Bit of a rant, but the low-stakes hold'em stuff lately feels different hey. Every second bloke has a chart open, 3-bets the same spots, tiny c-bets everything, then shuts down the second the board gets ugly. Feels like the old splashy games have gone and now it's this half-baked solver copycat version instead.
My take is people are overdoing the fancy gear and missing the obvious money. If a table is full of nits trying to look clever, why are so many players still opening rubbish from early position and paying off too light just because "range says so"? Mate... at $1/$2 or micro online, just value bet harder, punish the autopilot 3-bettors, and stop hero calling every river because some training vid said population overbluffs. Most don't.
The bit that feels like actual news to me is how fast this style has spread. Even home games and pub comps have one or two keen lads talking MDF and blockers like they're in a high roller stream. Good on 'em for studying, but heaps of them end up more readable, not less.
Curious where everyone else is at with it. Are you tightening up pre, 4-betting more, trapping more, or just letting these wannabe GTO wizards hang themselves? Chuck in what's been working for you lately because I reckon the standard advice floating around is getting a bit cooked.