There are many great players that get to the bubble consistently but don’t win. They do not understand hte concept of Fold Equity for one and are probably also not up with “End Stage, High Blind/ICM” play. It is crucial to “take” pots with selective aggression without going to showdow and understanding FOLD EQUITY can help you make better decisions and take your share of pots. After all, you are simply not going to get by sitting and waiting for a hand or by playing passive and hope you win at showdown. You must be able to “switch” gears in tournament play and open up to go on the offensive at the right times. Certainly playing a solid ABC TAG game early is absolutely correct and is also a perfect core base skill set to develop and branch out from. No matter the “gear” or playing style, there comes a time every player reverts to a solid ABC TAG core in a game for many reasons. These are fodder for other topics.

Basically, in its simplest form, Fold Equity is your ability to force your opponent(s) to fold without going to showdown. For an in depth article on details of FOLD EQUITY please visit SNGspot on Fold Equity.

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Turn is nothing, he bets out again. I think for a bit then reraise all in figureing he’ll have to call for the $12 more just like I did for the $10 more in my failed bluff. Sure enough, he was pushing with overcards figuring I was on the draw and kept missing.

It’s hard to get paid for quads, but it’s easier if you have position and a TAG or LAG to your right. Just don’t scare them off by getting too pushy. If he checked at all during this I would have bet out some small amount to see if I could aggravate him into pushing back or he’s on the draw and it’s worth it pot odds to chase for him.

Here is the playout of the hand:

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While it is a multi-table event it is still called a SNG.  These 45 seat events seem to have unique dyanmics with specific places where gear changes are required to succeed.  Just like racing an auto, shift too soon or too late and it can be disaster.  This article presumes the reader is a little fluent in poker language and basic concepts.  If there are any questions please feel free to post in comments and I’ll answer.   If prudent, would even edit the article to make it easier for future readers.

This article follows the game I played last night including every action, move, some thoughts and yes, even any mistake is left in.  We learn from our mistakes (hopefully) and it’s easier and CHEAPER to learn from others mistakes.

Early Stage:

1st Gear: Rock – Solid ABC poker but NIT tight. First round folding everything but AA, KK, QQ, AK any position adding JJ, TT, 99 KQs AQ cutoff through blinds. All std 3.5x pfr any seat if played except AA or KK would just open shove first round.  (This is a strategy that will be discussed in another article but I have it well documented for me to pay off IF I get dealt early like that.)

Right now, I’m in first gear still 18 minutes in & in the 3rd round.  Total card dead but one more round before I shift gears.

First Gear: vp3, pfr3, AF blank
Hand 21: JJ in cutoff, folded to me I raise 3.5x pfr, collect the blinds.

Middle Stages:

Hand 28: Into 4th round now and still dead.  However, will shift gears into 2nd and use my tight image to steal blinds when possible.

2nd Gear:  All the above in any seat adding pp from 66+  early and 22 mid to late position for set mining.  Also from cutoff through blinds Suited Aces and AT+ If folded to me on button may raise ATC for steal attempt. Yellow M of 11 only played one hand so far.  Need to chip up.

3rd Gear:  Never had opportunity for any hands.  M is dropping and now in my next stage of play. Situational poker and player reads.  By now I have a read on opponents and will take advantage of anything I can. 3 limps in hand 43 I was on button with KJo and shoved my short stack in, stole it all and chipped up 50%

Hand 48: I’m in UTG 99, I limp in and it’s folded to the bb who checks, flop Q39 rainbow, bb checks I min bet, he folded.

Hand 50: Now in BB with AA, ther is one Limper followed by a shortie shove, I call hoping other short limper would call and he didn’t.  I held and took out shover.

Hand 52:  On Button with 55 and 2 limps to me, I limp for set value.   I at first thought about raise to steal but decided against it, I’m in 3rd gear which is more passive at this point.  Looking to more lowball it than risk. TAG in sb raises, quite possibly a positional steal but he had me stacked and it was not worth a race at this point.

In 3rd gear I am coasting along looking for right opportunities. Like this one:

Hand 55: http://www.pokerhand.org/?4408754 I know he has no Ace and probably on a flush draw.  He just filled from sb.  He’s new to the table but I show he’s a loose passive type not taking many to showdown.  Probably a floater, just goes along and sees what happens but won’t chase or defend agressively.  Of course I could have been wrong and burned chips there because I was determined to fold to a reraise as then I know he slow played when he hit. But for me to pull off the bluff my bets had to be believable and consistent.

M19 as a result the above bluff steal with stats at 9/4/INF for the game.  This is actually too tight but being card dead even when opening up wider keeps me tight and numbers low.  4 players at the table with vp50 3 with low or no pfr and 1 at 11 also narrows my range of possibilities.

I Never got enough good hands nor collected enough of a stack to go into what I call 4th gear, a more aggressive and loose accumulation phase.  As evidenced by this game all gears aren’t alway needed.  Each game will play different and gear shifting can occur different.  A succesful player must adapt to the situation at hand.    Right now, with 15 players left I am downshifting back into 2nd Gear.   The BB is at 200 and my stack is 2900.  Not enough of a stack to cash let alone win this which comes from experience to know this.  I will have to downshift and wait for hand in push fold mode now.

