Toddzilla's 2-day $100 SnG donkfest.

[Toddzilla]

Not really a dynasty, but today I've decided after playing pretty well recently, I am going to play $100 worth of small-stake SnGs today and see how I fare. I thought making an effort to grind through a bunch of them would be kind of neat. I'm playing on PokerStars and I'm going to focus on my current favorite, the Turbo NL Hold'em $6+$0.50 9-seater. Payouts are $27, $16.20, and $10.80, so low risk and moderate reward. I figure I can burn through 15 of these today, so we'll see how this goes.

Total Cash: $100
SnGs played: 0
Payouts: $0.00
Net Gain/Loss: even

[Toddzilla]

Tournament 1
$1500 to start

$10/$20 blinds. Hero is MP1, dealt AQh I limped with AKoff the previous hand and folded to a big bet after the flop were bricks. This time I bet 3xBB and get 5 callers!. Rags all over the place and I take down $300.

Next hand on the BB, I have 86h. 6 guys limp in and I get a free flop, all hearts. My hearts are weak, but no one wants the pot. I make a few smallish bets, get a few callers, and win another $350.

After folding a dozen hands or so, I'm tempted to raise with 92off, but I don't share that karma.

BB goes all in with AKs, SB is covered but calls with AJd, and MP2 is coverd by both but calls with 88. No one is improved and the eights triple up, SB is cooked, BB down to $200 and kocked out on the next hand.

Blinds are up to $50/$100, I've played a total of 2 hands, and only 5 guys are left. As soon as I say that, I get AK on the button, raise 2 limpers to $300, and they bail. I'm 3rd with $2175.

$75/$150 blinds, in the BB again with KQoff. SB limps. Free flop is 8-Q-9. SB bets 1x, I raise it to 2x and he calls. Turn is a 5. He checks, I bet 4x and he folds. I snag another $900 and am up to $2625, good for 3rd out of 5.

With KTs, I call a raise of 3xBB andhit a pair on a flop of T-6-3 rainbow. Raiser bets 1600 and I bail - thought I had another steal, as these guys are folding like mad to large bets. Me included, I suppose.

$100/$200 blinds. MP1 raises to 4xBB. UTG and goes all-in with 3345. SB and short stack calls his last 800, and MP1 calls his last 755 and is all in. MP1 has 77, UTG has QQ, SB has TT. The cards fall Q-2-8-J-K and two more are eliminated. UTG is now our chipleader with 6080, 5220 is second and I've got 2200 and right where I want to be - appear deperate and steal blinds by pushing.

Which I do for maybe 8 of the next 12 hands. I bet, they fold. Every time. Maybe I'll get a call from the BB, but otherwise they just keep handing over their chips. 20 hands later I'm the chipleader with 9150, ahead of 2 stacks of 3105 and 1245, and not once did we make it past the flop. In this time I did have some pretty good cards, but more often than not, raising to 3xBB sends the other guys running.

$200/$400 blinds $50 ante. Short stack goes all in with 1695 and I call with 55. He has AK but gets no help. I'm up to 10845, the other fish has but 2655.

He beats me once when I call his all-in with QTs. He had KK and hit another K on the turn for good measure, but I basically bled him of his blinds until he got desperate and pushed with T3off and ran into my A7. w00t!

One tournament - one win!

Initial Cash Left: $93.50
SnGs played: 1 (first place)
Payouts: $27
Total Cash:$120.50
Net Gain: + $20.50

[Toddzilla]

Sheesh - this may take all day. I'm going to start 2 at once - a 9-seater, wait for two levels, then an 18-seater. That should spread the endgames out for me.

[Toddzilla]

Tournament #2
9-handed $6+$0.50 Turbo SnG

I played one meaningful hand, and I'm done. UTG, I raised to $200 with KK. I get raised to $400 by the BB, so I push, he calls with QQ, and hits a Q on the river. Sigh - so much for being conservative early.

