parappa
09-27-2004, 05:36 AM
Hi, Everyone--
What's been on my mind lately in the shizophrenic 10+1 games, which are either very very weak tight or just insanely loose is this question of relative stack size.
Let's assume that the blinds have just gone up to 50/100 (I regard this shift as a big turning point in these games). You're on the button, and your stack is 600 chips. You have KJs. I picked KJs because I think that it is a marginal pushing hand from the button in this spot--you could make a good case for it either way imo. (Translation: I'd really like to stay out of arguing the specific hand and focus on the question of whether you should "loosen up to keep up".)
In situation 1, the game is 5-handed, with stacks like:
600(you)/1500/2000/1500/2400. You need chips and must steal, steal, steal.
In situation 2, the game is 8-handed, and the stacks are:
600(you)/600/600/1200/1000/1500/2000/1300
The question is: Are you more likely to lean toward playing in the situation where you need chips soon? Are you going to take more chances there? Or are you going to play more loosely in the situation where everyone's about the same? Or are you just going to step on the gas in both cases, because it's first place or bust?
This "Me and 5 big stacks at 15/30" happens fairly often during peak times at party, and I'm never quite sure how to handle it strategically. I've tried loosening up to avoid shrinking up, and I've tried waiting for a monster to double up on even at the cost of stack consumption by blinds.
My general thinking is that loose games tend to produce these "big chip leader/your stack has stayed the same but now its tiny" situations, and I think that experience has shown that I'm more likely to have my all-ins called in such a game, so I'm currently leaning against conventional wisdom here and saying that you need to wait for a doubling-up hand, even though the definition of what that is will loosen as you get more desperate. The problem, of course, is that it's probably better $EV to take a 40/60 gamble when you have 800 chips than it is to take a 70/30 gamble when you have 400.
Anyway, the basic question is whether you're loosening up if you have further to go to catch the top 3 stacks.
What's been on my mind lately in the shizophrenic 10+1 games, which are either very very weak tight or just insanely loose is this question of relative stack size.
Let's assume that the blinds have just gone up to 50/100 (I regard this shift as a big turning point in these games). You're on the button, and your stack is 600 chips. You have KJs. I picked KJs because I think that it is a marginal pushing hand from the button in this spot--you could make a good case for it either way imo. (Translation: I'd really like to stay out of arguing the specific hand and focus on the question of whether you should "loosen up to keep up".)
In situation 1, the game is 5-handed, with stacks like:
600(you)/1500/2000/1500/2400. You need chips and must steal, steal, steal.
In situation 2, the game is 8-handed, and the stacks are:
600(you)/600/600/1200/1000/1500/2000/1300
The question is: Are you more likely to lean toward playing in the situation where you need chips soon? Are you going to take more chances there? Or are you going to play more loosely in the situation where everyone's about the same? Or are you just going to step on the gas in both cases, because it's first place or bust?
This "Me and 5 big stacks at 15/30" happens fairly often during peak times at party, and I'm never quite sure how to handle it strategically. I've tried loosening up to avoid shrinking up, and I've tried waiting for a monster to double up on even at the cost of stack consumption by blinds.
My general thinking is that loose games tend to produce these "big chip leader/your stack has stayed the same but now its tiny" situations, and I think that experience has shown that I'm more likely to have my all-ins called in such a game, so I'm currently leaning against conventional wisdom here and saying that you need to wait for a doubling-up hand, even though the definition of what that is will loosen as you get more desperate. The problem, of course, is that it's probably better $EV to take a 40/60 gamble when you have 800 chips than it is to take a 70/30 gamble when you have 400.
Anyway, the basic question is whether you're loosening up if you have further to go to catch the top 3 stacks.