I've been play playing a ton of low/micro limit of late, and with the "poker ban," my money wound up on Full Tilt. Now I may be the last person on the planet to pick up pokertracker, but I've logged just over 6000 hands within the last month. During the last 4500 hands or so, I have been running horribly. I know... very small sample size, variance, etc. The sad thing was, during this time, I felt like I couldn't play any better. I even have that eagle rating So I reviewed my stats and the hands I was losing 3 or 4 BB+. I found some small leaks, but most of the hands I was losing were bad beats. After replaying them, while seeing the villain's cards, I would play most of these hands the same way. Then it hit me. It might not be the hands I'm losing. It appears that most of the hands that I win are usually small pots.

Now although this is .25-.50 and .5-1, these tables are fairly tight. I've gone on runs where I've won 18 out of 100 hands (I raise/they fold) and I've barely shown a profit.

If you've been patient enough to read this, I was wondering ...

1. Can a table be too tight to beat no matter how well you play ?
2. Has anyone had sustained success at these limits at FT?


PS: I just played one 3-table session at Stars .25-.50 and won more on each table than I have in any session in the last two weeks at FT.

If this isn't the answer, then I'll just admit that ISAP and play freerolls.

Thank you.

You kinda have to just run those tables over with aggression. As in, targetting the weak-tight players who will bet fold a lot, etc. Also, you have to be a bit more willing to let hands go postflop to aggression from tight-passive players who will almost always have the goods. It's tougher to make as much as you could at a loose passive tables, since fewer mistakes are usually being made overall, but that doesn't mean they are unexploitable.

play position

and all Zach said, too

And this is where Pokertracker and a HUD can really help your game.

I'm focusing on the .25/.50 LHE tables at FT right now also. I don't have enough hands in yet to say if it's profitable long term, but so far I feel I'm doing okay.
I like to start a new table and play tight/passive till I get some kind of read on players. Then I try to pick up the aggression when I notice the bet/folders, or the guys who will check the flop and fold to a turn bet. I usually pick up a couple good pots early, then drop back a little as I start being aggressive. Once I figure out who I can lean on, I start picking up pots again at a decent rate.


I absolutely agree. Maybe some people can track all that stuff in their heads, but there's nothing like a little number under a guy's avatar reminding you of how he plays.

And like Actuary said... position. Big Time.

Yeah, I forgot to say, 3-bet a TON preflop when you are in position against the guys who will open their raising range up in MP and LP. Also, I 3-bet out of the blinds a ton vs CO/Button openers.