In these spots (like 7-10 BB's) my typical range is this:
Pocket pairs: 66+
Suited connectors: 78s+
Ace hands: A9+
I think people spaz shove a little too light when they reach this amount of bb's. You really have to consider how light people will call you online. In low/mid-stakes I'll see someone jam 5-9 BB's with hands like A3o or 22 only to get called by something like A6, 44, KT, etc.
And while flipping is a necessity I try to do it with hands where the cards can run out well for me, like 9Ts and 89s instead of 44 and A7.
I also try to avoid shoving weaker hands like K9 and QT where you can often get called by someone holding a dominant hand like KQ, KJ, AQ, etc. Because in spots like that you will either be flipping or crushed - no one will ever call you with inferior holdings that you dominate.
The only thing I question is when to go into push/fold mode and when to start incorporating the suited connectors. Right now when I'm at 10 BB's I won't shove them. I'll just shove my strong paired and unpaired hands. Once I dip to 7 or 8 BB's I'll start shoving the mid-range suited connectors as well.
Part of me thinks I should loosen up and gamble for a final table stack so I'm going to run with that. I never really play to cash but I just don't know the correct pushing chart for like 10-20 BB's. I cut my teeth on 100-200 BB stack cash games for years so I need to step up my tournament game.
7 comments:
Harrington on Hold'em II pp. 130++ goes into detail with that question, in fact.
It's a really good primer. Then you take if from there.
With 20 BB and close to the final table, I would only shove my most EV+. It's a healthy stack in most situations - in fact you'd probably be at the fat end of the tail.
Anything lower than say 6-7-8-9'ish BB you often don't want to bring to a final table anyway, so be the aggressor.
The in-betweens you need to be smart about. They don't give you much room to maneuver, but no need to jam either, unless you have reason to believe you will reach your objective - getting a fold or a call.
Of course, your stack size isn't the only factor that matters. Some tables will let you get away with almost anything, some will punish you as soon as you step out of the box...it's a tight rope out there!
/j.
Tight rope indeed! My dilemma usually begins when we're playing down to the final table - say, 30-50 runners remaining in a large field MTT.
My largest success has come in the bigger buy-in MTTs but I am trying not to overthink that since it could be coincidence - though in reality I think it's the 5,000 starting chip stack and my cash game background which allows me to scrounge for chips and pick off a lot of little orphaned pots.
It's that whole 100% pre-flop metagame endstage stuff I'm struggling with. Hold Em Manager stats only tell you so much and I try to keep track of whether or not someone's VPIP is decreasing, increasing, or staying constant.
Many of the big MTTs have load of bad players who have satellited in.
They are worth keeping a look out for in the early stages, since they will be gone by the second break.
/j.
I think I'm letting them see too many river cards. When I look at hand histories of the HSMTT players most of them involve a big all-in bet on the turn.
I might be pot controlling too much for an online tournament structure and not showing enough aggression and killer instinct.
Have you ever watched the recaps of the Sunday Million tables on pokerstars.tv?
It's pretty interesting, and you can be fairly sure that all the players at the final table have at least their basic skills in place.
/j.
I watched the final tables of the Sunday 500 and 100+R yesterday and it left me feeling like I'm not very far away from being at that same skill level.
Also, finishing 3rd in a $10 rebuy and then 5th in a $30 rebuy within the past week does wonders for your confidence level.
Finally managed to get placed in the run good chair!
Hey, it's a start :)
/j.
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