All Categories› Sky Poker Strategy› Tournament Strategy

You need to be logged in to your Sky Poker account above to post discussions and comments.

You might need to refresh your page afterwards.

Sky Poker forums will be temporarily unavailable from 11pm Wednesday July 25th.
Sky Poker Forums is upgrading its look! Stay tuned for the big reveal!

Ask Thewy - Tournament Q&A with Julian Thew

24

Comments

  • chicknMeltchicknMelt
    edited February 2014
    Ok, Thanks for the advice. I took your advice and played around on pro poker tools a bit... this is what I came up with

    If the player is capable of bluffing, (raising hands other than just TT-AA, AQ, AK) then you should be flatting preflop, and hoping that your head is clear enough to make good post flop decisions based on the board and action. If I think the villain is likely to fire more than one bullet a high percentage of the time, whether they hit or not, I think I might just fold anyway.  I would expect to have around 60% equity if the villain has a balanced bluff/value range. 

    If the player is tight, and is likely to be weighted towards value with their 3bet range, then you should just fold. You have 47% equity vs  TT-AA and AQ, AK, and crucially, you are unikely to get value from many of them since you will mostly either be dominated by an overpair, or the villain will miss the flop and just have A high when you are ahead.

    I think it is a clear mistake to shove, unless you think your opponent will call a shove pretty wide (88+, KQ+). and even then its close.


    Do you have any interesting hands from the UKPC you think you might have gotten wrong?

    Another hand, I'd be interested in your opinion on, again from the UKPC...

    Hero 28k, Blinds 200/400, ante 50
    Hero has Ad4x in the SB
    Been at the table for ages. Villain has a big stack (70k), and opens wide in position, is a good player (GUKPT winner) and I have seen him make a couple of good laydowns.


    Villain opens CO to 1k
    Hero 3bets to 2.8k
    Villain flats

    Pot - around 7k

    Flop 93d5d

    Hero leads for 2.8k
    Villain raises to 7.5k

    Hero Shoves


    My thinking behing the shove was that I was representing an overpair or better, had some robust equity (Gutshot, Backdoor FD, and possibly an A) and could get them to fold almost all of their range... What could they really have that can call? 99 and a slowplayed QQ+  possibly a FD and overcards ?? 

    What do you think of the line I have taken?

    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • yoyoyoyo
    edited February 2014
    so we're looking at SB>BB & BB>SB shoving ranges?

    i tend to play my SB quite passive as i'm out of position.

    online on sky poker where there are no antes i wouldn't consider shoving anything over a 10bb stack, but w 10 or below would def consider getting any pair, Q9+ any ace & 67s+ in

    calling-wise when facing a 10bb shove from the SB in the BB, depending on opponents tendencies i'm likely to call as light as Q-10, K7+, most pairs & most aces.

    this is kinda of the top of my head though i would adjust it depending on who i'm playing.
    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • alex1229alex1229
    edited February 2014
    In Response to Re: Ask Thewy - Tournament Q&A with Julian Thew:
    so we're looking at SB />BB & BB>SB shoving ranges? i tend to play my SB quite passive as i'm out of position. online on sky poker where there are no antes i wouldn't consider shoving anything over a 10bb stack, but w 10 or below would def consider getting any pair, Q9+ any ace & 67s+ in calling-wise when facing a 10bb shove from the SB in the BB, depending on opponents tendencies i'm likely to call as light as Q-10, K7+, most pairs & most aces. this is kinda of the top of my head though i would adjust it depending on who i'm playing.
    Posted by yoyo
    Thanks

    Another thing popped up on the way to lunch, how do you deal with someone donkbetting into you

    You have A10 blinds 200/400 you raise BB 1,200 (hes fishy, likes to see a lot of flops)

    He calls, you dont hit the flop, he donk bets 400 in to you..now what?


    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • MattBatesMattBates
    edited February 2014
    In Response to Re: Ask Thewy - Tournament Q&A with Julian Thew:
    this sometimes helps me keep a level head when i'm playing well; the next time you face a tricky spot, ask yourself 'what would timex do?' (insert own hero of choice) pretty sure he wouldn't shove
    Posted by yoyo
    This is why he asked on here!
    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • chicknMeltchicknMelt
    edited February 2014
    In Response to Re: Ask Thewy - Tournament Q&A with Julian Thew:
    In Response to Re: Ask Thewy - Tournament Q&A with Julian Thew : This is why he asked on here!
    Posted by MattBates
    what would you have done with the JJ in my exit hand Matt?

