Quiz time!

[zac777]

I was bored, so I decided to write a SNG quiz (man, do I ever know how to live it up on a Saturday night) It started as diagnostic test for beginners, but it turned into the first 12 questions that came to mind.

If you're going to take it, try doing it quickly, using only the amount of time you'd have at the table to make these sorts of decisions. I've found that this type of exercise is most useful when I write down what I would actually do at the table and then compare my thought processes/answers to those of all the good players/posters around here.

Some questions have a correct answer, but most of them are just situations that I think most players should be able to reason through. Some should be very simple, others will take a little more thought.

It's late, so if I missed a crucial piece of information, feel free to fill in whatever makes the question most difficult and answer that. All situations are for 1000 starting chips, PP structure, typical players unless otherwise stated. Answer for whatever buyin you are most familiar with.

1. Second round of a sng where most pots are raised and contested by three or less players. What is the worst
a) paired
b) unpaired
hand that you would play UTG?

2. First hand of a sng (10/15 blinds). Unknown player limps UTG, you have KK in MP. How much do you bet?

3. 10/15 blinds, everyone near their original chip count. You look down to see 55 in BB. UTG raises to X, 2 MP callers to you. What does X have to be before you will fold?

4. 25/50 blinds. 7 players left. you have 900 on the button, with two loose stacks of ~1500 in SB and BB. What's the best
a) paired
b) unpaired
hand that you fold?

5. 50/100 blinds. 7 players left. you have 1100 in the SB. You have 22. The BB will call you with any pair, any ace, any 2 broadway cards. How big does his stack have to be to for you to not push?

6. 50/100 blinds. 6 players left. You are the chip leader in BB with 3000. Small stack goes all-in UTG for 250 chips. Folded around to you. What's the worst hand you call with?

7. 100/200 blinds. 4 players left. Straightforward CO with chip stack of 3500 raises to 600. You are on button with chip lead at 4500. Tight SB and very tight BB have 1000 and 700 after posting. What is the worst hand you reraise all-in with?

8. 100/200 blinds. 5 players left. you are the short stack in BB with 700 left after posting. SB is massive chip leader at 6000 and will push any two cards. Other chip counts are 1000, 1000, 1400. Table is tight other than SB. What's the worst hand with which you call the SB's inevitable open-push?

9. Late game steal situation in SB. You have 6x the BB. BB's calling range is AA-77, AT-AK, KQ. Of 22, A8o, JTs, which would you
a) most
b) least
want to have?

10. Unknown bubble situation. If you could only pick four, which of the following elements would you choose to make your preflop decision?
- Your stack size relative to the blinds
- your stack size relative to the rest of the table
- buyin amount
- size of blinds
- your position
- payout structure
- your table image
- tightness/looseness of the table
- passiveness/aggressiveness of the table
- your cards
- the cards of the player to your left

Bonus question: You are on the bubble at 50/100 with a stack of 2000. Loose big stack is on your left with 6000. The two other (very solid) players have 1000 each. If given the chance, how many chips would you be willing to pay the big stack to have him move to your right?

Super bonus question (i.e. only for the people with too much time on their hands): Rank these questions from most to least difficult (including this one).

First one to answer all the questions gets a gold star.

Thanks for the great posts, you all make the lurking quite enjoyable. Goodnight.

Zac

[Apathy]

ok..
1. a) 22
b)AKo

2. 70
3. 65
4. 22/ A.10
5. PUSH ANY STACK
6. PUSH ANY TWO
7. 10s and AQ
8.any hand thats better then a random hand assuming its foled to the SB
9. JTs, A8o not that it matters id push all three
10.your stack size relative to the rest of the table,tightness/looseness of the table , Your stack size relative to the blinds, your position
IN that order

[raptor517]

OT, but apathy, you askin bout me to lacky? lol, im bebop86 and NurseLadyLV. zac777 i see u a lot at my tables, holler at me next time.

[lorinda]

Rattling through as instructed.

[ QUOTE ]
1. Second round of a sng where most pots are raised and contested by three or less players. What is the worst
a) paired
b) unpaired
hand that you would play UTG?


[/ QUOTE ]

a) 22 (in some games)
b) AQo

[ QUOTE ]
2. First hand of a sng (10/15 blinds). Unknown player limps UTG, you have KK in MP. How much do you bet?

[/ QUOTE ]

200 or stack. ($33)

[ QUOTE ]
3. 10/15 blinds, everyone near their original chip count. You look down to see 55 in BB. UTG raises to X, 2 MP callers to you. What does X have to be before you will fold?

