pedactor said:

Now, I know we need to adjust to the oponnent level….but then I find myself pretty much handcuffed to a super nitty TAG style in these things. So I guess my question is, besides making some adjustments to the playing level, should we stick to what we know to be the correct play….ie. if we know we shouldn't be opening with 15-20 bb if we can't call a 3 bet, can we do so anyway in lower limits because our opponent may not know any better, or is this just mathematically a wrong play period….or if a Villain is opening with less than 20 bb but we feel they don't know they can't fold can we 3 bet them? I guess the biggest challenge is all the opponents are pretty much unknowns, so what I've been doing is just stick to what I've learned…..and assume they know what I know (thus making me a nit).

 If you are talking about 4.40s specifically and micro Mtt <5$, you should tighten your 15-20bb opening range to VALUE hands instead of steal hands not so much because players are going to 3b and you don't want to fold,  but because the micro donk is going to CALL you a lot more.  When they do, once you fire a cbet you are often either committed or really close to it which makes it tough if you didn't actually hit.  Same goes for 3betting light vs a <20bb opener.  It's not that they don't know they can't/shouldn't fold, they just don't do it often enough.  There isn't a big enough gap most of the time between the hands they open with and the hands that they are calling your shove with.  On the bright side, just you being aware of things like stack sizes and inflection points means that these players DON'T know what you know.  Nitting it up in 4.40s isn't a bad thing.  There are plenty of 4.40 guys that are much better than me, but I bet that if you rarely,  if ever,  resteal as a bluff in a 4.40, it is only a small mistake.

Hagbard Celine said:

i've said this a million times before, and i'm happy to say it again:

 

at the smaller stakes, your edge is largely going to come from having solid fundamentals, and in general making far fewer mistakes than your opponents. you're going to be more patient and not open in dicey spots with bad stack sizes and get yourself in dumb situatuations as a result. you're not going to speculate with hands like 33 or 78s OOP to a raise with 20BB. etc.

 

i wouldn't worry too much about your playing style or your 3bet % and instead just focus on playing each hand the best you can.

 

while you play, keep some sort of text document open in which to paste hands that you struggle with, or just spots that you find interesting. then when you're not playing, send these hands to other players or post them in forums like this to see how other people would play them.

 

go over your deep runs in a replayer so you can make sure you're not missing out on good spots or being too spewy.

 

constantly play with pokerstove to build for yourself an understanding of what equity different hands have against different ranges.

 

or you could hire me as a coach 😉

 

hope this helped.

Cool. Appreciate the advice and perspective. Sometimes I feel like just depositing 5K  and play higher (I play lower due to skill, not so much money) ….but I know if I can't crush the micro and low end levels, probably asking to take it up the wazzoo in anything higher. Plus, probably not as satisfying as building up a bankroll from scratch.

I really like the idea of keeping a text file open….never thought of that. Beats going through miles of hand history to find the one hand you wanted to get opinions on. Going to keep posting and replying in forums for now….unfortunately don't have any “poker buddies” as most of my friends don't have an interest or think poker is pure luck (we all know online is rigged right? :-P)

As for coaching….I've really thought about it….but not sure. I was about to go into coaching relationship before (little over a year ago) where I was going to stake myself the 5-10 K and split the winnings….but I backed out….figured I could do it on my own…lol….didn't quite work out. Maybe I can find someone to do it for a bucket of KFC?

yeah you're much better off learning at the smaller stakes before jumping into the high stakes. and you're right that you'll get a ton of satisfaction from building a roll and working your way up.

that being said, if you have a good job and are able to replenish your roll, then you could definitely add some money to your current roll and start mixing in some midstakes tourneys. like the ~25s and some of the smaller-field 55s on stars wouldn't be a bad idea, especially if you keep your eye on your avg buyin and make sure it stays at a reasonable level.

as for poker friends, i'm pretty sure there is an AIM list somewhere here, and a TPE study group. also join sites like 2+2 and pocketfives where you can meet other players. there are tons of opportunities to meet other people just like you playing the same games as you.

and the coaching thing was more tongue-in-cheek. it can be a great help, but you're probably better off getting in some solid volume before you think about coaching.

gl!