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Server Time: 12/2/2008 7:36:03 AM PACIFIC |
 Tournament Play w/ Calling Stations, jordanc79, 24. Sep 2003 11:41 | ||
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| It's an interesting conundrum that I'm in, would like some good feedback. Here's the basic facts: Home game tournament, 8-9 players, top 2 spots pay, 4000 start, blinds start at 25/50 and go up every two rounds. One rebuy allowed (amount is the count of the shortest stack or 2000, whichever is greater). The predominant type at the table is a very loose, passive kind. There's a lot of multi-way pots, little raising ever pre-flop and beyond and frequent 3-4 handed showdowns. Free cards are abundant as the 4+ players seeing the flop will frequently check around. The usual situation when a bet occurs is by someone with top pair. Although it's common that everyone calls that bet. The starting hands that get showed down are horrendus (75s, Q3o, T7o, etc) and pots get won with 3rd pair. Pretty much 6 out of the 9 players are thinking "any two cards can win" and will limp-in pre-flop hoping to hit a hand or a draw. They never pay any attention or concern with position and will limp-in early and call any raise behind them. Steal-raises only happen on the river, bets beforehand show strength, yet they will regularly slowplay two pair or even top pair/high kicker. The only way you can make them fold is by raising, yet 4-5 way will almost always get at least one or maybe two callers that can have as little as bottom pair. Re-raises and isolation plays are practically nil. I'm not sure if I'm giving out too much information to handle, but my playing style is the typical tight-agressive play, even more so in tournament action. I play almost no hand in early position, probably AQo up and will regularly fold a hand like KJs against a raise. My strategy is conservative and relies on survival - let everyone else beat eachother up and I'll come in once in a while to build my stack with a good hand. Of course, you probably guessed my exact problem here, especially since only the first 2 spots pay and rebuys. All the loose calling stations end up giving all their chips to eachother, rebuy and do it again. This puts me in a severely short stack once it gets down to 4-5 players. The blinds get up to 100-200 and am forced to commit myself 1/2 stack to compete or go all-in with a decent holding to stay in the game. #1- Should I still continue to play this conservative survival strategy and hope that I get enough playable hands to build my stack? #2- Should I be limping in late position with a hand like J9 or K7s against 5 callers (with no fear of a re-raise) as I would do regularly in ring games getting my odds, although knowing that I'm wasting my bet mostly when the flop comes unfavorable and I have no way of getting a laydown? #3- Should I play more "fearless" and raise pre-flop in mid to late position with a marginal hand like 98s and be almost assured of getting free cards to the river unless someone makes top pair? I'm the type of person that plays for the jugular when I'm in a hand, but only after getting SOME piece of the flop. Of course, I flop a nut-flush draw, I'm more than happy to get calling stations 5-ways. But it mostly comes that I raise pre-flop with AQs and the flop comes J82 rainbow, I get 3 callers to me and am forced to fold with the two overcards knowing that against 3 hands to the river, someone has at least a pair or even a hidden two pair like J8 or a set with pocket 22's. Is there any variance in my play that I can make to build my stack better in the first half of the tournament so I'm not up against 2-3 huge stacks that will call any hand I have down to the river? Thanks for listening and I hope to spark up some nice debates. --- Jordan Cooper Poker Comic | ||
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| Re: Tournament Play w/ Calling Stations, shorn, 24. Sep 2003 12:02 | ||
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| I think you need to change your style in this circumstance and limp a lot more from every position. From what you are describing, you should be able to outplay your opponents post-flop, so I would try to see as many flops as possible as cheaply as possible and do my punishing afterwards. No sense in raising pre-flop except with your monster starting hands (AA-QQ and AK) because they will all come along anyway. This is the ONLY way that you will be able to build a stack big enough to compete once the rebuy period is over. | ||
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