[OFFICIAL] Live NLHE Forum Posting Rules and Tips
05-26-2022
, 05:02 PM
Welcome to the Live No-Limit Hold'em forum. All are welcome here, from the player who is about to play his first hand of live NL poker to the pro who is making their living from playing NL poker. By even coming on to 2+2, you have shown that you are looking to get better than the majority of players you face. The purpose of this forum is be a resource for people looking to improve their game. We're here to help you.
In any new environment, you get the most out of it by learning the conventions of the forum. Below are some posting tips and rules.
Forum Purpose
This is a strategy forum for discussing Live No-Limit Texas Hold'em. It is for strategy questions/discussions only (except in the chat thread). Post here if you have a specific question about strategy. This mostly takes the form of posting a Hand History (HH) that you have a question about, but it can also include theory questions or posts.
If you have questions about rules, etiquette, conditions at various rooms, etc., please post in the Casino and Cardroom Poker Forum. If you just want to tell a story, please post in either BBV or PB&G. If you want to discuss politics and society, even if related to poker, go to the Politics & Society forum.
Behavior Standards
This forum does not allow personal insults. Period. You can disagree with someone's strategy, but you MAY NOT INSULT THEM. Rule one in this forum, is "don't be a jerk." Yes, we know this is subjective, and no, we don't want to argue about it.
This forum also does not allow trolling strategy threads. No intentionally bad advice, no sarcastic answers, etc.
If you see a post that you think violates the rules of this forum, click on the triangle icon
. Fill out the report and it is automatically sent to all the mods of this forum. One of us will review it and take action. The standard is that if you're debating whether a post should be reported or not, you should report it. Be aware that we are not on the forum at all times, though, so it may take a while for us to review the issue. DO NOT get in a flame war in the meantime. We don't care who started it, everyone who behaves inappropriately is responsible for their own actions.
If you really want to be banned from 2+2, respond defensively when you are told that you are breaking rule #1. Things we don't want to hear are "show me what objective rule I broke," "there's nothing in the ToS about that," "you didn't infract X when he posted something almost the same," or "Y did it first, I was just defending myself." We have zero patience for that.
Unacceptable Reasons for Making a Thread or Post
Insulting and Provoking Arguments: We have a wide range of players with a wide range of skill sets. Insulting a poster because they posted what you perceive is bad advice is not acceptable. Everyone is here to learn and making a bone-head post is one way to do it. Remember, at one time you were thinking the same way. At the same time, if someone posts that you’re wrong and doesn’t mince words about it, don’t over react. Take a moment to think about what is posted. If they are wrong in your mind, state why. That’s how everyone learns.
Making a thread or post looking to provoke posters into an argument or reacting is trolling. Trolling is not acceptable. You can tell someone that you think they made an awful play or gave awful advice. You can not tell them they are a fish and should give up poker because they are hopeless. If unsure where the line is, then err on the side of politeness. If you're looking to get into a fight, there are other forums that tolerate it. Go there.
Blogs: There are plenty of sites that host blogs. If your thread is mainly about your poker life, it will get locked or moved.
Conditions at certain poker rooms: The Live Casino Poker forum covers this, along with rake, promotions, rules, angle shooting situations, etc. This is a strategy forum.
Staking: Live cash game stakes at low limits are hard to obtain. At higher stakes, it is basically impossible without a prior reputation. You can try at the staking forum, if you want.
If the thread is about a bad beat you took or how great you are at bluffing, we have a Brags, Beats and Variance thread you should put it in, or you can go to the BBV forum.
If you have a question on what is a good winrate (generally ~10BB/hr) or how big your bankroll should be (2000 BB or 20 100BB buyins as a rule of thumb), then post in the winrates, bankrolls and finances thread.
Complaining about How Bad the Villain Was: This can either be in the form of a "reverse" HH where you are actually the villain and you're trying to show how bad your opponent is, or a "How can he call my bluff" thread. The idea is to play poker against players worse than you. Expect them to make bad plays.
Further, even if you just do a reverse HH "to understand what V was thinking," and not as a hidden complaint, it will completely confuse/anger people. Posters (OP and other) often get confused about who is Hero and who Villain in these hands, and, of course, the given reads are all highly prejudiced. Reverse HHs are not allowed in this forum.
