Can you suceed online following HOH hand recommendations?

[Walter Pullis]

With the exception of the lowest($5-$10) level of online
NLHE tournaments, which are mostly "all-in" events, can you succeed in online tournaments following the advice in
HOH, or is it too tight(particularly HOH I)?

[Rudbaeck]

It's not too tight by any means. I think he is a bit on the loose side for the first few levels actually. And his play when your M is low is as far as I can tell exactly what you have to do in online tournies from an alarmingly early point on.

[TransientR]

[ QUOTE ]
It's not too tight by any means. I think he is a bit on the loose side for the first few levels actually. And his play when your M is low is as far as I can tell exactly what you have to do in online tournies from an alarmingly early point on.

[/ QUOTE ]

I agree. Though he has a reputation as a tight player, following his play recommendations in both HOH volumes will not make you a rock even at small dollar buy in NL tourneys at UB. I don't know about other poker sites, but at UB, there are usually a few all in maniacs at $5/$10 buyin tourneys early on, but they usually don't last long and many players actually play tighter than Harrington advises (limping, no continuation bets, etc.).

Factoring in "M" and "Zone Theory," Harrington will have you getting more aggressive earlier in a tourney than just paying attention to having 10 BB.

Frank

[ptmusic]

I think it depends on the structure. Just try playing HOH 1's "Conservative Approach" at Interpoker's MTTs. At 30 minutes into the tournament, the big blind is 100! You are in push/fold mode so fast there, that you must play more aggressively and a bit looser earlier. Harrington actually makes mention of this somewhere in Vol. 1. I actually think his "Aggressive Approach" starting hands are more appropriate with a fast blind structure.

SNG's are different, because you are already at the "final" table. And more reasonable blind structures also allow more conservative/tighter opening standards.

-ptmusic

[The Nutz85]

I just read both HOH1 and HOH2 i then proceded to play 5 dollar SNG's just to test out some of the concepts.
Let me make a list of the things your cant rely on that you read in the book.

1. Gap theory throw it out the window 5 dollar SNG people have no idea about it and will open utg with A10 while you hold AJs in mid position and are looking at a raiser from utg and you acording to the gap theory should throw it away.

2. Most decisions are for all your chips, early or late in the SNG people get a pair and want to go all in. most of the time its when they flop two pair (kingx, acex) and your stuck holding AK with top pair deciding for all your chips.

3. When you start to take a look at your M in proportion to the blinds and be more agressive with small pairs in late position and start to be more agressive in general 95% of the time you will get busted when you go all in and try to make a move with mediocre hands like king 8 suited and such and that goes back to the gap theory, and knowing and understanding pot odds. So when you try to make a move to steal the blinds the idiot chip leader wont let you and when the flop misses your AKs it sure as hell hit his K8s.

On a good note later in the SNG with the M you can rely on that to analysis your oponents decisions to go all in.

I did however experience some luck in the multi tables with it when the blinds go up slightly slower and was able to follow the advice at a more conservative pace.

i wasted 25 bucks playing these SNG and each one resulted in a bad beat mostly when i had to choose for all my chips when my oppenent thought he was doyle and pushed all in, when i had a good hand and proper odds to call. Or when i had to raise and over bet the pot just to get oopenents to fold their damn flush draw. Or how about the ever popular im on a draw so ill go all in move. I dont think that 5 - 10 sngs are a bad thing i just think they rely mainly on luck opposed to anything you read in any book. its like playing in a 2 cent 4 cent room may the best suck out win.

[Rudbaeck]

[ QUOTE ]
1. Gap theory throw it out the window 5 dollar SNG people have no idea about it and will open utg with A10 while you hold AJs in mid position and are looking at a raiser from utg and you acording to the gap theory should throw it away.

[/ QUOTE ]

This is so even in ring games. You have to be a favorite over his average opening hand, not his worst opening hand.

And losing 5 sngs in a row isn't a big problem. Heck, the very best players here who long since should have moved up to higher stakes than they are currently playing are often losing more than five in a row.

Yes, there are often crap shoots in sngs. But that's unavoidable with the rapid blind escalation. If you absolutely hate the blind escalation try playing on Stars. They raise the blinds in single table tournies every ten minutes instead of every ten hands. Off course this makes the tournies last alot longer, so while you have a bigger overlay on an individual tourney your hourly rate probably drops.

People being idiots doesn't negate good strategy. Some forms of idiocy add to your variance, that much is true, but it's also true that all forms of idiocy on your opponents part adds to your winnings.

[XxPenguinxX]

[ QUOTE ]
If you absolutely hate the blind escalation try playing on Stars. They raise the blinds in single table tournies every ten minutes instead of every ten hands. Off course this makes the tournies last alot longer, so while you have a bigger overlay on an individual tourney your hourly rate probably drops.

[/ QUOTE ]

Amen to that. SnGs are only crapshoots if you play on Party or a Party skin. There's much more skill and much less push/folding involved on Stars or UB.

Also, anyone playing the $5 SnGs on Party is throwing money away, because they're paying twice the rake you would anywhere else.

Oh, and to answer the original question - yes. I've seen a noticeable upswing in my results after reading each of the books.

[TRWIII]

Same on Noble Poker (every ten minutes). Although the only reason to play there is to bonus whore that ridiculous sign up bonus. Very low volume and decent SNG players, although the ring games are reasonable soft. Im gonna be there forever clearing that bonus [img]/images/graemlins/crazy.gif[/img].

TRWIII

TRWIII

[AliasMrJones]

You played 5 whole tournaments and are able to come to all those conclusions? Congrats! You should write a book.

[The Nutz85]

ive played more than that im just saying since ive read these books and applied the knowledge from what i have experienced so far it seems to me that some ideas dont apply. to lower limit sngs that is all.

In the multi tables im killing it placing in the money most of the time. and i am talking i played those dollar 2000 people tourn on stars. and prior to this book never got past 100th place