Ask Collin Moshman and Katie Dozier About Sit ‘n Goes!

[Allyte]

Hello, I’m trying to see how I should play certain hands on micro MTTs.
1600 chips. Blind 30 UTG I have pocket AA
Wanted to encourage a little action so bet 60
Big Blind calls (1650chips)
Flop Q 7 3 off
They bet 350 and I shoved.
They have Q 9
River had a 9, lose to 2 pair.
Should I have just called ?
Was it too much risk or is shoving good here?

Also in micro MTTs
When facing a river and you already have a straight, and you feel your opponent wants/needs a club to make a flush do you shove?

 

[Collin Moshman]

Hi Colin hi Katie,

Congrats to the very nice poker tutorial! I wanted to ask you about playing with small pocket pairs such as 22, 33 or 44..obviuosly it depends from different factors such as stage of the game, stacks, opponent opening ranges etc. But in general, how do you advise playing with small pocket pairs preflop?

Cheers, DihaF

Thanks! Here's my answer to this question

• Call pre-flop to set-mine getting 20:1 or better implied odds. (More details on this process in our course.)

• Shove if you're first in the pot with 15bb or less.

• If you're not sure what to do, then fold.

Hi collin and katie.
I have one question about control your bankroll. Actually my bankroll is in 5 dollars. WHats tournaments recomends to me play with regularity?

Ideally you would focus mainly on freerolls like the ones we have here at CardsChat, as well as any game with a buy-in of $0.10 or less. Study a lot, build up, and soon you'll be comfortably rolled for the micros.

Hello, I’m trying to see how I should play certain hands on micro MTTs.
1600 chips. Blind 30 UTG I have pocket AA
Wanted to encourage a little action so bet 60
Big Blind calls (1650chips)
Flop Q 7 3 off
They bet 350 and I shoved.
They have Q 9
River had a 9, lose to 2 pair.
Should I have just called ?
Was it too much risk or is shoving good here?

Also in micro MTTs
When facing a river and you already have a straight, and you feel your opponent wants/needs a club to make a flush do you shove?

First hand is good. I would often call to let me keep bluffing. But you're correct to put in your stack and shoving is much better than folding in this spot. You got it in with a very high winning %; that's the best you can do in poker!

And yes, tend to bet and raise a lot if you're confident your opponent is on a draw so you can charge him.

 

[Allyte]

Thanks! Here's my answer to this question

• Call pre-flop to set-mine getting 20:1 or better implied odds. (More details on this process in our course.)

• Shove if you're first in the pot with 15bb or less.

• If you're not sure what to do, then fold.

Ideally you would focus mainly on freerolls like the ones we have here at CardsChat, as well as any game with a buy-in of $0.10 or less. Study a lot, build up, and soon you'll be comfortably rolled for the micros.




First hand is good. I would often call to let me keep bluffing. But you're correct to put in your stack and shoving is much better than folding in this spot. You got it in with a very high winning %; that's the best you can do in poker!

And yes, tend to bet and raise a lot if you're confident your opponent is on a draw so you can charge him.

Thank you. I was starting to think I was too eager to shove.
One more question,
How would you play pocket jacks?
I'm loosing so much money with them

 

[Marcelobp]

Thanks! Here's my answer to this question

• Call pre-flop to set-mine getting 20:1 or better implied odds. (More details on this process in our course.)

• Shove if you're first in the pot with 15bb or less.

• If you're not sure what to do, then fold.

Ideally you would focus mainly on freerolls like the ones we have here at CardsChat, as well as any game with a buy-in of $0.10 or less. Study a lot, build up, and soon you'll be comfortably rolled for the micros.




First hand is good. I would often call to let me keep bluffing. But you're correct to put in your stack and shoving is much better than folding in this spot. You got it in with a very high winning %; that's the best you can do in poker!

And yes, tend to bet and raise a lot if you're confident your opponent is on a draw so you can charge him.

Thanks Collin ! I will continues my studies and sometimes play some tournaments the 0,10 or less.

 

[Luan]

hello i would like to learn a little more about sit on go 180p regular, i'm working more on turbo more i wish i could play regular 180p

 

[cferdi]

Thanks, yes Collin and I’s books are available as ebooks on Amazon, kind of you to ask.