    I think I made a mistake at the time now I have thought about it... do you agree with my analysis?



    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • SlipwaterSlipwater
    edited February 2014
    I'm certainly no expert, but I think I'm probably calling to see the flop and then folding if I get the sense I'm behind (depending on board texture, betting, etc). It's maybe a bit much to be shoving that big a stack with jacks. You can certainly get away from dangerous flops and still have enough left behind to play.
    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • chicknMeltchicknMelt
    edited February 2014
    In Response to Re: Ask Thewy - Tournament Q&A with Julian Thew:
    I'm certainly no expert, but I think I'm probably calling to see the flop and then folding if I get the sense I'm behind (depending on board texture, betting, etc). It's maybe a bit much to be shoving that big a stack with jacks. You can certainly get away from dangerous flops and still have enough left behind to play.
    Posted by Slipwater
    yep, that definately seems preferable to shoving.

    At the time though I just couldnt see what flatting and then calling a flop bet would really leave me.... I could just see it going bet/ call, bet/fold soo much postflop. I cant imagine any board that I'd be happy calling a turn bet on - with overcards or without, since their 3bet/ 2 barrel range would be weighted towards hands that beat me??

    The more I think about it, the more I like a fold. There are just so many avenues that we end up going down that lead to us really needing to know information we dont know to make the correct decision (is the villain capable of a 2barrel bluff on a 6 high board with AK?? does the villain 3bet a balanced range preflop? etc)

    wierdly, this is why I ended up pushing combined with my (incorrect) bet sizing read. Wish I just folded. Might have been able to find a fold if I hadnt been card dead for the last couple of hours.
    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • yoyoyoyo
    edited March 2014
    sry for the tumbleweed folks, was in dublin for the ukipt & offline for the majority of it.

    unlucky last night chicken, no way did i expect to see AA there blind on blind, you'd a had me if i didn't luckbox trips w A9 on Kx9x9...

    think your line A4 BB v CO looks fine once you've 3b pre, story adds up/checks out...am guessing you got the fold or maybe luckboxed a double up?

    like your thorough analysis of the JJ hand, pretty sure you'll be far better prepped for any similar spots next time which is what it's all about right
    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • yoyoyoyo
    edited March 2014
    In Response to Re: Ask Thewy - Tournament Q&A with Julian Thew:
    In Response to Re: Ask Thewy - Tournament Q&A with Julian Thew : Thanks Another thing popped up on the way to lunch, how do you deal with someone donkbetting into you You have A10 blinds 200/400 you raise BB 1,200 (hes fishy, likes to see a lot of flops) He calls, you dont hit the flop, he donk bets 400 in to you..now what?
    Posted by alex1229

    sometimes i'll just give up but rarely to a min bet...just raise them & you'll be surprised how often they snap fold*

    *guaranteed to work 60% of the time

    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • chicknMeltchicknMelt
    edited March 2014
    In Response to Re: Ask Thewy - Tournament Q&A with Julian Thew:
    sry for the tumbleweed folks, was in dublin for the ukipt & offline for the majority of it. unlucky last night chicken, no way did i expect to see AA there blind on blind, you'd a had me if i didn't luckbox trips w A9 on Kx9x9... think your line A4 BB v CO looks fine once you've 3b pre, story adds up/checks out...am guessing you got the fold or maybe luckboxed a double up? like your thorough analysis of the JJ hand, pretty sure you'll be far better prepped for any similar spots next time which is what it's all about right
    Posted by yoyo
    Not a problem, suspected you were busy working :)  how was UKIPT?

    A9 vs my AA: ha yeah, I nearly checked back the river too...it felt a bit like a 9. but I ended up telling myself you would call with alot of other hands i beat + i was pretty short anyway. obviously, you had the 9. sigh.

    my line with A4: yeah, villain passed JJ face up lol. I felt pretty lucky that he folded and it just got me thinking whether it was a bit spewy.

    jj hand: ty, yeah I feel like I have it sorted in my head for next time now.


    I just posted some thoughts on AK and AQ

    was wondering what your thoughts were?

