Hello people.
Well the sun is out, I have sever sunburn for the first time since I was a kid, and am back to work after a week off doing very little but playing poker and Grand Theft Auto (yes I know, it automatically makes me one of those pathetic blokes, but then at least I have found a woman who pities me through all of it!).
So in the last blog I was explaining my intention to play to certain styles, and for the last few weeks thats what I have done, with both great success and the most lemming like catastrophe.
The Howard Lederer Style
My opening style can only be described as ultra conservative. I had listened to a podcast by Howard Lederer on the way to play Sit n Go games, and although I had based my game around most of what he had said from the beginning of playing the game I had not followed it through to his logical conclusion.
When you listen to most players comment on the way they play, the aim is to play conservative to begin with until half of the field is lost and as the blinds go up start playing a looser game with the aim of being near to table leader (ie having the most chips) by the time you are coming to near the money places (ie either 4 or 5 players are remaining). Although Howard agreed with this theory for multi-table tournaments he did not for Sit N Gos. His view was that due to the nature of the pay outs reaching third place (the first place that pays out on a normal SNG) it was imperative to hold out as long as possible even if that meant scraping in to the 3rd place, and then becoming for more loose in your play once you reach the money places, and which point just stealing blinds at this artificial level could double up your chips.
With this in mind I decided to tackle the $10 SNG ten player tables with this in mind (the Howard Lederer Style). It was a great success.
With a starting chip count of $1200 in the opening types of hands (blinds at 10/20 or 15/30) I would play suited connectors at any level by calling to see a flop. I would play suited aces in the same way, never raising a pot until I was looking at a flush. I would also limp in to pots with small pairs, hoping to flop a set. At no point would I bluff a pot. Once blinds went up to 25/50 I stopped playing low suited connectors, but would continue to play the flush pots and low pairs as calling hands. It would normally be at the 50/100 blinds that people would start going out more often. At this point I was no longer playing suited aces, but playing primarily only pairs, and now raising with pairs of whatever size. Again there would be no bluffing. Above these blinds I then began taking into account position far more, and playing two face cards (taking on the Gus Hansen theory of playing any hand worth over 20 points)
This strategy is, of course, very dependent on getting good starting hands, and for the first few tournaments I did - I would always end up, at some point, with a good pair (JJ, QQ, KK, AA) at the high blind levels and usually double up. I would then hold out with whatever it takes to stay in that position - throwing away good starting hands if I could see myself up against someone with a bigger chip stack than me. This usually led to me limping into the money in the third spot. However, I sort of pride myself that once I am in the money places I can usually play myself into first place - not by what cards I have, but by playing certain players in certain ways, and becoming far more aggressive.
This led to a perfect start. In my first two games I won both, pocketing $100 and raising my pot to the most it had been since I was playing. I was a happy bunny.
Inevitably then came the fall - quicker than lemmings jumping off a cliff.
As I say this style of play relies on finding a good hand, and I then proceeded not to find those hands. In one game I never saw any card above a 10. I went out in 6th place when I was almost blinded out.
I was getting mid pairs, but had unfavourable flops, and based on the ruling of not bluffing my play, if I was played in to aggressively after the flop I folded the hand.
Just to digress one moment. I had one game completely in reverse of this trend. In one game I was dealt AA three times! I went out in 5th place! I am also proud of this. Let me explain. All the top pros explain that to make a good player you need to be able to predict your opponents cards - I have tried this consistently and although I can usually be in the ball park I have never nailed it exactly. So imagine this scene. I get dealt AA in early position. I made a standard three times raise, to find two other players drop out but the big blind doubles the bet. I call. Flop comes down J, 6, 2 rainbow. He bets out for the size of the pot. At this point I put him on QQ, KK or AK. The flop I don`t think has helped him as he would have checked if he had trips. So I call his raise - I don`t raise as I think whatever cards he has he is going to be with me all the way, so I decided to let him lead the pot and bury himseld in it. Next card is K. He checks. At this point I put him on KK - don`t ask me why, call it intuition, but it didn`t feel like AK, and I think, on the way he was playing, he would have bet again with QQ with him believing I was on a lower pair. Now having narrowed it down to this, I bizarrely, pushed all in. I had very few chips left and had already become pot committed, so I was hoping my intuition was wrong. It wasn`t, he turned over KK. The proudest moment I have had in poker, whilst loosing $10. he he.