In general, the lower the stakes of the SNG, the less likely there are to be a lot of regulars and pros. As you move up in stakes, and there tend to be more regs, their names and stats will become familiar quickly and I recommend tagging them for easy reference on the sites where that is possible—that way you can quickly see in the lobby if an SNG has 8 Regs/Pros (uncommon for sure but it does happen), then you can avoid that game.

Another thing that helps is playing at times where it is a popular time to play, because in general the pros/regs will be playing a lot, whereas on weekends, and after work times, there will tend to be a bigger player pool. You’ll know you’ve found a good time when the games are filling/tables are loading quickly. Best of luck!

I was about to ask where to get the books (on sit'n'go in particular) - so Amazon, right? Are they only available as ebooks or can you buy paperback?

 

[Collin Moshman]

Thank you. I was starting to think I was too eager to shove.
One more question,
How would you play pocket jacks?
I'm loosing so much money with them

Generally you want to play JJ aggressively pre-flop by raising or reraising. After the flop, continue to be aggressive if you hit a set or overpair, and much more cautious otherwise!

hello i would like to learn a little more about sit on go 180p regular, i'm working more on turbo more i wish i could play regular 180p

They're a great format, let us know if you have any questions on this strategy!

I was about to ask where to get the books (on sit'n'go in particular) - so Amazon, right? Are they only available as ebooks or can you buy paperback?

Amazon has Kindle and physical versions of SNG Strategy. Thanks Cferdi!

 

[Luan]

Generally you want to play JJ aggressively pre-flop by raising or reraising. After the flop, continue to be aggressive if you hit a set or overpair, and much more cautious otherwise!



They're a great format, let us know if you have any questions on this strategy!




Amazon has Kindle and physical versions of SNG Strategy. Thanks Cferdi!

ok I will inform and study the strategy of these go sit

 

[Allyte]

Generally you want to play JJ aggressively pre-flop by raising or reraising. After the flop, continue to be aggressive if you hit a set or overpair, and much more cautious otherwise!



They're a great format, let us know if you have any questions on this strategy!




Amazon has Kindle and physical versions of SNG Strategy. Thanks Cferdi!

Thank you.
I had asked Jeff the same thing and all I got was a riddle.
This is his answer,



Well, I will tell you a secret Allyte, in all of my years of playing poker I have learned that there are three ways to play pocket jacks in Texas hold'em tournaments.




They are all wrong.

​

​

​

Not of any help.

 

[DoIHaveAFlush]

Hi Katie, Hi Collin, got another question for you - how do you play small connected and suited hands such as 34s or 23o? Do you consider them as garbage hands or is there any spot where you would actually play with such hands?

Cheers​

 

[jadaminato]

Simple question. How many buy-ins do you recommend for single table SNGs, regular speed? I understand that the variance is low in this format.

 

[Navin Sarabjeet]

THANKS a bunch Collin, Katie and CC for that wonderful course.

I was giving up on sit en goes and after finishing the course today, i thought: why not give it a try?
So i fired 4 sit en goes of 9-man $1.50 and from these i won 2, ended in one of them 2nd and busting the other with a cooler.
So its nice to know that these things are indeed still beatable (after taking the course that you guys and CC(of course) put together ).


So thanks a bunch Colin, Katie and CC

 

[Collin Moshman]

Hi Katie, Hi Collin, got another question for you - how do you play small connected and suited hands such as 34s or 23o? Do you consider them as garbage hands or is there any spot where you would actually play with such hands?

Cheers​

Generally fold these hands unless you can profitably open-shove any two cards with a short effective stack from the small blind against a tight player in the big blind. With 43s you might also play this hand from the blinds by limping in the small blind or defending in the big blind against a small raise.

Thank you.
I had asked Jeff the same thing and all I got was a riddle.
This is his answer,



Well, I will tell you a secret Allyte, in all of my years of playing poker I have learned that there are three ways to play pocket jacks in Texas hold'em tournaments.




They are all wrong.

​

Not of any help.

That's funny, I've heard and re-told that same joke before!

Simple question. How many buy-ins do you recommend for single table SNGs, regular speed? I understand that the variance is low in this format.

At least 50 buy-ins, and ideally 100. But if you're willing to drop down in buy-in if you hit a downswing, then a bit lower is fine too

THANKS a bunch Collin, Katie and CC for that wonderful course.

I was giving up on sit en goes and after finishing the course today, i thought: why not give it a try?
So i fired 4 sit en goes of 9-man $1.50 and from these i won 2, ended in one of them 2nd and busting the other with a cooler.
So its nice to know that these things are indeed still beatable (after taking the course that you guys and CC(of course) put together ).