Initial Cash Left: $87.00
SnGs played: 2 (1 first place, 1 no money)
Payouts: $27
Total Cash:$112.00
Net Gain: + $12.00

[Toddzilla]

Tournament #3
18-handed $6+$0.50 Turbo SnG

Donked out early again - mostly due to not paying attention whilst on the phone to Verizon. Well, that and I played like an ass. Stupid calls, weak bets. I pissed away half my stack for no good reason with no good cards until I went all-in with ATs after getting called on a 2x bet pre-flop. I hit an Ace and pushed all-in, got called an lost to a set of Qs. I deserved to lose.

Initial Cash Left: $80.50
SnGs played: 3 (1 first place, 2 no money)
Payouts: $27
Total Cash:$105.50
Net Gain: + $5.50

[Toddzilla]

Tournament #4
9-handed $6+$0.50 Turbo SnG

Hand #3 $10/$20
Dealt KQoff in the CO. It's raised to $40, I call, as do 2 others. Flop is 9-K-5. Initial raiser bets $80 and I call, 2 others fold. Turn brings a 5. Bad guy bets $150, I raise to $300, he calls. River is a 10. He checks, I bet $500 and he folds, I collect $940.

Hand #5 $10/$20
I'm MP+2 with pocket tens, and just raise it to $40, one caller. Flop 3-3-A, checked across. Turn brings ten to fill my boat. Bad guy bets $40, I raise to $240, he checks. River is a 5, checked to me, I bet $600 and get called. My boat is good as the bad guy mucks. I'm now in the chip lead with $2890.

Hand #14 $25/$50
With J5 I limp and get called by the BB. Flop is A-J-7 so I bet 3xBB and get called. Turn is a rag, River a 7. I bet $150 more and get called again. My 2 pair is beaten by AJ, and I'm slowplayed out of $350.

Hand #20 $50/$100
I've got KToff MP+4. I limp, next guy raises to $300. It's folded to me and I call. Flop is 5-K-9 and I bet $100, quickly called. Turn is a rag so I bet $300, called again. What does this guy have? 99? A9? QQ? I'm stumped. The turn is a brick, but I have no idea what is up, so I check. He bets $500 and now I'm in a corner. I have top pair and this guy can't make up his mind. With any kind of hand, surely he would have bet the flop, right? I call and he turns over AQ. WTF? He sticks around for a gutshot draw? Oh well - I rake in $2550 and am the chip leader with just over $3800.

In the next 5-10 hands, I try to make small plays at the pot with decent cards (TPTK, open ended draws, etc.) but keep getting pushed out by players going all-in. I end up down at $3200 with 5 people left at the table, 2nd in chips bekind $4700.

Hand #31 $100/$200
A5h on the button. Leader limps, I limp, BB checks. Flop is 7c-6c-3h. BB bets $200, we call. Turn is As. BB checks, Leader bets $200. He's done this about 10 times today, betting the turn after limping and then checking whatever on the turn, and he usually wins when everyone folds. With top pair, and a burr up my ass, I push all in. BB folds and chip leader calls and turns over ATc. Crap. I have to get a 5 on the river, and it comes, but its the 5c completing his flush and I've donked out in 5th.

Making that push I *knew* he was going to fold. Gah.

Initial Cash Left: $74.00
SnGs played: 4 (1 first place, 3 no money)
Payouts: $27
Total Cash:$99.00
Net Loss: - $1.00

[Toddzilla]

What is it with people using pictures of their stupid dogs as their avatars? Just stop it already - no one cares what your fucking pet looks like.

EDIT: someone at my table now has a picure of Hitler as his avatar. FTW.

[Toddzilla]

And screw trying to be cute before the bubble. I'm folding everything but a made hand from now on until I'm close to the money.

[dixieflatline]

Originally Posted by Toddzilla

After folding a dozen hands or so, I'm tempted to raise with 92off, but I don't share that karma.

Clearly the right play is limp reraise with this monster.

[Toddzilla]

Tournament #5
9-handed $6+$0.50 Turbo SnG

OK, Now I'm getting squirrelly. 3 donk outs in a row - psychologically I need to money here. I said before I'm going to pass on everything untill the money comes close, so here we go

Hand #2 $10/$20
I'm such an idiot. Or not. I'm the BB and have T9off with 6 limpers. Flop is 4c-Qd-Jd. Hmmm, an open-ender. I lead out with $20, it's raised to $40, 2 people call as do I. Turn is 3c. Another bet of $40 and pot-odds decree that I stay in, so I do, as does one more. River is an 8h and I'm all "Hee Haw!" as I overbet the pot ($200) and send the other guys packing. Still, I rake in $390 on hand #2. I'm such an idiot. Or not.

