Tourneys and Cash Games

So I just cannot stay away from the excitement of tournaments. I usually play 4-6 of them early in the evening and then switch to cash games for new tables when I get down to 2 tables remaining.

This way I can still come out positive for the night even if I do not make a final table in tournaments.

There are somethings to be careful with in mixing tourneys and cash games:

1. Avoid this strategy if you are susceptible to TILT -- You are going to get bad beats in tournament play -- it is inevitable. If I play six tournaments in a night, I will likely get bad beat out of 4 of them. That is just the nature of tournaments and all the all in hands required. Tilt will lead to big money losses in cash games, so bad beats set you off then avoid mixing cash and tourney games.

2. Pay attention -- In the early and early middle stages of a tourney you can get away with not paying attention. That is a good time to play 4-6 tables at the same time. However, when you get down to the late middle and late stages of a tourney, you need to pay attention to win. You need to know your opponents tendencies. For instance, who is raising a lot preflop but laying down to reraises. That is a great target for restealing chips. Don't open so many tables that you cannot pay close attention in your late tourney tables.

3. Use two different strategies -- Remember that you are playing both cash and tourneys and they both require different strategies. You can play more fast and loose in a tourney, you need to bluff more in tourneys and you resteal more in tourneys. Don't try these strategies too often at a cash game or you will just lose chips.

Good luck at the tables this week.

Beware: Tourney Play can Destroy your Cash Game Play

I used to be a good cash game player. That is how I originally built my bankroll. However, tourney play has just destroyed my ability to play cash games. I wonder how many other players are in the same boat?

I guess it comes down to patience. When I was strictly a cash game player, I would sit for hours at a time patiently waiting for big hidden hands like trips and str8s. However, as a tourney player you do not have that luxury. You need to play more hands and you need to mix it up more after the flop.

While my post flop play is much better than it used to be, I also chase far too much in ring games. In tourney play, it is often appropriate to call off chips to get to showdown where there is a chance you have the best hand. The scarcity of chips just dictates that you have to try to win more chips.

However, in ring games players really do not keep firing without very good hands. It is difficult to switch back to that mentality when you are getting rewarded in tourneys for opposite behavior.

Most good tourney players do not mix tourneys and cash and I can see why. However, now here I am stuck. I am not yet a good consistent tourney player and now I am no longer a good cash game player. Oops!

Great Play, Marginal Result

I played in a couple tourneys last night and took 7th in a $20 180 man SNG on Star, but then was also cruising in a larger tourney with about 765 players.

We were down to about 45 players and had passed the money bubble at 63. I had played the bubble and late stages well. I was raising about 2x per round and gaining chips. I was also able to increase my stack with some timely all ins against small stacks. And with 45 left I was second in chips.

I felt like I was playing as well as I have played in tourneys, both fearless but rational.

Then the following hand came up.

I have about 52k in chips and the blinds are 600/1200. In early position I get dealt AsKc and made a standard raise to 3600. A middle position player with 37.7k in chips reraises to 9600 (or 6000 more to me). Everyone folds and I call his raise. I just call because I am playing well and chipping up nicely. I am 2nd in chips and do not need to get all in without a hand. Given he had not been a reckless player and he reraised, I put him on TT or better, maybe AK but pushing or calling was more likely with AK.

The flop comes QcJhTc and I have made a straight. Now given my opponent's likely hands TT or better, there is a good chance he has made a set. If he has the set we are both getting all in no matter what. I bet half the pot into his preflop reraise hoping he raises. He pushes, I call and he has a set of Qs.

The turn comes a 5s which is good for me. But alas the river brings another 5 and I am crippled down to 12000 chips.

Shortly thereafter, I pushed with 66 in middle position and I was called by both 77 and AK. OUch and out I go in 42nd.

"Decisions over Results", I have to keep telling myself. I was very happy with my play all night but the poker gods stole one away from me there.

Tonight, I get the opportunity to play some live poker against a mixed field of weak and good players. Should be a fun change of pace.

Strengths and Weaknesses

Broke out of a bit of a funk tonight and made two final tables and the final two tables in a third -- taking 3rd in a $10 rebuy tourney on Bugsy's.

The last couple of sessions had been very frustrating because I was building big stacks in several tourneys but then losing them on risky plays during the middle stages of the tourney. It led me to really assess my game and try to determine what was happen.

The realization I came to was that my greatest strength in tourneys is also my greatest weakness later in tourneys.

I have concluded that I have a strong ability to build a big stack early in a tourney, whether a rebuy or a freezeout. I do this by taking some key risks early in tourneys and either busting or doubling. I also tend to play well after the flop to assess an opponents strength and when I spot weakness I will pounce to take the pot -- know matter what my holding.

While these strengths serve me well early and for the first couple of levels in the middle of a tourney -- they were tending to be my downfall in the later middle stages of a tourney.

