hutz
07-06-2003, 06:11 PM
As I mentioned in response to a recent post, I used the Sklansky System in a 200+ person multi-table tournament earlier today. After the blinds amounts increased to a fairly significant amount (about 40% of the field remained in the tournament, for point of reference), I followed the System religiously. I went from the the bottom third of the remaining field (I had been horribly card dead to that point and basically got blinded away) to second stack at the final table. That's where I began to wonder how the System fits in with final table play. So, here are some general questions that I hope Mr. Sklansky and others with far more experience than I have (which is pretty much everyone here) can discuss with us:
- At the final table, should a player consider the size of his stack when deciding whether to continue to use the System, especially when he has a commanding position (e.g., one of the top two stacks, with a series of smaller stacks remaining)? If the incremental value of extra chips decreases as one acquires more chips, doesn't this weigh in favor of slowing down/tightening up?
- Should one consider the psychological impact of employing the System? For example, I'm sure it starts to wear on the other players when someone goes all-in 2-3 times each orbit. If a large part of the equity from following the System is stealing the blinds, might that edge start to erode when people with an ace or a decent pocket pair start calling instead of folding? Maybe I was just getting a larger-than-usual amount of playable steal hands, but I was leery of raising K-little offsuit and 54s after having done so on the previous hand.
- Should one consider the payout structure of the tournament when following the System at the final table? For example, if there is a steep escalation in prize money and one has a commanding chip lead, is it still profitable to follow the System? This is especially an important consideration when the smaller stacks are desperate and might start calling with hands that cut into one's blind-stealing equity. Couple that with the psychological question raised above and it's easy to see how the System could start to weaken at the final table.
I'll leave it at those questions for now and hopefully this can build into a more detailed discussion of the System. I think the System has a lot of merit and hope we can refine it so it becomes even more effective. /forums/images/icons/grin.gif
- At the final table, should a player consider the size of his stack when deciding whether to continue to use the System, especially when he has a commanding position (e.g., one of the top two stacks, with a series of smaller stacks remaining)? If the incremental value of extra chips decreases as one acquires more chips, doesn't this weigh in favor of slowing down/tightening up?
- Should one consider the psychological impact of employing the System? For example, I'm sure it starts to wear on the other players when someone goes all-in 2-3 times each orbit. If a large part of the equity from following the System is stealing the blinds, might that edge start to erode when people with an ace or a decent pocket pair start calling instead of folding? Maybe I was just getting a larger-than-usual amount of playable steal hands, but I was leery of raising K-little offsuit and 54s after having done so on the previous hand.
- Should one consider the payout structure of the tournament when following the System at the final table? For example, if there is a steep escalation in prize money and one has a commanding chip lead, is it still profitable to follow the System? This is especially an important consideration when the smaller stacks are desperate and might start calling with hands that cut into one's blind-stealing equity. Couple that with the psychological question raised above and it's easy to see how the System could start to weaken at the final table.
I'll leave it at those questions for now and hopefully this can build into a more detailed discussion of the System. I think the System has a lot of merit and hope we can refine it so it becomes even more effective. /forums/images/icons/grin.gif