Here's another thing I personally do:

I immediately find the player at the table that seems to actually be somewhat good and sit to his immediate right ASAP. This is usually pretty easy because he will quickly bust out the guy on his right.

I then milk him for info on the table texture. He also folds to my raises unless he has a hand. The bonus is that the conversation is better than with the fish and we stay out of each others' way.

Am I alone in doing this?

Well generally no I have a couple of favorite seating positions that have more to do with comfort than anything else.

I am comfortable in sslnl games sitting just about anywhere in relation to other players. In mslnl games I am a lot pickier on position in relation to other players/stacks.

In sslnl games sometimes I will sit to the right a good player (OOP) to work on OOP play, sometimes I will sit to the left of manic, sometimes to right if they are exceptionally crazy to gain relative position. Nothing like being the last person to act PF after the manic has RR for 100BB or 3bet AI.

I forgot the maniac exception.

Favorite position at the table = Left of the biggest fish

2nd Favorite = Left of the the most aggro 3bet monkey (although that's usually me)

3rd Favorite = Left of the best player at the table (before I got there lol)

Certainly that goes without saying! Ah, the good times sitting to the left of the ridiculously deepstacked fish...

I'm also quite prone to insta-choosing the seat to the left of the biggest stack, even if he seems the most competent. I'm normally arrogant enough to think I can hold my own vs. him/her (lol internet kids).

Sitting near friendly people helps, too. I find that when I can talk to someone and enjoy myself during a long session, I get far less bored and don't make ridiculous boredom-mistakes. Sure, watch the action and watch the players, but we all know how slow it can be.

And if you're feeling confrontational, this can be fun: sit to the left of the table captain, and get into ego wars with him. Assuming your core game and tilt control are more solid than his, it can be massively profitable to set up a ridiculously aggro dynamic in position vs. the deepstacked table captain who associates winning a poker hand with ego/manliness. Sooner or later he'll see your play as an affront and stack off ridiculously light to your top set. I'm completely serious.

I've actually done this. Someone raised my flop bet once and I folded, so the next time when I had TPGK w/ bd flush draw, I shoved and he snapped with mid set.

1st Favorite: Left of the most dangerous aggro player at the table. (i hate having the few solid LAGs in the game just to my left)

2nd Favorite: Immediate right of an ultra-loose opening donkey. Nothing better then 3betting my pants off when the guy to my right opens w/ 40% of his hands. Nothing quite like getting 150 bucks AI, when you have AJ and are still crushing the range of calling hands (usually his all in).

3rd Favorite: Left of the deepstack fish. For obvious reasons.

After seeing some posts here and in the B&M forum I thought I would share some tips on betting.

As already mentioned ask the floor when playing in a new venue about string bets, betting lines and what constitutes a action re-opening raise, i.e. if the limit half bet rules applies to their big bet games.

Here are a few things that will help avoid string bets, help you get more information and save yourself money and help to prevent errors.

• Get in the habit of stacking out, cutting out or organizing your bets BEHIND your cards. After you have your bet ready, place it in the betting area in a single motion.

This simple habit prevents a lot of problems.

You bet what you intend to bet nearly every time. No more getting high denomination chips getting mixed in, no more "not grabbing enough and making the string bet motion". No more getting nailed by tough betting line rules, e.g. grab a stack of 20 chips and come out to cut out 10 chips, some rooms will make you stick the whole stack in because you brought that many forward and crossed the magical line.

When you use this betting method it gives you a great opportunity to observe your opponents reaction to your bet.

• Do not make a mess when you are betting. This only leads to negatives, like slowing the game down while the dealer sorts out your bet. Keep like denominations together, don't make barber pole stacks.

• If you are making a large bet, more than be easily moved in a single motion, state your action clearly. Then move your chips out. For example; if it is your intention to bet $475 then clearly state $475, make sure the dealer hears you or acknowledges you, then move $475 out into the betting area. By both stating the bet clearly and having it heard by the dealer and moving the chips out, there is very little room for dispute.

