Tight or what???

It kept me occupied while I sat and watched all of the others going all in with next to nothing. They were doing a great job of rebuying and topping up the prize pool!!!

This was the $3 rebuy on Pokerstars. I think I was going for some sort of record???

Any of you guys played tighter than that - if that is possible!!!

During current Hold'em session you were dealt 41 hands and saw flop:
- 1 out of 4 times while in big blind (25%)
- 1 out of 4 times while in small blind (25%)
- 0 out of 33 times in other positions (0%)
- a total of 2 out of 41 (4%)

On a serious note, I was folding lots of hands like KQs in middle position after a 4 times bb raise and a call. Am I playing too tight for a rebuy?

PokerStars Game #7848680434: Tournament #39824427, $3.00+$0.30 Hold'em No Limit - Level IV (50/100) - 2007/01/09 - 14:56:59 (ET) Table '39824427 279' 9-max Seat #1 is the button Seat 1: garci1 (12190 in chips) Seat 2: amun-ra 0 (2000 in chips) Seat 3: Iwob.... (15025 in chips) Seat 4: oli180 (4475 in chips) Seat 5: per.sed (1250 in chips) Seat 6: pikeman77 (10740 in chips) Seat 7: J u k e (2890 in chips) Seat 8: Gw|nner (7650 in chips) Seat 9: ronaldadio (2440 in chips) amun-ra 0: posts small blind 50
Iwob....: posts big blind 100
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to ronaldadio [Jd Js]
oli180: folds
per.sed: raises 1150 to 1250 and is all-in
pikeman77: folds
J u k e: folds
Gw|nner: folds
ronaldadio: calls 1250
garci1: folds
amun-ra 0: folds
Iwob....: folds
*** FLOP *** [Qh 2d As]
*** TURN *** [Qh 2d As] 5♠
ronaldadio said, "nh"
*** RIVER *** [Qh 2d As 5s] 3♥
*** SHOW DOWN ***
per.sed: shows [Ad 2s] (two pair, Aces and Deuces)
ronaldadio: shows [Jd Js] (a pair of Jacks) per.sed collected 2650 from pot
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot 2650 | Rake 0
Board [Qh 2d As 5s 3h]
Seat 1: garci1 (button) folded before Flop (didn't bet) Seat 2: amun-ra 0 (small blind) folded before Flop Seat 3: Iwob.... (big blind) folded before Flop Seat 4: oli180 folded before Flop (didn't bet) Seat 5: per.sed showed [Ad 2s] and won (2650) with two pair, Aces and Deuces Seat 6: pikeman77 folded before Flop (didn't bet) Seat 7: J u k e folded before Flop (didn't bet) Seat 8: Gw|nner folded before Flop (didn't bet) Seat 9: ronaldadio showed [Jd Js] and lost with a pair of Jacks

umm yes

how do you plan to accumulate chips in the rebuy period without playing any hands?

you say the others were "doing a great job of swelling the prize pool", but to be honest if you're just gonna fold through the rebuy period you're doing just as good a job of putting dead money into the tourney.

I agree to an extent, but I have placed high in a number of similar size tournys and won rebuys playing tight, but obviously I was getting hands.

How would you do it?

For example, I see little point calling an all in with say A10 when I`m probably behind.

It could be because of my style of play I would be better sticking to none rebuys?

I know it is a state of mind, but I don`t think I`m a `lucky` person . We have talked in the past DM of the luck in poker - we all fell out because we could not come to an agreement on how much luck is involved in a single tourny. Surely if you start to `drop your standards`of your normal playable hands (accepting the fact that I play tight) the luck element is increased?

What do you think?

In rebuys you must be prepared to make multible rebuys. The key is accumulating chips, just having 2 0r 3 times your starting chips at the break although great in a reg tourney is not good enough in a rebuy. You must take chances, call all ins with less than premium hands and push against raises with hands you might otherwise call or fold with. When i am playing a rebuy I will call all-ins with any pair any suited ace or king, any med to large suited connectors, any 2 cards 10 and higher, etc. I can't tell you how many times I've called with K-10 and was facing queen-4 or some such. If you hit trips with your small pair you can double or triple or even quadruple up.

Succsefull rebuy players always gamble to get large stacks. The problem with playing tight as you noticed is you have to catch hands and sometimes you will run cold, not to mention that sometimes your big hands get beat.

And also remember that you can almost never bluff in the first hour of a rebuy tournament. There is almost always someone willing to call or reraise you. Bluffing is a big part of a tight players game since people respect your bets most of the time, but it's gone in a rebuy.

So the key is play loose at the begining, when you get a large stack then tighten up put still be willing to call some all-ins later, especially near the end of the hour when people start to get desperate and start pushing anything.

You also have to have a different attitude when playing. Ignore bad beats or worrying about what the other player might have. If you have middle pair after the flop and someone else goes all in, call, flush draw, call, etc. Pot odds are meaningless.

Often in a rebuy tourney if I'm all-in, I don't even watch the cards. I just see if I won or not and then rebuy if i lost. You really can't care about your chips until after the fist hour or if you get a large stack.

Sure, sometimes playing tight will work and you can get chips, but you have to get premium hands to play that way and you can easily go card dead for an hour.

As for your ace-10, that's an easy call. In rebuys people go all ini with any ace any king sometimes any queen, any 2 suited cards etc. Ace-10 could be the best hand, If not so what, you could get lucky and win or worst case you lose and rebuy.

