KC's Rush Strategy

#1 23rd July 2010, 10:47 PM

KC’s Rush Strategy

Strategy for the 135 man rush tournaments on Full Tilt Poker.

Rush tournaments are basically like compressing a regular tournament in half. Anyone who is reading this strategy obviously has played a rush tournament or at least knows the structure. In this strategy I will break the tournament down into 5 sections. I will also talk about the different types of players normally found in these types of tournaments. Many people think that there is some completely different way to beat these things, but in my opinion, not much changes as far as strategy goes from a regular tournament. It’s just that you get to each part of the tournament quicker; therefore you must change gears quicker. The key is to know when too, when others do not.

I also want to add another key point. A strategy is not something that you can follow exactly and win every time. You have to do some work too. This is the ground work, the blueprint, for you to work with and build your own method. I hope that this strategy helps a lot of players since it seems like rush won’t be going anywhere. I also think that if you do or when you start making money with these, you’ll never go back to regular small tourneys due to the tournament being so quick and less time consuming. Good luck to those who play and I really hope this helps!

Types of Players

I want to talk about the different types of players before we go into the different stages so that we know what we are dealing with before we even play. Most of these you already know, there is not really a new type of player due to it being a rush tournament, but there are new ways to combat or defend against these players in a rush environment.

Tight/Passive

These players are our favorite players during the Bubble Area and Pre Final Table section of the tournament. Why are they our favorite players? Well at these stages in the tournament the blinds are significantly high and worth stealing. So we note these people and take advantage in late position. We steal for many reasons mainly to build/maintain our stack so that the blinds do not cripple us while waiting for our double up hand. I’ll talk more about stealing in those sections. The main thing to remember is to note these people and also note who and how many times you have made a move on them in position, whether it is mental or digital. It is important to remember who and how many times you’ve stolen since, especially in these tournaments, people realize who the thieves are and start defending.

Loose/Passive

These players are the type to usually c-bet or steal. Therefore we can defend/re-steal by playing back at them or what the poker community calls 4 betting. Usually we will be in the small or big blind when playing back at these players. Again it doesn’t hurt to note these players although it is a little harder to justify their exact characteristics’ since loose/passive is very difficult to point out. I will talk more in-depth on how to play against these players in the Bubble Area and Pre Final Table sections.

http://www.pokerhandreplays.com/view.php/id/2115150

Tight/Aggressive

These players are the most dangerous since they will be so much like us while playing. We take notes and try to stay away unless we have a premium hand, obviously. It’s not like these players are unbeatable but we need to realize that these players are playing a lot like us and they are usually going to be representing a solid hand. Although in most cases they will fold to your bets due to their tightness, but if they come back at you know that they usually aren’t bluffing.

Loose/Aggressive

These are the type of players that we should be trapping against. We most defiantly should not be bluffing these players. They can be very curious calling stations and we don’t want to lose to bottom pair on a pure bluff. I will talk about the actual trapping of these players in the Beginning Play section, but it pertains to all of the sections in general. Also, instead of trapping with check-calls or check-raises, try betting the minimum or value betting to induce a loose raise from these players. Building a pot earlier is the key to getting them committed to the pot by the river.

Example: In this hand we are not necessarily trapping them but there loose/aggressiveness shows through.

http://www.pokerhandreplays.com/view.php/id/2115158

Beginning Play

Same play as a normal tournament, at least this is how I play in a normal tournament. We are raising top ten hands and limping all pairs. Not sure on how people feel about calling any raises up to 3 times the BB with small pairs, but I do. I’m looking to hit a set and if I don’t, I’m out of the hand fast.