The Tournament Style
Anyway back to the games. The loosing streak continued, so I decided to change my style of play again. Here I would take the tournament route. So I played the same style of game as explained above until I got to the 50/100 blinds. At this point, normally with 5 or 6 players remaining, I would start to play more positionally. I started stealing blinds on a regular basis, played A rag when I felt the position suited. This was similar to the style I was playing previous to this experiment - the style I had been playing for the last two years. I never made it to the final three.
In the end I hit a loosing streak of 9 games. In the whole time of playing poker online I have never had a loosing streak of more than 4 games. This was harsh. My pot dropped below the magic $500 mark, so, to try and run through the bad patch I dropped down to the $5 SNG 10 player tables. I continued to play this "tournament style " for another three games, and still nothing. 12 game loosing streak and well over a $100 hit to my account. Dropping me below the $475 mark for the first time in quite a while.
So as of the weekend I played a $5 SNG and returned to the Howard Lederer style of play. The cards returned, and I won the game. Just pushing the account back near the $500 mark.
So there were the first two experiments. Why do I think the tournament style didn`t work. I think its to do with the level you are playing at. At $5 and $10 people are still willing to risk going against you in pots - and as such I just don`t think bluffing really succeeds. To go into a pot you need to be holding top pair in your hand or from the board, at a push second pair, anything else and you are asking for a fall. Table image doesn`t seem to matter at these levels. You will usually find someone prepared to go against you.
So whats next. Well I am going to mix in two styles of play in the next month. I will continue to play some $5 and $10 SNGs using the Lederer approach. However I am going to mix this with a more aggressive style (whose name I haven`t thought of yet - answers on a postcard) and some of the lower SNG rates (because I am not chucking too much money away... he he).
Right I think thats quite enough for me, all this has made me sound like some sort of semi serious blogger, which just can`t be right.
Ta ra for now.
Pot Total: $498.54
Well the sun is out, I have sever sunburn for the first time since I was a kid, and am back to work after a week off doing very little but playing poker and Grand Theft Auto (yes I know, it automatically makes me one of those pathetic blokes, but then at least I have found a woman who pities me through all of it!).
So in the last blog I was explaining my intention to play to certain styles, and for the last few weeks thats what I have done, with both great success and the most lemming like catastrophe.
The Howard Lederer Style
My opening style can only be described as ultra conservative. I had listened to a podcast by Howard Lederer on the way to play Sit n Go games, and although I had based my game around most of what he had said from the beginning of playing the game I had not followed it through to his logical conclusion.
When you listen to most players comment on the way they play, the aim is to play conservative to begin with until half of the field is lost and as the blinds go up start playing a looser game with the aim of being near to table leader (ie having the most chips) by the time you are coming to near the money places (ie either 4 or 5 players are remaining). Although Howard agreed with this theory for multi-table tournaments he did not for Sit N Gos. His view was that due to the nature of the pay outs reaching third place (the first place that pays out on a normal SNG) it was imperative to hold out as long as possible even if that meant scraping in to the 3rd place, and then becoming for more loose in your play once you reach the money places, and which point just stealing blinds at this artificial level could double up your chips.
With this in mind I decided to tackle the $10 SNG ten player tables with this in mind (the Howard Lederer Style). It was a great success.
With a starting chip count of $1200 in the opening types of hands (blinds at 10/20 or 15/30) I would play suited connectors at any level by calling to see a flop. I would play suited aces in the same way, never raising a pot until I was looking at a flush. I would also limp in to pots with small pairs, hoping to flop a set. At no point would I bluff a pot. Once blinds went up to 25/50 I stopped playing low suited connectors, but would continue to play the flush pots and low pairs as calling hands. It would normally be at the 50/100 blinds that people would start going out more often. At this point I was no longer playing suited aces, but playing primarily only pairs, and now raising with pairs of whatever size. Again there would be no bluffing. Above these blinds I then began taking into account position far more, and playing two face cards (taking on the Gus Hansen theory of playing any hand worth over 20 points)
This strategy is, of course, very dependent on getting good starting hands, and for the first few tournaments I did - I would always end up, at some point, with a good pair (JJ, QQ, KK, AA) at the high blind levels and usually double up. I would then hold out with whatever it takes to stay in that position - throwing away good starting hands if I could see myself up against someone with a bigger chip stack than me. This usually led to me limping into the money in the third spot. However, I sort of pride myself that once I am in the money places I can usually play myself into first place - not by what cards I have, but by playing certain players in certain ways, and becoming far more aggressive.
