opening up my range...

i was wondering how many others have been confused like i was.

when you hear "open up your range pf," did any of you think to "loosen up?" meaning, if you usually play down to 66, you open up by now playing down to 33? or, if you used to play down to KTo, now you play down to K80?

is that what you used to think, too?

i now think it means.........to polarize your range. if you just increase your range from the top-down, all you are doing is increasing your chances for domination.....without balancing it out.

you need to leave all that shit in the middle of your ranges out. shit like ATo, KT, Q9s, etc.

if you play tight, like i do, you need to open from the bottom-up. start raising things like 78s, AXs, 33, and following them up with cbets in the right situations. this creates "balance." obv, you will still put much more weight on the top end of your range, but the bottom, on occasion, has a lot of showdown value...and stackability when you flop monsters. obv, you keep playing them fast, and no one can imagine that flop of 6 7 7 is in YOUR range...only to find you flopped (and kept betting) a boat.

keep that in mind, if you, like me, took a long time to figure that one out. i had to start playing O8 and Stud8 to learn how damaging the crap in the middle can be.

hope that helped one of you out there.

you should try playing every hand you are dealt on the button for a session just to see the effects of position and how it affects your opponent perception of your entire range.

Play 100% OTB and like 5% in all other positions and profit. It's the most basic way to exploit the HUD nits.

You can play anything you want. The trick is playing it well. The range you are advocating avoiding is simply the hardest range set to play effectively, which could be evidence why it should not be played at all. However, that's not necessarily true for good preflop and postflop players.

In other words...

AA = Easy to play
67s = Harder to play
KTo = Hardest to play

thats the whole point, rondavu.

balance the stuff that is "in your range" with stuff that is "under any range," avoid the stuff that gets you in trouble, and viola...profit.

we are not sitting with world class players at 25NL, i think you can attest to that, but we can make the decisions as easy as possible until we need to take any opportunity we get.

in other words, avoid the tough stuff, and focus on playing the easy stuff. play some of the harder stuff to keep your easy stuff getting paid.

It's not whether your hand can be easily dominated that should determine if you are playing it. It's whether it actually is dominated.

Folding certain hands on principle is neat and safe, but it is the product of undeveloped reading skills, and often an unwillingness to aquire them.

Who needs good reads anyway, when we have AA right? Unfortunately, that won't get you to high stakes.

If you concentrate on hand reading, a cool thing happens. You start playing hand like KTo when you should, not because you're emotionally involved.

Let's go full circle here and I'll say that I fold KTo a lot, because often it's dominated. I don't fold it because it can be easily dominated.

Rondavu you should post more often

rondavu should make a video

it would be a good one for 25NL. i sat w/ him the other day for about 2 orbits, and didnt want none of that action.

quitting while ahead when 200bb deep when an FTR respected reg sits down FTMFW!

wait, Rondavu is playing AP's 25nl game?

Seriously?

I struggle with opening up my range of hands as well.

I play 6max 50NL and get into the habit of playing too tight. I think I am missing out on some opportunities and need to open up if I want to move up to 100NL. Observant opponents play back at me sometimes and it will be worse at higher stakes.

Have been trying to raise more midsuited connectors and CB on the flop in the right circumstances. Some players do not fold to CB's and you need PopkerAce to identify them.

Like the Op, I think the KT, Q9 hands etc are tougher to play as well. Havent had much luck with them.