Asking How to Beat Live NLHE: We get a number of new posters who come in and ask in essence, "I can't beat Live NLHE right now. Can you tell me 2-3 things I can do so I can consistently win?" Consider the rationality of the request. First if it was really that simple, there would be no need for the forum in the first place. We could post a locked sticky at the top of the forum, people could read it and then go on. That said, there are a few general tips threads in the Best of Collection. Read those, and if they spur interesting questions, either bump an existing thread or start a new one with your (specific) theory question.
Posting confidently about a level you don't play: Everyone is welcome in every level (Low/Mid/High Stakes) of thread, but if you're not familiar with the game dynamics at the level being discussed, caveat your response.
Starting a Thread
Until you are very comfortable ITF, please limit your threads to HHs you have a question on.
No more than one hand per thread, please.
No more than three new threads per day, please.
Include: Stack sizes of the relevant players, your reads on them (this is live folks, you should have at least 4-5 pieces of information as the player sits down and before he plays a hand, such as age, clothing, how he handles chips, etc.), their likely image of you, and pot sizes and cards on each street.
Do not include results (including your last action). Get up to the point you have a question on and stop there and ask your question. If you include results (even in a spoiler), they bias people's advice. Let the thread run until discussion dies down or at least 24 hours, whichever is longer, before posting results.
If you are going to start a thread, here are some tips to get better responses and more in depth analysis.
Easy to read Formatting: The standard 2+2 format looks like the OP of this thread.
One hand per thread: The more hands you stuff in a thread, the less likely posters will want to wade through it all. Most multiple hand threads get quickie responses. You should want more.
Be descriptive in your title: “Turn Decision” doesn’t make people interested in the thread. If you say, “1/2 with AA, facing raise on flop,” the readers have some idea of what they are going to comment about.
Heros and Villains: 2+2 convention is that the poster is the “Hero” of the hand, while his opponents are the “Villain.”
Abbreviations
Here is a list of common abbreviations used in strategy posts in this forum. If you see one used that's not on there, please request in that thread that it be added.
Enforcement
Generally speaking, the first time on this forum you break the rules, you'll get a warning. After that,
10 point infraction, then
20 point infraction, then
40 point infraction, then
Permanent ban.
If your posting is egregiously bad, we reserve the right to skip any of these steps.
Be assured that there is no poster in this forum that is so good that we wouldn't permanently ban them. In addition, if the mods believe that someone needs time away from the forum, we're going to temporarily ban them, too.
In any new environment, you get the most out of it by learning the conventions of the forum. Below are some posting tips and rules.
Forum Purpose
This is a strategy forum for discussing Live No-Limit Texas Hold'em. It is for strategy questions/discussions only (except in the chat thread). Post here if you have a specific question about strategy. This mostly takes the form of posting a Hand History (HH) that you have a question about, but it can also include theory questions or posts.
If you have questions about rules, etiquette, conditions at various rooms, etc., please post in the Casino and Cardroom Poker Forum. If you just want to tell a story, please post in either BBV or PB&G. If you want to discuss politics and society, even if related to poker, go to the Politics & Society forum.
Behavior Standards
This forum does not allow personal insults. Period. You can disagree with someone's strategy, but you MAY NOT INSULT THEM. Rule one in this forum, is "don't be a jerk." Yes, we know this is subjective, and no, we don't want to argue about it.
This forum also does not allow trolling strategy threads. No intentionally bad advice, no sarcastic answers, etc.
If you see a post that you think violates the rules of this forum, click on the triangle icon
. Fill out the report and it is automatically sent to all the mods of this forum. One of us will review it and take action. The standard is that if you're debating whether a post should be reported or not, you should report it. Be aware that we are not on the forum at all times, though, so it may take a while for us to review the issue. DO NOT get in a flame war in the meantime. We don't care who started it, everyone who behaves inappropriately is responsible for their own actions.If you really want to be banned from 2+2, respond defensively when you are told that you are breaking rule #1. Things we don't want to hear are "show me what objective rule I broke," "there's nothing in the ToS about that," "you didn't infract X when he posted something almost the same," or "Y did it first, I was just defending myself." We have zero patience for that.
Unacceptable Reasons for Making a Thread or Post
Insulting and Provoking Arguments: We have a wide range of players with a wide range of skill sets. Insulting a poster because they posted what you perceive is bad advice is not acceptable. Everyone is here to learn and making a bone-head post is one way to do it. Remember, at one time you were thinking the same way. At the same time, if someone posts that you’re wrong and doesn’t mince words about it, don’t over react. Take a moment to think about what is posted. If they are wrong in your mind, state why. That’s how everyone learns.
