After ending my year long run at OddsMaker Poker due to a horrible customer service incident, I made my $100 deposit at Full Tilt poker and promptly continued one of the worst downswings of my life. I suppose I should have expected it. After all, who has an 80% ROI after 220 Sit N’ Goes?
Apparently it’s the same person who goes on a 132 game losing streak. I didn’t lose all those games of course, but I lost enough of them that I lost almost $170 playing $2 SNGs. Fortunately I had enough money left to make my $100 deposit at Full Tilt and start my Great Experiment.
At first I lost and I lost a lot. The games at Full Tilt are much more aggressive than I’m used to and I lost $30 of my $100 pretty darn quick. I adapted my poker game however, and have brought my bankroll up to $102 and change. Hopefully I also ended the losing streak from hell.
For anyone who plays at Full Tilt or wants to play at Full Tilt, here are some tips I picked up.
Bet Out When You Have It
There’s little value to slow playing at Full Tilt Poker. You’re going to get called and you might even get min-raised by someone who doesn’t believe you. I got myself into a lot of tough spots by playing the tricky-trappy game I use on rocks. Save yourself the aggravation and bet.
Make full pot or 3/4 pot bets. People will draw if you bet less and you might even get raised by someone who thinks you’re going to steal (a fact I occasionally exploit). The goal is to make your opponent define their hand. When most of the table is playing loose and aggressive, you need to make the kind of bets that give you information. If you bet ½ pot on the flop and get called then bet ½ pot on the turn and get raised, you don’t know where you are. Are you beat? Are you getting played? There’s no way to be sure. But if you bet pot on the flop and pot on the turn and get raised, you can be pretty sure you’re beat unless you have more than top pair/top kicker.
Open Your Re-raising Range When Out Of Position
I’ll re-raise with TT+ and AQs+ when out of position and I’ll call an all-in with QQ+ and sometimes AK depending on my stack and the blind level. People at Full Tilt tend to raise light, but most won’t call a re-raise without JJ+ or AQ+. There are exceptions of course, so reads are essential.
Don’t C-bet Too Much
Players at Full Tilt Poker seem to be a savvy bunch. Most of them know that a pre-flop raiser will miss the flop the majority of the time and they recognize a C-bet when they see it. If you C-bet every flop, someone is going to notice and you’ll start getting raised. Pick your spots.
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Overall I’d say the games at Full Tilt Poker are tougher than average, but I like a challenge. I get that “If I can make it here, I can make it anywhere” feeling.
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