Stealing on the bubble w/big chip lead

[Donating]

Party $55 SNG

You have ~t5,500 and your three opponents have equal chip stacks (each ~1,500). Blinds are 150/300 and 200/400. How often are you stealing here and with what range of hands?

[zac777]

Pretty much every hand with any two cards. No one wants to be the guy to call you. This is the perfect situation to pick up chips, but with the blinds this big it won't last long (someone will bust or double-up before too long). Take advantage and build your chip stack while you can.

[Vetstadium]

I agree with that many chips I push with a lot of hands and dare them to call me knowing they will can get knocked out.

[rickr]

You would also want to raise enough to put them all-in preflop in my opinion. If someone wants to call, make them totally commit. You'll pretty much have the odds to call any reraise, so you might as well make it.

Later,
Rick

[syka16]

open push every hand from SB. Top 90%, Top 80%, Top 70% UTG. This might even be too tight.

[swarm]

This is a great situation, push almost every hand until you get called and lose. You can give yourself a really great shot at first right here. By pushing every hand i've had the other three players grounded down to nubs by the time the bubble is busted given me an open highway to the finish line.

Even if you get called an lose you are still at 4g's in chips. I still remain aggressive at this point.

[Donating]

For many reasons, I do not think that pushing with any two every time is correct. I do think that pushing out of the SB every time is probably right, but I think more discretion is involved in other spots. I am not sure what the range is - maybe any pair, any A, any K, any two Broadway, any suited Q/J, any suited connector/two-gapper 67+.

[raptor517]

pushing EVERY hand is much more correct than playing too tight. holla

[Blarg]

So you guys are willing to bet over and over again into three guys with nothing, risking a huge chip lead to do it?

Damn, that's risky. Tell me if what I'm going to say now is off base, okay? I'm coming from the basis of playing Party 5+1's. And I'm talking about play both at and past the bubble stage. I think it's still related to this thread, though.

I've spent hours raising from the small blinds to steal and getting called constantly, so this thread immediately sparked my interest. Bets in general are called constantly, at least at that level, big or small. You're talking about raising with any two; I'm talking about people calling with any two. Going against three guys at once sounds to me like stepping in front of a machine gun spray of calls and being cut to ribbons.

You guys seem to see betting into low stacks usually bringing three folds; I see it bringing always at least one call. And with nothing but garbage, you'll be losing every hand and go from the chip leader to right off the table in two minutes.

I've been trying to get more aggressive, and it has been paying off by getting me in the money more, but way less 2nds and 1sts. I usually don't raise with less than a queen in my hand, maybe the occasional Jack-Ten suited, unless I really have a good read on a guy I'm heads up with and figure he's very likely to fold easily. Because the guys at Party are just pure calling machines at this level.

Is this really just normal variance, or is the pushing weak stacks when you're holding nothing just not really that great an idea at Party 5+1's, since you're going to get called holding all that nothing and constantly throwing your money in with the worse hand?

[J-Lo]

If they keep calling you, and u have the big stack. Then it's even easier, push w/ any A, K, Q, pair, 2 cards higher than T.

[gh9801]

pushing almost all hands, if last to act isn't last in chips

[swarm]

Without a doubt i'm pushing almost any two with these blinds. The key being pushing all-in so they know if they call and lose they are out on the bubble and get no money.

With the blinds at 150/300 and the largest opponnent stack being 1500 you only need 3 successful steals for every one time someone calls you and beats you for it to even out. Not to mention that any two cards are rarely that big of dog short handed and any suckout is just pure icing on the cake. Obviously from UTG and the Button you may be a little more choosy, SB i'm pushing everything.

[obex]

I think the answer to this question is a no-brainer.
The much more interesting question is: if you're one of the short stacks and the big stack is bullying like this, what hands are you willing to call the all-in with?

[AA suited]

at $50+5, people are usually less manical than 5+1. they usually wont call a raise without good hands in this situation.

i would push with any face card (a,k,q,j), any suited ten, and any suited connector above 78.

[dfscott]

Push-a-rama.

I had a guy bitching at me tonight saying, "I know you can't have something decent three hands in a row," right before he folded for the third time. Even if they know they're probably ahead, they can't take the chance -- they keep hoping one of the other shmucks will call you and bust out or win and get you under control.

This guy kept calling me "all-in scott." I kinda like that...