Pardon the stream-of-consciousness (game time) type thinking…

So in a ten-handed game, I raise JT UTG+1, MP calls, Button raises, the blinds fold… I call? MP calls. Flop K52 no spade, or A99 no spade, or 888, or… many other flops – check-fold, right? And where there’s a backdoor draw or the flop includes a T or all undercards, what am I doing when faced with two bets, or if I get raised, on the flop (both of which happen very often in these games)? And even if I pair my J and play aggressively, it seems that I will be second best pretty often against two (or more) players, no?

I guess I’m still getting comfortable with picking spots in a ten-handed game where opponents regularly bluff raise, either to isolate or thin the field or otherwise. Seems that much of my past success at the 20-40 game can be traced to two situations: (a) outflopping or outkicking my opponents’ holdings because of the better starting hands I am playing (comparatively speaking) or (b) opponents folding turns and rivers to me (whether I have it or not) when I fire multiple bets into a pot, or raise, because they perceive me as a tight player.

It’s not like I’m making tons of hero folds on rivers, especially heads up. I do try to put opponents on ranges, and I am cognizant of when they might be betting or raising on a draw, etc. More often than not, though, I try to be the one driving the action, unless in a ‘way ahead, way behind’ situation. In the games I play, I feel like my image isn’t hindering action I get – I win plenty of pots with and without showdown. BUT I do take the point and would like to pick my spots much better -- there is lots of room for improvement, no doubt.

So with all of that said, any suggestions for trying to play NOT “too nitty”? How do I open up my play without spewing or hemorrhaging chips? Starting hands/position examples? Examples of post-flop situations I should be looking out for?

you could make a conscious effort to work on your shorthanded game. you could play small stakes shorthanded online. you could look at some books (WITHG is a reasonable start) or online training videos (I like deucescracked and have made videos for them). as you get more comfortable with situations that crop up all the time (blind steals, heads up 3bet pots, 3way 4bet pots, playing with a wide range against another wide range both in and out of position) your overall game as well as your fullring game and shorthanded game should improve.

there's not much utility in listing flops that you've missed with a certain hand combo. there are also flops that you'll hit in that same situation, and the same can be said for all hands and all boards. a better idea is to think about how you will play different parts of your range in different situations.

I don't get it, if your not super comfortable post flop, just fold j-10s utg full ring. You should do it in tough games anyways.

Start opening up your game in spots that aren't utg.

Dont worry about labels.

Rather than asking the question "How can I not be too nitty...?", you might want to ask yourself these two questions:

(1) When you are UTG or UTG+1, the question is "Why SHOULD I play this hand?".

(2) When you are CO, or on the BUTTON, the question is "Why should I NOT play this hand?".

Another way to ask question (1) is, "Am I being nitty enough in early position?". I prefer the terms selective or tight. But regardless of term, it is almost always the case that your range in early position should be narrower than your range as your position improves.

JTs should rarely be played from early position except for deception. JTs plays best in a multi-way pot. If you are first or second to act, you don't know if you will ultimately be getting the correct odds to play the hand. And if you are going to open raise with it, you are making it even less likely that you get the correct odds to play it. Since your raise might thin the field rather than encourage people to play.

Late position is the place to "play against type". If you are on the button, you can think about playing a hand as weak as Q7s in an unraised pot. If you are fortunate enough to hit the flop hard and win a big pot with a hand like that, no body will be calling you a "nit".

I think giving this too much thought is a mistake. It is pretty uncommon for someone to be too tight in a 9 handed game. I remember one time we had a 2p2 get together back in like 05-6. I got up from the table and one of the guys asked something like (can't recall the exact details) "is surfdoc even good, he seems so tight." DD and MikeL were there I think and DD shrugged like "I don't know" since we hadn't really played a lot together. MikeL responded something like "I am not sure, but I I do know that he keeps cashing out for a bunch more than he buys in for."

I would make this statement even stronger and say that putting thought and mental energy into "un-nitting" your game just for the sake of not thinking (or worse so, not have others thinking) that you are a nit is counter-productive. Why do you vpip? Why do your opponents vpip? I would start answering these questions first and go from there.

To be honest, I am working very hard to actually nit-up my own game (not LHE, but it doesn't matter) for last year or so. I am much happier and content (and also profitable I think) as a nit rather than what I used to be as a LAG-wannabe. That is very personal, of course, YMMV.

The word "nit" has actually evolved a lot over the years. It is funny when someone calls me (or anyone) a nit. I think it is actually a complement and while historically has had a negative connotation meaning "too tight, etc", it is now a code word for solid and disciplined.

Yah, agree that it's hard to play too tight in a full game. Especially if you're relatively new to LHE.
I remember being pretty tight back in the shorthand online days at one point like 26/17 or something and when I "opened up" to 30/21 it wasn't because I was artificially looking to be looser, it just sort of happened on its own as I got more comfortable postflop. It probably will if you're a thinking player who is always looking for good spots.
Also the KQ is the only of the three hands you mentioned that I think are a clear raise.

Originally, a nit was a cheap player -- one who didn't tip the dealers or waitresses, and tried to get out of paying the blinds or posting.

A solid and disciplined player was a "rock," as in "solid as a rock." Rock then came to mean overly tight. I don't know what it means now, I don't hear it that much anymore.

When people who aren't a-holes use insults for someone at the table, I feel like it's usually meant to be ironic or exaggerated. Like when I'm playing at a new game, and a guy sits down and one of the regs yells out "Here comes the fish!" with a big smile on his face, I make a mental note that the new guy is anything but a fish.