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I’m with Mr. Dhal et al., I like this new blind structure Party’s brought to their NL tables. It’s pushed a lot of terrible players up to the $50 NL tables where their mistakes and our patience can make for some big payoffs. I played four tables tonight (two at a time twice) and ended up doubled on three. Nothing too interesting to report, but to complement what Halverson said about patience, I bring you two examples of being patient:

First table:

I raise with AK and get one caller. I miss the flop and bet the pot. The caller folds.

I get AK again and raise. Everyone folds.

I get JJ and type in the chat “You guys aren’t going to believe this, but ok” and I raise for the third time in a row. One guy calls. The flop comes down KKJ. Beautiful. I play it fast as I did the other hands and the caller calls on every street. Turns out he had K4 suited and lost most of his stack making a stand.

Second table:

I raise with AQ and get two callers. I miss the flop and fold when someone bets into me.

I get AQ again and raise. The same guy calls and bets into me on a missed flop. I have a gutshot draw and I put him on a bluff, but I decide the pot’s too small to contest.

One or two hands later I limp in middle position with KJ. I’m happy to see the K high flop. The same guy bets the pot, gets a caller. I wonder if I’m behind to a KQ or K-rag. I call. Another guy calls. The turn comes and it’s checked twice to me. I bet 75% of the pot and the LP and EP guys fold. The caller calls. The river’s a J and I’m happy. I bet another 75%, but my opponent folds.

Examples of impatience:

Well, you had to have been at Commerce last weekend to see that. Ouch. It was truly the worst poker I’ve played live, and I’ve played some bad poker.

Anyway, I’m clearly still learning this game, but I think there are some small observations about small stakes NL games to be gleaned from these two experiences.

Be patient. The caller’s impatience with my three raises caused him to play an inferior hand. Instead of losing a quarter, he lost over 100 times that amount.

Play your game. Consistently raising my big hands and following through on the flop left my opponents wondering where they were.

Save your stack for the big ones. When the pot is only 12 big blinds and I’ve missed the flop, I’m done with the hand (but for God’s sake, don’t check behind!).

Brag a lot. Enjoy the fruits of your discipline. If one in three hands pay off, you’ll have something to blog.

Disclaimers:

Everything I said above probably doesn’t apply to higher stakes games, short-handed games, heads-up games, super-tight/super-solid games, or games where you’re playing with someone who’s read your post on how you play small stakes NL full ring.

In fact, if you’ve read this post, you’ve probably lost some of your no limit chops. Go fill up at Double A’s and Ship It.