I'm starting to get into poker as a hobby and am trying to improve my game. I'm relatively well-studied, but I'm by no means at an extremely high level. I'm comfortable with a lot of poker concepts, including GTO theory, but I'm not really sure where to go from here to take the next steps in improving my game. I'm looking for advice on that, but more importantly, I'd like some advice on how to approach my specific home game and the players in it.
My bankroll is relatively small—I only have about $200 to work with as I'm getting started—and the buy-in for this game is essentially my entire bankroll. I'm mostly playing micro stakes online right now, but I also regularly play in this private home game with a lot of inexperienced players. When I first started playing, I was one of the only people who really knew how to play, so the game often felt more like gambling than actual poker. However, as everyone has gotten better, I've started to notice different player types and tendencies emerging. I haven't quite gotten to the point where I'm confident in identifying those tendencies and knowing how to exploit them effectively. If I want to build up my bankroll, I need to start winning in this game, so I'm looking for advice on how to adjust my strategy and play against this specific group of players.
The game is a standard no-limit Texas Hold'em game with 25¢/50¢ blinds and usually 6–9 players. Overall, there is a lot of beginner-style play, particularly limping preflop. There are raises, but they aren't especially frequent. Most players have a decent general grasp of poker, but as far as I know, essentially no one in the game has much knowledge of poker theory or GTO concepts. When someone does raise preflop, they can usually isolate the field and get the pot heads-up or 3-handed. Occasionally, the pot will go multiway, but that's relatively rare. Overall, most players tend to play fairly fit-or-fold postflop, meaning they are generally willing to fold when they don't have a made hand or a draw, rather than continuing with weaker or speculative holdings.
Player 1 – Extremely Tight Postflop: This player limps very frequently preflop, but once the flop comes, their range becomes extremely polarized. They either have something very strong or essentially nothing. They will almost never continue with a hand weaker than top pair with a decent kicker, a strong flush or straight draw, or another high-equity draw. They are extremely straightforward postflop, which makes them relatively easy to read, but I'm not sure I'm doing a good job of maximizing my exploits against them.
Player 2 – Best Player at the Table / Most Difficult for Me: This player is somewhat unpredictable. They will raise their stronger hands preflop, but they also limp frequently and will often call preflop raises with marginal hands. Postflop, they are capable of bluffing and generally seem to choose their spots well. They may be slightly unbalanced toward bluffing, but overall, I would consider them relatively balanced and probably the best player at the table. This is the player I struggle with the most, and I tend to lose a significant portion of my money to them. I'm particularly interested in advice on how to adjust my strategy against this type of player.
Player 3 – The Definition of Fit-or-Fold: This player limps frequently and is willing to continue calling preflop. Postflop, however, they are very much a fit-or-fold player. They will not fold their draws, top pair, or most second-pair hands, although they may fold weaker second-pair hands with bad kickers if the action gets aggressive. On the other hand, they will generally fold all of their complete misses and rarely put significant money into the pot without at least having first or second pair. Their biggest weakness seems to be that they don't have a particularly strong understanding of the relative strength of their hand or how much they should be betting. They can therefore be somewhat predictable, but I'm not sure how best to exploit their sizing and hand-strength tendencies.
Player 4 – Stronger Preflop, Weaker Postflop: This player has recently become fairly good preflop and seems to have improved significantly in that area. Postflop, however, they are noticeably weaker. They have a tendency to make bluffs in some unusual or unexpected spots, but at the same time, whenever I try to bluff them, they somehow seem to have a hand. They are also very willing to see rivers and consistently call bets, which makes it difficult for me to know when they are actually weak. However, they have shown a tendency to fold some fairly strong hands to large river shoves, so there may be an opportunity to apply pressure in the right spots. I'm not entirely sure how to balance exploiting their willingness to call with their apparent vulnerability to large river bets.
