Tournament Poker for Advanced Players

Hectorjelly

Here is a great post by my hero Paul Philips on why the survival tactic in tournaments sucks big time:

"
You are depending on other people being exploitable in the hellmuthian manner (that is, being willing to intentionally fold favorites when their tournament life is on the line.) You are depending on their subscribing to the "gap concept". But what if I wear a shirt that says "you and your gap concept can blow me", and I'll take any favorite at any stage no matter what? This puts you in a pretty bad spot in terms of stealing my blinds, yes?

The gap concept is clearly profitable from a pure money standpoint, when you're willing to lower your chances of winning to make money. But if you're setting out to win tournaments you should take the opposite approach and be openly scornful of the gap concept. Turn it back on people and make them afraid to play with you. That's why people who want to win call you with A9s, that's why you'll eventually be paralyzed about moving in on their blinds, and that's part of why they keep winning. "

http://forumserver.twoplustwo.com/showflat.php?Cat=&Number=1129756&page=0&view=collapsed&sb=5&o=&fpart=5&vc=1

MadsL

That's why people who want to win call you with A9s

Odd you should say that as making exactly that call just put me out of the 20-in at the fitz.
Blinds 100/200
Me A9s UTG raise to 1000 (5100K)
Monster stack raises to 5K, I put him on a weak hand steal and call all-in.
He turns over AKo.

Bye bye.

I'm by no means defending the call, I kicked myself heartily on the way home. As a tournament move it was a go-home now or have a playable stack and with 27 players left and I certainly needed chips to have a hope of making final table.

Replaying it now I certainly should have folded and would been a lot happier to have been waiting for QQ KK AA before making that call.

bohsman

Madsl bit of advice, fold a9 utg.

Lafortezza

MadsL wrote:

Blinds 100/200
Me A9s UTG raise to 1000 (5100K)
As a tournament move it was a go-home now or have a playable stack and with 27 players left and I certainly needed chips to have a hope of making final table.

Big Blind was 200? Surely your 25xBB stack was enough to wait around a little while for a better opportunity. Stealing/raising big with A9s UTG is never a great plan but you can do it all the time from button/blinds depending on the table.

karlh

"hellmuthian"

LOL

henbane

Time for the hellmuth pr0n

bohsman

can you buy those at suitedaces.com?

DeVore

Gotta get 'em all!!


Isnt he just such a hugglebunny!?

DeV.

henbane

bohsman wrote:

can you buy those at suitedaces.com?

Just ask pudding and he'll sort you out. :ninja:

MadsL

pointing out the bleeding obvious wrote:

Madsl bit of advice, fold a9 utg.

As I said lower in my post.

How did you go last night after my brain-seizure A9s utg?

bohsman

Went out in 10th was shortstacked so had to go all in at least once a round my KJs on the button ran into the bbs AK