Hand #8 $15/$30
I get A8h MP+2 and call the BB - everyone folds but the blinds. Flop is A-8-5 but I bet small - still the SB folds, the BB calls. Turn is another A, so I lead out with $75. BB calls - hmmmm. River is a 3, I bet $300, he folds.

Hand #27 $75/$150
I've been blinded down to $1060 by awful cards. I get AK in the cutoff, raise it to $300 and steal the blinds. Shurg.

I do this 3 more times in the next 4 hands to biuld my stack to $1810

Hand #36 $100/$200
In the SB, I get K3off. Button calls, I limp. Flop is 4-5-2 rainbow. Again? It's checked through, as is the Turn - a J - and the river is an 6. I bet $400 and get called by the BB. He prolly thought I was trying to steal, but there was an open ender on the board - I would never make that call in his position. I rake $1400 and am up to $2410, 2nd of 6.

Hand #38 $100/$200
I get 66 UTG and call, CO raises to $400, SB goes all-in with $2290, I fold, CO calls. CO turns over QJd, SB has AKh. Glad I bailed - but the CO is a moron. Flop is 3-6-6. FTW. Brick-Brick, and the AK holds up. We're down to 5.

Hand #46 $200/$400 $25 ante.
I've been binded down to the short stack, $1535. I get Q3 in the BB and check to the clip leader. Flop is T-T-A, we check. Turn is a Q - I bet $400 and he calls. This is a big warning sign, as basically I represented a pair of queens and he didn't flinch. Oh shit. The river is an A and I go all in with my last $700. He calls and crushes me with KT for a boat. I'm done in 5th again.

Initial Cash Left: $67.50
SnGs played:5 (1 first place, 4 no money)
Payouts: $27
Total Cash:$92.50
Net Loss: - $7.50

[Toddzilla]

Originally Posted by dixieflatline

Clearly the right play is limp reraise with this monster.

Someone is reading! FTW~!

Don't think I didn't ponder that long and hard...

[flere-imsaho]

Oh, I'm reading too.

[Toddzilla]

Tournament #6
10-handed $3+$0.40 Turbo SnG

OK my confidence is in the shitter. I'm going to step back into a $3 10-hander to get my bearings straight.

Hand #15 $50/$100
Wow - I folded 14 straight hands to start? Discipline or donkishness? You decide, since we're already at level 4. I'm the BB and check to 4 limpers with A6off. Flop is crap, someone bets 4xBB and I scoot. One hand played, I'm down to $1250 and consider doing laundry for the rest of the day.

Hand #19 $50/$100
I finally get cards for the first time in 2 tourneys - AKs. I'm MP+4, so I bet just 2xBB. the BB and one other calls. Flop comes Q-7-T, I bet 3XBB and they fold. Grrr - I just can't build a pot. I'm up to $1640, 4th of 8.

Hand #24 $75/$100
I fold K3off, but we have an all-in situation post-flop. with $1K in the pot, the flop is A-4-Q. SB bets $450 and MP+2 pushes all in for $400 more. SB calls. SB shows AT and MP2 has JJ. Excuse me? All-in with 2 overcards? Good grief. Of course, that donkey gets rewarded with - not one - but 2 more Jacks for quads. I guess he would have been really short-stacked with only about $850 left if he folds post-flop, but you gotta think you're throwing your money away there.

Hand #25 $75/$150
On the button with A5d. 1 guy limps, I do too, SB raises to $450, we both call. Flop is 8-3-A and both guys check. Smelling weakness, I go all in and take down $1500. I'm up to $2450, 4th of 7.