The more people all-in in front of you the more you want to call. If 5 people go all in in front of me, not a rare occurance, I will call with almost any 2 cards, the chance to get that many chips is just too good.

If you are only comfortable playing TAG then you probably shouldn't play rebuys.

It could be that I have been correct all along. I have tried to play what I would class as TAG poker, but it does not seem to work.

I think that the skill element in poker, when playing lower limit MTT, is decreased because

• You can`t bluff someone if they don`t know what they are doing - Big part of a poker players armoury
• If u have, for example, AA and u push, if 2 or more of the clowns call your all in with A6s, K10, 10Js, etc your chances of winning that hand are reduced. Normally, against good players, all would throw away their hands. - another part
• You can`t get them off a hand, again because they don`t know what they are doing. So if they catch any part of a flop, they will bet unless an ace hits the flop and they don`t have one. It seems the ace is the only card they recognise - another part

As if to confirm what I have been saying, here is another hand. At the time the other guy pushed all in I think I was about 20/1 fav to win the pot. I`m not saying he was wrong to push, but would u???

PokerStars Game #7850565668: Tournament #39824452, $2.50+$0.25 Hold'em No Limit - Level I (10/20) - 2007/01/09 - 17:04:08 (ET) Table '39824452 189' 9-max Seat #6 is the button Seat 1: warger (3830 in chips) Seat 2: Filpo (1500 in chips) Seat 3: adam258 (1360 in chips) Seat 4: dedouze (970 in chips) Seat 6: DrOldSchool (1470 in chips) Seat 7: mooriczka (1480 in chips) Seat 8: ronaldadio (1440 in chips) Seat 9: areapapa (1440 in chips)
mooriczka: posts small blind 10
ronaldadio: posts big blind 20
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to ronaldadio [2d 4d]
areapapa: folds
warger: folds
Filpo: folds
bronco684 is connected
adam258: calls 20
dedouze: calls 20
DrOldSchool: folds
mooriczka: calls 10
ronaldadio: checks
*** FLOP *** [7c 5d 3d]
mooriczka: bets 60
ronaldadio: calls 60
adam258: folds
dedouze: calls 60
*** TURN *** [7c 5d 3d] A♠
mooriczka: bets 1400 and is all-in
ronaldadio: calls 1360 and is all-in
dedouze: folds
*** RIVER *** [7c 5d 3d As] 7♥
*** SHOW DOWN ***
mooriczka: shows [7s 3h] (a full house, Sevens full of Threes)
ronaldadio: shows [2d 4d] (a straight, Ace to Five) mooriczka collected 2980 from pot
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot 2980 | Rake 0
Board [7c 5d 3d As 7h]
Seat 1: warger folded before Flop (didn't bet) Seat 2: Filpo folded before Flop (didn't bet) Seat 3: adam258 folded on the Flop Seat 4: dedouze folded on the Turn Seat 6: DrOldSchool (button) folded before Flop (didn't bet) Seat 7: mooriczka (small blind) showed [7s 3h] and won (2980) with a full house, Sevens full of Threes Seat 8: ronaldadio (big blind) showed [2d 4d] and lost with a straight, Ace to Five Seat 9: areapapa folded before Flop (didn't bet)

I understand the maths of poker. The probabilities of winning a hand are reduced the more players that are in a hand pre flop. Therefore, in my opinion, lower level poker is almost a game of chance.

It has been pointed out to me before "why play higher limits when you will be playing better players" My answer to that is now simple "Why play a game of skill when u r unable to use the edge u have?"

It could just be me, I don`t know!!!

whoops, you said turn!

Ron,

You concern yourself too much with other people's play. Concentrate on analyzing and improving your own game - yeah you'll still take the beats but they won't hurt as much if you're a relatively consistent winner and are truly confident in your own play. I fear that your constant bemoaning of your 'terrible luck' may in fact be a lack of confidence manifesting itself. You know that in the long run the luck element is smaller, because we've drilled it into you before.

Yes, villain's shove in the above hand is stupid. I don't think you need me or anyone else to tell you that.

"Why play a game of skill when you are unable to use the edge you have"? Err, the weaker the player the greater your edge. Sure, certain occurences of events may make this appear to not be the case, but in the long run it is. Do you expect a horrible player who consistently puts his money in when 70-30 behind to come out on top in the end?

Oh, and do yourself a favour and watch at least part 2 of my commentary on the CC Donkament last Friday. There are two hands you're in that are absolute trainwrecks.

Where do I find it?

Also, lack of confidence is correct. I sit waiting for the 2 outer to fall - it always seems to - but that is because I`m looking for it.

A point about last weeks tourny. It is only the 2nd time I have played it - I won the first one I played around the 19th December. The last one I stupidly was playing on 2 other tables - It was so bad when we went down to one table I though it was the final table (I think 18 joined and we were sread onto 3 tables?) But I do agree, I played probably as poorly as I have in a long while. This is the confidence thing. U r dealt JJ, u slow play, u can`t believe your `bad luck` when the flop is A8Q. Someone raises and u r convinced it should have been your pot but "that idiot has called my raise with A6!!!" So u stupidly push all in. So DM, thanks for your comments m8, I know where u r comming from and I do appreciate them, even if sometimes I sound a bit defensive

chris do you have an accent?

Who is Chris???

we remember bad beats because they stand out... but you don't remember all those times you played good poker, and had the better hand, showed it down and won a pot. We all lose hands, and we all get drawn out on... it just happens.

Chris is Dorkus.