Loose or Tight?

Many poker books and websites will advise very tight play, especially before the flop.

Tight play may well be profitable, however it isn't very fun. And while I do plan to be a winning poker player, I also want to have some fun along the way. Fold, fold, fold, fold, check, fold, fold raise, fold just isn't my idea of a good time.

How tight I play will depend to some degree on the temperament of the table. My aim is to play slightly tighter than the table, but I also look for loose tables (where a high percentage of players see the flop and the pots tend to be large). Table selection is pretty easy on the iPoker network, as the lobby gives statistics on players to the flop, pot size and hands per hour. You can also see who is on each tables, and how many chips they have. Loose/weak tables with many players calling preflop tend to be lucrative.

I have gained a liking for short-handed tables (maximum six players). This is partly because you are naturally in the action more often with fewer players, but also it is easier to monitor and understand the other players. With only five opponents, you can quickly work out who are the rocks, and who are the calling stations waiting to give you their money. It is also easier to maneouvre yourself into heads-up situations against the weak players that you read well.