Online Poker Forum - Should I have been more patient?

wells bell · High Card Joined: 02 Jul 2006 Posts: 15

..or should I have been pushing from the beginning?

Played in a charity Hold 'em tourney the other night ($175 buy-in). Terrible format (but it was for charity) - blinds started at 25/50 doubled every 15 minutes - only started with $2000 in chips. Rebuys allowed during the first hour for $125 for another $2000 in chips and one add-on for another $2000 at the end of the first hour. I couldn't afford to rebuy or add-on - I was playing with what I started with. About 110 players.

Down to the last 40-45 players. I had about $9000 and blinds were at 250/500. I was in small blind with 2 limpers. I make it 2500 to go with A Club

A

. Big blind folds, first limper calls and second limper folds. Limper was calling down to the river all night. Any hand he played, he became married to. I couldn't put him on a range because he turned over some real garbage all night. He had me covered.

Flop comes Q Heart

,5

,2

. He checked and I pushed. He called and turned over A Heart

J

. K

comes on the turn and I am done.

Any feelings on I should have played differently? Push from the beginning, check the flop and see what happens? I'm not sorry with the way I played it because with the escalating blinds I didn't think I was going to have a lot of time to find a better spot but I'm curious if anyone had some other ideas.

Thanks.

iahawkeye53 · Two Pair Joined: 30 Nov 2007 Posts: 68

This type of format is relatively common here, probably by design. In order to be successful at these quickly escalating tournaments you need to play mistake free and be looking to double up more often than playing small ball. Use your online experience to your advantage against players that you feel are unlikely to be online players themselves. I like to do things like limping with KK or AA in early position in these tournaments and re-pop all in if someone makes a raise. A lot of players that only play live don't really see this coming, whereas we see it happen a lot more and can fold when we see this situation. If no one raises and you're in a multiway pot, then you're kind of stuck. Although, plenty of players will still go in with you after the flop when they're still behind. When you play in this format of a tournament just be aware that you have to come in with the right attitude and be looking to gamble.

cese · Posted: Tue Oct 28, 2008 5:19 pm Post subject:

In a tournament with bad players you might just want to charge the player to draw for their flush. I play micro stakes and get busted every other tourney by trying to push someone out of a flush draw. Its important to realize big stack players or bad players(as in this situation) will ALWAYS call your all in on their flush draw. Why gamble for all your chips when you dont have to, you have position so just charge them to draw. Oh and I would never check the flop because you have a vulnerable hand. If you check then then guy will lead out with or without a hand on the turn and all you can do is guess. If you bet then you can see wether he has hit a set or two pair on the flop because usually people will lead out or check reraise to protect their hand. If he just calls then you can pretty sure he is drawing or has something like a middle pair.

mikefid · Pair Joined: 23 May 2007 Posts: 25

Tuff spot Bells. I played one of these cause my friend was running it, and i hated it. Wink

b/c of the structure.

The only thing I may have thought about doing differently is raising more pre-flop. The pot had 1750 in it before your raise. The first limper called which means the second limper would've een getting very good odds to call, and since this guy was sticking with alot of hands he may have called even more pre flop.

I think big ball is the way to go once these hyper speed/ short stack tourny's go, if all you picked up was what was in the pot pre flop you would have added almost 25% to your stack.

BUT, you also don't want to waste such a premium hand in this spot. There would've been 6000 in the pot on the flop, with ur stack at 6500 there is nothing you could've bet that wouldn't have left you committed and given him odds to call. An unexperienced player may see AJs as sucha monster that he is not going to let it go no matter what though. I think you played the hand well and, remember, those players are the reason most of us play. LOL

bingy1990 · Posted: Wed Oct 29, 2008 12:50 pm Post subject:

I don't mind the check raise, it proved to be the right decision. I think you played it okay. Obv with blinds going up that high so quickly, your going to get some donkish calls out of people.

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