Late game strategy, w/examples
 

Ok, this post is something that I have been trying to come up with that can show some common situations in late game play and trying to find the best play. Some of these are very easy, push or fold, some are raise or fold, and others, well, TBD i guess.

What I am looking for is how you would play the situation in front of you. In most of these cases, you are a short or medium stack. So, if you raise, how much? Whats your plan if you raise and get shoved on? If you say fold, give a reason, same for if you push.

For all hands, you have a tight solid image.

Hand 1, $109 6max
Full Tilt Poker
No Limit Holdem Tournament
Blinds: t800/t1600
(Ante: t200)
6 players
Converter

Stack sizes:
UTG: t72088
UTG+1: t27000
CO: t90690
Button: t55383
SB: t88670
Hero: t30127

Pre-flop: (6 players) Hero is BB with Q[img]/images/graemlins/club.gif[/img] A[img]/images/graemlins/diamond.gif[/img]
UTG folds, <font color="#cc0000">UTG+1 raises to t3800</font>, CO calls t3800 <font color="aaaaaa">(pot was t7400)</font>, Button folds, SB calls t3000 <font color="aaaaaa">(pot was t11200)</font>, <font color="#cc0000">Hero???

Hand 2, same as #1
Full Tilt Poker
No Limit Holdem Tournament
Blinds: t1000/t2000
(Ante: t250)
5 players
Converter

Stack sizes:
UTG: t134671
CO: t18250
Button: t85340
SB: t91770
Hero: t33927

Pre-flop: (5 players) Hero is BB with 3[img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img] 3[img]/images/graemlins/diamond.gif[/img]
3 folds, <font color="#cc0000">SB raises to t4000</font>, <font color="#cc0000">Hero????



Hand 3, $24 14k
Full Tilt Poker
No Limit Holdem Tournament
Blinds: t1500/t3000
(Ante: t400)
9 players
Converter

Stack sizes:
UTG: t49520
UTG+1: t113406
MP1: t82057
Hero: t37284
MP3: t64757
CO: t138873
Button: t105355
SB: t102375
BB: t80534

Pre-flop: (9 players) Hero is MP2 with Q[img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img] K[img]/images/graemlins/diamond.gif[/img]
3 folds, Hero????


Hand 4, same tourney

Full Tilt Poker
No Limit Holdem Tournament
Blinds: t1500/t3000
(Ante: t400)
9 players
Converter

Stack sizes:
UTG: t113006
UTG+1: t81657
Hero: t36884
MP2: t55357
MP3: t138473
CO: t122055
Button: t100475
SB: t77134
BB: t49120

Pre-flop: (9 players) Hero is MP1 with K[img]/images/graemlins/spade.gif[/img] Q[img]/images/graemlins/spade.gif[/img]
2 folds, <font color="#cc0000">Hero????


Hand 5, $24, 19k

Full Tilt Poker
No Limit Holdem Tournament
Blinds: t300/t600
(Ante: t75)
9 players
Converter

Stack sizes:
UTG: t12826
UTG+1: t7825
MP1: t17517
Hero: t6318
MP3: t4433
CO: t3105
Button: t15713
SB: t3176
BB: t8527

Pre-flop: (9 players) Hero is MP2 with K[img]/images/graemlins/spade.gif[/img] T[img]/images/graemlins/diamond.gif[/img]
3 folds, Hero????

Hand 6, $24, 19k
Full Tilt Poker
No Limit Holdem Tournament
Blinds: t300/t600
(Ante: t75)
9 players
Converter

Stack sizes:
Hero: t6093
UTG+1: t5783
MP1: t4455
MP2: t14888
MP3: t2651
CO: t5827
Button: t13276
SB: t8575
BB: t17892

Pre-flop: (9 players) Hero is UTG with 5[img]/images/graemlins/club.gif[/img] A[img]/images/graemlins/club.gif[/img]
Hero????


