My Current $50 NL Strategy

What follows is the basic strategy I use for online short handed (6-Max) NLHE cash tables with a $50 buy-in (100bb). Although I'm a winning player using this strategy over about 30,000 hands, I don't claim it's the best possible strategy. It's not a strategy that was created in one day, but has evolved dynamically over about 14 months.

The strategy is based around a starting hands chart I started putting together when I first started playing poker. I took the chapter on starting hands standards from one of the first poker books I read, Harrington on Hold'em, and bits from a beginners video by Howard Lederer, and made a basic starting hands chart.

Over time I modified the chart based on:

• my experience from online sng's and micro stakes cash games
• books and online articles I've read
• Poker Tracker statistics
• online real hands statistics from the big sites
  

When I don't have substantial reads on my opponents I default to this chart. Once I feel I have useful information on their betting patterns, tendencies and hand ranges I rely less on the chart and start to apply more situation based play. I'm looking for good read based opportunities if I do deviate from the chart. But if in doubt I default to the chart - like I said, it's not written in stone, but it gives me a solid and useful starting point.

The reason I'm putting this up here is as much to solidify the strategy in my own mind as to offer it to other players browsing this site. It's useful... no, I'd say it's essential to go through the basics every now and again, until these fundamentals become second nature. Having said all that, if anyone disagrees with anything or has anything to add, by all means row in.

Below I go through the hands I term "playable" from the various positions. Note that 'playable' does not mean they HAVE TO be played every time from that position. And the converse is also true - it's okay to sometimes play hands not listed for that position if the situation in a hand seems favourable to do so. But the main thing to remember is that I'm looking for favourable table conditions and a good situation to justify deviating from the chart.

Table Selection

Using the poker room lobby and my HUD I scan the sites and look for tables where ideally:

• 40%+ of the players are seeing the flop
• The average pots are more than 25bb.
• 25%+ of the players are going to showdown.
• A relatively low percentage pots are raised pre-flop (preferably less than 10%).
  

If I can't find any profitable tables I leave rather than taking the worst of it just because I'm eager to play (which I usually am!). After I find some potentially good tables I watch the action and make notes for ten minutes or so, and eventually join the waiting lists for the two tables.

I take a seat when one comes available (if I still think it's a profitable table). The important thing here is to keep monitoring the table. If the second table I opened still looks good then I might buy-in there as well; if not, I'll shut it and open another and wait for the HUD to bring up some stats on that. But either way I'll constantly have two tables open so I can move if the table(s) I'm at become unprofitable or break up.

Usually I play two tables, other times I feel I'll do better sticking to one table. I don't like to play any more than 2 tables at a time, as my style of play is quite read dependent and I feel I'll lose reads if my attention is spread too thinly. Of course this is totally a personal preference so knock yourself out and play ten tables simultaneously if that's your thing.

Seat Selection

I've found this to be critical. I'm looking to seat myself to the left of loose and/or aggressive players and to the right of tight and/or passive players.

Say there are four loose/aggressives and one tight player at a table. I will try to sit to the right of the tight player. The reasoning behind this is well documented – tight players are more predictable so I'm not worried about them springing any sudden moves, therefore I don't suffer much by conceding position to them. Also, against the right type of tight player I can raise to steal his big blind if it's folded around to me pre-flop. And if my tight opponent does get involved you can usually put him on a narrow range of hands and play accordingly.

I want maniacs and generally loose opponents to my right so I am not taken by surprise by their actions. If they get involved when I have a hand I can raise/reraise them to build a big pot so I can milk it to the max.

As with table selection, if I cannot get a good seat I close that table and open another one.

Play by Position

Even in 6-max, I play extremely tight UTG and still very tight in MP. I'm considerably looser in the cut-off and button positions. This translates into playing only 10% of my hands UTG, about 13% in MP, 23% in the cut-off and about 30% from the button.

UTG

Under the gun I'm usually only playing 66+, AJs+, AQ+, KQs, along with a small number of suited connectors like T9s and 87s which are added in to vary my play and keep my opponents guessing.

MP

In middle position (UTG+1) I'm still pretty tight, but widening my range slightly to 44+, AJ+, ATs+, KQs, KQo. A few extra suited connectors are in the mix also.

C/O

In the cut-off I begin to open up quite a bit. All pairs, suited aces from A7s up and offsuit aces from AKo to A9o are all playable. Broadway hands from KQs to KTs, QJs to JTs and KQ to KJ offsuit are also playable, as are suited connectors 87s down to 54s.

OTB

On the button it's all of the above plus suited aces down to A5s, unsuited aces down to A7, K9s+, QJs to Q9s, JTs to J9s, KTo+, QJo and JTo. I'll play suited connectors 54s+ as well as suited gappers 75s+, and a few unsuited connectors 87o to T9o.

BLINDS

I like to play really tight from the small blind because I'll be out of position for the rest of the hand. My range here is {22+, A9s+, AT+, KQs}. From the big blind I'm a bit looser and will play {22+, A6+, AXs+, KQ, 76s+}.

I try to complete in the small blind only about 30% of the time but in practice I tend to play too loose there. This is definitely one of the leaks that I'm trying to plug. These half bets seem like nothing, but over thousands of hands they amount to a lot of $. Say you have played 30,000 hands of 6-max. 5,000 of those hands are in the small blind. Let's just say for the sake of argument you should "only play" 30% of your hands from the SB, that's 1500 hands, but in reality you played 40%, or 2000 hands. That's 500 hands you put in money with when you shouldn't. Just from completing the small blind that's $125, not to mention any money you put in post flop.