So thanks a bunch Colin, Katie and CC

That's awesome, great job Navin!

 

[jirasuonna]

Dealing with multiple stack sizes in MTTs

Thanks again for all the great content the two of you are pumping out here!

I have been plagued with this situation over and over in MTTs. I am in early to middle position with a stack between 30 and 60 BBs; a bigger stack would have the same problem. Left to act are some mid to large stacks and some stacks under 15 BB.

Either I find myself stuck only playing premium hands and then most of the time everyone folds. Or I have to tentatively play a mid strength hand that gets snapped off.

For example, if I open to 2-3BB with mid pocket pair, that could easily get jammed on by a small stack;. I am ok with that. However, if a large stack has already called or calls after the jam, I am now stuck with a situation where I don't have implied odds anymore.

If I open with marginal broadway hands, I have reverse implied odds from the big stacks, and I'm getting jammed on from small stacks.

If I just play premium hands, everybody knows it, and they don't happen that often.

So that is me done crying about it. Having a bigger than average stack is not worst problem to have.

I realize that the correct answer is most likely, "It depends..." However, on the off chance that you are able to shed some light on how to deal with this, I will click the submit button.

Thanks for reading!

 

[Collin Moshman]

Thanks again for all the great content the two of you are pumping out here!

I have been plagued with this situation over and over in MTTs. I am in early to middle position with a stack between 30 and 60 BBs; a bigger stack would have the same problem. Left to act are some mid to large stacks and some stacks under 15 BB.

Either I find myself stuck only playing premium hands and then most of the time everyone folds. Or I have to tentatively play a mid strength hand that gets snapped off.

For example, if I open to 2-3BB with mid pocket pair, that could easily get jammed on by a small stack;. I am ok with that. However, if a large stack has already called or calls after the jam, I am now stuck with a situation where I don't have implied odds anymore.

If I open with marginal broadway hands, I have reverse implied odds from the big stacks, and I'm getting jammed on from small stacks.

If I just play premium hands, everybody knows it, and they don't happen that often.

So that is me done crying about it. Having a bigger than average stack is not worst problem to have.

I realize that the correct answer is most likely, "It depends..." However, on the off chance that you are able to shed some light on how to deal with this, I will click the submit button.

Thanks for reading!

Thanks Jirasuonna!

With the mid pocket pairs, open and call a shove from the short stacks. If a big stack calls your raise and then the short stack shoves, usually iso-shove when action gets back to you. If the short stack shove and the big stack cold-calls, usually fold.

With offsuit broadway hands, open them from mid and late position usually and then fold facing reraise.

I know that sometimes it seems no strategy is working well, but stick with good opening guidelines like the ones we give in the course, and you'll do well in the long run. Hope that helps!

 

[Bobbybones1950]

Was this the correct Move

This was very very early in the tournament. I thought hard and decided to go for it. What would you have done
Thankyou

https://www.cardschat.com/replayer/5quweZ4

:questionm

 

[jirasuonna]

Thanks Jirasuonna!

With the mid pocket pairs, open and call a shove from the short stacks. If a big stack calls your raise and then the short stack shoves, usually iso-shove when action gets back to you. If the short stack shove and the big stack cold-calls, usually fold.

With offsuit broadway hands, open them from mid and late position usually and then fold facing reraise.

I know that sometimes it seems no strategy is working well, but stick with good opening guidelines like the ones we give in the course, and you'll do well in the long run. Hope that helps!

Thanks! I'm sure it will help. Any kind of lifeline to grasp in that perfect storm will help me keep my composure. That situation is usually most irksome when the bubble is approaching and I am weighing the value of the min-cash against going for the big money.

 

[jirasuonna]

Push/Fold Charts In The Money

I've been using Push/Fold Charts when I get short stacked. Admittedly it is kind of cheap, but when you have to deal with 0%, 10%, 12.5% antes, sometimes in the same tournament, it seems really difficult to really get it down. (If I was playing live, I might use your magic range suggestion.)

Suppose you are in wide field MTT with a large payout structure that starts at 15% or 20%. There are a lot of little pay jumps and once you are ITM, everybody that has been nitting it up to get ITM starts making their moves and dropping like flies. Either people are stalling and Hero won't get to see many hands before the stack shrinks or the blinds are rapidly devouring the stack. Will people dropping out, tables are getting shuffled so that you can't track who is pushing/calling too loose/tight. (I realize I'm getting carried away with painting an ambiguous picture.) While all the big money is at the final table you still have 100-200 people to get through. There is some marginal value in falling up the ladder.

