Question on playing a 67s

[rony74]

I've read 4 of the books by the authors on this site and read a lot of posts, but this is my first post. I was in an $5 buy-in online tournament last night and wanted to get some advise on a hand.

I was BB with a 6 /images/graemlins/diamond.gif 7 /images/graemlins/diamond.gif. The majority of the hands that had been winning were not hands that I would have even played and I was pretty low on chips. So when 2 other people went all-in, I went all-in too. I consider myself fairly tight but I guess I justified the move going by Ed Miller's book on Small Stakes Hold 'em since it met 2 of the 3 criteria for very loose tables; it was suited and connected.

One of the people all-in had an AK off suit with an A /images/graemlins/diamond.gif & K /images/graemlins/diamond.gif coming up on the board. Unfortunately for him, a 10 /images/graemlins/diamond.gif also came up giving me the flush. The win tripled my stack bringing me even with the guy with the AK. He proceeded to calling every name in the book, saying that he didn't think they allowed "mentally handicapped" people play poker, etc.

I realize that playing the 67 wasn't the best move but I had a really good feeling about them & seeing how loose people were playing, I figured I had a better than average shot with them. But the move has been bugging me all night after listening to him rant. I just wanted to get some constructive criticism on this play or if I'm just letting this get to me too much.

Thanks for any input.

[mlagoo]

It was probably a bad play on your part. It wasn't TERRIBLE -- it certainly didn't justify all the name-calling -- but it wasn't very good.

With a small suited connector like that, it's all about implied odds versus bigcards. You think that if you hit a flop really nice, you might be able to bust someone with AK or something like that. But if all your chips are in preflop, implied odds are right out the window.

The reason these hands are so valuable is because when you've, perhaps, raised preflop with them in late MP or LP, or even limped, it's difficult for your opponents to put you on those cards. This means they are more likely to pay you off when you've hit your hand and they are either drawing to overcards or comfortable with their overpair.

With all your chips in preflop, you're really just looking to get lucky. In this case, you did. But you can probably -- well, almost certainly -- pick a better spot.

[transmitt]

Welcome to the site. If you give some more information on your situation you'll get better feedback on your hands--search for a post titled something like "advice for posting hands" to see what I mean.

You do mention that you are short stacked, so the call may have been correct, regardless it wasn't worth the earful you got back from the guy you beat. Good luck.

[durron597]

Stack sizes, blind sizes, and the number of players left have a huge impact on whether this move was correct.

[blockafor]

It's not good to call 2 all-ins w/76s. If you're stack is short enough, you can consider open-pushing with that to pick up the blinds or get called by a hand that hopefully you'll only be a small dog to. If you get lucky there, you wait for a really strong hand the next time you are in a position/situation to open-push in hopes that your opponents will remember the 76s hand and call with a much weaker hand. After 2 people are all-in, your 76s will usually be a big dog.

Also, don't use SSH for advice on NL Hold 'Em, especially if you're applying "rules" (i.e. playable hand if its suited and connected) instead of general poker theory.

[mlagoo]

There's also a couple bad ways of thinking in this post that I wanted to point out:

[ QUOTE ]
I was BB with a 6 /images/graemlins/diamond.gif 7 /images/graemlins/diamond.gif. The majority of the hands that had been winning were not hands that I would have even played and I was pretty low on chips. So when 2 other people went all-in, I went all-in too.

[/ QUOTE ]

This line kind of bothers me because just because you've been seeing people win with crappy hands doesn't mean that they are winners in the long run. You've got to pick your spots to either outplay people or wait for cards, but it sounds like you just got a bit frustrated/impatient here.

[ QUOTE ]
I realize that playing the 67 wasn't the best move but I had a really good feeling about them & seeing how loose people were playing, I figured I had a better than average shot with them.

[/ QUOTE ]

This bothers me because with a 67s, there are VERY few hands that you do in fact have a better than average shot at. Any two big cards are, I think, roughly a 65-35 favorite, and almost any pocket pair is something like a 85-15 favorite. Just remember that these aren't cards to put all your chips in with preflop unless you're a) on a steal, or b) DESPERATELY shortstacked. You're looking for a favorable flop so you can get a lot of someone else's chips.

[betgo]

[ QUOTE ]
I consider myself fairly tight but I guess I justified the move going by Ed Miller's book on Small Stakes Hold 'em since it met 2 of the 3 criteria for very loose tables; it was suited and connected.

[/ QUOTE ]

I don't know if this post is a joke, but you really can't apply criteria for a limit game to going allin in a NL tournament.

Against two players allin, a suited connector is OK, but not great. Usually with two players allin you need a very big hand to call.

[MeanGreenTT]

[ QUOTE ]
It's not good to call 2 all-ins w/76s.

[/ QUOTE ]

1st sane thing I've read /images/graemlins/smile.gif

[rony74]

First, thanks for the advise. Sorry about being in the wrong forum.

I've actually been profitable at the micro-limit tables with an average profit of about $20/night. I'm just having trouble moving to single & multi-table tournaments. I guess I'll go back to the drawing board/2+2 forums and try again.

Thanks again for the advise and criticism. It will get followed.

[betgo]

I think this is the right forum, unless you want to post it at the beginners forum.

I think you need to practice at very low buyin tournaments or SNGs or very small blinds NL/PL cash games. I don't think you have a good understanding of the difference in play between limit and NL/PL games.

[betgo]

It's been posted before, but as for books, for NL/PL, I recommend Brunson's chapter in "Super System", "Harrington on Holdem", and "How Good is Your Pot Limit Holdem" by Reuben. Limit books like "Small Stakes Holdem" to not directly apply.