Hand #26
The 2 short stacks go all-in and KQ beats A5 when 4 clubs hit the board. Down to 6

Hand #35 $100/$200
I get 88 MP+1. I limp, as does the SB. Flop is 8-9-T. SB bets $200, BB calls, I raise it to $600, they call. Turn is a 9 - w00t - so I'm protected from a straight draw. Checked to me, I bet $600, SB check-raises to $1200, BB folds. Did he hit his straight? Does he have T9? I doubt it, so I re-raise all in and he calls. He shows JJ, and when the flop is a brick, I move up to the chip lead with $4956 and one more goes home.

Hand #36 $100/$200
AKh in the BB, I call an all in by a $1200 stack who shows AJoff and then catches a J on the flop to double up. FTW.

Hand #44 $100/$200 $25 ante.
I fold K8. Short stack of $1000 UTG raises to $600 (?). SB re-raises all-in to $3200, BB calls his $1800 all-in, and short stack calls his last $400. Shorty shows 87s, SB with AQoff, BB with 88. An ace on the flop eliminates 2 more and we're down to the bubble with 4 and now I'm the short stack after being blinded down to $1500 with crapola.

Hand #50 $200/$400 $25 ante
I'm in the BB with only $1200, so I need some cards. I get them, sort of, with K3off as the SB limps to me. The flop is nice to me - K-K-J - and I wait the max time before pushing all in. I'm called immediately and his silly Q8 are meat. I double up to $2500.

Hand #54 $200/$400 $25 ante
A8off in the BB again. A raise to $800 and a call, and now I have to think. The chip leader has $7100 and is out of this hand, so the 3 short stacks are left, and I figure if I'm going to distinguish myself, I might as well do it here. I push all-in and get one caller with AQ. I hit an 8 on the turn for my first suckout all day. It is about fucking time.

Hand #61 $300/$600 $25 ante
I steal the blinds raising to $1200 on the button with A4s.

Hand #65
The bubble breaks as the short stack can't cover the blinds and loses with Q5off.

Hand #67 $300/$600 $25 ante
AQoff on the button, I raise to $1800. SB folds, BB calls all-in with $2300. I've got him more than covered wtih $5300 so I make the easy call and he shows me K9. Flop is Q-K-4 and he mocks me for the bad beat earlier. The A on the turn does the talking for me and this donkey is out in 3rd. We're heads up practically even, $8K to $7K.

Hand #68 $300/$600 $25 ante
I have a pair of 9s and we check through garbage and I win.

Hand #69 $300/$600 $25 ante
With A6s I raise the BB to $1800 and he re-raises all-in, I call and he's got 44. They hold up and he wins a huge coin flip. I'm now short stacked $11.5K to $3.5K.

Hand #71
With T7c I push and he calls with T5, I outkick him and double up.

I push 2 more times in a row and collect the blinds, pulling almost even in chips. In the next 16 hands, we each basically check through and I win 8 of them, he winds 7 and we chop one pot. I've now got a slight chip lead of about $1k.

Hand #88 $400/$800 $50 ante
He pushes all in and I call with AJs. He's got 78 and I have a heart attack when the flop is Q-6-9. He's got outs all over the place. The turn is a 6, the river a 9 and I outkick him again. I'm at $14.3K and he's down to $700. It's over, Johnny. The last hand is more of the same - garbage on the board and my high card beats his for teh win!

Initial Cash Left: $64.00
SnGs played:6 (2 first place, 4 no money)
Payouts: $42
Total Cash:$107.50
Net Gain: + $7.50

[Toddzilla]

and of course work gets in the way. I'll continue this tomorrow for certain until I blow through my hundred bucks.

[cubboyroy1826]

Good reads so far. My biggest issue is i have no patience. I wind up playing hand i would not usually play after the first hour.

[Toddzilla]

Tournament #7
9-handed $6+$0.50 Turbo SnG

Played an hour and saw 1 hand out of about 50 worth playing. Seriously, I pushed with T8s at the end when I was down to $600 because it was the best hand I had the entire tournament. Donked out in 7th.

Initial Cash Left: $57.50
SnGs played:7 (2 first place, 5 no money)
Payouts: $42
Total Cash:$101.00
Net Gain: + $1.00

[Toddzilla]

Tournament #8
9-handed $6+$0.50 Turbo SnG

Hand #6 $10/$20
A9off in the SB. 1 limper, I raise to $40, BB folds, other guy calls. Flop 7-4-A so I lead with $40 and get called. Turn is a 3, I make a pot sized bet and he folds. This is the first hand I've won since Bush the first was president.