We will be making most of our chips from the players who over value TPTK and Big Pairs. Players like I talked about earlier, Loose/Aggressive players. We want to trap them and let them hang themselves. Also, just like in regular tournaments nothing changes really. The thing is in rush tournaments you encounter these players a lot. These players confuse rush with playing a lot of hands and fast, when really, at least in the beginning, you want to be the most patient of all.

http://www.pokerhandreplays.com/view.php/id/2115151

In this hand I made a standard re-raise pre-flop. My bet on the flop was low, but was meant to keep him in, a good value bet. If I knew that he had QQ I would have bet more but if he had AK/AQ or any pair then he’ll probably call. Now the turn is a good card if I have him on a high Ace then he hit and I made a boat. I checked to show weakness and was hoping that he bet. If he doesn’t bet, like he did, then we are set up nicely for the river to make a fake-bluff. On the river I bet the pot, and many may not like this but I think it can be really effective. If he’s not betting the Ace on the turn we have to put him on a higher pair due to the call pre-flop. We could bet for value here and he would definitely call, but at the same look at how I set up the hand for me to look weak. I bet low on the flop and I checked the turn. By this point he’s thinking about my re-raise pre-flop and puts me on a lower pair then him, trying to take the pot since we both checked the Ace. I think in this situation I am betting a significant amount on the river the majority of the time. If things were different pre-flop I think I am value betting this river all day.

Middle Play

Enough reading, let’s actually watch how I am playing in the middle section of the tournament. Obviously we are changing our hand selection at this point. I’d say around the 80/160 blind level, I believe it is blind level 7; we start to widen our range and start utilizing the later positions to bully the blinds. As the blinds get higher we widen our range more and more, as you will see in these videos.

I apologize in advance for my 1 and a half year old daughter. She is very talkative lately and may interrupt me in the videos, but the wife was gone and it was the only time I had to make the videos. It is also split into two parts due to you tubes 10 minute rule.

YouTube- rush mid late bubble first half.mp4

YouTube- rush mid late bubble 2nd half.mp4

Bubble Area Play

As you saw in the last video, you want to steal, steal, and steal! Find who the tight/passive players are and attack them. At this stage with 16-19 players left we will be widening our range up a lot. We also want to be looking to attack mid-stacks and mid-low stacks. These players are in survivor mode and just want to make the money at this point. So OTB and CO are our spots to steal with a lot of different cards. I’m talking almost anything with an Ace, all pairs, any paint cards, and suited connectors. I am usually min-betting if I see that it is affecting against the players in that certain tournament, if not then I raise 2.5 times the BB.

Since there is an attacking part we must talk about the defending part of this section. It’s not like every person is going to sit back and not raise your BB or SB as well. We must be careful though, just because they are in late position and raising doesn’t automatically mean that they are stealing. But, the majority of the time they are and we must show that we are not weak.

A lot of players do not like to defend, either they are too passive or just completely scared. In my opinion stealing is essential and must be done to win. Also many debate that it is a good way of wasting chips if you get caught/re-raised. But let’s look at it another way. Since the majority will usually fold to aggression then the percentage of time that we win a hand due to stealing or re-stealing will overcome the times that they defend and we have to fold. What I mean is that we will make enough money stealing due to the fact that we will win the hand with aggression the majority of the time.

Let’s say that the blinds are 400/800 with a 50 ante. If we steal the blinds 7 times during this level we will accumulate 11550 chips. Let’s say the 8th time we steal the BB re-raises our 2.5 times the BB raise. We lose 2000 here if we fold, but from stealing in good spots before we still have added 9550 to our stack. Also remember we will get hit with the blinds so this number might be slightly lower but the point is to show that stealing is all that bad, and is much more effective than waiting for a monster.
Here is an example of defending your Blinds.

http://www.pokerhandreplays.com/view.php/id/2115152

I have a nice sized stack here and his raise is a common thing to happen with the blinds being more valuable. The majority of the time the SB is stealing and I do this move with just about any two cards, most of the time. I will do the same to min raises and limps from the SB and BTN.

Pre Final Table (10-15 Players Left)

Find your raise when stealing or when raising with a good hand. Whatever you decide, stick to it! What I mean is find which raise works for the players at this stage in the tournament. Your best bet is to try a min-raise first. Since this is the minimum you can risk but with the blinds so high, it can be effective. If many people are calling too much or re-raising, then try 2.5 times the BB or 3 times the BB.

There are only 4-5 people at each table while the rotation is moving. This means you are playing 5 handed and the majority of the time you will be UTG, CO, or Button. Which means with a wide range you should be stealing these high blinds. (Including premium hands, AJ, A10, KQ, KJ, K10, QJ, Q10, J10, any pair)

This is where many people fall short or don’t make it to the final table with a good enough stack to be effective. Just as I talked about in the Bubble Are Play section, when a player is doing the same thing you are doing on the button and you are in the SB or BB, play back at them! There is no room for passiveness in this stage and you must be aggressive. If this works, and usually it does, they will leave you alone next time and this will make it easier and save you chips.
There are good examples of play in the previous videos during this section in the tournament.

