Bubble Play: July 13, 2005
It's been a while since I have posted. Things have been pretty busy and I have been working more so I haven't had a lot of time to post. As for poker, I've still been able to sneak a game in at least every other day or so and usually one a day. Lately, I've been finishing 3rd a lot. It is a bittersweet feeling. Yes, I'm winning money but over the long haul you need to pull in more first and seconds to really increase your bank roll. I seem to have been staying at even steven.
So during this time I've been considering my strategy. When I get to the bubble and there are 4 or 5 people left. I am raising a lot if I'm the big stack and moving all in a lot if I'm the small stack. However, if there are two or three people that are right around the same amount of chips, say 4-5 times the big blind, I tighten up considerably, wait for a good hand where I am first in the pot and then move all in. I think this makes sense as the best strategy, but I have just seen too many times that I have waited and seen a couple small stacks double up and then I'm sitting on the bottom and have to risk my stack. I got the confrontation out of the small stack as I had hoped but usually you are talking about two random cards against two random cards and at best odds are 60/40 in my favor that the short stack gets knocked out.
I feel I have been reading people well, playing solid poker but perhaps I should loosen up a bit.
On a side note, the world series of poker has been fun to follow. I'm anxious to see who makes it through the day today and gets to the final table. A couple of very big names still left in the field (Raymer, Ivy, Matusow) . John Juanda is short stacked now, but for pretty exciting to read thus far. Should be exciting to watch in like 15 months when they finally show the main event.
So during this time I've been considering my strategy. When I get to the bubble and there are 4 or 5 people left. I am raising a lot if I'm the big stack and moving all in a lot if I'm the small stack. However, if there are two or three people that are right around the same amount of chips, say 4-5 times the big blind, I tighten up considerably, wait for a good hand where I am first in the pot and then move all in. I think this makes sense as the best strategy, but I have just seen too many times that I have waited and seen a couple small stacks double up and then I'm sitting on the bottom and have to risk my stack. I got the confrontation out of the small stack as I had hoped but usually you are talking about two random cards against two random cards and at best odds are 60/40 in my favor that the short stack gets knocked out.
I feel I have been reading people well, playing solid poker but perhaps I should loosen up a bit.
On a side note, the world series of poker has been fun to follow. I'm anxious to see who makes it through the day today and gets to the final table. A couple of very big names still left in the field (Raymer, Ivy, Matusow) . John Juanda is short stacked now, but for pretty exciting to read thus far. Should be exciting to watch in like 15 months when they finally show the main event.
posted by Steve K at 6:51 PM
2 Comments:
4-5 people left, you have to get VERY aggressive, almost regardless of stack sizes. A 1st and a 5th is better then 2 3rds, and this is the time when you set yourself up to win. Remember that nobody else wants to bubble either, and you can take advantage of their tight play. Remember, if you steal 1.5 sets of blinds and ante a round, you will quickly increase your stack size, while not seeming like you are being exceedingly aggressive.
I might bring my laptop to the cabin so I can show you the replays of my 4-5 handed play from abck when I played only SNG's, as I think I played pretty well in these spots.
while each time you bet, you have to be aggressive with this few players left, you also have to consider who is in the blinds, their stacks, your cards, and how often you've been stealing. and who avoids conflict the most.
as pooh said, you only need to get 1.5/5 blinds and antes per round to gain a bunch and put even more pressure on the others, so that's not constantly putting on pressure.
if you try to steal too much, you'll find someone pushing in when they have Ax and you have JT. naked aggression, to me, is a good way to invite pushes after a few rounds of it, and the coin flips will even out to you not being too happy. I think you still need to show that you fold a few times to make the times you raise more effective.
Post a Comment
<< Home