I’m usually the tightest player at the table. Yet I shudder to think about how much money I would’ve made had I been even tighter.

It seems like most of my big losses have been because I decided to play something marginal.

I’m challenging myself to play even tighter. We’ll see if I can do it and what effect it has on my win rate.

You may see some pretty tight folds as I try to calibrate to this new strategy.

Post-flop I’m often too aggressive, which has lowered my win rate. I’ll try to click the check button more.

I like playing all kinds of games. PLO, Stud8, Drawmaha, etc.

I’ve won around $8,900. Maybe somewhere between $5 - $10 per hour in win rate. I never bothered to keep track of my hours. Just too lazy.

But hopefully with this thread, I’ll be motivated to keep track.

Ooh a mixed games blog! Sweet. Will be following.

0.5/1 Congress 8-handed on Poker Bros

6 limps. I check in BB with (J65)J7 with 3 spades.

Flop (7): 3h Jh 8c

Checks around.

Turn (7): 3h Jh 8c 3s

SB checks. I bet 3 with my full house.

I bet small because I don't think any A2 is calling pot.

Also, I think many players in this game will fold a smaller boat or trips to a pot bet.

I think this because this is a home game that I just joined recently. I've only met two of the players.

Since it's home game, I'm basically playing with the same people every week.

It's a weird dynamic because they are super loose pre but then they fold a lot more post than your average live player who is loose pre.

That said, I could probably size up to 4 or 5 and get the same result that I want.

BTN and SB call.

River (16): 3h Jh 8c 3s 2s

SB checks. I bet 8. BTN calls and SB folds.

I scoop. BTN shows 83 for the smaller boat.

0.5/1 PLO8 4-handed on Poker Bros

CO folds. BTN limps. I pot in SB with (AT)(27).

BB raises to 13. BTN folds. I call.

Flop (27): 8c Kc Ac

I'm eff stack with 129 left. I flopped a 7 high flush.

I check. BB pots. I check raise for the max, 108, so basically I'm all-in.

He calls.

Rest of Board (243): 8c Kc Ac 4h Qh

I put the rest in, 21. He calls.

I scoop. He has (AT9)A.

Really proud of the check raise on the flop because I did it quickly within the flow of the session.

Too often I bet there and some players are able to get away from a set by the turn or river.

But with a check raise, they feel like they have the odds to call.

In this case, I was crushing Villain in equity. I had 74% on the flop. All-in on the flop, he needed at least 36% to break even so I had a massive edge.

0.5/1 PLO5 7-handed on Poker Bros

$100 eff. HJ posts blind.

LJ open limps. HJ checks.

I pot with (AJ)KT8.

BTN, SB, and LJ call.

Flop (24): 8c Tc 2d

Checks to me. I pot with top 2 and blockers to the straight and flush draw.

BTN goes all-in for 94.5. SB calls. LJ folds.

I'm close to calling but the Poker Bros timer runs out so I'm automatically folded.

This is where I need to get better at understanding relative hand strength in 5-card Omaha Hi.

I pot and get repot and then someone calls. My hand is trash.

My equity was 2% on the flop LOL.

BTN had top set (TT) and SB had nut flush draw and nut gutshot with QJ. They were flipping.

Top two in plo5 facing that much action in a single raised pot relatively deep is often no good. Good thing you timed out!

All of these hands are 0.5/1 on Poker Bros.

Hands That I Would’ve Played Before (aka Even Tighter Folds from the Tightest Player on the Table)

1. 3-handed PLO5. BTN open limps. I fold (A5)(Q8)2 in SB.

2. 8-handed PLO5. 3 limps. I fold 76543 with 3 clubs on BTN.

3. 8-handed PLO5. EP2 (UTG) limps. LJ pots to 4.5. I fold QJT86 with two diamonds (queen high) in CO.

4. 3-handed PLO5. BTN open limps. SB pots to 3.5. I fold (AQ)(28)4 in BB.

