aad

Hyper-turbo sattelites

aad — Wed, 16 Dec 2009 13:28:00 GMT

A while ago I wrote a blog on Full Tilt's super turbo's. In the meantime I built up quite some PokerStars VPP's and decided to put them to good use. I played 2 5,400 VPP sattelites to the Sunday Million that I both won. That somehow also guided me to the "satelites" section in "Sit and Go's". I noticed the $87.72 6-max hyper-turbo's to the Sunday Million (and Sunday Warm-Up). I decided to give them a go and I must say so far I am running pretty good in them. Note: when I win one, I take the TD's, not the seat.

Here's how they work: 6 players, 1st and 2nd place win seat, 3rd place wins $86, so there is a small similarity to Doible Or Nothings in that half of the field gets paid and the other half doesn't. Key about DON's is: survival. So are hyper-turbo's in a way.

You start with 500 chips. It seems more than the 300 you get in Full Tilt's super-turbo's but it isn't because, unlike in super-turbo's, antes are in play. Blinds go up every 3 minutes, which is really fast given it's 6-max so the blinds come around fast.

In the first orbit people will usually only open shove with good hands (66+, A8+, JK+) unless it folds to the button and cut-off that have a huge shoving range. Any ace, any pair, TJ+, TQ+). Because of the antes and the blinds coming around fast there will be a lot of pressure on the short stacks who end up shoving any queen or king...

These games attract a LOT of regulars. This means that over a while you can get somehwat a read on people that you often play against. Take notes on every regular you see and color code them. For examply I make them red if they are really good, green if they are not so good or very tight. If I am in the big blind and someone in the small blind has fodled twice to me, I know they are very tight so next time they shove, I will not call lightly.

You will see a lot of crazy things happening when the blinds get really high. I was once in the big blind with 415 chips but the blind was 300. I had 6h9h. The small blind shoved. My notes on him were literally "shoves any two cards from the small blind". So I called, knowing that if I folded, I would have only 115 chips left, have to post the ante and would probably bust. The small blind flipped over 59 and fortunately a few small cards came off so my 6b kicker played, I doubled up and went on to win the thing.

So over a realtive small sample size I have neen doing very well and will probably keep playing these as a bankroll builder.

Dealing with shortstackers

aad — Mon, 14 Sep 2009 19:27:00 GMT

I play a lot of 1/2 NLHE ring games. In the past there was always a short stacker at any table but recently there seems to have been an explosion. Yesterday I sat at a table with 4 short stackers.

Short stackers are players that sit down at a table with the minimum buy-in and have the intention to double up and will then leave the table. Some do this while multi-tabling. It is very annoying when you open from late position with AT suited and the short stacker in the big blind shoves.

But are they really that annoying or can you actually profit from them? Most short stackers are not interested in post-flop play. With few exceptions most suck at post-flop play. They either fold pre or get it in. Sometimes they will call a bet pre and then fold or shove on the flop.

In my experience when short stackers shove they usually have 88+ or AQ+. Sometimes I see 66-77, AJ or QK. Most of the times they will not be holding such a good hand and will hand over their blinds to you if you bet with any two cards. If they do shove just fold or if you have their range covered, call and double up. But even if you do call with JJ and they happen to have QQ, you only loose $40 of your $200 stack.

Personally I will only call with TT+ or AQ+ unless my notes tell me his range is wider but then I still want 88+ or AJ+.

Aad's guide to Super Turbo's

aad — Mon, 15 Jun 2009 11:25:00 GMT

Guide on Super Turbo’s

Super Turbo’s are the ultimate short stack games. Everyone starts with 300 chips and the starting blinds are 15/30. That’s right, everyone has just 10 big blinds. In a regular tournament means you are in shoving mode. The difference here is that everyone has 10 blinds, there are no big stacks or small stacks. But the play will be fast, not only are the blinds 10% of your starting stack, they will go up quickly too.

The key to playing super turbo’s is position position position! In position your range can be much wider than out of position. This was already the case in regular tournaments but even more so here. In regular tournaments stealing blinds in position is nice, here it is essential!

Also, because the games are so short, you won’t be able to develop much of a read. Play your own cards. Only if you made it to the final 4 you will have a little bit of an idea who has played a lot of hands and who has only shown monsters at showdown.

Hand selection

You have to remember that in a super turbo not just your shoving range is very wide, your opponent’s calling ranges will also be much wider than usual. Most or the times you will decide between shove or fold. The blinds sometimes call and check. Otherwise flatting and raising will be rare. Also, play a little 'tighter' in the first orbit. Expect 2/3 players to drop off in the very first orbit which increases your chances to advance and not to get called if yoy're trying to steal blinds.

