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Server Time: 8/30/2008 9:46:56 AM PACIFIC |
 Multi-table NL strategy for the middle rounds, Mayo, 3. Dec 2003 15:23 | ||
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| Can someone please help me with middle tournament strategy. I am a winning NL SNG player (in the money about 50% of the time), but cannot seem to crack the multi-table NL tournaments. I usually can get past the first break with an above average stack and often I can just get into the money, but for the life of me I cannot get farther along. I have tried playing looser with a decent size stack, I have tried playing tighter. Neither seems to work. Should I only call raised pots with the best 8-10 hands. Please someone help. | ||
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| Re: Multi-table NL strategy for the middle rounds, rdale, 4. Dec 2003 01:37 | ||
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| Please pick this apart, I would like some feedback on things that I might have missed, or any obvious holes. I have only been playing since June, and have been putting much thought into no limit hold'em game theory, it is an obsession to want to become the best that I can. Recognize coin flips and avoid them in the early and middle stages, at prices that are too costly to your stack to be worth taking, maybe taking it with the people on the ropes, but not with people that can put you on the ropes. Be patient but aggressive taking as many smaller pots as possible. Build the pot by rarely limping get enough money on the table to matter and make consistent pot sized bets with top pair or a set when the four card draw is on the board and can be cracked. Taking the pot at the flop is my goal nearly everytime and I should be getting 5-10 big bets on the flop, and if it goes to the turn 10-20, and get a little worried when I get to the river unless I know they are a complete baboon. The middle is the crucial stage where you set up how you get into the end, and I try to get there not showing down hands. I am in the camp that limping is bad in most cases, I lose more pots to limping preflop than by making moderate bets with hands that a lot of people limp with. The stack should be there to play like this by playing fairly aggressive from the gate. If by some twist of fate stack building didn't happen early, you just have to wait until you have something worth gambling with and taking a shot. Knowing your personal trouble hands and being aware of the situation when raising into the pot with them so that you can avoid making the same errors again with them. Paying constant attention to what other people are showing down with how they bet. So that you can recognize those moves when being put on you. Quickly recognize the good players from the weak, punish the weak especially those that play no limit like limit, and have managed to hold on to their stack to the middle. Tangle with the good as little as possible and get suspcious if the pot has just become huge with a good player involved and you don't have the nuts. Avoiding all-in if possible, keeping to pot sized bets and bets realitive to chip sizes. Tonight first hand played put me all in, because there was no other bet to the pot size that reasonable, but that was unavoidable to stop this guy chasing what I assume was a flush at the turn when I had two pair. Granted it put the other player at a equal stack to the test as well, he folded, but it still made me really uncomfotable doing it. I would have rather won the smaller pot on the flop than have to push that hard at the turn. As a short stack it is time to gamble it up and push the chips all in, with a fair hand, and try to do it before the blinds dwindles too much of your stack to be a real threat either you are going to double, make them fold from fear of hurting their stack, or bust, but that little bit isn't going to get you past the middle and you have to use it while it is still a valid bet. As the little guy picking your spots to take stands becomes essential to making it to the end. As a large stack keep constant pressure on the table stealing the blinds and pushing the poor around as often as possible, watching out for little guys trying to double up or an average guy trying to grow. I can't stress how important it is to abuse the poor and the weak in the middle stage at every opportunity. I've been burned a few times, but not enough vs. the times it has added to the stack, but the trick is to not let them pull a Robin Hood on you. I don't worry about sending people home, just building my chips one small pot at a time, with hard and constant pressure, backing down when I'm beat or a solid player starts calling bets and I'm mediocre in hand at best. Constant attention to pot odds has increased my finish rate in no limit, skewing the odds on calls and truly punishing anyone asking for another card has worked well for me. Reading the board, and betting in such a way that calling for the next card is going to be the wrong play is key. I almost prefer to be in early position to a later one in no limit, I can see where I am at in a hand much easier, apply the pressure and decide what is going on from there trying to keep nearly every hand from going to showdown if possible. Not stressing at the final table with a large stack becareful not bleed it away, but still recognize those that should be bullied, avoiding the crafty ones with out something solid to back it up. As an average stack, playing decent hands, and waiting for other people to screw up while moving up the ranks, treading on eggshells that I'm not the one making mistakes and avoiding confrontation with the big stacks with out the goods to double thru. With a short stack at the final table, being aggressive and not fearing coin flips to either maintain the stack or go home is the tough part. I think of my current chip count in relationship to the other players as my odds of winning, and try to fix the short stack situation at the first available opportunity. I'm thinking I need more patience less aggression in that spot. Paying attention to these things has got me to top 10 of 100 about 25% of the time with a top 20 finish 50% and the other 25% I probably had no business playing no limit that day, as I was consistently breaking the above tactics and busted out early. The largest field I've played against is 115, so for the huge games, this might not stand up as well, but overall I'm happy with these tactics as a base strategy in the game I play the most. | ||
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| Re: Multi-table NL strategy for the middle rounds, SCOTT FRANCIS, 4. Dec 2003 06:50 | ||
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| Three different approaches based on stack size. Small Stack- look for a premium hand and try to double up. You may have to take your chances with a slow play here to guarantee a call. Often times smaller stacks move in immediately with a premium hand and win only blinds. I recommend this strategy with non-premium hands (stealing blinds here is ok, gets you a free round to wait for premium) but not with premium. You need to double up so if you get AA,KK... you have to get as much money from it as possible by welcoming more players. I would never recommend this with anything but a short stack however. Medium Stack- Like rdale said, here you can be more aggressive, attacking weak and short stacked players, make plays for blinds.... One thing I often do in this situation is try to trap with small to medium pocket pairs. Look for situations where you can get in for a relatively cheap price and look to hit your set. If you do and the board isn't too scary its a good time to trap and maybe double your chips. If you dont hit set get out. This is a very important time in the tourney because you somehow have to improve your stack at this point (not immediately threatened but soon) so you can get to final 30 or so players with a larger stack. Large Stack- Play no borderline hands against other big stacks. Look to push around the small stacks, even play some 50/50 all ins against them if it wont hurt your position much. Play only premium hands against a raise from anyone other than a small stack. Attack blinds with a raise from many positions with the idea of getting out if reraised by a big stack. Same applies with pocket pairs here, trapping or folding is often still a good play if u can get in cheaply. Hope this helps, Scott | ||
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| Re: Multi-table NL strategy for the middle rounds, Mayo, 5. Dec 2003 07:29 | ||
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| Thanks Scott. Good advice for each situation. I appreciate the comments. | ||
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| Re: Multi-table NL strategy for the middle rounds, Mayo, 5. Dec 2003 07:28 | ||
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| Thanks rdale. Very sound advice. In retrospect, I have been much too passive in the middle rounds trying to limp in to pots too much. This is successful in the early rounds and SNGs, but I can see why it is not as wise in the middle rounds. Congratulations on the success and I will give these tips a try. | ||
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