Online Poker Forum at Full Tilt Poker

Riddim

Posting Guidelines and FAQ

1. Post appropriate to the forum you are in.

We have lots of forums here, use them. Bad beats, if you really need to get them off your chest, belong in the stories section. Questions about how much to deposit, what games to play, how to manage your bankroll etc. belong in the general poker section. This forum is for nl/pl cash game strategy. We have forums dedicated to MTT and SnG strategy, which is distinctly different to strategy at a cash table, so if you are posting a tournament hand, go there instead.

2. Posting Hands.

Probably the most common useful kind of thread. Try to post hands one at a time and try to only post hands that really
stumped you.

a) Titling your thread.
Don't want to get too fascist here but good thread titles usually include the stakes; fr, 6m or HU (full ring, 6 max or heads up); and a brief description of what the hand is all about. You should try not to give any information about the result away in the title, things like "Can I ever get away from this?" tend to bias peoples answers. Good example: "100NL 6m, TPGK, pot control or value on the turn?" Bad example: "wtf does he have?"

b) Use a Hand History Converter
Please. Pretty please? Converters really do make reading HH's much nicer and easier and a converted hand is more likely to get a response from lazy people like me that don't want to pick out all the relevant info from a mass of irrelevant stuff. Converters can be found here:

(Edit by Riddim: leggopoker has an output setting specifically for our forums, so I'd suggest using that one. If you run into any trouble, please PM me and I'll forward it to their support.)

http://www.leggopoker.com/index.php?page=hh
http://weaktight.com/
http://poker-tools.flopturnriver.com/Hand-Converter.php

All you need to do is copy the raw HH into the big box, make sure the output is set to Full Tilt (or a fairly neutral output) forum, uncheck show results and hit convert. And on the subject of not showing results....

c) Don't Show Results
Do not include results in your hand post. Results are irrelevant to how well you played the hand. Being results orientated is the #1 error n00bs make in hand analysis. If the results are posted in the original hand post, they tend to lower the quality of advise given. You can always post the results later on after the analysis has played out, or if there is a request for results within the thread. But, oftentimes results are never posted and no one really misses them.

d) Include All Reads in the OP
Include any stats on an opponent that are relevant and make sure you you include the sample size. Include anything you know about the opponent that you thought about while at the table, this includes anything that has affected the decisions you made that you aren't asking a question about such as "I wouldn't usually call with a small PP OOP but this guy is really spewy and on tilt so I think my implied odds are bigger than usual." If you have no reads say "No reads".

3. Responding to Hand Threads

Only 2 rules here: Be nice and include your reasoning. Just stating the action you would take doesn't help anyone learn. The idea behind posting hands is not to get an answer for a given situation but to understand where the answer comes from. If you are just going to post "fold" you might as well not reply at all.
Additionally, don't be afraid of asking questions in HH threads. Discussion is good, in fact is basically the point of the thread in the first place. Even if your question seems trivial (eg. why did you call this preflop?) it can easily help stimulate further discussion (eg. but are your implied odds really good enough against this opponent?).
Also, read the whole thread before posting. Adding the same opinion as everyone else doesn't really help much and may just be distracting if some good discussion has gotten underway.

4. Non Hand History Threads

These are a little trickier. Things to avoid include vague, broad, generalized questions. New posters make these kinds of post all the time and its generally impossible to reply to them without writing a massive essay that nobody will read anyway. Some of these questions can be asked in the general poker section but for the most part just let them go and try to find a HH (or two) that demonstrate the problem.
Theory threads can be helpful but generally its necessary for the opening post to be quite complete to begin with. If you want to have a thread on, for example, semi bluff shoving with your draw, then take the time to do some calculations and write a significant thought out post on certain aspects of the topic. It is usually only more experienced posters that really enjoy this kind of thread but when they get going they can be very helpful to improving your game.

List of Abbreviations
with thanks to Hu Jwang and cubbies760

AKs = Ace King suited
AKos = Ace King offsuit
Td9h = Ten of diamonds, 9 of hearts
Kxx = usually a flop containing a King and (2) meaningless cards
AsAx = Pocket Aces, when one of them being a spade matters
ATC = any 2 cards

UTG = under the gun (first to act preflop)
UTG + 1 = one to the left of UTG
EP = early position
MP = middle position
LP = late position
HJ = High Jack, two to the right of the button
SB = small blind
BB = big blind
CO = cutoff position
BTN = on the button
OOP = out of position

SNG = Sit N Go
MTT = Multi-Table Tourney
STT = Single-Table Tourney
HU = heads up (2 players)
6m = 6 max (6 players)
SH = shorthanded (3-5 players)
FR = full ring (7 or more players)

PF = preflop
OTF = on the flop
OTT = on the turn
OTR = on the river

c-bet = continuation bet
AI = all-in
c/r = check/raise, c/f = check/fold, b/f = bet/fold, b/c = bet/call, etc...
b/3b = bet and 3 bet if opponent raises
CRAI = check/raise all-in
PSB = pot-sized bet
PSR = pot-sized raise
PFR = preflop raise or preflop raiser

LAG = loose-aggressive
LP = loose-passive (or late position)
TAG = tight-aggressive
TP = tight-passive (or top pair)

TPTK = top pair, top kicker
TPGK = top pair, good kicker
TPBK or TPNK = top pair, bad/no kicker
OESD = open ended straight draw
FD = flush draw
NFD = nut flush draw
WA/WB - way ahead, way behind

VP$IP = voluntarily put money into pot, the percentage of how many hands a player plays preflop.
PFR = preflop raise (a percentage)
AF = aggression factor, which is (bets+raises)/calls. a measure of how aggressive a person is.
#/#/#(#) = when you see a person write something like 20/15/2(98), describing a player, this means VP$IP/PFR/AF(# of hands).

FTW= For the win
TID= Take it down
NH= nice hand and/or wow, you suck
GL= good luck

IMO - In my opinion
IMHO - In my humble opinion
JMO - Just my opinion
FYP - fixed your post
OP - original post or poster
tl;dr - too long; didn't read
QFT - quoted for truth

(anybody think of some good ones to add please PM me and I'll edit this as opposed to sticking extra posts in the thread, don't worry I'll be sure to credit you)

Thanks a lot for writing this Pikeamus.

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