SHORT VERSION:

I played in an incredibly passive live 6 man tourney (1st & 2nd places paid). Every player was passive as hell unless they held AK, AQ, AA, KK, QQ or JJ. It was limp city, no pressure, check, check, check or bet/call poker.

What’s the best way to play against a table full of passive players that don’t bet their hands & just check call all day unless they have monsters?

I felt I was reduced to having to catch cards and nothing seemed to work.





LONG VERSION (same question as above, except more detail to give an idea of what the game was like)

It was an odd 6 man tourney which they called a Detroit trundle. I’ve never heard of it, but it basically was two tourneys for a single buy in. We all start with T$4000 and the blinds started at 25/50 and go up every 15 minutes. The game was full of some of the most passive players I’ve ever played with. Virtually no one ever raised and it was check, check, check or small 1/10 pot sized bet on the river that was a bluff but is called by a guy holding top pair since the flop who claims he was slow playing his “monster”, but for some reason didn't want to raise or bet his hand.

I don’t like to limp much and usually come in raising when I play poker. They looked utterly shocked every time I raised. Most pots were limped and I did probably 90% of the raising. I thought I was going to be in great shape to bully these guys but I got my ass handed to me and came in last place in both tourneys. I bet I didn’t win 5 hands in two tourneys and it seemed every time I finally got a hand, somehow the other player pipped my hand, outflopped me or had the same exact hand. Examples:

In the 1st tourney, I have 89 and the board shows 2/10/J turn Q. I bet, get raised, I call. River 6, I lead into the raiser, he calls. I show 8/9, he shows 8/9.

A few hands later after bleeding most of my chips to failed bluffs or blinds, my stack is $2K (blinds 200/400). I am in the cutoff with AcKc and raise to $600 BB raises to 1800, I push, he calls and shows AA and I’m out 6th in the 1st tourney. By the way, he also gets AA in the next hand. If it wasn’t such a small buy in, I would wonder if I was getting cheated.

Here are some other sample hands:

Small blind has 900 after posting the small blind ($400/800). It’s Four handed and everyone folds to the small blind who calls leaving himself with $500(?). Big blind (and massive chip leader) taps the felt. Flop comes (irrelevant what it was), small blind hems and haws and finally throws his last $500 in, big blind folds.

4 players left, blinds 800/1600. Big blind has about 1700 after posting his BB. UG raises to 2400. BB is visibly upset about the situation and cannot decide whether to call or fold for his last 1700. After about 3 minutes, he chunks in his chips and says reluctantly, I guess I have to call. He turns over pocket jacks!! Lol, wtf?? He beats AQ.

Next tourney, I get pocket jacks. Blinds 100/200, I have about $3800. I raise to $500 (hell, $400 usually did the trick). Mr. “I can’t decide whether to call my stack off with an M of 1 with pocket jacks” doesn’t hesitate to call me and looks strangely confident compared to how he acted with his jacks. The flop comes 883, he checks. I bet 550. He calls immediately. The turn is a 9 (rainbow board), he checks, I bet $800, he calls immediately again. 10 comes on the river and he pushes all in and I muck. Given the total change in his demeanor compared to how he acted when calling off all his chips, I think he might have had pocket aces or surely an 8. I guess I should have checked the turn but didn’t because as oddly passive as these guys were, when they had a really strong hand they should slow play, they tended to get aggressive on the flop with a big check raise. Anyway, I guess I played this hand bad.

The blinds get up to 200/400 and I have been whittled down to $1500, so I begin to push every playable hand, which with all the limpers, makes for a fairly good return when they all fold. I push A/2 suited to 3 limpers on my button, all fold. In the small blind I get 55, Mr. Jacks has limped, so I push again, BB folds and Mr. Jacks grimaces as if he has been constipated for about a week but finally folds after about 3 minutes. The very next hand, I get JJ in the BB, all limp to me and of course I push. Mr. Jacks is pissed now and calls me immediately with AJ. Nice 70-30 favorite until the AA4 flop leaves me drawing dead.

Two tourneys, last place in both and here I thought I might have been the best player there. I’ve played 1000’s of sit n gos online and I bet I haven’t come in last place more than 5 times, so I guess live games must be rigged.

What’s the best strategy to use in these types of tourneys? Seems to me these should be easy to be a favorite in for an even average player (which I am aspiring to be and surpass).

Be aggressive.

These are the preferred type of opponents to have a table.

How to play against loose passive players?

ABC poker. Get a hand. Value bet. Don't bluff. Raise preflop with strong hands. See flops cheap with good implied odds hands (pairs and suited aces).

When the blinds get big, shove wide.

How do people not know this?

Why are you bluffing loose/passives? Bad idea.

Also, I hope you were in the BB with 89, and didn't raise with it.

Play straightforward and let them make fundamental mistakes.

No. They are playing correctly for the structure.


No. I prefer maniacs who knock each other out nice and quickly. Tight passive players who do not take risks are bad.

..

IDK.. only read the short version. Bet less when you're bluffing. Bet more when you have it. Bluff when you don't have to go through many people. Value-bet when there are a lot of people left in the pot who will call with worse hands.