Hand 67:  http://www.pokerhand.org/?4408807 My opportunity arose. By the way, he was the loosest player at the table that WAS the big stack a couple rounds back.  I thought about limping with the loose players in this, wait for the shove then get the limper in and I shove. Then figured, it’s a buck tournie, shove and be done with it.  Sometimes people overplay, overthink, overanalyze and you have t realize,  at these stakes much of it is lost on your opponents.  Advanced moves like a bluff rarely works and trying to setup a repush from an opponent seldom works.  They WILL work once you have profiled opponents and gotten really good reads on them and their likely reaction to your action.  But most the time, as here, just make the basic play and be done with it.  I have a great hand, nothing wrong with getting it all in here, just get it in and hope someone will call and at these stakes someone almost always will with any kind of a draw hand.

I’m still too short, I need 6k to cash so I am staying in 2nd gear with my M of 11.

Late Stage NTM/Bubble:

Ok, so we are not Near The Money (NTM) or on the bubble yet.  But it is down to two tables and final table is next.  These 45 seaters pay down to 6th place.  However, based on my stack size, opponents stacks, the blind size and stage of the tournie nearing the end, it can be played just like bubble play.

Hand 76: http://www.pokerhand.org/?4408835 folded to me and i’s simple shove or fold forme at this point.  Here I shoved and got the bb only.

Hand 80: http://www.pokerhand.org/?4408841 luckily my pp held up.

Still in 2nd Gear as far as hand selections go but push/fold mode at 10/6/INF Even though my Stack is 5400 chips the bb is 400.

Overdrive:

Going to shift into overdrive soon, open wide and push/fold ICM bubble style with my fold equity. There’s still 10 in it and cash isn’t until 6th. I just folded KTo UTG.  Coming into BB will now shift into overdrive coming out these blinds.

In the bb with 78d I ended up taking out shorty folded to me.  As a result I’m moved to final table, it’s folded to me in sb I shoved with KT at shorty in BB, he folded and I stole the bb for 400 chips.

Mistake:

I got stupid with JJ and limped in cutoff hoping shorty would shove, he didn’t but did catch trip fives with his J5h and I thought I was slick trapping him. He doubled off me so am at 4900 again.  I should never have dropped out of overdrive, that was a big mistake.  I could have stolen the blinds maybe and still been strong.  I probably could not have played this hand any worse.  Had I just shoved like I did with the hand above instead of trying to be fancy, I would have most likely won the blind.  If he called I still lose buy my shove would have given me the opportunity to win instead of the play I made and assured the loss.

Final Table Play:

There’s a loose weak player calling 35, 47 57 all off suit and he hit each time to become monster stack outdrawing AK and AQ. Forget the other one he sucked out on. Anyway, he just sucked out last hand and limped in my bb for 600.  So I assualted him as follows:

Hand 97: A6o BB, I shoved he folded.

Hand 98: he raised 3x I shoved with AQo on button he called with AQo, we split.

Hand 99: A8s shove from cutoff, all fold

Hand 100: AQo shove and all fold

Hand 101: AKc shove all fold

Staying in overdrive, M7 final table bb 800 stack 8k 3 of 8 left.

With 10-12 or 14 BB’s left, you can’t reallymake any meaningful raise without committing a good size of your stack and being pot committed to a monster pot in relation to stack size.  So it is either push or fold.  If it is not worth a push it is not worth one chip, fold it.  On the call side, you normally must be a lot stronger to make a call than push.  This is known as the Gap principle.  For example, it may be correct to push with Jack Nine of Clubs (J9c) but it is generally not correct to call with it.  You may push with Q6s but want to have Q9s to call with in the same situation.  The GAP principle is also fodder for another article.

Hand 106: A3o SB, folded to me shoved to bb who has 3.4k took the blind.

Hand 109: K8d Hijack folded to me and shoved, AK on button called, I paired the 8 to win. I had the rest to act after me stack covered by 2x or more so I took the chance to shove for steal.

Hand 110: AJo middle, shoved, all folded.

M is 12, 2nd of 7 stack at 14k, bb 800

Adjusting To The Table:

I am not shifting gears or game strategy, but what I am doing is being mindful of my opponents.  One opponent with a big stack can hurt me if I get tangled with him and lose.  So when he is in a hand I am more selective in my action.  I can bully, steal and attack anyone at will with impunity but if this player is in the hand I have to be careful lest I find myself in contention for the pot with the big stack.  The math and odds change for what probabilities can occur so my EV may drop in a particular hand or situation as a result.  For example, against a shorty I can shove off with A7o with little risk, much to gain.  But if big stack is in it, I may not want to do that and may choose a raise, check or fold instead.  So I adjust my game just a bit based on the players at the table.

So I’ll be staying in Overdrive but will not get in with big stack without me having strong hand or play to make.

Hand 114: 86o in sb folded to me so I shoved into the bb who folded and I took his blind. He is now down to 2k

Bubble Burst ITM:

Bubble just burst, ITM, I had TT right after and shoved, all folded.   Someone took out a couple players while I was taking notes.

