VPIP from the big blind

[MathBabe]

Hey all!

It's been so long I'm surprised I remembered my login info.

Anyway, I've got a question for y'all. I've been playing again the last week and enjoying playing around with the PokerTracker LeakTracker. I've only got a little over 2000 hands in, but I'm surprised to see that my VPIP is exactly in the middle of the green for all positions except the big blind.

I'm still playing with the pre-flop recommendations I learned from the Lee Jones "Winning Low-Limit Hold'em" book. Which reminds me - I should point out I've been playing full ring Limit, mostly $0.25/$0.50.

So if it's unraised before me, I raise with AA-88, AKs-QJs, AQs-KJs, AKo-KQo, AQo. If there's a single raise and lots of players I'll call with any pair, any suited A/K/Q, any suited connector or suited one-gap. If it's two bets to me I fold anything but the strongest hands - I call if I would call in EP.

It seems like that is plenty of calling, but the fact remains my VPIP is low compared to winning players (at least that's what PT/LT are telling me.) Are these still the correct recommendations? Or has the thinking changed in the last, oh, 13 years? :-)

[Wes]

You should be protecting the blinds more probably. The idea is not that you will be winning with these cards more often than you are losing but by playing the hand you will lose less bb/100 than you would by folding. Where that line is I don't know. I don't play limit hold em unless its in a mix so I am pretty poor judgement in these matters as to what is proper play. If you were to inquire into what I would defend in certain spots, I would answer.

FWIW, getting 10:1 with any two suited cards, I don't fold the blinds.

[Kurn]

First - ditch Jones' book immediately. It will have you playing way too tight passive. Jone's himself has said that the book is seriously flawed. Ed Miller's Small Stakes Holdem is still a reasonable book for FR limit.

If there's a raise you should rarely call. reraise or fold unless you have big suited cards or your opponent will tend to overplay TP and overpairs post flop even when facing pressure, then you can flat with any pair and set mine.

LHE is even more LAGgy than it was 10 years ago, but I rarely play it online any more but I do play it live. These days most opponents learned to play NL first and you can tighten up a bit and exploit their tendency to call too much preflop and then play too passively postflop.

On the flop, 2/3 to 3/4 of your decisions should be raise/fold.

Post some hands that seem to go awry.