Quote:
Originally Posted by Foieverde
the pay-jump is a bit more than 1 buy-in, it's equal to the 7th place. Is that your line at the bubble aswell? "Fk, 70 cents not worth it, go for first yolo". Not trying to bash, just curious, I'm the one who asked for advice after all.
This is a debate that has been waged in multiple threads, prob since the beginning of 2+2. And while some of us may feel strongly about our stance, there is no 100% correct answer to it. I do think it depends on what your poker goals are.
Generally speaking, I play for top 3. That's where almost 67% of the prize money is (and I'm not arrogant/good enough to insist I only play for 1st, that's a set-up for disappointment). A single 3rd place finish is worth more than 4 7th place finishes. A 2nd place finish is worth more than 6 7th places. If you think you're going to invest a bit of time into learning the 45man game (and by being here you're showing a desire to do this), it's worth playing around with some of these numbers yourself, so that you get a feel for how important a top 3 place is, compared to a couple of mincashes. (If you ever play 180s, this becomes even more pronounced. In a 180 the top 27 get paid, but places 10-27 are either less than or are barely 2 buy-ins; it takes like a zillion of them to equal a single top 3 payday.)
Mathematically, busting on the bubble 3 times and getting one third place is +$ more than 4 mincashes. Psychologically, it takes some getting used to, and if you are a pure rec player who only plays a couple games a week, it's probably worth the happiness factor to get ITM, even if it's the mincash spots. But if you are aiming to build a bankroll, or like me, mostly just curious at how good you can get at poker, well, the money is a way of keeping score; therefore, I aim much bigger than when I started out a while back, and attempt to always make +$ decisions. (Note: I am not a professional, just a studious amateur.)
Once you have the numbers staring you in the face like this, you learn not to fear the bubble or pay jumps, but to love these spots, because others will play much too tight. In the hand you posted, that's what your V was counting on, that he could bully the medium stacks who were waiting for the shortie to bust out. He was prob going to steal the blinds forever until someone played back at him. In fact, it's actually his job to do that!
I do switch my strategy when I am a short stack myself. If it doesn't look like I can realistically play for 1st, then I may attempt to squeeze into the money or a significant pay jump. Say there are 9 players left, I am in 7th with 4 BB and the 2 shorties have less than 2BB, then for sure I'm tighter then a clam unless I get JJ+/AK. So there are specific times to ladder up, but the hand you posted, nah, that ain't one of them.
A book that was recommeded by some people here and changed my life is Kill Everyone, a follow-up to the book Kill Phil (which may be a better place for you to start, tbh). The fact that poker book changed my life, well, I don't really want to think about what that means, but I highly recommend them anyway.
And keep posting your hands, it's the best way to learn.