[/ QUOTE ]

70 ish

[ QUOTE ]
4. 25/50 blinds. 7 players left. you have 900 on the button, with two loose stacks of ~1500 in SB and BB. What's the best
a) paired
b) unpaired
hand that you fold?

[/ QUOTE ]

a) 66
b) AQs

[ QUOTE ]
6. 50/100 blinds. 6 players left. You are the chip leader in BB with 3000. Small stack goes all-in UTG for 250 chips. Folded around to you. What's the worst hand you call with?

[/ QUOTE ]

23o

[ QUOTE ]
7. 100/200 blinds. 4 players left. Straightforward CO with chip stack of 3500 raises to 600. You are on button with chip lead at 4500. Tight SB and very tight BB have 1000 and 700 after posting. What is the worst hand you reraise all-in with?

[/ QUOTE ]

A9s/ATo/22

[ QUOTE ]
8. 100/200 blinds. 5 players left. you are the short stack in BB with 700 left after posting. SB is massive chip leader at 6000 and will push any two cards. Other chip counts are 1000, 1000, 1400. Table is tight other than SB. What's the worst hand with which you call the SB's inevitable open-push?

[/ QUOTE ]

QTo

[ QUOTE ]
9. Late game steal situation in SB. You have 6x the BB. BB's calling range is AA-77, AT-AK, KQ. Of 22, A8o, JTs, which would you
a) most
b) least
want to have?

[/ QUOTE ]

All about the same /images/graemlins/blush.gif
Probably JTs just my least favorite here because he folds small pairs.

10.

This question probably deserves it's own post as there are many combinations that work as a unit.


[ QUOTE ]
Bonus question: You are on the bubble at 50/100 with a stack of 2000. Loose big stack is on your left with 6000. The two other (very solid) players have 1000 each. If given the chance, how many chips would you be willing to pay the big stack to have him move to your right?

[/ QUOTE ]

275

Lori (Don't take these answers as accurate play guidelines, I answered them fast fast fast)

[zac777]

I guess I might as well toss in my answers, although they're obviously not quite spur of the moment. This is certainly not meant as an answer key, so feel free to let me know where you disagree. A couple of these questions touch on what I think are holes in my game, so I'm looking forward to some other opinions.

1. UTG early in aggressive game. I see these as the worst conditions for mid/low pairs, and I'd probably say a) QQ and b) AK. If the table was more passive or there were more family pots, I'd consider all pairs and AQs.

2. KK at 10/15 in MP. Anywhere from 75 to 100, usually toward the higher end. In the past I would bet less, but I love it when people bet 45 with KK and I'm on the button with a small pair, so I try not to return the favor.

3. 55 on button with 3 callers. Probably around 70 in practice, but I'd be curious to see if anyone has a good analysis of the situation. I wouldn't be surprised if it turned out to be higher.

4. 25/50, marginal hand on button. Play at 25/50 is definitely one of my weak points, so I'm curious to see how others handle this. I'd probably fold a) 66 and b) AJo, but it seems a little silly to throw away the likely best hand in position. I tend to rationalize it by thinking "still plenty of time to find a better spot," but that seems like a cop-out.

5. 22 steal situation. I probably push no matter what his stack is, but these are the sorts of situations I think I should have a better feel for the EV. I'm also not sure how much +EV chipwise this has to be to justify risking the loss of my folding equity.

6. Call with any two? I think this is a situation where you can ignore tournament considerations and just focus on chip EV. Without running the numbers, I'd call any two here.

7. Bubble bullying I love this situation, as most COs will fold anything other than AA-QQ. I probably push any two. If I was in CO's shoes, this is a situation I'd try very hard to avoid, so if the button was aggressive and I wanted to raise, I'd make it a push (except with AA or KK).

8. Take a stand? This is a tough one for me since it's not quite a desperate situation, but my wild guess would be somewhere around JT.

9. What to steal with? I ran the numbers on this one, so I'll let others take a guess.

10. Choose your information No idea where this question came from. Maybe I was trying to show that your cards are not necessarily the first thing to take into consideration, I'm not sure. Anyway, I take stack size relative to blinds, payout structure, position, and my cards.

Bonus questions: 200 seems about right. I figure it would buy a few blind stealing chances, and potentially more. Probably would need a better description of the bully to answer this in any detail though.

Anyone else feel like chiming in?

