Tournament experience and tips

[Niykk]

Yeah, I feel the same way as 5TR8 FLUSH. It's just way more comfortable playing onine than live

 

[5TR8 FLUSH]

I'm gonna go an hour early today to sign up for the tourney since it's been filling up quickly, and also play an hour in a cash game if there's a seat available. This will be my first cash game, so wish me luck for both. I have three goals today for the tourney, play each hand the best I can (minimize bluffing), bet more (around pot bet), not chase straight or flush draws (check, or only call very small bets until I hit, or get out). First cash game, I'm just going to try to stay patient and not loose all my money early or in one hand. Hopefully break even, but overall enjoy and have fun and get a feel for it.

I've been reading a little more of "The Theory of Poker" by David Sklansky and read three chapters that I don't fully understand yet so I'll come back to these chapter and do some research. I'd like to understand these chapter because I'd like to understand the game mathematically some day. The three chapters are 5 to chapter 7, which are about "pot odds", "effective odds", and "implied odds and reverse implied odds". Though I didn't understand, I still found these topics interesting.

In chapter 7 and 8 ("The value of deception"), the author shared two stories I really enjoyed reading, and both about Doyle Brunson.

Chapter 7, page 57 Doyle Brunson vs Stu Ungar. (going to summarize)

They're heads up in a 1980 NLH championship at Binions. Brunson has 232,500 and Ungar has 497,500.

Brunson A7os, Ungar 5s4s, pot is 30K
Flop A 7 2 (suits not shared), Doyle bets 17K, Ungar calls
Turn 3 (Ungar makes his straight, pot at 64K), Ungar bets 40K, Brunson shoves.
River didn't help and Ungar won the tournament.

I remember two weeks ago (last tourney I played live), I folded my two pair (A7s) on the turn because at the turn there was a straight draw and a flush draw on the board and my opponent shoved. He didn't show, so I wondered that tournament if he had either.

Chapter 8, page 64 Doyle Brunson vs Bones Berland

1977 wsop

Brunson has about 20K, Berland has about 50K

Brunson has QQ, Berland has AJs (bet amounts not shared)
Pre-flop Berland raises, Brunson calls
Flop J 5 2 (suits not shared), Bones C-bet, Brunson calls.
Turn "small card" (I'm guessing any numbered card), Bones bets huge, Brunson shoves, Bones calls.
Doyle wins this hand.

The author says that Brunson thought a lot on turn, then shoved. Later in the story, the author shared that Doyle had a read on this opponent and he knew that Bones didn't have AA or KK because he has a habit of limping with those hands pre-flop hoping for a re-raise.

This reminds me of what you shared recently Sam about playing every hand the same and others won't be able to read you as easliy. Hope you enjoy these stories.

 

[5TR8 FLUSH]

I didn't get to play the cash game because tables were full, but did get to play the tourney. Had to re-buy after my 6s9s got beat by As8s. Flush on turn and we went all in, so I re-buy. I made it to 11th place, deepest run and a lot of fun. The first hand of tourney, I have 4s5s, and about 7 players limped in. Flop came 5s 6s 4x. I paired my 4 and had nut straight flush draw. Someone bet, I called and another person called. 9x on the turn, I check, C/O bets, UTG+2 shoves, I fold, C/O call. Neither had a spade (I got frustrated in my mind), C/O had 78o, and UTG+2 had A7o. Of course river is the 2s, A7 takes it down. I could have tripled up early. Did I play this hand correctly or should I have gone all in on the turn?

Hand before last, I have A 9o, I shove mid position, BB (monster stack, plays a lot of hands, bluffed me first hand vs him, I won four hands vs him after) calls with Q7o. Flop comes a 7, turn X, and I river the 9. I'm back in it with about 18BB. Last hand I get JQos in the C/O, I limp, BB min raises, UTG (monster stack) calls, I call. Flop QQX, I check, BB bets 1500 (blinds at 600/1200), UTG calls, I raise to 4000, BB shoves, UTG folds, I go all in. BB flips over AQ, game over. No help on turn or river. I didn't think when he shoved, nor did I pay attention to small bet. This player was playing tight tonight, and I was excited about doubling up, and didn't think about FT. Next time I'm gonna take more time to think before acting, getting into to much trouble when I don't.

