Talk:LHE:Preflop

Here's some text I wrote that could be massaged into a little bit of a summary that would be relevant here (but less SSHE, more "this is why you play this way").


 * The preflop recommendations in Small Stakes Hold 'Em by Ed Miller et al. are quite different for loose games (6+ to the the flop) than for "tight" games (3-5 to the flop). And yes, I'm using scare quotes because in the text Ed says that this is only tight with respect to low-limit games.


 * The key differences between the two are precisely in the speculative hands: suited aces and many suited kings in poor position, small pocket pairs regardless of position, etc. In general your reason for avoiding these hands with a positional disadvantage is your fear that aggressive play behind you might get players out, hence limiting your pot odds. But if everyone's going to call 2 or 3 bets anyway, you can limp right in without that fear. You may even be paying "too much" for a speculative hand, but you'll get paid off well when you hit.