We are now 3 way I am 2nd after shoving ATo against shorty who had 88 and it held so I took out 4th place.

M 14 19/16/3 and bb at 1200 Notes on these stats.  M = my Mzone, M14 means I can fold 14 rounds with my current stack size before blinding out.  The xx/xx/xx refers to VP/PFR/AF with VP=looseness by voluntarily putting money in the pot preflop.   22 and under is a tight player.  PFR means the preflop raise percentage.  Normally it is less than your VP running a percantage like 50-75% on average.  The higher the number the greater the propensity to raise preflop and the more aggressive their nature.  The last number is their AF or aggression factor meaning how aggressive they are post flop.  The higher the number the higher the aggression meaning they call less post flop and have a higher inclination to bet, raise or fold but not just call.

I use a product called Tournament Indicator  to help me track my stats and those of other players at the table during the game.  It is NOT a black hat software and it is not banned or illegal to use on any site.   It only collects info on players you are playing so it is just an electronic assistant and makes no action or recommendation, not some bot or other types of banned software.  I like the ease it keeps track of things for me.  I used to have a spreadsheet I made to track numbers, percents,  M, Q, notes and the like but it took more to do that than concentrate on the game.   Tournament Indicator does that and is more accurate and faster than I am in my head with caclulating odds.  Read about Tournament Indicator HERE or click on the link below.

After break first hand 3rd place busted out so now it’s headup. Shoved A2o he had JJ, game over. Took 2nd place.

Here is the whole game if anyone is interested. Hand numbers above may not jive with hand numbers in player but will be close and follow sequence http://www.gutshot.com/replayer.php?id=1542

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Poker players fall into four basic categories called “Quadrants”.  All poker players fall into four basic styles of play based on their preflop aggressiveness/passiveness… and their postflop aggressiveness/passiveness.

A=Agressive, P=Passive, First is Preflop, Second is Postflop as outlined below:

The four styles in the quadrants mentioned therefore are (A-A), (A-P), (P-A), and (P-P).

Some software programs like “Poker Edge” or “Tournament Indicator” for example use graphic Icons for player types.  A shark is a picture of a shark, a Maniac may be a picture of “Taz” like quality or “Daffy” duckish looking graphic.  While pictures may vary, the player types they represent are largely the same as they fit within the same quadrants.

A-A Bomb). PF-Raise > 6, and (Flop-See)Aggr > 2.
Aggressive preflop and postflop. A bomb will tend to push/reraise with any piece of it, or any draw. And he will often bet vs perceived weakness from opponents. He doesn’t wait for +EV situations, he uses bulying tactics when it feels appropriate.
- Shark is a specially type of Bomb that is tight (VP$IP) and W$SD > 50%).
- Maniac is a specialty type of Bomb that is very loose (VP$IP) and extra postflop aggressive. Bombs reraise with top pair.

A-P RedFish). PF-Raise > 6, and (Flop-See)Aggr <= 2.
Aggressive preflop but passive postflop. A RedFish will tend to push preflop with his good hands but not protect his hands enough postflop, or plays postflop with care. They can sometimes be bullied postflop if their weak play really does signify a weak hand. But be careful. Just because they’re willing to call down without raising… doesn’t mean they don’t have anything. It could just be a small pots with small hands strategy.

P-A Caution). PF-Raise <= 6, and (Flop-See)Aggr > 2.
Passive preflop but aggressive postflop. A caution prefers to limp into a lot of pots. But be careful because he will limp with suited conns… but he will also limp with AK… and/or big pairs. Caution will often try to steal uncontested pots postflop in position, but they prefer to see a +EV situation develop first before they commit many chips to a hand. Postflop they tend to fight/defend their bets.
- Rock is a specialty type of Caution that is tight (VP$IP). A tight player that likes to see a +EV situation develop before he commits many chips means… don’t go up against a rock unlsess you have the goods.

P-P GreenFish). PF-Raise <= 6, and (Flop-See)Aggr <= 2.
Passve preflop and passive postflop. A GreenFish likes to limp in or just call preflop even with his good hands. And he likes to see +EV situations develop before he commits many chips. They tend to not steal much. Being that passive means they can be bullied more than average. But remember, sometimes even the worst fish can have a hand, or hit the flop nicely.
- Mouse is a specialty type of GreenFish that is tight (VP$IP) and also extra passive postflop. They can be bullied more than normal but being willing to call you down doesn’t necessarilly mean you could get him to fold. THey are just extra cautious.
- Calling-station is a specialty type. Some calling-stations raise preflop (type of RedFish), some prefer to always limp preflop (type of GreenFish). They are the only Icon type that overlaps two quadrants. A-P & P-P. If a calling-station keeps calling you… slow down. Don’t bluff a calling-station.

Poker-Edge uses five specialty Icons (calling-station, maniac, shark, rock, mouse) and four all encompassing quadrant Icons (bomb, redfish, caution, greenfish) to visually describe and summarize your opponents tendencies.  For more details on poker tips and strategies click HERE

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