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My study on NL4
Ok so recently ive been playing alot on NL4, i recently woundered, why did i find this level inparticular so hard when i first played it. Ive walked through tournaments easier than ive taken cash of this when i first same, frustration of my opponents.
However i think i managed to come up with it and decided despite wanting to avoid playing NL4 S&G's werent going so good so i decided why not have a go at it and understand why i was able to make a profit on it evenutally. So below is what ive learnt.
1. Forget everything you ever knew and keep it simple
Ok so ill start right at the beginning of when i came to NL4. The most part of this is advice for a S&G or MTT player who is used to making certain plays in order to win a pot. Don't do them, this area will pay you off regardless. So keep it simple and make sure you have it BEFORE betting.
2. Bet Sizing
This is probably the most common problem of anyone first starting out at NL4. Now preflop i almost never bet less than 20p. I usually add on 4p for every caller already made. If im 3-betting a raise to 20p i always make it 80p-£1. Post flop if im confident im ahead im betting 3/4 of the pot at the minimum, people will chase their draws. On the turn if your sure their on a draw pot it more often than not, make them pay for it, however remember often they will have a hand rather than a draw. River 3/4 of the pot is my favoured bet, remember though to keep an eye on your and your opponents stack size.
3. Missing/hitting the flop
This again is a common mistake i see off a new player when it comes to NL4. C-betting is rarley an option and NL4. I have started doing it again recently but ONLY when i have good notes that my opponent is likley to respect a c-bet. Hitting the flop when your not the raiser is simple. Say you call 78 suited OOP flop top pair and an up and down draw, bet all the same, if you try to check raise expessially at this level the opponent likley would rather call than make another barrel out.
4. Notes
This is probably one of the key things at any level weather it be in cash, tournaments or S&G's, however in my personal experiance in NL4 it is even more important. There are players here that wont lay A high, or any sort of draw down until the river, i have notes on some players telling me this and i usually try to get it all in on the flop if ive got an over pair, TPTK or two pair etc.
5. Remember names, and make friends
One thing i have found very helpful when im not multi-tabling at NL4 is the chatbox. Another is remembering names of opponents. Most importantly remember the name of the weaker "free money" opponents and try to find as many of these as possible for each and every session. I also make notes on them telling me that just incase i forget a name from time to time, when i find one do a player search and make sure your on all their tables. Another thing is try to make friends with the more serious NL4 regulars, a vast number of these at the price of a good conversation will often lead to giving out information on other "free money" players. I recently was at a NL8 table with a vast amount of NL8 players, we where all following a player who a regular told me was a "free money" player, the regular was that confident of this they had their name on the find a player tab so they knew the minute they sat down. I took a fair amount off the player in question.
6. Keeping profit
One thing i wouldnt normally recommened for cash but i would for NL4 is one you have won a couple of buy ins on a table, unless theirs a "free money" player or two present, get off the table when your in profit, a suck out can only ever be around the corner at this level and it can cost you, and because a vast amount of players are calling stations its hard to tell alot of the time if your ahead or behind. So i usually have 3-4 tables running and i pick which ones arent going well get them to small profits and leave while getting the ones im running well in, into biggest possible profits it can. I try to leave each table once per hour always in profit, also loading different tables as often as i can. This is also good when first starting for quickly gaining notes on a player.
7. Multi-Tabling
This is again another thing i fully recommened for those who can do it at this level. I prefer to quad table NL4, it maximies potential profit, aswell as giving you the ability to lay bigger hands down when your sucked out on as a bigger hand is likley to come, most of the multi table benifits are even more benificial at this level.
8. Always start with the max
Ok so this is a pretty standard thing at any cash table but even more so at NL4. Most of the players here start with anything from 40p-£4, same as any level but at NL4 so few of the players start with £4 apart from the stronger cleverer regulars. This means if you start with £4 you will almost always have most of your opponents covered. This means if you do recieve a bad beat to a random any-2 card guy you will still have cash back meaning less of a reload, aswell as more money can be taken off that player next time.
Ok not the greatest study ever made in history but its certainly the correct way to approch NL4 and its how i feel i make money off this level.
However i think i managed to come up with it and decided despite wanting to avoid playing NL4 S&G's werent going so good so i decided why not have a go at it and understand why i was able to make a profit on it evenutally. So below is what ive learnt.
