I've been playing since 2004. Most of it was online until 2013 or so. Now it's almost all NL 1/2 live at the Hammond Horseshoe or Majestic Star in Indiana.
I've noticed that "nit" is a HUGE insult in the poker room.
Why?
I see that players go by how tight you are and not whether you bet aggressively when you have something.
When I started it seemed like tight-aggressive was the best style for 1/2. I respect LAGs quite a bit though, but my question is why is it so bad to be a TAG player?
It seems like TAG now=nit. They describe TAG play as nitty and that there is something wrong with it.
I often have the table image of being a nit due to how seriously i take cold calling raises.
For example, if the guy to my left straddles all the time or there is a 10 dollar bet I fold my BB consistently with hands like K8, 67, J7 etc that I would normally play from the blind or even complete from the SB.
I also think more about how deep I am before calling raises with pocket pairs. I didn't used to. It used to be that I'd auto-call any raise up to 20 bucks with pairs. Now I think about my stacksize first.
I notice that some of the people who "have a lot of gamble" and hate nits are borderline degens. What's the hatred of TAG players really all about?

people at 1/2 get mad at a lot of random stuff. Most of them just aren't very smart. I would try not to think about what gets them mad, and just work on your game so you don't have to play with people like that and move up.

it's basically just an attempt to try and "shame" a player into playing more hands to make the table more to their liking, aka a gambly table. just brush it off or joke back with them.

if you are a nit in the way you play cards, make it fun for the other players some other way. talk about sports or whatever. offer 50/50 chops on promotions. be talkative.

People in 1/2 games are gamblers and get upset when people don't want to gamble with them. They hate you because their range is behind yours. Given the slow rate of live play (~25 hands per hour), it's easy to see how someone playing TAG could be viewed as a nit, but don't take any offense to it.

that would be totally sweet man, i'd love to play 2/5 some day!

LOL that's me to a tee man, for the 100 dollar chops on the "magic seat" promo i sell 75% of my action to 3 other guys in the hopes of getting a piece of each giveaway. Today though, me and my cronies went 0 for 3

very good analysis, thanks much for the sincere answers

Everyone hates nits because if everyone at the table was a nit no one would ever win, let alone the losing players (who have zero chance to win in the first place, but at least at a table full of other losers they'll fool themselves into thinking they have a chance).

Gnit/winnerforlife,imoG

I usually prefer to not sell it, but instead offer choping it between 2 or 3 guys. So you can all root for it together. I find it helps the vibe of the table.

yeah man that's what we do, when i win i 25 to them and when one of the other guys win they pay me 25, we do chant each other's seat numbers

Nits make it hard to take their money and they're usually taking people's money because despite only playing top tier hands in position people still give them action. Personally I love it when I know I have some nits to my left. Easier to play hands when you're further from the BTN and you can routinely steal their blinds.

Yes, this is a common malady among some poker players that cannot break you playing style. They will call you “tight” or “nit” in such a way just to entice you to loosen up so they can have a chance to gamble with you because they cannot break the solid-tight. But don’t you worry about all this, you play your game and pay no attention to their FoS talk.

About KILLING all straddlers:
1.) If the player on your left the BTN straddle every hand and you got to act first in the SB before the option go to him and will probably rise all the callers of his straddle you got to play super tight and super nit and don't pay attention to their wtf talk

2.) If the player on your right, the UTG dude straddle when you are in the BB every time and if he gets callers he raises every time when the option comes to him.
What you do is the following: When you see he puts the straddle $$ bet down just before the dealer is about to deal the cards, you tell the dealer to give you the “missing BB button” , just say: "give me the miss button" and don’t play that hand. So, now the Mr.Straddle FoS UTG villain becomes the BB and he cannot straddle. You can kill his straddle for the entire eternity, he will never be able to straddle in his life in that seat configuration with you on his right unless he change seats. ....hahaha.. LOL

Now, if anybody straddle and don’t raise after he gets callers, that dude got weak cards because the straddle is like bigger BB. If BB gets weak cards he knocks/checks the table, else he raises, you know ...bro

If people view you as a super nit, what you gonna do is bluff more but make sure you got an "out" like Doyle Brunson said. "Got to have an escape hatch, an out",.. you know.. If the flop comes paired and the pair is separated from the single card in such a way as to not makes sense to be related lets say 226 flop. You bet if you got 33. Now they don't know if you got an overpair like 77, 88 or a A2s.
============================================

Here is another "play" that works wonders:
I call this Representing a Jack that works on any paired board

Here is another hand that almost never fails in no-limit Hold'em. You have always to consider your opponent. You have to get inside his head. You need to know the guy that you pulling this on, he’s a good player and he’s thinking along the same lines that you’re thinking. You also have to be behind him and let him act first.