Hand 7, $24, 26k

Full Tilt Poker
No Limit Holdem Tournament
Blinds: t300/t600
(Ante: t75)
9 players
Converter

Stack sizes:
UTG: t8231
UTG+1: t18156
MP1: t5815
MP2: t7653
MP3: t16118
CO: t6885
Hero: t4168
SB: t5998
BB: t5920

Pre-flop: (9 players) Hero is Button with J[img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img] 9[img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img]
6 folds, <font color="#cc0000">Hero????


Hand 8, $10 Daily Double, Near the money bubble

Full Tilt Poker
No Limit Holdem Tournament
Blinds: t250/t500
(Ante: t50)
9 players
Converter

Stack sizes:
UTG: t6610
UTG+1: t37666
MP1: t9716
MP2: t13096
MP3: t13915
CO: t4385
Button: t14780
Hero: t10855
BB: t8670

Pre-flop: (9 players) Hero is SB with 9[img]/images/graemlins/diamond.gif[/img] 9[img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img]
4 folds, <font color="#cc0000">MP3 raises all-in t13865</font>, 2 folds, <font color="#cc0000">Hero????

Re: Late game strategy, w/examples
 

Geez you are making me work late tonight. Thus, I make no promises that I am going to be correct here. So with my disclaimer out of the way........here goes.

Hand #1

I much prefer a call here with these stacks. A raise with any kind of juice really kind of commits us. Plus we are getting way better than 3-1.

Hand #2

I'm stuck between raise and shove. I hate shoving because it seems like an overbet but I hate raising and letting villian shove over us. I suppose I'd rather be the one being aggressive here. Especially in a BvB battle. BTW I hate min. raises.

Hand #3

I'm going to use M as a reference point here and say since your M=4.5 this is a good spot to shove it in. I know you have 12+ bbs but the antes make it tough to survive.

Hand#4

I guess if I say shove hand #3 I would be contradicting myself if I said anything else here.

Hand #5

I really don't like KTo here. Maybe I draw a line somewhere between KT and KQ. We are in raise fold mode for sure here and that's alot of people to run KTo thru. I don't think it is a horrible push though.

Hand #6

I'll be interested if people think we should be involved with A5s in such an early position. I would have to think I have a bunch of fe to make a move here.

Hand #7

For me, it's a clear shove and probably the easiest hand of the 8 to play IMO. You have fe because the others are short as well. I often look for stacks that I can hurt with my shove.

Hand #8

Does this range work?

equity win tie pots won pots tied
Hand 0: 54.749% 54.13% 00.62% 115856710 1326948.00 { 9d9h }
Hand 1: 45.251% 44.63% 00.62% 95527394 1326948.00 { QQ-55, A9s+, KQs, ATo+, KQo }

If so I stand by a call.

Re: Late game strategy, w/examples
 

1, omg thats a lot of chippies, me wants em, puuuush. good or bad??

2, i just push, minraise here is so evil making it harder for u to push and lets him off cheap if u do. i guess calling and shoving over c-bets might be sweet, but then id need some betreads. never folding though.

3rd n 4th, could go either way. these are spots were i really wanna have a slightly bigger stack for when hitting the blinds but if there has been a lot of pushing ( not likely with those stacksizes tho) id be more likely to fold.
in the game i probably push the first one and then fold next hand.

5, fold. im thinking all these very short stacks behind us gonna gamble with a lot of Ks and As and pairs here. it would suck to lose half our stack here with kto and then be forced to push one of the following hands too. also i dont really think 10 or 12xbb makes much difference here.

6, fold.

7, oh, im verbally threatening all those frogs and dogs before me to fold so i can be first in here.

8, meh, i guess its a call but think he has 1010, jj here a lot, no wait, was there a moneybubble? so call then.

Re: Late game strategy, w/examples
 

So I´ll take a beginners try - gladly accepting any comments [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]:

Hand #1: The odds are very favourable, so at least a call is mandatory. The question is – reraise all-in or flat call? I tend to go all-in as you are oop, UTG+1 with an M of about 7 should have a wide range (even more as the table is shorthanded) and CO could have called with a wide range of hands regarding the odds he got. So go all-in.

