High cards vs pockets

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Phoenix14

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So I've been experimenting with a bunch of styles of play, and I settled on this for MTT's.

Playing high cards normally, I.E. raising, betting if reading the opponent, folding if you know they paired up etc.

And going all in on pockets ONLY.

This worked pretty well, I was playing four tournaments and cashed in two. Anyone have any comments on pockets and high card play?
 
Henry Minute

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I try to play the same way although I am careful about which pairs I play and how I play them.

With both types of hand, position is very important.

One problem with both is that there is too much dependence on 'getting cards'. Become card dead for a large part of a tournament and your chances of cashing diminish rapidly.
 
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erdnase13

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Are you talking about any pocket pairs? I've been busted out way to many times when someone has a higher pocket pair and I have shoved preflop if my stack is dwindling. So in my expierence i cant recommend it.
 
scorpion1367

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Find an odds calculator and plug in some random pairs versus other combinations of cards it will give you an idea if your percentages are worth all ins .You may find some are not.......scorp
 
psychotie

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As I learned , a pair is just a pair , so small pairs go right in the mug if I m not in position. I lost too much chips by trying to catch my miracle 2 outer. Even with QQ or KK im never sure that I m in the lead after flop.
 
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fumata

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So I've been experimenting with a bunch of styles of play, and I settled on this for MTT's.

Playing high cards normally, I.E. raising, betting if reading the opponent, folding if you know they paired up etc.

And going all in on pockets ONLY.

This worked pretty well, I was playing four tournaments and cashed in two. Anyone have any comments on pockets and high card play?

The game of high card has always given me good results. In times of poor performance and bad luck, stick to an organized game is the only thing that keeps you.
 
odomazetov

odomazetov

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So I've been experimenting with a bunch of styles of play, and I settled on this for MTT's.

Playing high cards normally, I.E. raising, betting if reading the opponent, folding if you know they paired up etc.

And going all in on pockets ONLY.

This worked pretty well, I was playing four tournaments and cashed in two. Anyone have any comments on pockets and high card play?


I'm new in online poker this is my second year and what i spoted is that when i play aggressively i loose often , and i think its time to change style. THen i start to play only high cards and Pairs and i started to imporve my game and i started to win tournaments , i want players that want to steal the blinds from inactive players .
I agree with you and your game play. GL
 
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kmichaels

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Going all in with pocket pair it´s so bad strategy that in long term will cost you tons of chips so don´t do it. About of the rest, I agree with the way you play them which is solidly.
 
xtrigemino

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a pair is something...big cards is just nothing preflop...depends of the level of the tourney how to play it..in heads up is nuts
 
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sillymunchie

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depends on alot of things, you need to find the right table dynamics, once you can see from the table who is the weakest link, you can target that opponent, you win smaller pots, and then the time you have something big you double up
the reason this works is because you get involved in so many hands they increase there agression on you, which leads to you winning bigger pots if you can figure out when your ahead, and when your behind
 
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ph0n3_j4ck

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Low pocket pairs, you really want to see a flop if you have a lot of chips. However if you're below a certain amount... you need to ship all in.

High cards are tricky to play. Many hands such as KQ or KJ or QJ have reverse implied odds. Someone can just as easily felt you with AK or AQ or even AJ.
 
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TexasBoy13

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It is my opinion that you should never shove all in pre flop with ANY pair other than AA or KK. I have played many small live tourneys and many online tourneys and it always seems to work for me. We all know how Poker is and in a tournament setting in my experience I wait to see a flop. Your chips are too valuable to risk, unless you are really short on chips would I advise going all in...
 
Jblocher1

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It is my opinion that you should never shove all in pre flop with ANY pair other than AA or KK. I have played many small live tourneys and many online tourneys and it always seems to work for me. We all know how Poker is and in a tournament setting in my experience I wait to see a flop. Your chips are too valuable to risk, unless you are really short on chips would I advise going all in...

So what about queens? We obviously don't just open shove aces kings or queens. But u can profitably stack off queens against any range against an unknown pretty much. If villain is like an uber nit who will only go all in with aces or kings (u) then maybe u can find a fold
 
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zingbust

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It doesn't actually matter what you do...the determining factor is luck. You can go 8,500 tournaments and never have a downswing because 19 out of 20 times you're all in, you miraculously have the best hand and all of those 19 or at least 18 out of those 19, you don't suffer a bad beat (contrary to what a player with average luck sees happen)...when you have the overcards, you win the race...when you have the pp, you win the race...there's an actual player out there that's had this good a run....then you could be at the opposite end too, where no matter what you do, you just can't win enough hands to get anywhere because your luck just isn't quite as good as it should be and this can go on for you for years and years and years, even 40 years or more over many 10's of thousands of tourneys. holdem is just a game of luck, luck is by far the overriding factor. Going all in with pp preflop might just work for you long term if you're on the good end of the luck factor...just give it a try.

You actually can go all in preflop with any pp and have just as good a chance to almost always either win the race or have your opponent dominated by the fact that your pp is bigger than his. It could happen if you're one of the lucky ones...gl to you, man.
 