5. 5-handed PLO5. LJ posts blind and checks. CO and BTN call. I fold (A9)(T9)4 in SB.

6. 7-handed Congress. EP3 (UTG) folds. I fold A(37)4K in LJ.

7. 6-handed Congress. 3 limps. I fold (A5)544 in SB.

Hands That I Should Not Have Played (With My New Tighter is Righter Strategy)

1. 5-handed PLO8. LJ folds. CO limps. He is pretty loose but I should still fold (A5T)7 on the BTN because the blinds are super loose too.

2. 9-handed Congress. 3 limps. I should fold A(257J) in CO.

3 hour and 25 min session on Poker Bros. Big Bet Winner's Choice. Auto reload for $100. 167 hands.

Won $74.22.

114 hands into tonight's session at Poker Bros (0.5/1 big bet winner’s choice).

My VPIP is 6.93%!

LOL

That's including some hands heads-up and 3-handed where I open raised. Also, the table has been around 6 to 7 handed most of the time so I could've played more hands than full ring (9 players).

But I think playing super tight is the correct strategy because these guys are so loosey goosey preflop.

Literally everyone’s VPIP is more than 55%.

Here are 4 hands from the session that I usually call or raise but this time I folded them.

1. Congress 7-handed. 2 limps to me on the CO. I fold (A4)(3K)4.

This is a slam dunk raise in PLO8 without the dangler. But that 5th card is super bad for the hand. Also, hardly anyone will fold on the BTN so I’m rarely getting position.

2. Congress 7-handed. 3 limps to me on the CO. I fold (A3)(58)T. The 8 sucks.

3. Congress 6-handed. 2 limps to me on the CO. I fold (A9T)3J. The 9 is bad.

4. Congress 8-handed. 4 limps to me on the BTN. I fold A(36)4K. The 6 sucks and it’s a rainbow hand.

I made it below 6% VPIP. Here's proof:

Just finished the session: 3 hour and 53 min on Poker Bros. Big Bet Winner's Choice. Auto reload for $100.

Won $34.06.

Another session on Poker Bros. 3 hours and 11 mins. Big Bet Winner's Choice. Auto reload for $100.

Won $78.71.

166 hands. My VPIP was 9%.

Did a 11 hour and 35 min live session. Game was LO8 10/20 Half Kill.

Booked a $676 win but it could have been better.

I could've chopped a big pot by calling down with the 4th nut low (26 on an A389A board). I need to get more familiar with these weird lows.

In another hand, I had a set but got caught in the middle of a raising war when two people made the same nut straight. This made it unprofitable to draw to a full house.

Still learning the subtleties of limit vs no limit and pot limit.

I feel like limit games still have a lot of edge to discover because there is not a lot of good material out there.

0.5/1 Congress 5-handed on Poker Bros

I open pot with (A2)(A4Q) from the HJ. 3 calls.

Flop (14): 8s Jc 5h

I have backdoor spades with A4Q.

Checks to me. I bet 7.

Only BB calls.

Turn (28): 8s Jc 5h. Kd

I have gutter to broadway.

Checks to me.

I usually bet this spot but I think I'm overbetting it so I check.

Plus, the caller likes to checkraise. He could have JJ and KK is a common holding in these loosey goosey games.

River (28): 8s Jc 5h Kd. Th

Winner winner, chicken dinner.

He bets 14. I lol min-raise to 28. He folds.

I guess he had JJ, KK, or maybe even QT9.

I'll have to try the min-raise bluff with just AA (blockers!) if he's going to fold to a min-raise.

0.5/1 PLO5 4-handed at Poker Bros

I open pot from CO with A(AQ)(Q7). All call.

Flop (14): 2s 5s 7s

I have the naked As. Great flop for me, I think. I have the nut flush blocker and the flop is low and unconnected.

Two checks and I pot. All fold.

0.5/1 Congress 3-handed at Poker Bros

2 limps to me in the BB. I pot with (A9)3TJ.