Hand #2: Villain could literally make that move with any 2 here so I would reraise and make it 12k to go. If he shoves I fold if I assume he is a more tight player and call, if he is a very aggressive, thinking one.

Hand #3: Make it 9k to go, fold to a reraise.

Hand #4: Make it 9k to go, call a reraise.

Hand #5: With an M of slightly about 4 this is an easy push. You have covered anyone coming behind you, except the BU who surely don´t wand to gamble for half his stack and the BB who just has slightly more than you.

Hand #6: Same situation. Your M got even worst and you are one before the next BB. Shove and hope.

Hand 7#: You have nearly no choice any more with your M of slightly above 2.5. Be delighted that you´ve got an above-average hand and only two remaining opponents. Insta-shove!!

Hand 8#: Without any reads this should be a simple math problem. The pot contains 11,805 (1.200 blinds + antes + your remaining 10,605), it costs you 10,605 to call. This gives you odds of slightly above 1,1:1. Your call would be correct when we assign Villain a shoving range of 77+,ATs+,KTs+,AJo+ which should be the very minimum for him. So shove!!

Re: Late game strategy, w/examples
 

[ QUOTE ]
So I´ll take a beginners try - gladly accepting any comments [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]:

Hand #1: The odds are very favourable, so at least a call is mandatory. The question is – reraise all-in or flat call? I tend to go all-in as you are oop, UTG+1 with an M of about 7 should have a wide range (even more as the table is shorthanded) and CO could have called with a wide range of hands regarding the odds he got. So go all-in.

Hand #2: Villain could literally make that move with any 2 here so I would reraise and make it 12k to go. If he shoves I fold if I assume he is a more tight player and call, if he is a very aggressive, thinking one.

Hand #3: Make it 9k to go, fold to a reraise.

Hand #4: Make it 9k to go, call a reraise.

Hand #5: With an M of slightly about 4 this is an easy push. You have covered anyone coming behind you, except the BU who surely don´t wand to gamble for half his stack and the BB who just has slightly more than you.

Hand #6: Same situation. Your M got even worst and you are one before the next BB. Shove and hope.

Hand 7#: You have nearly no choice any more with your M of slightly above 2.5. Be delighted that you´ve got an above-average hand and only two remaining opponents. Insta-shove!!

Hand 8#: Without any reads this should be a simple math problem. The pot contains 11,805 (1.200 blinds + antes + your remaining 10,605), it costs you 10,605 to call. This gives you odds of slightly above 1,1:1. Your call would be correct when we assign Villain a shoving range of 77+,ATs+,KTs+,AJo+ which should be the very minimum for him. So shove!!

[/ QUOTE ]

2nd, ???

3rd, make that 7500 and im semi-ok with raise/folding at a non-restealhappy table.



4th, if u gonna call a push, pushing this gotta be a lot better?

Re: Late game strategy, w/examples
 

[ QUOTE ]
2nd, ???

[/ QUOTE ]

My thoughts where the following: if Víllain is more tight he still can make a blatant steal with almost everything. If I reraise him and he shoves I have an easy fold. If he is an aggressive player instead, expecting me to make a resteal with a wide variety of hands, a shove might just be a try to catch me. In this case I´m delighted as I may have the best hand and a good chance to double up. The question is if a shove would be better if I call his push anyway but I´m not really sure, regarding the stacks - as I really would look for an opportunity to double my stack in this situation.

[ QUOTE ]
3rd, make that 7500 and im semi-ok with raise/folding at a non-restealhappy table.

[/ QUOTE ]

Sounds reasonable, if a raise of this amount would be respected at the table by the bigstacks who could easily call and try to outplay me on the flop.

[ QUOTE ]
4th, if u gonna call a push, pushing this gotta be a lot better?

[/ QUOTE ]

I expect my hand to be rather good to stand against most other hands (if I not especially run into AA -QQ) so I do not fear an all-in-confrontation. With my stack being so short, compared to the others, I have to look for a big shot. Just getting the blinds would´nt be enough for me in this spot. So I just don´t want to chase away worse hands with an all-in-bet. Just raise and being called by a medium pair. Bad idea?