This led to a perfect start. In my first two games I won both, pocketing $100 and raising my pot to the most it had been since I was playing. I was a happy bunny.
Inevitably then came the fall - quicker than lemmings jumping off a cliff.
As I say this style of play relies on finding a good hand, and I then proceeded not to find those hands. In one game I never saw any card above a 10. I went out in 6th place when I was almost blinded out.
I was getting mid pairs, but had unfavourable flops, and based on the ruling of not bluffing my play, if I was played in to aggressively after the flop I folded the hand.
Just to digress one moment. I had one game completely in reverse of this trend. In one game I was dealt AA three times! I went out in 5th place! I am also proud of this. Let me explain. All the top pros explain that to make a good player you need to be able to predict your opponents cards - I have tried this consistently and although I can usually be in the ball park I have never nailed it exactly. So imagine this scene. I get dealt AA in early position. I made a standard three times raise, to find two other players drop out but the big blind doubles the bet. I call. Flop comes down J, 6, 2 rainbow. He bets out for the size of the pot. At this point I put him on QQ, KK or AK. The flop I don`t think has helped him as he would have checked if he had trips. So I call his raise - I don`t raise as I think whatever cards he has he is going to be with me all the way, so I decided to let him lead the pot and bury himseld in it. Next card is K. He checks. At this point I put him on KK - don`t ask me why, call it intuition, but it didn`t feel like AK, and I think, on the way he was playing, he would have bet again with QQ with him believing I was on a lower pair. Now having narrowed it down to this, I bizarrely, pushed all in. I had very few chips left and had already become pot committed, so I was hoping my intuition was wrong. It wasn`t, he turned over KK. The proudest moment I have had in poker, whilst loosing $10. he he.
The Tournament Style
Anyway back to the games. The loosing streak continued, so I decided to change my style of play again. Here I would take the tournament route. So I played the same style of game as explained above until I got to the 50/100 blinds. At this point, normally with 5 or 6 players remaining, I would start to play more positionally. I started stealing blinds on a regular basis, played A rag when I felt the position suited. This was similar to the style I was playing previous to this experiment - the style I had been playing for the last two years. I never made it to the final three.
In the end I hit a loosing streak of 9 games. In the whole time of playing poker online I have never had a loosing streak of more than 4 games. This was harsh. My pot dropped below the magic $500 mark, so, to try and run through the bad patch I dropped down to the $5 SNG 10 player tables. I continued to play this "tournament style " for another three games, and still nothing. 12 game loosing streak and well over a $100 hit to my account. Dropping me below the $475 mark for the first time in quite a while.
So as of the weekend I played a $5 SNG and returned to the Howard Lederer style of play. The cards returned, and I won the game. Just pushing the account back near the $500 mark.
So there were the first two experiments. Why do I think the tournament style didn`t work. I think its to do with the level you are playing at. At $5 and $10 people are still willing to risk going against you in pots - and as such I just don`t think bluffing really succeeds. To go into a pot you need to be holding top pair in your hand or from the board, at a push second pair, anything else and you are asking for a fall. Table image doesn`t seem to matter at these levels. You will usually find someone prepared to go against you.
So whats next. Well I am going to mix in two styles of play in the next month. I will continue to play some $5 and $10 SNGs using the Lederer approach. However I am going to mix this with a more aggressive style (whose name I haven`t thought of yet - answers on a postcard) and some of the lower SNG rates (because I am not chucking too much money away... he he).
Right I think thats quite enough for me, all this has made me sound like some sort of semi serious blogger, which just can`t be right.
Ta ra for now.
Pot Total: $498.54
