Hello David
This is a typical recreational game and should be treated as such. It costs a tenner as you say, so people could be there for the first time to learn the game after watching poker on telly for example, or they could be simply choosing to play instead of going to the boozer or bookies on a wednesday afternoon.
If you are there to try and win and make money (and so you should) then your approach needs to be different than if you were sitting down at a £100+ buy-in.
Your opponent"s general play which you describe are to be expected, this is what the poker coaches describe as Level 1 thinking, which is basically playing the strength of their own cards. You recognise the fundamental mistakes and I would presume you to be Level 2 / Level 3 thinking.
Instead of being critical of your opponent"s play, adjust your strategy
A standard 2 1/2bb - 3bb raise at this type of game could often get four or five callers (fish) with any two cards , so make them pay for attempting the badbeat and raise 4X or 5X. Level 1 thinkers don"t recognise this as abnormal.
Also tighten up your starting hand range. At this standard of tourney you can sit there for half an hour without playing a hand and suddenly raise in EP. Players won"t label you as tight or LAG so you don"t have that constant battle at the table as to what image you have, adjusting to their perception of you etc. etc. as is normal in the higher stakes tournaments.
Be a Fish! (this doesn"t sound like professional advice
)
What I am really saying is that you have big implied odds at this level. Bet sizing is a common mistake at lower limit buy-ins. Take advantage of this when an opponent min raises with his premium hand. It is common to see very small initial bets on the flop and turn compared to the pot size. Take advantage of this, you could hit your miracle gutshot to the nuts cheap, and these same players will call massive overbets on the river.
Novice players find it hard to lay down AA , KK for example.
Position is just as important as always.
The above advice if applied to a standard £100 buy-in event is nonsense. If you are up against thinking players then standard raises generally mean what they say. Also The metagame becomes important
When someone is starting out it is easy to pick up bad habits playing in these types of games and moving up to a standard game with a bigger buy-in is often difficult at first.