So, he’s raising and you call him.
Here comes the flop right here: J, J, 3 and he bets which usually the guy who raised the pot will lead and bet at the pot. So, this guy leads off and bets at the pot.

You don’t raise him, you just call him. Now, actually here is his hand: he’s got an AK, perhaps he may have a big pair here, it still usually works. And here’s your hand 7c, 5c. You got nothing.

But when he bets and you call him, he immediately thinks: “He probably got a Jack and just waits for me to come home and hit my head to the ground”

And, regardless what comes if he checks you bet at this pot and even if he’s got AA or KK he usually will call you there but when the last card comes and you make a real big big bet almost invariably he’ll fold. Again, you have to be aware of who you play against. It goes back playing against people. If this guy is a good player, he’s thinking along same lines I just described, this play works 90% of the time. At least 90%

The secret there is the call on the flop.
You can’t rise because he may get suspicious. If you do have a Jack here and raise, is a good play because he is suspicious and he thinks “He’s trying to pick this pot up off me” But if you just call him, I mean, warning bells are going on in his head. You can almost see them.

What you’re doing here, you actually with absolutely nothing, basically, you just setting-up the bluff by using this round to establish the fact that you’ll able to bluff on the next round.

Yes, It doesn’t matter what two cards you’ve got. This goes back to playing your people instead your cards. This guy just can’t help to think that I've got a Jack here. There’s no draw out there, I don’t have a big pair or I would’ve raise him preflop. So, he says: “What is he got? - He’s got a Jack because I bet and he called me”

This play will work. Just try it.

Also make sure you are not slowing play with your "nittery". For example, you mention that you are more careful about cold calling raises based on stack size, etc. Bravo! Just make sure you are ready to act when it is your turn. Don't agonize over preflop decisions. Always have an idea of stack sizes at the table, and act quickly when it is your turn.

A nice trick for this is to try to be talking when your turn to act comes around, you glance at your cards, finish what you were saying while you make your decision, then casually call or fold. Most people won't even remember what you did. Your demeanor will have a lot to do with how people view you, and then the "nit" comments will be uttered as more of a joke than an insult.

^^^^^ I forgot something else to add
Warning ! ..., (LOL)

You have always to consider your opponent. You have to get inside his head. You need to know the guy that you pulling this "play" on, he’s a good player and he’s thinking along the same lines that you’re thinking, he's an advanced solid tight a TAG player. You also have to be behind him and let him act first.

This are some of the most sophisticated plays in Hold’em but you don’t want to be trying them against the suckers. No, You don’t try them against amateurs or monkeys. This are sophisticated plays against good players. Because if the players don’t understand what you’re trying to convey you just wasting your time and wasting your money. You can’t make a sophisticated play against an unsophisticated player. Always remember that.

The suckers don't understand absolutely nothing what's going on. They just play their two cards. I know, believe me I know how they think. If they bet they have some hand else they check. So, if they bet you got to have a hand that beats their "some hand". If they bet the pot when the board has got two flush cards they usually protect their TP. Make sure you can beat at least the TP or you got a draw to the nuts + pair or of course 2P+ before you participate in a big pot being build. Only a draw is too weak here. Need more juice.

oh yeah man i'm a very fast actor. I never hold up play. Sometimes I may act too fast.

that's fabulous advice and I thank you very much for putting so much time into your response my friend

People play poker for lots of reasons. At 1/2, it is rarely to win money. What people want to do is gamble primarily. They treat 74s like a lottery ticket. As long as the lottery ticket isn't too much money ($10), they'll play. After the flop, they'll decide whether they won, lost or have a chance to continue. If you are playing TAG, you aren't buying lottery tickets. You're making it too expensive to buy the lottery ticket pf and not contributing to the winnings when they hit. They resent you not playing along with them.