[dfscott]

Ok, here's the noob take on this (I answered without looking at any of the other responses)

1) TT, AK (if it wasn't aggressive, I'd include any pair)

2) raise to 75

3) call up to raise of 30

4) 66, K9

5) 700

6) QTo

7) any pair, any A, K7, QT+

8) any pair, any A, K7, QT+, middle to high suited connectors

9) JTs most, A8o least

10) stack vs the blinds, stack vs. the table, tightness/looseness of the table, cards to my left

bonus) 500

Edit: Cool -- after looking, I'm not terribly far off-base on most of 'em. Now to dig into the ones I missed badly...

[lorinda]

I'd call any two here.

My instinct actually told me to play 42o and fold 32o, but that sounded stupid, so I just call any two /images/graemlins/blush.gif

Lori

[zac777]

I guess that post must be in reference to the part where I agreed with you, so I'm not sure what you mean. I am confused! Curious what it said before the edit. In any case, that question probably would have been more interesting if I gave UTG more chips or you less chips..

[Allinlife]

1. Second round of a sng where most pots are raised and contested by three or less players. What is the worst
a) paired
b) unpaired
hand that you would play UTG?

22
AQs

2. First hand of a sng (10/15 blinds). Unknown player limps UTG, you have KK in MP. How much do you bet?

Raise to 80~120

3. 10/15 blinds, everyone near their original chip count. You look down to see 55 in BB. UTG raises to X, 2 MP callers to you. What does X have to be before you will fold?

60ish

4. 25/50 blinds. 7 players left. you have 900 on the button, with two loose stacks of ~1500 in SB and BB. What's the best
a) paired
b) unpaired
hand that you fold?

I'm playing all pairs, A9o

5. 50/100 blinds. 7 players left. you have 1100 in the SB. You have 22. The BB will call you with any pair, any ace, any 2 broadway cards. How big does his stack have to be to for you to not push?

700

6. 50/100 blinds. 6 players left. You are the chip leader in BB with 3000. Small stack goes all-in UTG for 250 chips. Folded around to you. What's the worst hand you call with?

every 2 card combination

7. 100/200 blinds. 4 players left. Straightforward CO with chip stack of 3500 raises to 600. You are on button with chip lead at 4500. Tight SB and very tight BB have 1000 and 700 after posting. What is the worst hand you reraise all-in with?

9's
AQo
I think this is very read dependent, but w/e

8. 100/200 blinds. 5 players left. you are the short stack in BB with 700 left after posting. SB is massive chip leader at 6000 and will push any two cards. Other chip counts are 1000, 1000, 1400. Table is tight other than SB. What's the worst hand with which you call the SB's inevitable open-push?
77, AT, K9s, ~ JT
9. Late game steal situation in SB. You have 6x the BB. BB's calling range is AA-77, AT-AK, KQ. Of 22, A8o, JTs, which would you
a) most
b) least
want to have?

a) JTs
b) A8o

10. Unknown bubble situation. If you could only pick four, which of the following elements would you choose to make your preflop decision?
- Your stack size relative to the blinds
- your stack size relative to the rest of the table
- buyin amount
- size of blinds
- your position
- payout structure
- your table image
- tightness/looseness of the table
- passiveness/aggressiveness of the table
- your cards
- the cards of the player to your left

2 stack sizes and position

Bonus question: You are on the bubble at 50/100 with a stack of 2000. Loose big stack is on your left with 6000. The two other (very solid) players have 1000 each. If given the chance, how many chips would you be willing to pay the big stack to have him move to your right?

I wouldn't mind him actually.
Super bonus question (i.e. only for the people with too much time on their hands): Rank these questions from most to least difficult (including this one).

[lastchance]

1a. TT
1b. AK
2. Raise to 60
3. 75.
4. 66.
5. KT.
6. Call everything.
7. 900 or so.
8. 99 or AQ.
9. Any ace, Any two broadway, Kings down to K9, Any pair.
10a. JTs
10b. A8
11. Position, cards, payout, stack size relative to blinds.
12. 600 chips or so.

[faquewdikhed]

I hope you don't mind, I posted this quiz at the freeshell forums and got a few more responses. If someone could critique my analysis of problem 9, that would be sweet.

http://www.tightpoker.com/cgi-bin/yabb/YaBB.cgi?board=tourney;action=display;num=11089399 82

[DrPhysic]

I wrote down the answers very quickly. Then cheated and looked at all the other answers. Since mine don't look too dumb, I guess I'll post them. A little more conservative than Lori (which suits me fine) but not out in left field I think.