 

[namvidnee]

Yesterday I went to my third live tournament (1st in home town). First off I enjoyed my time at the table's and met some kind people. Several things happened and I hope this helps others who are new to tournaments, and also hope people enjoy reading the post.

1st - I registered, got my ticket, and I am told to sit at table one, seat two. I go to table one and there's chips at seat 8 (honestly I didn't know what seat this was), so I sat down. About 15 minutes into the tournament the tournament director comes up to me asks for my ticket, then tells me that I'm in the wrong seat and shows me the correct seat and tells me to stay were I'm at. I apologized, and the director said it wasn't my fault and went up to the dealer and let him know that it was his responsibility. That same dealer was having trouble counting and the kind people at the table were helping him when he had to give people change. TIP seats start to the left of the dealer.

2nd - Note: I play and I win a couple of small hands and play tight. In the third or fourth hand that I picked up, I didn't realize that the player in fifth place equalized, I only noticed the player to my left (place 9). The flop comes in and I keep betting, place 9 fold and I fold thinking I won the hand, but then I'm told that the person in fifth place is still in play. He's re-raising and I've folded. If it were not for the momentary anxiety and embarrassment, I would have played my hand in a different way.

3rd - Bluff: The same player I mentioned above (place 5), I noticed, was the loosest and most aggressive player at the table. My 9H 10D hand is unsuited. On the board 7 H 8H QC, the place 4S continues to bet, I equalized the turn, River 5H again puts the same amount. Place 5 decides to make a minimum bet so I swiped and it folded. It's the biggest pot I've ever won.

I didn't make any money but had a great time. I'm thinking of going again next Tuesday as these are the cheapest tournaments they have. If anyone has any advice or experience in live tournaments, please share.

I really wanted to play a live tournament, but alas, so far only online

 

[samsmoot]

I didn't get to play the cash game because tables were full, but did get to play the tourney. Had to re-buy after my 6s9s got beat by As8s. Flush on turn and we went all in This is why I only ever play As, so I re-buy. I made it to 11th place, deepest run and a lot of fun Yes, it is fun to do well - nice one. The first hand of tourney, I have 4s5s, and about 7 players limped in. Flop came 5s 6s 4x. I paired my 4 and had nut straight flush draw. Someone bet, I called and another person called. 9x on the turn, I check, C/O bets, UTG+2 shoves, I fold, C/O call. Neither had a spade (I got frustrated in my mind), C/O had 78o, and UTG+2 had A7o. Of course river is the 2s, A7 takes it down. I could have tripled up early. Did I play this hand correctly or should I have gone all in on the turn? I think folding here was just fine

Hand before last, I have A 9o, I shove mid position, BB (monster stack, plays a lot of hands, bluffed me first hand vs him, I won four hands vs him after) calls with Q7o. Cool Flop comes a 7, turn X, and I river the 9. I'm back in it with about 18BB. Last hand I get JQos in the C/O, I limp, Tip: Don't limp with substandard hands in the blinds. You need something juicy. Blind hands rarely hold up BB min raises, UTG (monster stack) calls, I call Because you didn't fold - you can't call with a hand you just folded Flop QQX, I check, BB bets 1500 (blinds at 600/1200), UTG calls, I raise to 4000 I can certainly see why you would, BB shoves, UTG folds, I go all in obviously - you like your hand and it looks good,. BB flips over AQ, game over darn!. No help on turn or river. I didn't think when he shoved I can see why, nor did I pay attention to small bet. This player was playing tight tonight, and I was excited about doubling up it looked like you were in the lead, and didn't think about FT. Next time I'm gonna take more time to think before acting, getting into to much trouble when I don't.

Do most of your thinking pre-flop, and have a plan. You got caught out but you didn't play badly, really. You just got carried away a bit.

