Anyone care to help a holdem donk learn the game?

I have played a few thousand hands and through a mix of good fortune, tight play and not tilting as hard as the other guys when I lose a 52:48 shot.
I have profited quite well so far.

I do however have not the slightest idea how to bluff, not the slightest idea how to play the marginal spots / call bluffs etc.

Basicly I play the nuts, and draws to the nuts and not whole lot else.

I am also playing a huge load of tables to try and work out a pre flop range that works at 6max and FR.

Anyone who is up for posting hands skyping etc. Post here and hopefully we can get a group going.

If all works well I think I will be making the move from NLHE to PLO semi permenantly try and catch the other holdem donks as they move across after the games dry up.

22fish: what's your playlist?

I have basically the same playlist at 6 max as FR: it may be 22% to 24% or something like that. I'll raise or call a raise with AsTJ6 hands.

Also keep in my mind what you 3-bet with [NEVER 3 bet with AA exclusively!].

One of the bigger mistakes i see is what people will play pre-flop: you have AA59, on the button, there are 2 limps, a raise, and 2 other players call. A lot of people will just jam the pot here; I would just call since your hand is horrid multi-way, and there will be at least 3 other players. On the other hand if I have KKJ5ds, I'd jam, or AsQJT.

One of the keys is too really use your position in tighter games [1 or 2 limpers]: in these spots I'll raise 5689 and such, and bet any flop that is checked to me. I vary my bets between 1/2 pot and full pot, I don't pick out a random amount.


Bluffing [and calling bluffs] is very player dependent. you need to pay close attention to the action, so you can spot the bets that don't make much sense.

Typical bluffing spots for donkeys are when a straight completes but the card is inside the other 2: Board 8J3 5 and the river is a 9 or T.

I always bet out on a 2 suited flop if I have even a pair but also the bare ace. So if the flush completes I can usually bluff the player off a hand.

I tend to set up my bluffs from the flop on.

Kinda rambling, but this is a start

It's hard to work out my play list, I play AAxy but have already got your idea of not 3betting with it unless it has extra potential. Especially from the SB. Mainly I'm looking for hands that have a chance of flopping either the nuts or monster draws.

I have therefore been putting a lot of pressure on with 89JQs kind of hands. I will tend to try and get into any pot I can cheaply with Axs and any pair.

I havn't been calling raises with AsTJ6 kind of things, what flops are you looking for with these?

Thanks for the advice on spotting bluffs. I made one very bad call today on the river against an obvious higher flush but other than that havn't been trying to call down too many bluffs because I am struggling with ranges.

I read a thing about 3betting then flatting a 4bet with something like 89TJds with the intention of shoving any board which helps you which will be most of them.

Advice I have heard about playing AA is that if you can get 40%+ of your stack in pre then it is profitable to do so with most AA with the plan of shoving the flop. If you are only able to get 20% or so you are betting off holding back as other hands have such beter equity, the 89TJds example above however seems to cut this down though, because the money only goes in post flop if you are flipping or loosing.

It is interesting you play the same pre at FR and 6max, can you explain why? I do as well at the moment but I viewed it as a leak to be solved. Doing so at holdem is a good way to loose a lot of money.

Thanks Steve-O.

2 pair+, flush draw, wrap straight. Even though you have a dangler (the 6) the 3 high cards + the suited Ace make it a pretty strong hand. Same thing with a hand like As789.

This has to do with people only 3 betting AA. If you can isolate your opponents hand to AAxx I would push a flop of J52 with just a pair, if my other cards were live.

This I'm not crazy about. Any pair below JJ (maybe TT) is a liability in my opinion. You rarely have top set, and if you do the board will be draw heavy.

PLO is less dependent on blind steals, so your LP play-list won't be much different than up front. Additionally, the hand values run close together so a hand is usually playable, or unplayable for a raise or to call a raise.

In general this is correct. I don't like putting 10%-40% of my stack in the pot pre-flop with any hand, especially muti-way