1. Second round of a sng where most pots are raised and contested by three or less players. What is the worst
a) paired JJ
b) unpaired AKo

2. First hand of a sng (10/15 blinds). Unknown player limps UTG, you have KK in MP. How much do you bet?

120

3. 10/15 blinds, everyone near their original chip count. You look down to see 55 in BB. UTG raises to X, 2 MP callers to you. What does X have to be before you will fold?

60

4. 25/50 blinds. 7 players left. you have 900 on the button, with two loose stacks of ~1500 in SB and BB. What's the best
a) paired 99
b) unpaired QJs

5. 50/100 blinds. 7 players left. you have 1100 in the SB. You have 22. The BB will call you with any pair, any ace, any 2 broadway cards. How big does his stack have to be to for you to not push?

800

6. 50/100 blinds. 6 players left. You are the chip leader in BB with 3000. Small stack goes all-in UTG for 250 chips. Folded around to you. What's the worst hand you call with?

72o

7. 100/200 blinds. 4 players left. Straightforward CO with chip stack of 3500 raises to 600. You are on button with chip lead at 4500. Tight SB and very tight BB have 1000 and 700 after posting. What is the worst hand you reraise all-in with?

TT

8. 100/200 blinds. 5 players left. you are the short stack in BB with 700 left after posting. SB is massive chip leader at 6000 and will push any two cards. Other chip counts are 1000, 1000, 1400. Table is tight other than SB. What's the worst hand with which you call the SB's inevitable open-push?

any pair, KQo, JTs whichever you consider worst

9. Late game steal situation in SB. You have 6x the BB. BB's calling range is AA-77, AT-AK, KQ. Of 22, A8o, JTs, which would you
a) most 22
b) least A8o

10. Unknown bubble situation. If you could only pick four, which of the following elements would you choose to make your preflop decision?
- Your stack size relative to the blinds
- your position
- your table image
- tightness/looseness of the table

Bonus question: You are on the bubble at 50/100 with a stack of 2000. Loose big stack is on your left with 6000. The two other (very solid) players have 1000 each. If given the chance, how many chips would you be willing to pay the big stack to have him move to your right?

600

Superbonus: NA, but I would love to hear anyones logic re question 9 which I consider the most interesting.

Doc /images/graemlins/smile.gif

[UMTerp]

Good quiz. I usually play $50's or $100's, so I'll be answering for them. A few of the questions are very thought-provoking; I especially like #10.

1. JJ, AK
2. 90ish, though I vary it.
3. 65
4. None, A8
5. 1000 - I tend to adhere pretty strictly to the 10BB rule. I'd still raise if he had 1000 or more, but I'd riase somewhere between 250 and 350.
6. 23o (call any two).
7. QQ, AK. I'd flat-call with a lot of hands here though.
8. 76o or so. I'd call with almost anything except the very qorst hands. You have almost no fold equity should you fold this.
9. A) JTs B) A8o
10. In this order:
1 Payout Structure - This is by far the most important IMO, and people aren't listing it higher only because they're so used to the 50-30-20 strucutre that they are assuming it.
2 Stack Size/Blinds
3 Stack Size/Table
4 Position

And FWIW, I think your opponent's cards are more important than your own cards.

[zac777]

Good answers so far, and several people have added excellent points.

I'm a little surprised question nine has generated the most interest since it's one of the few that has a clear answer. I think everyone who's answered has correctly identified A8o as the worst hand in this situation, but most people guessed JTs to be best. According to pokerstove, these are the winning percentages:

1) 22 - 38.87
2) JTs - 35.86
3) A8o - 32.22

I honestly don't think that result by itself is too important, because if your opponent's calling standards are that tight, you're going to play both hands the same way most of the time. You only get a +EV out of a push with 22 and -EV out of JTs if the stacks in relation to the blinds are so large (~56-70 BBs) that a) pushing is probably not your best option and b) you're not playing any SNG structure I've ever seen.

If you don't know how to calculate those numbers, you probably want to stop reading this and check out Sklanskly's Latest Article (http://www.twoplustwo.com/magazine/current/Sklansky0205.html)

Also, the rankings of those hands depend on an perfect read of the big blind's calling range. Anyone care to throw out a guess at how the three hands rank against these calling standards?

a) Any Pair, AK-AT, KQ
b) Any Pair, Any ace, KQ
c) Any two cards

I just ran the numbers on these three, and I guess the most important thing I saw is this: as the BB's calling standards loosen, knowing the correct answer to this question matters more and more. Thoughts?