Hand #7 $15/$30
Feeling al full of myself, I call with pocket 4s with 2 other limpers and the blinds in. Flop is 3-3-4. Nice. It is checked around to me and I bet 3xBB. BB calls as does an earlier checker. Turn is a Q, and the BB opens with $130, it is called, I raise it to $300, and both guys call. Schweet. 6 on the river can't help anyone, it is checked to me confirming that. I bet $500, one call, one fold, and my boat beats a set of ducks. Quack this motherfucker.

Hand #14 $25/$50
I get QQ in the SB. A few guys limp, I raise it to $100 and get 3 callers. Flop is 7-8-J. I bet $200 and the small stack raises his last $600 all in. I've got just over $2500, so I call,and he shows 87off. Wouldn't have thought he'd call pre-flop with that. Sigh. Board bricks and I'm down to $1875, 3rd of 8.

Hand #26 $50/$100
with J9c, I call the BB. The SB folds and then THE BB FOLDS. Thanks, donkey!

Hand #27 $50/$100
I am clearly flabbergasted by that stunning display of strategy. With AKoff in the BB, I raise it to $500 and get one caller. Flop is 2-6-9 and I'm in for another $500, and get called. Turn is a 5, I'm all-in, and so is the asshole who just made his straight with 67off. If I haven't said it before, FTW. Out in 5th.

Initial Cash Left: $51.00
SnGs played:8 (2 first place, 6 no money)
Payouts: $42
Total Cash:$93
Net Loss: - $7.00

[Pumpy Tudors]

Originally Posted by Toddzilla

Hand #14 $25/$50
I get QQ in the SB. A few guys limp, I raise it to $100 and get 3 callers. Flop is 7-8-J. I bet $200 and the small stack raises his last $600 all in. I've got just over $2500, so I call,and he shows 87off. Wouldn't have thought he'd call pre-flop with that. Sigh. Board bricks and I'm down to $1875, 3rd of 8.

I'm not an expert by any means, but let's take a look at this hand from the 87o hand's perspective. I think he made a mistake by limping early on, but your mistake was bigger. Assume that three people limped preflop before it got to you. That means the pot has $225 (three limpers, your SB, and the BB) when you raise to $100. The BB is getting 6-to-1 to call. The next person to call your raise is getting 7-to-1, and the person after that is getting 8-to-1 (if my math is right). Do you see your error here? You didn't raise nearly enough.

You've already got at least three players in the pot with you, and the BB is going to be getting great odds to call your minraise with anything. After that, the odds only get juicier for everybody else. On top of that, you're going to play the hand postflop from the worst position possible. Unless you flop a set, it's pretty hard to know where you stand. You've also got a pretty big stack, so I'd think that you'd want to isolate those queens against one or maybe two opponents and punish them. Unless you're a strong postflop player and know when to get rid of your hand, you don't want to be playing QQ in a 4-way pot. If you don't flop a set and dodge flush draws and dodge straight draws, pretty much any flop is dangerous with that many opponents. Overcards would scare you, nines through jacks probably hit somebody, and even low cards could make two pair for someone or put a straight draw on the board.

Ultimately, what I'm saying is that you've already got people limping into the pot. If they'll play their cards for $50, they'll play them for $100 against pretty much anything, and with the odds you're offering, they're probably not wrong. What you need to remember is that the amount is always important when making a preflop raise. Maybe it seems improper for 87o to call a preflop raise, but if that raise is possibly giving them 8-to-1 odds and giving them position on the raiser, that's really an automatic call for them. Now, if you're only giving them 2-1 and will get position on them after the flop, that's another story.

[Toddzilla]

Tournament #9
9-handed $6+$0.50 Turbo SnG

Same old story. With KK I raise to $400 preflop and get called. Flop is 2-5-6. I go all in, get called, he's got 34. WHY WHY WHY do you call 10xBB bet pre-flop with 34off? FTW.