Playing Premium Pairs

With big pairs (AA-JJ) I'm nearly always opening with a raise (90%) regardless of position. I'll very occasionally limp with a big pair to induce a raise so I can reraise, or sometimes limp if I think limping might be profitable for deceptive purposes post flop. This is opponent dependent.

But if I limp with a big pair I will try to play it carefully post flop. This is especially true if there are several opponents, as it's much harder to narrow my opponents hand range in a limped pot. Something I have gotten better at with experience is laying down big pairs if things turn ugly on the later streets. This was something I just could not do when I started out. Now when I've limped with a big pair I'm always thinking "Be prepared to dump it on a later street if my read says I'm beat".

Occasionally with a big pair I'll cold call a raise or limp and call a raise if I can be fairly sure I'll be heads up after the flop. I like to sometimes do this against poor but but aggressive opponents, or sometimes simply for deception or to mix up my play. But mostly I'm re-raising preflop with big pocket pairs, probably 80% of the time against the type loose calling stations you typically encounter at these stakes.

If I have AA I'll try to get all the money in preflop if I sense my opponent is willing. With KK-QQ it's read and opponent dependent whether I want to get all-in preflop. Against the worst opponents I'm happy to.

Playing Medium Pairs

If I have JJ-99 in the two early positions I'll open raise about 75% of the time and limp the rest.

From the cutoff and button I'll raise first-in with JJ-99 maybe 90% of the time. The idea is to get heads up as there's a good chance a medium pair will be the best hand on the flop in 6-max. I have the advantage of initiative and good position, and will bet the flop almost regardless of what falls. I won't be overly concerned if one overcard falls and will usually bet on the assumption I have the best hand unless my opponents action indicates otherwise.

From late positions I'll also call a raise with medium pairs, or, if I believe my opponent is frisky or loose I might reraise, although I won't make this move as often as I would with with the bigger pairs.

If several players have limped in before me, I have 2 options: limp along with them for set value, or put in a big raise to try to take it down preflop or failing that, get heads up. In this situation I'll limp along probably 90%, and make the sweeping raise about 10% of the time. A slightly more risky play against several limpers is to put in a standard raise here, as a pot builder. The danger is, of course, that someone will come over the top, thus destroying the implied odds for my pair to draw to a set. So I'm not a big fan of making a normal size raise in this type of multi handed situation as it re-opens the betting.

Playing Small Pairs

UTG and MP: I tend to play them somewhat similarly to medium pairs, but probably more like 50/50 between open-limping and open-raising. I'll avoid playing very small pairs from early positions if the game is really aggressive with many pots raised and reraised before the flop.

I'll usually call a normal raise with small pairs and very very occasionally reraise for deceptive purposes, if I believe the table conditions will allow it.

I'll sometimes limp with small pairs from up front. I'm not convinced by people who say "Never open limp in 6-max". NEVER is too prescriptive. What you SHOULD do very much depends on the table conditions and your image. So I think it's ok to open limp from early positions on occasion in 6-max games. But it's fair to say raising when first in is a good default play .

I'll open-raise with my small pairs most of the time (90%) from the cutoff and button, with an occasional limp thrown in.

If there are many limpers before me then I play them more or less the same as middle pairs.

When the pot is raised in front of me I will call up to 6-7% of my stack with any playable pair, as long as I feel there's little danger of a reraise. I think it's ok to call up to 7% of your stack against most opponents. You are looking to hit a set and getting 13 to 1 implied odds. The odds of hitting the set are a bit less than 8 to 1 but the difference makes up for the times you

a) don't stack your opponent

b) hit your set but still lose.

Playing Suited Connectors

I play them from up front very infrequently. But those times I do play them from the early positions I mix up between limping and raising. If I don't do that then observant people will know I always have a pair or big cards when I raise from the early seats.

I open-raise suited connectors most of the time in the C/O and OTB. I treat suited connectors like small pairs in terms of calling raises, except in the case of SC's I feel the stacks need to be about 20 times the raise to make them playable.

I'm looking to hit 2-pair, a straight draw, or flush draw. I'll take a stab on the flop with a pair but I won't commit much money, as the whole point of playing them is for their implied odds.

Playing Big Suited: AKs, AQs, AJs.

First in I nearly always raise with AK suited or unsuited. You are rarely a huge dog with AK but if things get stupid preflop I might lay it down.

I play AQ and AJ similarly but more selectively and might fold more often to a reraise, again opponent dependent. I play AQ and AJ more carefully than AK when I'm out of position.

If there are many limpers and I'm in late position I might make a big raise with any of these three hands- to get heads up or if my hand is suited I might call and hope to flop a big draw.

Against very weak opponents I might just call with these hands.

Playing the Lower Suited Aces

I avoid playing these from up front. These are raising hands from the button and the cut-off if you are first in, though I am a bit more circumspect about raising with A2s A3s etc, especially if the blinds are not the folding types.

I'll limp behind several limpers with suited aces, with the very occasional raise thrown in. Obviously I'm looking flop a flush draw, two-pair or trips. If I hit only a naked ace on the flop I'm not going to put much money in the pot, though against one or two opponents I will stab at an ace high flop or use it as a bluff catcher.

That's pretty much my preflop strategy. Beyond the flop things are too complicated to summarise here.

'Til the next time. May the flop be with you.