A few months ago I played in a HORSE tournament. For those that don't know, HORSE is a mixed games limit tournament consisting of Hold 'Em, Omaha 8/b, Razz, Stud, and Stud 8/b. I drew a table that played pretty solid for the most part. I even had a former world champion at my table. I managed to make a full house against him on 5th street in stud and led right out and bet it. I read him as strong, so I thought I may get action, but I guess my read was wrong as he folded on 5th.
I played very well for the most part in the tournament, but made one misplay in stud 8/b. I had an open pair of kings showing on 5th and was leading out against a player who was clearly drawing for low. I end up with kings up on 7th and lead out again only to get raised. I know that my opponent knows that I can't have a low, but I figured he wouldn't raise me unless he had my high beat with aces up or a straight. I folded my two pair and my opponent showed the bare low hand. I did use this tight image against this same player later in hold 'em to take away a few pots.
I normally take advantage of my opponents in the omaha 8/b rounds and in razz. However, I was not getting anything playable at all in omaha 8/b. I went through three whole rotations before I ever played an omaha 8/b hand. I finally three bet on the button with A-2-3-4. I was a bit short at this point and got good action. I made the wheel and had deuces full, but ran into a bigger boat for high. I had gotten short stacked after making a "genius call" that wasn't so genius in hold 'em when I called a guy down with ace high and ran into his pocket aces.
I got lucky in the middle stages of the tournament to make a low in omaha 8/b when my opponent was holding quads for high. I accumulated some chips in stud when I made some big hands against a calling station of a player. I got paid off on an ace high straight and in stud 8/b I made aces up with a 7 low and scooped the whole pot.
Normally, razz is one of my better games, but I wasn't catching good hands at the right times. I was short stacked and was in the process of playing a big razz pot. I bet on 7th with a jack low and got my opponent to fold his 10 low. I also got lucky to win a pot with a 9 low in a situation where my opponents board was quite scary.
While I played well in this tournament outside of a few minor mistakes, I was unable to accumulate a lot of chips. I got through about 2/3 of the field and busted out shortly after my table broke. We were playing stud and I got it all in with J-(10-8). I was fortunate to have a maniac player bet out with just a pair of deuces and got the pot heads up with me after forcing others to fold better hands. Of course, I didn't pair up and I was out. Hopefully, I can do better in the next HORSE event I play.
Sunday, January 20, 2008
Saturday, January 19, 2008
Buy In Amounts
Most low stakes no limit hold 'em games or pot limit omaha games will have a cap on how much you can buy into the game for. This prevents someone from over bullying with a large stack as soon as they sit down. Obviously, if someone is sitting with a large stack, they probably earned it or got lucky. I'll focus on $1/$2 no limit hold 'em as that is my most profitable game. There is a lot of great literature regarding playing a short stack in PLO and playing a large stack.
When I sit down at a poker table, I'm pretty confident in my abilities and feel that I am probably one of the better players at the table. Because of this, I will normally buy in for the maximum (whether that is $200, $300, or $500, etc.). I want to have a lot of chips in front of me so that if I have the opportunity to play a big pot with another big stack, I can win a lot of money. If I'm on short chips, I don't have the opportunity to bust anyone when I flop bottom quads against top boat. Having a lot of chips also lets me see a few extra flops than I would on a short stack. I'm still playing tight aggressive on a big stack, but I'll see a few more flops with suited connectors and such when pot odds warrant.
If you are just starting out, I would recommend buying in for the minimum. This will basically limit your losses on any given hand. You can also buy in for the minimum if you are going to be seated at a table full of deep stacked players. Lets say the maximum buy in is $200 and the other 8 players are all sitting with over $800 each. You may be better off playing a short stack and gambling a little bit on a minimum buy than a full buy. You can also buy in for some amount between the minimum and maximum in similar situations.
One overlooked point about max buy in cash games is that you can always reload up to the maximum buy in at any point in time. Normally, if I buy in for a $200 maximum, I will keep another $100 in green chips in my pocket. If my stack drops below $175, I'll casually drop a green chip on the table and instantly reload. This way, I can be at the maximum when I play a big pot and hopefully double up or bust another player. The other advantage of this is that a lot of players will not notice your newly found green chips and might think you are playing fewer chips than you are actually playing. This is why I prefer to reload with the green $25 chips as opposed to the red $5 chips.
Normally, in $1/$2 no limit hold 'em games, there are only $1 chips and $5 chips in play. Adding a few $25 chips into play may allow you to make a play on an opponent. Some players will envy your green chips and do anything they can to get them. Against these players, I'll only bet the greens when I have the nuts. Other players will fear the green chip, thinking that you don't want to part with them and when you bet a green chip, you have the nuts. I may be more inclined to bluff with the green chips against those players. You just have to feel out your opponents to see how they would react to a green chip.
When I sit down at a poker table, I'm pretty confident in my abilities and feel that I am probably one of the better players at the table. Because of this, I will normally buy in for the maximum (whether that is $200, $300, or $500, etc.). I want to have a lot of chips in front of me so that if I have the opportunity to play a big pot with another big stack, I can win a lot of money. If I'm on short chips, I don't have the opportunity to bust anyone when I flop bottom quads against top boat. Having a lot of chips also lets me see a few extra flops than I would on a short stack. I'm still playing tight aggressive on a big stack, but I'll see a few more flops with suited connectors and such when pot odds warrant.
If you are just starting out, I would recommend buying in for the minimum. This will basically limit your losses on any given hand. You can also buy in for the minimum if you are going to be seated at a table full of deep stacked players. Lets say the maximum buy in is $200 and the other 8 players are all sitting with over $800 each. You may be better off playing a short stack and gambling a little bit on a minimum buy than a full buy. You can also buy in for some amount between the minimum and maximum in similar situations.
One overlooked point about max buy in cash games is that you can always reload up to the maximum buy in at any point in time. Normally, if I buy in for a $200 maximum, I will keep another $100 in green chips in my pocket. If my stack drops below $175, I'll casually drop a green chip on the table and instantly reload. This way, I can be at the maximum when I play a big pot and hopefully double up or bust another player. The other advantage of this is that a lot of players will not notice your newly found green chips and might think you are playing fewer chips than you are actually playing. This is why I prefer to reload with the green $25 chips as opposed to the red $5 chips.
Normally, in $1/$2 no limit hold 'em games, there are only $1 chips and $5 chips in play. Adding a few $25 chips into play may allow you to make a play on an opponent. Some players will envy your green chips and do anything they can to get them. Against these players, I'll only bet the greens when I have the nuts. Other players will fear the green chip, thinking that you don't want to part with them and when you bet a green chip, you have the nuts. I may be more inclined to bluff with the green chips against those players. You just have to feel out your opponents to see how they would react to a green chip.
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