Stick's Video: 6/28/07 CC Debi-ment

The video starts at the first break 6-handed. Like a donk, I recorded this part over the 1st hour. Sorry, but at least we have this.
Feel free to comment on my play. I think I played way too tight because my reads weren't solid enough. I still cashed, though

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I hate the raise only to 500 with A/9os against the big stack...then you check the flop when he smooth calls ? You needed to fire out a good size c-bet there and rep the Q. You changed the bet amount from 450...then to 600...then typed in 500 on the reraise....I would have fired at least 750 there pre flop

Ah/10h raise to 835 in an unopened pot at 75/150 ? I don't get that one

A8os in the bb it checks to you after you complete....the big stack Nick0r limped again...you should have bet the pot there on the paired board flop

folding A5os from the sb (Nick0r limps yet again) and you didn't even complete the blind. A nice reraise there pre flop probably takes that down uncontested.

Q/10os from the button folding to a small raise from the short stack....hmmmm this is looking like some timid, scared money poker so far.

J/8os from the bb you flopped the oesd on the free flop...short stack bets the flop and yet another fold...hmmm

insta fold from the button in an unopened pot with K/7os....I'd try a steal here

(I'd also like to note that you act way too quickly without considering your options....I think you are paying way too much attention to your hole cards and not enough attention to your position and the other stack sizes)

J2os from the sb.....Nick0r limps......another missed steal opportunity...this guy is trying to limp every hand...you have to punish limpers not let them see free flops....he is raising everytime he has a good hand not limping.....so come over the top when he raises....he is likely to fold.

Kd/Qd from the sb....good push

10/8os UTG 4 handed....why not raise into the bb who has been pounding your blind ?

Qs/Js from the bb.....3 limpers....terrible 'check'....why not raise and isolate here ? This is 4 handed you look like you are waiting on suited jokers camping out on premiums

Listening to your commentary it's painfully clear you are giving your opponents way too much credit and almost over analyzing hands

AQ utg FOLD ???? WTF dude its 4 handed

10/10 on the bb Nick0r limps again and you check your option ?

8h/7h...Nick0r limps AGAIN....and you check your option again......flop 2 pair...turn your boat.....check check check. (sigh)

OK I am 23 mins in...thats enough

Bro you need to seriously pump up your pre flop aggression.....I am baffled by the 4 handed fold of AQ UTG.....and the 10/10 from the bb checking your option is quite simply weak/tight scared poker. You aren't trying any blind steals whatsoever and when you do catch big hands like suited connectors....big pairs and big aces...you don't bet them

I haven't seen play this weak/passive for quite some time. no offense intended, but this brand of play is easily exploitable by any seasoned player. You aren't using your position at all...if ever. I think you are placing far too much value on your hole cards even when its short handed.

JMHO

Thank you for the nice things you said about me .

You were playing super tight-- but it did get you into the money.
After that, you needed to accelerate the aggression (and even said so yourself!), but never seemed confident enough to make any moves.

You seemed to have some idea of what "bad" position is, even taking it to the extreme and folding AQo, but you also need to see the flip side: you were not taking advantage of your good position on the button/co. Cards matter way less than bets and position.

Also, if and when you raise preflop you should almost always fire a continuation bet of 1/2 pot + size. The hand where you missed w A8 after raising preflop oop you check folded to N.'s very small (min?) bet. A continuation bet there makes HIM hit the flop to keep going with the hand. Think about it: two cards will connect with the flop a lot less than they will miss; so, you win the missed times (most), since you represented strength preflop, and your opponent wins only the times he hits. That's pretty much the value of aggression (betting and raising) vs. passive play (checking and calling)-- you win when your opponent folds.

aliengenius said:

Thank you for the nice things you said about me .

You were playing super tight-- but it did get you into the money.
After that, you needed to accelerate the aggression (and even said so yourself!), but never seemed confident enough to make any moves.

You seemed to have some idea of what "bad" position is, even taking it to the extreme and folding AQo, but you also need to see the flip side: you were not taking advantage of your good position on the button/co. Cards matter way less than bets and position.

Also, if and when you raise preflop you should almost always fire a continuation bet of 1/2 pot + size. The hand where you missed w A8 after raising preflop oop you check folded to N.'s very small (min?) bet. A continuation bet there makes HIM hit the flop to keep going with the hand. Think about it: two cards will connect with the flop a lot less than they will miss; so, you win the missed times (most), since you represented strength preflop, and your opponent wins only the times he hits. That's pretty much the value of aggression (betting and raising) vs. passive play (checking and calling)-- you win when your opponent folds.

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Thanks for the tips, AG.

To tell you the truth, I was pretty flustered by Nick & his stack. He was to my immediate right at the 1st table and got his chip lead very quickly. From then on, he seemed to call many of my PF raises after I raised his limps. Then quite a few times, he would check/call my c-bets like he really didn't care since he had such a large stack. With him on my right, I could stay out of his way when he bet & make plays when he folded. I was below average chips until just before the FT.