Final Table

Personally, I hate the position I’m usually in when I get to the final table. If I’m lucky the blinds are around 600/1200 and I have 20+ BBs. Notice I said lucky to have 20 BBs, the majority of the stacks are shallow. So we must adjust and take either one of two approaches. The first approach is staying aggressive and stealing a lot with a very wide range of hands. The other approach would be to lay low a bit, still stealing, but tightening up a little and picking our spots. I usually take the second approach and tighten up a bit. The only exception would be if I was short stacked, or big stacked. Short stacked obviously I’d be shoving almost any two cards, and big stacked I’d be trying to control the table aggressively. Now with an average stack, which is what we usually have, we still want to try to control the table. Sometimes a cold deck or bad run can prevent this, but we have to gain some type of good image in order to survive.

Most of the other players will still be in rush mode, full of adrenaline or whatever it may be and constantly getting into pots and playing each other. If this happens, don’t worry, it’s a good thing. Let them bump you up a couple places in the money.

Another thing to do at the final table is take notes. To be honest if you have taken notes before the final table, let’s say around the bubble, they may not mean much now because they could be totally different now that the rush portion of the tournament has ended. If I can, I take notes as early as possible at the final table, mental or digitally.

We want to pick our spots well when stealing based on the players, timing, and hands. I’ve noticed that stealing from the mid and low stacks is a lot harder at the final table. They seem to be more aggressive and usually shoving all-in is the only play used. This is why the final table is the hardest part for many obvious reasons!
Although in this video I do not win the tournament, we still get to see some common things that happen at the final table.

YouTube- rush ft first vid.mp4

#2 23rd July 2010, 10:59 PM

If anyone knows how to embed the hand replays instead of just the lniks please let me know, I tried through the website but it doesn't work on the forum.

#3 23rd July 2010, 11:23 PM

Sweet, this is what I will be working on all next week now

#4 24th July 2010, 1:18 AM

Looking forward to a full read and review. What I skimmed over so far looks great.

#5 24th July 2010, 2:38 AM

Wow nice post,
I only got in the final table in one of these, I do not play a lot of rush poker.
I will keep these tips in mind, thank you man.

#6 24th July 2010, 2:42 AM

Breaking up my read of this into two days. So far I have to say thanks for the insight on these tourneys. Can't wait to read the whole thing and digest it.

#7 24th July 2010, 3:02 AM

nice job i never had luck with the $4 ones i play the 11+1 and the 26+2 135 man tourneys

#8 24th July 2010, 5:50 AM

King, this looks great ... can't wait to read the whole thing, but too tired tonight....noted for later for sure. Looking forward to trying this. Thanks for all you have done here and sharing. Wally

#9 24th July 2010, 5:52 AM

Great write up!

I'll have to see if there's any cheaper rush tourney's, as $2 is about my limit for BRM right now.

#10 24th July 2010, 6:26 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by KingCurtis

If anyone knows how to embed the hand replays instead of just the lniks please let me know, I tried through the website but it doesn't work on the forum.

You will need to record the replayer with camtasia then post the video on youtube. Only youtube videos embed on CC.

Looking forward to this, will post once I read and watch everything.

#11 24th July 2010, 12:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TPC

You will need to record the replayer with camtasia then post the video on youtube. Only youtube videos embed on CC.

Looking forward to this, will post once I read and watch everything.

ahhh why didnt i think of that! o well by the time I do that I probably wont be able to edit so it should be fine, would have been a nicer article though.

#12 24th July 2010, 1:47 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by koren

wow, great post, thank.

you play tight aggressive????

we play tight aggressive in the beggining. It's in the article.

#13 24th July 2010, 2:42 PM

Top notch article / videos Curtis

Ty sir much appreciated, I am always unsure about posting videos cus I think i sound like a dork lol.

