(1)
No Flop Poker. Avoid playing 'flop poker' since you're only going to get as lucky as everyone else playing that style and in the long run break even. It's okay to limp the big blind. And you should almost ALWAYS fold the small blind except with a very premium starting hand. It's a losing position, period. You'll be surprised how much you 'win' (ie save) by not completing the small blind hoping to get lucky. Money not lost is money won.
As you say, playing a very tight range from the SB is best, you should be playing pretty much as tight as you would UTG if it is limped round to the SB. If it's folded around to you in the SB, you can open a wider range (similar to what your CO opening range should be). Also avoid calling raises while sitting OOP in the BB. You may have already 'invested' one blind already, but you will be without the initiative and position the whole way. Its probably better to 3bet than call more often than not (unless you know the raiser is super spewy) 
(2).
NO MICRO. Dont play micro levels like .05/.10 or lower. Those players play any two cards, chase everything, play bad starting cards, and you'll just get frustrated by the bad beats, and then do dumb things. A little higher level will pay off.
Microstakes are great 
If you play anywhere with 5% rake, then there is nothing to stop you playing 5 or 10NL, the games are insanely soft. I myself only play $30NL (time/motivation issues ) and love it :P
(3)
ALWAYS RAISE PREFLOP. If you decide to play a hand, always enter it raising, even if you're playing 9
10
. First, this represents to other players strength in your hand. If you hit the flop, great. If not, you have implied strength since you raised preflop. Second, the point of raising isn't just to build the pot. It's to
reduce the number of players in the hand to heads up, or two others at most. The more players in, the more likely someone else hits the flop. You don't want to be in a hand post flop with 4 others. And you can't give the big blind a free flop - make them pay to play with you.
I would say, if you are UTG, or if its folded to you, then yes, raise it up to enter the pot. Sometimes its simply better to just limp behind, say the limper infront never folds to a raise, then raising a hand like 33 is probably more profitable in a limped pot. Same thing applies if the limper is short stacked, and raising would reduce the EV of the situation. All depends on his limp/call frequency as well as stack sizes/who is acting behind you/etc
Your odds of winning the hand go up
dramatically if you raised preflop with only a few in the hand post flop.
(4)
CONTINUATION BETS. Always make a continuation bet. Should be 1/2 pot at least. If you're heads up and played 9 10 and the flop comes A 8 3 and your opponent played KQ, if you bet you have this 'fold equity' the pros talk about. This is the power to win a hand without having the best hand by betting and getting your opponent to fold. By raising preflop, you represented strength. By betting he'll likely think you have a range like AK, AQ, AJ. Most good players won't chase a King here and call a flop bet. They should think "Even if I hit my King, will I be ahead in the hand if he has an Ace?" If he re-raises or calls, then see #4 below, but you may have to fold giving him credit for a Ace. (3a). Most low stakes players play Ace/ anything, especially suited, so be careful if an Ace hits the flop. Higher stakes players don't usually play Ace/rag.
I would say, continuation bet somewhere in the region of 70-80%. Some boards simply arent good to cbet on. The Axx board you gave is a GREAT board to bet on, as is any board that isnt 'connected' such as Qxx, even a board with 3 small cards can be good. Boards like 987 are dangerous to cbet on because people like suited connectors, and may have a flush draw, or a pair and straight draw, even a gutshot and overs (QJ) may call a cbet there. Typically I reserve cbets on boards like that for when I actually have a piece. Cbet freq. depends sooo much on villain: If he limp/called, and his stats suggest this is a small pair almost always, and he folds to 85% of cbets, then its pretty much the green light to fire EVERY flop. If he is playing tons of suited connecters then be sure to be every 2tone flop when you have ace high (even with pocket pairs, whatever). If villain folds 30% of cbets, make sure you have a piece, often ace high is good enough here. Make sure to take account of villains VPIP and PRF too: Something like 15/9 is limp/calling mainly small pairs; a 30/15 is probably limping some small pairs and a ton of suited connector types- cbet according to this and the board texture.
We've all seen players raise preflop, then check the flop. That screams "I missed." Sure, clever players may check a strong hand, so see #4 below again. And don't just min. bet post flop either. That says: "I missed and want to see another card cheap." If you're tagged as checking whenever you miss the flop, you're telling the table your cards.
Ive found a pretty surefire read that: If the PFR checks a super dry board, and then calls your bet, he has a good hand (or better) that you will NOT get to fold, usually this is a slowplay to get you to hang yourself. On flush draw boards, a check/call from villain who raised pre is likely a flush draw.
(5)
KNOW THY ENEMY. Get to know the players at your target table before you sit down. This means observing for 30-60 mintues and taking notes. Some players you may have notes on already. Don't rush to play. The object is to win money and good players won't give it up easy. What range does each player raise with? How much? Does it differ based upon the starting cards? Good players will always raise the same amount to disguise their range of starting hands. Does a player always limp in and never raise? Some will limp with AK all the time. Does Player A always check if he misses the flop? Does Player B always make a continuation bet if he misses. Does Player C always min. bet defensively when he misses the flop to see the next card cheap? Does Player D always check when he hits to disguise his hand? Does Player E play practically any two cards? People are creatures of habit and do what is in their comfort level. This information is vital to winning.
You'll need to see a lot of hands because to get this info since you'll need to see players' hole cards which doesn't always get that far.
30min seems like a long time to watch a table, and for the most part most players will be pretty bad anyway. You see a table with great stats: large ave. pot, high % to the flop. You watch for 45min, and by then the fish are all gone/bust, there goes your chance 
(6)
MAX BUY-INS. Always buy-in for the max (or 100 x BB) at your table such as $25 at a .10/.25 table, $50 at a $.25/.50 table, or $200 at a $1/2 table. Even if you have no intention of losing that much, you need to be seated with it. When a player buys in for $3 at a .05/.10 ($10 max) table, that tells me he has no confidence in his game, he expects to lose, and he'll be all-in on the third hand he plays. There's just not enough room for variance when you buy in short. When I see it, I think fish. You also can't win much if you dont have much to start. Short stacked players have no intimdation factor, only fish factor. A player who's won and is sitting with twice the max buy in just looks like he's good. The point is don't look like a fish - look like you're there to win.
+1
-Good Luck.
(6.5) * This is just based upon my experience - others may and likely will have their own thoughts. And I'm not metioning proper starting hands - just read the books. I will say though, mix it up now and then with for example "1 gap'rs" such as 8 10. It disguises a made straight when you hit and can win big.
Avoid Playing 'Flop Poker' & Other Tips
Reply With Quote
Originally Posted by GainerRakeback
I see you talking but all I hear is blah blah blah 
But my posts are just my thoughts and opinions and I always say others will differ. None of us has it all worked out. Poker is an art, not a math problem with only one right answer. No offense intended... And I never offer basic strategy that anyone can read. I try to offer tips about live and online play or poker rooms that you can't always read in a book, or about my personal experiences playing live or online. Sometimes I post dumb things I've done. It's just for reading entertainment. I'd like to hear other players' stories. And I don't think online is rigged by the poker sites for the same reason casinos don't cheat - there's way too much money to be made being honest. I do think individual players may collude with one another or a player may play mutliple accounts at the same time. And there are bots playing online. Any time there's money to be had, someone will try to find an easy way to get it.
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