Initial Cash Left: $44.50
SnGs played:9 (2 first place, 7 no money)
Payouts: $42
Total Cash:$86.50
Net Loss: + $13.50

[Toddzilla]

Nevermind - Pumpy seems to have answered my question. Gonna turn up my raises pre-flop...

[Butter]

What is "FTW"?

[Toddzilla]

Fuck The World

[Toddzilla]

Tournament #10
9-handed $6+$0.50 Turbo SnG

4th hand, all-in with AA, busted out by 99 with a 9 on the turn.

Initial Cash Left: $38.00
SnGs played:10 (2 first place, 8 no money)
Payouts: $42
Total Cash:$80.00
Net Loss: - $20.00

[Toddzilla]

I can turn this around - I know I can. I've got room for 6 more SnGs, so a few cashes and I'm breaking even. Which, actually, is sad, since at this level I would have hoped to made some money. Sigh.

[Toddzilla]

Tournament #11
9-handed $6+$0.50 Turbo SnG

Still on the first level, with A8d, I limp and flop the nut flush. I go all-in and get called by Jacks. The board pairs, then sets (is that a term?) and I'm beat by a boat.

Initial Cash Left: $31.50
SnGs played:11 (2 first place, 9 no money)
Payouts: $42
Total Cash:$73.50
Net Loss: - $26.50

[Butter]

Well, this is getting brutal.

[Toddzilla]

Tournament #12
9-handed $15+$1 Turbo SnG

Blinded down by bad cards, I'm all in with 98c against the chip monster who calls with 42off. I'll let you fill-in the blanks as to what happened.

Initial Cash Left: $15.50
SnGs played:12 (2 first place, 10 no money)
Payouts: $42
Total Cash:$57.50
Net Loss: - $42.50

[Toddzilla]

(answer to above - bad guy goes runner-runner to complete his straight)

[Toddzilla]

Tournament #13 and LAST ONE
9-handed $15+$1 Turbo SnG

Wow - I just can't get any cards anymore. Must be a sign. I honestly didn't see anything better than 66 until level 5 when I go all in on the BB with AK. A pair of Jacks have me covered and I don't improve.

Initial Cash Left: $0
SnGs played:13 (2 first place, 11 no money)
Payouts: $42
Total Cash:$41.50
Net Loss: - $58.50

[Toddzilla]

Postmortem:

This idea sucked. Naturally, If I'd been keeping close track of the last $100 of SnG money I spent before this, I'd have finished up about $40. Well that is gone and more. As it turns out, I play poker like a donkey, piss my chips away, and get busted out early. I never even took a really bad beat - all of the situations where I got knocked out were under my control, I could have managed the hand better by betting more appropriately. It's time to give poker a nice long break. Confidence = zero.

[Pumpy Tudors]

Without seeing full hand histories, it's hard to give complete advice, but I've noticed a trend in some of these later tournaments. You're getting all your chips in during the early levels.

Tournament #9, you're pushing all your chips in with the blinds at 20/40. I know KK looks like an unbeatable hand with a 2-5-6 flop and only one opponent with you, but it just seemed like an act of desperation to go all-in. I agree that you got unlucky in this case, and you were probably going to lose a lot of chips anyway on that hand, but it's just part of the running theme that I'm addressing here.

Tournament #10, I'm dying to see a hand history for. OK, there's really not much better than getting AA all-in against a lower pair heads-up, but how did it get to that on the 4th hand? When did the majority of the chips go in? Did he push first, or did you? Unless there are a lot of chips in the pot or you seriously have somebody trapped, I don't see many reasonable ways to get somebody all-in on the 4th hand of a SnG. I understand that it happens, but I'm just wondering how it happened this time.

Tournament #11, you flop the nut flush and immediately go all in. You got unlucky here, too, but your opponent with the jacks had been smart, he would have just folded. You were lucky that he called and unlucky that he caught his boat. In a lot of cases, though, your opponent is just going to fold and you're not going to get much value for flopping the nut flush. Later in the tournament, you can make that move when you or your opponents are committed to playing that pot. During the first level, though, you'll usually pick up a very small pot and nothing more. Again, you were unlucky that he caught his boat, but for future reference, I think that there are better ways to get value from a hand like that.

