operation hit and run part 2: tournament style

[TheDoc]

operation hit and run part 2: tournament style.

going to try skanskys system in 5+1/10+1 mtt's on pokerroom and party poker, and also possibly a 100+35 stt at hard rock seminole.

the only reason i want to try it at the hard rock stt is because of this:
whenever i sit down at one of the tournies im easily one of the best 3 playres there, BUT with the blinds starting at 7% of my stack (ie i start with 15bb) it negates a lot of my skill advantage. So im wondering if skanskys strategy would be able to put me back at an advantage since i could take advantage of it immediately instead of waiting for the blinds to raise.

I will write up the entire strat later, but i have a pr 10+1 mtt to play in to test it out!


The strategy

take your stack (unless you have more chips then the people still left in the hand, then you take the largest stack among them)
and divide that number by the blinds.

then multiply that by the people still left to act.

then multiplay that number by the number of limpers before you. if there is a raise in front of you dont push unless you have ak suited AA or KK.

once you have this number, this is your key number.

to decide whether you push with your hand find what category your key number fits into.

400+ - aces only
200-400 - AA or KK
150-200 - AA KK QQ AK
100-150 - AA KK QQ JJ TT AK AQ KQ
80 - 100 - any pair AK AQ KQ Axsuited suited connector down to 45 (no gap)
60 - 80 - any pair any ace KQ any Kxsuited any suited connector no gap or one gap
40 - 60 - all above + any Kx
20 - 40 - all above + any 2 suited cards
20 or less - any 2 cards

[TheDoc]

tourny 1:
57th out of 78 10+1 pr

note: lost half my stack to getting sucked out early on, ahead on the turn got called with someone on a flush draw and they hit on the river. Had this not happened touryn would of went alot different.

[TheDoc]

tourny 2:
50th out of 136th
hand that killed me 1505 chips blinds 100-200 on the button folded to me with 94 hearts

1505 / 300 = 5.02
5.02 * 2 = 10.03

so skansky says raise with any to.

i get called by the bb who is short and has a5, flop has no help so i lose about half my stack.

next hand have a8 1 off the button with 510 chips. 2 limpers so
515 / 300 = 5.17 ( i think)
5.17 * 3 = 15.45
15.45 * 3 = 46.35

so sk says any k and all of above to raise.

get to callers one guy pushes the other out and hits a straight on the turn to beat me pair of aces =(. Other wise i would of been at around 2k

[Radashack]

Have a feeling this isn't going to pay off, mainly because the affect a single bad player making a bad call and getting lucky can have (especially at the likes of pokerroom).

[TheDoc]

tourny 3:
5+1
51st out of 186

at one point i had about 6k in chips and was in about 20th place untill this hand.

sb with ak 2 limpers, figure i should push.

push 2nd limper who was in late position calls me with AK. I can't really fault the system here as you would definately expect KK to be raising preflop in late position none the less. After that i was put in a shitty spot, then lost aj to 77 to end my tourny (had i won that i would of been at about 3k chips and in decent position to keep rebuilding).

Overall, i really dont think the strat is that bad, but you need a few things for it to work a) decent cards b) decent stack c) high blinds d) some luck on the flips. I think it could definately produce some ITM finishes, but i dont think it would be maximizing your value.

Now there is one way i could think of using this strat, it would be as a short stack strat for hand requirements to push all in if the blinds start taking a large chunk or your stack, but i dont know how well that would work. I prefer my intuition above all else (math included).

[scottyses]

IMHO any strategy that relies entirely on mathematics and odds is not poker. If you are a decent player you will always maximize profits more by playing a sound poker game rather than relying purely on formulas.

That being said, experimenting with different techniques can always give you more insight on the intricate game of poker. Keep it up.....I find these unorthodox tests and results quite interesting!

[Jessel]

Poker Academy Pro has the Sklansky strategy you are using pre programmed into one of the bots. After 15 games auto played with 9 players per game, the Sklansky strategy only one all the chips once. I recommend you refocus on the original hit and run approach you were using.

IMHO any strategy that relies entirely on mathematics and odds is not poker. If you are a decent player you will always maximize profits more by playing a sound poker game rather than relying purely on formulas.

Very true. Poker isn't just a game of odds. You've gotta have reads on players, assumptions, etc. You also have to have your wits about you in making 50/50 calls (or not) sometimes.

[TJ]

One more thing to take into account is the low buy-in amount. Two things here prevent this system from being fully effective in these tournaments. First, these tournaments are loaded with bad players. Bad players will be much more likely to call your all in with weak cards than a strong player. Second, the strong players that ARE in these low buyin tournaments might be more inclined to gamble with non-premium hands because its only $5 or $10 and probably not any sort of threat to their bankroll.

That being said, I'm not sure that this system would perform any better in a higher buyin amount because the more skilled players will figure out within 20 minutes what you are doing and slow play you before the flop. If enough people limp preflop, then Sklansky's system will dictate you move in with any hand, meanwhile the skilled player is salivating waiting with his/her AA or KK.

Just my two cents.

[TheDoc]

no if more people limp you have to push with a better hand.

[TJ]

no if more people limp you have to push with a better hand.

My apologies, you are correct. The more limpers the higher the multiplier.

[Manomanman]

The Sklansky strat for tournies only works in tournies where everyone starts shortstacked and you have pussies in the game who won't go all-in. You would get eaten up in the WSOP, and you will get eaten up in Party and Pokerroom MTT's (for different reasons in both cases).

In tournies, you can't use a simplified strategy unless it's something like the Party SNG's where everyone starts shortstacked. Properly-structured games can't be beaten by simple strategies.

[johnnyawe]

I think this strat would work best if you thought you were outskilled by most of the other players in the tournament. It has the effect of taking all of the post-flop skill out of the game, which levels the playing field between a good player and a bad player. Its kind of like how playing a football game in severe weather conditions is to the advantage of the underdog. The severe weather conditions are a kind of "equalizer". In this case, taking out all of the post-flop play is the equalizer.

If you're one of the better players in the tourney (which you are), than I would just play poker the way you know how to play and in the long run you should finish ITM enough to make a profit.

Still, I would love to see you play out about 20 tournaments using this strat and see what happens..