I'm inclined to agree with it being a fold, though not being as experienced as jdawg, my range would be slightly tighter, probably 88+, AJ+ and suited broadway cards.

I like a fold there & somewhere around grim's and jdawg's ranges should be fine. Even a little tighter isn't terrible imo. If the fishy button raise/folds there you're still ahead comfortably, & the more the fish ****s up here, the greater the mini-bubble factor is for the other reg. The shorter the fish gets, the tighter the reg is going to have to be getting it in, which will allow for some great 3-handed pwnage for you a lot of the time.

edit: that said, 44 is still ahead of that dude's range so you can't feel terrible about a call... I just think you'd be passing up better opportunities you'll often get later in this exact situation, with a weak player, a strong player, & a chip lead 3-handed.

Word. Thanks for the thoughts, guys. Esp well said by Mr. Gun. I actually did end up folding, but was debating whether it was a better play to take the pair against the 4 likely overcards and try to take the whole thing there.

Again - thanks for the input!

I think this seems like a pretty easy fold imo. I would be pretty tight in spots like this. Do u think the good lag in the sb expects the fish to r/f to a 9bb shove? I'm with grimshaw range maybe even a little tighter but 9man icm spots confuse me so i could be way off

I do think its probably close, to the point where its a good fold in your games, and a better call in my games at the moment b/c the regs you are facing are more likely to pay attention to icm implications & opponent conditions itm. Also this is further from a call in the slower reg-speed structure than in your turbo games. An interesting spot though, good hand to post for sure.

(I'm guess the 4s held in the runout? lol)

Another interesting angle with it is that the fish is wayyy more likely to fold if you get it in with the reg than if you don't, leaving you with better odds than a flip to take out the reg & face the fish HU. If you feel that reg is much better than you HU then getting it in is probably better. But I know you're strong HU, so I'm sure that's not the case.

idk.. I just think its one of those spots where you're in a good spot chip-wise, your hand is solid, and both choices you could make are +ev. Its a Dervish spot imo

I played around with this hand in sng wiz it a def -ev call. But starting gun made some good points it could be a spot that you should give up an edge.
I have been following your threads and find them very interesting. I wish you the best of luck

Haha you guess right It's more that I was real close to calling, decided to fold, it would've held up and I would've taken the tourney down right there, and I ended up finishing 2nd. That's why it's always good to get insight from other good players who have no investment in the hand

Yeah, I thought of that too. It could have been anything from a coinflip HU vs the reg subsidized by the dead money of the fish's raise (def a +EV venture) to a situation where the fish called and someone had a better pair than me, or one of the overcards hit and I lost my chiplead in a situation where I could have just folded, kept my chiplead, and waited for a better spot. Fwiw, I feel pretty good about my chances HU against whoever ... not to sound like a diva WR about it


Thanks Minty, and thanks for running it through Wiz too. I really liked your 3000sng/14day/$10k thread as well. You're a sicko for sure - GL on your new challenge ... I'll be following it.

lol

Good and bad day today. The bad:

Volume sucked - got sucked into playing Madden with friends in the afternoon, and by I got back to playing in the evening, the games all had like 6+ regs in them, so I sat out for a while more until they cleared up a little.

Also ran pretty poorly - AI EV was at ~$24K in chips, actual was about 6K. Had a lot of unfortunate stuff happen shorthanded and HU especially. Can't complain tho, as yesterday I was up about 30k chipwise over EV. The Poker Gods giveth, the Poker Gods taketh away

The good: I played well and managed to have a good day profit-wise.


Today's results:

Tournaments: 14 (9 - $110 turbos, 4 - $100 reg speed, 1 - $50 reg speed)

1st: 2
2nd: 3
3rd: 2

Total profit: +$893 (includes a $250 Iron Man bonus)
Rakeback: $32.94
FullTilt Points: 1,220

Do you have any expectations on how much you are gonna be up at the end of the month/year/decade(last one is just lolly)??

Not really, actually. So much of what you make is out of your control, so I try not to worry about it too much. I just try to focus on playing well and putting in volume, and the money should take care of itself.

The best I could venture would be yearly ... I would like to make at least $60k (before rakeback), and if I were able to clear 6 figures, I'd be extremely happy.

Quick update: Played a short session of 10 STT's today. It should have been more but I woke up super late (noon ) and stopped early to get ready to go out soon.


