$3.40 Turbo, Please Review

[Illfavor]

http://www.flopturnriver.com/Online-...ment-3859.html

There were a lot of mistakes here, but please point them out for reinforcement. I particularly noticed too much limping at the t600 level, and some suspect C-bets.

Thanks for any help.

[zachaser]

Ahh, the good ole $3.40's. I started on Poker Stars a little over a year ago and was breakeven for about 400 games at the $3.40's! Anyways, I'll take a look at this one for you; I've played a ton of these. Any hand I don't comment on works for me. Here we go:

Hand 2 (99): After the big raise, FOLD. You were fine limping this for set value, but once someone raises this high, you don't have the implied odds to play for set value. Generally, you want to be calling raises from someone who can double you up; you should be able to win 10-15 times the size of the raise when you hit your set. This depends on your stack and opponents, as well as other callers.

Hand 4 (Tc 6c): Not really a fan of the raise because the blinds aren't worth stealing and your hand sucks. Also, it's the $3.40's, you're gonna get called a lot of the time here. Just let it go and save the blind stealing for 25/50 and higher.

Hand 5 (Qh Th): Don't ever limp these kinds of marginal hands in early position. You have bad implied odds against hands that dominate you (QJ, QK, KT, AT, AQ) and you don't want to call a raise in bad position. Usually the only time I'm playing a hand like this in an SNG is if there are 3 or more limpers and I'm on the button or in the SB.

Hand 7 (K9): Fold or raise with the blinds at this level, here I say fold.

Hand 8 (66): Just fold here. Middle pairs are very hard to play from early position when the blinds get high, because you usually have to bet at very scary boards with no idea where you stand. As played, fold is fine on that board, even against the donk minbet, there's nothing you're really beating.

Hand 10 (Qd8d): I would only steal if the blinds are tight here, when someone shoves over like they did here, you lose 20% of your stack which could have been saved for an all in spot.

Hand 11(AA): Minraise shortstacked is fine every so often, but the standard play here with around 7 BB's is just to shove all in.

SB (Q9) Between hands 11 and 12: Depending on BB's stack size, this may be a shove. If it's <10 BB's, this is a shove.

Hand 14 (Ac2c): NO, don't ever limp with blinds this high! You just limped 10% of your stack with a shit hand! Here you should push all in or fold, and with the two bigger stacks in the blinds I probably let this one go. Although if antes kicked in I would shove here.

SB (5T): between 14 & 15: This is a push against the fellow shortstack.

Hand 16 (Qh9h): You're the shortstack on the bubble, this is an easy push against the BB. Don't ever limp here unless you're trying to induce a shove with a monster (KK, AA). As played, I would probably bet close to pot and call a shove, but shove is not too bad here. Opponent is a dumbass!

Hand 17 (AA): Don't minraise ever and you'll do just fine. Make it 600 here, 500 without antes. As played, flop shove is fine.

Hand 20 (Ts6s): Blinds are 200/400, completing from the SB is not an option here. You have a 5 BB shortstack in the BB trying to sneak into the money, you have to push all in here with Any Two Cards. As played, don't really like the turn bet, if he has anything he's calling and you just grow his stack back up. River I probably check and call a small bet, but he's already called, so you know he hit the flop somehow. This all would have been solved if you had shoved Pre-flop.

Hand 22 (A2): Now that's more like it!

Hand 24 (QT): Just shove it all in, this is an easy push. As played, bet more on the flop, 1000-1200. Your bet screams weakness, opponent can be double raising here with nothing. Obviously you have to fold though.

SB (82) Between hand 26 & 27: Pretty sure this is a shove with 300/600 blinds against a shorter stack.

Hand 27(Kc4c): Flop call is very marginal, I would probably just fold. River is definitely a fold, even though you won this time, a bluff is the only thing you do beat that bets here.

42 (SB): Between hand 27 & 28: I think this is ok to fold, if you've shoved the SB hands I pointed out earlier. However, if you think the BB is calling with around 30% of hands or less, this is a push.