I have 10 BB and there is a 12.5% ante. If there is value in just surviving, is there value in tightening up and either:

• Using a chart for more BB. eg. 12 BB and 12.5% ante
• Using a chart for a lower ante. eg. 10 BB and 10% ante
• Play a little tighter than the margins. eg. Chart says push J9s+, Hero pushes JTs+

Does this make sense to do? Or am I losing too much value from all the lesser +EV hands I am passing on? Or should I just embrace the volatility and hope that I will make it to the big money in the long run?

 

[Katie Dozier]

This was very very early in the tournament. I thought hard and decided to go for it. What would you have done
Thankyou

https://www.cardschat.com/replayer/5quweZ4

:questionm

This is an interesting spot! In general I think too much emphasis is put on how the buyin should effect our action but this is actually one of those spots where I think it matters (especially without a read on our opponents—UTG+1 in particular as we should be far more concerned with his range).

In micro stakes/free rolls I would def recommend going with it (which I believe is the case in this tournament and what you in fact did so well done!) If this is midstakes or higher, or if we know UTG+1 to be a good reg, I would most likely lay this down. Well played!

 

[Katie Dozier]

I've been using Push/Fold Charts when I get short stacked. Admittedly it is kind of cheap, but when you have to deal with 0%, 10%, 12.5% antes, sometimes in the same tournament, it seems really difficult to really get it down. (If I was playing live, I might use your magic range suggestion.)

Suppose you are in wide field MTT with a large payout structure that starts at 15% or 20%. There are a lot of little pay jumps and once you are ITM, everybody that has been nitting it up to get ITM starts making their moves and dropping like flies. Either people are stalling and Hero won't get to see many hands before the stack shrinks or the blinds are rapidly devouring the stack. Will people dropping out, tables are getting shuffled so that you can't track who is pushing/calling too loose/tight. (I realize I'm getting carried away with painting an ambiguous picture.) While all the big money is at the final table you still have 100-200 people to get through. There is some marginal value in falling up the ladder.

I have 10 BB and there is a 12.5% ante. If there is value in just surviving, is there value in tightening up and either:

• Using a chart for more BB. eg. 12 BB and 12.5% ante
• Using a chart for a lower ante. eg. 10 BB and 10% ante
• Play a little tighter than the margins. eg. Chart says push J9s+, Hero pushes JTs+

Does this make sense to do? Or am I losing too much value from all the lesser +EV hands I am passing on? Or should I just embrace the volatility and hope that I will make it to the big money in the long run?

You’re totally right that it’s very important to take the antes into account! In fact this is a topic I am so obsessed with that Collin occasionally has to tease me about it lol

There are a lot of great ways you can take the ante into account mathematically, such as using Harrington’s M. During game play, I prefer to do it by taking the starting pot and multiplying it by .66 since the BB is traditionally 2/3 the starting pot pre-ante. It can be a bit cumbersome at first with the math, but after doing it for a while you’ll memorize the ante-adjusted big blind.

From there, I like to use the ante-adjusted big blind while keeping in mind that most players that are thinking in terms of blinds/effective stack will be seeing it nominally instead of ante-adjusted. In other words, if I have 13 bbs but when I adjust for the ante I have ten, I have the option to min raise or shove depending on how to best exploit my opponents.

Hope this helps

 

[CRStals]

Huge fan of both of yours first off and congrats on an amazing course you designed for CardsChat members - it is amazing from front to back!!!!

Now that I've sucked up to both of you lol...I have a few questions about Sit N Go's. If it matters, my current overall bankroll is in the range of about $1000 US plus or minus.

- How is the strategy for a Sit N Go different for a variant like a Spin n Go or a Jackpot SNG? Do you have to play more aggressively initially, and how wide of a range do you play? I watched Collin say that he'd defend a blind with hands as low as K5
- PS came out with the Grand Tour - essentially a 4 player hyper PKO. How much differently do you play this versus a 3 handed Jackpot SnG
- I have satellited into the Sunday Million on Stars a few times now - for tournaments like this, what is the softest way to get into them? Stars offers hyper $11 rebuy tournaments that go directly in, or are playing freezeout tournaments better in the long haul?
- Finally, what is your favorite type of Sit n Go to play in terms of soft fields - single table that pays 3, single tables that pay half the table the same, or smaller MTT's?

