Looking to Improve Starting Ranges for NL2

Hello everyone,
I'm reviewing my game in NL2 and would like to focus on improving my starting range from early positions.
Do you recommend a tighter range to avoid difficult spots or is it better to open a little wider to gain post-flop experience?

Thank you in advance for your feedback.

GTO Wizard is free-- check out starting ranges there. We have to be very good at poker to have a wide range OOP and still be a winning player. Many winning players do not even bother widening their early ranges instead they widen late ranges and play post flop with IP advantages.

Think of it more in terms of who you widen your range for, rather than just a blanket approach to widen or tighten.

It also makes a difference whether you play 6-max or full ring (9).

Hey there,
to improve your poker game at NL2, you have to forget the limit. You wont find to much weak players there, always be prepared and take it serious.
Focus on playing strong starting hands and adjust your range based on your table position. Start by playing premium hands aggressively, and be more selective in early positions. In later positions, you can expand your range to include more speculative hands like suited connectors and offsuit Broadway cards.

GL to you

wito90 said:

Hello everyone,
I'm reviewing my game in NL2 and would like to focus on improving my starting range from early positions.
Do you recommend a tighter range to avoid difficult spots or is it better to open a little wider to gain post-flop experience?

Thank you in advance for your feedback.

Click to expand...

Whether you tighten or loosen your range depends on a number of factors that I’ll explain below, but generally for NL 2 you’ll want to loosen up as most players are straightforward and weak. The main factors to consider are as follows:

Position: The earlier your position, UTG,LJ, the tighter you’ll want to play due to having so many players left to act behind you. This means your far more likely to get called or 3 bet compared to if your opening button which only has 2 players left to act behind

Players aggression: The players in NL 2 from experience are likely too passive and too straightforward, this means you can widen your opening ranges as your far less likely to get 3 bet, and can bluff far more often and steal pots post flop compared to if opponents were loose and aggressive. As a result you should be looking to play more high implied odd hands like suited aces and pocket pairs much more often.

Multiway: A lot of pots in the low stakes become multiway, 3 players or more, as this happens you’ll want to avoid opening reverse implied odd hands like A,9o and 5,4s as when these hands make there hand, it’s likely some one has a better kicker or flush. Instead focus on suited aces medium pocket pairs+ and good broadways like K,Q

Hope this helps and good luck with 2 NL