3/45 turbo 30 September

I think I had control all the way on this, even a good fold at FT. Anyway, the platinum star I ended HU with was very tight, I folded to his BB several times, finally put him on tight-passive and shuved a Krag from SB. He woke up with 77 and almost knocked me out with 4 left in the tourny. I changed my style somewhat, but probably gave him too much respect. Any hands at FT you would have done differently?

Roland 6/45 Sept 29

I haven't completely given up the 6/45s either. Here is my game from last night. Once again, I seem to be losing when I get all in with the best hand preflop and winning when I get all in with the worst. I'm not complaining about this one though :)

Loosening up the game 6/45 turbo 27/9

After spewing both chips and money multitabling the whole Sunday, I decided to go back to my strategy of only playing 1 game at the time. In addition, I also decided to loosen up a bit (and it helps getting cards too, lol). Any comments?

Roland 3/45 Game 2

Here is my other 3/45 from last night. HH29 is weak, but I had no read on the chipleader and didn't want to risk my stack. Bad play on my part nonetheless. And the final hand. AJ is ahead of many players' ranges and is the lowest hand that I'm willing to get all in with in such a situation. What would your line be?

Roland 3/45 Game 1

Here is one of my games from last night. What do you think of my line in HH 47? I'm very short stacked if I fold, and I figured I was ahead of part of his range. Thus the call.

The final table starts at HH 58. What are your thoughts about the final hand in particular. An ICM fold just seems insane for one of these turbos. Any other comments would be more than welcome. Roland

3.25/45 turbo 17/9-09

I'm running ok at the moment, easy to play good poker when you pick up hands like this. Any thoughts on FT play? I feel I was a bit too tight from 7 to 3 left.

Final hand 3+R 180 turbo

A bit of a donkish move by me, first hand at FT, and I completely forgot to look at stack sizes (just wanted to make my mark, lol!).



Always a time for learning from mistakes!

JJ: Stop and Go or Just Shove

We were discussing the relative merits of shoving preflop vs doing a Stop and Go in low M or low Q situations with JJ. Well gentlemen, I’ve searching, I’ve done some math and I’ve done some thinking as well. Unfortunately, I need to keep it short this time.

EV-wise all in preflop is best with JJ as benko suggests. Nonetheless, in tournaments it is often better to give up some equity in favor of ensuring your tourney survival, ie Stop and Go. Read Negreanu's thought's on the topic. We see that with drawing hands the Stop and Go is a good option.

Now the question becomes how does this apply to pocket pairs? Obviously, AA and KK are fist pumping all ins preflop hoping to get called. Although, need I remind you of the 14 consecutive times that my KK got spanked last month... QQ also seems to be so far ahead preflop that shoving is best.

On the other end of the pocket pair spectrum, with low pairs (22 -88) where you are presumably facing two overcards, the 2+2 experts lean toward Stop and Go since you are not that much of a favorite, even though you are probably ahead.

Hands like JJ, 1010 and 99 are boarder line hands that fall in the middle. You might be facing one overcard or two. The 2+2 experts are not in agreement on how to play these situations, especially JJ. The only thing they agree upon is that you can never fold these hands pre or post flop. So it is back to the particlar situation you are in.

I'm sorry this isn't more clear cut, but that's poker!

Roland

Rivered again!

Aces cracked, again! Don't you just love the river?

JJ The Worst Best Hand in Poker

Thanks for your condolences concerning my WCOOP foray. I've been drowning in bad luck lately it seems. Enough crying though. MrSmith asked about playing JJ in his comment and I thought I would offer my two cents. JJ is a premium hand, and deserves to be played. But, it is quite vulerable. Preferably, you want to win the pot preflop.

Early Game (M 20+)

Early in the game I normally raise 3x or 4x on an unopened pot from any position.

If I get reraised, I generally fold in a normal speed tourney. However, I may reraise all in in a 3/45 or 2/180 forcing an early gamble. I need to look at the situation, the opponent and the amount of dead money in the pot before I make this move though.

For example, assume the blinds are 25/50 and I have 1500 chips and am UTG at a full table in a 2/180 and raise 3x with JJ. I get three callers and then the lag donk big blind minraises. (This situation happens surpizingly often in the 2/180s!)

