[razor]

Hi... I started playing poker about 6-7 months ago now and overall im a winning player according to wins/losses. The problem is I think I play too tight. I mean I play exactly the way I read in the books. I play pocket pairs 10's or higher, I dont play trash and I play posistion, but day in and day out ill see the aggresive players winning tourneys and big cashes in cash games, the way I play is either I hit the flop or fold, I need some good advice on what i need to do to mix up my game a bit so I can get over the hump and start making some real money because I have all the basics down and while my style has won me about 4 tourneys [20-100 dollar buy in multi tables] I think i can win alot more with some new plays/style, thanks for any suggestions/comments.

[ThomasR]

Theres nothing wrong with playing tight, and tight play is the basis for becomming a good player. You must know how to be patient and play only premium hands.

The key to improving is to assess when it is cheap to see the flop with a slightly less than premium hand. Think mid pocket pairs or mid-high suited cards. You could flop a full house, three of a kind and so forth, so if it's cheap look at taking your hand to the flop now and again.

Don't pay too much to see it, I'd happily call the BB with pocket 8's whereas tight play dictates that you may not want to do that because pocket 8's aren't that great.

Don't look at bluffing too much yet is also my advice. Start slow, play the odd hand you might have put down in the past and see how you get on. You start losing, tighten up again before playing lesser hands, it's all about easing yourself in and not changing your style too dramatically.