    --edit--  
    especially interested in your thoughts for live play on the topic above

    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • yoyoyoyo
    edited March 2014
    i put a wishey-washey type reply up on the thread...not sure it added much at all to the debate

    played a turbo & the main event in dublin, the turbo was pretty uneventful but i played very badly in the ME.

    dribbled from 20k to 17 & ground it up to 25 after the first break before brain-farting most of my stack away because i thought the guy was full of ch1t - i called his 3b w AQ, CR the 810J flop & called-off when he shipped his aces...i do tend to whack it off two or three times a year, this def counts lol.

    the remaining 7k went in with tens vs same guys AK, got what i deserved
    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • chicknMeltchicknMelt
    edited March 2014
    Cheers Julian.

    the good old hero call gone wrong. probably the most embarassing thing in poker.

    I saw an article in a magazine once where michael mizrachi said he had to have a postit stuck to his screen saying "they are not playing back at you!" when he played online.


    hopefully this'll be the last one of the yr :)
    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • yoyoyoyo
    edited March 2014
    yeah i'm hoping ))

    that's the 2nd this year so i'm allowing myself the possibility of one more.

    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • jonjo75jonjo75
    edited March 2014
    In Response to Re: Ask Thewy - Tournament Q&A with Julian Thew:
    Cheers Julian. the good old hero call gone wrong. probably the most embarassing thing in poker. I saw an article in a magazine once where michael mizrachi said he had to have a postit stuck to his screen saying "they are not playing back at you!" when he played online. hopefully this'll be the last one of the yr :)
    Posted by chicknMelt
    I think I will have to use that idea :)
    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • MattBatesMattBates
    edited May 2014
    BUMP!

    You already have an EPT title so which would you rather have on the CV?

    UKPC win or WSOP bracelet?

    Or would it purely matter which one had more ftw?

    EDIT.....can add in WPT title after the recent DTD announcement!
    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • yoyoyoyo
    edited May 2014
    hah, these are the kind of questions i don't struggle with,

    i'll take another ept or a wsop win tyvm,

    who am i kidding, i'd snap accept a win in tonights turbo open
    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • craigcu12craigcu12
    edited May 2014
    isolating limpers in the mid and late stages of MTT without loosing too many chips myself.

    as we get deep into a tournament where blinds become important, so the last thing i want to be doing is loosing the chance to steal the small blinds and big blinds loosing out to them post flop too often and making it too easy for them to steal my blinds when they just limp preflop and min bet post flop. one of my difficulties is i'm a cash player most of the time and isolating limpers is the thing i find much easier on cash than MTT as i'll always have 90-100 BB the blinds will be the same and as i can restock my chips the risk is not so high.
    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • yoyoyoyo
    edited May 2014
    hey craig,

    not sure if that's a question or a statement!
    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • MattBatesMattBates
    edited May 2014
    In Response to Re: Ask Thewy - Tournament Q&A with Julian Thew:
    isolating limpers in the mid and late stages of MTT without loosing too many chips myself. as we get deep into a tournament where blinds become important, so the last thing i want to be doing is loosing the chance to steal the small blinds and big blinds loosing out to them post flop too often and making it too easy for them to steal my blinds when they just limp preflop and min bet post flop. one of my difficulties is i'm a cash player most of the time and isolating limpers is the thing i find much easier on cash than MTT as i'll always have 90-100 BB the blinds will be the same and as i can restock my chips the risk is not so high.
    Posted by craigcu12
    Reading of board textures is key here and also stack sizes. A lot of the time limpers will play face up post flop so you need to know when to shut down post. Also, you need to make sure your stack size is sufficient that you don't end up decimating your stack if you have to fire a couple of streets. Experience of these situations is important so I would review your hands then post them here and people can advise.
    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • The_Don90The_Don90
    edited May 2014
    Hi Julian

    How would you adapt your game based on weather antes are in play or not? And would you change your style slightly in the levels comming up to ante's comming into play than what you would in a mtt without any. 
    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • yoyoyoyo
    edited May 2014
    hey don,

    the pots are bigger once the antes kick in so just recognise that stealing becomes way more profitable.

    i might adjust my raise sizes slightly preflop but it's kind of table dependant.

    the game def feels like it's on once they kick in!