Now there is the 75 from the blinds, my 150, three callers for another 450 and the bb minraise 250 (50 already paid in bb) making the pot 925 to me. I have 1350 chips left and the pot represents 70% of my stack! I have three options now:

Fold: this seems like a mistake, because my hand is probably best right now. Furthermore, it only costs me 150 for a chance at the 925 in the pot. Those odds are too good to pass up, especially in a turbo donkement.

Call: this seems like a bigger mistake than folding. By calling I'm inviting the three active players after me to call as well due to the increaingly favorable pot odds. I don't want play a huge pot against 4 other players. Secondly, I'm utg and out of position. This makes my post flop play much harder than if I were last to act. Thirdly, one of the remaining three players left to act might shove. I don't want to be forced to call an all in with JJ if I can avoid it. So, from my point of view, calling is worse than folding in this situation.

Raise all in: I like this. By shoving I completely remove the problem of position. Furthermore, I have a fair amount of fold equity against loose-passive donks. There is a decent chance, 30% I'm guessing, that everyone will fold winning me a huge pot uncontested. If I get called by the minraiser so be it. Only QQ, KK and AA are ahead of my hand and the overlay in the pot makes a cointoss profitable. Unfortunately, you sometimes get a string of all in callers making for a 5 way all in crap shoot. This isn't the best outcome, but still seems ev+. Winning 7500 chips early in this tourney will give me an excellent chance to get deep. If you lose, move on to the next tourney.

Early game facing a raise.

If I'm out of position I tend to fold JJ to an early raiser. There is not enough in the pot to make the risk worth it. Espcially considering that half the table is left to act and may reraise.

If I'm the btn or sb facing a 3x raise, AND someone has already flat called the original raiser AND I think it unlikely that the blinds will reraise, then I'll flat call with JJ. If overcards flop then I'll check-fold the hand. If low cards flop and it's checked to me, then I bet 75% to 100% of the pot, but will probably fold to a reraise. My goal is to see the flop while keeping the pot small.

If I'm the bb, then I'm more apt to flat call a normal raise or preflop limpers since my call closes the action. If the flop is low or a set, then I check-raise. If it checks around then I raise the turn if it is still low. I get pretty cautious if an A comes on the turn.

As I've said before, early in the game, I fold if unsure and try to keep pots small preflop.

Midgame or M11 -19:

Now things are starting to get interesting. I'm still raising an unopened pot with JJ from early position. If I'm M15+ I'll raise my standard 2.5x or 3x. If I get reraised, I need to review my read on the opponent as well as their stack size. Short stack or big stack lag donk, then I'm probably going to gamble with a call or all in reraise. Medium stack or tight player, then I'll grudgingly fold.

If I'm in position (CO, or BTN) then my betsize will vary according to the circumstances. Stack size becomes very important. If any of the remaining players (the bb in particular) has a M of 10 or less AND seems tight aggressive, then I am more apt to simply shove all in rather than giving them the chance to reraise all in to me thinking I'm trying to steal. Fold equity makes being the aggressor a better option here. It also helps to force the other potential players out of the hand.

Recognizing and avoiding these potential reraise situations is an essential tool if you want to get deep in MTTs. TAG players hate to get reraised and will therefore usually fold, but they love to be the ones making the all in reraise. This move is the bread and butter move of many players. You will see it quite often on single tables too, but the divergent stack sizes in MTTs make it more common there.

Once again, if I'm in early/mid position and facing a preflop bet I'm folding. I can't afford to be limp/folding anymore.

If I'm the btn, sb or bb and facing a late position standard raise that I deem likely a steal attempt, then as explained above, I'm reraising all in. You have to take advantage of these situations if you want to win!

If I'm in the blinds and facing a known high blind limper, then obviously I'm raising. If I'm in the blinds and facing a string of limpers, then i limp and see what the flop brings with my post flop action being fairly cautious since I have no range to put all the limpers on.

