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I worry that I've been suffering from Fancy Play Syndrome - that and my local game is full of very serious poker players who are VERY smart and very patient. Between that and the super-nits on Merge forcing me to play LAG to get anywhere, I've become way too loose and aggressive. I need to get back to my former TAG self - the one that I was starting out. Obviously, this is the skill of "switching gears" related to the opposition at the table.

My friend invited me for a trip to Vegas, and I'm probably going to spend the majority of my time playing live 1/2. What DC videos do you recommend to help me get back to the basics of ABC poker?

I worry that I've been suffering from Fancy Play Syndrome - that and my local game is full of very serious poker players who are VERY smart and very patient. Between that and the super-nits on Merge forcing me to play LAG to get anywhere, I've become way too loose and aggressive. I need to get back to my former TAG self - the one that I was starting out. Obviously, this is the skill of "switching gears" related to the opposition at the table.

My friend invited me for a trip to Vegas, and I'm probably going to spend the majority of my time playing live 1/2. What DC videos do you recommend to help me get back to the basics of ABC poker?

IMO there is no such thing as FPS. I think labeling something as FPS just hides the truth about what is happening. If you played a hand and you feel you suffered from FPS, you most likely played the hand wrong. Therefore there is something fundamentally wrong about the way you think about poker.

Example: You X/R bluff someone with complete air, this guy is a complete station fish and rarely folds, he just has to see all 5 cards on the board.

You may think at the end of the hand, dam FPS again. Well actually you made a terrible play, you didnt adjust to your opponents tendancies and probably didnt even think what your X/R would achieve.

Going back to basics sounds good to me as you have flaws in your thought process. A common leak people have is to play bad and label it FPS, to me this is just an excuse for bad play. "I am too good for the micros, i play to advanced for these fish so my play style doesnt work properly at these stakes".

I see comments along those lines far too much. The quicker these people you can overcome there ego the better.

Possibly. I think one of the biggest problems I have is calling too lightly. This worked for a while, but my regular group of opponents has adjusted and tightened up.

You've got 10 days to cram for a Vegas trip. You're properly rolled. What do you do to prepare?

The games in vegas will likely be different than the games in your area. I went in january completely un prepared having never played live or full ring before.

The resources on ANL poker helped me a lot along with transitioning from online to live on dailyvariance's website (you won't need that obviously)

I am now a winning regular in my local 2/5 game over 3 months, i lost 5 BI in 4 days at 1/2 in vegas.

Here is ANL's site - it is 100% a worthwhile (small) investment if you want to improved your game, find leaks in your thought process and overall enjoy your vegas trip.

http://www.anlpoker.com/Free_Quiz.html
http://www.anlpoker.com/Essays.html

Vegas poker is really different to live poker elsewhere. There's a ton of really mediocre players in Vegas at the 1/2 games in vegas. Some of the "better" players are just playing a bit tighter pre but most of them play amazingly terribly postflop.

I'm sitting in the Harrah's poker room in Vegas right now. I've played 6+ hours the past couple of nights starting around midnight. The games are super amazing. Just valuebet and fold well. Don't bluff that much. Raise big pre. Play position well. Players will call with worse and most will make it obvious when you are beat.

I'm sitting in the Harrah's poker room in Vegas right now. I've played 6+ hours the past couple of nights starting around midnight. The games are super amazing. Just valuebet and fold well. Don't bluff that much. Raise big pre. Play position well. Players will call with worse and most will make it obvious when you are beat.

Are you isolating tight in late position vs multiple limpers because they dont fold and you dont want to play big pots with marginal holdings?
Do you limp behind on the button with hands like J9s or KTs or just fold?

I bet the games are amazing during the WSOP im extremely jelous. Good luck.

Are you isolating tight in late position vs multiple limpers because they dont fold and you dont want to play big pots with marginal holdings?
Do you limp behind on the button with hands like J9s or KTs or just fold?

I raise big in late position with strong holdings, expecting ~2 callers each time. You can make a lot of money by raising big pre because people will call off a large % of their stack simply because they can't bear the thought of not seeing a flop w/ J9s. It also helps to narrow the field. If I decide to bluff with equity and position, then it's obv advantageous to do so against only 1 or 2 opponents. If I have position and a marginal holding, I will often just limp along, planning on using my position and handreading to proceed profitably.

KTs and J9s are strong enough for me to raise, but if you start getting weaker, then I like calling and playing a lot of pots on the button.

I bet the games are amazing during the WSOP im extremely jelous. Good luck.

They are Ty!

I raise big in late position with strong holdings, expecting ~2 callers each time. You can make a lot of money by raising big pre because people will call off a large % of their stack simply because they can't bear the thought of not seeing a flop w/ J9s. It also helps to narrow the field. If I decide to bluff with equity and position, then it's obv advantageous to do so against only 1 or 2 opponents. If I have position and a marginal holding, I will often just limp along, planning on using my position and handreading to proceed profitably.

KTs and J9s are strong enough for me to raise, but if you start getting weaker, then I like calling and playing a lot of pots on the button.


They are Ty!

Solid advice, makes a lot of sense.

What would be a standard preflop raise sizing for 1/2? 5bb+1/limper?

The games in vegas will likely be different than the games in your area. I went in january completely un prepared having never played live or full ring before.

The resources on ANL poker helped me a lot along with transitioning from online to live on dailyvariance's website (you won't need that obviously)

I am now a winning regular in my local 2/5 game over 3 months, i lost 5 BI in 4 days at 1/2 in vegas.

Here is ANL's site - it is 100% a worthwhile (small) investment if you want to improved your game, find leaks in your thought process and overall enjoy your vegas trip.

http://www.anlpoker.com/Free_Quiz.html
http://www.anlpoker.com/Essays.html

Eh, for $35, I'll give it a try.

Radar, do you table select at all on Merge? I mean, yeah, there are a lot of TAGish reg's on there, but there are a ton of fish as well. Also, the "reg's" on there at the micro stakes are uber bad postflop.

Also, +1 to shuttle's post. Live $1/$2 in Vegas is a lot different than anywhere else I had played. Was just a lot tighter than usual.

Play some DONS on merge. That will help you adjust to playing tighter and straight forward.