3 bad beats or play?

[illini43]

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Though it is probably not far from optimal strategy, personally I don’t like to put first place on coin flips, even when I am a clear favorite without a pair preflop (including AK).

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A-10 is a very BIG hand HU. If you are not willing to push A-10 HU against a raise, you have to rethink your game plan.

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My usual approach is pushing AA, KK preflop, at least a strong pair on flop; being QUITE sure it is very hard for upcoming cards to suck out on me.


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Your pushing range is WAY too small. If you play hands that only hit big pairs on the flop, most of your chips are going to get stolen away from you by any decent player. And honestly, how are you ever going to be QUITE sure that you will not get sucked out on?

It seems like you are playing too tight HU and can't seem to admit it [img]/images/graemlins/blush.gif[/img]

My worry is whether I am pushing small edges too hard before ITM neglecting survival.

And pushing small edge in HU too hard, without concerning first place money.

Thanks.
Isn't raising 3,4,5bb the usual kind of play? As long as the opponent folds to this kind of bet that is.

[kyro]

What small edges? On the first hand, he had 3 outs on you and hit. In the second hand, you were down to 6-7 BB, got dealt a midpocket pair, and it didn't work out. In the third hand, once again, you got him all in on the flop as a 70% (i'm guessing here) favorite. These aren't "small edges." These are huge ones. Applied over and over, they will work out.

[illini43]

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These aren't "small edges." These are huge ones. Applied over and over, they will work out.

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An example of a "small edge" is 10-10 vs. AK (55%-45%)

Thanks guys. I think I am getting your point. When I first open my eyes, I saw this mama duck:

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Early on, the correct strategy is very simple: Play tight, tighter and tightest. Your primary goal right now is not to win chips, it is to ensure that you have chips to play with later. Survival is the key; winning chips is just a cherry on top. Why? Because it is much easier to outplay the opposition when it is down to fewer players, and you lose this opportunity if you foolishly waste your chips now.

Playing generally tight is important, but just as important is specifically avoiding hands that have the potential to lose a lot of chips by making a second-best hand. This means hands like A-Q, A-J, A-T, K-Q, K-J, etc. should be treated like the plague early on in a no-limit SNG,unless you can steal the blinds or win a small pot with them. Even in a limit tournament, playing a hand weaker than A-Q is asking to be taken down a notch.

Note that these examples assume that no one has raised before you enter the pot. If someone has raised, you do not want to fight him unless you are quite sure your hand is the best. If the raise is around 5-7 percent of your stack, you can call with any pair hoping to flop a set. A-A and K-K are clear reraising situations. Q-Q and J-J are borderline hands. Hands like T-T and A-K should usually be folded to a raise of more than 10% of your stack. Even when the raiser is very loose, you can easily get into trouble on these hands. If you do play them, play them carefully, and do not attempt to push a small edge.
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I need to work out a bit of imprinting.