Poll: Your Stack's BB's goes down; do you get looser or tighter?

[ptmusic]

We all know you have to switch gears during a tournament. But I'd like to hear opinions on the following scenario.

It's a big tournament with several hundred people. You have a near average stack. The money is still very far away. You are also far above a trouble stack, but the blinds are creeping up.

I have heard good arguments from all sides, so I ask:

As the # of BB's in your stack goes down, do you (generally speaking), get looser (play more hands), tighter (play fewer hands), or stay the same (don't change the number of hands based on stack to blinds ratio)?

-ptmusic

[runout_mick]

In this situation I play "looser" in the sense that I'll be making more steal attempts as the blinds increase disproportionally to my stack. When I DO attempt a steal, I usually do it with 4 7 offsuit so that it is easier to get away from if I do get looked up. As a side benefit to this, if the flop DOES hit you hard and it goes to a showdown, you can exploit your new maniac image as the table discusses how "stupid" your play was. Tighten WAY down if this happens and reap the benefits.

[Isura]

I think the answer has to be both looser and tighter. I'm tighter in EP, and rarely limp in. But I'm much looser opening in late position, with the hope of stealing a few small pots to keep my stack from shrinking. Aggression seems to be the key, it's important to play the hands you choose to enter aggressively since you don't have much flexibility postflop with a shorter stack.

[ptmusic]

Looser has more votes than Tighter at this point.

To those who think that Looser is the way to go, let me be the devil's advocate:

Think for a second about the hands you play with in the early levels of the first hour.

Now, say you are in the second hour of a typical online tournament. You have T4000, and the blinds are 100/200. A limp costs you 5% of your stack, and a raise costs you more than 10% of your stack. You probably only have one or two hands to lose before you are in push/fold mode. Are you saying you are going to play MORE hands than when you have a nice deep stack of 100bb's?

-ptmusic

[ptmusic]

I'm amazed there isn't more of a consensus. This is a scenario that happens to everyone in nearly every tournament, and yet there is no consistent strategy or advice.

-ptmusic

[SL__72]

I play more tightly overall, especially in EP, but I try to steal the blinds pretty much every chance I get in LP.

[AliasMrJones]

[ QUOTE ]
I'm amazed there isn't more of a consensus. This is a scenario that happens to everyone in nearly every tournament, and yet there is no consistent strategy or advice.

-ptmusic

[/ QUOTE ]

I think this is a pretty bad question. I generally get tighter and then looser, but it really depends on the action in front of me. I tend to play fewer speculative hands as I approach all-in/fold time because I don't want to waste chips on hands that won't hit often enough and I don't have enough chips to get paid off enough when I do hit. As I get to all-in/fold time (< 10X BB) I loosen up considerably if it is folded to me and will go all-in with hands I wouldn't even limp with when I have a bigger stack/BB ratio. I don't know how to vote because I both tighten up and loosen up depending on how small my stack/BB ratio is.

[ptmusic]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
I'm amazed there isn't more of a consensus. This is a scenario that happens to everyone in nearly every tournament, and yet there is no consistent strategy or advice.

-ptmusic

[/ QUOTE ]

I think this is a pretty bad question. I generally get tighter and then looser, but it really depends on the action in front of me. I tend to play fewer speculative hands as I approach all-in/fold time because I don't want to waste chips on hands that won't hit often enough and I don't have enough chips to get paid off enough when I do hit. As I get to all-in/fold time (< 10X BB) I loosen up considerably if it is folded to me and will go all-in with hands I wouldn't even limp with when I have a bigger stack/BB ratio. I don't know how to vote because I both tighten up and loosen up depending on how small my stack/BB ratio is.

[/ QUOTE ]

I would say you qualify as a Tighter vote. Because I was specifically talking about a stack that is far above a trouble stack, so the all-in/fold time hasn't come yet (but is approaching).

And as far as depending on the action before you, well it always depends on the action before you (unless you are super loose). That's the case on the first hand of the tournament when you have 100bb's, and it's the case an hour later when you have 25bb's.

According to the scenario I laid out in the original post along with your reply, you get tighter at the stage I'm talking about. I would say I do the same, but I've heard some very good players say they do the opposite.

-ptmusic

[Colombo]

Looser, and its a no brainer.

By playing tight, you let the blinds dwindle you, and with a short stack, a blind takes a much larger % of your stack than if you were a large stack.

This all boils down to fold equity. The biggest weapon of a short stack is to go all in and pick up blinds, greatly increasing their stack. By playing tight, you lose fold equity, and you will never come back.

*edit* i re read your post and i see that you talked about a stack at average stack. I guess this doesnt qualify as a short stack, but if you are the average stack, you should play tigher not looser.

[Whitey]

I don't think you get a consistent answer because it's a combination of both loose and tight.

I will open raise with a more marginal hands in this situation,but will tighten up if someone has already opened (unless I'm in the blinds)

I wont be calling many raises with suited connectors or small pocket pairs as I would when the blinds are smaller.

I will re-raise potential steals in the blinds with marginal hands if I believe theres a chance my opponent will fold.

I will still raise with anything in position but will fold to a reraise (with garbage) unless I'm down to around 10XBB but then its mostly push only anyway.