Making a thread or post looking to provoke posters into an argument or reacting is trolling. Trolling is not acceptable. You can tell someone that you think they made an awful play or gave awful advice. You can not tell them they are a fish and should give up poker because they are hopeless. If unsure where the line is, then err on the side of politeness. If you're looking to get into a fight, there are other forums that tolerate it. Go there.
Blogs: There are plenty of sites that host blogs. If your thread is mainly about your poker life, it will get locked or moved.
Conditions at certain poker rooms: The Live Casino Poker forum covers this, along with rake, promotions, rules, angle shooting situations, etc. This is a strategy forum.
Staking: Live cash game stakes at low limits are hard to obtain. At higher stakes, it is basically impossible without a prior reputation. You can try at the staking forum, if you want.
If the thread is about a bad beat you took or how great you are at bluffing, we have a Brags, Beats and Variance thread you should put it in, or you can go to the BBV forum.
If you have a question on what is a good winrate (generally ~10BB/hr) or how big your bankroll should be (2000 BB or 20 100BB buyins as a rule of thumb), then post in the winrates, bankrolls and finances thread.
Complaining about How Bad the Villain Was: This can either be in the form of a "reverse" HH where you are actually the villain and you're trying to show how bad your opponent is, or a "How can he call my bluff" thread. The idea is to play poker against players worse than you. Expect them to make bad plays.
Further, even if you just do a reverse HH "to understand what V was thinking," and not as a hidden complaint, it will completely confuse/anger people. Posters (OP and other) often get confused about who is Hero and who Villain in these hands, and, of course, the given reads are all highly prejudiced. Reverse HHs are not allowed in this forum.
Asking How to Beat Live NLHE: We get a number of new posters who come in and ask in essence, "I can't beat Live NLHE right now. Can you tell me 2-3 things I can do so I can consistently win?" Consider the rationality of the request. First if it was really that simple, there would be no need for the forum in the first place. We could post a locked sticky at the top of the forum, people could read it and then go on. That said, there are a few general tips threads in the Best of Collection. Read those, and if they spur interesting questions, either bump an existing thread or start a new one with your (specific) theory question.
Posting confidently about a level you don't play: Everyone is welcome in every level (Low/Mid/High Stakes) of thread, but if you're not familiar with the game dynamics at the level being discussed, caveat your response.
Starting a Thread
Until you are very comfortable ITF, please limit your threads to HHs you have a question on.
No more than one hand per thread, please.
No more than three new threads per day, please.
Include: Stack sizes of the relevant players, your reads on them (this is live folks, you should have at least 4-5 pieces of information as the player sits down and before he plays a hand, such as age, clothing, how he handles chips, etc.), their likely image of you, and pot sizes and cards on each street.
Do not include results (including your last action). Get up to the point you have a question on and stop there and ask your question. If you include results (even in a spoiler), they bias people's advice. Let the thread run until discussion dies down or at least 24 hours, whichever is longer, before posting results.
If you are going to start a thread, here are some tips to get better responses and more in depth analysis.
Easy to read Formatting: The standard 2+2 format looks like the OP of this thread.
One hand per thread: The more hands you stuff in a thread, the less likely posters will want to wade through it all. Most multiple hand threads get quickie responses. You should want more.
Be descriptive in your title: “Turn Decision” doesn’t make people interested in the thread. If you say, “1/2 with AA, facing raise on flop,” the readers have some idea of what they are going to comment about.
Heros and Villains: 2+2 convention is that the poster is the “Hero” of the hand, while his opponents are the “Villain.”
Abbreviations
Here is a list of common abbreviations used in strategy posts in this forum. If you see one used that's not on there, please request in that thread that it be added.
Enforcement
Generally speaking, the first time on this forum you break the rules, you'll get a warning. After that,
10 point infraction, then
20 point infraction, then
40 point infraction, then
Permanent ban.
If your posting is egregiously bad, we reserve the right to skip any of these steps.
Be assured that there is no poster in this forum that is so good that we wouldn't permanently ban them. In addition, if the mods believe that someone needs time away from the forum, we're going to temporarily ban them, too.
Last edited by Garick; 07-11-2022 at 04:48 PM.
Reason: I'm a spelling nit.
07-20-2022
, 09:48 AM
