How To Overplay Pocket Aces
I couldn't believe this hand when the cards were turned up. I was playing in a PokerStars, $10 No-Limit Hold'em single table tournament with 10/20 blinds. None of the players were familiar to me. However, due to my initial profiling, I knew that all three players had losing records. In this example, all the stacks are still deep and our hero is dealt pocket Aces in position MP1. Here's a visual of the table setup:
How To Bully A Poker Table
I sucked out on a short stack shove last night and then turned table bully. In post analysis, some of the moves I made were correct, others not so. I wanted to run through them here for my own benefit. I hope you will learn something too.
PokerStars No-Limit Hold'em
Double or Nothing Tournament
125/250 Blinds 25 Ante (7 handed)
Hero's M: 5.13 (Learn About M)
Preflop: Hero is Button with 8♦, A♥
2 folds, MP2 calls t250, 1 fold, Hero bets t2795 (All-In), 2 folds, MP2 calls t2305 (All-In)
PokerStars No-Limit Hold'em
Double or Nothing Tournament
125/250 Blinds 25 Ante (7 handed)
Hero's M: 5.13 (Learn About M)
Preflop: Hero is Button with 8♦, A♥
2 folds, MP2 calls t250, 1 fold, Hero bets t2795 (All-In), 2 folds, MP2 calls t2305 (All-In)
Why Don't You SHOVE IT!
Have you ever wanted to reach through your screen and strangle another player? I wanted to last night watching another player fold his hands when he should have been pushing his chips all-in (shoving). During a Double or Nothing sit n go tournament last night I noticed a player committing one of sit n' go's unforgivable sins... folding from the small blind when first to act and short stacked. Let me explain.
At the late stages of a sit n go tournament, most remaining players will have a low M (short stacks). Once you get below a certain point you do not have enough chips to play "normal" poker. So you switch into a push/fold mode. I observed a player last night that missed opportunity after opportunity to shove his (or her) chips in at an opportune moment... when he is on the small blind and everyone folds around to him. With the stack sizes in the examples below (and assuming the BB is playing "normal"), the small blind should SHOVE all in with any two cards. Yes, I said ANY two cards. Don't take my word for it. Run these scenarios through SitNGo Wizard to confirm. You will find that I am correct in each of these situations.
At the late stages of a sit n go tournament, most remaining players will have a low M (short stacks). Once you get below a certain point you do not have enough chips to play "normal" poker. So you switch into a push/fold mode. I observed a player last night that missed opportunity after opportunity to shove his (or her) chips in at an opportune moment... when he is on the small blind and everyone folds around to him. With the stack sizes in the examples below (and assuming the BB is playing "normal"), the small blind should SHOVE all in with any two cards. Yes, I said ANY two cards. Don't take my word for it. Run these scenarios through SitNGo Wizard to confirm. You will find that I am correct in each of these situations.
Calling Shoves with Nothing
I am running very well on the "Double or Nothing" sit n go poker tournaments. As of last night, my ROI is 48.1 and my ITM is 81.8, much higher than I typically see with the traditional single table sit n go's, for a couple of reasons.
First, I am only single tabling. I typically multi-table when playing the traditional sit n go poker tournaments. However, I decided to single table while learning the Double or Nothing sit n go's so that I could concentrate on the differences and adjustments that I need to make in my sit no go poker strategy. As a result, I also pick up more information about my players and I am able to take advantage of that information in critical spots. I would typically miss some or most of this information when multi-tabling.
Second, I am playing at lower stakes than I usually play at. When developing a new strategy I typically drop down to lower stakes so that I am playing at the level that most of my readers play at. There isn't much sense for me to develop a strategy that only works when playing at the higher stakes. So right now I am playing the $10 and a few of the $5 Double or Nothing sit n go's while I work through the strategy details.
I am still seeing the same factors that affect the strategy: the blind structure, the six player bubble, and the payout structure. I will expand on these in my upcoming Double or Nothing Poker Strategy document.
For now, I wanted to review one of my hands from last night.
First, I am only single tabling. I typically multi-table when playing the traditional sit n go poker tournaments. However, I decided to single table while learning the Double or Nothing sit n go's so that I could concentrate on the differences and adjustments that I need to make in my sit no go poker strategy. As a result, I also pick up more information about my players and I am able to take advantage of that information in critical spots. I would typically miss some or most of this information when multi-tabling.
Second, I am playing at lower stakes than I usually play at. When developing a new strategy I typically drop down to lower stakes so that I am playing at the level that most of my readers play at. There isn't much sense for me to develop a strategy that only works when playing at the higher stakes. So right now I am playing the $10 and a few of the $5 Double or Nothing sit n go's while I work through the strategy details.
I am still seeing the same factors that affect the strategy: the blind structure, the six player bubble, and the payout structure. I will expand on these in my upcoming Double or Nothing Poker Strategy document.
For now, I wanted to review one of my hands from last night.
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