A few blogs ago I posted some ideas for my next efforts. In response to one of the requests I would like to discuss "waiting for big hands vs. making plays". Card dead, we have all been there. Some days you look down at 7/2 (I know you live for those days, Lynne) or similar cards seemingly every other hand. Or, you get late position playable hands under the gun. Think Q/10, K/2 suited, A/9 etc. These are hands that you could well shove with on the button but are suicide in early position. What is a player to do?
Big hands are so very hard to come by. We all love to be short stacked and have the dealer send kings, queens, A/K our way in any position. This does not necessarily happen for us. So, what this means is that we sometimes have to get our chips in the pot with less than premier hands.
There are two considerations. First, how desperate are we? With just a few blinds we are in deep trouble for various reasons. We do not have enough chips to make healthy stacks fold once they have limped in or will defend their big blind with almost any cheese. We also must consider position as well. The earlier we are, the better our hands should be to make our final stand. If we are in the unfortunate position of being to the right of big stacks, we must make our moves with better hands. This is a time when when we should consider moving in earlier when we can do more damage to a big stack and they will be less likely to defend. If shoving against a small stack, we must consider their desperation point as well as what point we are in the tournament. If we are on the bubble, they may fold just to survive to eke out a cash.
In general, I would like to make my "moves" against passive players who will not defend weaker holdings, or against medium stacks who are vulnerable but not desperate or big gamblers. I want to shove with reasonable holdings but not necessarily garbage....though that is o.k. if other conditions are prime. Remember that "any two cards can win", just as "any two cards can lose". A few Friday nights ago a highly skilled short stack moved all-in from the small blind with 2/8 against the tight big blind who found A/Q. Naturally, he hit a 2 and doubled up. Like I say, any two can win.
Lately I have been questioning my authority as some sort of expert or guru. Most of what I write about as recommendations are based on my poker readings. I enjoy reading poker books, watching instructional videos on youtube, and analyzing my own and others play. Like I say, I am not an expert just a poker degenerate who likes to blog. Recently I passed along a book to a poker friend that covered this same subject. Even though I play against this person regularly I like to share information and tips. In general, I like better play at the tables. At coffee today talked to yet another poker pal about this. We would both prefer playing against better players than rookies, clueless players and calling stations. Good players will lay a hand down, donks will not. Thus they cannot be bluffed and will get lucky against you often enough that you will feel the pain. This is just how it works.
On another topic, Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to all of you. My cards are running pretty good right now, managed to win the Friday night tournament with a two way money chop (30K in chips vs. 22K). Looking forward to the new year, some trips to Las Vegas and a financially successful poker journey. Will publish the hard facts about my poker year in the next blog, have kept very detailed records and will summarize after Friday night's tournament is over.
Big hands are so very hard to come by. We all love to be short stacked and have the dealer send kings, queens, A/K our way in any position. This does not necessarily happen for us. So, what this means is that we sometimes have to get our chips in the pot with less than premier hands.
There are two considerations. First, how desperate are we? With just a few blinds we are in deep trouble for various reasons. We do not have enough chips to make healthy stacks fold once they have limped in or will defend their big blind with almost any cheese. We also must consider position as well. The earlier we are, the better our hands should be to make our final stand. If we are in the unfortunate position of being to the right of big stacks, we must make our moves with better hands. This is a time when when we should consider moving in earlier when we can do more damage to a big stack and they will be less likely to defend. If shoving against a small stack, we must consider their desperation point as well as what point we are in the tournament. If we are on the bubble, they may fold just to survive to eke out a cash.
In general, I would like to make my "moves" against passive players who will not defend weaker holdings, or against medium stacks who are vulnerable but not desperate or big gamblers. I want to shove with reasonable holdings but not necessarily garbage....though that is o.k. if other conditions are prime. Remember that "any two cards can win", just as "any two cards can lose". A few Friday nights ago a highly skilled short stack moved all-in from the small blind with 2/8 against the tight big blind who found A/Q. Naturally, he hit a 2 and doubled up. Like I say, any two can win.
Lately I have been questioning my authority as some sort of expert or guru. Most of what I write about as recommendations are based on my poker readings. I enjoy reading poker books, watching instructional videos on youtube, and analyzing my own and others play. Like I say, I am not an expert just a poker degenerate who likes to blog. Recently I passed along a book to a poker friend that covered this same subject. Even though I play against this person regularly I like to share information and tips. In general, I like better play at the tables. At coffee today talked to yet another poker pal about this. We would both prefer playing against better players than rookies, clueless players and calling stations. Good players will lay a hand down, donks will not. Thus they cannot be bluffed and will get lucky against you often enough that you will feel the pain. This is just how it works.
On another topic, Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to all of you. My cards are running pretty good right now, managed to win the Friday night tournament with a two way money chop (30K in chips vs. 22K). Looking forward to the new year, some trips to Las Vegas and a financially successful poker journey. Will publish the hard facts about my poker year in the next blog, have kept very detailed records and will summarize after Friday night's tournament is over.
3 comments:
I agree with everything you say here. I think actual playing experience is probably the only (and best) way to determine when to play hands and every hand is certainly situational and dependent on so many things.
I also like your statement about playing with better players. Lord, I love it. I think it helps to make me a better player. This is one reason I'm trying to concentrate more on tournaments. Playing the spread limit game at the Crazy Moose makes me crazy LOL. I've played with most of the same people for years and with very few exceptions (hopefully I'm one) they all seem to play the same way they did 10 years ago. I just don't see very many changes in their choice of cards and/or the way they play hands. It's just frustrating, but it does help me win a bit more.
My goal for next year (and beyond) is to attempt bigger tournaments, i.e., Pendleton, perhaps one or two at Northern Quest, etc. Now that the Lucky Bridge is closed and the Tri-Cities Poker Championship and Tournament of Champions is history, there's really no money to win in tournaments in the Tri-Cities except the Sunday one at the Moose. We will see if I can stick to better tournaments. Also, if I get an itch to play the cash game I will try to stick to 3-6 at Jokers. Fun and cheap.
I wish you and your family an awesome 2017. I miss seeing you. I'm aiming for a visit in early April. I hope I can make it happen.
Happy New Year!
Hey Brother, finally got my act together to read your blog (it's only taken me 3 years!). i was at that table a couple weeks ago with the slow player and i did in fact speak to him about that. He has no right to make all the other players miss hands. i actually like the guy but every one needs to hear the truth. Looking forward to playing with you again this week.
OK SO I'D LIKE TO SEE YOUR RESULTS FOR THE YEAR. SHOULD BE INTERESTING, AND OF COURSE THE COMMENTS.
THE PICK
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