It's vital to take on board how difficult it is to play blind hands cheaply, or to play them well. The problem is that once you are in the pot, it's logical to continue. And if you hit a good hand like you did, it's the same story. The BB's initial raise - especially being a tight player - should have told you that something was up, because a tight player isn't going to be raising with poor hands from the blinds. Personally I would say the player wasn't that tight anyway, as AQ from the BB isn't necessarily a raising hand.

I sense an improvement with your game. I like that you were decisive and aggressive with your losing hand. Going over that particular hand should tell you a lot about a lot. That's why you need to always analyse your play after playing - so as see what went wrong in great detail, and then fix it.

If I were you I would have picked up that the BB player is tricky. I would recognise that being out of position with a vulnerable hand can lead to trouble, and try and only play top hands from the blinds - AA, KK, AK, maybe medium and low pairs.

Concentrating on minute details: what kinds of hand could the BB have had? Once they shoved, I mean, as their hand is now somewhat defined, whereas on the last round it wasn't. The first consideration is a full house, as they could have a pair in their hand. AK is unlikley to have been bet. AQ, obviously, would be. AJ etc - no. How about KQ? Quite possible. KJ - no. AA or KK? Who knows? Maybe the BB would make a min raise with these and hope they hold up anyway in the event of the Queens being matched.

This doesn't lead to any clear cut answers regarding hand reading - I'd have been just as confused as yourself. But the logical conclusion would be that BB did not have AA, KK, AK etc, but MAY have had a FH, KQ or AQ. If not, then it might be QJ, Q10 or even Q9. So really there's no way to tell on balance if you are ahead or not. Does that make sense?

 

[5TR8 FLUSH]

Does that make sense?

I understand your logical conclusion and I think if I would have taken a little time to think about the hand instead of calling the shove right away, I would have at least realized he didn't have AK. I have played vs this player many times playing live tourney, at some point we end up at same table. I agree, he is tricky. He changes his game, and I still not sure what to put him on, but the min raise pre-flop, then small bet on flop, and re-raise shoved should have been a warning that he may of had a FH, or a stronger set then me. Specially this late in the tourney.

 

[samsmoot]

I have played vs this player many times playing live tourney, at some point we end up at same table. I agree, he is tricky. He changes his game, and I still not sure what to put him on, but the min raise pre-flop, then small bet on flop, and re-raise shoved should have been a warning that he may of had a FH, or a stronger set then me.

So you know when BB raised pre-flop, yeah? You were watching them like a hawk, yes? And you listened to the dealer call the cards as they were dealt, and saw how the BB reacted (or not) during the deal, did you? So you knew exactly which cards provoked a reaction, right? And you saw no clues whatsoever? Not a blink, or any tiny facial movement that could indicate joy or disappointment?

No reaction, on a flop like that, with a hand like that means the BB is good at disguising their reactions - like I would be. Consequences of playing against a good player, I suppose.

If you perceived no clues during the deal when being so engrossed with the BB that it looked like you were in love with them, then I agree that it was a bit trickier to put them on a hand than if you had noticed something of significance whilst you were intensely gawping at them throughout the flop being dealt.

You may have gathered that I'm being a bit facetious so as to make my point, which is to watch the raiser closely during the deal/s. If multiple players are in the hand, pick one and concentrate on them. NEVER look at the flop whilst it's being dealt - it will still be there when you look for it.

Some players simply refuse to povide clues, so you're stuck. Game theory may be be only thing that's going to prove reliable in that case.

 

[5TR8 FLUSH]

watch the raiser closely during the deal/s

I'm not there yet. I always look at flop before players in hand which is something I'm going to work on.

 

[samsmoot]

Mate, it's just looking in a particular direction - how hard can that be?.

 

[martinf1971]

I went to a tournament last year at Dusk Till Dawn in Nottingham bought my ticket , went to my seat but someone was sat in it. I looked at him thinking do I know you. Well seats got adjusted then I saw the guy again. I had only been playing golf with him a few weeks before. small world.