Early position

You should only play strong hands from early position: 77+, AT+, QK+. If you have a strong hand you should open shove unless you have KK/AA in which case you can flat (hoping for someone to shove) or minraise. Note that a minraise will be perceived as strength. If someone does not shove but minraises I will be suspicious they have a monster.

Mid position

Shoving range just a little bit wider. 55+, A8+, JQ+, TK+, but your calling range should be narrower than your shoving range: 77+, AJ+.

Late position

If you’re on the button your shoving range should be huge. Any pair, ace-rags, any king or queen with a decent kicker.

In the blinds

When you’re in the blinds realize the above. Someone that shoves from early position probably has a strong hand. But someone that shoves from the button could be shoving any two cards so a call with 7Qs can be correct.

Fold equity

If you are unfortunate enough to be chipped down, it’s decision time. If you only have 2 or 3 blinds left you can be pretty sure you WILL get called. So make sure you have a decent hand when you shove. Sometimes it’s a good idea to shove when the table big stack is in the blinds because people will fear the big stack and may fold so at least you’re up to only one opponent. And hey, he may fold too!

Similarly, if you’re in the blinds and a shortstack shoves, you should call if it’s cheap to do so. I once played a super turbo sit and go where the shortstack had 160 chips left and the big blind was 60. The shortstack shoves and I folded 7Ts from mid position because the big stack had the big blind. The big blind folded. I think he should have called for only 100 more with pretty much any two cards. Oh, by the way, this shortstack won the sit and go in the end!

Volume

Because variance is huge in these super turbo sit and go’s the key to making money is volume. About once in seven times your AA will get cracked by any random hand. So play a lot of games to even out such short term variance. Don’t get mad when your aces get cracked. It’s math, it’s statistically supposed to happen every once in a while. If you can’t stand that, don’t play poker.

Super Turbo Satellites

These have a little bit of different dynamics. How so?

Say there are 40 players and 8 win a seat. Here it doesn’t matter if you come first or eighth, you get the same prize. It’s not about having the biggest stack anymore but about survival.

I once was on the bubble, down to less then 2 antes and I was about to give up. Then 3 players shoved: AA, AK and JJ. 1 got eliminated and I made the money. AK and JJ while holding monsters were 100% going to get a seat (or take the Tournament Dollars which is what I di) if only they had folded 2 more hands.

I once folded QQ in a similar situation after one player in front of me shoved and another one called. The initial shover had air but the caller had TT and flopped a set. Had I called I would have been out and now I earned a seat by folding.

People play these satellites like regular sit and go’s that’s why I believe they are profitable.

Cliff notes:

Position!
Shove wide, call narrower.
Fold equity

2 and 3 out suckouts continue to haunt me

aad — Thu, 26 Feb 2009 10:58:00 GMT

Two days ago I played the $50 (1R + 1A) on FTP. I was running good and quickly build up a top 10 stack. In about 7th position but before the bubble I get dealt KK. Sweet. There is an UTG limper, and I raise to 3BB. SB and BB fold but limper calls. I am disgusted to see an ace come on the flop and sure enough the villain bets. What to do? Calling would be bad, I have to choose between reraising or folding. I decide to fold but hate it.

Next hand I get AJ. I again raise to 3BB. The very same guy now reraises me to 9BB. Smells like high PP or AK doesn't it? Aaaargh why did I make the mistake of raising oop with AJ, a trouble hand? So I make another mistake and call. The flop comes 22J and suddenly things look bright again. I shove. He calls and what do you know, he has AK, just as I expected. From the title of the thread you can probably guess what card came on the river, right?

Fast forward to last night. $10 rebuy. Been card dead for a long time but managed to control myself and still grind around an average stack. Here they come again KK. Sweeeeet! There is a limper again. I open shove. Do I have a note on my forehead that says "I raise oop with garbage" because the villain calls and flips over pocket 5's. Sweeet, I got him yay, OH NOOOOOO, a 5 on the river! AAAAAAAAARGH!

Give me a break one time! Unlkess I get seriously shortstacked, I always shove the best hand! Put this in your notes! 0906aad only shoves quality hands! Don't call unless iwth nuts! Or call anywaty because 0906aad loses coinflips a lot!

Aad "2 outter me"

aad — Tue, 27 Jan 2009 18:20:00 GMT

I should really change my screennames to 2outrme, so often as I keep getting 2 outtered. People that take play against me a lot and take notes on me should know I play pretty tight and if I go allin, most of the time I will have the goods. A few examples of people who thought otherwise:

Taj Tourney, I have AcJc. I flop a flushdraw and shove. I get called by A9 and he hits one of the two remianing 9's that are not a club.

