Big stack vs small stacks

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neilv93

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This didn't happen to me but happened to someone else on my table in an MTT the other night, just wondering how I should play it when it happens to me.

Big stack had around 40BB and was opening with min raises a lot and then subsequently having to fold when the smaller stacks came over the top.

He ended up just open shoving a lot of the time after that to avoid that situation but I can't help feel that that is a set up for disaster when a small stack has a monster.

Is there any way to avoid that situation? Not raising in the first place? Raising bigger? Open shoving a good play? Limping?
 
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lukeellul92

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Use position and when you're deeper stacked you're allowed to be more picky with your starting hands.

It's jsut hard to say really without much info I think. But if the smaller stacks that are coming over the top are short stacked , you can expect any pocket pair and AJ,AQ,AK, KJ,KQ type hands. If the big stack is open raising and folding it probably means he's either flipping at best or dominated and doesn't really need to give up so many chips and risk doubling up an opponent.

I'd feel comfortable calling a 3bet with JJ+ in these spots, but once again depends on table and stack sizes etc etc
 
PCK

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Limping no way,i would suggest raising bigger in this situation,this is my strategy .
 
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hffjd2000

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The big stack will really try to bully those small stacks because of those reserve chips.

The small stack likewise is limited and cant move much.
 
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neilv93

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Most players, like myself, revert to min raises late in tournaments so I guess raising 3x would cause short stacks to rethink shoving with A6o or KT I guess?
 
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Evgeniy_K

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For Big stacks u cann open many hands, and play postflop. And u take ante chips.
 
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subdylzep

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The bigger stack should have tightened up his hand range if he was playing on a table that would have a lot of smaller stacks shoving preflop, The raise probably wasnt the problem unless he was adjusting it based on the hands he had. It is a good strategy to use to keep min raising especially late in tournaments because you can open w less of your chip stack and still do it with good cards. He should have kept doing it but tightened his range to premium range and then snap called the shorter stacks in a 4-1 or 5-1 fav situation. The pushing the entire stack situatino is very bad, more than likely he let the players get him off of his game and the way he wanted to play, they wanted to go all in preflop and coinflip whereas he wanted to play the hand out and probably out play them postflop. It is a shame that he would let them get to him because the way he was playing is exactly what you wish for, If he keeps it up he will eventually get paid off, but pushing his entire stack is exactly what you said, a set up for disaster when a small stack has a premium hand and he is dominated. So dont look at this as a good way to play because it will indeed get you in trouble, jsut remember to play poker the way you want to play, you always have to adjust for how the table plays back at you, but don't let them push you to making unnecessary risks like putting your entire stack in preflop several times. Not a good idea. Good luck at the tables.
 
Olegan163s

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I have always been knocked out of tournaments with big stack garbage hands, and I am aces and kings. on the SS so programmed random number generator.
 
VinnyStrat

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The big stack in this case is forcing a doubling of the big blind to speed up the erosion of everyone else's stacks. He's telling the rest of the table you can't limp in even on the bb with a marginal hand. You can only play hands you are prepared to go all in with no picking up blinds against the other players. When you do raise him if he has a hand he's going to call. If he has to fold a few, he's going to make it up every time he doesn't have to fold.

If you play too tight, the blinds are going to take your stack away or make it so small that if you do win a hand, it won't be much. At this point when you get a hand that's going to give you close to a 50% chance you need to shove.
 
Poker Orifice

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I'm subbing to this thread because I want to come back here neil to try to give you some decent info. Unfortunately I feel there's alot of poor advice in this thread (part of my motivation for wanting to come back to post in it).

I'd write a bunch right now but am about to go away to the lake for a week (& will be getting yelled at shortly if I stay on the computer much longer, LOL).

in real short... No. It is not setting himself up for a disaster by adjusting by open-shoving vs. the ss's The amount of blinds he'll be winning in the meanwhile will more than make up for it (plus... by open-shoving stuff like 22-77 he'll likely get shortstacks to not attempt to play back at him with hands like T9s, etc. JTo, J9s, etc.).

But as always, 'it depends'. One needs to know the entire layout of all stacks at the table so that we can take other things into consideration (for instance ICM). But again, in short, open-shoving might be the right move (& most likely is).

... more later
 
Poker Orifice

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I have always been knocked out of tournaments with big stack garbage hands, and I am aces and kings. on the SS so programmed random number generator.

Really? Gosh that's very interesting! Thanks for that input :)
 
Poker Orifice

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Most players, like myself, revert to min raises late in tournaments so I guess raising 3x would cause short stacks to rethink shoving with A6o or KT I guess?

maybe. It'd depend if they figured they had fold equity. Again, might just be better to open shove
 
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RandyMarsh

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I think the big stack just needs to widen his calling range. Esp if opening late pos a short stack will be shoving a very wide range
 
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