Low limit players' valuation of cards
As I am building my bankroll, I spend most of my time playing 5/10c or 10/20c NL ring games, or some $1-$3 MTT's. I'm doing pretty good, but one area I consistently struggle with is dealing with how some of these players value certain hole cards.
Best examples are probably AQo, AJo, ATo. It is not uncommon for players to make hefty raises or even go All In in MTT's with these cards. I am having a hard time figuring out in this pool of players when I should be calling these, or even re-raising.
I used to give them the benefit of the doubt that their cards were strong, but I have seen so many of these hands revealed and I just cringe when I folded something stronger.
Do I just peg certain players as overvaluing these and then call or re-raise the next time they make a play? Hope that THIS TIME they are not really holding the AA, KK, etc?
Currently, I have steered clear of calling these players that to me seem a bit unpredictable, but I get the sinking feeling that I am losing out on some very good profits here.
Any advice would be helpful.
Re: Low limit players' valuation of cards
Quote:
Originally Posted by MNMP2
As I am building my bankroll, I spend most of my time playing 5/10c or 10/20c NL ring games, or some $1-$3 MTT's. I'm doing pretty good, but one area I consistently struggle with is dealing with how some of these players value certain hole cards.
Best examples are probably AQo, AJo, ATo. It is not uncommon for players to make hefty raises or even go All In in MTT's with these cards. I am having a hard time figuring out in this pool of players when I should be calling these, or even re-raising.
I used to give them the benefit of the doubt that their cards were strong, but I have seen so many of these hands revealed and I just cringe when I folded something stronger.
Do I just peg certain players as overvaluing these and then call or re-raise the next time they make a play? Hope that THIS TIME they are not really holding the AA, KK, etc?
Currently, I have steered clear of calling these players that to me seem a bit unpredictable, but I get the sinking feeling that I am losing out on some very good profits here.
Any advice would be helpful.
Unless you have QQ or better, don't punish extremely aggressive players early in tournaments when the blinds are really small: While it may be +EV, losing costs you the tourney, whereas doubling up only gives you a marginal expected utility bonus when blinds are low relative to your stack.
In ultra-low buy-in tourneys with huge fields (such as PokerStars 1+0 NHLE tourneys), I'd be willing to take more risks than that early on, because you need to outlast a huge field, the blinds will get extremely high down the stretch, a large majority of players will treat the tourney like a freeroll and call you with any ace or pair, and you care far more about doubling up that you do about the $1 you lose when the cards don't go your way.