Hand 30 (A6): This one is close, withouth looking at SNG WIZ I fold here, but it's close. If this was suited or blinds were 400/800 this would be an easy push.

Hand 31 (46): Let it go here. Your hand is too weak to call, even with the odds you're getting. You can push all in next hand with, in all likelihood, a much better hand.

Hand 32 (Jc2c): Easy all in here.

Hand 35 (3d 2d): Stop completing from the SB, especially HU with blinds this high. You are giving BB a read that you don't have a hand, he can probably push all in with 32o here and show a profit. Either push all in or fold, and with even stacks at about 10 BB's a piece, you can fold here, unless you think he's calling tight, which I don't think he is.

Hand 39 (Q5): Another easy push. Don't complete.

between 40 & 41: SB (T2) and SB (T3): These are both pushes.

Hand 45 (Js 8s): Not terrible, but you did this earlier with the Ace, here I think you can just check and see a flop.

Overall: Do yourself a favor and buy SNG WIZ. It's a program which looks at your all in pushes/calls and gives you ranges that you can push and call all ins with. Also, you need to tighten up your preflop range, in the early stages you are playing too many hands. Don't complete in the SB when the blinds are high, and d0n't be afraid to push all in from the SB with <10 BB's, even with crap. Keep posting hands/tournies on here, and if you got any more questions let me know!

[Illfavor]

Thank you so much. That advice is all invaluable, and I truly appreciate it. I will be sure to post more tournies. (I rode your advice to two more cashes tonight, one a win). I stopped completing and started shoving and they started folding, or calling with inferior hands. I have a problem with convincing myself to just shove it in when I should, and my tourney reviews show that I do better when I move my stack more often.

I like to minraise with AA around the t150 level because it often incites the more aggressive opponents to shove over, which I gladly call. Not sure how that will work at the higher levels.

What are the minimum standards for shoving around 200/400, HU? You told me to shove things like T2/T3 and I was wondering the reasoning behind it? One of my problems is I simply don't know what to shove sometimes.

Thanks

[zachaser]

What are the minimum standards for shoving around 200/400, HU? You told me to shove things like T2/T3 and I was wondering the reasoning behind it? One of my problems is I simply don't know what to shove sometimes.

There are guidelines, but usually when you're HU and blinds are high compared to your stack it's profitable to shove any two cards into your opponent. The reasoning behind this is that you'll get called so rarely that, over time, the blinds you steal add up. Also, you're rarely a huge underdog when called HU, it's usually a 60/40 or 55/45.

Let's do an example. You're the chipleader with 11,000 chips, and your opponent has the other 4,000. Blinds are 200/400, with a 25 chip ante. There are 650 chips already in the pot. Let's say your opponent will only call with the top 20% of hands if you push all in from the SB. Even if you push something as crappy as 32 off suit, you are winning the blinds 4 times out of 5. That means that for every 5 shoves you make with 32, you win 4 pots uncontested, which adds up to 2600 chips. The other part is that, when you're called, you usally have two live cards than can win. It adds up to be very profitable.

However, you need to remember that it is highly dependent on your opponent's calling range. This is why you need SNG WIZ, it will give you a good feel for what to push HU. But if you want a generic range for HU with both stacks <10 BB's, here it is: Push everything except: 82, 73 and down, 63 and down, 53 and down, 43 and down, 32. Basically, you are folding the very worst hands, which makes your opponent think you are being somewhat selective about what you are shoving.

This post is getting too long, ask me to clarify if anything didn't add up. Congrats on the other cashes!

[Illfavor]

So, push the vast majority of hands. Especially if the opp. is tight. The tighter his range, the looser mine should be? And if he's looser, or pushing a similar range, I should push on a tighter range? It seems easier to loosen up against a nit than to tighten up against someone loose. I'll certainly look into the SNG Wiz.