• If you get into a AI situation, the best advise is to move your chips and insist that the opponent also moves their chips. If there is a problem this is the only way a floor can review the tapes and see if there was a AI bet and a call. There is an all too common angle where the caller will state call, but never move their chips, then claim they never called, saying something along the lines of "I said 'I am think about a CALL, not that I did CALL. The dealer did not hear me correctly.' I did not call and am not paying the bet."

While we're talking about betting, let's review why we bet...

1) Force a better hand to fold

2) Get a weaker hand to call (value)

3) Give a drawing hand unfavorable odds (also value)

My advice: Don't look at your cards when you're in the SB or BB, until it's your turn. That way if a chop question comes up you're not giving away tells or trying to decide on hand strength, etc.

The point he was making, is that you should always chop or play. Not make up your mind based on your hand. So if you chopped once with the person on your right, should always chop with that person. Anything else is a sure way to piss someone off.

I'll go one farther, don't look at ur cards until it's ur turn from any position! Even when ur UTG watch the people behind u before u look at ur cards. Watch people's hands especially and also the reactions on their faces. Many times small stakes players will already be 'chip loading,' other times they'll have their cards ready to discard. Get in the habit of always watching ur opponents intently as it usually doesn't take too long for u to pick up on the different mannerisms people have depending on the strength of the hands.

I like to think of raising amounts in terms of what I want to try and accomplish and not just a set apount every time, be it pf or post.

post of the day imo.

So there was a post recently where the OP wished he had seen what the villain had. Which got me to thinking about showdowns. So here are some tips on the subjects.

• First do not be a douche bag. Your typical sslnl player is a recreational player. They come to have fun, play some poker and maybe win some money. Forcing this type of player to table their hand or gawd forbid you invoke IWTSTH (I want to see that hand) you are risking embarrassing this player. Do this enough and this player stops playing. After all why should he/she keep returning to a situation where they "know" they are going to be embarrassed.

Most rooms have a showdown rule. Find out what your room(s) has for their policy. Many rooms use the last aggressor rule, e.g. villain bets the river and you call; the villain should show first.

Some rooms have very specific IWTSTH rules, ask so you know what they are. For example the Wynn will only allow a IWTSTH if you can credibly explain to the floor why you believe collusion/cheating is taking place. While CAZ has a IWTSTH rule that allows anyone at the table to invoke with the caveat that it can not be abused (unenforceable IMO).

Some rooms have adopted rules where the winning hand has to be table to claim the pot... (crazy rule IMO).

Now that we have some of the typical rules defined...

• Your goal should be to be good enough at reading (people, hands, betting patterns, game dynamics) that you don't need to see your opponents hand. Having a confirmation is not a bad thing, but keep the goal in sight.
  
  
• When I reach a HU showdown, and I want to see my opponents hand rather I am the last aggressor or not, I say something along the lines of "So what do you have?". More times than not, this results in the opponent tabling their hand, at which point I can table a better hand or muck without showing a losing hand.
  
  Be careful of a common cheat/angle here though... if the other player declares a hand you can not beat, make sure they show it before you muck your hand. If this happens to me I always say something along the lines of "Show it". If by some chance you muck and the other player shows a hand different than they stated, immediately ask the dealer to protect the muck and call the floor. It is against accepted rules to incorrectly declare your hand in order to induce a muck.
  
  
• Avoid a lot of table talk at showdown. This is the critical point in the hand, table talk can result in lots of messed up things, from the dealer getting confused and pushing the pot to the wrong person, to pissed off people that think you are making fun of them.
  
  
• Take a second to read your hand before mucking. E.g. Your hold A6o on a AK3, 5, 5 board, the villain declares "two pair"... While reading this it is very obvious that you too have two pair AA55K, but in the heat of the moment you may not being thinking about anything but the pair of aces.
  
