How tight is right on sky poker?

mcglynn07

Wanted to ask how people on sky how they decide whether they are playing tight enough in the games they play in? With no software or huds allowed sometimes being to loose can harm your game and effect your results and it may not be something we are aware of. Looking at my own results this is something that has definitely crept into my game unnoticed by me at times but long term I am just making an incredibly complex game that I Iove even more harder for myself. All the time I ignore this issue or pretend it does not exist then I am flatlining my ability and my results. Does anyone have any tips or tricks that they use when playing or when looking at their results off the table?
Thanks Danny

tonyp142

Think this is a really hard question to answer in one set way. There’s situations where you can be extremely loose and others when you have to be extremely tight. Quite a lot of players get it wrong and are loose when should be tight and vice versa.

Look at your ROI over a large sample and compare to the best players. There’s players obtaining 30-40% roi. What are they doing that your not? Analyse hands. Talk to better players. Observe them. Watch training videos. Happy to help further if you want to go over anything. Message me if you would like.

mcglynn07

Tony, thanks for the reply. I understand the need to adapt to your opponents passivity or looseness by doing the opposite. At present I am actually choosing not to play oop for a month. But when that ends I know I have to open up and start playing oop again and I know its my biggest leak without needing tracking software to tell me this.
What i am learning tho by watching others is the amount of people that will go broke oop with one pair, also it is so much harder to control the size of the pot when you are first to act apart from taking the check call line and at times reduces your opportunity to bluff because you don't get to see what your opponents actions are or react to them.
At least I am making a list of mistakes that I should not try and replicate when my trial period ends but also what mistakes opponents regularly make that we can capitalise on.

I guess it will ultimately come down to what player types are behind me and how strong or weak they are. Then it will come down to hand strength and try and go from there.

tonyp142

Yeah oop can be tough. Not playing oop for a month sounds like a bad idea though. Are you really folding aces from the big blind??? Tightening up oop might be a better idea particularly with hands that have poor playability. Just remember that at deeper stacks being oop is a bigger disadvantage but once stacks get shorter it isn't as bad. Oop you want to play more hands with suitedness and connectivity as you'll realise your equity much better.

mcglynn07

Tony, I am not playing from the first two positions (apart from premium AK AA KK QQ for 4 weeks just to see if my results differ or If I notice any real change in how it effects my game.

markycash

My advice would be - within reason - not to think about a general style but to adapt your game to each table/opponent/tournament. Even the same individual will play differently over time.

Different people play differently, different tables play differently and different tourneys play differently so a blanket approach isn't optimal.

For example, 2 games I was involved in last night were a £5.50 PLO8 BH and a £33 NLHE MTT.

In the PLO8 BH I was quite loose because there are more split pots, my table allowed, and you can make value bets a little wider.

In the NLHE MTT I was playing very tight as my table were playing back and I wasn't getting away with much. However, even then, I had one good opponent who was betting my BB from UTG every orbit so I used my tight image OOP in the hand below...



So yeah, my personal advice would be to think about how each player is playing at your table and style your game accordingly.

I would also say it is a big mistake to blanket not play hands OOP, especially 6 max but also 9 handed. You can alter bet sizing according to position (just generally not to strength of hand).

kalooki8

I'm typing here about MTT's in texas hold'em as I don't play other games. Personally I think there are too many differentials to answer exactly -i.e chip counts, other players, tournament situation, bounty hunter or regular etc. - it also depends on how comfortable you are in playing post flop to pre flop, I've seen so many players just shove AK in early stages to get it over with and miss out on potential value.

Sky as we know is generally 6 handed so ranges should be relatively wider. I think your calling range should be tighter than your raising range and also position is to me of upmost importance - I hate having A 8 or similar in the small blind, I know I should play but always seem to get it wrong. The key to me is to be seen to be active but not overly active thus allowing for bluffs and getting called with the winning hand. Don't hand your opponents with the info that he only raises or calls with x or y.

Generally I play tight aggressive and don't mind being outplayed on a few hands if I can win a big hand i.e lose some battles but win the war.

The above is by an average MTT player at lower stakes, so that's my disclaimer!

mcglynn07

Markycash and Kalooki Thank you very much for the advice which is greatly appreciated. The no oop for a month has nearly finished and has gone well and given me some pointers about what i want to try next.
Being super tight early and looser later has taught me cards and position only matter to a certain extent and until you can exploit an opponent depending on what they show you and how they play you can never really progress to the next level.
This month at the tables i have been better at times with benefit of position but at others people have showed me that they understand my frequencies, bet sizes and bluffs and they have at times been playing a different game from me. I can feel it at the table and dont need a hud to tell me. Markycash has explained very well the need for adaptation to your opponents and environment and knowing what the situation is and how best to respond to it or avoid is your best pointer to success or how you can flourish in the game.
Kalooki I will also be trying your titbit of having a tighter calling range and a loser raising range.
One thing I noticed was with not playing from the first two positions I gave up alot of edge by hardly playing from the blinds. It was not intentional but kind of worked that way so I also have to keep an eye on it. Good luck at the tables and thanks again.