Hi all ... okay so my astronomical 10+BB/100 is over and done with. In fact I just got shellacked the last 2 days. I mean seriously run over. I realized that I was relying too much on the other players stats as indicators of hand holdings ... forgetting to remember that even a crap player has good cards 25% of the time.

So I had to return to basics ... re-studied starting hands ... folded more ... etc. This seemed to end the losing streak. Back on the upswing ... unfortunately nowhere near my 10+BB.

So anyway, I was wondering about raising pre-flop with strong holdings. Common advice seems to indicate that we should randomize some ... limp in with a couple of strong hands, and also raise with some more marginal holdings. I was thinking that most of the players I'm up against aren't savvy enough to figure out a strategy like this ... most are blown away when they lose to trips. Because of this, I'm inclined to raise on every strong holding. (Playing at the 6-max doesn't hurt either) Am I missing anything mathematically, or logically in doing this? (I should mention that I can determine from player stats what I'm up against ... so if I am in fact facing a tougher player, I might implement some higher strategy ... but just for basic poker against maniacs, mice, elephants, calling stations, and cashbags ... I think just a straightforward raise is appropriate ... they believe that you're bluffing anyway.)

Thoughts?

first off, 6max LHE seems to be one of the most frustrating games for experiencing variance, both good and bad(from my own experience and from reading what others who play different games say) so i wouldnt get too worked up about experiencing a downswing so long as its just plain old variance rearing its ugly head.

what limits are u playing?

i understand what ur saying about varying ur pf play as its also something that ive read about both in the "popular" limit books and on forums but to me its pointless at the lower limts online. (up to 3/6)

as you say, the majority of players at 6max run with the notion that ur bluffing anyway no matter how u act so if u only stick to raising the better hands pf, ur gonna get action anyway.

what the better hands are is something that may possibly be debated by many 6max players.

if im first to enter the pot, im raising with any pair AA-55, any AK-ATo, any Axs

if someone has limped before me, my action will all depend on what kinda guy they are but generally im raising AA-88, AKo-AJo and AKs-ATs......anything else depends on my specific reads on the player.

i like to approach my 6max as aggressively as possible and not to get into the mindset of limping a lot.....if im playing, im generally raising pf.

also, to make u feel a little better, these runs happen and im currently fighting my way through one as i type so dont fret too much

what limits are u playing? Micro-Limits basically, .25/.50 and .50/1.00 ... I'll step up into 1.00/2.00 if my bankroll will allow it. (I'm looking very forward to building the bankroll for $2/$4 ... I've seen the player stats)

i understand what ur saying about varying ur pf play as its also something that ive read about both in the "popular" limit books and on forums but to me its pointless at the lower limts online. (up to 3/6) I think we agree then.

what the better hands are is something that may possibly be debated by many 6max players.

if im first to enter the pot, im raising with any pair AA-55, any AK-ATo, any Axs: Really? I'm interested ... I would limp with 55-88. (Other than that though ... I'm raising with you on the AK-ATo, Axs) Does raising with 55-88 work out okay for you? I'm completely willing to implement it if it does ... I just wouldn't want to raise so often on hands that I'll mostly throw away post-flop.

if someone has limped before me, my action will all depend on what kinda guy they are but generally im raising AA-88, AKo-AJo and AKs-ATs......anything else depends on my specific reads on the player. I hear ya there.

i like to approach my 6max as aggressively as possible and not to get into the mindset of limping a lot.....if im playing, im generally raising pf. I agree ... I limp only if I want callers ... hence my surprise a couple of paragraphs back

also, to make u feel a little better, these runs happen and im currently fighting my way through one as i type so dont fret too much I figured my way through it. I stopped playing poker, and started playing "bet the fish" ... once I started playing poker again, the loss stopped too.

For 6 max as far as I'm concerned there's no such thing as open limping. If I'm first in I'm raising. Now if I'm in the CO or button with a limper or 2 am I going to raise a hand like KT? No I'll limp because the limpers aren't folding and I'll need to connect well with a flop. Take the limpers away and I'm popping that hand in that position.

At the lower levels don't wast your time trying to randomize limping with raising. Nobody is probably paying attention to what you're doing anyway. 6 max has a certain degree of "playing the player". So you can't always base your decisions strictly on hand values.

If anything I think you'll wind up sacrificing bets by limping unless you happen to have a player in LP who you're VERY confident will raise just based on position. In that situation I can OCCASIONALLY (like once in a blue moon) limp and then 3 bet him. However at the lower limits I think it's a waste of time 99.98% of the time. Straightfoward play seems the best strategy and FPS is usually a waste. No one knows what you're trying to do or represent because most people only look at what's in their hand and how it fits the flop. And even if it dosen't fit they seem to manage to conjure up some crazy card combination they need to hit and just check or call hoping to see those cards fall.

I think this was the most intelligent way to put something that's occurred to me for awhile ... but I haven't put into words yet. Well said. So okay ... I should stop raising on 78s to represent QQ ... because ... they just won't get it anyway. *lol*