Tourney strategy

[The_Gunt]

Yes you're right I didn't chose my words properly thanks for correcting me I appreciate the comments. This should be AA or KK but after that you have a serious drop off. What about AKs? I think I might even call with that but it would be tough. If you look at Aequitas58 blog you will see exactly what I am talking about. First hand people will go all in and they have garbage hands but what if the AQ hits the straight. You went all in on the first hand even with AA/KK and now you are out already. If I am just playing a SNG and it's for some low buy in amount that's fine, hopefully the cards break even over the next couple SNGs. If I have to travel 2 hours to the card club wait 3 hours for the tournament to start and buy in at $200-$400 do I want to go all in on the first hand? AA or KK yeah that is the right call but there is still a chance I will be packing my bags for that 2 hour trip home. With anything else why not wait for the idiots to push all in when you have the nut flush or slow play a FH. Also if you are playing a home game with 45 of your buddies do you want to be the first guy out sitting on the sidelines waiting for the next game to start. I'm sure others have more experience in this situation and I do realize I might be taking into account other outside consideration than just straight up card values.

[Aequitas58]

Your travel time should have nothing to do with "playing the best poker you can." AA can very easily lose - but are you seriously trying to tell me that you're not willing to get your money in, while you have the odds?

Your bets and "moves" shouldn't be determined by travel time. Say you win a seat at the next WSOP... say on the first hand, you have AA and 4 people go all-in before you can act. You wouldn't call? You have the odds in your favor to start off a HUGE favorite.

This is an easy call...

E v e r y S i n g l e T i m e

As far as the idiots who push when you have the nuts, you have to consider:

(1) You *might not* get a chance to play the nuts. That is, the cards don't always fall your way. Tournaments are very short compared to what I consider a "streak of cards." You might hit great cards and easily cruise into the final table... or, you might never win a pot!

(2) Even when you get the nuts, where's the guarantee that you'll get paid off? Like you, I also have no problem playing poker when my win percentage is at 100%, but I can't wait to have that 100% throughout the course of the tournament. In most cases, tournament life is dependant on hitting a fair share of coinflips, and even those put you at 50%.

My $.02

[The_Gunt]

Yes I agree AA/KK are strong and sufficient to call all ins early.

Beyond that I think it is not worth the chance you take in busting out so early. Maybe QQ? Maybe AKs? How about JJ-99? I tend to fold almost everything other than AA/KK. Maybe in time I will learn better?!

You are right that you might not always get play on strong hands but if you are a better player then you should be able to out play the other guys over the long haul.

As far as other considerations I do take into account the amount of time I have invested when considering early all ins. Maybe this is a weakness or something you can use against other players during your next tournament play. The way I look at it do I want to spend 6 hours of my time and $200-$400 on a coin flip?

Playing a lot of hands early when you have no information on the other players can be risky. I'm sure you would agree with the exception of those starting hands that have a clear advantage.

[BlibbityBlabbity]

NO call here with 4 all ins before me...NO WAY! Heads up maybe, but with that many all with the same chip stacks (first hand) you are likely to be beat unless you happen to improve. I would fold AA (for the first time, BTW as I have never done it yet) in that spot.

We have been here before in another thread but my feelings on this are....

--In a cash game you would push in almost all spots pre-flop if you can get your chips in with the best hand. If you get drawn out on you know you made the right play and you buy more chips.

--In a tourney, where it IS NOT only about having the best statistical hand, but also about survival, there do arise certain spots where you could fold "in the dark" (the 4 all in's first hand WSOP for example).

--Lets assume those 4 players are not obviously intoxicated, blind, wearing a clown suit, etc. ..... You are likely up against KK, QQ, maybe AK, JJ. Most likely 2-3 PP hands. While AA is a big favorite against one lower pocket pair, odds become likely that you will have to improve to win the hand.

to paraphrase a quote I have heard many times....

"You can't win the tourney on the first hand, but you can lose it. "

These are just my thoughts, I know only a few agree.