Flop (12): 7c 8c Qc

I flop the nutter butters with A9 of clubs and the nut low draw.

I'm pretty aggressive post-flop with bluffs so this is a slam dunk pot.

Checks to me. I pot and only BTN calls.

Turn (36): 7c 8c Qc. 2d

Ok so now I have nut nut lol.

I hollywood for a bit and pot. He thinks a lot too and calls.

River (108): 7c 8c Qc 2d. 9h

I hollywood again and jam for 59.

He calls with 3489K with K high flush (K3) and 34 low.

Quick session on Poker Bros. 1 hour and 37 mins. Big Bet Winner's Choice. Auto reload for $100.

Won $103.98.

110 hands. We were shorthanded most of the time including heads-up and 3-handed.

My VPIP was still only 26%.

3 hour and 44 min session on Poker Bros. Big Bet Winner's Choice. Auto reload for $100.

Won $103.55.

183 hands.

VPIP was 17%. Game was mostly 5 to 7 handed.

It's funny when someone randomly chooses NLHE. (It's chosen rarely. On average, maybe 1 in 50 hands.)

Everyone folds pre.

But on the pot limit games (PLO, PLO5, PLO8, Congress), everyone calls.

0.5/1 PLO 5-handed on Poker Bros

3 calls (CO, BTN, and SB). In BB, I check A9(J4) with Ac.

Flop (4): 9c 2c 7c

SB checks.

I block top set and nut flush. I pot. All fold.

0.5/1 PLO5 5-handed on Poker Bros

All call. I check (K3)3J2 in BB.

Flop (5): Ah 3s As

Checks around but BTN thinks for a while before checking. He's tricky so I think he has a naked Ace.

Turn (5): Ah 3s As 2d

SB checks. I bet $1 lol. I should've bet bigger to charge the naked Ace full house draw. I block the 2 so I probably have the best hand.

Sure enough, only BTN calls.

River (7): Ah 3s As 2d 8s

I bet $1 again. He calls and I win. He doesn't show.

Making flash cards so I don't forget certain hands and the strategy concepts of those hands.

Then, I will review them using a spaced repetition review app that I built.

I've made 16 flash cards today, which is the most I've done in a day for poker.

There were a lot of interesting spots in the last session.

5 hour and 44 min session on Poker Bros. Big Bet Winner's Choice. Auto reload for $100.

Won $142.86.

273 hands.

Game was mostly 7-handed. Got short handed at the end. 6-handed, then one by one people left. Played a couple hands 3-handed.

VPIP was 14.81% for the session.

It was below 9% for a while until I started getting hands when it got 5-handed or less players.

Last hand before table broke.

0.5/1 Congress 3-handed on Poker Bros

BTN limps. SB pots to 4. He has been opening super light and might be a little tilted. He's eff stack with 112.

So, I repot to 13 with A346Q with Q4 diamonds. Also, I need to get the hand HU and BTN has a lot of folds pre to a 3-bet.

BTN folds and SB pots again to 40. I ship and he calls.

Not sure if I should just call because I do have position. SPR would've been 0.9.

He has A77JK with KJ diamonds so ship is probably fine because I think have a lot of better hands than my actual hand in this spot while he probably has a lot of worse hands.

I flop gin 652 (no diamonds) and that's all she wrote.

By the way, without checking, what do you think is the preflop equity of my hand vs his?

0.5/1 Congress 3-handed on Poker Bros

I open pot on the BTN with A259 with 92 hearts. Only BTN calls. He's pretty loose.

Flop (7.5): Ts 2c 7d

He checks. I bet 3.75 and he calls.

Turn (15): Ts 2c 7d. Th

He checks. I bet 7.5.

He thinks for a bit and ends up folding.

The second Ten is a good card for me when he checks. I have to keep the pressure up since he probably doesn't have a Ten and my low draw is probably good since he is so loose pre.