Thanks for the insight!!!! Keep pumping out the amazing content for us!

 

[Wellingtonaakkk]

in a mtt how should i behave at first with mediocre hands? better try to win blinds in the middle to the final and in favorable positions or do you have to go to the same?

 

[jirasuonna]

You’re totally right that it’s very important to take the antes into account! In fact this is a topic I am so obsessed with that Collin occasionally has to tease me about it lol

There are a lot of great ways you can take the ante into account mathematically, such as using Harrington’s M. During game play, I prefer to do it by taking the starting pot and multiplying it by .66 since the BB is traditionally 2/3 the starting pot pre-ante. It can be a bit cumbersome at first with the math, but after doing it for a while you’ll memorize the ante-adjusted big blind.

From there, I like to use the ante-adjusted big blind while keeping in mind that most players that are thinking in terms of blinds/effective stack will be seeing it nominally instead of ante-adjusted. In other words, if I have 13 bbs but when I adjust for the ante I have ten, I have the option to min raise or shove depending on how to best exploit my opponents.

Hope this helps

It was not what I was looking for. I currently use push/fold charts with 0, 10% and 12.5% antes factored in.
https://www.mypokercoaching.com/push-fold-chart/

My question was about tightening up to move up the pay ladder. Upon reflection, that question is a little embarrassing. I would have regretted asking it if your response wasn't so interesting.

It look me a while to wrap my head around adjusted BB. I kept trying to figure out if you were using Nash/Equilibrium, Skalansky-Chubokov, Magic Range Rules, with some arcane manipulation, because it was weird that you were talking, about the "starting pot" and not stacks.

I have to say that it is a very elegant solution! That will let me get a feel for push/fold without getting confused between 3 different ante sizes. It also takes into account an adjustment for the number of players' antes in the pot; which the charts do not.

Thanks! You gave me a lot more than I knew I was looking for.

 

[lolshovaments]

Sup Collin.
I have your Heads-up book and really think is great content.

What do you think about poker rooms not running Heads-up decent MTTs anymore? Some might say they are stopping offering because of bots. Sometimes, like in the last SCOOP, we had few HUMTTs... but this is not usual.

Other poker rooms simply don't care and don't offer at all. Even wsop are running only expensive games in this format.

Do you see any chance of Heads-up Poker being respected in the future?

 

[Collin Moshman]

Huge fan of both of yours first off and congrats on an amazing course you designed for CardsChat members - it is amazing from front to back!!!!

Now that I've sucked up to both of you lol...I have a few questions about Sit N Go's. If it matters, my current overall bankroll is in the range of about $1000 US plus or minus.

- How is the strategy for a Sit N Go different for a variant like a Spin n Go or a Jackpot SNG on ACR? Do you have to play more aggressively initially, and how wide of a range do you play? I watched Collin say that he'd defend a blind with hands as low as K5
- PS came out with the Grand Tour - essentially a 4 player hyper PKO. How much differently do you play this versus a 3 handed Jackpot SnG
- I have satellited into the Sunday Million on Stars a few times now - for tournaments like this, what is the softest way to get into them? Stars offers hyper $11 rebuy tournaments that go directly in, or are playing freezeout tournaments better in the long haul?
- Finally, what is your favorite type of Sit n Go to play in terms of soft fields - single table that pays 3, single tables that pay half the table the same, or smaller MTT's?

Thanks for the insight!!!! Keep pumping out the amazing content for us!

Thanks CR, we really appreciate these nice words!

** SNGs have ICM whereas spins are winner-take-all. You should be more aggressive in the spin/jackpot format because of this winner-take-all strategy and how short the effective stack usually is + they're 3-handed so ranges are wider.

** The PKO / grand tour format really incentivizes busting opponents. You should call off shoves, and shove yourself, in situations where you cover your opponent with a much wider range. ICMizer can quantify this if you have it, otherwise just use your best judgment!

** Good question, I think the normal and turbo speed satellites are the best value normally, particularly larger field ones with more seats guaranteed.

** My personal favorite is 9-man SNG

in a mtt how should i behave at first with mediocre hands? better try to win blinds in the middle to the final and in favorable positions or do you have to go to the same?

Fold unless you're in late position against tight opponents.