    & fwiw i really like the new dtd structure for the big weekend comps, you get 50k in chips & the antes start from level one at 100/200/25, much better nthan the usual 25/50, 50/100 etc 
    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • yoyoyoyo
    edited May 2014
    In Response to Re: Ask Thewy - Tournament Q&A with Julian Thew:
    In Response to Re: Ask Thewy - Tournament Q&A with Julian Thew : Reading of board textures is key here and also stack sizes. A lot of the time limpers will play face up post flop so you need to know when to shut down post. Also, you need to make sure your stack size is sufficient that you don't end up decimating your stack if you have to fire a couple of streets. Experience of these situations is important so I would review your hands then post them here and people can advise.
    Posted by MattBates
    tx for stepping in son!
    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • unknown_usernameunknown_username
    edited May 2014
    Hi Julian,
     I saw in an earliiar post that you'd hardly ever shove in sb with more than 10bbs. Now I enjoy deep stacks on Sky though lack of antes alters things like the worth of stealing etc. 
    However, it's very easy to , after maintaining an above average stack throughout a T, to find at say level 11 300/600 that the av stack is m=18 with about 20 left., that with some passive play your sstack drops quickly .By level twelve and around the bubble that has reduced but you may be still be m=8 even 9 or 10 . Now some books eg killer online looks at jam/fold for m=8. For instance equilibrium solution is  range in sb with say m=8 is 33% and for m=6 is 40.6%. These figures seem pretty wide and it is a jam/fold recommendation with m=8 or less which is for a greater ss than 10bbs. 
    With a big ss to my left I find a lot calling and ive put my T at risk. 

    My q's
    1. M=8 do you say leave jam/fold advice until 10 bbs ?
    2. Do you set a value to reach by a certain level as two passive levels can find your ss decimated at these high levels?
    3. At these high levels the table tends to go into limp mode. A raise is greeted by a either a fold or ai response. Do you still think raise is bet or follow the table?
    4. Is the equilibrium solution still seen as the way to go?

    Sorry for the length of the article it just seems to be a problem that I'm having where passivity for a short period leaves me with lfew options according to the books. Should I be considering getting looser at say level 10 to increase my stack to a particular value of m?

    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • yoyoyoyo
    edited June 2014
    hey profman,

    i wouldn't say i never shove 10bb+, i cud def see myself shoving hands like 33 for slightly more as when we get flatted it's not easy to continue.
    a lot of the time tho these spots will be opponent & game flow dependant.

    i've never set myself chip targets but recently i am aware that i do seem to have an activity-dip in the mid to late stages; i think i just need to remind myself to stay active as, like you say, your stack can really evaporate if we fold every hand for a level or two.

    i prefer coming in for a raise over a limper or two altho occasionally i'll follow suit.

    sub 10bb i tend to be very shove happy, prob shoving 40ish% unless the bb is bossing & decent in which case i'd prob tighten up a little, maybe knocking the bottom 5% off.

    hope that goes some way to helping






    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • Chris_McChris_Mc
    edited June 2014
    So. Nearly the 4th for the 2.20, 

    How will u approach such tough field, do you think you can take orfords crown.

    Also do u know you are not allowed too call rainmans all in, even if u have the nuts.



    On a serious note, how do u usually approach a deep stack tournament? 


    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • yoyoyoyo
    edited June 2014
    orford has a crown?

    big sigh

    can't promise not to call anyones all-in lol & approach-wise i imagine i'll play pretty snug until after the dinner break...there is a dinner break right?
    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • MattBatesMattBates
    edited June 2014
    In Response to Re: Ask Thewy - Tournament Q&A with Julian Thew:
    orford has a crown? big sigh can't promise not to call anyones all-in lol & approach-wise i imagine i'll play pretty snug until after the dinner break...there is a dinner break right?
    Posted by yoyo
    Do you find you ever have a certain strategy pre tournament and then change it a lot during a tournament?

    EG, plan to play snug then get knocked out first?
    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • unknown_usernameunknown_username
    edited June 2014
    In Response to Re: Ask Thewy - Tournament Q&A with Julian Thew:
    In Response to Re: Ask Thewy - Tournament Q&A with Julian Thew : Do you find you ever have a certain strategy pre tournament and then change it a lot during a tournament? EG, plan to play snug then get knocked out first?
    Posted by MattBates

    Can't state how much this made me laugh.

    xD

    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • yoyoyoyo
    edited June 2014
    i don't know what you're talkin' about son 

    lol


    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • albion90albion90
    edited July 2014
    Hi I have a question regarding tournament structure which i'm interested to find out.

    If a tournament is offering 1 re-entry before the break for anyone eliminated then is it not standard format to offer an add-on at the break to anyone who has not gone out?

    I was under the impresssion its meant to be however played tourney where this wasn't the case.
    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
Sign In or Register to comment.