Todays results:

Tournaments: 10 (9 - $110 turbos, 1 - $100 reg speed)

1st: 2
2nd: 2
3rd: 0

Total profit: +$377
Rakeback: $24.30
FullTilt Points: 900

Currently 6th on the turbo leaderboard ($101-$300) and 16th on the regular speed leaderboard ($36-100). Only a week into the year so probably too early to be talking about it.

Nice start to the year; keep it up imo

Thanks J, imo.

Good, but frustrating start to the day ... got heads up in my first 3 tourneys, but lost them all. Sad face. Gonna be a light day but will post a real update later.

If I could buy a win HU, today would have been great. Just unfortunate in the first 3 HU's, but I really gave the 4th one away. Guy limped on the button with JJ, and because he hadn't been limping at all I thought there was a good chance he was trapping with a big hand. But then I totally lost where I was in the hand because I was because I was playing other tables, and ended up getting in it with 2nd pair on the flop like a donkey. Need to do better with my focus and attention in situations like that. I ran scalding hot to get ITM today though, so I can't really complain.


Today's results:

Tournaments: 10 (7 - $110 turbos, 3 - $100 reg speed)

1st: 1
2nd: 4
3rd: 2

Total profit: +$856
Rakeback: $24.30
FullTilt Points: 900


I'm gonna take tomorrow off ... gonna to the aquarium and play with fishes, should be fun
GL out there kids!

Yech. Day started well enough, but after my lunch break, I dropped 8 in a row to finish with a whimper. Cest la vie Will be back again tomorrow to try again.

Today's results:

Tournaments: 15 (10 - $110 turbos, 4 - $100 reg speed, 1 - $50 reg speed)

1st: 1
2nd: 1
3rd: 2

Total profit: -$493
Rakeback: $35.37
FullTilt Points: 1,310

gl man
Nice goal. Looks like you're crushing. Should be achievable with ease for you with enough volume

Any advice for STT micro stakes beginner? :P

Thanks River.

The best advice I could give is:

1. Study a bunch. Some people like training sites, which I've never used so I couldn't attest to. I've mostly read a lot of books over and over and over. The ones that did the most for me are the Harrington on Hold'em series - they're not specifically geared towards STT's, but they contain a lot of really important tournament concepts that can be applied in any venue. Also, I think Colin Moshman's book "Sit n Go Strategy" is the best book I've read on STT's specifically.

2. Play real solid. At those levels, good technical play will take the $. That means things like no bluffing at all until you're down to 3-handed, and throwing away hands like AJ and AQ in early position at the first couple levels.

3. Take a lot of notes. Everyone is exploitable in some way. If you can chronicle their mistakes in your notes, you can make plays in the future that take advantage of their weaknesses. Obviously at micros, there are a lot of players, so you won't see the same ones quite so much, but if a note can win you just one critical pot in a tournament, it can make all the difference.

GL!

Thank you for the answer

I've already read both books
Actually I can say with no exageration that Moshman's is probably the best I've ever read about tournaments. (especially STTs)

The only point I don't apply to too much is 3. as now I'm just trying to grind out my bankroll to have enough to play at least 6,25$ STTs where I could focus on for some time and begin to play less tables and try to exploit regs or staff like that.

If I can have some more questions... Do you recommend using any programes like SNG Wizard or sth? I've been using pokerstove as I've been playing HUs but to SnGs it seems to be not enough(?) or a bit complicated as far as stack sizes are more concerned. I'd like to get deeper into mathematical side of SnGs. I feel like there's much work about that. Any ideas how to understand it clearer?
Oh, and did you start from the very beginning to make massive notes? At the stakes I'm playing now I just prefer to play more tables as it increases my $/hr rate definitely. Also what brm do you suggest as climbing up in stakes?

Btw I like your approach to the game I mean not nitting around and just exploting opponents. Haven't you ever thought about taking shots at HU SnGs?

Subscribed

I like your approach to the game! Post more hands, IMO.

A lot of good STT players swear by SitNGo Wiz. I've never used it personally, but it seems as though it would be a very helpful tool to know if your shoves and calls are ICM + or - EV. For turbos I would think this is especially helpful, because so many spots are just shove-or-fold. If you're looking for a more mathematical approach to the game, I think this would be the place to start.
Just be sure you keep the limitations of Wiz in mind - Wiz captures a snapshot in time; it's not aware of the energy of the table, the skill advantage one player might have over another, or the timing of blind increases. So while it's definitely a good tool, just keep in mind that its word is not the end-all, be-all.

Note taking is something I've always done, and it's something I consider extremely valuable. I know a lot of players don't do it bc they're playing so many tables that they don't have the time or attention. But it's a huge part of my game that I feel affords me a great edge.