  
• Always take a second to read your opponents hand be deciding you have a losing hand. I have played with people that at showdown will quickly and authoritatively table their hand, just like 99% of obvious winning hands are tabled, the only problem is that they do not have a winning hand. Do not go on auto pilot, make sure before folding, or just table your hand and let the dealer/table do the job.
  
  
• If you are at a table that is overly concerned with who shows first or has a lot of IWTSTH going on, you might want to consider finding better fishing grounds if for no other reason than this is very likely to not be a fun and loose table.

great thread.

.

One of the things that I do is try to simplify the complexity. Filter out the noise if you will. The technique I use and have taught a couple of students is what I call a weighted three fold range. I have posted about it other threads, but this is a good place to detail it again.

The problem:

• Our minds tend to have difficulty when we are presented with a broad range of variables and as a result we tend to lose focus and force ourselves into making a complex decision quickly, often to our detriment. I am sure a physiologist could state this better...

A possible solution:

• Logically reduce the sample size to a more manageable size and prioritize each group of samples.
  
• I use three groups as a general rule, but this same technique can be applied with two groups or four groups. We want to avoid two groups as this results in the same quandary, aka the coin flip issue we often find ourselves in with a too large sample size. Four groups can also lead to that "too many!" mentality, so my recommendation is if you are going to use this technique, master three groups first.

The Technique:

• Group 1; This group is made up of the most likely hands that the villain can hold. It has the highest weighting in the group.
  
• Group 2; This group is made up of hands that the villain could have but are not as likely to have. It has a weight that is between the highest and lowest.
  
• Group 3; This group is made up of hands that the villain could have but is very unlikely to have. This group has the lowest weight.

When trying to narrow the villain's hand range you want to place most of your thought process on group 1, consider group 2 and pretty much ignore group 3 while not completely discounting it.

Further thoughts:

• Ultimately your ability to recognize betting patterns and player tendencies/types the more accurate your reads will be. The better you are at reading people and how game dynamics and situations effect player tendencies the more accurate you will be in adjusting your reads.
  
• All this comes down to felt time. Humans are very good at pattern recognition and reading people. Time and experience will allow you to correctly associate the two.

Heres a lil tip. When the horrid player on the button who has been calling the whole way on a board of KK693 with a runner runner flush coming in, and then he is faced with a large bet and he now says "you hit your flush?".................(waits 10 secs), then says"Okay...im gonna putcha allin"

RUN!

True. When people call out "your hand" they are usually calling out hands they beat.

"I don't think you have 2 pair. I'm all in." = set
"Nope, you don't have the trips. I'm all in." = straight
"Did you make that flush? I guess I have to go all in." = boat

Etc.

Lol it so transparant, some guy takes a huge puff and sighs and then says "im all in" do you think im stupid you ****ing ******? I know you have the nuts, but as is standard i just fold and say nothing

I open LP with SCs, flop nice, turn the nuts and b/b/b versus straddle...

Straddle: "Can you beat a flush?" while facing a PSB...
Hero: ...
Straddle: "OK... I guess I am all in then (sign)..."
Hero: "Yes and I call"
Straddle: ... Looks like someone just killed his puppy. "Chips" but meets the chip runner half to table and cashes out.

Things that make you smile on the inside...

This guy tabled K6s that he called a large PF raise by a pretty snug player. Nice

Hi Folks, can someone help me out with some advice for live small stakes lunatic/drunk/clueless/fish games?

I've been to live games twice and been astonished by the wholesale fishiness of them. I've actually witnessed guys raising who haven't looked at the flop!

Anyhoo - the Problem:
The local 'casino' has blinds of €1/€2 but initial raises of anything from €10 to €20 euro effectively making the blinds €3/€6 but with a maximum buy in of only €200 and 200 / 6 = 33.3 so the maximum buy in is, for all utensils and porpoises, a short stack.

Any advice?