Then at the FT as we went short-handed, he was close to my left and I was afraid to raise into him or c-bet since he could easily withstand a hit the size of my stack if he lost. My read on him was almost like a freeroll player who would play any two cards just to gamble. I just went over my PT stats on him and out of 117 hands, he only showed down 4 times and NEVER raised preflop. I guess you could say he had me baffled and a bit worried.

Thanks again, AG.

Ill look at the vid and check out others play - hehe

I know i had an off night - all pokered out i think so if you like to scribble over anything i do lol

Thx for the vid Mr Sticker

MrSticker said:

I just went over my PT stats on him and out of 117 hands, he only showed down 4 times and NEVER raised preflop. I guess you could say he had me baffled and a bit worried.

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Kinda makes you wonder if Nick has actually read anything that is posted on HIS site??

ripptyde said:

Bro you need to seriously pump up your pre flop aggression...

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I forgot to thank you too, Ripp. Seems you play more loosely than I'm used to, but I'm very open to your ideas. I guess you could tell that I really, really wanted to cash in this thing and that big stack had me puzzled the whole time, including prior to the start of the video.

ripptyde said:

Bro you need to seriously pump up your pre flop aggression.....I am baffled by the 4 handed fold of AQ UTG.....and the 10/10 from the bb checking your option is quite simply weak/tight scared poker. You aren't trying any blind steals whatsoever and when you do catch big hands like suited connectors....big pairs and big aces...you don't bet them

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not everyone shoves all in with suited connectors!

I do agree though that you need to boost your aggression though but I wouldnt call suited connectors a "good hand", it a situational style hand.

MrSticker said:

I forgot to thank you too, Ripp. Seems you play more loosely than I'm used to, but I'm very open to your ideas. I guess you could tell that I really, really wanted to cash in this thing and that big stack had me puzzled the whole time, including prior to the start of the video.

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Thats exactly the image I like to project...but take my word for it, nothing could be further from the truth.

In MTT's my flops seen percentage (when I am playing my A game) generally runs around 20% or less. Thats FLOPS SEEN. It doesn't mean I am not making plays pre flop. Its just that I don't believe that limping and speculating is an effective way to play poker. If I am in a hand I am usually the one raising. Control of the hand is so important and position has much more value than the strength of your starting hands.

Also I would like to add that suited connectors and gappers have a certain intrinsic value that most players don't recognize. For example...

10h/8h vs A/K is almost exactly 40/60. Those numbers stand for virtually all other suited connectors/gappers as well when compared to unpaired overcards.....meaning simply that they should be played much more aggressively.

When people talk about aggression I think its often misinterpreted as reckless or 'loose' play. I think in most cases my brand of aggression is all pre flop.....I do not like to 'see flops' even when I am a big stack.....when you come into a hand RAISE....(with the exception of low-mid pocket pairs and suited aces where I recommend limping in multi way pots)

Naturally this is all situational, so I can't possibly say 'play this way no matter what' but I am saying that abandoning starting hand charts is not a bad thing...especially in todays 'no foldem' climate of online poker. Even the worst donks playing .01/.02 still have a basic understanding for how to play certain hands, and you have to be willing to 'step outside the box' so to speak in order to adapt.

JMO

ok just finished this stick.....


all though I dont agree with a lot of what ripp has said in the past he is pretty spot on in this one. You were way too worried about making the money and what Nick had in his stack. At this point with you stack you should be more worried about chipping up. Like you said nick had not raised a single pot at all and I think you could of taken a lot of these hands down preflop by shoving.

this was very very very weak/passive.

stormswa said:

ok just finished this stick.....


all though I dont agree with a lot of what ripp has said in the past he is pretty spot on in this one. You were way too worried about making the money and what Nick had in his stack. At this point with you stack you should be more worried about chipping up. Like you said nick had not raised a single pot at all and I think you could of taken a lot of these hands down preflop by shoving.

this was very very very weak/passive.

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examples ? I'm always open to discussion

ripptyde said:

examples ? I'm always open to discussion

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think we went through our disagreements in your $10 rail thread?

forgot already?

its not huge disagreements we just look at tourney play a little different I believe.

You lost the part of the video where i gave Nick an interview

Funny video.

"Im gonna get very aggressive now"

Folds, AQ, check/folds 10's.

You really need to ramp up the aggression factor when it gets shorthanded, go for the win not for the cash. Play some 6max sit and gos for a bit would be my advise.

MrSticker said:

I just went over my PT stats on him and out of 117 hands, he only showed down 20 times and NEVER raised preflop. I guess you could say he had me baffled and a bit worried.

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CORRECTION: See above. I misread my PT earlier, but the rest is right.