Live, Low Stakes, NLH Hand Selection

Most of the poker books I’ve read, as well as many of the poker articles I’ve read online, have some table or scale in terms of the appropriate poker hands to play in NLH. At the surface, it seems pretty simple. Play these hands, in these positions, with this number of players, and you should win more pots than you lose. Sure, I am not going to dispute that. After all, many of these books and articles were written by professional poker players, with a lot more experience and a lot larger poker bankrolls than me.  Again, I’m not disputing what the books say by any means. However, interpreting those NLH poker hand tables and scales, and applying them to your situation are totally different.

At live, low stakes, NLH, you are going to be playing against plenty of inexperienced players. Most players at this level aren’t playing with a plan. They are out for a fun night, going to toss back a few drinks, and socialize. They aren’t paying close attention, and they don’t have much focus. That’s okay, that’s perfectly acceptable to me. Poker is a fun game, and it’s a blast when you are playing with other players you like. I enjoyed my nickel, dime, quarter games, just as much as I do the NLH games I play today. Playing consistent; winning poker, is not all that exciting. I’ve learned that playing successful NLH, especially at low stakes, requires incredible discipline. Okay, it’s pretty damn boring. The books won’t tell you that. It will be hard to put most players on a hand, because many of them play such a wide range of hands.

Get ready, no matter what, you are going to lose to some terrible hands. I’m talking K3, Q4, ugly stuff. Even when you are raising pre-flop, in position. It sucks, no one enjoys it, but it’s going to happen. This is why you need that poker bankroll we recently talked about. Just because your opponents are playing crap, doesn’t mean you do to. Their chip stacks are going to change shape drastically throughout their session. Stick to a disciplined hand selection, and yours will have fewer swings. Over time, you will learn to apply different criteria in making your decision to play a hand. NLH hold em strategy has many layers. Stick to playing strong hands in position, to keep your stacks on the rise. Lose your discipline, and your stacks will start to dwindle.

It’s not uncommon for me to play the whole session with face cards, all pairs, and suited connectors. I will throw in an the occasional one or two gap connector. I don’t fall in love with one pair, because that is hand this is easily beat. You can’t be afraid to fold, and pick a better spot. Remember, most players aren’t playing with a plan. They are not watching you nearly as close as you are watching them. When you make a monster hand, they will never see it coming.