Becoming a sucessful pushbot

[GutPunch]

At the 22's and 33's this seems like the one of the only viable strategies is to fold early or play very tight, and become a pushbot at the 50/100 – 75/150 blind level depending when your stack is less than 10x the BB.

I have a few questions for you expert pushbotters. First of all, I have been noticing that even at the $22 level and $33 level that it is often 6+ handed when it reaches the 50/100 blind level. I think this makes successful pushbotting extra hard, do you? I know at the higher levels, $55’s+, it will often be 10 handed at these levels, is it still possible to be a successful pushbotter at those levels? Or do you find that you must actually play more post-flop poker to be successful?

And finally, at what point (blind level) do you personally become a pushbot? Is it specifically when your stack is less than 10x the BB? Or is it situational (depending on the peoples stack who are in the blinds)? What if BB=100 and your stack is 1300, are you pushing, or 3-4x raising it? If your stack is 2000 and BB=150 are you pushing or raising? And finally, is this dependent on what lvl ($33 or $100 ect.) your playing at?

Thanks,
Struggling pushbotter

[zipppy]

I find reads on players to be most helpful in selecting optimal times to push. Try to identify tight players in early rounds, and exploit that in later rounds.

Also, as a chip leader, I like to attack the mid-size stacks. A lot of players want to wait for the shorties to get knocked out. As a mid stack, reads are your biggest helper. As a shorty, go nuts.


>>>ZIPPPY

[zipppy]

oh, and I begin looking for spots to push at the 50/100 level, and really open up at 75/150.

[infinite_loop]

The value of a push has a big deal to do with how many are left to act. It's not about just finding the right hand. It's about taking your opponents to their threshhold of tolerance. You can even get great opportunities 10-handed in level 4. Also you need to consider how much a bet or raise is relative to your stack. Usually if a bet or raise is around 40% of your stack, you should just push it to maximize the pressure. If the BB is 150, a standard to raise to 400 is only 20% of your stack, making it not a push under most circumstances.

[tewall]

Two additional thoughts to add to what the others have posted.

One is to look for opportunities to steal blinds starting at level 2. Hopefully by then you've some idea who to attack.

Two is to consider the sizes of the stacks yet to act. It's the ratio of the BB to the effective stack that you're concerned about, which isn't necessarily your stack.

[tigerite]

Honestly, although blind stealing level 2 is alright, I wouldn't do it with as wide a range as in later levels, just so you aren't being over aggressive. The t50 and t100 blinds are worth a lot more to you than the t30 ones, and if you do it too much, they'll play back at you when you want the higher ones more (and your stack really needs them).