As Nick the Greek once said, "It isn't about the winning. It isn't about the losing. It is about being in the action."

Maybe its because the rake is so high compared to stack size that you playing even moderately tight makes them share the burden. I can imagine what an uber tight player would do to this game. A dead seat is a complete disaster. Quite frankly i would berate anyone who plays tight at 1/2. There are sone 2/5 regs i cant stand coz they are playing 8% of hands or less and costing us extra rake.

Why the heck would you play tight at 1/2. Ive never played it but seems the opposite of correct.

The size of the rake changes the inflection points such that you should play tighter or looser than GTO. if you choose to play tight you are costing the loose players money. I would cooperate and play loose rather than being selfish

You're absolutely right ..., in the 1/2 NL is very hard to make a decent income but is still possible to get to $15/hour. The 2/5 a little better but 5/10 is golden, much easy game and much faster to make a good income to get $75/hour. Don't listen to people telling you that 5/10 are much harder and players are much better. They are not. Lots of fish with big money come here in Vegas at least.

People gonna say to you:
"Oh, you can't play in that big game, they are all pro .. Jeez, you don't have a chance in that game. What about trying first in this little bitty 1/2 first?"
I say: ... that's FoS ..because people with lots of money play a lot worst. .. a lot worst .. for sure. Look for game where you see people with money that look respectable citizens in their private life. Those are donkeys at cards and NL poker.


also ...,

Examine the motives why your villains are playing. Some people play for money, some for fun, some for the excitement, some for punishment. These are all reasons to play poker. Respect the losers, they have their own reasons for playing. They are usually getting what they need from the game. They think it's OK to be a loser. I'm not speaking with tongue-in-cheek here, this is a fact. Self punishment is the underlying reason for most weird behavior in life.

Build a bankroll. Treat it as a funny money. Have enough to withstand challenges of fate. Do not spend the winnings. After a while, if the game is good to you, buy yourself something out of the bankroll. A shiny gambler's Rolex watch maybe. A little token of pride. A mark of achievement. You will feel good about yourself, that's never a bad thing. That's a good thing.

Think about the game. Listen to pros, listen to losers. You can learn both ways. Make your own opinions. Plug your own mistakes. Re-evaluate. Post. State your opinions. Ask. Comment. Disagree.

we play 10 handed so i don't increase the rake at all. The rake decreases at 6 players or less where i play. I pay my blinds and I'm not a rock at all. I play to win. That's what i do. Degens are selfish by trying to get other people to degen with them in my opinion.

Dude, this is poetry! well said

Thanks .. man

You got great games in Chicago and surroundings, I know because I'm played there before. Look around your area for what I'm saying in my posts. I also have other posts where I deal with how to approach the game based on lots of factors. Do a search. Build your strategy based on what you see going on around you. Look for targets/victims. Play tight, solid, aggressive and look for all your possible outs. The turn gives you the most outs. Lots of them. Use them.

GL

Its not as bad 10 handed but if you are on a 2p2 strategy forum and you are playing 1/2 you are going to get the truth. You should play 20% of hands at 1/2 or your winrate is going to be about 8 bucks an hour.

Yes, you can play uber tight at 10% vpip and guarantee yourself a profit but we are here to maximize our win rate and move up to 5/10 so we cant recommend playing tight at 1/2. 18% vpip or gtfo

Yes,

20% in 1/2 and 2/5 if you see 2-3 weak players, else about 17%. Try to go against the weak. Be patient and don't call too many raises even with AK. You got to be the last raiser with AK. Not the caller. We don't call with any AKo or AKs.

Rules of thumb, if you like.

1. Build pots preflop with big suited cards, suited connectors, suited aces, suited kings and pairs from 77+
2. Ram & Jam your TP+near-nut-flush draws on the flop if you have two or more villains callers
3. Seldom call if you can't raise
4. Don't try to bluff the fish

If you're a nit in low stakes poker you are taking money from other players and providing little to nothing in return. In a public card room you are entitled to do this, and other players are entitled to dislike you for it.