Late game or low M 3 - 10:

Now the blinds are significant and/or you are getting desperately short stacked. I'm raising all in on any unopened pot from any position and with pretty much any stack. If you are short, then you need to gamble and double up. JJ is a solid hand for this, many big stacks with Ax or lower pairs will willingly donk off their chips to you. If you have a big stack then aggress brutally and force others to fold or gamble their tourney life against you. Like I said, there are only three hands that you are a dog to.

Facing a raise. With a low M or very low Q, then I'm probably going to gamble and call a raise putting me all in or reraise all in myself since we are getting desperate. With a big stack, then position and relative stack sizes become important. If another big stack is to my left and yet to act, I might simply fold rather than getting into an unexpected, and tourney risking, confrontation against them. If it is a standard 2.5x or 3x raise AND I'm in positon AND the stacks left to act are less than 30% of my stack, then I'll flat call and see what the flop shows. The original raiser will often bet or shove on the flop because they are pot committed, so you need a decent read AND judge their stack to know the proper line here.

If I'm in the blinds AND facing a CO or btn raise that I deem a steal, then my normal action is to reraise all in regardless of their stack size. If I'm short, then I'm deperate and want to gamble. If I have a big stack, then I can consider the raiser's stack. If he is short, then he is desperate and I'm probably ahead. If he is big then unless he has a monster, he won't want to risk his big stack on a marginal hand. However, with smallish average stacks, the Stop and Go is a better alternative (see below)!

As I've said before, late in the game, when unsure RAISE - LOL!

Late Game but Blinded Out or horrible Q:

One final situation to mention. Once your M drops to a cetain level you no longer have any fold equity. This is what Moshman calls "blinding out". He says that this is when your M is around 2. Fold equity being your ability to force others to fold by raising all in. (If your all in raise is for example less than one big blind, then the bb should be calling with ATC.)

However, in MTTs you also need to look at you Q relative to the table. Q is Harrington's term for your stack size relative to the average stack size in the tourney. In larger MTTs you will often find yourself with an almost decent M of let's say 5 or 6, but a Q of only 0.25 (meaning your stack is 1/4 the avgerage stack size). If the other players at your table have average stacks, then your stack is insignificant to them even though your M is still survivable. (This happened to me in the WCOOP). Thus, you have little or no fold equity even though your M says otherwise.

If your stack is this low, then you want to raise all in if first to act, or preferably call an all in raise because it will allow you to nearly triple up if you win the hand. There is one exception to this though. If you are in the sb, or in the bb after the sb has folded, then use a STOP and GO.

We have already determined that you have no fold equity preflop. However, you do have some fold equity post flop, especially the low Q situation. Flat call preflop, then being first to act on the flop (this is essential for this to work) shove all in without even looking at the cards on the board!

Most flops miss most hands, so even an all-in minraise has some fold equity post flop. Your opponent may fold a Q10s hand on an A high board or a wet board, or fold his Ax hand if no A hits.

The Stop and Go is also often your best choice when in the sb or bb (after the sb folds) AND you are facing a late position raise AND either you are the raiser are so short stacked that reraising preflop won't work because one of you is priced in. How do you know whether to reraise preflop or do a Stop and Go? Easy, look at the stack sizes and pot odds preflop. If raising all in preflop creates a calling situation for your opponent with around 2:1 odds or better, then opt for the Stop and Go. If the odds are closer to 3:1 shove. Remember that if the opponent's stack is less than yours, that you have to use their stack to compute the odds, not yours!

Now let me know how you handle JJ. Perhaps I'll be able to figure out what is currently wrong with my game!

Roland

GL in the WCOOP event today, Roland!

Bubble boy tho! lol

It had to fuc me up tho, ragger calls my big raise with AJo, and hits a wheel

Check this hand brothers! Pstars rigged?

I knew the 3d was coming after the flop. Just had to call the multiple AI, I had been card dead all tourny

Test $6.60 6-max (Hands 31-61)

Sunday's game (6/9) finally - hands 100+ thru 168

Enjoy and analyze gentlemen! Now you know all my secrets,lol!

Sunday's private game (6/9) HH 72-100+

Next 31 hands

Replayer Test

It worked for the first 30 hands but not the last 31. The second half was the interesting part, naturally. Oh well!