Last night FillTilt Fifty-Fifty. UTG raises to 3BB. I have aces and reraise to 9BB. The player to my left calls (!!) and then the original raiser shoves. I get very worried here because I don't like 3 way shoves even if I have aces. I mean, if I'm up against QQ and KK, I have 4 cards to dodge...

But I have yet to fold aces pre so I call. Player on the left of me also calls and... HE HAS ACES TOO!!! And as expected the original raises has Kings. Mr Aces and me can not improve unless we hit 4 running cards to a flush. Instead a king comes on the flop and I loose half my stack.

I can call numerous examples but it happens so often... but I think we all feel like that sometimes. In the long run....

Omaha is a drawing game

aad — Wed, 23 Jul 2008 17:39:00 GMT

Last night on UB in a PLO 8/b ring game in one hand I had 2 Kings in the whole and the flop was a King and two low cards, nothing suited. Someone potted and holidng the best possible hand I repotted all in and I got called. The villain calling me had a nut low draw and the final two cards were suited and so he rivered me with a flush. I smiled and rebought. This is not unusual.

Not much later, on Full Tilt this time, in a No Limit Omaha 8/b ring game, I got dealt a suited Ace/Deuce plus two low cards. The flop gave two low card and a King, two of these cards, don’t remember which ones, were suited to my already suited ace. So there I was holding the nut low draw, a straightdraw and the nut flush draw. Then my opponent goes all in for about $300. I have an unbelievable amount of outs so I call and indeed make the nut low and the flush. Turns out my opponent had two Kings in the hole and started calling me an idiot, retarded, a donk, you know, the usual stuff. I tried explaining that Omaha is a drawing game but that only ticked him off even more. Later I did the same thing to someone who flopped two pair. Are you kidding me? Two pair may be great in No Limit hold Em but in Omaha it is an average hand. Not bad but not extremely good either.

It’s a drawing game. If you have a set, better make sure there are no connectors or suited cards on the board. If you have a flushdraw, it better be an ace high flushdraw and if you have a straightdraw, it better not be the low straight. Be prepared to fold, Wait for a better spot. They will come and Omaha pots tend to be big so you will eventually get paid.

Don't chase away the fish

aad — Fri, 18 Jul 2008 11:16:00 GMT

Why the is it that when people have A-2-rags-rags with little hope of making the Hi overbet and chase out all players except the nut Hi? Sooo annooying when you hold the nut Hi. Basically they are preventing the build-up of a nice pot. Sometimes even quarterin themselves when other players or even the nut Hi has A-2 as well. When you have A-2 and have a decent chance of making the nut low but no hope of a Hi, you want to make small bets to keep as much players in as possible on every street. Of course, at the river, you might try to pot with the low hoping the Hi is weak and will fold because of fear for a better Hi but on earlier streets you may just be hurting yourself by betting too much.

No Limit Omaha 8/b

aad — Mon, 14 Jul 2008 10:33:00 GMT

I was playing lots of PLO and PLO 8/b tourneys on UltimateBet and then DorsalFin suggested starting a $5 rebuy NL Omaha 8/b tourney on FullTilt. I was very interested but it became such a crapshoot with everyone going all in preflop all the time I stopped doing that. I don't like to gamble. I'm not the world's greatest player but I do have an edge in Omaha - provided I don't tilt. But I still liked the idea of No Limit Omaha Eight Or Better so I stayed around on FullTilt and playing cash games. Soon enough I was up against the likes of Scott Clements who I doubled up against a few times. Wow. It takes me hours and hours of grinding on 1/2 NLHE cash cames to make a couple of hundred bucks and here I turn $200 in $800 in just 2 hours. But the variance is huge. This is what happened the other night. I hold a prety moderate hand that includes a 7,T and 2 face cards. Being the BB and 3 guys flat I get to see a cheap flop. The board comes up a beautifull T,T,7 (with the 7 suited with a T): I flopped the nuts! However don't want to chase everyone out so I just check. Everyone else checks. Turn is a deuce of the same suit as the 7 and the T. Expecting some players to have a low-draw or flushdraw I decide to pot. Fold, call and a raise so action back to me and I think this is a good moment to use the all-in option. Another fold an a call. I expected the caller to have a flush and a low draw. River: an 8. The villain shows 8, T gaaaaaah such a suck out and I loose a huuuge $800 pot. I say "nice river" and he replies "yeah got lucky". Then fortunately my computer starts playing up, disconnects from the internet and it takes me 20 inutes to get back on. By which time I'm annoyed with the computer but not on tilt anymore and I manage to recover my losses quickly. No Limit Omaha 8/b truly is a game of patience. Wait patiently until your opponents make mistakes and then take their money.