I also forgot to mention something I really like about rush tournaments. If you win a big hand or suck out on someone they cant follow you around in the chat box talking smack. I don;t know why, I just think that's awesome

Also if the same thing happens to me, I kind of get over the hand faster and move on since I'm not pondering over it..

#15 24th July 2010, 3:06 PM

I might have to try a few of those tourneys. My normal playing style is fairly close to what you're advocating here. Maybe that's why it sunk in so well.

You did a great job explaining your thoughts too. I think even a beginner can learn something from it.

#16 24th July 2010, 3:11 PM

Can a mod please add a link to my KC rush challenge to show my results using this strategy I can;t beleive I didnt do that

#17 24th July 2010, 3:13 PM

Currently at a 26$ rush FT, something in this strategy works

#18 24th July 2010, 6:03 PM

We are raising top ten hands and limping all pairs.

Is this standard raising or different than a normal tournament? Are we also re raising all top ten hands if there is a standard raise in front of us?

#19 24th July 2010, 6:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kmixer

We are raising top ten hands and limping all pairs.

Is this standard raising or different than a normal tournament? Are we also re raising all top ten hands if there is a standard raise in front of us?

Standard Raises.

It really depends on the situation. I usually re-raise on the higher end, meaning AA KK QQ JJ. It's hard to answer this in rush due to it being play dependent and not player, since we cant take notes and know how they play in advanced.

Example:

We have AQ/AK in EP

We make a standar 3 times BB raise.

Guy in MP re-raises then another guy in LP calls/re-raises.

Im probably going to fold...

Stack sizes etc. make a difference too its just really wide and is mainly why i didnt put it in there. Very good question though. This is only a problem really in the beggining as well.

#20 24th July 2010, 6:37 PM

If I may ask, what's with the strange raise amounts? Just to have an intimidating looking large stack of chips out there?

#21 24th July 2010, 6:52 PM

Thanks for the reply. I am going to take my time getting through this strat and ask questions as I go through it.

Quote:

Originally Posted by KingCurtis

Standard Raises.

It really depends on the situation. I usually re-raise on the higher end, meaning AA KK QQ JJ. It's hard to answer this in rush due to it being play dependent and not player, since we cant take notes and know how they play in advanced.

Example:

We have AQ/AK in EP

We make a standar 3 times BB raise.

Guy in MP re-raises then another guy in LP calls/re-raises.

Im probably going to fold...

Stack sizes etc. make a difference too its just really wide and is mainly why i didnt put it in there. Very good question though. This is only a problem really in the beggining as well.

#22 24th July 2010, 6:54 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bovinity

If I may ask, what's with the strange raise amounts? Just to have an intimidating looking large stack of chips out there?

Thats the reason I first started doing it. Then I just use it all the time. Seems to work though.

#23 24th July 2010, 7:01 PM

No, it makes perfect sense. It's a psychological game, after all.

#24 24th July 2010, 7:57 PM

I was "rushing" lol, so fast to get this done last night I forgot to thank TPC for helping witht he videos and all. Thank you, I think without the vids this would be another boring strategy article.

#25 24th July 2010, 9:00 PM

Great post KC, i'll try rush poker soon and try some of the things you mentioned in your post. Great post

#26 24th July 2010, 9:50 PM

Probably the best Post/Presentation of its nature I've seen here. KUDO's KC.

I especially liked the sound track.

"And the blinds go up" says KC,

With perfect timing we hear "Eww" from the background singer.

On a side note, I'm a bit sad to see this presentation because it is so good. Now everyone will start playing RUSH this way..........

#27 24th July 2010, 10:22 PM

Middle Play
Obviously we are changing our hand selection at this point. I’d say around the 80/160 blind level, I believe it is blind level 7; we start to widen our range and start utilizing the later positions to bully the blinds.

What would be the worst hand you would consider to be a part of this play?

#28 24th July 2010, 10:25 PM

Perhaps this should have been in the instructional video section and perhaps that section should be limited to certain members the way the Freerolls are limited?????

I think the fact that this is one of (if not the) best poker forums on the net there should be some loyalty benefits to seeing a quality presentation like this

Quote:

Originally Posted by dj11

Probably the best Post/Presentation of its nature I've seen here. KUDO's KC.

I especially liked the sound track.

