Beating the Party 10+1, Part 2

[benfranklin]

Recently, AleoMagus started a thread on this forum about the strategy to beat the 10+1 SnG's at party. Many other forum members contributed to what I thought was an excellent seminar on basic SnG strategy. I summarized that thread in outline form, and AleoMagus took the time to review and comment on my work. We present it here for your further review and comments.

PRE-FLOP STRATEGY

LEVELS 1-3

EARLY POSITION (Seats 1-7), play only a pair or AK 1. With JJ or lower, limp in.
--for tighter play, fold 66 or lower.
--for more aggressive play, limp only on Level 1; after that, raise or fold with 77 or better
--If re-raised up to 3BBs, call2. Open-raise 3BBs with AA, KK, QQ, AK; more if several limpers
--for more aggressive play, bet 200-300. When playing aggressively, you need to be prepared to also play the flop aggressively as you are investing more of your stack.
--If re-raised, go all-in (OK to raise all-in with AKo, AKs, but don’t call an all-in with it unless significant portion of stack already invested and one opponent only)

LATE POSITION
1. Raise at least 3BBs with 77 or better, 200-300 for more aggressiveness (limping with 77-JJ is always a good option)
2. also limp in with AQs, AQ, AJs, ATs, KQs, QJs, JTs if there are calls ahead of you, raise if there are not.
--Fold if reraised.
--AQs is marginal in early position but strong later
3. On the button, limping with hands like T9s, 98s, 87s, AJ, and KQ is an option, but requires experience.

Early rounds: AJo, KQo, ATo, KJo, QJo, JTo (and worse) are generally big trouble.

LEVELS 4-6
Open-raise (at least 3BBs, more if limpers ahead of you) from all positions with:
1. 77-AA, AK, AQ
2. AKs-ATs, KQs-KJs, QJs, JTs

LATE POSITION
Raise with KTs, QTs, KQ, AJ, if you are first in the pot
Raise with 2 cards J-A, T9s, 98s, or 87s if you have a good stack, LP, and no raisers already in pot.
Limp if there are already lots of limpers

DOWN TO 4 PLAYERS
Never enter a raised pot without AA, KK, QQ, AK unless raiser has ½ your stack or less.
If a small raise to you, go all-in with these hands and call with a few others (AQ, JJ, TT,)
-experienced players can enter pots with less, but good judgment is necessary
-If short stacked on bubble, you want to be first in the pot; bet big or all-in
-If shortstacked, push (if first in) with Axs, A7+, pairs
-When calling down shortstack all-ins, you want to have AT-AK and pairs 77-AA.
-If shortstack has 2BB or less, it is worth calling from BB with almost anything
-When playing with a huge stack, be careful of other huge stacks even with AK, KQs, JJ, etc….

General Prefop Considerations
-When calling a raise, you need a better hand than you needed to raise in the first place
-When a raise has already been called, you need an even better hand
-When in the small blind, you can limp with slightly worse hands than normal
-When calling min raises once already in for one bet, almost any calling hand is still playable


ON THE FLOP

EARLY STAGES
On the flop, raise the amount of the pot with the following, otherwise fold:
1. top pair with a good kicker
2. 2 pair (no pair on board), set, or boat
3. 4 flush with overcards or other possibilities (bottom/middle pairs, straight draws, etc…)
4. open-ended straight with lots of outs (3-flush, 2 overcards, etc.)

Open ended straights are highly overrated.

Play drawing hands aggressively (you need to have good stack to play a draw)
1. best to act last: bet the pot
2. consider semi-bluff in LP
3. if bet to you on flop is ½ the pot or less, raise to size of pot if you have large stack
--If re-raised, fold Do not slowplay monster hands, especially when draws are on the board.

Post-flop, all bets should be size of pot.
If any recommended bet (3BBs, pot, etc.) is 40% or more of stack, go all-in.