Jackdaclown

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I feel you really got to use this strategy being careful of which pp you have and how loose your opponent is. I agree with TexasBoy13 and would only shove with AA and KK but it doesn't promise a perfect ending. I have seen to many AA and KK hands lose also. Knowing the ranges of the other players style can really open the door to buying some blinds when things get expensive. If they are playing tight, you have good chances of them folding, and when they are playing loose, you run the risk of being called and being outdrawn with KQ and your opponent rivers a straight. It is a good play but can be very risky if you are not paying attention who you are up against.
 
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HooDooKoo

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It doesn't actually matter what you do...the determining factor is luck. You can go 8,500 tournaments and never have a downswing because 19 out of 20 times you're all in, you miraculously have the best hand and all of those 19 or at least 18 out of those 19, you don't suffer a bad beat (contrary to what a player with average luck sees happen)...when you have the overcards, you win the race...when you have the pp, you win the race...there's an actual player out there that's had this good a run....then you could be at the opposite end too, where no matter what you do, you just can't win enough hands to get anywhere because your luck just isn't quite as good as it should be and this can go on for you for years and years and years, even 40 years or more over many 10's of thousands of tourneys. holdem is just a game of luck, luck is by far the overriding factor. Going all in with pp preflop might just work for you long term if you're on the good end of the luck factor...just give it a try.

You actually can go all in preflop with any pp and have just as good a chance to almost always either win the race or have your opponent dominated by the fact that your pp is bigger than his. It could happen if you're one of the lucky ones...gl to you, man.

This is one of the most ignorant, most idiotic posts I've ever seen at CC.

There is no such thing as luck. What people refer to as luck can more accurately be described as randomness. People are not inherently "lucky" or "unlucky". Randomness benefits a particular player on some occasions and other players on other occasions. In the long run, though, randomness doesn't favor anything or anyone. The players (pros and amateurs alike) that win in the long run do so based on their skill, not because they are luckier than their opponents.

Anyone that thinks otherwise doesn't understand randomness (or probability/statistics) --- or poker --- at all.

-HooDooKoo
 
IM deusXmachina

IM deusXmachina

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This is one of the most ignorant, most idiotic posts I've ever seen at CC.

There is no such thing as luck.

Anyone that thinks otherwise doesn't understand randomness (or probability/statistics) --- or poker --- at all.

-HooDooKoo

I have to comment hoodookoo, isn't the guy who hits the lower probability of winning and thus squeaked through a lower likelihood of randomness a little more lucky than the other players he beat who "should" have won based on statistical odds? just a thought to think about. What are your thoughts on this perspective?
:2h4::confused:
 
Dee Dee

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If you make a habit of getting your chips in with a hand which will probably win against an opponents estimated range it doesn't matter if you hold a pocket pair or high cards as long as you are getting it in as a favourite, of course, mistakes will be made and beats will happen but long term you will profit.
 
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HooDooKoo

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I have to comment hoodookoo, isn't the guy who hits the lower probability of winning and thus squeaked through a lower likelihood of randomness a little more lucky than the other players he beat who "should" have won based on statistical odds? just a thought to think about. What are your thoughts on this perspective?
:2h4::confused:

No; I stand by my statement that there is no such thing as luck --- there is only randomness. In your one-hand example, randomness "favored" the player with the hand less likely to win. In the long run, randomness will "favor" the player with the hand that is more likely to win. "Luck" is not involved in either case. Randomness is.

-HooDooKoo
 
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stefffan1

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I think your kind of play is good. If you have patience you'll go far.
 
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kanselau

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So I've been experimenting with a bunch of styles of play, and I settled on this for MTT's.

Playing high cards normally, I.E. raising, betting if reading the opponent, folding if you know they paired up etc.

And going all in on pockets ONLY.



This worked pretty well, I was playing four tournaments and cashed in two. Anyone have any comments on pockets and high card play?


how long do you think its going to take your oponents to figure out that raises are high cards and shoves are pockets ? If you do this with any pocket pair any observant opponent is going to crush you with his top 60% of pocket pairs.
 
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kanselau

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No; I stand by my statement that there is no such thing as luck --- there is only randomness. In your one-hand example, randomness "favored" the player with the hand less likely to win. In the long run, randomness will "favor" the player with the hand that is more likely to win. "Luck" is not involved in either case. Randomness is.

-HooDooKoo
over 100k hands pocket 22 is never going to be luckier than AA, no matter who holds the cards.
 
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Jeschant

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Trying to work this out, too. How about:

Shortstacked = high cards and pocket pairs, any position, unless right on bubble and willing to trade a chance to go deeper in order to cash the minimum.

Massive chiplead against shortstack(s) to come = high cards and pocket pairs (pretty sure this is a leak of mine right here, at least with some overcards)

Massive chiplead but calling a raise from a shortstack = AK or AQ or even AJ/Broadway (the latter three if raiser is really shortstacked and/or acting nutty)

Middling stack or against someone who will eat my stack if I lose = decent pocket pair to call, bet with any PP/AK/AQ/AJ/broadway from early position first to act or from steal position to get a fold if he's not a maniac or really aggressive.
 
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kworm2013

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when I don't know what cards others have,high cards is better than small pockets.Because high cards is quite safe than small pocket.small pocket is dangous see the higher pocket.I think so.
 
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