Suckout King
04-24-2006, 01:56 AM
I will up date this when I am feeling a bit less tired. I just got knocked out of a 30$ tournement with 700 or so in just out of the money because (really too tired to play) i made a classic basic error. This error was one of the following list. These are simple rules that apply to either quite specific situations or more generally.
1) establish the mood/feel of a table. Ideally you want to be able to have specific reads about everyone at the table but in a tourney of 6 hours you do not want to over work yourself. Note the general mood of the table at a given time and adjust your play accordingly. This does not overwrite specific reads (the reverse is true) but it is a good fall back of general strategy. That way you can be - ok with this sort of table I must be generally pretty tight. Kept watching for changes and be ready to reassess the table particularly if someone new comes to the table, you approach the money cut of OR something else changes.
2) Generally do the reverse of everyone else at the table. If everyone at the table is tight, not betting preflop, folding to raises - then you want to be aggressive - if the blinds are high then steal some blinds if not then build up pots (usually a bad idea) and bully others out of them. If everyone is trying to JUST finish in the money then be aggressive conversly if everyone is playing aggressively and/or calling big bets then fold to the money. It is amazing how often this is the correct strategy. You have to watch that people do not start getting reads of your play (easier to notice if differing from the rest) but except where it is obviously the wrong strategy it is usually the way to go.
3)This is for 30$+ biggish MTTs and other games where you can expect quality opposition. you are second to act (2 in hand) and the pot is quite large but no more than 1 quarter of either of your playing stacks and you are checked to then rarely bet big on flops like kk5. These are hands where there is little drawing potential to beat someone holding kx. Betting big is saying either a) I have the king and am excited or b) I am bluffing/ playing another pair/ highish cards. It will rarely give you value. It is much better to so a moderate bet or simply check if you have been checked to. if you have kx then slowplaying looks a good idea against most players. I did this with aq knowing I was defending against some kind of a steal attempt. I should probably have reraised preflop but wanted a bit more info before doing anything. He checks and I bet almost the pot. He reraises me all in with 44. A smallish bet should scare away many players (you can always do a bigger bet on the turn etc) a large bet is just inviting slow plays and BIG reraise bluffs. In this circumstance a bet of say 2*BB in a pot of (4-6)*BB would be a much better bet. As would checking. I read him as say qj, aj, ax and didnt want their other card to catch but realistically the chances of that were pretty slim. This is a specific example of a general concept
4) as soon as you are in the money in an MTT with a 5$ buy in or more get ready for everyone to lose all inhibitions and get MUCH more inclined to risk their chips both in bets and in calls. Be really careful before trying to bluff for the next 20 min if not MUCH longer. True you want to pick up the pace and get yourself ahead of the pack because getting to final table is what it is all about. That said if people feel as many erroniously do that they have already "won" in finishing in the money then they will call you more often than they should. Utilise this and bluff less. Still do a bit of blind stealing etc but jsut remember that people might not let you push them arround anymore.
5) once the first 2 hours of a tournament are over people generally start playing scared. Do not do this. You will see players losing faith in their own abilities and trying to stop having any flop decisions to make. Its like they do not want to do something wrong so they do nothing. Equally you should exploit this. Do not be afraid to risk 10% of your chips in some hands that might be a little questionable. Thats not saying throw your chips away but keep playing the game and relying on your abilities. So often people play right early on and then stop playing properly and try to stop hands ever reaching the flop. Given the often more passive nature of SOME of your opponents beware of trying to bluff your way out of bad hands too often but at the same time do not be afraid to do plays that you may later regret. It is better to try to win the tournament that finish ITM.
6) Play to win (i.e. come first) an MTT whether or not you finish in the money should be more or less irrelevant and the main way the bottom money placings should be affecting you is in watching how they are affecting your opponents. True an absolute borderline hand 2 hands or so from being in the money (someone about to be blinded out etc) is better folded where otherwise it might be called but this only covers a small number of hands
7)Try to get away from the PC during the 5 minute breaks. If you are going the distance you need to be fresh. Now is the time to take 1 minute off, give your eyes a rest etc.
