ask for advice in your thread while giving your thought process. Don't "give away" the results by asking things such as:
--How can I get away from this?
--How can I lose less here?
--Do I have to go broke here?
Title your thread well. This isn't a hard and fast rule; but, often people include the stakes, fr or 6m, and a brief description of what the hand is all about. This is usually a good title. A brief phrase describing the hand is also an OK title.
There's a few established posters known to the SSNL community that can pretty much title their threads anything they want, as people know what stakes they play and are reading the post because of the OP, not the specific hand. Veteran posters are cut more slack around here because they have helped build up this excellent community.
**bad thread titles**
--KQ
--TPTK
--what should I do here?
--Does this look good?
--wtf? (Anything with profanity in it or derivatives of profanity)
**good thread titles**
--NL100 full, turned flush on paired board
--Help me extract with my top set, NL200 6m
--NL200 Tough river decision w/ AA
--KK blind battle gets interesting
TIPS FOR RESPONDING IN HAND THREADS
--Be kind.
--Include the reasoning of your analysis, even if it's brief.
Bad: Raise more pf.
Good: Your hand plays best heads-up, but your preflop raise was too small to get the job done. Try raising to $6 instead of $3.
Bad: Push river.
Good: Pooosh. Villian likes his hand. You have the second nuts. If he's got quads, oh well.
Bad: You're too stupid to play SSNL. Try checkers instead.
Good: Bad on every street. 1/4-pot flop bet was purposeless, turn call was horrible given your odds, then you suckout on the river and get no value.
Bad: You can't call this turn.
Good: You can't call this turn because your opponent is WAY to passive to start betting here without the flush, and you don't have the odds to chase anymore.
Bad: Raise the flop.
Good: Raise the flop to $18 to protect your hand.
--Discussion is good. Questions are good. It's better to ask in a hand thread a totally n00b question (Why did you PFR this hand from MP?) than it is to start a whole new thread about it. Also, just repeating what 10 previous people have already said is useless.
It's always amusing and aggravating when you have a 2-day long thread going with many, many nuggets of gold in it, and where the discussion has evolved into something very interesting; and someone comes out the blue in response #97 and repeats a simplistic comment that was made back in response #3. They didn't read the thread and are basically just selfishly talking only to make themselves heard.
Read the whole thread. If you don't have anything to add, don't. If you have questions, ask. If you have a new angle of analysis, bring it. If you disagree with some of the posters in the thread, air it out. Discuss. Rinse, repeat.
SSNL gets hit-n-run all the time by newbie posters. They post a few hands and are never heard from again. They think if they can play the specific hand they posted better, they will have learned all they need to know. IMHO, most of the learning around here comes from the act of discussing itself. Talking about NLHE challenges your perceptions of the game and refines the truth that you already know. If you are a n00b to SSNL, you will be much better served responding in existing hand threads, than beginning too many of your own.
NON-HAND THREADS AND MISC OTHER
As I said, 90%+ of the posts in SSNL are hand analysis threads. But, if that's all we had, the air would be kind of dry around here. And so we have some lc/nc (low content/no content) threads to add a little spice to the mix.
There are a few lc threads started by mods, like the monthly [cheese] thread and the Weekend Happy Thread. But, never fear, you too can start a lc thread that isn't locked, deleted, or gets you banned. I can't tell you what to post, but I can tell you a few topics to not touch when you are starting a thread.
--Vague, general, broad questions. This is real common for n00bs looking for a quick fix to their game. They don't include hands in their questions and are trying to find the correct poker-by-numbers kit so they can roll in the dough. Examples:
# "They keep minraising my TPTK and I never know what to do. What's your plan?"
# "What kind of flops should I avoid CB'ing on?"
# "What hands do you play UTG in 6-max?
# "In a minraised pot, what hands should I be calling with, and what hands should I be raising with?"
# "I need help with my game. I lost 12 buy-ins in 3 days. HELP"
# "I got AK, flop comes K high, is it ever right to check behind on the flop?"
# "I'm thinking about moving up. How are the games at NL200?"
# "Best site for SSNL?"
--blog posts. You can put your blog address in your profile, but it's not allowed to post it in the open in forum posts.
--coaching. You can say alot of stuff in your profile. Other than that, coaches aren't allowed to pimp their services, nor troll for students.
--stats posts. We don't care and usually can't help you very much looking at your stats. Here is a survey of many of the SSNL posters and you can check your stats to see how they line up.
Link.
--questions about buddy lists or who should I avoid at NL100 on Stars or XXXXX is a huge donating fish at Party. Basically posts about specific players. It is OK to mention a known 2p2er (respectfully) in your thread if he is involved in the hand with you; but calling out other players by screenname is considered bad manners.
--where should I play/where do you play. Winrate questions. Should I move up/down. Should I quit poker. And the like. These kinds of questions are all just noisy and liable to be locked when discovered by a mod.
--profanity. 2p2 has profanity filters in place. Don't bypass them with creative spellings or spacings. It's not too difficult to communicate without cursing. Also, the words '******' and '******ed' are not allowed (my personal crusade--aj)
--flaming. Not allowed. Good natured ribbing amongst known posters is, of course, OK.
The SSNL mods have taken a more active role in locking and deleting threads we have deemed unfit for this forum. We are trying to cut down on the noise and keep the atmosphere around here pleasant and vibrant. If you don't understand an action we have taken, please PM the mod, and you'll get an explanation.
2p2 is larger than just SSNL. We often have to move threads because the OP's post isn't suited for SSNL. All these forums are listed on the left green sidebar. Here's the most common forums we move threads to and why:
BBV - we don't care about your bad beats or your brags or your graphs showing how awesome you are or how much you suck. 2p2 has a forum just for that. Check it out. (Or post it in the [cheese] thread)
Rakeback - 2p2 only allows discussion of rakeback and affiliates in the rakeback forum.
Software - Discussions of the mechanics of datamining, Pokertracker, Gametime, PokerAce, MTH, etc. should go here.
Beginner - Real basic questions like definitions of certain terms, etc. can go here. Noobs check out this forum please.
Internet Bonuses - Discuss site's specific bonuses here.
Internet - Here is where you can ask alot of basic questions about online poker sites.
Psychology - Tilt questions and the like can go here.
Poker Theory - General theoretical questions can be posted here.
Well, that's about it. Welcome n00bs. Post well. Please read the master sticky as well. The FAQ is required reading. Also, the digests and links you'll find there are filled with some SSNL gold. Learn, live, grow, and enjoy the time you spend here in SSNL.