LATE STAGES
If short stacked, Level 5 and later, go all in or fold.
--Play only with pocket pairs, AK-AT, or KQs
--On button, aim to steal about 25% of blinds with hands like A7s-A9s, KTs-KJs.
--Play very tight with 4 left, much looser when in money.
--Don’t worry about second place: gamble for 1st, settle for 3rd.
--Don’t worry about attacking the short stacks. Quickly increasing blinds and their own loose play will take them out.
--With three players left, any piece of the flop becomes valuable. Do not be afraid to bet middle pairs if there is no reason to believe opponent has stronger hand. If there is a raise preflop and an ace or king comes on flop play cautiously

TURN AND RIVER
--The turn and river should be more easily played. The flop is where your most crucial decisions are made
--When you think you are beaten on the river, a fold to a small bet is usually a mistake unless you have no hand at all

GENERAL STRATEGY
-Top pair, top kicker is usually considered risky in NL, but Party’s structure forces aggressive play.
-Experienced players; if flop is rags and pot not raised ahead of you preflop, bet the pot.-AKo, AKs are good for an all-in bet, but not to call an all-in. AK or AKs all-in bets work best pre-flop so hand has full board to work with.
-If any recommended bet is 40% or more of your stack, go all-in.
-When holding middle pair, if flop is checked all around and turn brings no scare cards (3-flush on board, 3 straight on board, cards higher than your middle pair, etc…) play that pair aggressively on the turn. When raised, be prepared to abandon if you suspect a trap.
-Anytime you are prepared to check and call, it is better to bet in the first place-If you do decide to expand your play to include more creativity, this plan is tilt protection should you need to fall back on more straightforward play in rocky times.
-Anytime you get a bad beat, simply say “nh” or “gg” as the case may be

[AleoMagus]

here is a nice Word document version of this I came up with. It gets it nicely on one page for printing.

Beating the party $10+1 doc

Any comments would be appreciated as I have no doubt many successful players play very differently than this.

Regards,
Brad S

[VarlosZ]

I think that's generally very good advice. I play slightly looser preflop (because I'm confident I can stay out of trouble), but otherwise that's pretty close to how I play.

My only real gripe is that you have people open raising with 77-99 in the middle stages. Say you have T1,000 in level 4 (50/100); while it's important to steal the blinds when they go up, I would question the wisdom of putting in 300 with 77 in early position against low stakes PartyPoker players, who are notorious for making bad calls. In that case, shouldn't you revert to standard strategy for 77 (limp and hope for set), and raise all-in with it when you get short-stacked?

If you disagree, I'd be interested in your reasoning.


Regards,
Jer

[AleoMagus]

Yes, I think you are right.

I would usually not raise with 77-99 in early position on level 4. I might push with it if I had less than 800 chips but I doubt I'd raise 30% of my stack. This is true also of JTs, QJs.

I guess a good solution would just be to say:

In early position, push with 77-99 if shortstacked,
limp (or raise?)if stack is large,
pass if stack is around 8-12x BB.'

Similar advice would hold for JTs and QJs, but I don't like the idea of pushing shortstacked with less than a PP, Suited ace, or big king/Ace.

In late positions I'd definitely open raise 3xBB with these hands (or push if necessary)

Thanks.
Brad S

[TheBull]

I've been lurking here for months, but had to register and thank you for these guidelines.

It really helped plug some leaks in my PP play. I deviate from it slightly, but it's been a tremendous help to my bottom line.

Thanks again!

[Phil Van Sexton]

[ QUOTE ]
DOWN TO 4 PLAYERS Never enter a raised pot without AA, KK, QQ, AK unless raiser has ½ your stack or less.
If a small raise to you, go all-in with these hands and call with a few others (AQ, JJ, TT,)

[/ QUOTE ]

This is seems dangerous if taken literally. If raised, you would fold 90% of the time.

With high blinds and a 4-handed game, you would be guarenteed to lose to anyone who raised often but folded if reraised.

Does this apply only if you are not in the blinds? If so, that would mean this only applies when you are on the button in a 4 handed game. That's fine, but what do recommend if you are in the blinds?

[AleoMagus]

You make a good point about this only really applying to it's full extent on the button - and there it makes less sense anyways because you have the best position.

This has been the point which has received more criticism than any other and I am struggling with it a lot. Bubble play is hard and I could probably make a whole strategy guide on this subject alone.

