There's some great advice on here & certainly some things I shall be trying to incorporate into my tourney play.
One question about bullying the short stacks though (& I appreciate this may be situation dependant). A couple of people have mentioned that this is definitely something you should be doing as a big stack (clear cut logic), however do you advocate bullying with literally any 2 cards or do you look for something that's at least reasonable (depending on your own definition of reasonable)? I often (wrongly) find myself almost avoiding doing this because I know the shorty's are probably going to call wider than normal & do I really want to flip part of my stack for no reason? Or maybe that's a big part of where I'm going wrong?
Good post Bob and my experience of playing these tournaments is exactly like yours,i dont really bother with them now as i am enjoying playing at micro stakes cash.What i did notice when i played was that there are certain players who were very consistent in these types of tournaments but just what the secret is to doing well i am still none the wiser.Sorry i cant help but all the best mate.
Im all for bullying short stacks for any 2. Theres 3 types of short stacks. Theres stacks that are shorter than me, but not neccesserily 'short' in relation to the tourny average, I just play normal aggressive, position poker against these guys.....
Theres stacks that are in the 7-15 BB region. These guys are gonna be looking to shove or pass, they wont, or at least they shouldnt be, calling to see a flop with this stack. However they do have enough chips to pass. Again, Id be putting pressure on in positon, or from the small blind into his BB in an unraised pot, and happy to do this again with any 2. (Cards r irellevant because the raise size should be enough to get him to fold, but not too much to commit yourself to the hand - so u should never have to show ur hand if the play works)
The third type of short stack is the desperation stage, where he has 5 or less big blinds. Here the bloke is gonna have to shove. Within this catagory though, theres players who have quite happily allowed the blinds to grind them down. Theres a good chance that these guys will continue to pass, until they have a pair/ak aq etc. The other type is the guy whos just had a car crash, hes likely to have just taken a big hit with a big hand v big hand, or made a move which has gone wrong. He's gonna call wide, hes obviously not scared to gamble, and could be tilting, so avoid him with weak hands, find an easier target.
As for taking a race, Im happy to do that 100% of the time against a significantly lower stack, for 3 reasons.
1 - He cant hurt me... 2 - My aim is to final table, not cash, so opportunities like this are perfect for building a huge stack. 3 - If I get my money in first for a 50-50 shot, Im gonna make him fold some of the time, which makes me a favourite over time. HE HAS TO MAKE THE CALL, before it becomes a race. My calling range is obviously alot narrower than my shoving/raising range against shorties.
A big stack is so powerful, it brings with it huge respect, I love building one, when I can figure out what to do with a huge en, (which apparently is nothing???) I'll be alright! lol
There's some great advice on here & certainly some things I shall be trying to incorporate into my tourney play. One question about bullying the short stacks though (& I appreciate this may be situation dependant). A couple of people have mentioned that this is definitely something you should be doing as a big stack (clear cut logic), however do you advocate bullying with literally any 2 cards or do you look for something that's at least reasonable (depending on your own definition of reasonable)? I often (wrongly) find myself almost avoiding doing this because I know the shorty's are probably going to call wider than normal & do I really want to flip part of my stack for no reason? Or maybe that's a big part of where I'm going wrong? Posted by silentbob
OK so your big stack and nearing the final table or nearing the bubble, your in position on the button, every one's passed just you and the SB and BB small stack SB small medium stack BB... who has the biggest FEAR, you for going for the win or the short/medium stacks knowing if they call your raise they out ?? It's all about TIMING and looking for opportunities at that stage ....glk mate never let FEAR stop you going fr the win !!
Standard Formula imo is: Patience Patience and Patience early Proper poker in the middle with a bit of thieving etc And aggression aggression aggression towards the end. Simples Posted by GREGHOGG
I think this is spot on. I've won a couple of the 8pm tournaments and final tabled a few others. When I've done well it's been when I've played ABC. Obviosuly when you get deeper you just have to find good spots to shove unless you are one of the chip leaders, if so just let everyone else KO each other
Comments
Patience Patience and Patience early
Proper poker in the middle with a bit of thieving etc
And aggression aggression aggression towards the end.
Simples
ive only been playing online for about 3 months now and managed to win with 1280 people playing!
i played as tight as i could to start with and played good hands aggresive and doubled up a few times.
before i knew it i was on the final table!!!!
i played the same style and managed to win!!
i did get lucky along the way but i think you need alot of luck to win and a bit of skill.
ive only got a bit of skill as i havnt been playing long!
id say keep grinding away and you will get a good win eventually
Im all for bullying short stacks for any 2. Theres 3 types of short stacks. Theres stacks that are shorter than me, but not neccesserily 'short' in relation to the tourny average, I just play normal aggressive, position poker against these guys.....
Theres stacks that are in the 7-15 BB region. These guys are gonna be looking to shove or pass, they wont, or at least they shouldnt be, calling to see a flop with this stack. However they do have enough chips to pass. Again, Id be putting pressure on in positon, or from the small blind into his BB in an unraised pot, and happy to do this again with any 2. (Cards r irellevant because the raise size should be enough to get him to fold, but not too much to commit yourself to the hand - so u should never have to show ur hand if the play works)
The third type of short stack is the desperation stage, where he has 5 or less big blinds. Here the bloke is gonna have to shove. Within this catagory though, theres players who have quite happily allowed the blinds to grind them down. Theres a good chance that these guys will continue to pass, until they have a pair/ak aq etc. The other type is the guy whos just had a car crash, hes likely to have just taken a big hit with a big hand v big hand, or made a move which has gone wrong. He's gonna call wide, hes obviously not scared to gamble, and could be tilting, so avoid him with weak hands, find an easier target.
As for taking a race, Im happy to do that 100% of the time against a significantly lower stack, for 3 reasons.
1 - He cant hurt me...
2 - My aim is to final table, not cash, so opportunities like this are perfect for building a huge stack.
3 - If I get my money in first for a 50-50 shot, Im gonna make him fold some of the time, which makes me a favourite over time. HE HAS TO MAKE THE CALL, before it becomes a race. My calling range is obviously alot narrower than my shoving/raising range against shorties.
A big stack is so powerful, it brings with it huge respect, I love building one, when I can figure out what to do with a huge en, (which apparently is nothing???) I'll be alright! lol
GL, DOHH
OK so your big stack and nearing the final table or nearing the bubble, your in position on the button, every one's passed just you and the SB and BB small stack SB small medium stack BB... who has the biggest FEAR, you for going for the win or the short/medium stacks knowing if they call your raise they out ?? It's all about TIMING and looking for opportunities at that stage ....glk mate never let FEAR stop you going fr the win !!