Qcity
05-29-2005, 07:56 PM
I am generally a tight/aggressive or medium/aggressive tourney player and have done really well lately on online MTT tourneys. I have a good sense of when to call, fold and bluff. Lately it seems like a lot of people are playing against me super-aggressive and coming over the top of me with nothinng, and often times beating me. Often times they will come over the top without fold equity, for example I'll raise 20,000 chips with JJ, then someone will rereaise me all-in just 5,000 chips more with KJ. They of course catch a king and knock me down to a short stack. I have had good players making this horrible move against me lately.
I don't like coin flips or showdown situations. I am a player who likes to take pots down because when the other player folds its 100% favorite, AA and QQ is 82% favorite on comparison. But when I try to take a pot down with what I think is the best hand, people keep raising me over the top with a weaker hand. Often times I win it, and sometimes I lose, but I'd rather not get in this situation in the first place. Some examples from one tourney:
- Saturday in 30k rebuy on Paradise Poker. There about 60 people left and I have 40,000 chips (blinds are 3,000). Everyone folds up to me at middle position, I have 5/5 and I double blind raise to try to win blinds. Small blind with large chip stack calls (80,000 chips). Flop comes J 10 and 4 with two diamonds. He checks so I try to buy pot there, but which puts me down to 12,000 chips left. He reraised me all in. My hand is weak but if I surrender the pot I'd be crippled with very short chip stack. I figure I have to call. He shows 58 of diamonds with flush draw, my fives hold up and I double up to 80,000 chips.
- In same tourney few minutes later. 40 people left and I have 80,000 chips. I raise early positon with 10/10. Haligon, with same amount of chips, reraises me double in middle position. I smooth call figuring he might have bigger pair but worth to see flop. Flop comes three rags and I have top pair with tens. I lead out and bet continuation bet trying to take pot there. He comes over the top all in. I have good pot odds to call and a decent hand, but if I lose, either because he outdraws me or has a better hand, I'm out of tourney. I don't like to be put in this position, I like to be the one putting people in this position. I can go either way but decide to call. He shows AJ and the tens hold up. I double up and am chip leader.
- In same tourney I keep chip lead throughout rest of tourney, now we are down two players, me and Haligon. Haligon made a miracle come back after I put him down to 3,000 chips (blinds were 4,000) and we both have even chip stacks of 800,000. He is still playing very aggressive and I am waiting for big hand to take him down. I look down at AK on small blind and limp in. Flip comes A84 with three diamonds. I have top pair with top kicker heads up, but no diamonds. I make large double pot size bet, and he reraises me all-in. This is an easy call for me with his play style, pot size and my hand. He shows Q of spades and 6 of diamonds. He catches a diamond on river and wins tourney.
That was a horrible play in my opinion because I was showing good strength with big bet so he had little fold equity, and also his out, just a 6 of diamond, wasn't much of an out since I could have very likely had bigger flush draw. He could have easily been drawing dead. In his position, his odds of winning with that play (not knowing my hand) were probably onl 25% including fold equity. Horrible play.
In the above tourney, I won second place in part because of calling down bluffs. But it could have just as easily knocked me out with multiple showdown draw situations, which I try to avoid, and it did cost me first place at the end when I am a player who always wins second or third and never first (same day other tourney for WSOP qualifier I took second). I was really hoping to break my streak and win first in one of them.
I understand the move to go all in with just some kind of draw, I do it myself sometimes. But it is a very situational move. But why does everyone seem to be doing it and especially against me. Maybe because I play aggressive and create big pots, that it entices these people to play back at me.
What is the solution in dealing with these people? Is it to play passive against these people, showing weakness with decent hand, just checking and calling. Then if they show weakness hammer back at them, or just call them down to river and showdown? Often times this isn't an option in MTT's because blinds are so big that it puts both players all in to play a hand.
However if I play passive against these aggressive players, I feel like they are taking me out of my game which has been successful for me. Comments? Advice?
I don't like coin flips or showdown situations. I am a player who likes to take pots down because when the other player folds its 100% favorite, AA and QQ is 82% favorite on comparison. But when I try to take a pot down with what I think is the best hand, people keep raising me over the top with a weaker hand. Often times I win it, and sometimes I lose, but I'd rather not get in this situation in the first place. Some examples from one tourney:
- Saturday in 30k rebuy on Paradise Poker. There about 60 people left and I have 40,000 chips (blinds are 3,000). Everyone folds up to me at middle position, I have 5/5 and I double blind raise to try to win blinds. Small blind with large chip stack calls (80,000 chips). Flop comes J 10 and 4 with two diamonds. He checks so I try to buy pot there, but which puts me down to 12,000 chips left. He reraised me all in. My hand is weak but if I surrender the pot I'd be crippled with very short chip stack. I figure I have to call. He shows 58 of diamonds with flush draw, my fives hold up and I double up to 80,000 chips.
- In same tourney few minutes later. 40 people left and I have 80,000 chips. I raise early positon with 10/10. Haligon, with same amount of chips, reraises me double in middle position. I smooth call figuring he might have bigger pair but worth to see flop. Flop comes three rags and I have top pair with tens. I lead out and bet continuation bet trying to take pot there. He comes over the top all in. I have good pot odds to call and a decent hand, but if I lose, either because he outdraws me or has a better hand, I'm out of tourney. I don't like to be put in this position, I like to be the one putting people in this position. I can go either way but decide to call. He shows AJ and the tens hold up. I double up and am chip leader.
- In same tourney I keep chip lead throughout rest of tourney, now we are down two players, me and Haligon. Haligon made a miracle come back after I put him down to 3,000 chips (blinds were 4,000) and we both have even chip stacks of 800,000. He is still playing very aggressive and I am waiting for big hand to take him down. I look down at AK on small blind and limp in. Flip comes A84 with three diamonds. I have top pair with top kicker heads up, but no diamonds. I make large double pot size bet, and he reraises me all-in. This is an easy call for me with his play style, pot size and my hand. He shows Q of spades and 6 of diamonds. He catches a diamond on river and wins tourney.
That was a horrible play in my opinion because I was showing good strength with big bet so he had little fold equity, and also his out, just a 6 of diamond, wasn't much of an out since I could have very likely had bigger flush draw. He could have easily been drawing dead. In his position, his odds of winning with that play (not knowing my hand) were probably onl 25% including fold equity. Horrible play.
In the above tourney, I won second place in part because of calling down bluffs. But it could have just as easily knocked me out with multiple showdown draw situations, which I try to avoid, and it did cost me first place at the end when I am a player who always wins second or third and never first (same day other tourney for WSOP qualifier I took second). I was really hoping to break my streak and win first in one of them.
I understand the move to go all in with just some kind of draw, I do it myself sometimes. But it is a very situational move. But why does everyone seem to be doing it and especially against me. Maybe because I play aggressive and create big pots, that it entices these people to play back at me.
What is the solution in dealing with these people? Is it to play passive against these people, showing weakness with decent hand, just checking and calling. Then if they show weakness hammer back at them, or just call them down to river and showdown? Often times this isn't an option in MTT's because blinds are so big that it puts both players all in to play a hand.
However if I play passive against these aggressive players, I feel like they are taking me out of my game which has been successful for me. Comments? Advice?