1. Forget everything you ever knew and keep it simple
Ok so ill start right at the beginning of when i came to NL4. The most part of this is advice for a S&G or MTT player who is used to making certain plays in order to win a pot. Don't do them, this area will pay you off regardless. So keep it simple and make sure you have it BEFORE betting.
2. Bet Sizing
This is probably the most common problem of anyone first starting out at NL4. Now preflop i almost never bet less than 20p. I usually add on 4p for every caller already made. If im 3-betting a raise to 20p i always make it 80p-£1. Post flop if im confident im ahead im betting 3/4 of the pot at the minimum, people will chase their draws. On the turn if your sure their on a draw pot it more often than not, make them pay for it, however remember often they will have a hand rather than a draw. River 3/4 of the pot is my favoured bet, remember though to keep an eye on your and your opponents stack size.
3. Missing/hitting the flop
This again is a common mistake i see off a new player when it comes to NL4. C-betting is rarley an option and NL4. I have started doing it again recently but ONLY when i have good notes that my opponent is likley to respect a c-bet. Hitting the flop when your not the raiser is simple. Say you call 78 suited OOP flop top pair and an up and down draw, bet all the same, if you try to check raise expessially at this level the opponent likley would rather call than make another barrel out.
4. Notes
This is probably one of the key things at any level weather it be in cash, tournaments or S&G's, however in my personal experiance in NL4 it is even more important. There are players here that wont lay A high, or any sort of draw down until the river, i have notes on some players telling me this and i usually try to get it all in on the flop if ive got an over pair, TPTK or two pair etc.
5. Remember names, and make friends
One thing i have found very helpful when im not multi-tabling at NL4 is the chatbox. Another is remembering names of opponents. Most importantly remember the name of the weaker "free money" opponents and try to find as many of these as possible for each and every session. I also make notes on them telling me that just incase i forget a name from time to time, when i find one do a player search and make sure your on all their tables. Another thing is try to make friends with the more serious NL4 regulars, a vast number of these at the price of a good conversation will often lead to giving out information on other "free money" players. I recently was at a NL8 table with a vast amount of NL8 players, we where all following a player who a regular told me was a "free money" player, the regular was that confident of this they had their name on the find a player tab so they knew the minute they sat down. I took a fair amount off the player in question.
6. Keeping profit
One thing i wouldnt normally recommened for cash but i would for NL4 is one you have won a couple of buy ins on a table, unless theirs a "free money" player or two present, get off the table when your in profit, a suck out can only ever be around the corner at this level and it can cost you, and because a vast amount of players are calling stations its hard to tell alot of the time if your ahead or behind. So i usually have 3-4 tables running and i pick which ones arent going well get them to small profits and leave while getting the ones im running well in, into biggest possible profits it can. I try to leave each table once per hour always in profit, also loading different tables as often as i can. This is also good when first starting for quickly gaining notes on a player.
7. Multi-Tabling
This is again another thing i fully recommened for those who can do it at this level. I prefer to quad table NL4, it maximies potential profit, aswell as giving you the ability to lay bigger hands down when your sucked out on as a bigger hand is likley to come, most of the multi table benifits are even more benificial at this level.
8. Always start with the max
Ok so this is a pretty standard thing at any cash table but even more so at NL4. Most of the players here start with anything from 40p-£4, same as any level but at NL4 so few of the players start with £4 apart from the stronger cleverer regulars. This means if you start with £4 you will almost always have most of your opponents covered. This means if you do recieve a bad beat to a random any-2 card guy you will still have cash back meaning less of a reload, aswell as more money can be taken off that player next time.
Ok not the greatest study ever made in history but its certainly the correct way to approch NL4 and its how i feel i make money off this level.
Comments
good post though don must have taken ages to write up!
Thanks, it wasnt so much writing it up that was the problem it was taking notes on what worked, what didnt, not going bust in the process while trying it all out consistantly.
good post i thick u are right about bet sizeing it is the most commen thing i have seen playing on sky from min bet to all ramdom. very gd post some gd tips there
I think I was c-betting too much but have reigned this in recently after losing multiple BI's.
I usually raise 16p plus 4p for every limper but will give 20p a go, can see the logic as there is often multiple callers anyway.
You aint got anything, and people dnt understand this, they see ooh i have pair of 9s im winning.
good post btw
In Response to Re: My study on NL4: Thanks.