"And the blinds go up" says KC,

With perfect timing we hear "Eww" from the background singer.

On a side note, I'm a bit sad to see this presentation because it is so good. Now everyone will start playing RUSH this way..........

#29 24th July 2010, 11:16 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by KingCurtis

I was "rushing" lol, so fast to get this done last night I forgot to thank TPC for helping witht he videos and all. Thank you, I think without the vids this would be another boring strategy article.

No problem any time man. You did a really great job yourself. I didn't do anything but point you in the direction of the software. You did all the rest.

Great Strategy post, the videos really went well with your article. Good job man!!!

#30 25th July 2010, 2:21 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kmixer

Middle Play
Obviously we are changing our hand selection at this point. I’d say around the 80/160 blind level, I believe it is blind level 7; we start to widen our range and start utilizing the later positions to bully the blinds.

What would be the worst hand you would consider to be a part of this play?

Well I don't widen my range really wide right away. It's kind of like a step thing as blinds go up.

That early I'm probably going as low as like KJ, K10 only in LP...as before loosening as the blinds raise.

Quote:

Originally Posted by dj11

Probably the best Post/Presentation of its nature I've seen here. KUDO's KC.

I especially liked the sound track.

"And the blinds go up" says KC,

With perfect timing we hear "Eww" from the background singer.

On a side note, I'm a bit sad to see this presentation because it is so good. Now everyone will start playing RUSH this way..........

Wow thank you, I am humbled

Just doing what I love to do, and obviously here for CC.

#31 25th July 2010, 3:21 AM

Excellent thanks again for the advice. Slow and steady wins the race kind of thing. I look forward to trying these things out.

As I said I am taking the reading and videos slow and trying to absorb it all. I already applied one of your theories which is to do those odd bet amounts. It was a regular SnG but it worked. `

What adjustment is top priority when switching to larger fields with this strategy?

Quote:

Originally Posted by KingCurtis

Well I don't widen my range really wide right away. It's kind of like a step thing as blinds go up.

That early I'm probably going as low as like KJ, K10 only in LP...as before loosening as the blinds raise.

#32 25th July 2010, 6:57 AM

wow, one of the best indepth posts i have read, love the final table info and strat. we have the same plays and startegy at the final table, some people tighten up and worry about winning, i agree u might tighten up alittle but keep ur eye on the ball and stay agressive in spots. Also don't be afraid to push. thanks for the read.

#33 25th July 2010, 1:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kmixer

What adjustment is top priority when switching to larger fields with this strategy?

Nothing really I played the same exact way in this, and it had about 2700 more people in it yesterday

http://www.cardschat.com/f42/kc-3-rush-rebuy-180367/ (http://www.cardschat.com/f42/kc-3-rush-rebuy-180367/)

#34 25th July 2010, 1:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mig2169

wow, one of the best indepth posts i have read, love the final table info and strat. we have the same plays and startegy at the final table, some people tighten up and worry about winning, i agree u might tighten up alittle but keep ur eye on the ball and stay agressive in spots. Also don't be afraid to push. thanks for the read.

thanks mig, did you recognize my screen name in those videos?

#35 23rd March 2011, 7:59 PM

I am also willing to sweat/talk to anyone about these tournaments. Just shoot me a PM and we can exchange IM sn's.

Similar Threads for: KC's Rush Strategy > Texas Hold'em Poker
Thread	Replies	Last Post	Forum	Thread Starter
Rush poker log	18	24th May 2011 9:59 AM	Learning Poker	upokerplayerk
Rush On-Demand SNG Strategy ($4.40)	4	7th April 2011 3:39 AM	Tournament Poker	cardriverx
Rush Poker OD's strategy	5	22nd January 2011 6:04 PM	Tournament Poker	REI53
Rush On Demand Strategy	0	21st January 2011 1:05 AM	General Poker	emccards

Play Texas Hold'em Online Poker \| KC's Rush Strategy
PokerStars is one of the best sites to play online poker. Using PokerStars marketing code CCHAT you get a $600 bonus. Note: No US Players Accepted.	Carbon Poker operates on the popular Merge network. This is a great site for freerolls. Get a bonus of 150% upto $750 using Carbon Poker coupon code CC750.