I have thought about HU's sng's, if only because my HU record at STT's is around 60%. Obviously it's much different that HU sng's in that one player often starts with a chip advantage, the blinds are high already, and most STT players are not HU specialists. That said, I do enjoy HU a lot and would like to think it would be something I could succeed at, so maybe at some point in the future I'll give it a shot.

Thanks! You're right, I haven't posted too many hands as of yet. What I'll start doing is marking hands for review as I play and bring a couple to the updates. A couple from yesterday ...



My worst played hand:

Full Tilt - $100+$9|120/240 NL - Holdem - 3 players
Hand converted by PokerTracker 3

Hero (BB): 1,798.00
BTN: 4,676.00
SB: 7,026.00

SB posts SB 120.00, Hero posts BB 240.00

Pre Flop: (360.00) Hero has 8 7

BTN calls 240.00, SB calls 120.00, Hero checks

Flop: (720.00, 3 players) 7 5 K
SB checks, Hero checks, BTN checks

Turn: (720.00, 3 players) T
SB checks, Hero checks, BTN bets 480.00, fold, Hero raises to 1,558.00 and is all-in, BTN calls 1,078.00

River: (3836.00, 2 players) Q

Hero shows 8 7 (One Pair, Sevens) (PreFlop 36%, Flop 75%, Turn 11%)
BTN shows T Q (Two Pair, Queens and Tens) (PreFlop 64%, Flop 25%, Turn 89%)
BTN wins 3,836.00

I douched myself by not betting the flop. Was sure he hit a 10 on the turn and tried to move him off it, but what hand could I really have here, from his POV? Bad bluff, for sure.




A hand I played well:

Full Tilt - $100+$9|50/100 NL - Holdem - 4 players
Hand converted by PokerTracker 3

Hero (BTN): 3,445.00
SB: 3,010.00
BB: 3,520.00
UTG: 3,525.00

SB posts SB 50.00, BB posts BB 100.00

Pre Flop: (150.00) Hero has K J

fold, Hero raises to 250.00, SB calls 200.00, BB calls 150.00

Flop: (750.00, 3 players) Q 2 4
SB checks, BB checks, Hero bets 360.00, fold, BB calls 360.00

Turn: (1470.00, 2 players) A
BB checks, Hero bets 750.00, fold

Hero wins 1,470.00


Not an amazing play or anything, but more that it was a critical hand on the bubble that put me in control of the tourney.




And a fun hand, against a pretty good reg.

Full Tilt - $110+$9|50/100 NL - Holdem - 5 players
Hand converted by PokerTracker 3

BB: 1,450.00
UTG: 1,375.00
CO: 5,220.00
BTN: 3,965.00
Hero (SB): 1,490.00

Hero posts SB 50.00, BB posts BB 100.00

Pre Flop: (150.00) Hero has 8 7

fold, fold, fold, Hero calls 50.00, BB checks

Flop: (200.00, 2 players) A 6 A
Hero bets 120.00, BB raises to 300.00, Hero raises to 1,390.00 and is all-in, BB calls 1,050.00 and is all-in

Turn: (2900.00, 2 players) 3

River: (2900.00, 2 players) 3

BB shows 9 6 (Two Pair, Aces and Sixes) (PreFlop 55%, Flop 48%, Turn 66%)
Hero shows 8 7 (Two Pair, Aces and Threes) (PreFlop 45%, Flop 52%, Turn 34%)
BB wins 2,900.00

I was a kinda surprised by his play here, but I guess he just thought I was full of it. Which I suppose is a pretty reasonable assumption


Yesterday's results:

Tournaments: 15 (10 - $110 turbos, 3 - $100 reg speed, 2 - $50 reg speed)

1st: 2
2nd: 2
3rd: 2

Total profit: +$308
Rakeback: $34.29
FullTilt Points: 1,270


Gonna start today's session soon ... GL out there everyone!

The story today, as has been the past couple days ... plenty of cashes, but unfortunate things happening short handed. Ran a good number of chips under expected EV today, but such is poker

Today's results:

Tournaments: 15 (14 - $110 turbos, 1 - $100 reg speed)

1st: 1
2nd: 2
3rd: 4

Total profit: +$79
Rakeback: $36.45
FullTilt Points: 1,350


Also, I just saw that the next FTOPS schedule has been announced for February. I'm thinking of playing several events and may sell shares of my action if anyone's interested. If so, I'll post ITT as well as the marketplace. GL out there, everyone.

Congrats on the success early in the year, any way we can get a HEM graph?