Strategy for Hyper Turbo tourneys

teepack

teepack

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I have a new favorite tourney on Carbon - the 10 p.m. ET hyper turbo $5.50. I like it because it will finish in less than 2 hours. I had been playing the $2 $1k guaranteed tourney that starts at 7 p.m. ET, but I finished second in that one once and it didn't wrap up until after 2 a.m. ET, so I can't do that one any more.

When I first played the Hyper Turbo event, I thought I would have to play like the title - hyper aggressive. I figured I would need a double up about every 15 minutes (3 minute blind levels), so I opened up my range early, saw my stack (3k starting chips) get whittled down to less than half in the first 3 levels and was out shortly thereafter.

The next night I tried it and decided I would be more patient. I basically waited until my stack would be one of the lowest at the table and then when I got a good shot, would shove. This strategy seemed to work fairly well. About the first 5 times I shoved, someone would call and I would win to get a much-needed double up. That would put me back in the middle of the pack, and then I would just wait again for my next opportunity.

What I noticed about the HTT was that most of the other players were very aggressive. It got to the point where almost every hand was a shove, leading to a showdown, leading to somebody getting eliminated or losing a significant amount of their stack. I ended up making it to the final table the second night. I've played that tourney three more times since and cashed twice.

How do you guys approach hyper turbo tourneys? I think my patient strategy works well to get me past the bubble, but then I'm not sure that is the best way to play once you get into the money.
 
Michael Paler

Michael Paler

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IMHO, the shorter the levels, the more luck is involved. At the 3 minute level, sure, there can be some skill involved, but any bad run of cards will blind you off quickly, and even good cards can be devastated by having too many people in the pot. I do not get excited by holding AA UTG in one of these games; if I shove, I could still end up in a 5 way pot. Even a min raise could see too many callers or instigate a multi-way shove fest.
 
W

WiZZiM

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You really have to push for the big stacks in these games. So that means getting your stack in looser than you normally would, because as you mention players are very aggressive and they play a much wider range of hands.

I know this thread is going to turn into one of those 'hyper' tourney threads where alot of people say there is no skill and that you should not play them. But the facts are that they are profitable, and as you say suit a wide variety of players. For me personally, i simply do not have the time to set aside to play a 12 hour long tournament, so playing for maximum 2-3 hours to finish a final table is great.

Your general strategy seems ok, but instead of waiting for spots you can create them also, once you have that middle stack you can use that stack to get a bigger one by applying pressure to other stacks of similar size to you, or indeed large stacks who are likely sitting on their stack and of course smaller stacks too.

It's mostly about jamming a wide enough range, and also jamming to get your stack larger. The biggest thing i see players not doing enough of is min-raise/calling getting odds vs smaller stacks.

So yeah sit back and wait for spots, don't be afraid to take on those spots when they come, but when you have that middle stack push to get yourself the chip lead and you will zoom past the bubble and give yourself a much better shot at cashing in the top 3 positions. The worst thing you can do is as michael suggests above, getting blinded out due to a "run of bad cards" it's not a thing if you shove appropriately wide, and that means often shoving ATC with 6-4bb stack sizes due to a lack of better options, basically the aggressive route is usually better than the defensive route (folding).


The example i always give is would you rather get your stack in with 10BB and 33% equity. or get your stack in with 5BB and 66% equity?
 
rflbarreto

rflbarreto

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I don´t like that much deeper, but the main strategy is to analyze your range. You won´t survive playing only premium hands, and at the first stages, having A is a very good reason to go all in.

The best recommendation is, don´t even call if you are not willing to go all in later
 
almanik

almanik

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I think there is no strategy in hiper turbo tournaments at all. There is so many times you have to play all-in or bet big part of your stack, that any plans can't be realized. I must have as more luck, as you have. Anything else can't help you here.
 
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colacho

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My strategy is to play it safe, because they are very fast tournaments ..
 
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