Here is an example, I have built a very large stack in the middle of a tourney. blinds are 150/300 and I have about 40,000 chips. I get 66 in late middle position. An early position player makes it 3x the big blind, or 900. Now this individual had raised a couple of times in the last 10 hands and I was starting to label him as a LAG. However, he had not showed a hand and I was playing several other tables so I did not yet have a good read on him. He had about 25,000 chips.

I decide to come over the top of him, but there are a couple players to act behind me. Early in a tourney -- I will push here to get all in and see what happens. But here I should have only reraised about 3000 to 3500 chips. Instead my adrenaline was flowing and I had a big stack so I make it 9000 to go. He pushes and unfortunately I am pot committed to call. I call and he has KK. My read was AJ to AK based upon his earlier raises. I am now hammered down to 15,000 chips and while sufficient to hang on, I should have still had my stack.

Here is another example, in the UB $3 rebuy with a guaranteed $7k prize pool. We are down to 22 players and I have about 119,000 chips. The blinds are 4k/8k and I have not had cards for awhile, I have been unsuccessful in a few blind steals and have whittled down from about 145,000 in chips. I am UTG+1 with 99 and I raise to 22,000 to go (just below 3x bb). A middle position raiser raises another 27,000 and it is folded to me. Again the adrenaline was flowing and I did not take long enough to think through the situation.

There are really only two choice here, push or fold. Calling is a very bad decision (unless you plan to stop-n-go and push any flop -- then it is like pushing anyway), because if you call you will be left with 70,000 in chips (or 8x bb) and the flop will have an overcard about 50% of the time.

I ended up pushing and was up against JJ, but in hindsight if I had thought this through more thoroughly what could he have had. First, let me say that I did not have a great read on this player but he had not been out of hand so I had to assume he had a hand. What could he have had -- realistically his range is AJ - AK and TT and up. So best case I am up against a race and worst case I and dominated. Not a good place to push, unless the player was a LAG player that had been raising alot. Clear fold -- in fact in hindsight I think I should also fold TT here and JJ is about a 50/50 proposition. AK, QQ to AA are all pushes, but no 99.

The lesson: With only 22 players left and a prize structure that pays $39 to 22nd and $1,500 to first, I really need to take more time to think through the situation and really be more careful with a large or decent size stack. Here I had 97,000 chips before the raiser's additional 27,000 -- I can fold and still have 12x the bb. I had flexibility and should have looked for a better place to push from late position later.

So tonight, I still built the big stack in three tourneys but this time I played much more wisely down the stretch. I was much more cognizant of my stack and preserving it. I was an aggressive raiser, but did not call many reraises unless I had a monster.

Once it gets to all in poker, I play well. Tonight gave me confidence that I can preserve a big stack in the late middle rounds and play wisely until we get down to the bubble.

180 man SNG on Stars

Since the beginning of the year, I have been playing a lot more tourney's on Pokerstars and I have had relatively good success. However, the Top 3 finishes have been frustratingly infrequent because of the large number of players in every PS tourney (typically over 500 and often over 1,000).

So on Friday I played my first 180 person SNG on PS in about a year and as luck would have it I took 2nd. This result is consistent with the other tourney on PS that I have had the most success in -- the $9.90 360 max tourney.

When the field is limited, there is much more chance to make it to the final table. If you can double up during the first hour then you have a legitimate shot. I advocate patience -- in this particular tourney I had a low M of between 4 and 8 from the 108th hand up to the 177th hand. I was patient and I would push with good hands and usually just take the blinds but occasionally double up.

Then near the bubble (18 paid) when we were down to about 22 players, I became much more aggressive. I would push with hands like KJs and happened to bust As with that hand. But the point is you pick up chips -- either you are going to double up, scoop the large blinds or go home.

Play moderately tight in the beginning but see a few speculative hands -- I like to see the flop with any pair for instance. Try to double up to buy yourself time to get to the bubble.

Play tight in the middle if your M is below 10 times -- only get involved if you have cards you are willing to get all in with and you should probably push with them to exercise fold equity. If you have a higher M then play solid poker, but not overly tight.

On the bubble, get very aggressive. Push with speculative hands (all pairs excepts 22, 33 and 44 -- large connected cards, AT and above, etc). This is where you want to steal blinds, double up or go home. There is no shame going home on the button as long as you are the one that pushed. DON'T call others pushes with K high, or Ax (below AJ) or pairs below 88. This is just a recipe for disaster. Push not call on the button.

Then when you get to the FT, I usually slow down considerably until 2-3 people have gone home. There is nothing worse than taking 8th or 9th in a tourney. You have realized your goal of reaching the FT, invested a large amount of time, but then get almost no cash for your effort. Play tight until 6-7 handed.

You can view the HandHistoryAnalzyer at PokerXFactor here, if you are a member.