Advice for live 20-30 person tourney tonight

[jdiana86]

I am playing in a live home game tourney with around 20 to 30 people...yes CT is a "hotbed" of poker since Raymer won. Last tourney this person held was short-handed and I found it hard to get in a groove. Any suggestions on how to play short-handed tournies would be appreciated.

[Windbreaker]

With short handed tables you have to open up your hand requirements a bit more. It's probably best to try to find the player that will end up paying you off. Sit back for the first two three rounds and find a player or two you know you can outplay on your table. When you enter a pot try to be a bit more aggressive than normal depending on the flop. In any case, you still need a bit of lady luck on the side to help you.

[jdiana86]

thanks, I will defintely take this approach and see what happens for the early stages. I figure if the blind structure stays the same I'm going to play VERY TIGHT early, and then more AGGRESSIVE as the blinds go up. If I were to make it to the final table I would play tight and just outplay the tougher opponents, if any.

[Gutzz]

Hey,

Yeah I like to loosen up my PFR standards. I wouldn't limp very often (that's just me). If it's NL and you limp someone can just turn on some heat and you'll muck.

So steal the blinds more often I guess.

Tell us how it went.

Cheers,

Gutzz

[eddo31]

i would try and be agressive from the get go if the entire tourney is shorthanded. the usual strategy of playing tight early and then switching gears late will probably leave you shortstacked early, and then in desperation mode.

usign selective agression and isolating weaker players at your table will be your keys to winning the tourney.

[jdiana86]

Well, the tourney didn't go very well, but there's always next time. 10/30 is very weak, but the cards just didn't go my way. Early on my AQ had top two-pair on the board by the turn and I ran into a flopped set. I should have raised him on the flop and then probably got away from it, but that didn't happen. I re-bought for half the entry fee, and you get half as many chips? Anyways I doubled that up and soon had the chip lead at the table. The following hand came up that I thought of as the turning point:

I had A4o UTG and came in with a standard raise playing 5-handed. I got one caller in front of me who I put on a medium to high pocket pair. The flop was 235 rainbow. He checked to me and I made a pot sized bet to find out what exactly he did have if anything. He sat and thought for AT LEAST 5 minutes before finnally deciding to call. I flipped over my cards before the river by accident because he had taken so long. I thought that the person running the tournament should have done something about the situation, but in the end it's my fault for flipping my cards early. However, the person running the tourney took side with the person who took an obnoxiosly long time to call my bet. It was frustrating because I only had one connection and didn't really know anyone there to back my side of the argument up.

After losing around T700 that hand I was left with around T2400 with the blinds at 200-400...still room to work with. I eventually moved in when I was chipped down to around 1500 or so with A2o, and it was beat by K6o. My only regret is that the re-buy wasn't for more, or I would have made the money.