[Toddzilla]

Originally Posted by Pumpy Tudors

Without seeing full hand histories, it's hard to give complete advice, but I've noticed a trend in some of these later tournaments. You're getting all your chips in during the early levels.

At what point during the first 3 or so levels is it okay to bet big? I found myself in a few of these tournamets waiting around for a big hand, and by the time the blinds were $50/$100, I was down to $1000 and feeling some pressure to do something.

I've learned from playing a bunch of these $6 SnGs that early, people will play just about anything can usually aren't intimidated by a big bet. Later, when my stack is down and I'm covered easily by 2-3 guys, they'll call my large bets and sketchy cards and outdraw me.

I know there is a equilibrium somewhere, but through these 13 tournaments, it seemed with only 2-3 exceptions if I waited, my stack shrank slowly and eventually had to push and lose and if I bet some hands early - even the hands that you should bet - I lost.

[Toddzilla]

Typical situation:

I get K8c in the BB. 2 limpers. Flop is something like T-6-2 rainbow. If someone bets this, I fold every time. If it is checked to me, what do I do? Check? Bet? I just don't know. If I bet it, and get called, then I'm exposed. No matter what happens on the turn, if I don't bet, my dick is out and I'll get bet off the pot. If I bet it again, I don't have shit so I'm throwing my chips at nothing.

I'm really confused about this kind of hand - and it happens to me 5-7 times a tournament.

[Johnny93g]

Originally Posted by Toddzilla

Typical situation:

I get K8c in the BB. 2 limpers. Flop is something like T-6-2 rainbow. If someone bets this, I fold every time. If it is checked to me, what do I do? Check? Bet? I just don't know. If I bet it, and get called, then I'm exposed. No matter what happens on the turn, if I don't bet, my dick is out and I'll get bet off the pot. If I bet it again, I don't have shit so I'm throwing my chips at nothing.

I'm really confused about this kind of hand - and it happens to me 5-7 times a tournament.

Try raising pre flop a few times with this hand. Not everytime, but put some pressure on the other players. Bet out after the turn, if someone calls, and you want to give it up, fine, but you can also take another shot at it. You dont have to commit your whole stack though. Basically, dont be afraid to bet, because T-6-2, with 3 players doesnt always hit.

[Pumpy Tudors]

Originally Posted by Toddzilla

At what point during the first 3 or so levels is it okay to bet big? I found myself in a few of these tournamets waiting around for a big hand, and by the time the blinds were $50/$100, I was down to $1000 and feeling some pressure to do something.

It's hard to say when you should be putting your chips in without seeing hand histories to critique. When the blinds are 10/20 or 25/50, though, "betting big" can be betting $150 or $250. If you've already hit a monster hand, you may get someone to come along for the ride, and they'll call you down on every street. If you're throwing out continuation bets and get some resistance, you can dump the hand without committing tons of chips.

Again, without any hand histories, the answer is really "It depends."

[Toddzilla]

Thanks, man. I played some $3 SnGs today and made a little money, making sure when I raised a strong hand, I RAISED, and when my hand wasn't strong, not betting too much and bailing when I needed to.

I also won a multi-table HORSE tournament, so I'm kinda happy.

[flere-imsaho]

I played in the STUPIDEST Party SnG two nights ago.

One table, $6 fee. First hand ends up heads-up between two players, both of whom go all-in, and we have our 10th place finisher. Second hand nothing of note.

The third hand is what killed me (laughing).

I'm on the button and get dealt A9s. UTG calls right out of the box and then EVERYONE CALLS. And they weren't thinking about it either. It happened so fast it was clear everyone had just checked "Call BB", or whatever the option is.

So, it's to me. I'm happy with my position and my hand, but against an extreme multi-way pot? I chicken out and fold.

It gets better....

SB calls and BB RAISES. Then, everyone calls up to MP2, who decides to fold. It then gets called around to SB.

SB RAISES TO ALL-IN. Worse, the rest of the table just goes all-in. UTG, who was the biggest stack going into the hand, takes it down and quickly eliminates me & MP2, and the "tournament" is over in, say, 5 minutes.

I LOLed.

Sadly, the real hand history somehow got borked, so I have no proof, but it was pretty funny.