From \"chip and a chair\" to tourney winner - skill or luck?
 

Sure, when you're down to a chip and a chair after a bad beat or just poor play, there is a certain amount of luck involved to consolidate enough chips back to see you through a one or two rounds of blinds, but it is then that you have to be a "good maniac" and use very skillful play to comeback and attack the table to regain the respect of your opponents?

I have seen this time and again and found myself in this position yesterday. I did come back and win with some skillful moves but lucky breaks to. A good example would have been the senhor_beef saga that happened on RPG recently, where he came back from a chip and a chair to win just over 70K.

Somehow I can't seem convince myself that without a few lucky breaks I would actually have been out of the tourney in no time at all.

My question is: At what point do you determine weather to play "Lucky" or "skillfully" when coming back from a "chip and a chair"?

Re: From \"chip and a chair\" to tourney winner - skill or luck?
 

You should always be trying to play skillfully. The thing is, as you get less and less chips there is less and less skill involved. i.e. more often the best and worst ways to play are more similar.

When you go below about (i reckon) 2.3BB you can expect to be called almost all the time, so here the only skill is deciding which hand to go all in on. This is definately a skill though.

At about 4BB you should be able to steal blinds, and so again choosing which hands to try to steal with, and who to steal against is an added element of skill.

At about 8BB you should be able to reraise someones bet and get them to fold some of the time. This is an added element of skill.

At 13BB or more you are not really all that shortstacked (by OL tournament standards!)

just my thoughts

Tim

Re: From \"chip and a chair\" to tourney winner - skill or luck?
 

Hi Tim,

Thanks for your informative reply.

I find my playing style similar to those mentioned by you.

I too agree with you saying that going below 2.3BB, the only skill is deciding which hand to go all in on. This skill I suppose can be broken down further to, how many players in the hand and what position you're in on the table or what the action was like before you have to make your move...

Once again, thank you for your reply.