M
Morgan420
Rising Star
Bronze Level
Hello CardsChat community,
If you're grindling in NL2, NL5 or even freerolls with the intention of improving and raising your level quickly like me! , I want to share a small guide that has helped me identify and attack recreational players without spending a dollar on software.
Why are you focusing on recreational activities?
Recreational players make obvious and predictable mistakes: they pay too much, they don't fold weak hands, and they rarely bluff. If you identify them early, you can build a low-risk stack and increase your winrate.
Step 1: Use a free HUD
There are tools like FPDB or even Hand2Note (free version) that allow you to keep basic track of your opponents. It's not as advanced as PokerTracker, but enough to see:
VPIP (how many hands play)
PFR (how aggressively does it enter)
Fold to CBet (key for lanterns)
Practical examples:
If you see a player with VPIP 45/PFR 5, you are looking at a payment machine. Without lanterns
Step 2: Tag your opponents
In almost every room you can mark players by color. I use:
Green = weak/passive
Red = Regular aggressive
Yellow = complicated or unknown
After a few sessions you'll have a visual map of the table, and that allows you to play more exploitatively without thinking so much.
Simple settings that make the difference
Open strong hands in recreational vs. position and do CBet almost always if you don't get resubbed.
Don't bluff the river against players with high VPIP, because they don't like folding.
Overbet on turn or river if you notice that you are being paid with anything, it does work!
Conclusion
You don't need to invest in premium software to start building an advantage. With a solid strategy + basic tools you can crush small tables and level up both in the forum and in the poker rooms.
Do you have any special tags or notes that you use to detect fish? What other free HUDs have you tried?
We read each other on the tables,
Morgan420
If you're grindling in NL2, NL5 or even freerolls with the intention of improving and raising your level quickly like me! , I want to share a small guide that has helped me identify and attack recreational players without spending a dollar on software.
Why are you focusing on recreational activities?
Recreational players make obvious and predictable mistakes: they pay too much, they don't fold weak hands, and they rarely bluff. If you identify them early, you can build a low-risk stack and increase your winrate.
Step 1: Use a free HUD
There are tools like FPDB or even Hand2Note (free version) that allow you to keep basic track of your opponents. It's not as advanced as PokerTracker, but enough to see:
VPIP (how many hands play)
PFR (how aggressively does it enter)
Fold to CBet (key for lanterns)
Practical examples:
If you see a player with VPIP 45/PFR 5, you are looking at a payment machine. Without lanterns
Step 2: Tag your opponents
In almost every room you can mark players by color. I use:
Green = weak/passive
Red = Regular aggressive
Yellow = complicated or unknown
After a few sessions you'll have a visual map of the table, and that allows you to play more exploitatively without thinking so much.
Simple settings that make the difference
Open strong hands in recreational vs. position and do CBet almost always if you don't get resubbed.
Don't bluff the river against players with high VPIP, because they don't like folding.
Overbet on turn or river if you notice that you are being paid with anything, it does work!
Conclusion
You don't need to invest in premium software to start building an advantage. With a solid strategy + basic tools you can crush small tables and level up both in the forum and in the poker rooms.
Do you have any special tags or notes that you use to detect fish? What other free HUDs have you tried?
We read each other on the tables,
Morgan420