1) establish the mood/feel of a table. Ideally you want to be able to have specific reads about everyone at the table but in a tourney of 6 hours you do not want to over work yourself. Note the general mood of the table at a given time and adjust your play accordingly. This does not overwrite specific reads (the reverse is true) but it is a good fall back of general strategy. That way you can be - ok with this sort of table I must be generally pretty tight. Kept watching for changes and be ready to reassess the table particularly if someone new comes to the table, you approach the money cut of OR something else changes.
2) Generally do the reverse of everyone else at the table. If everyone at the table is tight, not betting preflop, folding to raises - then you want to be aggressive - if the blinds are high then steal some blinds if not then build up pots (usually a bad idea) and bully others out of them. If everyone is trying to JUST finish in the money then be aggressive conversly if everyone is playing aggressively and/or calling big bets then fold to the money. It is amazing how often this is the correct strategy. You have to watch that people do not start getting reads of your play (easier to notice if differing from the rest) but except where it is obviously the wrong strategy it is usually the way to go.
3)This is for 30$+ biggish MTTs and other games where you can expect quality opposition. you are second to act (2 in hand) and the pot is quite large but no more than 1 quarter of either of your playing stacks and you are checked to then rarely bet big on flops like kk5. These are hands where there is little drawing potential to beat someone holding kx. Betting big is saying either a) I have the king and am excited or b) I am bluffing/ playing another pair/ highish cards. It will rarely give you value. It is much better to so a moderate bet or simply check if you have been checked to. if you have kx then slowplaying looks a good idea against most players. I did this with aq knowing I was defending against some kind of a steal attempt. I should probably have reraised preflop but wanted a bit more info before doing anything. He checks and I bet almost the pot. He reraises me all in with 44. A smallish bet should scare away many players (you can always do a bigger bet on the turn etc) a large bet is just inviting slow plays and BIG reraise bluffs. In this circumstance a bet of say 2*BB in a pot of (4-6)*BB would be a much better bet. As would checking. I read him as say qj, aj, ax and didnt want their other card to catch but realistically the chances of that were pretty slim. This is a specific example of a general concept
4) as soon as you are in the money in an MTT with a 5$ buy in or more get ready for everyone to lose all inhibitions and get MUCH more inclined to risk their chips both in bets and in calls. Be really careful before trying to bluff for the next 20 min if not MUCH longer. True you want to pick up the pace and get yourself ahead of the pack because getting to final table is what it is all about. That said if people feel as many erroniously do that they have already "won" in finishing in the money then they will call you more often than they should. Utilise this and bluff less. Still do a bit of blind stealing etc but jsut remember that people might not let you push them arround anymore.
5) once the first 2 hours of a tournament are over people generally start playing scared. Do not do this. You will see players losing faith in their own abilities and trying to stop having any flop decisions to make. Its like they do not want to do something wrong so they do nothing. Equally you should exploit this. Do not be afraid to risk 10% of your chips in some hands that might be a little questionable. Thats not saying throw your chips away but keep playing the game and relying on your abilities. So often people play right early on and then stop playing properly and try to stop hands ever reaching the flop. Given the often more passive nature of SOME of your opponents beware of trying to bluff your way out of bad hands too often but at the same time do not be afraid to do plays that you may later regret. It is better to try to win the tournament that finish ITM.
6) Play to win (i.e. come first) an MTT whether or not you finish in the money should be more or less irrelevant and the main way the bottom money placings should be affecting you is in watching how they are affecting your opponents. True an absolute borderline hand 2 hands or so from being in the money (someone about to be blinded out etc) is better folded where otherwise it might be called but this only covers a small number of hands
7)Try to get away from the PC during the 5 minute breaks. If you are going the distance you need to be fresh. Now is the time to take 1 minute off, give your eyes a rest etc.