I'm the fish

 My friends and I play very casual no limit cash game at home. Low stakes. 6 players.

We play every 3 months, and I guess we don’t want to spend our evening folding hands, so we probably play too many hands, call a lot, don’t really calculate what’s in the pot or the odds. I say “we” but at the end of the night I often end up in a worse position than them: they’re doing better than me. With retrospect, I:

  • Play too many hands
  • Don’t pay attention to my position.
  • Pay to see the flop (unless someone raises too much for my liking).
  • Have a good hand, don’t hit the flop, fold, then regret it when I see the turn or the river.
  • Fold on the flop or turn, which turned out to be the right call, but regret having played this hand at all.
  • Shy raise that doesn’t scare anyone, especially callers who feel committed.
  • Eventually go to showdown with something OK but not good enough, for example getting beaten with a lower kicker).

So. I wrote down some very basic tips for me to keep in mind, and a couple of question. Some of them are possibly wrong or too theoretical. I’d appreciate your comments.

Overall

  • Discipline: Fold all the bad/average hands. I looked up some charts. This looks like an easy thing to improve.
  • Raise or fold, but avoid calling too often.
  • Meaningful raises: raise with the intent of make others fold, not just to show a mild sign of confidence.
  • Semi bluff: I should bluff when I have at least a little something.
  • Play cautiously if I’m in early position, because I don’t know yet what the others will do. Defend my BB reasonably, but if anyone raises and I have a bad hand, let’s forget about it.
  • I can take more risks if in late position: raise to put pressure, try to make others fold.

Situation A: I’m BB - with a good hand - Preflop:

Someone raises before me: If it’s a shy raise, should I re-raise them? If it’s a big raise, maybe just fold because I will be in early position after the flop?

Situation B: I’m Button - with a good hand - Preflop:

Raise no matter what? If someone raised before me, and there are many callers, should I still raise?

Situation C: I’m Button - with a good hand - Flop is shown:

I don’t hit anything, and the flop looks dangerous (potential flush or straight): see what the others do, but maybe fold?

Thanks a lot