I play quite a bit online, which is where I learned a lot of the basics. Like many that make the transition specially casual players (once or twice a month), I am find many of my bread and a butter plays are far less effective. Namely, Squeezing from the blinds with good or but not great hands following a MP or LP open raise and call.

I am weary that I may be too results oriented, or an using a small sample sizes but will list my findings below:

6 Max:
-very little limping
-usually at most 3 people get involved in a given hand
-ranges for middle and especially late position tend to be fairly wide

Squeezing with hands like 99-JJ as well as KQ AQ, AJ (the occasional suited connector for balance) tend to preform fairly well for me. (Worth mentioning I have a tight imagine). Most of time both villains fold and or I will tend to have a stronger hand strength going into the flop, often times heads up. One reason is because people online are much trigger happy and more often than live play will 4 bet hands like QQ AK JJ or even as light as AQ or TT. In which case it is an easy fold. Additionally, live play tends to be void of the 3bet/4bet pissing contest that sometimes occurs online.

Live play
-Lots of limping
-large number of multi-way pots
-tighter rangers (generally, occasionally ATC donks mix it up)

What I am finding is that people are far more likely to call a squeeze, unless it is abnormally large. Furthermore, people tend to get into this big pot gambler mentality, thus ranges get very odd. You get the nitty older guys deciding to call the squeeze hands like QQ JJ or AK, as well as the gamblers paying an upwards 25% of their stack to either hit a set with middle/small pairs or flop big with suited. connectors. The end result is that I am often in a bad spot by acting first in a multi-way pot with a hand that can be easily dominated, or up against a hand that can easily hit a well disguised set, two pair, or trips when I do happen to flop well with either top pair and or an over pair.


What is the proper adjustment?

I am not a big fan of calling raises in multiway bloated pots with hands like 99-JJ (With the exception of set mining), AQo AJo or KQo when I am first to act.

With the exception set mining, or attempting to keep the pot small should I just fold or wait for a better spot?

Another possible option would be to increase my squeeze size.

Example: 3/300 assuming 100BB stacks

MP limps
CO raises to $15
BT calls $15
SB Calls $15
BB Hero: Where as normally I'd squeeze $75 (3x+1) Perhaps I should squeeze (4x+1) $90.


Alternatively I could avoid squeezing from the blinds altogether when I am playing live and don't have a (QQ+ or AK)

Thoughts?

Play 2nl online and then realize everything that you do at whatever real limits you play online are pretty much ineffective. 1/2 and 1/3 are effectively 2nl.

I tend to like folds with AJo and KQo in spots like that, but I'm fine with raising hands like 99-JJ and AQo, especially 100 BB deep. The deeper you get, the more you can discuss just flatting with your medium pairs and hoping to win a big pot with a flopped set.

Simple rule,

1. If table is full of gambling donkeys calling 3bet with trash, only 3bet with premiums oop

2. If opening guy has too tight image, only 3bet premium


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it's not bad, but live tends to play much deeper, so you end up playing OOP vs a wide range. I tend to squeeze more in position than out.

Also, the general open in 1/2 is much bigger, so your squeeze is going to be bigger. It's just not as effective and people hate folding live.

I'd tend to just call more with 99 and squeeze with JJ+ even though it's very close, you may get people who will call with AT so the JJ will play slightly better.

Also be aware of who is raising. Some people never raise with out really good hands. Just because you see a good spot to squeeze doesn't always make it a good spot in low stakes.

people also think in terms of real $$$ and not pot size. So a $50 bet will get almost as much respect as a $75 bet. You can keep the pot a little smaller and not have such a bloated pot OOP as if they are calling $50 they are probably calling $75.

If you are lucky enough to be at a table with tight players who are playing over 150BB's deep, you can pretty much squeeze with ATC and get them to fold any hand that isn't KK or AA, but I would make the bet size as large as possible without committing you if you happened to get called or shoved on. So if effective stacks are around $400, I would make it close to $100.

Just wait for a semi loose aggro player to open and wait for 3 or 4 callers behind and your squeeze will print money. Just make sure there is no short stack in the field that is playing less than $100. The loose aggro original raiser should have a wide range that includes hands like small pairs and suited connector type hands. If you squeeze when the original raiser is tight then you are likely squeezing into a range of QQ+, which is obviously terrible.

Surprisingly, these spots don't come up very often in my games, but when they do I shamelessly pull the trigger because nobody is willing to risk their stack preflop without a premium, and in some cases only AA.

I would never squeeze with the type of hands you mentioned since they are good enough to win a decent sized pot if you hit a flop. You want to get a couple of streets from the gambol donks who hold K10 or QJ and flop top pair against your KQ, AQ, AJ type hands. Plus, if you squeeze and do get action from anyone, you will only be up against a hand that is dominating yours soo you are destined to lose a gigantic pot if you hit the flop or try and c-bet when you whiff and get snapped off with overpairs.