Discussion Time: Loose or Tight?

[Sykedupp]

I wanna start a good discussion, so, lets apply this only to Pokerstars Turbo SnG's...

At the beginning stages of the turbo SnG's, is it better to play LAggy or TAggy, and if you pick a side, explain your reasoning... I've heard both sides of the argument, and they both have their merits, including:

TAggy play is easier, raise big hands, bet flop... LAggy play gets you in marginal situations alot more often.

LAggy play allows you to build a stack earlier more often, thus controlling the table and manipulating it in your favor (assuming you play LAggy well)

Which style do you think, played well, can give you more profits in the long term of Pokerstars Turbo SnG's?

Also, does the answer change when you play PP SnG's or Pokerstars Reg. speed SnG's? How?

Just tryin to start a discussion


-Chris

[ripjohngotti]

tight early on , pick it up later.

[Sykedupp]

tight early on , pick it up later.

Exactly the answer i didnt want to see, save the thoughtless posts for other forums please, or at least keep them out of this thread, thanks.

-Chris

[ripjohngotti]

Tag gets u in better situations, I made my response simple. Just as you should when playing against guys who cant see past theie hands, no need to stress yourself playing lagg early on when blind levels are small compared to your stack and gamble all your chips away on a marginal AJ or A10 or on a complete bluffs.

You cant control a table early on, why would you want to? Why put stack at risk with low blinds doesnt make much sense and ive done it before with both results of winning and loose but I choose to play Tag now as its much easier.

[Sykedupp]

Maybe at the levels you play, I'm talking fairly smart opponents such as the ones at 105's and 215's.

-Chris

[Barry5]

I've tried both ways at $20 level on Party. Often when I play loose I still find that I end up after the first 3 rounds with roughly the 2,000 chips I started with. Sometimes it pays off and then sometimes it doesn't.

If I have 2,000 after round 3, I always know that one double up will get you virtually to chip leader so no point in taking risks in the early stages.
So, I'm sticking to the conventional way and, yes, for sure, I loosen up when the blinds get interesting.

[Erudito]

I tried both styles before. The level of SnGo I play is between $22 to $109 buy-in. I play turbos mainly and I find these games to be fast. So which style is the best? It depends on your personal ability to handle risk. Here's my overview:
1. Conservative player.
You will preserve your chip stack and avoid taking many risks, your stack won't double up that often. Therefore, your Bubble playing skill must be the best because you will have to make many tough decisions which will put your whole stack at peril. Even if you survive the Bubble and you make it to ITM, your short stack won't help you win first that often. Expect to get third place a lot with occasional first place, unless you are great at playing with a short stack against 2 opponents.
2. Loose Player
You will run into the risk of losing all your chips early. However, the plus side is that you will have a large stack or a relative big stack to play in the Bubble. Your chances of winning first with such big stack increases considerably.
In summary
Tight -> survival mode, often short stack on Bubble, Bubble skill and ITM play need to be very strong otherwise lots of 3rd places finishes.
Loose -> double up earlymode, risky play, often huge stack on Bubble, easier to play with a huge stack, lots of first place finishes.
One more thing, HU play must be at the best in order to win first. A huge stack helps, but a short stack in HU is not necessary a disadvantage.
You pick your poison !
I don't advocate one style to be better than the other. It depends on your character when it comes to risk assessment. My personal preference is to mix both styles when I play SnGo.

[Dave Davis]

Well, I am just a begginner . I play turbo's at Pokerstars (micro limit). However, I think that you have to follow the rule: "When the game is tight, play loose and vice versa." I mean that for late position because of blind stealing. At turbos, people are quite loose at the beggining so you are better off waiting for good cards, I assume. I don't have experiences in higher limits yet. However, is this the right logic?

[Stripclubjunkie]

Well, I am just a begginner . I play turbo's at Pokerstars (micro limit). However, I think that you have to follow the rule: "When the game is tight, play loose and vice versa." I mean that for late position because of blind stealing. At turbos, people are quite loose at the beggining so you are better off waiting for good cards, I assume. I don't have experiences in higher limits yet. However, is this the right logic?

You just keep on playing tight with my money

[Reidak]

I beleive this question is really dependant on how your table is acting. im currently playing $22 and $33 sit n go's on stars so my opponents arent complete fish. If you spot weakness early you need to get laggy fast, preferably the next hand. Show the table you mean business. You will be seen as anomily, your the crazy guy. These really tight players love to pick out these people. How will they react? I dont really know, its never concrete.

I just wanted to throw that out there as a different perspective.

If anyone wants to flame me, PLEASE DO, if you liked what i said, TELL ME. Most of us are here to learn and the more we expand our ideas the better off we are.

P.S. If your at a loose table then its the opposite.

P.P.S feel free to add.

[TLR]

I usually play the $25+2 turbo (1 or 2 table) with an occesional $55+5 thrown in.

I think both styles can work, however I play tight early, loose later, for the following reasons
1. Loose playing relies a lot on good reads, and you dont have it early on.
2. You dont know how loose/tight the table is
3. Establishing a somewhat tight image is more valuable then a loose image

When the blinds gets higher and the table gets shorter you have no options but to loosen up

[Dave Davis]

stricpclubjunkie, I play tight, because my opponents are usually loose early and a little more tight later. I loosen up later so I play by instructions on this site.I just assume that at higher levels it might be a little different. I play quite good (I assume) otherwise, right now I have 59 bucks. So no need to worry about losing money for now.

[Stripclubjunkie]

stricpclubjunkie, I play tight, because my opponents are usually loose early and a little more tight later. I loosen up later so I play by instructions on this site.I just assume that at higher levels it might be a little different. I play quite good (I assume) otherwise, right now I have 59 bucks. So no need to worry about losing money for now.

Just keep up the good work Dave Feel free to PM me...