Re: Late game strategy, w/examples
 

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
2nd, ???

[/ QUOTE ]

My thoughts where the following: if Víllain is more tight he still can make a blatant steal with almost everything. If I reraise him and he shoves I have an easy fold. If he is an aggressive player instead, expecting me to make a resteal with a wide variety of hands, a shove might just be a try to catch me. In this case I´m delighted as I may have the best hand and a good chance to double up. The question is if a shove would be better if I call his push anyway but I´m not really sure, regarding the stacks - as I really would look for an opportunity to double my stack in this situation.




ok, against an tight player this might be ok, but don´t u think he might 4bet us with a lot of hands (big aces) you should call against esp since we´ve put in a very big part of our stack (getting amazing odds) and only hates to play against other pairs? a push might fold out some of his crappy pairs esp if he is tight. and against an aggro, raise calling is ok probably but we´d rather maximize FE than induce a 50/50? i dont see the need to double as very urgent , we got a stack with great resteal potential and when/if we win this pf we can also steal without going below a restealstack.

[ QUOTE ]
3rd, make that 7500 and im semi-ok with raise/folding at a non-restealhappy table.

[/ QUOTE ]

Sounds reasonable, if a raise of this amount would be respected at the table by the bigstacks who could easily call and try to outplay me on the flop.




agree to some point,if i think i might be called on several spots this sux. BB gonna have a hard time outplaying our shortstack here though so im not very afraid of that scenario. my main goal with this stack is to boost it a little to have better resteal FE. raise folding leaves us at 10bb and is kinda ok assuming ppl won´t come over the top of me light then i´d rather push to try and get that stack.

[ QUOTE ]
4th, if u gonna call a push, pushing this gotta be a lot better?

[/ QUOTE ]

I expect my hand to be rather good to stand against most other hands (if I not especially run into AA -QQ) so I do not fear an all-in-confrontation. With my stack being so short, compared to the others, I have to look for a big shot. Just getting the blinds would´nt be enough for me in this spot. So I just don´t want to chase away worse hands with an all-in-bet. Just raise and being called by a medium pair. Bad idea?

[/ QUOTE ]



yes i think it is a bad idea to induce a 50/50 or a 40/60 here, see the above on what my goal is right now. further i don´t see many worse hands playing with us, rather slightly better ones that we might fold out with a push.

Re: Late game strategy, w/examples
 

I'm not doing any math here, just what I would do at the table, without looking at others' replies:

Hand 1: push. You're ahead of all the others players' range.

Hand 2: for all these hands I assume standard players, but minraises are always a bit weird and can mean so many diff things. In a vacuum I take a bit of time and push.

Hand 3: I'm pushing here, with 12 BBs and FTP antes. It's fairly close though.

Hand 4: this is the only one I'm not too sure about. Probably just shoving here too.

Hand 5: fold, would push in one position later.

Hand 6: fold.

Hand 7: easy push, unexploitable etc.

Hand 8: pretty close. I'm assuming 88-QQ, AQo+,AQs+ as a default range against overpushes like this. I'm folding though, I think your equity is juuuust a bit too small.

For hand 3, 4, 5 and 8 I don't think it matters too much what you do, since the EV-value is so close between various actions.

Re: Late game strategy, w/examples
 

[ QUOTE ]
Hand 6: fold.


[/ QUOTE ]

According to HOH we have an M of slightly below 4 and are just in the red zone. After the next round of blinds our M shrinks to 3.2 nearing the "dead zone". Can we really wait for much better hands here? Surely A5s is no real good hand on a full-ring table but at least we have huge FE against all others, don´t we? What about AJs, ATs, A8s? Where would be your borderline in this spot?

Re: Late game strategy, w/examples
 

AJo would be my borderline here (too tight?). probably depends on the table and my chances on getting a LP push though.

with the ftp antes u get back on your feet better than stars so i actually go down e little more on ftp due to this (ppl arent really adjusting enough for this when calling either). i really developed a phobia for Ax hands from ep with a shortstack that can take the blinds a round without losing to much FE. Used to be one of my most usual byebye hands...