Test $6.60 6-max (Hands 1-30)

HH 69-71 Sunday's private game (6/9)

I could only copy 3-4 hands at a time. Notice the AA button limp next hand after my wheel in HH 70, was hoping for action by Roland there.

Hand Replayer

The hand replayer does seem to work for smaller numbers of hands. Good detective work, MrSmith! But once you've converted the hand histories, how do you embed the hand replayer into a blog post? These technical details are puzzling to the older generation. Takk!

GL in the WCOOP tourney, Roland! I'll watch some of it if I can....

Sunday's private game (6/9-09)

First 68 hands

Weekend update

Congrats to MrSmith for winning yesterday's private game! You played a solid game from start to finish! Here are the results and updated standings:

As you can see, only 4 players made it. Let me know if this was random bad luck or if a different time would be better for you.

Benkogambit had position on me last night. I was in the small blind when he was the big blind. Normally, I like this against him, and open my preflop stealing range a bit. Yesterday, however, he seemed to have changed his game a bit. He loosened up his game somewhat defending his blind by calling a ton of my preflop raises. I found it hard to put him on a range of hands in these situations.

I've played so many turbos lately that I have become more of a preflop push/fold type of guy. Yet, benko forced me to play post flop with many A-rag type of hands that I'm not too comfortable with. If I'm in the bb and the sb raises, then I am more apt to fold my marginal hands or reraise big with my premium hands. The only hands I might flat call with QQ+. Obviously at a short table, you need to open up your game by playing awider range of hands. Yet, I have found it difficult to dissern the meaning of flat calling. Is this passive play with mediocre hands that should be abused through even more aggression? Or is it ultra-aggressive play with a monster simply letting me spew my chips?

Don't tell klokkhammer that you have also taken to the "wait and see" approach!

I still have plenty to learn regarding my own big blind play (calling range), as well as, my post flop game. Once again good game MrEMC2, benkogambit and MrSmith!

On a side note, I played in a Pokerlistings freeroll for having accrued 300 fpps last month. Anyway, there were 1000 players and the top 106 won a non-refundable ticket to any WCOOP $215 tourney! I was chip leader for a while, but ended up 22nd. I'm going to play in Event 26 next Sunday. It is a standard 20minute blind tourney with 5000 starting chips and probably around 10 000 players, more or less like the Sunday Million.

They ran one of these tourneys yesterday, Event 9. It started at 7 PM with 11 000 players and over 2 million bucks in the pot. The lowest ITM payout is 311 bucks and 1st is over 300K! I'd be happy with the 311 though - lol. Anyway, I just checked (10:00 am) and the tourney is still running with 19 players remaining. Hopefully I'm going to pull an all nighter next Sunday...

Roland

World Cup Tryouts Tonight!

Today is one of those days that it pays to be Norwegian, or at least live here. PokerStars is offering us a free shot at a spot on the Norwegian World Cup team and a nice package to the Bahamas.

MrSmith and I are already among the 1700 players registered. The freeroll starts at 20.00 tonight. Anyone else playing?

There are other tourneys to get on the USA team in case you haven't noticed.

PS: You can register for Sunday's private game now too.

Roland

September Private Game: UPDATED

About tonight's game. Right now only benko and myself are registered. However, MrE is playing and MrSmith and seabreeze will hopefully show up too. The game is on.
Roland

The results are in from our poll. Monthly tourneys got twice the number of votes as the other options with two votes - LOL! The fact that only four people were interested enough in the topic to even vote also suggests that monthly tourneys is the right choice for now.

QUESTION: How does the 1st Sunday of the month at 9 PM work for everyone as a standard tourney day for the future? If you like this, then our next online tourney is just a few days away.

QUESTION: Should we stick with the $5.50 buy-in. The admin tool lets me choose from buy-in amounts ranging from $1,3,5,10,20 etc. with a standard blind sturcture. So, no turbos or rebuys.

DATE: Sunday, September 6th at 9:00 PM (Oslo time)
BUYIN: $5.50
PASSWORD: jupiter (The other mage chip symbol)

I'll set up the tourney tonight or tomorrow. So, post a comment if you want to change any of this:)

Roland