I wanted to make a simple rule but I think it is gonna have to get more complex than that

I don't think that folding to 90% of the raises you get from Big stacks is terribly bad though. After all, you will not always get raised. You will often be the first one in and in Party 10+1, you will even see limpers.

Also, I made the important caveat that this only applies with players who have more than 1/2 your stack. Obviously if you have 2000 chips and the small stack raises the 200 BB with his last 600, you don't want to be letting go of 99.

Still, in the big blind slightly more liberal play might apply as you suggest. I was going to type a guideline here myself, but I'll throw it back at you

How will you play the bubble? Anyone?

Regards
Brad S

[Phil Van Sexton]

[ QUOTE ]
Bubble play is hard and I could probably make a whole strategy guide on this subject alone.

[/ QUOTE ]

I totally agree, but it would be worth the effort. Getting to the final 4 or 5 is simple. We can argue about how to play 66 at the 10/15 level, but seriously....if you have brain you are going to make the final 5 most of the time.

Once you are in the top 3, the blinds are so high that it really comes down to getting good cards. Other than saying to play aggressively, there's not much to add.

The real question is what to do when there are 4 or 5 left.

If you want know how I play the bubble, here is my plan....
Stealing the Blinds - Once I get to the final 4-5, I will immediately start raising 3xBB when I'm on the button or sb and it was folded to me. I want to figure out ASAP how easy people will give up their blinds. If they keep folding immediately, I'll drop down to 2xBB.

If they reraise, I'll probably call if its small. If I have a premium hand, of course I would move all-in.

I'll bet the flop if it hits me at all or if there's an Ace on the flop (since I raised, they'll think I have an ace). I'll usually bet the same amount as pre-flop (ie 2-3xBB). Most people would always bet the pot, but that's probably a lot of $. Just like pre-flop, you want to bet the minimum that will get them to fold. Most players will call any bet if they hit the flop, and fold to any if they didnt.

I will usually check it down on the turn and river, unless I have a monster. Since they called my bet on the flop, they have something and may well be trapping me.

Protecting the Blinds - I must admit I'm not the best here. I rarely try to protect my SB. I only have 1/2 a bet committed, and the BB is yet to act. It really depends on the raiser. If they keep trying to steal, you should try to reraise and steal their bet and the BB. I might do this with AA-88, AK-A9, KQ-KT, and possibly others if I had enough chips. If successful, this will discourage them from stealing...which will allow you to steal the BB yourself.

If you are in the BB, you cannot allow people to min raise you. If they min-raise, you must re-raise if at all possible. Once they get the message, they will have to bet at least 3xBB.

If I had to summarize....
- Try to steal as cheaply as possible. Try 3xbb right away, then drop to 2xbb if the blinds keep folding.
- Steal with any pair, any A, any 2 cards T or higher, and any suited connector. Add hands like K9, T9o, and occasional garbage if it's working well.
- If you raised pre-flop, bet the same amount on the flop if it hits you at all or an A flops. Then check the turn/river to avoid traps.
- Don't defend too much from SB, but be ready to reraise if people are stealing a lot with small raises and the BB isn't doing anything about it.
- Don't allow people to min-raise your BB. Reraise with any A, K, QJ, QT, JT, pair, or suited connector.
- Try to reraise rather than call. Calling doesnt really discourage blind stealers.
- If you are short stack, just try to get ahead of the other short stacks and stay there. You don't need to double or triple up.

[CaptSensible]

Many suggestions I got when i first posted here last week was to be much more aggressive in my bubble play. I got blasted for not stealing blinds with K4suited. I found that being extremely aggressive in bubble play increased my win rate by almost 30%!! Of course, by the time we're down to 4 and I've gathered a good sense of the players and also take into consideration chip stacks, position etc..I'm still a very novice player and downloaded the word doc. I plan to study it intensively! Thanks so much!!

[NotMitch]

I play a lot tighter than this but I agree with a lot of what you are saying and this is good guide. However players should be very careful with this piece of advice.

"-If shortstacked, push (if first in) with Axs, A7+, pairs"

When shortstacked you do need to push with these hands but since most of the time when you are called it will be by Ax a lot of the time you will be dominated. I would much rather push with KJo than A4s in most spots.